februariness

A couple of weeks ago I had to decide between several choices - there were different upcoming acting workshops I could take, plays I could audition for, etc. This has been the first month since July that I've had zero showbiz-related stuff going on. While I love constant immersion in the acting world, I will admit that a break has been nice (and much-needed). The craziness of going straight from Fiddler on the Roof into I Remember Mama took its toll, and while I wouldn't have changed a thing, it's been kind of nice to have some semblance of a life back, heh. I realized that going into another show right at this time probably wouldn't be best for me. The decision was still really difficult though, and knowing that auditions for one show are tonight is a little wistful-making, but...I feel like I made the right choice.

So in the end, I decided to take an acting workshop that the terrific Hallie Todd is offering. It'll be every Thursday for the month of February. The workshop focus is "Scene Study and Character Analysis" and it sounds amazing and different from the other workshops I've done. I'm excited to work with Hallie again, and also just to work on honing my craft more.

so much choreography

my head is going to explode

2008: a year in review

Just like in 2007, in 2008 I once again had exciting opportunities, many of which had been on my wish-list of things I wanted to do. In 2008, I:

• I had headshots taken for the first time.
• I participated in my first acting workshops - a local one taught by a community theatre director, and some invaluable ones by Hallie Todd and Glenn Withrow. I also received some private coaching sessions from Hallie.
• I danced in my first dance recital since I was five years old, and am still continuing dance lessons (jazz and hip-hop). Oh, and I took a hip-hop workshop at the beginning of summer, too.
  
• I did two just-for-fun projects that were completely spur-of-the-moment and were a reminder in a way of why I do what I do. Doing something simple with friends or cousins is the best way to make me love this all over again. So, with my younger cousin Adam I filmed another book trailer, this time of George's Marvelous Medicine (by Roald Dahl). I haven't edited and put it together yet, but I had a lot of fun experimenting with different shots and such when I filmed it. The other project was a short film called Start Voice that Traci, her sisters, another friend and I did. We wrote the script in a couple of hours and filmed it within a few days. There's a lot of problems with it, but I learned from the experience, and we had a heckuva good time making it.
• I played one of the leads in a musical (Fiddler on the Roof) for the first time. It was the most intense acting experience I've ever had. I'm so thankful for having played Chava.
• I was asked to be in a musical, audition-free, for the first time. I Remember Mama allowed me to play a completely different character from the roles I've had before.
• I finished filming my part in Color, and also helped out behind the scenes a bit with that. That was an amazing experience that helped me grow and learn a lot, too.
• Really got to explore film acting for the first time, with both Color and my workshops. I have a huge, huge passion for that, and hope to pursue that more in the coming year!
  

Wow. That's kind of a lot, now that I look at it all. Once again, I was incredibly blessed. God is so awesome....I can't wait to see what He has in store for me this year. It's not always what I expect or plan, but so many times it's even better than what I imagine.

IRMA: Finale...!

All seven performances for I Remember Mama went really well. There were no major catastrophes of any kind, and everyone had energy to do their best, even for the last Saturday which was a double-hitter (two performances). Going straight from Fiddler into IRMA was a huge commitment: totally worth it, so glad I did it, but I am definitely in the mood for a bit of a break at the moment. Then again, if something comes along, maybe not. *wink*

The family, as pictured in the local newspaper:
Papa and Mama (who were amazing):
Hugging Uncle Chris a bit, er, violently?:
Twins! Tina (Mama) and I. We were sisters in the play, and she's like an aunt to me in real life:
Lacy who played Katrin, co-star (along with Mama) and sometimes-narrator of the story:
Natalie! (She played one of my nieces, Christine.)
Talking with my hands, as usual:
You've already seen my first costume, but I thought I'd show you the others (minus my last outfit; a pink dress which I don't seem to have any pictures of, sadly):

With Aunts Jenny and Sigrid:
With fiance Peter Thorkelson:
The Aunts again:
We had such a tight cast (thanks largely to knowing everyone straight off from Fiddler). There was no keeping secrets from anybody, that's for sure. ;) People brought little gifts or made cookies; if someone wasn't getting any flowers somebody else brought some in for them. It's going to sound enormous cliche, but...we were seriously like a big family. Brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and Mama and Papa. Such fun. I miss everybody. Especially Sarah/Aunt Sigrid (we pantomimed songs together backstage and talked about yummy books, like Shannon Hale's) and Meredith (co-stage manager/Hodel in Fiddler - I loved getting to know her better) and actually I shouldn't have started this list because I might as well list everybody. I love 'em all.
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to be in I Remember Mama. I grew as a performer, played a type of role I hadn't ever done before, and had a fabulous time. Joy.