catching up

It's been nearly a month since my last post, for no particular reason. In the almost three weeks since City of Angels closed, I've been struggling to remember what "normal" is, from what little I can decipher out of mid-November through January.

City of Angels was a truly great experience. Not only was it a fantastic production, but it was an excellent opportunity to push myself as a musician and singer. As I said before, the three-a-week rehearsal schedule was far less stressful than many shows I've done, yet we were just as productive (if not more so) because everyone was so dedicated to what we were doing. If the director was blocking a scene in one room, the music director was going over parts in another room, and still others were practicing along with the Broadway cast recording in another. I had a similar experience with Company last year at Cassidy Theatre, and I'm grateful to have been a part of such artistry.

Also, it's one of the very few (I'd almost venture to say only) shows during which I never got a cold at any time during rehearsals, the run, or immediately after closing. I did manage to get one this week though, just in time for the first coaster trip of the season. Hopefully I can shake it off, because the forecast for Kings Island looks good.

So what else have we missed since my last post? Amy King and I performed a violin/piano program for the Elyria Musical Art Society, featuring music from Tony-winning shows. Here are a few excerpts:

"Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific (1950)
"Rainbow High" from Evita (1980)
"The Tennis Song" from City of Angels (1990) — This one is neat because the song is a duet, so Amy played the male part as written but the female part an octave higher (and both octaves where they sing in unison)

Last week, I filled in as pianist for three Godspell rehearsals at Olde Towne Hall Theatre, which does not count as breaking my hiatus. However, three was the magic number to get me invited to any and all cast parties. :)

On Saturday, the Landeses and I had free tickets to the Lake Erie Monsters game. It's only the second hockey game I've been to, but I followed it pretty well. Unfortunately, the Lemmies played like a typical Cleveland sports team,* but it was a packed house so it was still kind of fun.

*No offense to the Cavs, circa 2005-2009.

Easter was spent in the usual fashion, with church in the morning and dinner that afternoon at Aunt Martha's. Although I don't like the taste of eggs, I do enjoy coloring them. This is a family tradition that is usually caught on film, but this would be the first Easter living on my own, so I made sure to shoot some video footage of myself coloring the eggs in my apartment (for dad's sake).


McCormick neon food coloring rocks.

I also did some minimal Easter-related decorating:


For lack of basket-shaped vessels, I instead made use of my martini glasses—for the first time—by using them to hold my stone eggs. I set these in various places around the living room.

Not even the staunchest War-On-Christmas Warrior can complain about this being called a "holiday tree": My aunt decorates it for Christmas, Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and Easter:



I have also updated my birdwatching page, which had been woefully out of date.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed early, in the hopes that I can stave off this cold before Saturday.