Stretchin' my dancin' feet

"Come and meet those dancin' feet!"

Wednesday, I took my first tap class in almost ten years! The last class I took was in college. A year later I got to show off my stuff in 42nd Street, but my skills have pretty much languished since then.

I admit, I hoped the class would go something like this (well, it did until about 35 seconds into this clip):


Nope. I have a LOT of catching up to do, plus, there were some steps I had never seen before, and some bad habits I need to break. It's pretty cool the way the teacher was able to make this an "all-level" class, so that those who had never taken a class, those who were really good, and those like me in the middle all got to work together. The teacher and several other students are my friends, so I was able to feel slightly less nervous than I would have otherwise.

I told myself I wasn't allowed to get upset or frustrated. It was the first class in ten years! How could I expect to be perfect? I was pleased at how much I do remember, and am excited about all the stuff I have to learn. It will definitely take some work and patience over the next couple of months, but it's going to be amazing when I can do it all (or, at least more of it than I can now)! Hopefully then I won't completely embarrass myself when I start auditioning for some dance shows later this year.

And someday, I hope to be able to surprise people, like this:


My jaw dropped on the floor the first time I saw this. Is there anything Steve Martin can't do?!!!!

So, what's next?

My show closed on Saturday, but even before then friends and family and strangers alike were asking me what I'll be doing next (meaning, "What show are you doing next?"). I guess I can't blame them. Those bitten by the theater bug often do shows one right after another. You get in the groove, and ride the endorphin high right into the next project. I am usually no exception.

However, my answer at this time is:

Taking a break!!!!

I need to catch up on friends, dating, exercise, sleep, work, home improvement and, well, everything else I haven't had time for the last couple of months whilst flexing my artistic muscles :P Maybe I'll even take a vacation. Maybe.

There have been quite a few auditions lately that I was interested in and ultimately decided to skip. I plan to audition for Ragtime next month (one of my friends teased me that a month isn't a sufficient amount of time for a decent break), but other than that -- and maybe Robin Hood in Clearfield in April because, seriously, when will an opportunity to do that story come up again? -- I'm content to just sit around until June.

Of course, I might be more resilient than I think, and some other rare opportunity may come up before then, so plans may change.

For right now, though, I just want to hole up in my condo, ignore all event requests on Facebook, and finally finish Game of Thrones #3: A Storm of Swords, 'cause, man, I am only a little past halfway and this book is CRAZY! You better believe I'll be shutting off my phone later this week to give that book the time it deserves!

Happy Monday, folks. Any fun plans this week?

Just a man and his will to survive

I know I'm not the only one in a winter-time funk. Every day the last couple of weeks I've had to do something like this every morning, just to get out of bed:

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance
Now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
[Chorus]
It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge
Of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the
Eye of the tiger 

Writers: Peterik/Sullivan

(Have you seen Persepolis, the movie this clip is from? You should. It's not for kids and tough to watch, but so beautiful and ultimately uplifting. I highly recommend it.)

Happy Friday, my friends! We can and will survive the winter doldrums. We'll be complaining about summer heat soon enough!

Great names from a great movie

On a Sunday evening three years ago, while my sister-in-law was pregnant with my nieces, my family was sitting around a the dinner table discussing names. We were joking about names like Eden and Eve (a joke because the expectant father's name was Adam), Sadie and Fanny, and so forth.

My nephew, the soon-to-be first-time big brother, leaned over to my mom and whispered, "I think 'Leia' and 'Amidala' are beautiful."

Truly his father's son.

Sorry I'm in the way. Adam's Luke Skywalker costume circa Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was truly epic!

The G-child on his fourth birthday. Cutest Sith Lord ever!

I'm a little sorry we didn't indulge him, but he seems to like his sisters anyway.

This reminded me of a story a friend of mine told me when she was expecting her first child. Amy's husband suggested the name "Anakin" for a boy. Amy liked it. It took her an entire day to realize where the name came from, at which point she told her husband, "We are not naming our child after the Dark Lord of the Sith!" Fortunately, the child was a girl ;) They DID name their second daughter "Ozma", though, which suits her perfectly. Oh, and Amy's sister named her daughter "Lucy" after the character in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Oh, and did I mention that my name was made popular in the '70s by the book The Thornbirds? I really should get around to reading it someday...

What are names you like of fictional characters from movies you love? I'm pretty partial to Gwendolen (The Importance of Being Earnest), Eliza (from Pride and Prejudice, but also a family name), and Sam (from Lord of the Rings). 

Aaron, I will be upset with you if you steal any of these names ;)

Arsenic and Old Lace tybbling

This is the last week of performances for Arsenic and Old Lace, and I think it's time for a bit of show-oriented tybbling!

Monday, Wednesday, Friday cast
photo by Ron Russell

• "There's something so very 'Brewster' about the Brewsters." The details on the set are brilliant. It's a veritable "I Spy" game with details like a chamber pot used as a flower pot, a crutch in the stair case, photos of people who were dead when the photos were taken, and a pug dog statue dressed in a sweater. Directors Josh and Jennie Richardson slowly collected all of these crazy pieces while rehearsing and it was always fun to see what they came up with next. The finishing touch was actually the one they thought of first: a monkey in a jar. So bizarre, and yet completely perfect!
• I've been painting my fingernails red for this show. I normally don't paint my nails at all, and I have to touch up the red for each performance, but it seems like a 1940's fashion thing to do. I admit, there's something very girly and thrilling about my painted nails. A delicious, sassy feeling! Maybe I need to get a manicure more often...
• We do have an actual person playing the corpse. I sit behind the scrim at the beginning of the show, and I love listening for the laugh when people read the "Introducing Kayla Gibson and Olivia Hohl as the corpse" credit. The reaction usually tells me how responsive the audience is going to be during the rest of the show... then they all forget that the corpse is a real person, until curtain call, when she and Teddy get the most applause!
• In both casts the corpse is a teenage girl, and I am amazed how much they trust the Teddys, Jonathans, and Einsteins not to drop or injure them. Those girls in their "old man" wigs and oversized shoes crack me up! I love watching that scene from off-stage right before I go on. "Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic!"
• I performed 5 shows in a row during the second week. I LOVED performing with the other cast, and at the end of the week I was exhausted. Don't think I'll be choosing any time soon to be single cast during a run this long.

Brandon Green as Jonathan
(forgive my terrible editing skills as I tried to
remove the bomb in the background,
I couldn't find the original photo :P)

• Since I am the only girl in either cast with long hair, the directors and wig maker decided I didn't need to be wigged. Having to do my own hair for this show has been the main source of frustration and stress for me every night. Thank goodness it usually ends up looking ok (famous last words -- please cooperate for the last two shows, hair!). I'm excited to get a cut and color next week. The hot curlers have really done a number on my ends :P
• In the meantime, my mom uses hot curlers every day. It's nice to feel a little solidarity with her!
• There are four women in our cast, and nine men. Most of the shows I've done in the last couple of years have been women-heavy. Well, I guess that's true of most musicals, since women love to audition and musical men are spread a little thin in our community. I must say, it's been kind of cool being the lone single, young woman in the cast. I've had a lot of positive attention. If anyone is wondering what happened to all of the gentlemen, visit my show. A lot of the men in my cast are the sweetest, most thoughtful guys you'll ever meet, making sure I don't slip on the ice, brushing the snow off my car, sending Facebook messages to check on me when I had a bad day. Wish more of them were single, but golly are their wives lucky!

Jason Wadsworth as Brophy

Bob Bedore as Mortimer

• My costumes in this show are awesome. I feel so pretty! Just wish the faux fur I wear didn't keep coming apart on stage, and that the soles on my red shoes would quit coming apart -- I've had those shoes repaired twice, once on opening night! That's what I get for trying to wear vintage clothes...
• The turquoise sweater I wear in the last scene is my favorite. It's always the costume I wear for the least amount of time that I love the most :P Fortunately, I end up wearing the costume for the entire second act, so I guess that rule doesn't apply this time! Woot!
• The green suit I wear in the beginning was made by my Aunt Abby, Chris Brown; she made it to wear herself in The Music Man 20 some-odd years ago. Isn't that cool?!
• They gave me black tights to wear, because they have a seam up the back. Well, I also wear cream-colored shoes in one scene. Every time I put those shoes on over the black tights, I think of how my mom would always say that a girl who wears black tights and white shoes looks like Minnie Mouse.
• I think Dr. Einstein sounds like Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I giggle a lot backstage when I listen to his lines. Maybe he needs an "operator-inator" to help him fix Jonny's face...

Jonathan Tate as Jonathan, and Nathan Riddle as Dr. Einstein

• I love sitting backstage and listening to the show. I know these actors so well that I can see their facial expressions through their voices. Lines like, "It was THAT FACE!", "I don't think we're going to the same place", "Live in a hotel. Don't like it", and "You're forgetting: as President I'm also in charge of the Secret Service!" delight me every time.
• My favorite characters -- especially in my cast -- are Dr. Einstein, Teddy, and Lt. O'Hara. The actors all infuse their characters with such wonder, joy, and sweetness. Love, love, love!

Jeremy Jonsson as Teddy

Richie Uminskie as O'Hara

• Sadly, my character isn't very humorous, in characterization, or audience reaction. She's not really written to be funny. I do get a few laughs, though, usually during my "I started packing the day after I met you" and "Yoo-hoo" lines, and the last kiss (if you've seen the show, you know what I'm talking about).
• The reactions to the kissing in this show have been varied and humorous and a little exasperating. Old men I don't know (and some I do) like to tease how much I seem to enjoy it, my mom wasn't a fan of it, and a couple people say it's probably the most kissing they've ever seen in a Rodgers/CPT show (this is funny to me, because there is less of it now than there was when we opened). For the record, during a typical performance I am kissed 4 times. Yes, that last one is a doozy. I guess, like Elisha once said, I just take it in stride as part of the blocking so it isn't a big deal. Believe me, there's a big difference between kissing a guy onstage, and kissing a guy I actually like. I have had the experience of kissing a guy onstage that I was actually dating, and the kissing was STILL way different onstage. But I think I've already blogged about all that.
• I wear way too many layers of undergarments under my clothes - spanx, two pairs of tights at the same time (one nude and one with the seams up the back -- it seems like overkill, but the costumer likes the look), and booty shorts -- then comes the crinoline petticoat and whatever else. On the plus side, all that foundation clothing makes me feel like I'm a '40s pin-up model whenever I'm changing into my next costume. Tee hee!

Terrific costumes

• For the first couple of performances, I helped "Mr. Spenalzo" tie her tie. I don't remember why I learned this skill as a teenager (probably for some show I was doing), but it's nice when I can call upon a random skill like this and help someone out. You're welcome, Mr. Spenalzo!
• After my character leaves the stage at the end of the first act, I doesn't come on again until the end of the second. This leaves me with a 45 minute break from intermission to my next entrance. What do I do during that time? Usually chat with other cast members, check Facebook and e-mail on my phone, help with costume changes, read The Great Gatsby on Kindle, and write in my journal. I called my mom during the matinee on Saturday. I have yet to actually feel bored during this break. There's too much to do!

Meredith Gibson as Martha and Chris Brown as Abby

• I was a little worried about sharing a dressing room with two older ladies. What would we talk about? It seems I forgot that I usually don't have trouble finding anything to talk with anyone about. Meredith and I are both fans of Downton Abbey, and Chris and Meredith both entertain me with random stories about adventures with their kids, and love hearing about any updates in my dating life. "Such sweet ladies! I love them already!" I feel very lucky to count them as friends. I look forward to seeing them every other day, and am sad I didn't get to spend more time with Linda Jean and Carol in the other cast!

Linda Jean Stephenson as Abby and Carol Thomas as Martha

I have three performances left. It's been a good run and I am grateful for the experience. The cast and the audiences have all laughed a ton. I'll be sad when the show ends, because I'll miss those folks, but excited to have some free time. It's been nice to stretch my skills and play with a lot of people I have admired from afar for several years!

Co-director Josh Richardson

My double, Kylee Wood

Spencer Hohl as Gibbs/Klein

Jon Baty as Dr. Einstein and Mike Hohl as Teddy

Instagram tag

Want to know a secret? I love "tag" posts. My first reaction is to feel a little stressed when I get "tagged" in something, but, really, I love being asked to participate, I love having an excuse to post, and although I struggle to find new and different things to talk about in some annoyingly similar tags, I love finding new -- preferably totally random -- things to share that otherwise might not occur to me.

So, when Em tagged me on Instagram, asking me to share 5 things about me, I thought, "Oh no! What am I going to say... and how can I keep it to just 5 things? And what photo will I post it with?"

I'm pretty happy with the result. It's never going to be perfect (especially on Instagram, where I can't be as verbose as I'd like), but why should it be?

clockwise from top left: some journals I considered buying, a gorilla
at the Rainforest Cafe, a perfect dress I LOVED but couldn't find
in my size, and an outtake photo from my birthday trip to the zoo

5 things you may not know about me:

• I've kept a journal since I was 8. I have filled 36 so far and have 3 waiting to get started. It's up to Ingenuwitty to burn them all when I die.
• I could live on pie, soup, and salsa for the rest of my life.
• I'm still in love with Heath Ledger -- and I always will be!
• I still know all the lyrics to the Jem and the Holograms theme... and a couple of their other songs, too.
• The first high school football game I ever attended was during my mission. Sorry Colts! I still love you!

I always tag other people to participate too, just in case. Some do and some choose not to, and that's okay. I just like seeing what other people come up with. I love learning new things about my friends!

If I tagged you, would you play along?