The Shubert Theater!

happy post turkey day weekend!

after our charlie brown thanksgiving this week, it was off to new haven, connecticutt to perform at the shubert theater for the weekend. not a bad gig :) for anyone not in the bizz, this is the theater that used to premiere the broadway shows before they opened in new york city. it's still a prestigious theater to perform in, but it was also pretty cool to sign my name to the wall with the likes of linda etter, and marlon brando.



the show is really cute, and it's so nice to perform for an adult audience (and children being reigned in by the 'rents). we are in albandy, ny now, and still have a few day time shows for the youngins, but at least this isn't meant to be exclusively children's theatre :)

on an unfortunate note...

i lost my camera cable that allows me to upload all my totally awesome pictures to my computer and post them on my totally awesome blog. boo. also, do to some fraud, i've cancelled my credit card and am getting a new one...so, until i get that new piece of plastic, i can't buy a new cable. and since i'm more of a visual artist than a writer, i'll have to find random pics to throw up here to glam up this entry.

regarding the drama...

apparently what happens in omaha, stays in omaha. nothing as been mentioned about the incidents of the past weeks since we've been on the road...or at least some. the girl with the boyfriend back home is still on the prowl...the boy with the girlfriend still has a herrum, even though the girlfriend was in new haven this weekend, and followed our bus in her own car to albany...it made for a very awkward turtle moment at a rest stop.

new friends!


my roommate molly and i have been bonding with the tech. the tech crew travels on a super cool bus with beds, and internet, and tvs, and lounges, since they never get to stay in the hotels with us. we are hoping to maintain our good standing with them so we can hang out on their bus-they have an xbox!!! they are ridiculous people, and hysterical when you get them together...throw in a social situation of any kind and you have yourself a good time. they even liked meeting the boyfriend! oh yeah, scott came up to see the show this weekend!! horray!! i showed him off to as many people as i could (but still missed a few) and everyone loved him. also, my aunt uncle, and cousin came to see the show last friday and really enjoyed it. it's always nice to have your people in the audience.

we drove from new haven, ct to albany,ny today. no show til tomrrow, so i have a little time to jot down a little something on my blog. the weather is cold and rainy...can't wait to make it down south where it'll be warm and rainy. ;)

happy thanksgiving!!

spent turkey day on a bus driving from indiana to bloomsburg, pa. spent the evening giving thanks with my cast in a charlie brown steakhouse. good food, ridiculous company, and lots of booze and picture taking. good times were had by all. we're now in new haven, ct preparing for a show tonight. more details and pictures later... happy belated thanksgiving!! hope everyone survived black friday :)

Looooong Overdue! (week 2, omaha, ne)

So, I’ve been in omaha, nebraska for 2 weeks today, and as you can imagine, a lot has happened. Please bare with me as I try to catch you up...

The show...

We rehearse 6 days a week for 9 hours a day, so the show is already in preview performances. and we are tired...all the time. And, it seems that we do in fact have a pretty talented bunch! We get lots of compliments from our directors (there are 5 of them) and have been given long lunch breaks, and extra down time here and there because we finish the day’s work early. Even today we were supposed to have another tech/dress rehearsal this afternoon after our morning preview performance at a high school, but they cancelled the rehearsal and gave us the afternoon off. We were so happy (and tired) that we had tears in our eyes. 4 more previews here in omaha, and then we hit the road next Wednesday. We are all very excited.



The cast... (please note, no names are used to protect the “innocent”)

Of course, the gossip mill is churning at full speed. There is drama, there are personality clashes, there is sexual tension and stupid decisions...we are actors, and this is a tour...this is the norm. so where to begin?! There seems to be a bit of a spark between a cast member and someone on the tech crew. This could be very good or very bad. No one wants anyone in tech to be angered…life’s too short to piss off someone who can make your life harder. But, if all goes well, a happy techie is a glorious thing to behold…we shall keep our fingers crossed! Next, we have last week, on Tuesday evening, most of us in the cast and crew decided to go out bowling because we had Wednesday off. And when I say bowling I mean bowling and drinking of course.


We had only known each other 4 days, and were still finding things out about one another. (Please note, I won both games of bowling I played) :) We had only known each other 4 days, and were still finding things out about one another. (Please note, I won both games of bowling I played) :) later we relocated to a local bar...there was pool (my partner and I won our game of pool as well), and more mingling, and $1.50 PBRs (can you guess yet where all the drama happened??) Well, I’m over playing darts when I hear that one of the girls- roughly my age- is at the bar taking shots of vodka and beer. This quickly escalates into -she’s blotto in the bathroom refusing to speak to anyone except the one person she’s been confiding in all night. So by the end of the night, she’s completely passed out on a table in the bar, has to be lifted into someone’s arms and carried to a car. The decision is made to have her crash at another couple’s home so they can keep an eye on her and make sure she’s ok. What a mess!! Nothing has been mentioned since...also weird. Well, while all of that was going on, another girl, much younger, is vying for the attention of a boy in the cast. She’s texting him asking him to take her home with him and whatnot. From what I understand, he has the sense to walk away from the situation, and get a ride home from someone. And just this week she tried to make her move again. Having a boyfriend back home doesn’t seem to slow her “dating” life down. Anyway, that’s a hot mess and I’m trying to steer clear as to not get splashed with drama. In avoiding THAT mess, I seemed to have missed avoiding another mess. PLEASE NOTE everything up til this part has been fact...now I delve into the i-think- he said/she said-portion of this blog. This may land me in trouble. So...once upon a time the other day, the opinion of one actor of another actor was overheard by a third actor, and that third actor seems to be harboring ill feelings for that first actor and 3 of us other actors that happen to be in the car at the time but had nothing to do with the first actor and his/her opinionated conversation. The third actor with the seemingly ill feelings, seems to now group us all together, in what I can gather from his/her demeanor, to be a negative light. This has done nothing to change the way I interact with all the members of my cast. No one has done anything to offend or hurt me. I have a temper, but as of yet, no grudges. I mention this speculation only because I’ve now made a note of individual(s) who aren’t willing to communicate. Life on the road is trying enough, and unless it is brought to my attention by the offended, I don’t believe myself to be an offender. On the flip side to all of this drama, there are some really wonderful people in this cast. I can say something nice about everyone really. But as in any large group, there are certain people I gravitate towards. My roommate on the road, molly, seems to have a very similar vibe to my own. We are pleased. jen, who is a roommate of mine and molly’s here in town is wonderful as well. Both girls are very sweet, and fun loving, extroverted, and have a good sense of humor. John who is my partner throughout most of the show is a riot, and always makes me laugh on and off stage, and brandon is about as loveable as you can get. I mention them specifically, because it seems that we have been blocked to huddle down stage left for the entire beginning and end of the show. We keep one another highly entertained throughout the seemingly endless “street scenes”. But, if too much stage time is what I’m complaining about, perhaps I just have my head up my ass.

Truthfully I don’t really have any serious complaints. These clashes happen when 6 people are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped…whoops, wait…NOT The Real World- these clashes happen when 25 actors are thrown together in close quarters. We laugh more than we scowl, and work more than we sleep. Somehow it all balances out in the end.








To end on a fun note, here is a list of quotable quotes from the cast so far. As you read them, ask yourself, are these quotes meant to be dirty?? Or is your mind just in the gutter??

-at least you know he'll hold on to the bitter end.

-i mean she's really nice sometimes...
everyone's really nice sometimes...
wow, katie, that's profound.

-did someone adlib, some kind of junkie?? (during director's notes)

-twinkies creep me the F*** out.

-i was 18 but it was crooked.

-there's only one finger of love (from the movie Kinsey)

-i just got petted by a stranger.

-my boyfriend is a ballerina...
oh, so you're not a lesbian?

-look ma! it's a squirr!

-facebook sets me free.

-oh my god! that one's got it's mouth open!

-you're growing stronger, medium sized tim.

-if i just change my underwear it's LIKE showering.

-is she smart?
well, she's canadian.

-in the street scene, some people are cofused- like ashtia

-NOT OK!!

-how much??
his entire collection of poison ivy!

A Christmas Carol National Tour...week 1 (Omaha, NE)

it's been about 5 days since i arrived by plane to omaha, nebraska. i'm here to play the small but delightful role of Lucy in Nebraska Theatre Caravan's national tour of the classic dickons story "A Christmas Carol". so from now 'til dec 24, i'll be up to my eyeballs in christmas almost all the time...but getting paid for it, so i won't hate on it.

so far, it's been a much nicer experience than my last tour. the basic jist is the same...one show they do year after year for the last 30 years, the same way, with no wiggle room for changing the lines or blocking. but these people (all the directors and stage managers and such) understand that this is kind of a overly gleeful show and approach the directing from a real place. doest that make any sense?? anyway, it's better, and i haven't had the urge to harm myself or others...yet. :)



the show...

a very traditional version of dickons' story, but with traditional old-timey christmas songs thrown in there. the show is very classic looking, and the songs are beautifully arranged in 4 and 5 part harmony. (there's even a scene with sparklers) plus, it's an all ages show so the performances with be at night and no one has to be dancing a polka at a 7am dance call.



the cast...

a much bigger production as a whole than my last tour. 25ish actors (including 3 very talented small children), 10-15 tech. actors only act, tech only techs...it's kinda sexy. we're driven around in a coach style bus, the tech and musicans are in a sleeper 2 hours ahead of us, and the set travels in it's own semi truck. no actors have to schlep sets in load-in and out unless they want to and it's an emergency. the people are all really nice. no obvious divas, or super high maintainance drama queens. everyone is very well suited for their parts, and really talented. the tenors are true tenors, the basses have a nice full sound, the altos hold a confident harmony, and the sopranos don't sound flat...kinda awesome. i know my super cheery attitude will probably change a bit over the next few months, but i think even if it gets a little negative it'll be ending by that time. 2 months is sooooo much better than 6 months. (duh).

i haven't whipped out the camera yet to take tons of pictures, cuz i don't wanna scare people off. i've warned them i'm a picture-taker, and that time will come soon enough.

omaha...

yes, nebraska. enough fresh air to make you sick. :) the people are nice, and my host family (an elderly couple kind enough to house me and 2 other girls while we're in town) is delightful. ray and laura beth barr. these 2 have lived quite a life. they both have huge families, and have themselves have only been married 11 years. both were married for like 40 years before, and out lived their spouses. there are something like 5 tvs and a huge house we have the run of if we like, but no internet. so currently i'm camped out at a panara with my housemates (molly and jen- both are awesome) using the free wi-fi.

i guess that's all i have for now. the juicy stuff doesn't come til later...gotta get this freak show on the move before the "E! True Hollywood Story" version comes out...*sigh* there's a long way til christmas...