0 for 3

Turns out I wasn't cast in the show I auditioned for Monday, so I'm 0 for 3 in auditioning for February shows.  I offered to tech for this one; we'll see if they take me up on the offer.  Now to see what shows will be playing later in the spring that have roles I might be considered for.

Busy coupla theater weeks!

Last week I had rehearsals Monday thru Thursday.  Friday TW and I went to opening night for the production of Addams Family that I'd been called back for.  Saturday I took apart my Act I dress so I could move up the skirt and take the dress in at the waist.  Saturday night - rehearsal.  Yesterday I reassembled the dress, then had an audition that night.  Tonight - another audition, then came home and hemmed the dress.  (Now it just needs a self belt, but that can wait.). Tomorrow and Wednesday are our final rehearsals for "Death Takes a Holiday", and we open this Friday!  Whew!

Now that's prompt!

I had an audition last night; tonight was the second night of auditions.  I got an email at 10 tonight letting me know I wasn't cast.  That has to be a record for notifying people!  They must be working from Rose Maybud's etiquette book - "Leave no one in undue suspense."

1930s sewing project

I'm in rehearsal for a play that takes place in the early 1930s.  In a fit of over-optimistic ambition, I told the producer I'd make my own Act I dress.  I bought pattern T3412 (costumedeeva, on eBay), started a muslin work-up, and found that the pattern is, of course, not nearly as busty as I am. :(  Last night I sent out an SOS to a pair of costume goddesses it's been my privilege to work for on one show and another.  To my delight, the goddess coming to my rescue is the one who has her own pattern line for one of the Big4!  I'll be heading over to her place Saturday morning, dragging my muslin and pattern, and the only payment she'll accept is to allow her to blog about the fitting process.  I'm excited - not only will I be guaranteed a good fit, but I get to provide material for her bog, which I've enjoyed since she started it.

Bought my dress fabric this afternoon; I hope A will approve of my choice. :)

Maybe I should play the lottery...

This afternoon I went shopping for a few cold-weather tops for a "go bag".  Went in, picked 3 to try on, bought all 3 .  I *never* get that lucky with fit and colors!  Spent a little more than I'd hoped, but I checked a box and got outta there in no time at all.

Another day spent in the kitchen

The latest issue of Cook's Country magazine arrived last week.  I actually managed to flip through the whole thing pretty much right away, and of course I found a couple of recipes I wanted to try right away.  The reduced-fat pastitsio just came out of the oven a few minutes ago and smells a lot like the traditional recipe I haven't made in years (because a. it takes 1.5 hours just to put it together and b. my cut-down version makes enough for 12-15 people).

Yesterday I bought fresh ginger and garam masala for the first time, for chicken tikka masala.  It must be fate - just a day or two before the magazine came in, someone had posted a chicken tikka masala recipe on Facebook.  I plan to make the Cook's Country version because it's lower in fat.  Can't wait to get to it, because the garam masala smells fabulous - looking forward to using it in LOTS of things, not just this.

Next project, however, will be applesauce from a few aging apples.  I love it - ever so easy, and it makes the house smell oh, so good!

I can tell I mostly do musicals because...

I learned the other day that I've been cast in "Death Takes a Holiday".  First read-through is tonight, and the producer sent out a preliminary rehearsal schedule yesterday.  It looked awfully short to me - 6 weeks of rehearsal before we go into Tech Week.  That's actually pretty standard for a play.  It's just that for someone like me, who's used to the 8+ weeks typical to rehearse a musical, it seems a bit compressed.

I had considered auditioning for a December show, but since this one runs until the weekend before Thanksgiving, that's too much overlap.  Even a January show might be pushing things.  February, however...

The review is in...

One of the local community theater groups has its own annual awards.  Each company submits one show from its season for consideration; the Yeomen of the Guard I did earlier this year was the one that company submitted.  A few days ago we received the consolidated write-up (I think different adjudicators rate different aspects of the performance).

I'm excerpting the comments on my role not because I like them, but because I agree with them; starting to beef up my lower register once I was cast wasn't nearly enough time, and I need to learn how to do "commanding stage presence".  With that, here's what the judges said:

Acting
Dame Carruthers’ role requires a certain robust authority which [I] lacked and she did not make a very formidable Dame, despite her confident stage presence.  [Well, I like that bit about the "confident stage presence". ;)]    In Act II she picked up energy, and the duet with Sergeant Meryll was a nice romp. [Because I got to dance! :D]

Singing
[Carruthers] and [Sgt. Meryll] were both weak in their lower registers, especially for Carruthers in her Act I song, lacking the required range. 

Throughout the rehearsal process I felt like the weak link in the principals chain.  While I'm sorry to be right about that, I also feel that, if I were to sing the role today, not 6 months later, that weak lower register would have more power & resonance.  Ah well; I'll keep plugging away and eventually I'll be ready for the roles I've already done. ;)

The latest audition

I went to another audition Thursday night.  I almost didn't go, for several reasons:

• This company tends to cast young and I'm well over 30;
• I'm neither a hoofer nor a belter;
• I didn't really have an audition  piece ready.

The audition piece was the biggest problem because my voice has been in transition since I've been working with my latest teacher.  That's not a bad thing, but it means that right now none of the audition pieces I've used before feels comfortable and I haven't yet worked up anything new.  I ended up using something I've used (unsuccessfully) before, but about a fourth lower so that it sits squarely in my chest voice.  Naturally, "Last-minute Linda" here didn't really start working the song in the new, lower key until a couple of nights before the audition.  As a result, as late as dinnertime Thursday I was debating whether to go.  I did go, though, and a good thing, too.  A friend was there ahead of me in the order and stayed until I finished.  He told me I sang my piece with better resonance than when I did Carruthers, which was encouraging.

But the really encouraging thing was when they called me Friday to say I was being called back for the ensemble so the choreographer could put us through our paces.  Unlike the disaster that was my last dance audition, this one was fun and funny, and I remembered all of it.  The demographics were typical for community theater - 3 men and 11 women.  They didn't say how many ensemble members they're looking for.  ("How many people does he need?  How many boys, how many girls?")  I imagine it will depend in part on how their music is scored and therefore how many people they'll need to cover all the parts.

My friend was called back too, for one of the principals.  There are 4 possible outcomes: he gets cast and I don't; I get cast and he doesn't; we both get cast; neither one of us gets cast.  They promised we'd hear one way or the other by Wednesday night.  Now I just have to distract myself with my sewing and my voice lesson "homework" while I wait.

Prepping for the Chief's surgery

To get ready on the home front for the Chief's surgery, I'm making him a couple of pairs of elastic-waist lounge pants so he can pull them on and off one-handed.  I also laid in a supply of velcro "buttons" to be sewn onto several shirts so he doesn't have to try to deal with buttonholes or pull shirts on and off over his head.  I may also sew a casing and run elastic on one or two other pairs of lounge pants, just so he'll have more than 2 pairs in summerweight fabrics.  (Flannel he's got, though one pair is "seasoned" enough that it's about ready for new elastic.)

Some days are just like that.

At mass last night, my lengthy prayer list was really weighing on my heart.  I don't know why; it wasn't an anniversary of anything, and I hadn't gotten any bad news about anyone that day.  Some days are just like that, I guess.

"Nice save!"

August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or, in the Eastern church, the Dormition of the Virgin.  None of the parish's three choirs was scheduled to do music, which isn't unusual for weekday feasts.  However, after the final blessing, the priest asked if we could sing a song for Mary.  Then began the looking around, looking away, not meeting anyone's eyes.  After a few moments, I started "Immaculate Mary", and everyone joined in almost immediately; at least one person was even singing harmony. :)  I had a few people thank me after mass, and one gentleman, who has one of the best voices in my choir, came up to me afterwards and said "Nice save!" :)  As I told him, someone had to do it, and since no one else seemed eager to do so, I started the Marian hymn I know best.

It's a good thing I came to this mass and not the one I'd originally planned on. A fellow parishioner told me after mass that the memorial mass for their son is tomorrow morning (poor little guy died 2 years ago, at only 6 years old).  Now I'll be able to be there (the Chief is at the cabin this weekend) and swell attendance, however slightly.

Regency project stalled

My Regency dress project is completely dependent on having stays that fit properly.  The ones I ordered seemed a bit small.  I notified the vendor but held off on answering her questions or returning the stays until I had my chemise roughed in and could try the stays on over the garment that would be going underneath.  I got to that point on Monday and finally tried the stays on over the (still-unfinished) chemise.  No good.  I took several pictures, emailed them to the vendor, and took the stays to the post office. 

I had hoped to wear the dress to Saturday's wedding; obviously that didn't happen.  Ah well; I now have lots and lots of time to figure out how I'm going to redo the neckline casing, which is too narrow to thread anything through it.  I've already trimmed the seam allowance, so I can't just pick out the stitching and reattach.  I may have to cut out a new one and replace the first one.  :(

I also need to come up with some petticoat fabric.  I wanted white microfiber but an hour spent searching on line turned up nothing suitable.  I ordered some "china silk" but, as I expected, it isn't what I had in mind at all.   It turned out to be that shiny, rather stiff lining fabric.  Now to send out an SOS to several costumers of my acquaintance and to the owner of Sense & Sensibility Patterns and see what they recommend.

More reasons to play in the dirt

This morning I visited the friend who used to have a small nursery

specializing in hostas and, to a lesser extent, ferns. He sold off the nursery business a coupla years ago and now gardens just for himself. He's trying new plants in the space, some of which are "prolific reseeders". He gave me a big clump of a few - cardinal flower, Black-eyed Susan, sweet William, ajuga, and threw in a blue mouse-ear mini-hosta just because. He also gave me a big bucket of compost. He would happily have given me lilies or any of several other plants he was thinning out.  If I had the space and the right conditions, I'd've taken some, too.  I planted the ajuga in a couple of bare spots, will try to get the rest in the ground tomorrow.  I told him I need to reciprocate with dinner or something - a nursery would've charged me plenty for all the plants and the home-made compost he gave me for free. I also picked up my iris order.  I picked up a few extra rhizomes from the bargain basket, and he asked me if I'd like a few free ones. Of course I said yes! When I get a chance to see how many I actually ended up with (he always includes more than you ordered), I'll have to work out where they'll all go. I garden pretty haphazardly, filling spots as they open up, buying (or "adopting") plants on impulse.  It's a wonder the yard doesn't look an utter wilderness!

Sometimes you find perfection in the most unexpected places.

Today it was the cafeteria at work, of all places!  Very stressful morning, trying to get too many things before leaving at lunchtime.  Dashed thru the cafeteria to get something to eat in the car; I stopped at the DIY sandwich bar. Rye bread, honey mustard, rare roast beef, lettuce and some beautifully ripe tomato - perfection!  Seems silly, but with every bite I marveled at how good it was.  Maybe it's just been too long since I've had a "proper" roast beef sandwich?

Regency project, day one

A while back I got this bee in my bonnet to make myself a Regency dress (think Jane Austen), complete with underpinnings.  I even bought patterns for two kinds of stays, though I quickly realized that would be a MUCH too ambitious project for my relatively rudimentary sewing skills.

Tonight, after a month or two spent in pondering fabrics and buying patterns, I got the chemise cut out.  The assembly looks pretty straightforward, so with luck, I'll get it sewn up tomorrow.

I ordered custom stays, but they seem to be too small in the ribcage. The maker had some diagnostic questions for me; I owe her answers.

Still to do: a petticoat (dress fabric is dotted swiss, which is on the sheer side), the dress, and a bonnet.  Yes, I'm crazy enough to try to attempt my own millinery; good thing I was able to find a pattern on Etsy.  Oh, and I need to find a pair of shoes to go with this ensemble.  I hope to find a pair of plain white ballet flats, but may have to settle for something else.

There's a historic home in our area that holds Regency- and War of 1812-themed events.  When (not if) I finish my sewing adventure, I'll have to find out when their next event is.  I'm not ready to subject myself to the scrutiny of serious reenactors - my hand sewing is not up to that challenge - but if I can pass for a decent amateur, that'll be good enough for a maiden attempt.

There's an event coming up Aug. 2nd; wonder if I could finish at least the dress, if not the bonnet, in time?

Updates to follow; costume fans, stay tuned.

"Here I come to save the day!"

Last week I got a somewhat panicked email from a director I've done a few shows with.  She's directing Sound of Music, opening in mid-July, and was there any chance I could play Frau Schmidt?  After checking with the Chief that we didn't have any plans, I agreed to do it.  Then I looked at the calendar; I'd just agreed to take a role (good thing it's a small one!) in a show that opened in just TWO WEEKS! =:o

I've now had 3 whole rehearsals and am already sorta off book.  Good thing, as we tech in this Sunday.  Monday we have an open rehearsal (i.e., with a paying audience), so I really want to be off book for that.

Costume fittings tonight.  I'll be wearing a brown dress, several sizes too large, but elastic at the waist will make it work.  Brown is definitely not my color, but I don't mind. After all, I'm the housekeeper, not the lady of the house.  My sartorial compensation is that I also have a walk-on as Fräulein Schweiger in the concert scene near the end, so I get to finish the show in my authentic Austrian dirndl.

Audition update

So, that "lovefest" audition.  I got a very lovely response with a lot of positive feedback.  I shared it with my voice teacher and with a friend (himself a voice teacher and performer). All of us were very impressed with how much feedback they gave me - not just "nice voice but not what we're looking for".  And to think they did something like that for every single one of the people they didn't cast!

I also auditioned for a production of The Wedding Singer.  I've auditioned for this company before and gotten nuttin'.  I'm guessing it's because a) I can't belt (yet) and b) I'm over 50.  Got the "thanks but no" call last night.  Not a surprise.  Not only did I go into it expecting not to be cast, but I crashed & burned on the dance audition.  The chunk they tried to teach us was complicated and FAST!  I remembered the beginning, the end, and the occasional scraps scattered thru the middle.  "Good for my humility," as a college roommate of mine used to say.

 Now I'm focusing on a sewing project, then it's back to hunting up auditions for fall shows.

Made a sale

I managed to make one sale.  The last customer was discussing her purchase with another vendor - what sorts of things would go with her new bra-belt set.  I brought over one of my skirt sets, which just happened to include a skirt in one of her favorite colors.  Sold!  I really would have preferred to sell more, of course, but at least I made one sale, and that one enough to cover my vendor's fee with a little bit of profit.  It was a nail-biter, though; I had already started packing up my items.

Trying not to get discouraged

I brought a suitcase full of stuff to my first bellydance swap meet, full of hope that I'd come home with an empty (or nearly so) suitcase.  An hour and a half into the 3- hour event, I've sold exactly nothing.  Not the bargain-basement-priced beaded costumes, not the skirt sets, not even the dirt-cheap fabric remnants!  I need to sell something just to recoup the cost of my table rental; I'd really rather not go home with everything I bought and have spent the vendor fee (and my time and gas) for nothing. :(

But there's still an good hour to go - maybe someone will arrive who's the perfect size and coloring for one (or both) of the costumes, or for whom one of the skirt sets will be perfect.  I can dream...