Monthly Archives: April 2012

Thunder

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Thursday night I went to see Thunder Knocking on the Door, my first show at the world renown Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

My dear friend, blogger buddy, and perpetual theatre date Allyson won two free tickets to opening night and was kind enough to invite me along for the adventure (because Lord knows there was no way I could have afforded a $61 ticket plus $10 parking), so we said HECK YES to free theatre and away we went!

Thunder Knocking… = super cool script.

Lately, I’ve been really into unusual and fabulous scripts that have something a little different and unexpected to offer. This isn’t a new show by any means, but it was new to me and a refreshing breath of fresh air from the standard vanilla musical.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the show taken from a TheaterMania review by David Finkle of a 2002 production:

The story, such as it is, presents Gertha Dupree, also known as Good Sister, whose late husband, Jaguar Dupree Senior, once bested a blue-eyed shape-shifter called Marvell Thunder in a guitar-playing contest. Miffed and vengeful, Thunder arrives some years later to insinuate himself into the Dupree household; here Gertha lives with daughter Glory, who is blind as the result of a car accident. A frequent visitor to the humble household is Dregster Dupree, twin brother to Gertha’s ex-husband and now Gertha’s longtime lover. Jaguar Dupree, a prodigal son, has also returned after forfeiting one of two charmed guitars his father left him and his sister. He’d lost it in a guitar contest that Thunder instigated. Now Thunder is knocking on the Dupree door because he wants the second guitar. In order to take possession, he challenges Glory to yet one more face-off–but not before he has returned her sight, and the two have discovered they have eyes for each other.

The questions Thunder Knocking on the Door means to raise are: Will the three Duprees survive Thunder’s threat? Will Glory beat Thunder in the contest and remain able to see? Will Gertha confront whatever it is that keeps her from committing to Dregster? Will Thunder, who is slowly and literally turning to stone, be able to reverse the disastrous metamorphosis? And will Jaguar overcome the unease he apparently feels as a promising rock-and-roller to proselytize for the blues as his dad did? {via}

I loved the bluegrass style music. I loved the humor. I loved the infectious energy. I loved the unusual and captivating storyline that dabbled in the supernatural. I loved that the cast played the story – larger than life characters, supernatural beings, and compelling circumstances – totally seriously instead of turning it into a cheeseball spoof (as it so easily could have become with a show of this nature). I loved the talent. I loved how loud and bright and flashy it was. Yet I loved the humanity of it all. And I loved the magic tricks.

Yeah, those magic tricks get me every darn time.

You should have heard the two of us gasping at Glory floating in mid-freaking-air, the flash of lighting fast complete costume change that took place onstage in full view of the audience in less than 1 second, and the guitar case that magically popped open when pointed to by Thunder. Now, we’ve both been in theatre long enough to know that each of these little gimmicks must have a perfectly logical explanation. But they were well hidden. And therefore perfectly unexpected and delightful!

But most of all, I just loved the story.

So, if you have the chance to see it anywhere, please do. It’s different and it’s fun and it’s sure to keep you on your toes.

{via – Photo: Sandy Underwood}

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Snippets of Daily Life

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{1} Monday night we went to a “Music in the Museum” organ concert in the rotunda of the museum center – a gloriously beautiful backdrop for a phenomenal instrument. Yes, we were the only people under age 75 there. Ted took organ lessons as a child and has always enjoyed organ music, the mechanics of the instrument, and Pipe Dreams – the Sunday morning organ radio hour. The organist, Frederic Champion, was a young guy, but a world renowned organ player living in Switzerland. The choirs of St. Xavier University and Trinity Episcopal church accompanied a few of his songs. The song with the female voices of the St. Xavier choir was just completely exceptional. It was hauntingly gorgeous and the notes just resounded so perfectly in the rotunda. Haunting and memorizing are really the only words for it. And it was a real treat watching someone actually play an organ – talk about a workout!!

{2} I know that he looks like, well, a Grinch, but he has always been fascinated by this beautiful, historic organ (a favorite of organists world wide) and had a really great evening, despite what his favorite shirt (a favorite of strangers world wide) and his face may say.

{3} My plants are flourishing! Well, at least my basil and tomato plant. The green onion stalks are thinking about growing and my cilantro just isn’t having it this year.

{4} A Chinese feast from our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Chinese place. Sometimes, you just need a huge Chinese feast, am I right?

{5} In sharp contrast to the image above, Easting Well is a great magazine – I love it!! Such delicious, healthy recipes and great meal inspiration. My other favorite publication as of late is A-Line, a magazine for the young, classy yet quirky local women of Cincinnati. It’s truly awesome. Someone please get me a subscription to it!

{6} My breakfast….chai vanilla yogurt with granola crunch and fresh berries, tea, and 1/2 a grapefruit. I adore my Monday and Wednesday mornings of (sometimes) peace, solidarity, and productivity (again, sometimes)!

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Queen City Underground Tour: Bosses, Breweries, and Burials

On Sunday we redeemed a half-off Groupon for the Queen City Underground Tour: Bosses, Breweries, and Burials through American Legacy Tours at the Cincy House on Vine Street downtown.

Although the tour actually had nothing to do with burials and we did not venture down into any kind of burial chambers as advertised, at least that I can remember, the tour was still excellent and we had such a fun time! It was definitely more packed than we expected (probably close to 75 people), but the two tour guides were always loud enough to be heard by everyone (which is normally one of my biggest gripes about group tours and tour guides), plus they were funny, knowledgeable, likeable, and clearly enjoy their work, which makes for a pleasant experience for everyone. The walking tour was about 2 hours and covered about a four block radius of Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine district. It was cool and windy, but being a Sunday morning the streets were quiet and the atmosphere was wonderful. I loved being able to go into (and beneath!) the beautiful old, historic, abandoned, boarded-up buildings from the 1850s-1900s that I pass every day on my way to work.

Cincinnati has such a rich and lively history, so it was great to learn a little more about it!

John and Mitch, our tour guides, informed us that Cincinnati was known as the “Paris of the west” and that Over-the-Rhine is the largest in-tact historical district in the USA, even beating out the New Orleans French Quarter for the title. Back in the late 1800s, the several blocks that encompassed Over-the-Rhine were home to more than 130 theatres, beer gardens, bars and saloons. Germans immigrants, who were exceptionally fond of their beer, inhabited the area in jam-packed tenant buildings and, second only to Milwaukee and St.Louis, Cincinnati was one of the biggest brewing cities in the country. The only difference is that Milwaukee and St.Louis exported their beer to other states, while nearly 99% of the beer brewed in Cincinnati was consumed within 1/2 mile of where it was bottled. There were breweries on every corner. And under all these buildings were lagering tunnels and storage tunnels and tunnels to transfer the barrels of beer to the bottling factories. It is estimated that each person drank over 40 gallons of beer per year. Back then Cincinnati’s water was exceptionally disease-ridden – it is said that you could walk across the Ohio river on the skins of rotting pig carcasses without ever getting your feet wet – and because of the alcohol in beer, it was more sanitary to drink beer than water! In fact, Over-the-Rhine got it’s name from this. If you wanted a good German brew, you had to literally cross “over the rhine” (the Ohio river which they mockingly nicknamed the rhine) to get it. So brewing plays a huge role in Cincinnati’s history.

We learned about the historic People’s Theatre (now Venice on Vine) that hosted hotshot Buffalo Bill, and was also the place where his wife, the famous gun slinging Annie Oakley (who took her stage name from Oakley, a suburb of Cincinnati near where we live) entered a shooting contest and got her start. We learned about all the actors and plays and wild entertainment acts and traveling carnival shows that frequented the streets of Over-the-Rhine. Interesting how all those theatres are now parking lots – a disturbing trend that continues still to this day – a real shame.

We ventured into the worn-out remains of an old original 1870s theatre, beer garden and German newspaper printing building, which found a new life in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a goth fetish club. When the building was still a theatre and beer garden, it often featured “strongest man” competitions.

We walked past one of my favorite little gardens in downtown Cincinnati, which shows off some beautiful flowers, wall murals, and tile work in an urban setting.

We strolled past one of my most favorite historic churches in the area.

And we arrived at a gorgeous building that used to be known as the “Second City Hall.” This building was a really nice beer garden, a beer garden you could take your women and children to, a beer garden where what eventually became the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra would play music on weeknights, a beer garden where one of Cincinnati’s biggest political machine bosses, Boss Cox, conducted his business. If you needed a job, a favor, or anything else – you met Boss Cox for a beer at this beer garden.

Next we hit up the Guildhaus, where a series of underground lagering tunnels were accidentally discovered from old blueprints of the building that somehow survived prohibition. The building used to be a brewery, and the tunnels were used as a cool place to store and ferment the beer before the giant barrels were rolled in carts through the tunnels, under the streets, to the bottling factories. During prohibition the tunnels were filled in with dirt in an effort to discourage any kind of sneakiness. It is estimated that almost every building in Over-the-Rhine has tunnels running under it. We learned about the copper pipes and how ammonia and other fluids were run through them to keep the tunnels cool, and how the holes in the brick and tunnel ceilings were used as a ventilation system to keep the carbon dioxide from filling the tunnels. It was great fun exploring down there! You had to squeeze down a real sketchy little steep staircase from a blown-out hole in the concrete to get down there, but that kind of made it all the more fun.

We traipsed back up to ground-level and made our second to last stop at an old German tenant building that used to house up to 10 people in each of its little two-room apartments. It is now for sale for $1 (but don’t quote me on that!!). The catch is that whoever purchases it must retain its historical integrity. They cannot buy it, tear it down, and rebuild something new in its place. They have to restore it and keep its structural historical significance alive, which is often much more expensive than just tearing it down and starting again from scratch. As part of the renovation and restoration efforts to bring Over-the-Rhine back to its glory (instead of the crime-ridden, violent slum that it became and home of the 2001 race riots), all these beauties are for sale to people who want to fix them up and turn them into lofts, storefronts, boutiques, galleries, and snazzy little restaurants. Up until a few years ago people were still squatting in these unsound buildings and police were hauling out dead bodies from its rooms on a weekly basis. Now the company that owns all these buildings and is selling them for the purpose of revitalizing Over-the-Rhine has them all boarded up, but gave American Legacy Tours the keys to several of them for touring purposes.

Our last stop was at a chic, upscale little furniture and home furnishings boutique on Vine street near Cincy House. This particular store was one of the Over-the-Rhine success stories. An old historic building with a rich history, most likely with underground tunnels running beneath it, that was purchased, remodeled, preserved, and now helps bring beauty and economic vibrancy to Over-the-Rhine once more. Many of the businesses, much like this one, who call Over-the-Rhine home do so because they passionately believe in this area. They want to bring it back to life and restore its former glory while keeping the tales of its rich, varied, and historically significant past in mind. So it was fitting to end the tour at a place where John and Mitch could encourage all the tour-goers to continue to patronize the tours, restaurants, shops, and theatres in Over-the-Rhine. Because with each purchase made to an Over-the-Rhine company, the revitalization effort only grows stronger.

And if we had more money I definitely would have patronized the heck out of that little boutique! I spied a gray, white and yellow patterned arm chair, a few rugs, unique chandeliers, and a wall full of urban canvas wall paintings I would have loved to bring home! One day. Maybe. But probably never. Ha. It’s the thought that counts.

Meanwhile, as part of the tour, advance tickets to their future tours were available for purchase at 50% off (tickets are normally about $20 per person, so $10 per person is a pretty great deal for some entertainment and knowledge, we think!). Since we had such a great time, saw some really cool things, and so enjoyed learning more about our city, we bought a few more sets of tickets to go on their other tours! Even though you read this overview of the Queen City Underground tour, you really should still go on it if you get the chance – I skipped over a lot of great information they shared with us. Plus it’s really a great opportunity to experience it first hand instead of just through pictures.

Sometime this season we’ll be going on their famed Newport Gangster Tour, Civil War Tour, Queen City is Haunted Tour, Barons & Bike Tour, and Rookwood & Wine Tour – I’m ridiculously excited about the last two tours, though they all sound like great fun! You can, and SHOULD read a quick little paragraph about the upcoming tours we’ll be going on here. Then let me know if you want to come on any of them with us!

On May 12 we’ll be going on the Cincinnati Abandoned Subway Tour through the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Heritage Program. We have been waiting to go on this tour for well over a year and we’re SO excited for it!!

P.S. – But why on earth I agreed to do the Queen City is Haunted tour on a Friday night, in the dark, is beyond me. A lot of the places we visited on this Queen City Underground Tour are some of Cincinnati’s most haunted locations. I’m a huge pansy and cannot even fathom how I am going to make it through that tour. I’m sure there’s a ton of great history to be learned, so if you fancy scaring yourself silly and you want to go with Ted, be my guest!!

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Every Imaginable Topic Under the Sun

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Already Monday? The start of a fresh, new week. Are you ready?

We had a great weekend, as evidenced by the fact that I spent nearly the entirety of my Sunday afternoon on the couch icing an injured foot. That’s how every good weekend should end, with a slight battle wound to prove you had fun.

Friday night after work we started out our weekend with dinner and a movie. We ventured across the river to Newport, Kentucky to down some tacos and Corona at a cozy little hole-in-the-wall called La Mexicana. We’d been meaning to try La Mexicana for quite a while now and were happy to indulge. Their food is utterly authentic and their tacos are pure excellence. Made from corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime, white cheese, and your choice of 19 different meats (including chorizo, beef brains, goat, sheep, steak, and chicken – to name only a few), you really can’t go wrong. It was delicious and is easily among our top 2 favorite Mexican restaurants in the Tri-State area for it’s authenticity.

We rounded off the evening with a showing of the new hit IMAX film To the Arctic at Museum Center’s Omnimax Theatre. The film is brand spanking new, narrated by Meryl Streep and features great music by Paul McCartney. And it is excellent. It follows the plight of polar bears, walruses, and caribou as they struggle to maintain balance in their changing world, despite the climate change that is melting the Arctic ice they so desperately depend on to survive. The images and close-ups with all the animals are just phenomenal and touching. Please go see it – it’s funny, breathtaking, captivating, and majestic. Well worth your time and money.

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Saturday morning, bright and early, we participated in Incline to the Finish Line, the annual St. Joseph’s Home 5k run/walk fundraiser. St. Joseph’s Home is a home for people with severe and profound developmental difficulties. It’s located about 30 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati in Sharonville. The 5k is known for its challenging hill in the third mile and the cheering crowd (the home’s residents, their families, and nursing staff) at the finish line. The course of the 5k is steady and beautiful, until you get to the beast of a hill at the end that is incredibly steep and a total time and pace killer. It was no less beastly this year than last year. But we survived and thrived and beat last year’s times by about 5 minutes (Ted) and 2.5 minutes (Lara) and both took home medals for first place in our age and gender divisions. Ted clocked in at 35:30 and I timed in at 38:05. So, Ted did better on this 5k than the one at GA a few weeks ago, and I did slightly worse – I totally blame the hill because I basically crawled up it at a snail’s pace so as not to vomit all over the asphalt and shrubbery. It was cold, windy, and threatening rain the entire 5k (exactly like last year), but we had a great time and were very proud of what we were able to accomplish. Somewhere along the way I must have procured some sort of injury on the outside of my left foot/ankle, though I have no recollection of twisting or spraining it. Perhaps a stress fracture? Anyhow, it only started hurting a few hours after the 5k and now aches and burns with the pressure of every step I take, requiring me to stay off of it and ice it every 20 minutes.

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After the 5k I had to work well into the evening, but thoroughly enjoyed my shift due to the PROM!!! for the School of Creative and Performing Arts that was being held at the Museum that evening. I knew this was going to be good people watching because A) it’s Cincinnati, home to highly questionable and entertaining behavior, fashion, and personal choices, B) it’s an arts school, and arts kids are notoriously unabashed and full of surprises, and C) the theme was “candy land” which screams of potential in the hilarity department. Very much like the prom for the Visual and Performing Arts high school in Dallas that my then-boyfriend and I attended way back when, this school clearly had both excess money to spend on a great location and swanking out the place with saucy decorations, and no dress code whatsoever for prom, because the outrageousness of the inappropriate dresses, plethora of stripper shoes, and crazy/weird accessories exceeded my wildest expectations. Needless to say, it was awesome. I have no photos to share, I apologize, but please take my word for it: it was epic. In fact, some girl showed up wearing this exact vision of a prom dress, complete with the thigh-highs and 6″ heels.

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I nearly died of joy. She was “Candy Stripper.” There was also “Feathers,” “Pretty, Pretty Princess,” “Neon,” “Tutu”, “The Bride,” and “Grace Kelly.” After a while I had to start nicknaming them all to keep them straight.

Sunday morning we did church and breakfast at the newly opened Original Pancake House in Anderson, which we love. They built in an 1100 gallon saltwater fish tank with pretty tropical fish that I could stare at all day, and of course, the food is breakfast comfort food at its finest. It reminds me a little of Al Johnson’s “Goats on the Roof” in Door County, because they serve lingonberry Swedish Pancakes, which are my favorite. This time I indulged in a side of thick bacon that was smokey, savory, and absolutely heavenly. Between the bacon, 49er Flap Jacks, and my bi-annual cup of coffee, I was all with set with my contentment and calories for the week. Might as well get it out of the way early on, right? Oh, but that bacon…seriously!! Sorry, vegetarian friends.

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Finally, we finished off our weekend of adventure, before the monotony of laundry, entering receipts, house cleaning, work stuff, strike, and foot icing set in, with a Queen City Underground Walking Tour of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine historical district from American Legacy Tours, located at the Cincy Haus right downtown on Vine Street. The 2-hour tour was packed (probably between 75-100 people!) but great because of how extremely reasonably priced it was (thanks to a half off deal) and also because the two tour guides were loud enough to be heard the entire time, and were also very knowledgeable, funny, and passionate about the work they do. The tour was informative, entertaining, and perfect for residents of Cincy wanting to learn more about the grand and very interesting history their town and for visitors just wanting a taste of Cincy. We toured several decrepit, abandoned old buildings dating back to the 1850s that dot Vine Street (you know, the ones you pass every day, cringe, and wonder what’s in there), including old theatres, biergartens, German tenant buildings, breweries, and underground lagering tunnels. Because we learned so much neat, rich Cincinnati history, saw so many cool places, and took so many pictures, I think I’ll save a majority of it for a post all it’s own…coming soon! Needless to say, I’d highly recommend that you check out this company’s tours – they have several different ones that all sound great. But here’s a teaser pic from our tour:

Also, Ted and I found this sweet little toad perched right outside our front door, on our welcome mat, absolutely parched and practically unable to move on Saturday morning. I had to rush off to work, but Ted picked up the little guy, who was lethargic and severely dehydrated, and nursed him back to health by pouring a few cups of cool water over him until he felt well enough to hop and be released into the grass out back. He said he grew like a Chia Pet once the water got to him. Super adorable! I love that husband of mine – kitty rescuer extraordinaire, toad saver…

And finally, Mav. Sweet, sweet Mav. She really hasn’t been feeling so great lately. And we’ve done nothing but researching and reading. SO much reading, but it’s all just opinions. Opinions, opinions, and more opinions. Nobody is really an expert on blue cray health, we are learning. She’s a tough little lady and has been through one hell of a few weeks, with more to come, presumably. But she survived the cycle when nobody said she would, and now her water is back to normal and just when things were looking up and we thought it was all figured out, we have a whole new set of challenges, which we are sure are after-effects of the ammonia and nitrite from the cycle, but really, we don’t know. But I have absolute faith in her, and we’re just doing everything we can to keep her comfortable, happy, and healthy – and hoping the rest will sort itself out. It’s too early yet to tell if the new developments are really good news (and then everything would make sense and she’d be happy and healthy once more) or bad news (and then everything would also make sense), so it’s kind of touch and go by the day. But like I said, she’s a trooper and a fighter. It’s just hard to know how to help her when we know nothing about crayfish health, there’s a different opinion on every internet page, and she can’t talk. Poor little girl has a bum leg (plus a bit of discoloration and a myriad of other little issues) just like I do, so she and I are limping together. But she’s still just as pretty and just as awesome as ever. Right now she’s chillin’ beneath her cave, taking it easy. Send some love her way if you think of her this week!

How was your weekend?

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Texas for the Win

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Apparently, Texas has had a pretty spectacular wildflower season this year.

I’m a little bummed to be missing out.

* All photos courtesy of my mother

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Food for Thought

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Read This

What’s up with that?

So far in my professional theatre career I’ve worked under two brilliant female Producing Artistic Directors, one of which is also a published playwright. So yeah, I’d say I’m pretty disappointed. Both of these women choose seasons teeming with diversity – gender, ethnic, religious, and genre. They were sure to include actors of color, both male and female playwrights and directors, a healthy mix of musicals and straight plays of all genres and time periods that don’t shy away from truth or difficulty, and brand spankin’ new works from young, living playwrights.

I may be biased, but that’s exactly the way it should be, I think. Not that I don’t love me some old dead white guy Shakespeare, but unless you’re a Shakespeare Company, please don’t alienate your strongest advocates. There is so much strength and beauty in the theatre today – lets celebrate it instead of neglect it!

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Food and Function

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Tuesday night I made copy-cats of our favorite eatery’s bison burgers. After you’ve had a bison burger, you’ll never go back to regular beef for burgers again. Ted was having a really rough day at work (and life in general), so I forwarded him this link to raise his spirits – I find the “Not You” pictures hilarious. Then I picked up a six pack of Woodchuck’s seasonal summer cider (which is delicious, btw, and has the ever so subtle aftertaste of blueberries) and grilled up some savory bison burgers (mine with homemade guacamole, cheese, jalapeños, and cilantro, and his with cheese and sautéed seasoned mushrooms), roasted some corn on the cob in the oven, put his slippers and beer by his recliner, and printed out the newly released, fresh off the press 2012-2013 season Packers schedule. I can’t say that any of it made him feel any better (we all have those days), but you do what you can, and it was all very tasty! If you’ve never tried bison or Woodchuck hard cider, you should get on that ASAP.

Also, this was that fabulous Dewey’s Green Lantern pizza Allyson and I ordered for our Monday date night. It’s pretty divine. If you’re ever in the area, remind me to introduce you to it.

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Furthermore, I found this prize at the grocery store this week. $9 for a whole freaking salmon!! I SO would have bought it, if only I knew how to gut and de-bone a fish! Next time.

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And finally, I had a meeting on Tuesday morning at the gorgeous Anderson Center whereby I presented our season’s educational arts programming that we offer for one of the arts organizations I work for, to some of the big wigs at all the community and fine arts centers in the greater Cincinnati area. I did the organization justice, did not eat the tasty looking pastries, managed to leave the house in something other than dance pants, and did not make a fool of myself. I consider this a wild success.

How was your week?

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On Running

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Ted called me about 2 minutes after he’d left the apartment for work on Monday morning. He told me there was a beautiful big black and red rooster on the corner lawn of the cemetery, right near our apartment complex

And because I adore animals, including roosters, to a shameful degree I actually left the apartment, still clad in my pajamas, and literally jogged over to the rooster hangout in question that very instant. My goal: capture myself a pet rooster! I happen to think a rooster would be a brilliant addition to our blue cray.

Rooster, sadly, had other plans and was MIA by the time I arrived.

But that, right there, was exercise people! I HATE running. HATE running. I am so bad at it! Hence why I dance. Hence why I teach acting and chase around small children. Any other way to get my exercise in, other than running, is basically my ideal.

But I did it! I was fueled by motivation.

Perhaps if someone dangled animals from a string or a leash in front of me, I’d run more often.

Just a thought.

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Weekend

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So, this weekend we’re doing another 5k. The St. Joseph Home 5k…the one with the gigantic, steep, never-ending hill…heaven help us. We did it last year and we made it – but just barely. It’s totally fun and benefits a really great cause, so we’re pumped for it!

We’re also going on the Queen City Underground Tour (“Visit buildings that were home to over 130 saloons, bars and beer gardens, and theaters that hosted iconic entertainers Charlie Chaplin and Wild Bill Hickok. Descend below the city streets to a hidden burial vault and explore newly discovered tunnels vital to Cincinnati’s brewery heritage” – says the website) in historic Over-the-Rhine downtown and then trying out the Bayou Fish House in Newport for some delicious fish & chips (we love us some good Groupon deals!), more on all that later.

But because of the 5k in the a.m. I had to request to work an afternoon/evening shift at the museum on Saturday.

I am seriously overjoyed to announce that there will be TWO proms on Saturday night at the museum. TWO. One for a christian academy and the other for the performing arts high school. At the same place. At the same time. I cannot even fathom a more perfect or epic combination.

I. Am. Thrilled.

There are few things in life that I enjoy more than witnessing the teenage life experience and the fabulously overblown hoopla & spectacle that is PROM, now that I’m on the other side of it all.

I am happily and eagerly awaiting a wide array of hideous hummer limousines, screaming girls, obnoxious photo ops, tacky and/or extremely inappropriate prom dresses, way too make makeup, the orange spray tan gone wrong, awkward teenagers, poor choices, awful music, cheap decorations, and terrible dancing.

That’s not to say that all proms and all teenagers are like this – I had a truly fantastic prom experience both years and I know prom is a super special time in a girl’s life and I totally, totally whole-heartedly support that and wish every girl the prom of her dreams. But let’s be real here, this is Cincinnati and I’m expecting to see, at the very least, just a little bit of shenanigans.

Again, I cannot even express how excited I am. Even better is that I am getting PAID to watch this awesomeness unfold!  Thank you 5k for allowing me to luck into the best night at work ever.

This weekend should be a great one, in every way.

Recaps to come, I’m sure.

By the way,

SANCHO.

My cat is TOO MUCH. Look at him, sitting like a king.

Oh, I miss that little dude!

Cannot wait to see him in July!

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A Glorious Monday

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So, typically, “glorious” and “Monday” do not go hand-in-hand.

Because, well, it’s Monday.

But I kind of think it’s a little different for us theatre folk.

Rather than the tiring, funky start of a new week, Monday is our long-awaited weekend.

See Monday, traditionally, is equity day off. So it’s the one day of the week professional actors, directors, stage managers, etc. have off to do their thing – sleep, relax, do chores, get their cars fixed, run errands, read a book, grocery shop, do the laundry, catch a drink with friends, see their families, etc.

So, I kind of love Mondays, usually.

This Monday was no exception.

While I didn’t have the day totally off, it was certainly more relaxing than the rest of the weekdays are slated to be.

I woke up to totally glorious weather – mild and windy – all day. I did my duty of postering the town for the upcoming smash hit musical production of  “Life Could Be A Dream” with ease and in record time. I even had one sane hour leftover with which to sit outside on the patio at the Starbucks in Mariemont, sip a passion iced tea and just relax while getting a few small things done. Then it was off to teach acting. But instead of playing nice inside, we took our lessons outside to the playground because it was so stinkin’ amazing outside. The change of scenery did us well, I think. Pepped up our performance, so to speak.

And by 5:00 I was ready for my dinner date with Allyson at the Dewey’s Pizza in Kenwood. We dished on life lately – our successes and frustrations and dreams and plans – and downed their terrific House and Harvest salads, split a Green Lantern pizza, which features garlic, mushrooms, goat cheese, artichokes, and pesto, and finished off with a shared slice of chocolate opera creme torte from The Bonbonerie.

Glorious!

How do you feel about Mondays?

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