Monday was home-improvement day. Since I don’t have much time in NYC before I go off to Millbrook I’ve started to feel the pressure of getting my room together for my subletter. Definitely a blessing and a curse! I walked to Home Depot, checked out the wares and then browsed the Container Store and Bed Bath and Beyond where I found bed-risers and rug tape as well as a dust ruffle that perfectly matches my bed! I lugged back to Home Depot and purchased a lamp and some underbed storage boxes and then spent most of the afternoon organizing, cleaning and actually, mostly stressing over how this was all going to come together. It’s not nearly done, of course. But at least I got a start. The weather was magnificent so I broke the stress and took a run around the reservoir. I seem to always gravitate to running in the park the days before I leave for CA, perhaps to hold onto my favorite place in NYC. My dreams of laundry were foiled by another dryer fire in our basement, placing our laundry room on a temporary hiatus. I went by Barnes and Noble to pick up a going away present for the Seals. They are moving back to Amarillo at the end of the week! Boo. I was thrilled to hear how well Adrienne’s event at Cornell went and had planned to celebrate with her and Jon. But I had also called Laura and asked if I could stop by. She ended up getting me to join them for dinner at Nick’s, a family-style pizza joint on my favorite avenue. I just love that family and they were appropriately excited and interrogating about my date and I heard how they had seen all of NYC that they had intended to in their year of adventure. I went back to their place for a little more play-time, with lots of stories exchanged with Tressa about Dora and Diego, and even the fish bathtoy I named “Elberta.” I had to scoop myself away to pack for this trip and I said goodbye knowing I have lost my most favorite neighbors NYC could have ever brought. ☹ Boo. But, again, soooooooo thankful that God reconnected us, after 10 years of no contact, at that silly subway stop in midtown in February. What a great, great blessing! I will miss them and even though I didn’t get to spend tons of time with them, just knowing they were across the street, was such a joy and a comfort.
I was up till about 10:30 packing for CA and CO and this morning the alarm woke me at 3:15. Not as early as the last trip but it turns out, a little earlier than necessary. I got in a cab and arrived at Penn Station before 4 which is tooooooooooooo early. It was one of the shadiest and scariest environments I’ve been in. The NJ Transit doesn’t open their gates until 4 and so there I was with my laptop and backpack and large red suitcase. A coffee stand employee at the place across the way from the station must have read my fear and offered to let me stay inside in the light with them until the station opened. Still, scary Larry. So, next time I’ll be aiming for a 4;15 arrival to hop on that first 4:20 train. I made it, and once again, I’m thankful. Can’t wait to be home and see Charlie and everyone else I love!!!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
2 meals with friends!
Even though I woke up plenty early for church, I still managed to leave the house later than I should and once again broke my record. 30 minutes and sweating! After a Saturday of rain and clouds, the sun was coming out! I was so blessed to find Laura B. in the back row and sat with her as well as Jenny and Joe. It’s so fun singing next to my mezzo friends! The brass quintet starring my friends from small group, Amber and Kyle, accompanied us and it doesn’t get much better or closer to heaven than that. Tim K is speaking on Deuteronomy in a new series that will take us through the summer. Sadly, this was my last Redeemer service for the next 6 weeks. I might have to subscribe to the mp3s online! The talk was on the Fire of God and one aspect that really hit me, in light of my intense reaction to the earlier date, were the things I hold as idols. I know, I know that I hold onto fining someone and/or marriage as an idol. I’ve always felt like as soon as I get there I’ll be complete and life will really begin. Tim offered that anything that occupies our thoughts more than God is an idol. Yep. That hit home and just like God, it came on a morning when I most needed to hear it.
In the muffin hour, I was really excited to reconnect with Melanie who has been pretty intensely investigating moving to LA to be in the same city with a man she met on-line! Craziness. I loved hearing about her recent trip and the ways she says, “God has had his hand” on every step of their relationship. After church I accompanied Jenny and her friend Chad and his former roommate David to our favorite midtown diner. I was meeting the Gees for lunch at 12:30 but went along with them for company and to whet my appetite for the food to come!
The Gees and I planned to meet at Grand Central where Mr. Gee knew of a seafood restaurant. They walked there only to find it closed and we had a fun game of hide and go seek. Well, I was walking towards them and they were walking towards me and would we ever find eachother? Well, we did and it was really great to see them. Mr. Gee is the current president of the Rice Alumni Association and had come into town for a Rice Alumni College event. I was especially excited to see Mrs. Gee, so healthy after a serious brain aneurysm last year. God is so good, indeed. We walked through the heart of Times Square and eventually ended up with the small “Oyster Bar” across from their hotel. On the way there, we literally ran into Karim and his mom, Aida. Busted! Karim knows how much I love my Chicago mom and he didn’t let me know she was in town?! He said there were just about to call me to go out with them. Of course, my day was full, but it was fun to see her however briefly. The Gees caught me up on Andrew’s gorgeous new baby girl, Isabella, as well as all of the characters at Mr. Gee’s law office, where I was once employed! I left them at their hotel and walked to Bryant Park. The weather had turned breezy and lovely and I wanted a little time of reflection and journaling before the next adventure.
I had a wonderful time with David and Penny. They are both graphic artists and just walking with them and noticing things with their eyes helped me see more than just buildings and sculptures. They had said the forecast called for “shower” in the singular and sure enough, around 5 pm there was a shower. We found a bit of scaffolding and watched the rain dance on the pavement. When it ended, we peered through several closed Chelsea galleries and walked our way eventually to their hotel on 46th, right across the street from Actors Equity. They took me to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay’s restaurant. It was beyond delicious. I told them I would be writing every detail in the blog so here goes: First, I started with a yummy frozen margarita and they had these lovely blue corn muffins and another hand-made white roll which was outstanding. For appetizers we ordered a blue-corn pancake stuffed with barbecued duck and blue-corn (do you see a theme?) chips with a goat-cheese sort of fondue. Delicious! I ordered the cornmeal crusted chile relleno that was stuffed with goat-cheese and lying on a bed of a fig and quince chipotle chutney. Penny had the roasted pork tenderloin and David had venison chops. We shared a butternut squash tamale that was out of this world. So stuffed, we all dipped into one dessert, a coconut macadamia cake with cinnamon-crunch ice cream. Bobbly Flay was out of sight but I was recognized as a fellow audtioner by our actress-waitress. It’s a small world after all! I had such a wonderful day with Penny and David and bid them adieu on the N-R train.
In the muffin hour, I was really excited to reconnect with Melanie who has been pretty intensely investigating moving to LA to be in the same city with a man she met on-line! Craziness. I loved hearing about her recent trip and the ways she says, “God has had his hand” on every step of their relationship. After church I accompanied Jenny and her friend Chad and his former roommate David to our favorite midtown diner. I was meeting the Gees for lunch at 12:30 but went along with them for company and to whet my appetite for the food to come!
The Gees and I planned to meet at Grand Central where Mr. Gee knew of a seafood restaurant. They walked there only to find it closed and we had a fun game of hide and go seek. Well, I was walking towards them and they were walking towards me and would we ever find eachother? Well, we did and it was really great to see them. Mr. Gee is the current president of the Rice Alumni Association and had come into town for a Rice Alumni College event. I was especially excited to see Mrs. Gee, so healthy after a serious brain aneurysm last year. God is so good, indeed. We walked through the heart of Times Square and eventually ended up with the small “Oyster Bar” across from their hotel. On the way there, we literally ran into Karim and his mom, Aida. Busted! Karim knows how much I love my Chicago mom and he didn’t let me know she was in town?! He said there were just about to call me to go out with them. Of course, my day was full, but it was fun to see her however briefly. The Gees caught me up on Andrew’s gorgeous new baby girl, Isabella, as well as all of the characters at Mr. Gee’s law office, where I was once employed! I left them at their hotel and walked to Bryant Park. The weather had turned breezy and lovely and I wanted a little time of reflection and journaling before the next adventure.
I had a wonderful time with David and Penny. They are both graphic artists and just walking with them and noticing things with their eyes helped me see more than just buildings and sculptures. They had said the forecast called for “shower” in the singular and sure enough, around 5 pm there was a shower. We found a bit of scaffolding and watched the rain dance on the pavement. When it ended, we peered through several closed Chelsea galleries and walked our way eventually to their hotel on 46th, right across the street from Actors Equity. They took me to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay’s restaurant. It was beyond delicious. I told them I would be writing every detail in the blog so here goes: First, I started with a yummy frozen margarita and they had these lovely blue corn muffins and another hand-made white roll which was outstanding. For appetizers we ordered a blue-corn pancake stuffed with barbecued duck and blue-corn (do you see a theme?) chips with a goat-cheese sort of fondue. Delicious! I ordered the cornmeal crusted chile relleno that was stuffed with goat-cheese and lying on a bed of a fig and quince chipotle chutney. Penny had the roasted pork tenderloin and David had venison chops. We shared a butternut squash tamale that was out of this world. So stuffed, we all dipped into one dessert, a coconut macadamia cake with cinnamon-crunch ice cream. Bobbly Flay was out of sight but I was recognized as a fellow audtioner by our actress-waitress. It’s a small world after all! I had such a wonderful day with Penny and David and bid them adieu on the N-R train.
Dancing what I feel...
Saturday morning I punished myself at Nia and the following dance class. Abby usually teaches the dance class in a very stand-up comedian, not-too-much sweating way and so I made sure to get all my “work” done in NIA. But then we had a substitute teacher and she just about killed us with repetitions and no break for air. Whew. I spent the afternoon cleaning and practicing and only nearly losing my lunch.
I came back from dinnere to the apartment and Adrienne was still working in her office. Her big event for Cornell was coming up on Monday and she managed to spend 10 hours of her Saturday tying up some loose ends.
I came back from dinnere to the apartment and Adrienne was still working in her office. Her big event for Cornell was coming up on Monday and she managed to spend 10 hours of her Saturday tying up some loose ends.
Coram Boy!
When I last left you, dear blog readers, I was standing uncomfortably at the Performing Arts Library, typing away in my 20-minute allowance. Now I sit, perhaps, even more uncomfortably in an airplane headed for SFO, with an unknown allowance of battery life. The destination is more than comfortable, wonderful, in fact. It’s just the guy in front of me has his seat down and I can hardly raise the screen of Bella-the-Laptop. But, I like to write in these most extreme states! I can hardly complain and I’m joking, of course, When I think about the last 4 months and all the adventures and opportunities I have had I can only be really, really thankful and stop to pinch myself along the way.
Friday night, Adrienne and I saw “Coram Boy” and it proved to be an amazing feast of fantasy and Jane Austen era romanticism. I LOVED it. In fact, I know I keep saying this, but it may be my most memorable and exciting theatrical experience EVER.
The acting was incredible, especially that of Xanthe Elbrick, a British girl my age, who had the task of playing two choir boys. In the first act she was a determined and driven 15-year-old about to grow out of his treble voice. In the second act she transformed into his son, 8 years old and full of spunk and wonder. Incredible! Another neat aspect was a choir that sat above the stage through the entire play and chimed in with Handelian choruses and music in that style. As broad as an epic movie, their interjections punctuated the scenes with Carmina Burana-like intensity. A girl from Redeemer that I met a few weeks ago was in the choir. I had tried to audition for the choir a few months ago but had no luck. I was only a little jealous! The end of the show may have been wrapped up a little too neatly but the entire company (40 in total, unheard of on Broadway!) gathered on the stage and sang the Hallelujah Chorus. Really, really thrilling! I was so sad to read on Saturday morning that the show is closing this next Friday after only being open less than a month. I guess without a film star like Kevin Spacey, a play can be a tough sell for the tourists. I am so glad that we saw it on Friday or I would have missed it completely. One more thing for which I’m thankful!
Friday night, Adrienne and I saw “Coram Boy” and it proved to be an amazing feast of fantasy and Jane Austen era romanticism. I LOVED it. In fact, I know I keep saying this, but it may be my most memorable and exciting theatrical experience EVER.
The acting was incredible, especially that of Xanthe Elbrick, a British girl my age, who had the task of playing two choir boys. In the first act she was a determined and driven 15-year-old about to grow out of his treble voice. In the second act she transformed into his son, 8 years old and full of spunk and wonder. Incredible! Another neat aspect was a choir that sat above the stage through the entire play and chimed in with Handelian choruses and music in that style. As broad as an epic movie, their interjections punctuated the scenes with Carmina Burana-like intensity. A girl from Redeemer that I met a few weeks ago was in the choir. I had tried to audition for the choir a few months ago but had no luck. I was only a little jealous! The end of the show may have been wrapped up a little too neatly but the entire company (40 in total, unheard of on Broadway!) gathered on the stage and sang the Hallelujah Chorus. Really, really thrilling! I was so sad to read on Saturday morning that the show is closing this next Friday after only being open less than a month. I guess without a film star like Kevin Spacey, a play can be a tough sell for the tourists. I am so glad that we saw it on Friday or I would have missed it completely. One more thing for which I’m thankful!
Friday, May 18, 2007
I'm makin copies....
So, hear I am at the most wonderful library in the world (also known as The Performing Arts Library), standing up at a shared computer and writing a few updates as a break from copying songs! I love this place. So, so fun to sift through every score imaginable but also exhausting. I am toast. I have a very exciting and fun project planned for the summer (it's also a surprise so I can't give details) and I've been copying my brains out with gleeful anticipation. This morning I shook my bones at Nia class and had the chance to tell Serena how much I enjoy her teaching. All the Nia teachers are sooooooooooo nice and encouraging and always say, "great dancing!" when really, we're awkwardly shaking our bones. I've been doing some home research on Peter Pan and J.M. Barrie...a great excuse to watch "Finding Neverland" again. For lunch, I celebrated with a dear friend from Rice days, Christine Hauptly, who is in town with her recently-affianced Matt. They met in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra where she plays violin and he plays the horn. We ate at Sarabeths on the East Side and I walked with them to the Met before heading across the park to the library. Tonight Adrienne and I are going to see "Coram Boy" a play on Broadway. Since signing up for the TDF discounts I've been thrilled to get some amazing deals to see all these shows! I'm feeling especially show-hungry because I'm worried some of them will close by the time I get back from Millbrook in July.
Yesterday (Thursday) was an internet-free day. Apparently God is sending me a message that I spend too much time on-line? but he punished most of the rest of the cable-inclined NYC as well. Collectively, we missed Season Finale Thursday!!!! WHAT??!!!??? What a great opportunity to go to ballet class and be verbally abused by the teacher. Seriously this class is called "Ballet Basics" for absolute beginners and yet she expects a lot and gets very frustrated with some of our (ahem, ahem) lack of natural talent. She even yelled at a girl who was readjusting her hair saying, "You should do that before class!! You shouldn't come to class unprepared!" Yikes. I am glad that she has a hard time remembering my name because poor new girl Claire was getting an earful. And still, I enjoyed the class. I think she's a great teacher and I feel like even after 2 classes, I'm improving. Luckily, Kat was there to share some raised eyebrow disbelief. Earlier in the afternoon I had a Laura B. session and worked on the Ricky Ian Gordon songs that I LOVE. Laura said that when I get them fully-prepared we'll book an hour with her friend and Broadway superstar Judy Blazer, who is a good friend and muse of Ricky Ian Gordon. Won't that be fun???? In the morning I had a brief and somewhat silly rehearsal for Millbrook's Royalty Dinner that I'm participating in. I get to sing "Little Fat Girls" from Black Patent Leather Shoes. Cute song but I wish I could change the words to "Big Tall Girls" because the guy I'm singing with is about a foot shorter than me. Oh well. I guess that's why I got cast as a nun in that show and not a kid!
Wednesday I went to a special NIA masterclass with a Nia-master from Sweden. She was awesome and about 6'5". I guess she was an olympic medalist in swimming at some point. Sometimes I think about getting certified in Nia and teaching as a survival job. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....
Karim gave me his superstar guest spot at his opera's dress rehearsal. He's doing "Castor et Pollux" by Rameau with Opera Francais de New York. I so enjoyed seeing him onstage again...his character is the whimsical Mercure. Unfortunately he didn't get to sing all that much but he definitely lit the stage whenever he was on it! The singing was mostly great and I especially enjoyed the sopranos and the baritone. On my way out of the theatre a torrential rain storm hit and I realized that my outfit choice of white skirt and flip-flops was a bad one. I still made it to Union Square and grabbed a quite bite to eat at Whole Foods before sloshing over to class. I will really miss the Gym these next few months. John was hard on us this last class and tears were flowing. I'm thankful to have so many notes and so many new ways of looking at communicating my songs. Hooray. Tom, the guy who looks like Matt Damon and sings like an angel, was back in class, so that was delightful. :) We also had a visitor, a guy named Aaron, who is clearly a character actor and sang a rousing "I want to be a Rockette." So fun.
Okay, well, I have just a few minutes before the library closes. Love to you all!!! By the way, it's 53 degrees for a high today!!! Can't wait to get home to sunny (please!) CA!
Yesterday (Thursday) was an internet-free day. Apparently God is sending me a message that I spend too much time on-line? but he punished most of the rest of the cable-inclined NYC as well. Collectively, we missed Season Finale Thursday!!!! WHAT??!!!??? What a great opportunity to go to ballet class and be verbally abused by the teacher. Seriously this class is called "Ballet Basics" for absolute beginners and yet she expects a lot and gets very frustrated with some of our (ahem, ahem) lack of natural talent. She even yelled at a girl who was readjusting her hair saying, "You should do that before class!! You shouldn't come to class unprepared!" Yikes. I am glad that she has a hard time remembering my name because poor new girl Claire was getting an earful. And still, I enjoyed the class. I think she's a great teacher and I feel like even after 2 classes, I'm improving. Luckily, Kat was there to share some raised eyebrow disbelief. Earlier in the afternoon I had a Laura B. session and worked on the Ricky Ian Gordon songs that I LOVE. Laura said that when I get them fully-prepared we'll book an hour with her friend and Broadway superstar Judy Blazer, who is a good friend and muse of Ricky Ian Gordon. Won't that be fun???? In the morning I had a brief and somewhat silly rehearsal for Millbrook's Royalty Dinner that I'm participating in. I get to sing "Little Fat Girls" from Black Patent Leather Shoes. Cute song but I wish I could change the words to "Big Tall Girls" because the guy I'm singing with is about a foot shorter than me. Oh well. I guess that's why I got cast as a nun in that show and not a kid!
Wednesday I went to a special NIA masterclass with a Nia-master from Sweden. She was awesome and about 6'5". I guess she was an olympic medalist in swimming at some point. Sometimes I think about getting certified in Nia and teaching as a survival job. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....
Karim gave me his superstar guest spot at his opera's dress rehearsal. He's doing "Castor et Pollux" by Rameau with Opera Francais de New York. I so enjoyed seeing him onstage again...his character is the whimsical Mercure. Unfortunately he didn't get to sing all that much but he definitely lit the stage whenever he was on it! The singing was mostly great and I especially enjoyed the sopranos and the baritone. On my way out of the theatre a torrential rain storm hit and I realized that my outfit choice of white skirt and flip-flops was a bad one. I still made it to Union Square and grabbed a quite bite to eat at Whole Foods before sloshing over to class. I will really miss the Gym these next few months. John was hard on us this last class and tears were flowing. I'm thankful to have so many notes and so many new ways of looking at communicating my songs. Hooray. Tom, the guy who looks like Matt Damon and sings like an angel, was back in class, so that was delightful. :) We also had a visitor, a guy named Aaron, who is clearly a character actor and sang a rousing "I want to be a Rockette." So fun.
Okay, well, I have just a few minutes before the library closes. Love to you all!!! By the way, it's 53 degrees for a high today!!! Can't wait to get home to sunny (please!) CA!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I'm makin' pies...
It's been a lovely few days here in NYC....
I'll start with the latest excitement and work backwards.
I just took Adrienne on a musical adventure. I recently joined "TDF" a group that supports theatre and gives special discounts to non-profits and artists. I got $25 seats to a new musical off-broadway built around the songs of Patty Griffin, one of the best singer-songwriters in the world (in my opinion!) It was at the Atlantic Theatre Company in Chelsea which is a small theatre, about 160 seats, that was started by William H. Macy and the playwright David Mamet. Well, tonight, Adrienne and I were in two of those 160 seats and William H. Macy was in one of them! He was sitting a few rows back, on the aisle, no Felicity in tow, and we even walked right past him. I held my tongue, wishing I could ask him why "Wild Hogs?"
The musical was beautiful. I love the songs, of course, and the acting was amazing. My favorite was Mare Winningham, known best to me as Meredith's recently-deceased step-mom on Grey's Anatomy. She can sing! And she played several different characters with different flavors that all broke my heart. Two favorite moments were "Kite" and "Makin' Pies." a-mazing! Did I mention that we were in the second row and that she was six feet away? A-mazing! I was also very excited to see Matthew Morrison, the original Fabrizio from "The Light in the Piazza" (my favorite musical of the past 3 years!) as Duane. His voice and his looks are very, very nice. Irene Molloy was refreshing and real as Molly and she captured Patty Griffin's style with ease. The 4th and final player was Skip Sudduth, best known for his starring role on 3rd Watch. He was a great character actor but his overly-measured singing seemed a bit stiff. Still, what an evening! I hope the show does well! The last musical that Atlantic produced was "Spring Awakening" which has since moved to Broadway and just picked up 11 Tony Award Nominations today!
Other highlights of today, Tuesday: Being turned away at two auditions, renting studio space and trying to teach myself how to belt before my coaching. I had a great coaching with Michael F. who assigned me 6 new songs that I'm totally stoked to learn. It was like being a kid in a candy store, really.
Monday was a long day of auditioning. I got in right away for "White Christmas" which my new friend Zach played for (more on him to come) and had the joy of sitting and waiting with Hannelies for our chance to sing for "Spelling Bee." I was 8th in line and ended up getting to sing late in the afternoon. Hannelies didn't make it in. :( I was really bummed, because she is better for the show than I am and she had taken the day off of work. I decided that I would try to make "Unexpected Song" comedic for my audition. The thing is, as I was singing it, I realized, it's just not funny. It's Andrew Lloyd Webber, and well, he's not very funny. Oh well. I was really glad for the time spent with Hanne. And I can finally say I auditioned for a genuine Broadway show! Monday night I made dinner and then went to a citilights (Redeemer's post-college parallel) coffeehouse night that was in my neighborhood. I met some nice people including a guy that works at People magazine on the "nightclub beat." He was saying he had to work later because, well, "Lindsay's in town." Lindsay, being Lindsay Lohan. Crazy, right?
Sunday was a glorious day. I booked it to church and made it in record time. I've shaved the walk from 38 minutes to 32. Wihoo. After church, Jenny and her friend Tom and I hung out in the Sheeps' Meadow in Central Park for awhile before Tom had to leave to see his Mama. Jenny and I dined at Whole Foods and I was meandering through the Park, heading home, when Karim called me and convinced me to frolic with him downtown. I met him at Union Square and helped him shop at Paul Smith and Diesel, and later Prada in Soho, which is really more of a museum than a store. Very fancy. We enjoyed a lively ragtime band complete with swing dancers in Washington Square Park (officially one of my new favorite spots.) It's the NYU center of action (where Felicity graduated) and it has a lot of life and beauty to it. The ragtime was especially fun and as Karim suggested, just one of those 1000 reasons why I love living in NYC. After Soho Karim and I walked to the Village and had some yummy Italian food at an outdoor cafe. We parted ways at Columbus Circle (because none of my friends live on the East Side!!!) and I enjoyed, again, walking in the park, even tearing up a bit as I walked past my favorite angel statue accompanied by a duo on violin and guitar. Ah, bliss.
Saturday was an early morning after a very, very late Friday end. I was happy to get up and at 'em for a seminar at Redeemer about Beauty and Image and the Christian Woman in NYC. It was a great morning of reflecting on image and identity and I learned a bunch. I may post some of my notes soon! Jenny, Hannelies and Elizabeth were there and we enjoyed debriefing over a picnic lunch in Bryant Park. I went home for a much-needed nap before heading out again to a Redeemer Dance Network Salsa lesson and party. I knew only one person, Russ, and met some really socially awkward men. It was kind of rough, to be completely honest, and I slipped out a bit early, missing my dancing partner-in-crime, Katie!
Friday night I met up with Zach, Soon's great friend from Cincinnati, who is a musical theatre pianist in the city. He invited me to meet him and some friends at a bar called Port 41 near the Port Authority. I ended up meeting them at 10:45 and staying out till 3 am! I am way too old for them, I think! It was fun, because a few of them were CCM kids and we talked all about the dangers of the 'nati and the tastes that we missed...Graeters anyone? Zach is real sweet and was so thoughtful to invite me out and meet his friends. We ended up at Ben's apartment where I played Nintendo Wii for the first time. So fun, especially the bowling!!!
Thursday was my first coaching with Michael F., a recommendation from Kat. He works with loads of Broadway people and his whole deal is finding you off the beaten track rep. He was super-helpful and though he crushed my dreams of playing Clara in "Light in the Piazza" (says I'm too brunette, tall and womanly! :( ) he was really complimentary of my singing of her song. He's already having me work on my forehead wrinkling and is determined to get rid of many of my stale songs in my book! He has a wonderful spirit to him and I'm excited to work with him. He also owns every Broadway score in the world and happily makes them available to his special needs children, as he likes to call us. :)
I was able to audition for "West Side Story" at Actors Equity after my coaching and then headed home to cook up some quick lemon bars for the Seals. They had me over for dinner and ordered some yummy, yummy pizza from Nick's down the street. We had a fun time and I learned all about their extreme gift of hospitality!
And now, I'm caught up, however backwards that may be!
I'll start with the latest excitement and work backwards.
I just took Adrienne on a musical adventure. I recently joined "TDF" a group that supports theatre and gives special discounts to non-profits and artists. I got $25 seats to a new musical off-broadway built around the songs of Patty Griffin, one of the best singer-songwriters in the world (in my opinion!) It was at the Atlantic Theatre Company in Chelsea which is a small theatre, about 160 seats, that was started by William H. Macy and the playwright David Mamet. Well, tonight, Adrienne and I were in two of those 160 seats and William H. Macy was in one of them! He was sitting a few rows back, on the aisle, no Felicity in tow, and we even walked right past him. I held my tongue, wishing I could ask him why "Wild Hogs?"
The musical was beautiful. I love the songs, of course, and the acting was amazing. My favorite was Mare Winningham, known best to me as Meredith's recently-deceased step-mom on Grey's Anatomy. She can sing! And she played several different characters with different flavors that all broke my heart. Two favorite moments were "Kite" and "Makin' Pies." a-mazing! Did I mention that we were in the second row and that she was six feet away? A-mazing! I was also very excited to see Matthew Morrison, the original Fabrizio from "The Light in the Piazza" (my favorite musical of the past 3 years!) as Duane. His voice and his looks are very, very nice. Irene Molloy was refreshing and real as Molly and she captured Patty Griffin's style with ease. The 4th and final player was Skip Sudduth, best known for his starring role on 3rd Watch. He was a great character actor but his overly-measured singing seemed a bit stiff. Still, what an evening! I hope the show does well! The last musical that Atlantic produced was "Spring Awakening" which has since moved to Broadway and just picked up 11 Tony Award Nominations today!
Other highlights of today, Tuesday: Being turned away at two auditions, renting studio space and trying to teach myself how to belt before my coaching. I had a great coaching with Michael F. who assigned me 6 new songs that I'm totally stoked to learn. It was like being a kid in a candy store, really.
Monday was a long day of auditioning. I got in right away for "White Christmas" which my new friend Zach played for (more on him to come) and had the joy of sitting and waiting with Hannelies for our chance to sing for "Spelling Bee." I was 8th in line and ended up getting to sing late in the afternoon. Hannelies didn't make it in. :( I was really bummed, because she is better for the show than I am and she had taken the day off of work. I decided that I would try to make "Unexpected Song" comedic for my audition. The thing is, as I was singing it, I realized, it's just not funny. It's Andrew Lloyd Webber, and well, he's not very funny. Oh well. I was really glad for the time spent with Hanne. And I can finally say I auditioned for a genuine Broadway show! Monday night I made dinner and then went to a citilights (Redeemer's post-college parallel) coffeehouse night that was in my neighborhood. I met some nice people including a guy that works at People magazine on the "nightclub beat." He was saying he had to work later because, well, "Lindsay's in town." Lindsay, being Lindsay Lohan. Crazy, right?
Sunday was a glorious day. I booked it to church and made it in record time. I've shaved the walk from 38 minutes to 32. Wihoo. After church, Jenny and her friend Tom and I hung out in the Sheeps' Meadow in Central Park for awhile before Tom had to leave to see his Mama. Jenny and I dined at Whole Foods and I was meandering through the Park, heading home, when Karim called me and convinced me to frolic with him downtown. I met him at Union Square and helped him shop at Paul Smith and Diesel, and later Prada in Soho, which is really more of a museum than a store. Very fancy. We enjoyed a lively ragtime band complete with swing dancers in Washington Square Park (officially one of my new favorite spots.) It's the NYU center of action (where Felicity graduated) and it has a lot of life and beauty to it. The ragtime was especially fun and as Karim suggested, just one of those 1000 reasons why I love living in NYC. After Soho Karim and I walked to the Village and had some yummy Italian food at an outdoor cafe. We parted ways at Columbus Circle (because none of my friends live on the East Side!!!) and I enjoyed, again, walking in the park, even tearing up a bit as I walked past my favorite angel statue accompanied by a duo on violin and guitar. Ah, bliss.
Saturday was an early morning after a very, very late Friday end. I was happy to get up and at 'em for a seminar at Redeemer about Beauty and Image and the Christian Woman in NYC. It was a great morning of reflecting on image and identity and I learned a bunch. I may post some of my notes soon! Jenny, Hannelies and Elizabeth were there and we enjoyed debriefing over a picnic lunch in Bryant Park. I went home for a much-needed nap before heading out again to a Redeemer Dance Network Salsa lesson and party. I knew only one person, Russ, and met some really socially awkward men. It was kind of rough, to be completely honest, and I slipped out a bit early, missing my dancing partner-in-crime, Katie!
Friday night I met up with Zach, Soon's great friend from Cincinnati, who is a musical theatre pianist in the city. He invited me to meet him and some friends at a bar called Port 41 near the Port Authority. I ended up meeting them at 10:45 and staying out till 3 am! I am way too old for them, I think! It was fun, because a few of them were CCM kids and we talked all about the dangers of the 'nati and the tastes that we missed...Graeters anyone? Zach is real sweet and was so thoughtful to invite me out and meet his friends. We ended up at Ben's apartment where I played Nintendo Wii for the first time. So fun, especially the bowling!!!
Thursday was my first coaching with Michael F., a recommendation from Kat. He works with loads of Broadway people and his whole deal is finding you off the beaten track rep. He was super-helpful and though he crushed my dreams of playing Clara in "Light in the Piazza" (says I'm too brunette, tall and womanly! :( ) he was really complimentary of my singing of her song. He's already having me work on my forehead wrinkling and is determined to get rid of many of my stale songs in my book! He has a wonderful spirit to him and I'm excited to work with him. He also owns every Broadway score in the world and happily makes them available to his special needs children, as he likes to call us. :)
I was able to audition for "West Side Story" at Actors Equity after my coaching and then headed home to cook up some quick lemon bars for the Seals. They had me over for dinner and ordered some yummy, yummy pizza from Nick's down the street. We had a fun time and I learned all about their extreme gift of hospitality!
And now, I'm caught up, however backwards that may be!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
I love new york in may, how about yay?
I'm just cooling down from another wonderful session of "The Gym." My classmates are particularly engaging this time around. i found out that the one woman that I loved so much from last week (thanks to a little google research) has for good reason, been in several Broadway shows. I was really intimidated to sing tonight and ended up going very last. But it was a good experience and I felt connected to my material instead of trying to prove myself as a musical-theatre type. That's a much happier place to be! I find John's comments so stimulating and exciting and I find that I take pages and pages of notes. Some highlights so you get a taste of the genius!:
When approaching a song, it's all about narrowing in on the most dangerous person you could possibly have this conversation with...
Look at underscoring and interpret it on your terms.
Be strong and wrong! (Make strong choices!)
Auditors want to see someone make a choice.
Creativity is in my discomfort. Be courageous enough to be in that uncomfortable place.
Start shedding the "acting" and land on who you are---you are interesting enough as a person. Look for opportunities to put that special self into the work.
Find material that doesn't necessarily excite you musically but rather has ideas, characters and stuff to fight for. You have to be working through something in a song.
The weather has been beautiful here, although it turned a bit hot today. A mere foretaste of what Adrienne promises to be a hellish summer of sweat and smells. Yesterday, after hitting an EPA early and getting seen by 10am (yay!) I met Jackie and Jenny for lunch at the zoo. I then spent some time reading by the pond, which is apparently the popular site to film movies. So beautiful it feels fake! After bible study I went to a basic ballet class taught by a very NY woman. Clearly a former prima-ballerina, she did not mess around and expected a lot even from beginner-beginners. I was glad to reunite with Kat there and finally meet her boyfriend Danny after hearing so much about him.
Today I talked myself out of auditioning for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show after Danny's comments about how look-driven they are. I did a bunch of practicing and ended up walking across the park to pick up my scores for the Millbrook shows! Yay! I just found out I'll be participating in a Royalty Dinner the night before the rest of the Company arrives. I guess 4 of us will sing a bunch of excerpts to get the patrons excited for the upcoming season. I'm glad to get to know the staff better and let them know me better by pitching in in that way!
I did some shopping before grabbing a quick dinner at Whole Foods (do you know they have whole-wheat pizza? yummy! almost as good as mine.) I saw Jerry Mitchell, the director of the new Legally Blonde on Broadway, carefully selecting cuts of meat for his din-din. I wrote some cards and studied for class in Union Square and enjoyed all the buzz of kids careening towards the park and friends calling eachother and explaining which corner they were located. Balmy bliss, really.
When approaching a song, it's all about narrowing in on the most dangerous person you could possibly have this conversation with...
Look at underscoring and interpret it on your terms.
Be strong and wrong! (Make strong choices!)
Auditors want to see someone make a choice.
Creativity is in my discomfort. Be courageous enough to be in that uncomfortable place.
Start shedding the "acting" and land on who you are---you are interesting enough as a person. Look for opportunities to put that special self into the work.
Find material that doesn't necessarily excite you musically but rather has ideas, characters and stuff to fight for. You have to be working through something in a song.
The weather has been beautiful here, although it turned a bit hot today. A mere foretaste of what Adrienne promises to be a hellish summer of sweat and smells. Yesterday, after hitting an EPA early and getting seen by 10am (yay!) I met Jackie and Jenny for lunch at the zoo. I then spent some time reading by the pond, which is apparently the popular site to film movies. So beautiful it feels fake! After bible study I went to a basic ballet class taught by a very NY woman. Clearly a former prima-ballerina, she did not mess around and expected a lot even from beginner-beginners. I was glad to reunite with Kat there and finally meet her boyfriend Danny after hearing so much about him.
Today I talked myself out of auditioning for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show after Danny's comments about how look-driven they are. I did a bunch of practicing and ended up walking across the park to pick up my scores for the Millbrook shows! Yay! I just found out I'll be participating in a Royalty Dinner the night before the rest of the Company arrives. I guess 4 of us will sing a bunch of excerpts to get the patrons excited for the upcoming season. I'm glad to get to know the staff better and let them know me better by pitching in in that way!
I did some shopping before grabbing a quick dinner at Whole Foods (do you know they have whole-wheat pizza? yummy! almost as good as mine.) I saw Jerry Mitchell, the director of the new Legally Blonde on Broadway, carefully selecting cuts of meat for his din-din. I wrote some cards and studied for class in Union Square and enjoyed all the buzz of kids careening towards the park and friends calling eachother and explaining which corner they were located. Balmy bliss, really.
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