Dead Rising

4/29/09 8:54 PM

I went into work today for about an hour. Donna asked if she could take my shift & I let her, because I’m not feeling well. I finished serving the one table I’d gotten so far & left. I went home & did the couch potato thing. I felt like venting through the world of video games, so yesterday, I went to game stop in search of a first person shooter, preferably with zombies. My Xbox is a first generation & has some bugs in it, so it’s too frustrating to play Doom 3 . . . which is a favourite. Trying to avoid another bundle of frustration, I bought for the Wii. The gentleman at the game stop recommended “Dead Rising.”   This video game is RIDICULOUS. First it was dumb, then fun, then awesome, then hysterical.   Phase One: Dumb ...

When it Rains, it Pours

4/28/09 5:36 PM

Here’s a good one: What do credit card fraud, suspended license plates, a surprise trip to the vet, a loss of all social ties, & a car accident have in common?   Answer: My luck.     It starts with my mother, really. She’s having a rougher time than I am . . . her boyfriend of six years turned out to be a real jackass in pretty much every respect . . . which surprised me. And a lot of other people. Not Dal . . . . way to divine, dude. Anyway, she’s really stressed & it’s rubbing off on me. That’s the base level of stress. Then there’s school work. That’s a big duh. And the other day, I came home & pet Oscar the way I always do. From the top of his handsome little head right up to the tip of his tail. And he yelled at...

Creature of Habit

4/27/09 12:01 PM

One of the reasons that my mother is not as fond of theatre as I is the repetition. She enjoys the rehearsal process, but once the show starts, it’s just the same thing over & over. For her, perhaps it is. She’s locked in the lighting booth or the sound booth pushing buttons. Onstage, in my opinion, the show is different every night. The audience reactions are different & fuel the show differently, sometimes actors play with different readings of lines, sometimes something goes wrong, & sometimes you discover something new about your character. There are a million things going on at once; the awareness of the audience, the loss of yourself in your character, the motives & background of your character & his/her relationship with other characters & objects...

Jealousy

4/26/09 10:08 PM

This morning, my mother said, "I don't want to go to rehearsal today."

I nearly died right there. Don't ever say that. Why would you say that? I WISH I were in rehearsal all day. I got to stay home & pill the cat.

And she JUST walked through the door, "What a whiney baby." refering to one of the lighting guys.

I'd STILL rather be in a rehearsal.

Audience Reaction

4/25/09 8:44 AM

Every performer has their reason. The thing they love most. Not that everything else is wonderful, but there’s one thing that brings them as close to heaven as they can get. For some, it’s the exploration of their character or the rehearsal process or the wonderful people they get to work with or the recognition.   My elixir of ecstasy is audience reaction.   When I was more into the dramatic side of things, my reactions were people shifting uncomfortably in their seats (which, if you’re good, is a pervasive & distinct sound & incredibly satisfying), the occasional vocal reaction (‘oh, shit’ being my favourite), & when I screamed in one performance, my director reported to me that one of the younger children crawled under their...

Brilliance

4/24/09 11:36 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Theatre Folk

4/23/09 7:41 PM

Writing has (in the back of my head, behind the denial) been my plan B. There’s not too much I’m good at . . . & while acting is absolutely where I want my life to head, another talent of mine has been writing. I can’t remember if I’ve told this story here before, but when I was five or six years old, my mother wrote down something that I told my father. She said she knew then that I’d be a writer. I was running ahead of him while we were walking home one day & when he caught up with me, he really gave me hell about it. I have the vaguest memory of it . . . but my mother has it in her palm pilot. “My backpack was shaking like a dog & the leaves were crunching like glass under my feet. Your words were knocking at my ears, but couldn’t...

He Just Needs Big Glasses

4/22/09 9:32 PM

Usually, hosting shifts are boring & uneventful. Tonight, I entertained myself by people-watching. More specifically, person-watching. Within seconds of his entrance to the restaurant, I was smitten with this guy’s presence. My first impression was that he should be cast as a mad scientist. This guy had thoroughly grey hair that stuck straight out & eyebrows to match. He wore a nice suit, but without a tie & with the first two buttons of his shirt undone. When he took off his jacket, he rolled up his sleeves & it just fed the image. He had a pink complexion that set off his bright white, perfect teeth. He was there with a party of four for someone’s birthday. A woman came in an hour before their reservation to drop off balloons & gifts for me to set out on...

Sound it Out

4/21/09 9:28 AM

Let me start by saying that this was a pet peeve of mine before Bush was in office & it became fashionable. I remember getting scoffed at by my history teacher who, even though I sat all the way in the back, saw me cringe when he said ‘new-cue-ler.’ And my math professor says it too . . . & it really bugs me.   But my heart just broke in two the day I saw the fourth Indiana Jones movie & Harrison Ford said it. New-cue-ler. I groaned out loud in the movie theatre. C’mon, now. Not only does it make him sound unintelligent – which is highly unfortunate – but if he pays attention at all, maybe he’s used to his pronunciation, but he’s an actor & all over the news for a while there, people were making fun of Bush for his... 1 comment

One Day, it's Going to Get me in Trouble

4/20/09 6:32 PM

As an actress, it’s a valuable tool . . . but as someone who tries to keep to themselves, it’s a curse.   Irene is always commenting about how facially expressive I am . . . sometimes in a good way, sometimes we’re in the middle of the woods & I think I see something large & animal-like & accidentally scare Irene really badly with the look on my face. Woops.   The waiters at work comment on it . . . Cari just stared at me & laughed the other day as my face slowly deteriorated into disgust as I watched a child get seated in my section. Once, a table really got a kick out of some look on my face to the point where I was given a high five. I wish I could remember what I did, but it was so genuine, I can’t recapture it.   My...