Cats - Day 5

Woooo weee! We are heading to the end of the rehearsal process! I learned a bunch of Act 2 numbers today. Pretty good pretty good. Macavity is the last real dancing I have to do in the show so smiles! I'm so excited for the show and as long as I keep reviewing stuff I should be fine. I did do A Chorus Line in a week my first summer here in WV so I have faith. I also got to do my makeup today. Wow is that a process! I hope I get really good at it. I was not so good today haha. I have a bout 8 tries. I will post pics when I have a good pic. We are finishing Act 2 tomorrow then running the show!

Cats - Day 4

Today was the big day! I learned the fabulous Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer number! The number with the fabulous cartwheel thingy at the end! It was a lot of fun to learn and fits well into my body. I'm still very out of breath by the end, but no matter! The cartwheel trick was not nearly as hard as I thought it might be and after I got over my nerves and initial scaredy cat chills (haha so clever. wah wah...) I realized that I'm pretty strong and I have a really great partner. You really can't go into these things thinking the worst - this is a trick that either of us could get dropped on our heads. Lots of trust in each other and God gets it done!
So Cats is going very well. We ran Act One today and besides some forgetfulness it was rather successful. Act 2 is a breeze so say the Cat veterans so that's refreshing after the workout of Act One.
Enjoyed the hot tub and pool tonight with some cast and crew. Always a nice time - its such a great set up here in WV. So kinda at a loss of what else to talk about. I'm very tired today - lots of hard work. Such a nice sense of accomplishment. I need that in my life. I like being productive and then I feel less guilty about being lazy, which is really my nature. haha maybe not lazy just very relaxed. Oh my - the mind is wandering and needs some sleep. Today was definitely a great demonstration of God's care and love and I'm so grateful.

Cats - Day 3

Sooooo a much easier day! Only had to learn a few things - tap break in Gumbie Cat, Invitation, Rum Tug Tugger (in which i go crazy in a hot and bothered kinda way...), and music for my number. I even had a break in there! amazing. I also had a fitting today - pretty cute and very tight! I think I'm going to lose some weight doing this show. yay! Nothing major to report about this day however. oh! It was raining all day. There ya go. :)

Cats - Day 2

owwwwww! Today was a lot harder than Day 1. But that is to be expected. Still having a great time and really enjoying the process with this cast and director. We got our tails today - mine is very pretty! Still lots more to learn.... I need to review badly. Saw Fiddler on the Roof tonight with Eddie Mekka and Eric Byrd. Thats right E. Byrd gets top billing as well! It was a great show. One of the best Fiddler's I've seen. Mr. Mekka did say, "Golde, wheres the Viagra!?" at one point however when his cart handle broke. That was a liiiiitle awkward. Otherwise though a very charming and funny Tevye.
It brought back so many fond memories of my 10 weeks as Chava in Fiddler in a grand dinner theatre in Ohio... oh my.
Must get some rest now. I'll try to post a rehearsal Cats pic soon cuz we look pretty funny!

Cats - Day 1

First day as Rumpleteazer, or Rump as they call her for short (i always get the best nicknames. rump, poopsie....), and it was so fun! Our director and cast are amazing. Stephanie Lang has the best energy and is so smart in how she breaks stuff done. She's very calm, which is refreshing when you are putting on a show in a week, and she uses repetition which is also a key ingredient for week stock. The music is pretty hard to sing especially when you are running around the stage, but everything so far seems pretty manageable (and our MD Andrew is a genius)! Only down side so far are my horrible, painful knee pads and floor burns. Booo Hiss... oh well - I'm excited to learn more tomorrow!
Now as I study my script before bed lets all hope and pray that the fire alarms don't go off at 2:30am like the did last night!

the journey to West Virginia

Today's journey began with me getting up early to pack up my car and travel to Columbus to be the soloist at church. I was a little grumpy because I didn't sleep well thanks to a late night text and phone call. oh my friends... And I think I always get a little nervous when its time for a change. At church I met the sweetest elderly couple from Cleveland who are also actors. They both were/are members of Actor's Equity in addition to SAG and AFTRA and just got done performing a play this past May! I love it! These people are my new heroes! Next up was a quick lunch with my brother then time to hit the road.

Decent free freeways until - boom, ugh.... construction traffic. Now we all know how annoying stop and go traffic is on the highway, but its even more fun when you have to all work together to merge into one lane. Key words - work TOGETHER! Now I admit on occasion I try to skip to the front of the line to squeeze in but I understand what consequences could come my way. As my little white neon approached the actual merge point (i had merged long ago) I politely let a car in. Then out of sheer will the car behind that one pushed its way in front of me while.... wait for it.... talking on their CELL PHONE! I could not believe that this silly Alabama license plate had the nerve to merge and/or run me off the road. The car behind me saw my look of awe and disbelief. He raised his hands in the air as if to say " i know! these people! what are you going to do??" And at that moment, after I raised my hands in the air and shook my head in agreeance, I found it oddly comforting that there were other sane people on the road with manners. It was a strange sense of solidarity as we navigated the horrible construction traffic together.

Anyways finally made it to WV to catch some of The Wedding Singer. Moved my stuff into my "new place" (actually same apartment I was in last year with my super duper roomie E. Byrd - who is reprising his role this summer), went to dinner with lovely Staceface, and unpacked the rest of my junk. Now I sit, relaxing, trying to prepare for a whirlwind of rehearsals. Becoming a kitty should be interesting!

amazing...

isn't it amazing how music can transport you back to a certain place, time, or emotion. sometimes i wonder when certain songs will stop reminding me of hard times... immediately feeling how i felt that day as the same emotions come running back in... to the "good time" songs i say play on... "too many sad words make a sad sad song..." i still like my collection of music, but there is always room for new music memories.