gypsygirl

Queen Victoria was a hit! I made a couple of alterations toward the funny side to the text Lise sent me and got lots of giggles. The worst was Tommy, who kept anticipating parts of the speech and would start laughing before the punch line. I watched the final performance in character and had an awful time trying to keep a straight face, especially when Regan looked straight at me and made a face at me.

I’m going to be co-directing this summer’s melodrama with MB. I hadn’t intended to direct it, because I knew MB wanted to try her hand at directing and thought the melodrama would be a good place to start (as it was for me, two years ago). But for some reason, the board decided they didn’t want a newbie directing by herself, and asked if I’d co-direct with her. As far as they know, I’m directing and she’s watching and learning. As far as we’re concerned, she’s directing and I’m offering moral support and suggestions.

When the new season was announced, I had wanted to direct the Hallowe’en show, Dial M for Murder, but I got sick and wasn’t able to get the proposal in on time. I learned today that a guy I know from a couple of shows this past season is going to be directing. He was kind of a pain in one of the shows, so I don’t think I’ll be auditioning as I’d originally intended. But that’s ok, because I also found out recently that The Cachinnator is going to be directing the Christmas show (A Christmas Carol), and I really enjoy working with him. If someone else had gotten DMfM, I might have ended up working on shows from June - December (not that I really expected to be cast in DMfM, because there’s only one female role).

I finally got around to working on my project for Jana’s baby (about time, since he was born over a month ago!). I had originally intended to make a little dress set out of one of the Baby Dale pattern books, because she’d been told she was having a girl. But then Elliott arrived, and I had to change plans. I decided to make a vest, and I wanted to try some fair isle, but I didn’t like the patterns I was finding, so I made one of my own. I’ve nearly finished it. I just have to do the ribbing on the armholes and neckband. I’ve posted a link to the pattern here: http://www.karenrsavage.com/blog/toddlers-fair-isle-vest/

Lise asked me, even though I wasn’t going to be in the play itself, if I’d like to introduce the play in the guise of Queen Victoria. She said she’d been going to have me do that originally too, so I said yes, because I only have to be at the last two rehearsals (that’s tonight and tomorrow), and I don’t have to be there for the whole thing. So, I spent this past weekend making myself a Queen Victoria costume. I used the blouse pattern I used for my Martha costume for Secret Garden, and the skirt pattern from my Ren Faire costume, only I left the front panel un-gathered. It was a good weekend for it, because JoAnn’s was having its Memorial Day sale, so I was able to get this fabulous black striped brocade quite inexpensively. I also got a bit of lace to put at the collar, and some pewter buttons that look great against the black fabric. I think maybe the sleeves should have been tighter than the pattern called for, but it looks pretty cool anyway. I’m going to put my hair in a low bun, parted in the centre… and I’ll rummage through the costume jewelry at the theatre for some medals and something that might do for a tiara.

I’ve finally found a place I like to move to. It’s a large house near where I used to go to church that’s going to be available for rent for the next five years (I figure by then, if my plan works, I’ll have finished paying off all my debts and will be able to seriously consider buying). It’s six bedrooms and at least four bathrooms (possibly five, but half of the second floor was off limits when I visited, so I didn’t get to see it); enclosed patio, fenced back yard, new appliances, pets allowed. I’ll be sharing with two people (though the main renter hasn’t found the third person yet), and my rent will actually be a little less than what I’m paying now. My area will be the third floor loft, which is one big open area, which I think is slightly larger than my current apartment. My other choice was half of the second floor (two bedrooms and one of the bathrooms), but the bathroom was maybe a metre wide and three metres long, and I much preferred the brand new bathroom in the loft, as well as the loft itself. We get to move in in August. I’m really excited!

Nunsense was a huge success. We had a lot of hicoughs along the way. Our original Reverend Mother had to drop out because of health problems, and the new one, who came in about two weeks into full rehearsals (not counting the week and a half or so of music rehearsals at the beginning), had an awful time getting all her lines down. And by an awful time, I mean that she was still using cheat sheets during the week of dress rehearsals; and she used the cheat sheet for one particular scene throughout the run of the show (and at least some audience members noticed, because friends of some of the other cast members mentioned it). Still, even though we cringed at her performance throughout the run, the audiences seemed to love the show. We had lots of word-of-mouth sales.

Tommy and Lise (mostly Lise, I think) are directing a Gilbert and Sullivan one-act as the first of the summer fund raisers, and I’d originally agreed to be in the chorus in that. Rehearsals started one of the weeks between shows of Nunsense, and the show goes up at the end of this month, so I know I was nuts to agree, but I did anyway. But I dropped out on Monday because I’ve been getting sick on and off for the past month or so, and I think a lot of it is because I’ve been so tired all the time from Nunsense that my defenses are low. I’m kind of sad, because it would have been fun, but I must admit, it’s nice having my evenings free and being able to read for pleasure, and record for LV, and go to bed at 10 (instead of 11 or 12).

Work’s going to be quiet for the next week or so; interim started this week. No (well, very few) students around after graduation on Saturday.

The Civic’s having it’s first ever (in my tenure there) Volunteer Appreciation Banquet this Saturday. Appropriately, or perhaps ironically, they’re also having their annual “let’s clean out the shop” day that morning. Planning on going to both. I hope we get lots done, because it’s a mess back there.

I spent some time last night playing with the veil and wimple from my costume, trying to get the “habit humour” scene down. I’m doing alright with Pocahontas, Heidi, Pippi and Attila, because, well, they’re simple, and even if they weren’t, the actress does these on the dvd. Katherine Hepburn is a problem, not because I don’t know what I’m doing, but because the veil’s too long, and the little tail that’s supposed to kind of stick up droops down to my chin. Easy to fix, fortunately; just a bit of cutting and hemming. My biggest problem is Princess Leia, because she doesn’t do that one on the dvd (she does Twisted Sister instead), and I have no idea how to get the coils to stay (or maybe I’m just supposed to hold them??). I also need to alter the wimple so that it doesn’t move around on my head, because that just ruins the picture. I’m thinking of replacing the strips of ribbon that tie at the back with elastic, but I have to make sure it’s ok with the director first.

I’ve kind of been going into LV withdrawal lately because I just haven’t had time to record. I can only manage a chapter or two a week right now. I did manage to finish The Elusive Pimpernel and Anne of Avonlea before the new show started. I’ve got two new projects going now, Angelina by Manuel Delgado (in Spanish) and Mr Hogarth’s Will by Catherine Helen Spence. I’d never heard of either of these before I came across them while browsing gutenberg, but the title’s sounded interesting. I was most interested in Angelina because it’s by a Mexican author.

We had auditions for Nunsense the past two nights. I tried out for the part of Robert Anne. I know I gave a good, solid audition on Monday, but there were a lot of really good, solid actresses there both nights, and honestly, I’m a bit worried. She said last night that if they were able to come to a decision last night, they would make casting calls today. Otherwise, they’d be having call backs tonight and making the casting calls tomorrow, so I may have to wait until tomorrow to hear. I’m not usually this nervous, but I really want this part.

EDIT: I got the part! If I weren’t at work, I’d be jumping up and down.

Tomorrow’s Evita at the Hippodrome, part of the season ticket package MB and I bought. I hope it’s a good production. Evita was my favourite musical growing up, I think, because it was the first professional production I saw (the second was Fiddler on the Roof, and I fell asleep during it. Don’t judge me! It was the tail end of a long day of school field trips and I was tired!). Next weekend BU and MCC both have productions going up, Bye Bye Birdie and Anything Goes respectively. We already have tickets to Bye Bye Birdie, and she also wants to go to Anything Goes. I don’t really know much about either of those two shows (although I’m familiar with some of the songs), but I think it’ll be fun. The weekend after that is the Producers, also part of the season ticket package at the Hippodrome. And then the following week are auditions for Nunsense at the WCT. Phew!

So, not much new going on. I had fun at that workshop in Austin. Our meeting room was a computer lab, so there was plenty of hands-on time. We were at UT, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum was right across the street, so I went there one night. Other than that, I didn’t get out much. I asked Darryl when I got back what we actually use XSLT for here, and he could only think of one example off the top of his head, and that project’s done (though it may need tweaking at some point). So, though I was glad to learn the stuff, I don’t know when I’ll get to use it.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is just over a week away from opening (a week from tomorrow’s our preview performance) and it’s coming along nicely. Yesterday was the first night the actors weren’t allowed to call for lines (except for Big Mama, who only started about a week ago, due to an injury to the original Big Mama) and they did pretty well… except they were concentrating so hard on lines that they tended to lose energy. Tennessee Williams is a depressing enough playwright when the energy is up, so last night’s run-through just dragged in places.

I got a bunch of recording done this weekend. I had the time on Sunday, and I was in the right mood, so I just went for it. I got all my collaborative chapters done (a couple of the Arabian Nights [in French] and a few chapters from Kilmeny of the Orchard [which the BC asked me if I'd be willing to do]), and a monologue for the latest Shakespeare Collection, plus several chapters from my solos. I may get some more done tomorrow morning. I’m taking half a day off from work to get new tires for my car, so I may have some time before they open to get some chapters done. That’s one thing about doing shows, my evenings are pretty much gone. I have time between work and rehearsal to get a bite to eat or take a little nap (not both), but that’s about it. So I usually only get to record on the weekends.

The Man Who Came to Dinner has finished. I got lots of compliments on my character, and lots of “it took me a second to realize that was you when you came on stage” type comments. During the course of MWCtD my friend Tredessa applied for and got the directorship of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which is the next show coming up. I hadn’t been particularly interested in auditioning for that show (I find Tennessee Williams terribly depressing), but I enjoy working with T, so I checked to see if they had a stage manager for it yet. They didn’t, so I signed up for the job. We’ve had auditions, but rehearsals don’t really get started until the New Year, so there’ll be a bit of a break. As much as I enjoy doing stuff at the Civic, it’s nice to know that, for this gig, I actually do get paid a small stipend (yay, crew!).

I’m heading off to CA on Friday to spend Christmas with mum and Paul’s family. I just learned that Alondra’s sister and her two sons will also be there during that time. That is going to be one crowded house. I think I may be asking to go to work with mum more often than I would otherwise have done. I know she wants me to play Santa to all her friends one day at least.

I’ve been knitting frantically for the past few of weeks to finish Christmas presents. I’ve made a purse for my sister-in-law. I finished the actual knitting a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I got around to sewing up the seams and putting in the lining (which I think I made a little too big, but by the time I figured it out, I was so far into it that I couldn’t bear the thought of starting over (again - the first try was too small)). My other project was a scarf for mum’s friend Natalie, which I also finished last weekend. I took both patterns from my “knitting pattern a day ” calendar. I’ve been pulling out the patterns I like and storing them in one of my notebooks. I was pleased to be able to use a couple of them. I’d post pictures of them, only I haven’t been able to find my camera for several weeks now.

I’ve finished both the projects I was working on for LibriVox. I finished Pride and Prejudice over Thanksgiving weekend, and Novelas Cortas the following week. Now I’m working on another of the Scarlet Pimpernel books, The Elusive Pimpernel. At this rate, I may end up doing all of them (that are on gutenberg, anyway). I got the new MCC continuing ed schedule in the mail last week, and I saw that one of the seminars they’re offering is about doing voice over work. I’m seriously considering signing up for it.

I went to see August Rush and Enchanted around Thanksgiving. I really liked them both. I’ve gotten to the point where I usually just wait for a movie to come out on dvd before watching it, but there are a few that intrigue me enough that I’m willing to shell out five bucks for a matinee.

I’m in the middle of rehearsals for The Man Who Came to Dinner at the WCT. I got cast as Lorraine Sheldon, bombshell. The thought still makes me giggle, because I so don’t think of myself as the bombshell type. I wasn’t actually up for the part originally. The director only had one person read for it the night that I auditioned; but when she got up there and started to read (in the same normal voice she had used for all her other readings), I happened to glance at the director and saw her shuffling her papers, shaking her head and muttering to herself in reaction. Well, based on the description she’d given us of the character and the fact that her first word in that scene was “Darling” I had a decent idea of what she was looking for, in the voice, at least. So at the end of the night, when she asked if anyone had wanted to read for a part and hadn’t gotten to, I raised my hand and asked to read for Lorraine. The producer told me later that the director cast me in the part as soon as I started reading. It’s been a fun show, quite apart from playing a vamp, because Tredessa’s in it too (as the female romantic lead), and it’s always fun to play with her! Plus in this show we play rivals, so even more fun.

I’m working on two projects at LibriVox right now; I’m still working on Pride and Prejudice (on the sly, so to speak). I’m more than two thirds of the way through it. And for my “public” project I finally decided on a compilation of short stories by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. I have one left to go, and it’s the longest in the bunch, so I’ve broken it into three sections, to keep the file sizes manageable. I’m thinking of going back for more Scarlet Pimpernel after this; specifically, the Elusive Pimpernel, which is the book that comes between the two I’ve already done. My output has dropped lately, though, as I’m spending my evenings at the theatre and can only record on the weekends.

I went out to CHS with MB last Saturday to see Mandy’s production of Seussical. It was fun to compare similarities and differences in the costumes, because Mandy costumed the production we did at the WCT a few years ago. It was lots of fun, anyway. And Mandy played Mayzie; I’d always wondered how she would have played the part if she’d auditioned for our production (because I’m pretty darned sure she’d have gotten that part), and it was fun getting to see.

I spent part of the weekend finishing my Hallowe’en costume. I had wanted to go as Tigger, to co-ordinate with MB’s Pooh, but, although I was able to find a pattern that would work to make the costume, I couldn’t find fabric in the right colours that wouldn’t kill me from heat exhaustion. So, I had to find something else instead. I went with a Regency period dress - I’m going to be Lizzie Bennet.

I found a fabulous dark purple cotton fabric with sort of roses (or some other flower) in lilac all over it. All I have left is to tack down the seam between the bodice and the skirt, wash it (it’s stiff and itchy from the sizing they put on the fabric) and iron it! I’ll post a pic from the Masquerade Ball next week. I think I want to change the sash a little bit too - it’s a little too wide for my taste right now, and I think I might also sew it onto the front of the dress so that it just has to be tied at the back. I just had another thought for it… maybe I’ll do some gathers on it to narrow it, rather than cutting it down. I’ll have to see how that looks.

It was a very busy weekend, quite apart from sewing. I went to a Barrage concert on Friday night with Eileen. This is the group I got to see at Disneyland with Pabis. He was mesmerized by them, and is going to be horribly jealous when he finds out I got to see them again. I think I’ll get him one of their DVDs for Christmas. On Saturday I went to look at houses during the day, and ushered for and watched Amadeus in the evening. Good Gad that show was long - three, frickin’ hours!!! It didn’t help that I kept wanting the guy playing Salieri to turn into F. Murray Abraham (not his fault, he did a decent job… but he’s no F. Murray Abraham).

I’m considering auditioning for the Christmas show tonight. It’ll be the first time I’ve acted in one of the Christmas shows (though I stage-managed last year’s). I’ve heard conflicting accounts of what it’s like to work with that particular director, which is why I’m only “considering” right now… but I probably will, because I don’t expect to do any of the other shows until the spring musical, Nunsense. The director for Steel Magnolias asked me to audition for that, but it’s right before the musical, and I hate overlapping shows.