Something Funny This Way Comes

Last year for Christmas, I did the "12 Absurd Days of Christmas" here on the blog.  I also shared the "Christmas Letters of Yore".  I'm trying to think of something funny and creative to do this year.  Now taking suggestions!

I was going to make a list of possibilities here, but I'm seriously drawing a blank.  Can't think of ANYTHING!!!  So I need your help!!!  HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mandy Patinkin Conundrum

In my brain, Mandy Patinkin = Inigo Archibald Georges Jason Gideon Seurat Craven Montoya.  His father was killed by a falling branch of a tree and he solved the crime by profiling the tree...and then he painted the tree using pointillism.

Weird.

Beware of Charging George

Last night, Craig and I sang a duet in our voice studio's recital.  We were about halfway through the song when I looked up and saw George heading up the aisle towards us.  He was being chased by Shauna.  She grabbed him, he started crying, and she hauled him out of the room.  Craig and I both managed to keep singing while we were laughing.  There is nothing cuter than an almost 2 year old on a mission to get to his Daddy!

The other side of the story was that George figured out that his Daddy was singing and crawled under Shauna's legs before anyone realized what he was doing.  Shauna had been holding Rebekah, and she had to literally throw her at Neal & Amanda in order to go after George.  Poor Becky!

I only wish Robin could have gotten all of THAT on video.

My Harry Potter Adventure

I've never been one to get overly excited about midnight showings of movies.  I could always be patient and see the movie during normal daytime hours.  But this is the last Harry Potter movie!  (Well...the next to last, anyway.)  This called for some Super Geekdom!  Plus I didn't have to work early the next morning, so I figured I'd give it a go.

My job was to save a place in line for 3 other people who were working late.  I discovered that some friends of mine were in line early, so I headed out to the theater about 9:30 pm.  It wasn't too cold, which was nice.  It was fun to hang out with some of my high schooler friends and help them rehearse for their pending "Anything Goes" auditions.  I was shocked when they started herding people inside at about 10:30 pm.  Just as the line starting moving, I got a call from my cousin saying that he wouldn't be able to make it after all.  (Long story...sick kiddo...)  As I was being herded inside, I called my mom regarding the extra ticket.  She decided that she'd just pay my brother for the ticket and just not use it.  (That's all part of that aforementioned long story.)

So, I end up in the first theater they were filling up and the rest of my party was still 15 to 20 minutes away from arriving.  They REALLY frown on seat saving on nights like this, so I had no idea what to do.  After a frantic call to my sister and a conversation with a theater employee who grew up down the street from me, I opted to wait in the lobby until everyone else arrived and then we'd find a theater.  (They were showing the movie on several screens.)

Everyone arrived about 15 minutes later and we found a theater with open seats.  We ended up having to sit a little bit closer than I normally prefer, but it wasn't too bad.  It was now an hour and fifteen minutes until the movie began.  We had time to kill!  And when they started playing the pre-movie stuff on the screen it was on a very short loop, so we had to see the same trivia over and over and over again.  "YOGI BEAR!!"

FINALLY the movie began.  AND IT WAS GREAT!!!!!  My only complaint was that the camera was a little shaky at times.  I don't know if they was a directorial choice, but it was a little weird.  Other than that, GREAT MOVIE!  When it was over...GAH!  We have to wait until July now!  (I've read the books, it's not like I don't know what happens, but STILL!!!)

I got home at 2:45 am.  4 hours past my bedtime.  But it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!  It was a fun evening and I'm glad I went, even though I am super tired today!!!

And special mention must be made of the great staff at the Metrolux 14 movie theater.  They handled the crowd wonderfully, were very organized, and very professional!  Good job, team!

Adventures in Theatre: What's Going Through My Mind

Ever wonder what is going through an actor's mind as they walk on stage?  Sometimes it's their lines, sometimes it's their blocking.  Sometimes it's what they are going to do after the show.  Well, I'll tell you what went through my mind last night as I walked onstage for my last big number of the show ("Something Wonderful" from The King and I):

"Wow, all of these people are going to watch me and pay attention while I'm singing.  I hope I don't screw up."

There you have it:  we're all just worried about screwing up.  Well, maybe that's just me.

Adventures in Theatre: Covering a Role with No Rehearsal

I am currently in a production of A Grand Night for Singing at the Jesters Dinner Theatre.  We opened last Saturday.  The Tuesday prior to that I was asked to cover another role at one performance a week after opening.  Since the show is all music and limited dialogue, I agreed.

First you have to understand that the show is written to be performed by 3 women and 2 men.  We have expanded that to 10 women and 3 men, and all the women are double cast.  The show is a Rodgers and Hammerstein review and is literally one song after another.  I was not feeling totally comfortable with my own role yet, but I felt that I could probably handle the other role.  I would have no rehearsal, but I would be able to watch at least once.  Well, it didn't turn out quite like that.

We were supposed to open on Friday, but we canceled that night and had rehearsal.  We ran through the show twice.  On the first run through, I played my regular role.  I was about halfway through the 2nd act when my double got sick and went home.  So I did the 2nd run through as well (meaning, I couldn't watch the other role.)  She was sick on Saturday as well, so I ended up doing both performances that weekend. 

I had been trying to figure out what to do to learn the part.  Should I try to learn it while still working on my own part?  I ended up focusing on my own role for the weekend.  Then after the show, I had one of the girls show me just what I would need to do.  I wrote some of it down, but not all.  I spent the week singing through the new songs.  One thing that was freaking me out was that I would have to sing the alto line for a trio that I was usually singing 2nd soprano in.  But I practiced it and I could at least sing SOMETHING that was in the chord (whether it was correct or not!).  The one solo I had to sing, I would be holding a baby.  So I copied the music down to a small piece of paper and hid it on the baby. I knew the song, but not enough to feel comfortable winging it.  (I was raised on R&H, but this was from a show that I didn't know before!)

I was in panic mode all week, trying to sing through the songs and remember the choreography.  Finally, Friday arrived.   (I had a hard time going to sleep on Thursday night.  Thank heavens for Tylenol PM!!)

It was go time.  I had my binder with the music and I just had to take it one song at a time!  Luckily, some of the other people knew where I needed to be.  They were very helpful!!!  But once I got out on stage, I sometimes had no idea where I needed to stand.  So I just picked a spot that looked open and went with it.  This is what I pretty much did for the rest of the show.  I survived the duet, only doing about half the choreography, but letting my acting skills carry me through.  The trio was...interesting.  I sang the wrong part a couple of times, but I guess it sounded okay.  The solo was great, except that I had to turn the paper over and I don't think I was very surreptitious about it.  Oh, well.  Finally the end of the show came and I was still alive!!  I had survived!!!  It was a high stress, high adrenaline show for me...but I made it through!

And now I have to do my regular role tonight.  Good thing I have a 40 minutes drive to the theater and I can sing along with the CD!!

Theatre....always keeping me on my toes!  That's one reason I love it so much!

An Argument Against Unisex Names for Kids

I don't mean to offend anyone who has a unisex name or have given their child a unisex name.  But I just have to share what just happened, which is an example of a consequence you may not have realized:

I am at work and I just got a call from a child wanting to audition for our next show.  My audition form asks for their age as well as their gender.  Normally, I have the parents calling.  They say "I'd like to set up an audition time for my son/daughter".  That makes it easy.  But this kid that called right now was named Billy (Billie?) and was 13.  I honestly could not tell if this kid was a boy or a girl.  And I didn't really want to ask.  How rude would that be?  "Billy, are you a boy or a girl?"  Nooooooo....so not gonna ask that.  Could have been Billy and his voice hasn't changed yet.  Or could have been Billie, short for Belinda?  I don't know.  So I just left that column blank.  No harm, no foul.

So, before you name your son or daughter with a name that could go either way...think of me talking to them 13 years down the road and not knowing what to put down in the "Gender" column and being too nice to ask.

Please don't be offended, especially you...Billy....Billie....Billi?

My Performance Dates for "A Grand Night for Singing"

I'm sure you've all been waiting for this information.  Well, here you go:

November 5, 7, 13, 20, 21, 27
December 3, 5, 11
January 7, 9, 15, 21, 23

I will also be in the show on November 12, however I will be covering another role and will not be singing my regular songs.  (And I'll be singing a completely different part on a trio I normally sing, so that should be...interesting.)

The schedule may change slightly, so it's always a good idea to check with me before you come.


Other important information:
Jesters Dinner Theatre
(303)682-9980 for reservations

Pricing:
Dinner/Show:  Adults: $32,Students/Seniors (60+): $30, Children (12 and under): $23
Show only:  Adults: $20, Students/Seniors (60+): $18, Children (12 and under): $15

Please let me know if you have any questions!  I hope to see your smiling face in the audience!