Memes that make me giggle: movie stars are nerds, too

Borrowed from Set Phasers to LOL

July 3 - Opening night for 1776

My latest theatrical production, 1776, opened at the Empress Theatre on Friday. I love this play. It may not be entirely historically accurate (else my character wouldn't be there), but there is so much food for thought, and I have enjoyed learning about the history and the people behind the epic decision for America to declare independence from England.

I have also enjoyed watching the people involved interpret the characters, the dialogue, and the location. There are some wonderful performances to watch, and the set and costumes are gorgeous. And when the Congress starts singing "Sit Down, John" at the beginning of the show -- my word! It is glorious listening to those powerful, masculine voices! I look forward to it every night!

The cast of 1776 the Musical

The rehearsal process went by really fast for me. I only had 12 rehearsals, total, and most of them took place in the last week and a half before we opened. That's what happens when you play a small role. Most of the men were required 3-4 nights a week, even if they didn't speak -- every one is so important. Such nice guys, and they worked hard. I am proud of them!

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson

Edward Rutledge, John Hancock, and John Dickinson

I am pleased to say that our opening crowd had many, many complimentary things to say about our production and performances. This play isn't produced very often, so I hope that those who love the play or are interested in the history -- especially this time of year -- will come see us. I hope they enjoy it, too.

Martha and Thomas Jefferson

And, if nothing else, come hear me sing a delightful song, and see me wear a darling costume and kiss a dashing man ;)

But the Day is past. The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of the Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

John Adams letter to Abigail Adams

July 3, 1776

Abigail and John Adams

The words in this letter are from a letter Abigail actually sent to John Adams.
So beautiful.

Buy tickets now before you forget. I know how busy July can be, and I promise to make my performance worth it!!

June, June, June!

The face of June.
I can't even begin to say how much I appreciated these folks smiling at me while I worked!

I didn't feel much like taking photos in June. For the most part, I just sat back and experienced things not behind a camera lense.

Even so, there were a few noteworthy -- and a couple of notorious -- moments.

Remember that blown tire from May 30? Well, buying new tires ended up being a lot of hassle and drama. Thankfully, I have new tires now (and they already facilitate better gas mileage -- woo-hoo!) and it gave me an excuse several nights in a row to go out to dinner with my mom after checking in with the tires people. It was during one of these excursions that we discovered the Cafe Rio by my mom's house had moved. Apparently it's been gone for a while. I didn't think it had been that long since I'd been there. Guess I was wrong!

On the plus side, this new restaurant is supposed to be delicious!

To celebrate the biggest raise I will probably ever in my life receive (retroactive to the beginning of the year and resulting in a bonus of sorts), I bought myself this fancy Vera Wang/Kohl's purse, and some Disney Vans. It's fun to celebrate! Yay me for being valuable to my company! Feels good to be appreciated.

I did not buy this, but I thought about it!

I'm pretty proud of my random trivia knowledge.

Carrie's summer visit home happened to coincide with FilmQuest's showing of Back to the Future. It's the 30th anniversary of the movie (my mind is blown) and she, Chantryce, and I had no desire to resist the opportunity to dress in our '80s best. 11 year-old Megan would be so pleased by my The Last Unicorn t-shirt and double-rolled socks. Oh, and I made that scrunchy myself a good 25 years ago. Carrie and Chantryce are so fun to go to these events with, and I always love this movie! Perfect storytelling and truly outrageous friends? Sounds like a rad night to me!

Had a particularly productive weekend. It's fun to check things off a list and get absolutely everything done.

I showed up to my first lesson in months and lo and behold, the student before me was my Kate! Such a treat to listen to that talented lady sing. Hope to be hearing more of her glorious voice in the coming months!

For some reason, my shortcuts never, ever work out. This was a photo I took while waiting 6 minutes for the police to take a photo of an intersection. I was trying to turn left. I would have been happy to turn right and try a different route. They let the person in front of me go, but never looked at me. So I waited. Lesson learned: it's okay to take the long way :P

And, of course, rehearsals for 1776!

"Sit down, John!"

John Hancock

Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson

Debating the virtues and evils of separation from England

Tom and Martha reunited
(and it feels so good!)

Martha meets "the two greatest men in America", John Adams and Benjamin Franklin

July will be consumed with performing 1776 at the Empress Theatre, and supporting my friends in their productions. I wish I had the time and money to see all of them. It means a lot to me when my friends see my shows, so I try to do the same for them!

Prettiest costume ever!!

My co-star Melissa Alston (Abigail Adams) is a crazy-talented actress and seamstress. She made my gorgeous costume (and her own) and -- since I plan to buy it -- let me help choose my costume's fabrics and design.

Seriously, one of the prettiest costumes I'll likely ever wear. I am so excited I get to keep it when the play closes! I love, love, love it and Melissa. 

We're enjoying being each other's ladies' maids. My costume involves a stay (the 18th century version of a corset), two cotton petticoats, a quilted petticoat, the striped underskirt, and the gown. Melissa's character is not as affluent, so her costume is a little less involved, but it is no less difficult to maneuver alone. We have fun dressing each other up every night. I adore her and rely on her. 

There are only two female characters in the show, and Melissa and I are so glad we have each other! We both love period costumes and this play and we are still pinching ourselves that we get to play these dream roles. It's so fun being girly together!