They Call Me...Nicci

Don't Wanna Be A Canadian Idiot

2012-01-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

It'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...

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.

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.

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.

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!

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...

What A Silly Girl

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'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.

. . . . (20 mins later). . . .

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.

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!

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.

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....

*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.*

A Little Bit About Nichi...

2012-01-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

Oh hi, I'm Nicci!

One. What is your middle name? Marie
Two. What are you passionate about? Finding meaning through art
Three. Zebra or leopard print? Ooh, maybe zebra!
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.
Five. Silver or gold? I like to mix and match.
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 :)
Seven. How many siblings do you have? One seester, Sarah. Two step brothers, Jesse and Justin.
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.
Nine. First career you wanted as a child? Artist. Then I think I wanted to be an astronaut for a minute.
Ten. What's your sign? Libra (just barely, my birthday is Sept. 24)
Eleven. Future names of your children? We'll get there when we get there...
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 website.
Thirteen. What are you listening to right now? The ever pleasant sounds of a babbling humidifier.
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.
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 ;)
Sixteen. What is your favorite color? It's hard to pick one. I don't want to hurt the others' feelings.
Seventeen. What is your favorite flower? Orchids and lilies.
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.
Nineteen. Something you are working on right now? This thing...
Twenty. Have you ever had a near death experience? I'll say probably.
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.
Twenty-two. Left of right handed? Righty tighty.
Twenty-three. TV shows you watch regularly? Breaking Bad. The Biggest Loser. Top Chef. Mad Men.
Twenty-four. Where do you work? First national tour of American Idiot, baby!
Twenty-five. Halloween costume this year? Jem from Jem and the Holograms. Made it myself (it was totally outrageous...)
Twenty-six. What is your relationship status? I'm in one.
Twenty-seven. Last movie you watched? Bradesmaids, last night, for the first time.
Twenty-eight. Your best friend's name? Kat(t) ;)
Twenty-nine. A song that's been stuck in your head? Mama Knows Best - Jessie J
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.

I'll do a real blog update soon. Any other questions?

2011-12-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

I 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...)

If you haven't seen on my twitter or facebook fan page 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.

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.

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.

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 :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! xo

The lovely and talented Johanna McKeon and Lorin Lotarro

Techcersize

2011-12-19T00:04:00.000-08:00

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...

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 ~~my life~~ 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.

Remember those abs I wanted? They're getting there!

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!

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.

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. Yet.

2011-12-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Since 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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

We really do have a good show, and it will soon be great. We're leaving - at 7:30 am - 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.

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...

2011-11-29T19:01:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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 great 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 :)

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.

Two final things: One, if you haven't already you should check out Kelvin's blog. He cracks me up and speaks the truth!

And two: BJA's email to the cast. I'm keeping the "Ps" a secret.... for now

Say, Hey!

2011-11-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

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 friggin talented.

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).

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.

The real physical work started yesterday. For our warm up we did some obstacle sprints and a lot of arm work. That's not something I'm accustomed to working out. I'll do some tricep 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.

Today we did more sprinting and some cardio stuff, a lot of stretching, and then worked on glutes. 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.

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.

Instead of taking a water break, we went straight on to learning the Letterbomb choreo. 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 kindsa' rosy by the time our lunch hour came around.

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. Ahhh. Heavenly sounds.

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!

If you like my blogs about the AI behind the scenes stuff, check out Krystina's and Kelvin's blogs. And I have a facebook fan page. Shameless self promotion. Ok maybe there's a little shame.

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!

2011-11-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Remember 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Amadeus. 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.

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.

Ps. Here's a clip of us singing Good Riddance and the airport.

Week One: Done

2011-11-19T03:20:00.000-08:00

Greetings 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.

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 twitter 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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??

Ow. And Wow.

2011-11-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

As of today, I know how to fly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I feel like I still have the harness on.

Last Day Before The Adventure

2011-11-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

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...

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:

I've received several emails. Mainly flight itineraries and housing options. I also got an email yesterday about what clothes to wear for the FOY training. The cast list was announced a few days before Halloween and because of it I for a bunch more twitter followers and a couple more fans on my facebook professional page. I'm also friends with a few of my fellow cast members on facebook! 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.

I'm all packed already. I've actually been packed for a week now - my bff 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.

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.

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.

So here we go!

Fingers Crossed For A Google Alert

2011-09-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

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...

What have I been up to this summer, you ask? Oh you know, this and that. Lots of barbecues, 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 Chryssie Whitehead as Roxie.

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!

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 FOY rehearsal in Las 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.

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 Kitt 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 Kitt's 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 comp'd 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 internet 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.

Anyhow. We had a few hours of musical rehearsal last week, and last night we all got together for pizza and we just happened 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! ;)

Eight Shows A Week, Here I come

2011-07-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

That's gonna be me! Hopefully I'll have abs like that too...

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

We're still in the process of working out the terms of the contract, and I guess nothing's officially 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!

Here's the dates and cities that have been announced so far... Hope to see you out there somewhere! - http://americanidiotthemusical.com/tickets.php

A Look Into The Mind Of Nicci Claspell...

2011-06-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

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 dvds and see how good we actually were :)

In other un-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...

I've been on several auditions, a few film/tv/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.

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. So get ready for the longest post ever, because I plan on giving more details than ever before!

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:

"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 & EMC 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!"

And a little while later:

"This might 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.
Even just a callback. For ensemble. Please! A shot is all I need."

So now you all see the flashes of desperation I get while auditioning. At least I can still be relaxed during it all.

Here's what happened... I had planned on singing a Paramore song that I didn't really know, and wasn't even sure I liked. I have Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" 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 Etheridge sheet music, when it hit me. "Whats Up" by 4 Non Blondes. 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.

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.

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 Whatsername, one of the leads.

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 back 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.

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.

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.

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. Cecil, Anne, and Sarah Claspell, you are the best people in the world :)

I took a redeye on friday 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 Improm, which is an improv prom. People involved in comedy all throughout NY dress up to the nines, and couples get to do a 5-10 minute improv 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 UCB's improv 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.

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 Williamsburg and saw the most hipster flea market I've ever seen. As I said, Sunday was all about the lobster rolls.

Monday was Memorial Day and we attended "The Company Picnic", another event involving many people in the comedy community. There was also a guac-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.

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 Dunkin Donuts so much. Yeah, they know how to make a donut.

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 Connick 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 taken 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.

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 AmId 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.

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 capoera 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 girly combination we were taught in Los Angeles.

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. The whole thing. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 AmId to smooth jazzy Clear Day, and said it's been a good day. It certainly was. A good week, actually.

I slept on and off from around 8pm until 3am, packing and facebooking intermittently. I caught a cab at 4am for a 6:55 flight from LaGuardia. Arrived in LA around noon, went home to drop off my stuff, and went straight to work.

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.

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!

(to view pictures to go along with all of these words, check out my album on facebook!)

Ok Fine, Here I Am

2011-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

(Yeah, that's me there in the middle)

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.

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.

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.

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 I now have a commercial agent! 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.

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.

And another thing, I like to finish my taxes as soon as possible and I had a lot of info to gather this year. I've been a busy bee.

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.

Third Time Is Maybe Not The Charm

2011-01-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

A 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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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 dancer, but I can dance. 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.

Aannnnddddd lastly - I have another meeting with a commercial agent next week. I am so so thrilled. This could be the one, folks.

Happy Almost New Year!

2010-12-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

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!

Clips from the rehearsals for RENT in Rancho Cucamonga

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.

Happy new year everyone, with any luck you'll be hearing from me much more on this site!

*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.*

Too Much Talk About Music

2010-10-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

I 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

I Am Alive And Well

2010-10-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

As 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.

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, on their own time. If anyone gets tired of reading about me, they can choose not to visit the blog.

On that note, I think it's time for an update!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 you know, I guess I can't get them all on the first try. 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 :)

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.

Things Are Good

2010-08-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

I should have written last weekend. My plan was to sit down and blog as soon as I got home on Saturday night after the show, but for some reason or another, I didn't.

Our rehearsal on Wednesday night went very well. I got to meet the two new people and see the rest of my lovely cast again. I'm not sure if the AC was broken or wasn't on, or it was just too hot for it to even help, but we didn't do costumes because it was nearly sweltering. I appreciate when a director makes sure that there is no marking during a put in rehearsal with new people, especially with it is both their first and last with the whole cast before going up in front of a whole audience. I know if I was being thrown into a mix that was already established I would feel much more comfortable if the whole cast was putting as much into it as I was. So that's just what we did! After humming the tunes a few times a week for almost three weeks, it felt really good to let it all out once again. Everyone sounded better than ever too!

We had a good sized audience for out re-opening on Thursday, with several reviewers in the audience. Since then, we've had some more fantastic reviews pop up. We got a "WOW" from Steven Stanley at stagescenela.com, Kevin Taft showed his love of the show and our performance on frontiersweb, LA Weekly gave us a nice shout out, and today when I picked up a copy of Backstage, I saw my name printed in it for the first time. That, for me, is huge! They chose it as one of their "Critic's Pick" selections and really couldn't say enough wonderful things about it. I know I wasn't the only one who wished they had seen what we'd done at the rehearsal on Wednesday instead, but obviously we still had enough spark to impress.

This may sound weird, but I feel like there's only so many times you can say "thank you" before you start getting a little freaked out. Is it just me? It's not like I don't mean it every time I say it, that I'm not thankful that people appreciate something I'm a part of... I guess I'm just not used to all of it! The more "thank you"'s I say, the more I kind of want to go to my room and snuggle up with a sudoku book or some other logic puzzle. On my more introspective days, I'd rather play with logic puzzles or watch terrible reality television about fat people than interact with real live people. Sad, and probably wrong, but true.

Anyway.... My roommate Tom and his friend, plus my friends Quiggs and Sebastion saw the show on Friday and it seemed like they really liked it! *Back to the thank you's for a second, it's much easier to say it more to people I know that people I don't know. So there's that* I was so happy they came, and that they could take advantage of the discount tickets (we're now sold out of those for this weekend). After the show nearly everyone from the cast and crew headed over to The Other Side again for even more singing and good times.

Saturday's performance was a weird one. Perhaps it was from the extra singing the night before, but my voice was a little scratchy. Also, I've been looking at what audience members say about the show on goldstar.com, and one person commented that "the actress playing Florence could have varied her expression more, she wore a mostly pained one throughout". With all of the positive things people have said I shouldn't have let that get to me, but nevertheless it was on my mind. In my second song, I have to hold out a D for about 5 bars at the end. Before this show, I probably would have laughed at the though of belting a D for any length of time. Needless to say, even though I've done it many times now, I still take a huge breath and mentally cross my fingers every night before it happens. This particular night was not my best go at it. Probably my worst.

If you'll remember, during the first part of the run my manager wasn't able to get in to see the show because the website had some sort of glitch and oversold seats, so we had to give priority to they paying patrons. Luckily the problem was fixed and she got in just fine on Saturday night. So here I was, starting out my show on a not so great note (literally) on the night that my manager was in the audience. And on top of that... no one clapped. Not a single smack of the hands after that off note. This happens sometimes, you'll just have a dead audience that sees "in concert" and doesn't know how to treat it. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure they clapped after the first song, but that's happened before because the second pretty much is just the second part of the first. But this, complete lack of applause after the most terrifying note I've ever sang, really threw me for a loop.

Much to my relief, when I got backstage I saw I had a text message from my manager from just after the show started, saying she was stuck in traffic. I let myself believe that it meant she hadn't witnessed that weird weird moment, and I kicked myself back into gear. I feel like I had a couple other not-so-great notes, but only a few, and I felt that I had more control as the show progressed. The cast took a few press photos before we were able to go out and greet people. Unfortunately the casting director that was supposed to come with my manager wasn't able to make it, but she said she was very proud of me and she liked it a lot. She actually saw the original production in London, and she was pleasantly surprised by this production. Even with all the strange stuff that happened in that particular show, I'm also proud of what I got to show her. It's the first time she's ever seen me perform live, and she was impressed! That's all I could have asked for.

While writing all this, I got word from her that I have an audition for an episodic tomorrow morning, and we also have a meeting with a commercial agent in a little over a month. I've been hoping to get a commercial agent because, do you have any idea how much money you can make for a national commercial? A lot. So I'm happy very happy and excited about this meeting.

That's all the updating I can handle for now, hopefully I'll feel up to it again in just a few days!!

The Interim

2010-08-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks I've been having dreams about Chess. In the first one, we couldn't get the full orchestra back and we just had a synthesizer which we couldn't hear over our own voices. In the second one I think I was sick and had to send someone (from a show I did over a year ago) to go on and sing my first song. Finally last night, I was about to go on stage when I realized I forgot to bring my costume back to the theater, so we had to find something that would work instead. Funny thing is, I wasn't nervous in any of these dreams. I was just happy to be back on the stage doing the show again!

Jeff hosted a lovely party for Michael on Wednesday. Most of the people involved with the show came by for food and good company, and it was really good to see everyone again. Michael is going to try to get his school to bring the show out to Ohio for a performance or two, perhaps in the spring. I think that's a fantastic idea and I'm all for it. I think he thinks we're joking when we say we're into it, but i don't think any of us are. The chance to see Michael again and take this show literally on the road, if even only for one performance, would be really really fun!

Sooo... I had an audition on Friday. My manager emailed me the day before wondering if I'd be interested in auditioning for the game show "Don't Forget The Lyrics". I said why not. For an opportunity to win a couple thousand dollars? Sure. Plus, you never know who the casting director knows. Maybe this could put me on the illusive path to Glee (pff, right). When I got there I filled out a paper and picked three songs off a list to sing myspace karaoke style. At this point I was feeling kind of indifferent about the audition - I was comfortable there, but my career definitely wasn't riding on this show. I picked songs that I thought would show some character: Tainted Love by Soft Cell, One Week by Barenaked Ladies, and of course the old favorite, The Rose, because I wanted something that showed that I actually can sing. The weird thing was, they had different sheets hanging up for backgrounds and all kinds of props and clothes laying around so you could spice up the "music video" any way you wanted.

The weirdest part was that the office walls were all made of glass, and the room we were to sing in was right next to the elevator door, so when someone else walked in the first thing they would see is you singing your song and dancing around in a costume, or whatever you chose to do. It was a little strange. Obviously not like any other audition I've been to, because I've never auditioned for a game show before. I'm used to things I can prepare for, and feel in the moment, and this almost felt like being encouraged to put on a different personality. I can't say it was for me. If they like me and want me on the show, we'll get there when we get there. For now, I'm kinda glad to be done with it.

There was a rehearsal scheduled for tonight, but since many people were unavailable it has now become unrequired. They'll still be running though blocking with the two new people, but we're not obligated to go. Still, I think I will. I need to pick up some of the postcards with the updated show dates, and I'd like to meet these new people. Also, I want Chess back in my blood! I feel like I have to get used to some of those sky-high notes again. We will have another rehearsal on Wednesday that we'll all attend, which I'm most excited about. I can't wait to be around all those beautiful talented people again. And then Thursday is opening night number two!

Check Mate

2010-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, you guys have no idea how readership has boomed since that RENT review! It's pretty exciting to see those high numbers. I'd say at least half of the viewers were because Evan linked to it from his review (thanks Ev!). But now, back to writing about yours truly and the things I'm trying to do with my life.

There's a rehearsal tonight for the Chess featured soloists. As it goes, the cast has pretty much all fallen in love with each other (in a platonic way) and a few other people might show up to just to hang out, maybe sing a little if we have to. Today is also the day when I have a meeting about a very important matter. I've been instructed not to talk much about it, and that's fine with me. It would bore you anyway. But at the moment I'm a bit stressed about it, so I'm not 100% that I'll make it out to rehearsal/hang out time. I may just have to head straight home and have a glass of wine, or 3.

The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is tonight, so that should help calm my nerves too. If you aren't aware, I have a childish fascination with bright things in the sky. Namely fireworks, but also lightening and meteor showers. If I saw a UFO, instead of freaking out I'd probably clap and giggle like a 5 year old. It was either last year or the year before when Evan and I went to a nearby mountain to watch this amazing event. I can't remember exactly how many, but we counted an insane amount of meteors in just two hours. So if tonight is anything like that, it'll be almost as good as Disneyland for me.

Tomorrow night we're having a going away party for our dear Michael, a "chesser" who has to go back east to finish up school. We had a potluck at the theater after our last show to wrap up stage 1 of chess, and that was a success. Food was eaten, speeches were made, and good times were had by all. So tomorrow we're all going to another cast member's place in Santa Monica for more food and good company. Michael is a wonderful, talented, special boy, and he will be missed very much!

As much as I know it would pain Micheal to hear this, I am excited to start this next leg of the show. I know it's impossible for the 2 new people we have coming into the cast to replace anyone, but it will be neat to see what new things they bring to the dynamic of the cast and the show. Plus, my manager will actually be able to see it!! We completely sold out last weekend, over sold actually, so even though we added a few more seats to the house we weren't able to accommodate everyone and priority was given to paying customers. And even though they were aware that my manager and her guest were industry, there were apparently more industry people that got there before them. In any case, she brought me the most delicious cupcake and said she'd come back for the extension. She's the best :) Speaking of her being the best, she's trying to get me an audition for Reprise's upcoming show, They're Playing Our Song. Just for ensemble, but it would be good to get in front of Jason Alexander again just to stay fresh in his mind.

Now, not to toot my own horn - but it must be said that I haven't found a single bad review for Chess. More reason that you should come and enjoy it! Here's what some of the critics are saying:

"The beautiful Nicci Claspell plays Florence, the second to American World Champion Frederick (quirky Blake McIver Ewing) with heart and convition - she avoids pop-song yodeling and sticks to character-driven singing. Well done!"
-Tony Frankel, www.stageandcinema.com

"The two women were outstanding: Emily Dykas as Svetlana was riveting, and Nicci Claspell was also compelling as Florence. Both of these women had marvelous composure."
-Robert Machray, http://blogcritics.org

And you should see what they say about the rest of the cast! You can hear a sound clip at www.plays411.net/chessinconcert, and then purchase your discount tickets at www.goldstar.com

Thinking About Seeing RENT At The Hollywood Bowl? Read This Instead

2010-08-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

I really wanted them to do well. I was so willing to like them - if they were good. As it turns out, I was surprised by most of them, in both good and bad ways.

Lets start with the most obvious character that I would critique: Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi. When I first heard the news that she was cast, I was disappointed. It was obviously a choice based on celebrity and hype. That aside, I found it in myself to give this Disney pop-princess a chance. Maybe the innocent High School Musical thing wasn't her strong point (though I'm sure hordes of juveniles would disagree) and she would surprise us all as the crazy/sexy/lovable Mimi. She sure looks the part, right? Well that's where the similarities ended. She looked great in those blue pants (they looked EXACTLY like the ones I wore in Alabama, I wonder if they were rented from the same company) but no amount of abs and legs could make up for her performance. From the first few notes she sang I was embarrassed for her. Her lack of skill was so painfully evident without the help of auto tune, she was just singing notes and playing a part, instead of being fully invested in the character. It was apparent when she was specifically directed to do something and when she was not. She had no power or confidence in stillness, because she was constantly flailing her arms about trying to look natural, or visually anticipating her next direction.

Although the role may seem easy - sexy drug addict with nothing to lose - it can be very hard to make her as likable as she needs to be. The audience need to know why Roger falls in love with her, they need to understand her conviction about life and why she has it, and they need to actually care that (spoiler) she very nearly dies. I didn't get any of that. Seeing her try to act and sing was too distracting for me to be able to love the character. I just loathed Vanessa the whole time. I've been reading a lot of responses from people in last night's audience, and many applaud her for taking on such an iconic and racy role, but the guts she may have for giving it a shot are no excuse for a lousy, grade school level performance. Perhaps it was a personal best for her but I am confident that it was an all time low for the history of RENT.

Don't worry, the worst is over! I didn't hate everyone that much. Some people actually surprised me for the better. Namely Nicole Scherzinger, known for being the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls and a judge/host on numerous reality television shows. My biggest problem with her was that I couldn't see her (as Maureen) having dated Skylar Astin (playing Mark). Other than that, she pretty much knocked my socks off. She brought a new kind of sexiness to the character, and was just as crazy and goofy, if not more so, than you'd expect of a Maureen. Her rendition of "Over The Moon", though different than any I've seen, was one of the best I've experienced. As Entertainment Weekly put it, she displayed "not a lick of fame-induced self-consciousness" throughout the whole show.

I had high hopes for Skylar, as I'm a fan of Spring Awakening and thought he was wonderful in the original cast, but right from the get go his portrayal of Mark fell flat in my eyes. His job in the beginning of the show is to introduce us to what's going on with the level of energy we're to expect for the entire show. What we got was a bit lack luster and drawn out. It seemed as if he was playing for the more emotionally intense second act right from the beginning instead of bringing the joy and sarcasm to Mark that is expected. Though the acting wasn't on point, his voice did sound great and blended well with Roger.

On that note, and much to my surprise, Aaron Tveit played a great Roger. Having first seen him as a young congressman on Gossip Girl, I didn't believe he had the grit to portray an convincing Roger. I was very glad that I made the wrong assumption. He had a very natural melancholy about his character, which made the moments that he was actually happy that much more exciting. Aside from looks, I cannot imagine a more ill-fitted pair of him against Vanessa Hudgens. He definitely has the acting chops needed for the role and played it very well.

Evan's biggest worry was in the casting of Wayne Brady as Collins. I personally thought he would have made a much better Benny, but his Collins was fine. I would have hoped for a little more connection to his most emotional song, "I'll Cover You (Reprise)", and he made it very apparent when switching between a bass and baritone register, but the acting was there and in the end so was the voice. Telly Leung (Angel) was fine as well. Having recently found out that one of my current Chess cast mates was originally hand picked to be Angel in this production, I was a little disappointed in Telly's caliber. Both this cast mate of mine and my darling Benjamin Alicea (who played my Angel in the two productions of RENT I did) would have presented a more dynamic character. Alas, Telly was cast and and he wasn't bad.

Tracie Toms stood out as one of the people that felt most comfortable, and really commanded the stage. Her voice as well as acting and connection to the story and other characters was admirable. At least there was one person in the cast I was sure wouldn't let me down, and she was it. I had no expectations for Collins Pennie as Benny, as I'd never heard of him before. He was, to quote the show like a super geek, "less than brilliant". His voice was fine, his acting was ok, but he just didn't exude the Benny spirit. He seemed too juvenile, and at no point did I see the connection between Benny and Mimi. That's an often overlooked but very integral plot line.

I was unsure of what they were going to do with an extra 10 ensemble members. The show is traditionally done with a cast of 15 people, maybe 16 people, but since the venue is so large I understand the desire to fill the stage more. It is, after all, supposed to be set in the busy streets of New York. The ensemble truly did support the entire show so well. David Burtka had the great honor of being the "Will I" soloist and made every renthead proud. The rest of the song didn't go as well, with only 2 rounds of voices going at any time rather than 4 as it's written. The end result, as said by my former director, is supposed to be a wall of sound. I'd call this more of a picket fence of sound. It could have been better.

When I did the show in Rancho Cucamonga earlier this year, it was an honor to have Gwen Stewart come to see it and praise it. She revived her role as the "Seasons Of Love" soloist beautifully, and the added soloists didn't bother me much at all. That's one of the songs that, while the original cast recording is well known, it's not set in stone. The soloists have the freedom to make it their own, and it ended up pretty darn cool.

Overall, I'd give the production a C. Some people were really incredible, others were embarrassing, and still others were nearly forgettable. If you believe my opinion is biased because I've performed in the show before, I'd advise you to check out my boyfriend's review at www.swanfungus.com

If you've never seen RENT before, I wouldn't recommend this as your first go around. It's not much better than the movie, but poor miss Hudgens literally ruins the whole thing. There, I said it.

Chess Success!

2010-07-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to get back to the theater last night and see my lovely chessers! We had a fantastic show on Sunday, perhaps even better than what I had written about for Saturday. It may have been a personal best for everyone in the show to date!

This week in between was a busy one for me. Lots and lots of work - we're looking to fill another receptionist position, so we're rearranging to schedule for the end of the month, I've been calling applicants and setting up meetings, and doing my regular work stuff too. I also went to the Red Sox/Angels game (the Sox won! Yay!) with Evan and my roommates and neighbors and friends, went to trivia night for the first time at Q's Billiards, and had an audition. A productive and fun week.

The audition I went on was yesterday morning for Kevin Smith's new horror movie, "Red State". I was auditioning for two small rolls and I think it went fine. One of them was actually supposed to be in her 20's, which was nice. The other one (or two actually, it was for Girl 1 AND Girl 2) is a 17 year old high school kid. Not that I'm unbelievable as a high school student, but when the other people at the audition talk about living with their parents or having their mom drive them there that morning, I feel pretty seasoned. I have no doubt that I'm doing fine at the auditions, I just need to find where I fit. Soon enough we'll figure out where the industry sees me and I'll start booking things, I'm sure of it.

We were called to the theater at 6:30 to do mic check and run a few numbers. Everything seemed to be going along pretty smoothly, and it's always reassuring when you remember your words after nearly a week of no shows. We were all having fun backstage getting ready, and at our half hour i started getting dressed, only to realize I couldn't find my shoes. They're fairly simple black heels, but since I had worn bright pink polka-dotted galoshes there, it was very important to find them or some other alternative. There was a dance show at the theater over the week and our choreographer was in it, so she text'd all the girls to see if anyone had grabbed them by accident. In the meantime, there were some short boots at the theater from a past production of Oklahoma that almost fit and that's what I wore for the first act. It did throw me off a bit. I want to feel very strong and womanly and these shoes didn't allow that. I felt like my acting was a bit off and I did forget some of my words, but hey - it could have been much worse. I'm sure it's better than to have had to go on with the pink rain boots. I didn't even realize until people told me when I got off stage what a huge applause I got after "Nobody's Side".

Luckily one of the dancers had grabbed the shoes, thinking one of her fellow dancers left them behind, and brought them back so I had them for the second act. I felt like that went much more smoothly for me, and we had an amazing audience. We had a woman in the very front row - closer than normal because of the added seats - mouthing every.single.word of every song, which is impressive because most of us in the show couldn't do that. And our musical director pointed out that you know you've got something really good when the audience starts applauding before the song even ends. Josie, one of the cast members, said there were critics in the audience and they absolutely loved the show. I also had a few friends in the audience, people with whom I've worked on projects before, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

We actually oversold for the night, and even after bringing in more chairs we had to turn a lot of people away that had comp tickets, including another castmate's agent. My manager is coming with a casting director tonight, so I told her to let the people at the box office know who they are just in case we oversell again.

And for those people that got turned away, they'll have six more chances to come see it because we've officially extended the run! Unfortunately not everyone will be able to do the extended shows, so we'll have 2 weeks off to rehearse and put in a few new people, and our extended dates are August 19-21 and 27-29. We're going to record some audio at tonight's show to use as promotional samples on the ticketing websites, and I wouldn't be surprised if we sell out each of the new dates.

After the performance last night a bunch of us went to The Other Side, a piano bar in Silverlake where our pianist plays weekly. People bring their music books or choose songs that he knows how to play and sing along, a kind of live karaoke. I think almost all of us from the show sang at least one song, if not backing up someone else. Sad that we're all really starting to bond when it's the last weekend for some people, but better late than never.

I have a great feeling about tonight, I have at least six people coming to see me and I'm very excited. We've decided to have a cast/crew potluck afterward which I think will be the perfect way to top off a fun/busy/productive week, and send off those that won't be able to continue the extension with us. Our pseudo-closing night is going to be fantastic.

What A Scene, What A Joy!

2010-07-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

As I hinted at earlier, we had a great show last night.

Our preview on Thursday went pretty well. We had a small but enthusiastic audience, and there were just a few flubs throughout the show. I think overall it gave us the confidence that out official opening night would go well. On Friday, most of us managed to get to the theater early so we could run some of the tricky spots that hadn't worked as well as we'd hoped the night before.

It seemed like we had gotten all out good nervous energy out the night before and couldn't find it for our opening. My personal show was... meh. I forgot a couple words, and wasn't supporting my voice like I should have been, and though it could have been much worse it still wasn't great. There was the lack of energy, but I think the main thing that threw us off is that some parts of our orchestra didn't get specific cuts in the music, so at times there would be extra bars, or the song would be played in two different keys at points. It's hard to be in the moment when you're worried about what you'll hear next. There were spots that some people had to just speak their words instead of sing them.

I had all day yesterday to think about the previous performance and the one coming up. I don't know about you, but when I'm nervous or agitated or I just need to occupy my mind for a period of time, I clean. But even when my room was spic'n'span and my laundry was done, I was more nervous than ever. It's so frustrating, not knowing what to do about that feeling. I stopped taking xanax a long time ago and didn't have time for a nap, so I had some chamomile tea. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I felt so weird I wanted to cry. It seemed like if I did then I would feel better, but I couldn't even do that. So tea was my next best option.

Funny how as soon as I get to the theater I always feel better. All my crazy bad nervous energy soon turned into good energy and I got the feeling we were going to have a great show. As soon as we started, I was sure of it. And a good thing too, because Evan and two other friends of mine were there to see it. We had a couple sound issues in the beginning, and I messed up some of my words in the exact same spot as the two days prior to that, but the orchestra was fantastic and the audience got more enthusiastic as the show went on. I've said it before and I mean it: I'm so very proud of what we did last night. I know it wasn't the personal best for some people, but as a whole it was definitely the best we've done yet.

When we were finished our director, Robert, came back stage to congratulate us on such a success and inform us that...... there's a possibility of extending the run. I think it would be amazing to have more than just 3 more shows. We've gotten great feedback, and it's a show that a lot of people wouldn't normally get the chance to see. So I'm crossing my fingers that this is going to happen. :)

I'm feeling pretty okay today. Maybe it's because I'm working and don't have the whole day to wait around for the show tonight. I still get little flashes of the weird nerves, but I'm mostly excited. I got a couple video clips of when we were running parts of songs last night, so I'll try to get them up here.

**Tickets can be purchased at www.plays411.com/chessinconcert - select nights have discount tickets with the promo code "bargain"**

Ladies And Gentlemen, We Have A Show!

2010-07-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

I just needed to say how insanely honored I am to share the stage with the brilliant cast of Chess and proud of what we've put together in collaboration with so many other talented people. I love you all!

Nerves

2010-07-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the preview night for Chess. We're going to have an audience, and it's actually going to be the very first time we've run the entire show from beginning to end. When I told my coworker this, she asked if I was nervous. I told her that I had butterflies, but now an hour and a half later I realize that I am nervous. It's strange, since I don't remember the last time I was actually nervous before a show. I'm used to having butterflies, because putting up a show is always exciting for me. I've gotten very good at trusting that I know the show and that if anything goes wrong it will be fixed. So this is strange, knowing I will be just fine but still feeling a little scared.

I'm pretty sure it's the situation rather than self confidence. I've never put up a show in this amount of time, not to mention I'd only heard a few songs before being cast. We've had the orchestra for three days, they just got their music Monday, and we just finished the blocking yesterday. Also, I was talking with the music director yesterday and at one point he gave me one of those looks and said something to the effect of: Don't freak out, but this is a huge opportunity for you. Make the most of it.

Even with all of this in my mind, I'm absolutely positive that we've put together an incredible show. I think anyone I know that has seen me perform before will be impressed at how different this is than anything else I've done. Plus, I'm hitting higher notes than I ever thought possible for my voice :)

I'm so pleased that I've been trusted to take on such an important role, and proud of myself for taking the strides to make it happen. Writing all this out is really helping me feel better. I know as soon as I hit the stage the adrenaline will kick in and all will be fine. I wish there was a chance for more performances. This show is so rarely done, and I know that there will be a lot of people coming to see it.

And on that note, there are a few 1/2 price tickets available on www.goldstar.com for this weekend! Search for Chess In Concert or The Met theatre.

The Home Stretch

2010-07-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Funny that last time I wrote I said that it was getting easier and more fun to blog, but then I don't write again for over a week. Though in my defense, that week-and-then-some passed very quickly since I've been busy busy busy working to open a show in a time span of just over 2 weeks.

So, there's less than a week until Chess opens and I am SOOO excited! The breathing is going much better in case you were wondering. Actually, the first rehearsal we had as a full cast I think I pulled lung muscle. Is that possible? I'm guessing I was so focused on expanding and supporting that I didn't realize I probably pushed my body too hard too fast. Luckily the pain was gone by the next day and I've been more careful about the way I'm warming up and singing.

We started blocking a few days ago and it became apparent how very much music there is in this show by the amount of material we hadn't even had time to look at yet. In the time since I'm pretty sure we covered everything musically, though that doesn't necessarily mean all that's left is the blocking. Some of the most difficult numbers were saved for last, and they're going to take a lot of work to be ready to put in front of an audience. We were informed that we will in fact be able to use our music binders for the performances, but I think a good number of us want to have it all memorized. I'm among those that want to do it without the binder, and I think it's definitely possible with the rate I've been going. If I just focus on those tricky songs for a day or two I'm sure it'll work out.

I got really excited trying to put together my costume today. It's basically black and white stuff, but I have so much of that that I got to tear my closet apart and play dress up. Also, it gives me an excuse to go shopping. They said if anyone couldn't put together their outfit from their own wardrobe not to worry, but... well I am a girl after all. If I still can't find something after shopping, then I'll let them care of it :)

I had a dream last night I found a gray hair on my head, and when I got to work my co-worker pointed one out in the exact same spot as in the dream. Creepy. I'm really not surprised though. Even aside from the whirlwind show, I've got a lot on my plate right now. Luckily the stress isn't overwhelming, I feel like I'm holding things together nicely. I'm actually very glad I've got the show to keep me busy and my brain occupied.

I've got another audition coming up this Monday, for General Hospital. I'll be auditioning to be an Irish girl. Yes, me an Irish girl. Which I recently found out, I am not. Not that I look like it, but when asked what my ethnicity is, I always threw that in the mix. It's an eclectic enough mix anyway, I'm actually surprised that Irish is not in it. Even so, there's still enough left to leave people perplexed.

Oh, I nearly forgot!! I went to see Inn The Heights again last night and it was just as amazing as before. I was in the 4th row this time, which I initially thought would be too close when I first sat down, but it was perfect. I could understand everything that was being said and sung and it was more engaging from that close.

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If you're interested in seeing my show (Chess), tickets can be purchased through www.plays411.com/chessinconcert or at 323.960.7735

Breathe!!

2010-07-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Literally... I need to learn how to breathe again. I went through a few of my songs with the Greg the musical director yesterday afternoon, and do you have any idea how much Florence sings in Chess? Well, it's a lot. Greg said it's pretty much the Florence show, and it's not only a lot of singing but a lot of serious powerhouse songs. I am thrilled to be a part of this production and the challenge doesn't scare me, but it is a challenge. I just need to remember to do the important things - like breathing.

When I was in Alabama doing RENT Casey, Ben and I would get on a treadmill or bike and sing "Today For You" and boy oh boy did it help with the breath control. So I did it again today. this morning I went to the gym and quietly sang "Today For You" a few times on the treadmill. I'd take a couple minutes in between and I could feel that it got easier each time. I even went through some of my Chess songs to see if I remembered all the lyrics, and it seems they're sticking in my head better than I could have hoped after one day. Now I just have to do that 3 or 4 times a week and I'll have those songs completely memorized and singing them like a pro in no time.

Tonight we have our first rehearsal where we will get to meet the rest of the cast and people involved, get more music, and rehearse all together! I took a look at the cast list and was surprised to find that I didn't know anyone in the cast. But I did hear a lot of amazing voices at the auditions, so I can't wait so see which ones they decided to put together. Since I've been out here there hasn't been anyone I've done a show with that I really didn't like. There have been people that had their quirks that took some getting used to, but in all each cast I've been a part of have become a sort of family. At least for the time being. So I'm ready to meet my brand new Chess family tonight.

I got some great news today, in a roundabout sort of way. I got a voicemail from a casting director about auditioning for a brand new musical. It would involve recording the music late this month and doing a reading possibly in September. And this casting director? He's the one I thought I had burnt a bridge with by turning down the job in Colorado. So I feel much better now knowing that all things are well on that front. He's a really nice man and I'm glad he'd like to work with me again.

And one more thing. I realized that I actually enjoy blogging now. In the beginning it was a bit of a chore sometimes, but lately I've been eager to blog when something exciting happens. It could be because I kept a journal for at least 11 years and have tapered off from writing in that, and it could also be because I get so many people telling me they really enjoy what I write, and look forward to the next entry. Thanks everyone, I like you too!

Someone Else's Story

2010-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Apparently I was what they were looking for, because I landed the lead! I'll be playing Florence in Chess. Well, Chess in concert. Sounds to me like it would just be the music, but I'm not certain. I've never seen a play done "in concert", and I tried googling for the answer to no avail. I guess I'll probably find out at the first rehearsal/meeting this afternoon.

I was called back for two things - Florence and "featured soloist", the latter we all assumed was code for "ensemble". I saw a few people I knew there so that sped up the time between the two callbacks. For the first one, we were split up into parts and learned one of the hardest four part harmonies in the show, then sang in groups of four. Once that was done we waited and chatted until some of us had other parts we were called back for. I was the last of the Florences to sing, and out of 5 or 6 girls, I felt it was between me and one other girl. Luckily I didn't go right after her, because that would have been a little nerve wracking. She sings how I want to sing, just an absolutely beautiful and natural sound. Maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit in this, but I think in the end it came down to height. Though, out of everyone who auditioned and the few who were called back, it ended up being me! I'm proud and I think I did a great job so I think I'm giving credit where credit is due.

One thing that's crazy about this show is that there isn't one solid version of it. If you check it out on wikipedia you'll see that it started as a West End production, then when it moved to Broadway the second act was completely revamped, changed yet again when it went to Sydney, and productions since seem to have taken pieces from each prior production and combined them. I would imagine we'll do the same thing, especially since it's just in concert. We can have all the great songs we want and not have to worry too much about how it all fits into the story. I think. All I know is I'm really excited. I can't say it's a part I've wanted to play forever since I never really knew much about the show, but I've always loved the songs and they've been some of my favorites to sing since the first time I've heard them.

How was your 4th of July? Mine was very nice. Both Evan and I had the day off, so we went to Whole Foods to pick up ingredients for the dishes we were going to make and bring to a friend's house. I made the ever popular bacon wrapped water chestnuts, and a salad that turned out to be a hit. Evan created giant burger patties that contained, among other things, bacon. Yes, right in with the ground beef. He topped them with taleggio cheese and a home made spicy aioli. You can read all about our day on his blog here. Happy birthday, America!

Auditions...

2010-07-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

First things first - I had an audition for Chess In concert last night. I showed up, sang something from Jekyll & Hyde, and I think that may be the best I've ever sounded in a musical audition. Now I know that if I don't get a callback, it's simply because I'm not what they're looking for. It's great to fees so confident about that.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My hair has been causing problems for me. It started yesterday when I woke up at 8 to go to a 10:45 audition in Culver City, for a small role in a Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis movie. I showered and got me hair set to do a beautiful blowout, and decided to use a brush I don't normally use for that. Huge mistake. As I started unrolling my first strand of hair from the brush, it was absolutely stuck just one inch from my scalp. Normally you roll it back up a little or pull a few small strands from the brush to fix that, but it wouldn't budge. I spent at least 20 minutes trying to free the brush from my hair, and I hadn't even decided what to wear yet.

Once I finally found a way to put myself together I set off for Sony studios. Of course, the 10 was awful and I got to the parking structure exactly at my appointment time. Only to find out security didn't have my name in the system, and in calling my manager I found out the audition was for this morning, not yesterday morning.

So I went through it all again today. Woke up about 10 minutes earlier and made sure to use the right brush this time. Everything was going smoothly until I was halfway done with my hair and, pop, my blow dryer exploded. Ok, I guess that's exaggerating a little. But there were some serious sparks that came from it -- and not the part where the air comes out, the part where the cord meets the handle. A bit frightening, I'll admit. There was no way I was letting the other half of my hair air dry with all that mousse in it, so I threw it up in bun and hustled down to Walgreens to buy a new one.

Luckily I had picked my outfit early on accident (remember, I did it the day before!) but got on the road only 10 minutes earlier than I did on the first try. Thank goodness for those extra minutes I gave myself in waking up early. The 10 was fine and I parked with 10 minutes to spare. Seems like "10 minutes" is the theme of this segment... So I check in with security and get a map to find my way aaaaalllllll the way across the lot, past at least 27 sound stages, past the streets and buildings they have on location to tweak to look like real places, and up three flights of stairs. In the summer. In California.

The audition itself felt like it took less than a minute, and it very well may have. There were some girls that were literally in the room for 20 seconds and then they were done. I was called into the room and read my four lines, she gave me a slight adjustment and asked me to do it again. I did and it was fine, and that was that. I feel like it's really going to be based on looks, and though I'm confident in how I look, there were some AMAZING looking girls in that room. I'm find with believing that I didn't get the part, and I'm sure Evan's even happier because if I got it I'd have to make out with Justin Timberlake.

So until next time, I'm just waiting for the next train (that's for you, Lauren!)

Reasons

2010-06-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Godspell is now closed. I can't believe how fast those six weekends of shows went by! Our last few shows went very well. Evan came once again to see the show on Friday night - he's supposed to review the show, so if that ever does happen I'll post a link for all of you to read it. My mom and her boyfriend John came to see it Saturday evening, it was so nice to see them! Between the shows the cast had one of our traditional Saturday afternoon picnics, and as much as I tried to limit myself, once I met up with mom and John I didn't think I'd have room for any dinner. The nice thing about the theater, and this isn't a bad thing as long as you're on time, is that you have plenty of time before your food arrives. So we had some wine (only a little for me, I did have a show to do after all) and an appetizer, and the food came out about half an hour before my call time. This time I tried the tri-tip, as it came highly recommended, and it was great. I saw a few friends in the audience, and greeted them before I made my way back to the dressing room.

For me, there's always a bit of a different feeling at a closing show. Every line is a little more important or poignant, especially in a show like this. I think there was more energy up there than we'd ever had before, and it ended up being more emotional that I had anticipated. Between the acts Jackie and I brought our cameras on stage and hid them in a bookshelf so we could take pictures as soon as the curtain closed. We all cried and laughed and hugged, and eventually came off stage to get changed for our cast party. As soon as my pants came off, Diane burst into the dressing room announcing Jason Alexander was right outside the door. I froze for a second, trying to decide weather to put my costume back on or continue changing into my regular clothes, but I brought so many options with me that I thought the show pants would be my best bet. I grabbed my camera and went out to ask for a picture with him and thank him for coming to the show. Turns out Huck (the guy who played our Jesus) is his godson. He politely obliged to the picture, and then said "Nicci. You're non-Equity, right?"
"That's right"
"Hmm... Well, I'm the artistic director at Reprise. I'd like you to get in touch with me (insert his email address here)."
Then something about auditioning for one of the shows in the upcoming season of Reprise. They're usually not supposed to use non-union, but he though I would be great for a specific role. I said I definitely get in touch, and I got a headshot/resume for him from my car - cause you always have to be prepared for moments like these - and then just jumped around for a few minutes, changing my clothes and giggling, thinking (and saying) HOW COOL IS THAT.

Once I finally decided on what combination of things to put on my body, I set off with everyone else to Amy's house where she was hosting the cast party. Aside from the good food and company, we were all very much looking forward to a rousing game of Quelf. If you haven't heard of it, get into it. It's a hilariously fun board game that we all fell in love with last weekend while spending the afternoon at Amy's. So much that Trance and I both bought it this week.

Shortly after I arrived, I sent an email to Jason thanking him again for coming to see the show, what a surprise and honor, and that I was glad to be in touch with him (he wrote back a few hours later with some of the details. Turns out my manager knows the casting director, so chances of getting an audition are now huge!).

So the party was a success. I should mention - at one point during the run, Adam proposed to Diane because of her amazing baking, so when the pizza got there we took a break from Quelf to stage the wedding. David and I were the ring bearers, Huck gave Diane away, Loren did a poetry reading, and Neil married them. It was kind of unbelievable that we went to such lengths, but we are theatre people after all. There was a pizza reception followed by the continuation of Quelf. All in all we played for at least 5 hours. We even had to use things like a bottle of nail polish and tobasco sauce for extra game pieces. It was end to a lovely show.

I often think back to when I was so conflicted about turning down a job a few months ago. I stressed myself out so much over it, but my decision to stay here in California with Godspell did turn out to be the best one. Since that time I've secured myself a manager, and agency, gone on tons of auditions, and now this Jason Alexander thing... There are reasons that things happen the way they do. This summer so far has been a great reminder of that.

By the way, the Reprise show and role he has in mind for me is Gigi. And the audition will be in November, so I have from now until then to study up so I can ace the audition!

*PS. stay tuned for pictures!*

2010-06-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I changed the look of this blog. I figured it was about time for a makeover. Unfortunately, in doing so I lost the code to see the statistics of how many viewers/page views/etc. I've gotten for the past few days. I was worried for a bit wondering why no one wanted to read my blog anymore! But Evan helped me figure out the problem and get that running again. Phew.

The last weekend of Godspell has arrived! These six weekends of shows have gone by quickly. I really do wish I had something lined up right after this ends, but I'm going to trust this manager/agent path for now and hopefully I'll start booking things. I think the audition went well yesterday. The scene felt very comfortable, and the CD and I talked a little about Gilroy and other food festivals after we were done. Of course I would love to get callbacks, and definitely book things, but I'm glad to be meeting these people and performing well in front of them.

I've been battling a weird cold for a week now. It's been all over the place - started with sinuses, went into headaches, then a sore throat, and now coughing. There were a couple points during the week that I thought I'd lose my voice which was pretty worrisome, considering I have 5 performances to do this weekend. I'm pretty sure most of the people that surround me in my daily life don't really understand the concept of vocal rest, so hopefully they don't think I'm being a jerk and ignoring them from periodically. If I didn't have to work today, I'd be locked in my bathroom with the shower on the hottest setting to steam whatever this cold thing is out of me.

It's always fun to show up to the theater for Godspell... you never know what amazing snack Diane had made for all of us, or what stories/antics Loren will tell, or what we draw in our pictures in the second act. The show really does change every time we do it, and I think it's great. Evan's going to come and see it again tomorrow so he can experience the new full cast (i.e. with Neil in it). I'm sure we can all expect some really good performances this weekend.

What else, what else..... In The Heights was amazing!! I didn't know much about it going in, and it completely wowed me. Evan wrote a review of it, you can check it out here. Even he really liked it, so that's a great sign. I plan on seeing it again on a day when they have different people playing some of the characters, because why not? I'm not sure how the "student rush" tickets or whatever they're called work, but I'll figure it out.

I'm going to take care of this migraine, and then off to the show!

Knock On Wood

2010-06-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

At the risk of something going awry again, I have to say it.... I have an agency.

As you may remember, a few weeks ago I thought I got the confirmation call on this agency, only to be unsure about it again. Neither I nor my manager was sure what was going on. But she called me on Friday with the good news.... that the two women I initially interviewed with were enthusiastic and anxious and wanted to move ahead, confident that the third agent I met with would come around. Not that he didn't particularly like me, but he was just on the fence and hadn't had time to really sit down with my reel and resume and think about the meeting. So I didn't wow him, no biggie. I charmed the other two enough to do business with the whole agency.

I wanted to write Friday after I got home from the show, but I wasn't sure there was enough to make me confident that this decision would stick. Well, not moments ago I got a call from my manager, saying she got a 'welcome' call from one of the agents. She instructed me to get in touch with the online breakdown service and have them add the agency to my profile. I also gave the agent a call so I can confidently say it is officially official. Phew!! Both the manager and agent told me that agent no. 3 just doesn't work with that many young people so that's why he was on the fence, but that doesn't mean that he won't submit me. They previously had a young client that he himself put on a series, so it's all good news.

I also have an audition for a backdoor pilot on Wednesday. No that's not something dirty - it's a "pilot episode filmed as a standalone movie so it can be broadcast if not picked up as a series", so says Variety. The character is a serious 16 year old girl, I think I can pull that off. Plus, as of today my demo reel is finally up online so hopefully that will bring in more auditions as well. I figure that at this point it's just a numbers game. I'm confident that I can book things and impress people, it's just about finding the role that fits. And now with a manager and a few agents working for me, my chances of finding that role (maybe even many of them) have skyrocketed. I've told people, "it's only taken me 6 years to get this far!" But in actuality, I'm lucky to have gotten so much within a year and a half. After school, I didn't really pursue anything until the beginning of last year. So I really have made huge strides in a short time.

We're down to one more weekend of Godspell, only 5 more shows! What a fun time I've had with this production. Each show we do is more fun than the last. I'm so so happy to have all of these people as my friends. They're all talented and driven and just wonderful people. I could brag about them all day long.

Aaaaaaaaaaand, I'm going to see In The Heights tomorrow. I'm bringing Evan. I think he'll like it.

Adventures In Blogging

2010-06-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

I was a guest writer on Evan's blog today. Read all about my Top Chef morning! (More about the career coming soon...)

www.swanfungus.com

Did I Speak Too Soon?

2010-06-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

I hope this isn't another Rock Of Ages situation...

It started Monday morning. I wanted to get up and go to the gym, but we had our first 6 show weekend plus Sunday was Jason's closing night so we went out for a little bit after the show. Therefore, I decided to take the morning to relax before I had to go into work. Now, since I got this fancy new "network extender" for my cellphone (because Verizon has terrible service in my neighborhood) I've been forgetting to plug in my phone at night. Since it's not constantly struggling to find service all the time, it usually doesn't die. Well there's a first time for everything right? I got an email from my manager wondering where I was, because she left me 2 voicemails and didn't hear back from me all morning.

Shit.

I've only been with her, what, 2 weeks? And I'm already dropping the ball.... that was the.worst.feeling. I turned my phone on and called her immediately. The one remaining agent of the three at the agency I was to sign with wanted to meet with me. Obviously I wasn't able to because I had work, so I scrambled to clear my schedule for the next day. That wasn't looking promising, being so late notice for my co-workers, but I had time to meet with him this afternoon. I called the agency directly and set up the meeting, and breathed a sigh of relief.

I spent part of last night, most of this morning, and all of the spare minutes after my shift at work today figuring out what to wear. I got there a little early, and met the agent within minutes of arriving. He's a friend of a teacher I had in school out here, and when I told her I'd be meeting with his agency she said to say hi. I felt good passing along the message, our conversation went smoothly, but I felt like we talked so much about me. The other two agents gave me so much great info and insight into how they work, that I was hard pressed to come up with questions. But I wasn't awkward, and I don't think embarrassed myself, so hopefully everything will continue on the path that I'm expecting. Only.... when we were finishing up, he asked if I was meeting with other agencies, said it was nice to meet me, and that we'd all talk by Friday.

Wasn't I supposed to sign a contract this week and give them photos and reels? I'm not complaining, I'm just a little worried that I misunderstood the situation. Had I only decided to go to the gym Monday morning, I would have noticed my phone had died much earlier and perhaps had a better (and sooner) meeting. Oh well. Positive thoughts. We'll all know soon.

So.

We had some of our best shows this weekend. Tons of energy plus enthusiastic audiences made for lots of fun. Between shows on Sunday we had a pick-up rehearsal for Neil who will be having his opening show with us this weekend. We did the sections and dances he's involved in and sped through the rest. There was a lot of joking around, but I don't think there is a doubt in anyone's mind that he'll have no problem settling into the show. He's been to see a few performances each weekend, constantly practicing and asking questions. Not to mention he's so talented in the first place. His first time doing a full run, not marked, was supposed to be tomorrow... but we received an email earlier today explaining that since only 36 tickets were sold for the performance, they canceled the show and moved the ticket holders to a different day. I can't imagine how disappointing that must be, but I'm sure we'll bring extra energy on Friday since we have one more day of rest.

I asked Evan how I should end this post, and here's what he suggested:

And in conclusion, the end.

God I Hope I Get It

2010-06-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

What can I say. I saw A Chorus Line tonight and now I wish I started dancing when I was 4 years old.

IT'S OFFICIAL

2010-06-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from my manager - I have an agent!!! YESSSSS! I can't wait to really kick this into gear.

She also told me that she got great feedback from the casting director from Mean Girls 2. They though I was really good, they just got an older vibe from me. I'm not all that surprised. For at least the past 5 or so years, people are surprised that I'm not older than I am - not because of how I look, but because of the way I present myself. The CW, HBO, stuff like that I could definitely still play high school, but I can see how a movie like MG2 would want the real deal, especially with the type of characters in it.

Ahhh! I'm still so excited! I was only able to let out a little squeal because I'm at work, but man oh man is this cool. We're going to make lots of money and it's going to be fun. That's what she said, and I believe it. A part of me wonders if in a few years Liv Tyler or Christina Ricci or Natalie Portman will remember that I was the receptionist at their waxing studio. But that's a long way off, and yes that was some unnecessary name dropping. Sorry. Hilary Duff just got here, and it wade me wonder... Ok, enough of that.

With this news, and Jason leaving the cast and Neil joining it, I think that's cause for celebration this weekend. I'll start off by having dinner with Evan and our friends, Ken and KT, before the show tonight!

In other fun news, one of my castmates is creating a musical with a few other friends of mine, and they asked if I would sing some tracks for them. We're going to use a break in between some of our weekend shows to record it. Also, David (Godspell director) asked if I might be interested in singing with a band. Which, duh, that would be awesome. I've always wanted to, so I'd love to give it a shot.

Wow, so many amazing things happening right now. What a lucky girl I am!

Another Stepping Stone... Hopefully

2010-06-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! I've been meaning to write another entry for a few days now, but the free time I've had has been spent watching the food network. It's grill week, how could I not??

We closed another successful set of shows this weekend. Doing six shows a weekend, it's easy to see how it's transforming. The more we do it, the more little nuances we find that really work, so they stick. For the most part it's getting more fluid, and we don't have to worry about those damned transitions anymore because we all know what's coming next. I don't think I mentioned this before, but one of the guys will be leaving after this coming weekend. That part was double cast from the beginning because both of the men had conflicts, so one of them is getting the first three weeks of the show, and the other is getting the last three weeks.

It makes the run feel very short knowing that this weekend is the end of the first half, and we'll be able to physically see it happen. Both guys are really fantastic though. The second has been coming to see the shows a couple times a weekend and is a really talented performer, so no one has any doubt that he'll step in like it's nothing. A few of us were talking about it the other day, agreeing that each of them will bring something very different but also very good to the show. I think it might be a nice refresher for all of us too, it will keep the show from becoming muscle memory. That can happen when you do something over and over and over, and if you're not careful you forget why you're doing what you're doing on stage, and just do it. A switch in the cast should prove to be a reminder of just that.

The auditions went well last week. I'll just say it - the audition was for Mean Girls II. It was actually on the Paramount lot instead of a separate casting office, so that was only slightly intimidating but pretty exciting also. The room I was directed to was actually the one where they were filming and not the waiting room and it rattled me a little to have the casting director be (understandably) perturbed when I walked in in the middle of someone's audition. The sides were interesting to work with too... there were 16 pages, and I said only a line or two from each page. It was a little distracting to keep flipping the page after every line. The important part, though, is that I got in that door (figuratively). I also got in the door for an audition for Scream 4. Yeah, they're making a "4". That one I felt went really well. The office was cute, the casting director was laid back and nice, and I was in and out quickly. I don't believe I got either of these, but the fact that I'm getting my face in front of these people is a great thing.

I had a meeting with some agents yesterday. My manager came with me, which I think was great. She's so sweet and she works with these women often so they have a great, friendly rapport. We were there for about 45 minutes, my longest meeting yet. We talked a little about me and my background, but we also talked about the Celtics, friends in the industry, one of the women's nieces.... I found something I've heard over and over to be true: the best thing to do is not talk about yourself. If you look up what to do during a meeting with an agent/manager, every article will tell you this. Treat it like a first date. One of the worst things you can do on a first date is talk on and on about yourself. Yes part of the meeting is about them deciding if your skills will allow them to get you work, but it's also about feeling comfortable with each other and getting a feel for who you'll potentially be working with. I can see how this could work with first meetings in general, but I think it's especially important in the entertainment industry where you are, essentially, selling yourself. Wait, that sounds bad... but in a way it's true.

So that meeting was at 3, and around 6 o'clock I got a call from my manager letting me know that she had just gotten off the phone with the ladies I met with and they loved me. One even wanted to pitch me for something right away, which obviously my manager was ok with. There's one other agent in their company that I didn't get to meet with, but he's taking a look at me reel and if he's cool with it, then I'm in. So hopefully I can update in a few hours letting you all know I have a theatrical agent. Cross your fingers!

2010-05-25T14:52:00.001-07:00

When my manager said she was going to keep me busy, she wasn't lying. I auditioned for the British television series yesterday* and now I have auditions for features films tomorrow morning and Thursday morning. I'm looking to get a little coaching from a casting director I worked with a while ago for the Thursday audition. I'm working for the rest of the day and then have plans this evening, but tomorrow's should be pretty easy anyway.

*The audition - I got there at 4:40 for my appointment at 5, and there were at least 7 other people there. For 3 short scenes I figured about 3-5 minutes for each person. Well, I didn't get seen until after 6:00. It's not that unheard of if they've been running behind all day, but some girls were in there for about 15 minutes. Toward the end they had us to only two of the three scenes, and since I was the last one in there I felt like they really wanted to get it over with so it was short and sweet. Though the girls there didn't look any older than me, only one or two looked like they could really pass for 14 years old. But that's just what I saw, there was a page of people before me that I never saw.*

So while I was waiting, my manager called and told me about the audition for Thursday. It's something she mentioned earlier so it was exciting to hear that they want to see me. I got the news about tomorrow's audition while at work today, and that one was a surprise. It's all very exciting, these are both projects I can see myself fitting into well. Ever since the Rock of Ages incident I'm a little weary of telling a lot of people about the projects I'm going out for, but I assure you I'll let you know the details once I book something! A casting director suggested I submit for the new Transformers movie, which would be awesome but I think I should leave that up to my manager. I could ask her about it, but as for actually submitting that would be better left in her arena.

Opening Weekend

2010-05-23T22:53:00.001-07:00

We have survived! More than survived I'd say. Compared to tech week, our opening weekend was brilliant.

There were a few technical slip-ups throughout the weekend, but over all the audience responded well. Except for yesterday's matinee - but a party of 57 had cancelled, so the brunch crowd gave us what they could. We have video elements involved, and there was one show (I can't tell you which, they're all mixing together in my mind now) that it completely turned off right in the middle, so we had to get up and act it out ourselves. There's a lot of "playing within the play" anyway so I don't think anyone could tell. We're pros, and unless someone gets seriously hurt I think we can get over anything that could possibly throw us. Today we had two fantastic shows, just pure fun the whole time. I even got a little misty during the finales.

One perk of working with this theater is that we have free access to a beautiful fitness club, The Claremont Club. It has pools, a cardio area, weight area, tennis, basketball, steam rooms, salon, cafe... the list goes on. Me and some of my fellow cast mates took advantage of this today between shows, and we went in the spa to relax. Lemme tell you, it really worked. My muscles still feel nice and loose! I'm planning on getting a massage or two there at some point, and I think the whole cast is going to have a picknick there next Saturday.

I got home about 40 minutes ago, and I had to run straight upstairs because the finale of Lost is on and there's at least 30 people at my house. I'll be camping out here for at least another 15 minutes... I've come to terms that I'll hear some things about the episode when I do come downstairs, but I'll be ok. I just really didn't want to see only the end and then have to get caught up on the whole thing by a bunch of Lost nerds. I'll just have some wild boar and hear what I hear. What, wild boar you ask? Yes, in the spirit of Lost my boyfriend got some wild boar meat and cooked it up. I can't wait to try it.

I am glad that I have a few minutes to blog, I've been meaning to do it all weekend. The audition for the British show is tomorrow so I can go over those lines for a while and figure out what I can wear to suggest I'm a freshman in high school. Hah. Hey, those kids on 90210 are like, 26 right? Anything is possible in the magic world of the entertainment industry.

Plusses And Minuses, But Mainly Plusses

2010-05-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the day I called the agent I met with. I had to leave the house to call her, so I decided to make use of being out and go to the gym. I've gotten back in the habit of keeping planner with me, and it is very helpful. I've got all of my rehearsals/performances written down in it, work hours, meetings, and details of any auditions. Anyway, I left her a message and got a call back while at the gym. Unfortunately they're not going to be able to represent me because of the people they already have in their client base, but it's no big deal. It only makes sense to be represented by a person or company that thinks they can get you work without putting you in competition with their existing clients.

I used the opportunity of being in Hollywood to make some copies of my passport to send in to my manager (I like the sound of that!) with my paperwork. It is now official, I've signed a 2 year contract, and unless absolutely nothing happens within 30 days, I've now arrived at the next step of the journey. She called me right before I got to work, letting me know the people from the project in England want me to come in for an audition on Monday. The role is supposed to be a freshman in high school so that's stretching it a little, but it's worth a try even if I have to tape down my chest and go in wearing pastels with no make up. The script looks like something I'd be comfortable with, so I'm pretty excited.

As for Godspell, we ran if from beginning to end for the first time yesterday, with few and minor interruptions. The set is almost complete, as well as the costumes, and the transitions are getting smoother and smoother. As a whole it's taken the cast a little longer to bond that I'm normally used to, but I can really feel it happening now and that will only add to what great stuff we're already doing on stage. Opening night tomorrow!!!!

REPRESENT

2010-05-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

I spent almost all day on Sunday shopping for what I was going to wear to my meetings Monday and Tuesday. I probably could have put something together with what I already have in my closet, but I think the main point was to get my mind off over thinking what I would do and say and what I wold be asked, and just focus on one thing I could control: how I looked. I got an amazing navy and white dress that I decided to wear to the agent meeting. The best part about it? It's a size 3. Now, I'm not kidding myself into thinking this is the rule - I know I'm not normally a size 3, and probably haven't been since about middle school. But it was a nice boost of confidence, to have that at the back of my mind while I was waiting to see the agent.

Up at 7:30 again for an 11:30 meeting, and that gave me plenty of time go get ready and on the road. I had a few butterflies but nothing that a nice deep breath didn't dissipate. The office was nice, on the 8th floor of a building along the miracle mile. The meeting was relatively short and sweet. She brought me in, we chatted about my resume and experience, and brought in the other two commercial agents she worked with to meet me. One of them had even heard of my hometown! The thing about Gilroy is that you either know it's the garlic capital of the world, or you've never heard of it before. So I like to tell people where I grew up because they're always very proud of themselves for knowing that fact, or interested that there is actually a garlic capital anywhere. I was back in my car and feeling good in 15 minutes. the have a meeting today, so I'm going to give her a call in the morning to check back in.

Then yesterday I had a meeting with a manager yesterday morning at noon. Though I had plenty of time to get ready the day before, I still set my alarm for 8:00. I woke up around 7 all by myself and as much as I tried to get a little more rest, I couldn't get back to sleep. For this meeting I decided to go a little more casual, and felt more comfortable. A manager isn't just about booking jobs, but about building a career and a brand, so I wanted to present myself more like how I am every day. Just a little more professional. From the moment I met this manager I felt good about it. She's got a great energy, loves what she does, and seems like she really gets the job done. She was very straightforward about her own career and how she wants to expand, and it seemed to me like I could probably fit in. This meeting was a little over 20 minutes, but it was less about questions and more about talking a discussing what we were both looking for.

I got a call from her this morning just as I got to Evan's house (good thing I was out of my house, I get terrible service there) and she said that though I'm older than she thought but we're going to try it out, try to get me an agent and book me some things. If things start progressing, or I get callbacks, then we'll proceed. Sounds fair enough to me! She said she already pitched me for Mean Girls II which I'm really excited about. I was taught in school to have some things in mind that I could be in, and Mean Girls was one of the things on my list. So even if I just get an audition for that, it would be so cool. She also wants to submit me for a series that shoots in Liverpool. So just in case, if you know know anyone I can stay with for a week or two that lives around the area, gimme a holler. I wish I still stayed in touch with those kids from manchester....

We are doing our first ever full runthrough of Godspell tonight! It's a little frightening, but I think we're going to do just fine. Once we smooth out the transitions we'll have a pretty darn good show on our hands! All of these early mornings started to catch up with me yesterday. I was tired even as I was driving to rehearsal, and it was hard to keep my eyes open during notes at the end, but I got home safe and sound and slept as long as I could this morning.

Ahhhh. I'm making good on my promise to myself to get things done. I like this.

Forward.

2010-05-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was up just after 7:30 this morning. I showered, got dressed and ready, and had breakfast before I headed out to the callback. Only thing is... I didn't get that email.

Yes that's right. I checked my email at least hourly yesterday, but nada. Maybe there was a reason I didn't tell everyone about the callback. I kept wondering if I accidentally attached an old resume, or if they misspelled my email address, or if perhaps the casting director changed her mind about me. I had a little pity party last night, but decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. When I woke up today I still wasn't sure if it would be wise or fruitful, but I made up my mind to go out to Hollywood where they held the initial audition and wait for people to start showing up.

When I got there at 9:30, the only cars that were there belonged to the asian tourists getting out of them. I waited for a few minutes before deciding to go home to grab my laptop, a book, and some sudoku. I got back and sent a message to a guy I met at the audition, a friend of a friend, and asked if a girl he was hanging out with, who also got a callback, had heard anything yet. Desperate, yes. Luckily he quickly sent a message back, saying he had only met the girl that day, but he did have an email address for one of the casting coordinators. I sent a quick email to them and waited. Until almost 2:30. And nothing.

Of course it's very frustrating, wondering what happened. Something obviously went wrong somewhere. But on top of that, I could have worked this morning. With rehearsals and meetings and auditions going on, that's happening less and less. And speaking of, my rehearsal for Godspell Started at 2. Luckily my director is very understanding and trusts that we have a strong show on the way, so he said just get there when I could. I'm glad I gave it a shot, because I know I'd probably be mad at myself if I didn't.

I got to rehearsal at about 3:30 and found out some good news: they want me to be dance captain! That's really exciting, it's something that's crossed my mind before. As I've said before, I don't consider myself a strong dancer, but I do learn things pretty quickly. So I'm going to give it my best shot. Plus, it'll look good on my resume!

I'm getting help to put together a reel this weekend. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by talented and helpful people. Yesterday I had a little chat with Ron, the director from RENT, about the meetings that are coming up for me. He was very helpful, telling me some things I had been hearing, and other things that were long forgotten to me. Over the past months he's become someone I look up to, and it was great to get some input from him. After I got off the phone with him I realized that I'm scared. This is when my career is really starting and I can see it happening. Yes it's scary, but also very exciting. Once I push through the new hard stuff I believe more and more good things will happen for me.

Where Is That Email?

2010-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, finally a real post again. So where to begin?

I have a meeting set for 11:30 on Monday morning with the agent. Then there's also this manager thing. Now, this one also came about because of the student film I did last year - only this time it wasn't me who cast the line out, they actually found me! I got an email from the director, and it was a forwarded message from a woman (manager) saying the head of her company saw the film and recommended she get in touch with me. Sweeeet. So we've planned on meeting sometime on Tuesday. I called up my director from RENT to ask if he had any advice, and he told me that one of the most important things is to know exactly what I want. My only problem right now is that I think I want everything. Not in terms of fame and fortune, though that would be cool, but I want to do everything possible. I'd love to work in film, television, commercials, voiceovers, stage, I want to sing/dance/act/perform everywhere and everything. I think the first step is to focus on what I want to get out of working with an agent, and overall out of my career. I've got two and a half days to figure that out.

In other news... I'd been looking forward to the Rock of Ages national tour audition since it was first posted. I love all (well, most) kinds of musical theatre, but now that I know I can sing rock well, it's what I gravitate to. I arrived at the audition location around 9:30 in the morning and was almost #90 in line. My friend Tim, who was in the second RENT with me, got there just before I did so it was nice to be able to hang out with him while we waited. They started seeing people a little after 10, but so many of us showed up to audition that there just wasn't going to be enough time to see everyone. Tim and I were going to be the next people brought in to sing, when the casting director came out and told everyone she had to start typing. That's when they take a look at you (or your headshot) and decide whether you have the right look or not. Luckily my headshot stood out to her, so an hour later I walked in the room to sing. As soon as I opened my mouth I heard echo everywhere. It startled me a little, but I don't think it threw me off. I got through about 5 seconds of "Lights" by Journey when she stopped me. She asked how my dance is, and I said it's ok. She then told me she wanted to call me back for Saturday, and to look for an email with the info.

Great! Fantastic! I'm so excited! Though I haven't gotten the email yet. If I don't get it, I plan on just showing up at 10 and hoping they're doing the callbacks at the same place the audition was. I'm probably stressing out more than I should... still, my brain just won't stop. I think I would be so great for this show, and if I don't get it because of someone misspelling or overlooking my email address, I'll be very upset.

I've also got Godspell opening on the 21st, which means this coming week will be tech week. It's a little intimidating. The show, the way it's structured, is so strange to me. It's a big challenge and I like that, but it's still tough not to have a real story line through the whole play. What's nice is I'll probably be wearing my own clothes. It's been a while since I've worked with a costumer that's really impressed me, so if I look like a fool now it's my own fault! Hah. It's very exciting, we're going to put up a great show.

Hm. Breathe.

Hi and Bye

2010-05-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's funny - when I actually really want to post something, I'm often too busy to get around to it. But the busyness is what I want to write about in the first place!

So quickly...
-Godspell tech next week
-new headshots printed out
-putting together an acting reel
-callback for Rock Of Ages national tour
-meeting with and agent on Monday
-meeting with a manager on Tuesday

All this on top of trying to work and balance a social life is.... great. Maybe it would be stressful if this is how life was all the time, but little bursts of all this craziness makes me feel good. Especially when so many exciting things are involved!

I will post again soon, I promise.

2010-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I was, again, feeling better about this whole turning-down-the-job situation. I was about to head to the gym when I got a voicemail (not a call, because my service sicks at my house) from someone asking if I was available to come in for an Xbox audition later that very day. I called back to get the info, changed and out together a headshot and resume. Luckily I had one more resume left, yes just one. I also had to run to the store to get more staples, but I arrived totally prepared. Well as prepared as one can be when getting the call mere hours before the audition, and not seeing the sides until I got there.

It was simple enough. Just one short page of dialogue with two other people, pretending we were doing a video blog about movies. There was a little bit of improv allowed with the lines, so i took advantage of that. We went through it three times and that was that. The casting director/producer/whoever it was behind the camera was laughing a lot and I left feeling very happy. The callbacks were held this Tuesday and Wednesday, and though I didn't get called back I still felt really great about what I did. It was a nice change to do a non-theatre audition for the first time in a while. I sent out my stuff to the agent I mentioned last time, and I was told to give her a call in a few days to follow up. Hopefully something good will come from this so I can audition more.

I found out that the girl they chose to play the role I was offered was someone I knew from school, and I even saw her at the audition. It's good to know that as much flack as it gets from some students, AMDA still cranks out some talented people that work work work. I'm excited to hear from her how it all goes.

Rehearsals for Godspell have been going well. The nature of the show combined with the personalities of the cast has caused a lot of giggle fits, and the process it just fun. It is a challenge to take a show that is structured in such a presentational way and try to bring it down to real life. We did a bunch of choreography yesterday. Hector is our choreographer, who now is a dance teacher at AMDA. He wasn't there when I was going to school, but I can already tell he knows his way around dancing. A friend of mine is in a production of A Chorus Line that he's choreographing, which seems a little more suited to his style. But his skills combined with David's ideas for the show seem to be coming together nicely so far.

Lets Get This Started

2010-04-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday feeling much better. I think I just needed to stop thinking about all of it for a while and what better way to do that than sleeping for a few hours. I even got through the whole day without feeling awful! See, it's getting better already. Part of my feeling better was probably because I wrote an email to Raul explaining how sorry I was to disappoint him and the director he was working with, and that I'd leaned to be more conscious of my prior obligations before I auditioned for something in the future. Though I haven't heard anything back, it felt good to take responsibility and touch base one more time.

My friends and family are all being very supportive about my decision. Evan keeps telling me that any choice I make is the right choice, and I suppose he's right. There's really no telling where each job will take me career wise, so all I can do is believe in the choices I make and do my best to make them the better choice. I've decided that this summer I'm going to be working on my career like never before. Along with being healthy and going to the gym, I'm going to set a deadline to get new headshots (and save up to get them printed out too, not just shot!), wrangle myself an agent and/or manager, expand my songbook, look into acting classes.... everything I can think of I'll do.

I was referred to an agent by a guy I did a student film with (which, by the way, recently won "Best Comedy" at the college level equivalent of the Emmys) so I'll be sending in my stuff this week. I found out in this week's issue of Backstage that it's very common for acting schools and conservatories to not go into the business of acting at all. I'm very lucky that AMDA actually did. A large portion of out last semester was focused on informing us about the business side of acting, and though I honestly haven't employed most of this information since graduating, I still have all my papers and notes and that helps me to feel confident. I imagine a lot of this summer will be spent re-reading all of that information that I got while in school.

My point in saying all that stuff about school is, I wrote my first cover letter yesterday. In the past I've gone to Samuel French and picked up the latest print out of agents, large envelopes, and decided who'd I thought I'd be a good fit with, but never ever sent anything out. Also, the fist headshots I ever had taken - at least 4 years ago - are the only ones I've ever had printed out in bulk. So this is the summer I update everything, including my work ethic. It's already had a slow start as of the beginning of last year, but this will be the push.

Whats Done Is Done

2010-04-29T15:19:00.001-07:00

Evan told me that the sarcasm didn't come across in the very last part of last part of yesterday's entry, so for anyone that was wondering, yes that was a joke.

Well. I've spent at least half the day crying or wanting to cry so far. I woke up with a headache and a weird pit of the stomach feeling. I figured I'd call Raul, politely turn down the offer, and start feeling better. When I called I let him know that I was very sad to turn down such a wonderful opportunity, but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to take the job. He told me that yes, it was very unfortunate because as soon as I walked into the room the director knew I was exactly what he was looking for. He sounded so disappointed, and that's what broke my heart.

I've decided maybe it wasn't the best choice, but it was the right choice. I'm so afraid that I've burnt a bridge with this lovely casting director. He casts a lot of things and always happily brings me in for projects, and I don't want him thinking I'm not accountable. I also don't want him thinking I'm not serious about my career as an actor. Hopefully he respects the fact that I'm taking into consideration many obligations that I've already committed myself to.

The call would probably have been easier to make if we didn't have a dance rehearsal last night. Now, to start off with - I do not doubt in any way David's vision for this show not the abilities of him or my castmates to put on a wonderful production. We're all going to have fun and give it our all. It's just.... I can dance, but I'm not a "dancer" in the way the industry qualifies dancers. So I get this crazy news yesterday and let it soak in for a while, and when I'm pretty darn sure I've made up my mind, I have to learn some funky stomp dance, and make my hands tap dance with shoes on them. Calling Raul while sore and exhausted was just that much harder this morning.

It's hard to keep my mind from thinking the worst, like I'm being a coward or that I've put a serious roadblock up for myself, but somewhere inside I do know that I'm not and I haven't. I know I'll feel better within a week, my magic 8 ball even told me so, but I really feel like crap right now. But then, I'd feel awful either way. I'm quite literally making myself ill. Evan got me a delicious bagel this morning to make me feel better, and now I can't even imagine eating anything for the rest of the day. And this headache..... ugh.

My hope is that even though I'm missing out on a fantastic opportunity and adventure, I will have more openings for others that I can take advantage of. Now I definitely know that I should know all of my schedules and have my priorities in order before I audition for something.

Hello Again

2010-04-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

By now I'm positive no one reads this anymore. I haven't posted anything since, what, December? Over 4 months. During that time my dear friend Lauren has put her blog back up, and taken it down, and put it back up again. I really love what she has to say, even if it's just a silly story about her grandmother or her friends I've never met. She's a great writer, and whatever the content it's always captivating. I'm more judgmental than I let on too, so it's nice to know I have truly talented people in my life.

I'm admittedly not the best writer. I don't even like writing very much at all. Have I said that before? Probably. I've probably also mentioned that in high school I avoided writing papers whenever possible, and even sometimes when not writing one wasn't an option. But - have kept journals since the third grade. It's always felt good just to write about things happening in my life. I used to imagine my nieces or grandchildren reading about all the things that happened to me. I also used to imagine being really old, and I would only remember things because of these journals. In the past few years the journal entries have dwindled. The last time I wrote an entry was probably sometime last year. The thing is, things are still happening in my life, I'd say more so now than when then majority of the entries were written. So since I'm at work, and it's a relatively slow day, I'll try for a recap of the past few months...

RENT - I was once again cast as Mimi and we had a successful and wonderful run of RENT in Rancho Cucamonga. The theater was beautiful, with 500 something seats, and a real backstage this time! It was a great experience doing the show with a cast nearly entirely new to me (save for Ben, Casey, and Dylan). Last time I was very familiar with the show, but going into this production knowing the script like the back of my hand, I got a lot deeper with character development and making my personal show more fluid. I couldn't have been more proud of what we all put up on that stage, and for two weekends this cast made some serious magic.

There is going to be a production of RENT at the Hollywood Bowl late this summer, and of course many of my castmates went out to audition for that. I unfortunately wasn't able to stay and be seen on the day of the singing call, but once my boss heard that she offered to take half my shift the next day so I could dance. I've never considered myself a fantastic dancer, but I really impressed myself and didn't screw up once. I didn't get called back, but I wasn't really expecting to be. I was a little bummed, but as soon as I found out they're casting the likes of Vanessa Hudgens and possibly Justin Timberlake, I was a little less hard on myself. None of us had a chance, and although it may not be fair, it's ok.

*A little tangent - I'm usually very good about going to an audition, doing my thing, and then just leaving and forgetting about it. That really is the best way to deal with being in this business. No one ever lets you know if you don't get something, so if you hang onto every audition, you're in for a world of depression. But since finishing RENT, it's been hard to live up to my philosophy of letting go. My brain wants to analyze everything I did for a few days after the fact, and when no call or email comes to interrupt those pesky thoughts, it's easy to get frustrated with yourself.*

I also auditioned for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in the OC. I've been having trouble relaying the correct tempo of my songs to pianists, and so when I started singing my song it was almost in cut time, which did not at all lend itself to a good audition on my behalf. I suppose I could have stopped, clarified, and started over but.... ok fine, it was Jason Robert Brown and apparently his music isn't easy to play. But I could have sworn this song was! I mean, even I could probably play it and I'm hardly a pianist. Anyway, for whatever reason, I continued to sing my uptempo as a ballad and did not get called back. If only I had a better audition, I think I would be perfect for this show. So I couldn't get that off my mind for a few days. (I later found out that the girl who got the part I was aiming for is married to someone involved with the production. Great.)

Our music director David from RENT held auditions for a production of Godspell which he's directing/music directing, and again many members of my RENT cast showed up. I sang Janis Joplin and was called back for the next day. Due to getting out of work late, I showed up to the callback an hour late, missing the dance portion, with just enough time to sing a little before we moved on to monologues. I don't know why, but I felt really terrible about it. I told my friends and roommates as soon as I got home that I sucked and was sure I didn't get cast. A little melodramatic, I know. Much to my surprise, I got a voicemail when I left my house the next morning (because I rarely receive calls at my house, due to the awful service in Echo Park), it was David calling late the night before, saying he was excited to work on another show with me.

That was a big sigh of relief for me... I remember going out to a late lunch with Ben and Loren (Angel and Collins from the Rancho RENT) right after the Putnam audition and telling then how very much I needed to be in another show. It's so hard to close a show and not having something lined up. Luckily I do have my day job at the waxing studio, which I love very very much, but of course that doesn't engage me like being on stage. I never knew how much I like being busy until I got back into acting.

The touring company of Mamma Mia held auditions last weekend. I sang the National Anthem at the Rose Bowl for Walk MS, and headed over to the studio. I got there around 10:30, and I believe I was seen at close to 5:30. Luckily I knew a few of the people there so I didn't just have to read or play sudoku the whole time. But there was also another guy there, and it was pretty apparent he didn't belong. That sounds harsh, but you have to understand.... everyone else at the audition, as with every other audition I've been to out here, has studied in some way, and put forth a lot of effort to be the best we can at what we're trying to do. Then along comes someone like this guy who probably didn't even realize the stage production came before the movie. He didn't know what a hardcopy was (headshot), and when I asked if he was a fan of ABBA he didn't know what I was talking about. With as many people as there were there, it makes me a little angry that people like this will show up and take a time slot from someone more qualified and deserving.

Well now we're all caught up to the present. Two days ago I got a call from a casting director that I know who has cast me before and and asked me to come in and audition for various things. There's a project I submitted myself a long time ago that he's casting for, and although I wasn't sure that I was really right for the role I studied up and went in for it anyway. The thing about this show is that it's in Colorado, and the commitment would be all summer long. I realized there were conflicts with Godspell, but I figured that in the slim chance that I was actually cast, I'd figure it out from there.

I went in yesterday for the audition. I got the offer today.

I guess I shouldn't have auditioned if I knew there would be many conflicts with the show I'm currently in. My justification for that is this: I've been so used to not getting cast or called back for things I've auditioned for in the past few weeks, I figured I'd go in to at least get my face in front of another director, see a lovely casting director friend, have some fun and then walk away. It was a nice change to leave feeling ok, rather than immediately thinking I did awful and pouting for a day and a half.

So here's what is on my brain right now: Turn down or drop out? Money? Prior commitment? Summerlong "job security"? Loyalty? Responsibility? Opportunity? And to top it all off, my day job that I do love so much. I don't want to screw anyone over there probably most of all. I'm very lucky that it's so flexible and I really do enjoy what I do there.

I've talked to my mom, my co-workers, my boss, and briefly to Evan, but in the end it's down to me. I don't want to be the girl who always drops out of things for something better (like I did for RENT the first time around), and I don't want Raul, the casting director, to get the impression that I come in for auditions on a lark and can't follow through (like I did earlier this year when he called me back for a role and I decided it wasn't for me).

My co-worker Jill said that if this is the worst of my problems, it really ain't so bad. True, yes. I wish I could do both, but unfortunately it won't work out that way. It's the old "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

Well I guess that's you get for being so very talented. *Sigh* Oh the life of Nicci Claspell....

Let The Sun Shine In

2009-12-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Goodness, a month since I last posted! I guess I really have been keeping myself busy.

So where did I leave off... Thanksgiving was a success! All of the residents of my house plus Evan, and our friends Ken and Katie who had just moved to town from New Jersey, went to the house of Quiggs (Sarah Quiqqley) and Sebastian. We all had certain dishes assigned to make, and we ended up with a lot of amazing food! There were drinks and boardgames and seasonal movies... it was great.

I've gone on a few auditions here and there in the past few weeks, none that I think went particularly well. One comes to mind - it was for a children's show that travels in the San Diego area. The casting director was Michael Donovan. I've always wanted to work with him, he does a lot of stuff out here, namely musicals. I showed up to the audition space to find a few dozen young girls in ballet attire. Thinking I had gone to the wrong studio, I went to my car to check my information. When I realized I hadn't brought it, I just sat in the car wondering if I should a) go to the other studio nearby and see if the auditions were being held there, b)go back inside and search for signs that i was in the right place, or c) just go home. As I was about to start my car, I got a call from an unknown number, It was someone from Michael Donovan casting, wondering if I was still coming. I said I was on my way, I had "hit a little traffic", and I made sure I was at the right place (which I was). At that point I was a little flustered and it affected my audition. I sang the wrong cut of one of my songs, I stood stiff as a board while singing, and I stumbled over the lines even though I had the paper in my hand. They were very nice and thanked me for coming in, but I'm not surprised that I didn't hear back about it. Oh well, you can't win them all.

A few days ago I checked out the casting call section on the webpage for the stage actors union. I saw there was an audition for the replacements of the Broadway cast of Hair, being held today. I prepared and got the sheet music for a song I already knew from around the era, Me And Bobby McGee. When I showed up a little after 9 this morning there was already a line formed outside. The actual audition process didn't start until 10, but they let us in around 9:20 to sign in and get comfortable. My position in line was #75, so I had some time to read and relax and convince my nerves I'd be ok without them. One of the casting directors spoke to all of us before they started seeing people. She let us know that the current Broadway cast will be going to England to continue performing, so they will be casting the whole show. She also let us know that about a third of those people were cast from a non-union open call, like this one. That's great news to hear. of course there's the non-equity people in New York too, but it gave us all a feeling that there was a better chance of actually being cast in the show.

I saw a few people there that I had worked with or gone to school with. One of them told me that a mutual friend of ours had auditioned the day before and gotten a callback for Saturday. It's nice to know that they're doing the callbacks so soon after the initial audition. In face, it's nice to know when the callbacks are at all! In many cases, you're in and out and that's that. You keep on moving, and if you hear something back - great. Hopefully I'll hear something back... My song went well. There was one point where my voice cracked a tiny bit, but other than that I think I was pretty strong. I should know by tonight whether or not I'm what they're looking for.

I also saw one of my former RENT castmates. We chatted for a bit after I was finished. He told me that he met up with Ron, the director of RENT, not too long ago. Among other things they talked about the upcoming production of RENT that Ron will be directing. He said initially the production company was all for bringing in the entire Alabama cast, but for possible legal reasons the have to cast some locals. But that means the producers liked what they saw, and if Ron's still on our side I think the chances are pretty good that many of us who are still interested in doing this production will be cast.

Not Enough Hours In The Day!

2009-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

I'm at home. Sitting at my computer. I should be in La Mirada, waiting around to audition for Putnam, but I'm not. Why? Because I have managed my time terribly.

It felt really good to be so busy when I got back home. Working, auditioning, and doing three student films. But I didn't allow myself enough time to prepare for the one audition that was really important. I guess I could have pulled a song out of my book and arrived with that, but I don't have any monologues I can just use off the top of my head. Not a single one. Most of the musical auditions only require you to have a song and sometimes dance, and then if they like you they'll have you come back and read sides from the show. But that's not an excuse, I should definitely have at least two monologues for times like this, when I didn't look at the breakdown hard enough to see that we needed to have one prepared. Ugh. Get it together, Nicci.

I also have a tight schedule with the films, at least two of them. One of the scenes was originally scheduled to be done in class last Tuesday (the second part of the nun one), but the director had to go out of town for a funeral so it was rescheduled for this Tuesday, tomorrow. The other scene I most recently started doing is going at 7:45 tomorrow night, so hopefully the first scene can go at 7:00. We filmed the first part of the nun scene this weekend. Long long days, but I think it's going to look really good. We're planning on filming the second part this upcoming Sunday, probably another 12 hour day.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some really good stuff for my reel with these projects. I've got a few things from a while back to start it out, but these will be great to add, I'm sure.

With all this that's going on, plus trying to work enough to pay the rent, I'll be staying home (meaning here in LA) for Thanksgiving. This will be the first major holiday since I've moved out here that I won't be with any family. I guess I was always with family before I moved here so it will actually be my first ever! I did see my family this summer when Evan and I went up for the Garlic Festival, so as long as I can have family time in December I think this one will be ok. Plus, some of the roommates and neighbors are staying here too, so is Evan, so we can have our own Thanksgiving dinner together. I think that will be nice.

McDonalds Monopoly, It's Time For You To End

2009-11-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

I am now doing 3 student films. I went in last night to audition for a friend's project, another friend who worked on the bis student film I did early in the year. He just called me today to officially offer me the role. The three scrips I'm working with are all really good. The first one I got, the nun one, is shaping up to be so much more than it seemed in the beginning. During one of our first rehearsals we all talked a lot about intentions and character background. From what was summed up about my character, it seems as though in this scene she's almost like a mixture of Blaire and Chuck from Gossip Girl. All about being the queen bee, but smart about the way she shows her authority. I like it.

Also, it's great to be getting back to film acting. It's so much more subtle. It's a good exercise to go from theatre to film and back again (which I'll hopefully do soon). You can almost forget how real you can make something when you don't have to make sure a whole crowd of people get it. The camera is so much more intimate. I definitely learned a lot during RENT, and I like that I get to take everything from that experience and apply it in a different way using a different medium.

Not singing and dancing 4 times a week and running at least 3 times a week is starting to take a toll on me. I've only been to the gym two or three times since I've been back, plus the roommates and neighbors have been doing the McDonald's Monopoly thing and I've been helping. I've definitely had a few too many angus burgers and large fries... The worst part isn't the number on the scale but how I feel. Luckily that number hasn't crept up too much but without more activity and better good, I have less energy to do the things that are good for me. I'm much more inclined to sit myself on the couch, eat chips and watch bad television. And I already do that enough!

Halloween was good. I got invited to a few pre-halloween parties but didn't end up attending, probably from the McD's + audition/rehearsal lethargy. I picked Evan up from the ariport on Saturday. We threw on some plaid shirts, called ourselves cowpeople, and drove into Hollywood to meet up with my neighbors. Traffic was pretty terrible, but at least the house was on the outer edge of Hollywood. I can't imagine trying to drive into the heart of Hollywood any time after 3:00 pm on Halloween.

Happy Thursday, Everyone

2009-10-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

I ended up getting a callback for the play in Weho. Once I received the sides though, I realized it just wasn't for me. It calls for more sexual situations than I've dealt with thus far on stage, and though I'm fine with a bit of nudity and sex when called for, I just don't think this situation was right for me.

It's so interesting though, walking out of two auditions that I only felt ok about, only to get cast in one and a callback for the other. When I auditioned for RENT I had myself in such a state of mind that I was thinking "if not now, then soon" so I went in, did my thing, and then went on with my day. I'm proud of myself for developing this ability not to cross my fingers over everything I do. I think it actually helps me to give a better performance in my auditions because I can just let it go when I'm done and not stress over it for days and days. Then it's a pleasant surprise if I find out they like me.

The student film I got - they ended up deciding to cast me as neither the part I auditioned for nor the title character. The director said that not all of the other girls they wanted to cast had as much versatility, so they cast me as a character named Genevieve. She's kind of the social leader of this group of girls training to be nuns. I want to read the book, Mariette In Ecstasy, that this scene was adapted from. It was a NY times best seller, and the story sounds really interesting.

Auditions for Putnam are coming up in a little over a week... I need to get ready. I hardly have anything in my book, and usually when I got to a musical audition I only bring one specific song, and possibly a back up. I 've heard stories of people going into an audition with one song in mind, and then the auditioner will take their book and pick a song for them. For one, I don't have enough music in my book to be interesting enough. Two, if I did have all my music from the past in it, I'd be in trouble. I wish I could play the piano better so I could practice all my old stuff. I know there are some good songs in the piles and piles of sheet music I have, I just haven't sung most of them in years.

-Phew, I just got an email back from the casting director of the aforementioned play. I let him know this morning that I was no longer interested, and he said no problem. Cool. I've never had to turn something down like that. Well, I did have to drop out of Big River to do RENT, but that was a different situation.-

Back to work now. Missing my RENT family, as always. Missing Evan too, he gets back from the east coast on Saturday evening. Now we've got to come up with costumes for Halloween...

Things I've had On My Mind Today

2009-10-26T18:50:00.001-07:00

+how is it possible to have no calories, at all, in diet soda? there's so much flavor and color, and virtually nil on the nutrition facts, save for 1% sodium.

+the junkie woman outside the audition last night. as she was hugging her junkie boyfriend she looked at me and shouted "HEY! you're pretty!" haha, thanks "if i didn't like men i'd be all over that hahaha pretty girl, i like it!!!" etc... good thing i was parked close by.

+i'm pretty darn sure i saw Dave Coulier at the gym yesterday.

+speaking of the gym... the woman who got on the elliptical next to me this morning. i was listening to my ipod and watching the history channel when i see her swat towards me with her hand. then she whacked me on my arm to say "you're skinny!!" oh, thanks "how much do you weigh?" uhm, you're making me uncomfortable "well at least you're not fat hahaha blah blah blah" i turn up the volume and try to ignore her words and her body odor.

+the girl at walgreens tonight - all the smartwaters were stuck in the back of the refrigerated section so i asked someone to help me get one. she gave me a look like i was retarded and said "there's some right there..." i know but they're stuck and i can't reach- "here" as she climbed onto the display and shoved her arm all the way to the back to grab one. right, like it would be appropriate for a customer to do that.

anyway... i booked the student film i auditioned for last night. interesting thing,: i'm definitely in it, probably as the character they brought me in for, but there's a possibility that they might have me be the main role instead. i'll find out tonight, we're having a bit of rehearsal soon.

i'm also going doing another student film thing with a friend of mine. he was the sound guy on the zombie musical student film i did at the beginning of this year. funny, he'll actually be the third person from that project to ask me to do another one. that makes me feel good.

If Only Pennies Were Worth Something

2009-10-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to blog today but I don't really have a choice. First weekend off of RENT has proved pretty good so far, up until today. I've been working and hanging out with the roommates. I even had some last minute hang out/glass of wine time with Sari and her roommate Erin last night, and then I came home to my neighbor Maryn walking out of the house in Blanch (a la Golden Girls) attire, only to find out there was a costume party at the coffee shop across the street (Fix). I threw on one of my old getups and enjoyed the free wine and treats.

I thought today would be fine too - work in the morning, audition for a play in the afternoon, audition for a film in the evening, and possibly The Smiths night at the venue down the street with Sari to end the night. I ended up having a few hours in between auditions to change wardrobe and catch up on Gossip Girl, and after the last audition was finished I came home to a nearly empty house. It can be a strange thing, considering I basically live with 7 other people (it's a duplex, we don't fit all those people into one house). I think I've facebooked and checked my email as many times as possible without anything new happening to start feeling pretty lonely. I don't even feel like watching bad TV right now, that's one of my vices, because I'd rather keep busy in some way.

I guess I can talk about the auditions. The first one, the one I wrote about last time, was in WeHo. That's one reservation I would have about doing this show, parking would suck and no one would want to come see it for that reason. Another reservation I had was, looking at the website and taking in the theatre while I was waiting, it seems like they do a lot of shows with naked men. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fine to have some nudity sometimes, not that I've ever personally done a show with nudity in it, but I think I'd be fine with it if it were well done and not just for show. But the amount of nudity that happens at this theatre was a bit shocking. I don't know, we'll see what happens. I felt that, though I stumbled over a few lines, I was content with the way I read.

The second audition was for a student film at USC. I've been to several auditions in this particular building, and sometimes the nerves of auditioning can come from just being in an unfamiliar locale, so it was nice to be somewhere I knew fairly well. This project is about a group of nuns-to-be, one in particular. I was brought in for the role of a kind of shy nun in training, but they had me read for several of the roles. I hadn't specifically prepared for them but i did read through everything they provided so I had an idea of where to go with the lines. I feel pretty ok about that one too.... I really just need things for my reel. At the moment I have 2 things in my possession that I could put onto a reel, but I need some more variety. I am waiting on 2 other projects I've done, but still... I need to do more. Reels are everything to some people in this industry.

What else, what else.... oh! After the first audition I went to Hollywood Blvd. to see if i could find any worthy Halloween costumes. It took me about 10 minutes of driving in circles to find a parking spot, and then I had to empty my wallet and the bottom of my purse just to have enough change for an hour. One quarter gave me 8 minutes, and nickles alternated between 1 and 2 minutes. That's criminal. *see title of this blog post* Unfortunately the costume I wanted (Silk Spectre II from The Watchmen) was all sold out. I looked at a couple other shops but as it goes on Hwood Blvd, everything is the sexy version of something. Sexy flight attendant. Sexy cowgirl. Sexy lumberjack. Whatever. Evan suggested that we go as Rachel Ray and Anthony Bourdain. I don't think anyone would get it, and I feel like going all-out something this year, but it's a novel idea and it just may happen.

Back On The Band Wagon

2009-10-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

It's feeling better and better to be back. I'll still get those small pangs of "what now...?" every once in a while, but they're getting fewer and further in between. It also helps that I got an audition today. I got a voice mail from Raul Staggs, the man who did the casting for Ecstasy, The Musical. They're holding auditions this Sunday in West Hollywood. When I got a chance to call him back we chatted a little bit. It's really nice to feel that I'm building a rapport with some people in town. Hell, it feels great just to be remembered!

This play, as I understand, is not a musical, though the character I'm auditioning must sing well. The plot line is as follows "NAKED IN THE TROPICS is a world premiere comedy with music about a gay teenager who becomes addicted to drugs and the WeHo nightlife, and his divorced, lesbian mother's efforts to rescue him." I'm going in for the role of the gay teenager's pregnant girlfriend. This girl is sassy and sexy, and isn't phased by the fact that she's pregnant at 17 or that her boyfriend is showing gay tendencies. Her attitude sounds Mimi-esque, and though the past few things I've booked have been the overly sexy girl, I feel like it has always been a challenge for me to completely get to that place. Earlier in life I was always the ingenue and I feel like that's an easy role to slip into. I want to be able to play anything, and if I have to do the same kind of parts consecutively for a while, well if it helps me grow as an actor I'll take it.

There are also auditions coming up for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I don't know much of the music but I do know that I would love to be in the show. I know I have the right vocal range for a few of the characters, and some of those characters would help take me in new directions as an actor too. I really need to take some steps to further myself.... first of all new headshots. I've gotten some taken over the years by various people, but haven't actually had any printed since the first ones I got done... back in, what, 2005? Maybe 2006, latest. Luckily I've got a few ideas of who I want to shoot with, I'm sure any of them will turn out some great shots. After that I need to work on getting an agent and/or manager. I suppose I could always contact my previous agent and let him know I'm back on the acting scene. We kind of just lost touch a while ago because I wasn't aggressive or serious about my career. I certainly am now, so I'm sure good things are in store for me.

Here's A Picture Of My House. Come Visit Me.

2009-10-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Here I am, my first day back at work. I thought I had to work yesterday, but I guess I was looking at next week's schedule. It's good to be back, I really do love my job and all the ladies I work with. Not too mention the free waxing services! Love it.

Early yesterday morning I dropped Evan off at the airport. He's going to be on the East coast working at the WFMU record fair and visiting with family and friends for 10 days. Cruel fate, we could only hang out for like a day and a half before he had to leave. I spent the rest of the day sorting through the 300+ pictures I took in 'bama, color correcting them and making albums on facebook. It was so nice to see all of them full size. Find me on facebook and check them out, there are some pretty fantastic ones.

Last night I met up with one of my best friends, Katrina, at Fiesta Cantina. I don't think we'd been there in over 2 years... we used to frequent the place. We would be there every Wednesday for karaoke and 2 for 1 margaritas. It was decidedly a bit more mellow than we remembered, though we did get there on the early side so we could be sure to put in our songs early. I'm such a nerd... I sang Out Tonight. I couldn't help it!! Where else can you pull off singing musical theatre at karaoke but at a gay bar in weho? They loved it too, and that's what matters. Everything still comes back to rent. Someone in a commercial on the radio today said "now you're talking" and my mind immediately went to "well, I'm thwarted by a metaphysic puzzle". I don't know if this will ever end, but I think I'm ok with that. I hope I get little "thinking of you" texts from my cast mates forever!

A girl just walked into my work with the most amazing mustard yellow pants. I do miss the vibe of the LA people. It's good to be back. I even enjoyed the traffic for a hot minute today. Last night when I dropped Kat off at her apartment, her phone fell out into my car so I dropped it of at her work today. The aggressive drivers just feel like home. As I drove around I had the urge to hang out with Lauren and show her all the fun and fancy things in Beverly Hills, and then I wanted everyone to be there so we could go to the beach or I could take them to my favorite restaurants. LA is wonderful, I really did miss it, and I hope I get to share my city with them someday.

Viva La Vie Boheme!!!

2009-10-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it. Back in LA, safe and sound. The sunny warm weather is helping to distract from the sadness of RENT being over and me missing everyone like crazy. I really do... nearly every show that I've done, the cast and crew had become a sort of new family, but this one was like nothing else.

When we got to the theatre I handed out personalized notes that I had written for everyone. Ben was practicing "Today For You" on stage so the rest of us ended up in the girls' dressing room dancing and singing. It was wonderful. Definitely bittersweet to have that explosion of joy all together, to put on the costumes and make up for the last time, to take pictures backstage before it was time for places. The show went really really well. I think all of us used the emotions we were feeling appropriately during the show. When the second act started I was all smiles. It was like all of us up on that stage had our own mini season of love..

From that point on though it got more difficult. I felt like the performances were fantastic, though there were definitely more tears than normal. I really started feeling it in "Without You", and was nearly crying by the end of the song. As soon as I started saying Angel's eulogy that's when I could no longer hold it together. And for me, the hardest part was, by far, trying to sing "I can't believe this is... goodbye". I don't think it was easy for any of us. When we were singing the Finale B, I don't think there was a dry eye on stage. Probably in the audience too.

After a lot of hugs and a few more pictures, we all made our way over to the J.Clyde for dinner and drinks. It was really great to have that time together, to wind down after the show and say our final goodbyes. We even sang Finale B for our waiters, though it was a good two or three steps too high. My fault, I take the blame. We sounded great though. After a few hours we all started to disperse... it was so so sad. The amazing Lauren even gave me her favorite scarf, which I had been begging to buy off her earlier in the day. I will cherish it forever and think of you every time I wear it L!

Ben, Dylan and his friends Kurt and Stephen, DaWonye, Stephanie and myself went over to the hotel and hung out at Ben's place for a while. I realized I still had to pack and gas up the car, so I made a fairly early night of it and headed over to the car. While driving to the gas station I realized I totally forgot to pay my bill at the restaurant so I went back. William, one of our waiters for the night, had worked some kind of magic on the computer and took some items off so it apparently ended up being like $5. I stayed there talking to him and Mae, our other waiter, for a while. Such nice people in Birmingham.

When I got back I packed most of the rest of my things and tried to get to sleep. I failed. I didn't get a wink of sleep for hours. I think I finally started dozing around 500 am, but I had to get up in order to shower and finish packing. Earlier on Sunday I had spoken with Susan, the woman who had picked me up from the airport when I arrived, and she said she was dropping me off as well. When the time came to meet her downstairs, I text'd her to let her know I was almost ready and I'd be down in a few minutes. I got a call from her immediately after that saying she had spoken to Kim and was told I was dropping the rental car off so I didn't need a ride. Luckily that was the original plan so it still worked out fine.

Even though I sent a 10 pound package home, I had bough a few other things and I had to put 5 pounds of things into my carry-on so as not to have to pay for the extra weight in my suitcase. I had a basically direct flight from B'ham to LA, but we stopped in St. Louis and Salt Lake City on the way. I arrived at 1:20 and was greeted by Evan. He drove me home so I could take a much needed nap, and then we went to dinner at Aroma Cafe in Studio City, one of my very favorite places ever. My neighbor Shaun had a screening of the first episode of his web series, Project Hollywood, at the Bungalow Club. I've always wanted to go there so it was nice to be able to check it out. My dear friend Sari also showed up which was a pleasant surprise.

I've got all day today to relax before I get back to work tomorrow. I'm already itching to do another show... Hopefully that will happen soon. Maybe I'll even audition for Disneyland so I can work with Ben! I'm going to have to plan something with the LA RENT people soon.

That's it for my RENT journey. I plan on keeping up with this blog and writing mainly about projects I'm doing. In the meantime... check out www.laurenab.wordpress.com. She always has fun things to say.

xoxo

I Can't Believe This Is... Goodbye

2009-10-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sunny? Yes.
Warm? Well, maybe later. The weather looks promising. There's not a cloud in the sky for the very first time since I've arrived. Going to the pool still ain't happening though, it's still too cold and I have to start on my hair by 11:30.

Our show last night went really well. A few lines were flubbed, a couple light cues were off, and a few notes were wrong, but nothing that totally messed us up. And the audience was FANTASTIC. Right off the bat they were laughing at everything. There were never any awkward moments when they weren't sure weather or not to applaud, they just did it. By far, the most responsive audience we've had yet.

After the show we headed over to Dylan/Lauren's place(s) to have this previously mentioned "hall party". It was more of a "apartment migration" party, but moving from one apartment to the other did require us to utilize the hall, if even just for a few seconds. I think the majority of it was spent in Lauren's, even though she just moved in and doesn't have much furniture. We started off by spreading out her comforter on the floor and having a fast food picnic. There was also wine, beer, and chips. Pretty classy, I know. The majority of the cast was there, plus Kevin, Chase from the band, Kim and her hubby Josh, and some peoples friends. It was really nice. And we didn't even stay our till four! I think I was back at the hotel and under the covers by 2:30. Make that 2:40 - I had to brush out my hair. Only one more time though....

Ben and I decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel one last time. He text'd me at 9:10 to remind me. I was going to just grab it and go back to my room like he did, but I realized I certainly can't not blog today, and as long as I'm down by the lobby... here I am, blogging.

This is it. My dream come true is coming to an end. Talking to kevin last night, we agree that this process has gone by so fast, but at the same time it hasn't. I guess anything you love doing seems like it's gone by fast once it's over, but remembering the process it seems like it's lasted a long time. I believe the plan for after the show is that we're going to the J.Clyde one last time to have dinner all together. I know a lot of people are going to be a total mess. This has really been a journey, and it's really special that we've all gotten the opportunity to take it together. The past couple performances have been more emotional than ever, especially the second act. Everyone is really using their feelings about this show ending and putting that in their performances. I really don't know what I'll be like tongiht, but I'm pretty sure I won't want to leave the stage after the curtain call.

Ten Down, Two More To Go

2009-10-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Our show on Thursday ended up going really well. There were times where my voice wasn't working the way I would have liked it too but I feel like my acting made up for it. I felt great about the show. The audience was fantastic too. It's always a good feeling when they sand up before we even finish the last song and start the bows.

RMTC does film each production for archival purposes, though the performers never get to see it. Boo. Anyway, they filmed last night. The girls felt that we were really on, but the boys had an interesting night. A few lines were skipped or forgotten, that's never happened before. I don't think it was nerves from knowing the cameras were out there, it was probably just a brain fart. Hopefully they'll film tonight too.... if not, they were just little slip ups so oh well.

We had a packed house again and they seemed to like it fine, but we hadn't expected what happened when we came out from backstage. People were there waiting, with programs and cameras in hand, for us to give autographs and take pictures. They cheered and gushed about how much they loved the show. It was pretty crazy, I've never had an experience like that. I've gotta admit, it was kinda cool.

When we managed to get out of the theatre, a group of 12 of us went to the haunted house. it was about 20 minutes away, and we made a stop along the way to get snacks because, as we found out, the wait to actually get in was 2 hours. The weird thing was we paid $2 to get in, and then we had to pay $15 for tickets (tokens, actually). They had a movie playing for anyone that wanted to pass the time. I think it was Candy Man. We opted to go back to the cars and hang out where it was warmer.

Some time after 1:00 we finally got to enter. I was anticipating being terrified so I clung to whoever was closest to me throughout the maze of a pathway. Fortunately I was hardly startled and more entertained by my friends in front of me who were close to peeing their pants. I even took a picture with one of the clowns that popped out and tried to scare us. I think it took 15 or 20 minutes to get through and it was actually really fun. They had one of those rooms that spin while you're walking down a pathway... it's making me dizzy now just thinking about it. I don't know why those are always in haunted houses. They aren't scary, just really weird.

When we exited, the warehouse that had earlier been packed with waiting patrons was completely empty. We were the last group to go through. After that experience we weren't tired so we headed over to Dylan's place to hang out some more. His lady friend Brook came over too which was a pleasant surprise. We didn't realize how late it got until Ben got a text from Lauren, who's bedroom apparently shares a wall with Dylan's living room area. At that point it was after 4, later than any of us had planned on staying out. *I didn't call Evan because it was so late but I should have, and I am very very sorry that I didn't.*

It's freezing outside. It was yesterday too. I had hoped that we could get in the pool before we had to leave but I don't foresee that happening. The hall party was rescheduled to tonight so that's what we'll be doing after the show. Hopefully I won't be out until 4 again tonight, especially since the matinee that is tomorrow afternoon is the last show we'll all do together. Probably ever. I turned in my script yesterday... it took me probably 10 minutes to erase all of my notes from it. I also sent myself a package so my suitcase won't be so heavy. Hopefully those 10 lbs of stuff will be enough to keep the suitcase under 50 lbs this time. I don't know what we'll be doing after the show tomorrow but we'll all be together, I'm certain of that.

The Final Countdown

2009-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone! Yesteryday marked our last full day off of this trip. We didn't really do much of anything... we looked for a mongolian bbq place but it was closed so instead I tagged along with Ben and Casey to Chipotle, and we ended the night watching tv. Big day. Michael's back now though so it was nice to chill with him too.

On Tuesday Ben, Casey, Stephanie, DaWonye and myself went to see Dylan in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe at the Childrens Theatre. He was fantastic! That kid is so talented. After that I took a nap, and then we went to Walmart to get supplies for a cook out thing. I made a really good salad, Stephanie make this awesome cornbread thing, we also had baked beans, hot dogs and burgers, chips, cookies, ice cream... mmm, it was good. It was the five of us who went to see the play earlier in the day, plus Cecil and Dylan. Food was eaten, pictures were taken, conversation was made. It was lovely.

Lauren is moving into an apartment across the hall from Dylan, so tonight after the show we're going over to their place to have a "hall party". Tomorrow night we have plans to go to a haunted house called Atrox... I'm pretty frightened already. I've made everyone promise to keep me surrounded so the people that work there won't get too close to me. I'm pretty sure I'll survive as long as there aren't little people grabbing at me with white-gloved hands. Talk about creepy.

I'll write later, hopefully today's show will go better than last Thursday...

Weekend Number Two

2009-10-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

And just like that, our second weekend is over!

After I picked Sarah up from the airport we went to Sonic for her first experience. Mmm, delicious. I think she's hooked now. As am I... I'm not looking forward to having to drive an hour to go to one. Oh well, at least I'll have In 'n' Out back. How I've missed it. We started our Saturday morning by meeting up with my mom and John. Sarah heard there was a bacon waffle at The Original Pancake House so we went there to find it. The wait was a little long (even beside the fact that they skipped our name on the list at least 3 times) and the service could have been much better, but man oh man was that bacon waffle good. I got that and Sarah got the pecan pancakes, which were nearly as delicious.

After our meal we found our way over to the Botanical Gardens. It sprinkled a bit on and off but nothing too bad. The gardens were beautiful, and so big! I think we were there for at least 40 minutes and probably didn't get to see half of it. At one point along the trail, an orange tabby cat ran up to us, as though he were late and catching up. He liked us so much that he walked along with us through most of the gardens we visited. The plants and flowers were incredible and serene, but that cat was my favorite part. I miss him already. After a while I started feeling a little off, me ear was doing that weird thing again and I was probably in a bacon-waffle-induced-semi-coma, so I went back to the hotel for a quick nap before I had to start doing my hair for the show.

That night we had our best audience yet. Every last seat was filled, and they even brought in extra chairs to accommodate more people. They laughed and cried and cheered as much as we could have ever wanted. The performance itself was also fantastic. I can only say that from a performers point of view of course, but the show felt so good. It helped that I could actually hear myself and hit all my notes with confidence too. It's right that we gave such a good show for such a deserving audience of family, friends, and other enthusiasts. And from the amount of dewy eyes we say when we came from backstage, I'm positive we did a good job. I took the family to The J.Clyde for a couple beers and one of the best blt's I've ever had. I love me a good blt, but with fried green tomatoes? Come on! Wow. I also enjoyed a Good People Coffee Oatmeal Stout (brewed at the Good People Brewery in B'ham) and Sarah had some mild wings. Delish.

After a quick IHOP breakfast this morning, I bid my family farewell and got to my preparation for the show. Today was our first real matinee since last week's was delayed until 5:30 in order to allow us to sing after the AIDS walk. The audience was pretty much what you'd expect from a matinee audience. Not terrible, though definitely a chance from what we've been getting. But hey, what can you expect from a southern audience who just saw RENT on a Sunday afternoon? We played the show for us and we had fun. Afterword the majority of the cast plus Kim and Josh went out to get some dinner at Sabor Latino, a decent Mexican restaurant neat our hotel. Definitely better than the place Evan and I ate at Five Points so I was happy. By the way Birmingham people - or those in the know - is it proper to say AT five points or IN five points? Just Curious.

It seems like everything goes this way, but it feels as though we've been here forever and not long enough at the same time. It's hard to believe that just weeks ago we arrived and met everyone for the first time. Ron's been gone for over a week now and it seems like forever since we've seen him. I can tell it will be a sad sad day next Sunday when we have to say goodbye. We've all been blessed to have done this project together. Ugh. I don't wanna think about it. I'll just enjoy these next few days off, hopefully cramming them with last minute cast hang out time. Ben and I are already making plans to do and see things together when we get back. That makes me feel a bit better. Plus, there's always Rancho Cucamonga... (fingers crossed!)

Back In The Game

2009-10-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while recovering from my unwise decision to mix alcohol with several prescribed medicines the night before (btw, the cut below my lip came from me falling out of bed and hitting the night stand. Oh, Nicci...), I had my first pang of homesickness. With all the hard work we've put into this show, and even with the days off that have been completely void of any set plans or things to do, I've been keeping myself happily occupied. Not that the fun of this new adventure is wearing off, but I'm remembering what it's like to sleep in my own bed and hang out with my roommates. I even miss work and all the girls there! I'm not aching to get home just yet, but i can tell it'll be nice to be back when I get there.

Tonight was our first show back after Mon-Weds off. And wow, what an interesting show. I'm so thankful that I got to the doctor when I did so I can be as well as I am right now. Still, my personal performance tonight could have been much better. With only 3 days of recovery under my belt, I still have a bit of a lingering cough. I hadn't realized it much until I had to sing, because that takes a greater amount of breath support than every day talking or singing along with the radio. And no matter how much cough syrup I down, I can still feel some crap in my lungs. As for that, I guess there's not much I can do but wait till it's gone. I also had a hard time hearing myself... kind of. Maybe I was subconsciously being extremely careful not to push my limits too far, but at the same time I felt like I didn't have enough control over what was coming out of my mouth. On top of this, my left ear has been doing some weird thing every now and again since I arrived in Alabama and that makes it hard to focus on how I'm hearing my voice.

Blah blah blah, complain complain complain. I don't think my voice cracked, at least not too much, and I didn't fall on my face, so what more can I ask for after feeling like I was deteriorating on Monday. I'm certain tomorrow will be a better show. There are a few other people that are sick now but they pulled through great tonight. The band was also a little in and out at some points but it just seems like we all needed tonight to get our bearings again.

My mom and her boyfriend arrive tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be picking up Sarah from the airport after out show. Michael will be driving to Georgia tomorrow morning to pick up his fiance Desi, who is on tour with Junie B. Jones (a childrens book made into a musical). His family is also arriving on Saturday, and I believe Casey's mom and perhaps some more of his family/friends will be seeing the show Saturday as well. I'm sure none of us will run out of things to do this weekend.

Bed time. I mean it this time...

Another Long, Arduous Day

2009-10-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to admit it, but almost the whole time I was waiting for the doctor yesterday, I felt like I wanted to cry. Not only because of the immense pain I was feeling feeling, but I also knew I was stronger than the pain I was feeling and the jokes and whatnot the boys at the hotel decided to throw at me. I know it was all in good fun, but a the same time... Jesus, I'm sick and trying to get better. Thanks a lot.

I spent the better half of the day resting. As much as I wanted to get myself to the gym and work whatever's going on out of my system, I restrained and rested. I managed to keep myself in bed until about 10:30 or so until I couldn't stand waisting the day any longer. I woke up and had breakfast, and convinced myself it would be a good idea to watch some really bad television. Kim Davenport, the Production manager, had a cook-out today for the cast a crew, so we (the hotel kids) decided to leave around 4:00. We picked up some beverages, not without hassle, and arrived at Kim and her husband Josh's place close to 5:00.

Before our departure, Casey decided it would be fun to play "what would you do for five million dollars". Apparently I either have higher standards than he can comprehend, or he has lower standards that most people deal with, so this didn't not end up being such a fun game. Me (not being able to voice my opinions in the way I would like, having only half my vocal register available to me), plus Casey voicing his opinions about my eventual choices, did not turn out well. No, I'm sorry - I don't think I'd be ok sleeping with some stranger just to secure myself a lead role in a block buster film or on Broadway. And no, I don't I think I would chop off part of my pinky finger for the opportunity either. I don't know who these guys think I am. Honestly, it's hard to for me to speak above much of a whisper right now so I couldn't have been as adamant as I would have normally been. Somehow I didn't punch Casey in the face (which I'm sure he realized at some point I wanted to do, realizing one of my life-long dreams of honestly punching someone in the face for good reason) but also ended up with a gash under my lower lip. Did I accidentally punch myself in the face instead? That would be a sad story. If I could remember how this gash had happened, perhaps I'd be satisfied right now with the outcome. As of right now, I just have a mysterious cut below my lower lip. Maybe I should have been a little more careful with my alcohol intake while on madicine...

Once Stephanie and DeWonye arrived, we got into laying a light-hearted game of Catch Phrase (was it Catch Phrase?) which I think the "hotel people" lost by one point. We played a good game though. Mikey Sue was there for about a half an hour, and extended an open ended invite for me and Ben to hang out at his place at some at some point. We might just take him up on that. As long as I don't get any more gashes in my face, I think I'll be ok. I think Michael would be ok too, and maybe Casey as long as he doesn't piss me off. What can I say, I'm inebriated and he ruffled my feathers.

Aside from whatever happened in the past few days, everything is fine. I know they boys are just having fun, and I'll definitely be right as rain by this weekend. My sister is coming in on Friday, as well as my mom and her boyfriend. One thing I'm thinking about right now - I remember seeing Sarah (my sis) as Lady Macbeth in college and being completely impressed and proud. As a matter of fact, I haven't not been proud of anything she's ever done. She is honestly one of the very best performers I have ever seen live before, in my entire life. My only goal is for her to be as proud of me as I have been of her. She's incredible, I hope you all can experience her talent someday.

I imagine tomorrow will be smoother than today. I foresee another bubble bath and a lot more medication, and I'm sure after that I'll be as close to 100% as possible by Thursday. It rained a little today, but at least it was a warm rain. Hopefully this weekend will be nice without much weather problems. The family is coming in , it would be nice for them to experience the more temperate side of B'ham. And I guess that's that... time for bed now, or at least I'll try. I'll write tomorrow if I have anything more to say.....

Good night, and good luck.

Maybe I Should Have Gotten A Flu Shot After All...

2009-10-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday with a tight feeling in the right side of my throat. It only worried me a little - about a week and a half into this trip I felt something weird with my throat but let it work itself out. Luckily it did. I think the majority of the cast participated in the AIDS Walk, which took about two hours. I opted out of it, primarily because I had to do my hair (really! it takes an hour!), but I'm glad I did because it was pouring rain and I'm sure that wouldn't help my voice. Once everyone from the walk arrived we packed all 15 cast members onto a 4x9 section of stage that was protected from the rain and sang Seasons Of Love. Our audience showed probably as much enthusiasm as they could muster while soaking wet in cold weather.

Casey's mom, who drove Casey Michael and myself to the park, also drove us back to the theatre where we had about an hour and a half until show time. Most people used this time to warm up and get into dry clothes, and I used the time to try to convince myself I'd do great. It didn't help that after the first number, someone in the girls' dressing room said "I think I saw Daphne Rubin Vega in the audience". Whoever this was wasn't the only one to notice either. I personally refused to even look at that side of the stage until my song Out Tonight was over. I don't want a surprise visit from the original Mimi on a night where I'm afraid my voice will go out at any second! As a matter of face though, I think I performed that song the best I have yet since opening, at least vocally, probably because I was being so careful not to push anything. Daphne or not, I felt good by the end of the number. When I got a chance to look over there later, I was certain that it was in fact not Daphne at all. Just an old lady with vaguely Daphne-esque features. She and the two other older women she was with did not return for the second act. That's the first I've noticed anyone had left before we were through. Well, good riddance.

To celebrate the completion of out first weekend of shows, we hotel people took ourselves to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Our waiter was fantastic, so friendly and helpful. I suggested we let the manager know how good he was before we left, but the boys shot down that idea. I don't think they wanted to wait around much, we were expected at Dylan's place. He lives in a great place very close to Five Points, a populous and collage-y area. Us and a few other members of the cast and Dylan's friends relaxed with some wine and passed the guitar around. It's difficult not to have at least a little of singing with so many musical theatre people in one room. We only got in trouble with D's neighbors twice, the we were actually pretty mellow.

I had a tough time falling asleep last night because of the dry burning on the right side of my throat and the coughing that came along with it, but managed to catch at least a few hours. When I woke up I was sure that whatever this is wasn't going to pass quickly if I just decided to ride it out. The pain was now in my entire throat, I had a bad headache, mild body aches, and my lungs felt slightly constricted. I waited about an hour to see if any of this lessened as my body woke up, but any dissipation was so minimal that I took myself over to the clinic that's conveniently just down the street from the hotel. When Casey had to go during the first week I'm pretty sure he waited 3 hours before he was seen so I was prepared to wait. It only took me an hour and a half in the waiting room, and another 40 minutes in my own room to get seen my an actual doctor. He said it probably wasn't anything more than a virus, but when I told him I'm a professional actor and I needed to be better asap he prescribed me 3 medicines and I got a steroid shot. In me bum. I haven't gotten a shot in the ass since my family went to Mexico when I was in second grade. Ouch. Those hurt.

For some reason I don't have my health insurance card with me, which worries me because I don't know where else it would be besides my wallet. I took my g-status hobble and my prescriptions over to the super Walmart. I was told it would take a half an hour to get the meds so I got a few things over on the market side of the store. I returned exactly 30 minutes later, only to have to wait another hour and ten minutes. I'm pretty sure they forgot about me. I was lucky (or unlucky?) enough to have a man with two little girls wait for a prescription at the same time. The girls, 3 and 5 years old, kept me company by asking which dog food container I thought was prettiest and asking me what happened to all the other people waiting. Adorable. I just hope I didn't get them sick.

After five hours or trying to get a goal accomplished, I arrived back at the hotel with a z-pack, prescription strength cough syrup, more steroid pills, and a bunch of soup. It's already easier for me to breathe, and the z-pack has never done me wrong so I'm sure I'll be at least 50% better by tomorrow. And only $200 for all this fun! Next step, find out what happened to my insurance card...

We Have Arrived

2009-10-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been a couple days. As I'm sure you can imagine, we'd been pretty busy preparing for opening night. So since Monday... Evan arrived in time to see the second half of our rehearsal on Tuesday night. Before we started we had a mini question and answer session with a select group of people who were there to get a kind of behind the scenes look at what the theatre does. I believe these were potential supporters of the theatre, or volunteers, or something along those lines. Aside from those from that group that chose to stay and watch the "performance", we had a pseudo audience - we were told we could invite a friend or two, and some kids from the RMTC children's program were there. We only had to stop once for a quick fix, and besides that it ran smoothly.

Wednesday Evan and I went to check out the Civil rights institute. It's located directly across the street from one of the churches that was bombed in the 60's. It was pretty incredible learning about what struggles black people went through for equality. I think it was equally inspiring and depressing. I'm so glad I live now instead of then. We are a pretty lucky generation.

That night was Media Night, the preview night I spoke of before. It was a pretty big house and the show went great. That made it feel like opening night, so on Thursday, our actual opening, some of the pre-show nerves were gone. Aside from me forgetting a part of my costume at one point, I had a pretty good show. Even with the abundance of older people in the audience, not a single person walked out or left at intermission (at least as far as I could tell). We've all had our fears about how this show would be received, but so far it's been great. We even have a review of our opening night that gave us 5 out of 5 stars. Read It Here!

Thursday afternoon before our show, we - as in me plus the 3 other boys at the hotel (and Evan) - took Ron out to lunch and Jim N' Nick's. It's a fantastic barbecue place. It was so nice to do something for him and just hang out outside the theatre. He is such an incredible man, and we all agree he's one of the most fantastic directors we've worked with. He's putting up another production in Rancho Cucamonga next year that we would love to do, and he told us he had been meaning to talk to us about that - he definitely wants the producer to see us. I don't know if this particular theatre would fly people out to be in the show, but we have so many gems in this particular cast, I think it would be worth their while.

The cast party was held at Rogue Tavern, a few short blocks away from the theatre. It had a pretty nice atmosphere and reasonably priced food and drinks, so everyone enjoyed themselves. We also presented a gift from the cast to Ron. It was Kas's idea and it was perfect - a big RENT book, all about the show and the lives surrounding it, signed throughout by the entire cast. I still have to find a way to upload pictures, there are some really great ones from that night.

I never know how to end these. I wish I was as good at coming around full circle as Lauren is in her blog. Check it out, it's http://www.laurenab.wordpress.com/
Oh, and duh - Evan reviewed the show too http://www.swanfungus.com/2009/10/birmingham-alabama-day-3.html

T minus 3 days

2009-09-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, to sleep in. I slept until 11 today. Well, I made myself stay in bed until 11 today. The past two days we've had 10 out of 12's, which means we rehearsed 10 hours out of a 12 hour stretch. Saturday was all cue to cue (lighting cue to lighting cue) so it was a lot of hurry up and wait. It always is with cue to cue. All the actors are required to do is be in the places they're supposed to be while those in charge decide what the lighting should be. It's definitely necessary so I'm not at all complaining. The lights look fantastic. It just made the day seem really long.

Yesterday we had our first full dress rehearsal. That's always a magical day; it's incredible how much lights and costumes and make up can do to help transform the show into something real. Believe me, it's so much easier to get into character wearing the Mimi costumes. I had a few chances when I wasn't on stage to see how everything else looked and it was fantastic. Especially watching the second part of La Vie Boheme - that number is so fun and has so much life. All in all the run through went relatively smoothly. A couple of things weren't pre set and a few things were forgotten, we stopped once in a while to fix the lighting, but we got through it and I'm pretty sure we all felt good about it.

Today we're back to a 5:00 rehearsal, although it could potentially to until midnight. That wouldn't be a huge problem except for the fact that we're called to the theatre at 5:45 tomorrow morning to do some spots for FOX News. We usually leave the hotel about 20 mins to a half an hour before we have to be there, and my hair takes, oh, maybe 50 minutes to do. Kim, the production manager, said we're going to do our best to get out before 12. In any case, it's going to be fun for do Rent (the song) at 6:15 am, especially for Dylan and Casey. Luckily, after we're done at around 9, we won't have to be back again until 5, so there's some serious nap time.

Wednesday night we'll have our first audience, although it will be considered a "preview". It's supposed to be our final dress rehearsal, but the people and businesses that have helped to support the show or theatre or promote RENT are invited. Something like that. Our official opening night will be Thursday, with a party to follow. I'm so excited - it seems like I've been here for so long, but at the same time I feel like we've gotten everything together in a short amount of time. I'm really proud of what we've got, it's going to be quite an experience for the people of Birmingham.

what should i title this one...?

2009-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Oof. Casey just put me and Ben through his ab work out routine. I'm happy to say that I completed all but one of the exercises. That's some pretty intense stuff. Standing doesn't feel right... I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow but it'll be worth it.

Yesterday we had a full and nearly non-stop run through of the show. Unfortunately two of the principals are on vocal rest so the energy wasn't at the level it should have been. We definitely all tried to give it the life it deserves, but it was admittedly more difficult when we had to think of the lines that were silent in order to time everything else out right. Hopefully within the next few days everyone will be back up to full steam.

I think this Sunday we're going to get the full band. I know all of us can't wait - it'll add so much of the needed energy into the show. Don't get me wrong, Kevin Finn is a fantastic pianist and musical director. It's just so exciting when we're getting new components of the show together. I worked with a few costume pieces last night... that was interesting. I have full confidence that my first act costumes will me fantastic. Second act... well, I remember Courtney (the choreographer) saying I'm taller than a lot of the Mimi's (or maybe she thought I'm 5'9" too), but that pink dress is pretty darn short. I guess we'll make it work, somehow.

Notes didn't go so well. It seems like although we've made a lot of great choices and done some really good work, some of us are taking a few steps backwards. Ron assured us that we have a great product, but there's also a lot of things we need to focus on. Keith (Cromwell, exec. director of the theatre co.) said it in an interesting way. He said we were all acting like it was the Church of Rent, like we had to tip toe through it and not shake things up. I know there's a few of us that have fallen into doing what we've been so used to over the years, listening to the OBC recording, or trying to replicate what we've seen from the last performance filmed live on B'way. I'm an offender too. But I realize when I am and I'm up to the challenge of making it work in the space we're in, and also personalizing it and making it my own. It's a great learning experience, and I think by the end of this I will have grown a lot as an actor.

After rehearsal last night a group of us went to The J.Clyde. It's a really good restaurant near Five Points with an abundance of college kids and a huge beer list. Some people had the chicken wings and they were very well received. I got their house made hummus and it was fantastic. Pictures were taken, conversations were shared, good times were had by all. Michael Wright (my roommate) even stayed out the whole time!! It was much appreciated, since his favorite pastimes is talking to his fiance for hours and hours. She's actually going to be on tour soon and he's going to drive to South Carolina or something like that to pick her up so she can see the show, and then he's going to drive her to the next city of her tour. We all can't wait to meet her.

After we got back I did have a bit of a tumultuous night. I love travelling and what I'm doing and I don't ever want to stop, but that may be causing big problems. I think that's all I want to say about that.

No rehearsal till 5 today, but thankfully there's been other things to do than just sit around watching Wife Swap. Actually, we watched Wife Swap while doing abs this morning. It was a mildly helpful distraction. Anyway... I've got birthday cookies to eat and groceries to buy. Have a wonderful day. I'll write again when I can.

It's m'Birthday!!

2009-09-24T07:52:00.001-07:00

I've been anticipating this for weeks now - no not my birthday... getting the costumes for the show!! I've felt like I've been 24 for at least, oh, 8 months now I suppose. Actually being 24 doesn't feel any different than yesterday. What do you bet I start telling everyone I'm 23 now, like I should have been for the past however many months.

Ok! So, costumes!! They're so great - mine are just like the Broadway show. I got to see Ben in some of his Angel costumes too, they're fantastic. We're lucky though, there are some people who's costumes don't work at all. Amy, the costumer, was really frustrated yesterday. They had us send in size charts so they could order the correct stuff, but for some of the pieces it seems like the size chart wasn't considered at all. Like Casey, I think there's only one or two shirts that work for him. Everything else is too big or small or short... etc. I'm sure it'll come together though. I mean, it better - we open in a week!

Rehearsals themselves are going really well I think. We've got the whole show in place, now we're making sure the whole thing flows nicely. It seems like Ron is paying special attention to the transitions right now. Like he said, there's nothing that takes you out of a show like a bad transition. They can be so distracting if not done properly.

Word on the street is we're all going out somewhere tonight but I have no idea where yet. All I really want is to have a fun time with people who want to have a fun time with me. If it's just cupcakes and a few bottles of wine I'm good with that. But I'll let you know what's decided.

Alright, off to the gym once again. Do you have any idea what I'm wearing in the show?? Yes, off to the gym...

525,600

2009-09-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

We looked it up yesterday. 1 in 15 people have HIV. Now we know it is true.

Rehearsal last night was like none I've ever experienced before. We finished blocking act II and then Ron had us all sit down and just talk about ourselves. It was truly incredible to hear everyone's stories. And these are just small parts of their lives. To hear about child abuse, dramatic weight loss, coming out to parents and friends, journeys to and through the acting world, blessed lives, tormented lives... and all of this to have brought each one of in this cast to this point in our lives... I'm not even sure what to say. I'm sure all of us definitely have a better understanding of each other now, and a greater love of this show because we all now have personal connections to it.

I'm not sure many of us really knew that we had these connections either. As we told our stories, Ron would interject with comments or questions that would help reveal how parallel our lives were to the show. Who knew our Dylan had so many similarities to Mark, the character he's playing, or that Ben basically got cast right when he walked into the room because of the joy he radiated, just like Angel. What are the odds that someone in our cast just came out to his mother a few weeks ago, or that one of the cast members was recently diagnosed with HIV. Everyone here has something to offer.

It's becoming more and more clear that the joy we find in living is the only thing that matters. Ron, on the first day, said that his vision of the show is that of unconditional love. There are so many people who only know of RENT because of Team America... aids aids aids blah blah blah. Sure it has aids and drugs and homosexuality, but I think Ron has the right idea. When it comes down to it, it really is just about unconditional love. Some of us are kind of weary about how this Birmingham audience will take it, but if we can let that love shine through I think they'll be able to appreciate it.

Tonight we began to clean up act I. I should say today actually, we got there at 10 this morning. It was a long day but a good one. We've begun to work out the kinks and fix transitions, the small but important things. I've got one pair of boots so far for the show so I got to work in them today. We've seen that a good amount of the costumes are in already but haven't been able to try anything on yet. I'm pretty sure it's because the costumer, Amy, is out of town until Wednesday. Hopefully when we do get to test everything out it'll fit. I'm still waiting on those blue pants...

After rehearsal nearly every person in the cast went out to dinner. I was afraid at some point it would turn into La Vie Boheme and we would all embarrass ourselves, but luckily the references to the show were kept to a minimum and we just enjoyed each others company. We went to the Mellow Mushroom, btw, and it was pretty good. From what I hear the pizza was good. I had a soup so I wouldn't know, but I trust it was.

Tomorrow we've got another 8 hour rehearsal day, 11-7. We'll be running the second act much like we did today, and then trying to run the whole show. Things are coming along nicely, I'm sure it helped that almost everyone knew the whole show by the time we walked in on the first day.

I never know what to write anymore. Busy days make a tired Nicci, and Nicci doesn't write much anyway, so tired Nicci feels even sillier writing. And - now I know it's time to stop when I start referring to myself in third person. Goodnight.

"It's magical, what's happening"

2009-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is my third attempt at writing this entry...

Now we're getting into the emotionally driven part of the play. I don't know how he does it, what he says that makes something click inside, but Ron has a way of bringing out exactly what is needed of people. And not by talking about character, but by talking about us, the lives of the people playing these roles. Though the past two days have been emotional roller coasters, they've also provided us as actors (I'm pretty sure I'm not just speaking for myself) opportunities to dig deeper in order to make these people that we're playing real. After today, I am convinced that probably everyone in the show will have their moment of emotional breakdown. I think it may be necessary for the show we're doing and the message it relays.

We've just about gotten through act II now, I think we'll be finishing it up today. Definitely by tomorrow night. The first call time is 4:00 today, and most everyone comes in at 5. I guess it'll be nice to have some more time to relax (I think I'm going to need a nap later), not like there's much else to do. Although, Ron did tell us he's found a Bank of America. I'm half skeptical and half excited - it'll be nice to be able to deposit a check right away instead of cashing it or mailing it home to be deposited. We'll see if this fabled BofA in AL actually exists.

Fun fact I forgot to mention: I can't remember what we were talking about, but the first day we got here Michael (roomie) said something to the effect of "You're, what, 5'9"?". I asked Casey and Ben how tall they thought I was and they said 5'8" or 5'9". Being 5'5", if that, I find it funny... and awesome.

What else to write... I was positive I'd have so much to say. I think it was kind of an overload so I summed up what I really wanted to say in the first paragraph. OH! We had a performance of sorts. It was actually at the theatre we'll be performing at and it was for some sort of party for the members of the threatre company I think. Kind of a preview of the season of shoes this year. We went on first and performed "Rent" (the opening song, not the whole show) and it went pretty well. It was nice to have an audience, though I'm not sure what they made of it. The more the cast thought about it, the more we realized it wouldn't give a totally correct picture of the show by singing something like Seasons of Love. All the old church going people who don't know the show would come thinking it was a sweet beautiful show, and leave during intermission because of the homosexuality and drugs. Though "Rent" doesn't have these things in it either, at least it has more the style of music we'll be singing. Not very nice and sweet.

Ok, off to the gym now. We'll be filming part of the video portion tomorrow, I think that should be fun. This one is just going to be as ourselves, not as characters.

btw, the title is something Ron said last night. it really is magical :)

BAO Bingo

2009-09-15T07:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had our first day off of rehearsal. The boys and I went on a quest to find a Bank Of America. Now, someone in the cast says there's BofA's everywhere, and when we looked it up online I think it says there's at least two. Our first clue should have been that there were no actual addresses, just approximate locations. The first one we tried to visit was in what looked like an abandoned mall. The pin drop on google directed us to a stand-alone elevator at the back of the parking lot that went up about 2 stories to some grass and dirt road above. Uhh... weird. Obviously not what we were looking for. Our second search took us into a more industrial area. I think we should have just given up when we saw fire spouting out of a tall tower. Google took us to a road that dead ended into nothing. Thanks google, big help.

We dropped Michael off so he could do some laundry and go to the gym, then the three of us decided to a) find the bank that distributed the checks so we could just cash them, and b) go to Sonic so I could experience it for the first time. You'd think it would be easy enough to find a bank that a check comes from IN the actual city you got it in, right? Well our first try was another strike. The directions took us to Virginia College, a nursing school, and said the bank was inside one of the buildings. Highly doubtful. We decided to go to Sonic, something we knew was absolutely there, before giving this bank thing another go. I got the Supersonic Cheeseburger - which... oh my god I just found out it has 898 calories. Whoa. Well... anyway, I got that and an apple limeade which was fantastic.

Side note: sweet tea. Have you had it? I don't know now it's still called tea. It's sugar water. I can't say I don't like it... it fascinates me.

After Sonic we went on our quest to find this elusive Bryant bank. At this point I don't think any of us were certain we'd ever find it. On our way to maybe or maybe not Bryant we saw the entrance to Vulcan Park and decided to go there on our way back from wherever it was we were going. I think the drive was about 15 minutes, it took us to a cute area with nice looking apartments and even a mexican restaurant, then - lo and behold - we found Bryant Bank. It was certainly a relief. Ben and I cashed our checks and we were on our way.

We found Vulcan to be, like many places we've seen in B'ham so far, void of people, save for the ones that work there. This Vulcan thing is a cast iron statue atop a tall pedestal of sorts. It was $6 to get access to the museum and the viewing tower that encircled Vulcan, but since there was thunder and lightening not long before, they weren't allowing people up in the tower.

And now for the title of this entry, BAO bingo. BAO stands for Birmingham AIDS Outreach. It was our first of a few performances we'll be doing for the organization. This was another tricky place to find but thankfully, like Bryant, it was actually there. The bingo night was held in the basement of the BAO building. We were to sing during intermission after an act called Obscenity. Obscenity, it turns out, is a drag queen who lip syncs to ABBA and collects dollars from bingo patrons who wanted to donate to her... cause. I'm not sure if the proceeds were going to her own personal charity or to BAO. We may never know. When out time came to sing we (I believe there were 8 of us) went to the front and huddled around two mics. They started playing our CD track, and just as the intro finished and we began to sing, the track went out. We continued to sing a cappella and made it through, staying on pitch and in rhythm. The 4 out of towners decided to end our strange day with HBO and a couple bottles of wine.

And that is what one does with a day off in Birmingham.

The Process

2009-09-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Alright, you can consider this much later in the day than the last post, or early early in the morning the next day.

As I mentioned earlier, we had rehearsal from 10-6 today. We started off by finishing the choreography for La Vie Boheme. It is such a fun number, but man oh man are there a lot of things to day! I think everyo ther 2 counts of 8 I'm on the table, then off the table. And I'm probably on my knees more than anyone else in the show (lets not get dirty now, people). It makes so much sense that knee pads were a part of the original costume for Mimi. I don't even want to look at my lower legs right now... it's not pretty.

We also finished Christmas Bells, another crazy number with people doing so many things throughout the whole thing. There's a lot to clean up, and we all have to find the places to just have fun and make it our own, but all in all everything is looking great and sounding even better. I think I mentioned it on twitter but not here - at some times during the process, I find myself taking a look at what's going on all around me and I can't help but smile. I think the first day I almost got a little emotional. This is one of the roles I've always promised myself I would play, and now I'm doing it with a cast and creative team that I love and respect. I want to travel and perform for the rest of my life. It doesn't matter if it even pays great or not. As long as I can survive and I'm happy, I could do this forever.

On another note.... the clouds here are unlike anything I've ever seen. I almost feel like a crazy person when I say this, but they're AMAZING. More 3D than I've ever seen clouds be. The sunsets in LA have been amazing lately because of the fires and the smoke, but we almost get that same hue here in AL, I can't explain it. I don't know why, but it's hazy and golden and wonderful. It's been a little rainy on and off, but more off.

We've decided how my hair is going to be - it's really exciting. I've never seen my hair like this before. There was a though of getting a wig for me, but I was pretty determined to get my hair to behave so the first thing I did when I woke up yesterday was started teasing my hair. I teased it and then curled it, and it was like nothing I've ever seen before. I'll get some pictures, you'll be shocked I'm sure.

We have another long day tomorrow - 2:00 till 10:00. We normally have Mondays totally off but we'll be performing for some AIDS outreach thing at night. At least we'll have all day to relax, and I can let my knees rest! Lord knows they need it....

No Time!

2009-09-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a busy busy girl as of late. Or at least the past 2 days. Today we have rehearsal from 10-6, full cast, and tomorrow is another 8 hour day. Things are going well, I think we have almost the whole first act done.

I'll update this later on tonight when I have more time to myself.

I woke myself up early against my own will just for free breakfast.

2009-09-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't end up being able to blog last night because rehearsal went till 10, and me and the boys (plus Mikey Sue eventually) came back to the hotel to decompress a little over some wine.

We did a lot of talking about the cast and the rehearsal space. The space - first of all, it's really cold! That will be to our advantage when we're dancing though. At least for those of us who will dance. It is a very intimate environment when you think about the show we're putting on. It's a relatively low stage without wings that comes out into the audience area. All the seating is set up as tables with chairs around them. I have a feeling, and I'm also hoping, that we'll actually be going out into the audience during the show. It's the Perfect setting for that.

The first rehearsal went well. Kevin really wants us to make the show our own, as opposed to emulating what any other cast has done. I think everyone involved is not only pushing for a great showpiece, but also for the themes to come through. Poor Casey's lymph nodes are acting up so his voice isn't at full strength right now, but even so I think our voices are going to sound great together. We took him to the doctor right after rehearsal and picked him up right before we had to be back. He waited 3 hours to be seen. I guess walk in clinics are the same everywhere!

The first full rehearsal with everyone went well too! We've got a pretty strong cast. There are definitely a few characters mixed in, but it's going to be a fun ride I'm sure. On our first break, it seemed like everyone knew eachother already. Oh, the wonders of facebook! Apparently they're going to try and replicate the original costumes totally, which means I'll get those famous bright blue pants and whatever the hell mimi wears around her torso. It's always looked like a lanyard to me, anyone else? Ben, who's playing Angel, says I have to teach him to walk in heels. And if they really are going to get shoes like the original ones, I think he's going to need a lot of practice. I don't even think I could walk in those things!

Think I'll go for a swim now. There's a guy working on the treadmill, and that space is small enough anyway, I guess I'll just let him do his thing. Rehearsal at 2, then at 6, and perhaps some bonding with everyone afterword.

Good Morning!

2009-09-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

I woke up around 7 this morning. I tried to fall back asleep but it just wasn't happening so I managed to get myself up at 8, the CA equivalent of 6:00 am, and take advantage of the free breakfast. I was pleased to find out it was more than just danishes and coffee - they actually have sausage and eggs and yogurt, and you can even make your own waffles! Mmm, waffles.

After breakfast I went to the "gym", or fitness center, or whatever they call it here. It consists of 2 treadmills, a stationary bike, a stair machine thing, and some free weights. Good enough for me. I did a half an hour of jogging and a little bit of free weights, and all before what would normally be before 7 am for me! I think I'm off to a good start.

I think that will do for now. As I said yesterday, I've got rehersal at 1, and then again at 6. I'll write back later and let you know how it goes!

Arrival

2009-09-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

I did it. I arrived save and sound in Birmingham, Alabama. It's been a long day, I'll try to make as much sense as I can.

I got of the first plane in Phoenix and was on the next within a half an hour. A woman named Susan, a volunteer for Red Mountain Theatre Company, picked up myself, as well as the music director, Kevin. We took the short drive to the hotel and checked in... or tried to. At first the woman at the desk couldn't find me in the system so I called around trying to get someone to help me, but she soon realized that I had already been checked in when my "suite-mate" (i think i'll just call him a roommate from now on, easier that way) arrived.

When I got to the room I was greeted by Michael, my roommate. I could tell right away that we would get along. By the way, this hotel is pretty darn nice. we each have our own rooms and bathrooms. It even has a decent mini kitchen! Michael and I chated a bit, and then he decided to take a nap so I went over to the room of the other two boys from out of town, Casey and Ben. We decided there wasn't enough to do at the hotel so we drove around to find the theater and see what downtown is all about. And what is it all about? Umm.... I'll get back to you. Maybe it's just because it's labor day and everyone is spending time...uh... not outdoors? Like, at all. The streets were nearly empty. We did pass one man, and short man with a ponytail, who gave us a friendly "how ya doin". Casey, who's from Nashville, said that was to be expected from nearly everyone you pass on the sidewalk, and apparently it's kind of rude not to say hi back. This souther hospitalithy thing...I'll have to see if I can step out of LA mode and actually look people in the eye on the street. It's going to take some work, but I'll try.

We made a couple quick stops at the Super Wallmart for minimal groceries and Chik-Fil-A (is that how you spell it? My first experience there) for dinner. When I got back to my room I enjoyed my surprisingly delicious chicken sandwich and talked with Michael some more. Apparently RMTC left gift bags for all of us out-of-towners, containing the following:

-the local city paper (remind me of the LA weekly)
-pamphlets about wineries, attractions, events, etc.
-m&m's, other snacky things
-mini first aid kit and hand sanitizer
-RMTC printed hand towel
-RMTC printed chocolate
-RMTC printed playing cards
-RMTC printed notepad and pencil

A pretty sweet deal I think. So far things are going well. Flown out here and staying in a hotel on the theater's dime, I can more than stand at least a few cast mates so far, and even a goodie bag.

Tomorrow will be out first rehearsal day. I will actually be the first to rehearse, at 1:00. The whole cast doesn't even meet until I believe 6:00 when we have our meet and greet. These are going to be long days, but fun days I'm sure. I'll try to figure out a way to put some pictures up on this computer (the hotel's computer). Until tomorrow....

xoxoxo

Packing

2009-09-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been packing all day. You'd think packing would be easier... you make a list of what you need, make sure you have that stuff and that it's clean, and you put it in your suitcase. And yet somehow, it always takes waaayyyyyy too long to get finished. Especially when you're packing for a month and a half, like I am. I've never taken a trip this long. I think the longest I've ever had to pack for was 2 weeks or so, and even that was terribly difficult. This is THREE TIMES as long!

At least I'm almost finished now. Or so says my list, I'm sure I'll find more things to put in my bags. I waited until just a few days ago to put my room up on craigslist to sublet. I was hoping a friend of mine would take the room and didn't come up with a back up plan until after he found out he'd not be able to take it. But I got one, he seems like a cool guy, and hopefully the guys I live with won't be too upset that I didn't find a girl. I did what I could! I think he'll fit in here. He and myself even share the same birthday! That's a good sign, right? Another Libra in the house will keep it balanced.

These past 3 or so weeks have gone by really fast. I remember thinking they couldn't go fast enough, and now I'm going to be leaving the smokey skies of Los Angeles behind tomorrow to discover what Birmingham, Alabama is all about. So far, nearly all of the cast are friends on facebook, which is nice because it's daunting enough to meet a cast for the first time anyway, let alone being in a completely new place and not being able to go home to people you know. I even some videos of a couple people on youtube - from what it seems there are going to be a lot of talented people in this show. I can't wait to really get it going!

What else.... I've kept a journal most of my life, but i've never blogged. Not really. I mean, I had a xanga account in high school but that hardly counts. Here, read it. Ok, i guess I kept it up a little after high school, but look at the stuff i was writing. who cares about that?? Come to think of it, who cares about this? Except Evan. I'm sure he'll be checking this every day to see what I'm up to and, like he said, make sure I'm staying at the hotel and writing instead of having fun. We'll see, Evan, we'll see.

Introduction

2009-09-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to choose "slaw blog" as the title for this blog, but somebody else already had it! "Slaw Dog's Slaw Blawg" or something like that. Could you imagine a blog entirely written about slaw? "Say, chef, you've got the best slaw in town! Better than the old slaw dog straw stand! I tell ya, I've tasted every slaw from here to Straw [Montana], and this is the best around!" Think about it long and hard. You know you'd be the first to tell your friends about the slaw blog. Way better than a law blog or anything like that, a slaw blog would bring in both fans of humor and fans of food-related websites. It's by no means a niche market; slaw blog has a built-in audience of millions just waiting to be exploited!

Hi kids, I'm Evan. You might remember me from such blogs as Swan Fungus and Return Of Swan Fungus (The AIDS Years). I own a successful blog over on Wordpress Way. Nicci here just signed up for an account on Blogger Blvd. so she can blog all about her upcoming trip to Alabama. She'll be spending the next six weeks in that hotbed of modern culture, Birmingham, Alabama. She's going to be starring in a fancy play about sex, drugs, and sexually transmitted diseases. Surely crowds in Alabama will swarm to the theater to learn more about homosexuality and early '90s bohemian New York City. They love that kind of shit in Alabama. Can't get enough of it!

I'm really proud of Nicci for starting her own blog, even if it's not about slaw. I'm going to be checking in every day to see what she has to say, and encouraging her to stay inside at night and focus on her writing instead of going out and partying and having fun. She's got great blogger potential, and I want to see her realize that potential. In Alabama.

As you can probably tell by my tone, I'm not too excited about her leaving me for six weeks. Somehow I think it would be easier for me to cope if she was driving around the country reviewing slaw than being made up to be the gorgeous lead girl in a fantastic theatrical production. You know how it is. Jealous boyfriend stuff. Oh well, at least it's Alabama and not New York.

Have fun Nicci! Blog early and blog often! You're going to be really good at this.

Love,
Evan