Showing posts with label Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 17

Packing for Nashville

I leave for Nashville in the morning. EARLY morning. Ugh. But I needed it to be an early flight so I can actually work tomorrow. I hope all the flights are present and accounted for - I have been reading about pals who are stranded here and there due to weather.

Packing is not that fun, you know?? I used to love it as it meant I was going somewhere cool. Now that I am always going.... well it gets old. Coordinating outfits to conserve space? Check. All my electronic gadgets? Check. Photos of family and dog? Check. Toiletries? Check. Vitamins and medicines for every possible situation? Check. Books? Check. (Soon I will be able to change this to Kindle but not just yet... C'mon tax check!) Then the rest of the evening thinking - What did I forget? Oh my jewelry box... better grab it now. Oh my emergency cash, better put that in my wallet. This goes on for hours.

I'll be in Nashers for 6 days. I have to help get everything ready for the NCL Gem cast changeover. The cast starts arriving on Sunday, so I have only a few days to make the contact sheets, send out the "what to do on arrival" emails and get myself oriented before I begin my airport pick-ups.

I'm excited to see some old pals who will be leaving on the Celebrity Summit just after I arrive. I love seeing dancers and singers I have worked with before. It's cool to catch up and see how they have changed. I think they feel the same way.

I'm staying with my good friend and boss, Mindy, for the first few days of my trip. It will be nice to not just sit alone in a hotel room in the evenings. I do enough of that while I am there!

I will also be prepping for Shotgun at Orlando Shakes while I am there. I actually started yesterday so I don't get overloaded with my insane schedule. I feel bad for my poor ASM who will be on her own at the first production meeting. I am trying to conference call in but I don't know that it will happen. The meeting got moved up to while I am flying home instead of after I get home. *sigh* Such is life.

Ok, time to finish packing... now... where did I put that luggage scale I got for Christmas? :D

Thursday, February 11

Next stop: Nashville

I leave for Nashville in a week. This time I am heading in for the start of the NCL Gem rehearsals instead of the end. I will be picking up the cast members from the airport and getting them installed in their hotel. I'm looking forward to seeing some old faces and meeting the newbies.

I'll only be there for a week and then I have to rush back to Orlando for Shotgun rehearsals. As soon as I open and hand off Shotgun to the resident PSM at Orlando Shakes, I will drive to Ft. Lauderdale to join the Gem in progress. I don't get to shepherd my cast to the ship like I normally do, but I will be there 2 days later. That will be a little crazy, but such is my life. Seems I am always running to one gig or another.

I am not looking forward to the cold and snow in Nashville! After all, I live in Orlando for a reason. But it will be fun to see everyone and I am thankful to have a job at all considering the recent lay-offs at my dear GMP. Now that we have less ships, I will be lucky to keep the Gem, let alone get the other NCL ships back. I just got spoiled having so many ships last year. It was a wake up call to go from 4 ships in fall season to 1 ship in spring season.

So my calendar is filling up quickly. I have the Gem, then Shotgun, then the Gem redeux, a visit to Indiana to see my family and then the looong drive West to work at Utah Shakes all summer. Who knows what the fall will bring, hopefully more work!

Friday, January 15

I'm working at Orlando Shakes again

Hey check it out. I got a job with Orlando Shakes doing SHOTGUN. It looks like it will be a cool show. I'll post some pictures and updates after rehearsal starts.

Shotgun

		March 17 - April 11, 2010 By John Biguenet A National New Play Network World Premiere "If this was a normal world, we'd know what to do. I don't know if a set of rules exists for what we're living through..." Four months after Katrina, a white man and his teenage son rent half of a shotgun duplex apartment from an African-American woman and her father. Seething racial tensions bubble to the surface when love begins to bloom. [get tickets] Drama - Ages 14 & Up

Showtimes
In the Goldman Theater WED & THURS 7 p.m. FRI & SAT 8 p.m. SUN 2 p.m. SENIOR MATINEES: Wednesdays at 2 p.m. March 24 & 31 and April 7 POST-SHOW TALKBACK: Thursday, April 1

Monday, January 11

Utah Shakespearean Festival 2010 line up

Here is the play line up for this summer at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Hope you can make it. I know I am trying to be there! Are you working there this summer/fall? Let me know. I will be posting updates as they come in.

Shakespeare Rocks!

And so do Charles Dickens, Jane Austen,

and Alfred Hitchcock—all featured in the

2010 season of the Utah Shakespearean
Festival.

Summer Season 2010

June 28 – September 4

Fall Season 2010

September 16 - October 23

Sunday, February 19

It's over....for now....

*sigh*

Playfest is over for me. I closed up Studio B last night for the last time.

Now on to 3 weeks of vacation......

Good thing I have a pony to play with and endless sunny days!

Yeah.....theatre rocks.

Tuesday, February 14

Some stupid Valentine's post....

Hey!

So Jamie (not THAT Jamie, my Florida friend Jamie), is the Company Manager here at Orlando Shakes and she posted a list of Daily Observances on our office door. Every day has several and so here are some alternatives to plain old.....

If you are single and happy you can celebrate...

Ferris Wheel Day!!!!!

OR.....

if you are "Bitter, party of one"

You can celebrate...

Married, but wish you weren't????

Well...... Happy Call In Single Day!!

It's also "Quirky, Alone Day"

Not to mention......

Have a Heart Day.

Now our calendar says that Feb 14 is Race Relations Day

but this image from the Human Rights Commission says it's March 21. Well if it is - - we are just celebrating early!!!!!

Okay I hope this gave you something to do for five seconds and took your mind off of whatever it is that was annoying you.

Wednesday, February 8

Playfest!

So I have been rehearsing a workshop for Playfest at Orlando Shakes this last week or so. It's pretty cool and if you are in Orlando, you really need to come to see something. You can get into most of the shows by purchasing a Playfest button for $5. Seriously! $5 to see something like 15 plays.

There are a few shows that cost an extra $8. They are the workshops. The one I am doing is called "Breaking the Shakespeare Code" and it is really cool. It's sort of a look into the acting process - - you get to watch an actress (The divine Sarah Hankins) work with her acting coach (The fantastic Darren Bridget). There is more to it, but I would hate to spoil it for you.

Playwright John Minigan had this show read last year at Playfest and has graduated to "workshop." I think the script is very tight and quite witty. Kristin Clippard directs with flair and uses a "now try it like this" attitude to get the actors going in different directions. I couldn't be happier. We had our tech rehearsal today and got all the way through with hardly any problems. (HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR THAT FROM A STAGE MANAGER????????? - - hardly ever!!!)

Anyway, really - - come see these shows. Oh, oh, if you are not in Orlando you can watch the web cam plays. That's my Sarah in "Removing the Ring" and "Study Abroad." They are good. Some are funny, some aren't. Check it out, they are all pretty short.

What else? Oh, so in addition to being SM for "Codes" I am also the venue technician for our black box theatre (Studio B). This is sort of like a throw back to my college days where the budget demanded that the SM run the boards as well. I am the lightboard operator and the CD player operator for all the readings being done in Studio B. It's sort of cool because I learned how to use a light board that is a two scene preset with no computer in it at all. Crazy, wacky, scary but fun!

Right now I am waiting for my portion of the tech rehearsal for "The Stone Face" to start. I have another hour and a half. The bummer thing about having so many shows is that I have to wait a while between rehearsals. My "Codes" rehearsal got over at 5p and I was done with the report, etc. by 6p. BUT I have another rehearsal at 9:30p so I'm just waiting around. I did go to dinner, but I hate to drive all the way home in rush hour just to turn around and come back 2 hours later. Oh well.

Now I leave you with a TOTALLY funny video clip that reminds me that I am not the worst exerciser in the world!

Thursday, December 8

Every Xmas Story Ever Told

For some publicity shots and reviews of the show click here.

Well it all started in a little rehearsal hall with some crazy props and some dedicated ASM's

Here is Emily, she is my first ASM (in charge of Props and Set)

Here is my second ASM, Melissa, she is in charge of Costumes.

Here are two of our many signs....in the corner on the left you can see Sweden and in the center is our Xmas Xtreme banner.

Our thre fantastic actors and our brilliant director (Jim Helsinger) working through a tech rehearsal.

The actors doing some choreography for the finale entitled "Every Christmas Carol Ever Sung."

Here is our set - - ready for the top of the show.

Debbie was my ASM for the morning part of the rehearsal period......It's difficult to explain, but basically Mel and Em were running another show during the day so the first part of the rehearsal day I had Debbie and Lindsay and then when the kids show was over, Emily and Melissa came in and took over the rehearsal. Yeah - - it was a little crazy to say the least...but we made it and I could have never run the rehearsal without the four of them.

Here is our fearless Production Manager, PJ, don't let him fool you - - he's not working he's just pretending. Sometimes he comes into our office (Company/Stage Management) to get away from the hustle and bustle of the theatre (i.e. PJ - I need..... PJ I want....PJ I HAVE TO HAVE.....) We like it when he comes in because we get to chat.

Jamie is my office mate. She's the KICK ASS Company Manager who always makes me smile. She was my ASM on Trapezium last year with Nicole, and I loved them very much. But they moved on....Jamie is the CM and Nicole is a carpenter.

Here are Debbie and Lindsay working diligently. (Well it sure looks like that doesn't it????)

Heh heh this is a fun place to work. Don't you wish you worked here too??????

If you live in Central Florida, come see Every Christmas Story Ever Told before it closes on Dec. 24. You will regret it if you dooooooooon't!!!!!!!

Tuesday, November 15

Rehearsals for Every Christmas Story Ever Told

Wow this show has got a shit ton of props and costumes. It only has 3 actors who play a bunch of characters.....kind of reminds me of my fun fun show STONES from this summer! (I miss that show.)

Right now my rehearsal space is trashed...but that's the idea. By intermission about 3/4 of "every christmas story" has been told and they just keep droping all their props and costumes all over the stage.

I'll get some rehearsal (stage only) photos up as soon as I can.

More later!

Tuesday, September 27

sigh Computers....

AAAARGGGGH!

My computer is still not working.

Matty is trying to fix it, but its being difficult. He just said he wants to throw it out the window. Bummer. I guess that means it will be a while before I get a computer again. Grrrr. Matt is working a deal with his boss to trade overtime for a new laptop. That means I get this laptop, Cool. It’s old and clunky, but it works and right now that's all I care about. Can I tell you how boring it is out here in the 'burbs with no internet????

Yeah, I watch a lot of cooking shows.

Oooch, so Debbie came over tonight. She seems to be fitting in nicely with the OSF crowd. (Because it is impossible to dislike her!!!)

Hmmm...Well I got up to 16 minutes on the cross trainer today. I think I will try for 17 tomorrow. My ass is killing me though. Okay not really, but I feel weird not bitching!!

My new total of lost inches is 22!!! I KNOW can you believe it????? That is 4 dress sizes! Today I tried on some of my fat clothes and they were so big I had to get rid of them. It was silly to see myself in them. Oh yeah that feels good. Keep thinking good thoughts for me. I am finally losing weight the right way, but it is frustrating the hell out of me. I have only lost 28 lbs. in 4 months. But its a good weight loss not a crash diet weight loss......so I keep telling myself its okay and I will be fine and the scale is still going down no matter how slow..... blah blah blah

Well I'm off and babbling so it must be time to end this.

Wednesday, April 20

Work and stuff

Sometimes doing something productive actually turns into a larger, better thing. It happened to me this week.

I had to do my "exit" interview with my boss. This is a meeting to talk about how my performance went over the course of the season. This year he suggested I email him due to time constraints.

.....so I did.....

to the tune of about 3 pages. *whew* He didn't see that coming. He called the next day and asked me to come in so as to further discuss my email.

An hour and a half later I came out feeling better informed and more useful than ever. I think he felt the same way.

(sorry to spare you the details, but too many people from work read this to expound on the bits and pieces that were actually said.)

The point is, I thought emailing would be impersonal. How silly of me to miss the magnitude of a captured audience!!!! Oh at first I just stuck to generalities...but as I typed the thoughts flowed faster and the ideas worked themselves into neat ordered paragraphs. I had to go back to the beginning and redo it all to add some new material. Forget general, I gave examples and I didn't pull any punches.

Perhaps I should have just emailed him saying "I have to come in," but I think having him actually read all the things I wanted to say made him realize that we had many subjects to cover and that we had not communicated as much as we had in earlier seasons.

The long and short of it is that we both learned some things. I, for one, witnessed an event that I had always heard of but never witnessed firsthand......the pen (or typed character, in this modern world) truly IS mightier than the sword.

Thank you, EDWARD GEORGE EARLE LYTTON BULWER-LYTTON for use of your quote.

Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword.
- Richelieu (act II, sc. 2)

(Did you know this guy also said "Time is Money," and "It was a dark and stormy night..."???)

.....verra verra cool.......

psssstt...Happy 4-2-0