I. O. Y'all Chapter Three

Hey! In case you just tuned in I am hard at work to catch up on all the exciting things I haven't blogged about yet. Be sure to check out I.O.Y. chapters 1 and 2!

Chapter Three: 48 Hours in Vienna

This was definitely one of the highlights of my year. I've made two trips to beautiful Vienna in the last few weeks. They were both for business, but I definitely made time to have a lot of fun as well.

I should back up:).

This is the time of year that I need to start sorting out what project(s) I'm going to have next year. And by "project" I most definitely mean "employment." The audition process begins very early. I started sending resumes out in November even though my contract at Buddy Holly won't be complete until August 2010.

Soooo, in short I found out about an audition for the European Premiere of "A Musical That Will Remain Nameless:)" in Vienna and I went for it! If it works out I promise to let you know what show it is, but until then I should (legally) not post anything online.

My lovely friend and colleague Ursula made me a personalized guide for my trip, including step-by-step directions from the airport to her old apartment (where I was able to stay for free!), maps and a list of fun things to do after the audition. How sweet is that?!

My favorite quote is "Don't be irritated if people are impolite or in a bad mood, that's just Vienna style" Lol! The people were just fine.

RABBIT TRAIL ALERT!!! Before I took off I was lucky enough to get my first "Show watch." Show watches are pretty self-explanatory. Instead of performing, my understudy played and I was able to watch the show. It was way too much fun. Now I can say with certainty that it is a great show:)

Back on track

This is me on the 4AM train to Düsseldorf airport

For some reason I didn't have very much company.

My stop for the audition. I found everything relatively well.

The audition: Auditions are a bit like essay exams in high school, in that, you prepare a whole ton of stuff but you are only tested on a couple things. In my case I was ready to write an essay on about 8 songs; 4 of my choosing and 4 from the show that I auditioned for. I was auditioning for three different roles so I had quite a diverse package. You just never know what an audition panel will want to hear. Of the eight pieces I only sang one. But that was wonderful because they were very pleased and invited me back to the final round.

Yay. Audition-- check!

For my entire album of photos from my trip to Vienna, follow this link to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127201&id=509578586&l=41e09667fa

*You do NOT need to have a facebook account to view this album*

Talk to you soooon!

s

I.O.Y'all: Chapter Two

Continuing in my I.O.Y'all series! If you haven't read chapter one, keep scrolling!

Chapter 2: Turkey Day(s)

Just in case you didn't know Ryan is performing in a European tour this year. I'm so very proud of him; he's doing excellent work. The catch is, of course, that we only get to see each other about one weekend per month. It's rough but we're so grateful for the time we have.

Ryan wasn't able to be home for Thanksgiving this year but he was here the weekend before! So we rearranged the calendar and had Thanksgiving on the 22nd. My free time is very limited on the weekends (2 shows Saturday and 2 shows Sunday) so we didn't have the time to prepare a big traditional meal. But we did have time to hit the Vietnamese buffet!

The spread:

No turkey but lots of spring rolls

thankful.

We also stopped by a local craft fair. Amber jewelry is very popular in Germany

On actual Thanksgiving Day Ryan was long gone and I had to work. It was my very first Thanksgiving without a single member of my family anywhere nearby. And of course, Germans don't celebrate the holiday so I was totally on my own.

I was a big girl and didn't cry (very much). I decided to spend the free time I had thinking about and praising God for the plethora of things that I am thankful for. I skated over to the mall for some "Turkey Day dinner" before work and then did a musical:).

In case you're wondering, Yes, I DID take these pictures myself. Not bad for self portraiture, huh?

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I.O.Y'all: Chapter One

Hi.

I'm not even going to waste your time with lengthy, well thought out greetings and such. Today, I'm skipping directly to the "Excuses" portion of my blog.

So, I've been busy. (I know, who hasn't?) But I'm going to make it up to you. In the past month I have taken three out of country business trips, which means, of course... PICTURES!! You can't be mad at a girl who offers you lots of pretty pictures, right? *Phew*

Ok. This is how it's going to go down. Rather than one incredibly long blog about the last four weeks. I'm going to break it up into bite-size chapters, thus increasing the probability that anyone will actually read this thing...hopefully:).

Alright, enough chit chat. Let's go!

CHAPTER 1: Rock n Roll...otherwise known as "Work"

Work is still going well. We just had our 80th performance yesterday (not including the weeks of Previews and rehearsals). Hard to believe! Still having a blast too. Even when I'm exhausted, the music is so great that I just can't not give it my all. Not to mention that the ticket prices are so "great" that I could never justify giving less than 100% :). It's pretty humbling that people shell out so much cash to come see us play. Someone once told me "Just think, for someone in that crowd, it's their first trip to the theatre, and for someone else it's their last." Sappy but it inspires me.

I'm also flabbergasted by how many people have seen the show. On an average night we have a little over 1000 people in the house. On a full night, 1500. So that means that at the very least 80, 000 people have seen this piece since we opened. Woah. Talk about things I never imagined doing...

Thanks God:).

Some recent photos:

I love this little pic for some reason. I ran out of foundation and the next day this new container was waiting for me on my dressing table:). Für Sidonie = For Sidonie

Wigs! (Not mine, of course;)). The identical ones are for different people who play/understudy the same role.

The mustache pillow. (Once again, not mine:)) Click to see who they belong to.

This was not exactly at work, but I cooked something that was NOT GROSS!!! Yay me!

Onward to chapter 2!