Exciting news!!!

Broadway.com released their 2010 SoCal Theatre Awards!  

Guess what? Many of my wonderful friends have been nominated, including:

My beautiful friend Melissa Mitchell for Cinderella at Cabrillo Music Theatre, the incredible Rachel Stivers for costume design, fellow MET Alum Derek Klena for Joseph... at Performance Riverside, big brother/fellow UCI BFA Alum Ian Stuart for Tick, Tick...Boom! at TheatreOut, AND...

Heather Castillo and Stephanie Coltrin, my choreographer and director for Seussical at CLO South Bay!!

Being a part of Seussical was such a joy...and the fact that it's still being recognized is so exciting! It's wonderful to know that our show really touched people. I'm SO proud and honored to have been a part of it, and I'm so happy for everyone nominated!

Melissa, Me, and Janelle: The Bird Girls!

With the award-nominated choreographer, Heather Castillo!

The best part? WE have a huge opportunity to vote on the awards!! So go for it....you know who I voted for!

http://losangeles.broadwayworld.com/vote2010socal.cfm

VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

And I thought graduating meant free time...

So Limelight has closed (more on that soon), I'm back from New York (more on that later), and Arizona, (more on that after the others), and I finally have free time...so what do I do now?! ...update my blog, clearly!

LIMELIGHT

Limelight was amazing. Closing was super sad. I honestly can't remember ever being so sad to close a show that I wasn't actually IN. I met some amazing people and made some really wonderful friends (from both coasts). 

I mean, look: it's love.

Strike took THREE DAYS. It was honestly the most time-consuming strike I've ever been a part of....it was INSANE. We had to wash all 47 wigs, then let them dry overnight. I mean, imagine having to wash your hair 47 times...exhausting, right? Now, imagine you have the most tangled mess of hair EVER. And you have to brush it out. FORTY SEVEN TIMES. lol...see where I'm going with this? We also had to strike the multitudes of hats and the gratuitous amount of facial hair. 

Ew. Gross. Facial hair galore.

But it all got done, and Addy, my assistant really took the brunt of it because I had to leave on a jet plane to New York the Wednesday after Limelight closed!

NEW YORK

I stayed with my beautiful friend (and twin) Lital, who had just moved to the city a few months ago. Her apartment is so cute! It was so nice to get to catch up after a whole summer of not seeing each other...we had a lot to talk about!

I got to see a lot of people in NY this go-around, but I wish I could have seen more! Coordinating schedules in the city is tough, but it's something that is definitely do-able if you make the effort. I can't wait to be living out there...it'll make it so much easier to see everyone instead of trying to cram it into one week. But I am so grateful I got to see the people I did get to see! Only a couple more months and I'll be there fo' reals. 

While in NY, I got to see Deidre in Hairspray at Papermill with Andreas, Lital and Rachele. It was so fun! I was so proud of Deidre...it's a huge deal to work at this theatre, and she rocked it out. So, SO proud. 

Jersey is GORGEOUS this time of year, too! On the way to the theatre, Rachele, Andreas and I took a detour through the forest for a few pictures...

Clearly, we had a good time :).




HALLOWEEN


What would Halloween be without good ol' pumpkin carving? Thanks to Ditty and the Family Dass (um, ps. I think that should be their band name...like the Partridge Family, only cooler), I got to carve a pumpkin for the first time in a couple years!

This year, I was planning on staying in for Halloween....but what fun is that?! So Danny and I drove up to LA, met up with Kensie, Mo, and Anais, and went to the GIANT Halloween Parade in WeHo...it was pretty incredible. All those people!! All those costumes!! All those butts!!!! Seriously, though...SO MUCH NAKED. Incredible.

Antoine Dawson, The Color Purple, 1940s Pinup, Victorian Dead Girl, aaaaand Snooki!

ARIZONA

So a couple days after Halloween, my Dad calls and asks what my schedule is for the next couple days...since I was funemployed and done with school, I didn't have much going on...so he asked if I'd want to fly out to Arizona, he'd pick me up at the airport (he was out there visiting friends), and we could go to Sedona and the Grand Canyon then drive home!

So...I went! And it was such an awesome adventure...if you've never been to Sedona, AZ, make sure you get there before you die. It's BEAUTIFUL. I mean...look...

Pretty, right?

In Sedona, we went on a GPS-guided tour (yes, using our own car...you rent a GPS system and it takes you on a tour!! It was pretty neat), went on a hike or two up GIANT mountains, went shopping, had margaritas in the jacuzzi, and I had a psychic reading! I've never had one before, and I figured why not, since Sedona is known for being a huge spiritual tourist spot. My psychic was so cool....and the reading said some very, very exciting and interesting things! Lets just say the best is yet to come, my friends. 

After a few days in Sedona, we went to the Grand Canyon! It was HUGE. I had never been before, and neither had my Dad, so it was really fun to go together. 

On the way to the Grand Canyon!

At the Grand Canyon!

With Papi

All in all, it's been a pretty adventurous life post-college. I don't intend on it getting any less adventurous, either...Lots of work, lots of fun, lots of laughs. I can't wait to see what's in store!

love, love, love!

Moving along...

Life has suddenly gotten a little bit less crazy, now that LIMELIGHT has officially opened! Instead of showing up to the theatre at 10am and working til 1:30am, now I don't show up until 3:30ish, and work til midnight-ish....much, much better on my sleep schedule lol.

I have yet to really be productive on my free mornings, though! Lately I've been letting myself sleep in and laze around the house for a few hours before going down to the theatre. One of these days I'll get myself up early to get things done...buuuut maybe not this week :)

Now, back to the show: Opening night was SO fun...it was great to get to meet everyone's family/friends/etc who came to the show...and the opening night party was a blast!

Lookie lookie...



I'm really loving everyone working on this show. Most of the people in the show are based in NY, so I'm excited to move out there so we can play in the city together! We have two and a half more weeks together, then I finally get some time off. I'm planning on flying out to NY the week after Limelight closes, to visit friends AND (most importantly) to see my wonderful friend Deidre in HAIRSPRAY at Papermill Playhouse!! I can NOT wait. It's been far too long since I've been in the city, and it'll be exciting to visit again before I'm an official NY resident!

Til next time...

Love, love, love!

Just Another Day in Hollywood

Well, I've spent the last couple weeks working on LIMELIGHT at the La Jolla Playhouse...and it's HUGE. Like, REALLY BIG. Here are a few numbers...

22 cast members

47 wigs

30+ pieces of facial hair

25+ hats/headpieces

See? HUGE. It's been a reeeallly long tech, too. We spent about 4 days on Act One alone, and another 3 or 4 on Act Two. Our very first run through without stopping was our invited dress...and afterwards it looked like most of us had been through a hurricane or something.

Not only does everyone have multiple wigs, hats, and/or facial hair, but we span 4-5 different time periods, each with distinct fashion styles...and there are multiple flashbacks, so it's not like once you've finished with one era of wigs you can forget about them, because they might have to go back on someone's head a few scenes later...but maybe on a different side of the stage.

It sounds like a lot, I know. BUT there are some very very wonderful things about working this show...first of all, the people I work with are wonderful. The rest of the crew is really great...Addy, Michael and I listen to a LOT of country music in our little Wig Room lol. And we eat a lot of snaaacks! And Erick and the rest of the wardrobe crew are really fun, too! I'm super blessed to be around all these people all the time. Too blessed to stress, as Michael says.

The cast is WONDERFUL, too...AND it's FILLED with UCI Alumni!!! Myself included, I think there are 5 or 6 of us. Including Jenn Colella, who was one of our teachers in the NY Satellite Program! It's crazy...I think it was meant to be for me to work on this show. I'm meeting some really wonderful people, most of whom live in NY, so when I move out there hopefully we'll be able to meet up every once in a while.

The show itself is pretty good. Things are changing literally every single day. There are cuts being made and things being added during the daytime rehearsals, then we have shows at night. It just gets better and better! The wig/costume changes are getting to be more and more routine, which is nice for everyone. The first few runs, we definitely had a lot of people running offstage like deer in headlights, asking what costume they needed to put on lol. Now, we've got a pretty good rhythm down, and its becoming much less stressful every night!

Summer's never been the most relaxing of seasons for me, I guess. Lots of work, not too much sleep. This week alone, I worked over 90 hours. The paycheck will be great, but I don't really care that much about money, y'know? It's not important to me. I'm more happy to be working in an industry that I am in love with...and having money will make it easier for me to be available to audition to do what I truly love! So for now, it's a win-win.

There will be more updates on life soon...once we get this show open!

Til then, love, love, LOVE.

recent developments

Hi y'all,

Well, it's been a week since the last blog, but I have a few updates!

First of all, I'm happy to announce that I'll be working Hair for the new musical, Limelight, premiering at La Jolla Playhouse! It's going to be a HUUUGE show...stay tuned for updates lol. This means I'm employed til October - hooray! Which means more money for the big move...things are lookin' up :)

Camp is going well...we've finished blocking our show (Pinocchio), and now just have to really start to nail down the run throughs. The kids are all doing a really great job...well, most of them. Sometimes 7 and 8 year olds can be such...well, 7 and 8 year olds. The show goes up a on Wednesday....it's actually gone by really quickly! I'm so grateful that the wonderful Sami took on camp with me...the first year is for sure the roughest...but she's been AMAZING. What would I do without her?? Who knows. Probably be a lot more stressed than I am. A week from right now we will be SO SO HAPPY. The show will be over, the kids will be happy, the parents will be thrilled, and I will get to sleep in. YESSSS :)

Going back to LJP, Midsummer is going well! The show has gotten down to routine at this point, which is awesome. Basically it means I can function on autopilot a little bit from 6ish til midnight. Learning to conserve energy is a faaabulous skill.

In other news, I'm getting antsy...it's been a while since I've performed/auditioned, and I'm really missing it. A lot. I've been looking at the audition postings on AEA and backstage and actors access, and it's a little bit torturous because I can't do a show until after Limelight, so I can't really go on any auditions at the moment unless it's stuff that starts after October. It's just an exercise in trust, really...there will be more auditions when I'm done at the Playhouse, and then I'll be moving to NY and there will be plenty of opportunities out there.

Patience patience patience.

Trust trust trust.

OH!! ALSO, this week, Proposition 8 was declared unconstitutional. HUGE DEAL! I found out at the end of camp and was SO happy. I just feel like love is love is love....if two people love each other, they deserve to be able to celebrate that love, whether it is hetero or homosexual. When Prop 8 passed last election, I said that I vowed not to get married until it was legal for my friends to get married regardless of sexual preference. Not like I have any prospects, but it was the principle of the thing...if my gay friends couldn't get married, it wasn't fair for me to be able to just because I happen to be straight.

Anyway, it's a small victory, but I'm sure the war is far from over. For now, though, I'm proud to be a (current) Californian.

love, love, LOVE.

A sensible Wednesday blog

Well, I'm working 15 hour days. Yep. You heard me...generally speaking, my current schedule is...

Monday:

8am-4pm: Camp Counselor

Tuesday through Friday:

8am-4pm: Camp Counselor Extraordinaire

5, 6:30(ish)- midnight: Wig Mistress at La Jolla Playhouse for Midsummer Night's Dream

Saturday, Sunday:

11am(ish)-midnight(ish): two shows at the Playhouse!

The good news? I'm making bank...I'll have enough to afford moving to NY if I'm smart about my money after all this! :) And I'm definitely not bored.

The bad news? I'm exhausted. Waking up in the morning is the hardest part...once I get going, I'm alright, but getting started is awwwwful. And, I don't really have time to do fun things. Well, these are fun things, sort of, as long as I don't think of it as "work."

I am so grateful, though. Let's be real...finding ONE job nowadays is rough, and I've come across two well-paying jobs that don't involve sitting at a desk. I get to run around and teach kids about theatre, then come work in one of the best regional theatres in SD. I'm spending time around kids and artists...so I can't complain. And I get to be (sort of) artistic at the Playhouse...getting these weaves under control is for sure a new skill for me. It's my second time working with wigs, and I'm running a whole show myself! Sort of a big deal :) lol.

The wonderful Michael comes in everyday and does allllll of the maintenance (and believe me, for this show, there's a LOT of maintenance to be done). I come in an hour before curtain and make the last few wigs pretty, then start putting the lead wigs on at half hour. Then I run the show and do a few quick changes. At the end of the show, I get to put all the wigs back on their heads, then go home and tumble into bed.

Lather, rinse, repeat. For the next 3 weeks.

I do get a few days off, though...when Erick or Michael can cover for me...yesterday, for instance! I got the whole day off to go to Val and Geoff's beautiful wedding! It was essentially a MET reunion...so many wonderful people that I haven't seen in FOREVER. It made me miss being able to play in Neverland with these kids.

the (in)famous stefamatina

at the beach after the ceremony!

the gang with the happy couple!

Seth made this AMAZING cake!!

Val and Geoff are two of the most wonderful people in the world. I was humbled when they asked me to sing their song at their ceremony ("Always" by Atlantic Starr), and "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" with two of our friends, Egbert and Michael. It was a blast, and I'm glad I was able to be a part of their special day! I wish them a beautiful marriage and a bright, happy future!

The wedding was also amazing because I was reunited with some of the best people in the world. I guess it was one of those "you don't realize how much you miss it until you don't have it" things...I didn't realize how much I missed being with everyone until I was back together with them. It'd been almost 10 months since I'd seen Ash and Seth...NOT ok. I don't even remember the last time I had seen Ryan, either. It made me so happy to see them again, and to get the Walnuts back in the same room...or at least most of us :). It's nice to know, though, that no matter how far we roam, we'll always be able to jump back into each other's lives.

This very moment, I'm sitting in Starbucks in La Jolla, relaxing for a moment between camp and the show. Only 2 and a half more weeks to go...

starbucks in one hand, hairpins in the other, I'm conquering this summer!

remember: love, love, LOVE.

Go go go Joe!

Last week was a whirlwind!

We tech'd Joseph in two days, then had shows for the rest of the week! I really had a great time reconnecting with old friends. It's crazy...I haven't seen some of those people for like, 2 or 3 years, and it feels just like yesterday! I think MET is a time warp.

Playing the Narrator was a blast. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to learn the role! It's definitely a part that I look forward to playing again (hopefully a few more times).

Me and Muppy :)

Me and Max (Joseph)

I also played Potiphar's wife...and got to wear one of my favorite costumes to date! Check it out...

On our off-nights, Tina and I got to play the best part of all...the CAMEL!!! It was hysterical...probably one of the funnest things I've ever done on stage. We were only in the camel for a couple minutes, but we were hot messes by the end. Here's our pre-camel and post-camel portraits...

Here's a full-body shot of the Camel legs...gives a whoooole new meaning to "camel toe."

Of course, I dressed up for the closing show! Decided to rock the fabulous boat party dress, with my post-camel hair. I couldn't resist a super-classy/sassy-in-the-mirror picture...lol

MET has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. The people, shows, the experiences, the love. No matter how long you've been away, somehow you can pick things up right where you left off. I couldn't be more grateful for the family I have there, and I know no matter how far we travel, it's only a matter of time before we find ourselves back at home. :)

.love, love, LOVE.