Author: Lara

Last Friday I drove two of our actors to a college acting and directing co-class at the University of Rochester that they were doing an open forum Q&A at. Fun fact: This class took place IN the theatre’s frat house. A frat house! This reminded me of many a theatre class at Texas State that took place either outside beneath shady trees by the moat that surrounded the theatre building, or on the lawn by the river that ran through campus, surrounded by bathing suit clad sunbathers. Another side note: I don’t ever remember professional guest actors, artists, directors, or designers coming to my college theatre classes for a Q&A open forum. On the other hand, we also didn’t have a LORT B house within a hundred plus miles of the University. But this should totally happen in all college theatre classes at least once a semester. Anyway, walking though campus and sitting with a bunch of 20-year-old’s and listening to their conversations and the questions they posed for our actors was quite a blast from the past. I’ve only been out of college for less than five years. But after seeing and hearing from the students, I felt two things: A) I’ve learned SO MUCH about my craft, about acting, and about directing since I graduated! And it feels amazing! I probably would have had those same questions five years ago. I certainly don’t claim to have any or all of the answers now, but the knowledge and confidence I have in this field now as compared to what I knew five years ago is a true blessing. B) That picture above. I’m not 30 – four years shy in fact. But though I often feel like I still am, I ain’t no 20 either. As evidenced by every single occasion in which I hang out with a group of 20-year-old’s.

These puppies are on clearance at Eddie Bauer and I am thrilled to make them mine! Since it looks like I’ll be living in this cold climate, where you need a parka for at least five months out of the year, for many years to come, it is time to upgrade from the Texas pea coat and invest in something warm and sturdy for the harsh winters ahead. These goose down parka and vest are rated for up to zero degrees, have a lifetime repair or replacement warranty, a weatherproof coating, are as stylish as they are practical, and at 1/3 of the normal price now that spring has sprung (only not really because it’s still snowing every single day and cold as can be), now’s the time! Welcome home beauties! THANKS mom & dad!!!!!!

Tap classes. Starting this week. SO EXCITED. Tap, I’ve missed you so!!! It’s nice to be back and to be taking class with a few of my friends too :)

Ted and I saw this together (yet apart) for our long-distance date night on Thursday (let me explain how that works for those of you unaware of our long-distance date nights: we try to catch dinner at the same restaurant and then catch a showing of the same movie roughly around the same time, but in different cities). I’d heard a few rumblings going into it, but mostly kept purposefully oblivious to any spoilers, synopsis, or trailers. I have a hard time sitting still through movies longer than a hour and a half, but even at two hours and ten minutes, this film, though slow, kept me on my toes and didn’t feel all that long. Having the English subtitles to concentrate on helped. It’s not a movie you “like.” It a hard film that deals with the difficulty of aging and the fear and pain and tough decisions that come with it, so saying “I liked it” isn’t exactly true. I mean, “I liked it,” but it wasn’t particularly enjoyable or relaxing. But at the same time it’s a really beautiful love story. The acting was great, the music was great, the cinematography was beautiful, and the story was one that needed to be told. There were a few moments of humor, and a few unexpected moments – some sad and some scary and some joyful as well – all of which I thought they did a good job with. Definitely worth a see with someone you love, but not one that I’d be likely to watch over and over again or one you want to watch alone with your spouse 500 miles away. You’ll likely find it playing in your small, local artsy film house.

This more mainstream flick I watched Saturday night. I’d been told I needed to see this by several people over the past few months. Finally, I had a free night to rent a Redbox, so after watching the trailer and deciding it sounded like a nice funny romantic comedy, I plunked it in my online cart, picked it up that evening, and sat down for a relaxing evening with this movie, a southern comfort & cherry coke, and a bowl of buttery popcorn. However, nice, funny, romantic comedy is not quite how I’d describe it after seeing it. Not that it wasn’t nice, or funny, or a romantic comedy, but it was also a little sadder, a little deeper, a little darker, a little more complex, and based on a true story, which always adds a certain intensity to a movie I think. In that way, I think the trailer that was kind of misleading, and while I get what the title means in context to the movie, I don’t think the title does a great job of describing the movie accurately either. I fully expected this to be a typical rom-com, and in some ways it was, but I was also surprised that it had some depth to it. Again, not necessarily a movie I’d choose to watch alone. I’d definitely watch it again. In fact, I’d like to own it. But it’s a nice one to see with someone you love. I’m a sucker for Rachel McAdams. Frankly, I just plain like her. She does really well with this type of role because she can do romantic comedy, but she can do emotional too. Furthermore, without giving away too much, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie didn’t end by tying up all the loose ends and wrapping it up in a pretty little bow, but that there was still uncertainty and an obvious journey ahead of them. I really felt for the characters, and I like the kind of movie that makes you think “what would I do if that were me?” If you haven’t seen it, pick it up for your next date night.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

Last Tuesday my awesome friend Shawnda hosted a House Party. I’d heard of house parties before – you know, like makeup parties, kitchen parties, lingerie parties, etc., but not this particular kind of House Party. Basically we gathered at Shawnda’s place to watch this really fantastic 3-hour PBS documentary entitled Makers: Women Who Make America narrated by Meryl Streep that was all about the women’s movement from the 1950s through the 1980s (roughly) while we ate brownies, drank wine and southern comfort and hot tea (prepared and served by Shawnda’s lovely husband Chris), and received a free goody bag full of a bunch of great skin products to take home! And it was awesome. I mean, if we’re going to gather for a girl’s night of nosh and girl talk and house party stuff, we might as well be doing something great like learning about and appreciating all the wonderful trailblazing women who paved the way for us to be treated as equals of our husbands, work outside the home, receive equal pay and fair treatment at work, take control of our own bodies and health care, stand up to domestic violence, and a million more things we as modern women can tend to take fore granted. It was informative, inspiring, and fun with a powerful cast of women featured in interviews and a pretty wonderful soundtrack of music through the decades to accompany the documentary. I would highly encourage everyone (men and women alike!) to watch the three-part series here.

We felt this quote summed it all up pretty nicely: “I have a brain and I have a uterus, and they both work.” – Patricia Schroeder