I enjoyed a wonderfully busy, totally New York Thanksgiving this year!   The day started off pretty early when my friend who works for Macy's and I got up to get our seats for the Thanksgiving Day Parade at Central Park South.  We had a great view from the top row of grandstand seats with the masses of people who decided to come out.  The weather was perfect for the parade too (not like the freezing cold or rain the other times I've been to see it!)  After that, I headed out to Roosevelt Island for lunch with a small group of friends...and after eating so much there, I thought I'd never need to eat again.   But of course, there was another dinner to go to in the evening and when seeing what everyone made, I couldn't resist another entire plate of Thanksgiving goodies (which of course includes dessert!)   After we rested from eating (which is such hard work on Thanksgiving :) ) we danced off the extra calories in their living room!  I'm so thankful to have had such wonderful people to spend the holiday with...hope yours was good, too!

Wreckio Ensemble hosted a depression era themed dance-a-thon a couple of weeks ago to promote their upcoming show, "Bail Out The Musical."  My legs were pretty tired after 4 hours straight dancing to all types of music, but we all had a great time!  


About "Bail Out"...
The federal government is bailing out American Theatre.  But, if you want a slice of Uncle Sam's pie you have to take a stab at making a musical!  In this hilarious new play a downtown performance artist, an ingenue from Kentucky, a flat chested burlesque dancer and Archie band together to write, rehearse and perform a musical in 48 hours.  Will this random group of theatrical misfits receive the funding?  Watch this absurd comedy about how far people are willing to go to cash in on the opportunity of a lifetime?  www.wreckio.com

Rehearsals for my upcoming production of "Midsummer Night's Dream" are going well!  The cast is fantastic - it is going to be a fun show.  Check out our website for more details...Midsummer Night's Dream - The Secret Theatre

Had a blast yesterday traveling to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes challenge the Penn State Nittany Lions and pull off an exciting upset!  A bus-load of New York Iowa fans met up in the afternoon and made the journey to State College, PA where we braved the cold and rain for hours to cheer on our team.  We were down most of the game, which made the rain seem that much worse, but I completely forgot about the cold once we came back in the fourth quarter to pull off the win!  Our small group was jumping and cheering with each exciting play - it was a great day!

I've been fortunate enough to see a lot of live theatre the past couple of weeks due to the number of outdoor summer productions and the NYC Fringe Festival!  I've been to 2 shows as part of the fringe, one show at the company I'm part of (As You Like it at The Secret Theatre) and 2 outdoor classical productions (Peer Gynt with Gorilla Rep and The Bacchae with the Public Theatre) in less than two weeks!  I especially love attending the outdoor productions as the environment we're in becomes an additional aspect to the show that adds (or distracts!) from the rest of the production.  When I attended The Bacchae, not only did a raccoon dart on stage early in the show, what was the most dramatic moment of the performance was interrupted by another raccoon (or was it the same???) that was foraging directly beneath my feet for food!  Although it might not have been an ideal circumstance for viewing that classical tragedy, it was definitely an experience I will never forget!

Was incredibly inspired last night!  The Women's Project, New Prospectives and League of Professional Theatre Women hosted a panel and discussion about striving for women's equality in the theatre (pay and presence) by the year 2020.  Seven women with various perspectives working in the theatre (critics, producers, a historian, and a political figure, for a start) shared their experiences and raised issues that we need to work on to achieve a more balanced presence in the theatre community.  We then brought into groups to brainstorm action items that we can all do to move in this direction.  I want to encourage everyone to attend plays written, directed and produced by women and put your donations behind female theatre artists so that ALL of our voices and perspectives can be heard!


(me with Milly Barranger, professor and theatre historian)

I had such a fabulous time on the rest of my trip home to Iowa!  Allison and Ryan's wedding was beautiful...sitting under the shady trees at the winery witnessing their marriage with friends from college was so special, and introducing friends from New York to the corn maze was a riot!  The final scorecard for the week: weddings - 2; coffee visits at Grandma's - 10; novels read - 2; cups of corn canned for winter - 56; ears of corn eaten - at least 2 dozen!