Poo.

As the heading would no doubt suggest, I didn't get a callback for Stratford. But I'm totally going to audition again next year and every year after until they come to their senses and realize that I am the one they're waiting for.

Dad's back in town! Can't wait to see him on Sunday.

The high school play I directed is finally over. Thank God I don't have to go back all the way out in Pierrefonds again.

My brain is kind of stuck, which doesn't bode well for the class I have to teach tonight. I think I may pick up a coffee on my way to class.

But here's something really amazing: I picked up bell hooks' Teaching to Transgress again, and it's exactly the spark I need to reinvigorate my teaching again, which is beginning to get stale. So that's awesome.

Anyway, I need to stop futzing around, write one more set of emails to close out my Riverdale contract and then I'm off.

Anyhoo, I love you!

EEEE!!!!

I'm waiting to find out whether or not I got a callback for the Stratford audition. I don't think I'll hear anything about it for at least another week. If I get a callback, I'll be going to T.O. on March 3. In any case, I'm hoping to make it out to Toronto in March, because there's a theatre company out there doing a musical tour of Romeo and Juliet. And hey, it's an Equity gig, so the pay shouldn't be too crap (I hope).

I'm here at the office and having a hard time settling down to work. I'm going to try again soonish. It may also interest you to know that now that I have time to work out regularly, my health is doing much better and my weight is getting under control. Now if only I was disciplined about eating healthily...one thing at a time, right?

Also, next Wednesday I'm going to lunch with a casting agent. I know, finally. I refuse to stress about it until after we've met and I find out what she can do.
...
Actually, now I've gotten an inside scoop about her, and so basically, I'm just going over to enjoy a free lunch. She's not in a position to be very helpful to me right now. Quelle drag. But that's okay. This will be a learning experience, because I've never spoken with an agent before.

Okay, now I'm really going back to work.
Loving you!

Sorry...

It would appear that I've gotten jerky and neglectful again. There's just so much going on these days, I don't even know where to start.

Okay, first of all, the Cyclops. It was a fun show, I had a blast, people seemed to really enjoy it, and since then, a lot of really amazing opportunities have begun to open up for me as an actress. I just got cast in the next Tableau D'Hôte show going up in the first two weeks of May at Theatre Ste. Catherine. It's called Seven Stories, a play by Morris Panych, and I'm playing Rachel, a hyper-religious woman. It's a funny play and a funny part. Actually, although I know she's a character that many people would dismiss as foolish or crazy, I actually have a lot of compassion for her.

Next week, I have an audition for the Stratford Conservatory. If that works out, they'll fly me out to Startford for a callback, and if I get accepted into the conservatory, I'll be gone for two years, and then I get a spot in the company the following season. I think I got those details right. Whatever, man. It's Shakespeare! It's Stratford! If I got in, I'd go, no question about it.

Also, a little bird told me that I'm being considered for a part in a big show next season. The director saw the Cyclops and liked me! Yay!

I'm still waiting to find out if the funding came through to mount a production of Harlem Duet in November. I should find out by next month. If so, man, I'm going to work with a terrific cast and director, and I know it'll be the awesomest show playing in Montreal this year. Trust me.

I've been teaching out at John Robert Powers these days as well as the other jobs, and it's going well. Not a demanding gig by any stretch of the imagination, and as a matter of fact, it's putting me in touch with parents who want private voice coaching for their kids! Which pays much better than any other gig I have going on. So thus far, I've got one, possibly two private clients starting in March. I'm so happy to be getting back into voice coaching, because I enjoy it so much.

YouthWorks has been rock and roll this year. Lots of dropouts and maneuvering to keep things running. The play I was going to direct for YouthWorks fell through because one of the students dropped out. Oh yes, I was VEX. But in the end, we've selected another play, and it'll be a better choice for the students, I think. Definitely it's a piece that I feel more confident about being able to direct. The students are fired up about it, and so am I. Yay. Some of the other wrangling we've had to do is to hire apprentice actors to work with the advanced students on their production. But now, after 8 drafts the play is finally in a really good place, and we've got a smart and terrific cast.
I'll keep you posted when the shows go up. But some more wrangling that has happened, is that we're beginning to contract ourselves out to local schools. This month, I've been schlepping out to the back of beyond (Pierrefonds) to direct a student-written play for their Black History Month showcase. If this works out well, I think we'll be able to do this kind of thing for a lot more schools.

And what else? My sister is pregnant! (No, not the youngest one.) I can't wait to go and see her after the play closes in May. I know instinctively that she's one of those utterly stunning pregnant women.

Right. And finally, my schedule at the gym is getting better, and I'm doing more personal training, which is fun. I now have time to work out, and I'm finally getting back in shape and better able to fight off sickness. I'm in the long, slow process of attempting to redo my hair, but when I actually get home, I don't want to do anything except fall into bed. Which I do. Except that there's still not much food in my fridge, and I need to get some laundry and dishes done really soon. Happily, the apartment is still somewhat presentable. I think I need my mom to come visit me again soon to motivate me to clean up my junk.

So now, I have to get back to work translating a play before Quincy arrives and we start rehearsing our monologues for Stratford.

Loving you, Babees!