Angelica's Blue Hat - The Writers Reverie

Angelica’s Blue Hat

It’s Blue Monday for the blog party bunch, and I have a blue for you that I hope will make you not so very blue after all: A blue hat! Modeled, as you see, by my good Lady Utopia!

Rescued in its barest form, from a box of random hats and baseball caps at a thrift store I frequent, it was perfect for my flower lady! Sure, it was unadorned when I found it, but with a spray of silk flowers and embellishment artistically arranged, I could create a floral hat any flower lady would be proud to wear!

You see, I was on a costume hunt last summer for the family comedy I was producing titled, Kit & Kaboodles.* Inspired by the Biblical story of Joseph, I set my story in 1910 and told the tale of a sibling rivalry that had caused a great rift between two brothers. When one brother returns, seemingly from the dead, to lay claim to his true inheritance, there is only one power in heaven and earth that can avert disaster – the power of forgiveness.

To open the play, I needed a narrator character who would exist in the story world, but also speak directly to the audience – especially at the outset to lay the story foundation. Enter Angelica! She of the blue hat aforementioned. Angelica sold flowers in the park from her trusty basket. The interesting thing about her flowers, though, was that – they talked . . .

ANGELICA: . . . I’ve got some very special flowers in my basket to sell today. That’s what I do, you know, sell flowers. I collect the toss aways from the big flower shops after their morning deliveries. I cut them and tie them off and sell them to – well – to whomever it seems needs one. Today, I felt like I needed to work in this part of the park, with my friends, Pappy and his grand-daughter, Bridgid O’Donnell at Kaboodles – that newsstand over there – ‘where you can always find the whole kit and kaboodles in news and magazines for your reading enjoyment.’ Well, at least that’s Pappy’s slogan. And, my slogan? Hmmm . . . well . . . I don’t know if it’s a slogan but . . . I wonder: Who will be wearing my flowers – and what will they have to say – of failing and fortune – in language so fine tuned – before the end of the day . . .”

Excerpt from Act 1, KIT & KABOODLES by Kathryn Ross

Angelica’s flower basket was used throughout the play to foreshadow character developments in the plot adding a delightful sense of mystery to a story that made you laugh, made you cry, made you leave the theatre lifted and joyful in hope.

To create Angelica’s character, I had to do a little research about the Language of Flowers – floriography – as it has been referred to. A Victorian fancy where flowers were assigned a code meaning and used to communicate thought and sentiment in floral arrangements – including the Tussie Mussie – or nosegay.

You’ll notice my little Tussie Mussie is set, here, by an elegant pair of white gloves, ready to communicate something very special to a young man. Notice the bluish-purple lilac? Well, okay – pretty much purple as opposed to blue. The lilac spoke of the first feelings of love. A young lady who waved such a nosegay in the presence of a favored young man might hope to perhaps receive a bouquet of lovely blue forget-me-nots in return . . .

. . . plucked, mayhap, from a meadow of wildflowers – like these growing in my own front wildflower garden. There is only one thing the forget-me-not has to say: True Love.

So today, on Blue Monday, I will wish you all the joys of first loves and true loves in all good things, beauty, and blue!

Be beautiful blue blessings today!

Miss Kathy

Note: From time to time I will post little glimpses into some of the many theatricals I have written, directed, and produced. I have had the pleasure of working with so many talented performers – of all ages. Angelica was portrayed by the lovely Carey Walden, a very talented actress, singer, and dancer. She has a heart for using her gifts to serve the Lord and hopes one day to perform with the Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All the best to you, Carey!

Sharing this today on Smiling Sally’s Blue Monday.

Kit & Kaboodles Production Photos by Violet Brown Photography.