Tag Archives: theatre

Blood, Sweat and Blog Post

Posted on January 27, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to have Manic Monday today. I wrote two sentences of it before work this morning. Then I couldn’t bear to write instead of studying my lines (I’m sure you are tired of me saying I think I mentioned the play). I spent the rest of the day alternately thinking about my lines and hearing that song about Manic Monday playing in my head. With occasional breaks to obsess about various props and costumes I have yet to deal with.

The most notable non-acting task I had today was to locate some fake blood I was sure I had leftover from some Halloween make-up I purchased in October. I had purchased the make-up to be a witch in a scene from MacBeth I appeared in. I’m sure I wrote a couple of blog posts about it. If I’m not too manic by the time I finish this, I’ll include one of those ping-back things.

Busybody, the play I’m in now, is a murder mystery/comedy. Hence the need for blood. I was quite sure I knew where my blood was. Naturally I forgot to look for it the first three or four times I said I’d bring it to the next rehearsal. I remembered it while I was at work today so wrote myself a note. I confess to feeling a little disappointed that nobody questioned the sheet of paper with BLOOD scrawled on it casually placed near my workspace.

Imagine my chagrin when I located the tube of blood fairly easily only to find it had dried out. I hadn’t even opened it! What kind of crap did they sell me? This is what I get for not going to a reputable dealer. As I practiced my abject apology for my director and fellow cast-members, I kept looking. I seemed to remember that I also had a few of those little blood doo-dahs you bite down on, so it looks like you’re bleeding from the mouth. Could we utilize such a thing? At least I wouldn’t be showing up empty-handed.

I stopped practicing the abject apology when I discovered the blood. I had forgotten: I bought two make-up kits in October and only used one. This one was not even open and in addition to the bite thingies (I’ll be damned; my computer considers “thingies” a word), there was a nice tube of blood not dried out.

Well, that wasn’t too bad of a story for my blog, was it? Ooh, look at the time, gotta go!

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Breakfast Before Bear

Posted on January 25, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t know, do you like that title? I was in the mood for some alliteration but now I am questioning myself. I believe I mentioned that I have a bear of a week in front of me. That is an imperfect metaphor but one I have always liked. In general I feel my week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday, a view that I know is shared by many (I’ve even had calendars that reflected it). However, I have a marathon rehearsal today for the play I am in, which opens on Friday. So I feel my week is beginning today.

To start the week right, Steven and I went to breakfast at the Herkimer Elks Club. I know I have mentioned that the Lady Elks put on a breakfast on Sundays in January to fund their projects for the upcoming year. It’s the bomb. We watch for it every year and attend if at all possible. This year it has been possible three times. Score!

We got there the earliest we’ve been yet, shortly after 8:30 a.m. There was no problem finding a parking space or a place to sit. We both enjoyed eggs over medium, wheat toast, homefries with onions, coffee and juice. Additionally Steven had pancakes and bacon while I had baked beans and sausage. The cook even put a smiley face on Steven’s top pancake. As we left the breakfast several members of the Elks thanked us for coming. We thanked them for the delicious breakfast, saying we look forward to it every year.

“See you next January,” I said.

I confess I feel too preoccupied to write a better blog post today. I must study my lines and organize my costume. And nurse the butterflies I am beginning to get in my stomach. Everyone assures me I am doing a good job in this play, but how do I know they are not just being nice? Or hoping for a self-fulfilling prophecy? I bet a lot of you thought I was going to skip Wrist to Forehead Sunday. No such luck!

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The Play is Definitely the Thing

Posted on January 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

For the next two weeks I expect to be obsessed. This is perhaps not a good thing for the blog, especially since I had a number of Mohawk Valley adventures in the last few days, which I would very much like to write about. However, I just returned from rehearsal and the play is on my mind (I bet you thought I was going to say, “The play’s the thing.” Well, I don’t have to indulge in every cliche, do I?).

We ran the whole show. It is not the first time we ran it; that was last Sunday. Did it go well? I think it did. I called for line a few times. I messed up a few times. Maybe several. I wasn’t counting. The funny thing is I have to have a cockney accent for my character. When we stopped running the play I kept talking in the accent. The director told me I have to slow down on one dramatic line. I tried a few times then said, “I’ll practice it at ‘ome!” Maybe you had to be there.

One kind of discouraging thing is when the director tells you to do something you were trying to do already. Damn! It didn’t work! I have to try harder. One thing I strive to do, though, is listen to direction. I have worked with actors who want to argue with everything. “I just don’t see the character that way,” they say, among other things. There is nobody like that in this cast. Phew!

I guess posts about rehearsal are not that exciting. Well, I don’t want to give away too much about the play, in case local readers want to come see it (and I hope they do). Perhaps I can manage a post or two about my recent Mohawk Valley adventures. We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.

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I Did Mention The Play, Right?

Posted on January 14, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I may have mentioned this blog might become All Busybody All The Time. Astute readers will recall that Busybody is the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre. I’m the busybody who discovers the busy body. Opening night is Jan. 30, which is kind of bearing down on us in an ominous fashion.

Did anybody read yesterday’s post when I was having that dreadful bout of Writer’s Block? I had rehearsal. I had to make that blog post then get myself ready to ACT. I had to change into clothes for rehearsal, I had to make sure I had my rehearsal props, I had to look over my lines again, I had to think about my character. I can’t write and act at the same time!

Actually, I kind of can. I realized a long time ago, I act like I write. I know all kinds of stuff about my character that never shows up on stage. Today while I was at work, I started thinking about my relationship with this other character in the play. In the play, we are old friends who actually went out on a date once. I started thinking about what my character used to be like, and what the other character used to be like, and why I married the guy I married (uh, in the play). I had worked out a huge backstory involving characters who never even appear onstage.

This is what I do. When I was in Harvey, I didn’t stop with backstory. I started writing a sequel in my head. In the dressing room before one performance I started to recount it to other cast members. I ran out of stuff I had thought up while at work and started vamping. The other cast members were rapt, or perhaps I flatter myself.

I had rehearsal tonight. I did not write my blog post before rehearsal. For some reason I trusted I would be able to come up with something after rehearsal. How silly of me. On the other hand, this is Tired Tuesday. Perhaps this will be all right. See you on Wuss-out Wednesday.

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Props or Post?

Posted on December 18, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s going to be post. A real Wuss-out Wednesday post, in fact. For one reason, I’m too flustered to do anything but sit here and type a few words. Sorry, kids, but you know this usually happens on Wednesday (and other days, you don’t have to point that out) (you know who you are).

I have mentioned I am in a play at Ilion Little Theatre. It’s called Busybody, and I have a sizable role. We have rehearsal tonight. At our last rehearsal, two nights ago, I made a big deal about needing rehearsal props and said I was going to bring in a bunch of stuff for my character. I wasn’t trying to be more actressy than thou. It’s just really hard for me to pantomime and not have magically disappearing whatever.

Last night was the only night I didn’t have any place to go in the evening. I had a list of things to get done, one of which was to gather props. Long story short, I did one thing on the list and that wasn’t it. In my defense, what I did was pretty important. I made White Trash to contribute to my workplace Christmas feast on Thursday. It is important to me to participate in these things. And many people like to eat White Trash.

Full disclosure: when I got home from work today I had enough time to look for props. And I had time while on breaks at work to write a better blog post than the one you’re now reading (oh, I hope somebody is reading it).

Unfortunately, I had a bad headache most of the day. It had dissipated by the end of the day, but I still felt all vague-headed and stupid when I got home. And I still had things I had to do. I had to take my dog for a walk and figure out what to wear to rehearsal. The latter was not as easy as one would think. For one reason, there is a part in the play where I have to shove a piece of paper down my front. This is not so easy to do in a turtleneck, as I discovered at the last rehearsal.

Wait a minute, I just realized something: the piece of paper I have to hide in my shirt is one of the props I had meant to gather. So by taking the time to go through my closet and find a shirt I could hide a piece of paper down, I lacked time to find the paper to hide. It was a lose/lose situation! Had I just worn the damn turtleneck, I would have had time to find the paper to hide but been unable to practice hiding it.

I know, some of you are snorting that a piece of paper is hardly a difficult prop to find. You’re right. I can probably manage that one. Anyways, while I was writing this nonsense, time has passed and I really have to finish getting ready to head out for my rehearsal. On the brighter side (for me, anyways), now this is done. I can hit Publish and not have to worry about this after rehearsal.

One final note: My Freudian slip was showing just now: I accidentally typed a space between Pub and lish. That’s right, folks, all things considered, I would rather just hit the pub.

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More Than a Few Flakes

Posted on December 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s another Tired Tuesday and let me tell you I do not have time to be tired. Last Tuesday I typed in haste before going to get my hair cut. I excused lack of a real post on the grounds that I was studying my lines for a play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre, Busybody. Guess what I was doing today?

I am in haste again as well. This time I have to get to rehearsal at 6:30. However, rather than spending a couple hundred words dithering about that, I will attempt a brief description of a short walk I just took with my schnoodle, Tabby.

The weather report today had dire predictions for foul winter weather this evening. They started canceling various after-school activities early on. I just shook my head and said, “It’s not even precipitating yet!” I thought it would be an anti-climax. However, it was cold. I put on my warmest coat, hat, gloves and a scarf. I usually forget the scarf and get a cold face.

As we left the house I saw a few white flakes. Oh, how pretty. I thought, “Guess it is going to precipitate a little.” Oh, this was no problem. We had not gone ten feet when suddenly the snow was dumping down! There was a ton of it! It was like somebody dumped a giant bucket of snow, only it didn’t stop.

I laughed. I believe I’ve mentioned before that bad weather makes me laugh. I don’t know why, but I always say, “You can laugh or you can cry; might as well laugh.” Tabby stopped and looked at me. I thought perhaps she did not like being snowed on and wanted to go back home. Instead she wanted to cross the street. The walk was still on.

The air was cold. Then the wind picked up. That did not stop Tabby from wanting to stop and sniff several times. I was glad of my coat, but the scarf was not the miracle I had hoped for. I looked around for Christmas lights so at least my heart could feel warm.

When we got to a corner it seemed Tabby wanted to cross the street and go another block, but I suggested we turn. I thought one block would be good considering the cold and my time constraints. I knew a moment’s hesitation, thinking of my dog’s happiness and enjoyment. Then the wind picked up and I felt I had made the right decision.

Back home typing this in, I heard Adam Musyt on WKTV say the snow had started (I KNOW, Adam!); sleet and freezing rain will be coming (oh crap, probably in time for my drive home from the theatre). I must finish this post and change my clothes for rehearsal. And study my lines some more.

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Back on Stage?

Posted on November 19, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ilion Little Theatre is moving right along with their 2014-15 season. Noises Off still has another weekend to run (Nov. 21, 22, 23; catch it if you get a chance!), but they are already holding auditions for their next production, Busybody.

My public will be pleased to know that I auditioned last night. OK, I guess my public mostly consists of my husband, Steven, and maybe my Mom and Dad. Steven thought it was cool I tried out. So did I.

The theatre is located in The Stables behind Remington Arms in Ilion, NY. It is a short drive from Herkimer, where I live. It was pouring rain and I was nervous. What if I’d forgotten how to act? Worse yet, given the weather, what if I’d forgotten how to drive? I managed to arrive safely, so I trusted I would be OK on stage.

The director greeted me and introduced himself. Very polite of him, since I’ve known him for five years, ever since I joined the theatre group. I filled out my audition sheet, pausing only when I got to the “experience” section, because I couldn’t seem to remember my character’s name in And Then There Were None (good God, I think that was before I started writing a blog. Did I even have a life back then?) (Note to self: answer that question on Lame Post Friday).

Another auditioner was looking at the script.

“This smells awesome,” he said. “It smells like elementary school.” I just love a good description like that. Ilion Little Theatre gets the coolest actors.

When I checked out the script myself, I was more worried about sight than smell. I had neglected to bring my reading glasses. My regular glasses are progressives, but I like a wider reading area, just to give myself every advantage.

It turned out pretty OK. I think I did all right on the scenes I read. It seems like a really fun play. I’m looking forward to reading the whole script. Or, you know, seeing the show, if I don’t get cast. I hope I get cast. I’ll write numerous blog posts about it if I do.

For more information on Ilion Little Theatre visit their website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org, and Like their Facebook page.

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A Fun Saturday Night

Posted on November 18, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday night Steven and I combined three of our favorite things: time with friends, dinner out and theatre.

First we met our friends Phyllis and Jim at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner in Herkimer, NY. This is one of our longtime favorite spots, and I have given it several shout-outs. It is a regular destination for Phyllis and Jim as well.

After a delicious dinner and enjoyable conversation, we all headed over to Ilion Little Theatre for Noises Off, their first production of the 2014-15 season. Ilion Little Theatre (ILT) is another Mohawk Valley institution which I have given many a well-deserved shout-out. I love the historic Stables that houses it. I love the intimate size of the performance space. And I love seeing my friends from the theatre group on stage.

Noises Off features some players who are new to the ILT stage as well as returning players. All the actors are very talented and they had the audience laughing heartily. My favorite was Act II, which involved whiskey and an ax.

We had originally thought to go out for drinks after the show, to discuss the production. We’ve worked on plays with Phyllis and Jim, so we often find a lot to say about plays we merely watch. However, by the time the play was over, it was late and we were tired. We had a great time and plan to do it again. Perhaps at the next ILT production, if we’re not onstage.

For more information on Ilion Little Theatre, visit their website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org or you can Like their Facebook page. For more information on Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, their website is www.crazyottosempirediner.com, and they also have a Facebook page.

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I’ll Tell You Witch Scene

Posted on October 16, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I talked about how I will appear in a Shakespeare scene Oct. 16 as part of Third Thursday in Little Falls, NY. I haven’t really talked much about the scene itself (but I just realized that yesterday’s title, “Witch Scene?” would have been perfect for today; missed a bet). I thought I would use Wuss-out Wednesday to give a brief overview.

The scene is from the first Act I of Macbeth. I am the third witch.

The witches enter first and say, “Yeah, we’re bad-ass.” Macbeth and Banquo come in and say, “Whoa.” We tell Macbeth he’s going to be king and Banquo that his kids will be kings. Macbeth says, “Tell me more,” but we vanish (alas, no special effects; we just do a kind of a cape flourish). Then two rank and file soldiers show up and tell Macbeth that the king just gave him a promotion. Macbeth says to Banquo, “We’ll talk more later,” and it’s the end of the scene.

Only, you know, in Shakespearean language. We witches spend all our time onstage capering around and cackling, which is a lot of fun. I don’t have any big speeches, which is a little disappointing for me, being as I am a colossal ham, but I like the lines I have.

I am quite looking forward to our little performance. I’ll probably write a blog post about it.

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Not a Better Blog Post

Posted on October 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Note to self: Never say, “I’m going home to write a blog post about this.” It’s a recipe for disaster.

OK, not really a disaster. You see, I was at a rehearsal. Some time ago (it seems), I auditioned to be one of the witches in a scene from Macbeth to be presented as part of Little Falls’ Third Thursday on Oct. 16 (perhaps you read my blog post about it). I’m the third witch (we’ve already done the jokes about method acting and spelling it with a B).

We had our first rehearsal tonight, meeting at Ole Sal’s at Stone Mill in Little Falls. Before rehearsal I had the natural trepidations. Was I really up to this? What if I had learned the wrong scene? What if the other witches didn’t like me? I JUST COULDN’T TAKE THE PRESSURE!!!

I was just only kidding about that last line; I can take the pressure. It wasn’t really that much pressure. True, I haven’t been in a play for over a year, but acting is like riding a bicycle (it’s been even longer since I’ve ridden a bicycle, but that’s a whole other blog post).

Anyways, I did fine at the rehearsal. In fact, I had a lot of fun and I was really glad I had gotten involved. At the end of rehearsal, I said I was going home to write a blog post about it. Only, as often happens with me, I want it to be a BETTER blog post than what I have just written.

As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I owe my readers a better blog post about the new fence as well. All kinds of better blog posts to write! Well, never mind. It is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I won’t promise a better blog post tomorrow, because tomorrow is Lame Post Friday. But it’s always possible. As the great Fats Waller said, one never knows, do one?

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