The Sun Comes Up

I've been planning on writing on several different topics, but as per usual, I come up with about a million other things to do instead, generally involving watching television and movies over the internet. Have completely fallen in love with Arrested Development, and I'm now excited for the movie. I can see why it didn't last very long though. It's sad, but nothing will ever depress me more than the all-too-short lifespan of Pushing Daisies. I still mourn.



For instance, I wanted to write about my new-found fascination with astrology. Not as a be-all end all, this is what you're supposed to be, this is what is supposed to happen, but I find that an in-depth chart reading can be an interesting tool for self-exploration. Well, I hope it will be. My chart is being read for free, but it won't be for a little while, since the woman who does them for fun has quite the wait list. Probably will happen sometime in the next couple of months. Maybe. I'm curious to see what "the stars" have to say about my fabulous self.

It hasn't been all television and internet surfing. I've managed to go and see quite a bit of theatre as well, which has been lovely. Hello, Dolly! opened at the 5th Ave, which was great. Got to see the Friends and Family for Stunt Girl at Village Theatre which was surprisingly good, considering how much I disliked the reading of it. Have also see two shows that are competing for the High School Awards. My love, CC is an evaluator, and since her husband is in Stunt Girl, I got to be her date. The last one we saw happened on the same night as Stunt Girl opening, so we crashed the party, which was awesome. I can't wait to start a new show.



I really miss getting to be a part of the Education department, so I'm determined that next year I will be at least a pinch-hit evaluator. I think I'd be pretty good at it, considering that my job for three years was to read all of the evaluations ever written for the high school awards. Sure, I never saw the shows, but I know the kind of comments they are looking for, and the kind of scores people give. Besides, while I may be only a year out of college, I've spent the last four years working in the professional theatre in a ton of different capacities. I've even performed, at least on the amateur level. Now let's hope the Education people see it that way.

Speaking of performing, I did audition for Auntie Mame at the Driftwood Players. It was only after the fact that I realized that there wasn't a chance in hell I could do it. You see, the play opens April 17th, and the big honking Gala, the biggest event in our department of the year, is the 18th. There's no way to get out of the Gala for the performance. I was sad, and trying to think of ways to make it work, but in the end, I'm glad it didn't. I can relax, and have fun and not stress about my schedule for the next month and a half before Showboat starts. But for those who are curious, I did get called back, for Gloria Upson and Pegeen. If Gooch had been in the mix, it would've been harder to say no, but there ya go. It wasn't meant to be. Or something.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'm trying to resist the whole Twitter thing. I'm on facebook so often it's a little ridiculous. However, I feel like I might start one when I start working on Showboat. You know, like a backstage Twitter. Oh I know one has to be careful when discussing backstage shenanigans, because you never know who's reading. Still, I feel like it might be fun, and I can talk about interesting things without divulging too much information. I know that that's not apparent here (interesting, I mean, my blog posts I know are not interesting). We shall see.

In the meantime, I'm going to catch up on Arrested Development and other shows that I haven't been watching during the week.



Peace, love, and quirkiness.

The Party's Over

Beauty and the Beast closed on Sunday. It was super fun, and yet super sad all at the same time, as are most closings. It's very rare that you get a cast that bonds like this, and it's great that it was this show, just because the run was SOOOO long. But, between the champagne reception and the party that kept going at Hula Hula, I think it was a good way to say goodbye to the Magical World of Disney.

The next step is dealing with the withdrawals. It always takes about a week of "Well, what now?" after the show closes to get back into the swing of things, unless you're one of the lucky ones who gets to go straight on to the next show. I'm not one of those. My solution has been to throw myself into work. It helps that Memphis opened last night, which means I saw a lot of people I wasn't expecting to see, and today I may be going shopping, and tomorrow is an outing with Mrs. Potts. I'm also checking Facebook like it's crack. It's not quitting cold turkey, which has made the transition easier.

Still, I thought I'd compile a list of the things I'll miss from Beauty and the Beast.

1. Hanging out with the Enchantress. The woman is one of my new favorite people EVER. Between Crafty Corner Time, Movie Nights, and numerous costume changes with her where I had to spend time actually doing my job, I spent a lot of time with her, and it makes me sad that we'll lose that. Not to mention that since she lives almost 2 hours away it's difficult for either of us to make plans to hang out.



2. Seeing Babette grow bigger. One of the miracles of the show was that Babette was pregnant through the whole things, which means that by the time we closed she was showing a lot, and the costume had to be altered 3-4 times to accommodate.

3. Sunday nights at Hula Hula. A brand new theatre tradition. Everyone who's anyone flocks to this karaoke joint on Sunday nights, since that's like our Friday night. It's fun, centrally located, and they do an industry discount for us folks. Sure most people will still go on Sundays, but it won't be quite the mass of theatre friends that it was now that all of the big shows are closed.

4. Pints with the boys. In Issaquah this was a nightly occurance, but by the time we hit Everett, it was mostly on Saturday nights. Dive bars that specialize in cheap beer and liquor, it'd be Korby and I and sometimes a few other girls, and of course, the actor boys. They were fun, chill, and often would take the party to somebody's house, which was even more fun.

5. Shenanigans. No show is ever really without it's shenanigans, but this takes the cake in my mind. Dressing various people up as Belle or the Beast to take Belle's place on the bench to surprise was epic. Changing bits of choreography, having challenge nights, it kept the show fresh, and kept all of us happy to be there.

6. BOG. I know shocking, right? I won't actually miss the number, but I will miss the absurdity of flatware in their gold spandex, tap dancing salt and pepper shakers, a creamer and sugar bowl, the plates and the napkins. Seriously, who came up with this crap?


7. Having an excuse to leave work early. Not that I don't love my day job, I do. Especially because they're very understanding about my theatre schedule. But what I loved about doing the show is that if I was tired and didn't want to start tackling a new project, I could always leave under the guise of having to get to the other theatre. I didn't take advantage very often, because I actually don't mind the work that I do, but it was nice to have that option.

8. The paycheck. It's not THAT great, but it makes a huge difference.

9. Parties and Potlucks. This cast knew how to party. Whether it was potlucks for Secret Santa, a baby shower or just because, planned parties at Doug's or the impromptu Snowpocalypse shindig, I've never seen anything quite like it.

10. Getting excited about work. Truly, it was the highlight of the day to go to the theatre, and see all of my favorite people. I got paid to basically have a blast every night, and that's not always the case.

I can only hope that the next show can live up to this one. Doubtful, but one can dream.

Tale as Old As Time

As I've said before, my essential problem with actual writing is that when I have a lot of interesting things to write about, I'm way too busy to sit down and write about it. When I have time, I have nothing interesting to write about. Currently, I have my job at the 5th Avenue in Development, my job as a dresser at the Village, and on top of that, I'm knitting like a fiend to finish all of the commissioned fingerless gloves before the show closes. Oh yes, and I'm trying to have a social life, both with the cast and crew of Beauty and the Beast and with my friends outside of the theatre.



In other words, my apartment is a mess, I'm running out of clean "blacks" (work clothes for backstage, for those unfamiliar with the lingo), I have no groceries, I'm behind in my favorite television show watching, and I'm not writing anything.



Speaking of blacks (Sorry, tasteless transition), have you heard? We have a brand new President! It's very exciting given that he's the first black/biracial Leader of the Free World. Even more exciting, he's not a total moron! There are a lot of expectations on his shoulders, but that is as it should be. We should be expecting a lot out of our President. Sure, he's going to disappoint us, but it can't be any worse than the eight years we spent under the reign of President Goofus. He's got a big job, since we're still fighting/occupying/whatever in Iraq and the economy is kind of sucking a lot. Lots of fixing to be done, but I think if anyone can do it, President Barak Obama can do it. This is the time for well-educated intellectual people to take charge.



The economic crisis thing is funny. Not ha-ha funny, odd funny, especially from the perspective of the arts. Lots of arts organizations are feeling the effects, and making cuts right and left, but from where I'm standing, I'm not feeling those cuts. Theatre is notorious for making cuts to save money all the time, and it's an almost daily struggle to make money in the arts. The artists, the crew, everybody at the bottom of the ladder, that's standard operating procedure. We're used to struggling to make ends meet. Perhaps as theatres announce their seasons next year, choosing to put up cheaper shows with smaller casts and technical challenges, our jobs will become scarcer, but again, we're used to lean seasons with very little work, regardless of what the economy is doing. Being in Development for a theatre does put an interesting spin on things for me, though. I am worried about my job a little, because I'm the lowest on the totem pole, but at the same time, at this point, my department's role in the theatre is more important that ever, trying to raise funds for the theatre. Which means lots of work for me to do, for now. All of this is merely musings, and I'm not saying I'm not worried, but I'll deal with all of this when I need to. Worse comes to worse, I can always move back into the parent's house.

Final thoughts: Beauty and the Beast is closing this week, which I'm pretty sad about. I need the break desperately, but I'm going to miss working with this pretty incredible group of people. I'll work with almost all of them again, but it's always sad to lose the bonds that we've forged over the last three months (which actually feels like YEARS, given how long this show has been running). Plus, I don't have a show until Showboat, which isn't until May. I don't even know for sure if I have that. Not really looking forward to that long of a break.

Love, peace and dancing flatware.

A Star is Born

So, yeah... Bad Dame. I can't help it. You see, I knit. The cast has discovered that I knit, and that I knit fingerless gloves. So, they want me to make fingerless gloves for them. I've made two pairs already, mostly done with a third, and have three more commissioned. That's right, they're paying for them. Anyway, between those, my day job and the show itself, I'm a little busy.
Excuses out of the way, I'll get back to what I wanted to talk about in the first place. (But first, met up with the Pick Up Artist last week, and despite getting a flat tire in the process had a VERY enjoyable evening).

Slings and Arrows. Right? If you love theatre, you have to see it. No choice. It is exactly what theatre artists go through to make a show happen. All of the egos and eccentricities, the money and the lack thereof, the failures and frustrations, and the incredible highs, and the drinking. That's what theatre is, folks.


Set at the fictional New Burbage Shakespeare Festival, Slings and Arrows follows Geoffrey Tennent, the new Artistic Director who is being haunted by the old one, Oliver Welles. There are three seasons, and each season is six episodes. Each season focuses on a different major work of Shakespeare, although you do see glimpses into one or two other productions as well. First season is Hamlet, second season is Macbeth, third is King Lear. That's all the synopsis you're getting because you need to see it.

So my point in bringing this up? Well, because in the 2nd season, the understudy has to go on for the lead at the last minute. Now up until this point, I had enjoyed the show, laughed at how accurate it was. But when that understudy went on, I marveled at how brilliantly they captured that feeling. It happens that way, with everyone watching from the wings to send support, and maybe to snicker, but mostly to watch something new and exciting. The way dressers are sewing an understudy into costume. The way the scene partners push and pull them in the right direction or telegraph hidden messages of encouragement so the audience can't see it. The way the whole show changes with a new energy and a new life. And that's why I do theatre. Theatre is NEVER about when everything is perfect. That's boring. We live for the challenge, we love to rush to save the day and we love when the shit hits the fan and somehow the show goes on.

My favorite moment in live theatre so far was when the woman playing Dolly in Hello, Dolly! at the Village Theatre lost her voice halfway through the first act. She literally couldn't make a sound. Ms. Kotula, her understudy, was already in the show playing a different character, so we stopped the show for fifteen minutes, threw her in costume as she was running lines hurriedly. We restarted, with brand new Dolly. That was the first time Ms. Kotula had ever done the role in front of an audience. Hardly any of us remembered what happened, because everyone was concentrating so hard on her, but I do remember when she came down the stairs of the Harmonia Gardens for the title song, it was magic. And you can't explain it to anyone who wasn't there just what it felt like, though you can try.

Slings and Arrows made that possible, at least, a little bit.

Making You Think Merrily

So, there goes one resolution already. Well, I got stuck. On Friday I went to the bar with the Boys and then went back to the Party Apartment. When I finally got home I went straight to bed. Then, last night was movie night with the Enchantress. I started crashing at her apartment next to the theatre when the snow started, and ever since then, I've crashed there on Saturday nights after the show since I've had to go in super early on Sunday mornings. Popcorn, wine, knitting and a movie, it really doesn't get a lot better than that. So anyway, that's why I've already failed my resolution.

I truly was going to write something meaningful. I have a post planned, since I've been watching Slings and Arrows (which, if you want to know what life in the theatre is like, watch it). It's a great show, and I feel the need to discuss it. That, and I have a post planned about my tattoo that I want.

I promise I'll be more interesting, although, incidently. The little fling that I had over the summer has contacted me after months of not hearing from him. Flirty texts so far, I'll let ya'll know how that goes...

(New Year's) Bells Are Ringing

So, here we are, 2009 and times, they are a'changin'. Lots has happened and life keeps trucking along, but things can only get better from here, right?

Well they should, so here are the resolutions for 2009. I'll probably break all of them, but it's good to have goals.
1. I have to write every day. Preferably in this blog, but I've got a journal as well. Writing is one of those things that I wish I were good at, but I'm not, so I should practice.

2. When I'm not working on a show, I have to go swing dancing every Thursday. I'm not kidding about this one. I love it, and I haven't been in MONTHS. Plus it'll help with resolutions 3 and 4....

3. Lose 10 pounds. This one is a constant and the one most like to be broken (well, other than the writing one). Still one can dream, and maybe I'll actually be good about this.

4. Make friends outside of the theatre. It's hard, since the social clocks are wildly different between theatre and real life, but I'm never going to meet the right guy in the theatre. It just isn't going to happen. Hence, making friends outside of the theatre and pursuing other interests.

5. Be more careful with money. I've been pretty good, but I've been lucky so far. It's going to be a while in between shows at this point, so I need to make sure that I can afford to live in my apartment when I'm not working two jobs.

6. Embrace my firey tendencies. I don't, I supress them often, letting them out at inoppurtune moments. If I embrace it, perhaps I will get different results, which is good.

That should do for now, I suppose. There's lots that have been going well this past year, moving out, getting a job, graduating, all of that fun grown-up stuff, but I'm not satisfied yet. I should be, but it's difficult. It can be dang lonely working my ass off like I have been.

Peace, love and ticket stubs, folks!

When, when, when, when...

Three months since the last time I wrote. Sorry, It's been a little crazy since I started Tommy. As in, sleep, school, theatre, drinking, sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Woohoo.
This will not be another redhead post, I have more to come, but for the moment, it's just an update.
I HATE revolving door dressers. It sucks breaking in someone new DURING the middle of a run. I love Tommy, I think the cast is great. Insane, but fun. But seriously, I will be so glad to not be doing this show anymore. It stopped being fun with this lastest dresser switcheroo, and the minor everyday dramas are wearing thin. Not that I don't want to make everyone's lives easier for them, in whatever way I can, but it is annoying to be exhausted all the time.
Thank goodness for three days off. And my call time on Thursday isn't that early. Maybe everyone will be refreshed. Maybe I'll be refreshed.

Maybe, baby.

Okay, promise fun post next time, and it won't be in three months.