Monday, May 31, 2004
I'm going to miss Streetcar
Well, Thursday night's show turned out to be mediocre compared to the rest of the shows. I can only imagine what the review in the paper would have been like if the reviewer had come Friday or Saturday night! It seemed as though we got better with each show. I think I'm happy with how I did - even though I can still think of things that I would like to have done differently or better. Alas, that is the case with ANY creative project!
After the show on Friday, I went straight home and to bed. Saturday was going to be a big day - and it certainly was. Colin and I had breakfast at Reggies then ran out and got new dahlias (since I'd forgotten to water the first batch and the flowers on them had died). We re-planted them and then took them over to them Imperial so I could pass them out to the cast and crew as thank-you gifts. I had decorated the terra cotta pots with a Streetcar logo and lamppost, as well as their character names or crew positions.
We had to be at the Imperial at noon to get ready for the 2PM show. It may seem early, but by the time I do my makeup, get my hair in rollers, do Lisa's makeup, get my costume on, get my hair done, listen to the pep talk... I have about 1 minute to spare before I need to be in place on stage.
The show was long - nearly 3 hours with intermission. So we didn't have much time between shows. Only an hour. My folks came to Saint John to see the evening show, so I met them at their B&B and we went for supper at Churchills. I had a burger and had to leave early while my folks were still eating. The evening show went pretty well. Only a couple of small line and prop problems, but nothing all that noticeable. After the show, Colin and my folks came backstage to greet me, and I spent a bit of time visiting with my folks while Colin ran home and changed and then came back and helped the crew load everything out of the Imperial. I'm so glad my folks were able to come and see the show - they've never seen me act before, and I think they enjoyed it!
I decided to wear a new party dress for the cast party because I don't often have a chance to dress up, but it seems as though I was one of only a few who dressed up at all. I guess we were all pretty tired from the show! I got there around 12:45 or so. It didn't really get started 'till about 1:30. The speeches and thank-you's were mercifully short so we could get on with celebrating a job well done. Colin spent a bit of time doing tequila shots (ick!!) with the heavy drinkers and then called it a night at 4:30. I was tired but I didn't want it to end. I managed to stick around 'till about 5:45 and I hadn't even had that much to drink. It was a decent cast party. I think we were all pretty tired from a long run and an especially long Saturday.
I slept most of Sunday morning then had lunch at Reggie's with Colin and my folks. After seeing them off, Colin and I went to watch Claire's singing recital. We made it through the first half and then had to leave. I desperately needed a nap. (I normally have trouble staying up past midnight - let alone 6AM!) That eveing, Colin and I had supper at Swiss Chalet and then we went to see an early showing of Shrek 2 which was really cute (perfect for turning the brain off and relaxing). I hit the hay not long after I got home.
Renny called and said that he was in town to do rigging and lighting for the Finger 11 show that's at Harbour Station tonight. I'm going to try to at least meet up with him for after work for supper.
On Friday when I was off, I got moved to another desk on another floor. We're now up on the 9th floor and since I wasn't around when we moved, I am at a desk on my own by the elevators. Oh well - at least I have some privacy. I don't have much of a voice today and I'm not feeling 100% so I'm not being especially productive. I think I'm also feeling a bit down now that the show is over and done with. I made some new friends (one of the benefits of working on a show) and I'll miss working with them on a regular basis.
Posted by Dre at 3:42 PM
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Friday, May 28, 2004
Stelllaa!!!
Opening night is now over and done with. I think the show went well, despite the fact that we had a chatty audience who laughed at pretty inappropriate moments. The review in the paper is good. Hopefully it'll help drive ticket sales even more, and it's good for the theatre company overall. Here is my mention in the review: "Andrea Arbour didn't get much beyond first gear in her performance as Stanley's wife Stella, Blanche's sister, but she got her character to the finish line well enough." Well, what can I say? Stella's a bit of a tough character in that she is torn between her husband and sister and tries to keep the peace. I'm pleased with how I did, considering it's my first big role on the main stage. Well - I have a bunch of errands to do today so I'm off!
Posted by Dre at 11:30 AM
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Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Getting Down To The Wire....
Well, last night was our technical dress rehearsal. It was our first time trying to juggle actual props and costume changes. We did have a few costume problems but we tried our best to just act our way through it. Poor Martine is now losing her voice. I hope she feels better today. It's a pretty nasty virus that seems to be going around the cast. I think half of us have gotten it. I've been feeling a bit better every day, thank goodness!
I'm itching to get through the work day. I have the next couple of days off for the show. I'm awfully glad I booked them off - I couldn't imagine going straight from work to the shows without any down time to prepare for the evening.
Tonight is the Dress Rehearsal/Student Night. I hope it goes well. I hope it goes better than last night, at any rate. I guess we were "deathly slow" last night. I know I'd certainly like to be more on the ball tonight.
I've really been enjoying this show. It's a fantastic cast and crew - there are some very talented and very nice folks are involved in it, and I feel truely thankful that I'm getting such a great opportunity to work with them. I know I'll really miss some of them when this is over.
Posted by Dre at 8:32 AM
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Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Been Sick
Sorry that I haven't been posting much lately - I've been sick. I Lost my voice. A scary thing to happen to somone just one week before a big show! I've been off work so I can sleep and rest my voice and try to nip my fever in the bud. It seems like it's some sort of virus that's going around. Bad timing to hit anyone about to put on a play. Half of our cast has come down with something.
I'm back at work today. I plan on trying to use any spare moment I have trying to prepare for the show. We moved in to the Imperial Theatre on Sunday. It was a late night. Monday night was another late one. We got through 8/11 scenes for cue-to-cue and we left at around midnight. At least it was a night I could rest my voice a bit more.
Tonight is our tech dress. I'm going to try to focus on relaxing into the role. I know there'll be a lot more to try to contend with as we struggle with the numerous costume changes both onstage and off.
Posted by Dre at 9:12 AM
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Friday, May 21, 2004
Terrible
Yup - I've lost my voice. My slight fever has turned into a high fever. I completely lost my voice the other day. Spent the morning at the hospital getting that checked out. Streetcar is next week! I NEED my voice!! It looks like I'll be continuing to rest at home to sleep and rest the ol' vocal box. Yarr.
Posted by Dre at 8:43 AM
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Wednesday, May 19, 2004
A bar on my block? No way!
To whom it may concern at the City of Saint John Planning Advisory Committee,
To my surprise, I opened up the Telegraph Journal this morning to see an article about a developer looking to re-zone a building at 112 Princess Street (and 33 Horsefield Street) so that a bar could be opened there. I have been living on this block for seven years and I feel very strongly that this would not be good for my neighborhood.
As it is, with the bars and pubs towards Prince William Street, there is a fair amount of noisy pedestrian traffic in the middle of the night. I wouldn't feel as safe and comfortable on this block knowing that there is more traffic from people "bar-hopping" in the evenings, and I worry that the extra noise may further disrupt my sleep. Also, there are other things that unfortunately happen around pubs and bars that they don't have total control over, such as broken and discarded beer bottles on the street, and the remains of a meal if someone has had too much to drink, as well as general vandalism.
What about future plans? Can they guarantee that the proposed bar won't grow in size or change its format? What if it doesn't work out and eventually another establishment moves in? Will they be able to guarantee quiet crowds? Are there no available spaces to put a bar elsewhere in this city?
Posted by Dre at 5:49 PM
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Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Yarr
The good news? Lunch will be provided again this week. The bad news? Vacation is cancelled for May and June. And we have to work next holiday Monday. And my throat is sore.
Posted by Dre at 8:36 AM
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Monday, May 17, 2004
The Pressure's On
In less than 2 weeks, Streetcar will just be a memory. It's amazing how time flies. I think we've come a long way. We're running the acts this week, and trying to get some finishing touches done before we move into the Imperial Theatre.
I had a pretty good weekend. Friday was an extra-long day at work. It didn't help that I was still feeling a bit under the weather. I had rehearsal Friday night, and after we worked through a scene, we decided to grab a beer or two at Mexi's. I really needed the break.
Saturday morning I did my costume fitting with Brenda. It was fun - I actually like some of my costumes! Saturday afternon was another rehearsal. After that, I had a nice (and much-needed) nap, and then went for dinner at the Saint John Alehouse with Colin, Lisa, Anthony, Jay and Julie. The service needs some improving. I'm personally not too fond of having a touchy-feely waiter. And as for my steak, it was good quality meat, but it wasn't cooked enough. I'd ordered a medium and it was pretty rare. Even when I sent it back, they barely put it back on the grill. It was pretty expensive for waht we got. I think I'd rather just go to Suwanna's given the choice. After supper, we went to see the late show of Troy. It was good. Not great, but good. I enjoyed it even though I didn't find it to be gripping.
Sunday morning I worked on my lines for a bit then headed to rehearsal for the afternoon. We ran Act 1 and got a bunch of notes. That evening, I rented Love actually and watched it with Colin before I got back to work on my homework for today's run of Act 1.
I'm working 8-5 this week, thank goodness. My evenings are full with rehearsals, otherwise I'd be working another 60-hour week. Alas, speaking of work - I should get to it!
Posted by Dre at 8:30 AM
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Friday, May 14, 2004
TGIF
I got into work yesterday and lasted until 11, at which point I went home with a fever and sweaty chills. Yesterday Colin and I had planned to do a special dinner out to celebrate 6 months of seeing each other. Alas, that had to be cancelled as well. I spent the better part of the day sleeping and Colin came over for a bit in the evening before I went back to bed. He gave me some snack food and a couple of classic movies, set in the deep south; Gone With The Wind and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I'm feeling a bit better today - the fever and chills seem to be gone, just leaving me with a slightly run-down feeling, a headache, and a slight cough. No doubt I'll survive. I'm guessing that getting a bit of extra sleep on the weekend adn making sure to get lots of vitamin C will help. I've decided to come back into work today and see how I fare.
Posted by Dre at 8:32 AM
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Wednesday, May 12, 2004
32-hour days would be nice...
There just aren't enough hours in the day. I worked from 7:30AM until 8PM yesterday. Let's just say that it was a long one. By the time I got home, my brain was still overloaded with work stuff. I didn't get much work on the script done last night. I hope I can accomplish more tonight.
Posted by Dre at 9:08 AM
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Tuesday, May 11, 2004
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." -Anne Frank
Yesterday, despite having a 12-hour work day, I managed to run out and vote. I'm glad I did. I turns out that we now have a new mayor: Norm McFarlane. Also 6 of the 10 council members are new.
I worked until 7:30 PM. I only had 1/2 an hour for my supper break, so Colin - the sweetheart - picked up some food from Mings for me and dropped it off to me. After work, I headed straight to rehearsal. It was a "Blanche and Stella" evening. Now I have even more homework to try and do for the show. It's certainly keeping me on my toes!
Posted by Dre at 8:33 AM
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Monday, May 10, 2004
A Lovely Spring Weekend
Friday night Colin and I went for a walk along Harbour Passage, had dinner at Taco Pica, then rented Something's Gotta Give (which we both really enjoyed).
Saturday morning I made it do the gym to at least do a bit of cardio. We had rehearsal for scenes 3 and 11 in the afternoon. I spent Saturday evening working on script homework.
Sunday was a big rehearsal day where we ran through the whole show. Man, have I ever got a lot of homework to do for the show this week! Sunday evening I headed upriver and had dinner with Colin, Bill, Dawn, Cliff and Shannon. I caught a bit of survivor and got a small amount of work done on my lines before falling asleep.
It's going to be a crazy week this week. I'm scheduled to work 12-hour days and it's going to be a really heavy week for reharsals. Hmm... I also have to figure out when I can go and vote today. Don't forget to vote!
Posted by Dre at 7:46 AM
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Friday, May 07, 2004
TGIF
I managed to mail mom's Mother's Day gift after work last night. Whew! I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it to her in time! As I was mailing it, Martene called. She wanted to hang out for a bit since rehearsal was cancelled last night. So we went for dinner at Churchills and had a chance to hang out and catch up since we don't get much of a chance to chat at rehearsals. Colin came over a little while later and we watched Survivor and the final episode of Friends. I took advantage of my night off and tried to make it to bed a bit earlier than usual.
Posted by Dre at 9:27 AM
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Thursday, May 06, 2004
Glug
It's been a long week. I'm already really looking forward to the weekend. Yesterday was another full day - with long hours at work, a rehearsal and then home to crash.
This morning I slept right through my alarm, leaving myself a mere 10 minutes to get to work. I'm still feeling really groggy.
Posted by Dre at 9:18 AM
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Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Cinco de Mayo
I had another full day yesterday - a long day at work and then a takeout supper from Mings (their fried noodles dish is awesome, by the way!) and a long rehearsal. This week is frustrating because it's our first week offbook and I'm still struggling to remember my lines and where I should be. Stephen is doing a good job at pushing us hard but not getting us down. I'm certainly learning a lot!
Posted by Dre at 1:34 PM
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Tuesday, May 04, 2004
7 Years
Seven years ago today I started my first day at my first job related to my career. I had just moved here from university and could hardly believe I'd agreed to take a job in Saint John. I have never lived anywhere else for as long as this. Who would have thought that I would still be here seven years later. Not I, for one. Anyway - Happy Anniversary, Saint John! I've been very happy with you. I'm looking forward to seeing how our relationship grows in the future! :-)
Posted by Dre at 8:31 AM
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Monday, May 03, 2004
Weekend with Bernie - and Jessie
It was a busy and relaxing weekend - all at once. I worked a VERY long day on Friday and then went to Suwanna's for supper with mom and Jessie and Colin. Was so tired after dinner went straight to bed.
Saturday I spent the afternoon at rehearsal and made it back ioto town just in time to go to dinner at Billy'as Seafood with mom and Jessie and Colin. We then went to see The Evening of One Act PLays (themed "Obsession"). I think mom and Jessie both really enjoyed themselves, even though we found the evening to be too long.
Sunday we had breakfast at Reggie's and then went out to the mall for the afternoon where mom and Jessie splurged and treated me to some new Spring/Summer clothes and a funky pair of sandals. Thanks so much!! Mom took the bus back aroudn 5:30 and then Jessie and I headed to D'Amico's for supper. we hung out and chatted for a bit after supper and Colin stopped by for a few minutes - but basically we tried to make it an early night.
This morning we got up at 4:30 so I could drive Jessie out to the airport for her flight back to the Prairies. After we had our coffes and she went into the secure area, I headed back into town adn grabbed my gym bag and managed to get a full workout in before work. Boy am I tired now! I am working until 6 PM today and I have rehearsal at 7. We will be going over scenes 1 and 2. This is going to be our first rehearsal where we are off book. I wonder how often we'll be calling for our lines! It is another one of those busy days....
Posted by Dre at 5:25 PM
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