More Mask Info

Got 15 in progress now, that's only 27 more to start - and 42 to finish, NOne have been painted yet.
Back aches.
Made 3 while I was in MD for Xmas with my two nieces!
Good times.
More to make.
Get movin' M!

NOt ENOugh Posts

Oh well, I've NOt really done much posting this month ... such is life.
I will have posted every month since I started it ... so I suppose it's NOt a total fail.
Ha ha ha...
NOt sure what this has turned out to be ... but there you have it.
13 more days until the year will have come full circle ... what the hell have I done in that full year?
NOt a whole hell of a lot.
Sigh.
:(
Gotta find a way to get the projects I WANT TO DO, up and running for real - but how?  Where is my business manager?  Where's my agent?  Where's my ... I don't know ... gotta get some grants or something 'cause this is nucking futs!

MASKS!!!

43 Masks in one show.
1 Mask was purchased.
1 Mask will be more of a head dress.
42 Masks to be made by me.
7 are well on their way.
1 is "done" - well the construction is done, it still needs to be painted and the elastic attached.

So many more to go!

Will they all get made or will I cave?

Only time will tell!
(But I really want'em, so I'm gonna keep on keepin' on!!!)

My back hurts.  ;o)

Mask Mask Mask Mask ...

Masks for the show, so ... I'm sure I can do it (though it will take a lot of my time - no more sitting around watching the telly and doing nothing, ha ha ha)!  I've got three half-way there, and once I know how to do them in full - including roughly how long each one will take - I can start to designate time during rehearsals for kids (or whoever) to do the second layering of paper mache, and then the painting too - which should be fairly easy as I want all the Chorus Masks to look grey'ish, like marble.

And that, and rehearsal is what I did today!

:o)

Working...

Got my last Drama Kids class, before the Christmas Break, today.

Working on the MS Play.  Going to get more mask making supplies today 'cause if I'm going to have them - and I am going to have them - then I need to make them!!!  OH MY!  There's only a little over a month until the performance ... YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, for the moment, that's all.

ps...how on earth did it become December 19th already???

Application of the Day - perhaps the whole blog...

Dun dun dunnnnnnnn....

Ok folks, I've actually applied for a Professor's job at Southern Oregon University as Assistant Professor/Theatre Arts.

Who knows if I'll get a response but I feel good about actually submitting myself!  :o)  Hey, you never know!

2nd Application for the Day

WHAT???!!!  I'm on a roll.  It's a kaiser.

AT any rate, this one is actually late as the deadline was slightly over a month ago ... but I figured if I had the info and they hadn't found anyone yet I might as well send it along.  What could it hurt?!  ;o)

This was also an AEA SM Position, with Pittsburgh Musical Theatre.

We'll see.

Application Sent (WHAT??? U Heard Me!)

Officially emailed off an AEA SM application to The Theatre at Monmouth (which is in Maine) for their summer season!  We'll see what happens.

:o)

Professor Jobs

The good news is that I found a wicked site that lists TONS of Professor / Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Adjunct Professor (etc...) jobs that are currently open and accepting applications.

The hard thing is that many of them require lots of credible teaching experience, and all of mine is with Highs School age - or younger - kids.  Does this count?  Well yes, but does it count on a collegiate level? So I ask you, how does one get the experience when the experience is required to get the experience?  If you understood that - good on you - and if you both understood it and have an answer/recommendation PLEASE GIVE IT!

*I have an idea, that I could write up something regarding my lack of college level experience but what all my other assets bring ... being equal too ... etc...does that make sense?

And when they ask for a teaching philosophy - still haven't formulated one that really sounds like me and sounds GOOD.

And what if they ask for a sample syllabus ... do I create a "model" one and submit it ... ???

Oiy ... the application process is NO fun, not really!

At any rate, I've got a slew of places I can submit myself too and see what happens.

Go Big or Go Home Mags!

Stuff and Things

Working Drama Kids this week, it's our last week of classes before the Holidays ... so the attention spans are "super", hahaha!  And we're polishing up the mid-year parent presentation pieces.

Rehearsals for Circus Olympus are going well.  We've got the intro blocked, part of the Demeter myth blocked and most of the King Midas myth blocked.  Of course things will ebb and flow and change between now and the performance ... it's going well.  :o)

And really, for the moment that's all.  I'm not sure when the last time I actually submitted myself for another gig occurred ... I should get on that!  And ya know what, I can do just that tomorrow.  After I plan my afternoon rehearsal that is.

Me

Mask Making

I spent a portion of my day today beginning - with my Aunt - to create some proto-type masks for our show.  We're each attempting a different style Greek Chorus Half Mask.  :o)  Good times.  I always forget how much fun it is to do "arts and crafts" ... to make masks!  Even if it is hard work that takes fairly long hours.  At any rate, I'm confident we can do the 9 masks I "need" and I'm even fairly confident that we'll be able to get the whole cast (yes that's 38 Kiddos) in Greek Chorus Masks!  Woot woot!!!

And that's all ... theatrically speaking ... gotta work on the rehearsal schedule for this coming week now.  Peace out ya'll!

Go Big or Go Home

In college one of my professors said "the bigger the risk the bigger the reward", something I'd heard before but perhaps I had never pinned it to directing.

With my actors - be it a student or adult - I always ask them to "go the whole hog", go BIG - potentially over do it - because it is easier to pair some one back (you know you can pull them back) than it is to "make" them bigger (if they over do it you know you can rein them in, but if they only do a little you'll never know if you can get them to go bigger or give more).

Right, what's my point here you ask?  Well, it's that I pretty much always GO BIG NOW!  I mean I strive the most so that I have places to go when I find out 'what I want I might not be able to have'.

At the moment it is manifesting itself in the form of a million (ok not a million but 42) masks, all of which I will have to make.  YIPES.  Always making more work for myself, ha ha ha ... but it's not just for me and my desire to use masks (and a lot of them, heck it's Greek theatre and Chorus Masks...mostly), but also for the kids.  What Middle School student uses masks - in such rural areas where they know almost nothing about theatre to begin with???

So I'm going big ... not yet going home ... we'll see if I have to pair down my masks or not.  :)

Anyhoo...there you have it!

Back to planning today's rehearsal.

Proctors Update

So following up with the Proctors Media Works possibility was a good idea, at least to settle my mind.  :) I found out that the individual who'd called me has been under the weather and hasn't yet contacted my references ... so ... we'll see what happens, but it's nice to know that it is still 'in the works'.

Theatre Stuff

Drama Kids Tonight.
Working on MS Play stuff's right NOw.
Me thinks that will be all for today ... but who knows for sure, it is only noon.
:)

I've sent a follow up email to the guy at Proctors regarding the Media Works program, but haven't heard back from him yet ... so ... who knows what will happen with that.  Crossing my fingers still.

And ... waiting to hear if Cap Rep will use me for their summer program this summer.  I know that the education coordinator put my name in the hat for the Teaching Artists job, so ... we'll see.

I really want a REAL job!  I need to get my own place.  I need to feel like life is moving forward again, instead of STILL standing still!  You know, FEEL LIKE A BLOODY ADULT AGAIN!  Like I have a life.  Blahhhhhh.....

Today.

Today, Circus Olympus rehearsal.
Good stuff - blocked the intro and began to block the first myth, having talked through characters/acting & reacting/motivation ... the mask work is going to take some time to get down, but I think it's gonna rock!!!

And that is all.  For now.  Ya know, like always.  :)

PS...and on a totally different NOte...why can't the boy simply chose me, just once...rather than being yet another NO in my life.  Sigh.  Oh well.  Shut up M.  Ok.  Great now I'm talking to myself on this blog...ha ha ha!  Done!

Yesterday.

Yesterday, Drama Kids.
And getting a script to my Costume Designer for the MS Play.
And that is all.

No Post.

And just like that I am several days behind ... ah December ... !

Friday I went to see "Fat Ram" at SUNY New Paltz, as a chaperone with the HS Drama Club and saw two of my former professors!  :o)  The show used some great puppetry too!

Made this weeks rehearsal schedule ... balanced out with my Drama Kid classes and the 24 Hours at the weekend.

And I'm now considering ... yes I know I am totally crazy ... all the kids in my MS Play to be in Greek Chorus Masks at the top of the show.  That's 38 masks yo!  Oiy ... we'll see what happens.

And that is all.  For now.  Yeah.

Hmmm...

Part of the reason that I started this blog was because I thought if I collected "data" on all the places I apply too, and all the ways I get told NO, that I might be able to create a funny book.  Now I'm not so sure, mostly because life gets and so it feels like I haven't really applied to all that many places over the past year - which is and isn't true.

Then the blog also became a kind of "theatre work / job application etc." commentary for me - the 365 days part.  And I just looked at the total tally of posts, 265, and I'm about 42 days from the full circle which means I certainly didn't post every day.  Hmmm...not sure this means anything, but there you have it!

24 Hour Theatre Round #5

Saaaaa-weet ya'll, GCS HS is where we are having our 5th 24 Hour Theatre round!

Working on the MS Play.

Drama Kids tonight.

For now, me thinks that is all!  ;o)

Oh wait, Welcome December (stay away SNOW, ha ha h)!

Nothing new to tell...

Second rehearsal of Circus Olympus went really well today.  We worked on telling a story with our bodies ... good times ... played some games, did the fairy tale tableaus, the bench game, and also talked about what the "actors job" is ... among other things.  Everyone seemed to be having a really good time today so that's good.  Did get the inevitable question from a few of "why did some people get two parts and we only got "one small one"?  Oiy...but such is life.  There are no real leads in this script but ... well ... casting is always done from ones audition and this year was more difficult than in years past, with several different myths trying to get every kid at least one speaking role - using 38 kiddos ... phew.  But all in all ... team work ... fun!

Drama Kids still Drama Kidding!

Not going to get those possible fill in gig dates with Cap Rep, they're trying not to use over hire (I understand saving money, but dang).  They did say the will use me next season, so ... WOOT WOOT for that!!!

Me thinks that is all for now ... It's Been Real November 2011

First Read Thru

Woop woop, Circus Olympus' First Read Thru was a success...even though we didn't get through the final myth (which is mostly movement and very little dialogue).  I did however give them a brief "this is what the final myth is" just before rehearsal ended, so they "know" the entire show.  They laughed a lot, and at the right places, so I think they like it!  And I hope they are all "good" with the roles I gave them.  It took almost 3 hours yesterday to actually cast the show - we already cast who was in it, this was casting those kids into the different myths.  Phew!!!

Here we go.

Other than the actual rehearsal ... reading of the script, listing all the movement sections - so I can get on "choreographing" them - and my mind is teaming with things to do ... this is exciting!!!  ;o)

Und zat is all for now!

No Posting ... Oiy!

No posts for how many days NOw?  Too many.  Such is life I suppose.
Right...well Happy Thanksgiving all (one of you who read this blog), hope you had a good one.

Tomorrow is the first rehearsal (read thru) of "Circus Olympus"!

Setting up a time to sit in on a class for the Proctors Media Works Program, which is the potential job op in my sights right now - wish me luck on that one!!!

And for the moment that's all.

I can't believe it's almost December ... how did that happen???  ~M

Knock On Wood

How freaking cool would it be if I had two local "gigs" in the works, both because of connections from a recent gig!?!?!?!  Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself.  Sometimes the universe is working with me and sometimes it's not, or at least that is the way it feels.  (Most specifically the universe is NOt working with me where men are concerned...but that's another blog entirely, and one I am NOt going to write.)

And that's that, for now.

Happy Turkey-Eve!

Ya know, stuff!

Some play work today - script reading ... directorial thinking ... it's coming along.

Possible future job phone conversation!  :o)

Und zat is all.

Work Begets Work

Well at least I hope it does!  :o)

And it looks like it might be about to do so.  Oh yeah!

Work in one place and do a good job and get recommended for another job at another place.  

Knock on wood folks ... !!!

I'm intentionally being a little cryptic.  My superstitious side says if I don't say too much out loud I won't jinx it.  Of course I could totally be jinxing it by saying I don't want to jinx it...

We'll see what happens!  :o)

Fill In Gigs

"Time Warp back to November 18th (this past Friday)"...

Sa-weet!

Cap Rep has asked me if I'm available to do one or two different (super short term) fill in SM gigs. A weekend cover - where I'd run the show that's up - and a week long cover - where I would either run the show that's up OR run the first week of rehearsals for the next show that'll be going up.

I'm free for both time frames - my DK position still going on, but with notice my boss is usual good and ok with helping out!

We'll see what happens.

We Have a Cast!

Woot woot! Circus Olympus has a cast! And even better, they all said yes to being cast in the show! :o) Now onto working out who gets what roles in each of the myths, and who's going to be our Greek Chorus! Let the good times role!

Theatre

I've been super lucky, in the past few weeks I've managed to see quite a bit of theatre.

~"La Cage aux Folles" at Proctors
~"She Stoops to Concur" at SUNY Oneonta
~"Wicked" on Broadway
~"Man of La Mancha" at Capital Rep

And even better, for all four shows I paid a grand total of five bucks! Saaaa-weet!

So, what show's next ... ??? Actually, I'm not sure, but I hope something, and soon! :o)

What's a'going on???

I've missed several days now ... recap ... Drama Kids classes and getting the audition stuff ready for the GCS MS auditions, holding auditions (being super happy with auditions) and then trying to sort through the MANY kiddos who did audition to select the cast.

Perhaps I'll have a real update tomorrow. :o)

Auditions in 2 Days

Worked on some Audition Stuff for Tuesday's Middle School Auditions. I'm super excited! Working on how the movement part of the audition is going to be done. It's not specific choreography, but it needs to be something they can show in small'ish groups ...

And other than that, NO theatre stuff today!

Wicked Yesterday

Dooooooo the time warp ya'll...

Yesterday I went into NYC with Drama Kids to see "Wicked"! It was fun to see it with Drama Kids actually, the little girl and her mom who were sitting next to me (and while she's not in any of my week classes, she is a Drama Kid I've had in the Winter/Spring Camps) was so adorable while watching it. Every time she figured something out she got more and more excited!!!

I can't wait to see a show with Paige and Taryn and experience them like that! :o)

Anyhoo, it's still an amazing show! It re-inspired me to be "great"! So now, I've gotta get on with that! Hahahaha...

Space Inquiry Letter Sent

So I've sent out a letter of inquiry on renting out space at Proctors for a round of my 24 Hour Project. It would be my "Around The World" round, which I have been dying to do for ages NOw! :o)

We'll see what happens.

Yesterday

Turns out ... NO surprise here, ha ha ... that I'm horrid at this blogging every day and all that.
The only thing done yesterday were my Drama Kid classes. :o)

No....

No's come at me from all areas of life.
Tonight I'm thinking the silence is a NO.
Sigh...chin up buttercup...right?!

Today

Didn't do much today on the "looking for future jobs" front ... nor did I do much with the MS Play or anything else theatrical. Doing several things manana ... including working out a Clowning "Daisy Girl Scout Patch" with a friend of mine who's the troop leader of a local Daisy Troop, how cute will that be?! :o)

We'll see what else I get done tomorrow ... tomorrow! G'night ya'll ... and blargh to "falling back" - grumble grumble getting darker earlier and all that jazz!

No Post

No Post from yesterday ... 11/5/11 ... Nothing to post about yesterday either, No theatrey stuffs done, and that's the truth!

MS Play

Well how awesome is this ... the audition sign up sheet was officially put out today in the MS Main Office, and before the day was over I was notified that it was almost full and in need of another sheet for students to sign up on. Those are some good vibes!

Either I'm doing something right ... or there's a lot of Greek Mythology Fans at GCS Middle School ... or perhaps both! :)

Resume Submitted

Woot woot!

Today I actually submitted my resume for something. The Education Coordinator at Cap Rep asked me to sent it to her, as she knows I teach, to see if I might be a good fit for Cap Rep's summer program. We shall see what happens. :)

I love it when work breeds work!

NO Post Yesterday ... what a slacker ...

No NOvember 2nd post now either ... I'm such a slacker.
Actually, I spent the day working on some GCS MS Play stuff. Prep'ing for my Drama Kids Classes. And then teaching three Drama Kids Classes.
End Scene.

:)

Do the Time Warp!

Ooooooops ... NO blog post for NOvember 1st, 2011 ... whoops!

Yesterday's info ... officially turned in the "Pure Poe" prompt book at the theatre, along with the keys ... hope to get hired back. Both Maggie (the Artistic Director of the theatre and the Director of the show) and the Education Director, Laura, said that I did a great job! And Laura asked me to send her my teaching artist resume for their summer teaching positions, so ... we'll see what happens. And as I turned in my keys to the Production Manager (who does the hiring) I said something like, Peace Out and or Hire Me Again! He smirked ... only time will tell.

I'll be seeing "Man of La Mancha" there in a week, and there's the Company Christmas Party on Dec. 19th, so that's fun and exciting to look forward too!

And I had my Tuesday night Drama Kids yesterday, all classes went well! :) One of the classes I hadn't been to this year, but was a class I did last year so many of the kiddos knew me already, chimed in with a rather enthusiastic 'MISS MAGGIEEEEE" when they saw me! :)

AND I've gotten the GCS MS play "going" ... the official announcement was made on Monday in school, and tomorrow I will "post" the information on auditions and production weekend! So now onto show research ... and other good stuffs in prep!

And that was yesterday!

PS...Welcome November (stay away cold, ha ha ha)!

"Pure Poe" is over...what's next?

"Pure Poe" ended on the 28th. The entire tour went really well! Met some really great theatre folks here in the capital district, had a great time, and hope to work with Cap Rep again in the future!!!

And now ... my Drama Kids classes continue, of course! :)

And, it's time to really get going with "Circus Olympus", the GCS MS play. Gotta plan auditions for next week, gotta get the rehearsal schedule - dates at least - sorted out, gotta officially purchase the rights for the show (ASAP on that'a'one), and gotta get started on the masks I'm going to use within the show! :)

Woot woot! I love going from one gig to the next, let's hope life continues on this path.

Ohhhhh, and I've gotta figure out what my December GCS HS Drama Club 24 Hour round is going to be. AND I'm going to see how much it would cost to rent, for one event, the GE Theatre at Proctors to see if I can get my 24 Hours Around The World round done. Cross your fingers.

Ok, and that is all...for the moment.

Nope, I lied, this is that last thing ... I'm also going to join TCG for a years trial, it will allow me onto the site to job search and a years subscription to American Theatre Magazine. Sweet!

DK Teacher Bio

For my Drama Kids job my boss made a news letter for the parents that gave some bio-style info of the teachers. This is the bio I gave:


Miss Maggie is an International Theatre Director, Equity Stage Manager and Drama Teacher. Much of her recent work, theatrically speaking, has been with kids of all ages. She spent this past summer out on the West Coast working as a Drama Teacher with Stone Soup Theatre in Seattle, WA as well as directing “Disney’s Aristocrats Kids” and “Into The Woods Jr.” (and teaching) kids in Bremerton, WA who were taking part in a two week summer camp. In the Capital District area, along with her fabulous Drama Kids Teaching position, she has directed the past two shows at Greenville Middle School, “Peter Pan and Wendy” and “The Wizard of Oz”, and is gearing up for this years production of “Circus Olympus”. And has also had the good fortune to stage manage a tour - going into schools in the Capital District - of “Pure Poe” with Capital Repertory Theatre’s ‘On The Go’ series. Miss Maggie has spent the past fourteen years working in, and studying, theatre around the world. Her skills and training have taken her to Bali, Scotland, Austria, Russia, England, Romania and to several U.S. States. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from SUNY New Paltz, and an MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of Essex in London.


The day after the newsletter went out I was in one of my Thursday night classes and one of the Mom's gave me a nice compliment regarding my bio. She said she hadn't realized all the stuff I'd done etc...and thought it was really great! :) That's nice.

One Week Down

The first week of the Pure Poe tour is over, and it went really well. One week down, one to go! :)

No Sleep!

Ok, that's NOt entirely true ... but get this schedule ...

Up at 5am to leave the house at 6am to leave the theatre at 7am for a 10am show in Vermont (we arrive 90 minutes prior to the show for set up time etc...) ... a few hours in the middle of the day were free ... then 4:10pm call for a 6pm show ... arrival back home at 8:45pm - HOLY MOLY DUDE!

tomorrow:

Up at 4:30 to leave the house at 5:30 to leave the theatre at 6:30 for a 9am show in Queensbury, NY.

YIPES!!!

Snack and then bed. You heard me!

The Show Vortex

So I am super busy with this On The Go show, "Pure Poe", with Cap Rep and have pretty much been sucked into the Show Vortex!

I only have Sunday's off, and due to the 45minute drive to and then again from work every day, means really long days. There's no place for me to go when I have a few hours off between some "morning" bit of work and then the "evening" bit of work, what this means ... I'm out of the house stupid early and getting back really pretty late. Now, it's not undoable, clearly, as I've been doing it. But it does make for 'almost instant crashing' on the couch or in bed when I get home ... and thus, the lack of blog posts I've NOt done over the past few days. (Is that even a semi accurate sentence? Probably NOt.) I also "fear" that this will likely be a continuing theme for the rest of this month. So ... yeah ... we'll see.

Anyhoo...the tour officially opened last night, and the first show, despite a few prop glitches, went really well. The talk back at the end of the show yielded some pretty good questions, and there was even a Mom who came up to the actor after the talk back to say how much she and her kids loved it. That the boys, who were all middle school age, started out sitting behind their parents and had to come next to them for the scary factor of "Pure Poe". :) And that they paid attention really well, well better than they do for other things, so GOOD!!! :o)

In other news ... I've got NOthing. Hahahaha.....

Long days make early nights!

Working a "9-5" and trying to balance an evening part time job and driving the 45 minutes to and from home ... well, it's exhausting, and I've not even done all that much with the part time job recently. Though, the "9-5'er" does have me doing some "site visit" recon - making sure I know where the locations the tour is going are, that they've got the appropriate place for us to perform and all that ... and many of these visits have had to be prior to our rehearsal start day. Factor in the travel from my home to the location and back to the theatre, and all before 9:30am, so that I still have time to set up for rehearsal ... sigh ... I am pooped! It's 9pm and YES, I am going to bed now! Well ok, I'm typing "right" now, but you get my drift.

NO, nothing interesting in this post, it's function is really so that I've posted something on the day ... it is a 365 days of me blog ... NO?!?!?!?!

Sigh...that is all for now.

Ummm...

I got NOthing! Ha ha ha!
Rehearsals are going well ... we start the tour "officially" this Friday, well we're going to the Troy Night Out and doing one part of the show ... so the next day is our "official" first whole show performance! :)
Und zat is all for now!

Working on a Holiday!

Well, today is the first holiday in a LONG time that I have had to work, even if it is only a minor holiday! Happy Columbus Day All!!!

And, well, let's see ... all jobs have their ups and downs ... super sucks when you're sitting in the midst of one of the downs ... but I have faith that by tomorrow morning all will have righted itself in the world of happy worker bee me - and if NOt, than I'm totally going to fake it! So there!!! Muwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa...

And ... I've really gotta get my butt in gear, or at least going, for the G'ville MS play. We're going to have auditions in a few weeks, and before that can happen I need to get a synopsis of the show out for the kiddos to read (and perhaps their English or History teachers to read to them) so they know what the show is. It's not a well known fairy tale like I have done the past two years ... it's Greek Myths, totally kidded out!

Anyhoo...I suppose that is all for the moment.

Suppose also that I should begin to look for things to apply for that would begin in the February or later time frame ... oh job hunting ... sigh ... ha ha ha ha ha ha!

PS...

PS...this blog is so NOt following the title ... or its original conceptive idea ... I guess it doesn't really matter, right?!

Clowns and Apple Picking

Today's theatricality took the form of apple picking ... at a farm where you can pet / feed some animals ... at a farm whose Kendall apples had been soooooo thoroughly picked over that you need to extend an apple picking pole (or your niece up above your head) to reach them. Then we found the other apples, Macintosh's I think (or, well, super tasty apples at any rate). These trees were smaller somehow, and yet, they had WAY more apples on them - and at heights where said nieces could pick apples without having to be hoisted up in the air! Super fun!!!

Then, once home and after some playing around the yard ... we busted out the face paint and Aunt Gittybug The Clown created two new little clowns. P donned her clown name from last Christmas when I painted her like a clown for the first time, of Doo Da, and T decided upon "Ooo aaaah" (yes, like the sound a monkey makes)! Then P painted my face too ... good times!!!

And that is all, theatrically speaking.

Normal.

I know this is normal in any job - any profession - to have "love hate" feelings about elements of it...but one of the things I find hard about the field of theatre, sometimes, is that of the weekend / holiday schedule. It's hard not to be able to spend a lazy Columbus Day weekend Saturday with my nieces (and other family members) when I have to go to work instead. Not that I am begrudging the job I've got, I am not ... but it's not your typical work day, so ... ya get my point I'm sure.

Anyhoo, I'm, as I've said for the past two posts, exhausted!

DRAT and I've not yet called a friend back who called ... and she asked me a theatre question to boot ... but now I'm sitting in a room above my two sleeping nieces, and the floors are not exactly thick so I won't be calling her back right now. MUST REMEMBER TO DO IT TOMORROW!

Yada yada...

This that and the other thing.
See yesterday's post.
Goodnight!

Tired.

Goodnight!

Fourteen Hour Days

Fourteen hour days shouldn't exist - strike that - fourteen hour WORK days shouldn't exist, UNLESS from the moment the day begins until the day ends, you don't have to travel anywhere! Ha!!!

Rehearsals going well. We've got an expo tomorrow night that we're performing an excerpt from the show for, that will be fun! :)

Drama Kidding - parent observations today, they went really well!

Sleepy me = bed time ... gotta be up early enough to do a site visit tomorrow morning before going to the theatre, then figure out how we're packing up the van, and exactly what costume bits need to travel with us ... then rehearsal ... then break ... then expo set up ... then break or something ... then expo ... then strike and bring everything back to Cap Rep and unload the van. Phew!

Goodnight!

Rehearsal

Rehearsals going well! :o)
All things Edgar Allen Poe.
Am I the first person to see Poe ... Poetry? Not likely ... ha ha ha

And already I'm a day behind ... what?

Right so yesterday was my day off and as you can see from the fact that there is no October 2nd posting ... well ... I TOOK THE DAY ENTIRELY OFF!!!!!!!! Boy was I tired, I literally did nothing all day long. Weeeeeee!!! :o) It was great.

It's also great to be so busy, especially since it's all theatre related! Oh yeah.

Rehearsals still going well.
Drama Kidding going well - and doing it when I can around my SM job.
Found out I've already got two kids who've signed up for the December 24 Hour project at the HS in G'ville. :)
And getting going (slowly now) with the MS Play.

Ok, and that ... for the moment is that!

Oktober Fest

For me it's a fest of theatre ... mostly, ha ha ha!
Rehearsal's going really well.
And I'm looking forward to sleeping until I can't sleep any more tomorrow morning - or say 9am!!! :)

And that's all she wrote for today folks.

Happy Welcome October and Fall (it was chilly today)!

Tootles September

First day of rehearsal for "Pure Poe" went very well! And we had a good production meeting. :o)

Really rather sleepy again ... so this is a short blog post ... and tomorrow's October - HOLY SHIZOLY!!!

Ok. That is all. For tonight.

:)

Busy Bee

I love being busy, especially when it's all theatrically related, but right now I am looking forward to Sunday ... and entire day off (and my only day off) for the next month. Well ok, it's not the only day off, it's that I only have Sunday's off.

So far Cap Rep is going well - though I've only been doing prep stuff and site visits. Driving all over creation is actually really tiring.

Drama Kids is under way and I'm now in the midst of stressing the juggling of DK and Cap Rep.

And I've gotta get some info out to the kids at the Middle School so that they can prep for their auditions - and I've gotta get the audition stuff ready and I've gotta get the scripts ordered and the performances booked. Oh my ...

NOt eNOugh Sleep

Ok, that title's NOt exactly true, but I thought I'd put the NO's in there. What it really means is that I'm tired. This week - and it's only the end of Wednesday - has already been really REALLY long! Car pooling = long hours. Capital Rep'ing and Drama Kidding. And then today, add to the tired with the fact that I drove a lot in order to do some of my site visits for "Pure Poe". I'm sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!

But NO bed yet for it is my cousin's birthday and there's cake to be had! mmmmmm cake!

Zoinks ... NO post from the 25th ... how can this be?

I have no idea how that happened or what happened that day so this time warp is not very effective...we'll see if I remember what went on that day and if I do I'll update this ... or add a comment or something.

No more No Car

This coming month is going to be BUSY! Cap Rep SM tour and when I can Drama Kids, it's going to make for some late nights and lots of traveling! :o)

Car situation sorted today. The folks bought a brand new CR-V and I'm going halvsies on the rest of the now "old" (2009) CR-V ... woop woop!

Some Cap Rep and some Drama Kidding today ... and I am exhausted, so that is all for today.

Theatre Theatre Theatre Theatre Theatre Car!

So I've officially signed my contract to Stage Manage "Pure Poe" with Cap Rep, and me likey! I realized last night that I had accepted the job without ever asking how much I would actually be making, ha ha ha - brilliant, no?! - and I love the number. Of course one could always say they'd like a larger one, but it's more/week than I have made in quite a while, woop woop!

It's going to be a busy month ... assuming I can manage to do some of my Drama Kids classes on top of stage managing this tour, however, my DK boss knows that I've got this job (in fact she ok'd me to do it, knowing that I might not be able to work at all in October ... so ...) so we'll see what transpires. The schedule looks to me like there will be some days I can do DK after the tour day, but I'm not entirely positive yet. Gotta look at it all ... with maps and stuff ... travel happens when it's a TOUR!

CAR ... gotta get this sorted out. I'm totally stressing it because my SM job is Monday - Saturday and without wheels ... well that's just tragic. And there are days when my call will be well before the folks need to be at work so going in with them, or them going in with me would be tragic as well.

Anyhoo...I spent several hours over at Cap Rep getting started - the SM has to do "site visits" to the locations so we'll know exactly what we need at each place before we go there on the show day, which means a lot of scheduling (and a little grumbling on my part, I wasn't aware of this aspect before hand - again, neeeeeeed me some wheels - and a few of the locations are pretty "far" ... though I was told that I will get mileage reimbursed and tolls for anywhere I go for a site visit, so it's not all bad).

So I'm now waiting, at our newly renovated Brugger's Bagel, until I have to go for today's Drama Kids class.

And that, for the moment, is all!

Cap Rep Starts This Week

Called the Production Manager at Cap Rep back and my contract will be in on Monday to sign and get things rolling! :o) Saaaaa-weet!

And that is all ... for now.

Meeting ... ideas ... phone call!

That title makes it sound like I did a lot today and really, I didn't. Haha.

My meeting at GCS MS went well, we're now good to go with the MS Play - and I've got the dates starting in November with the show happening in January of 2012 (like we did with "The Wizard of Oz") so that it does not collide with my Stage Managing "Pure Poe" at Cap Rep.

*Ideas are bubbling forth for this show ... must note them down tomorrow and start getting things ready and really researching my script etc...

And the phone call is about "Pure Poe". Prep week is next week so I got a call from the Prod. Manager at the theatre, will call back tomorrow to find out all the details - and then I'll also know (hopefully) how often I'll be able to - or not - Drama Kids while "Pure Poe" is happening.

Oh, and I'm officially back on the sub list so that's a plus. Of course now that I'll be busy for the month of October ... ha ha ha! But I digress, I can only sub a total of 40 days at GCS anyway - apparently that's the law when you're not a certified teacher.

And that is all she wrote for today.

Oh...I found another job I can apply for. Now I've just gotta get my cover letter up to snuff and send that stuff out!

Drama Kid Day

Today I had two of my three "just Maggie as teacher" classes!
Good times.
And I'm tired now.
Goodnight!

Connections ... Job Ap

My friend Justin works as the Resident Director of "Billy Elliot" ... currently on Broadway, but he's also worked with other productions of it, like the one in Sydney, the one in Korea, the one in Chicago (though I think that was a tour that started there) etc...

Anyhoo, he's - they - are looking for a Resident Director for a tour that's about to go out, Nationally, and they're going to be interviewing folks soon. He called me up and said he wanted someone in the mix that he knew and trusted as well and thought of me! :o)

SO, I've just sent him my resume. Who knows if they'll like it and want to interview me or not ... but it never hurts.

I'm not sure anything will come of it, I've actually sent him my info once before, for a similar position - don't remember if it was for the NYC sit down production or a different tour ... but nothing came of it. Still it can't hurt to send the resume out there. We'll see.

If, knock on wood, I were to get and interview and then the job, it would mean some major reorganizing of current projects ... but again, like yesterdays post, I'll bridge that gap when and if it comes.

Two I can actually apply for!

Well I finally found two jobs I can actually apply for! :o)

One AEA Stage Manager's job in Pittsburgh and the other is a Directing job at Yale for their winter production. Technically they both overlap one of my current jobs, but they pay well so I am going to submit myself and if I get an offer then, well, I'll bridge that gap when (and if) it comes.

Now, onto writing up a better, more current, eye catching cover letter ... and making sure my CV is up to date!

And today Drama Kids classes start!

Title Schmitle!

Book work.
*Ok, so today I'm going to work on a book I've been trying to write for a long time now. I'm going to get "un-stuck" ... some how, right?! Right!!!
*I'm also putting together, what's likely (and I may have said this in a post last month) another of the bajillions of theatre game books that are out there in the world. It's mostly so that I can have all my games in one spot, this way when I'm in a class I've got all the games I like in one place. I don't kNOw if it will ever become anything other than my own compiling for my own use...but, well, anything could happen!

Job Applications
I've found three different Stage Manager/Production SM jobs that I "could" apply for. Problem = how do you apply for gigs that:
a.) aren't anywhere near your current location?
b.) would overlap one or more of your current jobs (all of which are in theatre to begin with)?

Argh!

I'll very likely do more research work on my MS Play, Greek Myth research is a lot of fun! :o)

And I've gotta figure out what the theme for my December 24 Hour Round at the HS should be ... I'm stuck on this one, gotta find something fun to do that can be "done" at the school so the kids don't have to travel at any point during the process ('cause then there's permission forms etc...).

Ok, now I've gotta get crackin', 'cause I'm also getting back on that exercise wagon TODAY!

Lazy Day

The only thing I did today, related to this blog, was to double check my Drama Kids schedule for the upcoming week. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to use my Grandmother's car the days I have to work this week ... and I'm working on getting a car so ... hopefully this will be the only week I have to inconvenience my G'man.

And that's all for today.

No Post Time Warp

I'm 28 minutes late ... ok, now 29, in getting my 17 September 2011 post up. Seeing as I didn't do a damn thing theatrically today I suppose a time warp isn't really necessary...but I digress.

Actually, I did chat with my Aunt - who's also the Assistant Director (among other things) for the MS show - today about a few things I'm thinking about the show. I've got at least 9 masks, including a really sweet idea for a Medusa Headdress Mask for the show. I'm super excited.

AND I told her I think that she and I should do a Shakespeare with the HS kids. We don't need to purchase rights for Shakespeare, and we don't need a set - the Bard wrote all of his scenography into his dialogue as they didn't have elaborate sets back in the day. Simple costumes and minimal / simple props and we're good to go. We just need to secure a weekend for the performance, and students of course. She did seem as enthused by the idea as I am, so perhaps we'll get it done. Wish me luck! (I won't get paid for it of course ... but we Theatre Folk do many jobs without pay simply trying to get more experience and the possibility of being noticed etc ...)

And that is all she wrote for today (ok yesterday as it's now technically the 18th)! 12:34pm ... time warp out!

NO Idea

No Idea #1 - what am I going to do now that the car, that wasn't even mind but I had access to, is dead? I'm due to start Drama Kids this week and that requires a car. I'm freaking out a bit.

No Idea #2 - the GCS MS Principal wants to have a meeting about the show ... this makes me nervous for some reason, mostly because I don't recall having to have a meeting about the shows in the past, but maybe we did and it was more like an "I'm in the bldg. so we had a conversation" type deal, or I simply don't recall the meetings (I'm too young to be forgetting things already...). It feels like I'm in trouble or something, ha ha, oiy!

~Actually, I wonder if it's got anything to do with the fact that I'm not on the payroll as a sub right now - late paper work due to my being on the West Coast this summer and all that ... hoping to get that resolved ASAP as I've already lost out on a day's work, I could have been sub'ing in my aunts room today. Sigh...

No Idea #3 - there are no jobs, that I've found yet, for me to apply for right now. GROWL! I'm back to a nothing life ... or feeling like that at any rate.

No Idea #4 - I've still not heard anything more about my AEA Contract with Cap Rep and I'm getting nervous about it / anxious about the hours I'm working, ya know, 'cause I don't know them.

No Idea #5 - some times, ok more often than not lately, I've been feeling like everyone I know has the insider information on how to get what they want. How to make what they want in their lives happen. A secret that I'm not privy too! I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I have all these ideas and NO WAY to get them done, yet so many people would know how to make them happen ... I think ... I'm feel very frustrated!

Carrot Cake

Today is my Mother's Birthday and I made my very first Carrot Cake, and it rocked!

Other than that - that meaning cooking my Mom's birthday dinner and cake, NOthing done today.

Seriously gotta get my arse in gear tomorrow!!!

Greek Mythology

Well, despite driving up to Albany today - and getting half way there and having the breaks stop working (no no, I'm fine ...), forcing me to wait in Albany all day while my folks finish up their work day - I did get a little theatre stuff done. I bought a book and started researching some Greek Mythology. This is for my MS Play.

Other than that, nothing done.

Creativity today!

That sounds uplifting and like I've done something really creative, right?! :o) Muwhahahahahahaaaaaaaa!

So far all I've done today are little things. Add some photos (scrapbook style, yes I'm that girl) to two different albums.

I did do some job searching, so far the only thing I found is with WAM Theatre (I've worked with them before), and it's an AEA Stage Manager's position, but the dates overlap with my current (well I'll consider it real when I've got the contract) AEA gig in October ... as well as my DK stuff. The show takes place in Massachusetts and there's no housing provided there so....it's a defo no go. :( Oh well.

Gotta start doing some research and other MS Play things - still waiting on confirmation that the script is an ok one to do, by the principal though so ...

And that's all for today folks (so far, hey it's only 4:09pm).

No Motivation ...

Today I had pretty much no motivation to do anything with/about/for any of my upcoming gigs. Not that I NEEDED to do anything for any of them today, but still...I haven't yet received my contract for the show with Cap Rep., I've gotta call them about that now - I am supposed to start in sixteen days and I don't know what time or where I'm supposed to be on that first day. Anyway...that's all. Boring nothingness.

Today

I missed yesterday September 10th ... oiy ... oh well! I didn't do anything theatrical anyway, all I did was purchase a new bookshelf, put it together and fill it up!

Today I did a little Drama Kid emailing and such, I've now got 3 classes this year that are just mine, and the others I will continue to Co-Teach. :o)

And I went to see a community theatre production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" that had two people I knew in it.

And that is all ...

Stuff.

So I'm a total Office Supply Store Junky (and bookstore and kitchen store)! It's a sickness really, ha ha ha! But I digress...I went out and purchased my new notebook for this years MS Play so I can start making notes and doing some research and all that jazz!

I also got to watch a great video on Bunraku, Kabuki and Noh theatre with my Aunt! :o) I SO WANT TO LEARN THEM ALL!!!! The Bunraku puppetry is simply amazing!

Anyhoo...that is what I did today, theatrically speaking.

I'm starting to think that the above line is what this blog should have been called ... ha ha ha!

Nada.

No theatre stuff done today ... I hung out with a friend instead! :o)

"Circus Olympus"

I believe - as long as it gets approved by the MS Principal - that this will be the play we're doing this year. It's Greek Mythology woo hoo!!! Here come the masks the movement the togas and simple sets!!! :o)

Still Searching for a Script

Oh my gosh ... it is proving VERY difficult to find this years Middle School production. Arrrrrrrrrgh!!! It's also SUPER hard when you come across a title of a show that sounds good but you've no way to preview the script without purchasing one. Granted it's not the end of the world to purchase a script, but how many is one supposed to purchase ... why not have a way where teachers can sign in and read scripts without having to purchase them?

Some site do have preview sections of their scripts, and with some the previews are longer than others. I've now read several plays - or most of them at any rate - and a few very brief previews and a few more descriptions.

We'll see what happens/what I find. :o)

Working on Labor Day

It's true ... I had my Drama Kids staff meeting today! All went well. This year I will be team teaching the classes I did last year and doing two classes all by myself as well! Woot woot!!! ;o)

And then we had food! Mmmmm...

And now I'm going to read...I'm in the middle of about five books, no lie:

1. Jane Goodall 50 Years At Gombe
2. Encyclopedia of the Exquisite
3. The Power of One
4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog
5. Fragile Things (a Neil Gaiman book of short stories)

Get back to reading!

Theatre Discussions

Today was Dave's 60th Birthday ... Happy Birthday Dave! And so, aside from his party, the only theatrical thing I did today was to talk shop with my cousin David (no, it was not his birthday)! :o)

Shopping! :o)

Not sure I'll get to any real theatrey stuff today as I'm going shopping! (What a post, eh?!) :o)

Script Choices

Trying to chose a script for the MS show ... this is, as always, proving difficult. I am looking for a play that can handle up to 20+ kids (but could be done with fewer in case I don't get a lot of kids trying out - so many of "my kids" from the past two years are now up in the high school so ...). I am looking for a play that will allow me to utilize masks. I am looking for a play that will be aesthetically different from the two previous shows - I want little to no set, so the kids feel a different way of performing a show for the audience. I want it to be educational as well as fun - we did two fantasy plays so far, this time I am looking for something that's fantastical but also informational. I am looking for something Greek or perhaps Native American ... or ... ??? I've also got this desire to do "His Dark Materials" ... but I have to read the script and see if it's even doable by a cast of Middle Schoolers. So far I've found a few possibilities on both Playscripts.com and the Dramatic Publishing Co. website. The only problem is that these sites only allow partial viewing / pre-reading of the scripts - Playscripts more of the show than Dramatic Publishing ... so ... anyhoo, that is what I'm up to at the moment. :o)

Hello September!

HOLY Ba-jeazus! How on earth did it become September already??? Anyone ... ???!!!

So I'm back from the West Coast, a little sad - though I'm loving my gigantic bed! I could live there, it's a lovely part of the country for damn sure! Now to find me a man who's all into theatre (at least seeing it / and accepting his gal works in it) and the great outdoors and stuff. hahaha Amie, the first person I stayed with while I was out there, insists that to be an easy find. ;o) We'll see.

As for Theatre Today:
1. Thinking on this Fall's 24 Hour Round at GCS ; and pondering if I should try to get a round in other schools close by (using some GCS folks as helpers into the process ... )
2. Searching for this years GCS MS production ... what should I do?
3. Gearing up for my Drama Kids Staff Mtg., and getting this years schedule into my brain.
4. Awaiting my AEA Cap Rep Contract for "Pure Poe" for next month (holy shizoly, since it's September that is literally next month, sweet)!
5. Going to do some "Human Condition" stuff.
6. And back to the job search we go.

Thank you Arlene and Richard for getting me out the Seattle and helping me have an amazing time while out there - Amie and Aidan as well!

One Day Late ...

This is a time warped post for August 31st, 2011

Drat, I totally missed the final day of August ... as a blog post that is, I totally lived the day! ;o) Slept "ridiculously" late, for me any way, all the way to 10am - which for my jet lagged self felt like 7am, this is how I console myself. Haha.

And that is all ...

Travel Post ...

I'm currently at SeaTac Airport waiting for my flight home ... via Vegas ... hahaha! I wonder if I'm the only one who really has no desire to "play in vegas"!?!?! Who knows, but I don't, at least I don't think I do. :o)

Hurricane Irene which became a Tropical Storm Irene has caused a lot of flooding in New York - upstate - it's been several days since the storm and the hill is still without power ... oh my, what, no shower when I get home??? Arrrrgh! ;o) Sigh...it's more the dirty laundry I don't want to think about piling up ... on top of the already pretty good pile I'm bringing home with me (I should have done a load or two yesterday while I still had access to Arlene and Aidan's apartment laundry room, oh well).

But I digress...

I just bought a travel pillow to see if the on plane sleeping is any easier with it - it's one of those U shaped pillows ... we'll see. And because my little white sweater bit the dust - holes in the seams at the neck line and under the arms - I bought a "Seattle Washington" Fleece. The single gal's version or a Family Vacation Sweatshirt of T-Shirt! Hahaha...I probably spent more money than I should have while I was out here, and though I'd love to come back, who knows if I will have the opportunity to do so again ... so it was business and pleasure, my one real vacation/holiday since Ireland in 2009. Go me! Hahaha. I'm such a dork.

And on that note, I am going to post.

NO theatre in this post, haha!

PS...so apparently when you have a stop but you don't change planes Soutwest Air doesn't see fit to tell you so ... not only do I have a layover in Vegas (where I am currently typing from) BUT the flight went to Salt Lake City Utah first, we got a new crew and some passenger changes AND THEN we went to Vegas. For a gal who doesn't particularly love to fly that's un-fun information. Both landings in Utah and Vegas were bumpy - must be windy out thar. Hope the next one's smooth.

"His Dark Materials"

This is the show I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do with my GCS Kiddos this fall...I've got to get a copy of the script and read it because I am not sure if the show is kid friendly - doable wise - as the story is a combo of a youth/teen trilogy of books by Phillip Pullman. At any rate ... I am looking into it because I think it would ROCK THE HOUSE! Of course this is also assuming that not only is it kid friendly but that the rights are available and all that jazz!!! We shall see! :o)

Masks & Photography

Today I worked on my two masks - the one's Arlene has been helping teach me how to make. I now have a painted Dottore mask, that's a Commedia dell'Arte character! AND ... I have another mask that I created based off of a photo ... I've only just finished the paper mache part (though this mask did start from a clay mold that I molded, woot woot, go me)!

I'll get some photos on here soon, and I'll even put up the photo my second mask is "based on".

AND

Photography - I took Arlene's Headshot's today! Sitting #1 was a success, even if all the photos weren't, hahaha!!! We did some inside and some outside! Oh yeah! We might do another sitting with her in a lighter color top so that she has some contrast. We'll see.

And that is all for today.

Theatre Games ... a book ... ???

So I've been collecting and using theatre games since I started training as an Undergrad at New Paltz (that's 13+years ago ... oiy me). They're in a myriad of different notebooks and folders and such ... and when ever I've got a show I'm working on, or a class I'm teaching - though I do plan out what games I intend on using - I like to have them on hand so I can add in something or change my plans as needs be. So ... I thought I'd type them all up and have them in one place. This then makes me think ... while I know there are loads of theatre game books and websites etc. out there already ... could there be room for one more? We'll see I suppose. Seeing as I planned on typing it up for myself anyway, it's not like I'm taking on work for no reason, should it benefit me as an "author" too - sweet! I take no credit for creating the games, only that I've used them and they work. Ok ... there you have it.

Random Rants By Maggie ???

Random Rants By Maggie ???
Seriously ... should this be a blog? I can rant pretty well ... and well funny ... and all that jazz??? You know, about nothing, about everything, about ... whateve's ... what say you? (MIKE????)

Success!

Three weeks of Stone Soup Camp Success!!! ;o)
Some amazing kiddos ... some kiddos that make you want to stand on your head and scream ... and what it all boils down to is a bunch of kiddos who make theatre - outside - in one week! Good job all Stone Soup Campers ... Teachers ... and Assistants! Fun times!!! :o)

What's next ...
Drama Kids begins the new year in September.
I'm Stage Managing "Pure Poe" with Cap Rep (it's their youth tour) in October.
Greenville Middle School's 2011 Production (started looking for what to do ... we shall see ... weeeee ....)
AND ... and ... and, we'll see!

I'm seriously thinking of doing a flyer for an Improv Class ... seeing how many kids I get to sign up ... and making it happen! Why not do a bit of freelancing? I'm good at what I do ... and perhaps this will get my name out even further!

OH YEAH ... and back to the application process!!!

Woot woot!

One Day Left

Tomorrow is the final day of camp ... for this week's session ... my camp experience out here on the West Coast (and Stone Soup's final camp for this summer)! Woot woot!!! I've loved being out here, but I can not tell a lie ... my bed - my queen size bed - is calling my name!!! And so is the rest of my wardrobe!!! Hahaha...oh, and not sharing one car three ways ... it's hard to be tied to two other people's work/day schedule so completely. But I digress ... it's been grand!!!

"Harriet's Secret" is tomorrow at 1pm in Meridian Park, Seattle. ;o)

Games ...

One can never have enough theatre games / exercises to do with kids ... in camp ... when working on a play ... with adult performers ... when working on a show ... etc ... etc ... I've gained quite a few from Arlene while out here in the land of Mountains so gorgeous you take nine million photos of the same one ... ha ha ha! But for reals, I've gotten a bunch of new, and really great, theatre exercises/games in my repertoire now! Woot woot!!! And not that there aren't, oh I don't kNOw, 90bajillion theatre game books out there ... but methinks I might actually try and put one together from my point of view ... now, what's my point of view? Anybody???

And that's all she wrote for today folks.

"Harriet's Secret" camp is going well. Run thru's and show polishing tomorrow - mixed in with some games - and the same for Friday morning with a show at 1pm on Friday afternoon! Oh yeah ...

NO one reads this.

There's a no for ya.
Hahahaha...

Job Inquiry

So I just submitted an inquiry to Seattle Shakespeare for an AEA SM job. I'm not sure if they're considering SM's that don't live in the greater Seattle area though, as the add seemed to suggest. But I digress...I sent off my inquiry and we'll see if I hear back.

;o)

Kids ...

I love the way kids phrase things ... today when talking about the directions on a stage - and after covering Stage Right and Stage Left - with my new group of campers, I asked if there were any other directions on the stage and this one adorable little guy said YES, there's also Stage Up and Stage Down. Which is entirely correct, we just say Up Stage and Down Stage. Not only was the phrasing adorable, but he said it with such conviction!!! It was brilliant! Hahaha...

Also ... a wee while back I asked a group of students if they knew what the word status meant - obviously I was relating it to theatre ... but I digress. The answer given back was "like on facebook when you write what you're up too." Hahaha...now they are in fact correct, however, that is not what it means in theatrical terms. :o) Oh kids ... and technology!

Today ... AfroLatino Festival

These Dancers were doing a dance from Colombia (I believe).


Au Lac Lion Dance - it's a Vietnamese Dance


Devils Dance by African Conexion


Today I went to two "festivals" in Seattle, one was actually the first Annual AfroLatino Festival in North Seattle, while the other was like a smaller community/cultural/farmers market type festival. At both of them however, not only was I able to see the AfroPeruvian Devils Dance that my friend is in, but at one I got to see these adorable kids perform a Colombian Dance, and at the other I got to see a Vietnamese Lion Dance. Very cool.

Photos above...

And this morning I planned my class for tomorrow!!! :o) Woop woop.

Oh ... and QUESTION FOR MY READERS:
Should I do a "Maggie's Rants" Blog? A friend suggested I do it because he finds my mini-rants (about anything and everything) to be rather funny and good natured / good humored. So ... what say you, you 7 readers that I have (if that)!??!?!?!

Working!

Today I am working on two projects.

1. I am working on my final script for the summer, with Stone Soup Theatre, "Harriet's Secret". I'm trying to find ways to make the magic fun for the kids to do, especially when we have NO "special effects" that can be done ... well, that is to say, no external special effects other than what the kids can do. :o) I've got some good idears if I do say so myself! Onto planning lesson one for Monday.

and

2. I'm working on my project "The Human Condition". Woot woot! Uploading some more photos to my shutterfly account so that I can get them all printed ... once I've gotten them all. Making sure the correct notes are with the correct photos ... and simply admiring the photos themselves. I'm already in love with this project (well, ok, seeing as I thought it up I'm a little biased, loving it from the very beginning and all that jazz...)! I love how different everyone's views are, the different things they see where they live, and what strikes each of them as a picture of The Human Condition. Brilliant!

Theatre ... isn't always great!

And by that I mean the shows one goes to see, they can't always be 5* winners, now can they? Tonight I saw a show that had a cast of 7 and out of that there was only ONE who was good. And she was really good. The biggest problem, I feel, is that this show was full of actors who had NO CLUE who their characters were, what their characters were saying ... etc ... and it made a story with a very "intellectual setting" (college professors in the 1940's ...) VERY BORING! But I digress ... the gal who was good was really great ... physicality, knowing who she was all the time (and with every character as she played multiple) ... she was fun to watch ... and engaging. The rest ... well, like I said, it can't always be a 5* performance.

:o)

Time Warp (Three Strikes and You're Out)!

So this is yesterday's post - Thursday August 18th, 2011

I REALLY DISLIKE KIDS WHO ARE BULLIES AND OR PICK ON OTHER KIDS - REGARDLESS OF THE ABILITIES OR DISABILITIES A KID / PERSON HAS! This past week I had to deal with such a situation. Sigh... It's just devastating to me to see how many kids are MEAN to other kids ... what does that say for their future as a human being? Does not bode well. It makes me question, are they being raised poorly ... (I fear that's true, at least in my opinion, and I think that's so sad). I would never claim to be perfect, or to say that my folks were perfect parents either, but I do know the difference between right and wrong ... but I digress ...

Script Picking

So I am going to be doing Greenville Middle School's Fall Theatre Production again this year, and that means it's time to start considering what script I am going to do.

Goal(s) For This Show:
A. To "force" storytelling a little more strongly with the kids by utilizing a small (as in very minimal) setting. Perhaps I can find a show where we have no real backdrop or anything but the black curtains and a few set pieces that come on and off the stage?!
B. To utilize some mask work into the script - where by I can have a group of students in masks moving ... would be pretty sweet right?
C. To be a show that is something the kids don't know - in other words, nothing as "well known" as Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz, thus fostering learning in another way that isn't - "...see this well known story was adapted and our show is not the same as the Disney Movie...etc...". Perhaps something that fosters specific cultural learning, like a Japanese Play - or stories from Japan, or something like that...

At any rate, it is time to start searching!!! What will we be doing ... ???!!! :o)

And...Comedy, Comedy! camp continues ... some frustrations ... some really fun comic moments ... and that is all!

PS...should I start a "Maggie's Rants" blog? Could be funny?

Time Warp Take Two!

This is yesterday's post ... Tuesday the 16th of August:

Camp continues. And that is all. Hahaha!

Time Warp

Yesterday's (Monday the 15th of August) Post:


The first day of Comedy, Comedy! class went well! We've a small class! And we're already having fun! :o) Woot woot! We'll see what the week brings!

Tomorrow begins Comedy, Comedy!!!

Today I went with Arlene and Aidan to the Quinault Rain Forest (which is in the Olympic Mountain Range) and then on to the Pacific Ocean at a place called Ocean Shores. Both were BEAUTIFUL! And relaxing! And the nature out here in Washington is really to die for! If there was a great guy who loved theatre - or at least that I did theatre - and liked nature, hiking and all that ... and there was even a small job for me here, I could totally move here!!!

And ... as for theatre today, or more accurately tomorrow, I've got my first Comedy, Comedy Class! It's planned, I did the planning while sitting at the Quinault Lodge today, looking at Quinault lake, in the rain forest! It was lovely!!!

And that is all. For the moment.

Gonna go do some other prep work for tomorrow and then go to bed! :o)

Quasi Interview

Well, today I went and meet up with the woman from Seattle Public Theatre, it was my Quasi Interview. ;o) Turns out they don't have any - even good part time jobs - full time jobs to apply for ... but if I were to come out to Seattle and be living here, she'd probably to definitely have some teaching and other gigs I could get. Nothing full time, nothing even 'regularly part time'. But it was good to go and meet up with someone here and see the potential for work in a place, should I be able to and actually do move here. :o)

Then Arlene and I stayed there and watched their kids production of "Pirates of Penzance". Pretty good show ... a junior version for sure, good times! :o)

Shakespeare = Great Job!

Well despite one of the kids being sick and not turning up to the performance (he was King Oberon and Quince, by the way), and one of the kids not being able to do both roles she'd been given the day before the performance ... it was Brilliant!!!

By the way, this is yesterday's post - Friday the 12th of August.

Well done Shakespearian actors/campers!!!

Totally Unrelated Blog Post Here

Question: How do I delete a blog? An entire blog? (ok, well it never really started but that's beside the point...)

Here's the more in depth version of the above question.

Ok, so I thought (a while back now) that I was going to be doing a gig in NY this summer directing kids in a production of Oliver, and it turns out that I couldn't do it, but I digress ... one of the things I was asked to do when I thought I was directing the show was to create an online blog for the parents to follow, like I've done with my Middle School shows ... so I did it. I came up with the blog title and "created" it and had one post of "more info to come" (or something like that) ... BUT NOW I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DELETE THE BLOG. It's not needed. I didn't do the show. etc... How do I get it off of "here"???

Camp Shakespeare ... Ha ha ha!!!

Well today we got through the whole script!!! Woo hoo!!! Midsummer is blocked! :o) Now onto polishing it tomorrow and performing it on Friday! What, Shakespeare in 5 Days???!!! YES!!! Ok, so it's an abridged/adapted version, but still ... 8-13 year olds getting a Shakespeare play in 5 days, oh yeah!!!

And that is all I have to say about that. I'm exhausted...it's bed time! :o)

Went to the Theatre Tonight!

Today I got through half of the play (actually a little bit more than half) - blocking wise, and at the end of the day when we went over it, the kids actually remembered most of the blocking! Woo hoo!!!

Then in the evening I went to see "The Next Room" at ACT Theatre, with Arlene! Very funny!!!

And now I need to sleep so I can get up and make sure the lesson plan for tomorrow - that I created while in a coffee shop waiting for Arlene after class - is good to go!

Good night!!!

Responses!

Nice. So I heard back from both places that I sent my info to within the last few days ... I've got a 'quasi' meeting/interviewy type thing with Seattle Public Theatre on Saturday, and I'll be able to 'informally' interview/meet with the guy who does the hiring for Lakeside Schools summer camp - not next week but the week after that! :o) Woo hoo!

Day One of Stone Soup's "Midsummer..."
Today went really well! Now that I know they kids a bit I can make lesson plans to suit them and the show! Woo hoo!!! Looking forward to tomorrow when I can start blocking - we're in "The Rock Garden", which has some sweet trees and this great rock cave/sculpture thingy that we can use! Nice!!!

Lesson Plan Making Time Now!

And that, for the moment, is all my friends! :)

Lesson Plans etc...

Tomorrow I start my first week at Stone Soup Theatre, woo hoo!!! I'm super excited and so now I am going to work on my lesson plan for the first day!

Job Ap's

I emailed the woman from Seattle Public Theatre to set up a meeting ... they've got a potential position opening up, and they have other things like SM gigs and Summer Camp gigs that I can "interview" for. So here's hoping I can get an interview while I am here!!!

And now I have also emailed my cover letter and CV to the person in charge of hiring for the Summer Camp at Lakeside school in North Seattle, for next summer's Drama Teaching position. Let's see if - here's hoping- I get an interview for that while I'm out here too!

:o)

Letter of Intent

Job Ap for the Day
So I've just emailed out my letter of intent (still need to put the signed one in the post) so that I can direct the local middle school production again this coming school year. Now ... what show to pick???!!! ;o)

And I will be - either today or tomorrow - sending out my cv/cover letter to the guy who hired my friend Arlene for a summer theatre teaching job at Lakeside (I believe) school in Northern Seattle. She won't be here next summer ... so ... we'll see ... perhaps I could have a second summer of Seattle gigs?! :o)

NO theatre today!

Today I went to Crystal Mountain, braved my fear of heights, and took a "gondola" ride up to the top of the mountain so that I could see Mt. Rainer "up close" without going onto an active volcano covered in snow and glacial ice! :o) And it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Amazing amazing amazing! Once I've downloaded my photos I'll put one or two on here.

On the way back we also stopped in a bit of the forest that is covered in moss, the trees are COVERED (and I mean covered) in moss, it's wicked! I'll put a photo of that on here eventually (most likely) as well!

And then we went to a winery, Chateau Saint Michelle and then a fabulous Puerto Rican restaurant ... mmmm and I am TIRED! I've been out of the house for 13 hours!!!

I was also told by a friend that I should create a blog called Maggie's Random Rants (or by Maggie) ... and record myself going on little (or not so little) rants about things and then uploading them ... it's actually a rather amusing idea! :o) We shall see...

Goodnight moon!

Improv Workshop

Today I went into a class that Arlene is teaching on Improv - as part of a camp at a "local" Middle School here in Seattle - and did a workshop with them. They did very well. We played a few games, tried to implement emotional and physical responses solely on their own and then as an addition into a scene ... and so on and so forth.

The kids did really well. And I enjoyed being a "guest workshop'er" in someone else's class. :o)

And I went and officially signed my Stone Soup contract at the theatre, and saw the park where the classes are taught! Woo hoo!!!

And that is all I have for today ... nope, I lied, I also sent made contact with "my local middle school" about doing the play again this coming school year! :o)

Cool.

August 3rds Post

Oops...and the only theatrical thing I did today was see where Stone Soup Theatre is located and where the Seattle Public Theatre is located!

And Happy 2nd Birthday to my niece T!!!

Time warp over.

Seattle Sight Seeing

Today I will go into Downtown Seattle and check out some of the "major touristy" things to see!!!

On the list for the day (let's see how much I get done, by the time I get out of the house and all that jazz...)
a. Seattle Underground Tour
b. Pike Place Market where I will get a Starbucks from the Original Store.
c. The Space Needle
d. The Klondike Gold Rush Historical Site
e. Waterfall Garden
f. The Seattle Aquarium

And if for some reason I get all that done and still want to "do something" ... there's always the Seattle Art Museum and about a bajillion other things I could do!

Gotta' buy a map when I get off the train which Arlene will take me too in a little while! :)

Welcome August!

I'm now in Seattle at Arlene and Aidan's! ;o)

And so far, and likely the only thing I'll do today - theatrically speaking (aside from having some theatrical conversations with Arlene like we did last night, YAY) was to read two more scripts for the Comedy, Comedy class in two weeks! :o)

More coffee please!

AND WELCOME (holy shizoly how did it get to be) August!!!

Onto Stone Soup

I'll be going into Seattle today and then onto Arlene's place ... then I've got a week off to do some sight seeing and general chill'axin'! I might get to go into an improv class that Arlene is teaching this week and do a workshop type deal with them, which will be fun! :o) And then it's week one of Stone Soup - and that means Shakespeare!!! Woot woot!!!

Well Done ... not a steak!

Well done to my "Aristocats" and "Into The Woods" kids. Today's shows were awesome!!! Thank you all for rockin' the house! And Thank You to the Admiral Theatre for hiring me for the camp! Good times ... Great Oldies! (Or something like that.)

They all did a really amazing job ... 2 weeks ... WOW!!!

:o)

ps...this was "today's post" ... July 30th, Saturday, 2011!

Friday's Post

Time Travel to Yesterday, July 29th,2011:

Tech went ... long ... and a bit confusing to begin with ... and then it went really well!!! Both shows came together, kids moving set pieces they'd never seen until then, using costumes for the first time, using props some of which also were a first time use ... the sweeeeeeeeeeeet-est chicken prop (with wheels, yes I said wheels) made by a member of the staff ... and then when the confusion got unconfused, the kids really rocked it out. Some were still too soft and their characters were not as present as I know they can be, but they really did a great job!!!

I've a list that's "long" ... with a few things to give out to the kids when they arrive for their shows ... but even if they don't get implemented they'll be great!

And so ... I must now make a set change list for both shows before I head over to the theatre.

Show day today ... break a leg all!!!

And Happy First Anniversary to my friend Arlene and her Husband Aidan!!! (Arlene's the one who's gotten me out here to the North West!)

Thursday's Post

Time Travel back two days:

Welcome to the evening of July 28th, 2011

Thursday's rehearsals went really well, we got more set pieces to work with when the kids were rehearsing on the stage (and props too)! Things are coming together ...

I've Got NOthing.

For a post today, I don't really have anything.
Today was much better than yesterday, and that's all I"ve got to say about that.
Oh, and boogidy boo, just kidding!

Aaaaaaargh!

Today ... blargh ... !!! Not a great day.
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow. Right? Right!
(No, I don't mean literally, but rather metaphorically ... please!?!?!)

Did everything fall out of the campers heads over the weekend?

NO! Hey, that fits with the theme of this blog (sort of, well it's a no at any rate)! The kids did not lose everything we taught them from last week over the weekend, phew!

So the weekend proved to be beneficial for most (though not all) of the older kids in Into The Woods. We had a stumble thru today, 6 days after they got the scripts, and they did very well - almost entirely off book and with not "too many" line bobbles and all that! They know most of scenes 1-3, it gets shaky in scene 4 & 5, and they were (again for the most part) all really trying with their characters. Volume needs help, seems not to matter how much I ask they are often not projecting, and or putting their butts to the audience (or sometimes their shoulders). And I find it interesting that, as teens who are always making loud noise and always want to be the center of the universe, you put them on stage and they get soft, turn their backs or sides to the audience, and can't seem to understand that you don't have to look people in the eyes with every word they say - ESPECIALLY IN THEATRE! Hahaha...

But I digress, they did really well!

Aristocats did alright this morning. We have 2 pages worth of text left to "officially" block and the show will be done. If Woods wasn't doing a stumble thru this afternoon (that the Aristokids watched) we would have gotten thru it entirely. We'll get'er'done in the morning tomorrow, and then it's their - YIKES, gulp - turn for a stumble thru. Considering they have more real dance/music numbers we're going to have to work on blending the staging with choreography and vice versa ... and well, I bet one or two of those kids (ok, maybe more like 5 or 6) will have their lines "memorized" the way the older kids did today. We'll see.

Tomorrow should be really interesting ... ahhhhh ha ha ha ha!!!

Some character work, some section work, some run thrus ... some crazy'ness ... awesome!

Relaxin' and script workin'!

Today I just relaxed ... and then worked on my scripts.
I've got - at least what I think is - a good game plan for the little kids in Aristocats for tomorrow morning! And I'm excited (and a little nervous) to see what the older group of Into The Woods kids has done over the weekend. I'm just flat out scared of what the little kids will have done (or more likely not done) over the weekend, haha!
And that's pretty much all for today!

Missed it by and hour...

Today's post (Saturday July 23rd, even though I missed by an hour and 3 minutes) is that after almost three years, once again, I was in the same city as my fabulous friend Arlene Maria!!! AND I got to go see her staged reading in Seattle. And I got to ride the Bremerton to Seattle (and back) ferry, on a gorgeous 70'ish plus degree day with crystal clear blue skies ... the Olympics and Mt. Rainer are so pretty (and still covered with snow)!!!

And then I went out with the gal who's house I'm staying at and some of her friends ... I had Der Blokken Black Stout at the Der Bloken Brewery here in Seattle. THERE ARE SO MANY BEERS I'VE NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE, and so many breweries out here.

I'll write up a list of the others as I try them!!!

And ... pause ... Goodnight!

Missed it by 20 minutes ...

Drat, I missed "today's" (Friday July 22nd) post by twenty-one minutes.

Week one is done and it's all going really well. Aristocats still needs a few small dialogue scenes to be blocked, though I do have them pre-blocked myself. And once that is done the Choreographer and I need to see / smooth out some things - transitions between choreography and staging - during a first stumble thru.

Into The Woods is looking awesome. They're going to get to a stumble thru on Monday afternoon ... saaaa-weet! Today I held a contest in the morning and afternoon sessions to see who would "go the whole hog" and really act (show me their character), remember their blocking, sing, move, smile, have fun, etc...and that was a good motivational tool - I believe - for getting them to go further with their characters. We'll see what Monday brings.

New Improv Game learned today:

"Roxane"
3 people in the scene. 1 is sitting down. 1 person did something to the other and so they are in a fight, and the third person is trying to help them make up.
1 person goes out of the room so they can't hear the audiences choices - but they know the relationship of all 3 who will be in the scene (ie: boyfriend/girlfriend/wingman or three sisters where two are fighting and one is trying to get them to make up).
The audience decides what the character - the one who's outside not listening - has "done" to the other person. They also decide what this character will do to make it up to the person they "wronged".
The wingman's job is to use gestures only to get the first person to figure out what they did, and the person who was wronged can help out with some words.
Trick - if the person sitting see's the wingman doing funky gestures and asks what's going on the wingman has to "justify" what they are doing, and the same thing goes for the person who's trying to apologize.

"I'm sorry I BLANK, and I promise to BLANK" is a good way to get the person who's guessing to do it.

*Also, an ahhhh from the audience when they guesser is close and clapping when they hit it on the nose is fun for them too.

~That is probably not written out well but I didn't want to forget it ... and it's late ... and so there.

:o) Goodnight/morning!

Note to self ...

Find something for the 6-8 year olds in my one show to do tomorrow ... and by that I mean, find someway to get them to pay better attention tomorrow / do what I'm asking them to do and when I'm asking them to do it / remember when and where they are supposed to move and speak ... I know it will all come together in the end and be awesome, but today was a bit of a struggle.

And now ... onto script work (after I check my email).

Headache

So I have a monster headache right now which means rather than a lengthy post for today I'm just going to say:
"Into The Woods" is almost entirely blocked (sweet), two more scenes to do tomorrow morning and then we can start really running sections and working on it ... polishing it and all that jazz. I'm really enjoying the personalities of the teens in this group - even the ones who are a bit shy, they keep pulling it out (the drama I mean or the character) when I ask them too! ;o)

"Aristocats" is not quite as far along - which I think is predominantly due to the cast being large (4 Aristocats, 12 Alley Cats, 6 Dogs, 1 Mouse, 2 Geese, Evil Edgar and the Aristocats owner Madame), 27 kids; and that the ages of most of these kids is 6-8 years old - but I digress. It is coming along nicely, I got a few more things blocked today - and got them looking pretty good - and we've got to fill in a few holes, but I think we're about half way through the show (or maybe a little father). This group of kids is good too, though we've got a few "handfuls" in the group (which probably add to where we are or aren't at this point in the script/week).

So woo hoo!!!

Funny thing ... my friend Arlene, who's the second camp I'll be working at, well she and I have been playing phone tag since I landed in Vegas. Same time zone now but we can't seem to get each other on the phone ... ha ha ha ... either I'm at work and she's free or vice versa ...

:o) And that is all for tonight. Goodnight Bremerton, WA!

Into The Woods with some Alley Cats!

Rehearsals today went really well ... Aristocats is a bit more challenging than Into The Woods (smaller kids, and a lot of them, with shorter attention spans and all that ... ha ha ha)!!! Blocking / Vocals and Choreography going well. We'll see what tomorrow brings (hopefully a little more concentration, ha ha)!

I might bring my camera tomorrow to take some snap shots of the Aristocats scenes so we can move along faster ... not having to make them stand there while we note the blocking sometimes might be helpful ... we shall see!

Camp Day 1 = Done

After a long flight ... a long "I almost can't keep my eyes open I'm so tired" layover in vegas ... a short flight ... a few hours sleep ... and a long First Day On The Job ... I can say today's first day of camp went really well! Introductions ... three basic acting classes full of games/get to know one another ... and auditions and we've got the shows cast! It's going to be a blast!!!

And now I'm exhausted so today's entry is short.

And that is all.

En route...

I'm chillin' in the McCarran (I think that's it's name) Airport in Vegas right now. Four hour layover between here and my flight to Seattle. So I'm online and recharging my laptop at the same time. My body says it's almost 9:30pm, but Vegas says it's only 6:30pm ... I've personally recharged with a bagel sandwich and an orange juice (wine for the plane, I'll fall asleep).

I found someone's wallet when I was getting my sandwich ... and Good Samaritan that I am, I turned it in without even looking inside for anything other than a drivers license/name. The lady at the bagel place took it and said if no one claimed it she would turn it into her manager ... I hope the girl who left it realizes before her flight takes off. Yikes!!!

And ... I am off ... to people watch and read ... or something.

How do you pack for a month and a half?

I HATE PACKING!!!
I want to take all of my cute skirts, capris, tank tops, tops, dresses, shoes ... so how does one narrow that down for one and a half months? I'm trying to keep in mind that I'll be able to do laundry ... and that at Stone Soup there's a camp t-shirt that I'll wear - so for those work days I'll only need pants - but still, my suitcase weighs "a ton". I don't want to have to do laundry every day, and I want to be able to wear a nice outfit if I were to go out to the theatre with my friend, or out for drinks somewhere, or to a museum etc ... plus my blow dryer and hair brush, make up, jewelry, under garments, tootpaste/brush and other bathroom type things ... so I've got stuff packed, and of course things still on hangers and in drawers that I'd love to bring but that I have kept where they are. And I am sure that while I'm out in Seattle I will discover that I've "forgotten to pack" something I'll have wanted ... but I digress.
I hate packing!

A Day and a Half...

Going to Seattle in a day and a half! Oh yeah!

Today I did some packing ... some script work ... some scheduling ... got my hair cut ... hung out with my friend and her girls (since I won't be able to hang with them again until September), and then had a desert and drinks evening while watching the slide show of my Aunt and Uncles Italy Photos - beautiful!!!

And that's pretty much all ... and now, it's time to sleep!

Goodnight!

Time Warp

Yesterday got away from me and I went to bed before putting up my post for the day.

Yesterday I went through my notes and books and things and "took notes" in my Stone Soup Notebook for my classes this summer. That way I don't have to take a bunch of books with me ... just one notebook. ;o)

And of course, I worked on my scripts.

I went through my Shakespeare Text and finished locating where in the original text the text taken for this piece is - this way if something doesn't make sense to me (or the kids) at any given moment I can go in my full script and sort it out. :o) Haha! I'm still wondering about the narrators in this adapted version though ... they are the only characters who don't have true Shakespearian lines and so I don't want them to stand out. (If I were adapting it as she has, I would have given all of their lines to Puck who's already - in my the narrator of the story ... but I digress.)

And I sat and chatted with my Aunt and Uncle for a wee while ... and ya know stuff.

Comfort zones ... oiy!

I am totally working outside my comfort zone (thanks for the "diagnosis mom") with having to 'fully stage' two shows before I even meet the kids who will be in them. The Admiral Theatre job "requires" that I have my blocking sorted out so that I can give it to the kids quickly in the first few days of rehearsal ... this way they have it all and they can get to memorizing all the bits together as quickly as possible. Allowing for alterations during the rehearsal process of course. And I completely understand this idea, but I have NEVER done it before. It sort of goes in the complete opposite direction of how I work, if I'm being honest. I'm not saying I can't do it, but I am saying it's really weird. Ha ha! It's me working out of my typical style and therefore out of my comfort zone ... and everyone knows it's easier in ones comfort zone.

I think right now my biggest hurdle is that I don't know EXACTLY what the sets will be like. So trying to stage something where you don't know what the set elements are, or where they are on the stage, or how much room they take up, what pieces the actors can stand on / sit on ... etc ... etc ... makes it a challenge.

But I digress ... I'm gonna rock it out like a pro! :o)

Officially Accepted Job Offer

So I officially accepted the Youth Tour, Stage Manager, job offer I got from Capital Repertory Company! And my Drama Kids job is willing and able to work with me during that month so I can do both!

Woo Hoo!

I'll be in October and it's called "Pure Poe" ... more info to come whence I have it!

Oh Yeah!!!

Fabric River

This is proving to be a challenge ... at least on the "think it through" level. Though my Aunt did just give me a good idea. Fabric river, manipulated by a couple of kids, where a kitten (played by a kid) has to fall in - and can't swim. Another cat dives in to save her but he actually can't swim either, so now he's being swept away, and is finally rescued by two geese. If anyone has any interesting thoughts feel free to leave them here. :o)

Worked on some preproduction lists today ... props lists, costume lists, set lists ... lists of specific movements that need to be sorted out / focused on ... etc ...

Very hot day out today, super muggy, ick! Thank god for AC!

And on an entirely different note I worked on my nieces photograph album, I made one for P when she turned 2 years old - an Aunt Margaret and Me album; and now T is about to turn 2 so I'm working on hers, and updating P's ... and working on a small one for myself, that one is Aunt Marky and P and T! :o) They're so freaking cute, and so big now - both of them!

I guess that's all for the moment.
I should go back to working on my scripts...and gotta see if there's an earlier free miles flight than the one I'm booked on.

Stupid sinus' ... stuffy ... grrr ... ok, now I'm really going back to work.

Working On Me Scripts

I sat today, surrounded by theatre books, my scripts and several notebooks from my directing classes and worked on my scripts.

Shakespeare ... it's taken me quite a bit of time, and I'm not even finished, going through the full length version of "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and comparing it to my adapted version for the summer camp. The worst part of the adaptation is that when the playwright typed it up, they didn't type it in verse style ... if I'm going to teach the kids about Iambic Pentameter, Rhyming Couplets, Feminine Endings, Trochaic Rhythms and other such, I need the script to be markable by them (and me). Before the copies are made for the kids I might adjust the lines.

I think the lovers, Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena resemble the lovers in Commedia dell'Arte.

I did find out that it might be possible to get my balloon forest for this show. How exciting!!! :o)

Commedia dell'Arte ... tomorrow I've gotta get up and move like the characters, get what I learned back in my body so I can show the kids ... and direct two cannovaccio.

Aristocats Kids and Into The Woods ... I've emailed my set thoughts to the theatre, and hope to hear back soon so that I can block the scenes accordingly. Going through those scripts today I have found new ideas ... I've found several shadow puppet moments in "Into The Woods" among other things.

I'm hoping that my woods are "moveable" so that the different areas within the woods can literally look like different areas. I'm a little baffled with the Hen that lays the golden egg, I thought shadow puppet but then how does it lay a golden egg in the hands of the Baker? The script suggests a remote control car decked out like a chicken, that's actually really funny ... maybe.

Aristocats ... I'm hoping the costumer will want to suggest cat, dog, mouse etc...and not with a "cat hat" or anything ... but more with say a collar and some ears on a headband and a tail ... I don't want them to really look like cats, or the other animals in the show, I'm not even sure why I don't but I don't. We'll see ...

The Motorcycle in the show is a question ... but the moving scenery behind the motorcycle to make it look like the bike's moving will be fun to do! :o)

etc...

This is what I did all day long ... phew! ;o)