2 Weeks Till Showtime!!

Today was our first opportunity to work with the orchestra before moving into the theatre. The sitzprobe or “sit and sing” is the first meeting of the cast and orchestra to try and become one entity. One organism that creates a cohesive and exciting show. Today’s rehearsal was a good start. The cast was excited and I think it’s safe to say we had fun. If I am wrong, I do hope someone would correct me on that. At least I had fun. We met over at the Obi Studios in the south side of San Jose. It’s a nice looking place. In some past sitzprobes, or prova all’italiana as the Italians call it, the rooms were kind of cramped and usually get very warm very quickly. I wish we could sing here every time!

About this time in the rehearsal process, the tension begins to build because there’s only a very short amount of time to perfect everything that the staff has given us to work with. The little bit of time that’s left is when I try and refine or tweak or even change some of my goals in the scenes or tactics that I use to try and get what I want. It’s also really when I get the butterflies and the queasy stomach. Then, at night, I lie awake thinking about the show and stressing even if I know that I’ve done a ton of work and am solid on everything.

Then, magically, Opening Night is a breeze. It’s like all the anxiety that I am supposed to feel at that time is what I dealt with weeks before, so now I am good to go. Yay! But first I have to deal with it. And the sitzprobe is usually the point at which the slow tummy grumblings start to happen.

Now with only two weeks left to tighten and perfect this little gem of a show into performance level, all the people involved in the show must begin to put forth their focus. This is when we must utilize the suggestions and guidance that the staff have offered up for us to work with and sculpt and re-sculpt our characters until they are so much a part of us that a part of them lives in us even when we aren’t on stage. We must deliver at each precious rehearsal that’s left so that we know we have this in the bag. It’s okay to have fun, but when it’s time to work, we must be prepared. We simply must.

This sense of urgency permeates the cast usually and things begin to fit into the mold our fearless director, Meg Fischer, has made. So if I were to follow this analogy, I’d say that tonight was when we poured the show into the mold. Now, we have to get it to set. Woo to the Hoo!!!

With only two weeks left, the show is very nearly on the road…

And I suggest you get your tickets NOW!

Surviving is the hardest part of living…

In our broken economy, sometimes the necessities become the hardest things to obtain. A week ago, musician from the bands MEN and La Tigre wrote a column for the Huffington Post titled, I love my job, but it made me poorer.

Click the link to read the article. It’s a great read, but as an Artist I found it to be eye opening, unsettling, and disheartening.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, I was sent an event request that was asking for Art donations to present a benefit. The benefit is to raise money for an Artist’s funeral. The Artist, David Lastra, was one of the first people to help build the cool Empire Seven Studios on 7th Street in San Jose. The benefit will be held at the Studios on Saturday, October 15. Stop by and pick up some great Art for a great cause.

With these things in my consciousness, I am grateful for the job that I do have currently, even if it is well outside my comfort zone. I appreciate the flexibility that it offers and the support that the company has for the Arts. But my heart is completely in the Arts.

I have this grand wish to be able to support myself somehow by working in the field that I adore, but I worry so much that following a dream is more of a luxury rather than an option. It seems that as the classes divide, only those with the money will be afforded the option of dreaming.

As sad as it may seem though, I have always felt that money was an important part of it. I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve sent out to dance studios and acting companies to find out if they have any sort of scholarship opportunities for people in the same boat as me. The only company that responded with any sort of information was Zohar Dance Studio, for which I will FOREVER be thankful.

But, seriously, how does one pursue their passion if they don’t have the means? I had even sent an email to a columnist at Backstage magazine and got absolutely no response. Not many places want to talk about money. I understand that show business is exactly that, a business, but what do we do when talented people are to broke to carry on and all we have left are the rich pretty people that are more like puppets than Artists?

I appreciate what the “Occupy” protests are doing, because it’s an attempt to level the playing field. I would love to join them, but I have to work to be able to keep a roof over my head.

How are you handling this insane time in the economy? Are you finding it difficult to chase your dreams? Leave me a comment at the bottom of the screen. Tell me how you feel, dialogue is a good thing.

Dance Gear? Get it here…

On September 24th, from 8am-2pm, there will be a fitness wear sale over at the Zohar Dance Studios. I have been in need of some more dance wear. I don’t know how many of you are in the same boat, or if you just happen to enjoy getting new stuff to add to your collection, but when Daynee made the announcement I must’ve looked like a meerkat.

I hear that the selection is really good, and the seller doesn’t only have dance attire. They also sell some stuff to wear at the gym. Stop by and pick up some great gear at discounted prices. I know we all like a good deal, so the first place that I usually think of to shop is an online discount dancewear shop like Dancewear Solutions, Discount Dance Supply, or Dance Outlet.

The drawback of shopping online like this is that sometimes, I personally can never tell if I am going to like the feel of the fabric or if there’ll be enough stretch to something. Then, what happens if it is all wrong? Shipping something back is a beast in itself. I’ve even had to pay to ship something back a few years ago. Nowadays, the return shipping is a little easier, but it’s still a pain in the glutes if you have to exchange. So, why not skip some of the hassle and stop by the Zohar Dance Studios this weekend? You can touch and feel, maybe try on, I don’t know about that part for certain, but why should that deter you from coming on down. Not only will your purchase save you some green, but the company that is selling the merchandise will donate a portion of its proceeds to Zohar!

And while you are there, why not join the modern class that begins at 9:30. I think Lisa’s class is terrific. When I can make it, I usually try to attend the Thursday morning class. I can’t think of a better way to start my day off.

So come on out this Saturday from 8-2 and score some new gear. The studios are located at Cubberley Community Center at 4000 Middlefield Road next to the Charleston Shopping Center, between East Charleston and San Antonio Road. Click here for some better directions.

Hope to see you there!!!

Please forward this to anyone you think may want to attend. Thanks a million!!!

Kim Kay, You are a genius…

In my last post, I whined about not having a solution to look all slick and shiny in the hairdo department for H2$. I wrote of some of the various attempts that left me feeling so let down. I asked for your help, dear reader, and you did not let me down. I wanted to go from poofy and full to slick and shiny. Here’s how it went down.

Kimberly Kay sent me a link for the styling secrets for a mohawk. Egg Whites. Really? Well, let’s give it a try shall we…

This is my hair after a dance class and a drive down 101 from Palo Alto to Santa Clara…

So I got home around 11:30 or so and I debated if I should just go ahead and do this, or try and go out and run some non-specific errand. I always have to think about that decision on my day off. I think I get stir crazy in the house. Since it was a non-specific errand, I figured I should save some gas and the environment and just stay home.

At noon, I gathered the ingredients? No, tools? That’s not quite right either. Well, everything that I would need for this test. Three things: a blowdryer, a comb, and two egg whites. That’s it.

Wet your hair to help the egg whites absorb into the follicles. Make sure you don’t get it wet, otherwise you have a nice gooey mess. Too dry and you have to use a lot of the egg whites. I actually think I would have been fine only using a single egg. With a fork, beat the egg until it begins to mix together evenly. Next, add egg whites to hair until the hair feels slightly saturated. I found that by using my fingers, I could get it closer to the scalp and get better coverage. Style hair as desired then blowdry. If needed, comb hair while drying to help keep the look in place. Once the drying begins, simply hold the hair in its place.

Then Ta-da!! My wild mane of hair has been tamed.

It held in place for 6 solid hours! Of course I didn’t have a chance to do the “Sweat Test” to see how that will change the strength of the egg whites. The only down side that I found was that there was a slight smell to the egg whites. It’s not a bad smell but it’s noticeable. I am very excited to see how this will all work out once I actually get a haircut. At least for the time being I know that I can create a helmut with this stuff that will keep my unruly madness in place with ease. Thank you, Kimberly Kay for the idea.

One of the other suggestions I heard while at rehearsal the other day was to use Elmer’s White Glue. That’s a test for another day. Maybe I’ll try a mohawk with it…

Have you tried using egg whites for hair product? Did you have any success, failure, or other observations? For example, is there a long term benefit to using egg whites in your hair? Lemme know in the comments below.

As always, thanks for readin’!

Baby, Baby, I got the feelin’…

James Brown’s music has always made me want to dance. It’s infused with this energy that just fills every cell in me and either I have to sing or dance. But I gotta do SOMETHING!

Similar to the energy of the late, great James Brown’s music, is that of the cast of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, hereafter to be referred to as H2$, okay? That title is just too long to keep typing.

There is a lot of talent in this cast, and I for one am very lucky to be a part of it. Everyone is nice and has a sense of humor. I haven’t come across anyone that isn’t having fun. Our J. Pierrepont Finch, played by the mischievous John Eubank is a perfect blend of smarmy and charming. They make me want to dance and sing too! If there were enough people, I would say that my character definitely wouldn’t dance.

So as I am building my character and looking through the script, I find that I want to create a super ridiculous backstory for Bert Bratt. I have a ton of ideas, and I am always reading about playing the stakes at the highest point you can, but I am beginning to wonder to myself if they are too over the top. I’m sure if they are, our director will say I need to chill.

The look of the character is a whole other beast that is developing. I am trying to figure out how to get the “look” that the staff of the show are going with, but my idea is a bit extreme when it comes to the hair. The producer wants this:

Which I love, but my hair doesn’t do that. It just physically doesn’t do it. Also, no gel that I have ever found has the cement hold I would need to maintain a well groomed look after dancing what our choreographer says will be our deaths. I believe her words were: “You are gonna die.” So in order to get that tight to the scalp look on the sides like the picture above, I offered this:

The sides and back are shaved very close to the scalp. Now, I know that the shaved look isn’t appropriate, but after a week or so, the hair will fill in and be dark enough so that you can’t tell that it’s shaved until you are close up. Sadly, my producer swears that he can get my hair to work, even though I know after YEARS of trying to do it, I can’t. But, he’s shut that idea down.

I know the stylist on Mad Men uses American Crew products, but I’ve tried that and there is no way that it’ll hold after a single dance step. Let’s see Garnier is out. Bed Head holds well, but once you start sweating, there’s trouble. D:Fi is good but once you break the style by taking off a hat, for example, you have to reapply to readjust the misplaced hair. Short Sexy Hair is great for creating a spiky look, but it flakes and breaks easily. LA Looks, yeah, I am going WAAAYYYY back. No strong enough at all. Do they even still make that stuff? My sister once got my hair to stay for about 20 minutes. Once. She used her LA Looks gel, some mousse from a white can and a ton of Aqua Net. 20 minutes for all of that. Sad days my friends, sad days.

I am toying with the idea of glasses as well. Since I have to be clean shaven, I will look all of 20 or so. How does a 20 something become the head of the Personnel department of a giant corporation that quickly? Hopefully, I can find some mature looking ones that help and not hurt my case.

Have you found a gel that can withstand a hurricane? Please let me know, cuz I’ve tried a ton of stuff to no avail, as you can see. Suggestions are highly encouraged. Does your hair not do what you tell it to? Let’s share stories. Leave a comment below.

Have a great day!!