Click the reviewer’s name to be taken to their full review:

“[Director]‘s work to coordinate such a vast project is nothing short of impressive … [Costume Designer} shows sheer genius in his expressions displayed in the simple white color scheme of the show ... [Choreographer] creates masterful pieces of work … the sound work creates stunning images … performers are beyond courageous …  with a perfect twilight to end a perfect show this limited engagement is the crowning glory of exploratory devised works this season.”

~ Amanda Gunther, DC Metro Theater Arts

“[Director] sidesteps the aid of a traditional linear drama form but never lets the piece stray into over-intellectualized abstraction … the creative team successfully allows images to pile up and resonate as they will … the movement vocabulary of the performance is an interesting blend of forms … strong bare legs and the way feet plant themselves in the grass or flick then pull through water remind me of the Pina Bausch Company and that company’s use and attention to the elements … [The Goddess] is a magnificent and expressive dancer … special mention must be given of the courage and stamina of all these performers … I walked to my car feeling satisfied and strangely teary by having seen something odd but brave and moving that was communicating to us something about being human, and, in its expression, bringing life to a spot in Washington that has been long emptied and neglected.  Isn’t this what theatre is meant to do?”

~ Susan Galbraith, DC Theater Scene

And then the photos started showing up.

Most (of me) are just … yik. Something about a busted lip will make me look like I’m a total idiot, with my mouth hanging open, in EVERY. SINGLE. PHOTO. ::sighs:: Never mind that the swelling was so bad I COULDN’T close my mouth. ::shakes head:: The things we do for art.

But there were a couple, that summed it all up.

First up … why I do theatre … for others:

There were several sections of the show were I was in and among the audience. (The final day, this particular scene was performed about 6 inches from a castmate’s daughter’s lap. There were over 200 people in a space designed to hold half that.) What I couldn’t tell, while performing, was whether said audience was watching, or being uncomfortable. Apparently this woman was focused, rapt, on me through the entire scene.

Playing into someone’s imagination? Helping them experience? YES. That’s exactly it.

And here’s why I do theatre, for me:

He’ll kill me if he finds out I posted that. Not his favorite photo … but his favorite is a terrible one of me, and this is my blog, so … I win.

That was taken at the cast party. Sharing a drink and a chair (as you do), as part of a circle of people … laughing so hard we were crying.

Friends. One of those big reasons I do it, for me.

::smiles::

* The weather was NOT on our side that weekend. What was forcast to be in the 80s ended up being in the 60s and below … and totally rainy one night. When it rained we moved under cover, but lost the canal. From what I heard … it was still pretty awesome. Reviews tomorrow!

But for now … here are some of my favorite shots from The Nautical Yards. *

Gorgeous.

All photos courtesy of force/collision … final dress rehearsal 4/25.

* TNY performs now though Sunday 4/29, 7pm, at the Washington Navy Yards – Yards Park. Come join us!

So, I’ve decided to start posting them here … they may only be funny to me, but you never know…

October 2004 – 11pm-ish – Car parked in a public parking lot, we’re passed out in the backseat, trying to sleep.

Cop 1: ::knocks on window::

Boy: “Crap, I thought this lot didn’t close.”

Me: ::rolls down window::

Cop 1: “Can you step out here, please? Not you, sir.”

Me: ::gets out of car::

Cop 2: ::gets INTO car::

Cop 1: “So, what are you two up to, out here so late?”

Me: “We’re actors at the theater right up the street. Our show got out about half an hour ago, and we’re both too tired to drive home. We figured we’d try and sleep for a couple hours, so we don’t crash. I thought this was a 24 hour lot?”

Cop 1: “RIGHT. That’s not a lie.”

Me: “It’s not.”

Cop 1: ::scoffs and walks away to talk to Cop 2 and compare stories::

The stories match, because, um, they’re TRUE.

Cop 1: “So, um, I guess you’re telling the truth. That’s, um, very responsible of you.”

Me: “Thanks. Can I get back in the car? I’m freezing.”

Cop 1: “You have to understand, when we normally find cars parked late, it’s not normally local actors trying to get sleep before heading home.”

Me: “I understand. Can I get back in the car NOW?” *

Cop 2: “Yeah. Sorry to have disturbed you.”

Me: “Right.”

Cop 2: “We’ll radio so that no one else bothers you.”

Me: ::raises eyebrow then gets back in car::

Boy: “Did you have to give them attitude?”

Me: “Did they have to interrupt my nap? We were clearly asleep. Asshats.”

Boy: ::laughs:: “Hell hath no fury and all that?”

Me: “Shhh. SLEEPING. Don’t make me call you an asshat, too.”

And we proceeded to fall back to sleep, and drive home at 1am.

Random, right?

So, as you may or may not be aware, I’m in a new show. Let me repeat: I’M. IN. A. NEW. SHOW. *

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More info on that to come. In the meantime, check out my beautiful cast (well, some of them):

We’ve been rehearsing for the last month, and as such, I’ve been SUPER busy. So busy, in fact, things (like blogging, and returning emails, and sleep…) have gone neglected. So today, a list of things I’ve learned/observed during rehearsal:

- I’ve missed this even more than I realized.

- The women in non-equity DC theater (at least those I’ve met) are TIMID. ** I’ve never been the most adventurous (non-company) woman in a cast before.

- Being the most adventurous makes you stand out. And gets you offered other shows.

- Having to turn down other shows SUCKS. Stupid family weddings and day jobs…

- Having a scene partner with GORGEOUS blue eyes is never a bad thing.

- More importantly, if that scene partner is a fantastic actor, you win. Or rather, I win.

- It is NEVER ok to accidentally call your husband your scene partner’s name. (In my defense, they both start with J.) It’ll just make husband even less sure about you doing this whole “acting” thing. ***

- It is totally acceptable to accidentally call your scene partner your husband’s name.  Be prepared for non-stop teasing from said scene partner.

- Boys are HEAVY. Especially when you basically have to dead-lift them. By yourself. Repeatedly.

- My back is stronger than I thought. Yay!

- My arms are not. Hello soreness.

- Extra workouts are not necessary when rehearsal involves running 2 miles.

- Some people take themselves WAY too seriously.

- Reciprocal total trust is an amazing thing. And makes for heart wrenchingly beautiful scenes.

- The option to do this full time is suddenly open. It throws a wrench in my careful plan. This terrifies me to no end.

- Finding friends is a matter of who you talk to. ****

- My love for gay men (and the women who love them) is undying.

- I think I’m finally home.

I’m sure there’s more, but that’s where my brain is at the moment. I’ll go into detail on a lot of these later, but for now … yay!

* Thanks in large part to the wonderful Nicole. I owe that lady many, many drinks.

** We’ve been rehearsing for nearly a month, and we STILL have women doing the bare minimum. And freaking out when they’re asked to do the scene barefoot. Not wanting to touch the men. Giggling their way through exercises. Not bothering to listen to the director. Marking the dance instead of throwing themselves into the movement. Having a problem with being wet on stage. REALLY having a problem that the costume designer is putting us in light clothing  … dear God, what will that MEAN when it’s wet? We’ll be covered, right?! ::headdesk::

I really, really wish I was exaggerating … but this isn’t even half of it.

*** We’ll get into this in depth later, but suffice to say, he’s not thrilled with the idea of me playing a romantic part.

**** My standard “I moved here not knowing anyone and work in an office of 4. I usually met people through school and theater and those weren’t happening for me, here.” usually falls on deaf ears … or at most earns a look of sympathy. THESE people, though? It prompted hugs, and “I KNOW, it was like that for me, too!”, and “You’re here with us now, it’ll be ok, we’ll fix it.” God, I love people like that.

And if you have NO idea what I’m talking about, just click right here. Bravery! Cuteness! Blogging somewhere that isn’t here! (Oops!)

See you all tomorrow!

And for some people, it’s just too much:

Hope you had a great one … no matter which side you happen to fall!

* The nephew, brought to you by the impromptu photoshoots new parents (who am I kidding, we All)  love so dearly.

Yes, we want to have children. We are planning to wait for a couple of years, but the timeline is variable, so who knows?

But … there are things that just make me want to grab husband and say “Give me a baby! Now!”, while my ovaries explode. You know how it goes.

For example:

- Holding my 10 day old nephew, and hearing comments (from family) like “Oh, he looks just like you!” *

- Listening to the radio and hearing the following:

Thanks to you, a woman will get the chance to feel the kick of a tiny foot under her ribs. Thank to you, a woman will have to shop for pants with an elastic waistband … and be happy about it…

It was a radio spot for egg donation. GAH. And yes, I started sobbing.

- Reading the morning’s blog posts and coming across this:

Photo via APW, by the incredible Seth Kaye

LITTLE BUTTON! **

Excuse me while I go dissolve into a puddle.

What, if anything, does this to you?

* He really did look like me, in his earliest days. Mostly because he looked like my dad, and so do I. Now, though, he’s clearly not mine. Interesting how that worked out.

** That’s the only word that came to mind when I saw that. Button. In a squealy voice, naturally.

In discussing my goals with my boss, we got to disecting a recent promotion announcement … figuring out what about the woman who’d been promoted (totally deservedly, lady ROCKS) GOT her that promotion. The announcement kept coming back to classes she’d taken in her time with this company. So, we looked into the classes. 3 required for a certificate, 6 for the full-on certification. 

The goal is to get my full certification by the end of 2013. And my certificate by the end of 2012. Last Wednesday was my first class: Budgeting and Accounting. Oooh, fun. *

I was the 4th to arrive to my class, and sat down to open the book.** Across the table from me were two women … one much older than the other, but clearly trying to appear younger. Ok, there are plently of women like that, right? Each was dressed in a black blazer and many necklaces, and had perfectly manicured nails.

As I sat down, they looked up. I was in a blouse and cardigan combo … no blazer to be found. The younger of the two looked me up and down, and huffed … loudly enough that the entire room could hear her. Then she turned to her friend, and they both started laughing.

Well alright then. Asshats.

Class filled up (about 15-20 men to 6 women … not uncommon in this industry), and we began. It was immediatly clear that while I may be one of the youngest in the room, I was also one of the most knowledgable. I thought nothing more of it than to heave a sigh of relief (I was terrified I was going to know NOTHING) and continue answering questions. I’d made a point to sit directly across the table from the instructor, so I could make eye contact … and as a result, she addressed a lot of quesitons to me. Fancy.

About halfway through, though, I started noticing the same two women, this time glaring at me. When I finally answered which company I work for, the glares got more intense. I attempted to ignore them, and went on doing what I had been doing. But now it was awkward.

WHAT IS IT about women that makes us so catty? Why was it that my clothing/workplace/age/knowledge should be subject to open ridicule? Why should I be made to feel ashamed of my acomplishments? And for that matter, why should the one thing I remember (besides her behavior) about the older woman be that she was trying to look much younger?

It feels like we’re back in high school, and the cliques are at war.

I don’t get it, and I don’t like it. If this continues, it’s shaping up to be a very uncomfortable class.

Do you have experiences like this?

*Please note the scarcasm. I mean, my undying enthusiam.

** Book is a bit of a misnomer. It was a fancy 3-ring binder with the pages shrinkwrapped, hole-punched, and ready to go. That stupid shrinkwrap took AGES to get off. Ugh.

Will you be my Valentine? You don’t have to, I guess. But I want you to be.

Can I get a collective AWWWWW?

I smiled, and went back to the grilled cheese and turkey preperation. Tough stuff, I tell you.

What I DIDN’T know * was that he immediately went and posted this exchange on Facebook. Where the conversation took a rather … interesting turn:

For the record … the first two commenters are his friends, the rest are family. HIS family. Except for the last couple … those are my mom.

WHY does it always have to come back to babies? Yes, we want babies! No, not right now!

You’ll notice none of MY friends were pushy enough to comment. THEY have manners. Pssh. COUSINS.

* Didn’t know until this morning, as I blearly brushed my teeth and checked the various social networks.

You don’t see any of MY friends being pushy like that.