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Saturday, December 8, 2012

A Toast to Your Health

There are a lot of things going on, some that I'm simply not okay talking about at the moment, but here's what I can tell you.  I have been sick for going on two weeks now.  Every time I think I'm doing better, I discover I was wrong.  Last week I came down with a nasty sore throat for maybe the sixth or so time this year.  Whatever.  I popped a throat lozenge and sucked it up like I usually do.  I cancelled one private lesson and expected to be back to work the next day.  Except that some way that I can't explain, I managed to throw out my back.  Again, I can't be sure exactly what happened, but there was a muscle in my back that simply decided that it wasn't getting enough attention, so it did what any mature, reasonable person would do.  It threw a temper tantrum.  Again, I tried to brush it off.  I have, on occasion, dealt with some muscle pain from work before, for which I used a heating pack, maybe popped a pain killer, and went to bed, tender but otherwise fine the next day.  So I delicately went to bed that night convincing myself that it would be fine in the morning.  It had to be fine in the morning.  I had to go to work.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

No Last Rep

Another Blog Boost, but this time, it's a health blog.  I know what you're thinking:  Me?  Reading a health blog?  Don't be ridiculous.  And I'll admit that if it wasn't run by a friend of mine, I probably wouldn't have even bothered to skim it.  Honestly, though, I'm boosting it because the author is really good at sharing information that is accessible and useful for a wide audience, from the hard-core gym rats to those of us with a more moderate interest in health and fitness.

He shares a lot of great tidbits ranging from basic knowledge for first-time gym-goers to helpful (but realistic) eating tips.  I highly recommend giving his page at least a quick browse.  You're sure to learn something.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

I Should Be Drinking Coffee

I should be drinking coffee right now.  More importantly, I should be pulling a homemade pumpkin pie out of the oven right now.  But sadly, neither of those things is happening.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Why I Hate Politics

Other than the uninformed idiots running loose on facebook, convinced that they, and only they, have a full grasp of the way our country should and shouldn't be run, the thing that really bothers me about politics is the complete lack of respect it seems to promote.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Things I Don't Understand

1. Brides who bring their fiances wedding dress shopping

2. Mark Rothko

3. Joel Schumacher

4. Popcorn balls

5. Those little silicon packets

6. Jim Carey's face

7. Mondays

8. Pizza with pineapple

9. Pomegranates

10. "Do not remove under penalty of law."

ETA: I also don't understand chihuahuas.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Chlorine Excerpts

Over the course of the past 7 weeks I have been on-and-off working on my novel.  I'm not prepared to share everything about it except that I first started it about 3 years ago, promptly got distracted from it, and then picked it up again at the beginning of my tour, having been freshly inspired to rework it.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

This Itinerary Has Never Made Much Sense

If I try to explain to myself why we go to these cities in the order that we do, I get a headache.
*Sturgis, MI: home of the Country Hearth Inn, a.k.a. the world's most unfathomably horrendous hotel imaginable

**Muncie, IN: drop-off for Jack and where Jenn and I turned in our 17 days notice


Friday, October 12, 2012

Looper—A Film Review

Flashy cars, loud explosions, a beautiful woman…and let's don't forget Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.  Combined with a gripping story line, it all adds up to one thing: darn good cinema.  I recently had the opportunity to see Rian Johnson's new action-thriller Looper, which lived up to its hype.  Naturally and unsurprisingly, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was spot on as Joe, a hired gun or "Looper" in the not-too-distant future, a world where time travel does not yet exist, but soon will.  Joe works for the mob, killing off targets sent from thirty years in the future with his "blunderbus," a shoddy weapon that is only effective in close range.  In an era where action heroes, from James Bond to Jason Bourne always seem to be equipped with the best of the best, it was an exciting twist having the film's hero as poorly armed as possible.

Spiders, Panic Attacks, and My On-Going Love Affair with Food

I'm afraid that all the while I'm writing this and you're reading this, there's going to be an elephant in the room, and that's because I don't want to talk about the tour.  I really don't.  And I won't until my contract officially ends with the — — Players.  But I will take this moment to officially announce to my friends and family that last Friday I delivered my 17 days notice.  I'm coming home early.  And yes, I see this as a very good thing.  I am counting the days with desperate longing.  As I jokingly said in a facebook status lately, "I am so over any city in this country that isn't Chicago."

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Also

…I got rid of the hideous pink and orange tie-die theme and managed to find something that suits me a little better.

Eventually I'm hoping to personalize this page a bit more, but we'll see.

Shush, Dear. You'll Scare the Children.

There's an interesting and inherent flaw in performing Beauty & the Beast for children that I feel I need to address:  In order to do Beauty & the Beast, you have to have a beast.  But it's a children's show.

A Few More Photos

A few of the better photos from another school:












The Banker telling Madame de Terre he's going to evict her.


Michigan Map

I changed the map to read Warren instead of Detroit, given that our hotel was in Warren, and only one school on our list there was actually located within the city limits of Detroit, and not the surrounding suburbs.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Searching for Holden Again

Just wanted to remind you guys to revisit Jack's blog to hear the end of his version of our Diesel Fuel story if you never did.  He added a second and third part to his original post, so you will want to scroll down a little ways to get to Part Two.  He adds a lot more details of the story that I never got around to, so it's definitely worth perusing.

Searching for Holden–"Troupers"
I just love his writing style!  It is phenomenal.

Beauty & the Beast Half Life

Apparently I need to be updating the blog more regularly.  I have just been informed by my Aunt that I am leaving the entire family waiting with baited breath every time I go so long without posting.  I'm both flattered and amazed, family.  Thanks for taking such an avid interest in how I'm doing!

Well, we are just finishing up week four and slowly edging our way toward the halfway mark on our tour.  It's certainly been a wild ride so far.  We spent the past week or so in Warren, MI—also known as the "Land of the Strip Malls" (coined by my friend, Darren)—just north of Detroit, and I have to tell you something: the traffic here is horrendous.  I maintain that the drivers still aren't worse than the ones in Memphis (it's pretty tough to reach that level of combined incompetence and rudeness), but the actual structure of the streets, the number of traffic lights, the frequent u-turns because you can never turn left at any of the intersections, and don't even get me started on the impossible number of cars on the road at any given time of day…it's all insane.  And we actually got into a small accident the other day.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Photos

You should be able to click on photos to see a larger version.

Jack, Jenn, and myself


Talking Back

We've hit Week 3 on the road, and it's safe to say we're settling into the swing of things with Beauty & the Beast.  By far the most interesting and entertaining part of the typical workday, in my opinion, is the question and answer session (a "talkback" in theatre jargon) that we hold with the kids after each performance.  It's an opportunity for them to ask us questions about the show or what it's like to be an actor, etc.  Many of the questions are insightful, or at least thoughtful:  How old were we when we started acting?  Was it difficult to memorize the parts?  How long did it take us to rehearse the show?  More recently someone asked us what characters each of us would most like to play.  (For me, at the moment, this would be Miranda in Shakespeare's The Tempest, but for the kids' sake, I added that I also have "this secret desire to be the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz," and did my best "I'll get you my pretty," for them—which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself.)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Current Whereabouts


Next stop: Toledo.

Of Diesel Smoke—Part II

To be read in an ironic, semi-monotonous voice:

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

For Part I, go here.


I apologize for taking so long to continue this adventure; it's so difficult to get into a routine these days, especially given how exhausted I am at the end of each day.  I've been forgetting to journal altogether, though I am pleased to report I have been solidly working away at my novel.  But more on that another time.

So there we were, in Cassandra Falls, the hour getting later and later, when finally a miracle happens: Bo revs the engine, and with great effort, the car came back to life.  "Elation" doesn't even begin to cover it.  An overwhelming sense of relief washed over me, and when one of the mechanics handed over the keys after a quick test-drive, I nearly sobbed.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Searching for Holden

Just a shameless promotion of my friend Jack's blog.  He's been traveling with me, so there will be a fun and interesting second perspective occasionally on all the events on the road.

Click on the image to follow a link to his site, Searching for Holden.



Thursday, September 6, 2012

Of Diesel Smoke—Part I

AN: All names of people, companies, and locations in this blog have now been changed.  If anyone ever refers to a "Dorothy," that is me.

I've always maintained that Mondays bring disasters, and September 3rd was one in spades.  Tuesday was its partner in crime.

So let's begin. 

The Road Thus Far

A more detailed post will be on its way this weekend, but for now, a map:

If you're wondering why we were in Evansville, we get our performance schedules on a weekly basis, so the schedule is constantly subject to change and we are constantly subject to surprises.

No that's not a joke about breaking down in a cornfield.  This actually happened.  I'll tell you what, it's been an eventful few days.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

"I Get off on '57 Chevies"

First things first:  I apologize for the confusion about commenting.  It was mostly my own error.  I have now enabled "anonymous" comments, which should allow anyone to comment who wants to.  Let me know if there are any further problems.


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Of Script Analyses and Mind Palaces

Wonderful news!  We have officially begun rehearsals as of yesterday.  It's difficult to believe that after an entire summer of anticipation, this project is finally happening.  I finally met my cast-mates, Jack and Jenn, in person, and we've hit it off immediately.  Considering what a disaster it would be to travel for 10 weeks with people you can't stand, you can imagine what a relief it is to know how well we're going to get along.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Scripts & Characters

So I've realized that in all the madness lately, I forgot to post an update on Beauty & the Beast.  I finally received my script, in addition to an e-mail that surprised me a little bit.  I've copied out some of it below so you can draw your own conclusions about the situation.


Monday, July 30, 2012

Mapping It Out

Eventually I will try to create a slightly better map than this one, but for now, I thought this was a nice visual aid.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Destination: Not Here

Finally!  I have some news.  People have constantly been asking me where I will be touring to, and I finally have an answer.  I was told on Monday that I would know by "mid-week" where I was going and who with.  It's Saturday and I finally got that e-mail.  Silly theatre people don't know what day of the week it is.


Monday, July 23, 2012

An Empty Space

"A theatre is an empty space.  And as per the 400 year old stage direction we begin with a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning!"
—Geoffrey Tennant
Slings and Arrows