tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45683299247474199192024-03-13T22:24:43.536-07:00They Call Me...NicciNiccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-91355105582069487532013-08-15T18:41:00.000-07:002013-08-15T19:16:25.697-07:00This Beautiful LifeWhile checking an ancient hotmail account I never use anymore, I came across a draft of an email I wrote as sort of a journal entry that was such a downer that I didn't even want to write it in my actual journal. It was from 5 years ago, just a few days after my birthday, expressing how depressed I was. I vaguely remember writing this, but as I read it again today I actually started feeling really good because I realized that the girl that wrote it is a far cry from the woman I am now. This is what it said:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">everything depresses me. i watch movies and i'm depressed that i've pretty much given up on acting altogether. i listen to the radio and am depressed that i don't sing anymore. i go on myspace and read about other people doing things they love and making things happen. i'm depressed that i don't have the drive to make things happen. i'm depressed that i can't make up my mind about what i want to do instead. nursing? how depressing. i read the stupid gossip magazines at work and am depressed. i read a book, and i'm depressed that i feel i have no creativity left in me. like i can't create anything other than a meal. i have a hard enough time trying to fully develop an idea. i don't even try to improve at anything i was ever good at. guitar, piano, singing, acting, anything i though would help me grow into my future is pretty much gone from my life. i'm at a complete standstill, and it's depressing. the economy is depressing. the fact that i know nothing other than what i'm told is depressing. i have a hard time listening to my favorite musicals anymore because i feel like i'm going to cry all the time - not only because they're so moving, but because i once believed it was my destiny to be in them at some point in my life and at this point that seems impossible. and depressing. any time i realize i actually feel happy, it's short lived because it reminds me of all the things that depress me. the realization of happiness reminds me of being depressed, what's more depressing than that?"</span><br />
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What's funny is within the past few weeks I've actually realized and acknowledged how happy I've been lately. I have an abundance of good and supportive people in my life, from my family to my friends to my boyfriend to the people I work with (who I also consider friends). Just months after I drafted this email that wasn't ever meant to be sent I started acting again and never looked back. A year after drafting it I achieved one of my dreams and was cast as Mimi in Rent, and then again cast in the same role just months later. I got a manager the following year, continued singing, acting, began auditioning for film and television, got cast in American Idiot and joined AEA and travelled the country, I'm in class for acting, I'm taking dance classes... Such a huge turn-around on my life in the span of 5 years.<br />
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And what caused it? It could have been any number of things. At some point in 2008, with the encouragement and financial support of my mom, I actually did several sessions of hypnotherapy to help with drive and focus. I got a breast reduction that fall which made me finally feel like a normal, proportional person. I was getting ready to go to nursing school that coming January, but when I saw Spring Awakening in December of '08 I remember thinking "<i>that</i> is it, <i>that</i> is what I have to be doing." Even when I told my dad - who was going to pay my student loans - that I decided not to go to nursing school, all I got was support.<br />
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I also recently got another wake-up call. Last year I was shocked to find out that a classmate of mine from college died. It was declared that he died of natural causes at the age of 32. If you ask me, it's not natural to die at the age of 32. And just two weeks ago another college classmate died. She was my age, too, and I don't even know how she died. It was bad enough to hear about one death but another one? Just a year later? It effected me more that I would have imagined. But I also think it made me remember that I only have one life, and really it's flying by, so I have to do everything in my power to get what I want out of it.<br />
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There's an ebb and flow to life. I think it's especially apparent in the entertainment business: pilot season happens in spring, everything is sooo slow during the summer, things pick up again for episodic season, and there's theatre auditions here and there but always at the same time. This week in particular has been one pleasant surprise after the other, almost to the point of being overwhelming! Three auditions and two callbacks between Tuesday and this coming Friday (and one I had to turn down because I'll be away when the play opens), plus being invited to participate in a reading of a show that I love at a theatre company I've always wanted to work with by a friend who is one of the most talented people I know. All of my coworkers have been huge rockstars helping me rearrange the schedule to be able to fit all this stuff in. It's all crazy and amazing and... whoa I just got another callback.<i> And</i> another audition. I'm not even joking.<br />
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As I said on my facebook, it's amazing to see and experience what can happen when you choose to be happy and open your arms to the world. I know this was all very existential, thank you for getting this far. Now go and live every moment of the beautiful life you have.<br />
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<i>Rest in peace, Inocente "Chente" Cervantes: Mar. 18, 1980-Aug. 13, 2012 </i></div>
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<i>and Jhade Peralta: Jan. 21, 1985-Jul. 28, 2013</i></div>
Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-6176604480737489832013-07-18T15:51:00.000-07:002013-07-18T16:05:08.652-07:00Well well well, look who it is...... me. It's me, writing on my own blog. What the hell am I doing back here? Seeing as it's been over a year since my last post, I thought it might be time for a little visit.<br />
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Not sure if I can really summarize the past year in a nutshell, but - tour ended and was INCREDIBLE every step of the way, came back to LA to my boyfriend and my cat and dog and my friends, booked a few lines on a couple TV shows, auditioned a lot, booked some shows, and decided to write a blog post. Yep, that's what's up.<br />
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It was so bittersweet to close American Idiot. As I said the other day on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NicciClaspell" target="_blank">facebook page</a>, each and every Idiot changed my life. The cast and crew became another new family, people I know I can feel at home with any time I see them. Every single person that come to the show and enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it or came to the stage door to say hey or get photos or just be weird with us were so so cool. My family, sorry guys but you became Idiots too and I love you for it. There was one show in San Francisco that my dad brought I think 16 people to come see it and I gave them all a backstage tour afterword. I'm not even sure I was allowed to do it but who cares, it was awesome. I really hope it doesn't bother people around me too much when I reminisce about the show because it's probably never going to leave my bloodstream.<br />
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And what else? Well I was someones #WomanCrushWednesday on twitter a while ago so that was new and fun. The play I'm understudying in - The Boomerang Effect - closes next weekend and if all goes according to plan I should have one more performance. It's been great working on a straight play for the first time since probably when I did A Midsummer Night's Dream, I must have been about 15 or 16. Summer has been slow and relaxing but it seems as if the auditions are starting to pick up again for episodic season as well as a bunch of musical projects I'm excited about. As a matter of fact I have a callback for one this Monday! When I went in for the audition a few days ago I chatted with the casting director about American Idiot a little first, then sang for about 10 seconds before he stopped me and said that he was going to call me back. It's not often that that happens, I've only had that happen to me a couple times before, but when it does it's a huge boost of confidence! I'm so thrilled to go in for the creative team on Monday.<br />
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I think that was a pretty good recap, yeah? In closing I'll leave you with this video of me and my best friend Katherine. It's called Song Time, but it's less about the songs and more about how weird we are together, about an hour of us condensed into 7 minutes of the good stuff. You'll find a little bit of singing in there, and even some <strike>sound</strike> relationship advice. Enjoy. I love you.<br />
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<i>Song Time with Katherine And Nicci</i></div>
<br />Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-81723770319747496552012-06-04T01:59:00.005-07:002012-10-24T09:55:29.470-07:004 Drinks In And Happy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was the night we were all waiting for and it took us by surprise. Ever since the "p.s. See you in Toronto" that unfortunately wasn't possible, and the hopes that it would come true in other cities, we were finally surprised by the presence of Billie Joe Armsrong at our final show in Costa Mesa.<br />
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It would be so easy to pretend that I wasn't as excited as I was when I found out he was there. "Billie's here, did you know" Leslie said as we were walking downstairs to the dressing rooms after the show. "Yeah, he got here just as 'Novocaine' started". Whaaaa? Of course I didn't know... I was doing a show at the time.<br />
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This whole process has been dream come true after dream come true for me. Becoming a member of Actors Equity, not only meeting but having the chance to work with Michael Mayer and Tom Kitt and all the other amazing creatives behind the scenes, playing the Ahmanson in Los Angeles, travelling the country and calling a stage my "office". We had the pleasure of meeting Mike Dirnt, the bassist of Green Day, when he came to see the show in Los Angeles. Several celebrities came to see the show, and a ton of my friends and family (maybe most important of all) were able to see this show that I'm so proud of.<br />
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And then the man who started it all, the face of Green Day, the man who's words touched the angsty hearts and minds of millions, comes for a surprise visit. How can I even pretend to contain my excitement? No, I wasn't that fangirl who couldn't speak around him, or the one who wanted to ask questions about his career and fame and family life. To me, people are people no matter who they are or what they've done. But I was the person who was thrilled when he said that we did the show justice. There's not much more that we could have hoped for. All the hours that Michael and Johanna and Loren and Steven have spent showing us what this show is about have all been worth it. All the work we've put in has been worth it. This all may sound quite sentimental, and maybe it is, but there's no point in pretending you don't feel proud when you've done your job right.<br />
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And not only did he come see the show and meet all of us after, but he also came out to the dive bar we've been enjoying for the past week to chill out for a bit. What a lucky bunch we are.Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-17821195303224068602012-03-25T16:55:00.001-07:002012-03-25T17:40:12.390-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I meant to post this weeks ago but for some reason blogger won't let me embed the actual video on the blog... weird. But here's a link to a little behind the scenes thing I threw together. I have another one in the works with more shots of everyone, but enjoy this one for now and hopefully soon I'll have another real update!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYc2ZGPJQf0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYc2ZGPJQf0</a><br />
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xoxoNiccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-42559923780100946632012-03-01T12:23:00.000-08:002012-03-01T12:41:25.676-08:00Your Questions Answered...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Ladies at our opening night in Minneapolis</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Has it truly been nearly two months since I last blogged? I felt like I had made a promise to myself - maybe even to my readers - that I'd blog more, and now I've gone and done the opposite. Or maybe I didn't make that promise. It's been so long, I can't even remember.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We've made it all the way to State College, Pennsylvania by way of Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Raleigh, Chicago, and Minneapolis. To sum it up briefly: Toronto was cooooold but we had a lot of fun; Detroit was much more friendly than we had expected; Boston was so cool to explore and had great food; Raleigh was nice and relaxing; Chicago was wonderful and I had my first real deep dish pizza there; and Minneapolis was confusing with it's skyway but gave us some of the best audiences yet! Now we're in the home of Dan Gleason's alma mater. We opened to a pretty big but polite crowd on Tuesday, and last night we had a great, loud audience for closing. That's right, only two shows and now we're off to St. Louis!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To help me get the ball rolling, I asked people on twitter if there was anything they wanted to know, so here we go...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">@cgtheatregeek - "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">What are your fav and least fav parts about being on the road all the time?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + I love being able to travel to so many places I've never been before, and I'm a big foodie so I love to see what the local favorites are! Least favorite part would maybe be living out of a suitcase and trying to keep it under 50 lbs. It's also tricky to eat well sometimes, depending on the area we're staying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">@whatsername43 - </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">"</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">favorite things about the tour and playing extraordinary girl :D"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + The company I keep is one of my favorite things about tour. Cast, crew, everyone... all so cool. My favorite thing about playing Ex Girl is probably that once I "become" her, I get to take a little break backstage! The first half of my show is dance/sweat/sing/sweat more. It's nice to finally take a breather after I fly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">@alyson_leonard - "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Have there been any big stand-out moments for you that have happened while on tour? What has been your favorite stop so far?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + There have been a couple not so great stand-out moments involving flying... I guess it can get weird going from city to city, dealing with different power sources and new dressers. There was one time in maybe Boston (?) when Scott's mic fell off his head and I somehow got it back on to a degree, I felt like a hero :) And last week we had a huge fiasco... for anyone who saw the Sunday matinee on the 26th, just know that you didn't see, or hear for that matter, what the flight was intended to be.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> On that note, there have been lots of great stand-out moments as well! On our travel day out of Raleigh, all the girls decided to dress like "elegant ladies". We got some interesting looks at the airport. Being on TV for the new year's eve celebration in Canada as soooo much fun! Looking out over Chicago from the Willis Tower was really incredible. Lots of good moments so far.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> I've liked different thing about each city we've been to, but I'd say that so far Chicago may have been my favorite stop so far because...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">@NikkiRandom1 - "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">how it was being in Chicago & what was your favorite thing being in Chicago for the 2 weeks?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> + ...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">One, we were there for more than a week! I actually got to unpack my suitcase and have a whole free day. Also, my boyfriend was able to be there for a few days including Valentines day <3 and we got to explore together. And also, deep dish pizza!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">@armedwithlysol - "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">...how do you feel about fangirl stalkers at your shows?"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + Haha, I love talking to fans after the shows! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">@armedwithlysol - "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Please also finally confirm the cast vote for best deep dish Chicago pizza. What's the best thing you ate on tour?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + I don't know about the whole cast, but I dined at Lou Malnati's and Pizzeria Due (because Pizzeria Uno was too packed) and I'd have to say that while Due was nice, The "Lou" at Lou Malnati's has my vote. Wow. Wow. Like, really.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">@armedwithlysol - "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Legit: How'd your pilot audition go? How do you find time to audition on the road? Also, how do you guys choose roomies?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + The audition went great! My manager in Los Angeles got me the audition, it was just lucky that they happened to have a big casting office in Chicago. Several other people from the cast auditioned for the project as well! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> As for roommates, most of the cast opts to have their own room, but once in a while Krystina, Jillian and I will choose to room together for a little extra per diem. Sometimes it's every other city, it just kind of happens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">@IdiotOnTourFan - "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">So much has happened since your last post, would love to hear some highlights! What's a typical day like?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + A typical day... generally most of us sleep in, then get some food. Maybe a trip to the gym for the muscle twins (Vince and Dan), and maybe a little exploring, more eating, often a lot of relaxing. We get to the theatre an hour before showtime (plus 15 mins for whoever is doing flight call) to warm up and get ready, do the show, then have dinner and sometimes go out for drinks.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">@evan71788 - "can we get a video please?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"> + As a matter of fact, I'm working on one now, I'll put it up as soon as it's done :)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Well that was fun! I love answering questions you guys have so keep 'em coming. And I mean it this time, I will try to blog more often!!</span>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-16407368165514984812012-01-06T23:00:00.000-08:002012-01-07T07:11:26.848-08:00Don't Wanna Be A Canadian IdiotIt's nights like these, when I can't get to sleep and there's no boyfriend to talk to, that I should be blogging or reading the next book in The Hunger Games series. After a day like today, I think the former is the way to go, hopefully I'll get a little of the latter in too...<br />
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As scheduled, Gabe was to go on for the role of Johnny tonight so we had a put-in rehearsal in the afternoon to make sure all would go smoothly during the show. We had a couple boys out because of relatively minor-ish injuries, so both of our boy swings were put into the show. It was a bit of a whirlwind because one of the boys disappeared with his injury just as we were finishing notes, so we did the run through while spacing a fixing and figuring out tracks at the same time.<br />
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Then... just before the show started, before I was hooked into the chains that take me up for upside down girl, we get word that the rig isn't doing what we'd like it to do. Something about the power source in Toronto is different than how we had teched it in Utica, so we said 'better safe than sorry' and cut it. The great part about that is that I got to do the first number without a harness on! It felt glorious. A little weird to run on stage with the rest of the girls, but I had no idea what fun I was missing backstage while I was hanging out (literally) waiting for them.<br />
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We had an ever so quick discussion right before the curtain came up about the possibility of the fly rig not being ready. We were told that they were confident that the issue would be sorted out within the next 35 minutes, but in the off chance that it wasn't we were to basically walk the number. At some point one of the stage managers found some old non-fly contingency plan for bway (that was never put into use because FOY always works) so I got a chance to glance at it for a few seconds here and there during my numerous quick changes. Luckily, our team is so amazing that the rig was unquestionably fixed and we could fly Extraordinary Girl like nothing ever happened.<br />
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If I had ever doubted it (and I haven't), I know by what happened today that I am a part of something incredible. So much credit goes to the entire cast who tweaked things here and there to fill in spacing, vocals, and movement, but mostly to Vince and Tommy who combined did the work of three men tonight with only a scant rehearsal this afternoon. Gabe was an incredible Johnny, and we were all so excited to be doing Canadian Idiot for the first time!<br />
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What a day. With today's put-in rehearsal, I'd call this a nine and a half show week. I'm not sure that I've ever done more than five shows in one week before this, so it will be quite the personal accomplishment when we get to Sunday night! And then it all starts again on Tuesday...Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-31398489134919006892012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:002012-01-03T13:41:35.634-08:00What A Silly GirlI'm shaking a little as I'm typing this. I have a phone interview for a radio station in Detroit (WWJ 950AM) in about ten minutes and I'm nervous! It's weird, I don't get nervous about shows or auditions much anymore. Just excited. But I've never done this before! I think what's freaking me out is that it's for a newsradio station. I'm afraid they're going to ask me how this show relates to the current political climate and I won't be able to come up with adequate answers. There's a pad of hotel stationary next to me on which I've scrawled a few notes about the show, the people involved, Green Day, but nothing about politics. Hopefully this will be more like the "All Things Considered" segment on what's-that-station in Los Angeles that has more to do with entertainment or fun stories as opposed to news items. It'll be taped, not live, so maybe they can just cut out the weird/uninformed things I say and make me seem like a bright shining representative of American Idiot. Or maybe I'll do so poorly that they'll decide not to air it at all, or interview someone else instead. I'd be totally ok with that... Yup, still shaking.<br />
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. . . . (20 mins later). . . .<br />
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What a silly girl I am. It went just fine. The anchor, Greg Bowman, was nothing but pleasant and much to my relief didn't mention anything about politics :) My hands are still a little clammy, but my heart rate is back to normal. Phew.<br />
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Now that that's over with.... Hey! We're in Canada!! Have been for a week now. You may be happy to know that my neck is feeling just fine and my back is nearly back to normal. My voice on the other hand... well, it's getting there. It's been one hell of a week... several great previews, opening night with a gala afterword (Adrienne, BJA's wife, was there and seemed very proud of what we did!), more shows, sound check and performance on new year's eve for the giant televised celebration downtown, and an open bar/free food party at a "British pub" to follow!<br />
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Saturday morning I woke up and noticed my voice felt a little hoarse. I'm not surprised after the week we had, I think all the excitement and adrenaline caused me to push a little to hard. The NYE party didn't help either, because how can you not loudly celebrate on new years eve?? I decided to put myself on vocal rest for the past two and a half days (we got Sunday AND Monday off!), speaking as little as I could manage. This interview was the second actual conversation I've had in those past 2.5 days, so that's a part of why I was nervous. Luckily all the words came out. Hallelujah.<br />
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We're back at it again tonight. So glad I had that time to rest and recuperate, because understudy and put-in rehearsals are already underway. It's gonna be another big week! Alright, another hour or two of Catching Fire before I'm off to fly call....<br />
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*Fun fact: even though my pants don't fit anymore, when I went to LA for xmas I found out I gained three pounds. That means I probably gained 5 pounds of solid muscle, baby.*Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-66520842095484673292012-01-02T13:31:00.000-08:002012-01-02T20:36:44.552-08:00A Little Bit About Nichi...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kIWaIS_KlM/TwIi7WDZQiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/hz0BlbTIuFs/s1600/tumblr_lwisdcLUVo1qzfhef.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kIWaIS_KlM/TwIi7WDZQiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/hz0BlbTIuFs/s320/tumblr_lwisdcLUVo1qzfhef.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh hi, I'm Nicci!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One. What is your middle name? Marie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two. What are you passionate about? Finding meaning through art</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three. Zebra or leopard print? Ooh, maybe zebra!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four. Do you have any fears? I'm terrified of tsunamis. It can be slightly debilitating. Also I guess being along... not on a day to day basis but in the grand scheme of things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five. Silver or gold? I like to mix and match.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Six. Top three places to visit? I've always wanted to go back to Leipzig, Germany. the Philippines has some of the most amazing scuba diving ever, and.... Aroma Coffee and Tea in Toluca Lake :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seven. How many siblings do you have? One seester, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.twitter.com/claspy">Sarah</a>. Two step brothers, Jesse and Justin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eight. Where are you from? As I tell everyone, I was born in Utah but am somehow not Mormon. Lived in Washington state for about 5 years before moving to northern California. Have been living in Los Angeles for the past 7 years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nine. First career you wanted as a child? Artist. Then I think I wanted to be an astronaut for a minute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ten. What's your sign? Libra (just barely, my birthday is Sept. 24)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eleven. Future names of your children? We'll get there when we get there...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twelve. Do you have any pets? Grew up with them but don't have any now. But I supplement my lack of pets by visiting my sister's </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.wellthatsadorable.com"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">website</span></a>.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thirteen. What are you listening to right now? The ever pleasant sounds of a babbling humidifier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fourteen. Do you believe in fate/destiny? Hmm. I guess I believe there are great possibilities for everyone that they can reach if they're driven enough. So I think you kind of create your own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fifteen. What are your career goals? To continue being a working actor and be able to pay my bills by doing what I love. And to be on the broad way ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sixteen. What is your favorite color? It's hard to pick one. I don't want to hurt the others' feelings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seventeen. What is your favorite flower? Orchids and lilies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eighteen. What was the first concert/show you attended? I saw Phantom of the Opera with my family in third grade, and my first concert was Cake with my sister and her friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nineteen. Something you are working on right now? This thing...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty. Have you ever had a near death experience? I'll say probably.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-one. Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early? Depends on what the thing is. Getting a flu shot or cleaning my room? Procrastinator. Learning music/lines or organizing outings? You'd better believe I'm on top of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-two. Left of right handed? Righty tighty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-three. TV shows you watch regularly? Breaking Bad. The Biggest Loser. Top Chef. Mad Men.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-four. Where do you work? First national tour of American Idiot, baby!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-five. Halloween costume this year? Jem from Jem and the Holograms. Made it myself (it was totally outrageous...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-six. What is your relationship status? I'm in one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-seven. Last movie you watched? Bradesmaids, last night, for the first time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-eight. Your best friend's name? Kat(t) ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twenty-nine. A song that's been stuck in your head? Mama Knows Best - Jessie J</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thirty. A book you want to read/have recently read? Almost done with The Hunger Games, and after that it will be the Heroine Diaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll do a real blog update soon. Any other questions?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-35975823240446472302011-12-23T07:51:00.000-08:002011-12-23T08:51:19.817-08:00I looked it up online. You can't technically "throw" your back "out", but I think I did what is commonly referred to as "throwing your back out". I also did something to my neck about a week ago... I think I need to stop whistling in the wings (it's bad luck in theatre...)<br />
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If you haven't seen on my <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.twitter.com/nclaspell">twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NicciClaspell">facebook fan page</a> yet, I am now the blonde in the cast! It's going to take some getting used to, but I don't think I would have ever done it otherwise so I'm enjoying it. As Gabe said, the cast is slowly but surely transforming into misfits. The guyliner and hair dye has done a lot to progress that transformation.<br />
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Anyhow. We were fortunate to have two previews in Utica this week before our mini holiday break. None of us were really sure how many people were going to make it out to the show, but we were all pleasantly surprised by the large houses filled with tons of awesome and supportive fans. That took our adrenaline levels up immensely, and I think that's maybe why I hurt my back. With all that excitement it's hard not to want to go full throttle the whole show. I hate to say it but with a show like this I'm gonna guess we'll get quite a bit of stuff like this. It's about an hour and a half of non-stop sweating and singing and kicking theatrical ass. After our first "show" we had a party in the hotel lobby with pizza and an open bar provided by our production company. We also did a secret santa thing, and I got the most amazing back/neck massager from Larkin! I have a feeling that is going to come in handy a lot.<br />
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Our second show was great! It gets pretty crazy back stage, but everything sounded and looked awesome and my personal show went very well. I had given some comp tickets away to one of my twitter followers because I didn't know anyone in the area and she gave me a thank you card after the show! That was pretty sweet. These idiot fans are the best.<br />
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Now it's time to head back to Los Angeles for a quick Christmas. I'm planning on swapping out clothes for warm stuff, eating delicious food, and staying in bed as much as possible. We have a big week next week, with press events, more previews, opening night, and a performance on Canadian television on NYE. Not to mention shopping :)<br />
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I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! xo<br />
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<i>The lovely and talented Johanna McKeon and Lorin Lotarro</i></div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-88564324345921379202011-12-19T00:04:00.000-08:002011-12-19T06:39:55.825-08:00Techcersize<div style="text-align: left;">
Ok kids, we are deep deep into tech rehearsals. We've been at it since the 15th and it looks like we'll finish the show before dinner tomorrow! Tech is always a tedious process, but every second is filled with something important. Being on the set now, we have to make sure all of our spacing works, tweak some staging, set the lights and sound, and of course practice flying. About that...</div>
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Yesterday was the first time we did Extraordinary Girl since way back in Charleston a month ago. I got to practice upside down girl on the first day but I really wasn't in the harness for that long. Yesterday on the other hand, I was in it for a while before dinner and for about 5 hours after dinner. I'd say I'm generally pretty tough but it got to the point where I almost wanted to cry. We had to practice taking the gurneys out for lobotomy and then run through the quickest change of <strike>my life</strike> all time into Extraordinary Girl. So here's the deal - I have to go from my army fatigues into my I-Dream-Of-Jeannie-esque costume (plus harness and burqa) and be ready to descend from the top of center stage in less than one minute. Luckily I have a team of dressers waiting in the wings to help me.<br />
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<i>Remember those abs I wanted? They're getting there!</i></div>
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The actual sequence is going great though. Seems most if not all of our muscle memory has been retained. It really does feel awesome to be up there - somehow once the flying starts, I forget all about the pain I'm in. And fortunately we'll only have to be doing that once or twice a day for the shows. We started with the flying again today and we'll have a fly call every day for shows, but the hardest stuff is over. If we're lucky, we'll get a full run through in by the end of the day tomorrow!<br />
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It our very little bit of down time we've been discovering what Utica has to offer. Which is to say, we've been to Rite Aid a few times, and have made friends with the bartender at the hotel. There's a really great restaurant next to the gorgeous theater we're teching in, and that's about it! But we've been making our own fun. Tonight it was our music directors birthday so the company manager drove 25 miles to get vegan cupcakes and the cast and crew hung out in the hotel lobby. The bar and restaurant were closed but some people brought drinks and others brought more food. There was gambling (by way of a $3 buy-in dice game), eating, drinking, even some cross dressing, and tons of laughs. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be spending my time with while away from home.<br />
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It's way past my bed time. I'll leave you with this cryptic bit of information: There are no blonde girls in the cast. <b><i>Yet.</i></b>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-25402554489674254992011-12-07T18:19:00.000-08:002011-12-08T05:30:06.243-08:00Since it seems that my fake tumblr has given up on me (they thought I was boring anyway), I decided it's time to blog again...<div><br /></div><div>As expected, it's been another busy week. For some reason I decided to try to only eat raw for a week. I've always wanted to do a cleanse of some kind but I have a very hard time confining my diet. Not that I eat too much or eat bad things all the time, but I love food. I'm a foodie, I'll eat pretty much anything. A few years ago I tried to do the master cleanse and lasted 3 days. Or was it a day and a half? Since you can actually eat things and not just drink spicy lemon water with this raw thing, I thought I'd do better. Not quite. My castmate Jarran said that the third day would be the worst and he was so right. </div><div><br /></div><div>Today, day three of raw, I had to get up early for a fitting before rehearsal. It was so hard to just get myself out of bed. By the time I got to rehearsal I felt like I needed a nap already. My legs wanted to give out during Jesus of Suburbia, and my back and shoulders were killing me since we learned the moves to Whatstername the day before. So - I had some turkey in my salad, and some bread on the side. It boosted my energy enough to get me through the rest of the day, that and a little after lunch nap. Maybe I'll get back on the wagon tomorrow, or maybe not. Truth be told, I didn't do a complete day. I had a few pieces of sushi on day two and a donut hole on day one. I play by my own rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow. I finally have clothes for the show! I had tried on my fatigues and Ex. Girl stuff but nothing else. I am in love with everything they gave me today, especially what I'm wearing for Holiday. Can I just say... I'm not in love with the red jump suit for upside down girl. I think I'm the only one, but with my flying harness underneath and all that red... meh. I do like that there are words written upside down on the back though. I bet that looks pretty cool at the start of the show.</div><div><br /></div><div>We were told that for our final run through in the city this Monday we would be able to invite people but with all the people involved on the production side coming, and the people they invited, as well as people from the original cast, we're already at capacity. They were nice enough to allow us to invite a friend or two to Saturday's rehearsal. My temporary roommate has never seen the show and wouldn't be able to see it in any of the cities we're playing, so I'm glad she'll at least be able to see our rough draft. </div><div><br /></div><div>We really do have a good show, and it will soon be great. We're leaving - <b>at 7:30 am</b> - on Wednesday to take a bus up to Utica. There we'll get costumes, full sets, and flying rigs!! I'm most excited about the latter. We did have a static rig put in last week so we could practice hanging upside down, but it was very short lived. So I can't wait to get the real deal. It's kind of funny in rehearsal when Scott and I have to walk around on the floor pretending that we're in the air, especially the parts when he almost falls or I shoot up into the air.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since it's been over a week from my last post, here's a little treat. This is what may happen on a typical lunch break...</div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxJdMTkHKLbMRCFvPNRamcXBi_AJioJcixpD8bPW4AxXQvIFeXitbtzcWJYzufxpKskAhrPoW1fhV5j4NxDcA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-83026281568238192822011-11-29T19:01:00.000-08:002011-11-30T04:54:17.338-08:00<div style="text-align: left;">I was sore last week. I've been bruised almost every day. I've gone through Lorin Latarro's and Steven Hoggett's warm-ups. But today was the first real day of fatigue.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it was pretty much across the board a rough day for everyone. As Talia put it, a kryptonite day. I could tell by the end of the warm up that my body wanted to say "no" already. Just absolute fatigue, and all we had done were some sit ups, stretches, and galloping across the floor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luckily we started by blocking We Are The Waiting which is pretty low key. Phew. But being so low key, it didn't take long until it was in our bodies and we moved on to Novocaine. What a song. There's definitely a lot going on in different story lines, but this is where a group of us had to throw our bodies around the stage, flopping like very precise fish all over the ground. We're supplied with knee pads for whenever we want to use them, but by the end of the day my knees were still stinging.</div><div><br /></div><div>And it wasn't just because of Novocaine but because right after that we did St. Jimmy. That's a lot of flopping around in a different drug-crazed-like way, more being on our hands and knees. I love the choreo/staging/whatever you want to call it. It's precise and hard hitting and looks <b>great</b> but man oh man... it's a beast! I get the feeling it can only get better from here though. I'm definitely not feeling the soreness that I was last week, and through I'm getting more bruises the big ones are fading and I'm figuring out ways to try and prevent getting more. I really would love to get my hands on a measuring tape or scale and see what awesome damage these rehearsals have done :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Although it's not written on our schedule for tomorrow, I get the feeling we're going to do a run of everything we've learned so far tomorrow. That means from the top of the show through... Give Me Novocaine. That means we've learned half of the show in a week, plus bits of other things we'll string together later. I'd say that's pretty good! And I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be spending every day with learning this stuff. I had a good feeling about what I was getting into during fly week - the five other people were so easy to be around and ready to help each other. That was definitely a preview of what everyone else would be like. I could gush about everyone but you'll learn soon enough how amazing they all are.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two final things: One, if you haven't already you should check out <a href="http://asianamericanidiot.blogspot.com/">Kelvin's</a> blog. He cracks me up and speaks the truth!</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div>And two: BJA's email to the cast. I'm keeping the "Ps" a secret.... for now</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbT8WsquvgQbkuUDD1K8HpDTb8DmvQqKqaDqIHa0PN61CdSBmUnvc6i3pbtmoO4S4RAQP-DfOZP3-GEk7VcJ3B8teKOSGP9BtL3YbOhyphenhyphenSEgIn2vAz0b6_h4hwVAKXcAw-FTAtL7YLeumJf/s400/IMAG0100.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680638076543506818" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px; " /><div></div></div></div><div><br /></div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-91676297633280905382011-11-23T16:43:00.000-08:002011-11-23T20:40:14.031-08:00Say, Hey!Yesterday the AI productions company graciously offered everyone in the cast two free tickets to see a preview of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Yup, the one I auditioned for this summer. We had some time to kill before show time so a few of us got some food and a couple drinks. Aside from flying week and lunch time, this was the first "bonding" time we had. I am so pleased with our cast, everyone is so cool and nice and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">friggin</span> talented. <div><br /></div><div>The show was really lovely. I took my sister's (nee) roommate Brianna and I couldn't have asked for a better date. It was cool for me to see what direction they chose for the role of Melinda. The actress, Jessie Mueller, had an amazing 1940's quality to her voice. It's nice when you can know you did your very best bet they were just looking for something different, something very specific. The whole show was very enjoyable and I loved how they played with the story line to make one of the main characters, Davey, a gay man instead of a woman (the character's name was originally Daisy).</div><div><br /></div><div>I decided to take it upon myself to try and find a quicker way home. It was unsuccessful. I got off the express train at my stop and decided to hop on the local train to go up one more stop so instead of walking six streets and and avenue, I'd only have to walk two streets and an avenue. As soon as I got onto the sidewalk I knew I was wrong. Turns out there's a pig park between that stop and my destination, and I wasn't about to walk through a park by myself at 11:30 pm in Harlem. And by the way, it was raining. I first had to walk a ways to get my bearings - a couple streets and a couple avenues - and what would have normally taken less than ten minutes (and about five minutes on the route in my mind) took over 25 minutes. But I made it home alive and learned my lesson: trust the people that live here, they know better. Or just study those subway maps.</div><div><br /></div><div>The real physical work started yesterday. For our warm up we did some obstacle sprints and a <b>lot </b>of arm work. That's not something I'm accustomed to working out. I'll do some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">tricep</span> dips once in a while or a push up here and there, but nothing like this. Steven said he'd rather us do one push up with perfect form than ten that were shit, so with some of the harder positions I only got to five or six. I plan on eventually becoming strong enough to do it all but... one step at a time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today we did more sprinting and some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">cardio</span> stuff, a lot of stretching, and then worked on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">glutes</span>. It was difficult but I definitely felt the good kind of burn. This show is going to whip us all into shape in no time. And if the warm ups weren't convincing me, the dancing we did today would have. We started to put our "8 counts" together for what I believe will be the choreography for She's A Rebel. What's tricky is that all of us are doing the same thing only about half of the time. The other half of the time we're doing the same thing as maybe 3 other groups are different things. And on top of this, our little similar groups are going to be all intermingled on stage so it's not like you can look to anyone else to figure out where you are. </div><div><br /></div><div>So that part was tricky because of the brains part. After that the boys were taken to the music room to work on some boy song while the girls started to learn out part for the opening. A lot of it was similar to what we did at the audition, but there were a few more things added to it and it was about twice as long. This is where it became tricky because of the endurance part. If you haven't seen the show, the girls start off by running onto stage, stopping abruptly, running more, nearly falling, running more, smashing imaginary televisions, running more, and doing it all over again just on the opposite side of the stage. I'd say once we probably ran it twelve times or more. On our last go I was almost afraid that my legs would give out. Luckily, they didn't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Instead of taking a water break, we went straight on to learning the Letterbomb <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">choreo</span>. That one combines brains and stamina. It's a lot of sharp shoulder movements and jerking out bodies around. I'm kind of glad I have a lower vocal part on this and some of the other songs because it takes a lot of breath support to be belting these things out, and I'm going to need all the breath I can get! Needless to say I was all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">kindsa</span>' rosy by the time our lunch hour came around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our afternoons have been dedicated to music. We plan to have covered all of the music by the end of Friday and do a full sing-through of the show on Saturday. It's really incredible, the music. I've heard the recordings and seen the performances, but when you can hear how everything breaks down with harmonies and dynamics and why we're singing what we're singing, it's really spectacular. Especially with such spectacular voices. You know you're working with professionals when during ensemble parts of songs there isn't one person that stands out (unless of course they have a solo over us), all the voices blend together perfectly. All of you musical theater people know that there's always those one or two people in music rehearsals that like to sing a bit louder or hold a note longer than everyone else. It's such an amazing thing when everyone can trust the music and the direction and know that it will sound beautiful as a whole when we're all doing what we're supposed to be doing. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ahhh</span>. Heavenly sounds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight after a nice chat with the bf I took a long hot bath to soothe these aching muscles, and I plan on sleeping in to my heart's content tomorrow. Although, knowing there's going to be turkey and all the trimmings, the excitement may just kick my body clock into gear. Have a great holiday everyone!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you like my blogs about the AI behind the scenes stuff, check out <a href="http://krystinaalabado.blogspot.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Krystina's</span></a> and <a href="http://asianamericanidiot.blogspot.com/">Kelvin's</a> blogs. And I have a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">facebook</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NicciClaspell">fan page</a>. Shameless self promotion. Ok maybe there's a little shame.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, if anyone has suggestions of places to eat or things to do... or places to eat.... let me know! I don't have that much time off but when I do I'd like to experience as much of the city (and the food here) as possible!</div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-5357398209431802372011-11-21T17:45:00.000-08:002011-11-22T21:26:59.831-08:00Remember that time when I wrote a blog about High Fidelity and tried to catch the attention of Tom Kitt and Amanda Green? Well, tom didn't see the blog but he was aware that I performed in High Fidelity this summer. I'll take it.<div><br /></div><div>Today was the first day of rehearsal! It's been four months and ten days since I got the call and now it has begun. I stayed up much later than I should have last night watching the show. I'd never seen it before, so I thought it would have been a good idea to familiarize myself with more than just what's available from bootleg clips on youtube. What a cool show. The visuals are pretty incredible and the vocal arrangements are stunning. I can't wait to really get into it and feel it for myself.</div><div><br /></div><div>We started off the day by having an equity meeting. I'm on my way, ladies and gents! In just a few months I'll be an official member of the Actors Equity Association. There were four other people in the cast who were also non-equity, so I imagine it was an especially exciting day for the five of us. When that was all taken care of our choreographer, Steven, led us in an exercise that helped us to learn and remember each others names as well as warm up our bodies. After that we did some core work, crunches and things like that. I had forgotten to put my rehearsal clothes in my bag this morning so I had to do it all in my jeans, boots, and long sleeve shirt. Luckily it wasn't as intense as I was mentally prepared for. I assure you it will get crazy, but it's nice that we had today to kind of ease us into it. We were also given about five minutes to listen to a song and come up with an 8-count, then were put into groups of four and put our moves together. We think some of these moves may be incorporated into the choreography, that's how they came up with some of the original stuff. I guess we'll see.</div><div><br /></div><div>After about two hours with Steven we went into the adjacent room to work on music with Tom and Jared, the music director. Got through American Idiot, most of 21 Guns, and some of Last Night On Earth. Everyone sounds incredible together, there are so many fantastic voices in the cast. I can't help but smile when we get to the really powerful moments of the songs. Wow.</div><div><br /></div><div>The day ended with a meet and greet with everyone involved with the show. Fun fact: Tom Hulce, one of our producers, was Mozart in the movie <i>Amadeus</i>. He was also the speaking and singing voice of Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. True story. Billie Joe Armstrong wasn't able to be there but Michael Mayer, our director, said he sends his love and is very excited. He'll meet up with us at some point. Maybe even perform with us? I'm not making any promises, and nothing's been announced but..... I'm just sayin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Time to work on my music and pack up my bag for tomorrow. I'm an positive that it's going to be intense and I will not be forgetting workout clothes again.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ps. Here's a clip of us singing Good Riddance and the airport.</div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwlRqC27ZmjzgrjIbUdepZEiNN12hhDCJytaKj4Td6VwaImAgGlnybJf3XjYHuHhlA9Qs90yzpP6KMfzj4arQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-335400234326874372011-11-19T03:20:00.000-08:002011-11-19T03:51:49.859-08:00Week One: DoneGreetings from the Charleston airport! We had a very successful week of rehearsals. It's amazing what we were able to learn and become comfortable with in only three and a half days.<div><br /></div><div>Day two of flying was... painful. We learned a lot and it went great, but man oh man I cannot describe the pain I was in. If you follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/nclaspell">twitter</a> you can see a picture of the bruises on my arm from banging it against the wire. And that's by far not the worst of the bruises. But we got through it and over the next few days put the whole thing together. The associate choreographer was there to give us details for the rest of the number and we ran it over and over again. It looks really beautiful. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday the girls practiced what we're doing for the very opening of the show. All we do is hang upside down. I didn't think there's be anything to it, but it's a lot more frightening than you'd think. We're hanging about 40-50 ft above the stage for two and a half minutes. Not only that but for the tour, we'll have the potential to slowly spin around up there. I'm ok (as ok as I can be) when looking at the set or into the wings, but when I see the whole audience and the ceiling is closer to me than the floor, it's pretty crazy. Then we have to do a couple of back flips while descending and then run around and dance like crazy. That's gonna take some getting used to.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our last day of rehearsal a half an hour later and were finished by around 2:00. That gave us a some time to explore a little bit of Charleston. We walked down to the old slave markets, which is now occupied by various vendors selling jewelry, candles, food, and lots of woven baskets. After a great lunch we headed back to the hotel to catch the shuttle to the airport.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is where it gets fun... there were six of us scheduled to fly directly to LaGuardia at 7:10, getting in a little after 9. Our boarding time, 6:40, goes by. Then it's 7:15. Then 7:30. No one knows why we haven't boarded yet. They finally tell us that they have a maintenance issue and they don't know how serious it is but they'll let us know as soon as they know. We come to find out that there's an air valve or something in need of repair and there's no mechanic on site, so they have to call someone in. Who do you just call up to fix an airplane? I guess they didn't know either, because whoever showed up couldn't fix it so the flight was cancelled. Instead of lining up at the counter to change our flights we immediately got on the phone and got new flights in the morning. I think I got one of the last seats available because I'm in first class on my connecting flight, and two other people had to get another flight because the one I was on was full by the time they got through. So this will be my first time ever flying first class! I hope the flight from DC to NY will be long enough to enjoy it.</div><div><br /></div><div>We were put up in a hotel near the airport, and got dinner - paid for by the AI production company. We also get an extra day of per diem for today, which is really nice of production. It's the stage manager's birthday today, I missed my sister's going away party, and a cast member's wife's birthday was yesterday and he missed it. We did make the best of our situation though. We even had a little jam session with another guy on our cancelled flight. He had a ukulele and one of our guys had a guitar, so we sang Good Riddance while waiting for the hotel shuttle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now we're back at the airport again. Luckily for me, that means an extra check in on Yelp and Foursquare. I'll be heading straight to my sister's place when I get in, and if all goes to plan we'll go directly to The Meatball Shop from there. Right, Sarah? Right??</div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-49358600012088050312011-11-15T23:28:00.000-08:002011-11-15T21:04:51.970-08:00Ow. And Wow.As of today, I know how to fly.<div><br /></div><div>Ok, I'm learning to fly. But the six of us who are here learning are catching on pretty quickly, I think! We all got into town yesterday and had a chance to hang out a little bit and get dinner together. Except for Gabe. I guess technically he got in today, 12:30am, because he had to fly from Florida back into Toronto, where he's from, so he could go through customs to then catch a connecting flight into Charleston. Insane. </div><div><br /></div><div>After breakfast at the hotel this morning we all walked over to the theater where we're learning to fly. We got fitted into our harnesses and were told about how they work and how we aren't going to die (in so many words) and then we went up in the air! The first couple times were to make sure our weight was distributed properly and practice doing front and back somersaults. It was awesome. A bit uncomfortable - your whole weight is basically resting on your groin and pelvis - but really cool. Next we practiced the "Jesus spin", a part in the song when Ex. Girl and Tunny spin up and away from each other. It looks easy enough, you're just spinning yourself, but it's a lot harder than you'd think. For some reason almost everyone's center of balance didn't want to be where it should have been. That's definitely going to take some practice.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had an hour for lunch and all went to a cafe around the corner that was pretty good. These Southern portions man, they're no joke. Light lunches are the way to go if you're going to be suspended in the air for 7 hours a day. When we got back we started learning the first sequence of the song. According to Krystina, who did the show for a while on Broadway, we've learned the hard stuff. Now it's a matter of perfecting them, learning the rest, and putting it all together.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our shuttle and cab drivers will be happy to know that when we finished for the day, the six of us went to Jestine's for some soul food. There were about three places in town that were recommended to all of us so we figured we'd see if they measured up. All in all was some meatloaf, fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, and fried okra, and I think we were all satisfied. We got back to the hotel and the girls watched a bit of Jurassic park while the boys kept up with their fantasy football, then we all watched funny videos of animals on youtube and called it a night. Tomorrow after rehearsal we are going as guests of the production company to see In The Heights! So exciting. </div><div><br /></div><div>I feel like I still have the harness on.</div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-31606219980355503792011-11-01T18:32:00.000-07:002011-11-13T15:25:04.980-08:00Last Day Before The Adventure<a href="http://www.coolhost77.com/dollsonl/GreenDay/heart_cropped.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 485px;" src="http://www.coolhost77.com/dollsonl/GreenDay/heart_cropped.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />You have no clue how many times I start writing an entry here and then get busy and it turns into nothing . I apologize. I know you're dying to hear how things are going in my world...<div><br /></div><div>The truth is that things are good but exciting stuff just comes in little bursts. I really should write about them when they happen, because it's mainly emails with bits of information about the tour. I really could put all of my updates into one post - which I will attempt right now:</div><div><br /></div><div>I've received several emails. Mainly flight itineraries and housing options. I also got an email yesterday about what clothes to wear for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FOY</span> training. The cast list was announced a few days before <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Halloween</span> and because of it I for a bunch more <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.twitter.com/nclaspell">twitter</a> followers and a couple more fans on my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">facebook</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NicciClaspell">professional page</a>. I'm also friends with a few of my fellow cast members on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">facebook</span>! As a matter of fact, I found out through one of them that we were responsible for finding our own housing for the rehearsal period in New York, so my dear friend Lauren whom I've mentioned here before has offered up her couch for me to stay on for three weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm all packed already. I've actually been packed for a week now - my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">bff</span> Katherine is subletting my room at my place and her lease was up at the end of October so for the first week of November she stayed with her boyfriend and this past week I've stayed with mine. It's worked out well because I've had a week to figure out what I don't need in my suitcase and I can just drive up the street and drop it off at my place. In total I have about 70 lbs. between my two suitcases. Given, one of the suitcases itself weighs 10 lbs. But that will be a lot to haul around when in New York.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not sure if I've mentioned it yet, but my sister is moving to Los Angeles the very same week I'm getting to NY. I'll arrive on a Friday and go to her going away party, we'll stuff ourselves with meatballs and lobster rolls on Saturday, and then she's leaving on Sunday for a road trip to California. So there's that. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the present, it's my last day in California before the adventure begins. I'm still in bed and I can smell the brisket that's cooking next door - that's my big plans for today. Brisket for dinner. Nils' neighbor is a master at the grill and there's not much more I'd like to do today than spend time with people I like and eat some good food. It's been four long months that I've been waiting to get going on this and it's finally here! I'm mainly excited, a little nervous, but so ready. I'll be sure to blog more often - no really! I will! If you were aware of this blog when I was doing RENT in Alabama you'd know that I was blogging at least once or twice a week. If I'm not completely exhausted, you can expect that again.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here we go!</div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-43736506167664419172011-09-13T14:25:00.000-07:002011-09-14T09:14:13.439-07:00Fingers Crossed For A Google Alert<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuWQFH43KBjuRrXd-tMyxigssRv9L77cLwKXfZetj1216YHs7Ji4LiSOTEfSd4F9IC43zZO5OoWsaNaEy20nj9ER1IPwRO25hbCTLFwOF3xw6rlt9_xM_LcM7XxU0ZduUAybOkm5-t9BZ/s1600/HF.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuWQFH43KBjuRrXd-tMyxigssRv9L77cLwKXfZetj1216YHs7Ji4LiSOTEfSd4F9IC43zZO5OoWsaNaEy20nj9ER1IPwRO25hbCTLFwOF3xw6rlt9_xM_LcM7XxU0ZduUAybOkm5-t9BZ/s320/HF.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652021716675686898" border="0" /></a><br />Long time no post! I do have a specific reason for posting right now but I'll get to that in a minute. First and foremost, updates...<br /><br />What have I been up to this summer, you ask? Oh you know, this and that. Lots of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">barbecues</span>, a swimming pool or two, and a few choice performances. I did a couple of sets for a jazz night that a friend put together every few weeks in Hollywood. I'd never done something like that before, and it's not often I get to sing jazz and bluesy stuff, so it was neat to just be able to sing whatever I wanted for 25 minutes. The same friend who put all that together also decided to start doing Broadway Surprise Nights where he's get a bunch of his friends - stars of the stage and screen - together to do a one or two night singing performance of a Broadway show. the first one was City Of Angels where I sang songs of the Angel City Four and Gabby. The second Broadway Surprise Night was Chicago and I had the pleasure of singing Velma's part, along side the lovely and talented <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chryssie</span> Whitehead as Roxie.<br /><br />Sadly, the restaurant was sold and we don't know what's going in next, but we're all hoping it will be something that will allow and be conducive to the performances we were doing before. We brought a lot of people, and it was really fun!<br /><br />I got an email not too long ago from the American Idiot people asking if the actors who will do the flying in the show are available in early November for a week or so of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">FOY</span> rehearsal in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Las</span> Vegas. That means I'd be leaving in less than two months. It also means that I'd be going to Vegas for the first time. Well, I have been once before but I think I was nine years old so that didn't really count. And come to think of it, this won't really count in the way that it does for most people. I don't like to go too crazy when I'm doing a show, especially something this big, and that's kind of what Vegas is about. Oh and... that ALSO means I know of a couple other people in the cast! Their names were included in the email. But sorry, I'm keeping that info to myself for now. If they haven't spilled the beans yet, I'm not going to be the one to spoil it.<br /><br />This coming Monday I will perform in my first staged reading with Musical Theatre Guild. It's their season opener High Fidelity (music and lyrics by Tom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Kitt</span> and Amanda Green) and I'll be playing Penny. If you've seen the movie or read the book (or even seen the musical), she's the ex-girlfriend who wouldn't let the main character feel her up in high school, so he breaks up with her and finds out that soon after, she slept with someone else. No one sure why the show ran for only 14 performances on Broadway - the script is hilarious and real, and Tom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kitt's</span> and Amanda Green's music and lyrics are absolutely perfect and a blast to sing. Yes, I did just mention both of them twice. Well, word is that they're in LA right now for the Bring It On musical, and I'm hoping that if either of them has a google alert set up for their name, they may happen to see this and decide to come. I'm have no doubt that we can get them <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">comp'd</span> tickets. Shoot, they can even have mine. Plus, I got to meet Tom at the American Idiot callbacks, and will be working with him once rehearsals start up for that, so I'm not just a random person in a show he worked on, asking by way of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">internet</span> for him to come see the production.... right? So here's hoping one of them has a google alert set up.... There it is, the real reason for this post.<br /><br />Anyhow. We had a few hours of musical rehearsal last week, and last night we all got together for pizza and we just <span style="font-style: italic;">happened</span> to do a read/song through. It's a short process - only 3 more rehearsals to touch up the music and do blocking - so we all have a bit of homework to do, but I was impressed with everyone in the room. There are a lot of strong voices and great characters, it's going to be a good show. Monday, September 19 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. See you there, Amanda and Tom! ;)Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-61781967965022951812011-07-19T13:22:00.000-07:002011-09-13T18:40:22.935-07:00Eight Shows A Week, Here I come<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFftN3n3LA7ilDF3S2DzTmYSRCrftTW04IX_pU38tLeL5mZrrBCy3429VFFmlahaD-o7JCaTPKkbZgGgpOe2EwWnLnwO2rWNHs38kY5QqIOdorjvHDb2-C0-WnRC1eTo2opdZOoGI_wU8m/s1600/EG.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 391px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFftN3n3LA7ilDF3S2DzTmYSRCrftTW04IX_pU38tLeL5mZrrBCy3429VFFmlahaD-o7JCaTPKkbZgGgpOe2EwWnLnwO2rWNHs38kY5QqIOdorjvHDb2-C0-WnRC1eTo2opdZOoGI_wU8m/s320/EG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631138545911848050" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">That's gonna be me! Hopefully I'll have abs like that too...<br /></span></div><br /><br />Last time I wrote I said that I'd talk about my classes at UCB next time, and now that it's next time, here we go!<br /><br />My sister introduced me to the Upright Citizens Brigade years ago by way of their short lived television show. She'd been involved in Improv for a long time and when she moved to New York about six years ago, she started taking classes right away and has been involved with UCB ever since. I've been wanting to take classes there for years now, and since I did my taxes really thoroughly this year and got a big refund, I could afford it!<br /><br />Everything about my class was fantastic. Our teacher, Johnny Meeks, was really great and supportive and fun, as were the other people in the class. And it wasn't just a bunch of comedy actors - there were several writers, a voiceover actor, a girl who wanted to get into hosting, and even a couple people who had moved to LA not a month beforehand. Over the eight weeks that the class took place, we all became really good friends. We'd go see shows with each other nearly every Monday right after class, have dinner, see more shows. It was awesome. The class structure itself was pretty fantastic too, it taught us a pretty much fail proof formula that made it less scary to jump up on stage armed with only your experiences and wit. We had a nearly packed house for the grad show and it went better than any of us could have expected for a 101 show.<br /><br />And now, what you've been waiting for.... I've been offered the role of Extraordinary Girl in the 1st national tour of American Idiot!!! Yes, the news came later than we had anticipated. After that first week of waiting, when they had predicted that casting would be done, I asked my manager if she had heard anything and she said no. "Thinking that ship has sailed, but still hopeful" I believe were her exact words.<br /><br />Before I left for the callback in New York, I took my good friend Jeff out for a birthday dinner. I have a necklace that looks like a little envelope with a brass note inside, and at some point it fell out and was lost forever. When I realized this, Jeff decided to write 'American Idiot' on a little piece of napkin to put inside the envelope necklace. That became my lucky charm, as I wore it every day in NY and almost every day since I got back. So even though we hadn't heard by the time we thought we would, I wasn't going to uncross my fingers until either we got word or I saw a cast announcement.<br /><br />This past Monday I was at work and missed a call from my manager. I got a text from her saying "Call me ASAP" and got a little worried, but then listened to the voicemail she left and in her chipper tone she said "Hey Nicci it's Amanda, it's pretty important so call me back when you can". When I got a chance, the first thing she mentioned was Glee - I was supposed to put myself on tape for casting but it had totally slipped my mind. Since the deadline was coming up, I thought that was the important thing she was talking about but (not that glee isn't important!) then she said "And... the people at American Idiot offered you the role of Extraordinary Girl!" uhhh.... What?! I think I asked if she was kidding but duh, why would she kid about that. I had to step outside for a minute so I could jump up and down and laugh and celebrate. For me, July 11 2011 will go down in history.<br /><br />We're still in the process of working out the terms of the contract, and I guess nothing's <span style="font-style: italic;">officially</span> official until that contract is signed, but this is it guys. The biggest thing that has happened in my acting career thus far. The only details I have right now are that the first rehearsal is November 21st in New York, and we open in Toronto on December 28th. Unfortunately, my sister will be leaving NY to come to LA that exact same week! I'm hoping I can get out there maybe a week beforehand so I can hang out with her and re-assimilate. I'm a little terrified of the cold - after 7 years in Los Angeles, a New York winter is definitely going to be a shock to the system. Word on the street is that there's an hour of boot camp or conditioning before each rehearsal because it's such a physically demanding show, so at least that will keep me warm!<div><br /></div><div><b>Here's the dates and cities that have been announced so far... Hope to see you out there somewhere! - </b>http://americanidiotthemusical.com/tickets.php</div><div><b><br /></b></div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-65217031119162835112011-06-06T15:21:00.000-07:002011-06-07T08:09:28.029-07:00A Look Into The Mind Of Nicci Claspell...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnw-LBKtb9JYbSDJG-ODhOiEChZSGwexjBdcZn3XoiajHA_Ro9KdGG75ZR8Qj1EB3CXlgBdCPSaYr7OQQxchGu_2M-7G8I3l8ZRbU7dkaj7WKtq9omz2OdryWWRz23KmpeIg6kapecQPqA/s1600/DSC00629.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnw-LBKtb9JYbSDJG-ODhOiEChZSGwexjBdcZn3XoiajHA_Ro9KdGG75ZR8Qj1EB3CXlgBdCPSaYr7OQQxchGu_2M-7G8I3l8ZRbU7dkaj7WKtq9omz2OdryWWRz23KmpeIg6kapecQPqA/s320/DSC00629.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615385227390326514" /></a><br /><div>As I'm sure you can guess, much has happened in the past few months. Chicago has been over for some time now, and was a really fantastic production. I can't say it went off without a hitch, but I'm confident in saying that everyone is really proud of what we put up. And it was filmed!! That is rarely allowed out here, so it's exciting that we'll be able to order <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">dvds</span> and see how good we actually were :)</div><div><br /></div><div>In other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">un</span>-career-related news, I've been single for a few months. It's a strange thing after being in a serious relationship for over 3 years, but I knew it was what had to happen. Very hard to do, but the right decision. In the time since, I've been focusing a lot on rebuilding relationships with friends and dedicating myself to my career. Which brings us back to the point of this blog...</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been on several auditions, a few film/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">tv</span>/commercial but mainly plays and musicals. I've actually been cast in and had to turn down/drop out of a few projects for various reasons. It's something I hate doing, but have found it necessary due to other developments! Which I'll get to right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>The main reason I'm back here today is to talk about my most recent trip to New York. As you may have noticed in past blog entries, I try not to divulge too much information about projects I get excited about. Maybe it's superstition... considering the fact that I wear the exact same thing to a callback as I did to the initial audition, right down to socks and undies (yes they get washed first), I'd say it's probably superstition. Well, I've been doing the opposite lately and it seems to be working wonders.<b> So get ready for the longest post ever, because I plan on giving more details than ever before!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I'll start by saying the main event here is the American Idiot first national tour. I attended an open call at the beginning of March, three months ago. I woke up later than I intended, and expected there to be a huge turnout for the call. Here's what I wrote in my planner while I was waiting for my turn to sing:</div><div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>"This could have been the one, but this is not the one. Just because I couldn't get ready fast enough. I'm number 46 or 48, somewhere around there. I believe they've got Equity & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">EMC</span> scheduled till at least 11:40, and the audition is supposed to go until 4:45, so hopefully it will go smoothly so I can sing. I like open calls. I like when they hold us in a big dance studio, it's great for observing people. They asked for the guys to bring a guitar to accompany themselves, so I'd say there's at least 3 guitars being played simultaneously at any given time. I like that this all doesn't make me nervous. It may have a few years ago, but I feel relaxed now. The only thing is, I wonder if it looks like I'm trying too hard, with my hair and my clothes. I brought a few different tops & shoes just in case, and I'm pretty sure I'll be changing. It's not like I don't have the time!"</blockquote></div><div>And a little while later:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><blockquote><div>"This <u>might</u> be the one. They're actually ahead of schedule, by about 20 minutes. My appointment time is 3:20, so I may go shopping & be back by 2:30. Though I may not - knowing me, if I leave, I may not come back.</div><div> Even just a callback. For ensemble. Please! A shot is all I need."</div></blockquote><div></div><div>So now you all see the flashes of desperation I get while auditioning. At least I can still be relaxed during it all. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's what happened... I had planned on singing a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Paramore</span> song that I didn't really know, and wasn't even sure I liked. I have Pat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Benatar's</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Heartbreaker</span>" in my book as a backup, but I figured half of the girls there would be singing that. I did decide to leave and come back, and while I was in my car I was thinking of other songs I could possibly sing instead. When I got home I began searching for Melissa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Etheridge</span> sheet music, when it hit me. "Whats Up" by 4 Non <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Blondes</span>. I'd never heard it on piano, and have only sung in a handful of times when it came on the radio or someone else sang it at karaoke, but I knew it was the song I had to sing. I found the sheet music online, printed it, and headed back over to the studio.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was only a little bit of waiting until it was my time to sing, and the dance studio had cleared out considerably. I got into the room, went over the song with the pianist, and began to sing. I did have to start over once because I underestimated how much breath I would need to singe the first line, but once I got going again I don't think it could have gone much better. In fact, in the middle of the song where it starts to get loud and powerful, I'm pretty sure a silly grin crept up on my face because I realized it sounded even better than I thought it would! It sat perfectly in my voice and I belted the top notes with ease.</div><div><br /></div><div>It takes me about 20 minutes to get home from this particular studio. I looked at my phone when I got home and saw that there was a voicemail - it was from the American Idiot people, requesting I come back the next day for a callback. I hustled to switch my shift at work and confirmed that I would be there. The following day, the main casting director was also in the room. I sang the same song, and was asked on the spot to come back in a few days to sing once again, and to dance. I was given music for the character <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Whatsername</span>, one of the leads.</div><div><br /></div><div>The day of that third callback was an exciting one! I sang in the morning - my audition song, plus one of the two songs from the show they had given me, it was put on tape this time - then I had an audition for a film, then went <i>back</i> for a dance call for American Idiot. It's days like those they make you feel like a real like actor, pounding the pavement. Dance calls usually make me just a little nervous because although I can dance, I wouldn't consider myself a "dancer". Luckily, this dance call mainly involved running back and forth and throwing ourselves around. Though a little painful, it was easy as pie. I was among the 6 or so girls that were asked to stay and learn a second, shorter combination. That, too, was pretty easy to pick up. </div><div><br /></div><div>About a week later I received an email from casting, saying they thought I did really well at the callback. They wouldn't know what the "next steps" would be until May, but to let them know if there was anything that would make me unavailable to them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward to 4 weeks ago (wow, was it a month ago already??), I got an email saying that more callbacks would be held in New York and they would like me to attend if I was able. Well, there is NO way that I was not going to be available!! Luckily, I had already requested the weekend in question off because of a friend's potential birthday weekend in Vegas. As fate would have it, that excursion was cancelled so I didn't have to miss out on any big celebration, and I didn't have to get any shifts covered at work because that was the week that one of our new girls was supposed to start, so she just got those shifts. Everything fit right into place.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want to take a moment to thank my wonderful parents for providing funds for me to fly to New York and comfortably spend what turned into a week there. A big thanks to my sister as well for hanging out with me and letting me stay with her. <b>Cecil, Anne, and Sarah <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Claspell</span>, you are the best people in the world</b> :)</div><div><br /></div><div>I took a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">redeye</span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">friday</span> night and arrived around 11:00 on Saturday morning. Sarah met me at the subway station and we headed to her beautiful place in West Harlem to drop off my stuff. That night we attended the third annual <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Improm</span>, which is an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">improv</span> prom. People involved in comedy all throughout NY dress up to the nines, and couples get to do a 5-10 minute <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">improv</span> set together. Which meant that, as each others dates, Sarah and I got to perform together for pretty much the first time ever. I was nervous about it, having only completed the first level of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">UCB's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">improv</span> classes (ooh! I'll have to talk about that later!) but it was fun and we got some laughs. After that, she and I went on to kill it at karaoke downstairs, and impress people with how much we are alike. </div><div><br /></div><div>The only important thing that happened on Sunday is that Sarah and I got lobster rolls from Luke's Lobster. It was honestly one of the most amazing foods I've ever had. We also went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Williamsburg</span> and saw the most hipster flea market I've ever seen. As I said, Sunday was all about the lobster rolls.</div><div><br /></div><div>Monday was Memorial Day and we attended "The Company Picnic", another event involving many people in the comedy community. There was also a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">guac</span>-off which we participated in, and our blue cheese guacamole was a hit. I don't think anyone officially voted, but if they had I'd like to believe we would have won.</div><div><br /></div><div>And now for the main events, what you've all been waiting for, the callbacks! Tuesday morning at 10:30 was my appointment time. I got up early to do my hair exactly as I had for the initial audition and dress in the exact same clothes. As luck would have it, Sarah works directly across the street from the studios where the callbacks were being held, so she escorted me all the way there! I had some extra time so I decided to find out why everyone from the East coast loves <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Dunkin</span> Donuts so much. Yeah, they know how to make a donut.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once inside the studio, I had a little time to wait around and talk to the other people there. I saw a few familiar faces from the Los Angeles auditions. Once again, not nervous. Pretty relaxed. I got into the room not too long after my appointment time and sang the same two songs I had been given three months prior. We were asked to prepare one of five poems, but to my knowledge they didn't actually have anyone do them. When I was done singing, the casting director walked with me out of the room, and asked me to come back later to audition for another project they're doing. When I went to his office to pick up the sides, an associate/assistant told me that they're reviving On A Clear Day You Can See Forever on Broadway, and it's going to be starring Harry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Connick</span> Jr. I had a few hours to kill so I bought a new dress that would be more appropriate for this particular role - a 1940's Jazz singer. I'm positive it would have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">taken</span> away a little if I had shown up in the American Idiot attire. I ended up reading/singing for the casting associate/assistant that I had gotten the sides from, and it felt very good. He actually looked through my book after I sang and asked me to do another song, one of my favorites to sing - "Life of the Party" from The Wild Party. I love singing that song because I feel I can really let go and just have fun. He said considering the amount of time I had to work with the material from the script, I did a great job.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was called to come the next day to sing and dance for American Idiot again. This time the director, Michael Mayer, was in the room. This was very exciting because he was the original director for Spring awakening, and he's also directing On A Clear Day. That seemed to go well, and once I was done singing, I was given music to look over for a different character. The casting director talked with me again and asked how long I would be in town, and I told him I had a flight early the next morning. He told me to look into how much it would be to change my flight to a later time/date so I could be seen once more for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">AmId</span> in the morning, and On A Clear Day in the afternoon. If need be, they could help out with the cost. I immediately got on the phone with the airline and got a quote. I also called my manager to tell her the good news.</div><div><br /></div><div>This particular day got up to about 90 degrees, and had about 64% humidity. It also happened to be the day of the dance call. I changed into my dance attire, complete with leg warmers and a fishnet shrug thing, but once we started dancing these things were quickly removed. Though there was air conditioning in the room, there was only so much it could do with probably 30-something people running around and slamming ourselves into the ground. We also learned another combination that involved <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">capoera</span> and other defensive moves. There was not a single dry body to be seen. Once again, I was asked along with a few other girls to stay and do the same <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">girly</span> combination we were taught in Los Angeles. </div><div><br /></div><div>As I was leaving the room, I spoke with the casting director and told him the price of the cheapest ticket we found. He said it wasn't a problem, they would reimburse me for it. <b>The whole thing</b>. What? These things happen?? It's a strange and wonderful feeling when you're liked and wanted to the point that a casting company will shell out hundreds of dollars just to keep you in town for one more day. Even now, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.</div><div><br /></div><div>A few hours later I sang once again, this time with just the pianist and musical director, the music for the other character I was given earlier. I was told to forget about the other music and come back the following morning at 11 to sing this new stuff, for the character Extraordinary Girl.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I did. The toughest part about this whole experience was not being warmed up enough. Unfortunately I couldn't belt some of the notes I normally would have been able to, but luckily I think I was still able to mix them very well. I get the impression that the creative team liked me a lot, and there's nothing more you can really ask for than that.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a couple hours to kill before my On A Clear Day audition, so I tracked down the Luke's Lobster truck and got another lobster roll. It was absolute heaven.</div><div><br /></div><div>I returned to the studios, changed into my more appropriate dress, and sang/read for the Clear Day creative team. Michael Mayor seemed to be impressed that I could transition from punk rock <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">AmId</span> to smooth jazzy Clear Day, and said it's been a good day. It certainly was. A good week, actually.</div><div><br /></div><div>I slept on and off from around 8pm until 3am, packing and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">facebooking</span> intermittently. I caught a cab at 4am for a 6:55 flight from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">LaGuardia</span>. Arrived in LA around noon, went home to drop off my stuff, and went straight to work. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are several things I glossed over, this entry being long enough already. I got to meet up with some of my friends from my Alabama RENT cast, the lovely Meagan Elizabeth Lewis, Stephanie Mosley, and Lauren Bowling. Tuesday after the first auditions I got to see Sarah perform in 2 improv shows at UCB which were absolutely incredible. I also finally treated myself to 4 meatball sliders from The Meatball Shop, one of my very favorite places to eat in the world, as a celebratory last meal in NY.</div><div><br /></div><div>I heard from my manager this morning that I seemed too young for On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, which I was half expecting but I'm so happy just that I was brought in for it in the first place. She also said we should hear about American Idiot by the end of the week, which is exciting and nerve wracking. I'd rather it just be a surprise, but now you know exactly how long you have to send good vibes my way. I really do feel great about the whole experience and have a good feeling about it. I'll be sure to update here when I get word!</div><div><br /></div><div>(to view pictures to go along with all of these words, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150200546166811.302433.502951810">check out my album on facebook</a>!)</div><div></div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-82999991968265258042011-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:002011-02-12T18:14:09.124-08:00Ok Fine, Here I Am<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwawv331busTkoU8nKL2Yx4sDuDyJWrg8pSHm6MyD9FJpdv6JEVtwvdDvKKRJ9tQrBlonKDKiXlTfxoFwRYNJNe8bpnU95E-JNzj9zsgOriK-6tGIHVhasCQK57COUUIL-3ns-BW-f5at1/s1600/chicago.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwawv331busTkoU8nKL2Yx4sDuDyJWrg8pSHm6MyD9FJpdv6JEVtwvdDvKKRJ9tQrBlonKDKiXlTfxoFwRYNJNe8bpnU95E-JNzj9zsgOriK-6tGIHVhasCQK57COUUIL-3ns-BW-f5at1/s320/chicago.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572991397649749778" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">(Yeah, that's me there in the middle)</div><div><br />I really have no idea how Evan has blogged every.single.day. for the past I don't know how many years. Like they say... it's not hard to remember, it's just so easy to forget.<div><br /></div><div>I can assure you that there are many valid reasons for my absence! Valid and time consuming and exciting reasons! First of all, I got called back for Roxy and Ensemble in Chicago, and was cast as Liz! She's the one that says "Pop" in Cell Block Tango. I surprised myself in the dancing portion of the audition! Though I was sorry for about a week and a half afterword, because my muscles obviously weren't used to moving like that. We've been in rehearsal for a few weeks now, and as long as I stretch and warm up beforehand, it's really not so bad. My recovery time has been just a day or two after each dance rehearsal, and pretty soon I'm sure I'll be just fine! We open in about 3 1/2 weeks, and there are only 4 performances - March 9, 16, and 23 at 7:30, as well as a 2:00 matinee on the 23rd. These are all Wednesdays, and considering it's a 40 minute drive from LA without traffic, I understand if you can't make it. But if you can, then great! It's exciting to be working with all new people on this show, and I think we're all going to put something together that's very enjoyable. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another thing that has been keeping my busy is getting ready for pilot season. First and foremost I finally got some new of my new headshots printed, though I think I'm going to be in the market for some more soon. 'Tis the nature of the biz. I also had an audition a few couple weeks ago for an exciting new pilot, produced by Brian Grazer. My manager referred me to an acting coach another client of hers goes to, Stan Kirsch, so I had a session with him a few days before the audition. It was really great - I may try out a few other coaches, but I really liked him. I liked that I walked out of there so much more confident about my performance. I also just put another audition on tape to send to Telsey & Co. They cast all the big Broadway musicals, and they're also casting a new pilot about Broadway musicals! This one is being produced by Spielberg. Huge. My manager and I agree they're probably going to go the route of some big b'way star for the role, but it's fantastic to be able to put my face in front of these people.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mentioned last time that I had a meeting with another commercial agent. This is an agency I've heard about since moving to Los Angeles, just like my theatrical agency, so I was very excited for the opportunity. The meeting went well, and a few weeks later I was asked to come in again to meet with the agent's partner. Now, in my experience thus far, meetings have been about 15-20 minutes. Somehow this one ended up being about an hour, and I left having no idea how it went. I mean, we talked about RENT. Cause eeeevveryyyyyyythiiiing iiiisssss reeeeennnnnt! Apparently in my life, it is. Anyway - I guess it worked this time because <b>I now have a commercial agent</b>! I am insanely excited, I've wanted this for years. Now all I have to do is get a commercial so I can pay to take improv classes and get new headshots so I can get booked for commercials.... it's an endless cycle.</div><div><br /></div><div>On top of all this, I'm now the manager at my work. Seems we've had an almost steady flow of receptionists getting hired and then soon getting other opportunities elsewhere for at least the past 6 months, and our previous manager decided it was time to move on. So on top of my extra managerial duties, I'm training several girls and my boss is consulting me on who to hire. None of this is bad. I'm so lucky that this job is as flexible as it is, my boss is great, and my co-workers are great.</div><div><br /></div><div>And another thing, I like to finish my taxes as soon as possible and I had a <i>lot</i> of info to gather this year. I've been a busy bee.</div><div><br /></div><div>So to everyone not immediately around me (roommates, Evan, co-workers), it probably seems like I've disappeared. If I'm not at rehearsal or work or an audition, I'm researching things that have to do with rehearsal or work or auditions. I can't remember the last time I've been so involved in my own life, and I love it. The next step is to try and reincorporate other people into it, but for now I'm enthusiastic about the possibilities I'm creating.</div></div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-85063360913744099162011-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:002011-01-07T16:15:56.474-08:00Third Time Is Maybe Not The CharmA dream come true twice over is plenty. I keep joking to people that I'll be doing RENT for the rest of my life, but as fun as that would be I'd miss many other opportunities. This will be my first pilot season with my manager and agent working for me, which hopefully will yield lots and lots of auditions and - with any luck - a job or two! My manager is also setting up a meeting with another commercial agent and that is going to be good, I just know it.<br /><br />Wow... so in typical Nicci fashion of late, I had let myself dwell on RENT. The callback was on a Saturday, and we were told that they'd probably be finishing casting by the end of the weekend. When a few friends told me they got calls and were offered roles on Monday, I still held out hope that maybe there was more to be done. Christmas came and went and I still let myself think about it. I even sent the production office an email letting them know how much fun I had at the callback, and that I'd love to be a part of the show in any capacity.<br /><br />The hardest thing was not knowing if I should be expecting something or not. Sure, no one in this industry is going to give everyone that didn't make the cut a courtesy call. But they had been posting most everything online up to that point so the fact that I never saw a final cast list made me think that maybe they were still in the process. I finally got word from two of my friends that were cast in the show that an email was sent out to the cast. My immediate reaction was to be a little sad. A) It's RENT! and B) I'd love to work with those friends again, I know they're going to be fantastic.<br /><br />And then... a wave of relief came over me. I'd let a lot of anxiety build up by not letting this particular audition go, and as soon as I know I wasn't waiting for anything anymore I felt like a normal person again. Yet another example of why actors have to forget about the audition as soon as they leave the room. You can cause yourself a lot of frustration otherwise! I am very excited to see my beautiful friends in this show. Ben, my Angel from both RENTs I did, is again one of the Angels, and My darling friend Josie is a Maureen. They're going to be spectacular :)<br /><br />I had an audition for a reading of a new musical today at the Pasadena Playhouse that I feel good about. Any audition where get to sing Pat Benatar and use a Russian accent is bound to be a fun one. The people behind the camera seemed to like what I did and laughed in all the right places. And now, though I feel good about it, I've let it go. If it happens it happens.<br /><br />There are also a couple exciting auditions coming up, the first of which being Chicago. I submit myself for the role of Roxie (Velma has already been cast), and got a message from one of the casting people saying that we had a lot of mutual friends, and she was actually planning on finding me on facebook and asking that I come in for the audition. That could be a good sign! If my last dance audition is any indicator, I think I'll do fine tomorrow. I'm not a <span style="font-style: italic;">dancer</span>, but I can <span style="font-style: italic;">dance.</span> And if my body doesn't want to listen to me tomorrow, they're also casting The Last 5 Years which requires no dancing. A different song choice and I think I may have a fighting chance for that too.<br /><br />Aannnnddddd lastly - I have another meeting with a commercial agent next week. I am so so thrilled. This could be the one, folks.Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-90793085561215146732010-12-31T12:12:00.000-08:002010-12-31T13:02:13.216-08:00Happy Almost New Year!A few years ago, Evan was inspired by the Day Zero project to create a 101/1001 list. That is, a list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days, or a little under 3 years. I've decided to create one for the upcoming year... one of my goals is to actually finish thinking of 101 things to do! But another one is to blog more. Since it's only a day away from being 2011, I'll start off with a little treat I threw together last night. Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZLr2huDfDo">Clips from the rehearsals for RENT in Rancho Cucamonga</a><br /><br />A big thanks to Ms. Erika Jenko for sending me the clips! I'm no pro at cutting videos, but I wanted to whip something together to let you all know I'm still alive. I'll leave my reel to the pros.<br /><br />Happy new year everyone, with any luck you'll be hearing from me much more on this site!<br /><br /><br />*I just found out that the Day Zero Project is down or has been removed. This is unfortunate since I had about 60 goals saved on there. Booo, back to the drawing board.*Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-85588045062304721192010-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:002010-10-12T12:14:09.285-07:00Too Much Talk About MusicI just got home from the Dangerous Beauty auditions and man do I feel relieved. I got all the info on this audition two weeks ago and have had that much time to think about it. On the one had, it can be nice to have that much more time to prepare, especially when they ask for 2 minutes of music, plus reading some lines. But on the other hand, that's a good amount of time to start to stress out about an audition. <div><br /></div><div>Not to mention that I didn't really have any ballads or up-tempo songs that I was comfortable with or that would go over well at this audition. The one song I normally sing for auditions is kind of a power ballad, even a torch song, therefore NOT a regular ballad or up-tempo. This left me with a few choices: Take the last part of the song more briskly and pretend it's an up-tempo; sing the beginning of the song like a ballad; sing something from Chess (even though I'm not sure it's appropriate for what they're asking); or find brand new songs. So what did I choose? Well, I didn't. I prepared all of those choices.</div><div><br /></div><div>I found one song from my AMDA days that I never sang but someone else in my class did - "Stranger To The Rain" from Children of Eden. This is a little faster than my go-to song so I took it from the bridge straight on to the end. It was more like a 1:30 but it was a good cut. Into my audition binder I also threw "Heaven Help My Heart" from Chess. That's actually not a bad ballad, I think I'll keep it in there as a just-in-case song. I put "Nobody's Side" from Chess in there too, knowing it was a definite no but at least I could sing the whole thing without forgetting anything if I ever need to. The fourth song I put in the binder was my good ole' go-to, "A New World" from Jekyll and Hyde. </div><div><br /></div><div>Over the past week I worked on all of these things. I even dug out my keyboard and set up camp on my bed, music strewn allover my room and midi versions of each song queued up on my laptop. After reacquainting myself with all of the songs, the hardest part was to choose which songs to sing. I obviously couldn't sing "A New World" for both my ballad and up-tempo. I decided I'd definitely be doing "Stranger To The Rain", but even when I was getting ready this morning I couldn't decide on a second song.</div><div><br /></div><div>I even decided to stray from my regular musical-theatre-audition-dress, so everything about this audition was a bit foreign to me. I did feel much better when the casting director came out to get me and told me she'd been hearing great things about me. And when I stepped into the room I got a compliment on my dress. Hooray! I went to the pianist and told him I'd start with the up-tempo, and he told me that they'd so far been doing only one song. Hooray again! I got up there and sang, and felt better than any practice run I'd done up until then. They liked the song, and then we moved onto the sides. I read through with the casting director once, was given a not by the director, and then read it again. They liked how I took the adjustment and the choices I made, and that was that!</div><div><br /></div><div>When I left I felt confident and that's really the most important thing. I think I have a shot at it, and if not this then at least the CD has finally seen me and what I can do. Cross your fingers for me!</div>Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568329924747419919.post-35257764586710856762010-10-08T17:09:00.000-07:002010-10-08T18:24:21.407-07:00I Am Alive And WellAs I'm sure you've noticed, it's been about a month and a half since I last posted an entry. I haven't been trying to avoid blogging by any means - in fact there have been several times I've wanted to blog because some cool things have been happening, but I just haven't done it.<br /><br />It was recently brought to my attention that some things I say here can be taken as me being narcissistic. I was worried about that when I started the blog. No one whats to toot their own horn too much for fear of others becoming annoyed with the sound. But here's what it comes down to: This is a blog about me. It's an easy way to give family and friends an update on what's happening on my professional journey, as well as some personal and social life stuff, <span style="font-weight: bold;">on their own time</span>. If anyone gets tired of reading about me, they can choose not to visit the blog.<br /><br />On that note, I think it's time for an update!<br /><br />So where did we leave off... Chess is long over now. We had a brilliant last weekend, and we followed our closing night 1.1 with another potluck. The cast and crew was full of so many wonderful people, there was no way we wouldn't have a good time. I don't think I wrote about this before, but a friend of one of the producers came to see the show and enjoyed it so much that he invited the whole cast to the Magic Castle! I've been wanting to go there for years and years - it's part hotel, part restaurant and venue for magicians to perform. You have to either be a member or invited and accompanied by a member to get in. Luckily, the producers friend is a member (he's a magician) and was our host for the evening. Not only did we get a private magic show from him - that I got to help out with - but there were several floors with lots of rooms and shows happening in them all night long. We were there for about 5 hours. I think that may have also had something to do with the ghost piano player that we had a sing-along with.<br /><br />I also had the immense pleasure of singing a song with my chess co-star, Blake Ewing, in his one man show at Vitello's in studio city shortly after the show closed. We sang "Someday", a song what was cut from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's a beautiful and moving song, that as far as we know it's only carnation that can be seen is in German on youtube. So unfortunate. His show was packed and went off without a hitch.<br /><br />That audition I mentioned last time went pretty well. I would have been nice to have been a little more familiar with the sides, but I did the best I could with the time I had and it was in no way a bad audition. And a good thing too because I haven't had an audition since. It's the beginning of pilot season, which means almost all efforts are going toward reviewing and choosing which pilots will go ahead, which in turn means there's not much that's casting just yet. Sure there's projects here and there, but it's not going to get back into full swing until after the new year starts.<br /><br />So that means now is the time to prepare for the actors portion of pilot season! I finally had that meeting with the commercial agency on Wednesday. I feel like I'm getting better at these things, it only took me an hour to figure out what to wear! I got there with about 10 minutes to spare. The receptionist handed me a folder with four "commercials" in it, and told me to pick one to read to the agent. I spent a couple minutes with that, and then the agent come out to meet me. He was very friendly and easy to talk to, and I got a good feeling about the whole thing. It seemed like everyone there enjoys what they do and actually work for their clients. We chatted a little bit, I read the commercial a few times, and that was that. He said he's be in contact with my manager in a few days.<br /><br />When I got to work I was greeted with an email from my manager. Unfortunately, it looks like there's a conflict with another client of theirs, most likely meaning they already have someone that's my type. So that's a no-go. Of course my initial reaction was that I was bummed, I've really been looking forward to this. But then I though <span style="font-style: italic;">you know, I guess I can't get them all on the first try</span>. I've been very lucky and signed with the first manager and theatrical agency that I've met with. That really doesn't happen all the time, so I'm excited to take more meetings when we get them. Plus, I'm now 25 and that means I'm legally allowed to do beer and alcohol commercials. I don't know how much that will work to my advantage, but I'd like to imagine that it will very much :)<br /><br />I'm also lucky that I do, in fact, have an audition next week. It's for a new musical, Dangerous Beauty, based on a 1998 film that was based on a non-fictional book. The casting director for Reprise is bringing me in. That's pretty exciting, because she hasn't even met me yet so either her relationship with my manager is very strong, or Jason Alexander's recommendation weighs pretty heavily. Or Both! The show is going to be in Pasadena which I love because it's so close, and the pay would be pretty darn good too. I'm in the process of choosing some songs. I need two, one uptempo and one ballad, that are 32 bars each. That's a bit of a challenge because nearly every musical theater audition I go to requests 16 bars or less of one song, so I'll be singing 4x as much as I'm used to! It will be good though. I just know it.Niccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479515544471563024noreply@blogger.com0