So much has happened since I last blogged- the biggest news being I turned 23! I had a wonderful birthday welcomed in by Cathedral Ledge at midnight, this glorious rocky overlook of the Conway village and our company's favorite spot to gaze at the stars, a energy boosting HAIR stumble thru, Dairy Queen fast food (I somehow always end up in a Dairy Queen on my birthday-totally by choice- entering a heavenly coma with a Blizzard), a fabulous performance of The Full Monty in the evening, and was ended by a mini post show celebration at my favorite bar and restaurant the Moat with cast and crew! I could not imagine turning 23 any other way, especially without this amazing group of people I have been blessed with filling my summer days.
Backtracking...
Leaving the glitz and glamour of Hollywoodland with the closing of Singin' in the Rain was really tough- I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to Lina Lamont. Even though I ran an Act 1 marathon backstage hopping from one quick change to the next with my amazing dressing team, I had an absolute ball on stage bringing to life one of my favorite characters from my childhood. And I must say, I think blondes do have more fun :-)
The Girls Dressing Room
The Full Monty was another wonderful experience, getting the opportunity to work with director Richard Sabellico, lovingly nicknamed Uncle Dickie by tech, who provided me with a lot of insight on acting and theatre. He made me hungry to work harder and dig deeper. I also extremely enjoyed watching the six guys who bared it all grow over the course of our rehearsals from my spot behind the piano. Rehearsals were just always a pleasure- all of us extremely comfortable with one another- having to pause a lot for laughing attacks. I also enjoyed watching Elaine Stritch and Ruth Gordon clips to help me embody the old show biz aura and ball buster sass I wanted my Jeanette to emulate. I must say it was a lot of fun transforming into Jeanette- husky voice, gray hair, and all! And I lived for those flip shades- check out the pictures in my previous blog.
Our last show of the summer HAIR, which a lot of us could not wait to begin, has finally opened and now looking back on the last few months, I feel I have had an irreplaceable summer that totally took me by surprise- growing immensely as an actress and a person. Shipoopi-ing in River City, to getting all dolled up in Hollywoodland, to being retired and living in Buffalo, NY, and to now being a free spirit fluttering without reserve about the stage with my amazing tribe of hippies, I just don't think there could be a better way to end this summer of adventures. I have stepped into so many unique shoes this summer and have learned so much from telling each one of these stories. HAIR is a show I wish on any actor to do once in their life because the message is so strong and beautiful and it is so extremely freeing. Just read the book Good Hair Days by Jonathon Johnson to get the power of this show! I loved also turning to my dad to hear his memories from the 60s, getting an amazing education on a startling time period of pressing change. And the music- making playlists of Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, etc. to go running to and to rock out to before the show PLUS watching Youtube clips from Woodstock and other music festivals- has been beyond amazing. Bringing the closeness of our summer stock family- all our little tight nit relationships and individual personalities- has also made this tribe something so special. We have been through a lot this summer and we have taken it to the stage. There are no words to describe singing songs like "Hair" and "Let the Sunshine In"- they are almost outer body experiences. I could talk about HAIR and how grateful I am for hours. *Quick story*: I was out in the house during intermission groovin' with audience members our second show and showering them with love when a woman I recognized from town came up to me. We had dressing rooms next to each other in a fabulous consignment shop and she was enjoying my friend Meg and I dancing around the shop in all these vintage pieces. She asked if we were actresses- she could sense it- and we invited her to see Hair. Just seeing her in the crowd, going up to her and kissing her cheek, and hearing she was having a beautiful time put me on Cloud 9! I LIVE FOR THIS!!! A huge thanks to our director Nathaniel Shaw for giving us this magical piece.
So I am beginning to wrap up my beyond incredible summer nestled in this stunning mountainous scenery, and though I am off the wall excited to move to Philly and begin my apprenticeship with the Walnut, I know I am leaving a summer that I will refer back to as a little old lady as one of the best of my life. Its just that simple. Doing things like hiking up waterfalls on days off, running past ski slopes every morning, feeling like every night is a sleepover party with my fabulous roommates, and even sitting in our "green room" before shows that more resembles a trailer park bbq with coffees in hand- I am going to miss it all.
UPDATES:
*I move to Philly the first week of September and begin the 7th at the Walnut! My parents showed me pictures of my place and I am a little bit in love. I am happy to know that my brownstone apartment was built in the 1800s and that there is a Whole Foods a few blocks away plus a used book store and record shop. I cannot wait to date this city!
*My website is also going to be getting some work done, which includes a reel from my college theatre career, favorable reviews from this summer, and new pictures. Again, big thanks to Peter Nilsen- my website designer!
I hope all my beautiful friends from college, home, and past jobs had stunning summers and are pumped for the fall. I cannot wait for the leaves to begin turning.
"She's got everything she needs,
She's an artist, she don't look back.
She's got everything she needs,
She's an artist, she don't look back.
She can take the dark out of the nighttime
And paint the daytime black."
She's an artist, she don't look back.
She's got everything she needs,
She's an artist, she don't look back.
She can take the dark out of the nighttime
And paint the daytime black."
-Bob Dylan
