In a crazy twist of fate, I had Halloween-themed events for every night leading up to Halloween this year.
Monday
Remember my gorgeous gown from 1776? I decided I wanted to do a photo shoot while wearing the gown. So, I called my favorite artistic photographer friend, Mandie at Illumine Photography, and begged her to take a break from school and soccer mom-ing. She kindly obliged. I had so much fun twirling around and watching Mandie get so excited about the pretty shots and thanking her little boy who's job was to carry my bad and keep my cape from getting dirty. I love watching Mandie work. She comes up with the coolest ideas and prettiest pictures* and has so much fun doing it. I recommend her to anyone for their next event!
*I cannot wait to see the finished photos. These are some shots I asked for on my phone so I could Instagram right away ('cause I'm addicted to Instagram, obis).
Tuesday
Liz and I attended the Utah Symphony's Wizarding Halloween concert. She was a darling Gryffindor witch and I was Glinda the Good Witch. I loved seeing all of the creative costumes the orchestra members wore (and managed to play in). The harpist was a loofa, and the percussionists were trophies! Too funny. I entered the audience member costume contest and was disappointed not to be a finalist, but had to agree that the ostrich who won totally deserved the honor. The music in the first act included "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "In the Hall of the Mountain King", and "Montagues and Capulets." The second act was all music from the Harry Potter movies. It was all gorgeous and a lot of fun. I cried through some of the numbers -- sometimes I love music so much my emotions just pour out my eyeballs, ok?
We were on the very back row, so I didn't even have to remove my crown if I didn't want to
Wednesday
Larissa was gifted tickets to Odyssey Dance Theater's Thriller concert last minute and asked if I could join her. Miraculously, I was free, so I jumped at the chance. We had amazing seventh-row seats (though the kids behind us would NOT shut up) and I was thrilled (no pun intended) that they revisited all of my favorite dances, especially "Frankenstein and Frankenstein" and the "Jason Jam." Best yet, I spent the whole evening with Larissa, Nichole, and Drew. I hadn't spent one-on-one time with Larissa in ages and it was just what the doctor ordered.
Thursday
I invited a few of my Comic Con buddies to my house to watch my special signed copy of Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. We spent most of the time talking instead -- that's just what we do. We did watch the "Commentary the Musical" version, which was hilarious, and several of David Tennant's video diaries and Doctor Who outtakes. Theresa and I dressed up, and Ashleigh wore her Doctor Horrible groupie shirt and some goggles, and I forced Laura to put on a cape. We laughed a LOT that night. Those women get me. I am grateful for them.
Oh, and we all gave this butterscotch creme soda a thumbs up. I will be purchasing it again next year!
Friday
Last night, my Is He Dead? cast had a little party. It started out with the board rep wanting to give us a copy of the cast photo, and then the producer volunteered to make crepes, and then someone pointed out it was the day before Halloween and asked if we could dress up, and the director volunteered to bring games. Let's just say I continue to enjoy these delightful people. They approved of my Luke Skywalker costume (the cape is SO GREAT!) and we laughed and ate and ate and ate. A few people weren't able to come, so we'll have to get together again -- hooray for getting together again! It's difficult to feel sad among this group of people. I like them.
Sometimes, a girl just wants to be a knight for a night
Saturday - Halloween!
I said "No" to a lot of invitations because I have been going going going for weeks and I was looking forward to a whole day where I could clean my house, and read, and catch up on t.v., and do yoga, and either wear a costume or not (of course I did). Wonderfully, I randomly ran into Marilynn and her darling daughter Alishya while walking home from Starbucks (for a warm butter beer) Einstein's Bagels (they were out of pumpkin but the cinnamon raisin was delicious). Then Allison came over to my place and we chatted for a bit. Then I gave candy to my very first trick-or-treater when Monster and his dad dropped by -- a seriously adorable Yoda and Obi-Wan. I need more Jedi in my life!
The plan was to binge on Supernatural, but I accidentally slept in until 11am, so it threw off the whole day. I didn't sit down to watch t.v. until about 8:45, so I watched the latest Grimm and Danny Elfman's Music from the movies of Tim Burton special on PBS. Pretty perfect programming for All Hallows' Eve. I even broke out my new popcorn popper for the occasion. I love it. The popcorn was great, especially paired with the Hot Tamales I bought for all the trick-or-treaters who never came (you never know).
I don't have Arwen hair, but I love this cute and comfortable gown
Happy Halloween, everyone. I enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes and hearing about the adventures of the past few days. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for Thanksgiving!
Oh, my goodness. Is He Dead? was so much fun! A lot of the people who came to see me lamented that it was only a four night run, because we'd worked so hard and came up with such a good show. I was sad, too, but I knew what I was getting into when I auditioned. And it was all worth it.
This was one of those magical experiences where all of the actors were afraid of being the weak link, so we all worked our backsides off to make sure we weren't. Ryan kept trying to give us 10-20 minute breaks, but we'd always be back after 5 minutes to either chat or work on our lines. We didn't want to let him or any of the others down. Consequently, we knew our stuff. Everyone had a minute to shine, no matter how big or small or less funny their role was. I am very proud of a few of our less-experienced actors. Our hard work paid off.
Better yet, it was impossible to be in a bad mood around those people! I often was when I got to rehearsal, but 10 minutes in my grumpiness was forgotten. Everybody was too nice and too funny to let anything else linger long. There was no backstage drama (as far as I know). We all got along. We teased and cheered and supported each other whenever necessary. It's been awhile since I worked in such a wholly positive atmosphere.
Ryan: director, coach, set designer/builder/painter, laugh track, and friend. I was shocked when I learned this was his directoral debut, because he was excellent. He loves the play, knew it backwards and forwards, was really good at getting us to grow and try new things, and never yelled at us for chatting too much or being late (things the cast struggled with). His laughter was always the highest compliment. If he jumped out of his chair, we knew we'd found a winner. I'd audition for him again anytime.
When Ryan offered me the role of Marie, he asked if I was sure I was ok with all of the kissing. I asked who would be playing Francois, and when I found out it was Adam, I smiled and said I would be fine. I've been friends with Adam and his wife Mary Ann for about 5 years and I was excited to work with him. He was our anchor, and he was positively brilliant in the role of Jean-Francois Millet/Widow Daisy Tillou. He's played character roles in a lot of musicals, but this was his first straight play. He's such a nice guy and a good friend. Anytime I expressed any self-doubt he'd assure me I was funny and then give me specific examples. I was happy to do the same for him. He was so good!
Marie Leroux and Daisy Tillou
"My darling sister"
He was professional and respectful about the kissing which I appreciated because I have never been kissed so much during a show, not to mention the rehearsals. We had a tough time not laughing in some scenes (have you ever had to stand motionless in the middle of a kiss, while the audience cracked up? It's more difficult than you'd think). I learned that it's one thing to worry about smearing my own lipstick all over my leading man's face. It's another to worry about his lipstick smearing all over my face. Adam and Katie (who played my sister) wanted to laugh every time they saw my face during the last scene in the first act where Adam left red lipstick all over my face. Katie had to bring a kleenex to wipe it off because otherwise it looked "like a vampire who just finished feeding." It's because of Adam that the "I do wish you wouldn't smoke" line worked so well. I really like that guy, and I love that Mary Ann was completely supportive. It's nice when I'm friends with my costar's wife.
Smeary vampire lipstick, only partially wiped off
Matt, Andrew, and Nathan. Scene-stealers with goofy accents.
These three jokesters where as good of friends off stage as they were on. It was obvious from the callback that they would be a terrific team, and they were. It was fun to watch them play and be silly together. I loved watching their scenes with Adam. Andrew (Chicago) and I have been friends for awhile, and he talked me in to auditioning. I am so glad. Matt was the only one at the callback who read for Dutchy. Every time he opened his mouth and that accent came out, everyone giggled. He told us later that he based it off of "Heimlich" from A Bug's Life. It was perfect. Nathan and I did Arsenic and Old Lace together, but we didn't spend much time together then, so it was nice to work together in a smaller setting and with his wife. We had a joke about how he'd knock on the dressing rom door and ask, "Is my wife in there?" If she wasn't there I'd say, "Not your current wife." And we'd both laugh. Nice to have three more big brother types nearby.
These guys rated my slaps. I think the highest score was a 9. That stupid slap was probably the most stressful part of the show for me. I tried a stage slap, but Adam said it looked dumb, so he gave me permission to actually smack him (as long as I didn't hit his ear). My slapping was pretty inconsistent. It didn't help when Andrew told me the cast backstage was rating them 1-10. If it was a good one, they'd cheer. Whether good or bad I had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the scene; this is unfortunate because it was the second of three gags that needed to be timed specifically. Oh, well.
Katie has been added to the growing ranks of women I've called "sister" onstage and may one day call sister offstage as well. Wow, we are different. She is one of the most patient, artistic, free-thinking people I know. She has it way more together than I did at 24. She did my make-up every night and took a load off my mind in doing so. I always knew I'd look great. We were both surprised when my wig turned out auburn, but I love that she was able to match my eyebrows so well. Katie made me feel so pretty!
Unintentional Disney Day, with her wearing a Belle-print dress and carrying an Aladdin clutch, and me and my Disney vans
I can only imagine growing my hair this long. I loved it.
Jillian did such a great job on my wig!
Since it was such a short, blink-and-you'll-miss-it run, I am grateful to the friends and family who made the effort to hurry up and see our show. Farmington was a bit of a drive for a few, but everyone assured me it was worth it. Wish I had more pictures of my dear fans. I am so grateful for your laughter and your love, everybody!
Gram, Dad, Dave, Aaron, and Mom
Heather and Kate
Nate and Heather
Is He Dead? is Kellie's favorite script. I am thrilled we didn't ruin that for her!
Chantryce and Natalie
My mom always chooses the prettiest flowers!
Producer Craig and Ryan show off their "long dog" loofahs gifted to them by the Arts Council on closing night.
(I'd say that sounds dirty, but that was kind of the point. Also: "Dirty loofah" pun.)
Once upon a time, I'd vowed not to drive further north than CenterPoint. I'm glad I changed my mind. This was only a few miles/minutes north; not a bad drive. So, I guess that particular argument is moot if they're doing a show I want to be in with a director I like, like this time.
I wasn't particularly sad when we closed, because I know I'll get to work with most -- if not all -- of these people again. I'm thrilled that I finally had the chance to interact onstage with so many, and look forward to doing it again someday. Hopefully soon.
Standing (from left): Joe, Emily, Ray, Missy, Nathan, Stephanie, Ryan
Seated: Craig, Ethan, Katie, Andrew, Adam, me, Matt
I was cleaning my house and taking a chair from the top of a table (to vacuum) and placing it back on the floor. Ironically, I'd been feeling really strong right before it happened. Luckily, it only hurt when I moved from lying down to sitting, or sitting to standing. For some reason it was ok when I did pilates 10 minutes later. Took about a week to feel more or less right again. Getting old is weird.
The Empress Theatre's Annual Gala
The party celebrated the plays from the previous year, and announced the 2016 season. The theme was "The Best Year Ever" and they encouraged us to dress from our favorite decade from the last 100 years. I picked the 1940s and felt super pretty (I got a few dates from that night, so I guess I looked pretty, too, but that's a story for another day).
They also gave out awards for the Best Play, Best Director, et cetera, for the plays that year. I was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for 1776 and was disappointed when I didn't win. I was proud of my date and my director, Michelle, for winning Best Play and Best Director, and our John Adams won Best Actor, and Edward Rutledge was the Best Newcomer. They all totally deserved the accolades!
me with Andrea in her flapper hotness
Melissa looked like a femme fatale
Amy looked classy in her 1910's gown and shoes. She's the only one I would ever karaoke "I will survive" with -- and I did! (She later gave a man my phone number without asking me first. She cracks me up!)
This ice cream may be my new favorite
Bad hair day
On a particularly heinous hair day, I decided to try a fancy braid for the first time. I'm surprised how well it turned out, especially since I didn't have a mirror. The front still looked terrible, but I'm pleased with the design of the back!
I continue to be obsessed with my FitBit
Sometimes I input my water intake incorrectly.
Pumpkin party
My friend Kristen is in school in London right now. She really likes Starbucks and pumpkin-flavored things. So, her mom orchestrated a surprise where Kristen's friends would order something pumpkin at Starbucks, take a photo, and send it to Kristen to let her know we're thinking of her. It was a darling idea, and I loved the muffin, but the pumpkin hot chocolate was not my favorite (I don't care for their hot chocolate anyway). Now I know!
These dolls are in my mom's house. She thinks they're cute, but for a long time they creeped me out (I watch too much Doctor Who). I've lately changed my mind and I can see where she's coming from... but this photo has creeped out a lot of my friends. Haha!
Rehearsals
And, of course, rehearsals for Is He Dead?
It's going to end too quickly for my liking!
Jillian uses saran wrap and tape to make a mould of my head to style a wig on.
We had a "Special Character Night" where we ate dinner in character and then painted pictures of our own. I'm rather proud of this "Rhapsody in C: Blue Dolphins." I think I'll keep it.
