Another day, another audition.

I'm going to have to find another heading for these days, since I have quite a few auditions in the next few weeks.

Tonight I auditioned for a new work at a local theater. They told us we could bring in any monologue in any genre, and I had a new one I wanted to test out. Actually, upon reading the sides, I'm quite interested in the production. My monologue went really well, thanks to coaching by Nicole, and they asked me to read some sides as also.

5th Ave told us that we should audition for everything we can to improve our auditioning skills. I'm glad I went to this one. Next up, The Music Man audition on Saturday.

This week has more breathing room than last. I don't have all the extra shifts I picked up last week, and waitressing has settled, so I have free chunks of hours here and there. I've been so busy all spring, I found myself with three solid hours free and no earthly idea what to do with them. I'd already taken a nap.

Now that I've paid off my library fine, I can check out new reading material, prepare for auditions, and make the next batch of dresses for Emma Jeans.

We'll see how productive I end up.

The Latest

The original tablecloth was coffee-dyed and separated. I used half of the oval to make the skirt, then cut the bodice and waist from the more heavily embroidered center sections. The dress is backless with a zipper closure center back and hooks to close the halter neck.

I hate telling people what I do.

It always leaks out, here and there, and anytime I'm in a new place I hear the impression they gather from the bits and pieces that come out in normal "getting to know you" conversation, and it doesn't feel like a reflection of myself at all.

I sound WAY flakier than I am, or way cooler.

Today, for example. Imagine the answers to these questions:
Where did you go to school?
What did you study?
And are you still using it?
Oh, when did you live in Asia?
What area code is 805?
So you just moved here recently?

See what I mean? Flakey. Or extremely artsy and bohemian. And then I pull out my dayplanner...

Twinkle Toes

And now for the exciting news of the week - I am picking up a new skill set! TAP DANCING!!

I've always wanted to learn, plus I need to spruce up my resume, plus get more dance experience before general auditions that include On The Town and 42nd Street. (Of course I won't be good enough to REALLY be a dancer by a month from now, but it may put me in the running for singing chorus if I can at least move my feet with tap shoes on them)

Tuesday I flailed around trying to Shu-ffle. Step. F-lap. Step. I've been practicing and I can do it fairly regularly but very slowly.

I feel very uncoordinated in class, but I'm screwing up with a big smile on my face. It's so much fun. I can't wait to be good.

Day tripping to Yakima. Not as exciting as friends of mine who are currently taking a road trip around the country, but a nice break in the routine of working (finally!) way too much.

I'm on my way to take the dogs home. And hopefully put the watch back in for repair that I repaired two years ago, spent a year trying to get back to Yakima to pick it up, finally had Mom and Dad pay the balance and give it to me as a birthday present, got it at Christmas, only to find that the watch was mis-repaired and picks up five minutes on the hour. I'd take it to a new place, but it cost so much to fix (it's a wind up watch - beautiful) that I want them to try to redo it before I pay someone else more to.

Banana wants to up my hours. Waitressing wants me all three days I'm available, and nannying continues with a four chapter reading of Hatchet each morning.

I'm preparing for my many upcoming auditions. I've pretty much settled on one song for sure - freakish high notes, bubbly acting, and flirting all in two verses of a song. I'm going with that one. I found a monologue for my Oklahoma audition that can be played Southern Belle, several other monologues for general use, and am still looking for the perfect Lloyd Webber belt song that's in my range. Drea gave me more suggestions from obscure shows, and I may just pick something meant for a tenor, since most of his belt ballads are for altos. I can SORT of sing them, but no way does it show me in the best light. I can bellow well, but belting is beyond me.

And trying desperately to get the last of my next batch of Emma Jeans consignments done. I've got 5 projects going, one finished, in an effort to keep going when I'm tired by switching project. I wanted to be done by last weekend, but kept picking up shifts and training, and had less time than I imagined to sew. And no capacity for creativity after a three job day.

I'm off to run some errands, then over the pass I go.

Suddenly, I'm working.

After several months of barely enough hours, begging for more if possible, and sweating it out whenever a school holiday interrupted my nannying schedule, I've gotten a third job. And as soon as I did, my other job starts asking me to pick up extra shifts as well.

It never rains...

I have a few more minutes of leisure, then I'm back to the sweat shop to make another round of clothing for Emma Jeans. I have five partial projects, and I just need to finish them so I can take them over tomorrow.

I'm hoping with my new waitressing job to be able to pay down the debt, and maybe even buy some clothes. On sale, of course. And junk food. I've been aching for chips and chocolate!

Emotionally I'm a bit fragile right now - with money stress, my car window having to be fixed, and recent audition letdown, I've been feeling a bit lost. But we have a sunny week ahead of us, and that always makes everything cheerful.

Another week of highs and lows.

Yesterday was quite the day. I'm housesitting two sets of dogs, one for ten days, and one set on both weekends around spring break. Banana has upped my hours some. And last night I attended a workshop at 5th Avenue Theatre on "How to Audition for Musical Theatre."

It was a great workshop. There was a lot of good information given. Some things I've been doing recently to prepare for the next round of generals I found were exactly what I should be doing. And then there were great suggestions for ways to improve the parts I'm weak.

Some things I'm doing right:
1. Wearing one dress to every audition - my new pink Banana Republic one.
2. Practicing Cold Reading skills - reading to the girls counts in a major way!
3. Critique each audition as a performance, not based on whether you "got
the job" or not.
4. Go to as many auditions as you possibly can to improve your audition skills.

Some things I need to improve:
1. Acting is more important than beautiful singing (I tend to focus more on
musicality than acting, though I'm really good at both in performance.)
2. Constantly take dance classes regardless of skill level.
3. Assume everything they say to each other or write down is POSITIVE.

So that part was great, and I'm so glad I went.

After that I met a friend from work for drinks (well, one drink for me, and that was still enough to make me stumble a bit), then back to his place for a rowdy musical theatre sing along - just for fun, since we can't very well bust into song at work.

Afterwards, he walked me to my car, only to find that someone had broken a window out of my car. Nothin was stolen, just someone having highjinks. So my $5 musical theatre workshop suddenly costs more than a class at Freehold.

Sigh.

Yesterday I was called into the office by my favorite LOD. I, thinking I was in trouble, followed him in with a hangdog expression, wondering what else I don't know how to do.

Instead I was told I'm the number 5 salesperson in the store, and up for a bonus if I can make X amount by a certain date. Handy!

So, suddenly, work is a much more interesting venture.

2008 Tax Talley

I've just finished doing my taxes. No small feat considering how many jobs and gigs and side things I worked. So, final talley:

Number of Companies worked for: 11
Number of side gigs: 7
Total earnings: somewhere around $16,000

And with the second round of stimulus packages, since I got the smaller amount last year, I didn't owe anything on my taxes either this year. HUGE sigh of relief.

Frankly, I'm shocked, though. I thought if I'd come out above 12,000 it would be as well as I was able to do. Not bad for a first year seriously pursuing acting. Here's to a good start, and hope for better for next year's taxes. (At least less forms, anyway!)

Poundin' 42nd Street...

I'm back from a long weekend of Leavenworth Auditions. It was much less grueling than last year - only three callbacks, and well spread out. I was called back for all the things I wanted to be seen for, and nothing I wasn't interested in.

Yesterday I auditioned for Maria in The Sound of Music, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Lina Lamont in Singing in the Rain. I have some feelings about which way casting may have gone, but no certainty. One director in particular I have NOOOO clue what will happen.

I'm scheduling two more auditions for the next couple of weeks. This is the most freedom I've had to audition and audition and audition - not necessarily for parts, although it's weird to not be in a project right now - but to practice auditioning. It's my weakest area, but one I'm improving in each time. I wasn't cast for a short film last week, but the director emailed and said she was impressed with my audition. I had an audition on Thursday for a live script reading, and I read for her for 45 minutes. Didn't get that one either, but she said I'm a "great reader." (I should be after all the books I've done the voices for. Actually, funnily enough, reading for the girls has probably been my best audition practice all year. I've had to sit and make character and voice decisions one sentence ahead of where I'm reading. Great training for making quick choices in auditions settings).

I'm working double the hours of retail that I was at Christmas. Just in time, too, since I don't have any acting or costuming income for the moment. I should hear back from LST in a week, and know whether or not I'll be going out of town for the summer. Then I can decide whether a third job would be in order, or actually, I could be a summer nanny and not need to go schlepp anymore.

Today I had a great day at work. I went through a bad time in January where they were frustrated with me, and I was frustrated by not knowing enough to do my job, and I actually had to meet with a manager and beg to be kept on. But I was trained in all my weak areas, and I started making friends once a manager got on my headset and told me to stop whistling Sondheim, and now all is roses and puppies. And I signed two people up for our credit card today, which always makes everyone happy.

We're going to start reading Hatchet by Gary Paulson soon - as soon as my girl checks it out from the library. I offered, once again, to start a different book since we can't start that one until after library day next week, but she'd rather read her Owl Series in the meantime. We had the same discussion for A Wrinkle in Time, too.

Off to bed now.