Re-entry

You know when you go on a trip and it’s fantastic and wonderful and you don’t want to come back but you have to so you board the plane and the blues set in? 

That’s what it’s like leaving the theater after a weekend of shows. 

I’m an addict, and I love my drug.  And knowing  I have to wait 5 days between hits is some kind of difficult, let me tell you.

Ugh.

Up and Running

Thanks so much for all your well-wishes on Friday.  I somehow managed not to have a total nervous breakdown, and we had a great show to boot!  It only takes about two steps onto the stage for my nerves to totally disappear, but waiting for that moment can be quite intense. 

Saturday night was the comedy of errors:  We had one broken toe, one jammed toe, one backstage fall, one missed lift, and one onstage heart palpitation.  (None of those was mine, thankfully!!)  The only thing that happened to me was that my microphone stopped working.  So I’m onstage in the middle of a pretty emotional scene in the 2nd act and my opposite enters and grabs my hand.  Now normally we aren’t anywhere close to each other for this scene because we’re fighting.  I’m looking at him like “um, you didn’t tell me we were changing this up” and he just keeps holding my hand.  And I would try to pull away, and he wouldn’t let go.  So I just went with it.  It certainly added intensity to the scene:  imagine fighting face-to-face versus being across the room.  Finally he let go and I exited for a split-second before re-entering to sing my big ballad and I hear a stagehand say “your mic’s not on…PROJECT!!!”  I walked back out and sang the song, but instead of crooning like I usually do, I had to belt the darn thing so the audience could hear it.  My girlfriend said she loved it “unplugged” so I guess it worked, but it certainly wasn’t my first choice for that song.  Once I finished the number there were two more stagehands waiting to fix the mic, which is also a little awkward because you basically just take your shirt off and stand there while they work behind your back trying to fix the thing.  Ah well, I lost my modesty long, long ago…

Happily we were off on Sunday so I finally got some rest.  I’ve slept 10 hours each of the past two nights…obviously I’ve got some catching up to do.  I’m looking forward to a nice, easy week.  (Hubs is out of town, so it’s cereal for dinner at Funny Girl’s house!)  Then back to work on Friday for three weekend performances. 

Have a fabulous week, everyone!!

MUAH!!

Opening Night

Tonight.  The show’s tonight.   The show’s tonight!  I’ve got to do this.  I don’t want to do it.  This was a bad idea.  I’m scared.  I’m nervous.  I want to cry and throw up.  I’m not going to remember my lines – yes you will – no I won’t…I’m going to screw up the big number because I’m not really sexy and whoever thought this was a good idea is sadly mistaken…trust what they’re telling you…they said it’s fine, they said it’s good!  Trust them.  What if I don’t make my quick change?  That little girl who’s helping me doesn’t know what she’s doing.  I’m going to get caught in the middle of the change and not make it onstage.  I have to remember to speak up in that kitchen scene…who ever thought I’d get a note about increasing my volume?  I can do this.  No I can’t.  My voice is going to go out.  I’m going to reach for one of those notes and even though it’s been there every single night it will be gone tonight.  Fear…so much fear.  Where is my confidence?  Come back!  Don’t forget to tuck your skirt with your right hand before the knife throwing or you’ll ruin the gag.  HE was the one SHE swam the channel for…get it right!  Sid, we need to talk.  You’re wonderful and I love you, but we’re in for a lot of trouble.  There’s something gonna come between us.  Listen to me. What is so hard about those damn lines?  Breathe.  I want it to be perfect.  Is that so much to ask?  My heart is pounding.  Breathe.  I can do this.  I’m ready.  I’ve rehearsed until I can’t anymore.  Breathe.  It’s time.  I can do this.  Breathe.  I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

More Answers to Your Burning Questions…

Good Morning, Blogland!! 

I’m up and at ‘em and ready to plow through this busy day and get back to work tonight.  We had a really good rehearsal last night, and, wait for it…I did not end up naked onstage!!!  Victory kick!!  They are still tweaking my costumes, and I’ll get a new dress tonight for one of the numbers in the first act, but all in all it was pretty smooth.  Too smooth, maybe.  At some point all hell’s gonna break loose…I’ve just got to be ready for it.

We took some pics last night, so I’m finally able to give you a little preview of my wig.  As I look at the pic I notice that the bangs aren’t exactly right – I’ll have more bangs.  The dress I’m wearing is my smock – all the girls have one to wear when we are working in the sewing shop.  The giant red pin is my union pin…it has my initials “BW” on it…cute, right?  Also I’ll be wearing red shoes.  (Disclaimer:  I’m not wearing stage makeup, and the other two girls don’t have their hair done for the show.  If that matters to you.)

 

Here’s a cast pic.  It’s a little blurry, but you get the gist of the color scheme for the opening of the show.

 

Now for a couple of Q&A’s:

Spring says:  I do have another question: if you could play any role, what would it be and why?

There are many, many roles that I’m dying to play, but if I could only be in one more show?  I think it would have to be Fantine in Les Miserables.  She dies early in the first act, and doesn’t come back until the last few minutes of the show, but that whole show is so phenomenal, and just the chance to really belt a ballad that I love…I think that’s my dream role.  Others that would be fun include Maria in Sound of Music, Marian in The Music Man, Nancy in Oliver, and Marmee in Little Women.  And then there’s Kathy in The Last Five Years.  This is a two-person off-Broadway show that illustrates the life of a couple over five years from when they meet through their marriage and ultimately their divorce.  It is extremely heavy, but it would be an incredible experience, and I would love to do it.  It is vocally challenging, and the acting required would be seriously intense.  That’s one I think about all the time…

 Erin asks:  What’s your favorite role that you’ve played?

Until now my favorite role has always been Anna in The King and I.  I loved playing her…wearing her dresses, speaking in a British accent, finding ways to fall in love with someone without ever having anything more physical than a single dance…

I have to say Miss Babe Williams is giving Anna a run for her money.  The book for this musical is well-written, and it supports a ton of character development through the play.  The script itself gives plenty of clues as to who she is, and I’m finding more and more ways to express that with each rehearsal.  It’s those nuances that I love…that and the feeling of being lost in another world for a few minutes at a time.  That’s how I know I’m really acting (or NOT acting) – I finish a scene and I don’t really remember it.  That’s the goal, every time.  It’s hard to describe that feeling, but you finally quit thinking about every little thing and just DO it. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Hell Week

Usually the final week of rehearsals leading up to opening a show is called Hell Week.  The rehearsals are long, the stress is high…and it can be quite hellish.  But not this time.  Y’all, I am having such a blast!!!!  I spend all day just fidgeting and killing time until I can get to the theater.  I am working with an amazing cast, and it is more fun than I’ve had in a LONG time.

We finally saw the costumes last night…tonight is our first dress rehearsal.  My costumes are really neat: vintage through and through.  I am anticipating that being in those clothes will add a new element to my character, and I’m looking forward to it.  On the other hand, tonight comes with  a whole lot of stress, as there will be quick changes that don’t get made in time and I’ll be onstage half-dressed while we figure it out.  Lots of fun.

I’ll also be wigged tonight.  That’s going to be interesting, because right now my wig seems a little “stiff” and I’ve got to play this role confident and sexy, so I’m really going to have to get past what I see in the mirror.   And hopefully my opposite won’t laugh his head off when he sees it!!

As far as my character goes, I feel like I’m at about 80% of where I need to be by Friday.  I need to keep digging deeper, especially in the “simple” scenes where not much happens.  I need to focus and find the nuances that I haven’t found yet.  That intimidates me, because I’m so afraid of either not finding something or finding too much.  There’s a fine middle ground when you know you’ve got it, but it’s just tricky to find it sometimes. 

I’ll try to post some costume pics later this week.  Wish me luck!!

Answers to Your Burning Questions

Well, it seems I’m going to be a once-a-week blogger for at least a little while longer.  We have spring break this week, so my computer time will be severely limited.  (Of course, Sweet Pea didn’t wake me up this morning and I slept past NOON, so I’m not complaining!)

I’m awfully glad y’all sent me some questions, as now my “block” is so bad I hardly even talk during the day.  But I’m working, no doubt about that. 

(Editor’s note:  my anal-retentive side is going bananas over the fact that I couldn’t exactly match the green fontof my answers to my blog’s color.  So please imagine it in the more puke-green rather than this “springy” green I’ve been given.  Speaking of spring…)

Spring asks:

1. What’s the rehearsal schedule like?  We rehearse Sunday through Thursday from 7-10, although not everyone has been called for every rehearsal.  I’ve been there about 3-4 nights a week.  This week that will change to Sun-Fri from 7-11.  Next week it’s every night until we finish…probably midnight or later.  

2. How long does it take you to learn your lines?  Well, mine still aren’t memorized, so apparently a while!    I did children’s theatre in Houston where we did a different show every week, so I had to learn a new script every week.  I got VERY good at ad-libbing, but unfortunately that’s a very bad habit.  I need to be able to say each line exactly as it’s written.  I work on them at home, and then we try to run lines before rehearsal just to refresh them.  I’m almost there…

3. Do you hang out with the other people in the production or just see them at rehearsals?  Since I’m away from home so much during rehearsals, I try not to go out every night after we’re done.  It’s hard, because I adore these people and want to get to know them away from the theater.  But I need to be home, too.  So I try to limit it for that reason.  If I was single I would definitely be hanging out with them. They are fabulous!!  Not a bad seed in the whole bunch.

 

 4. How long will the show run?  This show will run for 6 weekends (15 performances).  It is the longest run I’ve ever done.  It will be interesting to see how the show changes over that period of time.  And how my voice holds out!

 

 5. If you couldn’t be in the production, what behind-the-scenes gig would you want?  Dresser.  I have always loved my dressers…they are critical to my job.  There are a couple of changes in this show that will be in the 20-30 second range, and that can’t be done alone.  I completely depend on them to get that accomplished, and to be my mirror, since I can’t see how I look.

 

6.  How do you find out about upcoming shows and do you have to audition (or does everybody already know you)?  It’s a lot of networking and word-of -mouth, although there is a website here that lists all the auditions going on at any given time.  I have always auditioned…I would feel too “diva” if I didn’t audition for a role.  This process requires a TON of patience.  Here’s a little story:  Before we moved to San Antonio, I drove over from Houston for the season auditions at the theater I am working with now.  I had a great audition, and I thought I had developed a decent repoire with the director.  (At least enough to get a callback).  Well, time passed and I never heard anything.  In the meantime I got involved in another project and met the girl who is our choreographer.  I heard that the callbacks had happened already.  I was VERY disappointed.  But I just waited it out.  Turns out the director had lost a bunch of resumes, and mine was one of the ones that got lost.  So I lost a whole year of performing.  But I went back last summer for this year’s season audition.  He apologized for the mishap, and treated me very kindly at the audition.  Long story short, now I’m playing the lead in The Pajama Game.  So although I was really bummed about missing last season’s shows, it was worth it to wait the year.  

Darla asks:

What made you give up sugar? Tell me more…like you’re talking NONE? None at all?  I have found that giving up sugar is the fastest way for me to lose weight.  It’s very simple; I read the label and if it has 0 grams of sugar, I eat it.  There are plenty of sugar-free products out there that satisfy my cravings.  It’s TERRIBLE the first week, but after that I start to see the results and I get plenty of positive reinforcement from the scale.  I also find that everything else tastes a whole lot better without all the sugar clouding my taste buds.  I’m not a nazi; I had a glass of champagne the other day, and I had a piece of cake for my girlfriend’s birthday.  But in general:  no sugar.

Vaniqua asks:

What’s the first sugar you’re going to eat?  Well, I’m craving pancakes right now.  And also we have these m&m’s lying around from a party this weekend, so that’s tempting.  And a bag of sour balls was definitely calling my name from the candy aisle, but I said NO!  (It might have been audible, I’m not sure.)  And I’d like to eat a whole basket of chips while sipping on a sangria margarita waiting on my cheese enchiladas…that’s probably what I want the most.  Thanks a lot, Van.  Now you’ve made it hard on me!

Allison asks:

When do we get to see a pic of you in the red wig?   I have no idea when dress rehearsals officially start…maybe next Monday??  I talked to the costumer yesterday and I’m really excited about my costumes.  They’ve found a ton of vintage stuff for me, including a bullet bra!  I’m gonna be all pointy boobs – love it!!  And I get to wear red shoes for the whole show.  That’s every girl’s dream!  I’ll definitely post pics as I have them.

Thanks for the questions…keep ‘em coming… it gives me a blog topic. 

Blocked

I’m still totally living in my head, so I apologize for the sparse blogging I’ve been doing.  Every time I think I’ve got a topic, a little voice in my head says “no, you can’t write about that” and shuts it down.  Let’s hope all the angst in my head makes it’s appearance in some sort of fabulous way on stage, ’cause it’s driving me crazy!!

Here are some little tidbits that I can share:

I’ve lost 10 pounds.  This is a good thing…no more muffin tops!!  I haven’t had sugar since the weekend before Valentine’s.  And I’ll disclose a dirty secret:  I go to Abercrombie to try on jeans just to see what size I can squeeze into.  I don’t buy them, but  I get a serious high every time I go down a size.  Sick, right?

I got my eyebrows SERIOUSLY thinned out.  I have really thick eyebrows, which doesn’t lend itself to a fifties look very easily.  So I let her take a good three rows yesterday.  It’s weird, but I like it. 

I’m going to be a redhead for the show.  I tried on the wig yesterday and it’s cute.  Very fifties.  I also heard that all of my costumes are shades of red, white, or blue, since I’m the “all-American girl.”  I also understand that the structure of my costumes will be harder in the beginning and soften throughout the show, as a further representation of the softening I do as a character.  LOVE THAT!!

We are starting to run the show, which is always an extremely painful process the first few times.  It’s slow and tedious, and I find it hard to stay focused with all the stopping and starting.  I’d sort of like to just escape into my head (and my character) for the entire three hours, but there’s so much down time that I’d be seen as a complete snob if I wasn’t socializing at least a little bit.  As we get more fluid I’ll stay in character for longer periods of time.  (I generally don’t stay in character when I’m not onstage, but I do at least stay in that frame of mind.)

I’d love to answer behind-the-scenes questions if you have some, so hit me!!

Here are a couple of pics from rehearsal.  Enjoy!