This Just In...

From the Theatre President:

Spirit is a total home run, completely out of the park - one of the very best shows I have seen in several years. A total pleasure to experience. The whole audience was buzzing about how great the show was.

[Director], the direction was fabulous. [Designer], the set was first class. The costumes and lighting were perfect. [Cast], you were not only delightful and on the money - each of you showed how its done. What a bunch of pros. Hats off to every one of you, you made it seem effortless!

Producers, your work showed in every aspect of this first rate production.

[Artistic Director], your efforts to put together a great show did just that.

Congratulations to you all.

Unbelievably good. Excellent theater! And I heard that in the audience all night long.

Thank you, all, for giving your wonderful talents to this fabulous production.

Bravo!

The message was titled "one of the very best SRT productions."

Ten Down, Eight to Go

There have still been no formal reviews of our show, and as today's matinee pushed us past the halfway point of the run, it seems unlikely that there ever will be. However, the show was briefly mentioned twice by local theatre columnists (both posting, by the way, to the same site).

Jenni Prisk, who once performed the show (as Madame Arcati, I believe) saw it first and wrote that it was a "sophisticated, nuanced production with some very good performances, and a couple not so good." Our Charles, she said, was debonair; "as the ever-suffering Ruth," I gave a subtle performance; Elvira was "played deliciously"; and our "delightful, bohemian Madame Arcati" was "not quite of this world." We must assume the "not so good" were not so mentioned.

Pat Launer, a broadcast theatre critic for KPBS and founder of Patté Productions Inc. , posted that the show "featured three fresh, young (20-something) Faces to Watch." Those three were our "gorgeous" Elvira, with the "pert, red rosebud lips... stunning, sexy, and very talented;" myself, "formidable and credible as Ruth, the put-upon second wife;" and our unseen set designer, Chris Kennedy. No others were mentioned.

While I was certainly thrilled to be included in both notices, and will consider "subtle," "formidable," "credible," and "face to watch," the marks of personal success with this role (which is not Aubrey-eligible), it is the "20-something" label that is tickling my toenails. Thank you, Pat: you've just added 10 years to my career!

Either that, or you've just erased 10 years from my resume. Hmmm....

If only she could erase two years from my waistline so easily! Looking back (again) at the two cast photos I posted earlier, I came to the startling realization that the first Blithe Spirit photo was taken only three months before my first trip to San Diego. Only three months before I was cast as Olive Madison in The Odd Couple (female version) and this photo was taken:

The lesson today, kids, is NEVER give up your cigarettes. Cough yourself skinny! Your wardrobe (and casting director) will thank you.

ARR! I'm Mad, I Tells Ya!

My pirate name is:

Mad Jenny Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name

Before and After: Eerily Similar

Looking at the cast photos from two productions of Blithe Spirit (Nashville 2004, Elvira; San Diego 2006, Ruth), I found it interesting that the casts arranged themselves similarly (if not as tightly) in them: Bradmans on the left, Madame Arcati and Edith right, Charles standing middle; Ruth seated left, Elvira seated right with grey rose(s).

To confuse the issue (as I am wont to do), I also found it interesting that the BEFORE picture (2004) was taken AFTER a performance and the AFTER picture (2006) was taken BEFORE one. I love that kind of thing. I'm weird that way.

The director made an appearance between the wives in the Nashville photo, accounting for the extra face in that one (or the missing one in the San Diego version, depending on your outlook) -- and Nashville's tall Dr. Bradman stood behind rather than to the side of his stage wife. She, in turn, marked where the good doctor should have been standing for parity quite nicely with her drink -- using her heretofore unknown Arcati-esque powers to predict this two-years-later comparison. Well done, Anne-G!

Still no reviews have been published (though rumor has it that critics were seated this weekend and may soon have fingers to the keyboard), and no news has come from the audition. And thus... the search goes on.

"Small Moves, Ellie"

It's hard to believe, but there are actors out and about in the world who prefer doing monologues to cold readings. Obviously, I am not one of those actors. In fact, I tend to think those actors are loony. Bats. Toys in the Attic. Cuckoo. However, as most big-time directors are equally out of their heads, the monologue has become the standard measure for earning a callback (consideration for casting) in the theatre world.

I hate monologues. I've said it before, I'll say it again. They are, however, a necessary evil if one wants to work outside of the community theatre circle. Up to now, I've been lucky; not one of my professional gigs was earned with a monologue. That luck has run out. And so, yesterday, I drove an hour north to subject myself to that most humbling of processes: the monologue audition.

To say that I haven't earned any of my pro gigs with a monologue is true -- there are "cold read" opportunities out there -- but it doesn't tell the whole story. I have not completely avoided monologues. I have simply never been cast based on one. I'm dreadful at them, having the uncanny ability to turn three minutes of published material into thirty seconds of utter gibberish. It's spectacular, but not what the auditors are looking for.

This is why, whether I earn a part or no, yesterday's audition was a breakthrough for me. I managed to make three minutes' worth of material into roughly three minutes of something very similar to English. For the first time in my monologuing career, I was not immediately drop-kicked out the door amid gales of laughter, but rather asked to perform another piece, and then (as today's matinee will prevent my attending callbacks) to stay for a cold reading.

I have no idea how deep the field is in competing for the only part I'm age-appropriate for in this show. I may not stand a chance of being cast. And yet, I feel I've already won. I faced the monologue beast without running, and though I may not have beat him... I put up a good fight and came out alive. It's a good first step.

One day I'll kill the bastard!

Thursday Photo Challenge: Home

Once again, this is for fun not submission, but I couldn't resist. After driving more than 2,000 miles from Tennessee with only Frank Sinatrat for company, I took this shot when we finally made it "home" to San Diego in January. I think the little fella approved of his new bachelor digs. Little did he know he'd go right back out to the car! Oh well, That's Life!

Theatre: On Notice!

As the upcoming weekend will be full of theatrical adventures (nearly sold out performances every night and a dread monologue audition Saturday afternoon), I've decided to take a page (er, board) from Stephen Colbert's book (er, show) and put this whole crazy business On Notice! In no particular order -- and with tongue firmly in cheek, of course. ;)

After the Opening

The show has opened and we have all survived -- even if the set did not. Thus far no reviews have been published (as far as I know), but pictures from the show have been added to the theatre's website.

And so the steady decline towards closing begins. ;) Already actors, having found where others are getting laughs, have learned to step on them, add unscripted responses, and pull focus back to themselves.

Ah, thea-tah! God only knows why we love this endeavor so much.

But still, the search for the next project is on....

Now THIS I knew...

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

I'm a Talent!

You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life.

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

Amazingly Quick Changes

My mother forwarded me a link to this video of quick change artists on America's Got Talent. I don't watch the show... but even after 20+ years in theatre and a few quick changes of my own, I can't imagine the speed of these costume changes. A must see!