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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "andiva" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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09:56 am
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2010 So Far, So February
Well, 2010 is off to a good-bad start. The bad: I'm into my 7th month of unemployment (thanks again idiot Dubya for 8 years of economic destruction that has ensured that it will be years before we can recover from the worst unemployment rates since the Depression - I hope you are enjoying life in your expensive home in your gated community down the street from my condo, a condo where I struggle to pay my bills every month because I'm still unemployed thanks to you!!!) Despite sending resumes and networking every week, I still have only managed one interview in 7 months and no job offers. And even though I also went through Alternative Certification training to be able to be hired as a theater teacher in a school, I haven't been able to make any inroads towards getting interviewed for fulltime teaching jobs either. Really a beat-down to be looking for a job in 2 very separate fields and still constantly being ignored and rejected without a chance. I am "on-call" as a sub instructor for Lyric Stage's new performing arts school but since they are brand new and it will take time to build their program, they didn't have any classes make for me to teach this Spring - although I might have to sub for one of the other classes or might teach some short-term workshops if they end up scheduling any. So that isn't going to bring in any money at the moment, either.
The good: even though I can't pay my bills doing what I love, I am keeping busy with theater projects. I started 2010 making theater history - directing and performing in Uptown Players' annual musical revue "Broadway Our Way" at the legendary Kalita Humphreys Theater, the first company to mount a full theatrical production on that main stage other than its former (and original) resident company Dallas Theater Center. I think the day after the show opened, it finally hit me that it was not just a first for Uptown, but I had become the first director to direct a full production of a theater company on that stage that was not affiliated with Dallas Theater Center. Others had been concerned that Uptown might lose some of its intimate charm playing in such a big space, but I knew I could adapt what I had done in Uptown's home base and make it work at the Kalita and I proved it to audiences and critics alike. I also got to show off another talent that was unknown to directors and audiences - my past as a puppeteer and my ear for mimicry. I performed a duet song from Avenue Q that is done in the original show with 2 puppets (well, two actors manipulating them), Trekkie Monster (Avenue Q's version of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster) and Kate. I sang Kate's part in my own voice, switching back and forth between her vocals and Trekkie Monster's very Cookie Monster-ish voice - how many women do you know that can do that and make it look easy. The puppet got all the laughs, which I didn't mind because I did something extremely difficult vocally and made it work, even if people didn't really seem to recognize how hard it is to do that!
2010 also started with me as a company member of the hot new theater company in town, Level Ground Arts. I had performed in their critically acclaimed stage adaptation of the worst movie ever made "Plan 9 From Outer Space" in December and joined the company then - and what a joy it is turning into. Not only is my input welcomed in the development of the company, but I am as respected for my acting abilities as my directing skills and experience - I am not treated as an afterthought or overlooked because I'm not on a "favorites short-list" or thought of as a director who sometimes acts and therefore isn't 'first choice.' With LGA, when shows are being considered for a season slot that have perfect roles for me, I have the opportunity to be offered those roles outright - a sign of respect for my abilities that I am not given elsewhere, despite the "lip service" I often get elsewhere that is never backed up with casting me. After years of feeling underrated and like a 'second choice,' I am a first-round pick. And I even received my first award nomination in years for acting in a play thanks to being a part of Plan 9 From Outer Space (my acting nominations in recent years have been for musical roles and because I've been onstage so infrequently in the last few years, even those nominations have been sporadic) - in fact, Plan 9 and LGA received a number of Column Award nominations this past week, a great showing for a young theater company in its first full-season year. We have some great plans coming up for LGA, including my co-directing and performing in a show I've been trying to get local theater companies here to do for years - the very funny "Poseidon: An Upside-Down Musical" from my comically-twisted cyber-twin David Cerda's Chicago theater company Hell in a Handbag Productions. And Bill Fountain, LGA's artistic director and evil mastermind, is letting me reshape the Greek classic Lysistrata into a Bollywood musical live onstage and adapt another cult movie classic in the genre of Plan 9 for the stage as LGA's special bonus holiday show.
Also good: I am directing Charles Ludlam's "The Artificial Jungle" for FMPAT - my first time directing for them after previously appearing in 2 of their shows, including last Fall's "Ruthless! the Musical" which also earned me a Column nomination for supporting role in a musical this year as well. I've got a great cast and we are having fun at rehearsals - good thing since we have less than 3 weeks to get this show mounted before we open. This is gonna be a funny show so I hope we get some big audiences because my cast deserves it and FMPAT needs to sell lots of tickets in this tough economy.
More good: my dear late friend Steve Lovett's huge CD/DVD/Book collection of theatrical and film materials has been donated by his family to STAGE, the local actors' resource organization. I am sort-of the volunteer unofficial "curator-designate" for the collection as I work with STAGE staff member (and good friend) Lisa to get new shelving rearranged/installed in their library and unpack/prepare the materials for use by local theater folk and companies. So even though I am unemployed, I am putting my office and organizational skills (and past "life" as a librarian) to good use for a very good cause. Steve was my Bollywood buddy and it is good to be able to see all those movies we watched together again and remember how much he enjoyed them.
Even more good: I am finally reclaiming my body. After 4 years of watching my weight creep up and struggling without success to even lose a few pounds, I started a weight loss program as my birthday present to myself just before Xmas. I needed to lose 35 pounds not just because I couldn't fit (or look good) in all my "sexy" dresses, but to eliminate the health issues that had resulted from my small bones and frame carrying way too much weight (I had developed high blood pressure and knee joint problems in the past 2 years that I never had when I was at a healthy weight for my small frame). I've lost 22 pounds so far with 13 left to go - and I'm completely off one BP med and down to half dosage on the other, and my knees don't seem to be bothering me as much. It has been a hard plan to stick to, extremely limited meal options (especially when you are me and HATE all veggies unless they are deep-fat fried!) and I couldn't even nibble any of the yummy food at all the Broadway Our Way nightly after-show receptions. But I am seeing results quickly and being able to fit into jeans I couldn't wear for 3 years just encourages me to stick with it for the remaining weeks to reach my goal. So I should be in great shape by the time I'm dancing for Poseidon and Bollywood Lysistrata this summer.
So we are only into the 2nd month of February and that's the good and bad of it. The "bad" better turn around soon because my unemployment benefits aren't going to last forever (and they aren't covering my monthly expenses despite cutting out as much as possible). So, come on 2010, let's make it the good and the GOOD!
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02:49 pm
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Callisto, Beloved Companion and Furchild, March 17, 1999 - November 3, 2009
On Tuesday November 3, devoted companion Callisto crossed to Rainbow Bridge due to rapid onset of multiple health issues which were ultimately life-threatening. She is survived by her furmom Andi and her kitty-sisters Buffy and Seven. She was preceded to Rainbow Bridge by older kitty-sister Nikki, as well as Uncles Buster and Cookie, who were the companions of her fur-grandmother Merlene. A Cardigan Welsh Corgi born on St. Patrick's Day (which her furmom is sure was a subtle attempt at irony on Callisto's part), she came from a line of champions and had a cousin in show business who had starred on the television series Dharma and Greg. Following in her cousin's footsteps, Callisto chose to join her furmom working on theater productions in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Her first theatrical work was at 12 weeks, when she began providing moral support and very vocal "coaching" at rehearsals for the Pegasus Theatre production of "Reefer Madness" in which her furmom was performing and staging a raucous dance number (which evoked Callisto's loud and on-going commentary whenever the actors started jumping around onstage). Her theatrical work continued as she was often by her furmom's side "assisting" at rehearsals through the years at many theaters where her furmom directed and performed, including Pocket Sandwich Theatre, Garland Civic Theatre, ICT MainStage, and Uptown Players, among others. While she preferred to work behind the scenes (literally - often hiding underneath the stage and seats at the various theaters), she did allow her photo to be used onstage as a prop in a song about a dog for Uptown Players' "Broadway Our Way." In her later years, she frequented rehearsals less as she preferred to spend quiet evenings at home with her kitty-sisters waiting for her furmom to come home from the theater. She loved everyone she met and was often called the happiest dog in the world by her furmom. She was a faithful and loving companion to the very end, even as her health failed. She leaves behind many friends in the local theater community, as well as her furmom's extended family. The family has requested that, in lieu of dog biscuits, you donate in Callisto's name to the local ASPCA or animal rescue group of your choice, and be sure to hug your own fur-children extra tightly today.
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10:24 am
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Missing in Action
It has been months and months since I blogged. It's not because I was too busy or that there was nothing to blog about. Heck, during that time I was laid off from a job I loved, had 2 long-time friends die - one a very close friend - performed in two great shows, and after months of job hunting without even being able to get an interview, I started an alternative certification program to see if I can get a job teaching theater - although that job market is as dead as the admin asst job market I've been job-hunting in. So, Lord knows, I had plenty of things to express my feelings about.
It's just that I lost the desire and the passion I used to have for blogging. I've still kept up with friends in the blog-o-sphere, reading their posts. But my own blog-muse has gone. Perhaps she will return someday. But for now, I'm missing in blog-action. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still here, hanging on with Unemployment, teacher training classes, and theater. Just don't have anything that I feel motivated to blog about. Maybe once we open the live stage version of Plan 9 From Outer Space that I will be performing in, the muse of Ed Wood will motivate me to blog again...but for now, I'm here, just not visible.
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07:36 pm
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Mommie Q and Memorial Weekend
I've spent most of the holiday weekend working on sound design for Mommie Queerest, as well as the slide show that will be used for all the scene transitions in the show. Who knew my computer skills would be so handy as a director. The show is completely blocked and the cast is already hilarious so I have no worries about them being ready for an audience.
Now I just have to finish the sound design and of course I want it to be as polished and perfect as the cast already is. So I have set myself a pretty high bar for this show. The writer Jamie Morris has included many sound notes in the script and I used those as a starting point. But naturally my own sound design background, old movie trivia expertise, musicology and generally campy sense of humor all went into overdrive, imagining twice as many cues and sound effects to enhance the production and hopefully add to the comic value. And a lot of what I 'heard' in my own head as the soundtrack to the action onstage required mixing multiple effects and music. So I have spent most of the weekend, starting on Friday evening just working on the laptop to perfect and finish the sound. I'm in the home stretch but still have a few tracks to mix before I have a working rehearsal CD with all the cues ready before our runthru tomorrow night (yes, we are having to rehearse on the evening of Memorial Day)
I did come up for air for a few hours midday on Saturday to have lunch with Lisa Haram and go visit Steve Lovett who is still in ICU recovering from his quadruple bypass. Lisa also helped me put up the last set of blinds I had left to install in the condo. Now I have finally replaced all the old vertical blinds that were left over from the previous owners. But that was only a brief vacation from sound design and then I had to get back to it.
I am such a perfectionist about it, I have actually spent several hours today getting just the right sequence, blend, and volume levels for the "farting" mix I built from scratch using 6 different fart sound effects - I bet I will never again create an FX file named "DeathFart.wav"
Now after this brief 'holiday' to blog, I must crack the whip again and finish the last FX tracks. Thankfully, I am done 'farting' for today. Happy Memorial Day!
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05:52 pm
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How the March of Dimes has touched your life and you may not even know it
As a child, I remember seeing the March of Dimes coin bins at store counters and being given a sugar cube which contained the Polio vaccine. But I had no idea the number of ways the March of Dimes had touched my life or the lives of so many others until I started working for the organization. Virtually every American today has been affected by the work of the March of Dimes.
If you were given the Polio vaccine as a child, that was because of ground-breaking research funded by the March of Dimes. In fact, the March of Dimes was started in 1938 to stop the terrifying outbreaks of Polio that were striking American children (and some adults) in the 1930s (and would continue well into the 1950s). Thanks to years of research funded by MOD, the first vaccine against polio was finally developed and given to school children starting in 1954. And now, polio is officially considered to be eradicated around the world – MOD is the only cause organization that actually achieved its original purpose!
After succeeding against polio, MOD turned to other issues which affected the health of children and infants. Funding ground-breaking research, gene therapies, newborn screening, and surgical procedures have been developed which are able to identify, prevent, and repair certain birth defects in babies. It was MOD-funded research that determined drinking alcohol during pregnancy causes birth defects.
You probably have someone in your family or a family friend, either in your generation or those before you, that has been directly touched by premature birth or problems during pregnancy. If a baby was born prematurely any time after 1985, then they were probably given surfactant therapy to help their premature lungs develop – that is thanks to MOD. Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) specifically designed to care for babies with life-threatening issues are in many hospitals throughout the country because MOD championed this need. MOD also funds healthy pregnancy educational programs for women and their health-care providers, with special outreach in under-served populations including African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.
One of President Obama’s first acts as president was to sign the S-CHIP reauthorization bill which provides funds for uninsured and under-insured children and pregnant women to receive much-needed medical coverage. MOD was one of the primary organizations speaking out to Congress and the President to support this law.
Many grain products in the supermarket today are fortified with Folic Acid because MOD worked for the FDA to approve FA fortification. So if you eat a slice of wheat bread, it could be Folic Acid-fortified because of MOD.
If you ever wondered where your money goes when you give to MOD, you and your loved ones have probably been directly touched by the work of MOD which was funded by dollars from people just like you. I am proud to work for this nonprofit organization because I know its work has touched me and the people I care about.
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08:50 am
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I don't think this is what the Boston Tea Party was about
Alert: this post is of an 'adult' subject matter - unless you are a Republican, in which case you still won't 'get it.'
Last night I was watching MSNBC and saw a news story about the latest, desperate - and funniest - attempt by the Republicans to fight Obama. They have decided to hold tea parties around the country on April 15th and they are encouraging their supporters to send tea bags to the White House. And what are the idiot Republicans calling this *brilliant* plan of protest - "Teabagging" - ROTFL!!! Republican "news" talking heads around the country, including commentators at Fox (i.e. "Fix") News Channel have been encouraging "Teabagging" in their on-air news, yes, on radio and TV! Several Republican congressmen have jumped on the Tea-bandwagon, issuing statements asking their constituents to participate in "Teabagging."
This is just more proof of how out-of-touch with the real world Republicans truly are. They are completely oblivious (as usual), this time regarding the fact that phrase "Teabagging" has NOTHING to do with actual tea bags and has a sexual connotation. They think they have come up with the perfect battle cry to fight the Democrats, and instead they once again show just how stupid they are. This latest screw-up is even funnier than all the foot-in-mouth moments provided when Sarah Palin or Joe the Plummer opened their un-scripted mouths. The Republicans attempt at a "history lesson" for Americans is instead a Sex-Ed lesson - and a laughable embarassment! I wonder what would have happened if the original American freedom fighters had gone skinny dipping in Boston Harbor instead of tossing tea...
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09:57 pm
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The dog almost stole the show
We re-opened The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode tonight at Uptown Players for its short return engagement of 3 nights. And I could NOT let the very special moment that occurred during the performance go by without blogging about it. It will be one of those memorable theatrical moments that will be retold for a long time by those who were there and those involved in the show.
To set this up properly there are two basic things you need to know: 1) one of Uptown's co-producers has a little fluffy dog (part Pekinese, part something else) named Gizmo. He is adorable and is often at the theater with his "Daddy" - in fact, he sat in on our tech rehearsals this weekend for Facts, perching himself in a chair up in the audience seating. During shows, if Craig is working the show, Gizmo is happily playing in the box office and "guarding" the ticket sales; and 2) in this drag parody of TV's The Facts of Life, jokes are made repeatedly about Jo being nothing more than a man in a dress, obviously a lesbian who has a closeted crush on blonde hottie Blair. Kevin plays Jo and Chad plays Blair, both acting to perfection in the show.
Now you have the set up, here's what happened: During the second act, in the scene in the dorm room where Blair and Jo are having another of their snarky, insult arguments, suddenly Gizmo runs into the theater from Down Stage Right, runs past Kevin/Jo and Chad/Blair, shoots straight across downstage, being chased by his daddy Craig. He heads to the aisle downstage left and scoots up the aisle steps, being quickly scooped up by Craig and they both disappear quickly into the light booth at the top of the aisle. Kevin and Chad watched this unplanned cameo by Gizmo, frozen onstage, as the audience howled. I wish I had been timing how long the laughing stopped the show, but I had my face buried in my hands doubled over in horror (as the director) and laughter (as an audience member).
Finally, Chad/Blair broke his freeze, looked over at Kevin/Jo and said, "Did you get a dog?" And the audience howled all over for what seemed liked forever again. Deadpanning, Kevin/Jo finally answered back to Chad/Blair, "I prefer (beat...beat...beat) cats." And the show was stopped for the third time. Eventually, Chad/Blair was able to get back to the real script amid the laughter and the boys played the rest of the scene without missing a beat. I will note that Gizmo did NOT get to take a bow with the rest of the cast!
That moment will now go down in history on my list of favorite stop-the-show unplanned moments that I've experienced with my shows, including: the Kaufman & Hart show where the set wall fell down accidentally just before my fellow actor was to come onstage and say the line "Do you know they're tearing down the studio?"; the night during Anything Goes when our Moonface stopped the show because of a noisy baby on the front row by saying "I was 21 before my parents took me to the theater"; and several priceless audience adlib moments for me as Sister Amnesia in Nunsense and La Fleur in NINE. Welcome Gizmo, Kevin and Chad to the stuff of legendary theater stories.
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04:55 pm
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Column Awards - Winners and a few losers
The annual Column Awards took place last Monday celebrating North Texas theater. It was actually the 10th Column Awards so they had put together a retrospective of photos and interviewed many of us who had been part of the Column Awards since the beginning so I was in a quick clip shown during the opening, in addition to several photos from the first years of the Awards. Unfortunately our co-host for the past 2 years, Michael Urie of TV’s Ugly Betty was unable to get away from his filming schedule in NYC to join us this year, but that didn’t stop him from making some ‘home movies’ of himself and co-star Becki Newton which aired at the top of the show. My “Mrs. Garrett” from “Facts of Life” stepped in at the last minute to co-host, Paul J. Williams, and he was very funny, especially when he corrected Column founder and host John Garcia on his grammar and pronunciations (like when John referred to me as ‘him’ when introducing Kurt Kleinmann and I as presenters for one award – and John has known me for years!) Our two guest stars were Broadway star Cady Huffman (who performed her showstopping Inga number from “The Producers”) and playwright Del Shores.
I had actually had an eye exam earlier in the afternoon, which included having my eyes dilated. Needless to say, trying to pin up my hair and put on my makeup in the mirror with dilated pupils was a difficult and tricky job. Apparently I did OK since everyone said I looked great when I got to the reception before the show. Of course, I did have some difficulty while chatting with people in the packed lobby – I couldn’t see well enough to know who was waving at me across the lobby til I walked up to them! Lord knows who all I waved at but may not have even known.
This year I was nominated in 4 categories (and nominated against myself in one category) and I was hopeful that the productions I directed as well as the musical NINE which I was in last summer would win many of the categories they were in. “Legends!” which earned critic and audience raves and had a ton of noms only received one award, Natalie as Best Supporting Actress, which was disappointing but at least we weren’t completely shut out for that show.
“Facts of Life” almost swept all its categories, earning awards for Set and Costuming as well as Best Actor, Supporting Actor and Best Director (yippee for me). I was actually backstage in my NINE costume when they called my name as Best Director since we had just performed our nominated musical medley. So I had to accept my award as Liliane LaFleur, hat and all. NINE won in a number of the categories it was nominated in and I was so pleased for our director Michael Serrecchia.
In an upset, “Facts” did not win its Best Play category – which stunned many since it had swept so many other categories and was one of the most talked-about productions of last year. The theater company that beat us was a new company with only its 2nd production – and while that was certainly a nice coup for them, I learned after the fact that audience members seated near that theater company had heard several of their group making derogatory comments and insults throughout the evening about winners and presenters who were gay. Hello, guys, you are in the theater business so you’d better get over the homophobia now or at the very least learn to respect your fellow artists no matter what their sexual preference. They may have won an award but they proved to be the biggest "losers" of the evening displaying that kind of behavior. I shall bask in the glow of my winning shows and not think about the insecure behavior of a small few.
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09:24 pm
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Random Reality TV Bites
I have had a number of random thoughts rattling around in my head about reality TV for some time and after all the recent “furor” that erupted over ABC’s Bachelor “betrayal” and change of mind, I have finally decided to put my random thoughts to blog.
Bite 1: First, I don’t watch nor have I ever watched more than a few passing minutes of any of the multiple seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette that have been inflicted on us. The show is particularly demeaning and insulting to women. But what I find ridiculous recently are the reactions that have been displayed on TV talk shows and even news media about the shocking behavior of this latest Bachelor. “He was such a nice guy but it turns out he’s a real tool, a jerk.” News flash everyone – ANY man who agrees to be ‘The Bachelor’ is a tool, a jerk before the show even starts and I will point out why. A man who agrees to be the Bachelor is ready, willing and able to develop multiple romantic relationships (albeit mostly superficial) with many women simultaneously. He knows he is going to be able to make out with a bevy of attractive women, sometimes within hours of each other (not to mention doing more than just kissing if you can get around the cameras as some have) That is not the behavior of an honorable, nice guy who is looking for true love. The first couple of seasons of this ludicrous show should have been enough to prove to anyone what I’m saying – not a single one of the Bachelors who have proposed to one of their harem girls managed to actually get to the altar, at least with the woman they picked on the show.
Second, this show is ridiculous for another reason – attractive men and women in their 20s and 30s do not need TV to help them find someone to date. At that age, there are plenty of opportunities to meet and date lots of people of the opposite sex. If TV really wants to help someone find a date and potential spouse (with the actual possibility of the match really lasting), then it should be a show featuring a Bachelorette over 40. Women in their 40s and 50s are the ones who actually do need help finding men to date – that would be real Reality TV but of course that will never happen. Since we aren’t going to see such a show in our lifetime and will instead continue to get more of the same Bachelor crap, please stop watching such crap so they will take it off the air.
Bite 2: The Girls Next Door – what a train wreck that sets back the image of women to the 60s (and that’s still a few decades younger than Hef is now!) I had hoped that since we all knew already that one “girlfriend” was engaged to a pro ball player and another had dumped Hef for – gag – Criss Angel, that this season would be its last. Sadly, apparently not. The show will be back, judging from the blurb tagged on the end of this season’s finale, and it will most likely feature the personality-challenged, braincell-lacking twin bimbos who have now moved into the mansion. At least, I thought we had finally seen the last of the worst "girlfriend", Kendra – but NOOOO! At the end of the season, we also learned that Kendra is getting her own spin-off show. Why, God, Why!!! The bimbo with the horse laugh and enough silicone to raise the Titanic gets her own show in her own mini-mansion. Americans with real skills are out of work all over this country but this talentless, clueless mannequin with no discernable skills can afford to live in luxury in LA having never actually held a real job in her life. HINT for Job seekers – just invest in peroxide and pad your chest, not your resume.
Bite 3: I actually do watch Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International on Scifi Channel. I often find myself wondering why, as I sit there thinking half the stuff they do on the show is ridiculous. I guess I’m a skeptic about paranormal stuff, but it has always fascinated me, perhaps because I keep hoping to see some proof. And every once in a while I see something on that show which does make me think such things can happen. But I have a big question – when the ghost hunters are in Brazil or Germany, why do they expect ghosts to answer their questions when they are talking to them in English? “Is there anyone here who wants to speak with us?” “Are you the one they say died here?” and so on… And that is just the first part of my wondering; the second is that they supposedly record EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon) that vaguely seem to be someone speaking English, yet again they are in Spain or Latvia. They claim that spirits are part of the universal consciousness and therefore understand all and communicate in whatever language they hear – sounds like a desperate attempt to explain a part of ghost investigations that is the weakest and most questionable ‘evidence’ they find. Assuming the paranormal is real, I still think a ghost from 19th century Italy is not going to talk to me in English.
Bite 4: I don’t watch American Idol. Simon Cowell is an egocentric ass who doesn’t know shit about real singing voices, Paula is on medication, Randy worthless, so why in the world would I want to watch them attempt to tell me who has actual talent. I can’t assess the newest judge because I won’t watch the show. Please can we finally let this show die.
Bite 5: Donald Trump is a bigger ass than Simon Cowell (if that’s possible) and now one of his companies is in bankruptcy (not the first time this has happened). So why is anyone still giving him a TV show. You don’t learn anything about actual good business practices from the way he treats people so please stop watching him be a jerk to everyone.
Bite 6: The Octomom – would all the news media STOP giving her airtime and news coverage! She should not be rewarded for being such a bad mother and so incredibly irresponsible (and let’s face it, mentally ill) Please ignore her and stop talking about her. The only upcoming news I want to hear about her is that Child Protective Services has stepped in to find those 14 children safe homes and mentally stable parents who can actually take care of them properly.
Bite 7: All those Supermodel, fashion and Chef shows – what is the point and why do more of these shows keep turning up on every cable channel, even on BBC (just because there are British accents doesn't mean the show or what the people are doing on it make it classy and interesting) Being cheap to produce is not a good reason to put this on the air and call it reality TV.
Just my random thoughts on Reality TV. I’m glad I got that off my chest.
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01:47 pm
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Out of Hibernation
I feel like I've been hibernating since we closed Broadway Our Way in January. I've kept to home most of the time, except for the occasional theater outing and the Column Award nomination party (where most of my 2008 shows earned recognition - I'm even competing against myself in one sound design category!). I just needed a chance to recharge the batteries I'd been running on without a break since 2007! I just felt like curling up at home, doing things around the condo (that had needed doing for months!)and doing prep work on the shows I'm working on for the next 3 months - but compared to how I usually am in my "off" time from theater, this was downright lazy. I vegged, even avoiding much of the web stuff I normally do - like updating Andiworld.com (which still needs to be updated with Broadway Our Way stuff!). I began to wonder if maybe I was in some kind of depression since I am normally such a workaholic, always working on something in every spare minute. But I'm not depressed - I love my new condo and my job and I'm not stressing over anything (which is another odd thing, I am ALWAYS stressing about something). So maybe I am just learning what it is to relax and let go for the first time in my life. Hmmm... Sadly I will have to kick my 'motivation' back into high gear very shortly - I begin rehearsals for the remounting of Facts of Life next weekend, am about to have auditions for Mommie Queerest that I'm directing in May, have more work to do on sound design for History Boys, and am waiting to hear when the cast of NINE will be reuniting to rehearse our performance for the Column Awards. And I'm hitting the audition trail again myself, since I finish my directing gigs at the end of May and hope to get back onstage this summer and fall. I guess I have to return to the real world now.
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09:10 pm
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New Beginnings
We got to watch the inauguration of Obama at the office today. My boss brought in a portable TV and those of us who had time were able to hang out in the conference room and watch the whole thing. It was amazing - and it was kind of interesting, too, in that those of us on one side of the room seemed so happy and thrilled and moved by it, while the other side were obviously not Obama supporters from the election - they seemed to be interested in watching for the historical significance only and even tried to play down the event somehow, like it was the same as every inauguration. It's their loss if they aren't willing to recognize the opportunity for change for the better that Obama will bring to this country, and has already brought to this country by building a coalition electorate that elected him. I thought his speech was powerful and it had so much to say about where this country has come from, and while we have a rough road ahead (thanks to Dubya-idiot and his cronies' bad management for 8 years), that he wants to lead us forward in the right way. And I also noticed that the 'sides' of the room also disagreed on Michelle Obama's dress choice - my side liked it and thought it was a good choice, while the other side tried to put her down saying it was too 'flashy' (puhleeze...)
In continuing the theme of a new beginning, I climbed back on my elliptical machine tonight and did 30 minutes while watching the inauguration parade when I got home from work. That's an improvement over the 15 minutes I barely managed yesterday. I must keep it up, though, and it's going to be a long hard road ahead for me, too.
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06:45 pm
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BOWing and Bow-flexing
Well, 2009 began with the usual whirlwind that is putting together Uptown's annual fundraiser, Broadway Our Way. We had the perfect blend of performers and song choices this year, IMHO. And the show did kick ass - breaking box office records and kicking Uptown's season subscriptions up a notch or two as well. To my surprise, my Sarah Palin impersonation was a big hit - and who knew I could do Palin (including me) til I had to learn her doing the patter song "Tchaikowsky (and Other Russians)" The jokes in the "campaign speech" I wrote for her to set up the song got laughs from the audience every night and the biggest howls of all came after my song when I had co-host Allison Tolman come on and throw shoes at me - obviously Dubya-idiot is not the only person most people want to chuck shoes at! Evil Twin shined in a dance number as well as a sexy send-up of the Call From the Vatican song from NINE, too (which caused the most buzz every night and in each review, since he stripped naked behind a sheet at the end of the song - only the band got a birds-eye view, to much of the audience's dismay ;-).
Now that the show is over, I really HAVE to get on my weight-loss and workout regimen - no more excuses. I gave the Bowflex a try and will have to work up to a prolonged sequence of reps, but it is a start. I have to jumpstart my diet and workouts and get into a good regular routine now, because soon I will be in production meetings for History Boys (I'm doing sound design) and doing brush-up rehearsals for Facts of Life: The Lost Episode since we are remounting it for a quick run in late March before it goes out on its cruise ship booking.
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10:18 pm
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A Slumdog Birthday
It was a strange birthday today - not a bad one, but a lonely one. Last year, since Mom had just died, everyone wanted to make sure I was kept busy on my birthday and on Christmas. It was very sweet of everyone and I did appreciate their gestures. This year, most of my friends were leaving town at the beginning of the week, so we had my margarita b-day at Uncle Julio's on Sunday night. It was great fun - and yes, despite the 2 margaritas, I did remember everything. My friends brought me some wonderfully fun gifts (like a leopard print fez!) and it was a fab evening. But I realized when I got home Sunday night that I would not actually have any gifts to open on my birthday, nor would I have anyone to do anything with on my actual birthday - the first time in my whole life that has happened.
So I decided to take myself to a movie (only the second time I've ever gone to a movie by myself). I went to see Slumdog Millionaire and I thoroughly enjoyed it - although, there were moments when I really wished there had been someone there with me so I could share some of my thoughts about the movie. It is a terrific film and, although it is set in India, it was made by a British director and is not a Bollywood movie, even though several Bollywood actors are in the film. There were a couple of nods to Bollywood in the film, which I recognized immediately and chuckled - like the Amitabh Bachchan stuff from the 70s, which was very amusing. The minute one of the characters said "There's Amitabh's helicopter," I started grinning, knowing exactly what that meant. And I am sure I was the only one in the theater who really understood that sequence on deeper levels than the obvious.
I also finally decided I was ready to go to Mom's grave. I had not been back to the grave since early January, the headstone wasn't even done then. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of her though, even though I hadn't felt ready to go to the grave. So I went and visited with Mom and Dad. Mom always insisted that every major holiday, like Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter, we trek to the cemetery to visit Dad's grave and my baby sister, and my grandmother and grandfather. And we always had to take flowers. I always hated those trips, but it was her ritual. Now that I'm the only one left, I guess I make my own ritual - it's not about going to the graves for me, because I talk to Mom and Dad's pictures on my family wall in the new condo all the time. But I can't help thinking as I sat there today by the grave, that she was bitching up in heaven that her daughter didn't bring flowers or a holiday wreath to her grave like all the graves around her were decorated. Sorry, Mom, you know that's not me but that doesn't mean I love you any less. Funny how even in death, she can still try to 'guilt me.' I guess there are some things we never outgrow.
I also made a 'pilgrimage' to the street where Mom's house had been. I had not been ready to drive over there after she died, even though I knew that the house had been torn down and replaced by a new home by the builder who bought the lot. But today I thought I should finally go see what the new house looked like and what they had done to the property. I was dreading it as I turned the corner of the old street, but I was pleasantly surprised. They had left the old trees on the outer perimeter of the property and contoured the house to fit the lot and the trees. And I liked the style of the house, even though it has the McMansion look, at least this one seemed to fit its surroundings and blend with the trees and the old feel of the neighborhood. I think Mom and Dad would be pleased that the new home has character, sorta blending the old and the new.
For my birthday evening, I opted to watch the BBC America's Xmas episodes of British comedy, including an AbFab Xmas ep I had not ever seen. Ah, Patsy and Edina can sure drive away the melancholy!
Then I thought a fitting cap-off to the family 'journeys' I had taken today would be to finally watch the 8mm film footage that I discovered when we were cleaning out Mom's house. I had a video transfer company take all these film rolls and put them on a DVD. Most of the film was not even labeled so I had no idea what would be on them. I had not felt ready to watch that stuff yet (though it was done a year ago), but again today felt like the day to finally see what family stuff was on the film. There was a ton of footage of me as a baby and toddler, including some with me and my cousins Susan and Stacy. Birthday parties, and Xmas day presents being opened. I spotted some of the toys I remembered and the rattan chair I kept from Mom's house was prominent in many of the clips (which means that chair is even older than I am!). While some of the footage made me sad because it was Mom and Dad, my uncle and my grandparents who are all gone, it was also comforting to recognize so much and be reminded of how the house and the neighborhood looked decades ago - and to seem Mom and Dad so young and vibrant, instead of the last memories I have of them when age and health issues had reduced them physically and mentally. And there was film of Mom when she was pregnant with me! That was really wild to be sitting here on my birthday and seeing Mom in her maternity smock, knowing she would be spending Xmas in the hospital just months after that film was shot.
And while I may have been 'alone' today, I wasn't really alone. It's seems like every time I got online to check email, there were tons more birthday wishes being sent by friends and a terrific email 'chat' with Lisa (who is already making plans for a spa-day birthday and Xmas for us both next year). I was really moved to get so many birthday greetings, especially from many old friends that I only recently reconnected with (on Facebook of all places!)
This post has gone on much longer than I intended, but it has been a reflective and introspective birthday, partly because I was spending it alone and partly because I felt it was time to look back, that I was ready. And even though I cried several times today because of the family journey I was taking, it was OK.
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05:59 pm
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December already!
I worked so hard for all of October and November to get the condo ready for the after-Thanksgiving house-warming party that once the party was over, I have hardly had enough steam to do laundry or anything else around the house. The house-warming party was a great success and everyone loved the new place and all my decorating touches. I figure I'm entitled to take it sorta easy on the weekends and the evenings after work after busting my butt for so long.
But I can't just lounge around enjoying the place because my annual commitment to Broadway Our Way is upon me already. I have gotten the song order done and have had a few inspirations about concepts for certain songs, so at least that is a start. And Evil Twin gave me a wicked idea for how to do my number, which is going to be Danny Kaye's famous patter song Tchaikowsky - now if I can just get all those Russian composers' names learned and then work out how to do it in the character I plan to dress as! Soon, though, I will have to buckle down and work out the rough blocking plan (like before Sunday when music rehearsals start!)
I did take time out to catch a few friends in shows, attend a good friend's birthday dinner party (which was a wonderful old-style New York-ish dinner soiree with great company). I will also stop in at a couple of Xmas parties this next weekend (I have 5 invitations to parties all on the same night - needless to say, I will be lucky to make 2 of them) But for the most part, I want to stay home during the holidays and enjoy my first Xmas at my new condo. And I did buy myself a Birthday-Xmas prezzy, a new Barbie not being marketed in the US but in India - the first "Expressions of India" Barbie! Dressed in traditional Rajasthani costume, this Barbie is stunning and I am still trying to find the best spot in the new condo to show her off.
The recent news that Dubya is moving to my 'neighborhood' has dampened my joy as a homeowner, though. It is entirely possible that I might actually run into him at North Park or perhaps even the Tom Thumb that is down the street from their new manse and 5 minutes from my condo - and then I could toss off a few expletives at him regarding how he destroyed this country in more ways than I'd have time to name before the secret service guys around him would no doubt knock me to the ground ('tho I think it would be worth it!) And I have thought to myself that it is probably a good thing Mom has already passed away because knowing that the supreme idiot of the US is moving less than a mile away from the old family home would certainly have given her a heart attack. I actually have some family friends and relatives that live practically around the corner from Dunce-Dubya's new house. At least I live a few miles east of the street so I should be able to suppress my inclination to puke frequently.
Well, I gotta do laundry now (since I was too lazy to do it all weekend...)
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09:07 pm
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A Whole New World
Ever since 10 pm last night when CNN called the election for Obama, the song "A Whole New World" from the Disney movie Aladdin has been playing over and over in my head! It is a new and beautiful world today, even though it is still going to be a rough road to our country's recovery. LJ friend Benjy said it beautifully - the long dark night is over. And the rest of the world is rejoicing, too - how glorious. It was such a contrast to look at the crowds of people gathered at the McCain campaign site and Obama's rally in Grant Park - Obama's massive crowd was a rainbow sea of ages, classes, and ethnicities, while the McCain camp was a room full of white older people, with some very preppy-looking young people sprinkled around (and I did see one redneck, which is the closest thing to a person of "color" I saw in that crowd). How very telling...I am only saddened by the fact that there is still roughly 46% of our population that are so ill-informed and uninformed that they believed the falsehoods, the smoke and mirrors and didn't bother to find out the truth and make an informed decision - half a country of Elizabeth Hasselbecks!
In two interesting side stories on the election results, Al Franken is in a dead heat for the Minnesota Senate seat and they are having a recount because there are less than 500 votes separating the two candidates - oh please let Al Franken pull it out. And if we thought that we would be rid of Sarah Palin now, she might actually finagle her way into the Senate with yet another questionable ethics move - the incumbent Republican senator has been convicted of a felony (and yet many Alaskans still voted him back into office - I think they must give moose the right to vote in Alaska!) The vote between the felon and the Democrat is again so close that it has not been settled but the news pundits have put forth an interesting scenario that actually COULD happen. If the felon is ultimately declared the winner, he will most likely by kicked out of the Senate (the senate can do that) And if they do, guess who gets to appoint his replacement - the Alaskan governor. While she can't appoint herself to the post (although I'm sure she would go ahead and insist she could anyway), she could make a back door deal with her Lt. Governor where she would resign, elevating him to Governor and then he would appoint her to the Senate. It would not be 'illegal' to do that, but it would be as ethically questionable as many of her other moves while in office as the Wasilla Mayor and in the Gov office. We'd be better off with the moose. Or maybe the Lt. Governor would appoint Tina Fey - now THAT would be a good decision.
I'm going to go watch the video of Obama's beautiful speech last night again now - there is a world of hope awaiting us now.
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06:25 pm
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It took 20 years, but we've made Legends a hit at last
The reviews are in for the drag version of Legends I directed at Uptown and it's all raves. Certainly these have to be not only the first universally positive reviews that show received since its notorious tour with Mary Martin and Carol Channing, but the first absolute raves it ever earned at all! Critics have burned up their computer keyboards typing ecstatic praise for BJ and Coy as the dueling divas, and the rest of the cast has also earned kudos in holding their own onstage with those two. Read the reviews here: Andiworld Reviews.
This was a rare show for me in the sense that after I laid a firm foundation in blocking, subtext and comic ideas, I had to let go during tech week and let the actors improvise with all the props we gave them. During rehearsals, I had told the actors that I wasn't going to give them specifics in certain sections because I knew it would all change once we added all the props - and I was right. As the actors got used to their props in tech, they started to play and their wicked inspirations took hold - and I knew at that point I had to relegate myself to 'the back seat.' Dealing with all the food props also lead to more comic business that I let the actors explore. The bit Coy discovered, the flying meatball and toothpick, has now been mentioned in more than one review, prompting me to email the actors that we needed to give the meatball and toothpick their own bows at curtain call - to which BJ replied "Coy and I ALREADY have our own bows." Gotta love my "Legends."
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09:18 am
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The Making of our Legends
I haven't had time to post lately, being deep into rehearsals for "Legends" which opens next week. And I should be working on finishing up the sound design for the show on my one day off before all-day tech starts, but here I am stealing a few minutes to blog.
Rehearsals have gone extremely well. Of course, BJ and Coy are chewing major scenery as the two aging movie divas which has provided many laughs during rehearsals. And the rest of the cast have all made their own comic contributions as well. The show is very prop heavy, even requiring 'stunt' props that break on cue or a 'stunt double' where a prop that is intact in the first act has a stand-in prop for Act 2 that is in pieces already.
As we started rehearsals, I also started reading the book "Diary of a Mad Playwright" which is Legends' playwright James Kirkwood's biographical retelling of the now-infamous original production of this script in the mid-80s which starred Mary Martin and Carol Channing. He went through hell for over a year working with this show from its casting process to its final curtain. And the sad thing is that if they had not decided to use the casting gimmick of two real legends to play the feuding, faded movie queens, the show would probably have reached Broadway. There were tons of horror stories, including Mary (in her 70s at the time) not being able to remember her lines and becoming completely disoriented onstage at times (to the point that they finally got an earpiece for her to feed her lines from offstage) and the constant meddling (and stirring the pot) of Carol and her husband, who was a constant presence. The changes and cuts that were made to accommodate the stars (and a clueless producer who was in the music business and had never produced theater) didn't make the play better and when Mary and Carol refused to extend their contracts to take the show to NYC, that ended its original run. Ironically, Kirkwood mentions in his book that the first South American production done with 2 actresses in their 40s was a huge hit and won the equivalent of their Tony Award.
Not too many years ago, a 2nd production of Legends was done in a national tour, but even then the producers had not learned their lesson from the first experience (and apparently did not read Kirkwood's book) They hired Joan Collins and Linda Evans of Dynasty fame to do the show and by all accounts, it was not a good production. Neither of those women is exactly known for being a strong actress, much less a comic actress, and this play is a comedy. The only reason it sold any tickets was because of the 'legend' of the two women (including the highly publicized rumors of their feud during their Dynasty days)
And now comes the first version of this show done with two male actors in drag - another irony, since in Kirkwood's book, he mentioned that when he was originally shopping the script for possible production, he gave the script to Mike Nichols who loved the script and suggested Kirkwood use two male actors in drag. Kirkwood didn't go for that idea and looked what happened to his script instead!
I think when our show opens next Friday, "Legends" will finally overcome its past legendary notoriety (which was earned for all the wrong reasons) Too bad James Kirkwood isn't alive to see it now.
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10:10 pm
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The labors of Labor Day
I am still waiting to have my Labor Day holiday weekend a week after the fact! My office actually gave us off the Friday before Labor Day so I had a 4 day weekend but it was not going to be a holiday, since I needed to use that time to get my master bathroom redone before I started rehearsals for Legends.
I had already prepped the bathroom walls before the holiday weekend, stripping the wallpaper and sanding the walls - I did that for several evenings when I got home from work. Friday morning I tackled texturing the walls with the texture paint, and at the same time I had an electrician friend come over to install 2 ceiling fans in my kitchen. I had finished the texturing by lunchtime and Andy had gotten the wiring done and hung one fan as we were surprised to see a sudden unexpected downpour happen. Then all of a sudden a huge boom sound happened just outside and all the power went off in the condo. It seems one of the power lines had blown thanks to the thunder storm. Thank goodness I had finished the texturing before my condo was plunged into darkness. Andy was actually able to finish hanging the other ceiling fan without power, but we couldn't test it because we didn't have any power. He promised that he would come back in the event that after the power was restored the fans didn't work right and then he left.
It was a hot, humid day and with no a/c, the condo started to get stuffy, so I took Callisto out on the patio with me and I worked a little on the laptop til the battery started getting low. Being out on my patio by the pool, though, I did have a chance to meet some of my neighbors since people started coming out on their balconies when they arrived home in the afternoon to no lights in their condos. Hours later, there was still no sign of the power being restored, so I jumped in the car to go get a hot meal and saw our maintenance guys out by the power lines and asked when we were gonna get power. The utility company had been called hours before but still had not shown up and they were waiting and waiting in the meantime. Finally after 7 pm, my power was back on and I was able to see that my new ceiling fans in the kitchen worked great and that the texturing in the bathroom was drying nicely.
Saturday morning I was up early to do the base coat in the bathroom, and then I took Seven for her annual check-up at the vet. Luckily, she was announced to be in good health for being a middle-aged kitty. Sadly, the checkup Callisto had several weeks earlier was not as lucky, since at 9 1/2 years old, Callisto was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease - that is something that will become more difficult to deal with in the coming months and years.
After taking Seven home from the vet, I ran some errands and by the time I got home and did a few more things around the house, the bathroom was ready for its top coat. So I got out the expensive Ralph Lauren ragging roller ($10 for an f-ing paint roller because it is designed specifically to create the ragging paint effect) and began to 'rag-paint.' And it looked pretty darn cool! I was quite pleased with how the bathroom looked when I was done.
Sunday was house cleaning and putting all the new fixtures in the bathroom and Monday was a small Labor Day party with a few friends. When folks arrived in the afternoon, everyone had brought food and Lisa wanted to keep a couple of things in the oven to keep them warm til it was time to eat; however, when we tried to turn the stove on, it wouldn't work. It was then that I realized that the clock on the electric oven wasn't working and it had worked fine til Friday - so it was either due to the power outage or the wiring work on Friday. After lots of teasing from everyone that it took me 3 days to realize that my stove didn't work because I never cook, we used the grill to cook everything we had originally planned to cook on the stove.
Tuesday I put in a call to Andy to have him come over on Thursday to see if we could figure out why the stove didn't work after the power came back on. Then I got ready for Evil Twin John's return from upstate NY to show off the work I'd done on the condo. As I was raising my vinyl mini-blinds to open the shades in the living room before he arrived, the entire mini-blinds ripped completely out of the window frame and came crashing down within an inch of my head! Not exactly the effect I was hoping for when he got there. Despite that unexpected turn, he arrived at the condo and loved everything I'd managed to get done while he was gone all summer and was impressed by the new bathroom.
As for my living room window, the mini-blinds were dead so I had to hang up a couple of sheets to cover the open window because I wasn't going to have time to put up any new window dressing til Sunday, thanks to rehearsals starting for Legends. But later in the week, I picked up some great faux wood blinds at Home Depot and Evil Twin came over on Sunday to help me install them. They look much nicer than the vinyl mini-blinds and are not likely to nearly decapitate me when I try to raise them - so I think that is a win-win. And Andy came over on Thursday and got the stove working again (it was a loose wire in the breaker box, which ironically had nothing to do with either the power outage or the ceiling fan installation) so I have a working stove again.
I'm still waiting for my holiday weekend, though.
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08:52 pm
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Au Revoir La Fleur
Last weekend was the closing weekend for NINE and it went out with a bang - in more ways than one. We were virtually sold out for all 3 shows in our last weekend, and more theater folk continued to come out to see the show and praise it. I also had numerous strangers come up to me in the lobby and tell me this was their 2nd time to see the show and they loved it both times. And again I had many friends and theater acquaintances tell me this role was perfect for me. Funny, I had never pictured myself doing La Fleur in all the years I've loved this show and now she has grown on me to the point I think she definitely joins the list of my all-time favorite roles. I will miss her but she got a great send-off thanks to our Saraghina's hubby who was in the audience on Saturday night.
Tony was coming back for his 3rd time and I thought "Good, if I can't get the first 2 guys I pick out of the audience to admit they sent the flowers, I'll be able to single out Tony and he knows what to do." Sure enough the first 2 guys were too shy or embarassed to play along when I spoke to them in the audience so, since Sara had told me where Tony was sitting, I zeroed in on him and he was sitting a few seats down from some other theater friends, BJ and Ted. I asked if he sent the flowers. He spoke up and said yes, he did. Then I asked him his name, which is the next part of the audience setup. I was prepared for a ridiculous name like "Peewee" which he had told Sara that he might say if I ever did ask him again - in fact, I had a great zinger all ready. Instead he takes a few beats and then says "BJ." Well, the numerous theater folk in the audience died laughing, BJ and Ted laughing loudest of all. And, even though the girls behind me onstage were all supposed to be frozen in repose during my audience schtick, that sent them into giggles themselves, including Sara. Of course, I couldn't just let that go without playing around with the name he chose, so I said to him "Somehow I think zat is not your real name," which brought more laughter from audience and cast. Then I accused Tony of "not wanting to be recognized" which kept the laughs going even longer. But I knew I needed to get back to the scripted part of the show and move back into the song, so I announced his fake name to the girls, giving it a nice French flair, Bee Zhay, which mined a few more laughs out of BJ's borrowed name. It was a great and funny way to wrap up my last improv bit in NINE.
The closing weekend was not without another memorable incident - unfortunately, it was not a good one. I had a bizarre accident Friday evening when I was getting ready for the show. I was showering in my spacious stand-up shower in the new condo and when I finished, I realized I had not set my towel out on the counter, which I usually did to make sure I could reach it easily without getting out of the shower. No big deal, I thought, I will just reach around the glass shower door to get the towel off the rack behind the door. Well, I was stepping back into the shower, pulling the towel around the door, my foot slipped and I fell backward into the shower. And because I can't just fall, it became a whole bizarre sequence that banged me up in multiple ways. As I lost my balance, my right foot twisted at an odd angle, so I mildly sprained my right foot. My left foot slipped up off the floor and went under the glass shower door, ripping up the front and back of my left leg. When I hit the floor of the shower stall, I actually hit the wall with my left arm and shoulder and then hit the floor with my arm and my left butt cheek - the bruising was so bad by Saturday night's show that I had to cover my arm with makeup.
But I hadn't just banged myself up, I also broke a beautiful glass jar that my friend Greg had given me as a birthday present a few years ago. The red and black jar was sitting on a basket next to the shower as part of the decor in my Bollywood bathroom. Well, when I body-slammed the glass shower door during my fall, the door swung out with huge force and hit the basket, knocking the jar on the tile floor. The jar survived miraculously but the lid shattered into a thousand tiny glass shards all over the floor of the bathroom, in front of the shower - where I am now laying half in/half out of the shower in excruciating pain. Naturally this is the moment all my furkids come rushing into the bathroom concerned over the loud crash and Mommy's screams and crying.
So, naked, bleeding, crying, and unable to stand because I am so banged up, I am trying to keep the pets from stepping on the broken glass by picking the pieces up with my fingers on my hands and knees. It's a wonder I didn't cut my hands up picking up the glass but I didn't need anyone else in the household injuring themselves so before I tended to my own wounds, I had to get the glass out of the way of delicate paws that were walking all over the bathroom.
I got the glass up and finally managed to stand - my left leg was stinging from all the skin that had been ripped off and I was limping on my right foot. But I didn't have time to nurse my wounds or get out ice packs and elevate things because I had to be in Irving in less than an hour for the show. I popped some Ibuprofen and bandaged up my skinned leg, taped my twisted foot and tried to get my hair dry and makeup done while hobbling around.
Needless to say when I got to the theater, I was so stiff and sore, everyone wanted to know what happened. After hearing my story, several people suggested that perhaps I should have some of those "senior citizen" handrails installed in my shower - and how embarassed was I when I had to tell them that I bought the place from an 80 year old couple who already had handrails installed in both bathrooms!
I was not looking forward to sitting on that wooden box onstage for 45 minutes either during the show. I went upstairs after getting into costume and was warming up, trying some things to see how well I could move and, let me just say that when I sat down on that unpadded box, I let out an audible OW! But I was going to have to do it, pain or not. That was one rough show for me, especially with all the rocking we had to do on our boxes in the staging and there were numerous times when I had to swing around from side to side while sitting on the box. Boy, my butt and my right foot were throbbing so bad when the show ended that all I wanted to do was go home and put ice on everything.
But I survived the show and no one in the audience, even the theater folk, noticed there was anything wrong with me (good thing they couldn't see my face wince every time I had to swing around and face upstage on that box) And I made it through the last show on Saturday, though it was still uncomfortable. So in one way, I was glad the show was ending because my body (and my butt) need a chance to recover from the fall. Here it is Tuesday and I am still finding new bruises in place on my body that I didn't even know I hit when I fell - and it is going to take weeks for my left leg to heal from all the skin I ripped off. I've already gone through one box of large bandages and a tube of Neosporin. Thank goodness, I have a break of a few weeks before I start rehearsals for Legends.
So for now I must say Au Revoir to La Fleur, although she is gonna be with me for a long time (and I will have the scars to prove it!)
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01:06 pm
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Catching up after opening NINE
A week ago today, NINE opened to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. A week ago was also the day one of my "second moms" passed away unexpectedly. I got a call from my childhood friend Doug only a few hours before my opening night show that brought very sad news. It seems that a wonderful woman who had been like a second mom to me throughout my years in children's theater had died unexpectedly from complications following a routine knee surgery – he was stunned and so was I.
Dani was a terrific woman and she and her friend Jane (another of my "second moms") had continued to come to every show I ever did in Dallas. For many years, they had often come with my mom, since they were all good friends from our days of being involved with the Junior Players Guild. They were there at Mom's funeral last November and were on the front row when I performed Glinda in Broadway Our Way the following January. They sent me a lovely note after that show, which included a Glinda fridge magnet, saying they knew how proud Mom would have been of me. And I know they would have come to see me in NINE. Now I must go say goodbye to Dani at her memorial service tomorrow instead. I did quietly dedicate my opening night performance to her, Mom and Dad, since they are all now back together in heaven, and no doubt having many good laughs together just like old times.
I thought of Dani frequently during the opening weekend of shows, since she was my first professional stage manager during my children's theater days. I know she would have enjoyed this show so much, especially seeing me do my improv with the audience in a French accent. And it is because of the solid foundation in theater experience that I got from her and Jane during my teen years in their theater that I have the security to hold my own when "working without a net" improvising with a live audience.
I never know what to expect when, as Liliane, I talk to the audience, trying to find the man who "sent me roses." I have to laugh at a couple of the responses I've gotten from the audience – twice now, when I have singled out a man sitting next to a woman and asked if he sent me the flowers, they have said no and just pointed to the woman seated next to them. That of course gives me the opportunity to make some jokes about "having never seen him before in my life" to the woman with a sly wink to the man. On one occasion when I asked, not only did the man not speak at all, but his wife loudly spoke up and said No. Of course I had to comment on his wife doing all his talking for him and added something about 'no wonder he was scared to speak' – suddenly I was a French Joan Rivers – which got laughs. I've also noticed that the men who do 'confess' that they sent the flowers typically fumble around when I ask their name, trying to make up a fake name – so of course I also tease them for that, saying they don't want to be recognized. It's too fun.
But the best audience bit so far happened last night when I asked a man if he sent the flowers and he said yes almost immediately. But before I could respond to his answer, his wife chimed in and said SHE sent the flowers. Well, I had anticipated that one day some woman might think it would be funny to claim she sent them and I was prepared for that – but to have both of the couple saying yes was a surprise! But I went with it without missing a beat, saying "How Parisian! A Menage a Trois!" Thank Goodness, that was one French phrase I do know ;-) Needless to say, that was very amusing to everyone, especially the cast.
I find it funny that people often ask me after the show if my talking to the audience is scripted or if I am improvising – and they seem so impressed when they find out I am winging it. I guess my improvised comments are so natural, quick and funny that they think it must be scripted and that the people in the audience are shills. I must admit that Liliane is becoming one of my favorite roles besides Amnesia, partly for the reason that I do get to let her 'play' with the audience. And you gotta love a 42 foot boa (the feathery kind) – too bad I won't get to keep it after the show (I have a feeling my director, Michael Serrecchia will be keeping it, though!)
The reviews have all been great for NINE so far, with a few more to come. I've been called a hoot and a vamp, so I am happy to be sexy and funny to the critics. But I don't have time to rest on my laurels, or my ass, because I am already in pre-production for Legends at Uptown, which I will begin directing at the end of this month. Once again, no time off, and no time to do any more fix-up on the new condo.
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