The Show Must Go On

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Wow, it has been a whirlwind of activity since our show opened on Friday, October 14. We had an 8 pm show on Friday, Saturday and a 2:00 pm show on Sunday. We received standing ovations at each show. And two reviews have come out and they are saying, Wow! It is so exciting! We had a few glitches on our first show but the subsequent shows have been great.

My friend, Geraldine is so excited because this was her very first time onstage. She plays a Munchkin, a crow, a poppy flower, flying monkey and a character in Oz when we are in the Emerald City. I help her with some quick costume changes. We both learned all of the songs with the exception of the four main character's songs. So she doesn't get a chance to do much singing.

I play the part of the Barrister in the Munchkinland scene. And I do sing and dance in that number. And then I sing and dance in the Emerald City. I am glad to not have more scenes that the ones I have because I was worried that my little legs would not be able to keep up. But I am doing great and having a blast! I don't like to toot my own horn so I will tell you what happened after our Saturday night show.

We remove our costumes and make-up before we leave the theater. Geraldine and I were walking out of the theater on our way to the parking area when a man and his wife came up to me and he said, "I just want to say how good you were and I'm so glad you are part of the show". I looked at him because he was wearing a name badge that said STAFF on it. I said thank you so much, what is your name? He told me his name and that he is a part of the Production Staff. He said I can tell that the children performers are Munchkins but when I saw you, I said now she is a performer. That was so cool because even though I have very few lines in that number, it was great to know that he noticed that I was giving my all.

It is great to take our final bows for the night, look out into the audience and see a full house and they are all standing and clapping. I get to do it all again Thursday night through Sunday. After we finished our bows on Sunday, I asked Geraldine how she felt about finishing our first weekend shows. She was so excited and said she didn't want it to end. And I said, exactly and that is show biz! I think she is hooked now. She is currently studying to be a registered nurse but now that she has gotten a taste of show biz, well she may not ever get that out of her blood.

Some of our ensemble cast members are regular performers at Disneyland. Our Dorothy will go back to working as an entertainer on a cruise line once she wraps up in Oz. And even our little dog who plays Toto will go back to the east coast as he is a working dog too. Well, I won't get sad because we have two more weeks of the show.

And now that I have a few days off, I am back to voice lessons every Monday afternoon. Back to doing laundry and cooking for my family. I am enjoying watching my favorite tv shows like Rachel Zoe, Glee and Modern Family. I have to line up some more auditions and give my Agent a call. Yes, it is a crazy life being an actor. You can feel like a gypsy going from job to job. One week you are working then you are unemployed again. But to be a working actor in the theater, oh there is nothing like it.

Very quickly I have returned to finding a spot in the green room where we all apply our make-up and talk about our day. We rush to get into costumes, finding shoes and hairpins. Getting our wigs on just so and grabbing our props. It is a great feeling and it is like riding a bike. It all comes back to you, the smell of the grease paint the roar of the crowd.

Three Films in One Year!

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Well, rehearsals are coming along nicely. I had a few days off and then back to rehearsing on the weekend. After Saturday's time I went to a party. I ended up leaving at 12:30 and went to bed at 2:00 a.m. I haven't done that in a long time. I made sure to only have one glass of wine so I was not drinking and driving.

I do end up doing quite a bit of dancing after all. Fortunately, there are no difficult steps. Being a dancer is one thing, being in the chorus is something else. We are dancing too but not like the dancers. They are center stage and doing difficult dips, waltzes and ballet moves. It's coming along beautifully.

My partner is an older gentleman who has many years experience as a dancer and choreographer. He has even danced in some shows in Las Vegas and on several cruise lines. He will make me look good! Thank you, Jim! Plus he is very nice. One of the little girls had a birthday the other day and we all sang happy birthday to her. Per parents surprised her with several boxes of cupcakes which she shared with all of us. And that was just great because I realized I had not eaten all day and that cupcake tasted pretty good.

Now I know you are wondering, how can you forget to eat all day? Well I get up kinda late (8:30 a.m.) and I have my morning coffee. I don't like to eat breakfast so I usually skip unless I'm craving protein so I will usually boil an egg. Then I go onto house cleaning, doing laundry, running errands. Then take a warm bath, get dressed and go to rehearsal. We rehearse for 3 or 4 hours. Then I come home, watch late night tv, eat a bowl of cereal and go to bed. Then I get up the next morning and do it all over again. Needless to say, I keep hearing songs from the show in my head all the time.

I am looking forward to the screening of the film, White T. We are waiting for the film to be finished, it is in post production right now. When the screening is scheduled, I will be invited along with the other actors to walk the red carpet. I have come along way from working on background on television and film projects to actually have a role in a feature film. So I will let you know more once I know more. My contract says that I have to make myself available for any additional pick up scenes, interviews and advertising of the film. No worries so long as it does not interfere with my current production.

And I did another film earlier this year, Attack of the 30 Foot Chola which is also in post production. And I did another film, Lean Like A Cholo. Wouldn't it be something if all three films were released this year? This is turning out to be another great year for my acting career and I know next year will be even better.