HOLY CRAP! How did that happen???

Well, I have to offer some apologies. I have not blogged in a very VERY long time. I guess after "Oliver!" was over I thought to myself, "I should take some time to just get back into my normal routine and maybe take a short break from blogging." Little did I know that I would end up blogless for over a month!

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged, so I will now list all of the major events that I did not blog about:

•There was an extremely tragic event that happened very close to my hometown, in which several people were killed. It happened a few weeks ago, and a lot in my area is still very shaken up about it. One of the people who died happened to be a relative of a friend of mine. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my prayers and sympathies to all of the family members and friends of the victims.

•During a school break, I did a lot of traveling. First, I went to Baltimore/D.C. with the music department from my school, where we performed at a mall, saw a National Symphony Concert, went to the Smithsonian and did several other fun things. Next, I went to New Jersey with Rev. Guinevere to see my grandfather (***Something very big and exciting happened on this trip, but I am not sure how much I can release to the public at this point in time. I will most likely explain this in a few weeks***). Finally, I went on a mission trip with the youth group from my church. We went to a camp to do work for a few days (putting up tents, cleaning out cabins, etc.) and then we spent a day in NYC shopping and seeing a musical (Mary Poppins: Review to come later.) By the time I got back from this trip, I had to go back to school. So much for a break from being busy...

•In performing news, I participated in two big singing events. One of them was a local area competition in which I was competing against 23 other singers, and I sang three solos. While I did not win, I did get some great comments on my score sheet form the judge (both compliments and things to work on.) The second one was a state wide event, where I wasn't necessarily competing against others, but I sang one solo for a judge and received helpful feedback and a grade on my performance (97 out of 100!) This score will now be considered along with the scores of all the others who performed to determine who will be singing in the All-State Select Chorus next fall. Once I find out about that, I will let you know!

•I auditioned for another play (eeeek!!!!) Specifically I auditioned for the Local Savoyards performance of "H.M.S. Pinafore." My mother was cast as the alto lead (Little Buttercup) and I was cast in the chorus... The MEN'S CHORUS!!!! I'M GOING TO BE A SAILOR!!! OH-EMM-GEE! I have never played a guy before, but I have always wanted to. Apparently, they were running low on tenors, so they put me and several other mezzo/alto singers into the tenor section. This is going to be sooooo fun!

•I saw Mr. Baker in an AMAZING production of "Balm In Gilead" at BCU (Big City U.) He played a drag queen named David. It wasn't the biggest role I've seen him play, but I must admit, he did an amazingly fabulous job. It was like nothing I have ever seen him in before. And, I also learned on this trip that apparently he has been telling a lot of his friends great things about me. It was quite amusing to be waiting for Mr. Baker by the theater and meeting several incredibly hot (though mostly gay) men coming up to me saying "OH MY GAWD! YOU'RE MR. BAKER'S SISTER!!!!!! YOU'RE SO COOL!" Thank you very much Mr. Baker. That was tons of fun.

•I have started planning my audition for yet another play. The LTU (Local Town U) has a Summer Youth Musical Theater Workshop, where they put on an enormous, fantastic production in three weeks. This year, they chose to do "All Shook Up" which has a plot loosely based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" but is set to the music of Elvis Presley..... So, yeah it's not any form of great theater, but it is going to be soooo much fun. The part I am aiming for is a young mechanic who falls in love with a tough-gorgeous-motorcycle-driving-leather-jacket-wearing-Danny-Zuko type of guy, and in order to spend more time with him, she disguises herself as a man. And this is the song I am auditioning with:


Tee-Hee.

•And last but not least, the swine flu. What's up with that?

"If I ask you 'Can I kiss you,' then what will my pretty miss do?"

Okay, so I just HAD to blog this picture of Mr. Bumble and I doing "I Shall Scream" during the last performance. C'est tres drole, non?

And so the withdrawl begins...

"Oliver!" is now officially over.
And it was a-freakin'-mazing.

I am not going to lie, I was really scared for this show because I did not think we were going to pull it off. And STHS has a reputation for doing particularly amazing productions, so people's expectations would not have been at the same level for any other high school show. Plus, there was added pressure because RTHS (Rival Town HS) decided to have their musical, "Carousel" be the same weekend as ours. So we knew that our friends from various other high schools would be obligated to see both shows. Of course, in the past, RTHS has never measured up to us "musical-wise" but we were all sure that this year could be the one exception....

But it wasn't. By some miracle of fate, we were able to do not just a decent show, but a downright great show. Completely up to our normal standards. The audiences absolutely loved the little boy who played Oliver, Mr. Bumble and I got lots of laughs with our wacky antics, and (as far as I could see) nobody passed out when the cast walked into the audience (like 4 times.)

Of course there was one unfortunate element of the show: Fagin. Constant line-dropping is one thing, but acknowledging the line-dropping to the audience is COMPLETELY another. That's right. During "You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two" he forgot one of his lyrics and decided to say, clearly "I always forget this part." And then he continued. Jeez...

But it's okay, because overall, I really feel like we did a great show. We definitely didn't let our audience down at all. And now, everyone is totally relieved that it's finally over (but can't get "It's A Fine Life" out of their heads...)

But me, being the crazy little person that I am, I'm auditioning for (brace yourselves) ANOTHER SHOW!!!! Woohoo! That's right. The SmallTown Savoyards are doing their annual summer production (they always do Gilbert and Sullivan operettas) and this year the show is H.M.S. Pinafore. And I'll be auditioning a week from this Saturday.

What could I possibly be thinking???

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment Seven - Hell-week's a-comin'...

Well, yesterday was our last official "rehearsing" rehearsal. Since hell-week starts Monday, all of our rehearsals will be to run the show with tech stuff, meaning we really can't stop to fix things like blocking/lines/music/whatever, because we will already be stopping over and over to fix things like lighting/sound effects/props/whatever. So, in short, hell-week is going to literally be a week from hell.

However, our last rehearsal gave me a little bit of hope. I know on Monday HDT basically told us we sucked. However, he clarified on Tuesday that he still believed we could pull it off with a LOT of hard work. Then, Tuesday's rehearsal was marginally better than Monday's and then Wednesday's rehearsal was a lot better than Tuesday's. HDT said he definitely saw a huge turn-around in our commitment and energy, etc. and he actually gave us props for that. Yay! Props rock! (And by props, I mean compliments, not objects on stage. Although they rock too...)

So then on Friday, he gave us our notes, which is a good sign. Generally he doesn't start giving notes (which are basically comments and criticisms and suggestions for improvement) until the point when we can actually get through a run in a decent amount of time. Also, he waits to give notes until there are only finishing touches that need to be fixed, because other wise our notes would just be a gigantic waste of a rainforest. The official reading of notes is actually somewhat hilarious, because while he watches the run, instead of writing the notes himself, he tells the assistant to the director to write down an abbriviated version of the notes. Then, when he reads them aloud to the cast and is giving us directions like "Bumble-Do you have to pee?" or "Nancy-Don't be a velociraptor," it's up to us to translate that into "Mr. Bumble keeps shifting his weight and needs to stand still" or "Nancy is doing something weird with her hands that makes her look like a velociraptor." One of my favorite notes of the night was given to me: "Corney-Angle. Put box next to her. Stand." I'm still not quite sure what it means, but I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's a problem with the way I am standing during one of the scenes and I need to do something to fix it so I'm not blocking one of the other actresses. Or it could mean I'm being a velociraptor. There's no way to know.

Then, Friday's rehearsal was also a pretty big improvement. However, we didn't manage to get through a whole run in three hours (which we did do on Wednesday.) This was due partially to the fact that we had notes at the beginning and partially because in the middle of the show, there was a scene that literally everyone forgot the blocking for and it had to be re-blocked. I have to say, blocking scenes a week before opening night is a very bad sign...

Then, at the end of rehearsal, HDT's final opinion was that we deserved props for the huge improvement, but we still have a long way to go before he actually starts inviting people to come see the show. However, considering how previous shows have gone, I really think we can pull it together just fine. "Cabaret," "Footloose" and "Les Miserables" all went through the same thing and didn't come together until the final dress rehearsal. And they were A-FREAKIN'-MAZING shows! So, There is hope for us.

I think. And hope.

Wish us broken legs! (Because I probably won't have time to blog again until after the show's over...)

Oliver Panic/Oscars/An amazing play...

HDT had his flip-out a week early.

The show is a week from this Friday. Hell-week starts a week from today. And we are soooooo not ready.

Today's rehearsal was scheduled from 3:30-5:30, Run of Act I. In two hours, we got through 5 scenes. When we should have gotten through 8. We started at the top of Act I, and, surprise surprise, Mr. Bumble was not there again (although he wasn't in school so there's a chance he may have been sick...) and HDT was pissed. I have only done those scenes with Mr. Bumble about 3 times, so it is really bad that we didn't get to do it today. Also, before that, "Food, Glorious Food" was apparently a disaster (I couldn't watch from backstage.)

Then, after the funeral-home scenes (which went pretty well) we did "Consider Yourself." It was a catastrophe. We forgot our blocking, our music, we weren't acting at all because we were panicking about our blocking and music. We did the entire thing three times and it never got any better. But HDT didn't officially flip-out until the next scene: "Pick A Pocket Or Two."

Also a catastrophe. HDT actually said the words "You Suck! This is the worst I group I have seen in eight years!" I am honestly not sure whether that was true or just a scare tactic. I mean, don't get me wrong, we were awful, but still. We always pull it together at the last minute. But it's never been this bad. Plus, I have to say, my friends and I think that HDT is partially to blame in this case. Normally, we start rehearsing during December and we have our scripts so we can study lines over Christmas Break. But this time, we just started in January, meaning we were trying to pull of this entire show in two months. Plus, we had an entire week off of school last week, and that was valuble rehearsal time just going out the window.

So, my friends and I are going to try to organize some rehearsals outside of school. Just because we need them sooooo much!

In much happier news, the Oscars were amazing last night. I was so happy about all of the "Slumdog Millionaire" awards (BEST PICTURE!!!! WOOO-HOOO!!!!) and I was thrilled for Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Actor Award. Also, I was sobbing during the acceptance speech of Dustin Lance Black for Best Original Screenplay. Please observe:

I'm so glad this movie did so well, and congratulations Sean Penn!

It was a great night (and who saw Hugh Jackman's "Oscars of The Recession" musical number??? Hi-fricking-larious)

And, finally, I would like to include a very brief anecdote of something I forgot to mention over the past few weeks. On Saturday, I saw a local production of the play "Bent." For those of you who aren't familiar with the play, it tells a tragic story that hilights the horrible persecution of gay people during the holocaust. I went to see it because my best friend Troy was a violinist in it (all original music by a local student musician) and he was amazing. But, as a whole, the play was extremely difficult to watch. There were some very intense, heart-breaking moments, but production wise, it was a beautiful show.

Saturday was my third time seeing it. I think I'm in need of some therapy...

So, on those many notes, I ask you only this: Wish the cast of "Oliver!" luck that HDT doesn't murder all of us before the end of this week...

To Do List (MUST BE DONE SOON!!!):

1) Finish Reading Assignment for English Paper BEFORE End of Break:
Well, I'm half-way there! My next English paper (from the AP English Class from HELL) is about the wealthy class. You see, my teacher is trying to raise an army of young socialists, so all of our reading/writing assignments this year have been about money and class structures and other political topics. (Okay, I was exaggerating about the socialist thing, but she is extremely liberal and not afraid to show it!!!) Our first big assignment was to read and annotate a 60+ page packet made up of New York Times articles about money.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that my English teacher has chemical sensitivity issues that cause her to have big reactions to perfumes, colognes, hair-products, paint, citrus, engine exhaust, air, nature and pretty much anything else that has a scent. Because of this, she is out of school for long periods of time. When this happened at the beginning of the school year and our substitute neglected to give us our homework assignments, Devil-Teacher decided to solve this problem by assigning 30 pages of annotations in ONE NIGHT. Worst night ever.
So, right now I'm reading "The Sky's the Limit" by Steven Gaines, which is about wealthy people and expensive apartments in Manhattan. It's not quite as tedious to read as some of the other assignments I've had (The only reading assignment in this class that I have actually legitimately enjoyed was "How Starbucks Saved My Life") but it's not exactly a page turner.
One other fun little tidbit about this assignment: The paper on this book is due during hell-week. So I have firmly decided to at the very least finish reading the book before next Monday, so that I can write the paper the following weekend. *Crosses fingers in hopes of this goal actually being accomplished.*

2) Get Completely Off-Book for "Oliver!" BEFORE End Of Break:
Check! Well, sort of check. All of my actual lines are memorized, I just need to learn the music a bit better. Plus, due to a lack of a Mr. Bumble at rehearsals, it's quite difficult to remember the blocking when I'm not used to doing it with another person. Plus, HDT finally gave us the ultimatum of "get off-book before next week so we can make sure this show doesn't suck." And I think that I am closer to that goal than several people in the cast are (namely Fagin, Mr. Bumble and The Artful Doger.) So this coming rehearsal week will be very interesting, I'm sure...

3) See More Oscar Nominated Films BEFORE Oscars:
Um, not gonna happen. I've only seen a few of them so far. I'm so excited that the Oscars are coming up and I usually want to see the big nominees so I can legitimately cheer for my favorites, but so far I've only seen a few.
By the way, is anyone else totally SHOCKED that Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film TROPIC THUNDER???? I mean, don't get me wrong, he is one of my favorite actors, and I thought he was amazing in Tropic Thunder, but.... OH MY GOD! If he was going to be nominated for anything, I assumed it would have been Iron Man. Apparently I was wrong...

4) Get Hell-Week Assignments From Teachers BEFORE Hell-Week:
Okay, this one is going to have to be done once I'm back in school, but it's still vitally important. The schedule of rehearsals for hell-week is all 6:00-9:00 or 7:00-10:00. And one of the great traditions for this point in rehearsals is to stay through from the end of the school day until rehearsal. That way, we can do our homework at the school (while teachers are there for assistance if necessary) and get dinner with the cast. This is really the more time-efficient solution because most of us have other after-school activities anyways, so it's easier just to stay. We also had a tradition last year of getting cake from the local bakery for the long dress rehearsals, but recently said bakery closed. :'(
So, because of the difficult hell-week coming up (March 2-6) I have promised myself that the week before hell-week, I will see my teachers, get any big assignments and do them early. *Keeps fingers crossed from earlier paragraph* This will probably be mainly for AP English assignments (because of all the heavy reading) and Chemistry (because of the lab reports.) My homework for Math, French and Global is generally just problems from a textbook or a worksheet, so it won't be too hard. And my Music Theory teacher has given us homework exactly twice this whole year, and both times it was also a simple worksheet.

So. These upcoming weeks will be very difficult. But still tons of fun.
I hope...
*Crossed fingers starting to turn purple*

(How does one type with crossed fingers you may ask? Well, I've been blessed with many unusual, useless talents... You know, like Demetri Martin...)

Super-Massive-Double-Deluxe-Post!

Well, I feel like I haven't posted anything in a very long time, so I thought for Valentine's Day I would do a big double post made up of two parts: An "Oliver!" installment, and a fun theater survey meme thingy (no one ever makes theater surveys! I was so excited to see it!)

Okay. Here goes...

Last week's rehearsals were somewhat hectic. And with the fact that we only have TWO rehearsal weeks left (that's including hell-week) has been looming over our heads. Since we have blocked the entire show, HDT used this past week as a "polishing week" so to speak. Instead of running through the acts or the show, he just scheduled three scene's per day and we would just work through the problems of those scenes, one at a time.

However, even though ideally this sounds like an incredibly convenient idea, it only works effectively if the people who are in those scenes show up when they are supposed to. And it just so happens that Dickon (who you may remember is playing Mr. Bumble) was absent from rehearsal two days this past week, both of which being days that we were doing scenes he is in. Pas bon, tres tres pas bon. On Wednesday at our last official music rehearsal, Maestra mentioned that the next time we will be doing music will be during the Run of Act I on the Monday we get back from our week-long vacation. I asked Dickon if he would be there that day and he said he had work on Mondays and Thursdays, so no. I asked him if there was any way he could get around it and he said "I already asked my boss for hell-week off, and he agreed to that, so I don't think he would be too happy about me asking for that week off too." In my head, my next response would have been "Well, how badly do you want to keep your job right now?" but I decided to refrain from saying this out loud.

However, HDT said to him on Friday "Oh, by the way, Dickon? When we come back this week, I need you here. All the time." Dickon then went over to talk to him privately. No one knows what was said or whether he will be there when we have our next rehearsal. We'll see...

I have to say, Dickon has not been the only one with poor attendance these past few weeks. Especially with the music rehearsals. There were so many days when Maestra would want to run through a certain piece but couldn't because none of the people in that piece were there. Aussi pas bon. Mostly because we have no more music rehearsals. At all. Once we get back from the break, it's "Run Act I," "Run Act II," "Run Show" for one week, and then hell-week is all runs of the show (some with costume!)

In fact, I was telling Mr. Brownlow (my dad, in case you forgot) about how poor the attendence has been, and he came up with a rather brilliant solution: What HDT should do is just tell the people that aren't showing up regularly that they are out of the show (wait for it...) Then, before the performances, HDT will write a breif "framing story" about a group of student putting on a production of "Oliver!" It could open with everyone onstage, and HDT shouting "Why isn't anyone showing up? This is awful! This is the last straw! They are out! Okay, let's try a run with the people we've got... Uh, Moi! You play Fagin! Angela! You'll be Mr. Bumble! And... Troy! You'll be Bill Sykes! Ready? Action!" And then the play would commence with mismatched parts and breif jokes about rehearsal and the production process and things like that. We could even get the audience to participate with songs like "Oom Pah Pah" and "It's A Fine Life." It would be a production unlike anything STHS has ever done. Instead of being called "Oliver!" it would be called "STHS Presents 'Oliver!'"

I plan on pitching the idea to HDT when we return from vacation. I wonder what he'll say... haha...

Well, now I shall present to you a fun survey for those who have done a lot of theater things. It's the first one Ive ever seen, and I have to say. I loved it. Enjoy!

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LAST SHOW ADDED TO YOUR RESUME?
Technically I think that would be Steel Magnolias but currently I am working on Oliver!

LAST SHOW YOU AUDITIONED FOR?
Oliver!

LAST SONG YOU USED AT AN AUDITION?
"I Get A Kick Out Of You" from Anything Goes

FAVORITE MUSICAL(s)?
Spring Awakening, Company, Les Miserables, Wonderful Town, and Cabaret

FAVORITE PLAY?
It's a toss-up between Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Dining Room.

FAVORITE ROLE(S) YOU'VE PLAYED, AND FROM WHAT SHOW(S)?
Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret is probably my favorite (but Truvy in Steel Magnolias takes a close second)

FAVORITE ROLE OVERALL THAT I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY?
The list is far too long, but I know it includes Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods and Eponine in Les Miserables.

SUPERSTITION?
Saying Macbeth in a theater (don't worry, it's not bad luck now. I'm not in a theater...) and having perfect rehearsals during hell-week. If the rehearsals in hell-week aren't hell-ish, something ain't right...

YOUR GOAL IN SHOW BUSINESS?
Either become an Actress (preferably in musical theater) or Playwright.

FAVORITE DIRECTOR YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?
HDT. No contest.

WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST SHOW?
The first show I was ever in was The Wizard of Oz when I was in third grade, but the first show that got me seriously interested in theater was Ruddigore during the summer before sixth grade.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DANCE SOLO?
Waltzing during the Pineapple song in Cabaret (althought that was with Troy, so maybe it wasn't a solo...)

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SINGING SOLO?
A couple of solos and duets in "Cabaret," and some duets in "Oliver!"

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THE LAST PERSON TO TAKE A BOW?
Not yet, but I was fourth-to-last in Cabaret (and you have no idea how excited I was about that...)

HAVE YOU BEEN TO NEW YORK?
Dozens of times.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO LA?
Nope

WHAT'S THE SCARIEST PART OF AN AUDITION?
Waiting for the auditioner that goes in right before you...

WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF AN AUDITION?
Once you get into the groove of it, the audition gets fun. But the first few seconds always scare the crap out of me...

NAME A SHOW YOU WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN.
Any of the SmallTown Middle school plays (badly written non-musical versions of "The Secret Garden" and "Beauty and the Beast.")

NAME A SHOW YOU COULD DO FOR YEARS.
Cabaret, The Yeomen of the Guard and probably Les Miserables.

WHAT ARE YOU AUDITIONING FOR NEXT?
H.M.S. Pinafore

DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH PAST CAST MEMBERS?
Absolutely

HOW IMPORTANT IS GETTING PAID?
Well, right now not terribly, because I've never gotten paid for a show before and I still love doing it. But, I imagine that if I make a career out of this then it would become increasingly more vital...

SOMETHING EMBARRASSING OR UNEXPECTED THAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE ON-STAGE?
During Steel Magnolias, I had to wear an absurdly high and uncomfortable pair of heels, and it was terribly obvious while I was onstage that I was not good at walking in them. Also, during the final dress rehearsal for that same production, when the six of us were completely lost with our lines, I tried to get the scene back on track, and then realized I had skipped over a vital piece of information (oops!)

WHO IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PERSON (ON STAGE OR OFF) THAT YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?
Hmm someone who shall remain nameless, but I truly hope that she is never a director's assistant ever again.

EVER BEEN NAKED ONSTAGE?
Nope. The closest I've been to naked onstage was in a leotard for a dance recital.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KILLED ONSTAGE?
Nope.

BEEN DRUNK ONSTAGE?
Yes! And it is sooooo much fun! (Master of the House scene in Les Miserables, the country bar scene in Footloose and Oom Pah Pah in Oliver!

PLAYED SOMEONE HALF YOUR AGE?
"The Kid" in Wonderful Town (my first time having a line in a show: "Hey Waldo, wait for me!")

PLAYED SOMEONE TWICE YOUR AGE?
I was 60-something as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, 40-something as Truvy in Steel Magnolias, and now I'm 50-something as Widow Corney in Oliver!

CRIED?
Cabaret and a little bit during Steel Magnolias

FIRED A GUN?
Nope

BEEN DRENCHED?
Nope (?)

BEEN IN A DREAM SEQUENCE?
Nope.

BEEN KISSED?
Oliver