Sizzling July

July was busy, busy, busy! I opened and closed 1776, celebrated two holidays, attended quite a few plays, and still had time to spare for friends and family.

In case you have ever wondered what it looks like when I brush my hair.
This is what I imagine J.K. Rowling means when she talks about Hermione's "bushy, brown hair."

Independence Day

The celebration of America coincides with my grandmother's birthday, and we had extended family over to my parents' house for a party. I think my favorite part was having a lot of little kids and a few teenagers running around. Our family is growing and it's wonderful. I love hanging out with these people.

Gram says she doesn't feel "a day over 93." ;)
I hope, if I live that long, that I'm as sassy and spry as she!

My family knows how to cook and eat

For years to come, my 1776 show shirt will likely be my go-to for 4th of July festivities

My dad is adorable

Cookies by Mom.
I have yet to find a better sugar cookie.

Mom's eyes are closed, as usual. I'm starting to think that she does it on purpose to keep from posting photos of her.

Propelling a bottle in the air with water and air pressure -- entertaining for hours!

Cousins make the best friends

Credit for this photo goes to my niece Zonks.
She delights in photography and has a pretty good eye!

Show-going

I found some time to support a lot of my friends in their shows this summer. It's a daunting feat, especially since 1) my own show ate up so much time, and 2) a lot of the runs overlapped.

The Little Mermaid - Hale Centre Theatre

Ursala and the eels were my favorite. The roller-skating was just so cool!
Shout-out to Jeremy on the left who remembers me even though it's been 5 years!

Ames was brilliant as Chef Louis. He was definitely a show highlight!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Taylorsville

Every time I go to see Joseph I think, "Ugh, Joseph again?" But this production surprised and delighted me. I loved the modern costumes and characters, Larissa's choreography and that of her assistants was awesome and well-executed (particularly the Pharoah's "Uptown Funk"-inspired number), and there were a lot of just plain fun moments. I missed most of "Go, Go, Go Joseph" because I could not take my eyes off the Baker eating her cupcake in despair (she was sentenced to death, after all). I'm a little sad that I went closing night, because it meant I couldn't tell the wide world they needed to go.

Jamie and the cupcake - hilarious!

Beauty and the Beast in Herriman

I've never really cared to play a role in this play, but after this production, I really want to! It was visually gorgeous -- Herriman spared no expense -- and I loved a lot of the characters, particularly Gaston, the Silly Girls, and the enchanted objects in the castle. The Beast was hindered by his bulky costume, but his acting was darling and sincere nevertheless. I'm glad that I could support Theresa in her biggest role yet -- Silly Girl #1. She keeps growing in confidence and skill, and she's so fun to watch!

Dad's birthday

My dad is adorable. He and I went out to eat earlier in the month to celebrate one-on-one, and it was great to see him in his element as patriarch of the family. I get much of my work ethic and sense of humor from him. I'm grateful his is my dad and I'm excited to see what adventures he creates for himself and the rest of us this year.

Changes at work

We're implementing a new method of tracking and releasing our software this year. This month, my development team started the new program. It means we have a LOT more meetings (and the meetings we had already have been significantly shortened). While getting used to all the team time, I doodled just a little. Change is hard, but I think it will be worth it. I'm already seeing pluses with the way we work together - hooray!

Martha Jefferson and Abigail Adams

Captain America and River Song

Ant-Man

I enjoyed this movie so much that I saw it twice! It had a different vibe from the other Marvel movies, and was silly, and funny, and fun. The first time I saw it, I went on a Tuesday and got a recliner seat for only $5. I decided my mom needed to see it, so Aaron and I took her a week later, and they liked it, too (though, having missed the last couple of films, Mom didn't know who Falcon was).

Can you see my feel propped up at the bottom of this photo? Obviously I didn't want to use a flash :P

A few days later, a couple told me they hadn't caught up on the Marvel movies, so I sketched them out, in order, from memory. Because I am that nerdy and awesome.

Random merriment

While at Ant-Man, my mom mentioned that she'd seen something about the Share a Coke campaign, but had never actually seen names. She'd only seen things like "Superstar", "Mom", and the like. The next day I found some displays at my local grocery store and a lot of our family member's names were there. I enjoyed putting together this Brady Bunch-inspired collage, and putting myself as Alice :D

My Instagram caption:
"Pretty excited to #shareacoke with my parents and siblings. Too bad they spelled Dad's, Lindsey's, Aaron's, and Jordyn's names wrong :P Sorry, guys!"
(FYI, Dad is "Reginald", and Aaron is "Edward.")

While viewing the photos taken during 1776, I found the one on the bottom right. I proceeded to post this picture with the following caption:

"I see this face in photos and always wonder, "When the heck do I do THAT?!" I've finally figured it out: This is my "I'm singing and acting and my character is having a great time" face. Consequently, I'll only be playing sad people or non-singing roles from now on." #whytheface #scrunchednose

Looking at my plethora of books and bookshelves, I pulled a bunch that I'd like to read ASAP (you know, 'cause I have so much free time). It's an impressive stack, especially when you take in to account that most of them are part of series and I only included a few books, and that I have at least 15 more on my Kindle.

I was stuck for a while on how to choose, and then the decision was made for me when Harry Potter's birthday came up on the 31st. I'd wanted to read the actual novels instead of listening to them on tape as I do every year, but after the first I devolved onto the tapes so I could start Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, too.

And now it's August. Looks like I'll get a little bit of a breather schedule-wise, so I hope I make the most of it and spend boatloads of time with the people I like best. I have the most terrific family and friends in the world. I'd also like to spend some time outside, and see some more plays, and go to the Shakespeare Festival. And if another show opportunity comes up for me, I won't slap it away. Just want to enjoy summer as much as I can before autumn comes and my allergies ruin everything!

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!