YEAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! This cast is AMAZING!

All Shook Up PR Shot - No, it's not me! They had to do the shoot before they had cast the leads. But it's a fantastic shot! What can ya do? :-)

www.CenterREP.org

Ok. I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! We just did our first read/sing through, after a week of music & dance rehearsal. And I have to say - this cast is PHENOMENAL. I am so thrilled to be working with this group of people. And not only is the cast amazing, the artistic staff is incredible!!!

I can't say enough, how excited I am! It's ridiculous! The voices are amazing, but what's even more astonishing, is that every single person is perfectly cast. Some of these people just seem born to play these roles. I had an idea of what the perfect "Dennis" (a character in the show) would be, and this guy BLEW my mind. He is HILARIOUS! He blew my concept of the character out of the water! And that's just one example. I have been astonished around the board by these people. Each person brings such electricity, excitement, fun and power to the room.

If you get to see me in ONE show this year. Come see THIS. I don't usually say that - those of you who know me can vouch for that. Sometimes I'll even keep my mouth shut about what I think of a show. But this one? It's gonna be fierce!!

On another note: This character that I'm playing (Natalie Haller - female lead, mechanic in the 50's, in her mid 20's) is possibly the character that feels closest to my heart, and closest to who I am, that I've ever played. And that is both mildly terrifying and incredibly exciting. Revealing that much of myself onstage in new to me. Revealing even more of a completely different person is a whole different story. Eva Peron?? Nothing like me. (I pray. Ok. I'll take the good traits. ;-) But since I felt I was a completely different person, it was so easy. Less electrifying however. Natalie is so genuine. She's a tomboy. And there's no way she can doll up and be any other way.

It's funny. So many people think of me as a "Cinderella", or an "Eliza Doolittle", you know... the princess-y ingenue. And I can play that really well. I'm very proud of that in fact. Even people in my daily life might see me that way at times. But the reality is, I created that identity in high school because I'd always been so nerdy. That's a big ACT. It's a tool that I take to auditions, and into professional environments. So to play Natalie, who's almost never worn a skirt in her life, is so freeing. It's like coming home.

And the best part is that the end of the story isn't Natalie learning how to doll up and get her man. It about her falling in love with who she really is, and taking a stand for that, even if it means she loses something very dear to her. Someone once asked me "Can you betray another to be true to your own soul?". And that's what Natalie ultimately ends up reckoning with. All in the very fun, very lighthearted, rockin' musical, that packs a punch!

PLEASE: Come see this show! I promise: It won't let you down!!!

The Time Between

I love the time between shows. Especially right now. I have this nice sense of accomplishment from all the shows I've done over the last two years. I also have this sense of standing at the foot a giant mountain, and wondering when I'll finally decide to climb it. I know I can. I feel like a big fish in a very very small pond. Cliché, of course, but how true. 

I'm really looking forward to All Shook Up, and I'm also really relieved to be done with Evita. She's so strident, and strong ALL THE TIME. Even in her death, at her weakest moment. As wonderful as it was to perform that role, I grew tired of constantly "holding her up" so to speak. I enjoy the vulnerable, playful, and sometimes even the uncertain moments in life. There's a joy in not knowing what's coming next. There's a joy in letting a situation play itself out, instead of (as Eva would do) masterfully manipulating it to come out the way I like it. Oy. That's a LOT of energy. It's no wonder she died so young. And I'm certainly not the first person to say that. 

Right now, I'm happy to have let that role go. I recently compiled a list of songs that I've "completed". (I put that in quotations because I don't think anything is ever truly complete. Yes, it can get rusty, but even if you keep it fresh, there are endless possibilities of what you could do with it next. Anyhow.) So I made this list, and it included all the roles I've done, and under the titles of the show, each of the songs that were in the show that I could perform solo, or as a duet. I then listed all the songs that I've learned independent of shows. I then listed (all of this in MS Word) all the songs and roles that I've begun building and never finished, and then made ANOTHER list of things that I'm really right for, and have never touched. 

Having it all summed up like that is such a relief. It's like looking at a three page thing that just says "Oh, so this is where you are." and then I say "Cool. Now I know what to work on!" Instead of sifting through books, I can just look at my long overdue repetoire list and say "Oh, I never finished building "Beauty And The Beast", if that ever comes up I should NAIL it. I'm gonna finish building that this month." or even just "Wow. I had not idea how much material I know." 

That was really the biggest revelation. I thought it wouldn't even take up a full page (two columns). It's a full three pages. I was honestly startled. It took me more than three hours to look through all my books and compile and organize all the material I know. I feel this vast sense of accomplishment, and even a sense of comfort knowing that I have that much material in my back pocket. The first page is "performance ready" material. The next two are all "in progress". So I also have this great sense of focus and direction now. 

On a totally different note - I put that picture at the top of this post because I see this time as a sort of... coming back to myself. I feel like I'm recovering from playing Eva Peron, and rediscovering myself, and re-learning that I actually *like* myself. That's nice. This picture reminds me of some of the most essential parts of myself that I love. 

It's nice to not have the responsibility of keeping myself up to par for a show every day. I can just be me. 

All Shook Up!

I'm delighted to announed that I've been cast in another show! I'll be playing Natalie in Center Rep's "All Shook Up". It's all music by Elvis Presley, and the plot is loosely based off of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". What can be funnier than Shakespeare? Really? She love him, and he loves her. But she loves the other guy, who loves the first girl, and the last guy loves the other guy. Wait. What? In the 50's? Ok. Cool!

I'm playing Natalie, a girl who, in the 50's, is a mechanic, and loves motorbikes (as she calls them). She has no idea how to be girly, and then, of course, she falls in love. Since she has no chance of winning her guy (Chad), she decides to dress up as "Ed", and quickly becomes his best friend, hoping he'll take him (her), on the road with him. Added to the mix is a sexy, sophisticated museum running bombshell, Natalie's best friend (a guy with, perhaps, more than friendly feelings for her), the mayor of the town who wants none of it, and a young star-crossed bi-racial pair of lovers being kept apart by their parents. Set it to the fantastic and irresistable music of Elvis, and you've got All Shook Up.

I think I'm gonna have a LOT of fun with this one.

It just so happens, that the guy starring opposite me (David Sattler), played Prince Charming to my Cinderella. So, as our ASM said - a reunion! And this time, we'll actually have stage time together. It was amazing. For being a stage couple that meets, gets married, and then gets divorced again, we were hardly EVER on the stage together. Our characters never even kissed in Into The Woods! Ah well. They will this time!

Whoops. Did I let that slip?? Sorry! Didn't mean to spoil it for you! :-)

Don't worry, I havn't ruined any surprises. It's far from a conventional love story. And that's what I love about it!

Love,

Min