Tuesday, March 31

The Princesses visit my Holladay Haven

For the last several months, my 5 year-old nieces have been intermittently asking to come to my house. They have various plans -- usually to watch a movie or have a sleepover. I finally invited them over last week for the first time. What followed was a hilarious, activity-filled night!

Lindsey and the G-unit dropped Breezy and Zonks off at my house along with a Little Cesars for dinner. Right off the bat, the girls were very interested to know if I owned everything behind "all the doors [in my apartment building], and Breezy ran around to check out my bedroom and such. While he was there, I loaned the G-unit my copy of Racso and the Rats of NIMH because he'd liked the copy of Mrs. Frisby I gave him for Christmas. Then Breezy asked if I got her and Zonks presents, too... I knew I forgot something! Breezy was more than satisfied with the loan of one of my tiaras, but Zonks declined the invitation, requesting we start a movie instead. I let her choose the first - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which I highly recommend) -- and they watched while I set up the dinner table, and while we ate... and a little after, too.
Dinner consisted of pizza and ice cream
(chocolate sauce for Zonks and sprinkles for Breezy).
I offered them sugar snap peas, but both said they didn't like them.
Not to worry: I like them enough for all of us!
It was funny to really pay attention to the way the girls eat. They are different in so many ways. Zoe ate with gusto and fairly tidily; she ate everything and was the first to finish. Breezy ate slowly and often forgot about spoonfuls on the way to her mouth. I had to laugh at one point when the ice cream dripped off the spoon, she tried to mop it up with her napkin (still watching the t.v.) and then realized that the rest of the contents of her spoon had splatted onto the table cloth. She apologized, but this is not my first rodeo, and I just giggled and helped her wipe up.

I got my only cuddle as we watched the second half of the film together on my couch. When it was over, Breezy wanted to choose the movie, and asked that we watch The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea*. We had a small makeover session where I put some glitter on their eyelids and some lipgloss on their mouths.
No eyeshadow, a different tiara than the one she wore for dinner, and pink lip gloss
Lavendar eye shadow and purple lipgloss
Breezy got a little bored about halfway through the second movie, and was disappointed that I don't have any toys. I had some dress-up things that fit her, and she was very curious about my jewelry. Then she spotted the photo I have of "Bring on the Men" from Jekyll and Hyde. She wanted to know about the play and my character. Have you ever tried to explain the story of Jekyll and Hyde to a 5 year old? I didn't want her to have nightmares so I downplayed the scary things as much as I could. Thank goodness I had a fairly extensive character sketch to draw from. She was disappointed I didn't get to keep my costume, and asked a lot of questions about why the hat had so many weird things on it. Breezy is spunky, and simultaneously girly and messy.
Zonks was fairly content to watch the movie, though she moved from location to location, and had some fun with my umbrella. She's such a little lady. She's stylish and blunt and logical and patient and she knows what she likes.
We had time to watch a third movie before their parents came to get them, and the girls picked Mulan 2. For this one, they wanted to dress up like Mulan, so I grabbed long cardigans and scarves and bound them up as well as I could. They thought the long sleeves were funny. I was thrilled they wanted to dress up as the butt-kicking princess! We ate popcorn and peanut-butter M&Ms and chips and salsa. At one point, Breezy asked for a piece of paper and wrote this for me:
"I love you Megin. Pllez hav uanuthur prte."
Translation: I love you, Megan. Please have another party.
Yeah, like I can say No to that!
Towards the end of the movie they were both getting restless. I was glad Adam and the G-unit came just as it ended, because neither girl was interested in a book, and as I said I don't have any toys. Well, I had a few Happy Meal toys from McDonald's. Breezy asked if she could take one home and I said OK. She knows she is more likely to get something if she asks for it (over and over) and she isn't shy about asking! Adam started to protest until I told him it was a Happy Meal toy, then he and the G-unit relaxed. When Breezy asked about one other thing a minute later, the G-unit said in exasperation, "You can't have any more of Megan's things!"

Oh, how I adore those kids!

According to their mom, Zonks and Breezy had glowing reviews for their night with Aunt Megan! That's so nice to hear. I loved having them over. I think that next time I'll take them and their brother on one-on-one dates so they get to do what they want to -- they don't often want to do the same things at the same time. Plus, even though the girls are twins, they shouldn't always have to do everything together. I'm going to get to work on that this summer.


*Fun fact: I mentioned this movie ONCE about a year ago, and she has never forgotten, so it was fun to finally watch with the two of them.

Friday, March 27

Tuesday, March 17

Conversation with my nieces while playing Pretty, Pretty Princess:

Me [finding chocolate on the game board]: Oh no! Please try to keep the game clean.
Breezy: Why?
Me: Cause I might have little girls someday and I'll want to play this game with them.
Breezy: You will have little girls.
Zonks: You might have little boys.
Me: I might, and I'll play the game with them.
Zonks: Boys don't like jewelry!
Me: Maybe not, but they like to win!

Love Breezy's optimism and Zonks's opinions. They are so funny and smart and they totally get me!

Monday, March 16

"Is it a party? Is it? How killing!"

Noises Off opened and closed within eight days. We had wonderful audiences who laughed generously and gasped at surprises. The madcap show was a bear to rehearse and a blast to perform. I loved these folks and my little role in the play. It had been awhile since I had last flexed my acting muscles with a speaking role. Felt good to collaborate and play and feel needed again!

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to participate in this play, and to work with such a dedicated and talented group of performers, production team, and stage crew. I'm looking forward to our next project together, whenever and where ever that may be. 

I'm also grateful to the many friends and family members who took the time to come and support all of us. Your kindness and confidence make all the stress, work, time, and injuries worth it!

Rehearsal and backstage (and a few onstage) shots for the show:
I kept missing rehearsals when people were taking photos.
Thanks to Madman, this is the first Chris and I were actually in!
The folks who were on time on the 2nd picture day (Nothing On cast photos)
We'd been rehearsing for about 6 (of 10) hours on this Saturday. It's fine.
Tech week is exhausting
Mark and I standing around backstage.
"Do something?"
McKenzie takes a photo from the balcony of Dain and I
Pregnancy selfie before Kristen reduced the size of my baby bump
I liked watching what I could from backstage before they filled in the windows
Dain and Scott.
"There's beer in the wardrobe?"
My direction for Kristen, Chris, McKenzie and Madman was to "look worried."
"Don't panic! Don't panic!
Nichole and Carrie.
I am forever grateful the sardines were plastic, because sardines are grossssssssss!
"It's the Golden Girls!"
The backstage was a maze, shielding the audience from the goings-on behind each entrance.
It took some getting used to.
Helpful directions to navigate the backstage maze

"BANG, you're on. BANG, you've said it. BANG, you're off..."
Entire cast selfie before our final dress rehearsal/preview night
One is truly expecting, and the other only pretending
Me and my darling Nichole
"No children, no servants. We're absolutely on our own!"
Only four of us in the women's dressing room!
Producer Stephanie gifted everyone with these fancy jackets

Fight call every night. The axe was scary!
Bird's-eye view of Poppy and Belinda on stage.
"Don't worry, my sweet. He truly didn't hear."

I love this shot of me in Act II
And this one from Act I
"You know how stupid I am about plot..."
Say good-bye to the Act III sheik/Virgin Mary/pregnant Princess Leia.
(We should note this is the second time Midvale Arts has cast me as a pregnant character.) :)
Stage crew member Ethan and his sympathy fake pregnancy. So sweet!
"Do you take this sheet to be your lawful wedded wife?"
Which one?
Night-before closing night cast (and friends) post-show dinner at Leatherby's

Friday, March 13

A day in the life of a writer/actor

As a publicity stunt, Midvale Arts Council invited some of their production workers and actors to do a "Day in the Life" feature on Midvale Arts' Instagram and Twitter accounts. I volunteered to give it a whirl about halfway through the run, and I had a good time with it, too. They even trusted me with the Midvale Arts' designated phone and taught me how to post to Twitter (learning new things every day)!

All of the photos included these hashtags: #macnoisesoff #midvalearts #noisesoff #instatakeover #utahtheatre #midvale #utah #poppyspics @miss_dizzy

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Photo 1

"Good morning! I'm Megan and I play Poppy in Noises Off. I'm taking over Midvale Arts' Instagram today and I'm excited to see what happens and to hear from you!

Photo 2

"Lunch with my darling dad. Can't ask for a better way to break up a work day!"

Photo 3

"By day, I'm a technical writer at a software company. I write the documentation and online help for our product. I'm not a software expert, so I like to say that if an English major like me can understand the steps and use the software based on my descriptions then anyone can!"

Photo 4

"Getting ready for the show and must give a shout out to our faithful and hard-working stage manager, DeeDee, and stagehands Matthew and Ethan. This show would be more more difficult without them! Plus, they are really nice people!"

Photo 5

"Poppy carries a clipboard for most of Act I and II. Here is a peek at her checklist (and some of my notes)."

Photo 6

"The play's the thing and the audience is laughing! Here is a glimpse of my view from off and onstage. Hope you can catch one of our last three performances :)"

A few photos that didn't make the cut, and regular-sized versions of those in the photo grid:
The phone case MacKenzie/Brooke loaned me to use onstage. Obviously, Poppy would be a fan of Doctor Who!
The stage crew all on their phones during Act I.
"I'm glued to a ruddy tax demand!"
My view from backstage through the "broken" window pane.
Poppy's desk in Act II. Note the package of saltines on the left, and the M&Ms tin on the right...
Brooke's meditations.
"Which one are you? Squire, Squire, Hackam, or Dudley?"
(I had enough free time during Act III that I sometimes snuck to the back of the audience to watch.)

Photo 7

"After the show, I ate pancakes at Denny's with some friends before heading home. Now it's time for bed so I can do it all again tomorrow. Thank you for sharing my day with me. Hope to see you at Noises Off this weekend!"