August and the end of the summer

As predicted, August was a crazy, full month. I saw a TON of plays, including my Shakespeare Saturdays, and had my first mini-vacation of the year. Here's a snapshot of the month:

A showing of the '80s classic movie Ghostbusters

Sandy Arts Council's Thoroughly Modern Millie

My besty, Kate, the best Muzzy I've ever enjoyed.
Never stop singing, Dearest!

Taylor as Millie

Gorgeous Nichole

Ashley and Jacob as Miss Dorothy and Trevor Graydon

Sugar Factory Playhouse's South Pacific

Sweet, innocent Larissa with the Murens ;)

David's White Coat Ceremony

In several short years, we'll have a doctor in the family. We're so proud!

My mom's birthday (the honored lady is not pictured, per her wishes)

Neither David nor I have aged in the last 10 years.

Gunner's favorite place at Grammy's house :P

White cake with raspberry filling, made by David -- yummy!

Midvale Main Street Theater's Legally Blonde

Possibly my favorite play of the summer, next to Peter and the Starcatcher

Amelia and Leah as Elle and Paulette

Megan W. as Brooke, Aaron's friend Stacey, and Aaron

CenterPoint Legacy's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

I was surprised by how many people I knew in this show!

Kiss Me Kate reunion photo! I miss these kids!

The premier of Austenland

Nichole and I even got to hear a Q&A by director/screenwriter
Jerusha Hess and creator/co-screenwriter Shannon Hale!

My final Shakespeare Saturday

A reading of As You Like It with a group from Robin Hood, where I got to read Audrey

Finally received this adorable little friend in the mail:

I'm Harry Potter, Harry, Harry Potter...

And now the summer is technically over, though it still lives in my heart. September will be busy, and happy. Too much going on to linger over the past for too long. It was a wonderful summer, though!

A letter to September

Dear September,

The last two of you were pretty awful to me. I've gotten sick during Labor Day weekend both years, and was sick for my birthday... and the whole rest of the month. Two years ago, I had whooping cough, which was not diagnosed until the end of the month. Last year, it may have just been a sinus infection, but it lasted forever, and the coughing and irritated throat ruined closing night of my show.

I realize it's not your fault that I'm allergic to trees and weeds and grass, and otherwise I would totally look forward to Autumn and the changing of trees and crunching leaves and cooling of weather. But, since I AM allergic, please go easy on me. I've been doing my part and getting allergy shots and taking other medication to help ease the process, but anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Can't the continuing physical therapy on my ankle be enough of the physical trouble for now?

I must say, it's hard enough accepting that I'm in my thirties, but to spend the first month of the new year ill is adding insult to injury. Uncool September. The birthday coming up could be especially difficult emotionally. Don't make it worse.

This September, in particular, I really, really want to be healthy. I have a LOT of awesome stuff planned and I do NOT want to be sick for all of it. Please? Pretty, pretty please?

Looking forward to a terrific month free of illness and full of family, friends, and fun. Let's work together to make this a truly epic birthday month. We're making up for the last two, after all!

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Miss Megan

I don't look my age...

Last night at the temple, I complimented the lady sitting next to me on her gorgeous, enormous, wedding ring. She said, "Thank you," and then asked if I was married.

"Nope." I replied, showing her my naked left hand.

She asked if I was getting ready to serve a mission, and I said I had already served.

Then she asked me if I got to take advantage of the new age limit, and I responded that I was almost 22 when I left, and I wasn't sure if I would have been ready at 19.

That's when I realized this woman thought I was in my early twenties. She might have even thought I WAS twenty! Golly, I needed that shot of self-esteem yesterday! Thanks, lady!

Not bad for a girl who's well into her thirties :-)

I would like to thank my parents for looking younger than their ages,
my family and friends for allowing and often encouraging me to act like a crazy kid,
my facial lady for helping me take such good care of my skin,
and Heavenly Father for sending me to the temple last night (it was a beneficial trip in other, probably more important ways, as well), and for everything else I have in this world.

Sometimes looking younger than my age is a curse: it seems that men my age aren't interested in someone who looks like their little sister, and younger men aren't interested in a girl my age.
Sometimes it's a blessing: remember how I played Amy in Little Women last year?

But for better or worse, I am who I am: the girl my friends think of when they see a tiara ;) 

Emily crowns me "Miss Amazing 2008"

Sleeping Beauty and Destro

My first "real" tiara -- a gift from Kate :)

Cinderella

New Year's tiara

Tiny tiara!

Disney princesses

Four of these six tiaras are mine *sheepish grin*

I'm okay with that :)

Happy Friday!

"You are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

- Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh

I've decided to implement a few mantras into my daily life:

1. I can do hard things.
This my new motto. I have been known to give up when things get tough or are no longer fun (this is one of the reasons it took so long to get my washer and dryer hook-ups done). I have decided that I don't like this about myself. I am starting to ask myself is: am I giving up because it's hard, or because I honestly don't care? If it's the former, I have to keep going.

2.

This should be self-explanatory, but I have a hard time with it. I tend to over-empathize, and also take things personally when I shouldn't; it's not always about me, but sometimes it is, and that's when I'm allowed to be selfish. Several people this month have flaked out on me at the last minute, so I have decided it's okay to do my own thing, especially when I'm the one making the plans. Also, I no longer feel obligated to see some one's play if they haven't been to my last three or four. If they are supportive, you better believe I'm going to make an effort. Otherwise, sorry Charlie. There may be exceptions, but in general I have to make me the #1 priority.

3. Money doesn't matter.
Is anyone else as sick of spending money as I am? For some reason, I feel like I don't have any. But, if I can afford to pay off my credit card bill nearly every month and also put a few dollars in savings, it's okay to buy something big -- like a trip to Disneyland -- once in awhile. I am so tired of worrying about money. I can always make more. I may not be rich, but I'm better off than quite a few people I know.

The last month has been unbearably tough for quite a few reasons. It gets to a point when a woman realizes she needs to make some changes to keep the outside world from dictating her emotional well-being. Giving myself permission to believe and follow-through on the above has already helped relieve some of my pain. With any luck, these reminders will continue to make each day a little better.

Things are looking up.

Shakespeare Saturdays: The Utah Children's Theatre's Shakespeare Festival

This is the second year that the Utah Children's Theatre has present their own Shakespeare Festival. Since I had friends in every show, I bought a package to see everything. I had no idea what to expect.

It was wonderful!

Much Ado About Nothing
This was performed under the hat of the Youth Stage, meaning that all of the actors were between ages 8-18. I love this comedy and have seen it several times lately, in different forms (the Kenneth Branagh and Joss Whedon movies). I really wish they'd had this program when I was a teenager; I'm totally jealous of the opportunities those kids have. The two playing Beatrice and Benedick -- the main characters -- were Mary and Colin when I did The Secret Garden there a few years ago. I adored them then, and it was delightful seeing them play such different, adult characters. They and everyone else were so funny, and I had no trouble making sense of the dialogue and the story. The guy who came with me had never seen ANY Shakespeare, and he didn't have any trouble either. Hooray for great storytelling!

Cameron Colony and Lucy Holmgren -- stars in the making

The Greenshow and The Tempest
I saw these two shows on the same night. I'll be honest, I wasn't in love with the Greenshow. I thought the segments were great (a scene from Romeo and Juliet, an excellent sword fight, a puppet show), but the chaotic dancing and connective dialogue were a little too frantic for me. I felt like they talked down to the audience more than they did in any of the other plays. Then again, the Greenshow was free. You get what you pay for, I guess?

Fortunately, The Tempest was excellently done. I studied this play in college, but I've never seen it performed, and I didn't remember much about it.  I was a little nervous when I heard it was set in the Old West, since it's supposed to take place on an exotic island. Happily, the setting worked great! The characters were distinct, relatable, and a lot of fun, particularly Caliban's depiction as a wacky prospector; I've seen that actor play the romantic lead several times, and it was fun to see him do something else. I've also seen the actor who played Prospero in several plays, and this was my favorite of his characters by far -- I liked seeing him play totally sincere and comfortable. I was impressed by the quality of the acting all around. I kind of wished I had auditioned... It made me wish I could see The Tempest they did at the Utah Shakespeare Festival so I could compare the two.

Breakfast with Shakespeare
This was the one I was the most nervous about, and the one I probably ended up liking the best because of how well they pulled it off. The idea was to present 15 minute versions of four of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies -- Julius Caesar, King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth -- in a humorous way that was also presentable to little kids. What followed was a "Shakespeare Smackdown" where the audience got to vote on which they liked best. They were all a bit silly, of course. The conspirators in Julius Caesar carried random weapons like rubber fish and used the password "lightsaber", and Macbeth's witches used "Soothsaying Puppets of Doom" at one point. It was effective, though. They didn't shy away from the deaths and gore, but it wasn't scary or gratuitous. Also impressive was how much of each of the stories they were able to cram in. The only one that really suffered was King Lear -- a LOT happens in that one and they left out most of the "B" story with Edgar and Edmond which ends up being important in the end. The "breakfast" part of the title included a donut and drink, and a 10:30am start time. At the end of the show, I was hard-pressed to pick a favorite of the four. They were all so funny and memorable! I wanted to exclaim with the rest as they ended each play: "Shakespeare!"

The talented cast of Breakfast with Shakespeare

After I had seen everything, I honestly told the actors that I didn't think I could pick a favorite. I was glad that I'd seen them all. Even better, I took someone with me to each performance, and although none of them had seen anything at the Children's Theatre before, they were definitely fans after. That's the highest praise I can think to give it!

I've seen a lot of wonderful things at the Children's Theatre lately. I'm glad that their great work continues, and that I got to spend part of two Saturdays and a Friday night supporting them.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next year :)

Stand by Me

I might have posted this video before, but I think it's time to share it again. All these people from all over the world combining their unique styles to produce this gorgeous sound and inspire others. I love it.


Happy Friday!