Bette Midler IS/WAS amazing!

I am exhausted, I am going to spend a week catching my blog up with pictures and everything. BUT! I have to say Bette was amazing, so freaking amazing! PEE IN YOUR PANTS! I would recommend it to anyone! More info coming soon!

Tourist with Tara!

UMMMM!!!! quick update, Amazing blog coming soon, but man oh man have i been a tourist this weekend! We have walked and walked and walked the strip

I WENT TO THE TOP OF THE STRATOSPHERE!!!!! i was crapping in my pants, more pictures coming!
I WENT TO A REBA CONCERT IT ROCKED
OH YEA! and in like 4 hours i will be watching BETTE! THE DIVINE MISS M!!!!! seriously! MORE TO COME SOON!
SHUT UP!

End of week 2

Wow,

What a crazy week, but to be honest its the kind I like!

I am going to start working for the department, Brackley called (Department Chair) offered me a GA (Graduate Assistantship) working in the shops, I said, great, for sure, however you have to know up front I'm not the most Hammer and Nail Kind of guy, But he said that was fine. You all know that I can build and make things work if I need to, its just not my favorite place to be. Hopefully I can get some costume and props time...

I got cast in a show, again odd story that never saw coming!

The show I'm stage managing is going to rock, we have a great cast! We had a production meeting today and it seems things are coming along just fine! So with five weeks before rehearsal starts no complaints on my shows front!

OHHHHHH!!!! it rained today, BIG HUGE RAIN! LIKE MASSIVE DROPS THAT COULD DROWNED A GUY! it was actually AWESOME! dropped the temp 10 degrees, then it stop and back up the temp went! WHAT THE! oh well it was nice while it lasted.

Now onto the biggest news of the day.

TARA IS GOING TO BE HERE IN LIKE 1.5 hours! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND! we are going to a reba concert and being tourists! Should be AWESOME!

Getting on the Freeway

So nothing huge to report today, I must say i haven't got on the freeway once since i have been here. In salt lake it was how you got every where, but here it just doesn't seem that necessary! weird huh?

Also it feels like "the strip" is in a whole different town, i cant even imagine it being in my town, is that weird. I dont know why i just know it feels forever away!

No official news today, I think it might be official that I am in the show, but Its been a confusing day, director says we are waiting till next week, stage manager says its official, I have no idea, so I guess I wait for a sign :-)

OH another thing i noticed about Vegas, it may be 600 degrees outside, but inside EVERY building its negative 2 degrees! Seriously! I was FREEZING today everywhere i went, I wanted to have a jacket or a blanket to make it through my classes, even the student union! but i guess its better then hot. I can't imagine the money they pay in electric bills.

An interesting couple of days...

Well well well let me just say it has been a random couple of days!

When last we met (see how I am pretending that we all see each other everyday and have a little class) anyway. Sunday night brought an end to all of the callbacks well cancel that two shows were done with call backs a third one still had to be completed on monday night.

I really didnt do anything on Sunday, I mean like really nothing, after i got home i was exhausted and I spent the rest of the night getting ready for monday and the rest of the week.

Monday started with my Stage Management class and it was an alright class, we talked about equity's rules and such which was interesting to see the other kids in the class most of which have never stage managed and most of which have no idea what a stage manager is and or does. So as they found out what stage managers do they were shocked. Anyway end of class, nothing eventful.

After moving to my next class which happens to be my favorite class at this point Directing. I got to sit on a couch which was awesome, made my class even better. We talked about some interesting topics in directing, Doings, Substitutions, and Obstacles. My professor is a great guy, been acting all his life and he is just visiting here I think, I am a little unclear on that at this moment. However, i always learn from him, i am not sure why what he says makes so much more sense then any other acting/directing class I have ever had. One of my favorite things from the class was learning about substitutions, using a personal person in your life and putting those feelings on the character you are acting opposite. but not just your mom when the other character is a mom, but someone in your life that you want the same thing from, Like i want you to love me, i want you to accept who i am. So you need to pick someone in your life that you want the same thing as your character wants from the other character. Anyway interesting.

Later on I had Stage Management studio where all of us Grad Stage managers get together and talk through everything going on. There has been some drama in the casting process, and or the kick ball process but i thought then and know now that it was all okay, not a reason to fret. Erica another stage manager asked me to go to her call backs and read in a character that they didn't have anyone called back for nor did they have huge leads on getting someone. Well i was unable to say yes to that for sure because I was still unsure as to if i was doing the benefit show. Which was weird because the show opens friday and it is still under debate. I went to the department chair and asked if the show was still happening, he said he was supposed to have a firm answer 30 minutes ago and didnt have an answer, So no rehearsal monday night either way, and we wait till tuesday for the answer for sure. So i said yes to call backs, and reading in for the character.

I read in for call backs most of the evening and i really enjoyed it, the night progressed into the possibility of myself being cast in the show... go ahead re read that line if you need a minute i can wait... So the dilemma became a real dilemma at that point. Hear it is in a nut shell, my show im stage managing is two weeks after the one i might be cast in, I am here to stage manage, and Josh and "Whales, Save Us!" is my priority so how do i decide if that is the right choice. I have talked with the stage manager for the other show and I really feel like we can work out the schedule, and make it work, but however I still want to make sure that Josh is covered and they have everything they need. I am pretty sure that i can handle it and make the schedule work, i just dont want to leave josh hanging. Spent the night fretting about what was the right thing to do. I don't know. I got up this morning and went in to my advisers office and talked with her about it, i told her my concerns and my thought on how the plan could work, and she was all for it, she liked the idea of getting the experience, and i told her, which is one of the reasons i am really wanting to do the show, is that the professor from my directing class is directing the show, and i really want to go through that process with him... anyway she was behind me and as we discussed if there is a semester to make this work this is the one, because i have no classes tues/thur/fri. So the general consensus was that i would do it. I told Tylo (the director) I was good to go if he wanted me. It seems to be leaning that way, and I am nervous and excited about it. THere is nothing official on the cast list yet however i think I will know for sure this thursday. I'm not sure what to think, excited, nervous, happy. Josh i know you read my blog, so just know i have every intention of making sure you have everything you need and making your show fantastic. Now if im not cast in the end thats great to, because either way this semester is going to be a great semester, I really like josh and elizabeth (director and writer) for Whales, Save Us! my classes are good, and its going to be great!

anyway! three days till tara comes to visit! ROCK ON!

OH AND P.S. STILL HOT VERY HOT!

Callbacks are done

Today we had callbacks for "Whales, Save Us!" it was a good time, went smoothly.

I still think that one of the most interesting parts of this whole experience is that four shows are casting from the same talent pool. I know that sounds easy when you have over 100 people auditioning but its not. For the most part most directors called back a large number of the same people, so this casting meeting should be fun. Truth be told, I think that after Callbacks for two of the shows the meeting seems like it has potential to go smoothly. But as any good boy scout would say its important to be prepared!

Update on the benefit show, there is some discussion that it may be canceled, which is nice for one reason, Tara is coming this weekend and we are going to have SO MUCH fun either way! But if its not canceled that will be fun because It will be a fun show! Well i'll let you know where that all falls out.

2nd week of GRAD school here i come! Bring it!

Two days, So Sorry! HOTTT!

I really can not tell you everything that I have been doing for the last few days, so it doesn't seem like a lot but it has!

Friday was a great day to sleep in, which on a side note I have not been sleeping well... I'm not really sure why, I am generally a really great sleeper! Anyway...

I got up a little later on friday i dont really know what time I think it was 9 am which isnt really that late i know but Im not a huge sleep in person, but the more I am in school the later I stay up so maybe i will be a sleeper inner soon!

I had to go meet Erica and Katy both MFA stage managers to make copies for our auditions. On my way i was going to stop by Judy Ryerson (professor, costume designer) and ask her a couple questions, mind you its 400 degrees outside and I am burning up, well i go to the Judy Bayley theatre (our big theatre) where the costume shop is, she is not there... they say she is in the design studio, a different building with two smaller theatres in it, so i sweat my way over there, nope she is not there whatever i have to go meet the other SM's anyway, as I am leaving the building, Shannon (my advisor) calls and asks what I am doing next week...

Now just a moment to interlude my thoughts here when your professor and or advisor asks what are you doing next week, what is the correct response. So what did i do????

I laughed out load, then she laughed. (then awkward moment) Well she wanted to know if i would stage manage a special benefit show for her next week. I said sure, she said they would pay me and I said why not! So off i went to her office to get the details, did i mention it was HOTTTTT in vegas on friday, not just hot, like devil's armpit hot. seriously i would rather have been in the kitchen during thanksgiving cooking, much cooler. anyway, details on this show are slim, so i sent an email to the producer to get some info... Linda Eder is coming i do know that, but thats about it.

Made copies for auditions, blah blah blah, had to go to a production meeting, and let me just say it was interesting, more on that later i would suppose, but to many eyes here... oh by the way the meeting was back up in the building on the edge of campus, and it is HOTTT!

After the meeting Erica had to get some things for company and we walked all over campus, no you do not understand ALL OVER CAMPUS! and mother of pearl it was HOT! we were going to go get lunch after but it was so hot that all you could think of was a jamba juice that sounded good, and for the love it was awesome... Erica Said it best "i want to dive in my jamba juice and swim around its that hot" anyway, we sat in ericas office for an hour and cooled, down, called ashlee (another SM) and met her at the Alumni center. where we decided to go to olive garden, and MAN IT WAS GOOD, i had been really good all day, and decided what the hell, just cheat, so i did, and in the end it wasnt that cheating, had some bread sticks, chicken with pasta only i didnt even want the pasta and so i didnt eat it, and tons of salad! oh yeah and some cheese dip.... anyway it was worth it, STILL HOT!

I got home and spent the night making a schedule for this show that is next week, its exciting, its a lot of hours, and a lot going on but it is going to be so fun, and it is right where i want to be! still no official word from the producer other then an email with his schedule which i promptly turned into a nice very nice excel spread sheet! with colors! LOVE IT! got ready for auditions and turned in, still didnt sleep well.

This morning had to be to auditions at 8:30 (HOT), and it went all day, schedules got off, time ran behind, crowds where big, it was long, and hard, but man oh man it went well. I can not even tell you how well the group of us stage managers worked together, i got home at 5:30 and all i wanted to do was eat a lot of fat and watch a movie cuddled on the couch! I DIDNT dont worry! (HOT) (HOT) (HOT)

I ate some chicken nuts cheese, couple grapes, it was a good meal. But then right back to work on Call Backs for tomorrow. I have every form you could want, broken down by person, character, i mean if you want it and I dont have it, it will be shocking!!! my Directors name is Josh, and I think its going to be a great expereince. Our writer was there as well and she is great! But with that said four shows are casting from the same talent pool and so as Kenn put it today we will be playing "kickball" (you know that awkward moment in grade school where you all stand in a line and wait to be picked, and one team always gets to go first and they always get the best) anyway we are going to be casting monday night, however My benefit show rehearses then, Did i mention how excited i am about this benefit show, I hope I can pull it off and keep everyone happy, on time, and getting everything they need!

So that brings me to right this minute still hot (they say it will start cooling down in september, believe that when i see it) where i knew I had to sit down and write about this all or i never would, one day this is going to be an awesome journal im sure of it!

Im off to bed! Just can't wait to start tomorrow! ( I know im a total geek, but i am in my element) by the way one day you should ask me about the compliment i got today! IT was great!