Wow wow wow.
We did it, guys! We opened the show!
This week was really rough, what with the rehearsals, set builds, and fight calls until 6pm and the piles of homework that I’ve been ignoring (sorry mom) because of this hellish tech week. But! The whole cast and our director made it out alive.
This week, I spent fun days raising the walls and shopping for decor and props with my cast members and my mom. As the week went on I ordered pieces for my costume and prayed to the universe for them to hurry in their shipping so I could at least have it all by the last dress rehearsal. (Which I did, thank the universe.)
I got both dresses, a tiara, snowflake earrings, white wool socks, new Spanx and a strapless bra for the production. I also got my first ever pair of actual character shoes!! They’re incredibly cute and are in the super fancy and incredibly hilarious shade of “serenity blue.” They are by far my favorite part of the ensemble of my second act costume, besides the glittery cape (from which glitter covers the ENTIRE theatre. I’m talking stage, set room, green room, prop room, house, and probably tech booth) and snowflake earrings.
Throughout the week, I also made time for my friends outside of the production and did as much homework and studying as I could (for on and off stage preparation).
On Wednesday, we had a late start day, which meant that school didn’t start until 10am. Usually, I just sleep in until 7am and dress and look a little better than a typical school day. But this week, I went to Mike’s (a local burger place) with Cynthia and Naleiah. We ate chicken tenders, fries, burritos, and each got ourselves a milkshake. We ate and talked for about an hour and a half before walking over to school (which took way longer than it should have because we were talking and kept getting distracted by the huge, gorgeous houses we passed by).
Halfway to school, we stopped by a gate covered in vines and flowers and picked one for each of us to put behind our ears. We made it to school on time and the whole day went incredibly well. (Pictured below are my favorite songbirds looking extra gorgeous!)
I’d spent the day channeling creativity in all my classes, especially while working on my duality “Yo Soy” mask for Chicanx Art History (which I’m still totally in love with by the way! P.S.: I signed up to take the Ethnic Studies Class offered by CSULB to our school for free, which will give me college and high school credits, plus an opportunity to take THEIR Chicano studies class-also for high school and college credits). I can’t wait to show it to y’all once I finish it. I’m kinda proud of it.
Thursday was our final dress rehearsal, for which I was extremely nervous. It was the first time I saw myself with full hair and makeup (thanks to Loreal and Jules) and the first time we were trying an alternative to the original fist fight because of some character quirks we didn’t realize until tech week.
It went pretty well and our director ended up only having a page and a half of notes! The only thing left to do was prepare for the opening night the next day. It was going to be a big one.
(Above is Cynthia assisting me in channeling my inner Ellie/Snow Queen)
Opening day, I came loaded like a pack mule to school. I had costumes, shoes, makeup, water bottles, props, and a bundle of nerves with me until it came time for this season’s very first improv show!
I’ve been a cohostess (and vice president) for the improv club for the past two years, working under the most wonderful hostess, Jessica, up until early March of last year. I had to quit the club based on an agreement I made with my parents so that I could attend NSLC this past summer.
While I in no way regret the choice I made, since it led me to NYC and the beautiful people pictured above, I missed improv and rejoined this year.
This time around, I had no one else holding my hand. This time, I have hands to hold. I am now the main hostess (and president) of the improv club, with two quick-learning cohostesses, Camryn and Alexis, by my side. As you can imagine, this scared the absolute heck out of me. But, NSLC prepared me to be a leader, and a leader I became.
Up until these past two weeks, practices hadn’t been going so well and I was terrified for how the lunch show was going to go. But, Thursday’s practice show installed my faith for my players and Friday went well. I didn’t stutter, I didn’t fall, and my cohostess’ and new players’ first show was amazing! It got me excited for this week’s coming show and was a weight lifted off my shoulders, the only thing leaving me heavy being the opening of Game Of Tiaras.
I was incredibly nervous and even more excited to open this goofy show that we had been working on for so long. I’ll go on in a different post next Sunday about how much this show means to me and why and how and blah blah blah, but for now I’ll say this:
“This was the first time I had ever had a principal role in a play and the first show post-NSLC and New York. It felt like the time to test my talent and my work ethic I had proudly spoken of upon arriving back to California.
…
After school, I went to the center with Em, Alex, and Izzy until about 4pm. Then, my mom picked my brother and me up to get some last-minute costume necessities and some things for dinner from Walmart.
We rushed back home and got there by 5pm, and I immediately hopped into the shower and began to get ready for the show. Call time was 7pm but I take forever to get ready for anything, especially shows. I was singing because I was nervous and laughing for the same reason. I couldn’t eat because my stomach was already upset from nerves and by the time we had actually headed out the door on our way back to school for call time, I had to make three trips back inside because I had forgotten SOMETHING.
As soon as I got there, I found a green room completely overtaken by castmembers and their individual collections of props, costumes, and makeup bags. I was consumed by the frantic panic across the dressing rooms, green room, stage, and house while Jules and Loreal did my hair and makeup (because I am completely useless in those departments).”
Those excerpts from next Sunday’s post entirely about the show are all you get for now! For now, I will inform you that opening night went amazing and we had an all-but-four-seat full house! The second show had maybe 10-15 audience members, which is nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that it was a particularly tough crowd for the first act. The second act, though, was amazing and we got roars of laughter!
Just before the second show, though, I had an introductory volunteer meeting at the La Mirada Theater. It lasted about an hour and a half and was one of the best things I’ve experienced with the theater. They took us all around the theater, including backstage and onstage. While onstage I gave myself time to stand in the very center of it and look out into the audience.
That single moment filled me with immediate bliss and pure joy. That moment, along with the encouraging crowd of the opening show, assured me that this- acting, singing, and performing on stage- was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
(Some post-opening excitement shots right before I took a shower and passed out.)
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Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading my blog post!
This week has been incredibly stressful but such a blast! I’ve gotten a lot of assurance that this is what I want for the rest of my life, these feelings and this specific stress and pressure and pain and joy and bliss. I want every single bit of it, and I’m so incredibly happy that I’m getting it right now.
As usual, like and comment if you please, I’d love to learn about you and your thoughts on my writing or my blog so far! If you have any thoughts on this post or have any suggestions for what you’d like to see from me in the future, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you all!
I’ll see you all on Tuesday with some random post I’m sure to come up with! Follow your passions, laugh at least once a day, and come see Game Of Tiaras at the Little Theatre in La Mirada High School at 8pm this Friday and Saturday for $10 at the door!!!
Until then!
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