overcoming the mini-funk

I've been in a weird mini-funk lately...I'm not sure exactly why, but I think the business of being a "real" student is starting to make me crazy. Without MT 3 or a doing a show, I haven't had a regular performance outlet for a few weeks now, and I think it's taking a bit of a toll on my sanity. Once we get into rehearsing for showcase, though, I'm sure I'll start to feel better.

I've been a little stressed over showcase, too, to be honest. I'm super excited, don't get me wrong, but I've gotten a little bit hung up on the "what am I gonna sing?! what am I gonna wear?! what headshot should I use?!" aspect of planning, and have maybe lost a little bit of positivity in the process. So...I'm taking it back. You hear me? Yeah, you.

I am stepping forward into complete confidence in myself and my choices, and I'm listening to my heart and my gut.

I mean, we only get one BFA senior showcase, so I'll be taking no prisoners. :)

We got our group pictures taken for the website/postcard a couple weeks ago...they turned out SO great! I'll post them here once I get a copy.

In completely other news, Eric and I have talked (jokingly) in the past about when we live together in NY, and how we'll have a dog named Baxter. Well...I found him.

Baxter!!!

If you've been in any sort of mini-funk, that'll be sure to pick you up :)

'til next time...

do it all for love.

Update!

Hi everyone!
It's been a couple super busy weeks, but I figured I take a second and update everyone on everything that's been going on!

First of all, this quarter has been really busy so far. Besides classes and homework, I've been rehearsing constantly for The WIZ at UCI. We opened last night, and it went SO well! People really seemed to love the show, and everything on our end came together beautifully. It really hit me during my last song, that this show couldn't have happened without each and every person involved...the costumes, the sets, the music, the cast...everything! It's been a true blessing to be a part of this show and work with all of these beautiful artists. There will be more pictures, but here are a few!

Sitting in tech with Frannie...I think our faces say a thousand words...


A scarecrow and a munchkin (Kev and Hannah) :)


Glinda, the glittery-est of witches

Addapearle and some badass munchkins

(photo credits: Niko Montelibano! The numbers are from his "Project365," where he takes a meaningful picture to represent every day for a whole year. Cool, huh?)

Once I get my new hard drive, all of my wonderful backstage candids will be up as well. Be excited.

Along with getting ready for/opening The WIZ, I've been getting ready for our BFA showcase in NY! One of the things on my "to-do" list this quarter was getting new headshots, so Annie and I went to Kevin McIntyre, and had a FABULOUS time with him! I HIGHLY recommend him to anyone who needs new headshots...he was a blast to shoot with, and his house/studio is incredible!! Here are the top 3 from my shoot...please feel free to comment and let me know which one you like most!

Fire & Ice, Ebony & Ivory, Salt & Peppa...take your pick :)

If you want more info on Kevin, here's his website! http://www.kevinmcphotograph.com/

Moving on...I have some more really exciting news! We had auditions for the Spring mainstage show at UCI, and I'm happy to announce that...

I've been cast as Mae in Lippa's The Wild Party!

I have a feeling this is gonna be a really amazing show. Rehearsals don't start until April (so far away!) and we open late May, but I'm looking forward to it! I've wanted to do this show for a long time, and Mae will be such a fun role! I haven't been a part of a UCI show yet, either, so it will be quite an experience. After learning Seussical in 8 days, I feel like a month and a half rehearsal period will feel like an eternity!! A lot of my best friends here at UCI are in the show as well, and I can't imagine a better group of people to be spending my last few months at UCI with. I will be sure to keep you all up to date as we get closer!

That's all for now! As always...

peace.love.happiness.

2009 at a glance :)

I absolutely stole this from Mazie, who stole it from another friend...so feel free to do the same!

January:

I started off 2009 with braces on my teeth and a cast on my foot...and having a really great time!

February:

Then came February, and I got my braces off!!

Also in February, I got to sing at my very first cabaret, Caffeinated Cabaret in Riverside!

March:

NY Satellite 2009! An amazing group of people who, in one short month, became my family and my tribe. I had the time of my life, and can't wait to go back!

April:

While in NY, we got to perform 15 minute musicals written just for us! I was honored and humbled to play Sally in Sally Peaches, a musical about the adorably awkward, quasi-stalkerish romance of Sally and Mike.

May:

Back at UCI, I jumped in to crew Little Women as my friend Deidre's dresser. She played Jo, and I was truly honored to be a part of her last musical at UCI.

June:

My littlest sister, Lindsey, graduated from MCHS!

July:

Camp Counselor. JCC. What else do I need to say? It was insane. Thank goodness I had these girls to keep me sane...sorta...

August:

My sister, Carly, turned 21!!

and I visited my best friend, Eric, in Jersey, where he was performing with Surflight Theatre.

September:

I got to go back to NY for a callback, and got to visit with some great friends, and visit my favorite spot in the world.

First UCI/ANMT Festival of New Musicals! Good ol' e-$cape. Good ol' pink hair. Need I say more?

October:

Halloween...here's the whole group of Nintendo characters!

November:

Harvest Party at Bali'Ho! Beautiful group of friends, SO much food, SO much love...lots to be thankful for.

December:

Seussical!! See all previous posts...but definitely one of my favorite theatre families ever. Ever.

Well, there it is...2009! Here's to a 2010 filled with lots of love, lots of adventure, lots of friends, and lots of happiness.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr. Seuss

Wow. I can't believe how fast time has gone! I meant to post a lot more often during Seussical, but, clearly, that didn't go as planned. So much has happened in the time since that last entry...I barely know where to start!! I guess I'll work backwards...

**note: pictures will be added soon!**

Seussical opened and ran for three weeks...we just closed this past Sunday! I don't really have the words to describe what an amazing experience this show was. Going into rehearsals, I knew it would be fast and furious...there were definitely times of frustration (I really did want to kill whoever invented the bevel), but in the end it was all so worth it. I mean, ok, I'm not really the "showgirl" type...I'm short, spunky, funny...I'm the firecracker of the bunch. But all it took was some sparkly heels, a faaabulous weave, some feathers, and a little pushing, a little (well, a lot of) nit-picking, and somehow the showgirl got pulled outta me. I've learned that I can do a whole lot more than just "awkward" or "cute" on stage, and I know I can bring what I've learned with me in the future. I totally blame Heather (our fabulous choreographer) for this newfound confidence lol. She may have created a monster! :)

in the dressing room...this is pre-weave lol.

I'm on the far left...with Melly (center) and Nelly (right). Oh, and Horton (the incredible Sam Zeller).

Maybe it's because we had one less week of rehearsal so we didn't get to spend as much time together, but I feel like the show had just started, and then it was over! It honestly felt like we did the show 7 times, not over 20. I can't believe how well our cast clicked, either. Steph really has a way of bringing some wonderful, wonderful people. I got closer with some old CLO friends, got to know more of the return CLO family, met our handful of newbies, and truly fell in love with each and every person in this cast and crew! One of my favorite things we did was "Secret Seuss." It's basically Secret Santa, where each person draws the name of someone in the cast, crew or production staff, and sends them secret presents throughout the run of the show. At the end, we had a big Secret Seuss reveal...and my Secret Seuss was my wonderful friend Jordan!! :) He's the sweetest guy in the world...and the BEST Secret Seuss EVER!! Throughout the run, he gave me lots of yummy treats, GIANT coloring book pages and crayons, caaaandy, and took me on a scavenger hunt in Seussian rhyme. Then came the reveal, and he gave me a polka-dotted blanket (which matches my room PERFECTLY), cozy penguin pajamas, a striped/polkadotted scarf, and MY VERY OWN BABY ELEPHANT BIRD!!! Yep, he got me the same little elephant toy we used in the show (it moves and makes noise and is amazing) AND he put wings on it. I just love it so much! I had Yelena, one of our fabulous dressers...she hadn't ever read the Dr. Seuss books (she didn't grow up in the US) so I made sure to bring her up to speed! :)

Here's a pic of a bunch of us at the Secret Seuss reveal/cast party:


Closing night was a rollercoaster. I knew I would cry, but I really thought I would have lasted longer than I did. Every night before the show, some of us would have a little prayer circle. Sam said our last prayer, and I cried. It's such a blessing to be able to make people happy. For an hour and a half every night, we got to make people smile, and think, and laugh, and cry, and feel. To take the gifts that we have been given, and share those gifts with hundreds, probably thousands of people over the course of three weeks, is amazing to me. I got myself together and we got through most of the show, then that silly little elephant bird came out, and I lost it. There's a part where my Bird Girls (Melissa and Janelle) and I hold "wings," and I was a goner. I caught Melly's eye, and then she lost it (that was pretty much how the three of us worked...if Mel or I cracked up on stage, it would start the other one going. THEN if Janelle cracked, we were pretty much useless). I didn't even sing the last "when your thinks have run dry" to the end because i couldn't get sound out. So professional. lol. I got it together for all of curtain call, though, which is actually one of my favorite parts of the show...not because it means the show is over, but because it's one of the only times in the whole show that I get to really dance and play! Then the curtain came down on our final show, and once again the waterworks started.

I could say a million more things about how wonderful this show was, and how much I loved the whole cast/crew/team, but I will instead end it up with a couple fabulous Dr. Seuss quote:

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!"

Seussical at CLOSBC is a show that will definitely stick close to my heart...it couldn't have come to me at a better time, with better people, in a better place, and I am forever grateful to have been a part of it!

In other news, I am very excited to announce that

I have been accepted into the BFA program at UCI!!

This means I'll be graduating with a BFA in Music Theatre instead of a BA in Drama, along with the 7 other graduating BFAs. In the Spring, the 8 of us will be performing in a showcase in New York for agents and casting directors. I'm excited to get back to the city, and to have this really great opportunity to perform in the showcase. It's a very new program (we'll be the 2nd class of graduating seniors with the degree), and I am thrilled to carry the torch!

We had auditions during finals week at school (which was also during our 2nd week of shows at Seuss...good timing, right?). Everyone who auditioned was very talented, and some of them are my closest friends. I am humbled to have been one of three students chosen out of all of those people. I had had a lesson with Gary the day before the audition to go over my song, and it was one of those lessons where I was consciously working the whole time...working on my monologue, working on my song, talking about where I'm going and how far I've come...but it definitely left me feeling like I had a lot to digest before the big audition. Not to mention having to do Seussical that night. After the audition, I had no idea what would happen. I knew I had been ME. I sang MY song, I did MY monologue, and I danced MY way, and the rest was completely out of my hands. Long story short(ish), I got it. Funny thing is, I didn't even see the list at first. Eric was the one to tell me...how backwards is that? Eric's up in Sonora doing a show called Christmas, My Way, hundreds of miles away, and he hears about UCI news before I do. Basically, Deidre had heard from Sean, and Deidre told Eric. I got a phone call (after being at the HAIR audition all morning) from an angry Eric asking me why I hadn't told him...and I said I still hadn't heard yet. He said, "oh...um...I know who got it...do you want me to tell you?" and I said "yeah, rip it off, like a bandaid." And he said "Stef, you did it. You got the BFA!" I think it was meant to be that Eric was the one to tell me...he's literally been there through every single moment of my journey at UCI...every success, every stumble...and he was the one to tell me I had achieved this awesome milestone. It still hasn't totally hit me yet. There will definitely be updates as we get closer and closer to showcase...I can't wait!

Those are the big two updates...it's definitely been a novel. Tomorrow's Christmas, and I'm up at my Grammy's house for the holidays. I'm sure there will be lots of stories for the next blog...I won't keep you waiting for too long this time!

as always, love, love, LOVE.

one last post before bed...

My new favorite toy...my new digital camera!!

It's really my favorite thing I've ever bought for myself...the coolest feature? It can take pictures using the "color accent" feature...so everything is black and white but one specific color. Take a look! Here are a few of my favorites so far :)

The balloon pics are from decorating for D'mo's 21st bday :)

And here's a picture from work...candy apples!

And here are some others....just normal, but fun! From Live Nudes Improv at school...the theme? Aberzombie and Witch.

So, there's a little look-see into the highlights of the past couple months with me and my new camera...there will be more to come!
peace.

Tech tech tech, day 2.

So today was our 2nd day of tech...We were in the theatre on Wednesday, had a day off for Thanksgiving, then came back today for our first 10 out of 12 (meaning we have rehearsal from noon-midnight, with a 2 hour break). So far, things are starting to come together pretty well.

Thanksgiving was really great! I went to my Great Aunt's house with my Mom's whole side of the family, and we did the standard turkey/mashed potatoes/stuffing/cranberry sauce Thanksgiving. I brought caramel apples to contribute, of course, and they were a hit! :) My Mom, sisters, and Dad drove up from SD...we had a really good time being all together!

After dinner, Carly and I drove down to SD. I stayed the night, then got up to have breakfast with Meri, Malpal, and Janie and Jeremy! We had to get breakfast at 6:30 so I could be done and on the road back to the theatre by 8am. It's been almost a year since I've seen Janie and Jer, and they're expecting their first baby, so I just HAD to see them. It was really really great, and I wasn't terribly tired at rehearsal. Totally worth it.

I thought traffic today was going to be awful...it was exactly the opposite! I got to the theatre by 10am...two hours early. So I went to the bank to deposit some checks, then went to Target!! I got some random stuff, but most importantly...a 12" Christmas tree and little ornaments for my station in the dressing room! There will be a picture soon...once I get more space on my computer (which is a whole 'nother story).

Tech is going well...we're pretty much just spacing and running things on stage at this point...but everyone's in good spirits, so we're having a good time. Lots of fun backstage, too. :) This cast is really a fabulous group of people! Today Karl, Travis, Jordan, Marc and I were trying to remember choreo from Birdie...there was some funny situation where Karl ended up having to hold a layout for like...4 counts because he messed up...and we were trying to remember when it happened...Surprisingly, I actually remembered a lot of the one section we were trying to recreate lol. It really made me miss Birdie. I really loved that show...hopefully someday I'll get to break out the Ursie glasses and do it again.

remember these?

'Til then, it's bigger, better, bird girl-ier things :). Get ready...feathers, sparkles, and silver pumps are comin' your way.

love love love.

ps. If you want to come see the show (and you really should) here's the website! Also, talk to me about $20 tickets!!

Oh, the thinks you can think!

Wow.

We just finished our first week of rehearsals for Seussical at CLO South Bay, and I don't know if I could feel more blessed by this experience so far.

First of all, this cast is so wonderful. EVERYONE is so fun and sweet and supportive...you know how you always love your cast, but there's that ONE person who drives you nuts? Yeah, that doesn't exist here. I absolutely love everyone in this show...there's not one bad egg in the entire group! Everyone's so talented too...it makes putting this show up with 8 days of rehearsal a lot less scary. And Steph (our director), Gary, and Heather are such a great team!! I adore all three of them.

Monday we learned the ENTIRE score. You heard me...we sang through the whole show in one rehearsal day. 3pm-11pm. I mean, I know, I was already familiar with the show, and with MET I did the show in Poway, but I only had to learn the Mayzie track, and when I listen to the soundtrack, I always sang the melody line. Now I'm Bird Girl 2, so I have to learn a whoooole lotta harmonies. It's really fun, but my brain is a little fried. In a good way.

Tuesday and Wednesday we learned choreo for everything and roughly staged the show. Being a Bird Girl is rough...not only do we have to nail 3-part harmonies, but every single movement has to be precise and exactly the same...it's truly a great lesson in being a part of a unit on stage, y'know? There's so little room for error when you have to be identical. I'm slowly learning to be a sexy bird lol...being a Supreme and beveling are definitely not things I have a whole lot of experience in, but it's nice to get away from being awkward or young onstage for a show lol. And I'm learning pretty quickly...thanks to Janelle and Melissa, my other two BGs. Oh, and of course our choreographer Heather Castillo (ps. remember that name...this wonderful woman is going to be going places, my friends!) Thank goodness for them. Soon I'll be beveling with the best of them! :) It's really been pretty overwhelming, though...Eric has gotten many a frustrated text message these past few days. Having to learn so many things at the same time, and basically being shot out of a cannon is turning out to be such a learning experience. By Wednesday night, though, my brain synapses just sort of stopped firing lol...It was all I could do to keep from being a hot mess in sparkly heels.

The upside of Wednesday? We got to try on our costumes!!! Oh. My. GOSH. I'm obsessed. I don't wanna give too much away, but just know that they're FIERCE. Especially the shoes. Ugh those SHOES!!! Silver sparkly pumps. I WANT them in real life, please.

THE SHOES.

Thursday we had our day off!! I got to go see The Threepenny Opera at school. It was fun to see my friends perform, and I was SO proud of everyone in it...what a crazy show. And the set was INCREDIBLE! I was happy that I got to see it.

Friday and Saturday were more rehearsal...we finished up blocking everything that needed to be blocked, and ran act one on Saturday afternoon...can you believe it?! After basically 3ish days of rehearsal (not including music Monday), we ran act one. Craaaaazy!

Saturday night Libby, Sami, Kev, Cami, Melissa, Juan and I got to go see A Grand Night for Singing at the Norris! Our wonderful, beautiful, talented roommate Courtney was in it! Jeff Parsons was in it too (he was my Hugo in Birdie at SDMT), so I'm glad I got to see him!! Everyone in the show was really great...it actually made me love Rodgers & Hammerstein music again...not that I don't love it, I just think sometimes I forget to appreciate it. There's so much love and hope and truth in their music...all things that I wish we had more of in our lives sometimes lol. Anyway, the show was great, and it made me so happy to see Courtney and Jeff perform!!

Aaaaaaand that brings us to today! Rehearsal from 11-7. We finished stuff in act two, then went and stumbled through the entire show. I definitely cried a couple times. Sam (our Horton) made me cry, Annie (Gertrude) made me cry...lol and then I welled up during the finale...it just sorta hit me that we actually have a show. We're far from ready for an audience, but the fact that we've gotten this far in such a short amount of time is absolutely something to be proud of. It was a reminder that, truly, when you have the right group of people putting their heart and soul into something, it WILL happen. And it will be beautiful.

'til next time :)

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way." -- Dr. Seuss

love. love. love.