Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween!
We finished blocking Act 3 for Noises Off last night. After rehearsal I was pretty beat so I didn't do much else other than watch a bit of TV then hit the hay.
This morning I got up early so I could do my makeup for my Puss in Boots costume so I could wear it in to the office today. I work in a marketing department but not too many people dress up or even decorate their cubicles, so it should make a bit of an impact. :-)
Thanks to Brenda for the awesome costume and Anthony for the following pic:
Posted by Dre at 8:06 AM
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Monday, October 30, 2006
A Spooktacular Weekend
Friday evening, I napped right after work for an hour, then headed to the gym for a quick workout with Lisa, then headed out to Scott and Alison's for a fantastic dinner party. Scott did a fantastic job selecting and preparing the menu. The food was incredible: mushroom and goat cheese strudel with a balsamic syrup, then potato carrot and parsnip soup, then mustard and garlic roast chicken with warm frisee salad, bacon and mini potatoes, followed by a bread pudding dessert from Suzy that was to die for. All lactose-free too! I couldn't tell if my stomach was sore from eating too much or laughing too hard. Good times!
Saturday we had rehearsal from 10 - 5. We worked on Act 2. It had been a while since we'd done it, so it was good to go over things. Lots of running around for Belinda and lots of hopping for Garry. I started to run out of steam at 4:10 and was glad to know that we had less than an hour left of it. But no time to nap after that. I stopped at the LC and picked up some wine, then headed home to make supper and start getting into costume for the evening's festivities. Lisa came over around 6:30 and I helped her with her hair and makeup. I love getting ready for events with friends. It took me a while to do my makeup for my costume... but it was worth it. This year I rented a costume from Brenda McLeese. I dressed up as Puss in Boots. Once we were all set, we ran over to Lisa and Anthony's where a few folks were enjoying some pre-outing beverages. From there we headed to the Blue Olive where Kizzy was singing. My battery for my camera wasn't charged, so I had to rely on other people's pictures for the evening. I can't wait to see the pics that Anthony took. He should be posting them soon. Everyone looked awesome in their costumes! It wasn't a very late night for me. I wound up catching a lift home from Scott and Mare at 11:30. I was pretty beat and I knew I had another full day of rehearsals ahead of me.
Sunday morning I was pretty thankful for the time change. We rehearsed Acts 1 and 2 and I was amazed that I could actually remember so much when we did a run of the two acts. trust me - there's a ton of blocking in this. Man, there are some funny moments! I then enjoyed a quiet evening in and even went to bed early. Now that was a real treat!
Posted by Dre at 7:26 AM
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Friday, October 27, 2006
Friday Feast #117
Appetizer
Create a new candle scent.
Freshly Baked Raisin-Bread.
Soup
Name one way you show affection to others.
Hugs for good friends!
Salad
What is your favorite writing instrument?
A fine precision point technical pen - aww yeah!
Main Course
If you were given $25 to spend anywhere online, from which site would you buy?
Chapters
Dessert
Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be?
I am dressing up for Halloween. I usually make my own ccostume but I just didn't have time this year, so I rented one from Brenda McLeese instead and it's awesome! I can't wait to pick it up - it's going to be so much fun! But I can't say what it is yet, as it'll be a surprise for some friends....
Posted by Dre at 8:02 AM
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
And the week goes on...
Another productive rehearsal. I was pretty tired all evening and found it difficult to keep going. I was really looking forward to getting home and crawling into bed. But by the tiem I got home, I was overtired. I was exhausted but couldn't sleep. I flipped channels for a while, finally landing on "America's Next Top Model" and then eventually fell asleep after midnight. That's late for me. If I'm up past 11:30, I have trouble getting up for work the next morning. And sure enough, that was what happened this morning. Luckily I can make it into work without much prep time. But I'm still tired and I still have this dang cold. Perhaps I'll go home at lunch and nap....
Posted by Dre at 8:14 AM
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006
1970's Style
Las night Suzy brought along some wardrobe choices and we figured out what my costume will be for Noises Off. I love it - it's great fun! VERY 1970's! (The play within the play is set in the late 70's - which just adds to the fromage factor!)
Posted by Dre at 12:21 PM
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Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Diversions
The photoshoot for productions stills for Noises Off was last night. I headed over to help out by doing hair and makeup, as I enjoy doing fun little things like that. It was nice to see Suzy's great choices for wardrobe. I can't wait to see the final pictures - everyone looked great!
Later that evening, I went to see Flags of our Fathers with my friend Peter, who's visiting from Ontario. It was a very good story and I thought it was well done. Glad I saw it.
Posted by Dre at 8:11 AM
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Monday, October 23, 2006
Le Weekend Update
It was a decent weekend full of productive rehearsals. Friday evening rehearsal was preceded by a nap and was followed by sleep. Terribly exciting, non? Saturday was a full day of rehearsal (10 - 5) followed by apartment cleaning and dinner. After that, I'd planned to have John and Melanie and Peter over but John and Melanie couldn't make it, as Melanie was on call for work and had to deal with something that came up. So Peter came by and we watched Battlestar Gallactica and then Iron Monkey. It was a quiet evening in.
Sunday was more rehearsals. We finished a bit early which gave me a chance to run out to The Vortex (McAllister Place & environs). I picked up the Back to the Future Trilogy at HMV for only $20. When I got home I watched some of the Special Features before I started to feel a little stir-crazy. I took a peek online to see what new movies were playing in Saint John and found one that I wanted to see and gave Ann a quick call on the off chance that she'd be up for it as well... and she was. We decided to try to get a bite to eat at Swiss chalet and then head to the early show, even though we only had an hour. We got to Swiss Chalet and it was jam-packed. We decided to get take-out and then eat it in my car. It was so tasty that it didn't take us long to scarf it down before zipping over to the theatre. We got there just as the previews were starting. The movie we saw was Marie Antoinette. Now I'm not usually a fan of Kirsten Dunst, but I thought she did a good job with this. I enjoyed the movie, although I found it a bit slow at times, and the ending seemed rather abrupt. But overall it was worth seeing.
As for this morning, I'm still fighting my cold, although it seems to have gotten better - at least a more tolerable level. I miss running and my gym routine and I am hoping to get back to it this week now that I can breathe a bit better again. Lots more rehearsals to look forward to this week and then all sorts of fun things are in store for next weekend.... Do you have your Halloween costume picked out yet?
Posted by Dre at 7:54 AM
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Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday Feast #116
Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage?
Grapefruit juice. Love it!
Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
At work, I've got a box of kleenex, an action figure of Captain Hook and some twinkle flower lights around my 2 monitors on my Mac.
Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
Hmm... maybe an 8 or 9? I try to keep things on the straight and narrow. It's much easier that way. Besides, i'd have trouble remembering what I lied about if I did lie.
Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
I can't imagine renaming a city and likewise cannot think of a name. Hmm.. I suppose if there was some small city somewhere that had been named and ruled by a tyrant or something along those lines. Perhaps a new name representing new economic and political freedom that meant something to the local populace might be nice.
Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Bad manners and lack of respect for others stress me out.
The most calming activity that I can think of is drawing or painting.
Posted by Dre at 7:51 AM
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Thursday, October 19, 2006
Not Exactly An Evening Off...
I headed out to Rothesay Netherwood School last night to do a workshop on how to apply stage makeup. I think it was a very full and productive hour and a half. They had all sorts of great questions. They'll be putting on Sweet Charity near the end of November. I'll have to go check it out.
When I got home, I tried to do a bit of work, but I was pretty wiped, so I wound up going to bed instead. Still have this dang cold. It seems to have moved back into my sinuses now. I hope I can shake it soon.
My folks have been driving the same car for the last 14 or 15 years and it has been on its last legs for a while. Not too long ago they picked up a couple of books (including a Lemon-aid book) and did a bit of research. They went shopping on the weekend and found a new used vehicle for themselves - a 2005 Toyoto Echo! Congrats to them - I know they'll love it!!
Posted by Dre at 8:00 AM
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Rolling Along
We had another super-productive rehearsal last night. There's some awfully complex blocking for Act 2, so it took us a solid 3 hours to get through about 10 or 12 pages of stuff. It's very similar to choreographing a dance. A dance of hilarity. :-)
Other than rehearsal, I've just been trying to combat my cold. Oh yeah, and congrats to all of my friends who just got new kittens yesterday!
Posted by Dre at 8:11 AM
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Diving into Rehearsals
We're in the midst of blocking Act 2 of Noises Off which has some pretty complex blocking (LOTS of running around). It's fun and it's a good workout. I knew my character did a lot of running around, but I don't think I realized how much I'd be doing. Graham has incorporated some really funny physical stuff that makes me laugh - even if we don't have the timing down pat yet. When I got home from rehearsal, I made sure to write out a play-by-play for myself.
Other than rehearsals, not too much is going on. I've come down with the same cold Lisa has and I don't have much of a voice today. I hope this doesn't drag on. Oy.
Posted by Dre at 8:02 AM
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Monday, October 16, 2006
Thanks guys!
A big thanks to Colin and Beth for 1.) picking up the tab for my dinner at Suwanna and 2.) Tenacious D - The Complete Masterworks!
Posted by Dre at 12:59 PM
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Weekend Update
Friday evening, had a totally awesome birthday dinner at Suwanna. Thanks again to everyone who came out! It's great to be able to enjoy a good dinner with good friends. After dinner, a handful of us dropped into Churchills for a bit, and then a group of us headed east to go dancing. We tried to go to Jilly's but it was closed, and we ended up at the 3-Mile's Maxxx. It's probably a good thing wer were there early enough that it was still rather quiet, so there was room on the dance floor. I was pretty tired and full, and didn't last long, so I headed home around midnight.
Saturday morning, I went for a short run with Suzy. She's just learning to run so we took it easy and did intervals that worked for her. It was a nice excuse to catch up with her. :-) I'd planned to go to the gym after that but by the time I got home, all I wanted to do was go back to bed. I think I pretty much lazed around until I had to head out to meet Brenda. She helped me figure out my Halloween costume. I think I'm going to keep it a surprise until the Halloween Party at the Blue Olive on the 28th.
Peter (who lives in Toronto) stopped by mid-afternon and stuck around for supper and the evening. It was nice to catch up with him. We watched Ronin and some stuff on the Space channel. I was feeling pretty tired though, and by 10 PM, I was pretty sleepy. My bed time has gotten earlier over the past month or so. I find that I have trouble functioning the next day unless I think about bed around 10:30. It seems so early though. I'm used to having a bit more time to unwind first. Ah well - it's one f those things I should probably expect to happen as I age. :-P
Sunday was a very full day of rehearsal. Graham is now in town for the rest of rehearsals. Yay! We worked on blocking Act 2, which involves a whole lotta running around. In fact, by the time we were done at 5 PM, I headed home for a 2-hour nap instead of the run that I'd intended. I did enough running all afternoon that I could feel it in my quads. I then took advantage of a free evening to see a movie that I'd been wanting to see - The Departed. I really enjoyed it. Yes, it was violent, but the script was well-written and the acting was good. Lots of good twists and turns in that film.
Posted by Dre at 7:52 AM
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Friday, October 13, 2006
Friday Feast #115
Appetizer
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend reading other blogs?
Maybe an hour at most.
Soup
Your community wants everyone to give one thing to put into a time capsule. What item would you choose to include?
A photo or painting.
Salad
What is the most interesting tourist attraction you've ever visited?
The Tower of London was pretty neat.
Main Course
If you could give an award to anyone for anything, who would it be and what would the award be titled?
Maybe a humanitarian award to someone who contributes the most to their community.
Dessert
What do you think your favorite color reveals about your personality?
Hmmm.. it's hard to pick one colour. I like purples and turquoise and things that contain both of them. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that I'm a Libra and I tend to sit on the fence about some things....
Posted by Dre at 8:07 AM
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Thursday, October 12, 2006
Fours
Thanks to Vag for the idea....
Four Jobs I've Had
Hostess
Bartender
Booking Agent at a talent agency
User Interface Designer
Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over Again
Labyrinth
L.A. Confidential
You've Got Mail
Lord of the Rings
Four Places I've Lived
Dartmouth
Winnipeg
Edmonton
Saint Jean-sur-Richeleau
Four TV Shows I Love
Nip/Tuck
Inside the Actor's Studio
Devine Design
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Four Places I've Vacationed
Andalucia, Spain
London, England
Chicago
San Andreas Island, Colombia
Four of My Favorite Dishes
Salmon - made any way
Pretty much any curry dish
Guacamole (I love avacados!)
Steak
Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
Home with my cats
Somewhere sunny and warm
Travelling throughout Europe
Snokelling the Great Barrier Reef
Posted by Dre at 12:58 PM
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Wednesday, October 11, 2006
34
Yesterday as my cats turned 1, I turned 34. It was a long day at work, followed by a much better evening. Thanks to Scott and Mare, who stopped over with an awesome original WonderWoman drawing by Darwyn Cooke that they'd gotten while they were at Word on the Street in Halifax. Thanks guys!
I then headed to rehearsal, which was very productive. After rehearsal, Lisa, Kizzy and Stephen came and joined me for a tasty beverage at Churchills. It was good to get out with friends, and a nice way to end the day. Well, my day actually ended with a good 1/2 hour of playing with the cats. My folks had gotten them some SuperBalls and the cats are both fascinated by them and slightly scared of them - it's quite amusing!
Posted by Dre at 8:03 AM
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Thanksgiving Weekend
I headed to Halifax for the Thanksgiving weekend. Great weather all weekend, which was awesome. I spent Saturday day shopping with my mom, had a wonderful dinner at The Vines with my folks, then visited Sue and Jed and Jessie that evening.
Sunday was a day for laundry and working on my script. Then my folks and I headed over to the Lalond's (relatives on my dad's side of the family) for a very tasty Thanksgiving dinner. I don't think we stopped chatting the entire time we were there - the evening just flew by!
I headed back to Saint John on Monday and took it easy for the rest of the day. It was nice to be back - mostly because I missed my cats. It's their first birthday today!
Posted by Dre at 7:28 AM
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Friday, October 06, 2006
Friday Feast #114
Appetizer
Name a song you know by heart.
"Cat in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
Soup
What will you absolutely not do in front of another person?
Use the washroom.
Salad
How often do you use mouthwash and what kind do you like?
I keep mouthwash but I don't use it as regularly as I should. Perhaps just on the weekends when I have a bit more prep time to get ready to go out. Oh, and I suppose I do use it before rehearsals if I get a chance, as I'm usually acting within a somewhat close proximity to other people.
Main Course
Finish this sentence: I am embarrassed when...
I forget something like a birthday or anniversary of someone that I care about.
Dessert
What was the last food you craved?
I've been craving date squares for the last two weeks. They usually have them at JavaMoose in the market, but by the time I think of going to pick one up (which is usually mid-afternoon), they've run out of them.
Posted by Dre at 7:37 AM
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Thursday, October 05, 2006
Cat Napping
Last night, I rented Lucky Number Slevin but I didn't get around to watching it. By the time I wern to the gym with Lisa, then got home and had supper and sat back down it was already 9:00 PM. I' d sat down on the couch and turned the TV on and the cats immediately jumped up and curled up to sleep on my legs. I didn't have the heart to move them so I could get up and put the renatl DVD in, so instead I watched America's Next Top Model and then flipped channels for a bit. I love when my cats curl up on me - they are so cute and cuddly! I guess I'll just watch the movie tonight instead. :-)
Posted by Dre at 12:57 PM
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Finally!
It's nice to see that Nova Scotia has finally emerged from the dark ages. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Sunday shopping.
Posted by Dre at 8:14 AM
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Tuesday Evening
I passed the opportunity to go for a run on Monday. It was quite chilly and very windy and I knew I only had a short amount of time before rehearsal. So that meant I needed to get it in last night. Man, what a great run. When I started I was thinking I was feeling sluggish, but then I quickly got into the groove and wound up really enjoying myself and glad that I'd gone. Of course that's usually the case with running or hitting the gym. I always end thinking, "That was great! I'm so glad I did it!"
After my run, I met Lisa and headed to the gym to do an upper body workout. We wound up doing some power sets for our arms and both felt sufficiently rubbery by the time we were done. By the time I got home, it was 8:15 and I was super hungry. I was so glad I had Suwanna leftovers that I could reheat.... yum!! I then spent the rest of the evening doing a bit of Individual Development Planning for work.
And it felt like a Thursday all day. I hate it when that happens - it makes for a very long week!
Posted by Dre at 8:13 AM
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Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A Rehearsal with Stephen
So Graham has gone back to Nova Scotia until the 15th and in the mean time, Stephen is filling in. Last night we stumbled through Act 1 on the newly taped out rehearsal area, and then sat down for a bit of a chat with Stephen, who gave us some specific homework assignments to do for our characters.
Posted by Dre at 7:48 AM
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Monday, October 02, 2006
On Our Feet
What a great fun and full weekend!
It started out Friday evening after work. I had run at lunch, so when I got home from work I'd have time to quickly eat and wash and dry my hair before rehearsal. It was our first rehearsal with Graham, our director. We read through Act 1 and the first half of Act 2, and then we worked through Act 1 bit-by-bit. What a productive evening! It was great to see that Graham has a strong vision of the show and he added a lot of great and fun insights for everyone. It certainly gives us all a lot more to work with!
After rehearsal, a handful of us went out to The Somerset Pub for a bit. Stephen was singing Jazz along with Richard Kidd et al. Very nice atmosphere with the jazz there. It's a wonder that more people don't go to check it out. It wasn't a late night as I was pretty beat after a full day of work and such a productive rehearsal. Also , I knew we had a full day ahead of us on Saturday.
Saturday morning I got to rehearsal at 10:30. Jeff and I spent about half an hour working out blocking and running through our Flavia and Phillip entrance scene. Then we spent the rest of the day blocking all of Act 1. I think it's going to be a LOT easier to block stuff once we have things taped off and have some more props to work with. It was a super-productive day and by the time we were done (5:00 PM)I was so ready for a nap.
I headed home and ran into Alex (who's home for the weekend) and then Colin, who was heading to O'Leary's to cheer Cliff on as he MC'd the Germain Street Open auction. I got a solid hour of sleep in - didn't even move! Then Chad called and said he'd seen a commercial for Swiss Chalet and wondered if I was interested in grabbing a bite to eat there before heading to see The Black Dahlia. So, I had time to stop in at O'Leary's and catch up with Colin and Beth for an hour and then Chad picked me up and we ate at Swiss chalet and enjoyed a film we've both really been wanting to see. I just love James Elroy's stuff and I really like things that are set in the 40's. The movie started out great (and was very reminiscent of L.A.Confidential) but by the third act it started to fall apart and just seemed over-the-top. Still, though, I was glad I'd seen it. It's been a while since I've seen a movie in the theatre. I think Superman was the last one.
Sunday morning I did a bit of tidying, then ran errands such as groceries in the early afternoon. Lisa and I had a great workout at the gym later that afternoon. I'm glad we're working out together - it keeps me going even when I'm not feeling motivated.
I got a phone call out of the blue from Jeff White, who I haven't seen in years. He was in town for work and called to see if I was interested in catching up over supper. We walked down to Mings, but they weren't open. Then we tried Taco Pica - also closed. And then we got chatting about Suwanna. He'd never been there, so we hopped in my car and headed over to the west side in the hopes that it was open. It was and man was I glad we went there! They are still my favrourite restaurant in the the city by far. We had an awesome meal and it was just great to catch up with him!
I spent some time working on some personal development stuff for work, then spent a bit of time doing some character homework for Noises Off, using some of the new information we'd gotten over the weekend. I wrote out what Belinda thinks of all the other characters for Act 1 and Act 2. It was a fun exercise.
Posted by Dre at 8:10 AM
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