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!

It Totally Pays to Creep

I was creeping on a friend's website, and I found a link to our "Easy Street" from Way Off Broadway's production of Annie this summer. Score!!! Watching it, I was instantly sucked back there... I could practically smell it! Enjoy!

The Baker's Wife

Into the Woods closed on Saturday, and it's left a big hole in my heart. The Baker's Wife is my very favorite part that I've ever played, and I know I should just be grateful for the experience, but it's hard to not be sad. I've been lucky enough to play her twice, and she's really a part of me. There is so much of me wrapped up in her... the dreams, the loss, the wit, the indecision, the longing.

We had a great run. I wish it had lasted two more weeks... at least! I was lucky to have lots of friends see the show. Tracy came over from Council Bluffs, Brenton came over from Shenandoah, Mike & Betty came over from Dexter, and Jeff came down from the Twin Cities. I wish more of my people could have seen it because I truly believe it was some of my very best work. Parts like that do not come along every day. I met great people, talented people. I performed for all the Fairfield Community Schools' elementary students in grades K-3. I worked my tail off, and I got to submerge myself nightly in the beauty of that show. What a gift.

My last scene on stage begins after I've died. My husband is on stage wondering how he'll ever raise our baby on his own. I come on stage and deliver one of the most important messages of the show to him. The song goes, "Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood. Do not let it grieve you; no one leaves for good. You are not alone. No one is alone." I'm tearing up just writing the words. Every night before I'd go on stage, I'd ask my mom to walk out with me. I'd imagine her arms around me, and I always felt her close.

On Sunday, one of my mom's classmates left a message in my Facebook inbox. She said she had a question for me and asked when she could call me. I got the call two days ago. She asked me what the lyrics were of that last song, so I told her. She said that when she was in the audience, during that part she got this strong vision of my mom and me together, and it gave her goosebumps. She asked if I'd ever thought of that. I told her, "every single night."

No one is alone.

See you around, B-Dub, and... thanks.

Shannon, our Rapunzel. She played my Baker's Wife when the middle school did the junior version 4 years ago. She gets what the part means to me.

Andrew, my Baker. He's an intense, talented, and amazing performer. I got something new out of each night on stage together.

Our stories. Please note my apostrophe. It was absent until I had an English teacher hissy fit before we opened. There would NOT be a grammatical mistake on the Baker's Wife's book. No, there would not. :)

Randomness

* We had a great opening weekend of Into the Woods. I was lucky enough to have Tracy here on Friday to see the show and to spend the night. It was a short visit, but we crammed a lot in... long hours of talking, Revelation's, and Crepe Escape! Brenton, my class helper from Wabash Arts Camp, also drove over from Shenandoah for opening night. I was so glad to see him! Mike and Betty drove over from Dexter for Saturday's show. It was so great to see them, and they'd never been to the Sondheim Center before. They were impressed!

* Geof Northridge hosted a great cast party on Sunday night after our matinee. It was fun, but I was tired. Plus, it was 84 freaking degrees on Sunday. What is up with that? It made it extra warm in the theatre. I love my costume, but it was sticking to me like glue! Thank goodness we only have one matinee in this run. Matinees are not my thing.

* I had a meeting this afternoon in Ottumwa. I always enjoy the TAG networking meetings. It's great to collaborate with other TAG teachers in the area, and I always enjoy driving over with our elementary TAG teacher, Ann Hektoen. Sometimes it seems like those are the only times we see each other face to face instead of communicating through e-mail.

* Right now I'm sitting in auditions for FACT's summer show, Willy Wonka. Andrew & I can't audition because our trip to the U.K. will conflict with the show. We're both FACT board members, so we're here to help. We thought it would be a quick and easy job, but it turns out that between 75 & 100 people have shown up just on the first night! This is a great problem to have, but we weren't expecting to be here all night. Luckily, I have internet access and have been working on some homework and updating this poor, neglected blog!

* Have you been watching the eagles in Decorah? I'm sort of obsessed. 2 of the 3 eggs have hatched. I love popping in on them during the day. Today I saw the 2 babies being fed. Cute! And a little gross! But cute! :) Watch here if you have yet to check them out!

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They Did It!!!

The kids pulled it off. Bye Bye Birdie went so well. I always stand at the back of the house during performances, really letting the kids run the show. I had been worried all week that the show wouldn't be far enough along for me to feel comfortable doing that. But... never underestimate the power of middle school kids. They made it happen. I was so proud of them and their performances. I had a lot of young, inexperienced kids in this show, and I hope this was the first of many shows they do in their school careers.

A set of ambitious, generous parents hosted the cast party after the show on Friday night, and then I went home and crashed. I rehearsed for much of the day on Saturday and then performed in the Way Off Broadway cabaret show at the Country Club. I had church this morning, and then I FINALLY could rest. I had a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon that was simply delicious. Now I'm at school, trying to catch up on everything... key word: TRYING! I'll get there. It's just so nice to know that my busiest week of the year is behind me... WHEW!

P.S. This stressful weekend is making me have the weirdest dreams. Today I dreamed that I had a voice lesson with Stan Brown (that would be AWESOME, but it never happened), and that my check had bounced. I was humiliated. I also dreamed that I drank almost an entire 20 oz. Pepsi before I realized what I'd done (I haven't drunk caffeine since the end of November, and let me tell you, there's nothing more I wanted this week than a big icy cold Diet Mountain Dew. I drowned my sorrows with Cadbury Mini Eggs instead. God, I love those things.), and that Pepsi was sooooo good. I could seriously feel it bubbling down my throat. I need more sleep. It seems I always dream weird things when I'm exhausted.

Fun & Busy Weekend

Andrew & I started the weekend off at a beautiful wedding on Friday night. Thank you, Margo, for inviting us. We felt so honored to be there.

Saturday, I finally had some quiet time. Andrew was working, so I was at home resting, listening to the Hawkeye game, doing laundry, cursing the Hawkeye game, loading up my new gigantor recycling bin, pleading with the Hawkeye game, and actually cleaning some house because I was so sick of the Hawkeye game. I'm over it now. We'll get 'em next week. But, you know it's bad if I'd rather clean house than listen intently to the game.

After a nice dinner at Top of the Rock, Andrew & I went to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Sondheim Center. It was another wonderful Way Off Broadway production. The show is hilarious, and it made me look forward to being a guest speller next Friday night. I don't plan on getting a single word right, but it will be fun to be on stage with good friends and new friends alike in this great show. After the show, my adopted little bro Stephen invited us out to Torino's with the cast & crew. It was a lovely evening.

Today, bell choir played at church. Andrew & I left right after that for Ottumwa. We went to see the movie Red. Now, this is my idea of a movie. It had everything... great stars, dynamic action, and tons of laughs. I was completely entertained. Why can't every action movie be like this? I think this was a movie for everyone. Well worth the money. Or, I should say, well worth Andrew's money. :) I'd also just like to say, for the record, that Helen Mirren is a goddess among mere mortals.

After the movie, we ran a few errands at the mall and at Target (oh, Target, I'd give anything to have you in Fairfield), and wrapped up with a nice dinner at Applebee's. Now, I'm procrastinating starting my school work. But since I have a ton, I better get to it. Hope you all had a great weekend too... my only complaint is I wish it had been longer!!!