Draha continues

Just because I'm doing so much theatre doesn't mean I'm not working on my books. On the contrary, I've taken lots of notes in the past few days and am going to spend some time this week transferring them onto the outline for Book 1. I'm getting close to the end of this outline, which is very exciting. I want to finish outlining book 1 before November so it can be my NaNo project. I'm determined to finish the first book by the end of this year. I think I can do it!

On another note, I've really been wanting to do some shorter projects lately. I want to do some short stories and/or flash fiction. I'll work on that a bit this week, I think - just to see what happens.

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two shows!

I am so excited about this! The auditions went well. Or at least, I assume they went well because I got calls from both directors on the same day last week offering me parts in both shows! So in September, I will be playing the part of Cecily in The Odd Couple and in October I will be playing the part of Cherry in The Beaux' Strategem. Both directors are being so great about working around each other's schedules. I am so looking forward to working with these directors. I've been wanting to work with both of them since I got back into the local theatre community, so this is a great opportunity for me!

I have my Beaux script already and will be getting my Odd Couple script tomorrow night at the readthrough. I'll take both of them to Staples on Wednesday to get them spiral bound because it's just easier to work with them that way, and then I'll start learning lines! My goal is to be off book on The Odd Couple first - as soon as I possibly can so that the rehearsals can be as productive as possible, and then start working on Beaux. I can't wait to start rehearsing for both! They are so different and I love both stories so much that I'm sure it's going to be a BLAST!

Needless to say, I'm going to be very busy in the coming months! But it's the very best kind of busy. I'm getting back on stage!!!

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Lots of fun theatre stuff!

"A Nice Family Gathering" continues its run this week. Our next show will be Wednesday. I'm running lights and sound, a very simple task for this show, so I am enjoying watching the audience reactions from the booth. Theatre 98 audiences are always so appreciative of the hard work that goes into a show and they always give great reactions to the actors! This is particularly true in a comedy, and ANFG is a very funny story with great characters. We run Wed - Sun of this week.

Tonight, I'm auditioning for The Odd Couple at Chickasaw Civic Theatre. I'm looking forward to the auditions and really hope I get a part. The director is an old friend who I have recently reconnected with through being a part of the local theatre community and is just the nicest person! I want to work with her at some point, so even if I don't get a part in this one (there are only two female roles, after all!) I will try out for another of her shows in the future.

Tomorrow night I will be auditioning for a part in The Beaux' Strategem at Theatre 98. There are 18 roles, so there's a better chance for me there, although most of those roles are for men. There are two parts that I could really see myself doing - the inkeeper's daughter Cherry or Mrs. Sullen. But I'm fairly certain he will cast someone older as Mrs. Sullen. Actually, Lady Bountiful would be the most fun, but I think he already has someone in mind for that.

I wouldn't normally try out for two shows at once, but because I've been working backstage so much this year and haven't been on stage at all, I wanted to double my chances to get on stage! I miss it so much! Upcoming shows at local theatres also include:

The Philadelphia Story
Promises, Promises
Funny Girl
A Midsummer Night's Dream

All before the end of the year! It's amazing to be a part of such a vibrant community theatre in a place like Alabama, which is not typically known for its performing arts opportunities. We recently saw productions of:

Uncle Vanya
Romeo and Juliet
Company
Cabaret
The Secret Garden
The Foreigner
Enchanted April

We have several very active community theatres here and we all work together to make sure we are not doing the same shows in the same season, which I think is pretty cool.

Anyway, enough about my love for local theatre - back to work - lunch break is over!

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so fast!

This month is flying by! How did it get to be July 13 already? That's one thing about doing shows, when your time is filled with rehearsals and performances, the time goes by very quickly!

So here's a quick update on everything. It'll be under the "life" category, but I'm going to try to cover it all. I usually don't do this, but since there's not that much going on, I figured I'd kill lots of birds with one stone.

Writing - I've been working on Draha! Yay! I've got a few more pages of the outline finished and the plot is starting to really come together. I'm going to stop for a moment next week and write a short story or two, just to get out of outlining and get into actual writing. My goal is to finish the outlines for the first two books before November so I can write the first (or at least get a good start on it) during NaNoWriMo. I think I can do it!

Personal - It's been fun lately. I've been meeting lots of new people and have been on a few dates with a very nice guy. There are some other things going on in that arena as well, but that's about as specific as I want to get at this time. Suffice it to say that I'm pretty happy about my personal life at the moment.

Reading - I'm working through a wonderful book called "Captivating," which is a guided study into the heart's desires of women and how those can correlate with the heart's desires of God. About how a woman's desire for a relationship is just like the desire God has to be in a relationship with us. I love it! It has really opened my eyes about a lot of things that I hadn't thought about before and made me realize my own desires for love and a family are not dysfunctional at all, but are, in fact, quite normal.

Family - My sister's family is moving to a new house - one that sounds awesome! I think it means that the kids will each have their own rooms for the first time, which is great for them. I hope they are really happy in this new house and can stay there for awhile.

Knitting - I'm working on a baby blanket for a coworker who is due August 1. Wish me luck, because I'll need it! I will post pictures when it is finished.

That's all for now. I'm doing theatre in a separate post because there's so much to say!

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write now

I've got to get back to writing. It's been way too long and I miss it! I haven't opened the file that contains my Draha notes in quite some time and while it's still being worked on in my head, I really need to get some of that out onto the screen. Just get it done, you know? I need to set aside some time to work on that. I will do that this week - set aside at least an hour a day for writing. Maybe I'll work on a couple of things. I have a short story in my head that may be a fun short film once it is written and adapted for that purpose. I'd like to do a few flash fiction pieces to put on my website. I have to write a poem for work, but I can do that during work hours!

So this is it, a renewed commitment to finishing the outlines for Draha - the entire series, not just the first book - and to working on some other writing projects when I get home from work every day. Not as an afterthought, but as something that I really want and need to work on. And that is what I am going to do! Wish me luck!

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home sweet home

I think I've really settled into the house now and I do love living there. I've even had friends over for movies and dinner and stuff. Tonight I'm having a date over, which will be a first! I'm cooking dinner - another first - I've never actually cooked for someone before. Scary, huh?

Shannon and I are really getting along well. We've been watching Dexter on DVD. Well, first we watched Carnivale and then we went on to Dexter. She's a fan of great writing and acting like I am, so she's totally getting me into her favorite shows.

Oddly enough, she's getting hooked on Gilmore Girls from my DVD sets. She's watching them alone, though. I think she's just watching them now to get to Lorelai's dog, Paul Anka, because I told her how funny all that is and she has a very strange dog so she wants to see it.

The budget thing is getting easier. The first few times I went shopping, I was so careful about everything and now I can relax a little because I know how much I can spend each time and about how much things cost. I even bought sodas the other day! It's been so hot that it's pretty much required to have cold drinks ready, and while I've been really good about drinking water most of the time, I like having a coke or dr pepper every now and then for the sugar and caffeine.

Church is still going great. I'm really happy with the friends I'm making and last night I tried out to be a part of their drama team and was told I'm in! We perform every Sunday morning - the characters rotate so that no one person has to perform every single Sunday. I think it's going to be awesome! Small group is still great too. A bunch of us are going to a Bay Bears game tomorrow night. I always want to go to games but never have anyone to go with - now we are all going! I'm excited!

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be nice to me or you'll take your bow in the dark

I find tech to be a very fun thing, especially since the last show was completely on me - whether it soared or failed was on my shoulders. Now the only thing I have to worry about is whether or not the right dimmer is up at the right time. And the lights are simple for this show, so I have plenty of time to knit and just enjoy watching the acting.

The show is "A Nice Family Gathering" and is at Theatre 98. I'll be the first person to use the newly renovated light/sound booth, which is much larger and more comfortable. I love it so far. We open July 10, but have had several tech rehearsals because one of the leads is out of town this week, so the director wanted everything to be ready ahead of time.

It's a great show and a wonderful cast. I'm going to really enjoy doing lights and sound for them.

Upcoming theatre opportunities include auditions for The Beaux' Strategem at Theatre 98 and The Odd Couple at Chickasaw Civic Theatre. There are some others, but I'm just trying out for those for now. Beaux has about 18 characters and is being directed by my favorite person at Th98, so I'm hoping I'll get a role in it. There's a character named Cherry. I think I would enjoy that one. But then, The Odd Couple is also a great show and the director is a friend from way back who I have recently reconnected with, so either experience would be great! I'm reading both plays to prepare for the auditions a little, something I've never actually done before, so I'm excited to see what happens.

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Lots going on, but nothing much really

That's kind of how I feel right now.  There's a lot going on, but nothing I can really talk about.  Or if I can talk about it, it's not very interesting.  I've been neglecting this blog terribly and I really need to get back to it.  There are some thing I can report on, I suppose.

The move went well and I'm settled in my new place.  The roommate situation is turning out to be even better than I thought it would.  We've been having a nice time lately watching episodes of TV shows on DVD.  One in particular is very interesting and mysterious - I'm still trying to figure it out.  

With the move came new opportunities for social interaction, which I think is a very good thing.  I'm making new friends and doing more out of the house.  Like this past Tuesday, a friend of my roommate who I hope is becoming my friend dropped by to pick me up for karaoke.  We had a great time.  

I'm also making new friends at church since I decided to start going to a new church and a new small group.  My friend Lesley, who is just completely amazing in every possible way, is the hostess of this small group and is friends with all the members.  She has brought me into their circle and has introduced me to a lot of people in the church and in the group.  It's great to be surrounded by people who care whether you live or die (who are not related to you, I mean!)  

So all these are positive things.  Even having to live within a budget is a positive thing for me, as it's not something I've had to do for a long time, so it's really making me think about all the stuff I want to buy and whether or not I really need it.  

All in all, I think things are going pretty well.

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back into the swing of things

Next week, I'm setting aside some quality time for writing.  I've been thinking about Draha a lot and I've also been thinking about trying seriously to get some freelance work.  With the move and new bills to pay, not to mention the fun salary cut I just had to endure, I could use the extra income.  I'm going back to the job boards to see if I can get some work.  I'm also going to start thinking of ways to market my services to local businesses and organizations.

Maybe now is the time to get something started.  Maybe now is the time to start building.  I know it will take a long time, but I know that if I work hard at it and do a good job, it will pay off someday.  That's all that matters, right?

I've had so much on my mind to distract me from my goals and dreams.  Now, I need to come back down to earth and get to work on them again.  Those books won't write themselves!w

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packing sucks

So I've decided that packing all of one's earthly posessions into boxes and driving an hour just to unpack them again really, really sucks!  I wish I could just teleport everything over!  I managed to get all my DVDs over today and tonight I've been working on books and the stuff on the walls.  I'll have to leave some things here to sell or donate later, I think.  Luckily, I can leave some stuff here. The fun part will be Sunday, when I move the big stuff - bed, entertainment center, two desks, elliptical, dresser and clothes.  Yeah, Sunday is going to be a fun day!  But I'm really excited about moving - even though the actual moving part isn't fun.

What I really want to do is play Guitar Hero.  And eat ice cream.  That's what I want to do right now.  At 11 pm on a Thursday when I should be packing.  I think I will go to sleep instead.  That sounds like a good idea.

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life stuff

Since most of my recent posts have had to do with the show, I felt like maybe I should update the life stuff a little too.  Of course, if you are my friend on Facebook, you've probably already heard this bit of news.  I am moving!  Closer to work and into the "big city" of Mobile, where there are theatres, restaurants, and other diversions just waiting for me to discover them.  But the great thing is, I'm moving in with a friend who I really like and get along with very well, and who is extremely interested in my current writing project and is encouraging me to keep working on it.  I think that's just what I need to get more done on it - someone who will push me to work on it every day.  I push myself, of course, but having another voice there asking me if I've written anything will be helpful.

Work is going okay now.  We had a bit of an upset - some restructuring - but everyone still has a job and things are running smoothly again.  I've found a renewed passion for the job and am really excited to do some new things in the next few weeks, especially with advocacy and media relations, two of my favorite things.  I'm also implementing an advertising campaign that we got some grant money for, so that's pretty awesome.  I planned the whole thing and am now watching it happen.  I kinda love that!  

On the relationship front - I can't say much but I can say that I'm happy right now for the first time in a long time.  I'm happy because there are possibilities that I didn't think there would be pretty much ever again.  I had given up and something made me realize that it's not too late and I'm not destined to be alone forever.  It has done amazing things for the self esteem, I have to say!

Overall, things just seem to be going really well for me right now.  I'm happy, and that is wonderful!

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