The end of my show...

I'm actually writing this blog midway through my last weekend but I'll post it after the fact!  Just wanted to start to get it down!

So - we opened!  By the time this is posted we will have closed!

Our Thur night preview was super small but we had this rad kid there.

Video

Here's some pictures our costumer took when we started rehearsing with costumes!

Emily Odell as Frenchie

Jackie Jacobs as Alice the Alligator

Paul Knox as Lucifer Prince

Thomas Areman and Jerica Borstein as Gus and Auntie Palooka

Maribella Magana and Rob Young as The Scrufflepicklewickle and Rod McGirdlebutt

Sally Nguyen as Ging Pao

Calli Callaway as Tricia La Rue

Joe Howells as Ian Sidious

Emily and Jeff McGuiness as Regan and Elvis

Opening weekend was a bit rough.  I don't think I said my lines right once!  One night I said "Quibbering Jov of Jelly".  Right?!  What?!  For some reason I've having a hell of a time actually getting the damn words out of my mouth.  I did go up a few times but recovered.  I HATE THAT!
It was bumpy but we got through it!  Opening night I made these yummy Peppermint Chocolate Muffins!

They were delish!

Another difference here at the Garage is people just stay at the theater and hang out.  I'm used to going out after the show for drinks/snacks but this doesn't seem to be the case here.  I know it's a bit more difficult to navigate around the LBC so it's easier to stay put I suppose.  I still feel a bit like the new kid so I never stayed too late afterwards.

The gal who has previously played Dixie came and she wrote this on the wall!  (There was a bucket of chalk people could write and draw on the walls with!)

Yay!

Weekend two was really great up until Sat.  I'll get to that in a min.
Our Thursday night back I was worried since it's usually always a bit of a rough one your 1st show back after tech/opening but I think it was our best show!  Smaller crowd but still totally involved and super fun!  I got all my lines out! Yay!  I was also super excited that my friend Christine came.  She's friends with a lot of the Garage folk.
Friday night was awesome as well.  We were sold out.  We had this group in the front row that apparently come every year.  Jeff was explaining to me that they make their own tomatoes, get totally hammered and love the show.  They were a bit much at times but were quite a hoot.  They made these 2 giant tomatoes that I got hit in the face with at one point.  It was a total accident and the poor kid who did it profusely apologized to me later.  It was adorable.  I think I played it off well though!  One of the front row peeps gave me a flower and I actually did a fun little improv telling the tomato thrower to suck it! ha ha!  Yay!  Maybe I'm getting the hang of it!  I actually knew a few peeps that came that night from the theatre community so I stayed and chatted a while which was fun.
But Saturday.  Saturday I woke up with the Stomach Flu.  Not any normal stomach flu - this is apparently a horrific flu that's going around and trying to kill people.  I was supposed to do 2 shows that Saturday but I was so sick and pretty much barfed from noon to night.  I was mortified and sick and depressed and didn't know what to do.  Never in my life have I been too sick to miss a show.  Luckily a friend of the theater stepped in and played my role both shows with script in hand. 

Thank you Lis Roche!

I still felt horrible for missing the shows but there was no way I could do it.  So awful to be so sick!!!  Ugh!  Our rad stage manager and the entire cast was super cool and only wanted me well.  It helped me to know that they didn't hate me!

Thursday night - back at it!  Everyone was so sweet and glad to see me and glad I was well!  My stomach was still actually pretty tore up, but it's just painful now, not expelling.  Anywhoo - Thur we were sold out!  My friend Taylor surprised me and showed up so that was rad!  I finally have one of my peeps here!  It was a great show and so fun to be back!

Friday night my whole family came!!  They all loved it and it made everything awesome when I could hear my dad giggling.  During one of the main Melodrama moments where the villain and I are doing separate monologues to the audience I could see my family pelting him with tomatoes.  It was so hard to not laugh!

Saturday I had two shows.  It was all new for me since I missed last Saturday.  The matinee was awesome.  Sold out and mostly kids.  The best part - Hailey was there!  The main reason I did the show was so Hailey could finally see me onstage.  Libby, Glen and her all sat in the front row.  I was so nervous!  Glen got pulled up onstage at one point and near the end I could see Hailey holding a flower to give me so I worked it into my bit as I exited.  It was so awesome to have her there!  Mel came with Simon who was a hoot as he hurled tomatoes at the villain and Monica surprised me showing up with her family!  So rad!  Then I saw these on the wall and my day was made!

Here's Hailey watching me!

It actually started raining in between shows so that sort of shot the idea of walking around Long Beach so Paul and I ran across the street and had Thai.  Then we all just pretty much hung around the theater until the night show.

For our closing show David came with his kiddos and my friends Holly and Roger!  I was a bit off that night for some reason. I kept stumbling over my lines.  At one point Jamie liked it so much he said he wished he wrote that in for me to do! Ha! 

So the show closed.  We took a great cast shot:

And Mari sent a fun picture of us she took backstage:

Here's a review of our show!  I'm so flattered he thought I was "Underused"!  I've never received that compliment before!
Review

And here's the pictures the Garage used for publicity!

All in all it was a super fun show!  I really loved the fact that I did two very different shows this year.  I went from a super emotional role to a comedic over the top melodramatic role!  The cast was a blast to work with and all kept me on my toes.  The audiences seemed to enjoy it as well.

So as the sun sets on the Cyclone Race I say Farewell and thank you for the good times!!!

It doesn't take much to be kind...

As most of you know, I'm a huge promoter of practicing kindness.  In fact, I'm considering becoming a RAKtivist that you can read about here.  My whole life I've been a compassionate person.  Even through the angry years.  Through the negative years I was always still compassionate.  I honestly didn't realize what that meant until much later in life.  I didn't understand why I just didn't get along with certain people no matter how hard I tried and now I know why - they weren't compassionate.  I don't want to delve too much into this right now, I'll get to all of that later.  What I want to point out here, is that it doesn't take much to be kind.  Again, only lately have I really realized how much little acts can make a difference.  Plus doesn't it just make you feel good to do something nice for someone else??  I just wanted to share what happened to me last night and how much it meant to me and every act was just a small simple act.
 
So, last night I took my 97 year old grandmother, in her wheelchair, to the mall (in the middle of Xmas madness!) because she wanted to go Xmas shopping.  I was a little nervous about the crowds.

To every person that stepped out of our way.  To the sweet man who made his entire family (and eyed the crowd) wait while he held the door of the elevator so we could go first.  Then did it again when we exited.  His children were watching and learning how to be kind.  To our waiter at dinner, who when I told him my gramma can't hear he leaned in close to her and patiently spoke louder as he took her order.  To the sweet woman who made her young boy wait as she held the bathroom door open for my grandma and explained to him as gramma shuffled by in her cane "You must be a gentleman and let the nice lady by."  To the nice man that stopped to ask if we needed help when we were doing a little pillow shift in the wheelchair.  To the lovely woman who rang up our purchase at Macy's and chatted with my gramma, telling her she loved her coat and engaging in sincere conversation with us - not just small talk.  To Santa who waved at my gramma when she was saying "Hi Santa!" from outside the gate.  To every person that smiled at me and my grandma as we wheeled by amongst the angry, hurried crowds. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You made that heart swell.

This wasn't much.  This was people just being kind.  People that were compassionate.  I was beaming when I went home that night, knowing that there are more people out there that care than people who don't.  (Side note...most of our "incidents" were people with their nose in their phone not paying attention and when they did notice or almost crash into us they were mostly mortified and apologized).  But that's all it takes people!  All those folks that I mention above did nothing but a small nice gesture and it made a huge impact on me and my gramma.  She commented later about how people were so nice!

This is just one example of so many things that I've seen or experienced.  If you can make someone smile or laugh for just a minute.  That's one minute out of a possible shitty day that you broke them out of that.  Just think  - what if everyone was as kind as the people I encountered last night.

Spread kindness my friends.  No matter how small.  You will be surprised at how much of a difference it can make!

Color Run 2015...

I realized I forgot to post this!

So - I did the Color Run the weekend after I did Rugged Maniac.  I swore I was never going to do the Color Run again because that crap is hard to get off your skin.  Especially the blue!  But Julie said she was bringing her kids and now you get a medal and come on its just in Huntington Beach.  Sigh.  Ok.

The big thing this year was "Shine".  They actually had a color station that was supposed to make you shine.  It sort of gave you a metallic look.  I high fived a kid and my hand looked like the Tin Man.

Danelle and I arrived to meet up with Holly, Julie and the kiddos and we took some before pictures.

The course was a little weird.  It was just an out and back, but they couldn't close off the area so random people were walking amongst the runners.  A little odd.  Holly and Danelle headed out to run and I stayed back with Julie and the kids.  They stuck to the stroller for the most part but whenever we would come up to a color station Chase would get out and run and it was my job to keep up with him.  He was adorable and fast! Ha!  I did my best not to get too blasted with color but he loved it.

I didn't want to pay for the pictures since I'm broke as hell, but Julie snagged the water mark version and you can sort of get the idea of what we did most the race!

After we hit the finish line, we checked out the area but not for too long.  We all had crap to do that day.  It was a cute set up though.  Lots of vendors and some really cute photo stations.  It was just wayyyyyyy crowded.  We took a few after photos:

And that was it!  Quick, fun and I loved watching the kids get so excited at the color stations!  I was able to actually wash all the crap off this year, but I think for sure this time....this will be the last time! :)

What does the heart want...

I think I'm totally and officially confused about feelings and your heart and all that jazz that comes with men and women.  I'm going to be rolling into my 40th year (40!!!) on this here planet earth and I'm no more clear on that species we call men than I was when I was an 11/12 year old starting to wonder what these butterflies in my tummy were when that super handsome 5th grader John Fitzgerald smiled at me.

I really had no clue what was going on when I rolled into middle school and all these girls were so pretty and wore pretty clothes and I was a tomboy starting to dabble in drugs and had weird frizzy hair.  These pretty girls had boyfriends!  They held hands with boys in the hallways and sometimes I would see them kissing in a dark corridor.  We started having these awful awkward things called dances where the boys and the girls stared at each other.  The lucky pretty girls would get asked to dance while the rest of us would sit on the side lines feeling ugly and unwanted.  Now is when I really started dabbling with the drugs because here was a world where you could snuff those awful feelings about boys with a substance.  Oh but wait...there's this neighborhood boy.  There's a little group of us troublesome neighborhood kids that have formed a posse that we like to sneak into the Orange Grove/Pit and get high.  We light skateboards on fire and ride them down the street.  We're little assholes and loving it.  Then this boy...he's so cute with his shaggy blonde hair and crooked smile.  He walks me home one night and around the corner behind my neighbors fence he french kisses me!  My 1st real french kiss.  It's weird.  I'm not sure how I feel about this tongue in my mouth but my tummy - butterflies!  I walk the rest of the way home grinning from ear to ear.  OMG.  I just kissed a boy!  Like a real kiss!!  Thus begins the pining after boys not interested in me.

Begin high school.  A really really awful time because now I'm full blown into drugs, totally into heavy metal and a super tomboy with my flannel shirts and cropped tank tops.  Frizzy hair at it's peak.  But now there's these boys that I get high with.  We flirt and I feel pretty but I'm scared. I get to 1st and even 2nd base with some of them.  In our foggy drug induced haze I let them use me.  I don't care that I don't really want to, because I'm actually getting attention from boys.  Sometimes things get out of hand and there's violence and hitting.  I become quite a tough cookie defending myself from broken bottles being hurled at me and learning how to dodge the pool cue being swung at my face.  I'm a badass.  I'm one of those people whose tough and mean and I become an angry teen.

High School continues.  I start to fall away from the hair bands and metal madness a bit into the Grateful Dead and 60's rock and roll.  I start veering away from all the drugs except one and my life takes more of a mellow swing.  I smoke away my troubles now and just chill more, eat more (fucking munchies), I'm still the scrappy tomboy with the frizzy hair.  I'm still angry.  I'm still jealous of those pretty popular girls that seem to have it all.  I play sports.  I'm on year book.  I'm in drama club.  I get bit by the drama bug and realize I have a place to throw my emotions into an art form.  My senior year I get my first boyfriend.  He's this really sweet boy I meet while getting high and he plays guitar and he has long blonde hair and he's a year older than me!  Now I'm dating a boy whose not in high school anymore.  I'm so fucking cool!  I lose my virginity to this boy and it's sweet and bumbly, neither of us sure if we're doing it right.

OCC.  I'm now in college - well a junior college.  I'm still angry.  Still a tomboy.  My boyfriend and I break up soon after I start playing around in the college world.  I break his heart.  Now I'm in a whole new realm of boys.  I join up with the Rep - the theatre group of OCC.  Everyone is so flirty.  I meet a few boys that break my heart.  One of them told me I wasn't feminine enough.  This other one liked to bang his way through the group unbeknownst to me.  Another moved away.  Then I met my soon to be husband.

Fast forward to married life.  We made it almost 5 years.  We both were super involved in the OC Theatre scene helping distract us from our failing marriage.  That ended in 2004.

Divorced, crushed in my late 20's.  Theatre is like shooting fish in a barrel when it comes to hooking up.  Had fun with lots of boys, but never anything serious.  I wanted the attention.  I wanted to feel loved.  Not realizing this was all for the wrong reasons.  I meet a guy in 2008.  We were not matched well but I give it a go.  A boy wants to date me.  Like for real.  Like this guy wants to be my boyfriend!  It lasted a year.  Life took a downward spiral after this.  My theatre family dispersed since our theaters were shutting down.

I had/have a boy I'm on and off with physically and sometimes I think it may be something more - sometimes it really feels like it is.  But it's not.  It never is.  I've learned to accept it for what it is, but sometimes it's hard.

Then a friend of mine and I sparked up something.  We'd known each other for years.  Something changed one day.  Again - I thought - wow - I'm feeling something!  An emotion.  A spark.  We kissed - it was amazing!  There was a zing.  Something I've never felt!  Next day - I get a freak out text from him saying no.  WTF!

2012 my life changed.  Once recovered and healthy again and now with a new outlook on life I thought maybe my love life would change.  I'm a totally different person now!  That anger is gone.  I love life.  I'm positive.  I'm happy.  Love will come to me!  And it has!  In so many ways love flows through my life.  But - never with a man.

I went on a a few dates with this one guy...he "Ghosted" (I've now learned this is a thing).

I went out with another boy thinking it was just a friend thing (Lots of people wanted to hear about my scare) then he kissed me!  Now this fellow and I had chemistry - or so I thought.  We were in a show together.  We flirted.  There was a moment backstage when he had to help me get ready for a scene and I swear there was an electricity that ran through us.  It must have just been me.  I'd never felt that before.  But then nothing.  Then much later we went out - and that's when he kissed me!  Oh my gosh!  I was excited!  Then - nothing - he blew me off - rather rudely I might add.  Ok.  I'm an idiot.

Then I get in touch with a boy I had a huge crush on in high school.  We have a few fun weeks.  We go out one night and he's holding my hand and it's romantic and it feels like a boyfriend!  His psycho side comes out and then it's done.

I go back to my on and off fellow a few times just to feel some human contact.

I get to a point now where I'm starting to think - this is it.  I don't get to have the family and the marriage.  I don't get to even have a boyfriend.  It's not in the cards for me.  So I try to not think about it.  I try to push it aside.  To learn to be happy alone.  And I am.  Sort of.  A huge amount of time goes by and I again reach out to my on and off because I just want to feel a touch.  A hug.  A cuddle for a second.

Then another guy comes in my life.  There's a heat there.  People notice.  When nothing comes of it I think it's just me.  But a few months later we reconnect and the sparks fly.  It's probably one of the hottest moments I've had in my entire life.  I'm not talking about sex - I'm talking about the before.  When I knew he wanted me.  When he grabbed my hips and pulled me close and he was breathless.  I melted.  I still think about it!  Well - then of course I get the freak out text (Seriously with the texts!!??).  Fine.  I'm so jaded at this point I'm more annoyed then heartbroken.  But of course I let him hang out with me again months later.  We don't do anything but that heat is there and it drives me up the wall and he leaves feeling to freaked out to do anything.  Again.  Fine.  So I try to be friends with this person.  Be there for him when he's going through stuff.  As a friend.  We have dinner one night.  I swear that heat is there again but I ignore it.  Fight it.  When he leaves we give the usual friendly hug but then he pauses and gives me a kiss.  Not a make out kiss - just a soft peck.  It almost destroyed me.  It was so gentle and sweet and the fact that it was probably nothing to him but I felt so much behind it made me nuts.  Was it anything?  OF COURSE NOT!

So here I am.  After this long rambling blog.  Almost 40 years old and totally fucking clueless.  I think I have chemistry with people.  I think I feel sparks.  I'm always wrong.  ALWAYS.  How in the Sam hell have I not learned yet?  Why is this so ridiculously hard.  Why can't I online date.  Why does even though of dating make me want to throw up.  Why do I sit here and tell myself over and over that I'm happy alone - I mean I am!!!  I love my space.  My alone time.  MY SHIT. 

I'm so baffled you guys.  What the hell am I feeling in my heart and in my tummy when I think I have chemistry.  When I think there is heat.  When I think someone is into me and they so obviously are not.  Why does everyone tell me how amazing I am and I'm surrounded by so much love and support and glorious friends and family who see me as a wonderful person but a man for some reason doesn't.  What is it?  What the hell am I doing wrong??  Is it because I'm independent?  What is it?!
I hate that I seem to be totally and completely wrong when I think there's heat or chemistry or a spark or whatever the fuck - a feeling even!  I'M ALWAYS WRONG!  How am I this wrong all the time.  I really think I just have no idea what it's like.   What really bugs me most is I'm still...after all these years...still pining after men.  I'm just so confused and really wish at this point in my life I would know how the hell it all works.  But I don't.

Signed,

Jami aka crazy cat lady aka completely confused almost 40 year old.

Show Update...

Well we're already in tech week!

Hell we open tomorrow!

I'm just starting to get a bit nervous.  We apparently are having an invited preview crowd tonight and I'm terrified but also glad to maybe do this thing in front of people.  So here's my usual tech week gibberish via bullet points and pictures because I'm so exhausted!

• Our rehearsal schedule was quite brisk.  We only rehearsed two nights a week which was fine for me since I live so far, but a bit nerve racking since I do feel we are under rehearsed. 
• I'm a goddamn amateur amongst some of these veteran comedians! 
• Our 1st night with lights and sound and some people laughing completely through me off and I was flubbing lines left and right!  I'm not good at getting things thrown at me.  Improv is not my strength.
• I still feel a bit like the outsider but I'm starting to get to know some of the peeps and they are all very cool.  
• Although I do feel like an old lady since a bunch of them are total night owls and go out after rehearsal!  On a week night!  When I'm like "Peace Out!" as I shoot out the door to try to get home and make sure to get as much sleep as I can in before work the next morning.
• Our costumer rules.  She's got a zillion things running through her head and it's fascinating to watch her work.
• Jamie doesn't get mad often, but the night the projector didn't work I saw mad Jamie.  I was worried.
• We have the zaniest and wackiest sound cues.
• My intro music is rad - It's the Jimi Hendrix riff of Foxy Lady but instead of Foxy they say Dixie!
• I really hope I can get my shit together.  I feel totally un-funny.
• Although Jamie is loving my sarcasm I've thrown in and my melodramatic tear bit got a good laugh last night.
• Jessica is a godsend as our stage manager. 
• We have these video intros that are downright hilarious!  Like the cheesy 70's "your caught now smile" ones!   OMG I LOVE THEM!
• Jamie directing is so fun.  He obviously loves the melodramatics!  
• I'm a total amateur.  I'm terrified.  I want to be hilarious.  EEEEEEEK!
• Calli has the perfect voice for Tricia LaRue
• Sally is the cutest damn thing
• Rob has amazing physical comedy skills
• I did this rad gun spin thing that was perfect until we videoed it.  I never got it right.  Sigh.
• Joe is hilarious.
• It's always amazing to me how amidst a bunch of chaotic nuttiness a show can actually come together! 
• This is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo different than my last show and I love that!
• I'm a different kind of nervous this time around.  Not as intense but still getting butterflies.
• Long Beach is far.  Especially when it's 11:30pm at night and I just want to get to bed.
• I'm still not sure how we're all going to fit backstage.
• We have a talking alligator.
• The audience can throw tomatoes at us (stuffed ones) but apparently I usually get flowers thrown at me.  Awwwwww!
• There is a space battle.
• As tired as I am and as far as Long Beach is for me I am having a total blast!

Rehearsin

Oooo the sign is up!

Might be my favorite picture of Paul ever!

And there it is...the Cyclone Racer.

 TECH WEEK!

Hell Week Begins

Costumes coming together!

He might actually be Elvis

The madness

Monday Night ended up being mostly video stuff

Jamie making the TIME MACHINE

Our intros!

Look it's me!

Tonight's rehearsal I saw these little hot air balloons added!  So cute!

Dixie coming together!

Next update will be during or after the run of the show!  Send good vibes!!  Excited to make people laugh again!!!  Squeeeaaaallll!!!!