Staying Busy

I enjoy staying busy because it’s nice to feel like I’m accomplishing as much as I possibly can…If I were plowed over by a truck tomorrow, I want to feel like I lived my life to the fullest…as morbid as that sounds. (looking for wood to knock on…surrounded by plastic counters)

So I'm usually happy if I say I'm busy, and lately I've been super busy! I will be appearing in episode 7 and 9 on this season of Gossip Girl and will hopefully continue to return for more. I love the show and I am thrilled to be a part of it in any way. It's been nice to see Jonathan's character expand a bit, too. I've been able to work on both Bye Bye Birdie and Gossip Girl rather seamlessly for the past two weeks, shooting on the day that Birdie is dark.

Bye Bye Birdie continues to take up most of my time and I’m having a blast. It’s nice to play a role that puts a smile on my face every night. I love working on such a bold character. It's been really wonderful to explore the mind of this outrageously neurotic and rather insecure teenager…Especially since I was one not too long ago.

A really great part about the experience has been getting to know the teen ensemble members. They are all very young. Some of them are completely new to the scene and some have several Broadway shows under their belts already. What's truly wonderful is that all of these kids are incredibly kind, down-to-earth, and supportive individuals. They are completely in love with what they are doing and excited to get out there every night. It's really refreshing and has given the rest of the cast a lot of energy. As a performer, I think it's important to remember how exciting everything was when you first began theatre. It's amazing that many of these kids are starting their theatrical careers on a Broadway stage. It's reminded all of us that we are just here to play and create a story.

It's been great to watch the show grow over the past few weeks. I know we'll be freezing it soon and preparing it for a good run.

I'm also working on a couple outside projects right now, including a few concerts. Will Van Dyke is an up and coming composer/music director. I will be singing some his beautiful work at his show on the 12th of October at the Duplex downtown. There are very talented people involved with the show. I'm sure it will be a great night. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Playbill Article (You must be at least 21 years of age to attend a show at the Duplex)

In terms of concerts, I'd like to be a part of more shows like Will's in the future. There is always another generation of Broadway writers and performers in line to debut their work. I love that about this city.

In the midst of everything, I've been in the middle of a rather insane move. I'm very excited about my new place, though. I'm not really sure why I decided now was the perfect time to pack up and deal with all of that insanity…but it will all be settled and over with by next week. I moved around a lot as a kid. Maybe that's why I can never stay in one place for more than a year. I'm going to try to make this next apartment a home that I will not want to leave.

…And since it's a bigger space, I hope to adopt another dog within the next few months. I think it's time Jacob had a friend to romp around with when I'm at the show. Since I'm a big dog lover, I may be leaning towards the larger breeds!

Anyway, things are good. I will have more to come.

Tech Week

So, I know the blog updates have been slowing down a bit lately, but things have been a little hectic. Right now we're running the show for the first time. So far, things are going great. Tech is always a difficult and mind numbing process...but it has got to get done. When a show goes into "technical rehearsals" it means that we've got to set every technical aspect of the show. Sounds simple enough...but what this really means is that every bulb, every set piece, every cue, every quick change, every movement...etc, must be completely figured out and in place. Songs like, "Lot of Living," which is a huge production number, can take up to 5 hours to complete. So, it takes a lot of patience. It's very much like a film set, actually. There is a lot of waiting around. The difference is, on a set, most of the waiting around takes place in a trailer or dressing room. During Tech, if they need you to stand on stage for 5 hours, you will stand on stage for 5 hours.

Not that I'm complaining. Everyone knows what Tech is like and they prepare for the worst. Oddly enough, this is when a lot of chemistry in the cast grows. After all is said and done, and when we finally start to run the show, it's thrilling to see how things have started to come together.

And speaking of film sets, I will be spending a lot of time on the Gossip Girl set in a couple weeks. Turns out I will be returning this season after all!

I cannot believe our first preview is next Thursday. I think we are in great shape, but we've only been in the theatre for about a week. A lot of things are still very new to us. That being said, the production is great and I think people are going to be ecstatic to see our take on such a classic show. Allie Trimm is so sweet, young, and genuine as Kim, that the character becomes much more relatable. Bill Irwin has completely re-invented his role and will have audiences rolling. Nolan Funk is going to have girls screaming, the kids are stunning, and the design (set and costumes) is simply breathtaking at times.

If you want to know more about the production you should definitely read the Playbill article on the show that came out today. Bobby Longbottom talks about some of the things we've done with this revival.
Playbill Article

In case people were a little confused, the original stage production and the 1963 film were very, very different. Every scene seemed to be re-written in the film. Our revival is based off of the Original Broadway production's script with some minor changes here and there.