Shots from 80 Days, and almost packing time...

As promised, several pictures from our photo call for Around the World in 80 Days.

This is my Newspaperman character. We often just refer to him as "Grandpa." Dan, our amazing crew guy who sits in what is basically a little wooden canoe behind the stage and pulls the revolve manually on a rope pulley system, demands that I do some old-man-dancing before each show or he can't possibly do his job. What better outfit for old-man-dancing than fantastic plaid flannel golf pants?






Below, we have the Young Parsi telling Kiouni our elephant (obviously), to "Be easy," Josh continuing his Man With Pipe Type with Andrew Stuart, and Aouda looking skeptical at Mr. Fix, as usual.













Below, we see the sledge, Aouda and Mr. Fix waiting on the plains for Mr. Fogg's return (the furs are real, I have real allergies to them if they touch my skin. Eww.), Mr. Fix on the job with the British Consul in India, Passepartout's return from the incident with the Apache, and Aouda proving that a girl can hold her own in a gunfight (one of my favorite moments of the show; I hope some 7-year old girl sees the show and is inspired...except that she chooses a different method than guns to exhibit her girl power.) Here, you also see what Josh and I have been referring to as our "holiday card moment" in the gunfight. Merry and bright, no matter whether you're celebrating the birth of your savior or a lamp that burned a lot longer than it was supposed to. Enjoy! :)

80 Days Review and Onto the Next Step...

As official as reviews get of the shows up here at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, this is our review for Around the World in 80 Days. Sadly, the man mangles my name (doesn't he have a program sitting in front of him? Sigh. He wins points for originality, this is the first time I've seen Margaret-Allen Jeffries in print). It's a great review though, certainly something we can all be proud of, especially after it felt like we spent a straight 48 hours in the theatre the two days leading up to opening (and the first real meal break we got was immediately before the opening performance). The audiences are laughing heartily, which is always so nice to hear, and I'm having a blast getting to play a stuffy English servant, what has become (thanks, grey wig and moustache) a wily old Newspaperman, and the Indian princess who turns out to be nothing of the damsel in distress that everyone expected. Pictures soon to follow.

http://www.caughtintheactnh.blogspot.com/

In other news, I officially have a New York address, and am getting very excited about some things falling into place for work in the city!

30-94 43rd St
Astoria, NY 11103

Jon moves in on the 1st, Matthew and I are flying from NYC on the 4th, spending a day and a couple of nights in Cincy packing up a U-Haul, and we'll be moved in somewhere between the 6th and the 7th. Now that you've got the address, send me a letter there. I'm planning on joining a local organic produce delivery service, and I'd love nothing better than to read a note from you while eating a nectarine that came right to my doorstep.

I'm starting some remote secretarial work for Josh's dad as a part-time day job (it's actually really fun, and no one will fire me for having a second tab open with facebook on my browser), I'm signing up with several promotional companies and emailing tons of Craigslist "event gig" posts daily, I have a couple of temp company contacts, our Passepartout from 80 Days is owed a favor by a friend who runs a dog-walking service so she's got my info for me to join her team, and a friend who's relocated to LA has sent my contact info to the families she babysat in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, upon my friend Jackie's suggestion, I'm planning to continue in the work-from-home (or on the road!) vein and get into social networking for local establishments. But any ideas or contacts for other jobs...I'll take 'em.

I'm excited about a couple of work-study opportunities, too...I'm going to be work-studying for a yoga studio in SoHo a couple of days a week in return for unlimited classes at the studio, and I'm planning on auditioning for a musical theatre performer work study at the dance studio my friend Marcia attends. I want to take as many classes as I can, and if there's some way to avoid money coming out of my pocket for it, all the better.

And then there are the auditions...already been searching the upcoming casting calls, looks like there are regional productions of 80 Days and Marvelous Wonderettes that are having calls soon, and our lighting designer from the Winni Playhouse has already submitted me for a NYMF show. I'm just hoping to hit the ground running as soon as I get to the city and not stop until...well, the thing about NYC is that you don't ever really stop. Scary AND exciting.

The mystery of Zumba

I'm sure I could make this really creative and informational, but I'm gonna keep it short.

This was worth reporting.

I went to a class at the gym tonight called Zumba. Apparently it's a big trend sweeping the nation's gyms...and I've actually been to lots of classes that have the same setup, they just weren't officially Zumba. Also called Cardio Dance, Ballet Aerobics, Latin/Hip Hop/Dance Aerobics, basically it's a cross between a high-impact (well, medium to high, MAYBE, if you get technical with the old-school definitions of aerobics that basically if you're ever totally on one foot or there's any hopping involved it's "high impact") aerobics class, and a pretty simple jazz/movement combination at a community theatre musical audition.

The followers of Zumba at The Fitness Edge in Meredith, NH range from 13-year old girls in matching little spandex shorts and tshirts from their middle school drama productions, to 16-year-old girls obviously on the high school dance team and potentially enrolled in the competition class at the dance studio, to the still-fairly-young women (I include myself in this category) who probably danced at one time in their life, want to go to a class, but can't quite bring themselves to go to Step, of course to the young moms, the older moms, that one lady who's 5'9, short spiky black hair, obviously like 50 but you know can tear it up on the salsa floor b/c when it comes time for the Latin-esque moves, this lady MOVES those hips, and there's even this INCREDIBLE 76-year-old lady named Dell who was the Feature Member at the Fitness Edge recently--check out her story here. Finally, there's the one man. The lone dude. Clearly not a ballerina in this lifetime, I get the idea he probably shows up under the guise of "ah, come on, man, who wouldn't like to be in the middle of a group of dancing ladies?," but he secretly enjoys breaking it down a bit himself. He had a pretty mean paddle turn going during "Jai-Ho" tonight; he was definitely singing along, and I think his eyes were even closed a couple of times during the song. I think he was imagining himself on that subway platform with Jamal and Latika.

Just a side note that I discovered as I was searching the gym's website for Dell's story: The Fitness Edge has an Old Fart's Club, a self-described "group of men over the age of 50 who are eager to learn about new ways to stay young and be active." Too adorable for words. They meet the first Wednesday of every month at 7AM. I just missed them this morning, we got there at 9, shoot! That would explain the Dunkin Donuts coffee in the lobby, though.










You show 'em, old man. Ain't no arthritis gonna hold you back.