"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

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!"

February Fun

To no one's surprise, the shortest calendar month of the year went by really fast. It was mostly filled by rehearsals for Noises Off, but there were other great events. For once, I didn't spend the whole month feeling depressed -- maybe it was the Spring-like weather? I don't know, but I hope next February feels as optimistic!

CenterPoint Legacy Theatre's "Hats Off" Thank You Party

Remember when I won this necklace at the party last year? I love it!

CenterPoint kindly and lavishly threw another bash to celebrate the people who volunteered and worked at CenterPoint in some capacity last year. Since I was in two plays, I was invited twice! I truly enjoyed the opportunity to wear a cocktail dress and heels and chat with some of my favorite people. It's a shame that at parties like this, a "chat" is all the conversation I get with most of them. However, the 2014 production-themed food and show-centric entertainment was delightful. I hope that somehow I am invited again next year!

I love this purple dress. I received a lot of compliments that night.

The contents of my tiny clutch

Program-viewing buddies Seth, Natalie, and Josh

Liz and Summer (a mini Little Women reunion)

Chantryce

Jackie

My Maurie

Amy and Jason

Todd

Jekyll costars Dan, Wendi, Amanda, Angie, Jared, and Madison

Valentine's Day

Another year with no official Valentine date, and yet Valentine's Day was a good day. Not spectacular, but good. 

I made strawberry and chocolate-strawberry fudge for my friends for Noises Off rehearsal in the morning -- it tasted all right but wasn't anything to write home about. One of the women did say: "You make homemade fudge? How are you still single?!" 

After rehearsal, I drove to my mom's house, but she wasn't there, so I left a little container of fudge in the fridge for her and dad. When I arrived home, I found she had left me a plate of cookies. Mom's sugar cookies ARE worth writing home about, or at least writing HERE about! Just sweet enough and the frosting is so smooth. Plus, they're pretty! I was delighted by the thoughtful gift.

Five is just enough. I would happily eat more, but I probably shouldn't!

I spent the early afternoon with my grandmother, talking about whatever one of us might think of. I don't make the time to visit her very often, so she was surprised to see me on her doorstep. She's such a neat lady, and she loves her family so much. I'm glad I took the time. I'm glad she had the time!

The rest of the day was spent eating waffles at IHOP (which is empty at 3 in the afternoon on Valentine's Day), and saw Big Eyes alone. The movie was good, though I was in the mood for something a little more upbeat. Terrific acting is always welcome.

Dinner at Potbelly

Remember how much I raved about Potbelly's sandwiches when I visited NYC and Washington D.C. last year? There's a store in Sugarhouse now! I had to stop by for dinner one Monday before rehearsal. The Italian sandwich and berry shake were perfect compliments to each other (I requested jalapenos for the sandwich, so I NEEDED the ice cream). Everybody go now so they know they are welcome and establish more locations nearby!

"Joy in sandwich form. Welcome to Salt Lake, and get in my belly, Potbelly!"
#yummm #itsthelittlethings

Allergies

Since winter in Utah was weird this year, we had nearly 60 degree weather for most of the month. This, of course, wreaked havoc on my allergies. I continue to have monthly allergy shots. Hope to be fully inoculated in about three more years.

We did finally see some snow during the last week. Not a lot, but I'll take what I can get.

The allergies finally got the best of me and blew up into a full-blown cold just in time for an all-day tech rehearsal. It's been about two weeks now and I feel mostly better, but not all the way. That's life. At least I no longer sound like Lauren Bacall.

Noises Off preview performance and opening night

We were asked to invite a few friends to preview our last dress rehearsal. It was such a comfort to hear Chantryce and Mandi laugh from the audience. It gave the cast hope that the show might be pretty good!

Opening night was better than any of us could have imagined. The seats were mostly full, and nobody held back their laughter. Because we could tell they were having fun, we on stage were able to relax and have fun, too. The next night was a little crazy and a LOT of things went wrong, but the audience was just as appreciative. I am relieved that our hard work is paying off!

Noises Off is open, and in a few days it will be over. I plan to wait a few months before my next audition. I'm excited to spend more time with my friends, eat out, and see several plays and the new Cinderella movie. Hoping that March is equal parts fun and relaxing. It will help once we finish up this current software release at work :)