I'm in Beach Haven...

and rehearsals have begun! It's a rather large cast and a BIG show but my role is not so HUGE that I have to feel overwhelmed with only 9 days of rehearsal. Really great actors playing George and Mary (Mary is being played by a great gal that I did ANYTHING GOES with a couple years ago) and the rest of the cast seems strong as well. I have a song/dance number in Act 1 called "Wings," which I think is going to be very cute. Well...not much more to report. Weather is kinda gray here, with a few showers, but at least it isn't pouring rain right now.

Group living is always interesting, but since I am in the house with most of the AEA (union) folks, and we make up most of the older members of the cast, it is fine.

I was thinking today, that in most other professions, you never live communally - sharing a kitchen and bathroom with 6 other people. Most of the people who I know outside of the acting world, wouldn't live this way again in a million years. Most of them did something like it in College (although I would wager a bet that most dorm rooms are in better shape) and wouldn't want to revisit that.

For me, there is something nice about it. Certainly strange after not having done it in a long while - but almost like a "reconnection" to simple roots.

After all, most of us, in the "rank and file" of performing, do what we do because we love it - not for the money, or the housing or the food. Let's hope not, because most of the time, none of those things are in abundance.

Will try to post a rehearsal log when I have more to report.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving became my favorite holiday as a young adult because of the gathering of my little family and the great meal. Like many families, our tradition was turkey and the fixens. My Mom used to slave over it all in a kitchen that would have kept most people from serving frozen dinners. Not sure how she did it, but she always managed to pull it off (with some help from my Auntie Carm who always made the mashed potatoes). I'm grateful that when I had my first real place my Mom came down and I made dinner for her. Of course today, my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Auntie Carm and Auntie El and of course my brother Jackie) are all gone. I'm grateful that my partner's family always welcomes me for the holidays although I have been known recently to spend certain holidays alone. Sometimes it is just quiet and intimate as I conjure the memories and spirits of my lost loved ones. While it may seem melancholy, and certainly comes with tearful reminiscence, most of the time I find myself smiling with thoughts of the past and hope for the future knowing that my family will always be with me.