more pirates...

Tuesday morning started painfully early with me forcing myself to leave the apartment and get to the gym at 6. I was trying to be quiet as a mouse for the two girls and took my breakfast on the road with me. I had my oatmeal in one hand and my many bags in the other and was trying to eat with mittens on because it was 10 degrees and windy...when I dropped my oatmeal on the sidewalk (SAD!) and realized that my snacks and lunch were also locked up in my apartment. I knew it was going to be a rough day from that tragic moment. Oh, so dramatic, I know! I put in my quick workout and made my way to Chelsea where I sat in an unofficial line for a non-equity summer stock call. Kat had my back at another dinner theatre call at the Ripley Grier studios. The girl next to me and I ended up chatting because we both had been reading our Bibles and discovered that we both go to Redeemer! So neat. I look forward to seeing her again in the future. That audition was decent but they asked me about my tap and I said it was "pretty good" and that I was currently in class...apparently those things do not add up to a callback. Oh well. I ran over in the freezing cold to R-G for the Oklahoma call...again, I was fine but didn't get called back. Maybe they wanted ballerina Laureys?? Definitely it had been a discouraging couple of days in audition land. I headed out to Inwood for another lesson with Carol. It was frustrating at times, as I felt vocally tired, and on the brink of sickness, but our lesson ended well and with encouragement. I then met Seri at the Time Warner Center where we popped into Whole Foods to get some liquids before braving the cold for a short tour of the Upper West Side. This included a brief jaunt into the park where we walked right past Conan O'Brien and his baby. I was elbowing Seri as we walked past and she thought I was elbowing her to look at the baby so she completely missed Conan. Two days in a row she missed! I told her about my strategy....you have to walk around NY with your eyes up, fully anticipating that you will see a celebrity. And chances are, a few times a week, it seems, you will! We stopped at Levain Bakery, nearly hidden from the street on 73rd, but worth the search for the amazing cookies and the baked jelly donut we tried. Oh heavens. By then it was time to go to my Bible Study where I was happy to introduce Seri to all my new friends. We finished up a meaty section of Romans before taking a bit of a break and celebrating Kyle's 30th birthday with yummy cakes, pizza and to Seri's ears, the most beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" ever sung. It was a great afternoon! Seri and I wandered a bit before meeting up with Stacy's fiancee to return her key and hopping on the crosstown bus. We had some Chinese take-out with Adrienne before settling down for the night.

Wednesday, I somehow didn't hear my alarm for my early gym call. I trashed that plan and got ready at home and somehow got to Chelsea studios at the very perfect time, before some serious unofficial/official list mayhem ensued. We were there for the Theatreworks open-call. This Theatreworks mostly does touring shows for children but is famous for getting Equity cards for their actors. So, you can imagine the non-equity desparation steeping in the room, hoping for an appointment. I was 86 on the unofficial list and was able to sign up for a 3 pm time, not close to the morning time I was hoping for. I took the opportunity to check out the scene at the Equity building which at first looked good for two EPAs I was signed up for...it quickly turned bad and I met Seri for lunch in Gramercy at an Indo-Chinese place. Really tasty deep fried vegetables in a taro bowl was my favorite. The Singapore Noodles couldn't hold a candle to Kirin's. I ate myself silly before booking it back over to the audition where I hurried up and waited and sang a very rough cut of "I don't know his name" to total disinterest from the panel. I think they were tired. I met up with Seri again, this time in Soho, at the Dean and Deluca and was most excited to check out a New York institution called, "Ricky's" with her. I had seen a sign for one coming soon on 3rd Ave, right near my house, and actually thought it was a weird sex-shop. I was actually disappointed that smut was coming to my street but it turns out it's not a sex shop at all but a paradise of every kind of beauty product and makeup applicator and hair tie and anything else amazing you can think of...I'm soooooooo excited now, although a little scared too, so tempting!
Seri and I met Grace and Adrienne for dinner (I know, I feel like we just ate...but I guess this is what happens when friends come into town!) at a Japanese ramen house that specializes in Sumo-Wrestler cuisione. I guess it's not unusual for retired Sumo wrestlers to open restaurants featuring the food that ate in their training. I had the Menchanko soup...very delicious with noodles and shrimp and mochi and fried bean curd. Grace left for her home in Queens while the three of us headed to the Hilton Theatre on 42nd and Broadway for "The Pirate Queen"'s 2nd night of previews. We were able to score $25 tickets in the second row of the balcony. Apparently, going to previews is the way to do it! This show was written by the Les Mis people and produced by the Riverdance people so you can imagine what that equation brings...some amazing Irish dancing and a lot of wanna-be "Bring Him Home", "I dreamed a dream" and "One day more" moments. I'm pretty sure Lis would still love it. I actually really loved it, despite its many flaws, and I was completely blown away by the leading lady, Stephanie Block. She could do it all, belt, mix, float....and for days! I was totally inspired. We enjoyed giggling together in some of the sillier moments and sat with Carolyn and her industry friends who really got into tearing it apart. Let's hope Ms. Block will get to star in it for at least a few months but there's no telling with these things...I guess some shows don't even make it out of previews!
We took a cab home and called it a night, turning down an offer to further dissect the show with Carolyn and co.
I started feeling a bit sick in the afternoon and by evening was pretty sure I was not doing great and so....

Thursday morning I slept in. Seri and I had a fun morning together, lazing around and continuing some discussions before she had to leave to transfer her stuff to Carolyn's apartment in anticipation of Bradley's arrival this afternoon. I really did nothing but throw myself an "I'm sick" pity-party for a few hours, then researched "110 in the shade" and showered before meeting new-friend and retreat-roomie Jenny at her work on Madison Ave at 5. We went to the Drowsy Chaperone box office to try to get tickets for the Sunday matinee. They have back of mezzanine tix for $26 but were all sold-out when we got there. We chilled a bit in the Marquis Marriot lounge before splitting paths. I went to Union Square and grabbed a quick salad at a place called "Chop't" where they take all your salad ingredients ala Plutos and then chop it all together on a cutting board...again, I think Lis would be into this. I stuffed my face quickly and headed to my last session of the Gym. I was so apprehensive because my throat was feeling funny and I wasn't as prepared for my song as I would have liked...it was an amazing session as usual...with some great singing and brilliant direction...I sang "The Light in the Piazza" and butchered much of it the first time and was able to redeem it. I was really encouraged by the director who responded to my recent audition discouragement by saying I needed to have patience and realize that it is going to take some time and that I'm doing what I need to be doing and to just keep going out there...and that eventually I'll be the kind of actor that they build a show around. Whatever that means, I was really encouraged, and so after a hard day of being sick and sad about that, I'm again inspired and feel glad to be here and confident that this waiting and showing up will someday pay off.