Check out Checking Out!

I'm in a groove! I am working my way to the second-to-last scene in the show. It's very robust and funny. I was worried that I had lost that "funnyness" but it's still there. I'm really enjoying writing it. There are some touching moments and unexpected (even to me) turns. I've solved the problem about the pageant scene--it will be suggested by lights and music coming from offstage and the stage will be empty. This will go on for about five seconds. Then the lights will go down and we will be in the last scene. I'm debating putting in a cameo role at the end of the show. He needs to be a very attractive African-American man who is instrumental in the "bad guy" getting his. But I hate to make an actor sit around for an hour and a half. Maybe he could be one of the background characters too (I have thought about having various people come in and out of the scenes as patrons of the hotel.)We'll see.

I might have a lead on the job front; one of my friends from Facebook who I did a show together with ages ago and I have been communicating. She asked what I have been up to and I told her I was looking for work. I said if she knew anyone who was looking for someone with degrees in theater and English Education to send them my way. She wrote back that she might have someone who could help me. I'd love to work with theater in the schools. So now I've got two leads! Better than working at Subway.

Time for lunch. Hanging up now....

Dreamin' and workin', just not for a livin'

I'm not going to turn this into a dream blog like Gordy's; mine are nowhere near as interesting. But I did have some meaty ones last night that I thought I'd share. One concerned Holly. I was driving there alone through a freak snowstorm. Said snowstorm was even more freaky since the fest was actually near the Alabama state line, as Kris M. had told me. I spun around several times but made it to the festival okay. I was wearing my wench costume with long sleeves and my winter boots, but oddly enough I was not wearing my cloak. By the time I got there the weather had cleared up and I became involved in a scene between some of the festival actors. It concerned a guy yelling at another woman over not serving him quickly enough. He made a pass at me and I ignored him because he had treated the woman so badly. He left in a huff, saying I was just a peasant and he would get revenge.

The other dream was a movie. It starred Karen Allen, Christian Bale, (of course) and a teenage actor. The teenager was originally CB but I realized that he was too old. He was really too young for the role too, since his character was the father of the teenager (CB is younger than me.) The story was set in the Old West and the main character was a bank robber. The first scene was really neat--he walks into a bar that Karen Allen owns (a lot of this movie is inspired by Indiana Jones) and starts bragging about what a great robber he is. She asks him how many robberies he has done. He says he hasn't done any yet, but he is tough enough to start right away. She says "You know, girls go to finishing school. This is your finishing school." She nods to the bar patrons and they get up and beat the shit out of him. He survives and CB calls him over to talk. More fun stuff--Kevin Kline played the law. This isn't going to turn into a screenplay because there are a lot of holes, including KA giving CB up to save her son (yes, the boy is their son--more Indiana Jones.) I don't think a woman would do that. Maybe. But it was a fun dream.

The third dream was disturbing and involved Shannon B. I don't want to go into it. Suffice it to say it was a dream I had to wake myself up from. And there were monkeys.

I have some really exciting news. Last night I went through what I had of Checking Out and made comments in the margin (I love Microsoft Word.) Then I got an idea for the picture beginning the next scene. I am now into that and have done the final "funny moment." I have decided the contest scene will actually be suggested by lights and music from offstage and will just be a few seconds. Then the only scene left to write is the Sunday morning check-out scene. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In going back over it, I don't think it's too static. I think it will be ready for second opinions and revising within the next month. !!!!!

No news on the job front. I have put my resume on careerbuilder.com and will do the same for monster.com. I just don't have the kind of long-term job experience that most people my age do. The truth is, I haven't had to work, so there are long gaps when I haven't. However, I got an exciting lead--the music director for Thunderhoof has some books about working in Chicago classrooms. This entails going into classrooms and doing educational theater. How perfect is that? I have a degree in both theater and education. I'm really interested in finding out more.

Well, I'm hungry and I want to work on CO more. Hanging up now....

Let's boogie!

Yesterday was a great closing performance. We had 206 people, which is practically a full house. Several friends came, and the kids got a lot of autographs afterwards. Strike went fast--at least the part I was in. The guys were still taking down the set when I left, but I took out the trash and vacuumed the green room and dressing rooms. I brought Shannon (played Blonderella) my leather bodice to see if it fit. Depressingly, it was almost loose. Well, I know I shouldn't compare myself to other bodies. We are going to the Michigan Renaissance Festival next week with the women who costumed the show.

Tonight was Zumba. I don't know if I've talked about it before, so I'll go over it now. It's a form of Latin American dance that functions as a great aerobic workout. Stephanie teaches it. It usually meets on Wednesday nights but it has been meeting Mondays over the summer. I wasn't able to go to either of them previously because of rehearsals. Now I have time. It's fun to dance, but I am terrible. I vaguely remember being a good dancer, but that has gone away now. Well, I still get a good workout.

No bites on the job front. I've put my resume on careerbuilder.com and am still looking at other postings. I'm also checking in with Personnel World. One of the guys in the show, Mike, suggested I check with the City of East Lansing to see what they have. I went down to City Hall and looked at their job postings. They had two part-time positions open coordinating programs for kids. So I have applied for those. Another interesting lead comes from the music director of the show. Her mother is sending her a pamphlet about jobs in Chicago where people go into the schools and do educational shows. That would be great for me given my background in both theater and education. I just hope I can actually see the pamphlet. If not, I can probably look it up online.

I've pretty much given up on the online dating stuff. No bites. I'm more interested in finding someone here. I haven't given up hope. There are still people out there.

One of my Facebook friends put up a video of his daughter and Marty Underhill singing selections from "Annie." Amy and Marty played Annie and Daddy Warbucks in 2003, and I was Grace (the secretary.) The video was from Starlight Theater's "Starry Night," a fundraiser for the theater. I'm sorry I missed it. They used video footage of the original production, and I'm in it. That was fun to see.

Not much progress on Checking Out--I have to figure out where the characters are in the play. That is, mechanics such as who is where, and when the scene is taking place. I'm trying to time the scenes so they are spaced out over the weekend. The first act took place Friday, and the second act started Saturday. The trick is that much of the action of the pageant is taking place offstage, so the behind-the-scenes stuff is what we'll see. The last scene will take place during check-out time on Sunday. It's possible that I'm done with the majority of it, that I just need to flesh things out and finish them off. There's a few things that need to happen before the end rolls around. The couples need to reconcile, the "bad guy" needs to get his, the travelers need to get sent off, and the staff needs to do their thing. That all will get tied up in the last scene. There are two more funny pictures in my head, one that can happen in the next scene and one that can happen in the last scene. Maybe there will be more funny moments.

Hanging up now....

Goodbyes

I was playing on Facebook on a Saturday night...bored...when I realized, "I haven't blogged in ages!" So here I am.

Thunderhoof is almost over; tomorrow is the last performance. It has been fun but I'm ready to say goodbye to it. I feel like everyone brought a lot to this production and we made it our own. We got a great review in the Pulse, although the reviewer did criticize Dan (actor, not director.) He is getting better. His voice is just so wonderful, it doesn't really matter if his acting isn't the best. And he has been getting better and better. I think he has a great future ahead of him theatrically.

It's been interesting working with Brian. I think he has really enjoyed doing this show, which is a surprise to me. I never in a million years thought he would have done a kids' show. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the kids at all. When we were going out, he took one of those "Keep away from children" stickers off a cigarette lighter and put it on a framed photograph of himself. That's how I think of him when it comes to kids. I guess he's grown and changed too.

One of the 'oke kids, Kelly, has gone off to grad school. She wants to get her master's and go into performing. She is great but I want to tell her to teach or something. She was my voice teacher and is really good at that. I'm not saying she isn't great on stage, she is. But it is so hard to go all the way. Who knows, maybe she will have just the right combination of skill and luck. We'll see where her road takes her. I admire her bravery.

Bad news on the fitness front--I have gained an inch back around my waist. Ick. But I've lost in my arms and legs. I kind of wonder if Stephanie was measuring right, or if she measured wrong last time. I certainly don't feel like I've gained an inch. I can tell I've lost in my arms though, and that is great. I have never had slim arms but now I seem to carry a lot of fat in them. So a loss is great.

Summer is almost over--it's only 9:30 but it's dark out. Fall is coming. I like fall, but we never get a long one. It seems like we have only a few weeks of fall and then winter whooshes in. I hope we have a three-month-long fall: September, October, and November. I think fall should start on Labor Day and go through Thanksgiving. Then winter should last from Thanksgiving through somewhere between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day. By St. Patrick's Day, the snow should have definitely cleared up and spring should be here. That's my decree.

I'm reevaluating my connection to the church. I haven't gone in a while and I don't feel like I'm missing it. I still believe in God, but I don't know if I need to be in any kind of organized church. There have been times in my life when I've clung to the church because I felt I needed it to combat something difficult in my life. Right now my life is pretty much in order and I don't feel that desperation that sometimes leads me into the church body. I'm going to talk to my pastor about this. She has me down to be the liturgist September 6 and I want to tell her I can't do it. I'm not sure how I will approach the prayer group about this. They will be worried that I'm not attending any more. I've already started the separation these last few meetings as I have been in rehearsal. I will have to call up our leader and try to explain to her. She will probably think I'm giving in to Satan or something. She pretty much sees things in black and white and spends most of her waking hours thinking about God, reading about God, and praying to God. I think that's great, but it's not for me. I don't even read the Bible every day like we're supposed to. I guess I have trouble with that "supposed to." There are many ways to be a Christian, by our thoughts and actions as well as the example we set, and I only want to do what God wants for me. I don't think that necessarily involves going to church and singing hymns. I will miss singing in the choir, but I've had some inclination to check out the Greater Lansing Arts Chorale (I think that's what it's called.) That would be an outlet for me to use my voice. Kelly was in it as well as some other people I know who have beautiful voices.

We had two shows today, one at 2 and one at 4:30, and tomorrow we have another matinee. So I'm going to call it an early night.

Hanging up now....

Keep on keepin' on

It occurred to me in my sleep that I could wear the bodice if I just loosened the sides, so I did that and wore my wench costume when I went with my mom the next weekend. It was Celtic weekend so we saw Irish dancing and Highland games. That's where they throw the rocks and stuff. One guy threw a twenty pound rock 96 feet! The Irish dancers were very good. One of them slipped because the stage was very wet (it rained off and on that day) but she recovered right away.

Why do I love the renfaire so much? A lot of it has to do with the fact that I love playing dress-up and being different characters. I have collected my garb over the years and have fun with it. I also really like the shows--they appeal to the actress in me. I'm not a big crafts person, but the booths are kind of fun to look at. The food is pretty normal, unless you want a turkey leg or something (they are very greasy and hard to eat.) My friend from Chicago likes the people watching, and I guess I do too.

I have written a nice bit for Checking Out. It concerns two characters having a misunderstanding in their conversation--both of them are saying things that mean something else to the other. It's hard to keep it on track; I keep having to remind myself what each one is thinking. It could work in a really good way.

I can't believe it's August already! We have just not had summer weather this year at all. I have only laid out by the pool once this year. That is, laid out by the pool when my crazy mother wasn't there to make me persevere despite cool weather. I was visiting at home and she was determined to lie out, even though it was cloudy and windy. She only gets certain days off, so she was trying to get the most out of it as possible.

The set for Thunderhoof is coming together. I helped with sawing and screwing yesterday. Today I painted the "Blondania" section of the set. It's sort of a bluish gray. The hardest part was getting the paint into all the nooks and crannies made by screws and ripples in the material. The guys have gotten the platforms and stairs put up. There's a great gumdrop tree, and Fran and I are going to put flowers on the flower boxes (which I helped build.) One part of me wishes more people had come, but the other part says it's better this way, rather than having a bunch of people standing around waiting for a job.

Speaking of jobs, I have just applied for a Staples job. It involves working on a Business Development Team. The position has a salary and benefits, and I believe a 401(k) as well. It looks pretty interesting. I wrote a bang-up cover letter and sent that along with my resume. We'll see what happens.

Hanging up now....