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Tuesday, August 31, 2004:

We're off!

Today is our last day in Portland. Last night was our final (and only) dress rehearsal with food service and everything. It went pretty well. We gave ourselves and extra hour to set up, and ended up with half an hour of down time (which means we're still behind timewise, but not too behind). We are all going to be very tired of Chicken Adobo by the time we're done with this tour. It's good, but not something I'm going to want fifty times between now and thanksgiving. We've packed Ramen noodles in the canopy for when we just can't eat another bite.

The actual run went very well. We had one missed quick change. One of my dressers - and it takes three of us - mysteriously disappeared right before the change. So Vicky went on with her veil on sideways and only half covering her face. We'll work on it. The only other problem was the lighting. It wasn't completely dark and there were lots of windows in the fellowship center. Thus, it was hard to tell when the blackouts were. By the way, I'm going to start (ha) ending sentences with prepositions. I was reading "Letters to an American Lady" and CS Lewis wrote that he hates the rule against it. He says it was perfectly admissible until some guy decided that since you can't do it in French, you shouldn't do it in English. I go with Lewis. It makes sentence construction much easier.

I've sent out another round of postcards, if any of them have begun filtering through. Those of you who are inclined to write back, my mail will be forwarded to me every other week. I really don't like postcards (it's getting her to shut up that's the trick), but it's been the most convenient so far. Anyone who wants actual letters may ask for them - or just wait for them to show up. At some point I'm going to get tired of cutting things down to fit on half a three by five card. I feel like I'm writing shorthand.

I went today to the post office and bought a gazillion stamps. Letter and postcard. The lady there had no idea how much it cost to send letters to Canada, and once she found out how much, didn't have the right denomination of stamp. Poor Nicole was standing there, and the lady kept looking helplessly at her, as if she should somehow come up with that information so she didn't have to look it up. The end result was Nicole getting letter stamps, but none for our spiffy touring cast postcards (look for those later on down the road -- also a handy reminder to pray for us, as we all sit there staring at you. By the way, I had just changed into that t-shirt when they gave the picture call, so everyone else is still dressed for church...)

I'll be able to blog more soon....

Rachel LeAnn // 5:13 PM


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Saturday, August 28, 2004:

Yesterday was our second dress. We didn't even get through the whole show -- we had to vacate the church by 5. We ran 45 minutes late in set up, so there went Act 2.

Today is a free day. I got up and made biscuits - minus gravy, unfortunatly. Then Aaron and I went over to the kitchen trailer, unloaded it, and washed down all the pots and pans. Woo.

We're supposed to be making a trip to the coast today, weather permitting. It's been raining in Portland all week.

We leave on Wednesday. Trying not to think about it. It's odd to think we're actually going to be heading out on the road!

Living in a multicultural house is very interesting. We have four Canadians, two Southerners, and then people from Washington, Oregon, New York, Wyoming, and Pennslyvania. Just the merging of expressions is funny. We've been trying to convince the Canadians not to refer to anyone south of the mason-dixon line as "Yankees." They won't take kindly to that in Texas. And we're working on Vicky's pronunciation of "southern." So far it's "sowth - urn." "No Vicky. Say "suth-urn." Once she's really there it will be some variation on "su-thun." But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh, and she hates large bugs. Good thing it won't be cricket migration season when we get there. Oh wait....

Tea is probably the biggest thing we fight over. The "su-thun-ers" like it sweet (me too- a holdover from Texas). 2-1/4 cups sugar to a gallon is just about right. The "Yankees" like it unsweetened. The Canadians like instant crystals -- none of this brewed crap. It's a constant battle.

Canadians don't like American Chocolate. We don't have the "right" kind of candy bars, and the chocolate tastes funny. The only thing they seem to be extatic about is the caffeine level in Mountain Dew. Apparently in Canada it's caffeine-free. What, we might ask, is the point of drinking Mountain Dew then?

What to put on biscuits. That was the big debate this morning. Should it be gravy? Honey? Jam? or Peanut Butter?

So, yes, this is what prompted the quote below. I can't wait to see what choice phrases I pick up by the end of tour? Like "proh-sess"(for process) and "dekl" (For decal).

Rachel LeAnn // 12:15 PM

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Quote of the Day: Being Bilingual

"Where y'all going, eh?"

Rachel LeAnn // 12:12 PM

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Wednesday, August 25, 2004:

Almost there...

We leave one week from today. Tomorrow we finish working troublespots in act 2 and then we have a full runthrough in the evening. Costumes are almost done, and praise be to God I got enough done (with lots of help -- you should have seen J.P. sewing Nicole's headscarf..) that I don't have to do anything after hours tonight. Huzzah, because I'm "after hour-ed" out.

It is going to be a great show. I got to watch more of it today as we ran scene by scene than I've seen since the first few days of rehearsal. Wow have things changed! So many new characters, and new "stuff!" I hope those of you that get to see it will enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed putting it together. It is strange, though. We've worked so hard, but its still hard to grasp that once the main push is over, we still have to perform it!

Rachel LeAnn // 5:45 PM

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Tuesday, August 24, 2004:

You should see what I look like as a small pregnant asian woman!

Rachel LeAnn // 2:04 PM

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Thursday, August 19, 2004:

Taking a Break

Today has gone very well on very little sleep. Living with this many people does lead to some interesting situations, especially when people forget to close doors. On either side, in order to get from the bathroom to the upstairs dorm, you have to walk past the door to the common room. This causes problems if you forget to bring your clothes with you to the shower. Today someone flashed the world. Oops.

I have a huge pet peeve in theater -- it manifests itself in many smaller pet peeves, but the overriding one is: People sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong. Example: Actors. They're terrible about this. They try to direct each other, they contradict the director, they ask the costumer,"is this what I'm going to be wearing, and are you sure this is the right one?" Today someone wore the body of her costume for rehearsals, and everyone had an idea of how to improve it, or what it should look like, or "You know what would make this really cool?" Sorry guys, there is already plenty of input into this one, and we've spent a great deal of effort accounting for every variable. Most likely we discussed your suggestion ten hours and three costume meetings ago, and vetoed it because it wouldn't work. There are several people who get automatic impute: The director, the designer, and the person who gave us the costume budget. That's all folks!

I have my lines memorized...All 21 of them! That's probably a dozen more than I expected to have, so "it's a good thing!" I even got a compliment on one of my many characters. It was a one line part, so it's nice to be noticed on something that small. I love working with this director. Plus, he's good at reminding actors who's really in charge. We need that a lot. Myself included...

Rachel LeAnn // 11:19 PM


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Wednesday, August 18, 2004:

Sleep Deprived

We are all running around like the proverbial chickens sans heads. Tomorrow is our first run of act 2 off book, and the next day we run act 1. Tonight I slept through dinner (meaning just to lay down for a minute) and will be costuming as soon as I finish this post and walk back to the house. The costumes are coming along slowly. About the time I think I finally have time to work, something else gets added to the schedule.

I, tonight, am not memorizing lines, because I already know both of mine. Wait, all three if you count the group yelling scene. But tomorrow we all go barefoot, in keeping with Balangao traditions, so its time for a pedicure. Soon I'll have to stop painting my toes.

Today's funny rehearsal story:
I have a scene where I carry on a sick child. Yesterday my note was "it looks like you're carrying a stuffed Bert doll (I was) instead of a real child. Make it more weighty." So I picked up a sandbag, wrapped it in a blanket, and carried it on. But, I didn't have time to tell the lead, so she was expecting a stuffed doll and got a twenty pound sack instead. She lost it, I lost it, and Tekla did too, having seen me wrap it beforehand.

Prayer partners, prepare for your first postcards!

Rachel LeAnn // 8:49 PM

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Thursday, August 12, 2004:

We blocked the first and second acts the last two days. Today we started going scene by scene through the show, developing characters and fine tuning our movements and inflections. Since most of the cast is Filippino (or supposed to be) we have to work on our pronunciations, too. Any second I'm not onstage, I'm working on getting costumes for everyone. If I'm not doing that, I'm studying to pass my Food Handler's License tests. And I'm loving it! How great is it to be running like a chicken with your head cut off (or perhaps pig, in this case) doing something you've always wanted to do.

Performing, that is.

Not the head thing...

Rachel LeAnn // 7:27 PM

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Tuesday, August 10, 2004:

My blog shouldn't cut out like that anymore. I've identified the problem (an old comment hosting system still in my template) and eliminated it. So, I hope to see comments again soon! Ciao, until tomorrow!

Rachel LeAnn // 9:14 PM

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Just Whelmed

Today we were cast. I have five parts. When you have three leads, and twenty five roles, with an eight person cast, you get around a lot. I'm playing Joanne's co-missionary, Anne, along with a couple other parts here and there. It's going to be a lot of fun, and a lot of work. Especially considering I also am doing costumes and running the kitchen.

It's a way different pace here. This morning we did one run through of the script, ran home for lunch, came back and blocked the prologue and act 1. Tomorrow we have all day to block act two. I spent all evening putting together a revised costume fitting schedule. Now I'm too late to do my laundry, because you're not allowed to use the facilities after 9. I don't know what time I'm going to have to get up tomorrow to get it done. I have only four shirts and two pairs of jeans. I'm not averse to wearing clothes again, but I'm on my last pair of socks, and it's been too hot to re-use t-shirts. It's going to be a nutty schedule, alright. But eventually they'll start doing more specialized rehearsals, and I'll have some time to actually sew things. Isn't that cool? Three weeks isn't a long time to get a show together that was cast today.

Isn't theater a blast!

Rachel LeAnn // 8:51 PM


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Monday, August 09, 2004:

What a harrowing day. Auditions. They're always hard. And way out of my comfort zone. Way out of everyone's comfort zone, as a matter a fact. But a lot of these people came from theater background --- so most of the "acting exercises" they've done in class. We walked across the room 20 times as different characters, animals, disiblities (I was blind, not much of a stretch), and moods. We did impromptu scenes. We did name-in-a-circle games.

Finally we were done with the games and onto cold readings. That wasn't too bad, except some of the people reading had already done this show several times, so they were great. Character, blocking, accents, inflection. While the rest of us are trying to writhe around on a cot, half unconscious, pretending to be badly injured, and reading the script. I felt I did very poorly.

For the capper, they decided I have the most experience for the dance/movement role. In 100 degree heat I had to dance around pretending to be a large, evil bird. I did two or three scenes like that, and then to give me a break, I got to do interpretive blocking as the spider in "itsy-bitsy spider." I'm tired and sweaty.

They'll post the final cast list tomorrow. They've already cast the leads for the most part, but the rest of the 15 or so parts have to be divided among the five ensemble members. I think I'm going to play the blasted bird. It's a really great part, but a different one for me. No singing, no lines. Just movement. AAAARRRGH. And tonight we have, promptly at 8, spontaneity planned in our schedule.

My best audition was as a cat trapped on an airplane.

Rachel LeAnn // 7:27 PM


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Sunday, August 08, 2004:

Hey, everyone. No more boring posts! No more writing about how much I'm working, or how annoying the wedding is. A big sigh of relief, I'm sure

I arrived last night, and everyone but two cast members showed up yesterday. So far, no major conflicts. I, of course, am pretty much observing at this point, but I've talked to everyone one-on-one at least once. One minor miracle, I've been here 24 hours and I know everybody's name. That never happens.

So far, it feels like summer camp. We have a converted duplex that has the central wall knocked out. The left half is the boy's side, the right half for the girls. Painted blue and pink, respectively. So far we've cooked, been to church, and cooked again. Our last two members show up tonight. Upstairs we have two bunks, and four beds. Our stuff is still contained, for now. The bathroom situation is the only downside. The girls bathroom has two toilets, no doors, and the one shower between them. A double sink lines the opposite wall, but one doesn't work. The girl to guy ratio here is about 3:1, so figuring out who showers when, and how to pee without the whole cast walking in (no lock on the bathroom door, either) is the biggest challenge. Yesterday and today were low key, no meetings or rehearsals. That starts tomorrow with devotions at 8:30am, and rehearsals and orientation all day. I haven't made it to Powells yet, but I need to soon. I've read both my books.

We went to a non-denominational church today. A very long sermon, but no offering plate was passed. A note in the bulletin told you where to put your offering if you wanted to give one. I love that.

Tonight, we're watching movies and chilling out while our leaders pick up the last two. We have one very enthusiastic Canadian here who talks about "American Culture" all the time, and can't wait to go to McDonald's. It's very strange hearing your country mentioned as "foreign." I know it is, but in Washington, Canada sort of bleeds over, and vise-versa. Especially in the Puget sound. She loves my accent. Whatever that is. She's already said "hoose" and "aboot" and "eh," so I'm happy. Roughly half the cast is Canadian, including our director, but they're less hyperactive about the states. So that's the news, so far.

Rachel LeAnn // 3:59 PM


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Saturday, August 07, 2004:

Well guys, here goes. At 1:55 today I'll be on my way to Portland. I think I'm one of the first people flying in, so I'll have a chance to catch my breath before all of the "introductions" begin. "I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers." All the small talk...there's the first thing my prayer partners can start praying. That and my health. Right before I left California I went to my eye doctor with an infection that turned out to be stress induced. Apparently I've run myself into the ground again (can't imagine why) and the infection, the sore throat, the canker sores are all related. I'm on antibiotics, but I'm supposed to be resting. Ha. I'll have time for that in, well, at least four months.

Rachel LeAnn // 9:23 AM

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I'm getting frustrated with my computer. Everytime I think I've got my photo uploaded, it won't let me. And then I made a cute little cartoon, like at LilacRose, which I will link later when I'm not so frustrated, and will it let me? NO! Rargh. "Patience is a virtue." "Not right now it isn't!"

Rachel LeAnn // 12:51 AM

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Friday, August 06, 2004:

You are a Siren. More adventurous than all with a
voice like no other you sit on warm rocks and
sing to the moon and sea. Yet sometimes
shipwrecks find you and raving men want you.
You are a bottle of talent and power. What the
unknown is you seek to find, and a lover. You
have the moon and stars as freinds. There are a
very few of you, what a rare find. Will you
rate my quiz, I think your voice in just
beautiful?

What kind of mermaid are you? (Gorgeous Pics)


Rachel LeAnn // 7:24 PM

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Hey, run over to Coloratura 81 and see her new blog look!

Rachel LeAnn // 6:00 PM

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Taking Care of Business

This is the tentative itenerary for Wycliffe's production. If anyone would like to see one of the shows that is in your area, you need to contact the church directly. Each will be handling reservations or tickets in a different way. I haven't had any word on whether our "rest" days will be open for hanging out with family and friends, or if we will have designated activities with our sponsors/touring cast. I'll let you know as soon as I can.

City or Area Day Date Church Town

Wed 1-Sep Travel to Boise

Thurs 2-Sep Travel to Salt Lake City

Fri 3-Sep Travel to Denver

Sat 4-Sep Travel to Wichita, KS

Sun 5-Sep Travel to Dallas/Fort Worth

Mon 6-Sep REST (Labor Day)

Tues 7-Sep REST

Wed 8-Sep Tyler ST United Methodist Church Dallas, TX

Thurs 9-Sep Multi Church Event Richardson, TX

Fri 10-Sep Park Springs Bible Church Arlington, TX

Sat 11-Sep 1st United Methodist Church Cedar Hill, TX

Sun 12-Sep Hillcrest Baptist Church Cedar Hill, TX

Mon 13-Sep REST

Tues 14-Sep REST

Wed 15-Sep Metro Church of God Dallas, TX

Thurs 16-Sep Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Dallas, TX

Fri 17-Sep Faith Baptist Church Duncanville, TX

Sat 18-Sep Faith Baptist Church Duncanville, TX

Sun 19-Sep Gospel Lighthouse Church Dallas, TX

Mon 20-Sep REST

Tues 21-Sep REST

Wed 22-Sep Desert Springs Church Albuquerque, NM

Thurs 23-Sep Calvary Chapel Santa Fe, NM

Fri 24-Sep ?

Sat 25-Sep Travel to Arizona

Sun 26-Sep Ascension Lutheran Church Tucson, AZ

Mon 27-Sep REST

Tues 28-Sep ?

Wed 29-Sep ?

Thurs 30-Sep ?

Fri 1-Oct St. Andrews Presbyterian Tucson, AZ

Sat 2-Oct North Minster Presbyterian Tucson, AZ

Sun 3-Oct ?

Mon 4-Oct REST

Tues 5-Oct REST

Wed 6-Oct 1st Presbyterian Church Mesa, AZ

Thurs 7-Oct Glendale Nazarene Church Glendale, AZ

Fri 8-Oct Arizona Community Church Tempe, AZ

Sat 9-Oct ?

Sun 10-Oct ?

Mon 11-Oct REST

Tues 12-Oct REST

Wed 13-Oct Manzanita Baptist Church Kingman, AZ

Thurs 14-Oct ?

Fri 15-Oct ?

Sat 16-Oct ?

Sun 17-Oct Shiloh Community Church Phoenix, AZ

Mon 18-Oct REST

Tues 19-Oct Travel to S. California

Wed 20-Oct Christ The King Lutheran Church Fallbrook, CA

Thurs 21-Oct First Presbyterian/Bible Fellowship Hemet, CA

Fri 22-Oct Calvary Chapel Murrieta Murrieta, CA

Sat 23-Oct Calvary Chapel Murrieta Murrieta, CA

24-Oct Calvary Chapel Murrieta Murrieta, CA

Mon 25-Oct REST

Tues 26-Oct REST

Wed 27-Oct ?

Thurs 28-Oct ?

Fri 29-Oct Calvary Chapel Murrieta Murrieta, CA

Sat 30-Oct Sunridge Community Church Temecula, CA

Sun 31-Oct REST

Mon 1-Nov Santa Cruz Bible Church Santa Cruz, CA

Tues 2-Nov Travel to Salem, OR

Wed 3-Nov Travel to Salem, OR

Thurs 4-Nov Labish Center Evangelical Church Salem, OR

Fri 5-Nov Labish Center Evangelical Church Salem, OR

Sat 6-Nov New Hope Church Salem, OR

Sun 7-Nov Judson Baptist Church Salem, OR

Mon 8-Nov First Baptist Church Eugene, OR

Tues 9-Nov Travel to Springfield, OR

Wed 10-Nov Springfield Faith Center Springfield, OR

Thurs 11-Nov ?

Fri 12-Nov Lebanon Nazarene Lebanon, OR

Sat 13-Nov REST

Sun 14-Nov Twin Rivers Baptist Church Springfield, OR

Mon 15-Nov REST

Tues 16-Nov Travel to Grants Pass, OR

Wed 17-Nov ?

Thurs 18-Nov Trail Christian Fellowship Eagle Point, OR

Fri 19-Nov Community Bible Church Central Point, OR

Sat 20-Nov Pacific Community Church Bandon, OR

Sun 21-Nov Dallas 1st Presbyterian Dallas, OR

Mon 22-Nov Debrief

Tues 23-Nov Home

Rachel LeAnn // 1:02 PM


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I'm home, briefly. Mom and I drove in last night at 11. I'm hanging out, resting, but if anyone wants to do anything, I'm here!

My cats did really well last night and this morning. They were just happy to be out of the cat carrier. Today, they met the family pets. Cai has been up a tree for an hour. I got him out of the last one and was carrying him back in the house, when Melody came around the corner and treed him in another one. Chloe is hiding somewhere. I haven't seen her since she saw Mocha tearing down the hall.

So, I'm off to Petco for last minute pet supplies.

Rachel LeAnn // 12:36 PM

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Monday, August 02, 2004:

Thank you to all of the people who have agreed to be prayer sponsers while I'm on the road. I've tried to contact all of you personally. I will send postcards regularly from the road with updates. Actually, at some point it may become letters intead, because getting me stopped once I've started writing is the trick -- especially with so much time on the road. I'll let you all know what I'm doing, where I am, and any specific prayer requests on behalf of Wycliffe and its staff.

If anyone else wants to join, I'm still a few people short. Of course, for everyone, my blog will be the best way I have to communicate back. So, comment people! I will have my cell phone everywhere, but I won't have any way to get mail once we've left rehearsals in Portland. I'll give you my address there if anyone wants to send any mail for the first three weeks or so. Thanks again, guys! And I hope to have lots of stories for everyone!

Rachel LeAnn // 4:32 PM

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Firsts and Lasts

Last night was it for working at the Alisal. I sang one last time with Jonathan Wild, and then was ganged up upon by my co-workers and thrown in the pool. I took Aaron in with me.

Today I went out to Thai with my friend Wendy, and as soon as I've checked my mail, I'll be back to sorting through my stuff. My goal is to get rid of half of it.

I have to go in the bar tonight and record myself singing with Jonathan. He's submitting my headshot and video to a guy he knows who knows someone associated with cruise ships. I may get to do a brief stint on one in January-March. It's a long shot, but I think worth a try.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to take my sister to Disneyland. My pass is blocked out, but it's only $50 a head to go. Wednesday night I'm going with three other people to a Tim McGraw concert at the fair. I'm not a country fan, but it's a fun group of people going, and my last chance to hang out with Dale and Wendy, and the aforementioned Aaron. Then Thursday I'm on the road to Yakima, and Saturday I fly to Portland. Yakima friends, I'll have all day friday. Get in touch!

Rachel LeAnn // 4:17 PM

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