Do you think that others in the drama society invite their parents to come and see some of the plays? I imagine that most of the parents are quite proud of their kid even with some of the worst blunders and mishaps. Do you think Chris gets a little jealous of the other society members for having the support he’s always wanted but can’t seem to get?
Thanks for the ask, sorry this took me so long to answer!!
I think that yes, most members do invite their families (which I over yap about below) and I’m sure Chris definitely gets jealous, but I don’t think he realizes it’s jealousy. I’ve always thought he doesn’t realize how bad his relationship with his parents is because it’s what he has always known. Near the end of the Play of the Week, he is definitely starting to realize something is off, but not enough for him to understand that what he’s feeling is jealousy. So I think he gets uncomfortable when others bring their parents and he rationalizes it with other annoyances.
My over yapping about who does and does not bring their parents/families to their shows:
Max: Max’s aunt definitely comes to shows! Even after the PPGW fiasco, his aunt is still very supportive of Max’s love of theater, and will sometimes even donate a little here or there to help out. Sometimes the rest of his family will come too. My (probably unpopular head cannon) about Max is that he gives off the energy of someone who is around little kids a lot, so I feel like he and Sandra will take either his niblings or younger cousins (I can’t decide what relationship they have to Max, just that they are family and they are younger, like 6-12ish) out on weekends. When the content is appropriate, those kids will come to the show, and Max will purposefully break the 4th wall even more during those shows to entertain his younger family members. Chris is definitely jealous when Max’s aunt comes to shows as she’s so supportive, but he is more annoyed when the rest of the family comes, as Max is an even worse on stage when they are there.
Sandra: Sandra’s parents definitely come to shows! They must support their precious and perfect daughter. Chris rationalizes his jealousy by saying he’s annoyed as Sandra demands even more of the spotlight when her parents are in the audience.
Vanessa: I don’t think her parents come to shows. I don’t think they are very supportive of her theater career, they continue to tell her they want her to go back to the job she was working before joining the drama society. She always invites them in hopes they will change their mind but they think coming will show they are supportive, so they decline every time.
Robert: Robert’s family definitely comes to shows. We know he really wanted his son to come to CCGW, and it’s Robert, there’s no way he isn’t inviting his parents and they always come to support their special boy. Chris is jealous of this, but rationalizes it because he gets annoyed as Robert will be even more insistent on playing the lead whenever his parents are there.
Dennis: Dennis does not invite his family because he is nervous of what they will think of him. He is so scared he will mess up during the play and they won’t talk to him again because of it. This is untrue, his parents would be supportive of him putting himself out there on stage, but Dennis does not believe anyone who tells him that.
Trevor: Trevor does not invite his parents to the shows. They are not supportive of him continuing with the drama society. His sisters do sometimes come if they are in town and they are supportive. Chris isn’t as jealous of this as he is an only child and doesn’t really understand what it’s like to have siblings and doesn’t think that that is a type of love that he needs.
Annie: Even when she worked as a stage manager, Annie was inviting her parents to shows and they were supportive. They were some of the people who encouraged her to go more into acting after Haversham, and attend at least one performance of every play the society has put on. I think Annie’s parents are what cause Chris to maybe start realizing he is feeling jealousy, cause Annie will give the same performance whether her parents are there or not, so there’s no other reason for Chris to be annoyed.
Jonathon: I think during Haversham and Peter Pan, Jonathon invited his parents but after the Peter Pan fiasco, he stopped inviting them as he didn’t like how many questions he got about his love life after the show. He wanted to put it behind him but his parents kept bringing it up, and so Jonathon didn’t invite them to any more shows as he wasn’t sure if any more secrets would be spilled.
