Waiting for the Bragues

Today we are waiting for the band director and his wife to arrive in their truck pulling a trailer. They are the brave ones this summer living out of fifth wheel for three and a half months. Not sure on their arrival time and they seem to be incommunicado at the moment.

As promised, I will give you some sort of idea how it all happens both before and after we arrive in Nauvoo. Sister Camp and I are called as the Executive Directors of Nauvoo Productions. This entails all the entertainment that goes on here during the summer except for the pageant. We are responsible for 5 shows and of those 5 one runs year round and is cast from the senior sisters and couples that are called to Nauvoo. That's right if you accept a mission call here, regardless of what it is you are required to be in Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo and Sunset by the Mississippi. Sunset runs in the summer months and the performers are both seniors and the YPM's.


The Young Performing Missionaries audition in the fall by DVD and we receive on average around 225 applications. Of that amount, all but 20 are women. Male performers are a rare and because of that the bar for the 200 women gets set very high. Out of all those applications, we select 40 (20 women and 20 men, if we have that many) to come to a call back audition held at the Joseph Smith Memorial building in Salt Lake the first Saturday in January. There the candidates will spend an entire day singing and dancing as soloists and in small groups. It's an exhausting day for all but spiritual and fun. From that 40 we select 10 men and 10 women to go to Nauvoo. I learned very early on that the Lord selects these young people. It is a truly an amazing and wonderful process to witness and be a part of. The 40 are then called as Service Missionaries for Nauvoo productions. They report to the Mission President and he treats them as full time missionaries companions and all. It is a very unique call to serve here for they are expected to live mission rules except while they are on stage where their allowed to dance and interact with the opposite sex. Once they leave the stage they are at arms length again and living mission rules.

The average day for a YPM in Nauvoo starts at 6:00am for personal prep time. By 7:00 they should be in companionship study. At 8:00 they attend the Mission prep meeting either at the Nauvoo visitor center of the Culteral hall.  8:15am they seperate into their "A" and "B" casts, one going Culteral hall to get ready for the Puppet show and Just Plain Anna Amanda. The puppet show is actually a 15 minute pre-show for JPAA which lasts about 35 minutes. They will do two 45 minute shows with their lunch break in between. The other cast reports to their assignments at the various historical sites in Nauvoo where they work side by side with the senior missionary couple and sisters. This is a wonderful opportunity for both these groups to get to know each other and it is really impressive the bond that created during this time. At 2:00pm both casts report to the Visitor Center where they prepare for two shows of High Hopes and river Boats. This show is a high energy full blown musical production that runs for about an hour. with about 30 minutes between shows. Directly after the second show of HHRB the YPM's go home to change and have dinner. They will then report to the outdoor stage just west of the Visitor Center for Sunset by the Mississippi. This is a one hour  long variety style show done with all the senior missionaries. After this show they are sent home to go to bed. That is until July when the pageant comes to town. The YPM's perform as core dancers in the pageant during July and go from Sunset to the pageant stage and then home ending their day at around 10:00pm. It is to say the least exhausting.

These young people do not get a head start on the script or the music. Casting isn't done until they arrive in Nauvoo. They get a first look at the scripts on the bus ride from the airport this Friday May 6. They will then be in rehearsals everyday from 8:00am until 10:00pm. On Saturday May 28, our shows open to the Memorial day crowds and will continue 6 days a week until August 16. Three and a half months of intense performances living as missionaries and receiving all the blessings they can possibly handle for it is only in Nauvoo that this could happen. Life changing is an understatement for these young people and it is truly a blessing and privilege to witness and be a part of.

In the next couple of days I will cover the band and our terrific tech YPM's

Take care and God bless,
Elder Camp