A Past & Present Post

I started the following on Friday:

Wow.  I'm posting for the first time on the new blogger.  It looks weird.  Anyway, enough of that... ;)

I have three shows left of Forbidden Broadway.  The costume changes are a nightmare, but it's a very fun show to do.  I have fun every night, and the cast is very talented.  Theatre is such a cool family that grows every time you do a show.  New friends are always good!  It's fun doing shows with Way Off Broadway because you work really hard for a couple of weeks, then you perform for a couple of weeks, and then you're done.  I love the quick process of it all.

Emma & Suzanne are coming down this weekend.  This is the first time they've ever stayed with me.  They're coming to my show tonight, and then they're going to Wizard of Oz at the high school tomorrow night.  Luckily, it runs for two weekends, so I'll get to see it next Saturday, I hope.

I'm trying AGAIN to refinance my house.  I had the papers all signed today.  I need to get a few documents rounded up to take in to them on Monday, and then the waiting game begins.  I'm not optimistic after the debacle this summer, but it's worth trying.

Then, I got busy, and I never finished the post.

So, NOW, I can write about how the weekend actually went!

It was GREAT having Emma & Suzanne here.  Emma and I cleaned out all the stuff in my Barbie house, and she reorganized the whole thing as only an 8-year-old can.  I loved having them stay with me.

We had the best show on Saturday night.  It was electric.  It's such a funny show.  Every show was good, but the houses were disappointing.  I'm choosing to remember Saturday night the most because the crowd made it so fun.

 Finally in the Annie dress after 30 years of waiting!

 I Dreamed a Dream parody

 Mamma Mia parody

Rent parody

One very cool thing happened on the Sunday matinee, our closing show.  One of my mom's best friends drove down from Iowa City to see me.  It was awesome seeing her again after all these years, and in a way, it felt like a little piece of my mom was there at the show.  There's a part of my mom that lives in her friends.  That part is not easily accessible to me, so when I see them, I can feel her there.  I think it's that way with all of us.  I think there would be part of me that would live on in Tracy, Jeff, Suzanne, Andrew, and others who really know me.  It made me so happy, and hugging her, well... it was a little like hugging my mom.  Thank you, Kaye!

Weekly Update

Can you really call it a weekly update if it's been months since you've actually had a post called "Weekly Update?" Enquiring/Inquiring minds want to know.

March is the month of the big 3 for me: middle school play, History Day, and Images of Greatness. I have the first one checked off, as of last weekend. The middle school play went very well. I was so proud of the kids, and really, the only hitch was a early dismissal on Friday, the second night of our show. We had a bizarre snow shower, and to be safe, they let the kids out of school at 1:30. When that happens, all evening activities are canceled too. After some frantic running around like a chicken with my head cut off, we got things rescheduled for Saturday night. Never mind that by 3:00, it had stopped snowing, and by showtime, the streets were dry and there was barely a dusting on the ground. Oh well. :P

We did a play adaptation of the book Number the Stars (Have I written about this before? I feel like I'm losing my mind...) and the kids really took the drama aspect seriously. I was so proud of their growth & work. They had fun at their cast party on Saturday night (so did I). I'm so lucky to have parents who volunteer space, time, and money to that adventure.

Now, we're in the middle of prepping for History Day & Images of Greatness. They will be the the week before spring break, which is also the last week of the quarter. Busy, busy.

Andrew and I got our plane tickets for the Sutherlin family reunion which will be at my California cousins' ranch in California, right in the heart of gold mine country. We're spending a couple of days in San Francisco before, because I've never been there. I'm also on a mission to hug a redwood tree. I can't explain this need in me, but I must see and hug a redwood tree during this trip. I want to feel tiny and young... maybe that's it. LOL

I'm also working on several upcoming shows. Tonight I'm singing in a benefit for Way Off Broadway. Robby Benson & his wife Karla DeVito will be there to sign things and lead our auction. Margaret Clair & I are singing a selection from Forbidden Broadway. It's a spoof of "Mamma Mia," and it's pretty funny. Forbidden Broadway is the show I'm getting ready for in April. In June, I'll be playing Mrs. Shinn, the Mayor's wife, in WOB's Music Man, and then I can focus on playing Goneril in Andrew's production of King Lear. Whew! I'm going to be ready for a break when school starts. Ha ha.

Off to practice my choreography for tonight... here I go!