Hell week.- Skipping daily blogs this week.

This is my first week of going to college full time.  I am really struggling even though yesterday was the first day.  So, I am going to take this week off from blogging so that I can write better blogs next week. I'm sure you will all some how survive with out my dailyish blogs.

If there is any specific topic you would like me to address regarding Mommy Monday, Trailer Trash Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Theatre Thursday or Friends on Friday let me know. Since Wed. is whatever day you can really just tell me whatever you would like to see featured.

So, ask away.

Friends on Friday- A2 - a day late

I have some interviews in the works but they just haven't been completed yet.  So, I sat down with A2 and a video camera to record her responses.  I took some of the questions from the Actor's Studio. She is so sweet and fun. I am lucky to be her mom.  Sorry this is a day late.

Theatre Thursday- The First Conservatory Year

My senior year of HS I was awarded two awards: Best Supporting Actress and Best Overall Thespian.  Which basically means I worked my butt off and never got a major part.

After HS however, I got accepted into the Southwest Shakespeare Conservatory which was run by my former HS teacher's wife at the time. It is a summer program, that is similar to boot camp but for actors.  These days it is called The Scottsdale Conservatory Theater as it is now more closely associated with Scottsdale Community College as opposed to the Southwest Shakespeare Company.  Track One of the Conservatory involves movement classes, voice classes, improv, text analysis, scene study and other fun stuff like mask work.  We got 12 college credits for attending and passing.  I actually got a C from one of my instructors.

It was really a lot of work but it was exceptionally fun too.  I got to play Joan of Arc, which ended up giving me a great monologue for auditions.  Which brings me to the first time I auditioned for The Southwest Shakespeare Company.

The show they produced first that season was none other than Hamlet.  When I read Hamlet in HS, I promised myself that one day I would play Ophelia.  Let's just admit that I'm a bit crazy and I identified a bit with the character.  I was auditioning with all my classmates and all my instructors because Hamlet is a show that every classical actor wants to be involved with.  I auditioned with my Joan monologue and the Julia letter monologue.  I saw the director sit up and take notice and the other people behind the table whispering to her.

I was called back for the part of Ophelia along with one other girl who had not been in the conservatory.  I read sides along with three of my male instructors for the conservatory who had been called back for the part of Hamlet.  The man who eventually got the part of Hamlet thought he was too old and that the director might be looking at him for Polonius and me for Ophelia.  I just inwardly shook my head because I felt he would make an amazing Hamlet.  It turns out I was right.  He was also the instructor who gave me a C.

I'm the one in front in the nightgown.

Nunnery scene

I got cast in the role and got the confirmation call from none other than my HS Drama teacher.  Let me tell you, that was really cool.  Rehearsals were grueling and it was difficult to get into the crazy mind set and make it believable but with the support of an amazing cast and great director, I somehow pulled it off.  My Jr. High English teacher even came to see the show.

During one of the rehearsals (which was held in a VFW hall)  a producer came to watch us.  He was casting a show called Hamlet on Trial for the UK/AZ festival.  I got called in to audition formally.  Only two people from our cast were chosen to participate and I was one of them.  The other actors that they got for the show were all equity (Actor's union).  They also brought in Billy Connolly as a guest artist.  They originally tried to get Vanessa Redgrave but she had scheduling conflicts so they brought him in instead.

He played a role in "Muppet Treasure Island."

 We only had one week to rehearse. The show had three different endings, and the ending was chosen based on what the guest jury decided.  It was held at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix. It is a really beautiful theatre that has a ceiling that lights up to look like the sky and as the time gets closer to curtain time it turns it to look like the night sky.  It was incredible.

OrpheumTheatre-Phoenix

I had made cards for all the cast members the day of our one performance of Hamlet on Trial. The day of the performance was spent rehearsing because that was the only time Mr. Connolly could come.  I had left a card in his dressing room and noticed that it had been tossed aside later.  He was very stand offish towards everyone.  I was not impressed.

That night, I found out the mayor of London was in the audience and we had a full house.  Normally, the costumer would wait back stage for me to help me put on my robe.  My costume was a sheer nightgown (I had a flesh toned body suit underneath) that was bright white and we didn't want people seeing me backstage.  After, I did the "I have been so affrighted." bit, I came off stage hearing the deafening roar of the audience.  There standing in the shadows was not the costumer but Mr. Connolly with my robe over his arm clapping. He then helped me put on my robe and approvingly said, "Bravo. That was very well done." in his thick Scottish accent.  It is a moment I will never forget.

Me as Ophelia and M. as Hamlet

After the show, there was a champagne reception.  I was the only minor there and no, I didn't drink.  However, Mr. Connolly pulled me near him and somehow we started bantering back and forth and became the center of the party.  Later the director pulled me aside and confided in me that she was very concerned when she found out the producer had cast an 18 year old in the part of Ophelia.  She told me that he had assured her that if she didn't like me during the first rehearsal that I Could be re-cast.  I had no idea.  She said that I was wonderful in the role.  She also offered me a chance to move to NY and stay with her and her husband, if I wanted to try to make it in the Big Apple.  I politely declined for several reasons, mostly because I was terrified.

And that is just part of the story.

Trailer Trash Tuesday

Trailer Trash Tuesday is to highlight the joys and nuances of living the trailer trash life. 

Don't I just look the part? 

No? I suppose I don't.  I guess I am a living breathing example of not judging a book by it's cover and if I am not a prime example, then my home is a textbook example:

While the outside isn't much to look at, we have made it a home.  It is our safe place from the outside world, a place to feel loved, a place to learn, and a place to have fun.

When me made the long move up from AZ to OR we joked around about being like the pioneers.  We even had one of the trailers we were pulling break an axle and had to stop for several days before we were able to continue on our journey. Like most things, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We ended up having to sell our broken trailer and bought an enclosed one instead. This covered trailer ended up saving many of our possessions from the elements of OR.

So, when we were faced with needing to buy a trailer in which to live, we found it amusing that we ended up picking one with the name of Pilgrim.  The similarities of pioneers and pilgrims were not lost on us.  We both left our homelands in search of something better.  We seem to still be on that journey. We just got stuck for five years.

Our lovely Pilgrim home has many interesting features.  One that I was surprised about was our propane oven.  This little beauty measures in at 15 inches wide and from the rack to roof is about six inches.  It also hates cookies. Don't even think about trying to stuff a full sized chicken/turkey in there or a sheet cake pan.

Whenever I want to bake, I have to stoop down with a lighter, turn and push the knob on the farthest right and reach my arm way in the back to light the pilot light.  Then, I have to carefully turn the knob while pushing it in to light the rest of the element.  The propane element is located where you see the bluish light in the lower middle part of the oven.  The pilot light is way in the back.

Yesterday, I decided to roast some squash that we had gotten from DH's work and then cook a pizza.  The problem arose when we ran out of propane after the squash was done.  After changing the propane, the element and pilot light went out.  The oven was still super hot and we had to light it again.  It was quite amusing watching the hubs try to light the silly thing with an oven mitt on.  He eventually succeeded with my help. So, he was proclaimed hero of the day and made it so that the kiddos didn't just have to eat their veggies but got some pizza for dinner too.

While it is a pain in the butt to light my oven, I am still grateful for it.  I am sure that pioneers and pilgrims had a much harder time cooking and preparing dinner than I will ever have.  After all, it is still better than cooking like this:

Moral of the story; be grateful for what you have.  There is always someone who has or had it harder than you do.

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Mommy Monday

Too busy being a mom to blog about being a mom. :P
So here are some pictures of my cuties from our last trip to the beach before school started:

Friends on Friday- Jamie

Fridays are dedicated to my friends!  I plan on interviewing one a week to get to know them better and celebrate their awesomeness.


I have a fantastic friend that I met in high school.  The only other time I was kind of homeless, she somehow convinced her mother let me stay in their house for a while.  She is wacky and fun.  Some of our fondeset memories are of a large box that we referred to as the transmogrifier or some such thing and terrorizing the theatre department.  We also worked at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. I was on the bad guy side and she was on the good guy side.  We sewed the Knights some boxers together and other cool things.  We also designed the senior T-shirt for our HS. She still resides in the Phoenix area and from what I gather takes amazing photos, makes great art, knits and is just downright awesome.

Jamie is also the one who inspired Friends on Fridays with her own interview section on her website. I haven't been able to finish my interview with her yet but will post it here when it is complete. But for know, check out the interview section on her site: http://www.jamiemulhern.com/blog/category/interviews/

Theatre Thursday - My introduction to theatre

Thursdays are going to be dedicated to my first love: theatre.  Spell check does not like to spell it that way, but I like to think of theater as going to the movies and theatre as live theatre.  There is something about living and breathing the same air as someone creating art.

Since I am working on eventually getting a BFA in Theatre Arts. I thought I would use this day to chronicle what I am doing to improve and what is inspiring me.  As I start though, I would like you to reminisce with me on how I got to this point.

I got into the theatre during junior high.  I wasn't successful in elementary school at an instrument and since I wanted a fun elective theatre seemed like it would be fill that category.  I loved it.  Unfortunately, I was very shy and very quiet.  My teacher told me I was good but that it was too hard to hear me.  So the next summer I spent the whole summer in my back yard practicing "projecting."  My parents worked during the week so they never knew what I was up to and  since it was scorching hot in AZ during the summer my brothers left me alone. My mother did discover I really did love the theatre and took me to see my first professional show, Fiddler on the Roof which was put on my the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. I loved it!

The next school year I was still not cast in any of the big shows but I still helped back stage.  My ninth grade year I got some smaller roles but nothing huge.  The biggest thing that happened to me that year was an introduction to Shakespeare.  It wasn't in my Theatre class but rather my English class that I discovered a knack for understanding the Bards works.

We even got to take a trip to see The Southwest Shakespeare Company's Romeo and Juliet.  They kept it in the era it was written for and it was captivating despite some teenage rascals throwing Skittles at Juliet during her drinking of the sleeping potion monologue.  Juliet didn't miss a beat. I was entranced and vowed to work for the company eventually.

In high school, I continued with my endeavors. As fate would have it the drama teacher at my HS was also the co-founder for the Southwest Shakespeare Company.  As such, the company provided opportunities for HS students to act as "Wenches and Knaves" aka ushers for their shows.  I jumped at the chance and got to see many wonderful shows as a result.  I developed a keen love for Shakespeare during this time.

I kept getting cast in smaller roles along with backstage work in HS. I worked hard in order to try to improve my skills.  My senior year, the drama department put on The Tempest and The Matchmaker (the show Hello, Dolly came from).  In The Tempest, I played Trinculo, a clown and originally a part for a boy.

It was so much fun!  One of my good friends at the time, designed and made all the costumes.  My costumes had bells sewn all over it. So, backstage I had to wear a black robe and shuffle along so as not to create any noise as I walked.

The director of the Southwest Shakespeare Conservatory (an actor training program) was in the audience for one of the shows and told me I was just darling in the role.  But alas, this post is getting way too wordy. What came after is long enough for it's own story. So I will continue on next week.  

Exeunt Omnes

Blackberry Revenge

The blackberry season is coming to an end.  The clouds have rolled in and we are preparing for perpetual fall around here.  When the blackberries start coming out my kids are transformed into savage beasts in which the only thing that can placate them is the lure of the blackberry.  Luckily, there is a row of blackberry bushes just down the hill from home.  So, I often send them out to pick blackberries to their hearts content.

You would think that the bush would stand no chance against four rabid salivating creatures, but alas it has its own natural defenses.  The first defense is sharp thorns similar to that of the rose.  Often the most large and desirable berries are located behind a forest of thorns and guarded by a witch turned dragon.  Okay, there really is no dragon but the thorns are there.  The second defense is the juice itself.  Once you plunder the berries they seem to vomit their juice all over the attacker, which then leaves a stain that the murderer can never undo.

Exhibit A:

When you are poor as dirt it is difficult to part with clothing that has been stained by the blackberry.  I have however found a solution for my youngest daughter's shirts that have been a victim of the blackberry's revenge:

Tada! I just crocheted some flowers in a coordinating color and hand sewed them over the stain.

What? I didn't eat any blackberries. -A2

Now to figure out what to do with my boy's shirts. Somehow, I don't think they would appreciate a strategically placed flower on their shirts.

I got this fabulous idea after finding this on Pinterest: http://www.aestheticnest.com/2011/06/crochet-pretty-posies-tutorial.html  Thanks, Anneliese.