Talk back

Today we gave a matinee performance of Wit.  Often times after matinees we host a Talk Back, at which the audience is invited to stick around and ask questions of the cast, director and producer.  We've had about 3 Talk Back performances thus far, and I've been touched at every single one of them.

Wit is such a moving piece, and I think that at times people are eager to share how the play inspired them.

The main character of this play is a woman who is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.  Today an audience member commented on the relationship between the main character and her nurse, who kindly interceded for her during her sickness, gently taking care of her patient in her final hours. 

At today's Talk Back there was a woman in the audience who raised her hand to comment.  Her hair was short, not from a cut, but from months of growth after a time of baldness.  Her sweet face twisted in emotion as she boldly shared that she was a survivor of ovarian cancer.  Her words were strong and clear, but it took effort to say them: "I am a survivor of ovarian cancer..."

Just as the words left her lips a thick emotion choked her voice.  After the smallest of pauses the man sitting next to her (who I assume was her husband) took her hand, looked at her with overwhelming love and then turned to us saying firmly: "... and I am her intercessor." 


If the above were a scene in a movie that I was describing to you, I might be tempted to label it as cheesy.  But the above exchange was real.  And it was so beautiful and honest that I can only write how absolutely thankful I am to have witnessed that moment.

Cliche

Yes, I know.  But I'm going to say it anyway:

I'm SO GLAD that it's finally FRIDAY!



...It's just been one of those weeks, you know? 
I'm sitting here watching the clock tick closer and closer to 6pm and I keep catching myself holding my breath.  Sheesh!

A story worth reading

Alyssa and I went to high school together and I have countless memories from school musicals and classes that we had together.  We sort of ran in different circles, I don't remember ever hanging out with her outside of school, but I remember always getting along well with her. 

Alyssa is gorgeous and extremely talented.  In high school she would get the leads in the school plays and knock 'em dead in talent shows.  An awkward teenager, I was still learning to be comfortable in my own skin in high school while Alyssa was booking modeling gigs all over town.  I'm sure that there were times when I must have been jealous of Alyssa, but to be honest, she was always so kind and friendly that it made it difficult to be catty towards her.  My memories of Alyssa are fond.

Fast forward ten years and through the wonders of the internet Alyssa and I have somewhat reconnected.  Hers is one of the blogs I follow, and she recently entered Mrs. Oklahoma pageant using awareness of the disease cystic fibrosis as her platform.  I encourage you to read about her inspiration, her daughter Hayden, who was diagnosed with CF at birth:  read here

Hayden Presley

And because I know you're dying to know what her mommy looks like:

Alyssa

More Wit

Here's a closer look at the play that I am blessed to be a small part of. 
(Commentary by director, producer and lead actress)

Click here for Wit slideshow.

Producer David, actress Nan, and director Marianne.

Truth in Comedy

I would consider myself an active participant of the comedy community here in LA.  While I'm not a comedy performer myself, I have been attending various comedy shows regularly for the past 5 years.  For a season of my life I attended Garage Comedy every Monday night, I've been to shows at UCB, the Complex, various stand up shows, and especially the improv shows at IO West.  I am fortunate to have a gaggle of extremely funny friends and it's always my pleasure to go out to see them perform, or to watch sketches that they post online, etc.

Now that I'm married to a comedy performer/writer, I am even more aware of trends in the comedy community, both locally and online.

I would consider myself a good audience member.  Of course I have opinions and tastes-- there are certain styles and topics that I find more humorous than others, but I can still appreciate comedy that isn't necessarily my cup of tea. 

I also understand that any topic is "game" for comedy and while searching for the humor in a subject one might risk offending a sensitive viewer.  I think it's good for performers to be aware of their audience, but censoring oneself can limit comedy, and you can't please everyone.

All that being said, Greg and I were watching a sketch last night that recently aired on television and my reaction to the sketch was a physical sickness in the pit of my stomach.  Having aired on a racier network, I knew that the content would push limits, but this particular sketch crossed the line into ignorance, and it really upset me.  Hell, I'll even go so far as to say that it hurt me.

Comedy pushes limits, and I think that's fine.  But there is truth in comedy, and this particular sketch abandoned truth to embrace pure shock value that was incredibly foul and degrading.  It wasn't funny. 

It saddens me that that sketch was green lit and funded.  It breaks my heart that viewers across the country are tuning in to see something like that presented to them as "funny."  It angers me that I know so many clever, hard working and talented comedy writers/performers that deserve their own spot on television, and yet they are forced to compete with trash like that for air time.

To all my funny friends who perform and are actively engaged in the rat race of the ever changing comedy scene:

I applaud you for every time that you challenge yourself and refuse to embrace ignorance that may result in an easy laugh.  As a viewer, I appreciate you so much when you choose to keep a certain integrity in your performances even in the face of low-blow competition.  I understand that it is a choice.  Thank you for keeping truth in your comedy.

You're the ones I'm rooting for.

Opening Night!

Tonight is opening night for Wit and I can't wait to have a real audience.  The past two rehearsals have been previews, so we have had a few viewers thus far-- but tonight we'll have ourselves a real crowd. 

Greg is coming to see the show tonight and I'm anxious to discuss the show with him.  I grow more and more in awe of our lead, Nan, each night.  Nan plays the part of Vivian Bearing, a scholar of metaphysical poetry and cancer patient who takes the audience on a personal journey as she learns valuable life lessons in the face of her own death.  Yeah, I know.  It's heavy stuff.

I mean, Nan really goes there every single night and it has been so educational to me as an actress.  It has been a pleasure to work with such a talented and dedicated actress. 

I've been especially privileged to have a front row seat in watching her transformation for this role.  Even physically, she's been completely transformed.  Perhaps the most obvious sacrifice for this role has been shaving her head to play the part of a cancer patient.  Here is a picture of Nan and her signature gorgeous hair before this show was cast:

This is her new haircut at our first rehearsal:

A shocking transition! 

(She said it was the first time she'd had short hair in over 10 years.) 

This cut prepared her for her final transition to baldness.

Alas, I don't have a picture of her bald head yet, but we all agreed to keep her final look under wraps (pun intended) in order to entice folks out to see the show.  Once pictures from the show hit facebook I promise to post the amazing Nan's final look.

Meanwhile, Greg got me an opening night gift of: treats from Yummy Cupcakes! 

He's so good to me-- although I have a sneaky suspicion that he's trying to fatten me up.  I mean, a gal can only eat piping hot chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven at 10:30pm as she's coming home from rehearsal so many nights in a row...

...But with a snickerdoodle, a peanut butter chocolate, and a carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-icing cupcake sitting at home, I'll think about maintaining my figure tomorrow.  Ha!

PS-- Seriously though, once I get my week nights back I really do need to start "training" for the upcoming Warrior Dash... it's only a little more than a month away!

Presidents' Day Eve

I had the most perfect Valentines day EVER this year. 

I have a love/hate relationship with the day itself because it's one of those holidays (like New Years Eve) that never quite lives up to expectations.  It's cliche no matter which way you slice it. 

I'm not one of those girls who needs grand gestures of romance on February 14th (I get told I'm loved every day by my wonderful husband), but I think that if the nation wants to celebrate a day of love-- shucks, why the heck not?!  I'm certainly not above playing along with, yes, I'm going to say it: a greeting card holiday if it gives me an excuse to tell the people I love that I love them. 

With all the hype, it's just hard to make it your own.

We hadn't discussed anything in the way of dinner plans, etc. and Greg had to work until 5pm on Sunday anyway.  I decided that the best thing for him would be a relaxing dinner, so I planned a candlelit picnic in our living room.  That way, he could come home and feel special without the hassle of crowds or restaurants.

I wasn't expecting anything from Greg, but when I woke up on Sunday morning (after Greg had run off to work) I admit that I found myself hoping for a little something.  Just some sort of acknowledgement that it was Valentines day: a card, some flowers, whatever.

I did a quick walk around our little apartment and then hopped in the shower when I didn't see anything. 

Imagine my surprise when I opened our closet to see that it had been organized and all my clothes were neatly arranged on the lower bar (our closet has 2 levels of bars, and I find the top bar difficult to reach) with a big red card and a bag of gummy bears dangling from one of the hangers!

Awwwwwww!

I got me a good one!  I truly did find my perfect match in Greggers.

5 Things vs. 5 Things

Here are 5 things that are challenging to me today:

• I have a cold and I'm feeling cranky/sleepy/snotty
• My coworker is driving me crazy with her entitled airs and bad attitude
• I miss my pillow
• I miss my husband
• Rehearsal from 6:30-10:30pm is keeping me from my husband and pillow for another six hours

Here are 5 things that are blessing me today:

• Yogi brand "Immune Support" Tea
• Sale on Dayquil/Nyquil at Walgreens
• My other coworker is a real team player and she sends me fun videos and pictures sometimes
• I got to have lunch with Greg today.  He made me lunch and we watched an episode of "How I Met Your Mother" before I went back to work.
• kettle corn

After the rain...

Ladies and gentlemen: THIS is the reason I love when it rains in California. 

This picture was taken with my boss's camera phone. 

If only we could have captured how it really looked...

Beer Bread

You guys, I made this:

Aren't you impressed with my baking skills?  Don't you want to come over for breakfast sometime?


PS-- I feel like I'd be lying if I posted this without also telling you that I burned my hand on the rack when I pulled this out of the oven...

Stiletto Project

This Saturday, Treasures held an event in the heart of Venice Beach to kick off the release of Harmony's book Scars & Stilettos.  We also hosted an art auction featuring paintings created by over-comers, as well as a photo exhibit titled "Eleven Treasures" by Lily Eichert. 

Overall, the evening was a smashing success, but there were some wrenches thrown into the evening.  It's too complicated to get into here, but miscommunication among the gallery's 3 owners resulted in one very angry "man in charge" who was determined to be as difficult as possible.  I think he wanted us to cancel our event right then and there (which, as anyone who has ever planned/promoted anything knows, was impossible.)  We had been planning this event for months and we had our paperwork in order, so while he didn't refuse us completely, everything that had been agreed upon was shifted at the very last minute. 

• Originally told that we would have access to 3 of the gallery walls, he only allowed us to hang art on one wall. 
• Originally told we'd have access to fixtures to display our various resources on (i.e.: mannequins, tables, platforms, etc.) we were given ONE folding table that we would also have to fit our refreshments onto. 
• Originally told that us volunteers could arrive at 4:30pm to begin setting up for our 7pm party, he locked us out of the gallery along the side of the road in the wind and cold while the sun went down because he didn't trust us around his merchandise as he hung piping and drapes along the back wall of the gallery.  We weren't allowed in to begin setting up until 6:15pm.
• He spoke in raised tones and used foul language when he talked to us  ("Don't touch any of my s---, don't even look at my s---.  Stay the f--- off the stairs, you're only allowed in this area...")
• He barricaded the one bathroom in the gallery, refusing to even let us access a toilet, and forcing us to beg favors all evening from the bar next door that was kind enough to let us use the facilities.

I was so impressed to see the other girls handle themselves with loving grace in the face of such circumstances.  I, on the other hand, was filled with such anger I couldn't even look that man in the eye for fear that I'd lose control of my raging temper and quickly snap out words loaded with the same amount of hate that this man was dishing out to us.  It wasn't our fault that his staff hadn't communicated with him.  I bit my tongue all evening, at times I thought I might bite my tongue right off! 

But though I was thinking thoughts against this man that only fanned the flames of my rage, the other girls demonstrated loving kindness in their behavior, and soon I too fell into step.  My heart softened enough to let it go and get on with the evening, which was about giving brave women an outlet for their stories.

Many of the women who contributed paintings to the art auction were not artists at all.  They just put their heart on the canvas.  They donated their art for Treasures to auction off, and in turn, Treasures gave 50% of the paintings' earnings back to the women who painted them.

People from churches all over LA came to support us.  The small room was packed so full that we had to ask people to circulate back out the front door to create a flow of traffic in order to accommodate the line that was forming on the street.  In fact, some people who had no idea who we were came in off the street to see what was going on (pretty impressive when you stop to think that they coughed up the $10 donation at the door without knowing anything about us).

All in all, from 7pm-10pm over 200 people poured through the doors of the gallery to support Harmony and the other over-comers.  They stand behind Treasures' message that these women are "loved beyond measure, valued above rubies or pearls, and created with a purpose."  They support our ministry in a variety of ways: through prayer, through financial contributions, by listening to the stories these brave women have to tell, and by educating themselves on what goes on behind the glamour of the sex industry, and by spreading awareness. 

Sun setting over Venice Beach

Volunteers Vanessa and Kat set up banners on the sidewalk before we were allowed inside the gallery.

Emily and other volunteers wait on the street to be let in to set up.

With too little wall space to display all the artwork, we begged the use of a ladder to prop art onto.  These paintings were done by survivors of the sex industry.

The artists boldly shared parts of their stories in the bios hung next to the art.

Photographs of over-comers by Lily Eichert.

Harmony greeted people and signed copies of her memoir all evening.

The gallery was wall to wall people

Vanessa painted fresh art in the corner

Me, Liz and Nancy. 

These two beauties helped me run the resource table along with Kiki (not pictured).  I could never have kept up with all the books, prints, t-shirts, devotionals, magnets, and CD's without their organization, positive attitudes and willingness to serve.

Rehearsal

As is usually the case when participating in a play, I have absolutely fallen in love with my cast mates in Wit. 

We have about two more weeks of rehearsal before opening night, and it's a bitter sweet feeling.  As eager as I am to have my evenings back, I am really going to miss hanging out with my newfound friends. 
(Although I suppose I do have 6 weeks of performances to wean myself from their constant company...)

Me & Alison at the first read through of the show

(clearly enthralled by the lead actress!)

We're at my favorite point of the rehearsal process.  All of us actors are familiar enough with our lines and blocking that we're starting to shed our scripts, yet we're still making fresh discoveries in the material.  It's awesome. 

Saturday is the formal deadline for all of us to be officially "off book" and I'm excited to begin digging our teeth into this show on a whole new level.

That, and I'm enjoying:

• The quick jaunts with Catherine to the Bourgeois Pig for coffee during breaks
• Swapping Elaine May plays with Alison
• Singing Ingrid Michaelson songs with Tawny backstage 
• Making Grey's Anatomy jokes or poor medical puns to anyone within earshot
• Perfecting subtle "bits" with Preston as we search for creative ways to define our characters during transitions
• Using the stethoscopes to tell knock-knock jokes
• Learning what actually happens during a Code Blue from Liz the real life nurse who was kind enough to come talk to us
• Wheelchair races with the other interns

Le sigh, le smooch

Le squeal!

You guys, I am so in love with my husband!!! 

Cranksters

This is a very busy week/weekend for Greg and me.  I have rehearsal for Wit after work every evening this week, and I've booked myself all weekend long with:

• Rehearsal from 7-10pm on Friday night, followed by Greg's Rigor Tortoise show at 11pm
• Rehearsal Saturday morning at 10am-2pm
• The Treasures Art Benefit/Harmony's Book release Saturday night from 4:30pm-11ish
• Serving communion Sunday morning at 10:45am
• An evening engagement Sunday night at 7pm

Meanwhile, Greg is adjusting to his new work schedule, juggling his various rehearsals and improv shows, and trying to coordinate with the exterminator as he comes and goes.  On top of everything else, poor Greggers is responding to his jury duty summons today.  He's probably sitting in a waiting room at the courthouse right now waiting to see if he'll be assigned to a jury or not.

Needless to say, both Greg and I have been a little strained lately, and last night when each of us finally hauled our exhausted bodies home around 10 o'clock or so, we were both pretty cranky.

Completely worn out, yet somehow still wound up and irritated from our hectic day, we probably could have benefitted from an hour or so of unwinding in front of a couple episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, or relaxing with a few chapters of the respective books we're reading, or even just playing several levels of Mario Brothers together, but we were each feeling the weight of Tomorrow already pressing in on us.  It seemed that going straight to sleep was the most practical thing to do. 

We snapped back and forth at each other while we brushed our teeth, both needing to vent from our day but unable to listen to the other's frustrations.  Any patience we might have had for one another was absorbed by the annoying itching of "to do" lists eagerly poking our brains with tasks lined up to be checked off first thing in the morning.  Even though we were exhausted, we weren't yet tired.  Still, we mechanically went straight to bed. 

I laid there in the dark and waited for my body and mind to shut down into what I hoped would be a replenishing rest.  It had been cold at rehearsal that night and I just couldn't seem to get warm.  I was frustrated with the cold, with the pressure from the clock as Tomorrow crept closer and closer, and with myself and Greg for not being able to have a quality conversation in the last 20 minutes we had together before we climbed into bed.  I've been making a real effort to be a better listener lately, as well as to be encouraging with my words rather than griping and complaining all the time, but I felt that I had failed miserably at both listening and speaking encouragement into my husband after his long day.

I reached out and rubbed Greg's back, and I could feel him relaxing as his body released the tensions of the day.  In the darkness, I began telling Greg the plot to the horrible movie I had seen earlier at work.  My coworker and I seemed to be the only ones who had noticed the glaring plot hole at the end of the film, and I thought Greg would enjoy hearing the parts that made the film ridiculous.  Recounting the plot wasn't as hysterical as I thought it would be, mainly because I had to keep doubling back to say: "Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention this part...," but it distracted us enough to start giggling over my attempt.  In those last moments before sleep, we laughed together and held each other, and Greg warmed my ice cold feet with his warm ones.

I have decided that I can withstand a hectic week every now and then in exchange for the incredible blessing of getting to whisper with Greg in the dark and rub his back as peace washes us into precious slumber after a long day.

 

RIP, Whiskers

Update: Last night my husband reported that while I was at a meeting, he heard the trap snap on the absolutely disgusting, repulsive our dear friend, Whiskers.

Of course, the exterminator left several traps set to ensure that rat-face didn't leave behind any next of kin.

Muah haha ha!

Let this be a warning to all you creepy crawlies and critters out there that might be thinking about moving into our attic! 

Stay out, or weeee'll keeeel you dead!

Gah-ross.

For the past few weeks, Greg and I have been hearing the pitter-patter of little feet.
(No, Mom, it's not baby feet we've been hearing!) 

I'm talking about the pitter-patter of unidentified little feet in. our. attic.  The first time we noticed it, we thought that one of the two stray cats that frequent our courtyard may have found his way inside to avoid the cold.  However, I have always been paranoid about critters (it's one of my motivations to keep things really clean), so I called our landlord right away to report the sounds we heard.

We only hear the noises occasionally, but I just cringe any time anything scurries up there.  I keep telling myself that it's a cat, or a squirrel (as opposed to something worse) and I've been keeping my eyes peeled for any traces of "critter" in our apartment as I've waited for our landlord to arrange things.

It's taken a little longer than I would have liked-- as I said, we first heard sounds above us weeks ago-- but thankfully our landlord sent an exterminator by our place today to investigate.  He set up traps and told my husband that he thought it was... rats. 


Before I go any further with this blog can I just say: EEWWWWWW!!!
That is the exact critter that I had been hoping that it wasn't!  I mean, if the exterminator had told us there was a homeless person up there I think I still would have thought to myself: "Well, at least it wasn't a rat..."

Rats just make me think of filthy NY streets, not my sunny Cali apartment that I keep really clean and take very good care of!  SICK. OUT.



Anyway, apparently the exterminator kept going on and on about how nice our crawl space is.  He said he's never seen a better one in a rental unit and that our landlord was a good one to give us such a nice space.  He used the word immaculate.  He said that there's a light switch up there and boards, so that if we ever needed storage space we could use it.



Sorry, let me interrupt again real fast to say: GROSS!! 

Umm, buddy, we just found out we might have rats up there. Why on earth would I want to store any of my goods with a creature that is largely blamed for the 14th century medieval plague known as the Black Death?!



The good news is that the exterminator confirmed that there hasn't been any breach down to our level, so they haven't been inside our actual apartment.  (Whew!  Was anyone else holding their breath just now, or was it just me?)  The other good news is that he'll be back on Thursday to empty the traps and he doesn't think they'll be difficult to get rid of.  He's also located the holes that he thinks they found their way in through, so he's going to plug those up so that we don't get more unwanted visitors.

Get out of here, Whiskers, you're only cute in Pixar movies...

Cozy night in

This weekend flew by!  On Saturday I had rehearsal and Greg had to work in the morning, but we both had the afternoon and evening free so we got to hang out and enjoy one another. 

I usually like to clean on weekends, it feels good to start fresh on Monday and know that at home, my floors are vacuumed, the laundry is done, and the kitchen is in order.  I definitely feel a certain pride in keeping our home nice for Greg and me.

The kitchen is the big one for me.  It takes the most work to stay on top of, but I feel such a sense of accomplishment when it is shiny and everything is put away in its proper place.  Our kitchen is small (very small) and we don't have a dishwasher so it feels like Greg and I are constantly scrubbing and racking our plates/glasses/pots/utensils/etc.  While it does get old sometimes, for the most part I don't think Greg or I mind very much because it's such a nice opportunity to serve one another.  (And I actually do have one of those husbands that helps out with the dishes without having to be asked!) 

On Saturday, while Greg was still at work I did tons of dishes, including the containers in the fridge that were filled with expired food.  Then I bleached the countertops and sink, wiped dust off the top of the fridge, and cleaned the microwave.  Our kitchen was sparkling!

As a result, it motivated us to cook our own dinner-- nothing like a clean slate to inspire creativity!  Look at what we made together:

The toppings include: mozzarella, black olives, mushrooms and various meats (on Greg's half)

It was cooked to perfection on our pizza stone that we got as a wedding gift.  The pizza stone distributes the heat evenly across the pizza's base as well as extracts moisture leaving your dough nice and crispy rather than soggy.

So Greg and I ate delicious pizza in our clean apartment, lit some candles, watched old episodes of How I Met Your Mother from Netflix, and each drank a beer with dinner.  It was a perfectly cozy Saturday night in, and I'm so thankful that my husband enjoys staying in as much as I do sometimes. 

PS-- It is supposed to maybe rain again today!  Thus far, it is pretty sunny outside, but I still have hope.  These are pictures I took from my office window during the rain we had 2 weeks ago-- I keep looking up hoping to see dark clouds out the window again: