BAH!!!

So it's been a long time. Apparently Safari takes a while to get used to certain webpages, because it wasn't letting me sign on to Blogspot or Myspace for a while. So I'm finally here, updating.

So the highlights of what has happened lately: I made it into Utahoma and we are now getting into the last weeks of rehearsal. We open June 12th and I'm pretty excited. I didn't get a lead in this one, but my part is still pretty fun. It's an excellent parody with lots of laughs and energetic dance numbers.

I also made it into Pirates of Penzance, which means I can cross another thing off the old life list! I've wanted to be in Pirates since I was a wee little lass of ten, when I saw my uncle Hugh in it at Rodgers Memorial Theater and fell instantly in love. To this day I get a kick out of the rioutous humor, the clever and well-crafted lyrics, and the gorgeous music. It's in my top three favorite musicals of all time. Gilbert and Sullivan really knew what they were doing. From what I can tell about the cast so far, we've got a pretty good bunch. The guy who is playing Frederic sounds almost exactly like Rex Smith, which is a huge plus for me since Rex Smith is my favorite tenor to ever have graced the world of musical theater. Our Mabel is also excellent, and I have a few friends in the cast like Mike Brown, Sara Higgins, Erin Saunders, and Jake Miskimins.

I lost use of my phone, which is sad. My family took it off the plan without warning me so for the moment Justin has been kind enough to let me use his old line until I figure something out. Sheesh.

I've been losing a lot of weight, what with being on the "no food, bike and walk everywhere diet." It is excellent.

Last night I was able to hang out with one of my absolute favorite people in the world, Stephen Marshall. He just got back from his mission to California. I love him, love him, love him! It was the best! Like old times. We drove in his car and listened to good music with the windows down. You know how certain times have certain smells? Maybe it's just a me thing, but the smell of that night was familiar, comforting. Like a feeling that hovered in the air, clinging to the friendship that we had left off two summers ago...

I've written a play that is a parody of all the John Hughes movies in the style of the Off Broadway Theater. I'm still working out some things like character and plot, but I'm enjoying myself. It's nice to get back in the swing of things.

My Mantra

The most important thing I will ever teach my children is this:
"Love first, judge never."

It's a phrase I've found myself using more and more frequently, and one I have strived to live by. I think it's one of the most important and underused philosophies around.

The other night I was pleased to hear a woman in my play (a very LDS lady at that) say that she believed the same way. She said she would rather her children go out drinking and having pre-marital sex than be close-minded and judgemental. She said that she couldn't believe how many people, particularly within the LDS church, did not follow that particular principle of the gospel, which is simply to never, ever judge. It was very refreshing to hear that point of view from a member of the church. In a way, it gave me hope.

Nessun Dorma

I just wanted to take a moment to pay homage to what I consider to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, "Nessun Dorma," from the opera Turandot. I first heard it sung by Luciano Pavoratti when I was about eight years old, and have been in love with it ever since. And since my computer is being ridiculous, you'll just have to copy and paste, but believe me, it's worth it. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOfC9LfR3PI

It's Britney, Bitch.

"Love me, hate me, say what you want about me,
But all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy."

This clever, hidden-meaning lyric is just one of the fantastic things you can expect from the new and improved Ms. Spears.

Like most people in the free world, I have known about Britney from "Baby, One More Time," all the way up to "Womanizer." Though, in my younger days, I found great amusement in making fun of the over-sexed pop princess, I could not deny that she had style. But it wasn't until I heard such songs as "Everytime" and "Toxic" that I really began to like her. She had a quality all her own that had earned her hit after hit, pushing her further and faster into the stratosphere of fame, fortune, and microscopic scrutiny.

Over the past year, with all the crazy behavior and bad publicity, I felt pity more than anything. Here was a woman who was losing control, losing faith, losing her personal battles, and we all found entertainment in it for a time, but after a while I just wanted everyone to leave her alone. I did, however, think that we'd seen the last of the Britney we knew.

Then "Womanizer" came out and I thought, you go girl. The song was her first number one single since "Baby One More Time," nearly ten years previous, and proved that Britney could not only make a comeback, but that she was coming back on top.

Over the last few months, I've enjoyed her new songs, retro-futurism hits like "If U Seek Amy" and "Circus" to the beautiful, moving ballads, "Unusual You," "Out From Under," and "My Baby."

I had heard fantastic things about her tour, The Circus: Starring Britney Spears, and really wanted to go. Britney Spears is like a circus unto herself; you go for the spectacle, you go because it will be entertainment, but mostly you go because it's BRITNEY SPEARS.

Still, I didn't think I would have the chance to go until, on Sunday night, my dad called our cousin Stan, a professional scalper, and got tickets. I immediately switched my counter-part in Charley's Aunt, Shannon, so that I could go on Tuesday.

When we got to the Will-Call desk, we found out that there was something wrong with our nosebleed seats. We went to the "Ticket Problems" desk, where they informed us that our seats didn't actually exist anymore, as the stage had needed to be expanded, so she gave us General Admission tickets instead. We were put right up against the stage.

First came the Pussycat Dolls, whom I have always rather liked. Their songs are catchy, their voices good, and they represent the strong, sexy feminine type of woman that us girls can admire. They sang their top hits, including "Doncha" and "Jai Ho," while performing choregraphed danced moves that took them all over the stage. Their voices were live, and even bigger in the theater staging than over the radio. They were also extremely beautiful up close.

When their show ended, there was a short break in which circus performers, i.e. clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and dancers came out to entertain. It was actually quite a fun show in itself, like being at an actual circus, with stunts that made you nervous and men and women with perfects bodies and very little clothing.

The stage, in the meantime, was being set up to look like a three ring circus, complete with a red curtain in the center on a giant screen.

Finally, the show started. Perez Hilton came onto the screen, parodying Elizabeth I and introducing the spectacle that was to be Britney's circus. As the screen rose over the stage, Britney descended on a platform, wearing a ringmaster outfit. The noise was deafening. I screamed along with the rest of them; you couldn't help it, she inspires that sort of thing. Her presence, just standing there, was electric. She began "Circus," during which she danced all around the stage with a team of some of the most incredible and sexy dancers I've ever seen, some of which couldn't have been older than seventeen. At the end of the song, a flawless costume change and a gold cage were brought out, in which she did "Piece of Me" surrounded by men in GIMP outfits. For the first time, she came right to the edge of the stage where I stood.

There is just one word to describe Britney up-close: radiant. She was every bit as beautiful as she appears on screen, if not more so, with gold skin and hair, and a smile that is infectious and personable, almost as if she can't believe you're there watching her. She looked as though she might giggle at any moment, which is 90% of her charm and charisma.

The show continued in segments with circus-oriented themes such as, "Welcome to the Cirus," "House of Fun," "Freakshow/Peepshow," "Electro-Circ," and the Finale. Each was masterfully segued into the next, complete with costume changes for the entire cast, set changes, and magic tricks that sent the performers to different sides of the stage at any moment. Also performing was magician Ed Alonzo, who did different things such as cutting Britney in half and vanishing her as she sang "Ooh, Ooh, Baby."

There were also such fun things as a Bollywood-inspired "Me Against the Music" and a martial arts dance to "Gimme More."

Through it all, one couldn't help but be caught up in the sexy, fantastic, alluring spectacle of it all. I was in awe of Britney's ability to hold it all together in her dazzling performance as she danced, sang, and captivated.

The girl knows how to entertain.

The show ended with "Baby, One More Time," and "Womanizer," and she and her cast gave a bow as confetti showered the audience.

I think I'm a Britney fan now.

Sadie, Sadie, married lady.

So it happened. Last night my little sister became Mrs. James Jordan Phillips.

The day was relaxed enough to begin with. We had a bridesmaid sleepover the night before, wherein we watched P.S. I Love You, a sweet and sad little movie about a woman (Hilary Swank) who loses the love of her life, played wonderfully by Gerard Butler, to cancer. I cried about twelve times during the course of it. We also painted our nails all matching pink, then organized her wedding playlist. (I will talk more about that later.)

In the morning we went to Lace by Louise and got Andrea some fun wedding night lingerie, complete with corset and garter belt. Fantastic. Then Marjaan and I went to Target to get stuff to decorate Annie's car with. (Whipped cream, Oreo's, and condoms.)

Later that day, as we all rushed to get ready, Jordan came over with his friend Dylan and took me to help him get stuff to decorate the hotel room where they'd be staying their first night as a married couple. We got all the cliche items: rose petals, candles, chocolates, and a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider, after which we drove to the hotel and pranced about like little fairies, sprinkling the room with our purchases.

That's when the real rush began. I ran home, hurriedly scribbling down my Maid of Honor speech, which contained mostly jokes, and slapping makeup on my face. Once we were ready, we checked and double checked to make sure we had everything. The one major delay happened when we couldn't find Andrea's car keys. Turns out they were in the jacket pocket that her husband-to-be had supposedly checked and double checked.

Then it was off to the races.

Noah's reception center had been set up for the wedding, with chairs facing the little wooden platform that was to hold the wedding party. Already I was stressed out, first rushing to fix the botched tanning lotion application that a bridesmaid had done all over my sister's chest, arms, and back, then checking to make sure the buoquets were in place and everyone had theirs. I then went over the music with Amy, Heidi's friend, and then rushed off to get my aunt Shari to man the sign-in book while making the decision about when we should start the DVD of Andrea and Jordan's pictures. I then gathered the bridesmaids for photos, ran back to check on the music status, saw the best man sans his tux, which had been left at the house so I gave him the key to the garage, ran upstairs to where my sister was to inform her that my aunt had just cut up the last bridesmaid's bouquet for the cake, not knowing that it was intended for our cousin Liva, who would arrive late, so we had to split up some of the other bouquets to accomodate for the mistake.

Five minutes to the ceremony, the best man/the emcee arrived, finally in his tux. I gave him instructions in hurried tones, then practically had to push the groomsmen and bridesmaids into position. At the last minute my uncle Mark showed up, and I grabbed his hand, dragging him to the back of the room where I shoved a video camera in his hands and told him he would be taping the ceremony, then ran upstairs, telling Amy, in passing, that she should wait until everyone sat down and was quiet, and then start the music.

Eventually the crowd got the hint and sat down. The music started and we all walked down the stairs and down the aisle. I think we were all so stressed that we walked too fast, but that's ok. Then came the bride. She walked arm in arm with my dad, looking radiant. The song was "Annie's Smile," and I could see the tears in my dad's eyes as he gave her away.

The pastor spoke about love, friendship, and accepting that marriage could change a person in ways they don't expect. As I looked at Andrea and the tall, kind man standing beside her, I couldn't help but feel the overwhelming love in the room. For a moment I forgot everything I still had to do, and let the tears come as I watched my baby sister make vows for lifelong love.

The one little mishap occurred when my cousin Megan, the flower girl, fainted. She had locked her knees, but luckily my cousin Liva caught her before she fell and she revived quickly, her dad whisking her to her seat. My dad noticed that someone must have told my cousin Weston, the ring bearer, not to lock his knees after that, because he started doing a funny little knee-bending dance.

After the ceremony, we exited the stage to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." Food was served while I ran over to the piano to play some of Andrea's favorite Broadway songs. Of course this was the moment when everyone in the world decided to come say hi to me...let me tell ya, playing and talking at the same time isn't as easy as it sounds.

Then it was time for speeches, and Michael Riquino and I took the stage. Michael started his speech with a re-working of Jordan's favorite quote, the Fifth of November poem.

I then got to speak, and my jokes made people laugh. Michael then announced the daddy daughter dance, and I ran back to the music station to make sure they had the right song. Andrea and my dad took the floor, dancing to my dad singing "Lullaby" by Billy Joel. I asked my stepdad to dance, and Heidi asked my mom's husband David. I laughed when I saw my grandpa Hanson, because he had grabbed both his daughters, Becky and Jane, and they were all dancing together. It was cute.

After that the dancing continued for a bit. I slow danced with Michael to "Come What May," and we made my sister Marjaan laugh with our singing. After that I felt it my personal responsibility to keep people dancing, since I'm good at that sort of thing. Mid-dancing, we tossed the bouquet, garter, and cut the cake. My mom was complaining that she missed the bouquet toss because she was talking, and so in the seconds before the cake-cutting, I saw her on the opposite side of the room, her back turned, so I ran (mind you, all this running was in heels) to the other side of the room, skidded into her back, said "they're cutting the cake," into her ear, then ran back so that I didn't miss it myself.

Then the dancing continued. Now onto my discussion of the playlist. I have hosted many parties, and have been to many weddings and dances. I know people. The night before the wedding, my sister was trying to stick a whole bunch of slow songs that meant something to her and Jordan onto the playlist. I discouraged this, saying that people wouldn't dance to those because most likely, there wouldn't be enough people to pair up. I told her two slow songs was plenty. Of course, she wouldn't budge. But what ended up happening was that the slow songs were acting like a disease, sending people off the dance floor as if it was leprous. I then, for the rest of the night, had to run back and forth from the music station to pick crowd-pleasing songs (the ones I put on the list, basically) to the dance floor to keep folks dancing. All in all, I did a pretty excellent job, but it was far too tiring. My feet were red, hot, and swollen by the end of the night. Lesson to be learned: always listen to me, because when it comes to people, I'm always right.

One funny moment happened when I turned on Bohemian Rhapsody. My dad said, "you can't dance to this," but I explained to him, in a hurry, that this generation loves a song you can stand around and sing dramatically to as much as the ones you can dance to. He watched as we stood in a circle, singing dramatically, laughing his head off.

After "Rhapsody," I raced outside to decorate Annie's car with Marjaan, Anthony, and Marjaan's friend Alex. We had a good time. I then ran inside to help Andrea with her corset and garter along with Heidi and Marjaan. We then slipped her dress over her head and she and Jordan were on their way. Pictures were taken, hugs were given, and I laughed as I turned around and saw my mom standing in a line with her two ex-husbands and her current husband, David. It's moments like that that just make you smile a little.

We cleaned up the reception hall a bit, and then went home, unloading the hundreds of strawberries, cream puffs, and nuts into our house, and then Marjaan, Anthony, Alex, and I went into my sister's apartment, cleaning it, putting her gifts away, and decorating it so that it would be ready upon their return in the morning.



Finally, at eleven o'clock at night, I could breathe. I ate for the first time that day and watched Sex and the City, the movie in my jammies. It was nice.

No more numbers, please.

Last night I had a nightmare about math. That is how much I loathe it. I saw the numbers in front of me and immediately felt nauseated. I also felt confused and trapped; why had the page appeared before me? What diabolical genius had plotted my demise in such a horrific manner? Who would save me from this torment? It was quite an uncomfortable feeling. I started struggling through the problems, trying to remember what on earth I had last learned in high school, which hadn't been much--Mrs. Sadler had been my teacher and I had been sitting next to my two friends Andrew and Stephen....needless to say, my senior year of math was basically a joke.
It's not that I don't understand math. I just hate it to the core of my being. I'm actually decent at it. But my will to not do it is so very strong.

If there is a paper to be written, I'm there. A play to direct, put me in charge. A novel to create, I jump at the chance. These are challenges that appeal to me. But ask me to explore the complexities of a logarithm, and I shut off.

My dream came to a happy conclusion when my friend Dain took the paper away from me, saying he would do it.

So, ah, the point of the dream emerges.

I'm going to miss my friend Dain. He is the one friend who, it seems, has always been home. Or, at least, what I consider home: Bountiful Utah. He's been my friend since high school and I hope he will be my friend for many years to come.

That's another thing about me. I am a sentimental old coot. Since high school, I have made many new friends, of course. But the friends that have always meant the most to me are the friends I've had since good ol' Woods Cross High. They are the friends I hang with, eat with, travel with. The friends whose couches I have crashed on, whose kitchens I know like my own, whose toilets I've had arguments with. (Whitney, that's for you.) They are the people who tell me to wear sunscreen, who make sure I'm properly hydrated, who hand out food assignments for our next get-togethers. They are like family to me.
I frequently go to dinner at my friend Whitney's, and it's always a good time. I'd been telling my mom about all of our dinners, and she said, "You know, Elise, I think that you might just have lifelong friends in these people." I like that idea. I like the notion of people you know and care about all your life, not because you're obligated to by blood or legal ties, but because you enjoy each other's company so much that you just can't seem to get rid of each other. No matter who moves so far away that, if you have a math assignment, you might have to email it to them...

Blog Time!

A few months ago I decided I finally wanted to start doing this, so here goes. It's taken me a while to actually create a blog, which makes no sense at all, since it's brainlessly easy. Which I liked. I remember back in the day when creating a blog seemed like trying to learn Finnish. Well, perhaps not as hard as that, but you get my meaning.

I'm currently in a show at Rodgers Memorial Theater in Centerville Utah. I'm so excited to be there. Rodgers, like most theaters in Utah, is one of those places where you basically need to be somebody's neice to get in. Needless to say I had tried for ages without any results. Then a couple months ago I saw they were auditioning for Charley's Aunt, a show I had seen at Hale and absolutely loved. I figured I'd audition, just for the heck of it, but then the day of the audition came and I had rehearsal for my other show at the Off Broadway. Not wishing to use gas or miss rehearsal, I ditched the audition.

Much to my surprise, I received a call a week later from one of the producers, who said they would love to have me come to callbacks to read for a part. I was rather pleased. So I went in that week, read for Kitty, a sarcastic and playful young woman of whom one of the college gents, Jack, is rather fond. I liked her character right away because she reminded me of me and because playing her would present a bit of a challenge, which is what I'd been craving for months.

Rehearsals started when I was mid-show at Off Broadway, and that was a bit stressful. I missed a lot, but luckily I'm a quick learner and I was able to memorize all my lines and blocking fairly quickly.

There is a level of professionalism at Rodgers, despite their Community Theater status, that I really enjoy. Jan, my director, is very capable, and he directs much in the style that I do, which is nice. He is very organized with notes beforehand and afterward, and he pushes us to exercise our abilities. He also doesn't sweat the small stuff, because he expects us to be able to work most of it out on our own, which is great. It reminds me of college. It's very refreshing.

These last few months have been sort of hectic with planning two weddings. My mom was married on March 20th. Her wedding was not too difficult, however, as she wanted to keep things simple and only invite family. My sisters and I went to her place on the day of the wedding to help her get ready, then drove over to this gorgeous church on Yale Avenue where our relatives helped with the food and setting up. My sisters and I played some stuff on our strings and piano, and my aunt took pictures. All in all it was a fun evening.

My little sister got engaged in February and decided on April 6th for her wedding. She named me maid of honor, and so I got busy planning, researching, inviting, scheduling, etc. I'm very excited. Her fiancee's name is Jordan Phillips and he's a fantastic guy. We're becoming fast friends.

Other than that, I'm still working on finding a job, which is nearly impossible in the current climate. The levels of frustration I've reached are nearing epic proportions, but I have hope that everything will be all right eventually....