One Month of Marriage

On a completely different tangent...I can now say that we have been married for one month. (Not a lot in the scheme of things I know, but thought I would acknowledge it...) My how time flies... Happy 1 Month of Marital Bliss my hubby! I love you - here's to hoping for many more months of you not being "miserable."

Heath Ledger and Method Acting

So I was working this morning on gathering song material for the show I am directing in July/August. Since our theme for this year's show is "identity" we have to do a little more research than last year when our theme was "love" (which practically every musical has a song with this topic). This primarily meant looking up the lyrics to songs from every musical known to man and them some...and there are some interesting ones out there. While looking I happened upon PARADE (a Jason Robert Brown piece that several area theatres have recently discovered), and then I discovered on the site that Christy Carlson Romano was the original Mary in the piece. Now I am sure most of you don't know who she is; I wouldn't expect you to as my knowledge of her only comes from my tendency to watch the Disney channel at 2am in college when I was supposed to be writing papers. Anyway, seeing as I am in the process of becoming a "Carlson" with a double name as well, I felt intrigued and decided to check out her IMDB, which had an interesting comment about her thoughts on method acting and Heath Ledger.

Just last week, Kevin and I had seen the previews for THE DARK KNIGHT again during GET SMART. We are both really looking forward to it (as I know many people are) and we made the same remarks as usual about how brilliant Heath Ledger looks as the Joker in the previews. And how it was a shame that he was at the peak of his career when he died accidentally. But this time we got into a conversation about acting methods. I do think it was an accident and I do attribute it partially to method acting, which is why Ms. Carlson Romano's blog interested me. I hadn't heard anyone else at this point really attribute it point blank to the acting. I had just been having the conversation with Kevin about the differences in acting techniques.

Method acting in some cases means that instead of studying the actions and behaviors of a drug addict, for example, an actor decides to take drugs to have the "real" experience. I had been saying to Kevin that I thought the acting methods Heath Ledger was using to get into character were probably ultimately to blame for his death. This is why we don't teach method acting to high school students (which is a whole other tirade I will spare you), because it can be dangerous. I am not against method acting as a whole - because heck, if someone wants to go wait tables to get inspiration to play a waitress, I'm not gonna stop them, that's good character work. However, it just shows that there are dangers to delving into certain places in yourself to play characters or to taking certain actions to play a character.

So here is her thoughts on the situation:
"Heath Ledger died today. That's real. That is not a movie. Though it may feel like a movie to many of us who never knew this person. I saw him in a bar once - sitting quietly next to Michelle Williams. When I heard that this talent fell victim to his own madness, I was deeply saddened. This world can be so cruel. Especially when everywhere you look there is the promotion of negativity and violence as a recreation.

I'll do you one more (for those who think celebrity blogging is pointless). Heath Ledger - a representative of the motion picture industry - recently did a movie where he played a man responsible for unloading terrorism on Chicago/Gotham/New York (The Black Knight). Now, I believe Ledger was a "method actor" - someone who put his entire self into his work for art's sake. In order to play this character, he was put in a place so dark, that he began the downward spiral to his demise. In short, I feel this current obsession with negativity is infectious and mid-evil. And it is claiming lives.

I feel that people need to be loved while they are on this earth and celebrate life! Not celebrate different ways to kill each other. I do not condone this trend of violence in movies. And I hope it stops soon."

Now, I do agree that Heath Ledger was probably a "method actor" which led him to a troubled time; however, I am not quite agreeing with her random attack on society's current obsession with violence and killing each other. There has always been entertainment, even back in Greek times, that was about violence and people killing. Really - I don't think making all fuzzy bunny movies is going to save lives. In fact, I think an actor could go equally mad trying to play a fuzzy, fluffy purple dinosaur or such.

Anyway, I know this blog was completely random, but thought I would share my opinions on acting...Heath Ledger your brilliance will be missed and you are ranking right up there with Johnny Depp in my books. Can't wait to see DARK KNIGHT!

When It Rains It Pours

So I have decided that Kevin and I must have that condition of "sympathy pains" where one of us is sick or injured, so the other one must feel that way too. Back in college when we were doing CABARET together, I managed to contract laryngitis, bronchitis, a sinus infection, an ear infection and pink eye all at the same time - that same weekend Kevin had kidney stones and we ended up at the ER. I couldn't even speak to tell them what was wrong with him. Impressive aren't we...

Yesterday, I came home to find Kev laying down in the bedroom. He had gotten sawdust in his eye at work and wasn't sure if there was something in it or if it was scratched. So we ended up heading to Patient First. I was happy to discover that this one was a lot closer than the one in Laurel was to our old apartment. However, I was really expecting to be there all night because I had always spent 2 1/2 - 3 hours at the one in Laurel getting treated.

Well Kevin was in and out in about an hour with a diagnosis of an abrasion of the cornea. He was given some antibiotics and some pain medication and sent home to rest. Thus we spent the rest of the evening (Kevin through a blurry eye), watching OCEAN'S THIRTEEN which had arrived in our recent Netflix delivery.

I should have known better and should have just put my name on that clipboard last night as well.

(Boys - feel free to stop reading now because I am going to go into a rant on UTIs / bladder infections - I am a theatre person, I have no shame. Besides we all have to pee).

Wednesday, I started feeling the all too well known symptoms of a bladder infection, but I tried to convince myself that I was just being a hypochondriac. A little pain but I didn't have to pee like a race horse every five seconds, which is normally how it goes. So, I didn't see reason to go to the doctor right away. I was also going back and forth to DC which made it difficult to schedule a visit. You see normally when I get these, it's like a lightning strike. Out of nowhere, suddenly I am in pain and am constantly running back and forth to the bathroom. Girls who have had these know what a bane of existence they can be. They also seem to happen at the most inconvenient times.

Anyway, Thursday I was preparing to have to make a visit to the CVS Minute Clinic, but alas my symptoms subsided. Friday was the same, so I thought I was in the clear. Clearly I was wrong because I woke up at 5:30 this morning to run to the bathroom and the symptoms had returned. My body must have decided it was jealous that Kevin got to Patient First last night, or that it wanted to join the company of his pain. I waited as long as I could because I was dreading spending three hours at Patient First - I thought Kevin just got lucky and couldn't see how I could be as lucky.

Well it turns out if there is anything positive about this, our new Patient First has come through 2/2. It only took me an hour to get there, get seen, get some drugs and get home. Ahhh, good service. At least I know I have somewhere reliable to go the next time my bladder can't withstand a 10-minute car ride.

And now I am going to get back to the day Kevin and I have spent doing nothing and healing together... this is what marriage is about...

My Savior - Hats, Skirts and Latin Accents

Since I have become a school teacher, I now have my summers "off." Well that is somewhat of a loose term, because we all know most teachers find other jobs to do over the summer to keep themselves busy and keep up the finances. I am lucky enough to continue teaching all through the summer, but I get to teach fun subjects like dance and musical theatre. My old employer Imagination Stage has been kind enough to have me back, which is nice because it's a change from my normal activities now and I get to see all of my friends and many of my students from my old job. (The only thing that is currently sucking is that my work is in DC and the current gas prices are insane, thank you George Bush and the oil industry!)

This past week started my first week of work for the summer and I was teaching at an off-site location in DC near my alma mater (American University). I taught one week of Musical Theatre Jazz dance to 7th - 10th graders, which was really only comprised of middle school girls. The class was 3 hours a day from Monday - Friday.

For those of you who don't dance, dancing for three hours straight is a long time for anyone. When I was at my performing arts high school, we had 3 1/2 hours a day of dance class and THEN we would have rehearsals. These week long camps don't often attract the hard core professional dancer wannabes - instead they often attract the kids who dance once a week for fun or those who have never danced and just want to try it out. Consequently, three hours can quickly feel like an eternity for both the teacher and the students.

When I came into class on Monday, I had just had a cavity filled that was still aching so I admittedly was in a "blah" mood myself. The kids equally seemed to lack energy and enthusiasm. The three hours seemed to go on forever and when I taught them the combination to "One" from A CHORUS LINE they still seemed unimpressed and bored. (This is usually a hit with kids when I teach it.) The only time they seemed to show a hint of excitement was when I told them to bring in skirts the next day for the WEST SIDE STORY combination I was going to teach them. So I went home that night dreading how I was going to get through three hours the rest of the week.

Well the next day I went in and my camp manager had brought in hats from Imagination Stage that we could use for our A CHORUS LINE dance. I walked into the dance studio with hats and it was like I had brought them each a pony. Suddenly, there was energy and excitement and they could not wait to put on their hats and skirts. In fact, they wanted to wear them through all of our warm-ups and floor work (really...), which I wouldn't let them do. When we got to A CHORUS LINE, you would have thought I taught a brand new combination. All of a sudden, it was like they were all hopped up on Red Bulls and Hershey Bars.

So then we got to learning a combination to "America" from WEST SIDE STORY, and they were equally thrilled to put on their skirts. Later in the week I made them create characters for this song, seeing as it was a musical theatre dance class. They all groaned when I told them it was a written project, but as soon as they got the questions you should have seen how excited they were to create new names for themselves like "Rosalinda" and "Carmelita" and discuss how they were sisters working as seamstresses and talked with thick Latin accents. (Some of them missed the whole time period aspect, and wrote about their cell phones and their diamond studded sneakers, but hey I guess you can't win them all.)

Lucky enough, the hats and skirts seemed to maintain the excitement through the rest of the week. (I didn't even have to add any props to the HAIRSPRAY combination they learned.)

What I can gain from this...

Clearly, when I am teaching a class of middle school girls, I just need to give them hats, skirts and Latin accents and a three hour class will be a breeze.

The Wedding (Part 1)

So even though it is in retrospect, I would love to go back and reflect on the amazing wedding we just had and equally amazing honeymoon. My incredible husband, Kevin - yeah, it is still strange to say and write it - and I have now been married three weeks now as of yesterday. We actually "celebrated" our old anniversary of six years yesterday with a simple movie outing to Get Smart. I have to say it is a little strange to have a new anniversary after celebrating this one for all this time. It's almost like you "forget" all the time you were together before you get married. Anyway, regardless that we have a new wedding anniversary, we decided we would still acknowledge our old ones.

So for those of you who don't really know the back story, Kevin and I were engaged for three and a half years before we got married, making it a long awaited event. As the bride I have to say it was well worth the wait. We wanted our wedding to be unique and reflect us as a couple. We also wanted to have a wedding where everyone had a wonderful time. I don't believe we could have asked for a better weekend and for a nicer turnout of all the work everyone put into the event.

Admittedly, I was a little bit nervous about the thunderstorms that we had that day. I hadn't really worried about the weather until the day before. As fate would have it, the morning of the wedding after we got our hair done, it was pouring! We had to go to Macy's to get plastic bags to put over our heads (and there are some fun lurking photos of those moments somewhere). Yes - I did shed a few tears over the rain and over other small details, but overall I am happy to report that I was no "Bridezilla" and wasn't a basket case. I like to believe I was anyway. (Man, I felt zen compared to some of those brides on those reality shows.) I think I can attribute my peace and sanity to my wonderful bridesmaids (Christine, Erin K., Nora, Amelia, Deidra and Caroline) and maid of honor (Erin W.).

It did end up being a "Miracle Wedding" as many people called it because it stopped raining right at 3pm just in time for pictures at my house. And lo and behold, the sun actually came out at 5:00pm for our 5:30pm ceremony. That was all I could ask for...but then it got even better...

The ceremony ended up going off without a hitch. Our wedding had a theatre theme since we met doing theatre and it still is a very important part of our lives. We had several very important people play a part in our day - our bridal party consisted of several close family members and friends from over the years. My maid of honor was my sister, Erin, and Kevin had two best men, Andrew and Mark, friends from his childhood. (The other groomsmen were Philip, Adam, Brian, Fulvio and Mike D.) Our flower girl and ring bearer, were Kevin's niece and nephew, Caroline and Bryce who did a wonderful job at 4 and 2 years old. We also had Kevin's sister Chrissa, and our friend Ryan read selections in the ceremony.

Our officiant was one of my mentors and college professors in theatre from American University, Caleen Sinnette Jennings. She delivered a beautiful ceremony and I am thankful for her contribution to this day in our lives. We had our bridal party speak quotes about love and then Caleen expertly crafted them into her dialogue about how "marriage is like good theatre." We were lucky enough to have ceremony musicians comprised of friends and family, who were equally brilliant. We chose some non-traditional wedding music ranging from the Beach Boys, to "Beauty and the Beast", to songs from A Mighty Wind and Love Actually. I believe it was a nice selection that really reflected us a couple.

(While I am on non-traditional items, I have to say "I told you so" to all of you who gave me funny looks when I said my wedding colors were red, purple and yellow...many of you changed your mind when you saw it together!)

Instead of the traditional unity candle ceremony, we chose to do unity sand. I really liked the idea of having something tangible to keep from the ceremony that represented our lives coming together. We also chose to write our own vows - I think that was the most intimidating part of the ceremony. One of the best parts was finally seeing Kevin after waiting to see him all day. Being my best friend, it was hard to not share details with him ahead of time, like the dress. (Though I admit that I did break down and show him the veil ahead of time.) He was also looking very handsome in his black tux and purple boutonnière. (As much as I know he likes the color purple.) I mentioned that Caroline and Bryce did a very nice job with their flower girl and ring bearer positions. One of the funniest moments to me was that Caroline forgot to throw her flower petals during the processional, but she was quite original. Instead, she did the "reverse flower girl" throwing the petals in front of us on the way out during the recessional, paving the way to newly wedded bliss.The reception also had many wonderful highlights. We had several friends offer their talents in a cabaret during the cocktail hour. Kevin and I chose our favorite "love" themed songs from musicals and asked our friends to contribute their voices. Our friend Debbie also kicked ass playing piano not only for the ceremony, but also for the cabaret hour. (She also sang in the ceremony.) We were also lucky enough to have our friend Michael Sazonov emcee the event, and he definitely added some personal pizazz. At the end of the cabaret, Kev and I decided we were going to sing "There Once Was a Man (Who Loved a Woman)" from the musical The Pajama Game. I have to be honest that the singing was almost, if not more, nerve wrecking to me than the ceremony. (I have more nerves singing in front of family and friends.) But it seemed to go over well. One of my favorite moments though was a whole group of us singing "Seasons of Love" from Rent completely unrehearsed. It was just one of those moments that is unique in time, where everyone was a part of the moment in some way.

And there were many more moments during the evening that were memorable. Kevin's best men gave a very entertaining speech- or rather song- about who was truly the "best man." (Hopefully there will be a video clip in the future.) Later in the evening, my sister gave a very heartfelt speech, which meant a lot to me because I know how much thought she put into it and I know how hard it is for her to speak in large public settings.

Our first dance as a couple was "You Get Me" by Michelle Branch. It wasn't a highly choreographed dance, but the song definitely resonates for us as a couple, hence the blog title.

I definitely enjoyed dancing with my father and am glad that he chose the song. It meant more to me knowing that. Kevin and his mother also seemed to have a great time dancing together. Another part of the reception I really enjoyed was our hat dance. Stolen from the Polish tradition, we had people contribute money in top hats to dance with the bride and groom. I was thrilled to dance with so many people, even for short spurts, and was glad to see faces that I unfortunately missed later in the night.

While the whole evening stands out to me as being incredible, I guess the other major highlight from my perspective was our tango. We had worked for several weeks on a surprise choreographed dance to the tango from True Lies (choreographed by yours truly). Being a dancer all of my life, I wasn't nervous about this at all, but I know Kevin was a little worried. Fortunately, the wedding was the best time we ever did it. And we got rave reviews for it the rest of the evening.

I could go on and on about all of the wonderful parts of the wedding, but this blog really would get epic. I also know that is somewhat of a blur (as was to be expected) and that there were many other moments I missed along the way. However, I am happy to say that our wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life. Most importantly at the end of the day we were married and we were able to the share the day with soooo many family and friends. My only regret is that I wish we were able to spend more time with every individual there, but I know that reality is impossible.

As I said, the only other thing we did really want was for everyone to have a fun time and for our wedding to be a memorable event. I am thrilled to say that I think we were able to accomplish that, as many guests told us that it was "the most fun wedding," "the most unique wedding" or even "the coolest wedding" they had ever been to. Several people went back into our guest book and wrote additional notes later in the evening about the event and we even received "Thank You" notes from our guests after the event, thanking us for having them! We also had some family friends request that we have an anniversary concert every year to celebrate. I don't think we could ask for higher compliments.

There are many people we need to thank for making our wedding possible, as we never could have done it alone. (And we are starting to get around to those thank you notes finally since we are back in town). However, since this email is epic already, I am going to write a specific "thank you" blog later. However, I do want to thank all of our friends and family for being so generous. In particular, I want to thank my parents, Connie and Albert, and my new parents-in-law, Berlyn and Gene for all of their time and support on this event. It was incredible because of you! I also need to thank my sister, Erin, as well as Kevin's best men, Mark and Andrew for their continual help. As I said there are many other thanks to come..

We are still anxiously awaiting the professional photos from our photographer, but for the time being you can enjoy the ones from some of our equally professional friends. I will definitely be putting more up when we get them. You can also look forward to another blog novel soon about our Hawaiian honeymoon...

Again...THANK YOU TO ALL!

And to my new husband (and accomplice in my adventures) - I LOVE YOU!
Marriage suits us well I think...

The Adventure Begins

So I started a blog about three years ago, right after I graduated from college. I had wanted to keep up with it, but I got way too busy as an apprentice at the theatre I was working at (60 hours a week did not allow me leisure writing time). Then I was working full-time as a teacher/producer at the theatre and was acting and choreographing outside of work. And of course then we were preparing for the long awaited wedding.

Having read my sister-in-law, Erika's, blog for some time, I decided finally that I would try this again. It seems that life events inspire you to do these kinds of things. In the last 4 months I have managed to get a new job, move to a new apartment and get married. So join me as I venture this year into all of these new endeavors and hopefully as my life settles down slightly for a change...one can dream...