Techcersize

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.

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...

REPRESENT

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.

T minus 3 days

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.