It's curtain time, and away we go!

I'm tired. Exhausted. Long, long, loooooooooooooong weekend! Three performances. A lot of trying to relax. A lot of expending of energy. A lot of being cold.

I hate my body temperature, I just want this known. It can literally be 80 degrees, and I'll be freezing. I cannot get warm in any indoor venue at the moment, even though it's been mid-seventies. No, I am actually freezing. Wearing my sweaters, pants, shoes, socks, jackets; everything I can think of. Sadly I'm shivering 90% of the time.

The show this weekend was . . . an experience. Opening Night was the performance where I knew people. My parents came. Janina came. Uncle Jacque and Aunt Laurie came. Kirsten and Shonna came. And I sucked. I'm not kidding. Every dance had to be screwed up by me in some way. Literally, every single person's hands would be down, and I would put them up. For "Stiff Upper Lip" there was a section where everyone onstage was moving, and I was looking around like a moron. I looked over my shoulder at one point in that song, and saw Andie and Marcus staring at me like "Lynette, what's wrong with you?" I realized it was the last "Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!" We punch our fists out in a very definitive fighting manner. Andie and Marcus told me that they always watched me at that point because I knew what I was doing. Obviously, not on Opening!!!! I thought it was funny when Dave was pretending to vacuum, and Lynne and Mandy had to tell him to turn it off. The vacuum didn't come on at all, so their yelling, "Everett, turn that thing off!!!!" didn't make sense. I asked Bob if the vacuum's noise was one of those high pitched noises that only dogs and people in a musical theatre show could hear.

Our second performance went really well. Well, at the end of the show that all went kaput! The dancers were dancing and a curtain came down too early. It hit some of the dancers in the head!!!! The fly rail techies, whom we all assumed must have been drunk, were bringing curtains up and down like crazy. We did well with the rest of the finale. Then, at the end, the curtain was coming down and stopped. It went back up and wouldn't shut! The audience kept applauding and we had no idea what to do (it's not so easy to do an encore bow in this show). Some of our cast members started to stand and kneeled back down. The audience rose to their feet. We all kept the grins plastered to our faces and muttered, "Bring the stupid curtain down!" The audience began to stand, still applauding. One of the dancers began to wave at the audience. The entire cast heaved a sigh of relief--someone was being smart! We waved and the curtain down. We were determined to get a standing ovation, even if the audience wouldn't get to leave so we could get one!

So, that was this week's adventure. Time will tell what next week will bring. EEK!

The song lyrics come from "Another Openin', Another Show," from Kiss Me Kate.

Tonight's the Night!

Opening night is here. Wow. I'm thrilled. Beyond belief. Actually the show is looking really good now. And the other night, Gina was walking by me and said, "Lynette, you looked good tonight in 'I've Got Rhythm.' I think you're really getting it." HUZZAH!!!!!!!!!!! I am a semi-strong weak link!

Tonight everyone is coming, too. My mom, dad, Janina, Aunt Laurie, Chris, Kirsten, Shonna, Dave, and his wife (I teach with the unfamiliar names). I'm expecting some serious cheering for THIS random showgirl (that's how I'm listed in the program!). Let's hope I fake it enough to impress them! :)

I ran to Reno after school for a last costume addition. I wanted long evening gloves and clips for my hair for the NYC scene. I've decided that there must be an International Motorcyclist Convention there, because that 90% of the traffic I saw on my way up. Tres bizarre and tres obnoxious! I hit every red light possible and was truly annoyed at the fact that I didn't get back sooner. Sigh.

The title of the post comes from the song of the same title, and it's used in Crazy For You. It's sung in the "dressing room scene" before the quintessential Mickey and Judy movie ploy, when we "put on a show!" I gave myself a prop and am eating Cracker Jacks during that whole song; which is heck of fun! Break a leg, cast!

I'm dancing and I can't be bothered now!

Well, the honeymoon period at OHS is over. I kind of relieved, though. I knew I was going to have to start seeing true colors very soon, and I figured they'd all come at once. Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but there were tons this week. I was told to "F--- off!" several times (Yeah, prove to me you can say that while you're on the way to the principal. That just adds more writing for me on your referral and more punishment for you. Brilliant!). I had a kid throw papers at me. I had a kid get upset with all three of us, because he doesn't feel like he'll be prepared to go back to the high school. Well, the thing is, you actually have to pass your classes before you can! Good luck at going back there, buddy. We had kids quit a lot during the middle of assignments or activities. Sigh. It's been a long week.

Next week will be longer, though. We're having tech and dress rehearsals for Crazy for You all week long. And the best part about that is the fact that we'll be having the orchestra there on Wednesday night, Thursday night, and all of our performances. We've only practiced with them once, and of course it was sloppy. The live orchestra actually does sound different from the CDs we practice with normally. This time, it had more of a ragtime feel than the CD. Just ducky.

And I'm still the very remedial dancer in most numbers. I've tried working with Jen Haddix at various CFY and Fiddler rehearsals. We can never spare enough time, though. I hate being so unprepared. Seriously. I told Gina a couple of weeks ago that I was sorry that I am the weak link in the show, but I intended to work hard to be the strongest weak link possible. She and Lynn laughed at me. How silly to not take me seriously. So, next week I will not allow myself to breathe between breaks. I will be "dancing" my tail off so I'm not the one who is the obvious bad part of the number.

The title comes from the song, "I Can't be Bothered Now." It is used in Crazy for You. I actually have a recording with Fred Astaire singing it, which is fun.

I'm still hurting

It was four years ago. Four years ago.

I was in college. It was my senior year. I remember that I'd got to my Literature in Secondary Schools class at 7:30 that morning. Vicki Scaggs walked in and said, "Some planes hit the Twin Towers. I just heard it on the radio."

I thought, "Huh. That doesn't sound too good. That's too bad."

Class went on as usual. None of us suspected that while we were discussing the lesson plans we'd written for To Kill a Mockingbird, lifestyles were being changed for good. Forever. That we'd feel the waves of sadness and anger all the way in Nampa, Idaho.

At 9:00 I left my class from up by the rotunda in Wiley. I headed downstairs. I was passing Felter Lecture Hall, and there was a strange silence I wasn't used to. I glanced in the classroom through a door that was always closed during that class. The televisions were on and the class was filled. I saw. I SAW.

I stood in shock for a long time. I couldn't speak. I just watched, horrified. I remembered my first and second trips to NYC, and having not only seen them in real life, but having been inside one of the towers.

I e-mailed everybody I knew in New York, which thanks to my counselor stint at Camp Timber Tops, was not a small number. I got response after response back from my former campers. All of them were in 7th grade. It had been Amanda's first day of school, and she'd had to walk home in a chaotic city. Lindsey's best friend's dad had been a caterer who was in the building and died. Ari's neurosurgeon father and psychologist mother were volunteering all their time to help the efforts. I got so many questions back from them. Mostly from Amanda, the one who I would have expected the least reaction from. Maybe I was one of the few people who she could dump on, I don't know. I saw a lot of maturity in her from her previous e-mails to me.

It was four years ago. It's still hard for me to believe it happened. I've even been to Ground Zero since. I've read the messages on the fence surrounding it. I've seen the cross left from the building structure. I've shed my tears.

I know a lot of tragedy came from the event. I witnessed it. I also know a lot of good came from the event. I witnessed it. In a way I'm glad I lived with life I can recall before and after this date. It changed my thinking. It gave me new things to reflect upon. It changed my perspective about many things. It gave me a hope and made me stronger.

God bless America.

The title comes from the song "I'm Still Hurting" from The Last Five Years.

And you'll knock 'em dead at dinner if your gown just drips with fringe!

More trauma with CFY costumes. I have tried on my "Faux Follies Filly" costume (I was calling it "Faux Follies Female" which Bob laughed at, and then changed to this name, which I like a lot more!), and I cringe at the fringe! Actually, I suppose it's not THAT bad, and I should be grateful that I don't have to wear my cropped sailor outfit anymore. Try this for an alternative: A crushed velvet white leotard, with silver sequins all over it, and a double layer of fringe for my skirt. Oh, and lest we forget, I also have silver wristbands, a silver collar, a hat with feathers taller than my 5"5" self, and silver stillettos. And the best part? As I wear that at the end, I get to stand with my arms extended and I get to bevel. For approximately 7 minutes. That's right; seven. Without much (if any) movement. Lordy, I'm excited!!!!!!

Here's the fun part; Gina said, "Lynette, do you have a padded bra? Because you'll need one in that outfit." No! No! I do NOT own a padded bra! I realize I look like a 12 year old kid in that costume! I don't want a padded bra! However, I have to get one. Hmph.

This rivals the time in high school when I came out for our first performance of Phantom having not buttoned my waitress dress at all, and was gaping in all my white and bra-ish glory. I realized it and remedied the situation quickly before many people noticed, but my choir teacher who did said, "Lynette! I couldn't believe it! Of all the people to come out unbuttoned! At least you're not very well endowed!" Thank you Mrs. Johnson. The experience wasn't humiliating enough without that added dig. Sigh. That was 8 years ago. You'd think I'd be able to move on with life, but people have to bring you back, huh?

School is still going well. Only one kid seems to be even remotely what I was expecting behavior-wise. Huzzah! I can feel them relaxing a bit, so I've got to stay firm. But it's nice to know that these kids will accept it.

The title comes from the song "Beautiful Girls" used in my favorite of classic movie musicals, Singin' in the Rain. Good times.

This irresistable, Paris original!

A quick jotting of a blog. Simply because I can, and I thought it was funny.

When I went to Europe for the first time, four summers ago (YIKES!!!!!!), I bought a scarf in Montpelier, France. I loved it. I still do. It kind of got me to fall in love with scarves of all sorts. I have since purchased a couple of them for the sole purpose of accessorizing.

Today I woke up at 6:25--needing to be at school at 7 a.m.! It's the latest I've slept in, and I was rushing this morning. I plotted what would be an easy outfit for today whilst showering. I settled on my khaki pants, a pink camisole, a blouse with purple and pink stripes (tres chic!), and my brown loafers. At the last minute, I caught sight of my purple scarf with stripes that compliments the blouse fairly well. Professional, yet simple. I put my scarf on as a tie, grabbed my purple rubber bracelet (the profits went to asthma research), and called it good.

The kids and some of the other staff could not seem to get a handle on the fact that I was wearing "a tie". I got so many quizzical looks and a plethora of questions regarding this "fashion statement". It wasn't that big of a deal in my mind, but apparently I'm in the minority.

So I'll put the question out in the open. Is a female wearing a tie (real or not) that strange? Worthy of a day of incessent mentionings? It's professional, right? It matched my attire, right? Why would this raise so many eyebrows? Hmm . . .

The title comes from the song "Paris Original" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Rosemary is trying to impress J. Pierpont Finch so she spends a heck-of-a-lot of money on a sexy dress from Paris to catch his eye. I wasn't trying to catch any eyes, but I certainly did make an impression--just like Rosemary.