4/7/12 - Shows Eight and Nine - It's Closing Night!

Not much time to write today, with two shows and all. Had breakfast with my mom and we saw two moose walking right down the middle of downtown! I took a video, let me see if I can post it here.

I'm all checked in for my flight, said good bye to my host, cleaned the room, stripped the sheets and towels, took out all the garbage. Oh, and after not snowing or raining for weeks, it decided to snow last night. Nothing debilitating, but I looked out the window and thought, "Really?"

Doing a 2pm show is a bit weird, I gotta get warmed up pretty soon here. Here's to a great final two shows!

Added later - the show is over!! Oh my god. I will write more later, when it has sunken in, but for now, I'm so thrilled to be heading home to New York! I'll write a post-mortem later, I promise. I'll add a couple more photos though.

4/6/12 - Show Number Seven and More Family Arriving!

Today my mom, doctor sister, and niece are coming to Anchorage to see the show! Woo hoo! I'm sooo excited that they are coming, but there's so much going on now, that I'm feeling hyper all the time. Probably the biggest reason is because I know that I am going to fly in a couple of days, which always gets me super nervous. But Mom sent me a nice email, assuring me that I don't need to worry about entertaining them or anything, they can take care of themselves. That helped me relax a little.

The review for the show finally came out. Hopefully it will help fill the seats for the final three shows. It's a good review, and I actually have something that I can excerpt. Most of the cast didn't really get that.

http://www.adn.com/2012/04/05/2409875/anchorage-opera-scores-a-musical.html

And here's the excerpt, if you don't feel like clicking the link

In other exciting news, there were two moose RIGHT by the stage door last night. They hung out for quite a while, because everyone that came in said, "Did you see the moose?" That went on for an hour or so after I came in.

One of the roses in the bouquet from Mom has dried very beautifully

Oh, and my host made sourdough waffles one more time - yum

So now I'm chilling at Kaladi on Tudor for probably the last time. Then I pick up the brood at the airport!

Added later - they are all here, safe and sound! They're on their own tonight, but I think they'll be fine. So great to see them all, I love them so much and I miss them so much.

4/5/12 - Show Number Six and Opening Day

I woke up at the crack of 8am to go to The Peanut Farm to watch the Red Sox opener against the Detroit Tigers. We lost, but it was a really, really great game. I'm so glad I went. They put the game on whatever screen I wanted, and gave me this little personal speaker thing, so I could hear everything. That was nice.

My dad's wife really enjoyed the show last night, which was great. I think we all felt like it was a good performance. She happened to be sitting next to the woman who runs the bar where Intermezzo was holding its after-show party. (Intermezzo is a social group for 20s and 30s age people to come to the opera, trying to encourage that age group to get involved.) Anyway, at intermission, they thought the crowd wasn't being vocal enough with their energy and support, so they started clapping and laughing louder to try to get the crowd going. That was pretty cool. And we got a standing ovation again. Oh, and Dad's wife got to see a moose grazing at the side of the road on her way to the airport, so I feel like that is a success.

Now that it's just a few days until I go home, I'm getting a little freaked out by all that is going on and all that I have to do. My mother, sister, and niece are coming up on  Friday, which is totally awesome. But I've got to make sure that I get everything done, like packing and checking in for my flight. And I can't really hang out with them on Saturday because we have a matinee. I guess they'll entertain themselves, I can't adopt that as my problem.

4/4/12 - Show Number Five

Today has been a bit of craziness. I picked up my Dad's wife at the airport last night at midnight.

After having an awesome Korean dinner at The Tofu House

 Then this morning we went to Snow City Cafe for breakfast

Then we went to the Zoo, which was great, but the pathways are pretty icy and it felt pretty treacherous a lot of the time.

Then we went to The Moose's Tooth, where I finally got some of their awesome pizza again. I love that stuff.

Then we went to some fur shops because she wanted to get some scraps or pelts to make some clothes for a doll. I found a hat like the one Curly wears in one short. And then I found this beaver face!! Right there in a basket for people to buy! Ew!

Oh, and now I have to go do a show! Ha!

4/3/12 - Another Day Off

Today's post won't be too thrilling, I'm afraid. No show, no moose (so far,) and I have to practice and do laundry. Doesn't make for a very exciting blog post. But I swore I'd write one every day.

Something horrifying in the news today - the body of Samantha Koenig has been found in a lake near Wasilla. It's been a huge thing up here, she was abducted at gunpoint at the beginning of February. It was captured on a surveillance camera. They found the guy in Texas, and then somehow that led them to search the lake. Divers found her, which I can't even imagine what that's like. To find a body at the bottom of a lake, which is still frozen enough that people can walk out on it. So much horrible. But hopefully now her family can begin mourning her properly.

I've gotten to that point that going home to NYC is so close that I'm checking the weather there.

4/2/12 - Day Off!!

We worked really hard this weekend, and I think we all agree that we put on four really good shows. We all deserve this day off so much.

Last night we had the cast party, and I meant to take tons of photos, but that didn't happen. I did get a photo of the food though.

Clockwise from top left - fresh spring roll, crab rangoon, fried shrimp with a spicy sauce, chicken wing thingy in hoisin sauce i think, and then tuna poke. Delicious!

My host made sourdough waffles again, probably the last time I will have them before I split.

This morning everything in the driveway froze, so I was going in and out of the house, putting mail in the mailbox, starting the car, trying not to slip, trying to break up some ice - it wasn't until I got into the car that I saw the moose standing at the end of the neighbor's driveway. It feels quite different without the window and house being between you and the wild animal. At one point, steam was coming out of her nostrils, just with her breath, but it looked totally amazing. This photo doesn't quite capture it, but it was really cool.

The review still hasn't come out in the paper. That bums me out because, as I've said, we need the press.

Today I'm going to Mammoth Music and browse guitars on behalf of Noodle. We'll see how ridiculous they think I am!

Added later - Mammoth Music was cool, but of course I can't appreciate it like Noodle could. I'm going to go back tomorrow (maybe) to see if they get some picks that say Mammoth Music on them

Then I went to an Arby's finally, but a regular roast beef was 4 bucks! Sheesh!

4/1/12 - Show Number Four

Getting ready for show number four for this weekend. Feeling pretty good, though I gotta get the voice warmed up. Maybe I'm still warmed up from last night, but by the end of the night last night, my voice, she was tired. Fried a little bit on the high notes. Ah, well. But really, I'm surprised at how hard of a sing Mother Abbess is turning out to be.

I was crossing my fingers that we'd get a review in the paper today, we really need the promo. If you are reading this and you are in the Anchorage area, come to the show! Tell all your friends to come to the show! If you are reading this and NOT in the Anchorage area, write to all your friends and tell them to come to the show!!

Tonight is the cast party, because there is just no other time that we'll be able to do it. It's at a place called Ruby's, so it should be fun to hang out with everyone after this long weekend.

Got a couple more shots of the age make up, just for fun. It changes a little bit every night.

In that second photo, I was trying to get Noodle's flowers in the background.

With dinner last night, I got some dessert to take home. It's bread pudding from Humpy's, with whiskey sauce. I had a few bites before the show, and I could feel my cheeks getting a little red from the whiskey! So I decided not to have anymore. Took it home and zapped it, and it was awesome.

That sauce was so rich and buttery - yum.

3/31/12 - The Show is Up and Running

Today I am dispensing with my format because I don't have much time - two shows today, 2pm and 8pm

Opening night was TEH awesome. We had a really wonderful crowd, they were responsive and they clapped and cheered in all the right places. I even got a few bravas when I took my bow, which was great. They gave us a standing ovation! I wish the house had been more full, but hopefully we will get a glowing review and that will give us some added advertising. And I hope word of mouth will be strong.

Here was the blurb in the paper yesterday

In "Climb," when I turned to Maria for the second B section, there was a tear on her cheek and that was really moving for me. I almost got choked up. That really meant a lot to me, and I hope she knows that. I guess I should tell her.

It was so great to have an audience, as I've said before. The energy was so great and I think everyone felt good about how the show went. One thing to be careful of, on opening nights in general, don't eat ALL the chocolate that people give you. Luckily I didn't get too carried away, because I know better, but I think I went about one truffle too far. Heh.

Oooh, opening night flowers! First from Noodle

And also from Mom

And the company also gave me flowers, so here's what my make up table looks like

Added later - between the two shows! The matinee went well, but the audience was pretty quiet. It looked a bit more full than last night, but it's really hard to tell from the stage. Personally, I feel like I sang the aria the best I've sung it in the theater, so there's a personal triumph. I also feel that I was more connected to it emotionally, and less concerned with voice technique, which is another triumph.

The lilies in Mom's bouquet opened today, so it's even more gorgeous than I realized it would be

And some angel brought some decent non-candy snacks to the green room. Someone else actually brought vegetables, which I grubbed on with my dinner.

The dinner was from Humpy's, which is across the street. A bit over-priced if you ask me, but the fish was good. And there's leftover rice that I can eat tomorrow before the show.

And here's a photo from the show, taken by local photographer, Denny Wells. Dig those cheekbones!

3/30/12 - It's Opening Night!

What happened today:

We open tonight at 8pm! If you're near Anchorage, come check us out!

I have a lot of little errands to run today, so if I have time, I might make it over to the theater.

Had a good workout at the gym, feeling good about sticking with it so well for the past four weeks.

Wrote out cards for everybody in the cast and crew.

General ramblings:

The student performance last night went really well, and the kids were an AWESOME audience. They really loved it, and they clapped and cheered and whooped for everyone. Besides that, it was just good to have an audience at all. It really changes the energy, not only of the performance, but the hour leading up to the performance. When you can hear the crowd milling around in the house, it just adds something to your soul. 

I forgot to post this yesterday - a couple of nights ago, I almost left my computer in the theater! Holy cow, that would have sucked. Clearly my mind was on other things, because that is very unlAike me. I had actually left the building before I realized it. And last night, I was already driving away before I realized that I wasn't wearing my glasses! What's funny about that is that it wasn't my vision that made me realize it. I went to push my glasses up on the bridge of my nose...and there they weren't! Ha!

Quick edit from the dressing room during intermission. Everything seems to be going well! Really well, even! The audience is responding a bit (I always wish for more,) and I felt like my aria went pretty well. When I turned to Maria for the second B section, there was a tear glistening on her cheek! How moving. It almost got me choked up. But maybe her knees were just hurting from kneeling on the hard floor. I admit, I'd love a big huge bravo from the audience one of these nights... just sayin'.

Here's where I am today:

Feeling more vocally confident after nailing the aria for the past two nights. Woot. Ready to get the show running, though this weekend is going to be killer - four shows in 48 hours....can that even be right? Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon. That's within 48 hours, right?

3/29/12 - Final Dress Rehearsal - Student Performance

What happened today:

Actually slept past 8:30am, which is amazing. No matter how late I stay up, I've been having trouble sleeping in. I guess I'm getting enough sleep because I'm not tired, but I just really wanted to stay in bed later.

Ran four miles at the gym, straight through, even without water breaks. That felt pretty awesome.

Got opening night gifts for the cast. Didn't sent me back too much, but with this big of a cast, it adds up!

General ramblings:

Anchorage drivers are baaaaaaad. Seriously, people, LOOK BOTH WAYS.  At least there's a whole lot less ice on the roads, but c'mon, people!

Oh! I should make sure to talk more about how my voice felt after rehearsal last night, after writing here about some issues that I was having. In practice yesterday, I started paying closer attention to how it feels to sing the same pitches in a Handel aria or a Mozart aria. It comes down to singing differently in my passaggio. Whether I want to say lighter, or pushing less air, or higher placement in the face and mouth (probably a bit of all of that,) but I kept all of that in mind last night, and I felt like the aria went far better than it has gone all week. And then I felt like a million bucks. Feeling like I'm singing poorly really weighs heavily on me.

They decided to age me even more last night. And add a crucifix. I think I look like my dad's mom. Eesh.

Oh, found this little treasure in the gutter today. I DO have a bit of corn stuck between my molars...

Oh, I dropped a line in one scene with Maria last night. I think I flubbed a line, and then just dropped the one after. But she is a champ because she just kept going. I apologized later and she didn't even remember, so that's great. Amen for colleagues who are on top of it!

Here's where I am today:

I can't believe it's the final dress! You know what feels weird is having an almost-week in the middle of rehearsals where we didn't run the show because we were working on sound tech. That really killed the momentum that builds in the three weeks leading up to opening night. Interesting phenomenon.

Kind of wishing I was home this weekend because Noodle has a cool gig this weekend and I would like to be there supporting him.

Glad to be up to 4 miles running! Bloomsday becomes more and more possible, yippy!