Tag Archives: rehearsal

Not Really a Monstrous Monday

When in doubt, include a picture of a monster.

I added that picture after I wrote the following two paragraphs.  I kind of ran dry after mentioning the cooler temperatures and zipped over to Facebook seeking inspiration.

I’m afraid this is a Monday Mental Meanderings post, and not very mental at that.  What can I say, it is Monday and I’m tired.  I know, other people are tired.  I’m sure there are people who are more tired than I am; there are certainly people who work harder than I do, that have more on their plate I have, oh yeah, and are thinner, smarter, better writers… where was I going with this?

It has not been a heinous day.  For one reason, the temperatures cooled off.  I love cooler temperatures.

I have rehearsal in less than an hour.  I did study my lines for a while on break at work today.  I feel moderately ready, although there are a few speeches I am still shaky on.  I will have time to look over them again before we do that scene, I hope.

I also wrote while on break.  I started a post on an old monster movie I watched on Sunday.  I do not think it is a cheesy movie, although the science in which the mad scientist indulges is definitely spurious, a staple of many cheesy movies.  I was writing the post in my head as I worked (my job doesn’t take a lot of brain power, luckily) then tried to put the words on paper once break started.  Of course some of the words were different.  You’ll have that.  Then as I wrote them, I thought of other ways to write what I wanted to say.  I’ll work on it some more.  It is fun to write.  I’m glad I started doing it again, however ineffectually.

Now I must brush my teeth and get ready for rehearsal. It will be fun.  There are very nice people in the cast.  Ooh, I still have to write about last Thursday’s preview performance and share some of the pictures I took.  A preview of coming attractions.  Happy Monday, everyone, even you, Frankenstein’s Monster.

 

Preparing for the Preview

Um, our set doesn’t look like this.

Did I mention I might be seguing into All Tempest All The Time sometime soon?  Well, I am once again posting in haste (posthaste, remember?) before hurrying off to rehearsal.  We are rehearsing on Benton’s Landing in Little Falls, NY, instead of our usual Sterzinar Park, because that is where we are having a Preview Performance tomorrow.  Performance tomorrow!  Yikes!

The preview promises to be different from the usual, “Here’s a scene or two, come see the whole show later!”  It is a performance “under construction,” according to the Facebook event.  The audience will witness and perhaps participant in the rehearsal process in “our most immersive preview yet!”

I still have to figure out my costume.  From the waist up, I think I’m set, although I would like a hat.  With a feather.  I think my character would definitely wear a hat with a feather.  From the waist down, well, I’ll think of something to put on that looks halfway period, to be improved upon before actual performances.  Come to think of it,  I was kind of like that for last year’s preview for Much Ado About Nothing, only without the “halfway period.”  I had a terrific top and trusted the audience to ignore my bicycle shorts.  I found suitable pants at the Thrift Store at a later date.

So any local readers who are looking for something to do tomorrow, July 20, stop on down to Benton’s Landing in Little Falls at 6:30 for a preview of The Tempest.  I’ll be there!

 

Love that LiFT

How about an update on The Tempest?  For anybody just tuning in, that is the play I’m in with LiFT Theatre Company of Little Falls.   I just got back from rehearsal,  where I was mortified not to know my lines better.   Still, I’m working on it, as are we all.  The week before last, I took a few pictures of rehearsal, which I have not yet shared.  I thought today I would repair that omission (that’s an expression I love: “repair that omission”).

Here is a wide view: You can see Canal Place, Little Falls Antiques Center, and The Shops at 25 West.

Weather permitting, we rehearse at Canal Place in Little Falls, where some of the performances take place.  LiFT is something of a traveling theatre company, performing at various venues in the Mohawk Valley.  Little Falls Antique Center and The Shops at 25 West are nearby.

You could read “CANAL PLACE,” if that guy’s script wasn’t in the way.

 

There are a couple of picnic tables and several stone benches we hang out on when we’re not on stage.

Rehearsals are fun.  When we’re not on stage, we run lines or discuss blocking, characters, or costumes.  OK, sometimes we also just chat.  After all, nobody’s perfect.  When we have to use the restroom, we go into Little Falls Antique Center.  When we need refreshment, we patronize Ole Sal’s Creamery, an excellent establishment.

Stone Mill is the home of an Inn, Ole Sal’s Creamery, the Antiques Center, a Black Box theatre and more.

I guess I haven’t given you much of an update, but I think the pictures are kind of fun.  We’ll that a win on a Monday.  Regular readers will recall that today is the day after the Boilermaker 15K, which I ran.  I’m still a little tired.  Lets call this a Muddled Monday and drive on.

 

Did I Mention I’m On Vacation?

Monday, Monday…  I have at least two “real” posts to make, with photos taken by me on my Tablet.  However, earlier today, when I was frantically trying to make my post prior to rehearsal (for The Tempest with LiFT Theatre Company, as I have mentioned that I am in), I felt incapable of doing such a post.  I thought I would do a Movie Monster Monday, especially since I have discovered a couple of new Facebook pages for movies, but I find my laptop is still not allowing me to download (after I THOUGHT my husband Steven had fixed it.  Damn!).

Where was I?

Well, you see, I did not make my post before rehearsal.  Rehearsal went well and was fun.  We got an Antonia!  Um, did I mention we were trying to fill a part?  Well, we were and we did.  At the end of rehearsal, the woman thus recruited was saying if some other superstar wanted to part, she would graciously step aside — basically to the effect, if we could find somebody better…  I said, “You’ll do great!”  That thought was echoed by all present at the time.  Oh, it is wonderful to have a full cast!

Have I mentioned that Steven’s and my good friend Tracy is visiting?  Well, she is, and I have a couple of posts yet to write of the adventures we have had.  Today, well, this is what I can manage.  You see, after rehearsal, Steven, Tracy and I went to Asteroga Ale House in Herkimer.  I’ve had wine.  I am SO into the relaxing, enjoying my company portion of the evening.

We’re going to call this a Monday Mental Meanderings and drive on.  I hope to see you all on Tired Tuesday (what? I can’t get tired on vacation?).

 

Typing on Tired Tuesday

Yes, I have used this picture before, but it is SO what I am feeling today.   Yes, I made it through Tuesday. It was not a terrible Tuesday.  It was definitely a Tired Tuesday.  I have done everything I intend to do today except make my blog post.  So here it is.

We had another rehearsal for Who Shot JS? the murder mystery to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  It is sold out.  Woohoo!  We’re a hit and we haven’t even done anything yet!  At least, we have done a lot, regarding writing, rehearsing and getting ready, but the ticket-buying audience has seen nothing yet (as in, “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!”).  This is going to be great.

Tonight’s rehearsal was at the Herkimer Elks Club, where the performance will be.  After rehearsal, two other cast members and I went into the bar and had a drink.  Yes, I drank and am typing.  One glass of Cabernet Sauvignon!  Sheesh!  We chatted up several Elks.  My friend Kim and I are considering joining the club.  You know how I love to be in the club.

Well, now that I have put one picture in my blog, I feel I should put in another.  I wonder what I can come up with.

Seriously, watch this movie.

OK, here it is, another movie trivia question.  What movie is this from and what is the dialogue involved?  I think regular readers will find it very appropriate for me.

 

Losing My Lame Head

It is like a Friday for me, because I have tomorrow off.  Therefore, my mind wants to post lame.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I often want to post lame or not at all (not at all?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!) (it ain’t so; I always want to make a post).  On Fridays, I pretend I have an excuse.  On other days, I make up an excuse.  Or I make a foolish post and I have no excuse.

Sorry, folks, but I am tired today.  And sad and discouraged.  One of my favorite quotes, although I do not know who said it, is, “Courage comes in waves.  Hold out for the next shipment.”  I may even have the exact wording wrong, but isn’t it a good thought?  It kind of goes along with a saying of mine, “Sometimes you just have to feel that way till you don’t feel that way any more.”  And while I am feeling that way, there is no point in making a whiny, tiresome blog post, is there?

I had another rehearsal earlier for Who Shot JS? the murder mystery to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  I last heard that a mere 10 tickets remain to be sold.  Woohoo! I want the event to be a success!  Rehearsals are going splendidly.  The mystery will be performed at the Herkimer Elks Club on Saturday, April 22 at 6 p.m..  Tickets are $20 and include dinner catered by Dominick Scalise of Herkimer with dessert from the Friendly Bake Shop in Frankfort. If any local readers want to try for one of the few tickets left, contact the Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

I was hoping I could think of something funny to say to amuse my readers, but I am blank.  I know!  I will end with a trivia quiz, stolen from a Facebook friend.  I knew the answer to this.  What movie ends with the following:

I wonder if I can talk Steven into watching it tonight!

Answer in tomorrow’s post!  Ooh, I like the suspense.  Maybe I’ll make a trivia quiz a weekly feature.  What do you think?

 

Pre-Rehearsal Post on Tired Tuesday

I just started to type in a first sentence confessing that I am having a Tired Tuesday and this is my Tired Tuesday post, and I accidentally erased most of it. A sign?  My subconscious telling me to NOT have a Tired Tuesday post?  I don’t have time to ponder these things.  I have rehearsal for Who Shot JS? in an hour (or so).

Who Shot JS?, for anybody who doesn’t know or forgot, is the interactive murder mystery dinner theatre which will benefit Herkimer County Historical Society.  The performance will take place on Saturday, April 22 at 6 p.m. at the Herkimer Elks Club.  Dinner will be catered by Dominick’s Deli of Herkimer with dessert from Friendly Bake Shop of Frankfort.  Ilion Wine and Spirits has donated a prize for the winner.  Tickets are $20, and reservations may be made by calling 315-866-6413.

I’ll have to write a whole post about the mystery, telling the characters and a little of the plot (not too much of the plot, though, in case you go see it; I don’t want to spoil anything).  Today my brain is not up to it.  What the hell, brain?  How am I going to get through rehearsal?  Luckily, I have a script for that.

In the meantime, sorry about this lousy blog post.  I started to write a good one earlier, all about a cheesy horror movie Steven and I watched this past weekend.  Unfortunately, I did not get very far with it.  However, as they say, tomorrow is another day.  Happy Tuesday, everybody.

 

 

A Few Thoughts Before Another Rehearsal

Here I sit, laptop on lap (and if you just said, “Duh,” hey, some people put them on tables), searching for a blog topic.  I push my wet hair out of my face and remember that I can get it cut now.  I kept it “long” for Steel Magnolias.  I put “long” in quotes, because it was not exactly all the way grown out.  It is long enough to get in my eyes and drive me nuts.  With help from fellow cast-members, I made it do for the play.

And why am I not running to the Hot Spot, where I usually get my do’s done?  Well, I have rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery Ilion Little Theatre is putting on at Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion on April 1.  Yes, this blog may become All Murder Mystery All The Time very soon.  For one reason, I have another one coming up April 22 (Who Shot JS? at the Elks Club in Herkimer, to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society).

In other news, a nor’easter is expected in the Mohawk Valley tonight and tomorrow.  I read a Facebook post from WKTV Weather saying it was a nor’easter not a blizzard, citing the specific conditions to earn the “blizzard” designation.  I was moved to comment that “nor’easter” does not sound like a real word.  It sounds like something the old timers say is headed this way, basing their prediction on their corns or bunions.  My bunions say precipitation, by the way, but they do not seem to feel strongly about it.

Well, I must go.  I need to photocopy the scripts for tonight’s rehearsal.  I am counting on the nor’easter NOT to start till after my actors are safely home from rehearsal.  I am going to call this a Monday Mental Meanderings post and hit publish.  I hope to see you all on Tired Tuesday, although I will perhaps be less tired now that Steel Magnolias is over.

 

Maybe I Should Have Rehearsed My Blog Post

The operative thing to do one a busy week is to write blog posts ahead of time.  I say this merely as an observation.  I am not offering advice to fellow bloggers nor yet outlining a plan I am capable of following myself.  As the expression goes, I’m just saying.

Theatre loving people such as myself tend, by and large, to be too busy.  If we’re not too busy, we are often looking for some project or other to busy ourselves with.  I feel a little silly even talking about it, because there are other theatre people who are way busier than I am.  I don’t know how they do it, although I suspect, for one factor, they get far less sleep than I do.  And I don’t get as much sleep as I would like.

I suspect some readers are nodding their heads wisely, saying, “Ah yes, this is me, too.”  Others are shaking their heads in a superior fashion, saying, “Well, duh.  Do you think you could find something more obvious to state?”  Guess which one is the critic that lives in my head.

That is what I wrote while on a break at work today.  Then I went back to studying my lines for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  Second dress rehearsal is tonight.  I have a whole new roster of costumes, which I think will work better.  One advantage will be if I actually remember all of them.  Funny story:  Sunday night I dreamed I got to rehearsal and had forgotten the off-white blouse for Act I, Scene 1. Monday night I made damn sure I remembered that blouse!  When I got to rehearsal I realized I had forgotten the jeans and sneakers for Act I, Scene 2.  As I say to others when they make mistakes, this is why we have rehearsals.

So this is my Tired Tuesday post.  I must soon hurry to rehearsal.  I put most of my costume pieces on the same hanger or in the same bag.  This will work!  And if it doesn’t, I’ll have something else to write about tomorrow. Happy Tuesday, everyone.

 

One Of These Plays…

You know, like “One of these days…”  I thought it was an acceptable play on words.  What else can I do on Wuss-out Wednesday but play a little bit with words?  Yes, Wuss-out Wednesday follows Tired Tuesday as inevitably as… as inevitably as I begin a simile and can’t think of a good way to finish it.

I tried to write a blog post while at work today, but it was only another I Can’t Write a Post post, and I thought, why am I writing such a thing in advance?  Should I not be composing at the keyboard at such times?  So that is what I am doing.

We are doing complete run-through on Steel Magnolias, last night, tonight and tomorrow.  We must be in full costume by Monday, but the director would be delighted to see costumes any time between now and then. With that in mind, I put on the skirt I think will do for me in Act I Scene 1.  I purchased a jacket I think will coordinate with it last Saturday at New 2 You Consignment Shop in Ilion (perhaps you read my blog post about it).

Regarding the rest of my costumes… I’m working on them.  Quite frankly, I thought I had more stuff than I in fact do.  Oh dear, I suppose some of my cast-mates might read this and they will look sternly at me when they see me in.. yikes, less than an hour!  At least I looked over my lines today.  And other people’s.  I learn my own lines first, so for the first couple of rehearsals off book I sometimes say them at the wrong time.  How embarrassing.  Other actors learn their lines and where those lines go at the same time.  I’ll have to try that one of these plays.