American Idol TRIPLE Update

Missed a week of AI becauseo of Music Man (thankfully my parents taped it)so there is a lot of ground to cover. THREE WEEKS worth of performances!


Last week Stefano went home. Very happy about that. Hs performance last week was the weakest of the bunch and generally his weakest overall. Duirng top 8 week he sang a song from a movie I wasn't familar with Boomerang. It was slightly better but not by much. Which is unfortunate since a majority of his perofrmances have been consistant
Two weeks ago Paul went home. He was not one of favorites.

This week I predict Jacob will go home.




Top 8 Week Theme: Music From The Movies
Last week's theme: Songs 2006-Present
This week's theme: Carole King





*Missed full performance. Rating is based on snipit shown when they review the phone #s





Ratings

Scotty
Top 8 Week: 10

I Cross My Heart by George Strait Not familiar with this song or the movie that it's from but he nailed it.

Last week *8
This week: 8 (solo) 10 (Duet)
Total: 36
Lauren

Top 8 Week: 8
Song: The Climb by Miley Cyrus from The Hannah Montana Movie
This song was an excellent fit for her. She sang it beautifully
Last week 9
This Week 10 (duet) 8 (solo)
Total: 35
James
Top 8 Week: 6
Heavy Metal (missed movie it was from and artist) He was in his element but I didn't like this performance and thought it was over the top.
Last week 8
This Week 9 (solo) 9 (duet)
Total: 32
Jacob 6
Top 8 Week 8
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel from Pursuit of Happiness He did fabulous with this song. Wonderful rendition.
Last week 9
This week 6(solo) 9 (duet)
Total
Haylee
Top 8 Week 6
Song Call Me Blondie
Last Week 9
This week 9 (solo) 10 (duet)
Total 34
Casey
Top 8 Week: 10
Artist Nat King Cole Song:Nature Boy
Last week 10
This Week 10 (duet) 9 (solo)
Total: 39

Casey and Scotty have been pretty consistant throughout the whole compettion and continue to impress me. I missed Scotty's song last week so I can not give an accurate review of this performance. This week he sang You've Got A Friend. I liked how he broke out of his comfort zone. He did a wonderful rendition of my favorite song by James Taylor. Casey gave three outstanding performances. Last week's rendition of Harder To Breathe by Maroon 5 was stellar as was his duet with Haylee of I Feel The Earth Move. They complimented eachother really well. I missed the title of his solo song but I loved how he stuck wit the jazzy feel it did the song justice.
James is next in my rankings. Randy came out with a kind of surprisng comment that he could win the whole compettion. Overall he has been pretty strong (and once again consitant) through most of his performances. Last week he sang Muse's Uprising which I think really fit his rock and roll persona well. This week he toned things down a little bit with Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Beautiful rendition and a lovely dedication to his wife. I enjoyed the duet he and Jacob did but didn't quite see how the song Tell Me Something Good fit the Carole King repetroie. Very much enjoyed. The duet could pontetially save Jacob from elimination too bad it wasn't counted as part of the voting because his solo was really not up to par this week and certainly did not top last week's performance of Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross by any means.
Haylee and Lauren have not really been my favorite girls of the bunch but since Pia was eliminated three weeks ago I feel forced to choose one of them. Over the the course of the compettion both of them have grown as performers and have for the most part remained consistant with their performances. Last week Lauren and Haylee both sang songs I am not familiar with Born Today by Sara Evans and Rollin In The Deep by Adele. I guess this proves how little I listen to the radio. Both performances were good. This week I enjoyed both Haylee and Lauren's solos as well as their duets with Scotty and Casey. Haylee sang Get Up which was a very upbeat song and had me wanting to get up and dance. Lauren sang Where You Lead one of my favorite songs by Carole King. She did an amazing job with it. She and Scotty did equally as well with their duet of Up On The Roof.

My LAtest Fan Fiction- Creepy Charlie

Creepy Charlie
A Music Man fanfiction

Note: The following fan fiction is Marian Paroo's first person reaction to her encounter with Charlie Cowell. I find Charlie Cowell's character to be kind of sketchy and creepy. I do not own rights to any Music Man characters.

"I'd like to spend an extra five minutes on you girly-girl."
That very line still makes my skin crawl. I didn't much appreciate being called girly-girl. I played mind games with him for a little bit but I certainly had no plans to get to know him any better. I don't feel the least bit sorry that he missed his train. He'll catch the next one. I think he's worrying too much about losing his job. Sure anvils have a limited appeal but he wasn't trying to sell me anvils. He was trying to sell me the belief that Harold is a swindler and a fraud. Something I refuse to believe even for a moment. I kissed him mostly to shut up so he would stop talking trash about Harold. His breath tasted of tobacco and I almost vomited.
What if it really is all true though? I don't know weather to believe Charlie or Harold. I can't even trust my own heart with my feelings for Harold. Trust is important though. I want to trust Harold but if what Charlie said is true how can I tell that the citizens of River City haven't been conned into some fantasy.
Should I tell Harold about this? Shouldn't I?

Thought for the Day- The Voice

Move over American Idol there's a new talent contest in town. For the past hour I have been watching The Voice on NBC and I like what I see. What makes this show stand out from American Idol is that at first the judges don't see the performer only hear them and then put them on teams and then work with them to better develop their voices. I first got wind of it through an email I recieved this morning from Rebecca Loebe a singer who performed at NEC throughout my time there. I was not familar with the song she sang but she did an amazing job with her interepertation of it.

As much as American Idol is improving this year I feel it has seen its day. Shows like The Voice and The Sing Off need to have a bigger following. I discovered The Sing Off a year and a half ago and fell in love with it. The Voice will have that same effect on me i do believe.

Draft of a Music Man Fanfiction

This is a first draft of a Music Man fan fiction I am writing. Currently it what we call a oneshot which means it is a one chapter fiction that focusses on a certain character pairing that could pontentially be furthur expanded upon. Suggestions on how I could expand on this is most welcomed and appreciated as I struggle with this a little bit.


Helping Winthrop get out of his shell
A Music Man Fan Fiction
Author's note: Set a few years after the events of Music Man take place. Winthrop and Amarylis are now high school sophomores. I do not own rights to Music Man characters or quotes. Enjoy!
Amaryllis: I'm having a party on Saturday. I'd like it if you could come.Mrs. Paroo: Well, Amaryllis asked you to her party. Are you going or not?Winthrop Paroo: NoMrs. Paroo: No what?Winthrop Paroo: No, thank you.Mrs. Paroo: No thank you, who? You know the little girl's name.Amaryllis: I bet he won't say it.Mrs. Paroo: No, "thank you, WHO," Winthrop?Winthrop Paroo: No, thank you, AMARYLLITH!Amaryllis: Amaryllith! Amaryllith!
Amarylis often remembered back to when she was one of Marian Paroo's piano students. She was never at all shy to talk to Marian's brother Winthrop who was the same age as her. Winthrop was often afraid to speak because he had a lisp. Amarylis always had a dream of dating Winthrop and told Marian how she always wished for him on the evening star. Despite how Marian had told her there would be other boys for her to focus her thoughts on she always held out hope that her and Winthrop would become a couple someday.
Six years after the River City boys band was formed Amaryllis had grown into a beautiful young woman and worked for Marian Paroo as her teaching assistant which came in very handy to Marian as she was quite busy with raising her family. Winthrop was maturing into a man and though his lisp was gone he was still shy around girls in his school. Amaryllis noticed this and she was positive other girls in River City High School were noticing him too. She made it her personal goal to help Winthrop be less shy around girls.
"Winthrop I think it's time you stopped being so shy and got yourself out there into the dating world." Amaryllis suggested one afternoon while they were doing algebra homework.
Winthrop gazed at her slightly annoyed. Marian and his mother we constantly saying the same exact thing to him. She was the last person he would have expected to be giving him this kind of advice.
"Why should it be your concern?" he asked
"Well because I think you're a nice boy and you have a lot of good qualities."
"Like what?"
"Caring kind considerate and you've become rather good on the cornet since the boy band started up."
Winthrop smiled at the last comment. "Thank you Amaryllis, that's nice of you to say."
"What's got you so nervous about meeting other girls?"
Winthrop thought back to Marian's experiences before meeting Harold Hill and also the events that went on during their courtship and also what happened when Zaneeta Shinn and Tommy Diljas first started dating.
"Oh you know there people in River City. They don't when to stop with the rumors. I mean look at Tommy and Zaneeta.. it took them awhile to release the fact that they were dating. They practically had to sneak behind Mayor Shinn's back."
"Well your situation is a little different. I happen to know for a fact that quite a few girls in our class happen to think you're cute."
Winthrop blushed.
"Really?"
"Yes, really, I wouldn't hurt if you talked to them and got to know them."
Winthrop considered this for a moment. There were a few girls in his music class he thought were cute.
"And you want to know something else Winthrop?"
"What?"
"I like you too."
"You do?"
It was Amarylis's turn to get shy.
"Yes. I do.
"How long have you liked me?"
"Ever since that day when we were 10 and I asked you my birthday party."
"Really?"
"Yes. I always wished on the evening star that you'd share the same feelings for me but your sister talked me out of it."
"What does my sister know about love? She never dated anyone til she met Harold Hill."
Amarylis smiled. She knew that was a true statement.

A void to fill

So now that Music Man is over I feel there is a void. However I am easily making the transition in to focussing on my next projects. I have two big projects to work on. One which is a collaoborative effort with my mom, Toby Tarnow and Andrew Cass. This collaboration is Pincess KIM The Musical a musical based on my mom's two children's books Princess KIM And The Lie That Grew and Princess KIM And Too Much Truth. I am very excited about this project and hope you blog followers and all subsequents readers of this blog who read the entries once the get imported into facebook will also follow the blog for that show http://princesskimthemusical.blogspot,com. I am also going to be writing a play about gay bullying. I actually haven't fully decided yet if the play is going to focus on gay bullying or focus on the more general aspects of bullying and how it can be prevented and perhaps write a one act about someone who is gay who is bullied. Hopefully if my friends who are gay are comfortable with talking about thier experiences then I can get some good feedback from them about their experiences. I feel bullying is a prominent issue in our society which needs to be addressed. Once I write the play my goal is to have it performed by either Riverbend Youth Company or in local school systems so that awareness to bullying can be raised and hopefully be prevented. Coming up in the near future is my freelance job with Summer Theatre In Meredith Village. Very excited about this.

As far as auditioning goes that may have to be put on the back burner. We'll see if my schedule will allow to me to audition for Oaklahoma in January. I'm hoping it will. :)

Summer 2011 Viewing Schedule

Summer 2011 Viewing Schedule

Aside from the shows that are set in stone everything else is subject to change due to budget and scheduling. Shows set in stone are in bold face print

June

Summer Theatre In Meredith Village- Guys and Dolls

Ogunquit Playhouse- Summer of Love

Seacoast Rep 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

July

Summer Theatre In Meredith Village- Man of Lamancha, Hairspray

Milford Area Players: August Osage County

Ogunquit Playhouse: The Music Man

Weathervane Theatre- Legally Blonde

August

Arundel Barn Playhouse- I Left My Heart

Maine State Music Theatre The Wiz

New London Barn Playhouse The Man Who Came To Dinner

Summer Theatre In Meredith Village- Cabaret, Buddy The Buddy Holly Story

Weathervane Theatre Muisc Man

Anyone interested in joining me on excursions feel free to email me. :)

My latest fan fiction

Throughout Music Man I threw around various ideas in my head for fan fictions througout the various scenes in the play. To add some humor into the fan fiction I added a small part into the story about the fire drill that happened during one of our performances though I know fire drills are not particularly meant to be funny. :) This is the general view of my character (a townsperson) throughout the play. I'm sure more fan fictions are to come. I have off for vacation this week so I will have more time to actually sit down and write something

A Town’s Person’s Views
A Music Man Fan fiction in the view of a townsperson

Author’s Note: I was recently in a community production of the Music Man as a townsperson. The following fanfiction is subsequent thoughts on things that happen throughout the play from my character’s point of view. These are mostly short vignettes that may be expanded upon at a later time.

With A Capital T and that rhymes for P
(takes place while Ya Got Trouble is sung)

It is July 4th today. A new stranger has arrived in town. He claims to me a music professor and that he wants to start a boys band. He claims that this will get the River City youth out of the trouble they seem to be in. Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention but all the young boys I babysit for don’t seem to get into any kind of trouble.

Leading the big parade
(Thoughts following 76 Trombones)

At the town gathering at the high school tonight Harold Hill showed up again. He seems to be really presistant about starting up this boys band. The kids seemed relatively excited about it. Everyone was dancing around and having a good time. Mayor Shinn did not seem to pleased about it thought. He takes these Fourth Of July celebrations too seriously I think. He needs to lighten up. Marian Paroo also left the gym in kind of a huff too. I wonder what got her so upset. Winthrop seemed to be getting really into the dancing so I can’t grasp why that would make her so upset.

Distraction
(Library scene)

On the way to the library I ran into Tommy and Zaneeta at the Candy Kitchen. They were in a heated conversation so I didn’t want to intrude. They seem to make a cute couple. After the incident with the firecracker at the 4th of July celebration I can tell that Mayor Shinn does not like Tommy at all. I wonder if he knows anything about this. I won’t be the first to say anything. I’m not the kind of person to spread rumors about people. Unlike most people in River City I like to stay out of other people’s affairs and keep to myself. At the library today Harold Hill showed up and it looked like he was trying to ask Ms. Paroo out on a date. Doesn’t he know you’re supposed to QUIET in a library? Jeely Kly! I can see why Ms Paroo was getting annoyed with him. He was causing quite a ruckus and the library was quite chaotic for a little bit. He seems to have people under some kind of spell. I don’t quite get what’s so intriguing about him. Apparently Ms Paroo doesn’t either. I wonder if she’ll eventually say yes to going out with him. Seeing them together as a couple would be quite interesting.

Fire Drill reaction
(Only pertains to my production of the show. This occurred during the Saturday afternoon performance right before the end of the first act)

Jeely Kly! Who would expect a fire alarm right in the middle of a show? Certainly not me or anyone else in River City (or the audience for that matter) It is surprisingly cold for spring time. What would even cause this to occur? Does anyone really know?
Author’s note: As it turned out the fire drill was supposedly caused by a malfunction with the popcorn machine. In this case the trouble that was caused in River City was caused with a Capital T and that rhymes with P but that doesn’t stand for pool . I’m impressed that I was able to stay in character during the fire drill

Wells Fargo Wagon

The Wells Fargo Wagon doesn’t come around very often so it’s always very exciting when it does. Most of the time people don’t really know what to expect when it pulls into town but this time River City was a buzz. The band instruments were supposedly on their way. Winthrop took us all by surprised when he sang. No one saw that coming at all. He has been mostly mute for two years. Mrs. Paroo and Marian were the most surprised as well. All the kids in the boys band received their instruments. I wonder how the band will sound.

Is he for real?
(Thoughts between the scenes when Charlie Cowell confronts Marian and before the chase scene)

Word on the street is that Harold Hill isn’t he’s cracked up to me. I heard from a friend that there’s another traveling salesmen in town named Charlie Cowell. Who sells anvils? They must really have a limited appeal because I’ve never heard of anyone else who sells them. Who would even buy them? What purpose would they serve? From what I understand Charlie told Ms Marian that Harold is a fake and that River City is the first town he has tried this boy band ploy of his in. I guess nothing has exactly worked out in other places. That makes me feel suspicious about weather or not there is going to be a boys band. I’m sure others will feel the same way.





And the Band played on
(Finale)

8 days later here all again in the auditorium. Everyone is concerned that Harold Hill has taken advantage of them. I definitely feel the same way. Since the incident occurred with Charlie Cowell confronting Marian Paroo things have been crazy. We chased him all over town til we finally captured him. We led him in handcuffs to the gym. Ms Paroo got on the podium briefly and talked about River City has changed so much and how we should all appreciate him for what he did. GET THE TAR AND FEATHERS all the men in community seem to be screaming. We were pleasantly surpised to actually see a band in full uniform come into the auditorium. We underestimated Harold Hill. I am disappointed in the way I jumped to so many conclusions about him and I’m sure others feel the same way. He’s not a fraud after all.

American Idol General Thoughts

I would say Season 10 of American Idol has exceeded my expectations. At first I wasn't sure how the dynamic would work with Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler being added to the judging panel but I have really enjoyed them as judges this season. I occassionally miss Sinon Cowell but not as much. Season 10 is already getting closer to the final stretch as this week we are in the top 6. The amount of talent this season has been diverse and evenly balanced between girls and guys. A treend I noticed the past couple seasons is that either a guy or girl has won with a guy or girl as the runner up. (Ie Last years winner was Lee Dewyze and the runner up was Crystal Bowersox. Season 8 had two guys in the top two with Kris Allen in first and Adam Lambert in second.)

The top 6 is: Casey, Haylee, Jacob, James. Lauren and Scotty. This week's bottom three was Haylee( who got sent back to safety, Jacob and Stefano. In honor of Music Man I used the think system when it came down to voting instead of actually phoning in the vote. I found that method to be as equally successful as phoning in the vote..only I used it more toward who was going to be eliminated. I was right! Stefano got eliminated. I feel that he should have gone home two weeks ago instead of Pia. Over the course of show not all of his perfromances have been consistant.

In my honest opinion I think Scotty James and Haylee will bei n the top 3. Other people's opinions may differ. Fellow Idol fans feel free to weigh in with yours.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Revised list of theatre related goals

So I am constantly setting new goals for myself everday weather or not they be theatre related. Since this blog is mostly theatre related we shall focus on those goals.
* For more information on this project please go to www.princesskimthemusical.blogspot.com

1. Take voice lessons. I had an idea of doing a one woman cabaret show. I want to make that as possible as I can and that would be the first step. Voice lessons will also help to better prepare for auditions that come about in the future,
2. Work on my play. Now that Music Man is over I can fully focus on writing my play on Gay Bullying. Once I write it and the script fully edited I want to try to see if I can work with Riverbend Youth Company or local high schools to get it performed in those places. Bullying has been a prevelent issue in the news for the past three years and my purpose in writing this play is to raise awareness so that way it can be stopped.
3. AUDITION!! Now that I now have another show under my belt my next step is to audition for more shows and see how the chips fall. Depending how far along I am with my play and where I am in the process on the collaborative effort I am doing with my mom Toby Tarnow and Andrew Cass* I will audtion for the Christmas show at the Amato Center in December. I also definitley want to audition for Oaklahoma when the auditions roll around in January.
4. See more shows at local theatres I haven't seen shows at yet. This is an ongoing goal. I am seeing Guys and Dolls by the Actorsingers on May 20th and am currently trying to figure out my summer viewing schedule. Anyone interested in going with me on excursions are welcome. I'm always looking for people to go to shows with :)
List includes
*Playing at more than one venue Please see entry titled Summer Lovin (will have me a blast) for full list of venues.
*Music Man
*Legally Blonde
Avenue Q
The 39 Steps
Crazy For You
Xanadu
The Marvelous Wonderettes

5. Take lessons again. By again I mean that I want to take piano lessons again. I took piano lessons in high school but had to give it up because I was too busy with other things. It also couldn't hurt to try out a new instrument.. like the guitar.

Youtube Video Clip of The Day- Family Guy Shipoopi

Since I am not allowed to post clips from my show on this blog because of copyright issues figured Family Guy's version of Shipoopi would be a good substitute. Enjoy!

Pre- Closing Show Reflections

I have a few minutes before I have to start getting ready for the matinee performance of Music Man. Thought I'd reflect on the show This show has been such an amazing experience. Overall I think I've grown as an actor. Looking back to Annie Get Your Gun I was very awkward on stage because I was uncomfortable with my character. I was able to grow into my character more with this shoe and also interact more with the people in the ensemble. Marian The Librarian was a bit challenging to learn at first but I slowly eased into it and that ended up being my favorite number in the show. My first big dance number as well. As I mentioned an earlier entry this has been my first show since Annie Get Your Gun and I can't beleive I took this long to get back into to the swing of being in shows. The cast was so welcoming and I had so much fun working with everyone. :) I definitley plan on auditioning for Oaklahoma next year. Yay for Rogers and Hammerstien! :) Thanks to Kevin and Dave for this amazing opportunity and the cast and crew for being so welcoming :) Backstage and cast party pictures will be up on facebook soon. Due to copyright laws I can't post video clips from the show on this blog. However, if you would like to see some promotional videos which Rich Sparks made please go here: https://picasaweb.google.com/sparks.rich/MusicManVideos# They are quite amazing :)

Updated 4/18/11 @ 10:02pm to include a few backstage pictures. The rest can be found in my Facebook album aptly titled Music Man. Other people took pictures backstage that I am in so I need to figure out how I am going to get them. Today I was singing Gary Indiana to myself all day running back and forth doing various errands around the hospital. I am already missing this show like crazy but to deal with the post-show blues I was changing the words to Gary Indiana around and inserting the location of the next place I am working ( which by the way is doing freelance work for Summer Theatre In Meredith Village. People should def come see shows there this summer.. thus I replace Gary Indiana with Meredith New Hampshire.)

The last time I dealt with post show blahs was after I left the Barn Playhouse 4 years ago and I think the biggest I had then was dealing with the fact that everyone was so far away. The good thing about doing a community show like this one is that while the post show blahs are still there I'll still see people around. My performances this weekend were dedicated to everyone I worked with at the Barn Playhouse. Though I have lost contact with quite a few of them all of the stuff they have done since we left New London whereever their individual paths havel led them continues to inspire me and is what keeps me going.

Moved IN

We have made the transition from rehearsing at Clark School to rehearsing at Souhegan within the past week. I must admit it is bittersweet for me to be performing at Souhegan. I have many fond memories from both perfoming in choir concerts and also being able to act in the same place where I got my start as technician. The show is starting to come together nicely. I can't wait for opening night on Thursday! :)

What's the origin of your name?

I don't remember the language it is derived from but my name means God is gracious.

Ask me anything

Thought for the day

6 days til opening night. Getting even more and more excited. :) Throughout the coursr of this show I feel I have really grown of an actor. If I compare this performane to Annie Get Your Gun at NLBP I would say that I've been able to experiment more with the character in the ensemble then I did during Annie Get Your Gun. That has made this show the most fullfillig for me, Bring it on TECH WEEK!! :)

Top 9- Rock and Roll Week Recap

Contestants who remain If highlighted in blue it means I'm predicting said person will be eliminated Casey Song: Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Artist: Creedance Clearwater Revival Rating out of 10: 10. Solid performance. Really loved his song choice. Haylee Song Take A Little Piece of My Heart Artist:Janis Joplin Rating out of 10: 9. Not familiar with this song but I thought it was a good fit for her and that she did very well with it. Jacob Song: Man In The Mirror Michael Jackson Rating out out of 10:9 He stayed very true to MJ's style. Really loved his emotion. Overall a great performance James Song: My Guitar Gently Weeps Artist; George Harrison He showed a more softer,sensitive side of himself with this performance and I love him for that. Very powerful and heartfelt performance Rating out of 10: Between 8. 5<~9 Lauren Song:Natural Woman Artist: Aretha Franklin Rating out of 10: 10: Did Aretha utter justice with her rendition. Flawless Paul Song: Folsom Prison Blues Artist: Johnny Cash Rating Out of 10: Between 8.5~>9 Not familar with this song at all but I enjoyed this performance a lot. It was one of my favorite ones of the night. Very energetic Pia Song River Deep Mountain High Artist Tina Turner Rating out of 10:9 She continues her track record of consistancy with amazing vocals. This song was a really good choice for her. Scotty Song: That's Alright Artist: Elvis Presly Rating out of 10: 9 Like Pia his performance remain consistany. I like how he was able to break out of his shell this week and thought this Elvis Presly song was a good way for him to do that. Stefano Song: When A Man Loves A Woman Artist:Percy SledgeRating out of 10 Between 6.5~>7 In the beginning I thought Stefano had a really good chance of making it to the finale. As of right now I am not sure. With tonight's performance included his performances in the past 3 weeks have been underwhelming. He has also been in the bottom three twice. I think there's a pretty good chance he could go home this week. Who got my votes: Pia and James Results: Bottom James Pia Stefano Who Went Home Pia Comments: In past seasons I would have blamed the judges for playing favorites when it came to contestant I didn't like. This week all the judges were in agreement that something was wrong with this result. Pia was the powerhouse talent of the girls this year. She has also been my top favorite female performer. I find Haylee and LAuren to be subpar in comparison to Pia. Stefano should have gone home. His performances in the past couple weeks have not good. Shame on your America for sending a true talent home! PLEASE NOTE: Due to Music Man tech week I will not be watching American Idol next week and I will also miss the upcoming episode of Glee on the 19th because I will be at a meeting. My next Glee/AI combined recap will be on April 26th.

Thought for the day

I have decided that from this point on I am going to be more active with auditioning for shows. Being involved in the PTA Play has made me realize how much I have truly missed everything about being on stage. I feel the need to point out that the last time I was in a show was when I was in Annie Get Your Gun at NLBP four summers ago. Four years is far too great of a hiatus to be away. Add another goal to list.. audition more! Get me name out there more. Perhaps once I get my own place I will be able to be active in the theatre seem where I ever I move to. Let's see where I end up working after Project Search is over. Nashua has tons of options. Manchester does too. So two goals starting after the PTA Play is done 1. Audition more 2. Work on writing my play on bullying Done for now. Time for bed.

Summer Lovin (will have me a blast)

Spring may have just started a week or so ago but in terms of going to see plays my mind is already preset to summer. The spring has a pretty short list of productions to view

• Les Mis Riverbend Youth Company


• Suessical The Musical Peacock Players


• NEC Movement Concert

My on going goal is to try to see a show at least one new theatre. Last year the new theatre of choice was Andy's Summer Playhouse in Wilton where I saw Dick Tracy. I am not sure if their schedule has been released yet or not but I defintiley plan on going back there to see a show. I also reacquainted myself with the Arundel Barn Playhouse in Arundel Maine at which the last time I saw a play was in 2006 when I saw Nunsense Last summer I saw Shout The Mod Musical which was a musical revue of songs from the 50s.

Aside from Summer Theatre In Meredith Village where I have season passes I hope to see a show at least one theatre in NH and one theatre in Southern Maine. Summer Theatre In Meredith Village's season includes Guys and Dolls, Man Of La Mancha, Hairspray, Cabaret and The Buddy Holly Story. They did Buddy Holly Story a few years ago but I missed it because I was in Italy so I am very excited about seeing that. Depending on budget and schedule I will see more than one show. I am also deciding if I am going to do tech work for The Producers with Riverbend Youth Company. The show is the second weekend in August and at this point I don't know what my schedule looks like in terms of vacations and such. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. August seems like a long time away from now.

The possibilties of where I can see shows are endless. Locally Peacock Players, Andy's Summer Playhouse and Milford Area Players are definite options. MAP is doing August Osage County which I am really excited about because when that show was in New York I didn't get the opportunity to see it.

Other options include

Papermill Theatre in Lincoln hasn't announced their schedule yet but they are certainly on my list. As is Winnipasaukee Playhouse in Laconia.

Ogunquit Playhouse: The last time I saw a play here was in 2005 when I saw CATS. Two shows there are doing that I really want to see are Avenue Q and Legally Blonde. I have a lot of songs from Avenue Q on my ipod and I enjoy the soundtrack. I have recently been adding songs from Legally Blone to my itunes and I am liking what I hear so far from that soundtrack too. My favorite song is probably Chip On My Shoulder. They are also doing Music Man which would be fun to see since I have never seen it on stage before being in it only seen the movie versions (both the original and 2003 remake)

NLBP: They have a pretty good line up this summer. They are doing two shows I have never seen performed before A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and The Drowsy Chaperone so those would probably be really good choices. They are also doing The Man Who Came To Dinner the week of my birthday so I might try to go see that.

Seacoast Rep: They are doing 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Hairspray this summer. I have missed the opportunity to see 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at other theatres because of scheduling conflicts so I hope to get the opportunity to see it in Portsmouth this summer. Hairspray should be a fun show to see too. I saw the national tour of that in Boston my senior year in high school and I loved it!

Weathervane Theatre: They have a good variety of shows. Music Man, Legally Blonde, Boeing Boeing and La Cage Aux Follles to name a few. Lots to choose from. Don't really get the chance to venture up to North Conway or theatres around that area very much so this will be a nice change of pace.

Barnstormers: One show they are doing that I have a huge interest in seeing is You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. I grew up with the Charlie Brown cartoon and comic strip and would love to see the musical version of it. My favorite song from the soundtrack is My New Philosophy.

Arundel Barn Playhouse: Their line up includes The Wizard Of Oz,A Tafetta Wedding, I Left My Heart (Musical Revue of Tony Benett songs), The 39 Steps and Crazy For You. Crazy For You was my high school's musical when I was a freshmen and it was hysterical. I would not mind seeing that again since I haven't seen it in awhile. The 39 Steps was another show that I didn't get to see when it was in New York so that puts it way at the top of my list.

Maine State Music Theatre: They are doing The Marvelous Wonderettes, Annie,Xanadu and The Wiz. I have never heard of The Marvelous Wonderetttes and have no idea what it's about. Might be something worth checking out.

So yes looking so very foward to the summer. Let's see where things end up budget and schedulewise.

Hotel La Putts

Just returned from NEC where I saw Hotel La Putts. A staged reading of a play that was written and directed by my theatre professor Wally Pineault. The show was preceded by a wonderful retirement dinner for Wally at the Country Spirit. It was wonderful to see all the people I did shows with at NEC again (both who were in the show and those who I saw at the dinner before hand) Nice to catch up with everyone! The cast consisted of current students alumni and commmunity members much like the Open Door shows that are performed during the summer do. In equal comparison to the Open Door shows there was a versatile amount of charcters. I am always amazed at how the people who play multiple characters keep their lines straight. The story is set in NH at a hotel run by the La Putts family which is run by Bud (Ian Allen 10') and Yvette (Shawna Holt). The hotel has been hit hard by the recession and is having trouble staying afloat until Harry "The Charmer" Warner (Jimmy Hawkers 08') comes in to the picture. Harry uses the hotel as a place to hold confrences but little do the La Puttes expect that they are being swindled and their hotel is being used as a main station for a drug deal. I don't really want to spoil the ending. I was laughing throughout the whole show though there were a few parts that had me on the edge of my seat in suspense.

Congrats and to the cast and crew on amazing ahow and Congrats to Wally on his retirement!

WOO!

My life has mostly been consumed with Music Man rehearsal. The show is going fabulous and really coming together very nicely. Last Sunday at rehearsal we had a costume parade and photo shoot. The pictures are up on Rich Sparks's website and they came out good though my eyes were closed in the picture I'm in. Next week the craziness to tech week ensues and the show opens in 13 days. WOOT!! So excited! Full update on the show to come on April 17th hopefully I will take pictures during tech week to compliment the entry.


For my March viewing schedule I went to see the Irish Music Show at the Amato Center and the Amherst Middle School Production of Dear Edwina Jr. My boyfriend is really into Irish music so when I heard about the Irish Music show at the Amato Center I jumped at the chance to go. I am not really too familiar with any Irish music so it was a new experience for me. A highly enjoyable one I might add, The show was a fundraiser for the Nancy 0 Fund a scholarship fund named in honor of a Souhegan theatre teacher who died of cancer in the early 90s when the school first opened. The fund provides scholarships to those who are interested in pursing the arts after high school. My favorite performances were the Irish Step Dances by Lauren and Hillary Gorgal and Whistlin Gyspy Rover by the Souhegan Valley Chorus. Dear Edwina Jr was a good show. It is a show about a show that is put on in the garage of Edwina Spoonapple where she gives advice to people. The show was directd by Jennifer Stover and Denise Jacobs. I had actually never heard of Dear Edwina before so I was excited to see this show performed. The cast showed a lot of versatile talent, some of which I have worked with on shows with Riverbend Youth Company and some who are currently in Music Man with me in the ensemble. My favorite songs were Sing Your Own Song/Up on The Fridge reprise, Hola Lola and Put It In The Piggy. Great job to cast and crew on an awesome show!


In other news after Music Man is over I am taking a break from auditioning and doing tech work to focus on my next undertaking which is writing a play. I have been doing research for about 6 months but have been so busy with the play and been seemingly distracted by writing fan fiction that I haven't had much time to focus on it. Bullying has been a prevelent topic in news lately and that's what my play is going to be about. I think bullying needs to be brought to the forefront so it in can be prevented. As news stories have shown it can have tragic outcomes. A bullying story that touched me recently was the suicide of Tyler Climente a Rutgers University freshmen who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after being bullied because of his sexuality. I feel gays are largely misunderstood by thier same sex counter parts and I hope the play I write will help people to realize that even though the may have different romantic feelings than us they are equal to us. Love should not be defined by who you love but by how much love you have for that person. I am hoping to talk to some of my friends who are gay and get some insight from them on their experiences with coming out, if they ever dealt with bullying and how they overcame it. When I was a freshmen at NEC The Laramie Project was peformed at my school and that play had a profound affect on me. Once I write this play and if it ever gets performed then I am hoping it will have the same kind of effect on people so bullying can be prevented in some way. This topic has a personal connection to me because I was bullied in high school. I have various learning diabalities and I had a lot of trouble fitting in because of them. Overcoming the challenge of being bullied definitley made me a stronger person. I have found it important throughout my life to not let the negative things define me.

Enjoy this April Fools day snowstorm everyone!