Happy Friday the 13th!
Again, no school, no work for Don. Still flooded in...but I had rehearsal tonight anyway. I had to plow through some pretty deep water on our street to get there, but I made it, and our street was the worst one I had to go through. It was good to get out for awhile! Played Dora Chutes and Ladders, Pirate Treasure Hunt, watched more movies. Tried to make travel plans for Christmas. Pleh. Looks like we are staying here for Thanksgiving, especially since Don will only be getting paid for two days work this week. Not sure how we're going to swing Christmas, but right now I'm trying to find a flight for Don to come back here on the 27th. I'll plan on driving at least partway on the 23rd, and starting back here on the 2nd. There's some tension about going at all, but I'm being pretty stubborn about it. Fun times.
I miss school.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Post Number Twelve
Oh, dear Lord. No school for anyone today, no work for Don. No school for anyone tomorrow. I may strangle someone before the day is over. Feeling a little claustrophobic for some reason...
Here are a couple of pictures I took today - Scooby probably took more, but I don't know where his camera is. I didn't take that many because, frankly, it was really wet out there.
Thanking God that we no longer live near a river and that the roof on this place seems pretty solid so far.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Post Eleven
It's a blustery day, Pooh bear!!
Remnants of Ida are causing quite a monsoon-like situation today, which is supposed to continue until Saturday. Lots of rain, lots of wind...so far we haven't lost power, but our TV antennae isn't working very well!!! I actually went running this morning, although it felt more like swimming at times. Surprisingly, it was a good run. Apparently my lungs like 100% humidity. Who knew? I came home on my break today and snuggled with the kids and watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. It was awesome. Then I had to go back to school.
Boy, that wind is loud.
Tarzan seems a little better today. No fever, but still lots of congestion and coughing. I think he'll be able to go back to school tomorrow, though, unless something changes overnight.
Oh, and Don's friends Dave and Tammi (Tarzan's godparents) had their baby...a little boy named Jay David.
Remnants of Ida are causing quite a monsoon-like situation today, which is supposed to continue until Saturday. Lots of rain, lots of wind...so far we haven't lost power, but our TV antennae isn't working very well!!! I actually went running this morning, although it felt more like swimming at times. Surprisingly, it was a good run. Apparently my lungs like 100% humidity. Who knew? I came home on my break today and snuggled with the kids and watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. It was awesome. Then I had to go back to school.
Boy, that wind is loud.
Tarzan seems a little better today. No fever, but still lots of congestion and coughing. I think he'll be able to go back to school tomorrow, though, unless something changes overnight.
Oh, and Don's friends Dave and Tammi (Tarzan's godparents) had their baby...a little boy named Jay David.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Post Number Ten
Yeah, well, nothing brings you back down to earth quicker than a sick kid.
Kept Tarzan home today with a fever and a barky cough. Kid actually slept for two hours in the afternoon, so I KNOW he wasn't feeling good. Luckily Don has tomorrow off, so I won't have to juggle like I did today. He perked up a bit in the evening, but has been coughing a lot in bed. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow, I guess.
Tarzan and Scooby both start in new classrooms on Monday. Such a wonky system. They have the "gifted" kids divided into two classrooms, about 4-6 kids per room. Then they have the special-ed kids in another room. Then, they take everybody else and divide them between the four rooms (making sure there's an ethnic balance - yes, they actually said that.) So there are two rooms of gifted kids + regular kids, one room of special ed kids + regular kids, and one room of just plain kids, which is where they've been up until now, I think. So now they move into one of the gifted + regular kids classrooms, where they'll receive small group instruction and enrichment projects on occasion, and the rest of the time do the regular curriculum with the regular kids. It's very bizarre. And if they'd listened to me at the beginning of the year, maybe they could have STARTED as a regular kid in one of the gifted + regular classrooms and they wouldn't have to start AGAIN with new teachers and new classmates. It's a good thing, but a WEIRD system.
Just rewatched Little Women with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon. And Claire Danes. I can't stand Claire Danes. Watching her cry makes me want to slap her and I find myself quite happy when Beth dies. Not what they were going for, I don't think.
Kept Tarzan home today with a fever and a barky cough. Kid actually slept for two hours in the afternoon, so I KNOW he wasn't feeling good. Luckily Don has tomorrow off, so I won't have to juggle like I did today. He perked up a bit in the evening, but has been coughing a lot in bed. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow, I guess.
Tarzan and Scooby both start in new classrooms on Monday. Such a wonky system. They have the "gifted" kids divided into two classrooms, about 4-6 kids per room. Then they have the special-ed kids in another room. Then, they take everybody else and divide them between the four rooms (making sure there's an ethnic balance - yes, they actually said that.) So there are two rooms of gifted kids + regular kids, one room of special ed kids + regular kids, and one room of just plain kids, which is where they've been up until now, I think. So now they move into one of the gifted + regular kids classrooms, where they'll receive small group instruction and enrichment projects on occasion, and the rest of the time do the regular curriculum with the regular kids. It's very bizarre. And if they'd listened to me at the beginning of the year, maybe they could have STARTED as a regular kid in one of the gifted + regular classrooms and they wouldn't have to start AGAIN with new teachers and new classmates. It's a good thing, but a WEIRD system.
Just rewatched Little Women with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon. And Claire Danes. I can't stand Claire Danes. Watching her cry makes me want to slap her and I find myself quite happy when Beth dies. Not what they were going for, I don't think.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Post Number Nine
If I could fly...
I'd leave the doubts and debts and darkness down on earth/
I'd soar over ocean and shadow the dolphins stitching their bodies through waves/
I'd race the clouds across the star studded sky/
I'd cradle the kids and listen to them laugh as the wind raked their hair/
Touching down, but never getting stuck/
Always, always, returning to flight/
If I could fly.
I'd leave the doubts and debts and darkness down on earth/
I'd soar over ocean and shadow the dolphins stitching their bodies through waves/
Fleeing the fear and freeing the child me inside/
Release and free and expand eluding no longer/
I'd circle the tree tops seeking most glorious leaves/Opening, unblocking, turning old patterns inside out/
I'd race the clouds across the star studded sky/
I'd cradle the kids and listen to them laugh as the wind raked their hair/
Touching down, but never getting stuck/
Always, always, returning to flight/
If I could fly.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Post Number 8
Cutting it a little close to the wire tonight, but I had two assignments that needed to be turned in by midnight, so I did those first.
It was, indeed, a beautiful day outside. Cinderella woke me up by bouncing the whole bed with full-body hiccups and announcing that she was REALLY hungry. After breakfast we went to church - we're enjoying this church, but still not 100% sold. It's very big, and we're feeling like it's going to take forever to connect with people. Plus the parking lot is a nightmare. So we're debating going to check out a few more places, but today fell into the trap of inertia and ended up going back again.
After church we headed to the back yard where the kids played and I tried to read some school stuff. I was a little distracted by the balls bouncing off my laptop, though. I put away the Halloween decorations that have been piled up in the study, and put out a couple of Thanksgiving ones...actually managed to do that this year instead of discovering them when I went to get the Christmas ones out in December! Read with Cinderella, bathed the kids, read to them all, did my school assignments. Did not run. Did not have rehearsal. Did not collect $200.
It was, indeed, a beautiful day outside. Cinderella woke me up by bouncing the whole bed with full-body hiccups and announcing that she was REALLY hungry. After breakfast we went to church - we're enjoying this church, but still not 100% sold. It's very big, and we're feeling like it's going to take forever to connect with people. Plus the parking lot is a nightmare. So we're debating going to check out a few more places, but today fell into the trap of inertia and ended up going back again.
After church we headed to the back yard where the kids played and I tried to read some school stuff. I was a little distracted by the balls bouncing off my laptop, though. I put away the Halloween decorations that have been piled up in the study, and put out a couple of Thanksgiving ones...actually managed to do that this year instead of discovering them when I went to get the Christmas ones out in December! Read with Cinderella, bathed the kids, read to them all, did my school assignments. Did not run. Did not have rehearsal. Did not collect $200.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Post Number Seven
All right, I feel somewhat vindicated now. I received letters today that both Tarzan and Scooby have been evaluated and deemed worthy to receive gifted education resources. It's quite an involved process, and I had to be pretty pushy at the beginning of the school year in order to make sure they were tested, but now I feel that my pushiness was justified. I'm not sure, but I think this means they'll be pulled out of their current classes and placed into a "cluster" classroom on a full-time basis with different teachers and peers. Not sure how that's going to go, but I'm pretty sure it's a good thing to get them into the "gifted" system.
All first graders are tested at the end of the year, so Cinderella has a couple of months to redeem herself.
All first graders are tested at the end of the year, so Cinderella has a couple of months to redeem herself.
Also, I made it up to 30 minutes of straight running today. My back isn't happy about it, but I did it!
For anyone who may not have seen them, I'm posting some Halloween pictures below.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Post Number Six
Happy birthday to my big sister today! I left you some messages, Lisa, but if you didn't get them, hope you had a great day.
Soooooo,
I went in for Cinderella's teacher conference today, and the poor teacher had to meet me at the door with, "Usually I would say things are going very well, but we had an incident today at lunch." Apparently, somewhere along the way, Cinderella has picked up the fact that giving people the middle finger means something and gets a reaction from people. She apparently showed it to another kid at lunch, who showed it to another kid, and the three of them managed to make the whole lunch table get involved. Apparently, when the principal (!) showed up, the whole table of first graders gave him the finger. And the instigator was my little princess. I asked her if she knew what that means, and she said no, she was just trying to be funny. She had to apologize to the principal (who told her he was "shocked") and to the lunch ladies (one of whom lives down the street from us) and has to have "silent lunch" on Monday with the other two kids who corrupted the rest of the table. We had a discussion about behavior with all three kids when they got home from school and hopefully that will be the end of it.
The rest of the conference went well.
Soooooo,
I went in for Cinderella's teacher conference today, and the poor teacher had to meet me at the door with, "Usually I would say things are going very well, but we had an incident today at lunch." Apparently, somewhere along the way, Cinderella has picked up the fact that giving people the middle finger means something and gets a reaction from people. She apparently showed it to another kid at lunch, who showed it to another kid, and the three of them managed to make the whole lunch table get involved. Apparently, when the principal (!) showed up, the whole table of first graders gave him the finger. And the instigator was my little princess. I asked her if she knew what that means, and she said no, she was just trying to be funny. She had to apologize to the principal (who told her he was "shocked") and to the lunch ladies (one of whom lives down the street from us) and has to have "silent lunch" on Monday with the other two kids who corrupted the rest of the table. We had a discussion about behavior with all three kids when they got home from school and hopefully that will be the end of it.
The rest of the conference went well.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Post Number 5
Ten things I'm liking right now:
Soup
Sunny mornings
Little Women rehearsals
My self-discipline
Listening to Cinderella read
Grey's Anatomy
Learning new stuff
Healthy family
Shuffle setting on the ipod
Getting email/facebook messages/blog comments
Ten things I'm not liking:
Scrounging in my backpack for enough coins to buy coffee from the vending machine
Dieting
Feeling tired every day at 5:00pm
Struggling with Scooby about homework
Cooking meals from an empty fridge
Back fat
Stress about travel plans/money/lack of time
Talkers who dominate class time
Stiff neck
Slackers
Ten things I accomplished this week:
Combat quiz on fight phrase 3
Combat quiz on self-choreographed fight
Made it up to 24 minutes straight running
20 action classical Movement barre
Discovered and developed new activity for Meisner class
Vacuumed floors
Meisner book Abstract
Submitted movement journal
The shortest teacher conference in the history of the world
Started daily blogging
Early to bed tonight, I hope.
Soup
Sunny mornings
Little Women rehearsals
My self-discipline
Listening to Cinderella read
Grey's Anatomy
Learning new stuff
Healthy family
Shuffle setting on the ipod
Getting email/facebook messages/blog comments
Ten things I'm not liking:
Scrounging in my backpack for enough coins to buy coffee from the vending machine
Dieting
Feeling tired every day at 5:00pm
Struggling with Scooby about homework
Cooking meals from an empty fridge
Back fat
Stress about travel plans/money/lack of time
Talkers who dominate class time
Stiff neck
Slackers
Ten things I accomplished this week:
Combat quiz on fight phrase 3
Combat quiz on self-choreographed fight
Made it up to 24 minutes straight running
20 action classical Movement barre
Discovered and developed new activity for Meisner class
Vacuumed floors
Meisner book Abstract
Submitted movement journal
The shortest teacher conference in the history of the world
Started daily blogging
Early to bed tonight, I hope.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Post Number Four
Another full day today. Got the kids on the bus, went running, and headed off to class. Today was discussion day in Research and Aesthetics and we talked about modern day examples of Romanticism and Melodrama. We pretty much decided that all super-hero movies (Spiderman, Batman, Hulk, etc.) are Romantic (in the sense of the genre, not necessarily lovey dovey) and Melodramatic. Lots of other films too - Titanic, Gone With the Wind, Independence Day...the list is long! Then I had scene practice for acting class. After that, I went to the post office and mailed Lisa her popcorn (enjoy!), ate some soup, and worked on my assignment for Movement tomorrow. (I thought about trying to explain it, but decided it would be too difficult without having a shared vocabulary about what we're working on.) I went back to school and got the paperwork for the Independent Study proposal, then met with my combat partner to review stuff because she was sick on Monday. In combat class we learned moves like the eye poke, the eye gouge, three different ways to break someone's neck, and the traveling side-kick. Then my partner and I performed and were graded on our mini-fight that we self-choreographed, (which was due Monday, but again, she was sick) and all of us were tested on the third phrase of our long fight. Next week we need to bring in a scene and add text to the fight. After that I had 25 minutes for dinner, and went into Little Women rehearsal. Because the show is completely sold out and the waiting list has been growing huge, we've been authorized to add another show on Sunday evening! It's pretty exciting. I can't wait to start wearing my petticoats and crinolines!!! Got out of rehearsal a little early, so I got home in time to read the kids stories, then started homework. It's now 11:25, and I have about another hour's worth to go. So, full day.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Post Number Three
And...we're out of the potty references for the posting numbers. Hooray. So glad that my brother has joined me in attempting to post every day. I enjoy company in my delusions.
The kids had no school today and came in to school with me. Except for the 50 pound duffel bag of entertainment (books, legos, board games, snacks) I lugged in with me, it was pretty painless. There were two very sweet undergrads who split the responsibility of watching them for two hours each while I was in class, and the day turned out to be beautiful and sunny so they went outside and chased each other around for awhile. We got to have lunch together and even squeezed in a game of Spongebob Life between classes. The day started off a little rough, as I'd tried to have one of the kid's teacher conferences this morning before class, but, of course, the teacher was running about 15 minutes behind. That left me time for about a 5 minute conference, which was pretty uninformative. I may try to reschedule another one, or we'll just wait and see what the results are of the "gifted" testing, and go from there.
I'm thinking of proposing and independent study for next semester about Grotowski, Artaud, Peter Brook and the "holy actor". If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't feel bad. It's a topic I didn't know anything about until I started studying for the entrance exam to Regent, and it's very intriguing to me. I'll see if I can put together a decent proposal in time for registration.
The kids had no school today and came in to school with me. Except for the 50 pound duffel bag of entertainment (books, legos, board games, snacks) I lugged in with me, it was pretty painless. There were two very sweet undergrads who split the responsibility of watching them for two hours each while I was in class, and the day turned out to be beautiful and sunny so they went outside and chased each other around for awhile. We got to have lunch together and even squeezed in a game of Spongebob Life between classes. The day started off a little rough, as I'd tried to have one of the kid's teacher conferences this morning before class, but, of course, the teacher was running about 15 minutes behind. That left me time for about a 5 minute conference, which was pretty uninformative. I may try to reschedule another one, or we'll just wait and see what the results are of the "gifted" testing, and go from there.
I'm thinking of proposing and independent study for next semester about Grotowski, Artaud, Peter Brook and the "holy actor". If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't feel bad. It's a topic I didn't know anything about until I started studying for the entrance exam to Regent, and it's very intriguing to me. I'll see if I can put together a decent proposal in time for registration.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Post Number Two
I think I've licked this whole snazzy title thing. I'm going for "it's so boring, it's chic." I'm posting early today as I know I'm going to be whupped by the time I get home tonight. Just got back from my run, and I'm sitting here sweating all over Don's nice leather chair. I'd like to say I feel virtuous for running, but I'm still deep in the hole of guilt from all the Halloween candy I snarfed yesterday and I've got a lot of climbing to do before I get back to virtuous. One of the (many) things I like about where we live now is that I can plan out running routes that a) don't involve perpendicular hills and b) don't involve major highways or train tracks. True, there are many little water spots - creeks, ponds, lakes, that create strange byways and very circular routes, but I'm starting to get to know my way around them a little better. We live right next to a really nice neighborhood, and my current route fills me with nostalgia as I run past all the Colonial homes on streets like Natick, Tewksbury, Shrewsbury, and Revere. Especially now that it's November and the leaves have STARTED to turn colors (!!) I can almost pretend I'm home in New England. I actually ran for 20 minutes straight today. Walked for 5, ran for 20, walked for 5, ran for 6, and walked 6 back home. My goal is to be able to run at least 30 minutes straight. I still don't enjoy it. I'm waiting for those runner's endorphins to find me, but they are elusive indeed. It's still more slogging and grunting, but I'm getting out there, at least. I'm afraid I'm going to miss tomorrow, as the kids have no school and I'm taking them all to a teacher conference, then to school with me. I've got some people lined up to watch them while I'm in class. We'll see how that goes!
Off to start the day...
Off to start the day...
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Post Number One
So that weird random rectangle on the top left of my page is a sign that I am, indeed, certifiably crazy. I have decided to challenge myself to posting every day for the entire month of November, and that emblem is the proof that I've entered into similar community of crazy people. Now, it says nowhere that the entries need to be of any particular length, or quality, so I'm promising nothing other than volume. And I'm making this commitment when? On the eve of what is going to be my busiest three months in the entire first year of grad school. I'm starting rehearsals for Little Women tomorrow night. Rehearsals will continue through the opening of the show, the week of Dec. 11th (with the exception of Thanksgiving weekend - yay!) and Elephant Man rehearsals start Nov. 30 and run until the opening of the show, the week of Jan. 21. (with the exception of Christmas - yay!) How I'm going to be at rehearsals for two shows at once, I'm not really sure.
We're starting to have an actual babysitter this week - someone coming on a semi-regular basis that we're going to pay for her services. Not sure how we're going to pay her yet, but we'll take it one step at a time.
Halloween was different this year... it was 80 degrees and we went to the beach for the day! It was gorgeous, but I think we wore out the kids too much and they dragged their feet all through trick-or-treating. Theirs were by far the cutest costumes..I'll post pictures on here as soon as I can get it together.
I have SO much homework to do tonight, but I spent 2 hours at a cubscout popcorn sale this afternoon instead of working. At least that's the last one of those for the year.
Feel free to drop frequent comments here, so I know my efforts at rambling are at least being viewed! Come back soon, y'all!
We're starting to have an actual babysitter this week - someone coming on a semi-regular basis that we're going to pay for her services. Not sure how we're going to pay her yet, but we'll take it one step at a time.
Halloween was different this year... it was 80 degrees and we went to the beach for the day! It was gorgeous, but I think we wore out the kids too much and they dragged their feet all through trick-or-treating. Theirs were by far the cutest costumes..I'll post pictures on here as soon as I can get it together.
I have SO much homework to do tonight, but I spent 2 hours at a cubscout popcorn sale this afternoon instead of working. At least that's the last one of those for the year.
Feel free to drop frequent comments here, so I know my efforts at rambling are at least being viewed! Come back soon, y'all!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Can't think of a snazzy title...
I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say, but I know I like to keep reading other's blogs even when there's not a lot of earthshattering events happening.
School is going well. Really, really well. I had some great breakthroughs in classes this week, and I'm feeling pretty darn good about being where I am right now. I'm enjoying my movement class so much, even though it's very challenging to try to break through (ahem.) 40 years of habitual patterns and explore new possibilities of expressive movement. It's nothing major - no handstands or backflips, just things like trying to find expansive, free, and released movement instead of my habitual contracted, bound and withdrawn ones. I wish there were a Movement 2 class offered next semester, because I don't think I'm going to be anywhere near "done" learning this stuff by December. The Acting class is going well too. I had some really good exercise work this week, and I'm happy to discover that my emotional range is a lot more expansive than it was when I was 19. Go figure. Combat is fun - we're learning how to slam each other's heads into the wall, table, floor, etc. And I'm still getting all A's on my papers in Research and Aesthetics. It's almost time to register for Spring semester, when I'll be taking Text Analysis, Scene Study, and Rapier and Dagger. I start rehearsals for Little Women on Monday (which, by the way, is already completely sold out. Hope we don't suck!)
Don seems to be mostly enjoying his job. He's still shadowing someone because he doesn't have all the passwords and such he needs yet (it is an adjustment working in a military environment, no doubt about it) and he'll be happier when he can go out on his own. He doesn't like getting up so early, or sitting so long in traffic, but he's happy to be getting out and meeting people, and of course, bringing in some money soon.
The kids are doing much better in school. They seem pretty happy, overall, and Tarzan's got a new girlfriend already. It's almost time for teacher conferences, so I'm looking forward to getting an inside perspective on how things have changed for them.
It was great to have Mom and Dad here for a couple of days, even though I was in class and didn't get to see them a whole lot. They cooked dinner for us, and brought some much needed bigger sized clothing for the kids, and read stories, and played games, and even got to go to the beach twice. I wish they could have stayed longer! But Granny Carol is coming in a couple of weeks, and the kids are really looking forward to her visit. We all are, not just the kids!
Off to a lunch meeting!
School is going well. Really, really well. I had some great breakthroughs in classes this week, and I'm feeling pretty darn good about being where I am right now. I'm enjoying my movement class so much, even though it's very challenging to try to break through (ahem.) 40 years of habitual patterns and explore new possibilities of expressive movement. It's nothing major - no handstands or backflips, just things like trying to find expansive, free, and released movement instead of my habitual contracted, bound and withdrawn ones. I wish there were a Movement 2 class offered next semester, because I don't think I'm going to be anywhere near "done" learning this stuff by December. The Acting class is going well too. I had some really good exercise work this week, and I'm happy to discover that my emotional range is a lot more expansive than it was when I was 19. Go figure. Combat is fun - we're learning how to slam each other's heads into the wall, table, floor, etc. And I'm still getting all A's on my papers in Research and Aesthetics. It's almost time to register for Spring semester, when I'll be taking Text Analysis, Scene Study, and Rapier and Dagger. I start rehearsals for Little Women on Monday (which, by the way, is already completely sold out. Hope we don't suck!)
Don seems to be mostly enjoying his job. He's still shadowing someone because he doesn't have all the passwords and such he needs yet (it is an adjustment working in a military environment, no doubt about it) and he'll be happier when he can go out on his own. He doesn't like getting up so early, or sitting so long in traffic, but he's happy to be getting out and meeting people, and of course, bringing in some money soon.
The kids are doing much better in school. They seem pretty happy, overall, and Tarzan's got a new girlfriend already. It's almost time for teacher conferences, so I'm looking forward to getting an inside perspective on how things have changed for them.
It was great to have Mom and Dad here for a couple of days, even though I was in class and didn't get to see them a whole lot. They cooked dinner for us, and brought some much needed bigger sized clothing for the kids, and read stories, and played games, and even got to go to the beach twice. I wish they could have stayed longer! But Granny Carol is coming in a couple of weeks, and the kids are really looking forward to her visit. We all are, not just the kids!
Off to a lunch meeting!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Casting!
So the verdict is in! Actually, the results aren't a total surprise, as two of the professors pulled me aside yesterday to tell me that I was cast in a couple of the shows, but they were conflicting not only with each other, but with As You Like It, which I have already started rehearsals for. They wanted to know if it would be all right with me if I was taken out of As You Like It and put in the other shows instead, with much bigger parts. So I said sure! So, I'm cast as Marmee in Little Women, going up Dec. 10 - 13, and Mrs. Kendal in Elephant Man, going up the last two weeks in January. I was hoping I'd get into Godspell too, but I didn't. Not You Can't Take It With You either, so no 25th anniversary performances for me. But I'm thrilled with the two parts I got, and really looking forward to tackling some challenging work. So long, Shakespeare...our acquaintance was brief, but fun.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Callback Week!
Wow! Last week was crazy...and it's not over yet! Monday (my birthday) were general auditions for the "Spring" season, (although they included Little Women, which goes up in December, so it's not really spring...) which meant that we performed a one minute monologue and a 30 second song for the 4 directors who will be casting the shows. The four shows are Little Women, Elephant Man, You Can't Take it With You, and Godspell. It's a little ironic that I performed in You Can't Take it With You and Godspell my sophomore year in high school 25 years ago!!! It REALLY doesn't feel like it was that long ago. Anyway, the audition went okay, although I still get so nervous when I have to sing at an audition, and I felt the song was a little weak. Definitely not as good as it sounded in my house.
But, it must have gone all right because I ended up getting called back for all four shows! For those who aren't familiar with callbacks, that means you and whoever else was called back read from several selections of the script, specifically for the role you're being considered for. Elephant Man callbacks were Tuesday night. Now, I have to confess, I'm not 100% familiar with the Elephant Man script. I read the first half of one about a year ago, and I was so bored with it I couldn't finish it. However, that must have been a different version, because I finally read most of the Pomerance version that we're doing, and it was much better. Anyway, I was called back for the role of Mrs. Kendal, and for Nurse Sandwich. Mrs. Kendal is a pretty major part...originally it was going to be someone's thesis role, but they ended up getting pregnant and can't do it. Also, the character is supposed to get naked onstage. HOWEVER, they won't be staging it here with nudity (it is Regent, after all) but only with the suggestion of nudity. I think that callback went really well.
Callbacks for You Can't Take it With You were Wednesday night. For that, I was called back for Penelope - the mother character. In high school I played Essie, the wannabe ballerina, but for some reason I'm not being considered for that character anymore!! Those were fun, but I had a splitting headache all throughout them and I was a bit distracted.
Acting callbacks for Godspell were Thursday night. We did lots of improv and storytelling games...the only named characters in Godspell are Jesus and Judas/John the Baptist, and I'm not up for one of those, so it would be ensemble...but the ensemble does EVERYTHING...and I think it would be really fun to do that show, and really challenging. Speaking of challenging, we were then taught a dance combo for the song/dance callbacks on Saturday...and I thought I was going to die. It is VERY fast, VERY high energy, and totally impossible to sing at the same time, but we have to try!
Saturday afternoon were singing and dance callbacks for Godspell. We sang parts for Save the People and All Good Gifts (I'm on alto, surprise, surprise!) and then I sang Turn Back alone. The singing went well - much better than the general audition - but I think another girl killed it on Turn Back, so she'll probably get the solo. Dance auditions went as well as could be expected. I held my own, and against kids half my age. So there.
Little Women callbacks are tonight. I'm reading for Marmee and Aunt March. (Sensing a pattern here...)
So, I'm kind of hoping for Elephant Man and Godspell. Little Women would be fun, but since it's a "studio" show, that means it rehearses from 5 -7 (as opposed to the Mainstage shows which rehearse 7 - 11) and I could have to be rehearsing for two shows at the same time. I'm already in As You Like It, which starts rehearsals tonight (after Little Women callbacks) and runs until the week after Thanksgiving. So if I do Little Women and Elephant Man, I'll be rehearsing pretty much nonstop until the end of January. And this is on top of regular classwork, which has kept me quite busy up until now.
I should find out what's going to happen within the next couple of days. Eek!
But, it must have gone all right because I ended up getting called back for all four shows! For those who aren't familiar with callbacks, that means you and whoever else was called back read from several selections of the script, specifically for the role you're being considered for. Elephant Man callbacks were Tuesday night. Now, I have to confess, I'm not 100% familiar with the Elephant Man script. I read the first half of one about a year ago, and I was so bored with it I couldn't finish it. However, that must have been a different version, because I finally read most of the Pomerance version that we're doing, and it was much better. Anyway, I was called back for the role of Mrs. Kendal, and for Nurse Sandwich. Mrs. Kendal is a pretty major part...originally it was going to be someone's thesis role, but they ended up getting pregnant and can't do it. Also, the character is supposed to get naked onstage. HOWEVER, they won't be staging it here with nudity (it is Regent, after all) but only with the suggestion of nudity. I think that callback went really well.
Callbacks for You Can't Take it With You were Wednesday night. For that, I was called back for Penelope - the mother character. In high school I played Essie, the wannabe ballerina, but for some reason I'm not being considered for that character anymore!! Those were fun, but I had a splitting headache all throughout them and I was a bit distracted.
Acting callbacks for Godspell were Thursday night. We did lots of improv and storytelling games...the only named characters in Godspell are Jesus and Judas/John the Baptist, and I'm not up for one of those, so it would be ensemble...but the ensemble does EVERYTHING...and I think it would be really fun to do that show, and really challenging. Speaking of challenging, we were then taught a dance combo for the song/dance callbacks on Saturday...and I thought I was going to die. It is VERY fast, VERY high energy, and totally impossible to sing at the same time, but we have to try!
Saturday afternoon were singing and dance callbacks for Godspell. We sang parts for Save the People and All Good Gifts (I'm on alto, surprise, surprise!) and then I sang Turn Back alone. The singing went well - much better than the general audition - but I think another girl killed it on Turn Back, so she'll probably get the solo. Dance auditions went as well as could be expected. I held my own, and against kids half my age. So there.
Little Women callbacks are tonight. I'm reading for Marmee and Aunt March. (Sensing a pattern here...)
So, I'm kind of hoping for Elephant Man and Godspell. Little Women would be fun, but since it's a "studio" show, that means it rehearses from 5 -7 (as opposed to the Mainstage shows which rehearse 7 - 11) and I could have to be rehearsing for two shows at the same time. I'm already in As You Like It, which starts rehearsals tonight (after Little Women callbacks) and runs until the week after Thanksgiving. So if I do Little Women and Elephant Man, I'll be rehearsing pretty much nonstop until the end of January. And this is on top of regular classwork, which has kept me quite busy up until now.
I should find out what's going to happen within the next couple of days. Eek!
Monday, October 05, 2009
40
It's really not a big deal being 40. I'm still exactly the same person I was yesterday. However, I'm not the person I was last year! Here's last year's "birthday" post:
"There is just something about October that brings out the most incredible blue skies and color contrasts with the leaves. I remember distinctly that last year, on my birthday, I had just discovered the walking route that took me up to the top of the hills by the beautiful meadows. I remember looking at the sky and breathing the air, and feeling really happy.This year, for some reason, I'm feeling blue. Overwhelmed, tired. I spent my birthday feeling old and dull and stupid. And fat. I've been trying to walk or run almost everyday, but I'm not making any progress. It's frigging ridiculous how time consuming this application process is. If I had a full time job, I'd never be able to do it. I've spent at LEAST 20 hours this week alone on essay questions, ordering transcripts, requesting letters of recommendation, and filling out forms. And I'm not done yet!!!! And then I think about how small the chances are that I'll actually get into these programs, and it feels like a total waste of time. Of course, the chances are smaller if I don't apply, so there you are."
And now, I'm in a new city, a new house (although it's not mine), I'm an MFA student - I did it! All that work and stress and anxiety, and here I am. Not that it's not still stressful and lots of work, and if Don doesn't get a job soon we will be in a lot of trouble, but still I DID IT! I am 40, and an MFA student. I am SO glad I took this risk, and SO grateful for all the support of my friends and family that allowed me to do it.
I had breakfast in bed this morning - Cheerios and coffee (which I had to go downstairs and doctor before I could drink it) with three wonderful cards from my babies. I have to say, Tarzan's really made me laugh. The front says "Happy Birthday Mommy!" There's a picture of me with a speech bubble saying "Wow! It's my birthday already!" Then the inside says, "I'm going to miss that 39 mommy. But a new 40 mommy is here. I'm going to have a good time with new mommy." Then there's another picture of me with a really big head, and a speech bubble saying "Hey! My head is not this big! It's still my birthday!"
Frankly, I'm not going to miss that 39 mommy.
The new 40 mommy is here, and I'm going to have a good time with new mommy.
"There is just something about October that brings out the most incredible blue skies and color contrasts with the leaves. I remember distinctly that last year, on my birthday, I had just discovered the walking route that took me up to the top of the hills by the beautiful meadows. I remember looking at the sky and breathing the air, and feeling really happy.This year, for some reason, I'm feeling blue. Overwhelmed, tired. I spent my birthday feeling old and dull and stupid. And fat. I've been trying to walk or run almost everyday, but I'm not making any progress. It's frigging ridiculous how time consuming this application process is. If I had a full time job, I'd never be able to do it. I've spent at LEAST 20 hours this week alone on essay questions, ordering transcripts, requesting letters of recommendation, and filling out forms. And I'm not done yet!!!! And then I think about how small the chances are that I'll actually get into these programs, and it feels like a total waste of time. Of course, the chances are smaller if I don't apply, so there you are."
And now, I'm in a new city, a new house (although it's not mine), I'm an MFA student - I did it! All that work and stress and anxiety, and here I am. Not that it's not still stressful and lots of work, and if Don doesn't get a job soon we will be in a lot of trouble, but still I DID IT! I am 40, and an MFA student. I am SO glad I took this risk, and SO grateful for all the support of my friends and family that allowed me to do it.
I had breakfast in bed this morning - Cheerios and coffee (which I had to go downstairs and doctor before I could drink it) with three wonderful cards from my babies. I have to say, Tarzan's really made me laugh. The front says "Happy Birthday Mommy!" There's a picture of me with a speech bubble saying "Wow! It's my birthday already!" Then the inside says, "I'm going to miss that 39 mommy. But a new 40 mommy is here. I'm going to have a good time with new mommy." Then there's another picture of me with a really big head, and a speech bubble saying "Hey! My head is not this big! It's still my birthday!"
Frankly, I'm not going to miss that 39 mommy.
The new 40 mommy is here, and I'm going to have a good time with new mommy.
Friday, October 02, 2009
How the hell did it get to be October?
It's the weather. That's what's been deceiving me. It was 82 degrees today. We've been going to the beach every weekend. How can it possibly be October? But it is. And we still haven't had Cinderella's "friend" party. She still doesn't know kids names, so it's really hard to invite them! It will happen, though. Even if it turns out to be a 6 1/2 party.
Speaking of birthdays...someone has a pretty big one coming up. Not going to think about that though. My only wish is that we had a sitter and some moola to go out and celebrate! But since I have auditions that night anyway, it's not that great a loss. Yes, another round of auditions. This time, for Little Women, Elephant Man, You Can't Take it With You, and Godspell. Also, two midterms next week, in movement and Stage Combat. I've written 4 papers for Research and Aesthetics so far: Personal Worldview, Greek/Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance. I've gotten grades back for the first three - I think my professor is an easy grader. I'm not complaining, though. We'll be starting rehearsals for As you Like It in two weeks, and paper writing will be getting a lot harder after that.
School is getting lots better for the kids. The first two weeks were horrible. They were trying so hard to adjust and assimilate all this new input, with no Mom and Dad around, and it was just too much at first. They're really starting to get a handle on things now, I think. There are things about the school system we're not really thrilled with so far, but it's early yet, and we're all still finding our way.
Tarzan's joined the CubScouts, and we're looking for a used uniform and starting to sell popcorn. There are no active Odyssey of the Mind groups around here, and I'm seriously debating whether I have the crazy to try to start one.
Cinderella's starting to read a little better, but she's a bit behind where the boys where at this point. She has the most homework out of the three of them, though, so she'll be catching up soon.
Missing family and Pittsburgh friends, when I have time to stop and think about it. Mostly, I don't have much time. But I do love you all!!!
Speaking of birthdays...someone has a pretty big one coming up. Not going to think about that though. My only wish is that we had a sitter and some moola to go out and celebrate! But since I have auditions that night anyway, it's not that great a loss. Yes, another round of auditions. This time, for Little Women, Elephant Man, You Can't Take it With You, and Godspell. Also, two midterms next week, in movement and Stage Combat. I've written 4 papers for Research and Aesthetics so far: Personal Worldview, Greek/Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance. I've gotten grades back for the first three - I think my professor is an easy grader. I'm not complaining, though. We'll be starting rehearsals for As you Like It in two weeks, and paper writing will be getting a lot harder after that.
School is getting lots better for the kids. The first two weeks were horrible. They were trying so hard to adjust and assimilate all this new input, with no Mom and Dad around, and it was just too much at first. They're really starting to get a handle on things now, I think. There are things about the school system we're not really thrilled with so far, but it's early yet, and we're all still finding our way.
Tarzan's joined the CubScouts, and we're looking for a used uniform and starting to sell popcorn. There are no active Odyssey of the Mind groups around here, and I'm seriously debating whether I have the crazy to try to start one.
Cinderella's starting to read a little better, but she's a bit behind where the boys where at this point. She has the most homework out of the three of them, though, so she'll be catching up soon.
Missing family and Pittsburgh friends, when I have time to stop and think about it. Mostly, I don't have much time. But I do love you all!!!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sandcastles
Wow! I've been really busy and haven't had time to do much updating at all. I really want to do a full post soon, but for now, here are some photos from the Sandcastle competition we went to this weekend. I've posted some more on Facebook, but these are some of my favorites. We all had a great time!!!
This title goes with the guys below...they were my favorite! Although it was kind of hard to explain to the kids why the title was so funny!!!
Also, I met this guy and got a signed copy of his book. He was very cool, and said I was brave to do what I'm doing. I got to polish my schmoozing skills.
This title goes with the guys below...they were my favorite! Although it was kind of hard to explain to the kids why the title was so funny!!!
Also, I met this guy and got a signed copy of his book. He was very cool, and said I was brave to do what I'm doing. I got to polish my schmoozing skills.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Time Flies
Trite, but true. The kids started school on Tuesday, and I've been pretty consumed with their school stuff on top of my school stuff. Not a lot of homework yet, but lots of forms to fill out. So far, the review are mixed. They all seem to like their teachers, and the lunches seem pretty popular. None of them seem to have latched on to a best friend, or even to know the other kid's names...but that will come. None of them like PE very much, which meets everyday, and apparently has a lot of yelling involved. At them, not by them. It's been too wet for outdoor recess, and the bus driver yells a lot too. There's some yelling, it seems. Scooby came home pretty quiet the first day, and found himself in tears pretty easily over other things. Cinderella went to the nurse on Friday with a stomachache. The nurse talked to her and decided it was probably new kid nervousness, and by the end of the day she was fine. Tarzan, so far, seems fine. It must be SO hard for them, and so scary. But they're hanging in there.
And so am I. Classes are going well...I'm really liking Movement Class and Meisner (Acting technique). Stage Combat is tough, but I'm doing all right for an old lady. Time is ticking right along, though. Auditions for Spring term are in a couple of weeks! I'm starting to get to know the others in my group, although I am a little on the outside, due to having a family and living a little farther away. Don's still looking for where he fits in with all this, and we're still looking for a home church.
It was really awesome having Lisa and Mom and Dad come visit...it's fun to show off the house, even if it isn't really ours. We went to Ft. Monroe in Norfolk and visited the place where my great-great-great-(is there one more great?) grandfather served for awhile in the Civil War. Turns out Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there for awhile too!
I've started trying to run a little bit again. There are lots of nice options of where to go, and the weather has cooled off enough that it's not total torture. Before I know it, we'll be making Thanksgiving and Christmas plans!
And so am I. Classes are going well...I'm really liking Movement Class and Meisner (Acting technique). Stage Combat is tough, but I'm doing all right for an old lady. Time is ticking right along, though. Auditions for Spring term are in a couple of weeks! I'm starting to get to know the others in my group, although I am a little on the outside, due to having a family and living a little farther away. Don's still looking for where he fits in with all this, and we're still looking for a home church.
It was really awesome having Lisa and Mom and Dad come visit...it's fun to show off the house, even if it isn't really ours. We went to Ft. Monroe in Norfolk and visited the place where my great-great-great-(is there one more great?) grandfather served for awhile in the Civil War. Turns out Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there for awhile too!
I've started trying to run a little bit again. There are lots of nice options of where to go, and the weather has cooled off enough that it's not total torture. Before I know it, we'll be making Thanksgiving and Christmas plans!
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