almost press night

It's almost time for my first professional PRESS night! I wonder if any reviews will talk about the INCREDIBLE Mrs. Hopkins! (More than likely - they will write about the INSANE Lord and Lady Boxington who distract everyone in the Ascot scene. Both me and Lord Boxington seem to act high as soon as we put those very large hats on - and can't stop laughing about EVERYTHING - when we are supposed to be stone faced and snobby! Here's hoping we can hold it together during the next show!)

Cast is getting a LITTLE less negative. I've been battling them with Disney Princess attitude all over the place. Finally today - I said something as everyone was complaining about having to do TWO shows. I said something like - I'm thrilled! I GET to do two shows! I love performing and I'm so lucky to get to work on such a beautiful sow!" After I said that - attitudes all around seemed to change which was nice. They were like - oh yeah --- that is cool. Amazing how soon we forget how lucky we are!

Pickering and I went out to dinner tonight (everyone brought their food). Turns our he was the THIRD person VLOG was considering to direct IOLANTHE - which I found hysterical. He's a very sweet 65 year old man who has the same love of all theatre that you wold find in an eager high schooler. He's done many Broadway shows and his "survival" job was playing piano at a nightclub for SALVADOR DALI! WHAT? That's AMAZING!

I've also made friends with the tech crew and the musicians - who are all super sweet - and really the people you want to be friends with! If you stay on their good side they totally have your back! All of the girls were complaining about a backstage light being out but they didn't want to talk to the manager because he was evil. So I said I'd ask - I did - and lo and behold - the light was reinstalled. I hope I STAY on their good side!!! At least the lighting, sound, and props people are impressed that I've spent time on "their end" - I'm not just a crazy actor.

Our audiences seem to LOVE the show. I enter for bows from the audience. As I was waiting outside in the lobby, an old Italian woman who had left to use the bathroom - grabbed my hands and started crying and said THANK YOU ITS BEAUTIFUL. I found this a really sweet touching moment. A couple of ladies asked me if I could change the cockney accent because it was hard to understand - I giggled and explained - that was the point - the cockney and horrible and hard to understand - which is why the English should learn to speak properly! We've had genuine standing ovation every night - and using my incredible stalking skills - I found a few blog entries that gave us raves - even calling us Broadway's post out in Westchester. Truly - the leads are incredible - perfect for the roles - and the dancers are ridiculously athletic and amazing. Intimidating to me - but wonderful for the audience! Costumes are gorgeous - set gorgeous. Just beautiful.

I'm very glad I have Loralee and her boyfriend to come home to. They are such positive people. Cara and Kat also surprised me one morning and brought me telescope binoculars. Miss Danielle guested me into her dance class. I had a wonderful voice lesson with Mary. I'm very happy I have good friends at home, and I'm in a theater where I CAN go home at the end of the day. I think without that - I would go crazy. After the wonderful people I met in CARMEN, it's strange to be around this group of (dancer girls). Maybe it will get better. I asked Mary and some other friends the best way to deal with everything - and they said to be loud by example and behaviour - be incredibly nice to the techies, etc... and I think it's working - it certainly makes me feel happy because I can tell it makes THEM happy! I also leave the conversation/room the MOMENT any "gossip" or angry venting starts. I don't want to get dragged into any of that. I want to see the good in everyone - partly because that's the nice thing to do - and partly because - it's a small small world - theatre - you don't know who you'll work with again and who will be helpful in the future. I hope I can earn people's respect as a fellow performer! (Or even better - that I already have it and can maintain it or build upon it!) As I've said before, I'm there for the WORK - and every day I go in and put in a good day's work and I'm very proud of that! Onwards and upwards from here!:)

crazy girls

So this SHOULD be the blog entry where I write about how WONDERFUL everything is...but sadly - my overwhelming emotion is the "young" people in my cast are a bunch of spoiled brats with a sense of entitlement that would impress Blair Waldorf.

But before I go off about that - I should say something I feel VERY proud about is that every day I have gone in and put in an extremely good days work. To the best of my knowledge - this has been recognized by the creative team and older cast members. Both of the directors (or rather the director and choreographer) have complimented my acting numerous times. The director even praised me in front of the entire cast, which made me feel very proud, and pulled me aside and told me "I knew you could play this role (Mrs. Pearce) and you are proving me right." This made me feel exceedingly happy as the role of Mrs. Pearce (which I understand) is SO AGAINST MY TYPE it's not even funny. I play young glittery fairies. Mrs. Pearce is an old stern head of the house staff maid. The lady who actually plays Mrs. Pearce was out for all but the last two days of rehearsals, so I played the role throughout all of rehearsals. I recently learned how ridiculously lucky this was, because the best of my understanding, I will be the only understudy the creative team sees and works with. I am told they "leave" after we open, and understudy rehearsals start the next week. The music director and his assistant keep talking about my "opera training" which cracks me up - since I actually have none, and the music director mentioned that he thought I would sound beautiful singing Eliza's songs (he's right - lol) and that he wanted to talk to his friend who works with the NYGilbert and Sullivan society (an EQUITY G&S group about me.)

The older cast members are where I have found my kindred spirits. The lady I understudy is a HUGE John Adams (composer) fan - and saw Nixon in China a few times. As did the lady playing Mrs. Higgins, who happens to be a member of Mensa, and she brings me videos to watch and publications to read. The man who plays Doolittle is very similiar in that he brings me podcasts and c.d.s to listen to and tells me stories of his "life in theatre" which makes me feel as though I am back at the RSC. Pickering, Higgins, and Eliza are also incredibly kind wonderful people, as are the "crew" (i.e. stage management, lights, props, sound.)

However, the girls with whom I share a dressing room - make me want to scream. I come to this production having worked at VLOG and Amore where I had to freaking help build the set and sew my own costumes, I have WORKED as a dresser, stage manager, lighting designer, props person, producer, assistant director (aka - director bitch), dramaturg, front of house, etc... I have worked with some of the best companies and directors in the world, and I have worked with some of the worst, I have tried to self produce/fill every role in a theatre, and I have been the lead in an opera. So I come to this production - thrilled to be performing in a professional theatre, excited to create "magic" for the audience - for the show is TRULY one of the most elegant productions I have ever seen. (Kat and Cara were SHOCKED when I said I loved the directors, had NOTHING to criticize, AND that is is a traditional production sung in English where people aren't dressed in tin foil or something else weird and artsy.) And these girls - you would think they were having cavities filled. EVERY second all they can talk about is how HORRIBLE everything is. But not just that - they throw diva fits. For example, our very first run through with costumes and back stage crew, a costume was not put where it needed to be. So this girl THREW HER SHOES at the the dresser who was trying to help! SHE THREW HER SHOES and started shouting about how this is NOT acceptable! WHO THROWS THEIR SHOES AT PEOPLE!?!?!?!?!?! IT was the FIRST time we ever even worked with costumes, how was the dresser even supposed to know where the costume was supposed to be!? Do NOT throw your shoes at ANYONE nikita kruschev on CRACK! Also, our transporation van broke down (well - it didn't break down really - that's another reallllly long story) - but point is - we dont have a van, so the theatre has been paying for our round trip train rides. At $18 a head, I think that's pretty generous. PLUS - they pay for the taxis from the train to the theatre. However, THIS apparenlty isn't good enough because one of the girls lives in BROOKLYN and the train only goes to Grand Central station (MIND YOU - THE VAN ONLY GOES TO 50th STREET - which has less trains than Grand Central) and she threw a diva fit about how she needed a special car/transportation to get her home because it took her an HOUR. WTF!? From Grand Central it takes MEEEEEEE an hour too! SHUT UP and DEAL WITH IT! We aren't in minnesota - BE HAPPY! We had to stay late for a photo shoot. Mind you, I'm vain and LOVE having my photo taken (see facebook) - but these girls threw a FREAKING FIT over having to stay and hour for photos during our FOUR AND A HALF HOUR DINNER BREAK! And during the group shot - they shouted mean things at the photographer such as "did you see the show - if you did you would know this isn't a pose in the show" or "You should watch the show." I mean - GUYS - we WANT PUBLICITY photos to be taken! We want the show to sell! PEACE OUT! Then these girls - who are NON-equity - starting bitching the the stage manager about how it was AGAINST the equity rules - so IIIIIII - as the "Equity Deputy" had to site the rule book that said no equity rules were being broken. And just EVERYTHING to them is horrible - the costumes, the wigs, the hours we have to be there, the fact the "have" to perform, or they "have" to dance, or how they are already sick of the show and we have FOUR HORRIBLE MONTHS OF THIS SHIT TO GO. (UMMMM - would you RATHER be working at anthropologie as a retail assistant - because THATS what you were doing the day before rehearsals started - stop bitching and be HAPPY you get to PERFORM and BE PAID! Or else - GO BE ON WALLSTREET and at least make decent money for your misery!) It drives me INSANE! Fortunately - I can escape with Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Pearce, or Doolittle. A few of the tech crew said they appreciated me being nice to them, and I said - I've put in my time as a techie - and they said OOOOOH! Now it makes sense! When I said something about the costumes not being so bad (in fact - they are rather beautiful) one of the girls yelle at me about how I was WRONG - and I wouldnt be saying that if I had as many quick changes as her! (For the record - as a "singer/non-dancer" I am exempt from all the scene changes for some reason, tehrefore have less quick changes - but also manage all the "quick changes" with myself and the other singer/non-dancer - who is LOVELY. It's really just the dancers. GAH!

But overall - the show is BEAUTIFUL - its a gorgeous production -and the leads are PHENOMENAL! We've had standing ovations every night, and huge audience reactions - laughing, sighing, gasping, swooning, they seem really into it. The stage is a thrust stage, which is what the RSC uses, and it is therefore my favorite - and the production is just wonderful - in all my snobbery - I wouldn't change a thing!

I just hope dressing room life gets better...

too busy to blog...for tonight!

I think it is cool I was hired for MFL as a "singer/actor" not a dancer. I just hope I live up to expectations!

30

I know I'm supposed to be all scared about being 30 - but truthfully I'm not at all. I am happy. Happier than I've been in a very long time. The month before I turned 30 - gave me a lot of intangible gifts I've been seeking for a very long time. Peace with the RSC - a new apt. - some really fabulous friends - a performing JOB - and more! As a result - I'm incredibly excited about what the next year will bring. The professional goal is consistent performing work, to start getting a "fanbase" for pilates/beginning dance classes I teach, to get my blog up and running again, and create the one act opera JP, Eva, and I have been plotting. The personal goal is to find love (if that can even be goal I suppose more of a hope), to continue to strengthen the amazing friendships I have already made and meet even more people who enrich my life and challenge me, to continue to experience NYC as a "tourist" - taking advantage of all the city has to offer instead of sitting in my room watching re-runs of Gossip Girl, and to continue to learn through podcasts, meetup groups, and iTunesU courses. I would also love to find a way to become involved with UNESCO - and help keep the arts and sciences in congress' mind when they reallocate the numbers on the national budget. They aren't necessary for survival - but they make survival necessary. And on the homefront - Loralee and I are hoping to have our apt. a complete home by the end of the month! Here's hoping!

It's always hard to leave Florida - but at least this time - I have a lot of wonderful and exciting things to look forward to! Including - my MASQUERADE BALL! Hoorah! Here's to making 30 the most awesome year yet in all the best possible ways!:)