Didn't I See This Movie?

The light went on. It wasn't the greatest time for it to go on, as he had no idea where the closest gas station was. But it went on. The next exit wasn't exactly an exit he felt comfortable getting off, so he waited a bit. Finally, he saw an Exxon right off the highway, and decided to go for it. It was simple. But he had to fill his 13.5 gallon tank with 13.2 gallons. Not good for the car. Nor is it very smart when it is 25 degrees out to come close to running out of gas. But alas. That was the situation. Next to the gas station, there was a McDonalds. He was hungry and hadn't had McD's in a long time...so he went. He went to the drive through and ordered chicken strips and a DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER. He paid and drove away. Upon unwrapping the double cheeseburger, however, he realized he had in fact been given a McDouble-a double cheeseburger minus one piece of cheese. But, being a double cheeseburger fanatic, he believed the McDouble to be an inferior sandwich. This wasn't the first time this had happened. He decided to send a text complaining of the cheeseburger debacle to his best friend, as it had happened to him several times before as well. As he was texting, he saw a sign for 95 and got on. After sending his text, and returning to concentrating on driving, he realized he had gotten on 95North when he needed to be on 95 South. Ooops! This is part of the reason texting while driving is a bad idea (also, slightly illegal...). Seeing an exit just to his right, and no cars in his way he dove over...not realizing that the exit was for the Commodore Barry Bridge. Upon realizing his second blunder of the evening, he hoped and prayed for an exit before the bridge. But, no such luck. As he crossed the bridge, he wondered if he would ever make it home, or if New Jersey would in fact swallow him hole. That's right, the Com Bar Bridge goes to New Jersey. He called his significant other to say hello, as he was making a brief trip through said significant other's home state. He then called the best friend whom he had been texting hoping he could help. But, unfortunately, he was unable to answer the phone. He got off the first exit hoping to make a U-turn, get back on the bridge and return to 95. But, the exit, for Route 130, it turns out was not a stop-light ridden road as he had hoped. Fortunately (the first time this word can be used during the story!) there was a place for a u-turn-it was an illegal u-turn, but there was no one around and frankly, he didn't care. As he approached the bridge again, he saw a sign "Pay Toll $4". He laughed out loud, alone in his car. It was a hearty laugh. He could have been angry, but at this point, anger would have just made things worse. And besides, he had his parents' ez-pass! He returned to 95 and got back to DE safely. All told, it added a lovely extra 40ish minutes to his ride home. But let's face it, everyone loves a 3 state road trip! Always an Adventure...WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Don't Feed the Plants

Ooops. Sorry ya'll. It's been a few days. But the 9 show week was exhausting (and I would like to say it was sort of a 10 show week because we also had that understudy runthrough) But I've returned, and I hope everyone is well!

The shows went pretty well--though there were a few semi-disasters on Sunday night. In order to create the atmosphere of London, there are fog machines that are constantly running just to give a bit of a haze to the stage. It's is a really neat effect. On Sunday night they stopped working. In an attempt to fix them, they were unplugged and plugged back in. Apparently this put them into overdrive. Quickly, (VERY quickly actually) the stage and backstage filled with fog. It would not be an exaggeration for me to say that if you were standing all the way upstage you couldn't really see the people standing all the way down stage. I'm not sure what it would be like for the audience, but I imagine it was a similar lack of visibility-especially for the balcony since the fog tends to rise. Eventually things cleared up, but it was quite funny while it lasted.

Some of the kids appear to be getting tired of doing the show. I think back to when I was 10 and I'm pretty sure I couldn't do the show as many times as they have to. Several people (SM, Dance Captain ,etc) keep trying different ways to keep everyone energized and it is working most of the time. Now don't get me wrong, it isn't all of the kids. Some of them are quite spectacular and probably will be until the end of the run, it's just a few that seem to be "over it".

Yesterday was my last day off until Christmas Eve. 12 shows over 9 straight days. It'll be tiring, but I'm excited for the Holidays! Dan was up in DE, so we went to lunch with his mother and went to Jos. A Bank and actually banks and such. Then I went to see Little Shop of Horrors at 11th Hour Theatre Company. Overall, I thought it was spectacular. I was especially impressed by the way they used the very small acting space for a pretty big technical show. (The cast is small, but that doesn't make it a small show.) Seymour (which is, of course, my dream role of dream roles) was fantastic. Great comic timing. I had a few issues with the show, but I tend to have issues with every show now (eeek am I becoming a theatre snob?!) Despite those very small issues, I really enjoyed the production. It was the first show I've ever seen in Philly, and it has set a high standard for my expectations of Philly theatre. Congrats to everyone involved in that production.

Well, this is only an 8 show week, but since the week doesn't really end until next Thursday after 12 shows, it'll be a long week. Whatever, though, 'cause I love my job! 7:30Half Hour 8PM Show Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Dog Show

Oh the things that happen when you work with canines and kids. During the afternoon show one of the kids decided to watch a scene from off stage (cause he is understudying Dodger) and the dog noticed him or smelled him or something. But the dog decided it was play time. He was at that point tied to the table, and he began dragging the table toward the poor kid (who realized he had distracted the dog, tried to hide, and made it worse haha). He knocked over on of the chairs, which then got everyone's attention and the scene came to a screeching halt. The actors did a great job staying in character and trying to save the scene, but since the dog is deaf (yeah, he is...not sure I've mentioned that before) yelling at him won't stop him! So he yelled, because the character would clearly yell at his dog) but he had to go over and get in front of the dog so the dog could see his hand signals (yup, the dog responds to hang signals, it's amazing) When he signaled for the dog to sit, and he sat, the audience was amazed and applauded. The audience thoroughly enjoyed this, and the actors couldn't help but smile as that is the pleasure of live theatre (especially when you are working with a dog AND 40 children!)

We have decorated our dressing room to the high hills. There are lights galore (icicles and regular), garland, wreaths, bulbs, and Hug-letoe (ok, it's mistletoe, but have I mentioned the 40 kids? Everyone has cooties, and I guess hugs are acceptable, so it's hug-letoe. hahahahaha) The dressing room looks AWESOME. And it's fun to decorate!

5 show weekend. 9 show week. EEEEEK/Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

One Last Kiss

Had a great understudy rehearsal today. I'm sad it was our last one, as I enjoy working on this part. We ran through the show for the first (and only!) time. I had alot of fun with the lovely woman understudying the role opposite mine. I'm really glad to have been understudying this role. It is a part I hope to play in the future.

The show tonight was also alot of fun. I can't really pinpoint why, I just had a good time. Two of the people in the ensemble reenact one of the deaths backstage as it happens on stage. (Which I guess technically isn't reenacting because they happen simultaneously, but to say they were enacting the death backstage sounded too weird to me.) They've been doing it nightly in fun and hysterical ways. This evening' s was especially fun. The things that go on backstage while people sit in the audience...it makes me think about all the shows I've seen that had dramatic moments on stage and it makes me wonder whether there were people having a fun time backstage. I'm sure they were.

Welp, two shows tomorrow! I'm not really sure why I wrote "welp" there, but it is what popped into my head. So, that's that I guess. Weeeeeeeeeee!

Change It, Don't Change It

I think I'm changing the title to "always an a adventure..." Just so everyone knows. This isn't official yet. But it's a strong contender. I really wish I could use "Overheard While Talking to Myself" but Alan Alda came up with that as the title of his autobiography. THAT. IS. A. BRILLIANT. TITLE. I wish I thought of it. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know! Also, the possibility of not changing it remains. As it does attest to my randomness...

Anyway, nothing too adventure-y today. My dear friend Stephen and I decided to start an Underground SetBack League when I get home in January. So if anyone out there loves SetBack and wants in, lemme know. I love SetBack and haven't played in so long! If this doesn't work out, we've decided to learn Bridge and play that all day and night. I love Bridge (Ok, I have never played it, but I love card games, so I should learn it). I think it is an old people game, and since I absolutely love and adore old people-it makes sense I should play bridge. Right?! Of course right.

The show went pretty well tonight. There is lots of "extra" fun going on on stage to make things extra fun. We're in the middle of the run so we have to push to keep it high energy and such. I'm still, however, thoroughly enjoying myself!

It was supposed to snow again before I got out of the show, but when I walked outside there was no snow. BOOOO! Apparently it is still coming this way. Hopefully the roads will be ok for rehearsal tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my last understudy rehearsal. We are running the show (as best you can without set, props, costume, etc!). I think it will be fun. I wish I could go on (not that I would ever wish ill on the lovely man I am understudying!)

Well that's about it. More tomorrow! (And possibly a title change....) Weeeeeeee!

Happy Birthday

Everyone here at Walnuts, Cheesesteaks and Ben Franklin would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Mommy! Happiest of Happy Days to you! Yay!

In the previous sentence, "Everyone here at Walnuts, Cheesesteaks and Ben Franklin"="I" haha.

Sorry for my lack of posting. I'm trying to save up interesting things so the posts are interesting. I just used interesting twice in one sentence.

The shows yesterday were great. There was a bit of a fiasco during the evening one, but it was covered nicely. Yesterday did not feel like a Sunday. This is most likely because we only had one show on Saturday. So the day off today feels strange. I'm glad we have the day off though, as I haven't been able to sleep the last few nights. I guess my insomnia is back! If only I could figure out what it was that was keeping me awake! Bleh!

Some snow is still clinging to the ground and trying to keep a winter like feel here in Wilmington. I love it, of course! It was funny the other day cause I left 2 hours and 15 minutes before call just in case the roads were bad (as they were pretty bad in the neighborhood.) Once I crossed the border into PA (which is about 5 minutes from here) There wasn't any snow on the ground. The roads were a little wet, but that was it. This made me nervous for ice on the way home-but once again the roads were fine. So we got the benefit of beautiful snow and safe road conditions! Yay!

Nothing else too exciting to report. Three extras and two dressers (that sounds like the title of a novella or something) went to CoCo's between shows yesterday again for the $5 wing special. Unfortunately, they weren't doing the special yesterday. I was deeply saddened. I still got wings though. And they were still good. But they should have been $5!!! Booo on CoCo's!

The plans have already started for my month in Tolland. I'm looking forward to it, although I will be truly sad to see this show end. I'm having such a wonderful time and the cast is so sweet and talented. Also, I love the children! This is probably because I am still a 10 year old at heart. People keep saying doing a show with 40 children is the best form of birth control there is, I will say that it reaffirms that I want to adopt children someday. (3, Robert...3!!!)

Wow, getting a little deep and personal here on Walnuts, Cheesesteaks and Ben Franklin. Oh, by the way, I'm going to need to change the title of my blog as I've decided to keep it going when I go on tour. So it needs to be something less specific. (Ok, the current title isn't actually specific, but it is supposed to remind one of Philadelphia, and I'll be all over the country) So, if anyone has any clever ideas for my blog title, let me know! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

Snow

Oops. I guess I should have waited a little while longer before complaining that I had yet to see snow. Nonetheless, IT'S SNOWING!!! Yay! It is piling up slowly on the grass, but not sticking to the roads, so it's the best of both worlds. Apparently it is going to get really cold tonight, so I'll need to be careful on my drive home from the show. However, it's going to be in the high 40's the rest of the weekend so that snow won't be on the ground that long. No matter the situation, I love snow! Yay snow!

We had a pretty good show last night. I'm still having a great time on stage. Last night, there was a bag of cookies in the green room. Usually we just eat whatever is there, but I decided to ask who brought them in since they were yummy. I was then told that The Cookie Lady brought them. That was it, no explanation. So clearly I asked for some elaboration. This is really neat! There is a lady who comes to every Walnut Street Theatre show the 3rd Friday of every run. She sits in the front row and brings cookies for the cast. She is now known fondly as The Cookie Lady. I thought that was one of the sweetest things I'd ever heard.

I'm watching the Big East Championship Game on ESPN. Cincy v. Pitt. It's a great game. (It's also snowing there!) I'm also imagining a future when we will watch UConn play in this game. Maybe it will never happen...but I have faith! It takes time to build a great program, right? I'm spoiled because I didn't have to suffer through the basketball teams rough years. But hey, we beat ND this year, right! (Haha! Sorry, Dan)

One show today. Two tomorrow. Then a day off, which I'm still not sure where I'll be going for. But I'm sure it will be fun. Weeeeeeee!

I Never Has Seen Snow

I'm am tired again, but I'm not called for the understudy rehearsal today, so I can rest. yay! The Siefrings enjoyed the show last evening, though unfortunately they had to sit way up in Row P of the Balcony. This upset me, but they said it was a good view. Twas very nice of them to come!

Yesterday was a bit strange because it was our first weekday double show day. So, today feels like it should be Saturday, Sunday or Monday, but in fact it is only Friday. However, we only have a 4 show weekend, as we do not have a matinee tomorrow. Yay for two days in a row of doing nothing all day!

I am craving a cheesesteak, though I'm not sure when I'll get to have one. Last time I was craving something-Chinese Food and Pho-it took me 3 days ad 4 days respectively to follow through on the craving. We'll see what happens. I'm not sure what my day off will bring on Monday, probably either a day in Philly or a day in DC, but we'll see. If it is a day in Philly, that is probably where my cheesesteak craving will come to an end.

Otherwise, not much is going on. Everyone is a bit nervous for the weeks around Christmas as we have 12 shows in a row without a break, but then we get two days off for Christmas. Plans are not set yet for where I am going and at what time, but I'm hoping that will be settled soon. We have a matinee the day after Christmas which makes things difficult for traveling. booo.

I realized yesterday that it is December and I still haven't seen any snow-not even a tiny amount of flurries. Now I know I'm not in New England, but I feel like we at least saw flurries by the end of November in DC. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not wishing for a snow storm as I don't want to drive back and forth to the show in ice and snow, but I wouldn't mind seeing a flurry--and then alot of snow in Mid-January would be lovely, 'cause then I can go skiing! Weeeeeeee!

Who's Crazy?

My goodness what an interesting morning. Since Dr. and Mrs. Siefring are coming to the show tonight, I gave them my parking pass to use and Mrs. Siefring drove me to the train this morning. I was hoping we would be able to play OVERHEARD ON THE SEPTA in this post, but I fell promptly asleep and didn't wake up until about 5 minutes before my stop. However, my walk from Market East to the theatre was quite an adventure...

I was walking, minding my own business when suddenly this woman yells toward me "What would you consider the curb side?" I stopped and looked at her and said nothing. She repeated "What would you consider the curb side?" I replied (trying not to sound like a jerk) "Uh, the side with the curb." She said "That's what I thought. Look at this." She grabs my arm and brings me to her car, where she has the parking validation in the window. I say "That should do fine." and I began to walk away. She had no interest in my leaving and said "Then why did I get a ticket. And she holds up a parking ticket in my face. I then realize that she is parked half in a no parking zone. I point this out to her, but she ignores me and goes about telling me what she is going to do in order to not pay the ticket. I thought about convincing her she needed to move her car, but she was slightly intimidating and I decided to let her continue with her rant and not risk my life. haha. I was going to leave, but realized she was fairly to completely crazy and since I was quite early for my call, decided to enjoy her insanity for a bit. We chatted about finding her a meter maid and that she should fight the ticket. As I walked away, she followed me and went to each car down the block saying "Look they didn't get a ticket. And they didn't. And they didn't." I finally lost her when she got to a car with the owner getting into it and she asked him if he got a ticket. I felt bad dumping the crazy lady on this poor, unsuspecting car owner who had in fact parked correctly (unlike her!). But I had to get to the theatre. It was most amusing.

Anyway, last night's show went pretty well. One of the children fell ill, and there is a long story to tell about it-but I feel bad putting it online because the poor child is traumatized enough. So, feel free to ask me about it. Poor kid.

Anyway, 2 shows today, with a loonnnngggg nap in between! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

December, 1963

Um, how did it become December? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know the mechanics of a calendar, but seriously, where did November go? We only have 50 more Olivers! Hrm, well, that sounds like alot, but it's going so fast!

Oh! My EMC card came in the mail. That is Equity Membership Candidate card, for those that don't know. I'm now on my way to joining the union...yay! I'll get 12 points for this show, and I need 50 to join. So I'm on the way.

The show last night was a little rough, but it'll work itself out. The Siefrings are coming to the show tomorrow night! I'm excited to have people I know in the audience again! Yay!

I had a lovely time with Robert on my day off. Well, he spent most of the day in New York at an audition/callback for 42nd Street. But, once he got home we went out to dinner and a movie. We saw the new 3D Christmas Carol. I really didn't like it. I guess Jim Carey made an ok Scrooge, but I did not enjoy any of the ghosts, the ghost of christmas past especially angered me. There was also an extremely long (and totally non-textually supported) chase sequence (most likely to maximize the 3d-ness of the movie) that really lost me. Also, I felt it totally ignored the fact that by the time the ghost of christmas yet to come appears, Scrooge is ready to learn and is hopeful that he can change what he is about to see. This chase sequence showed him running away from the future, which isn't at all correct. Furthermore, I just don't understand the need for 3D movies. They give me a headache. Call me old fashioned, but I'll take a regular old movie any day of the week. (Especially if Jim Carey isn't in it!)

Well, that's all for today. One show tonight and then two tomorrow. Weeeeeeee!

Been a Long Day

Sorry for not posting at the usual time! I was soooo tired that I didn't feel like typing. I know that sounds lazy, but it was a totally exhausting weekend. 6 shows in 3 days! I'm glad it's over, though to be honest I did have fun.

Not much to report. Two more nails came out of the set piece and onto the stage yesterday. This time, the guy I am understudying noticed them and picked them up so as not to wound himself again. I felt bad that he had to deal with that on stage. Fortunately, still no one has blamed understudy sabotage on the nails. =-) hehe.

A couple of us tried to go to Moriarty's between shows again today, and we were once again turned away. I guess they are serious when they say you have to have a reservation. I really want to try those wings! We instead went to a place near the theatre called Coco's which on Sunday has $5 wings. They were good...not great...but good. The waitress, however, did not bring me blue cheese with my wings and then looked at me strangely when I asked for some. HELLO!?!? What would I do with the wings without blue cheese? Eat them plain? Oh no no no no no. I vowed to not eat them until the blue cheese arrived. Fortunately (unlike our meals...) the blue cheese arrived quickly and I was able to eat. Of course everyone else finished before me due to my vow of hunger...but I felt like it was the right choice.

I have ventured up to see Robert for the day off. I know I was just up here for Thanksgiving, but we ran around the whole time and it'll be nice to just rest (though he does have an audition tomorrow for 42nd Street and Sophisticated Ladies). Also, Tuesday is our anniversary. Yay! So my Monday will hopefully consist of doing absolutely nothing, maybe some writing, a movie and food. That sounds like a great day off to me...weeeeeeee!

Far From the Home I Love

So today is the day where my family gets the Christmas Tree...but I have two shows. =-( This makes me sad. But, I can't complain because if I did everything I wanted to do tradition-wise I'd never have a gig...(we are a very very very tradition-filled family!) So, they will take a picture and send it to me and I will yell timber from afar. Then they are getting Wings with Cardins...ok I'll think about something else.

An illness is going through the cast...eeeek. Yesterday, one of the supporting actresses became quite ill and was unable to do the evening show. We knew this in the afternoon, but the understudy hadn't had a rehearsal yet so she came in a did the afternoon show and the understudy did the evening show. She was rehearsed into the role between shows. She ended up doing a fabulous job! She will have to do it again this afternoon. I hope our dear castmate feels better soon.

Also during the afternoon show, there was a mishap during the end of the show. Somehow a nail came out of a piece of set, and, unbeknownst to anyone, was laying on stage. Apparently, the guy I'm understudying stepped on it during the scene, (eek) but was somehow able to not react until he came off stage. I was impressed. He then came screaming off the stage and ripped his shoe off. None of us standing in the wings knew what was going on, it was terrifying. He is fine, but it turned out the nail went right through the sole of his shoe, and he could feel it poking into his skin. Fortunately, it didn't puncture him at all.

Welp, nothing else too exciting happened yesterday. We're in the middle of our 6 show weekend. I think the first show today is probably the most difficult, and by tomorrow night we'll probably all be wild and crazy that it'll be a really fast show. haha. I love my job. Weeeeeeeee!

Food, Glorious Food.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! I had a nice time with Robert's family. I ate alot, drank alot and was merry. Yay! I left Robert's this morning at 10 as I was afraid of the mall traffic that I had no doubt would slow me down immensely. I, fortunately, was mistaken, and I arrive at 12 for my 1:30 call. Oh well. The Green Room couches are so comfortable, I have no problem with arriving early.

And so begins my first ever 6 show weekend. At this point, there is no end in sight--6 shows is ALOT of shows to do in 3 days. But it will be fun-and crazy and exhausting-but also fun, I think.

I'm not sure what else to write for today, so I will lay down on the couch and hap before half hour. I hope everyone is well! Weeeeeeeeee!

Glee Club Rehearsal

Ooops. Was running late this morning so I didn't get a chance to update before understudy rehearsal. So here I am, in the green room after understudy rehearsal and I will now update. The rehearsal went well. I have my lyrics down and I learned the blocking I didn't know because there are times I can't watch from backstage. I was pleased. There is this one line that still trips me up that I can't for the life of me remember, but hopefully should the need arise for me to come on I will get it--or just make it up without stuttering. haha.

I've been really short-winded (is that a word?!) lately for some reason. Not much to report again. Not to much adventuring going on. After the show this evening I'm leaving for New Jersey where I will spend Thanksgiving. I'd love to be home, but it's just too much-especially with 6 shows Fri-Sunday. I haven't seen Robert in a while so it'll be a nice two-ish days with him.

Sorry to be so boring. I promise I'll force myself to write more over the next few days. Happy Thanksgiving! Weeeeeeee!

What Ought We To Do?

Well, the only adventure I participated in yesterday was going from my room down to the living room. Unless, you count my venture to the mailbox twice because the first time it wasn't there...it was raining so I did have to brave the elements...

Ok, so really it was a totally boring day. I did, however, get some writing done and I watched my Netflix movie (Get Smart, which I didn't love but laughed heartily a few times and would say overall I enjoyed it) I also watched Adaptation, which I thoroughly enjoyed for an hour or so and then as it got crazier and crazier I sort of zoned out. Ooops. Oh well.

I will say I am pleased that Joe Mauer won the AL MVP (sorry, Grandpa, I know you were rooting for Texiera or Jeter to win). His season was incredible and he carried that Twins team on his back.

All in all I'd say it was a great day of relaxation and with a very busy week coming up (including 6 shows Fri-Sun) it was probably necessary. But I was pretty bored!

Half Hour 7:30PM Curtain 8PM Sleep 12AMish Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Dog Show

Today will be a day of writing. So long as I can stay focused...it will most likely be difficult. haha. I won't lie, I just woke up about 30 minutes ago. haha. Ooops. The good news is I'm feeling very rested and almost back to 100%. I fought this cold quite valiantly if I may say so myself.

Yesterday's two show day felt less long than Saturday's. Maybe it's because I wanted to be spending time with the family so I wanted the shows to go faster, or maybe it's because the day off was in sight at the beginning of Sunday. Either way, the day went fairly quickly. Both shows were pretty solid I think, and the audiences were overall fairly typical and, well, solid. haha. Between shows I was lying on the couch when one of my new friends came and said "Want to go to Wendy's with me?" This was a very easy decision for me and we quickly left for Wendy's. The only difficulty I found in this adventure was what to actually order. I ended up getting chicken nuggets and a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger. It was exactly what I needed. I hadn't had fastfood in so long! (Err, well I guess I had checkers last week...oh well)

The best part of the day was when someone accidentally let Buddy (the dog) out of the room where he was being held in while his handler changed. He decided, it seemed, that he wanted to give the audience a pre-show extravaganza because he grabbed one of his dog bones and went straight to the stage. Then, when stage management tried to coax him off stage, he thought they were playing with him so he bolted around the stage, running back and forth around the stage trying to escape everyone that came near him. I unfortunately did not have the pleasure of seeing this happen, I just heard the story when the ASM came to us before we went on stage and said "we couldn't find the dog bone that buddy dropped on stage, so if you find it pick it up." hahaha. One of the ensemble members did find it right at the beginning so it was never a danger. Gotta love doing theatre with a canine actor!!!

Geek alert! I can now solve a Rubik's Cube. Yeah, I know, I'm a loser. I have alot of down time though. haha.

Still thinking about how much fun I had this weekend with the family. It was packed to the brim with new adventures for everyone and I loved it. Weeeeeeeee!

Fun

I have had such a fun time this weekend. The family just left to return to CT/NY and I've come to the green room to recap the weekend (and hopefully nap!) before our two show day.

It all began Friday, as my parents and grandparents arrived around 5PM after my first understudy rehearsal. (Which, by the way, went well. It was just music so we ran through the three songs my character is in and that was that. I already know the music so it was pretty simple.) Anyway, we walked up the street to Jones-which was recommended to me by a friend in my last show. He not only recommended the restaurant but said I HAD to get the Meatloaf. So I did just that. Boy was it the absolute correct move. Twas delicious. I accompanied my meal with a Jones Cream Soda-made with pure cane sugar, for those of you who have never heard of Jones. The parents and grandparents also enjoyed their meals, though we all agreed it was a little dark and cold in the restaurant.

After that meal, they went to check into the hotel and I headed back to the theatre for the first show of our 5 show weekend. It was also the 'opening' night for the weekend team of children. The show went well, though it was a bit of a lackluster audience. Meanwhile, I had to pull all I had within me to find energy for the show, as the meatloaf definitely was food coma inducing but there was no time for a nap. booo. haha.

After the show I went to the hotel, but the stupid bar closed at 11 so we went to the one across the street. It was strange to say the least. Very modern with strange punk-ish music playing loudly. The bar was filled with a strange and very eclectic mix of people. Not a place I saw myself returning to (except for the next evening, when we once again found ourselves without a close bar to go. haha) In the end, it provided the place we needed to sit, drink (Jack and Cokes for me!), and be merry. So it worked out!

The plan for the next day was to get up semi-early, get breakfast and then head to the corner of 9th and Passyunk for some Cheesesteaks at the famous Pat's and Geno's! We chose Pat's, as I like it better. Though, we did discuss how when the UConn women played Tennessee for the National Title in 2000 in Philadelphia and there were jokes made about Pat Summitt, the coach of Tennessee versus Geno Auriemma, the coach of UConn. So maybe it is blasphemous for UConn fans to eat at Pat's, but it's better so we had to deal with it. haha. (Also, UConn trounced Tenn in that championship game, just so you know!)

After steaks, the family went over to the Franklin Institute but I had an afternoon show. The show was a bit blah, very matinee-ish. Oh well, it happens. For dinner, between shows, we had planned to go to Moriarty's-which apparently has phenomenal wings. I, however, did not realize one needed reservations. They were not on OpenTable.com nor did it make it clear on their website reservations were needed. So, we found ourselves looking for another restaurant after my attempt to sweet talk the hostess failed miserably. Across the street from Moriarty's (which is an Irish Pub) is another Irish Pub cleverly named 'Irish Pub' (I wish I could be THAT brilliant!) We decided it would serve our purpose (it is also where we saw the defeat of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by UConn! Go Huskies!...sorry Dan) We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals (except Jenna's was too spicy so she and Brian switched.), and my disappointment over not getting to eat the wings at Moriarty's was gone for the moment. (I still want to try them!!!)

Then it finally came time for the family to see the show! I was very excited to have people in the audience. Unfortunately, they were sitting in pairs in different parts of the theatre, but that made it more fun for me to try to spot them! (I mean, I'm always focused on stage...yeah...) I think we had a great show. I know I was really pleased and proud to be out there performing. Everyone seemed to love it. After the show I got to give them a tour backstage, which was fun! The Green Room, the wings, the stage and the dressing room were some of our stops along the tour. Twas fun!

This morning we went to Marathon for brunch before they hit the road. It was a wonderful brunch. I had such a fantastic time this weekend. I'm sad to see everyone go. It is always nice to get a dose of family when you've been away for so long. This will be a much shorter amount of time between visits though, as Christmas isn't too far off, and then I'll be home for a month before I go on tour. Yay family. Yay! Yay! Yay! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

My Favorite Moment of the Bee

Well, I wasn't as successful during the day today as I'd hoped. In fact, I didn't really do much of anything. It was nice to relax and since I've been a bit ill and quite busy the last few days I suppose it was appropriate to relax. I did change the supporting character's name in my children's play from Nicky to Jimmy. That's it though. My relaxing included watching what is probably my favorite movie musical of all time Fiddler on the Roof. I think Topol is a genius. Furthermore, it contains one of my favorite lines in movie history. Tevye says in response to "Money is the root of all evil"..."Then may the Lord smite me with it, and may I never recover!" Tis a lovely movie, though quite depressing at the end...so I didn't watch the end. haha.

I hit traffic for the first time driving into the city today. The rain was probably the major issue, but it was also rush hour (though one would think driving into the city during evening rush hour wouldn't cause that much of a problem. However, since I've been driving in DC for the last 2 years, I know better than to assume anything when it comes to traffic situations.) Despite the traffic, I was not worried because for some reason I've been extremely good about leaving myself plenty of time. This is new for me, though I do enjoy it so hopefully it will continue.

The show went well, though the audience wasn't the best we've had. It will be very interesting over the next 8 weeks to see the different audiences. Usually (at least in my experience with smaller audiences) you can judge how the audience is going to be based on a few things. First, the day of the week/time of the show. A Sunday night crowd is going to be anxious about working the next day and maybe not as into it. A Friday night crowd is excited about the weekend, but probably tired from work and had to rush to eat and get to the theatre on time. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night crowds are probably mostly subscribers who like the cheaper subscription possibilities (which is TOTALLY when I would go so kudos to them. haha.) Matinees (Wed, Sat or Sun) are probably a mix of older couples and families with young kids. Leaving us, of course, Saturday night which I guess are well rested people enjoying their weekends and ready for the theatre. These are all stereotypes based on assumptions...but stereotypes come from somewhere, right?! haha.

Secondly, you can often judge an audience based on how they react to a certain line or scene. I remember when I was in Plaid Tidings last year, there was a line (which I happened to deliver) in the beginning of the first scene which I used to judge the audience. Big laugh, means the audience would be eating out of the palm of our hands the rest of the night. A smattering of chuckles meant we needed to warm them up, but we could probably get them. If we heard nothing but crickets, I knew we had to speed through the show because this audience wasn't going to be amused by the corny fluff that it was. I haven't yet figured out which lines or scenes will be the test for audiences in this show, but I think most shows (especially comedies or at least shows that contain comedy) have them. This audience seemed to enjoy the show overall, but didn't seem that focused on the little things. One of the ways to get through doing a show over and over again is to analyze the audiences, and I enjoy it thoroughly.

Tomorrow (well, today I suppose since it's after midnight) is my first understudy rehearsal. We are only doing music tomorrow so it won't be that long for me. In fact, I'm only scheduled for half-an-hour. Which is fine by me since the family is coming down!!! WOOHOO!!! I'm so excited. It's been a long while since I've seen my parents and brother and sister-in-law-to-be and Grandparents. Actually, I've seen Jenna more recently than anyone else. I have some excellent plans for food for the next few days. I planned out each meal based on recommendation and online reviews. The family is seeing the show Saturday night. I have the tickets, so I really hope I remember to bring them with me. The worst idea in the world was to not either send the tickets to my mother, or leave them at will call. Though, to be honest, there is a lovely story about tickets to see me in Mikado 4 or 5 years ago which you should ask my mother about. It's amusing.

Anyway, it's late so I'm off. I'm so excited for this weekend! Weeeeeee!

Open Sesame

The show is open!!! What a wonderful evening! The audience seemed to love it. (And, don't worry, I didn't lose my coat!) Opening nights are usually a very friendly audience (family, friends, staff), but even so they still seemed to love it. I got a ton of chills during the curtain call while we were singing as I realized my first Union show was now open and getting a standing ovation! Yay!

The after party was a little strange cause I didn't really know anyone except the cast, but it was fun. I used my two drink tickets for Jack Daniels. Yum! Also, there were cards, flowers and gifts galore in the green room and dressing rooms. I got a small bottle of champagne and a small bottle of brandy, one from our lovely dresser the other from a castmate. Twas very nice of them. We opened our bottles of champagne in the dressing room and toasted. The brandy I think I will save for another time. I imagine there will be a moment when I say to myself "This is when I should drink that brandy from opening night!" And then I will do it, and it will be good.

1 down 65 or so to go! Yay! No more rehearsal (except when Understudy rehearsals start-which is Friday) so I don't have to be there until half-hour tomorrow (This is where Robert would tell me I should say 'today' since it is after midnight and technically Thursday, but whatever...)! Hopefully I will get alot of writing done. Since I won't have a day job, I told myself I had to use the time to work on my writing, so I will start that tomorrow (ok, ok, today)!

Half-Hour 7:30 Curtain 8PM Weeeeeee!

You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night!

It's the day of the show, ya'll! Opening Night! Last night's preview went really well. The director and everyone seemed happy. And, the only rehearsal before the show today is for the kids, just to drill things, so I get to just rest all day! Yay!

I had one mini-disaster last night during the show. I have a blue coat I wear when I'm moving set so my white sleeves don't catch the light and draw attention. Well, I lost mine during the second act last night. I couldn't find it anywhere. After the first act finishes I hang it on a hook stage right, and come get it after the opening of the second act. It wasn't there. I ran to the dressing room, looked in the green room but it was nowhere to be found! Finally, I looked backstage, just in case, and there is was. Apparently, after the first act, I never grabbed it and brought it to the hook. I swear I did, but clearly it never happened. That is probably the exhaustion. Anyway, it worked out fine. I borrowed someone else's coat for one of the changes, and for the other I just did it without. Hopefully this scare will keep me from losing it again!

We had notes after the show last night, and once again free pizza and beer! Yay! I unfortunately wasn't feeling well. I was coughing, though trying to do it discretely so no one would get paranoid that I was sick, and my head ached. When I woke up this morning I felt worse, so I decided to go back to sleep. I feel better now, though not 100% by any means. My plan is to eat soup in a little bit. Yay!

The show this evening begins at 7 because there is an after-party in the lobby which the entire audience is invited to, apparently. An envelope was on my dressing room station last night with two tickets for free drinks at the party! Yay Free Things!!! Then, apparently, there is a bar the cast traditionally goes to on opening night. If I'm feeling well enough (which I hope I am!) I'm going to go there too for a bit. I don't want to get back to DE too late though, as the only thing that will cure me of this illness is SLEEEEEP!

Half-Hour 6:30 OPENING NIGHT! 7:00 Party 9:30 Weeeeeeeeee!

Soup's On

I think I'm starting to get sick! Ah! I'm feeling very sluggish and everything I do feels like I'm doing it stuck in 74 gallons of molasses. Bleh. I hate having a cold. I hope I can stop it. Lots of Vitamin C and such. I must not get sick! MUST NOT! eeeeep.

Anyway, my contract, script and score came in the mail yesterday for the tour I'm going on. Interesting is a word I would use to describe it. Dan and I gave the CD a listen as we travelled in the car and immediately became obsessed with one of the songs. It's sung by the Aunt Em character who is bitter that she spent all morning making soup for everyone for lunch, but when lunch time comes no one is around to eat it so she threatens to throw it away. Neither of us can understand why she would throw the soup away. Why not just put it in the fridge? Or let it stay in the pot and then warm it up when everyone returns. Dan has decided there should be a musical about how much food Americans waste based around this song. I think it's a brilliant idea. haha. Anyway, the tour is coming to Connecticut! The Ridgefield Playhouse to be specific, on May 22. We will also be stopping in Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, DC, Virginia and North Carolina. All told it will be around 11,500 miles of driving over 90 days. Insanity!

As I stated yesterday, I was craving Pho so we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. I decided, instead of the regular Pho, to get something similar-a Spicy Beef Soup. The broth was a little spicier (though honestly not that much...) than Pho and the noodles are a bit thicker. The insane warmness and deliciousness of it, however, were exactly the same. Twas exactly what I needed. To be honest, since I'm not feeling that well I want another bowl today. Maybe I'll make that happen between rehearsal and the preview.

Our last preview is this evening. They do have the possibility of having a rehearsal from 1-6 tomorrow before Opening, but then that's it. The show is set. It is currently unknown if they will call that rehearsal...I honestly wouldn't mind resting all day tomorrow since I'm not feeling well, but we'll see how today goes.

Rehearsal 1-6, Dinner 6-7:30, 7:30 Half Hour, 8PM LAST Preview! Weeeeeeee!

A Rested Body is a Rested Mind

Hello hello. I'm posting a bit late today, but that is due to the fact that I was so tired that I slept until almost 2. Ooops. At least I feel quite rested. Yay!

Yesterday was another long day, but it was quite successful. The audiences seem to really be enjoying the show, and the director seems pleased. We do have rehearsal on Tuesday before our final preview to finish some stuff up, but hopefully it won't be a chaotic one. I'm getting quite used to my track and I'm really enjoying myself. I'm so pleased to be on this adventure.

Jenna is in town, though I unfortunately can't see her today. Hopefully we will be getting pre-show and/or post-show meals tomorrow and/or Wednesday. She is at a conference. I'm really in the mood for Pho (a Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup that is insanely warming and delicious) I hope to get that in the next few days (hint hint wink wink, Jenna) No but seriously, the last time she came to a conference (when I was in DC) we had a lovely time. So that should happen again assuming our schedules work out.

Otherwise there isn't much to report. We had an amusing discussion yesterday in the Green Room about how most civilians talk about how they hate Mondays or they "have a case of the Mondays" whereas theatre people sit around praying for Monday to come faster. It's amusing to have a different day off than the rest of the world. Anyway, this week we have 1 preview on Tuesday and then we open Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to it. Weeeeeeee!

Crazy World

It's been a crazy last few minutes. One of the delightful guys in the ensemble hurt his back and since we haven't had an understudy rehearsal yet, we have to go down his track in all of the numbers. People have been running around and making sure things work. Poor guy, I hope he feels better soon. Lots of happy thoughts for him.

Yesterday went well. It keeps getting smoother and smoother. In the afternoon, one of the ensemble girls comes on and rings a belI...well, she grabbed the rope, rang it and ended up with the rope in her hand no longer attached to the bell. Ooops! Haha. They fixed it for the evening show though. Overall the word to describe the day was (per usual for the last few days) exhausting, so I took a nice hour and a half nap on one of the couches in the green room during the 3 hour break between shows. I also spent time planning the food situation for next weekend when everyone comes down. I think I came up with a great lineup! I'm so excited. This week can't go fast enough.

We have another two show day today. I realized it is my first ever 5 show weekend (1 Fri, 2 Sat, 2 Sun). It is exhausting (I keep using that word. But don't worry, I'm not complaining. It's worth it)! I've done many a two show day, but not two in a row. I'll get used to it. I have to though, since later in the run we have days where we have 3 two show days in a row. woah! I'm fairly certain this couch I'm currently sitting and typing on will host my between show nap again. Yay!

Dan went up to New York with his mother last night to see the final performance of the current cast of God of Carnage-which is one of my favorite things I've ever seen on stage. It has one of the funniest moments I've ever experienced as an audience member-though I won't share it with you as I don't want to ruin it. Feel free to ask if you really want to know! Anyway, they brought me half-sour and sour pickles from 2nd Ave Deli for my lunch today! So I'm pumped for those! (Actually, I already ate one! haha...ok two...)

Alright, they just called places so I have to go on stage now. #1 of 2 and down a person. I really hope he feels better. Alright, here we go! Weeeeeeeeee!

Racing with the Clock

The preview last night went really well. The director said it was the first time he felt like we were "driving the piece" as opposed to it "driving us." That was nice. To be honest, I have no idea how it ended up going well last night. The cards were stacked against us (that's the cliche, right?) in a big way. To start with, the kids going on last night had never run anything on the stage before. We did have that put in rehearsal during the day, but we didn't finish everything by 6. So once again we were paid overtime from 6-7 so they could throw everything together last minute. The kids did brilliantly. They'll keep getting better and better. The other issue, since we didn't finish the put-in, is Nancy's understudy and the Swing didn't get to go through everything. So we are having rehearsal from 1-1:30 before our preview so they can go through the things we missed. Wild.

So they once again had to feed us because they took our dinner break away last night. But, who am I to complain about free pizza. The funny thing, was they planned on having pizza after the show too and my guess is they had already placed the order because after the show another 20 pizzas came. I ate alot of pizza yesterday. I love pizza. Yum.

I have some bad news for everyone who enjoys "Overheard on the SEPTA" Due to the lack of trains that run on the weekend, and the amount of money I would have to spend to only drive those two days and park in the garage, I decided to purchase a parking pass. It is 40 bucks a week (which I realize sounds like a pretty decent amount of money) but I was spending almost 50 a week for the train, plus I'd have to add 20-30 bucks to park on Saturdays in the garage for the day. So, though I'll have to spend more on gas, I'll probably be saving a bit of money. Plus, I can leave later and get back to DE earlier cause I can just hop in the car, as opposed to waiting for the train. So I'll save time, and let's face it-THAT is the best thing. I'm pleased with these things. Very pleased. I will use the theme music you all invented in your head for Overheard on the SEPTA for another fun game, like Overheard on the Stage or Overheard on the Streets, or something fun. But, for now, Overheard on the SEPTA is officially retired. (duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duuuuuuuuuhn!)

Today during our break I'm going to look for restaurants in the immediate area for when my parents, grandparents and brother and almost-sister-in-law come down next weekend! I am sooooo excited to see them. It should be a great time. And, the show will probably have settled in a bit by then.

1-1:30 Rehearsal, 1:30 Half Hour 2:00 Preview, 4:30ish-7:30 Break, 7:30 Half Hour, 8PM Preview. First two show day. Weeeeeeeee!

Paciencia y Fe (Patience and Faith)

The preview last night went pretty well! Best so far...still things to accomplish, but it's well on the way now. Today we again have rehearsal from 1-6, but it is a put-in rehearsal. The role of Nancy is being played by the understudy for all Saturday Matinees and the Swing (the understudy for the ensemble) will go into her track. So, today's rehearsal is to go through the show for them. Also, ever since we started Tech, we have been using only one team of children (the ones that did the first few previews.) So, today's put-in is also for the other team of children who who have their first preview tonight. That is more than likely what will take the most time. Most of these children have never run through anything on the stage. The choreographer and dance captain have continued to run through things with them in the lobby, but the stage is such a different feel than any place we rehearsed-so it'll take some time...and lots of patience!

I was going to use my train ride this morning to take a nap, but at the stop after mine a young mother and her son (who was probably 3 or 4) got on the train and sat right in front of me. He could not have been more excited about being on a train. He pressed his face to the window and called out all the things he saw that he found interesting. Which, by the way, were tires, other trains and people. It kept me entertained for a good long while. Then, his mother saw someone she knew on the train and things got even more entertaining, which brings us to...

Another episode of "Overheard on SEPTA" (duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duuuuuuuuhn!) In this episode we join a woman talking about how she makes dinner for her friends birthday every year, but someone told her she was doing it wrong...

"I been makin' Gnocchis since I was like five, so you do it your way and I'll do it mine." I can't decide if my favorite part about that quote is that she pluralized gnocchi, or that she said she started making it when she was 5. I then imagined this woman as a 5 year old trying to reach the stove and yelling at her mother that the tomato sauce didn't have enough oregano. Needless to say I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. This has been "Overheard on the SEPTA" (duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duhn duuuuuuuuhn!) Thanks for playing!

Rehearsal 1-6, Dinner 6-7:30, Half-hour 7:30, Preview #4 (first one for the other team of kids) 8PM Weeeeeeeee!

Laughin' All the Way to the Bank

Gosh this schedule is exhausting! Last night's preview went pretty well-we have a bunch of fixes to do today during rehearsal (again 1-6). We're on our way to a good show-but we really need the next few rehearsals to perfect it. Hopefully we'll use the time well! I'm here in the Green Room...ooo my paycheck was just handed to me, yay!

Speaking of paychecks, the adventure continued today this time with banks. I've been trying to open a bank account via the internet for like two weeks. I finally got info in the mail from Citizens but they required a copy of my drivers license with the address matching the address to which the paperwork was sent and my latest utility bill with my name on it sent back before they could open the account. Well, my drivers license is from CT and the paperwork was sent to DE, and I don't pay utilities anywhere...

So, I ventured into the bank today (it is only across the street from the theatre, so I can't REALLY complain) and attempted to open an account. It took a while because my drivers license doesn't match the place where I am currently living blah blah blah. Anyway, I got them opened finally I just can't access my money for 5 days. booooo.

I had another adventure moment as I pulled into the parking lot of the train station this morning. This car followed me in and then pulled into the spot right next to where I parked (really close to my car...) and rolled down their window. I couldn't decide what I had done to get yelled at. Maybe I cut someone off without realizing? Maybe they wanted to rob me? Eeeeek! It turned out they wanted directions, and they thought the most logical way to get them was to scare me. Of course, since the only thing I know about Marcus Hook, PA is that it has a SEPTA station and smells like environmental destruction, I couldn't help them. They went on their way and I went to the train.

During our 1.5 hour dinner break this evening I intend to eat Chinese food. I've been craving it for days and I've decided nothing can stop me from getting it today. Nothing! Muahahahahahahahaha. Weeeeeeeee!

Into the Fire

Well, here we are. We finished teching the show last night at 6:58-which means they had to pay us an hour of overtime. Then they brought us Pizza (which I gladly ate several pieces of) before calling half-hour at 7:30. Half-hour, meaning one half-hour before curtain, is when actors are officially called. Isn't it interesting, that many audience members arrive early and wait in the lobby, thinking actors are preparing for the show when really we don't walk in until a half hour before. haha. That always amuses me. This was an especially strange day, as I realized when we finished teching at 7, there may have already been audience members waiting in the lobby having no idea they were about to see the first ever run of our show. haha.

So, the secret/unofficial goal last night was to get through the show from Opening to Curtain call without a train wreck. We had a paying audience, so everyone-including us lowly extras (haha, I don't actually feel that way. I'm a proud member of the cast) had to step it up. We were successful! Huzzah! (I would just like to point out that Sophomore year of High School 'huzzah' was a vocab word. We were tested on the word huzzah. To this day I still find that to be amusing.) Anyway, there were parts of the show that were totally fantastic, others that we just sort of got through on a prayer. One of those moments, for me, was when I went backstage to explain to stage management that maybe having me carry my torch on stage without having ever had it lit before was probably not the best idea. I got backstage and one of the crew grabbed the torch, lit it, and went about his next job. I was a little terrified, but what was there to do, I had to go on stage. Eek! I survived--so did everyone else. haha. Overall, it was really awesome to see people step up and come together to get through the show. The audience seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. That was really helpful in our quest to get through! I think we have a great show on our hands--and we have rehearsal before each of the previews the next few days to get it done.

It was really neat for me to look out and see the nearly full orchestra and mezzanine sections. I've never been in front of such a large house for a show (except when I sang at the Kennedy Center on New Years Eve, but that was a totally different experience) I couldn't help but smile after the show. I know there is alot of work to do, but it'll be worth it.

After the show last night they fed us wings and mozzarella sticks and "hoagies" (aka subs or grinders, I hate the word hoagie!) and adult beverages! Yay Yeungling! Today: Rehearsal 1-6, Dinner 6-7:30, Half-Hour 7:30. Preview #2 8PM. Weeeeeeeee!

Reviewing the Situation

So here it is. The day of the first preview. We have 5 hours of rehearsal to finish teching the show. It isn't going very quickly. EEK! The Bernadette Peters concert last night was wonderful. It wasn't exactly what I expected from a concert of hers. She is such an incredibly funny woman, so I thought there would be more fun up-tempo silly songs. There were a few, but she mostly sang depressing ballads by Stephen Sondheim. She was born to sing his songs, so it is a wonderful thing to listen to. I just wanted more fun-maybe some Annie Get Your Gun! Nonetheless, it was a great time. I had two favorite parts: her performances of Peggy Lee's "Fever" and "Johanna" from Sweeney Todd. I will say, I was a little weirded out by her choice to sing Johanna...but it was incredible. Further proof that she can take on any song written by Stephen Sonheim.

After the concert, we went down to Molly's Pub on 3rd Avenue. It is one of Dan's favorite places to get a burger, and has since become one of mine. The burgers are huge and quite delicious with any and every topping you can think of as a possibility. I had always gotten a Guinness to accompany the burger there, but I've never finished either. The burger and the Guinness are both incredibly filling. But alas, I am a creature of habit and despite thinking about not ordering the Guinness while entering the Pub, when our waitress came to the table I ordered the Guinness. And, guess what, I didn't finish the burger or the Guinness. I can be so predictable!

We decided to sleep up at the NYC apartment and take the train back this morning since my rehearsal wasn't until 1. It seemed like the best choice in order to maximize sleep. Unfortunately, when we got to Penn Station this morning, the 10:35 train was delayed 30ish minutes. I ended up changing my ticket to the 10:50 train headed toward Pittsburgh, as it also stopped in Philly. It left at 10:50 but at some point in our journey stopped and didn't move for around 10 minutes and then continued incredibly slowly for even longer. I ended up getting into 30th Street Station at 12:37, 25 minutes late--not much better than the other train I was supposed to be on! I ran to the SEPTA hoping to hop a train to market east, but the next one wasn't until 12:50 which wouldn't have gotten me to rehearsal on time. I had to take a cab-which ended up being 10 bucks. bleh. Oh well, I walked into rehearsal at 12:58!!! Weeeeeeeeee!

Putting It Together

Hello hello. So much to report. To begin with, last night's dress rehearsal went quite well considering the situation we were in. Obviously, we couldn't finish running the show since we hadn't finished teching it, but what we did get to run (the first act and part of the second) went well. Everyone seemed pleased. The pieces are falling together. Today we have a day off, and I'm using it to see Bernadette Peters in concert. I've never seen her perform live, so I'm quite excited for it. Tomorrow we have rehearsal 1-6 to (hopefully) finish teching, and then our first preview! A preview, for those of you who are new to the terminology, is a regular performance with audience, but it is also a chance for the director/choreographer/designers/etc to see the whole show and make changes. Press does not come until after the Official Opening which is on the 17th. We have 8 previews to get things perfect!

In other (VERY EXCITING) news, I was just cast in an original children's version of the Wizard of Oz as the Cowardly Lion! It will tour the East Coast and parts of the Midwest from March 1 to May 30! I'm so pumped! The cast( of 7) will drive itself from city to city in a 15 person van with the sets, costumes and props in a truck. The tour will take me from Florida to Wisconsin to Connecticut and everywhere in between! It should be an exhausting but wonderful time! It is with the American Family Theatre company. !!!!!!

I'm glad to have reported two exciting things on this fine day. Otherwise it has been a rather lazy day off, which I needed. This week should be a fairly long one as well, with rehearsals during the day and previews at night. Though, tomorrows preview will be followed by a one hour notes session with the director at which pizza and adult beverages (for adults only, of course) will be provided! Even if it will be a long day, I'm really excited. Weeeeeeeeeee!

Finishing the Hat

Oh man, our Final (and only) Dress Rehearsal is this evening. Exciting, though also scary since we haven't exactly finished tech-ing the show, hopefully that can happen during our afternoon rehearsal. Hopefully...

I now have 3 hats as part of my costumes! And, one of the dressers is trying to swing me some suspenders! Heck yes! Suspenders are my second favorite costume piece. My favorite, of course, is the cape. I personally think capes should be brought back to Modern Day Formal Dress. The cape is an amazing and classy article of clothing. I, unfortunately, don't get one in this show-although the person I'm understudying does wear one! Interesting... I feel it is important for you all to know that I have been in 3 shows in which I wore a cape. Twice it was a situation where we wore capes and creepy masks, so while I still love the cape, that doesn't count. Once, in Grand Hotel, I wore one with formal wear. Now THAT is style.

After rehearsal last night I went with Dan and our friend from college, Rob, to Northeast Philly. We ate at a diner there (The Mayfair Diner to be precise). I wasn't too hungry, so I had the other classic Philadelphia Sandwich besides the Cheesesteak, a Pork Roll Sandwich. It was delicious. I also had cheese fries, and a milk shake. Ok, I was a little hungry. I'm glad I had a 15 minute walk from where I parked to the theatre this morning. Cause clearly I need the exercise after that meal... I suppose I should start working out again. And maybe running. To be honest, minus the last two days, I've been eating quite healthily, so adding some working out would be good. The issue is, I'm very content being the chunky balding character actor that I am. haha. Also, I'm a bit (haha, ok alot a bit) lazy.

So rehearsal today is until 11 whether we get through the run of the show or not. I hope it goes well. All the components of the show are really fantastic, they just need to fall together...soon...really really really soon. Weeeeeee!

It's A Fine Life

Tired! Tired! Tired! Yesterday's rehearsal was also quite long, though we did end up getting out 2 hours early. I used one of those hours sitting on the train and the other to eat at a delightful diner-ish place in Wilmington called The Charcoal Pit. The milkshakes are amazing.

We didn't get as far as was hoped in the tech-ing process yesterday. The big ensemble number in act one took pretty much the entire day. I now sell meat during that scene. I started to get a little frustrated, but kept reminding myself that there is no point in doing so. I also kept reminding myself that this is my first Union show and they provide socks, under-shirts and towels for me every day-that just makes me laugh. How different from all the other places I've worked! I seriously can't wait to join the Union. haha.

Otherwise, I don't have much news to report. I fell asleep on the couch last night while Dan and I were watching TV. I think he watched 3 or 4 episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine and The Office before I finally woke up. Tech is exhausting-even if most of it is spent sitting around doing nothing. More Tech today and our dress rehearsal tomorrow. Weeeeeee!

As We Stumble Along

Yeah, I got home late again...sorry! This time, however, I got home late for a good reason. Instead of taking the train back, Dan came and picked me up and we got Cheesesteaks! Twas the best post-Tech meal I could imagine. The place we went to, Steve's in North Philly, slices their meat instead of chopping it. It turned out they were ready to close when we got there, so we took the steaks back to DE and ate them while watching this week's 30 Rock. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are brilliant. If you haven't seen 30 Rock ever, you should try it! Thursdays. 9:30. NBC.

Rehearsal last night was LONG. There is no way around it. Now, I'm not complaining because unlike most actors, I love Tech rehearsals. I love the process of putting everything together. And I'm really good at the sitting around and waiting. See, what happens, for those of you that don't know, is we basically go through the show moment by moment and add all the technical elements (lights, sound, costumes, props, etc) Sometimes (though barely ever) it can go smoothly. Usually, things have to be revamped, re-spaced and traffic patterns have to be worked out. It is a painstaking process, but it is the only way to get it done. So since a scene can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours there is alot of time for the actors, especially the ensemble in this show, so sit around and wait. I bring my computer. People also brought some games (Apples to Apples, Scategories, etc), which will pass the time nicely. Yesterday we got through almost half of the first act and we'll keep stumbling through today til 11. Then tomorrow, we have our first rehearsal with the orchestra followed by our first dress rehearsal. Yay!

It is now time for a new segment we here at "Walnuts, Cheesesteaks and Ben Franklin" like to call Overheard on the SEPTA. (Insert Theme Music in your mind here). Today on Overheard on the SEPTA, we peek in on a conversation between two stereotypical rural Pennsylvanians on their way into the big city. Let's join them mid-conversation after the conductor had just told them the unfortunate news that a man had jumped in front of a SEPTA train on another line...

"Well, I ain't jumpin' in front of a train, if that gives you an idea of where I am in life. But, what I'm worried about is 2012-it's probably true, but we'll do it to ourselves. We don't need no aliens. The aliens just have to wait for humans to do it to themselves. We probably walk amongst them and don't know it."

(Insert the same Theme Music from before here) This has been Overheard on the SEPTA. Thanks for playing! Weeeeeee!

Sorry-Grateful

Remember, remember the 5th of November! To begin with, my apologies for no post on the 4th of November. We had rehearsal until 11 and I ran to Market East to get the last train and it ended up being 43 minutes late. So, basically the train picked me up when I was supposed to arrive in DE. I didn't get home until after 1 and I was too exhausted to type something up. So we may have two posts today, or we'll start doing posts from the Green Room...who knows.

The most important news of yesterday's rehearsal is that in the Finale I will have a torch!!!!!!!! Now granted, I have had a torch on stage before but this is way more exciting because it shall be REAL FIRE! WOOOHOOOO! Ok, so it's a bit scary, but it is made to self-extinguish if there is ever a problem. It'll be neat.

The other cool thing about yesterday's rehearsal is that we were on stage for the first time. I walked onto the stage and my mouth dropped open. It is by far the largest house I've had the chance to perform in and I couldn't help getting chills and being immensely excited. The set is unbelievable. I'm pumped!!! Today is going to be a VERY long day (12-11), but in the end it will definitely be worth it.

I've realized that since I'm constantly observing those around me (aka eavesdropping on their conversations...), I overhear some of the wildest things. Last night, as I waited for my late train, a clearly intoxicated man approached an officer and asked him why the train to Trenton was cancelled. The officer explained the last one was at 10, or whatever, but this man insisted that the schedule he had showed a train after midnight. The officer told the man to show him the schedule and when he did the officer explained that, yes, there is a train that leaves on the Trenton line after midnight, but since there is no time listed under the Trenton station, it doesn't stop there. The man wasn't pleased. He said "But there is a line here, it has to stop" The officer explained, at first quite patiently, that the line meant it would NOT stop there. This went on for about 4 or 5 minutes until the officer yelled at him and left. The man stood there absolutely and utterly confused. Finally, my train came and I left the poor man standing on the platform. Always an adventure.

More later tonight. I'm excited for rehearsal today, despite the fact that it will be long and tedious. All in all, I'm really grateful for the opportunity. Weeeeeee!

Life is Like a Train

Good ol' adventures. We begin with my trip back to DE, as it was the most adventure-ish (also, the most irritating) part of my day. If you did not hear, the SEPTA is on strike. Fortunately, I found out, it should not affect me as the regional rail does not use the same union as the subway or the trolleys. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the regional rail was still running, my trip was quite a disaster. We got out of rehearsal a bit early, so I tried to run for the 630 train, instead of waiting for the 730. I got there with 4 minutes to spare, but was met with complete and utter turmoil. There were lines of people everywhere for who knows what. There were groups of people yelling at the SEPTA workers in yellow vests. There was a long line for tickets. I didn't think I'd make it! I got in the line, purchased my ticket and ran to the stairs that head down to the track. The train was announced while I was still in line, so I thought there might be a chance. When I reached the stairs there was a man yelling at the SEPTA person and a large group of people in my way. I tried to push through but the SEPTA worker stopped me. I explained I needed to get to the R2 but they told me the R2 was on a different track. I knew it wasn't, but they wouldn't listen. Finally, another employee overheard us and said that the R2 was in fact on that track. He took my ticket and punched it (keep this in mind for later!) and I bolted down the stairs. I got to the bottom and began running for the door, but at that moment, the doors closed. I started yelling to stop the train, as did a very nice SEPTA employee who was on the platform. I know that the driver heard and saw both of us. He didn't care. The train left. I was livid. The next train was an hour away. Devastating! I used the time to work on my lines for the guy I am understudying. 730 came and went. So did 740 and 750. Finally at 7:55 I boarded a train. Finally the adventure was over. But just as I was deciding on whether to continue working on lines or take a nap, the conductor appeared next to me asking for my ticket. "Oh, mine was already punched" I said, assuming this would make sense to her-since everything was so chaotic. It didn't. Fortunately, after explaining the entire situation she decided I wasn't lying and moved on. I can't even begin to imagine the fit I would have thrown if I had to use both sides of the round trip ticket for one trip on top of being way later than anticipated. I'm so glad she trusted me!

The first full run-through of the show actually went quite well. We're still in the rehearsal hall, so it's not smooth yet, but the energy was really high. The director seemed very pleased with it. We move to the stage tomorrow. Most of the rehearsal will be spent re-spacing everything, since the stage is so much bigger than the hall we rehearsed in. My call isn't until 6PM tomorrow, so I get to sleep late! Dan is up from DC, so we will probably do some eating as well! Even though rehearsal is until 11PM, I will be glad to have most of the day to do whatever I want, especially since Tech starts the next day and rehearsal is Noon to 11PM. That will be a long day!

Not much else to report. I'm hoping the train situation will go a little more smoothly tomorrow. Despite the SEPTA issues, I'm really loving the city of Philadelphia. The more I hear from my cast-mates about the theatre community, the more I love that too. I have 2 months and 7 days to decide what to do next with my life, and I'm glad to have Philly as a new option to think about. Weeeeeeeeeee!

The Day Off

Equity Day off! So, I spent it auditioning. My audition was scheduled for 12:05PM, but I got there early and ended up going at about 11:45AM. It went well! I sang my songs that don't let me down! I got a callback-which happened to be later that day-4PM. So I had 4 hours to kill. Robert decided to come with me into the city, so we decided to walk down to Times Square and see a movie. We chose Where the Wild Things Are since it was one of my favorite books as a child. I also, just as a side note, have the stuffed Orange Haired Wild Thing. I enjoyed the first hour of the movie, but felt it was probably a bit too long. 20 to 25 minutes too long, actually. But, let's face it, turning a 12 page children's book into a 2 hour movie probably isn't easy.

My callback also went well. They asked me to sing a third song-which to be honest I wasn't exactly prepared for since never in my life have I ever had to sing three songs. I did have more music but it just wasn't as suited for what I was auditioning for as I would have liked. The gave me a side (a monologue from one of the plays they are doing) to read, as well. Overall, I think the callback went well--so keep your fingers crossed!

Otherwise nothing too exciting to report. My drive back to DE was uneventful. Tomorrow, rehearsal is at 11. I'm looking forward to the run through, it should be fun. Sorry this post is so short and fairly lame, I'm quite exhausted. More fun tomorrow, I promise! Weeeeeeeeeee!

Put On Your Sunday Clothes

Today was a day. That, I can say for sure. It all began with me driving into Philadelphia for the first time. I had to drive to New Jersey (where I am now, actually) after rehearsal because I have an audition for a children's tour in NYC tomorrow morning. The ironic thing is that the Touring Company is based out of Philadelphia, but they called and wanted to see me tomorrow. Since Monday is Equity Day Off for the entire run, I figured getting to the city wouldn't be an issue. Yay!

Anyway, GoogleMaps told me that the drive would take 39 minutes. So, I gave myself 2 hours. I don't trust traffic. I know it was Sunday morning, and leaving at 8AM for the 10AM rehearsal was a little paranoid-but for all I knew hundreds of thousands of people in Delaware and Pennsylvania may go to church and there might be traffic jams for miles every Sunday morning! This, fortunately, was not the case. My other issue was going to be parking. There are a bunch of spaces and garages around the theatre but they are all metered Monday-Sunday until 10PM and there was no way I was going to run out of the theatre every few hours to add more time to the meter. Fortunately, as I drove up 5th St I saw a random parking space that wasn't metered on Sunday. I took it and then contemplated how far I could be from the theatre. I decided, even if I had to walk 20 minutes, it was better than paying a billion dollars to park in a garage. So I began the walk and realized just 2 blocks up the meters started to be like the ones around the theatre, Monday-Sunday 6AM to 10PM. I felt very lucky. And, as it turned out, it was only a 9 minute walk! I was very proud of myself.

Rehearsal was good, we ran Act II for the first time at the end of the day. It wasn't as smooth as Act I, probably because a good portion of it has yet to be rehearsed. We'll do those scenes on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, we are running the whole show straight through for the first time...exciting!!! I did have my costume fitting today! My pants are pretty awesome. Old-style with a flap in the front and buttons galore. The fun part is, the buttons are all for show, everything is held together with velco! Yay theatre magic! haha. I will also have two hats! One will be a bowler, which is fun. And the other (this is my favorite part) is a Jeff Hat! Now, I had no idea (maybe you did!) that there were hats called Jeff Hats, but now I do--and I must have lots and lots of them!!!

I did not have time to make my lunch this morning because I was paranoid about leaving 2 hours early and decided that was more important. So I walked down the street to WaWa and got a Meatball Grinder (or Hoagie, as they call it. I, of course, refuse to utter that word.) WaWa's are the best thing in the entire world. We don't have them in CT, so we grew up on 7-11s. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Slurpee from 7-11. In fact, back in high school there used to be tons and tons of change in the center console of my car which we referred to as "The Slurpee Fund" Don't ask me why I felt the need to share that...Anyway, Wawas are amazing. And I have digressed a bunch this evening so enjoy yours and I will enjoy mine! Weeeeeeeeee!

Little Known Facts

Happy Halloween! Sadly it was my first one during which I did not wear a costume. But I did eat some candy and a popcorn ball which they put out at rehearsal for us, so that was nice. I was secretly hoping my costume fitting would be today so I could at least say I wore a costume, but alas, it is tomorrow. I am, nonetheless, excited about my costume fitting. I'm sure I'll be posting all about it tomorrow!

Today's rehearsal was once again 11-7, but this time there wasn't a long break, just the normal 2-3 lunch break. We got a few more things put together and ran through act I for the designers (lighting, scenic and sound were there) It went as smoothly as an Act I can go that is being performed in a rehearsal studio half the size of the stage. Lots of work still needed, but many of the issues can't be solved until we move to the stage...that is on Wednesday. I'm excited for that!

This evening is one of my favorite days of the year! There are many things I love, one of them being staying up until 2AM and getting to go to sleep at 1AM!!! I haven't been staying up that late since moving up here, since my days have been long and tiring, but for this I must make an exception! Also, since it is the end of Daylight Saving Time, I feel the need to inform everyone that it is in fact Daylight Saving Time and not Daylight Savings Time. Grammatically speaking, "saving" is an adjective describing time. Yay grammar!

I also feel the need to express my disgust with MLB that the World Series will be played in November. 4 times, previous to this year, the MLB did not crown a champion in the month of October. 1904 (no series), 1918(WWI caused the Series to be played in September), 1994 (The Strike that Nearly Ended Baseball) and 2001 (due to the week off baseball had to take). However, for the first time in history, the World Series was not scheduled to take place completely within the month of October. This is beyond offensive to me, and I would like to use this, along with Home Run Replay, his mishandling of Steroids and the atrocity on July 9, 2002 when he ended the All-Star game after 11 innings when it was tied 7-7, to call for his resignation. You represent everything that is wrong with baseball, Bud Selig, resign and go ruin some other country's pastime.

Wow, that is alot of soap-box. My apologies to those who read this and don't care about baseball, but to be honest with you-you should care about baseball! I could go on about how the World Series should return to NBC so Bob Costas can call it and NOT Joe and Timmy, but I'll leave that for another day and another soap-box. Weeeeeeeee!

City on Fire

Always an adventure seems to be becoming a theme. I'm going to begin with my train ride home, as it was the most adventurous part of my day. I was sitting peacefully in my seat, texting some friends, when several people in the back of the car started getting up and moving quickly out of the car. Then a voice yelled "Ma'am" (he was referring to the conductor who was up near me) "Ma'am you got smoke back here. You got smoke." The conductor did not panic, though most of the car did. People started blabbering and whatever because usually where there is smoke there is fire. The train continued to the next stop. It was really smelling pretty bad. Then, the lights went out. After about 5 minutes sitting at the stop the conductor yelled into the car "there are plenty of seats in the back few cars if you'd like to move" and then we continued. The smoke continued. The smell got bad. And the lights never came back...but on we went. I was going to get up, but the guy next to me started flirting with the girl in front of me, using "the possiblity of death" as a conversation starter. He eventually moved and sat with her, and then I definitely couldn't pry myself from their conversation. It was hilarious. After about 20 minutes of their constant blabber about their lives they said their goodbyes and he got off the train. it ended with "I'm sure I'll see you around here again." hahahaha I loved it. Anyway, I got home safely.

Rehearsal today was pretty similar to yesterday. A few more things were staged and we had a really long mid-day break. I brought my computer this time and kept myself entertained. I realized today the power and beauty the ensemble has when it is singing and I was very proud to be a part of that sound.

During the break I was going to open a Philly bank account, because the theatre will only do direct deposit to actor's local banks if they are Equity. So I asked what the closest bank was, which happened to be across the street. I went online to see what I needed to bring to open the account, realized I could open one online, and then just did it from the comfort of the Green Room couch. It was honestly the best choice. Maybe it was slightly lazy, but I avoided filling out paperwork and having to say no to a banker trying to get me to open an account that would "yield more interest" I'm an actor, man, how much money do you think I have?!?!

I'm off to go with Dan to pick up his brothers from the airport and probably get a cheesesteak!!! They are coming in for the World Series. Should be a fun weekend. Weeeeeeee!

Somewhere That's Green

There is no way around the fact that it was a tiring day. I got on the train this morning, took out my script to study it and promptly fell asleep. I was awoken by the announcement that we were arriving at University City (which is 2 stops before mine), which means I was asleep for probably 40 minutes. haha. Oops!

Rehearsal began with finishing up one of the ensemble numbers that I'm in. The director came around and gave everyone little bits/scenarios between two or three people for each of us to keep in mind during the song-to make things more real and interesting. I enjoy that sort of thing. Sometimes they are things that the audience never even notices, but that is ok. The point is to form real people in real situations, who happen to sing and dance their way through life. (This is my problem with the TV show Glee, but let's not go there now...haha)

After we finished that, most of the rest of the day was spent on things I'm not in. I ate my lunch and hung out with people in the Green Room, which of course is NOT green. So maybe it's time for a history lesson... The Green Room is (for those who don't know...) the place where we wait when we don't have to be on stage and so we don't have to go back to the dressing rooms. The actual origin of the name green room is apparently unknown. Some claim it has to do with limelight, others that actors would prepare in rooms with plants, and some say it goes back to 1701 where Cockney Slang shortened something or other to green room. Ok, so the history lesson was more of a let me spout random arguments over how a word came to be, but the point is a Green Room doesn't have to be and in my experience usually isn't green. Nonetheless, Green Rooms are lovely, wonderful places. Many a friend is made in the Green Room and many a conversation-ranging from depressing to exciting to gross to life-changing-takes place. I have found that a major requirement of the Green Room is insanely comfortable couches. This Green Room didn't disappoint, causing me to once again promptly fall asleep. A new requirement, as of late, for Green Rooms is wireless internet. This one has it, so I will probably bring my computer tomorrow as apparently I will have another decently long mid-day break.

The end of the day we went over the other ensemble number I'm in, and I was added to one they had choreographed before I started rehearsal. I'm really enjoying the process, despite it being very tiring.

My ride home on the train was interesting to say the least. The man sitting to the right of me was "reading" a magazine that turned out to not be in English which had some risque pictures. Risque is probably a bit of an understatement. He was just holding it up to his face, flipping the pages as though nothing was strange. The woman behind him ended up moving to the seat in front of me and did not seem pleased. Always an adventure...

Oh, one more thing...I got paid today!!! Haha. Weeeeeeeeeee!

It's a Lovely Day Today

Another lovely day in the city of Brotherly Love! I had a very interesting ride in on the train this morning. I realized that since I will be taking the same train each morning for the rest of the rehearsal period, I will be seeing the same business people who commute into Philly. I noticed today that many of them are men in suits, carrying backpacks and listening to IPods. I can't decide which I find more amusing, the backpacks or the IPods. Maybe it's the combination of both? The backpack and suit reminds me of Josh from The West Wing. He never carried a briefcase, only a backpack. Ah, The West Wing. Daily I can relate pretty much everything I experience to either Musical Theatre or The West Wing. I think that makes me a nerd, or a dork, or whatever...but I digress. Maybe my issue with the suits, backpacks and IPods is that I feel left out. I'm in jeans, with a messenger bag and no IPod...maybe I should get an IPod...specifically an IPod touch...Mom, I feel a Christmas list coming on...oops, I'm digressing again.

As for rehearsal today, it was my first time experiencing a full 8 hour Equity rehearsal (though we did have a 2 hour lunch instead of the normal 1 hour, but I'll get to that.) It is exhausting...and I wasn't even working the whole time. I got to see the scenes for the character I'm understudying, so I have notes on his blocking and such for my future understudy rehearsals. (Which start after the show opens.) Today was also my first time experiencing the 40 children who are in the show (two groups of 20 which split the performances) Actors are loud, I know that, but the noise in the small rehearsal room increases tenfold when there are 40 children ages 10-12. I am in awe of their ability to focus. Yes, clearly things break down and they talk alot, but there is no way I could have done that when I was 10 so kudos to them...or their stage mothers for forcing it upon them. haha. Just kidding...not really...

For lunch, a couple of the local actors and I walked over to Reading Station Market-which is full of meat and vegetable vendors and such. This includes Amish vendors! I was lured to the smell of corned beef and had a delicious Reuben! The corned beef was carved right in front of me! I guess you could see that as a negative since corned beef is quite fatty and fairly gross looking, but it smelled amazing. I also had a coke because I haven't had soda in a while. I suppose that was unnecessary to mention...oh well.

Rehearsal is 11-7 again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. For the first time in years I've had to get up at 7:30AM and have had no trouble. I hope that sticks! Weeeeeee!

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

Hello hello! What a wonderful first day! I was a little nervous at first, as there was a rumor on the platform at the SEPTA station that the train was running 30 minutes behind... fortunately it was only 10 minutes late and I easily got to rehearsal on time (or 30 minutes early cause I was being a little over cautious...hahaha) The rest of the cast has been rehearsing for a week-but they were quite welcoming. The director decided to unofficially change our title from Extras to Essentials, because he said we were too integral a part of the cast to simply be called extra. That was nice. Also, as it turned out, quite true. They staged two of the ensemble numbers today and I'm in both of them...singing and moving about! (In one of them the other extras...ehemm...I mean essentials and I push the tables around while the lead girl stands on it and sings. This, I imagine, is what I was hired for. haha) I'm really excited to be a part of this!

One fun and interesting fact I noticed is that theatre people, whether they are in DC or Philly or wherever and whether they are Equity or Non-Equity are still the same. This pleases me. I have always had a rather shaky relationship with time, and I'm pleased to see that while being "on time" and "keeping to the schedule" is obviously necessary, what "on time" and "keeping to the schedule" mean remains a genuine mystery. Theatre people do things at their own pace, and it's a pace I can totally keep in stride with. In the end, the important thing is that when lunch was scheduled to begin at 2, it began exactly at 2. And I mean, exactly. These people have their priorities in precisely the right place!

Lunch is an hour each day. Today, a friend met me for lunch, but by the time she found the theatre and found a parking spot we only had about 30 minutes so we went to Quiznos. I think my stomach still hurts from it. But it was nice to see her and catch up with her.

All in all, twas a wonderful first day. Also, since we were only scheduled til 4:30 today, I'm back to the Siefring's in time for dinner! Yay food! More fun tomorrow! Weeeeee!

Something's Coming

I've never blogged before, but as I pack to set out on my Philadelphia adventure I decided I needed something more to help me procrastinate. Music, facebook and playbill.com just aren't enough sometimes...

And so, "Walnuts, Cheesesteaks and Ben Franklin" is born into this world of blogs so vast, that another random one by a bored actor seems fairly to completely pointless. But alas, anything that helps me procrastinate and/or gives me something to do for the next 3 months is good enough for me...even if it isn't good enough for the real bloggers of the world.

The pile of clothes in the closet is so immense that I'm seriously considering packing exactly 7 outfits, one sweatshirt (a hoodie, of course), sneakers, nice shoes and my hats...and getting rid of the rest. I can't decide if this is part of my decision to live simply the next 3 months, or just the pure laziness I'm quite capable of. I'm going to pretend it's the former!

It is currently 1:30PM. I'm hoping to leave around 6 or 8, but no later than 8! That gives me a large window so I will not be disappointed in myself. haha. This will hopefully give me enough time to clean out my car, pack up the stuff from the room, put it in the car, go to the bank and eat a DC meal. So...probably 8. WEEEEE!