Been on a bit of a hiatus from writing lately. I sort of had writer's block...or, "blogger's block," as the case may be. And I was just tired. This point in the summer can start to feel monotonous if you let it...get up, hang around, go to the theatre, do two shows, clean the theatre, go home. Repeat. I sort of lost my focus for a little while, as good as my intentions may be as a performer. I felt myself spending a lot of time "out of the moment" and sort of not really present. So I stopped bringing books to the theatre for a few days, and just allowed myself to tune back in to being there, at the theatre, doing what I love. It was the kick-start to my zen that I needed. :) It also got rid of my "blogger's block." So here we are.
Also, sometimes I forget about things until later. And then I write them down. So some of these things didn't necessarily happen this last week, but they did happen at some point, and the important thing is writing them down. So here you go. A few highlights from the last few weeks:
Anya fell on her bum while attempting to help Max mop. She may have also been dancing.
Jacob C did an AMAZING cover during "Beauty and the Beast." There's a short scene between him (as Lafou) and Belle, and during that scene, his wig fell right off. The audience burst into laughter, and Jacob immediately said, "It's true. I wear a wig!" After some more laughter, he added, "DON'T tell Gaston!" Hannah (who plays Belle) was DYING of laughter, and Jacob finished with, "This never happened. If you need to take this scarf as collateral..." We all stood backstage and laughed, and when he got offstage, we all applauded him. I felt so proud of him and his brilliance. He said later that the second his wig came off, he panicked and had NO IDEA what to do, but suddenly found himself talking. Apparently, his subconscious brain knew exactly what to do.
Syd's "Harry Potter" prank during "Fiddler." There's a point during the "Chava dance" that she moves a flat, and she usually stands at the curtain and makes a face at Eliza, who's onstage. Syd found the Harry Potter puppet pal that was left up in the dressing room from variety show auditions, so she decided that Harry would be at the curtain to greet Eliza. However, she had to get the stuffed Harry Potter (which was the size of a pillow) down the stairs, through the cast hallway, through the back tunnel, through the lobby, and into concessions without Eliza seeing it. So she held it between her knees, threw her skirt over it, and awkwardly waddled the entire journey. Like the Chinese magician in The Prestige. And it worked!
Taylor and the moth in her bloomers. One night after the show, there was a huge moth flying around the girl's dressing room. Half of us were freaking out, and Taylor was chasing it around, saying, "Moth! Moth! Calm down! It's okay! We can talk about it!" She finally caught it in her hands and was about to take it outside, when she realized all she was wearing was her undershirt and her huge bloomers. So she lifted the waist of her bloomers above her shoulders, and in this strange outfit, she hobbled down the stairs and set the moth free.
Playmill prom! A highlight of every year. It's a late night, since we do it at the theatre after the shows, but it's worth it. We draw names for dates (except married couples) and everyone dresses up in costumes. Here's who was present at this year's prom.
Justin D and Maggie - Gru and Agnes from "Despicable Me" (crowned Playmill Prom King and Queen)
Stacey and Max - Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy
Eliza and Mason - Illegal immigrants (swam over from Cuba)
Jacob and I - Dr Horrible and Penny
Misha and Scotty - A geyser and a buffalo
Sydney and Davis - The royal couple Kate and Will (with baby in tow)
Nicole and Justin M - Beyonce and Jay-Z
Tanner and Taylor - a Mormon missionary and his investigator (which was awesome because Tanner is the only non-Mormon in our cast)
Jerry, Luke, and Anya - Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea
Dave and Cam - Scott and a geyser
Amanda and Jacob S - Wilson and the castaway
Roger and Heidi - Asian tourists
Boyd - The Chaperone
(How awesome is this cast?)
Making our concessions goal! At the beginning of the summer, Roger told us that if we broke $2000 in concessions, he'd take us all out to dinner, or do something equally celebratory. We totally made that goal over a month ago, so we set a new goal of $2500. Which was pretty tough. But I help count the concessions money most nights, and after the 8:30 intermission a week or so ago, we had about $2470. So all of us bought fudge and t-shirts, adding money to the concessions pile even while Justin was counting it. The final total: $2499.73. So Jacob Squire laid down a dollar and said, "I'm buying a Dole Whip!" Which brought our total to $2500.73. We all ran through the hallways and all through the theatre, shouting and yelling, and Roger made the largest, most important Dole Whip of the summer. Dave said "I feel like dancing on the rooftops!" Then we remembered that we had the rooftop set piece from "Fiddler," so we ran out to it and Dave climbed onto it and danced a celebratory dance. As a reward, the Merrills are taking us all for a weekend in Bozeman. We're staying at the Come On Inn, which sounds absurd, but is actually AWESOME. When we were delivering posters to Bozeman, Jacob C, Scotty, Joe and I all explored it. All the rooms surround one central landscaped area, full of hot tubs, waterfalls, fish ponds, etc. I'M SO EXCITED. Next week, baby.
Camping at Targhee. A few of Jacob S's friends came to see the shows, and not wanting to pay for a hotel, opted to camp. Jerry, Jacob C, Syd and I all joined them. Highlights included awesome tinfoil dinners that we were really impatient about cooking, and a marshmallow flying off a roasting stick with the timing and arc of an America's Funniest Home Video. I like hanging out with theatre people because I can usually immediately form a friendship...they're part of my "tribe," so I don't have to worry about the conventions of any other tribe. Does that make sense? Anyway, here's to you, Will, Anthony, and John. It was a pleasure to meet you.
One of the sad things in the last few weeks is the absence of Henk and Jacqueline. Our "grandparents" from Holland were here for over a month, and we all came to love them so dearly. I hated to see them go. They became such a familiar presence that I'm sometimes struck by their absence. I miss the way Henk says "darling" and Jacqueline's sweet smile. Next year, Henk and Jacqueline...even if Jacob and I aren't at the Playmill, we can't wait to see you.
So as not to end this on a sad note, here are two quotes to make you smile:
"I HAVE to wet my hair down every night so that I don't look like a...wildebeest." --Mason
"I think baby Charlie and I have a lot in common. We both get upset when we're hungry. We both look at our thighs a lot. Sometimes we don't know when our tongues are hanging out." --Taylor
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