What's going on?

I’ve had time to get used to it, but deep down inside I’m mildly offended when people say to me, “I didn’t even recognize you.” Obviously you don’t pay me that much attention if a mere change of hairstyle can tip the balance from fellow co-worker to stranger!

It been a wild trip here as you can tell! First of all I should share that Imp lost his Mohawk. Actually, I removed it. My hair has been standing straight up for well over a year, and has been various incarnations of indigo, purple, maroon, and honey blonde. I’ve been thinking of changing the style for well over 4 months now, but decided that the pop diva tour needed a rock and roll hairstyle. So I kept it, until the last two days before I left home to start the tour again…
I’ve evidently shocked several people with my ability to change my look. Now I will admit, I do look totally different. I don’t Have much hair. It’s all buzzed down to a scant 1/4 inch for extremely low maintenance. My hair-do has become a no-do. Or as several people have put it, I look like I’m in boot camp (No Comment). I personally love it, and I’ve got the goatee back again, so yah, I’m looking a little Rough.

Evidently it’s working to my advantage in the hetero department as the female promoter saw me standing on my west Hollywood suite balcony and proceeded to recite the Balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet to me (I played along of course, even though it should have been her on the balcony). I know we amused a few French Canadians as they were de-bussing. Even more exciting that they didn’t realize who I was!!!
I’ll say it again, I do work with some incredibly nice people.

Communication continues to be an issue with this company. I’m forever astounded and amused how something this large runs with such poor communication. Of course, I can’t say much other than that. At least I’m capable of letting go of it, and being amused by it to some degree. If you have to pull the trailer back into the dock because someone didn’t realize that clothes needed to be included in the pack for the TV event, well that’s not my problem. There’s this thing called a production meeting; and you get everyone together and Discuss and Plan. Perhaps this is just a theatre event though.
Anaheim was kind to us. We were lucky anyhow!! Nice building, playing where the Mighty Ducks skate; we had room to work and light to work in. It was thrilling being back at work after a whopping 22 days without a show. The laundry situation wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. (Because we don’t communicate, we had no idea we were going to be going 3 weeks without a show, and as such there was wet dirty laundry and dry cleaning sitting thrown together in the bottom of a roadbox.) I was picturing mold and was really almost afraid of opening the roadboxes after such an extended period of time. Let me take a moment to tout the ‘hocky puck’ odor absorbers I bought at BB&B. Those little puppies really work! I smelled them when I opened the cases, and not rancid clothes!!! Of course, this didn’t stop me from taking the next hour to spray down everything with vodka, as I do really honestly attempt to keep my wardrobe smelling decent! I have to stand next to those dancers all night, you know!

We were in a non union house, which can always strike fear into my heart. After a shorthanded start to the day (one of my locals didn’t appear for work), we got down to business. I’m pleased to say that once we finally got our final 4 locals, two of them had appeared with their kits. Now, we carry everything we could possibly need (and then some) but it is a reflection of professionalism to see one arrive at work, on time, and with a kit. It means they’ve done this before, and have some idea of what is going on.

It was great to kick this tour back off with a great crew. We have a lot of new work to get done. We received replacement costumes the day before our last show in Ottawa that need to be fit, altered, and rigged so they can go into the show. I’m pleased to say that we got started in the time consuming rigging of tux shirts and bowties on our first day back. Yes, this is an accomplishment!! Everything lined up well for us on this show day. Our dry cleaning was back early, the show was prepped and looking fabulous (thank you very much) ahead of schedule, so we all had time to do the extra work while other people were running around attempting to plan the next few outside events (grammy’s/leno/et.al).

We had 4 great people. Special shout outs to Joy and thanks again for all your work. We had 4 great people, one of them a guy who just got off the Hairspray tour who sat down and worked over MaMa’s couture. The tedious dress…
The stylist is in town, or will be (surprise) so I’m expecting even more new clothes to randomly appear over the next few days.

We also need to rally and figure out how we are going to pack this bugger up for Mexico. We will be flying ourselves and our wardrobe; so it’s a space issue and needing to be able to fit it into 3 short cases. Which by the way, the dancers take up 3 cases of clothes and shoes. This does not include the band/singers/nor MaMa. We have our work cut out for us… the shoes alone fill one crate! Of course, we won’t be taking the duplicate outfits (except for MaMa’s), so we are also going to be at the mercy of laundry and drycleaning… hehehe

Just so you don’t think it’s glamorous, while I’m spending a week in Mexico, I have no less than 4 airline flights in a week. Talk about rode hard and put away wet. lol

It was really great to see my dancers and certain people again. We had a great time putting on the show, I laughed all day for many different reasons. While it was a nutty and very long day, if they could all be that way, it wouldn’t be that bad of a gig! :-)~ We got to work early, so it was a 21 hour day before I finally crawled back into bed!
Thank Ra! I woke up with a Major headache this morning. Nothing that 4 advil, two cups of coffee, and sitting on my balcony in the sun didn’t cure!! But yes, I had one of THOSE headaches this morning. The kind that Throb with every beat of your heart… I no longer have the throbbing, it’s subsided to a mild dull ache now, and I’m about ready to head out the door and wander west Hollywood for a while. I feel the need for lunch and the sunshine is no longer beaming into my side of the building. I want to get out and wander a bit before the sun goes down.

If you can find the time, take a moment to offer up a prayer for us. I have an uneasy feeling concerning vocal prowess. I’m not trying to create drama here either; I know music, I know vocal ability and duration. Music is a passion of mine, I know more than the average bear when it comes to singing and performing and what it takes. I notice the subtleties that the majority of people wouldn’t hear or recognize. It’s been my life; putting on the shows, the operas, the pageants, and I tell you I am worried.

I hope you all enjoyed a very pleasant and wonderful Thanksgiving. I sure did!! Many thanks again to everyone at the compound for such a wonderful couple of days in Paradise.

Love and Light to you all!