Little Ghost Girl

A little ghost girl is in my head today.

Running ahead of me, she turns back to look at me.

Impish.

With dark sleek hair pulled back in a clip.

Tiny white teeth bared in a grin that is almost a grimace.

Her nose wrinkles.

My little ghost girl wears a dress perfect for twirling.

She runs across the grass on a sunny day.

The world isn't too big for all the adventures she's going to have.

She reminds me a little of a face I see every day.

My little ghost girl, bright and witty.

My little ghost girl, laughing and unafraid.

My little ghost girl, I can see her,

silhuetted between earth and sky.

Another Day Off

Another day off, finally. I've been juggling three jobs all week, and am very tired. I woke up late (8:30 - who'd have ever thought that would be sleeping in someday?) and have lain in bed reading and updating my reading/film journal.

It's a lovely journal. It's bound in red, pink and maroon ribbons, with endless clean sheets of white paper to fill. It ties with ribbons. I've long had my little quote book with a geisha on the cover, but someone recommended once, I've forgotten who, to write down every book I read. Necessary since sometimes I've forgotten if I've read something, and bought or checked it out again. A year or so ago I realized that I was doing the same think at Blockbuster, so I turned my journal upside down and began my film list upside down in the back.

This play is almost over, and I don't have another one to do. I've had no word from My Fair Lady, so I'm assuming at this point I didn't get it. Keeping up hope seems the workings of madness. There have been a few other auditions, but not many I'd be right for, and most now cut through the week I'm taking the kids I nanny to florida. So that's out.

I do have two costuming jobs coming up shortly. That will fill my time. The TPS general auditions are in three weeks. I have my song picked out, but need to decide whether to go modern or classical on my monologue. I need to practice like mad to make sure my shops are in shape again. I've also applied for a costuming job with a local theater company for their next two shows. I haven't heard back, but I've only just submitted myself.

I'm in my new apartment, and yesterday I went exploring 'round the area. There's a lot nearby, and the restore just down the road. Also a Goodwill and Value Village, for all my clothing needs. Minus underwear. I refuse to wear second hand underwear.

Note to self: in future productions aim not to be the one having to say the "N" word at an integrated school with "racial problems." At three consecutive shows.

Today

Today am very tired. Worked 5:30am to 7pm with 2 hours off in middle.

Check hasn't come in yet from acting job. Want to be able to eat. Being paid for partial accumulated hours at bookstore paid for gas for trip to Tacoma for three shows tomorrow. Possibly last shows. Might have one more on February 1st.

Day after tomorrow I work another double, then four days off to go back to Yakima and finish moving. Maybe haul more things back. Must go once more to Portland for filming.

TPS general audition posted. Have time. Must print out 50 heashot/resume combos.

Going home

I got to sleep in today. Until 5:15. It feels, well, strange that 5am is sleeping in for me, when I'm normally a go-to-bed-at-midnight-wake-up-at-nine sort of girl.

After work I'll unload the props and my sewing machines from the car, and head back to Yakima. Dad's birthday was a few days ago. And I've got to go spend quality time with my cat. I'm bringing him back with me this time (as per the original plan) come hell or high water.

The Blessed Company is the thing that holds my patchwork life together. Aside from family, that has no choice in their association, the Blessed Company is my safety net and umbilical cord all in one.

There are few criteria for being a member, but they are never waived. Similarity of interests, honesty, and reciprocity top the list. My Blessed company members are of various ages and locations, and even prefer different ways of communication. Some like hand written letters on beautiful paper, others blog, and some are strictly by phone. Without them, my life would be devoid of intimacy with kindred. They've never met, but they all are part of each other's lives in a small way, because they are such a great part of mine.

I find as I continue on in this journey, taking life's chances, and leaving myself open to change, movement, and upheaval - none of which are naturally appealing to my stick-in-the-mud character - I increasingly feel almost unreal sometimes. The very things that I like so much in my life, both because of their intrinsic adventure and in preparation for death, also create a feeling of being unreal. As I walk down the streets of my new city, with work to be done and new things to enjoy, I have not found my place here. I am uprooted again, but my soul hasn't re-rooted. Surrounded by millions I am alone and unremarkable.

Of course there are roots growing slowly. Last night one of my bosses at the bookstore offered to buy me a glass of wine after we closed up shop because I'd asked him to muse over the ending of My Fair Lady and we didn't get back to it. Today on Ferry crossing the Puget sound, my cast began to talk beyond pleasantries for the first time, and found many comonalities. And I always come home to people who have known me since before I was me.

Today I am enjoying sun that burst through after last night's unexpected snow and hail storm. Unwilling to work while the sun is shining, I am curled up with books in the plural in front of the fire, basking, finishing one and resuming another. The only thing missing is my cat curled up purring on my stomach. Life is too short to miss a sunny nap with a good book left to the side where you fell asleep reading. Though my mind says I should go in today, I will go once the sun leaves.

Seattle causes a shift in my basic parameters of life. Living in mainly sunny parts of the world, my creed has always been to use foul weather as guilt free reading days. In Seattle this would lead to great sloth, and starvation as work would never happen. So today I insitute a change, and take the good days as my own.

Some Reformatting

Some Reformatting

I've done some work on reformatting my sidebar, and will continue. I'm also adding, as per Clever Title Here a list of books I've read so far this year. This is based on a post of hers, and though I've got my own book journal, here's the talley so far. It's over in the sidebar under "Studies in Words."

My Fair Lady Callbacks

My Fair Lady Callbacks

Today, after my final rehearsal for the MLK show, I had my callback for My Fair Lady. As I walked out of the elevator, I saw a flock of girls sitting, standing, and pacing the hallway. There were two men for Henry Higgins, and eight Elizas.

They brought all the girls in, and taught us to sing the first part of the song "Just You Wait, 'Enry 'Iggins" and then had us go one at a time giving our interpretation. Then they taught us (take that loosely, most engenues worth their salt already know the main songs of the major roles) "I could have Danced All Night" and had us do the same thing. This is where the drastic differences show in an audition. Any actress worth her salt should be able to act her way through the fun belty numbers, but in this show, can she then turn around and pull a lyric soprano out for the ballad and the money note.

After that, they gave us two pages from near the end of the play and paired us off with our Henrys. I went second. They gave some direction and had us do it again, and then said they'd seen all they needed of me.

I left, with seven other girls in the hallway still auditioning. I'll know in a day or two.

Callbacks

Callbacks

I got a callback for My Fair Lady!!!

Two for the Price of One

Two for the Price of One

Last night I had an audition for a film, down at the TPS studios. I'd been there already that day, rehearsing for my Martin Luther King show. But, event hough my day planner is color coded, I neglected to check it when I walked out the door at 9:30, and found once I'd arrived at the Centerhouse that my rehearsal was actually at 2. So I spent my day bumming around Seattle, spending my Borders gift card, eating at Westlake while watching the monorail come and go, and filling out my 2007 ledger.

My rehearsal ended at 4, and logic said it would be better to stay, but I wasn't pretty yet that day, and my headshots were still at Walgreens. So I took the bus to the library, printed my resumes, got fancy, drive North only to turn around and drive south, and decided my best bet was to pay the exhorbitant fee for parking rather than be late for my film audition.

It went about as well as I'm used to, since I really have NOOOO idea how to audition for a film. They stick the camera in front of you, but are you supposed to act towards it, or at the person you're line reading with, and how big is too big, and how subtle is deadpan? I keep thinking if I do enough of these things, I'll magically stuble on the right combination. I think I need to watch a few more DVD special features to figure out what they're doing.

Next door to that was the My Fair Lady auditions. I had emailed for a time, but didn't get one. So I showed up with an extra resume and headshot, and a nice thick book, intending to wait out the audition in the hopes that someone wouldn't show, and I'd get a walk in. As luck would have it, someone did cancel, and the director, who said he admired my gumption allowed me to audition.

I came in with My White Knight, and asked if they wanted the whole thing (only 4 pages) or just the last 16 bars. They said to start and they'd stop me when they'd heard enough. They let me finish the song. Then I got to do my British monologue ,and they had me do the first part of it twice again, in different ways.

I don't know if I got in, but I felt really good about the audition. Not bad for gatecrashing!

Another New Life Begins

Another New Life Begins

So, for a new January, I've begun a new job, a new show, possibly a new costuming gig, soon a new apartment, new City, new place, new life. Again.

The great hting about moving is the discovery period, where you have to go around your neighborhood to find your new favorite places. Favorite coffee shop, bookstore, vintage clothing place, antique store to browse, grocery store within walking distance, library, and favorite walk. So far, so good. A used bookstore and privately owned grocery store flank my bakery, the library is a block from my (presumed) apartment, and within a few blocks of everything are the Logsdons, antique stores, thai food, more bookstores, coffee shops, grocery stores, Indian, Greek, and Pizza.

I have my first rehearsal today, then tonight a meeting with my new roommates.