Thursday Thirteen

Dave and I are still trying to plan a vacation for sometime next year. We were originally thinking about Hawaii...but I don't think that's going to happen. We've decided to take another cruise and are just trying to hammer out a date. I'm getting pretty anxious because, well, I wanna be on vacation. Because vacations are pretty cool. Especially when there are no diapers to change and the only food I'll be cutting is my own.

I've already shared 13 places I would travel to if I had unlimited resources...here are 13 vacations I've actually been on...

Stratford, Canada - This was in my senior year of high school. They play host to the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival and our drama club took a "field trip" up there. Talk about some good theatre... We saw The Mikado, A Midsummer Night's Dream (in the round... extraordinary), and The Importance of Being Earnest. Those last two shows became and have stayed 2 of my favorite stage shows.

Southern Caribbean Cruise - Our first cruise ever, and we loved it. We took the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. We sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico and our ports of call were Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas...Philipsburg, St. Maarten...St. John's, Antigua...Castries, St. Lucia...and Bridgetown, Barbados. Despite the tropical storm that passed us off the coast of St. Maarten (it was a tad windy that day), we had a great time.

Western Caribbean Cruise - Cruise #2, once again with Royal Caribbean, this time on Explorer of the Seas...which made us realize we could become quite accustomed to this whole cruising thing. This time, we left from Miami, Florida and sailed to Labadee, Haiti...Ocho Rios, Jamaica...George Town, Grand Cayman(we'd go back here in a heartbeat)...and Cozumel, Mexico.

Tokyo & Hiroshima, Japan - Dave was doing so much work over there that when he got word that he might not be going back for a while, we booked me a ticket to go with him. It was unbelievable. I experienced my first earthquake, ate Sweet & Sour Squid, navigated the Tokyo subway system by myself without getting very lost, and saw sights like this in Miyajima.

San Diego, California - This would mark Jake's first...and to date, only...plane trip. Those two facts are not a coincidence. He was 18 months old and...let's just say that neither Dave or I deal well with strssed out, cranky kids. My brother was able to fly down from San Francisco for a few days while we were there, so that definitely made it worthwhile.

Cancun, Mexico - We took an all-inclusive Apple Vacation and have been forever spoiled. There's nothing like swimming in a pool with a drink in your hand. We couldn't get over how blue the water was. It was beautiful.

San Francisco, California - I consider this to be my first "adult" trip. I went out there with a friend from high school and it was just the two of us. We stayed with my brother for a few days and then went on to stay with her aunt for a few days. There's nothing more exhausting than walking across The Golden Gate Bridge only to find out that the only way back across...is to walk. That was fun.

New York City, NY - A weekend full of shows with Dave and 3 of our best "couple friends". Good times were had by all. We saw The Music Man (and I had my picture taken with Robert Sean Leonard), Les Miserables, and Our Sinatra.

Washington, DC - We had an exchange student my senior year of high school, and we wanted her to see the nation's capital so away we went. I remember nothing from this trip, except for a sign by the exit of a Smithsonian cafeteria that read "Do you have: your keys, your wallet, your purse, your kids". I always thought it was kind of funny that they listed kids last.

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire - I went, I climbed, I cried, I ate. Good trip.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - I remember nothing about this trip except for the tacky tourist gift shops and the huge miniature golf courses that seemed to exist on every single corner.

Orlando, Florida - I've never been a huge Mickey Mouse fan, but I have enjoyed my trips to Disney World. But did you know that there are other theme parks, there? I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hair singed off on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios.

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - This was our honeymoon. Another all-inclusive. It was a new resort just recently cut out of the jungle. Which might explain why I ended up with over 80 mosquito bites the first night and why we both ended up in the doctor's office to get antibiotics just in case the mosquito bites got infected. Not to mention the unbearable humidity. And the bug that Dave got just before we left from getting some of the the local water in his mouth. Fun, fun, fun. It was a wonderful way to start a marriage!!

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Children of Eden

Last Tuesday, I had mentioned that I was auditioning for a part in our church's yearly musical. For Dinner Theatre 2008, we are putting on Children of Eden.

Act 1 is a the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Act 2 is about Noah and the flood.

I got cast as Eve. The songs are written for a soprano. I'm an alto. And I sing in 12 songs in Act 1 alone. In Act 2, I'll become a member of the chorus.

I'm freaking out a little bit because, well, I'm an alto and the songs are for a soprano. Did I just say that? If I did, it bears repeating. Because I'm an alto. Not a soprano. I'm just saying. Also, one of my best friends is playing Adam. And I have to kiss him.

And I'm not sure if you know the story of Adam and Eve, but they spend the first part of time in Eden...naked. We'll see how the costumers are going to pull that one off.

I'm anxious to get the music and script and get going with rehearsals. We'll start rehearsing in January and the show will be in March. But it'll be here before I know it.

Audition Time!

In my effort to find all things bad in my life, I totally forgot to mention that I had an audition on Sunday!

Every year, my church puts on a full scale musical (usually 30-40 people involved on stage alone) and this year we are doing Children of Eden. The auditions were on Sunday and again tonight and I should know sometime this week (hopefully) if I got a part.

I kind of fumbled the auditions because they changed the format at the last minute and I didn't realize it was changed. And then I left my audition music at home...which means I had to sight read a piece of music I had never seen before. Good fun!

I think I did O.K., but we'll see when the cast list comes out!

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Thursday Thirteen - Shows I've Been In

I have been involved in theatre ever since my freshman year of high school. Up to that point, I played sports. But the mentality in high school is TOTALLY different then the mentality in grade school, so basically I wimped out. After I quit sports, I was looking for something to do and noticed an audition notice at school and figured "Why the hell not?" The rest, they say, is history. Here are 13 shows that I have been involved in (either backstage or onstage) over the years.

1. King Arthur's Calamity - I'm listing this one first because it was the worst theatre experience of my life. One of the actors actually called me a word that rhymes with witch in the middle of rehearsal because I "stole his light". Seriously? I came home every night in tears and Dave kept telling me to quit, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I regret ever having done that show. Ugh.


2. Guys and Dolls - Without a doubt, one of my favorite musicals of all time. I would literally give my right arm to play Adelaide. Holy crap, that's a good role. We have the soundtrack with the 1992 US Revival cast and I get goose bumps every time I hear Faith Prince and Josie de Guzman sing "Marry the Man Today"


3. Our Town - Rebecca Gibbs was the first part I ever had that had lines. I didn't do all that great, but it remains one of my favorite non-musicals. I cannot think of one aspect of that show that I don't like. The sets (or lack of) are awesome and the Stage Manager is a really great role.


4. South Pathetic Pacific - My first show. Ever. I wish it weren't. I really don't like the show, but I was young and naive. It's boring and the music's bad. Makes you want to run out and rent it, doesn't it? But now that I think of it, John Kerr (the actor who played Joe Cable) is kinda hot in the movie so go ahead and rent it.


5. Once Upon a Mattress - This one was actually kind of funny. It wasn't the greatest but there was one song that I sing to this day...despite the fact that I can only remember 3 words of it. And then who can forget the princess' name. "With and "F" and an "R" and an "E" and a "D" And an "F-R-E-D" Fred! Yeah!"


6. Bye Bye Birdie - This one cracks me up because my friend from high school played Conrad Birdie and my mom (who did the majority of the costumes for the shows) made him a gold lam`e suit. It was awesome.


7. Grease - Who doesn't love this musical? Well, the movie is better than the stage show, I think. But still, it's pretty darn good. And this one has a special place in my heart because it was during this production that I met my future husband. The girl who was playing Patty Simcox (and Dave's dance partner) broke her foot 2 weeks before the show so I got moved up out of the chorus to play the part and danced my way into Dave's heart. LOL! Really, I just tried not to step on his toes. It was also the first show I did out of high school, 5 long years after I had graduated.


8. You're a Good Man Charlie Brown - This one was just downright fun. It's a small cast musical and we just had a blast. Dave directed it and I got to play Sally Brown. She remains one of my favorite characters I've ever played.


9. Moon Over Buffalo - Kind of a forgettable show. The big dilemma in this one was that I had to have a make-out session with one of my best friends. We were playing lovers in the show, but he and his wife were our best friends off stage. Yeah. Awkward.


10. Music Man - "He's a what? He's a what? He's a music man" The opening scene of this musical, when all the salesman were on the train, is one of my favorite scenes in musical theatre. When done correctly (with people who can keep tempo), it just has a really neat effect. I came dangerously close to dressing as a man for this scene when one of the actors kept missing rehearsal. Thankfully, he showed up in the end. Dave and I played "boyfriend/girlfriend" in this show and people always tell us that the kiss on the cheek at the end of "Shipoopi" got loner and longer every night... All I'm saying is that he was kissing me. I just sat there.


11. Smoke on the Mountain - This is another one of those casts that just clicked. We got compliments from audience members saying that we were better than some professional productions they had seen. Not too bad for a little church troupe. I played the part of June, and I do mean played. She is the only non-singing member of a musical family so she plays all the percussion instruments. I think I played maybe 10 instruments in that show. Also, her thing is "I don't sing, I sign". I had to come up with "sign language" for a good majority of the songs. Some of my "signs" were so over the top the director told me I had to scale back because I was nearly hitting the other actors on stage by accident. That part was so fun. It was tough though because the actors never leave stage, except for intermission. That can be tough.


12. Honk! - The entire cast was animals and I played a moorhen in this one. And I happened to be 7 1/2 months pregnant with Emma at the time. I remember just breaking down and crying after the show closed because I was so exhausted. Good Lord, I was tired. And my feet hurt. But at least I looked good in my knee high fire engine red leather boots.


13. Godspell - This was my directorial debut. And I'm never doing it again. I just don't have the patience for it. Godspell has some really great music ("By My Side" brings me to tears every time) and the kind of ending that gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I also got to play the "tramp" in this one and flirt with a pastor. Good times. Once again, never left the stage.

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Show's over, folks!

The show I've been involved with for the last month or 2 closed on Saturday. While it was a great time, I'm kinda glad it's over. There's a kind of exhaustion that sets in when you are doing a show and it's only gotten worse the older I get and the more active the kids are.

Granted, half the exhaustion comes from staying out until 1am drinking and eating fried cheese products, but still...

The show was really well received by all who saw it. It was different than any show I've ever been involved in. The rehearsal process was pretty much me and the director sitting across a table from each other for the first 2 or 3 weeks. Then 2 weeks before the show, I rehearsed with the rest of the cast for the first time. The format of the show lent itself to a lot of down time (while on stage) for each actor so I got to rehearse my "stage freeze"... a lot. By the 2nd weekend, I was limping off stage at intermission and after the show because some portion of my legs are feet had fallen asleep.

The character I played was a 30-something year old girl with a mental disability that put her emotional level at about a 10 year old. Her name was Dori, she loved Barbie, she made wallets, and she wore all pink, all the time. Definitely different than anything I've ever played before. She had her funny moments, but mostly it was great to listen to her story, because in her mind, there was nothing wrong with her. She was constantly teased by her sister (not an actual character of the show, only through the stories Dori told), and in Dori's mind, her sister was the one who was "mental". It was great to see such a character being the "norm" as opposed to the exception.

I'm itching to do another show now, but when we started having kids we would take turns doing shows. So now, it's Dave's turn. There are a lot of great opportunities out there in the coming months, so hopefully he'll be able to juggle his crazy travel schedule enough to do a show.

'Cause then it'll be my turn again.

I'm kidding! Sort of...