A Sensible Three Show Day

My apologies for my blogging negligence. I've been working my tail off in Asbury Park doing ROCKY HORROR, and we have very limited wifi access. It's given me more time to catch up on my Chekhov, but I've fallen behind in everything internet related.

The show is SO MUCH FUN! We opened last night, and I'm on a break in between our matinee and 8pm shows. As it's the day before Halloween, we also have one at midnight. Three show day, huh? Let's do the Time Warp...AGAIN. And AGAIN. AND AGAIN!!! Vocal stamina, be with me today!

We're having a ball. I'm learning so much, since we have to be on our toes at all times - y'know, because every audience is different, and more or less responsive, what with call-outs, dressing up, throwing toilet paper/confetti/playing cards, etc. It's fun when the real ROCKY fans come out and know a lot of the more hilarious call-outs. I'm posting a few pics that I'm in - more to come later, when I've raided the CD at the office. I'd say my Magenta is Naughty Nurse Ratched meets Gloria Swanson circa SUNSET BOULEVARD - and then there's my finale costume! The cast is RIDICULOUS. So funny, and amazingly talented singers. And the band - the band! It's so exciting to rock out every night. Or day. Or whenever. I've lost track of time already.





Okay, I have to leave my beautiful internet cafe haven (if you're ever in Asbury Park, do yourself a favor and visit The Twisted Tree Cafe. They make EVERYTHING fresh, and have a lot of vegan/veggie options for those who need that, plus free wifi, amazingly lovely owners, and delicious everything!) and head back to the Carousel House (the show is playing on the boardwalk in what used to be a carousel. It makes for a really cool non-traditional playing space) to get back into mic and eyelashes. I left the rest of my makeup on. There's a huge Zombie Walk going on today on the boardwalk, so people aren't looking at me like I'm strange, just like I'm really lame for not going far enough. I look intense, but not dead. Ha. Ahh, it's all about context, isn't it?

It's Not Worth Putting My Suitcase in Storage Anymore...

I'm calling tonight "Pack-a-palooza!" as there is much folding and such that needs to occur tonight. Naturally, I have yet to begin. Oh, procrastination, thou art my worthiest opponent! Anyway, we started music rehearsals for ROCKY HORROR on Monday, and learned some ography for TIME WARP later in the week. This cast is ridiculous! By that, I not only mean that they can all wail like nobody's business, but also that they are hilarious, in character and in life. So much FUN! You know what I've discovered I love about this show (other than the fact that there seems to be no end to my getting hired to do obscenely over-the-top dialect work)? You really can't go too far. Music rehearsals have primarily consisted of plunking parts and us laughing in disbelief at one of our castmates just belting the flesh off our faces. Singing your face off in this show is actually not self-indulgent! Ahh, the glories of playing aliens. With Russian accents. If you're me.

Anywhoo, I can just hear you now, saying, "Amy, do tell me some tidbits regarding what you've been up to lately! Perhaps with LINKS!"

Oh, twist my arm.

First of all, here's a link to Theatermania.com's cast announcement of ReVision's ROCKY HORROR!

I am very excited for my darling friend Nikka Graff Lanzarone, who is making her Broadway debut tonight as previews begin for WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN! AAAAAH, so exciting!!!

Last week, I saw the Broadway productions of La Bete, starring the always incredible Mark Rylance and delightful David Hyde Pierce, and Pitmen Painters, a beautiful West End transfer (go see it if you can - I just LOVED it), the Off-Broadway production of Angels in America, and both casts of Office Hours at my beloved Flea Theater! All of them were grand, marvelous, wonderful, etc for different reasons! I recommend them all, and feel free to comment or email me if you want a bit more of a scoop. Tomorrow I'm seeing A Life in the Theatre, with TR Knight and the glorious Patrick Stewart. Sunday, I leave for New Jersey to begin our rehearsal process fo rilz (clearly a technical term in the industry for diving into all-day rehearsals).

Speaking of which, I need to pack!

Before wrapping this up, I would like to take a brief moment to mention the recent rash of tragic teenage suicides due to bullying, in many instances because of their actual or perceived homosexuality. These deaths absolutely break my heart. A number of outreach programs have spun into motion in reaction to these events, and I just wanted to pass the information along. Regardless of one's views on homosexuality, I think we can agree that a 13-year-old hanging himself in his backyard in reaction to being bullied and feeling humiliated is horrifying, and that we could all afford to spread some compassion.
The IT GETS BETTER Project
Give a Damn - LGBT Equality

Get Rid of Me!!!

Cherubs! I'd be most thrilled and grateful if you'd take 30 seconds to click HERE and vote for me! I could potentially win a trip around the world for six months, all expenses paid! I'm a little late into the game, but I'm gunning for what I can get!

Thanks, all! A more interesting post to come in the next few days. I'm still in Breck, reading mysteries, watching movies, and enjoying the mountain air!

Back in the 'Do

I'm in Breckenridge with my mom for the week (the 'Do in the title of this post referring to the abbreviation for Colorado that my brother and I used with our group of friends in high school), just relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous weather. Here are some photos from the back porch/deck that I took this morning!







I also must share that I bought a sensational new hat today.

I have an audition tomorrow out here (I know, no rest for the weary, eh?), so I should get to sleep. I wanted to post those glorious photos, and to say that I've been getting my ROCKY contract and rehearsal info (we start in the city on Oct 4th, and relocate to Jersey the 11th), and I CANNOT WAIT TO START!!! I bought the album on iTunes to prep for the callback (I used to have it, but due to the deaths of several iPods and computers, was sadly lacking it), and have not been able to stop listening to it since. It's going to be so much fun to saaaaaaaaang!

Also, I just checked out the cast album of THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM from Lincoln Center Library and loaded it into my iTunes, as I often like to do with shows I don't really know (plus, I knew Larry Moss was in the original cast, and wanted to hear him)...It is AMAZING! All folk and bluegrass, fiddles and banjos. The show isn't done too frequently, which seems a shame, considering how lush the music is. I shall be doing more research upon my return to the city. I already found a couple of songs that I'm interested in recording or putting in my book. I was talking about it with my mom today, and realized that it makes sense I like that style of music, as generations of my family come from Kentucky and Tennessee, and many were fiddlers. Apparently, my great uncle Tom is a incredible fiddler, and someone else a little further back played the banjo. I love it! Time to perfect my folksy twang...

Oh, quickly, let's pimp a friend, shall we? I worked with an electrician at Twin Tiers this summer named David Kerr, who takes fantastic photos. He has a beautiful photoblog that I recommend everyone take a look at. He and a few friends have been chronicling their year with, essentially, a photo a day. Some really stunning work.

Oh, fantasy free me!

So, I've been ridiculously blessed the past week or so, and I've booked another show! I'll be playing Magenta in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at ReVision Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, from October 28th - November 7th! We have a midnight show the day before Halloween, and I cannot WAIT! Science Fiction Double Feature AND Time Warp, plus running around cackling wildly while audience members yell things at you? Sign me up, please! Plus, it's another pop/rock show, which is a nice contrast to the last few musicals I've done (Into the Woods, The Sound of Music, Stop the World). Sometimes ya wanna sing legit, and sometimes ya wanna scream ya face.

Anyway, I've been sitting at my computer with my faithful coffee mug at my side, doing lots of mailing/regional theatre research grunt work, so it was lovely to be interrupted by a phone call with an offer!

The Trouble with Contini

It's been a lovely week for The Jackson here - my friend Daniela and her boyfriend Tobias have been visiting me from Germany (she and I met when I first moved to the city, and she was here doing an internship to complete her Masters Degree. We were both hired at Starbucks on the same day, over five years ago now), I've been catching up with loads of friends, AND I got a job offer! I've been cast as Stephanie Necrophorous in NINE at Speakeasy Stage in Boston! Hoorah! The show is in January and February, which is, of course, a HORRIFYING time to be in Boston, as I remember all too well from four winters there during college. For the ART, though, for the ART, darlings! It was a goal of mine for this year to book something in Boston, as I do love the town so. The BCA, where we'll be working, is GORGEOUS. GA-GA-GORGEOUS. One has to love a newly renovated facility. I still have to talk to the company manager and do contract stuff, but I wanted to share! Hooray! Stephanie is the critic who sings the patter section in FOLIES BERGERES ("The trouble with Contini, he's the king of mediocrity," etc), and was played by Kate Hudson in the movie (which I did not see). The great thing about NINE is that, with so many female roles, there's the possibility of doing the show around six times, and playing a different one in each production! I really am dying to play Seraghina, the prostitute who sings "Be Italian." One day, one day! In the meanwhile, I'm thrilled to have a project to look forward to! I have several auditions coming up in the next few weeks as well, so I'm keeping busy with all of that.

Speaking of which, I have an audition for THE 39 STEPS soon, and am coaching a student on all of the woman's accents this week (English, Scottish, and either German or Russian, depending on the version of the script used), so I'd best go and give it a read! I've seen it twice, but need to get all my ducks in a row and prepare!

Tired and Inspired

I've been in Larry Moss' workshop all week. One more day to go. I'm up at 9am tomorrow, and I've got to be ready to scream the house down and eat my partner alive on stage. It's very exciting to be given permission to go nuts like that, but also takes a LOT of vocal and emotional stamina. Whew! As I said in a previous post, I'm working on Neil LaBute's REASONS TO BE PRETTY...I'd been having difficulties with how contemporary the language is (I do very well with Shakespeare, O'Neill, and Shaw...really heightened, complicated stuff). Larry was having me yell at top volume, and then shouted to me at one point, "Do it like Medea!" All of a sudden, I understood what I needed to do, dropped in, unleashed classical actor Amy, and felt MUCH better! It got a huge laugh from the class, because (aside from the absurdity of Medea screaming about flushing goldfish down the toilet), many people much prefer contemporary language to huge Greek and Shakespearian texts, but my comfort zone is a mite old-fashioned. It was a lovely moment.

I'm running to bed, but just felt like sharing...This has been a fantastic week. I love sitting and watching my fellow classmates (many of whom I take Karl Bury's weekly scene study class with, and have known, admired, and watched grow for years) ROCK IT OUT, and just take huge leaps forward in their work. So exciting. SO exciting. I can feel that I'm taking strides, too, and learning a lot about myself...I love acting so much. I love being involved in this community. I love artists. I love other passionate people. People who bring themselves and give of themselves. It's gorgeous, and makes me want to be a better actor and human being. It's also a blessing to work on a difficult scene like this with my dear friend and colleague Denis Lambert, who is brilliant, and the greatest scene partner a person could ask for. I'm so grateful for him.

Right, I have to go to sleep so that I can go full tilt boogie first thing in the a.m.