the people called it "ragtime!"

          In December 2011, I was cast in a dramatic and uplifting musical called "Ragtime." I hardly knew anything about it before my preparations for the auditions. We began rehearsals in January and opened in February and went on to our last show on March 4th. It was at a university in my town with a fantastic theatre department. I had done shows there before, but this was my absolute favorite. Not just the story, but the cast and the crew and the amazingly fun times we had in rehearsals and performances! I'll be posting more photos later, but here are four of them.  

          This is a real vintage 1920's Model T! We rented it from Kansas, and used it for Coalhouse's beloved car.

          Haha! I loved this scene. It was the song "What a Game" where Father takes the Little Boy to a game of baseball, saying "it's a civilized pass-time," only to surrounded by crazy fanatics who spit and scream and jump. It was hilarious!

          From left to right ~ Little Boy, Evelyn Nesbit, Little Girl, and Sarah in the green room! 

           The Little Boy was the child of the leading New Rochelle family, consisting of Mother, Father, Grandfather, and Younger Brother. The Little Boy was energetic and sort of blunt! His signature line was "Warn the duke!" which he said probably 10 times throughout the show. He was played by Jake. 

          Evelyn Nesbit was actually a real person, and you can read more about her here: Wikipedia Nesbit. Her story is actually quite interesting! Miss Nesbit was played by Rachel. 

          The Little Girl was a whole lot shyer than the Little Boy. Her Mameh had died long before she and her father journeyed to America, which is when the story begins. She and her dad, Tateh, struggle to survive in nasty tenements through all of Act 1, but in Act 2, things start to look up for the pair! The Little Girl was played by Kate, me!

          And, lastly, Sarah was the love of Coalhouse's life. They have a child, who is introduced at the end of the show, but at the end of Act 1, tragedy strikes the trio. Sarah was played by Ciji.

         This picture was taken just as the curtain comes up at the beginning of the musical, cueing New Rochelle to start the opening title number! In the middle you see Little Boy, Grandfather, Younger Brother, Father, and Mother.

          If you want to learn more about the musical Ragtime, check out this Wikipedia entry about it.

          On another note, Farrah, from Farrah's Flavor, has rewarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award! 

          I now am going to say 7 random things about myself...

1. I love the 50's. I honestly think I was born in the wrong era. But, that's why I became an actress!
2. Recently I've been really into smoothies. Every morning I make a healthy, fruity, and delicious smoothie to wake me up! Maybe I'll post the recipe tomorrow. It's really simple.
3. Anything vintage or thrifted or yard-saled is totally my thing. I love little vintage boutiques and finding something there that's totally unique! Style, not fashion, is really important to me. :)
4. My idol is Sutton Foster. Always has been, always will be. She's tall and belty just like me!
5. Most of the time I am wearing a dress or skirt. I think they're so much more comfy and cute than pants!
6. I'm obsessed with pasta, pizza, and bread. You could say I eat a little too much grain... 
7. And lastly, I am very outgoing. It doesn't really bother me when I do something embarrassing, because that's life. And most of the time it's hilarious, and to be quite honest, I love being in the spotlight. :) 

           I now hereby award Rebecca from Resemble the Versatile Blogger Award. Also, I reward it to Julia from Au Milieu and The Anywhere and Everywhere. You must put the badge up top on your next post and write 7 random things about yourself. Go!

          I'm sorry I temporarily gave up on this blog, but I'm planning to get back into it now!

oh, the things you can think!

Seussical went great last week! Here are some pictures...

From left to right: Wickersham Brother, Mayzie la Bird, Gertrude McFuzz, Cat in the Hat!

Mayzie la Bird and Cat in the Hat in final bows!

The Cat in the Hat has a stethoscope hanging from her neck, because the Cat played many different parts, which is why this part is so cool! Good accents and humor are a necessity in order to play this quirky role!

These are the Bird Girls, and then me on the right is Mayzie la Bird. 

The Bird Girls look up to Mayzie because of her beauty, but Mayzie isn't too beautiful on the inside!

This is me, Mayzie, with the Sour Kangaroo and Baby Kangaroo. The three of us were the meanest characters in the show. Sour/Baby Kangaroo had attitudes and disliked change in the Jungle of Nool. Mayzie la Bird was more of the popular girl who thought of nothing but herself. 

This is Mr. Mayor, the mayor of Whoville. Actually, a girl played him in our show. But a sleek black tuzxedo, bright red bow tie, and gray hairspray made her kind of look like a man!

Mayzie's makeup was complete with lots of red blush (which is washed off in this picture), way too much purple eye shadow, and red lipstick. Giant chandelier earrings and a bedazzled headband completed her face.

Her costume was a plain purple dress hidden by pounds of red feather boas. Red fishnet tights, long red gloves, and glittery Dorothy-style red heels added to her bad-girl flavor. Also, a huge dark pink feather tail added to her "beauty" and was very important to the show.

This picture is of the Sour Kangaroo, the Baby Kangaroo, and the Wickersham Brothers. These jungle characters stirred up lots of trouble for Horton!

Sorry for not posting in a while, and sorry for the lack of pictures. More will be up soon, maybe with some videos too! Don't forget to check out my other new blog in the works, It's Tea Time!

Toodli-doooooo!

Seussical "Previews!"

On Tuesday, Horton, Gertrude McFuzz, Sour Kangaroo, and I- Mayzie la Bird- performed at the 6th grade orientation for our school! We sang songs (Biggest Blame Fool: Sour Kangaroo, All; Alone in the Universe: Horton; Notice Me, Horton: Gertrude McFuzz, Horton; How Lucky You Are: Mayzie la Bird; Mayzie at the Circus: Mayzie la Bird; and Amayzing Horton: Mayzie la Bird, Horton!) from the show and threw on random costumes and stuck some fake plants here and there to set the scene!

The rising 6th graders would go from class to class to learn about the cirriculum and in between "classes" we were in the hall performing for them! It was so fun! I can't wait till May, the actual show!

Anyway, here are some pictures of our last-minute costumes.

Toodles!

P.S. This post will be edited soon about the costumes, so check back!

amayzing mayzie! (part 2)

Mayzie la Bird from "Seussical"

Mayzie la Bird is all about glitz, glam, and boy birds. She loves the frills and effortlessly looks perfect all the time, what with her bushy beautiful tail and all. Mayzie is a girly self-centered girl bird who loves the spotlight, being the center of attention, beaches, and having fun with some boy birds. "Toodles" is her favorite word.

Actually, she is very successful in being the center of attention. She is popular and even has a few Mayzie Fan Clubs!

Behind all the glitter, though, is a timid girl bird with almost the shyness equivalent of that weirdo Gertrude McFuzz. So many years back, Mayzie la Bird fixed herself up and headed over to Doctor Dake, where she got a huge tail and a whole lot of confidence.

Ever since then Mayzie la Bird was known as "amayzing." If she hadn't once been the dork on the block, she would not have felt sorry for Gertrude and told her the secret to a fabulous tail.

Gertrude didn't look so amayzing with her big tail though. Mayzie then decided to let it go, because it only mattered if she was beautiful. Which she was. The whole giant-tail thing worked so much better on flamboyant Mayzie la Bird than on nerdy Gertrude McFuzz.

Oh! Another thing... Mayzie is very very very dramatic at times. She also belts to her heart's content. Those must be mentioned.

Toodli-ooooooooo!

P.S. "Toodli-oooooooo!" is Mayzie's favorite word!

P.P.S. Pic found on Naples News!

P.P.P.S. To see more pictures of Mayzie la Bird, check out the post below!

amayzing mayzie!

Hey everyone! I don't have much time, so I'll get right to the point. In Seussical, I will be playing Mayzie la Bird! I couldn't have asked for a part that fits me more (She says toodles, she is confident, belty, out there, and very dramatic!), although I hadn't thought about it before! Here's some pictures of her extravagant costume...

I'm super excited and I will post more about her later!

Toodli-oooooooo!!

P.S. "Toodi-ooooo" is the way Mayzie says it! :)

P.P.S. Pics: Naples News, MN Artists, and Truth Consciousness!

P.P.P.S. To find out more about the play, check out Wikipedia: Seussical!

james & the giant peach!

"The Aunt Sponge Song"

One of our many frozen positions.

Earthworm complaining, as always!

"The Aunt Spiker Song"

Probably Earthworm whining.

James, Aunt Spiker, and Aunt Sponge at the beginning of the show!

This is Meg, who played Miss Spider. She had black gloves, tights, leotard, and skirt. And in our touring performance, she had a touch of black blush on!

The Narrators (Annie, Katelyn, Mercer) were very very very important in the story. They were chosen as The Narrators because of their ability to speak and memorize well. Black flats, blue jeans, and white shirts added to their simplicity!

This is the Caterpillar, played by Taylor. Green gloves, tights, hat, and dress compliment her gold antennae!

This is the Ant, played by Anika. Black tights, skirt, leotard, and beret are very ant-ish. Touches of silver- her gloves and antennae- look perfect!

This is me; I played the Centipede. I had to show this makeup! A highly noticeable unibrow and wart add to the geeky black 3-D glasses and black aviator hat.

Centipede's full costume consisted of a tan leotard, skirt, socks, and tights. Touches of black (which are present in real centipedes) cover my hands, eyes, and head. Brown boots cover my feet and shins, and are also very important to the plot. Centipede is obsessed with boots... we'll just put it at that. The gold rag hanging from my neck is the polisher for the boots!

The Silkworm, played by Rebecca, is completely blanketed with white... white ballet shoes, tights, skirt, gloves, leotard, earrings, and hat. Lavender antennae add a little color to this adorable costume!

Dakota, who played the Glow-Worm, had these awesome light neon green shoes with squiggles on the bottom. Perfect for his part! Not to mention the khaki shorts, yellow-green gloves, yellow shirt, puffy yellow vest, and yellow makeup. He also had on a yellow miner hat with a light attached to the top. He turned on the light when the Centipede gets impatient with the dark, and it looked really cool!

The Old-Green-Grasshopper, played by Allison, had on green tights, green gloves, and a green leotard. Black shorts and a cute green beret worked very well with the rest of her costume! Wire-rimmed glasses, a dark brown cane, and a staggering walk made her look older!

This is Sarah, who played the Ladybug. Red gloves, tights, leotard, and black skirt are the perfect colors for a ladybug! Red antennae and polka dotted black and red wings added to her costume, as well as the red dots on her cheeks!

James Henry Trotter, played by Luc, wore lots of makeup to make him look younger. He also wore a tan hat, khaki shorts, and tan Sperrys. A plaid blue button-down covered by a navy blue pullover match his blue argyle high socks!

Julia, who played the Earthworm, had on a red leotard, red hat, red shorts, red gloves, and red tights! Her huge pink glasses added to the fact that the Earthworm is blind!

Hope you enjoyed this extremely belated post! Don't forget-comment and follow on this blog and on Twitter! Also- get excited- the Seussical auditions are on March 1st! Get ready for millions of posts about that!

Toodli-doodle-I-need-my-boots!

long time... no see!

Busy, busy, busy! That's all I've been! But I've taken a quick 5 minutes to post. So sorry I haven't posted in a long time, but as I said, I've been busy! Friday night was opening (and only) night of James & the Giant Peach! It was a lot of fun.... pictures will be posted asap! On Valentine's Day, we are going over to the elementary school to perform for the kindergartners, third and fifth graders! This will be a very small post. But I promise as soon as this show is over, long posts will be back up. (You don't even know what other Broadway shows I saw in my recent trip to NYC! I am trying to spread them out though.)

Toodli-doo!

my character analysis!

This is my idea of a character analysis paper. It's so much fun doing these! I copied and pasted from the document... Seriously, read it! It's not as boring as it looks! :)

"Centipede" of James & the Giant Peach

As a centipede, I have a lot of legs. Each one has a beautifully polished boot stuck on top. I tell people I have 100, but that obnoxious earthworm knows the truth that I only have 42. (That does NOT mean she needs to go blurting it to the world!)

I met that beast when I stumbled upon the giant peach one dark night. The minute we laid eyes on each other, we realized we were not going to be friends.

Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by thoughts of Earthworm... What do I look like? Well, I look like a centipede. 100 legs poke out of my sides, 50 each; and my bright red boots compliment my colorful complexion.

I am a pest. I strive to get my way. My purpose in life is to torment farmers, teenagers, and anyone else I come upon. I am- I must admit, hesitatingly- blind as Earthworm when it comes to the way I treat others. It does bother me sometimes, but I can't help it! Interrupting, annoying, and being the center of attention is just in my nature as a "loathsome pest." (Those are Earthworm's words, not mine.)

Born in an underground town called St. Soilville, my parents- and the city- died tragically of a giant mole attack. I, Centipede Gulliver Jones, am the only survivor of that devastating event.

Now, I've said enough about Earthworm. What about my other new... uhhh... acquaintances I met on my adventure on the Peach.

I do respect the Old Green Grasshopper. She does play such beautiful music! But, Ladybug bothers me... way too polite! Spider can get a tad bit too dramatic about her father. Caterpillar and Ant are decent, I guess. Silkworm actually does make some marvelous clothes, but she whines a little too much. Glow-worm's light is quite useful, if he tried turning it on once in a while.

Overall, they're all pretty good. Not Earthworm, though. She disgusts me. (Secretly, though, I do like her. She has beautiful skin, and isn't afraid to speak her mind!) But she still disgusts me.

On the trip across the ocean, I was feeling so many emotions. I was feeling terrified of sharks, cloud-men, and falling. I was feeling exhausted after all that chewing of string they made me do. (But it was for a good cause, so I didn't stand up against it.) I was feeling pesty, as always. I was feeling satisfied, for that peach gave me all the delicious food I wanted. I was feeling in control and outspoken, which I love.

This journey has taught me even more about myself! It got me to realize that I needed to become less of a pest. And that became my Welcome-to-America-Resolution. This resolution brought me to my first job: the Vice-President-in-Charge-of-Sales of a high-class boot and shoe manufacturer.

I stuck to my resolution until after I got the job. Then it was complete pest mode for me!

Enjoyed? Picture: Flickr. Don't forget... comment and follow!

Toodles!

james and the giant peach!

Alright. Here's that post I promised you about James & the Giant Peach!

I really, really wanted to be the Centipede. To learn more about the show, I read the book, and found that I fit the character pretty well, and it just sounded like so much fun! Auditions taught me more about the character: Even though we aren't doing the musical, the Centipede bursts into random songs four different times. And I love to sing! I actually did end up getting the part! Here's some pictures...

I give the credit for these lovely pictures to this sites...

St. Elliot & Co., Evangel Christian School, Creature Smith, Playbill, and The British Theatre Guide. Big thanks to them for these cute pictures! More will come about the show definitely!

Toodles!

that icy ebenezer scrooge!

Here's some photos from before and after "A Christmas Carol!" Enjoy!

This is the girl who played my twin, Belinda!

Me as Abigail with Tiny Tim!

These were our first act costumes!

Left: High Class, Middle: Low Class, Right: Me/Middle Class

(The name I made up for myself though for the first act was Adeline!

Tiny Tim, Belle, and Lucy! (These are their ensemble costumes, though!)

Two of Fred's realtitives! On the left is also the Dance Captain!

This is the tweed pattern on my skirt from the first act.

More pictures will be coming!

Toodles!

5 down. 3 to go!

In about 45 minutes I will be heading off to yet another show of A Christmas Carol! I don't have that much time to post, but I will say a few things in this... along with a picture.

Today I left school early because my throat was killing me. No, the pain isn't exactly gone. Hopefully I'll be alright in the show. I'm a little nervous!

Also, like the changes? These took me a while, and there are still more to come. If something really whacky happens, please excuse me!

Once this is over, and then a week after that, it will be winter break and holiday time! This year our break is 26 days! Can't wait!

Toodles!