it's all cool breezy baby

10 days!! Really. It's been 10 days since I've last blogged. That's a shame. Oh well, don't live in the past...revel in the present and look forward to the future, since my birthday is 10 days from now aaaaaand we will be in the space 10 days from now!! :) OMG!! This process is flying by!! I am so happy, although I work 9 hour days and go straight from work, to rehearsal, to bed, to work, to rehearsal...lather, rinse, repeat!! When I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind, I breathe it all in and remember that all this 'mayhem' keeps me stimulated, vigorous, satisfied, grateful. I love what I do. Whenever I get to express my creativity I feel liberated. I. can't. imagine. my. life. without. art! Looking back, I've always been an artist. Whether it be cooking, interior design, fashion, I have always craved art! Performance art has most definitely stepped out front and center these days!! I love to perform, it's so fulfilling! Especially when it thrills others and makes an impact! 'Passing Strange' is a joy!! A priceless experience for me as an artist. It allows me to impact and thrill and so much more. On top of that, I'm living the story I'm telling, which is so rare. I am mos def a lost soul, searching for the "real", but this experience has been like a cheat sheet for me. Things I have questioned before, I don't question anymore. Absolutely priceless....and oh so pleasurable too might I add ;)

Stew is a brilliant poetic magician and I just can't get enough! Ask people who know me well enough to know my quirky fears/apprehensions and they will tell you....I don't F with magicians, but in this case it's 100% okay. ;) I will be an apprentice to Stew's magicianry any day!! This show is so harmonious. The music and the lyrics are like cake and ice-cream....quite delicious separately, but put them together and you've got yourself a party!! The earworms are so catchy not only in musical setup and lyrics but in the way it transports your emotional status. They put you at ease one moment and prick you like a needle the next. Three words, three notes can grab your full attention. That's exactly what "listening is waiting" has done for us strange-ers. One night after rehearsal, Scott asked us what "listening is waiting" means. I try to always keep this in mind: Never forget the message you received and always be perceptive of the message others receive. "Listening is waiting" has always stood out to me and the message I received was that something you need to listen to is waiting on you to listen. Another perspective on that little earworm was more like listening = waiting. Active (listening, as opposed to hearing) is passive (waiting). I can dig that too. I however feel that it's more so like this....Listening is waiting, so listen. Listening is waiting, pay attention. listen....informal....to convey a particular impression to the hearer; sound: The new recording doesn't listen as well as the old one. You can take that and say the recording is a 'listening' and if that 'listening' is waiting then I'd think it was waiting on you, to listen. When I have asked people what does listening is waiting mean to them they usually say right off the bat...shut up and listen. The way the melody is sung even sounds like a lovely announcement chime. Intentionally so, to send your mind into listening mode. I could talk about this forever and a day but I'll let good ol' Facebook lay this one to rest(LOL). After rehearsal, Andrea's status update was "listening is waiting" and the first comment was, "what are you listening to." Exactly. Listening is waiting, take from it what you will. That's how I would sum up how "listening is waiting" is meant to be taken in the show. Once again Stew, you and your magic....cool breezy one moment and knee-deep in our footnotes the next. Now that's some magic I want to be a part of.


Since we're on the subject of magic, let's talk about where the magic happens....BLOCKING!! We've completely BLOCKED and RAN Act 1 since I've last blogged. It's officially a full body experience!! No more sitting in chairs and singing. We are singing and moving with purpose. It's so important to know what that purpose is and what it means to you. In my view, that's the key to honest delivery. Direction is also key. To have a director that knows precisely what he wants is fantastic. To have a director that expects you to exercise your right to artistic freedom is that much greater. To have a director with keen discernment, that makes for non-stop high quality. During 'Evita' I remember trying to visualize how the whole chair thing would work out and imagining it looking so incredibly awkward! In the end it was the best part of the structure of the show. Oh gosh how could I ever forget "Rolling on in" during 'Evita'. We 86'd a few Miller-ography routines before we got where we needed to be, but Scott always used that discernment to work it out. I trust him. Nowadays if I think something may look like WTF I just go for it because I know that if he sees it and it truly does look like WTF, he will alter his vision and make it work. Blocking is always fun. Sometimes it's more than what I imagined it would be. Sometimes it's not at all what I thought it would be....don't get me started on "we just had sex"... but I mean, I imagined the cha-cha and a possible ring around the rosie segment.... so yea, that didn't happen : /

I thought things went pretty smoothly during the run. I tested out my accent and nobody laughed and so that was exciting. I'm gonna keep working on it day by day. It was cool to travel so many different places and become so many different people. I was lovin it!! Plastic land L.A. to Amsterdam spring sunshine. Some things didn't go my way, I was disappointed, I got over it. I still can't decide who's my fav. I get to go from normal chick in the family band, to Mrs. Kelso, to Sherry, to Renata. It's fun to play, it's fun to pretend. I brought a scarf and some other things with me to rehearsal to get used to transforming in an instant. With the scarf it's a toss up between Sherry and Mrs. Kelso for my fav. Mrs. Kelso is one of those random characters, just in the scene for a bit but I'm having so much fun bringing her to life. Sherry rocks!! I dig her attitude and personality!! It's kind of awkward to me because I've decided Mrs. Kelso is either Sherry's Mom or Aunt so maybe I don't have to decide...I can give the title to Renata who is also the bees knees. :) that scarf really helped me!! I could tie it a million different ways and quickly look like a different person, portray a different attitude with comfort and ease. It was a lot of fun! I have no idea what costumes will be like, I'm assuming minimal though. We all had a blast running Act 1!! We laughed, we doubted, we wailed, we debated, we delivered. I love this cast!! We get closer and closer every rehearsal. Precious moments.

This show is all about "the real" and so our portrayals have got to be more than real, after all, this is art. I love that the narrator is so natural. This is his story of his journey as an artist, through his eyes. He has made every character real. Some more real than others, some making a bigger impact on his life, but all real in their way. All playing a part of the gospel of a youth's journey to find "the real". I feel all of us strange-ers relate to the youth in some way and have gone through similar conflicts. He will be overwhelmed with "real" experiences. He will be loved, he will break hearts. He will lose, he will win, he will find what he's been searching for. We get to play along.....HOLLA!! 'Passing Strange' closed July 2008 it's August 2011 how cool is that!! This is refreshing. Musical theatre like nothing else. Bring on Act 2....then full runs....EEEEEEEEEE!!!