Monday, August 31, 2009

singleness is a gift

Last week in small group, we were talking about gifts from God that we are celebrating right now. It suddenly hit me that my singleness is a gift. Without it, I would not have had a lot of the experiences I've had in the last few years. If I were still married, for instance, I would probably never have finished school, would be in a totally different career, would never have found the theatre again, and probably wouldn't have had time to write as much as I have been able to.

Obviously, married women with and without children do all these things, but when I was married, all my energy went to making him happy. Now I know that relationships should be more balanced and that I need to keep my interests and pursue them while also paying attention to my partner, who will hopefully have his own interests that he wants to pursue.

Changing my perspective, thinking of this time in my life as a gift rather than a curse, has really changed my mind about a lot of things. I'm feeling so much better about this stage in my life. I can consider it a good time to do a lot of things I may not be able to do later - instead of a sort of waiting room.

the countdown begins...

The Odd Couple opens in 11 days! I feel pretty good about it, actually. I need to find some jewelry to go with my costumes, but other than that and making sure the lines are completly solidified, I feel really good. I love my character and am really having fun with it, so that's always a plus!

This adventure of doing two shows at once has really been great. I have learned so much about directing styles, about other actors and their styles, and about myself and my own approach to roles and lines.

I probably won't do it again because I can't imagine the odds of getting two directors who are this understanding again, but it really has been a great experience.

I'll post some pics if they take any. If they don't, I'll get my dad to take some during a show (without his flash, of course!)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Night Off!

I just found out the rehearsal I thought I was going to tonight is only fight choreography, and since I'm not in the fight scene, I have the night off! As much as I hate to say it, I'm glad. I need a little time for me. I have been putting off grocery shopping and laundry, so that will be the bulk of this evening's activities. Also, I've become obsessed with Heroes and am watching the first season on Netflix instant view - it's a really interesting story! Maybe I can watch a couple of episodes while I fold laundry and then get a little writing done.

Sounds like an exciting evening, right? To me it does!

Mobile Bay Area Performing Arts Calendar

I did this calendar for my own benefit, but thought others might get some use out of it too. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Odd Couple and Beaux Strategem updates

Odd Couple - Rehearsals have been so much fun! I'm close to knowing all my lines, but am having a hard time getting rid of the book! We have until next week to get rid of it altogether, though, so I have some time. It's always difficult for me to just put it down once and for all. The cast is hysterical and the director is awesome. We've been having so much fun! Saturday is a workday and I can't wait to help with the set. That's always a fun time. I should dig out my painting clothes, just in case!

Beaux' Strategem - Also going really well! So many friends in the cast make it a blast, and the new people are amazing as well! I'm almost off book on Act 1 but haven't really done any work on Act 2 yet. We haven't blocked it yet either, but we don't open until October, so we have time. My character is so much fun, and it's a great challenge to get into her head. She's a servant girl, so there's a submissive attitude, but she's also rather sarcastic at the same time. It's been tough to strike that balance, but I'm getting there. I'll get there before October, for sure! By the way, I'm going to be a blonde in this show, and my costume is going to be amazing! I'm so looking forward to seeing it.

Doing two shows at once is challenging and fun. People keep asking me if I'm crazy - I keep telling them that I probably am, but that I don't really do anything else besides work and church, so I've got the time right now. I should really do all I can now, before other obligations keep me from being able to devote all my free time to theatre.

Oh, and an update on my children's theatre - I did some more research today at lunch and have found some resources for a nonprofit business plan and some grant funding. I'm going to keep working toward that because it's a dream I've had for a long time. I can just see the kids working hard on a show and then performing it for all their families and friends. It'll be amazing!

Spiritual Guidance

So I've been going through kind of a rough time lately. Lots of decisions to make, lots of things to figure out. I know the only way I can get through everything is to get back to my spiritual walk. So I've been praying a lot lately, and reading the Bible more. Every night, in fact. I've started keeping a journal to really keep me accountable and to keep a record of the insights I receive. It's been pretty amazing. I started reading the Bible from the beginning but am using the Max Lucado Inspirational Study Bible. It's an incredible resource, with Life Lessons that go with each chapter and a Life Application at the end that challenges readers to take some kind of action based on the lesson in the verses they just read. The applications are so amazing. They have really helped me think about what's important they have really grounded me as a person.

Researching publishers

Okay, so after two rejections, I had almost given up on Summer's Blossom. It's the first novel I've ever written and I kept thinking that maybe it really just isn't that good. But I can't give up on it. So tonight I did some research on other possible publishers and found a few that sounded pretty good. I'm going to polish my query and get it ready to send out again. It's time to move forward.

On another front, I'm still working on the crazy outline for Draha. I got stuck on some plot points and have to figure my way out of some corners. It's actually kind of fun. The outline is really more of a summary of each chapter so that when I get the outline finished, I'll have a nice skeleton with some muscle, and then I really just have to flesh it all out with detailed descriptions and dialogue.

So yeah - some positive stuff happening on the writing front.

First Day to 5k

Just started this program again. I did Week 1 tonight. It's 25 minutes of interval training. Since I gave the treadmill to my mother, I'm doing this on the elliptical. I'm about to do a little weight lifting too, just little weights, nothing serious, but something to help strengthen my arms a bit.

This time I'm going to stick with it. This time, I have real motivation. I have to lose 100 pounds. I can't stand looking like this and will do anything to change it. I want more endurance, I want to be in shape, and I want to look better. It's time to do something for myself for a change. It's time to get control over my body and my life. It's past time, really.