My Adventures in Theatre So Far in 2012

Hello, all! I do apologize for being absent for so long. This year has been a whirlwind of busy-ness for me! Just a warning, in order to catch up with everything that has happened in the last few months, this post may be rather long. With that said, I'll start with the basics...

Lola & I are now living with my good friend Josh. After my lease finally being finished in that disgusting apartment we were dwelling in, we've been renting a room from Josh until we can find a decent place that we can afford. I'm very thankful that Josh has been so good to us during this time. He truly is a blessing of a friend.

Work is slow right now. We're closed to the public, due to construction. I made a gown. It's pink & frou-frou, & I love it!

My brother Jason (whom we used to know as Paul) has reappeared into my life. After years of my sister & I searching for him, he managed to find us on facebook. I have been overjoyed to be in contact with him again. I now know where all of my siblings are, & that feeling (after not knowing for so long) is a great relief.

I health & fitness news, I'm running my first 5K in six days! Dayna, Kristy, & I are all participating in the Color Run. We'll see how that goes. Haha.

I won't even begin to get into romance, because, well... I don't even know what's going on there! (More on that in a later post, I'm sure.)

And now... Theatre...

2012 has been a wonderful year for me, theatrically speaking. I have just closed my third show of the year, & will be opening my fourth in just a couple of weeks. I have been so blessed to have been welcomed the way I was into the Birmingham theatre scene. So much so that sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the sweetness of the people I've had the pleasure of working with. I can't wait to continue this journey.

Holy Ghosts
My first show in Birmingham was Birmingham Festival Theatre's production of Holy Ghosts. My character was Muriel Boggs. I had the pleasure of working with a very sweet group of people, including one person I'd been a fan of for a couple of years now. This show meant a lot to me, because it proved to me that I could earn a part on my own; that I didn't have to know (or date, or be propositioned by) the director. This was huge for me, because I had recently ended a years-long on-again-off-again "relationship" with someone who, though he would tell me that I was talented, never fully believed in me. He always treated me like I needed his help, like I couldn't do anything on my own. And until this point, I believed him. Scoring this role helped me to acknowledge that I can play with the big kids, & not just because I'm dating one of them. It also helped me to gain a little bit of confidence in my singing abilities. I had a song at the end of the show, along with a cast-mate who played the guitar, & I was terrified at first. But after the show every night, I would receive such sweet compliments. It seemed almost surreal at first. Haha. And while I won't be auditioning for any musicals any time soon, it was a nice boost of confidence & a nice thing to think that maybe one day I'll venture into that territory (after many vocal lessons, of course!).

Cyrano de Bergerac
Next was Cyrano de Bergerac for Park Players. I was the Orange Girl, turned soldier, turned nun. This was also my first venture as fight captain, which has been a goal of mine for a while now. Cyrano was.... interesting. I did enjoy doing a show outside (which was a new experience for me), working with the people involved, & getting to sword fight! Josh even bought me my very own rapier!!! But it was definitely a test in patience. I would receive notes from other actors (one of my BIGGEST pet peeves as an actor). As the fight captain, I even had one actor give me fight notes. IN THE MIDDLE OF RUNNING A FIGHT. And he wouldn't just say them, he would bark them at me, as if I were a child he was scolding. Not cool, bro. I can't say that this entirely surprised me, though. Honestly, I'm pretty sure he thought of me as just some silly little girl who wanted to be in the skit. He did a lot of talking down to me. And part of me thinks maybe he didn't even realize it. You know, some people are just like that. But over all, it was a fun experience, & I enjoyed the friends I made during that process. What I took away from Cyrano is how to deal with certain types of people in theatre, that not every show I'm involved in will be a walk in the park as far as the process & people go, & that you can be on the board of a theatre company, yet still know nothing about theatre etiquette.

Second Samuel
I was brought on late as Ruby for Park Players' Second Samuel. I felt like a total outsider at first, coming in a few weeks late to a cast who already knew each other. But, let me tell you, they were so warm & welcoming to me, that it didn't take me a week to start feeling like part of the family. I have made some of the sweetest friends because of that show. And it was, by far, the hardest show I've ever walked away from. We closed three days ago, & I still get a little emotional when I think that I will not be sharing the stage with such a sweet, fun, talented group of people this weekend. This show, cast, & crew has helped to instill confidence in my ability to hold my own with a very talented group of people. It has also helped me to let go of that ridiculous 'I don't cry in public' attitude (at least while on the stage) & let the real tears flow during a performance. I have learned so much more from that show, but I can't even find the words to describe it. Second Samuel was a blessing for this actress, & I will be ever thankful to have been a part of it.

The Graduate
Next up is The Graduate at Theatre Downtown. I have the role of Elaine. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this show! Landing the role of Elaine is a huge achievement, in my eyes. I am thankful daily to have been cast, that Dianne (the director) has the faith & trust in me to do this role justice. Having this role has - once again - helped to build my confidence as an actress. Now, when I say 'confidence,' I absolutely do not mean 'ego.' I'm still just as nervous as ever that I'll disappoint, or that I'll mess up this opportunity. Honestly, I'm still in a sort of shock that I was cast. But I'm working with a very uplifting group of people (just like in the last show), & they help to assure me that I'm going in the right direction. Everyone during this rehearsal process has been so positive & so supportive of one another. This is my second show in a row with such wonderful circumstances. Another reason I'm so excited about this show is that I'm getting to strip down to my undergarments. Haha. I'm not sure why, but it's always been a goal of mine to be in a show in my underwear. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I'm getting to check something off of my list! I can't wait for you all to see this production. I only hope I can keep up with the rest of this talented group!

I suppose I'll sign off for now. More to come soon. I have other things I'd like type about.

Love Love Love!!!

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Untitled #3 by lacepearlsnlove featuring floral tops

Back in Action

I apologize, my lovely readers, for being away for so long. Everything got so hectic all at once, & I didn't have time to update. Or really anything interesting to update about. This won't be a long post. I just wanted to pop in & say hi. I'll post more either later today or sometime this week. For now, here are a couple of pictures that were taken yesterday:

A picture with Miss Lola.

With Jonathan (aka - my boyfriend!) after getting coffee at O'Henry's yesterday. He's kind of precious.

Anyhow, more will come later. Sorry to have been absent lately. You'll be hearing from me more steadily from now on.

Love Love Love!!

Roll Tide!!! National Champs 2011!!!!

Well, 2012 continues to out-do itself!

Last night, Bama won our 14th national title! Roll Tide Roll!!! I watched the game with my parents & best friend, Dayna. Bobby made steaks for us, & we had baked potatoes, pasta, salad, & garlic bread to go with them! It was quite a wonderful night!

 I was cast in a show, & we start rehearsals this Sunday! I'm super psyched about doing a show again! I was quite surprised that I got the part, considering that I had to sing during the audition! Haha.

Went to a basketball game this weekend, for the first time in a while. A very cute, very sweet someone took me to the Bartow Classic. It was a good game, but UAB ended up losing in the end. Also went to Railroad Park in Birmingham for the first time this Saturday. I really enjoyed it. I'd like to take Lola there one day.

I don't really feel like typing a lot, so I'll share some pictures now.

My new Beaker iPhone case!

Saw this while walking around downtown Saturday. I love this movement.

The Biffers & I on New Years. 

The new shoes I just got in from ShoeDazzle. I love them! 

And last but not least, a lazy picture of Miss Lola Reese.

That's it for this post. Kind of boring, I know.

Love love love!

2012 = The Best Year Yet!!!

That's right, folks! I'm back to blogging! Sorry about my absence for a while. I was taking some time to deal with some personal issues, & I didn't want to make them public. NOW, however, I'm back & feeling more balanced than I have in quite some time!

I hope you're all having a fabulous year so far! I definitely am enjoying myself! The only resolution I set this year was to have a better year than 2011 (because let's face it: 2011 -except for getting Miss Lola- pretty much blew), & I've definitely been doing splendidly so far! Did any of you set resolutions this year? How are you doing with them?

The break I had over the holidays certainly did me good! I had time to just slow down, I made a lot of gifts (& got behind & am still making IOU gifts! haha! how horrible is that?), & got to spend a great deal of time with my family & my friends. Spending time & venting to Dayna, my best friend, was a great deal of help. (Thank you, pretty lady!) Seeing girlfriends I don't get to see often (Lauren, Daina, Jessica) was a real treat, as well! I got rid of some of the toxic people in my life, too. Hell, a couple of them even got rid of themselves for me! (If there is ANYthing that 2011 taught me, it's that I'm a bit generous with the word 'friend.') Fortunately, I had a break for a couple of weeks there to get some clarity & regain my sanity! Over-all, now I'm doing much Much MUCH better than I was when I left for the holiday break!

New Years Eve was amazing! I couldn't have picked a better way to spend bringing in what's setting itself up to be the best year of my life!

Dayna & I are doing a 21-day-challenge-cleanse-thingy we found on Pinterest. I'm on day three, & so far I've been very good! (Evil eyes at whoever is responsible for the bowl of candy on the table at work!) I started a new exercise plan tonight, so we'll see how that goes. I'm pretty pumped about it - no lie! As far as running goes, I haven't been running in quite a while, so I've started myself on a very slow-go plan. It's got goals that are realistic.

I'm starving, so I'm going to make dinner. I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous evening!

Love Love Love!