It's about time I post a new blog. It's been a crazy week with the show opening tomorrow. We've been having tons of runs and I've been so tired after each rehearsal that I just want to crash when I get home.
So during last week I was informed that we were going to have to pay to have our rugs replaced due to some stains, which I feel is BS anyways, because every apartment I looked at had new rugs and it seemed like most of the places replaced their rugs after two years. We've been there 1 year and 9 months about and it pisses me off knowing, that our apartment complex was probably going to replace it anyways...not to mention that the shitty place uses nothing but the cheapest materials in their apartments, so the rugs were crap to begin with...but, so it goes...along with our deposit. Better things to look forward to though right?
So Saturday was the official move day into the new apartment. My original plan was to have moved most of the stuff out and over throughout the week so that I had very little come Saturday. I actually moved a LOT of stuff during the week, but still had so much to go. It always seems like it is going to be much less than what it actually is. Let's just say that the original plan was to rent a truck and have my friend E-kan help me move some basic items. It actually ended up being, E-kan, Tyler, Erin, Javed, Nina, Erin and I and we barely got done in time! LOL THANK GOD for friends and I'm so lucky that everyone came through. Javed and Nina were nice enough to drive all the way from Cosa Mesa and I wasn't even expecting them to come, but after some miss communication, they called and said they were close and I was so happy to hear we were getting more help. Then Tyler called and asked if we still needed help, which we did. I honestly, don't know what I would have done, if I didn't have each and every one of them there. Erin and I are so thankful. I cleaned out the old place, said my goodbye and left the hood.
Sunday was supposed to be my day to relax and just watch football. NY had a tough weekend, not that I really care about those dudes in Green, but it must have just been in the air. My G-men, played like crap and lost a game that they shouldn't have. E-kan and I are tied 1-1 and I have a feeling we will meet again. It's not like the Giants really need to win, they can rest their players, but who want's to have a losing momentum going into the end of the season, especially with Division Games coming up. After watching the loss, I started to unpack a bit as the Steelers Game came on, thank god they pulled it through! Then it was off to finish clearing out and cleaning Erin's old place.
Monday was the first official day in our apartment and it was back to what would be the first of many busy days at Disney. We started working in costumes which was fun, but I was still pretty nervous about not having my shoes yet. I was the only person not to have my shoes and I was starting to worry because of the confusion in the past. I am normally a size 10 1/2 or 11 depending on the shoe. In the beginning they came in and had me put on a size 10 1/2 which was too small. The shoes we wear have been named Air-Aladdin's and they need to be custom made for each performer so when they came back to me a few weeks later, the shoe was a 10 1/2 again. They swore they made them a size bigger, but I know that I would have remembered if they originally bought me a size that I don't even wear...but whatever. There is a lot to be done and I could have easily thought wrong... Anyways, I asked if there were any shoes from an old performer in a size 11 to see if they fit, before having them make a whole new set, but they said no. We ran the shows, and I did them in my sneakers but it went great.
Tuesday, no shoes- good shows, but no shoes still. At this point, the choreographer, director and some of the stage managers were asking where my shoes were and were beginning to get worried. So was I, because it was made clear that if the shoes were not going to be around for me to rehearse in, then I was probably going to be held from performing, until I had time to work in them :( I was also told that there was a size 11 pair of boots in their possession from an old performer, which I was originally told that they didn't have. They fit! So they took them in and had the Air-Aladdin's made to match the boot size. Hopefully I would get them by Thursday.
I also received a call from my land Lady and she was saying that the guy downstairs was complaining about my dog barking. She pretty much told me that he needed to stop, or we needed to find a new place to live. I was not happy. This guy downstairs works from home and I'm not saying my dog doesn't bark, he has separation anxiety, but he is a puppy in training at the same time. Barking is not something that is going to stop overnight, so It just bothered me and felt like I as backed into a tough spot. I called a few dog trainers on the way home and Erin and I decided that we were going to need to get serious and get Wolfy fixed and get him into some legit training.
Wednesday, I was a little out of it in the beginning of the day due to the worry of a barking puppy and a sensitive guy who works from home LOL I called my landlady to explain what was going on and it was a great talk, she understood that it would take time to get the dog to stop barking. I had the pair of stretched Air-Aladdin's delivered to me and I used them in the first run of the day which made me feel like I was a half a step behind because they felt so heavy. Thank god, I had another show and another full day to work in them. The second show went well and I was getting really excited for Friday and an Audience.
Today I was kind of hoping to have an easy day at rehearsal. I've been really tired physically and vocally and I just wanted to have a day to rest before Friday. I came in and sure enough, I only was in the first of three shows and it was as the chorus role, SAVED! They also were going to be recording the 2/3 shows and they had most of the veteran cast scheduled to perform in it. So, we are stretching and warming up and Tracy the choreographer came up to me and told me that I was being added to do the last show as Aladdin. So much for rest! But I was actually happy, I always like to perform the day before the opening, even though it seems like those shows can sometimes be a bit off...this was no different lol There were a lot of good things in the show, but a few technical things were off that haven't been before, but I also had a few new discoveries and I was able to make a couple of new choices that felt pretty good...all in all, I just am ready for an audience. It was kind of sad towards the end, because the 19 of us who came in to learn the show 7 weeks ago are scheduled for different days or are call ins and it would be the last day that we would all be together. I sat in the audience after I showered as we received notes and after getting a few notes from Todd, our Vocal Consultant I sat back in my chair and had to take a couple of deep breaths as I began to tear up a bit. He had some nice things to say and said that he hopes I am enjoying it and I couldn't help but smile. I think that was the thing that made me tear up a bit. Our stage manager said, "After today there is no new cast or veteran cast...it is now the ALADDIN CAST!" It didn't help my case, it just made me think about how badly I have wanted to play this part and be in this show and in less than 24 hours, it would be happening. All those times of singing the songs in my room as I jump around and act a fool, all the times someone said that I looked like Aladdin and it made me smile, all those dreams from my childhood of wanting to play this part in a movie and I was going to get the next best thing, if not THE best because of it being a live performance. As cheesy as it may seem, I feel like I am in a Disney commercial talking about the magic of the park LOL But I don't care, I'm going to enjoy every minute of this and be spoiled while I can and just play. I have felt happier these past few months and I've learned a lot. I've brought a lot of that joy I have been experiencing with this show to other places in my life and I know I want nothing less than that from now on. I hope to see and stay in touch with everyone from my group and I'm sad to not be seeing you all regularly. I'll be missing not being able to joke or prank you all, but you better watch out, because when I do see you, it will be on. I can't wait for my friends to see the show and I look forward to the day that my parents and sister come out to LA and see one of the performances of a show that has meant a lot to me for many years.
I also am a little sad at the thought of this blog ending. I started it as a way to keep people informed of my experience and to also keep the thoughts fresh for myself. I started to take different life as I began to journal a little bit. I just don't know how it will be without having rehearsal everyday to write about. Life goes on and new experiences will be had no doubt, so maybe I will continue to write. When it comes down to it, I've enjoyed writing these little things. Not sure if I'm ready to let go just yet ;)
Tomorrow I'll be performing the two middle shows- one at 1:55pm and the other at 4:20pm. Wish me good shows and send me luck at the cast party as I do my best to dethrone the current Hyperion Bowling Champ at the 300 Bowling alley!
Later!
Thank you for reading
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