underwear in musical theater

[Portia]

Dance is definitely a sport/exercise activity.

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/74382/

[vorpal blade]

When I was in the Mission Home in Salt Lake City as I started my mission Sister Richards (the Mission President's wife) addressed the missionaries. She told us the story of a missionary who received a picture of his mother and father at a dance. The missionary was shocked at the picture and wrote to his mother that he could tell that she was not wearing her garments. The mother replied that it is okay not to wear your garments when participating in an athletic event, "And believe me, when I dance with your father, it is an athletic event."

I think her point was that we should not judge others for the decisions they make in regard to exceptions made in wearing the garment.

As a side note Mitt Romney was with me in that Mission Home at that time.

[vorpal blade]

Shocking, I know. Portia and I agree again.

[Portia]

Shocking, I know. Portia and I agree again.

I must be getting old! (No, but seriously, I've been to a couple bars lately -- it's Wisconsin, that's where work social events happen -- and haven't been carded. What?)

[Portia]

As a side note Mitt Romney was with me in that Mission Home at that time.

Love this. I compare the bro to Mitt Romney all the time. (I'm pretty sure he'd die before going to HBS, but you know.)

What was he like?! I always thought he was one of those guys who got better-looking as he got older.

[Marduk]

Wait, Vorpal, you served in France?

[vorpal blade]

No, I didn't serve in France. I served in Italy. At the time there was no language mission training for Italian, and I assume it was the same for French as well. What they did in those days was to send us to Salt Lake City for a week of missionary training. They called the place The Mission Home. I think there were a couple of hundred of us. Every day we would receive talks from General Authorities given directly to us. We all went to the temple together, many of us for the first time. Those who had not yet been set apart as missionaries were set apart at that time. I happened to be set apart by Thomas S. Monson, who in 1966 I didn't really know anything about.

It was announced that the son of Govenor George Romney was one of the missionaries in our group. I don't really remember much about him. In my missionary journal I wrote that I thought this son of George Romney was a very energetic person and would go far in life. I could look up my exact quote if you were interested. I don't recall what he said or when I heard him talk. There was no reason for him to remember me, and it was only interesting to me because the name George Romney was well known in politics and the Church. As I recall I thought Elder Romney was quite handsome. He looked like his dad. I have a picture taken of all the missionaries in the group, and he must be somewhere in the picture, but I'm not sure which one he is. I can find myself and my missionary companion.

Portia, what is HBS?

[Portia]

Portia, what is HBS?

Harvard Business School. Where Mitt Romney got his MBA. My brother is a missionary in the Paris, France mission right now, hence the teasing comparisons. But my brother has made it clear that he is not interested in a career in business. I picture him in a more introverted career, like art, architecture, or hard science.

I, on the other hand, am quite seriously considering an MBA, but I have to admit, I don't think I'm Hahvahd material.

[vorpal blade]

I was going to add that because there was no language training we served for two and a half years instead of two years, to give us six months to learn the language before we could be effective missionaries. As it turned out the Italian mission grew so rapidly that they had to make some of us senior companions with new elders when we had had no more than three months in the mission. Mitt Romney also served a thirty month mission, but France had been established as a mission much earlier and wasn't growing like my mission.

Yeah, I never wanted to go to Harvard either.

[Portia]

France had been established as a mission much earlier and wasn't growing like my mission.

Much, much earlier.

The first Mormon missionary to preach in France was William Howells, who entered the country in 1849.

[Portia]

I served in Italy ... in 1966.

You're older than I realized. That's the year my mom was born.

And everyone, I'm totes jealous of Vorpal right now. Was there ever anything chicer than Italy circa 1966? NO.

[vorpal blade]

Yep. I'm ancient, as a Board Writer once said. Like Mitt Romney, though that wasn't said by a Board Writer.

Actually, Lorenzo Snow organized the Italian mission in 1850. After a few years proselyting in Italy was stopped. The Church attempted to reopen the mission some years later but permission was refused by the Italian government. Ezra Taft Benson was able to get the Italian government to allow missionaries in 1964, and the first ones came shortly afterward from the Swiss mission and a couple of German/Austrian missions where elders spoke Italian. In 1966 the Church decided to open the Italian Mission and I was immediately called to that mission. I reported to the Mission Home only a couple of weeks after putting in my papers. I got to Italy a month before the mission president got there, and before Italy was rededicated by Elder Benson. In the next couple of months the number of missionaries in Italy more than doubled.

Er, wow. Italy in 1966 was chicer than I thought. Can't say I've seen any of those movies.

[Portia]

Yep. I'm ancient, as a Board Writer once said. Like Mitt Romney, though that wasn't said by a Board Writer.

Actually, Lorenzo Snow organized the Italian mission in 1850. After a few years proselyting in Italy was stopped. The Church attempted to reopen the mission some years later but permission was refused by the Italian government. Ezra Taft Benson was able to get the Italian government to allow missionaries in 1964, and the first ones came shortly afterward from the Swiss mission and a couple of German/Austrian missions where elders spoke Italian. In 1966 the Church decided to open the Italian Mission and I was immediately called to that mission. I reported to the Mission Home only a couple of weeks after putting in my papers. I got to Italy a month before the mission president got there, and before Italy was rededicated by Elder Benson. In the next couple of months the number of missionaries in Italy more than doubled.

Er, wow. Italy in 1966 was chicer than I thought. Can't say I've seen any of those movies.

Missionaries are often completely oblivious to pop culture, and I'm sure some of these were American-made, natch. However, as I've learned from Mad Men, the sixties pre-hippies was my kind of decade.

And that's interesting historical background. I had a roommate who had spent about half her life in Ecuador, and the next half in Italy, and she served her mission there. She was watching conference on her laptop, and I was watching it on TV. Hers was delayed enough that I went it and said "did you hear?" and she was like "what? what?" (She was in Provo to learn English and was still at a very beginning level, with speaking especially, more than writing.) It was the announcement of the Rome temple. She started crying and called everyone she knew. It was pretty cool.

[NerdGirl]

If you went on a mission in 1966, you're still probably not as old as my parents.

Also, I used to be a ballet dancer, and you can't wear underwear at all under ballet stuff (except for a bra, but even that usually requires some safety pins). I can't even imagine trying to wear garments with that stuff. Worst wedgie ever.

[vorpal blade]

I have a child younger than many of the readers in this forum, so it seems certainly logical that some readers would have parents who are older than I am. It is sobering to think that I am old enough to be the grandfather of some of the readers like Portia. I was born in January, 1947.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

How old is your kid?

[vorpal blade]

I have seven children, ranging from 22 to 39. The 22-year old turns 23 in less than two weeks, however.

[NerdGirl]

Well, biologically you're probably old enough to be the grandfather of most of us, but that's not saying much. Honeybooboo's mom became a grandmother at 32.

[bobtheenchantedone]

...I just wanted to add that in a recent master class we had a professional opera singer who was Mormon come teach, and he said no, he does not wear garments when on stage because they look silly under tights.

Carry on with your wow-vorpal-is-old conversation.

[Random]

All of the endowed LDS people I know who do shows don't wear their garments when they're performing. They're an added annoyance when they're doing quick changes, and they often just don't work with costumes. The garments would also get really sweaty and smelly and gross, since actors are probably the most sweaty people I know. Those reasons, among others, makes me think that acting (especially in musical theater) counts as one of those activities that can't reasonably be done with the garment worn properly beneath the clothing. The majority of the actors at UVU aren't endowed LDS members, though.