plays selection

I had a board meeting at the theatre tonight. It was a great meeting and afterward the script selection committee met for about an hour to discuss the direction we wanted to go for next year's season. I have several scripts to read, but if anyone out there in cyberspace has any thoughts on a good play for a community theatre with a small stage, feel free to share!

Dearly Departed photo session

I took these photos tonight at the last rehearsal of Dearly Departed. The play opens Friday at Theatre 98 in Fairhope, and if you are around, you should absolutely come join the fun! I'll review the play at The Casual Critic this weekend.

Dearly Departed test audience

I got to be a test audience member tonight for the upcoming production of Dearly Departed. It seems that the director wanted to make sure the actors got used to people laughing during the show, so he asked some people to come and help out. I asked Marcus to come with me and happily he did. I think he had a great time.

This show is so funny - seriously, I have never laughed so hard! I'll review it at some point, but if you're in Fairhope and love Southern comedies, you have to call the theatre immediately to get tickets! The box office opened today!

things happen for a reason, right?

I just got the call saying I was not cast in the play. That was fast, huh? I'm wondering if my one role was just a fluke and I'm really not very good, or if it's just a case of me not being right for any of the parts. Most of the roles in this show are outside my age group, as I mentioned before. So maybe that's the reason. I had a nice comment from the stage manager, who I am honored to call a friend. She really is an amazing person. She said between auditions for the show I was in last year and auditions for this show, she saw a lot of growth in me, especially in my confidence onstage and my ability to do some character work on the spot. It was nice to hear that. It cushioned the blow of not being cast in this show, and she reminded me that we do have the musical coming up, which is the one I really want this year. If I don't get a part in the musical, that's when I'll be crushed. The thing I regret most about not getting a part in this play is that I'm fairly certain some of my friends are going to be in it, and I hate to miss being a part of a cast with them! But maybe next time, right?

But at any rate, it looks like I'll have lots of time to concentrate on Draha, which is really what I need right now. I haven't done any real writing in quite awhile and I miss it. Oh, I know the outline work has to be done and I'm doing it very faithfully, but I miss writing dialogue and detailed description. I'll concentrate really hard on getting the first book's outline finished so I can start doing some actual writing. It's too bad I'll have to scrap most of my NaNo work and start over. It made good background, but it wasn't quite right. I know that now, and can use some of it, but I'll be starting the wordcount over and rewriting most of what I plan to keep.

I know it sounds like I'm just trying to make myself feel better about not getting a part, but it'll be nice to have my evenings free for writing and knitting. I'll have free time from now until late June, when we audition for the musical, because I'm skipping the third show. I have too many work commitments during the rehearsal time that would really cause trouble. In fact, I think I would pull out all my hair and have a nervous breakdown if I tried to be in a show at the same time as this massive work project that is coming up in May. (I can't talk about it yet, but it's going to be extremely exciting!!)

crazy

Can I just say that I think I have gone completely insane? Insane, I tell you! The two nights I had off from Misery, I spent at the theatre auditioning for the next show. That's right. I went to auditions Monday night and was called back for tonight's auditions. We were there for about three hours each night, each person reading different parts with different people. It was unlike any audition I've ever experienced - and it was the most fun I've had in a long time! Did I get a part? I have no idea. I'm sort of on the edge of the age groups needed for the various female characters, but there's one really good one in my age group that I'd enjoy doing. I'd prefer one of the older roles, just because it would be an absolute blast to play, but I think he's going to stick pretty close to the suggested ages. We'll see what happens. I know one thing, I don't harbor any delusions that I'll get a part because I know the director and stage manager. They will cast who they think is right for the parts, regardless of whether they know them or not. And that is how it should be.

Anyway, we had about 50 people audition during the two nights. It was pretty amazing! I was happy with the turnout, especially considering the dreadful turnout for Misery. I felt responsible for the poor turnout for Misery because it was my first time doing publicity for a theatre activity. It turns out that people just were not interested in being in a two person show. This time, they poured into the theatre. I really enjoyed watching everyone read. I don't envy Tim the job he has of casting 17 roles from the 50 people who read.

Tomorrow starts our final week of Misery. Three shows down, 5 to go...

Opening Night

Theatre
Tonight is opening night for Misery, and if someone had told me last week that we would be ready, I would have called them a liar. Last night's invited dress rehearsal, however, proved to me that this cast and crew can pull it off after all. The show was far from flawless, but it worked. The audience was interested and not a single one said anything negative as they left the theatre. When I'm running lights, I can wear anything I want, so I don't look like I'm involved with the production. I use that to my advantage and listen to people as they leave to see what they really thought about the show. Usually, I hear comments about what they liked or disliked, but last night I only heard good things.

Writing
I managed to get some work done on Draha while waiting up in the booth for the set crew and actors to figure out set changes this week. We had several long rehearsals, and when your only responsibility is to turn the lights on and off, you tend to have some down time. I took a different approach to it this week, and I think it's working out really well. I wrote "book 1, book 2, book 3, book 4, and book 5" across the top of a piece of paper and put lines between them to create columns. I then created rows across the page so that I had something like a huge spreadsheet. I identified things I needed to know about each book and wrote each thing down in the appropriate box. While doing this, some great ideas came to me, especially in the row for identifying characteristics of each island. I can't say more than that, but trust me when I say it's going to be very cool!

Knitting
I signed up for another swap on Ravelry, and this time I'm making a hat for someone. I have to go get the yarn today or tommorrow. It won't be on the progress bar because it's a surprise for my swap partner, but I'll post photos after it has been sent to her. Now to find a good pattern...

Family
My sister is looking for a new job. She called me today to see if I knew of anything, but since I'm not looking anymore, I've been out of the loop on the job situation here. I'll need to check on that this weekend and see what I can tell her.

Entertainment
I finally broke down and bought a Tivo. It came by UPS two days ago, but because of the show I haven't been able to hook it up. I'm going to buy the cables tonight and will hook it up tomorrow, just in time to test it out on some shows that will be on while I'm at the theatre tomorrow night. I've already made a list of all the shows I'm going to "Season Pass," so I'm excited about that. I just discovered a show on CBS called Moonlight. Because I tend to like dark stories, I've really been drawn in and can't wait to see what the writers are going to do with it. The last episode before the strike really begins to weave some interesting mythology that I think could be an intriguing overall arc for the entire series. I haven't really been "addicted" to a show in awhile, but for some reason, I can't seem to get enough of this one. Hopefully, it will be picked up for a second season.

Work
The new job is still going well. Things are going to get hectic pretty quickly because of a big project that we have coming up, but that's the way I like it! I'm looking forward to seeing how everything comes together.

tired...

This week has been exhausting. I feel like I've been run over by a truck. I think it might have been a mistake to volunteer to do lights on a show while also trying to get used to a new job. But it's going to be okay. In two weeks, it'll all be over and I'll get to rest. A little.

No news other than that. I have a production meeting for Dearly Departed tomorrow and then we're going to paint the final pieces of the Misery set. Sunday is another tech rehearsal. Opening night is Friday. I hope it comes together by then. Some parts of the show are still a little "iffy."

For now, I just want to sleep. So that's what I'm going to do.

Misery tech

Theatre

We had our first tech rehearsal tonight. Running lights is fun, and I'm glad I'm doing it for this show. It was so much fun setting the lights on Saturday and running the cue-to-cue tonight. With Hamlet, all the lights were set and the presets were done before I got to the board. They simply handed me a cue sheet and a script with all the info already written in and I went to work. This time I was involved with the whole process (except for climbing ladders - I tend to fall down, so I avoid ladders) Tonight, the director and I worked out the presets and I made the cue sheet for myself. I need to clean it up a little, but I'm pretty sure I won't have any trouble with any of it. There are some fun effects in the show. I can't wait to see them in the actual scenes. One thing about a cue-to-cue, you get everything done fairly quickly, but you skip all the action between cues. I haven't seen the show all the way through yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I think they are running the show tomorrow night, so I should see it then.

Writing

Got some more work done on the detailed outline. I had an idea about something that might really be fun for the story, now I just have to work some things out. I won't be writing much in the next week because I have to get the program and other printed material for the show finished and need to get some more publicity out. I'll probably work on the outline a little each day, but nothing significant.

Knitting

The purse I'm working on is coming along nicely. I hope it felts okay. It's going to make me completely crazy if I get the whole thing finished and it doesn't felt right! I signed up to be in a swap for February, so as soon as I get my swap partner, I'll be working on a hat for her/him. Ravelry has been so good for my knitting. I've tried so many different things because of various challenges, swaps, and groups that I've been a part of on the site. I'm looking forward to starting the hat. Oh, and I'm doing Project Spectrum (have I talked about that yet? I don't remember) Because the theme this year is "elements" and because the elements play such a heavy role in Draha, I'm excited to be a participant. The first element is fire, so I decided to knit something small in the suggested "fire" colors, and also to play with mosaics and make a candle holder, bringing actual fire into my project for that element. It'll be two projects for one theme, but that's allowed (encouraged, even) so I'm going to do it. I'll post pictures when I'm finished!

Some more Misery

Well, I got the call yesterday and I didn't get the part in Misery. The director was very nice about it, saying he was impressed with my audition, but that he wanted more diversity in the cast, so he decided to go in a different direction. I'm so curious to see who he did choose. Anyway, I'm doing lights and helping to collect props and painting sets and pretty much everything they ask me to do ;) in addition to the publicity duties. I just found out I'm responsible for creating the program and the publicity posters too, which will be fun. I already have a cool idea for the poster, but I'm going to have a long conversation with the director about his ideas first, just in case he has his own vision. So anyway, I'll be pretty busy, which is just how I like it!

Misery auditions

They were tonight, remember? Actually, I had planned to go to the theatre tonight and be publicity gal, greeting the people who came to audition and encouraging them to work backstage if they were not called for a part, but a friend came in to audition and I read with him. We've been talking about this play for months. He was in Hamlet and as he had some considerable downtime during the show, he would chat with me in the light booth about how much he loved Stephen King and how excited he was about possibly being in a play based on his work. Anyway, our reading went well. It was a cold reading and the director was very cool, asking us to read the piece one way and then another. He said my transitions were good, so that's positive. This role would be so challenging for me. I really hope I get it! I'm going to the theatre tomorrow night to do the publicity thing, but it'll be so much nicer now that I have the auditions behind me. Hopefully more people with show tomorrow night. We had a slim group tonight and I'd like the director to have choices. I want the part, but I want him to pick me because he thinks I would be best, not because I was one of the very few who showed. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Vampirate - the proof

Okay, some people asked for proof that I actually dressed up as a vampirate for the party at the theatre, so here you go! The party was a blast. I'm posting the pictures somewhere else on the web so that the other board members can access them, but I haven't quite decided where yet. I'll post the link here when I do.

event eve

I have an event at work tomorrow. I'm not worried about it by any means, but there is always that sort of panic-filled moment when I know I haven't done everything I needed to do. It's just paranoia, though, because my event plan is very comprehensive and everything has been checked off my "to do" list for this event. Still, it's disconcerting...

The event is a small dinner party for 45-50 people. The only thing left to do (besides the setup that has to be done tomorrow) is create a good playlist on my iPod for the background music. I'm going with some nice jazz - a mix of classic and modern artists. I think that will create a nice atmosphere. I actually love doing events. There's something about planning and executing an event that really appeals to my super-organized side.

I think it's going to turn out great, and I'll be glad when it's over!

In other news:

The theatre I've been involved with since this February has asked me to join the board of directors! Of course, I accepted. I'm taking over the Publicity Chair position, which is perfect for me, and I couldn't be happier about it! I can't wait to get started. Also, I've accepted the lead in a Christmas musical that my church and another church are doing. It's actually a fairly challenging part and a good play, so I'm looking forward to it. I'll be directing too. I don't know how I get myself into these things...

The other fairly big thing I'm working on now is a knitting project. I'm making blankets for each of my sister's three kids, and one for my mother if I have the time. It's a lot of fun and very relaxing. I find I get less stressed when I'm working on a knitting project. I'll post some progress photos soon. It's a great project, and my first attempt at knitting lace patterns.

I've been editing Magnolia Tree. It's slow going, but I'm working through it. I did a little work on Deadly Council. Plotting work, not actual writing. I need to get back to the actual writing. It's been a few days since I've done any writing and I miss it. A lot!

exhausted

It's almost 1 a.m. and I just got home from another incredible show. Actually, some of the cast and some friends and I went out after the show. It was nice. I've found some great people during this show and I think we will continue talking to each other, just like Cathy and I have, and like Tim and I have.

I'm not sure why, but it seems like Misery is being mentioned to me a lot lately. I've talked with more people about it than I can count, and they all seem to think I would be a good choice for the part. One person in particular, whose acting I completely admire, is talking as if I already have the part. I won't let it go to my head, though. Everyone has to audition and mine may be horrible, like my audition for Hamlet was. Or it could be great, like my audition for Guys and Dolls. Speaking of that show, I still haven't heard, but I don't expect to hear anything until after Labor Day, as promised. I did hear that they were having a shortage of adults at auditions, which bodes well for me. If they want to cast adults in the adult roles and teens as chorus parts, maybe I have a better chance at Sarah. We'll see.

I had a moment tonight, with someone I've been interested in for awhile. I'm not sure if he felt it too, but I really felt something... a connection. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I felt like there was a hint of things to come. Maybe... maybe not... but it's fun to think about it! He is so amazing.

Work was good today. I was only in the office for about half the day, but I got so much done! I felt great about crossing those things off my list, because the list was starting to get a little too long! It feels more managable now, and I'm okay with everything I need to do and the time frames involved. There's a lot going on right now and it will be important to stay on top of it. I spent the afternoon at a United Way rally, talking about my organization. It was at a local chemical plant and I was really nervous going there at first. There was a safety video and I had to wear a hard hat and safety glasses. It was crazy, but I loved it!

I may have another interview soon. I'm just waiting for a call to give me the details. It would be the most amazing job and I could really see myself doing it. The organization does something that is really close to my heart, and I would love to be a part of it.

I got a little writing done today, but not enough to bother updating the meters. I like the direction Magnolia Tree is going, and Deadly Council is taking shape a little more. I haven't stopped planning Draha either. It's always on my mind. I am still working on the basics of the world right now, but it's getting there. I'm so excited about the concept!

Hamlet Photos

I took these photos from the light booth during the dress rehearsal of Hamlet. Actually, I took about 300 pictures during that rehearsal, but I've only posted a few of them. I have to admit, I'm proud of these photos. I could only take them between light cues and I couldn't leave the booth to take them, so under those circumstances I think they turned out great! Because nobody else took pictures, and because I know how nice it is to have production photos, I burned CDs for everyone in the cast and gave them out on opening night. They seemed to appreciate it. I love this show and I love this cast. It's going to be difficult to say goodbye on Sunday.

Guys and Dolls: Auditions

I auditioned this evening. I didn't know what song I was going to do until the moment I drove up to the theatre. Then it hit me. The song that exhibits the range required for the role of Sarah (that isn't actually a Sarah song and that I know well enough to use in an audition) is "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom. I hated to do a song from such a well-known musical, because everyone does them, but it's a good song to show off my range so I decided to go ahead and do it. I felt better when the next person auditioning did Amazing Grace. :)

Anyway, the song went very, very well. I feel like I did a good job on it. After I sang, they gave me a script and told me I would be reading Sarah. Another woman read Adelaide. When we went out into the hallway to practice the scene, she told me my song was amazing. That felt great! We went through it twice and then went onstage. I think the reading went well too. I felt good about it. Much better than I felt about my disasterous audition for Hamlet all those weeks ago.

They said they would let everyone know after Labor Day. We'll see what happens...

First weekend of the show

We had an audience Thursday night, and opening night was Friday night. The preview on Thursday was great... the cast really brought all their energy and ability.. or so I thought. However, they brought even more on opening night! It was amazing. The director seemed very happy. Having been there from almost the very beginning, I have to say I'm proud of this cast and crew. They have put together an amazing show and they should be proud of themselves.

The job situation continues. I still have some resumes out. As I mentioned before, I declined a third interview with one company, and just got a letter from the other company I interviewed with saying they decided to go with another candidate. It's not really disappointing. They were not offering much more money than I'm making now and the last person doing the job only stayed a year. It wasn't on the top of my list, needless to say. I still have several resumes out, but haven't heard from them. One in particular is the one I really want. It's with the university and it sounds like a great job. I actually applied for two jobs at the university, so I'm just waiting to hear about those. I hope I get one of them, because if you work for the university, you can go to graduate school free. I would really like to do that!

The more involved I get in the theatre, the more it calls to me. I'm beginning to remember why I loved it so much. There is a beautiful, amazing energy that comes from creating a world that has the power to pull people in and keep them there, if only for a short time. It's why I love writing too, actually. For me, though, theatre is a hobby... writing is not. Not that I don't take theatre seriously, because I do, but it's not something I could do professionally, although in an ideal world it's what I would be doing. Acting and writing - those are my passions. Monday, I'm going to audition for Guys and Dolls at a different community theatre. I'm not certain I will get a big part, but I'm going to audition anyway. I love the show and I think it would be so much fun to be a part of it. Since it looks like I'm going to be involved in shows pretty frequently in the future, I'm going to stick with my writing in the morning schedule. I haven't been doing it this week, because of tech week, but I'm getting right back to it next week.

I'm glad it's Saturday. I had a migraine yesterday so I missed work. I hate to do that, but sometimes it's required. I slept until noon because of the medicine, and then just rested. When I get a migraine, all I can do is sleep or lie in a dark, quiet room. I'm completely worthless. Luckily, they don't happen very often.

Anyway, that's it for now. Laundry today. Show tonight!

tech week

Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and give the excuse now. I won't be doing a lot of writing this week. I'll probably post regularly here, but not a lot of writing on the current projects. It's tech week, which means I'll be at rehearsal every night this week. Opening night is Friday! They finally let me play with the lights tonight and it was fun! The sound tech came too. It was actually quite funny because it was someone I had met previously... which I think happens a lot in community theatre, especially in a smallish community. I adore the family of friends that Hamlet has created, and even though I'm on the sidelines this time and am not as close to the actors as they are to each other, I feel sad that we will say goodbye in only two weeks. As with the last show and probably every show, it feels like we started only yesterday, but also that we've been laboring over this project forever. It has made me want to become more involved in the community of theatrical people in this region, which means perhaps trying out for shows in Mobile in addition to the shows here. I will always feel more at home at Theatre 98, though. There is just something special about that place that captured my heart and soul, and I know I will always belong there. But I'm sure the other theatres are special in their own way! Anyway, we only have 3 more rehearsals before the invited dress. The show is really looking great. There's one person who still doesn't know all his lines, which is disturbing, but I feel confident he'll have them down by the time we have an audience. The dynamic of this show is so different than Fuddy Meers. I don't know if it's because there's a larger cast, or if it's because the cast is considerably younger, but there seems to be more backstage drama.

Work has been pretty good lately. There's a lot going on right now, but that's the way I like it. Actually, I had a series of interviews for a couple of other jobs. I haven't heard from one and the other asked me to a third interview, but between the second and third, something changed my mind. Yes, I'm being vague! So, I respectfully declined the interview. I'm not so desperate for a new job that I'll take one that isn't right for me. In fact, I like my job a lot and leaving will be very difficult, unless it is the right position. Anyway, tomorrow will be a great day because I get to spend the whole day touring our new Jesuit Volunteers! They arrived tonight and will be spending a year in Mobile working for various social service organizations. They are always great people and I enjoy getting to know them. We'll tour their agencies and then we'll have lunch. After that, I'll do a quick driving tour of Mobile, then take them to the bank and to get groceries. After that, I'll drop them off at their house and then it's off to tech rehearsal. I might swing by the bookstore and pick up a hairstyle magazine to see what kind of haircut I want to get. I've been struggling with that decision for about a month now, and I'm really stuck. All I know is, it looks awful right now and I want to do something about it!

actively searching

I was told today that I'm actively searching for a job. This was after I told a friend that I had six resumes out right now. He laughed at me and said that meant I was actively searching. I did not disagree. The two I sent today are both very interesting and I know I would enjoy either of them. One may be kind of a long shot, but it never hurts to try, right? There is another one that I'm going to do tonight and send tomorrow. It has an online application that you fill out and then print to send, so I didn't do it today. I will not do any job search-related activities on company time. I refuse to do that.

Last night I updated my Web site a little. I really want to redesign the whole thing. It serves a different purpose now, so I need to make it look the part. I was worried about hurting my friend's feelings, because she designed the site, but you know what... she hasn't spoken to me in about six months, so I doubt we are really friends anymore anyway. Why should I care what she thinks? I've made some modifications anyway, so a redesign is just the next step. On my way home today I bought some books about using php and I'm going to teach myself how to code it so I can do the design myself. Anyway, the updates were to the fiction page. I added some poetry and reclassified two of my stories as "flash fiction" rather than short stories. They are really much shorter than the average short story, so they shouldn't have been in that category in the first place. I know that poetry doesn't really belong in fiction, but it was the only place I could think of to put it. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be okay there.

Rehearsal tonight... they are running the entire show, so I want to be there to see how the lighting cues are going to look. I'll be getting a script with the cues written in, but I want to really feel the way the lighting fits into the show rather than just sliding the levers when they tell me to do it. I am resisting the temptation to buy a shirt that says, "be nice to me or you will be taking your bow in the dark." Not because nobody is nice to me, but because I think it's so funny. Actually, the cast is great - you couldn't ask to meet nicer people.

More later.

some actual writing news

I won at least one of my recent bids, so I'll be working on a grant very soon! I'm looking forward to diving into the project. It's something I really believe in, and I think I'll enjoy writing it. Other than that, I've been working on some of my writing projects not listed on the sidebar here. I've been doing a little more world building for my fantasy series. I think the whole frenzy surrounding the release of the last Harry Potter book has made me really want to work on that story. Not that it will be anything like Harry Potter, but it's a children's fantasy like the HP books and it should be a series when I'm finished. I'm really excited about the concept. I hope I can flesh out the world(s) so that it will make sense and work for the story.

Rehearsal went well tonight. We had a couple of people drop out and the replacements were there tonight. That went well. Very well, actually! I think the show is really starting to take shape. I'm learning so much about so many different aspects of the theatre experience. I'm really happy I had this opportunity.

I never got that phone call. It is possible they will call this week, but I'm not getting my hopes up. There are at least four possible phone calls in the future, so I guess I'm okay.

I'm still waiting for something (call, letter, email, smoke signal) from the publisher who currently has the first three chapters of my first book. I'm working on some research to see who else I can send it to when I hear back from them. This particular one doesn't like simultaneous submissions, so I'm waiting. I wonder if getting an agent would help me at this point. I'm not sure.

On a more personal and shallow note, my hair is getting on my nerves. It's starting to get long. I usually cut it before now, but I wanted to see how long I could grow it before I get really sick of it and chop it off. It looks nice, so I hate to cut it now, but I really want to do it! I'm resisting the temptation, though. One thing is certain, it's time to touch up the color. I hate being able to see my roots! (told you it was shallow)

Love my theatre people!

We had an early cast party last night and it was great... just a bunch of people sitting around, having great conversations. I think it's important for a cast and crew to get to know each other as people while they are getting to know each other in their roles in the production. The experience can be so much more rewarding if you make good friends along the way. Obviously this director feels the same way since he threw this very early cast party. We've really only been in rehearsal for a few weeks. Despite that, it seems like the cast is quickly becoming like a family. Rehearsals are going well too, which is good. I've been filling in for cast members who are on vacation, so I've played several characters since I started attending rehearsal. At the last one, I was Claudius in one scene and then Rosencrantz in the next. It was fun.

I put in a few more bids on freelance projects. One in particular is very promising, because they want someone local and I can't imagine there are too many local grant writers with my success rate. It's a great project, too. I think it would be very interesting to write.

I had a job interview not too long ago. They were kind enough to do it later in the day so that I wouldn't have to miss work. The job sounds wonderful and I hope it works out. I should find out this week or early next week. *crosses fingers*