Tonight was the first rehearsal for The Importance of Being Earnest, which I think I shall from now on call IBE because it is so aggravating to to continuously type the whole name but just calling it Earnest doesn't seem proper. And I apologize right now because I know my writing may occasionally be slightly formal since I seem to have british accents and sentence structure of the 1800s running through my brain *L0L*

I have to admit that I fussed for a good fifteen minutes or so about what I should wear, mostly because I was trying to find something that would go with the shoes I planned on. I have to say that my wedges are utterly adorable and I don't get to wear them often enough, but it was actually the three inches they give me that I was going for. I live in fear that the director will recast due to my lack of height! 

Not everyone could make the rehearsal tonight, but it was only a read-through anyways. We just sat at a table and went straight through the script without pausing, not a word was said about blocking, etc. It was an entirely last minute event since the schedule was completely put out of whack due to the call-back audition's postponement, but the director wanted to get at least three days in before everyone leaves for the summer. Only two cast members did not come, the woman playing Miss Prism and another who has a nonspeaking role. Kodie, the red-head, read Miss P's lines though she is actually my and Sonya's understudy. All I can say is that I hope neither Sunnie or I are absent on the same day or the poor girl will be having arguments with herself all alone on the stage  

I don't know why but it was so much harder not to laugh today than it was at the auditions. I just love this play, though, as it is so funny! We were told not to characterize or do accents, but the others did anyways more so than I. I quite honestly just wasn't feeling it tonight, mostly because my shoulders and neck are positively killing me I think. I don't know what is wrong, perhaps it is due to stress of trying to get that job? Or spending too much time at a desk when I haven't done so in months maybe? 

As for my cast mates, I think I shall adore them completely Of the older members, Bill is altogether too amusing, but the others don't seem to yet want to socialize with us young'uns. Of the less aged variety,  Tim seems like a good guy and I learned he went to Redeemer College. He said most girls go there to get a ring, and I told him my bff's little sister attended the school and is getting married this summer *L0L* Jon seems nice, but doesn't talk much. He has never done any theatre before, so I'll have to ask what made him start now -he left immediately after rehearsal so I didn't have time tonight. Mike seems really sweet, and he is a manager of some store at the mall. Apparently he practically lives there and had to come to the theatre straight after his shift tonight, and will be doing so most nights. 

Sonya didn't talk much either, having come in just before we started and leaving right after we finished. Her schedule is really busy though, and hardly has any spare time until September by the sounds of things. Kodie I adore already, and we seem to always be chatting away. She just graduated from the local college about a week ago and has a boyfriend of nine years! She mentioned it will be hard trying to practice lines with herself since she has to learn both Gwendolyn and Cecily, but I said I'd run lines with her whenever. Mike and I also plan to get together to rehearse whenever he finds some free time over the summer as we both don't intend to go away on holidays. Maybe we youngsters should try have get-togethers to run lines once a week...

During the read-through, when I said my line of "I am not little. In fact I believe I am more than usually tall for my age", Sonya made a comment about my lack of height. No one else said anything, but we were sitting so they probably didn't really notice just how short I am. I thinkthe audience will laugh at that line though! After the rehearsal I went up to Mike to see just how tall he was compared to me as I was curious. He said that there was some mention about how short I am and asked if I really was under five foot. So I took off my shoes -which had put me just below his shoulder- to show him that I was in truth at around his ribs. The guy is quite, quite tall! It makes me wonder just how the director will stage this, like will he have us often sitting or have me stand on the bench or something? 

SUMR

I just keep on getting more and more good luck right now!

First it was the auditions last night and being cast for Cecily. I got another call tonight telling me that if I go to tonight's annual meeting that I should ensure not to tell the others about casting as the director has not had the chance to talk to everyone yet. I asked out of curiosity who was cast as Gwendolyn, and found out that it was Sunnie. We are going to be the only girls our age, so I won't really be making any new gal pals, but hopefully this will allow her and I to become friends again cuz I miss hanging out with her. Hopefully the boys will be willing to chillax with us, cuz they seemed pretty kewl at the auditions. 

I got another phone call, but from a company I applied to back in April. They wanted to ask me to come in for an interview this afternoon. I was told it would be admin work and some proofreading, but found out that they also want someone who can do formatting, layout development, and editing. This is an entry level job, but they want someone with senior level skills  They asked me to come in starting tomorrow to do some computer testing to see if I am capable of what they want... fingers crossed I can do it!

After the interview I went downtown to meet my parents as mum was picking up dad from work even though it would have been closer to just walk home. I was about halfway there when Dad drove past me in the bus and picked me up to go to the terminal. Turns out he took an extra shift and wouldn't be finished for another couple hours, so mum and I went to the library and then decided to get loonie shakes from Reid's Dairy. While we were driving up North Front a bunch of guys in the vehicle next to us started smiling and waving, and one even gave me the hands-heart. It was so hard not to laugh, but I didn't want mum to notice what they were doing. Nevertheless, it was a great pick-me-up moment  

I also found out that my favourite guy, aka Brandi/SayntCinn's "stand-in husband", has moved from the county to just two blocks away from me! He's going to be my date to the wedding, so does that make him my "stand-in boyfriend"? Hmmm... Anyways, this is going to be fabulous because it will be so much easier for us to hang out. Pity B moved away from her previous residence that was only a block from me, and we would have all been together! 

I think the only thing that could make this day even better were if I won the lottery or a hot Irish guy knocked on my door right now *L0L*

SUMR

Tonight was the call back audition and I was so nervous! More so than the first time I think... 

I admit I arrived a bit early in hope to see the guy who played Gilbert in Anne of GG as it was set strike day for that cast and crew. He was in fact there, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him -namely because we were all told to go to the green room while the Anne of GGers were upstairs in the theatre, and thus were separated. We did pass on the stairs though and he said "hi" to me, which I obviously returned. He was holding an unlit cigarette in his hand, so I do believe he smokes  

Kody, the redhead girl, arrived not ten minutes after I did and the first thing she said was: "Oh good, you're here! I was hoping you would be." We ended up chatting together up until we were told to go downstairs. I learned that she also lives with her parents and just graduated last week from the local college, though she hopes to go to York U eventually for a third program. She apparently likes school as much as I do! 

I have to say my "casting" was not exactly the same as who the director gave a call back to. If you recall I suggested Lady B: Bill P or Mrs F.  Miss P: Nancy or Mrs F. Chasuble: Bill D (or Bill P if he's not Lady B). Bulter: Ian. Manservent: Steve. Jack: Tim. Algernon: Mike. Gwen: Heather, Shalyn, or Red. Cecily: Billie-Sue, Hannah, or myself. Though I think part of my miscasting is that I forgot to consider some of the other girls who preferred Gwen for Cecily! 

The people who were called back were Lady B: Bill P and Mrs F. Miss P: Penny and Mrs F. Chasuable & Servants: Bill D, Steve, and a new guy named Mike W (I also heard that another guy wasn't able to make it, so maybe Ian?). Jack: Tim. Algernon: Mike. Gwendolyn: Rachel, Sonya, Heather, and Alison. Cecily: Myself, Katie, and Kody (aka "Red"). Nancy was given the nonspeaking roll of a maid servant, and John the now non-long haired guy is a footman (he looks a heck of a lot better with his hair cut, btw )

I was called up first to play opposite Tim -who was filling in as Algernon because Mike was out of the province due to work or some such. I was so not ready to be the first to perform; talk about extreme nerves to the point where I wasn't even doing my pseudo-accent! I didn't think I did all that great a job but, while I did like bits of Katie's and Kody's performances, they didn't do any better I don't think. Next we did the tea party scene between Cecily and Gwen, and the nine of us girls did this round-robin thing that was quite amusing. When one Gwen was switched the Cecily stayed, then the Cecily was swapped as the Gwen stayed, and so forth. It wasn't totally well planned as I didn't get the chance to be up with Alison nor Heather... and I was hoping to play against Heather for once. I thought Kody did decently, though not so much Katie. And Heather was a great Gwendolyn, but it is hard to say for the others since for the most part the girls' backs were to us in the "audience". 

After this we Cecilys were asked to stand next to Tim who is apparently of similar height as Mike/Algernon. The other two girls took either side of him, so I cracked a joke saying that I will stand in front since it wasn't going to block any of them anyways. Needless to say that got a big laugh, and Sonya added to it by quoting a bit of the play "Yes, and that is someone who is apparently 'more than usually tall for her age'." I am a bit worried about that because the other two girls are at around Tim's shoulder level whereas I was significantly shorter... in heels. 

Next up were the Lady Bs with Jack, and I still say that Bill P is the most spectacular for the part. Then the Miss Ps with Chasuable and Jack, and I must say that Mrs F was the funniest. She overdid her performance the first time and the director asked her to pull it back a bit, but she was really good. Finally it was Jack and the Gwens; poor Tim was once again almost always up performing without any break at all *L0L* Heather kept messing up this time and Sonya got some laughs for her performance, so she is going to give Heather  a run for her money I think. 

After the auditions finished a few of us did chat a bit, such as I told Heather that I'm hoping she gets the role of Gwen as I thought she did wonderfully. She in turn told me she was only waiting for the other Cecily to leave before telling me that I simply had to get the role. Apparently I was the only one who made her want to put down her script to watch rather than following along the dialogue, and that I was much funnier than the other two. I have to say it really made me feel good -and hopeful!- to hear her say so. It didn't take everyone long to skadaddle, though, because it was obvious the director, producer, and stage manager wanted to discuss casting. Since the call backs were delayed an entire week past planned and there are first rehearsals scheduled starting Friday, we were told we would find out who was cast by tomorrow.

While I was waiting outside for Dad to come pick me up, John the footman stood with me for moment and said he thought I did well. When he left I noticed Sonya and Alison talking in the parking lot, so I went over to chat with them. Alison said they were just saying I was the one best suited for the role of Cecily and were hoping I would get it. I wasn't sure Sonya actually thought that or if Alison had said it and Sonya merely agreed out of politeness -this uncertainty is because of the whole us being friends until she dropped me thing- but Sonya did add on to what Alison said. 

I asked Sonya when she had moved back, and that got her started on a whole shpeal about her life to date. I have to say I was quite curious as to what she had been up to, but it did mean that Alison and I didn't get to say much at all to each other. It turns out Sunnie moved in with her parents two years ago after injuring her knee so badly it was requiring surgery. She is now working two or three days a week at the mall and is in a band (performing this coming thursday, cover 10$). She also has a serious boyfriend who is living with her and her parents. I am almost hoping she does get the part of Gwendolyn just so we could be friends again, though she doesn't really look like a Gwen to me. 

Dad came for me then and so I told him all about the audition while on the way back, and then again to mum once I arrived home. I was quite surprised when the phone started ringing while I was talking to her though it was after 10pm -most people know not to call us after 930pm because dad has to get to bed shortly thereafter due to his work schedule. I had a feeling it was going to be about the casting so I didn't want to answer it *L0L* By the time I got to the phone the answering machine clicked on and it was the producer leaving a message for me to call her back, so I grabbed up the phone. 

 I GOT THE PART OF CECILY!!!

I am pretty sure I squealed into the phone and shouted "Yay! Yes, yes I'll take it!" She told me that the first rehearsal was being rescheduled due to the two head ladies having company on Sunday -which is when the director was hoping for- so it might actually be on Monday evening. I didn't even think to ask who got the role of Gwendolyn, but she might not have told me anyways if the Gwen had not yet been called so perhaps that is a good thing. I guess I'll find out in a few days though! I wonder how Mike is going to take to someone so short playing opposite him... *L0L*

SUMR

I admit I have been fiddling around with my hair for years. It has been long, it has been short, it has been layered. It has had blunt bangs, side-swept bangs, no bangs at all (aka grown out). I have tried adding blond highlights, red highlights, and even blue streaks! I didn't want to dye all of my hair for fear it would make it all dry and frizzy... or rather more so. 

(blue streaks)

I don't think anyone actually thought the shade of my natural hair looked good on me as I got no compliments and many suggestions on what I should do with it. The reason for this was partially because my hair was this mousy non-colour that was halfway between blond and brunette. Literally. It is the shade between Golden Blond and Golden Brown according to L'Oreal, though after moving to different towns with alternate water treatments and dying it a couple of times I think it is continually darkening. The other reason was that I never really knew what I should do with it and it was almost always either up in a ponytail or pushed back in a headband. 

(natural)

I admit it is kind of fun trying out different things with my hair, but I still haven't found any hairstyle and colour I am completely satisfied with. It doesn't help that there are so many stereotypes and sayings about one's hair colour. I am sure I have heard them all by now: Blondes Have more Fun vs Dumb Blondes, Reheads Have No Soul, Brunettes are Boring vs Brunettes are Smart, and so on. It is absolutely insane and not one has any truth to it, people are unique after all. 

(blond highlights)

Never before last year had I ever dyed all of my hair until I finally decided to go auburn and absolutely loved it. My haircut was decent, about shoulder length with side-swept bangs, and the colour was stunning. I mean, the people I had been working with for a couple of months didn't even recognize me at first and everyone complimented on how much it suited me. It eventually faded into a lighter shade that still looked good and my hair grew out because I couldn't afford to see a hairdresser, so I dyed it again for the winter holiday. 

(first and second time with auburn)

Then, this year, I was asked to be the bridesmaid at my friends' wedding. Naturally I was ecstatic and have been hearing all about the plans and parties, helping host the wedding shower and so forth. One of the things that is worrying the bride are the wedding photos. She has been looking for a hairdresser and a make-up artist for the day of, but there was one itsy-bitsy problem...

My hair. We had discovered that while my hair looks tres awesome in person, in photographs you could really see how much my hair had grown out and faded. I mean, it looked absolutely wretched and simply would not do for the wedding. If I can grow out my bangs enough I will need to get them touched up since cutting them myself these past few months has not been the best idea, and the colour had to be corrected. 

("before" shots prior to dye session)

The thing is that these dresses are black with lime green accents. I know green generally looks good on redheads, but the bride and other bms thought not only would that be a bit christmas-ish, but red hair did not look at all appealing with this shade of green. As much as I loved being all Anne of Green Gables and whatnot, it wasn't going to work for the wedding. I couldn't do a dark colour, like black or brunette because my skin is far too pale for that. Plus two of the bridesmaids have dark hair and there is no way dyed locks would ever compare favourably. I had only one option left... 

(right after dying it blond)

BLOND. Well, sort of anyways. It seems that the Golden Blond box I chose to colour my hair with did not want to go over the old reddish tones quite so well and has become a rather more golden strawberry-blonde. I think it is kind of cute, so there you have it. I am now a blonde bombshell!

SUMR 

So I had that dream again last night. Well, not the same exact dream, but it had the same theme to it... Y'know the dream where I go to Ireland and fall in love? Last time it was a guy I met on the plane who was going home and he kept me calm on my first flight, this time I was already in Ireland doing touristy things by myself. 

In my dream I walked into a jewellery store wanting to buy a Claddagh ring and a celtic cross pendent. The owner of the shop was helping me look at items, but found out that I wanted to purchase the ring for myself and wouldn't let me (it's traditionally to be given as a gift). The man's grandson came in the store, and the grandfather asked him to help me find the necklace while he went to do something, but wasn't to let me get the ring I wanted. The grandson helped me choose a necklace and asked me out to dinner. I accepted. 

I met him at a restaurant, not wanting him to know where I was staying yet. We had a lovely meal, and he  surprised me by giving me the claddagh ring I had wanted as a gift.After we were finished eating I was going to call for a ride back to the place I was staying (which was a friend of Dawlz's when she lived there), but he offered to give me a ride home. I wasn't too sure I wanted to do that since he was a stranger, but I borrowed his cell phone to call the family and had them write down the number I was calling from and sent them a picture message of the guy. Turns out the family knew him and vouched for him, so we went for a drive before he dropped me off. 

My dream changed then and started taking on aspects of the book I was reading. The book had an infant who was abandoned on the midwife's front porch and they were looking for a family to take it in; my dream also had an abandoned baby make an appearance... Myself and the grandson were trying to find a home for the baby. He could see the future -when there was a choice to be made, he could follow the path to find out what the end result would be. So when a family offered to take the child in, he could see whether the baby would end up in a good situation or a bad one. The one family would lead to the baby having a horrible life, so we didn't give the baby to them. We were zooming down a mental forest path looking at the possible futures when I woke up. 

About once a year since I was a teenager I have dreamed I went to Ireland and fell in love. Maybe it is stupid of me, but I have long since felt that this is why I have never fallen in love before: because he's in Ireland waiting for me to find him. My mother thinks it is absolutely ridiculous, and I had only told her to begin with in order to get her off my back for not having a boyfriend/fiance. Now she tells other people about it and they all laugh and tease me about it. 

As soon as I get a job, I'm going to start saving up money to go to Ireland. I am actually thinking of doing a SWAP and staying there to work for a year. Remember how I was on a dating site for a couple months earlier in the year? Well, the best thing that came of it was this one guy telling me of this program which allows you to do the exchange provided you are under 30 or 35. I want to go next year, before I turn thirty, if I have the money and the courage. It isn't like there is anything holding me here right now... 

Speaking of my mother, she is on my case again about getting married and having kids. For a little while last year the focus was on my brother since he and his wife reached their 7-ish year anniversary which was when they were thinking of having kids. Then they went and told mum they decided a while back that they don't want children. I was happy that mum didn't immediately focus on me again, but it has again begun.

While she and I were out at the mall, we noticed this guy taking license plates off his truck. I went all conspiracy theory and suggested he was stealing a vehicle and was in the process switching the plates from another car. When we left the mall a little later, another car had pulled up beside the guy and started looking at the truck. One was a young guy, probably his first vehicle was about to be purchased, but the other was closer to my age. Neither were cute. 

Mum asked me if I wanted one of them because we could tie him up and stuff him in the trunk for me. Had this been anyone but my mother, I would have thought it hilarious. If she hadn't started in on me about wanting grandkids earlier this week, I might have thought it funny anyways. I am beginning to wish my brother and his wife have an "oopsy" and end up preggers so mum will leave me alone! 

We left the mall and stopped to pick up mum's pay cheque, which wasn't ready when she left work this afternoon. While waiting at a set of lights we saw a group of girls crossing  from their car to a restaurant who looked to be in their early to mid twenties. They all wore platform heels in nude or black, blouses, and mini skirts or dress shorts. I loved the shoes, but thought they were trying a bit too hard to look grown-up and sexy as their clothes were just a little too short and a little too tight. My mother immediately started squawking about them being whores. Like OME, mum!

With the exception of their hemline, their clothes were actually rather conservative and would likely be accepted for employees at an office somewhere. Their sleeves covered their shoulder at a minimum, no midriff was showing, just a lot of leg as the friggen girls were probably a good foot and a half taller than I am.  They looked like up-and-coming office administrators or something, not prostitutes. I actually wanted to know where they shopped so I could hopefully find clothes that fit me while allowed me to look closer to my age rather than a high schooler. 

My life is ridiculously lamentable. 

SUMR

I GOT A CALL BACK FOR CECILY!!! 

*happy dance* 

I am wilde-ly earnest about wanting this part

SUMR

As I mentioned planning on doing, I went to the second audition for The Importance of Being Earnest at the nearby theatre. There were a good twenty people this time (last time there was only a dozen), which meant I didn't get the chance to do a second audition. I was kind of hoping to since it is mad fun and helps with my stage fright  Nevertheless, I still enjoyed watching everyone else perform and actually took notes on the auditions. The producer, Debra, noticed what I was doing and I told her I was trying to figure out who I would cast and see how it compares to who actually is. 

There were six older ladies trying out for Lady B and Miss Prism, half of them I was familiar with from doing South Pacific (all were backstage help) and one just because she's a local high school drama teacher, Mrs F. The other two I didn't know, nor did I think they did a very good job performing these roles. Now Mrs F did an awesome job and would be a contender for both parts, but I thought she did Lady Bracknell best. This one lady, Pat, is actually from the UK and did fabulously for both Lady B and Miss P, so she is also a contender. The other person I thought would make a good Miss P was also from South Pacific, Nancy.

Three older men were also attending: Bill D from South Pacific, the drama teacher's husband Mr F, and Ian who had a daughter also auditioning. I think they all did a decent Chasuble, but I do have my favourite. There were two young men, but one had stated wanting only a non-speaking part. He did read, but he tended to mumble and didn't move at all. He sat through every scene even when he was supposed to be standing! The other young man was not at all bad looking, kind of western-wrangler, and a fantabulous actor by the name of Mike.

Now, for Gwen there was one girl who really stood out for me, Heather. I thought she made an excellent Miss Fairfax even if she did walk through the imaginary table. Her expressions were good, movements were there, her tone wasn't too high or low, and her performance had levels. There was another girl, Brittany, whom I thought would have made a pretty good Gwen, but she didn't even try out for that part! 

Cecily is still a problem, at least for me. As I mentioned, Brittany is a good actress but she is brunette. I would much rather see Gwen and Cecily have different colour hair to help differentiate them, and most of the wannabe Gwens had dark hair. There was another girl, Bobbie-Sue, who was blond and used good tone, but she had bad posture and was texting while others were performing. I think she was adorable and had potential despite her occasionally halting performance. The daughter of Ian, Hannah, had the right look, but she only had one level of being incredibly happy all the time that got annoying. There was no depth to her performance, but it is possible she could do better with direction.

After the auditions were over, I went to the director and told him if he didn't cast me that I would love to have one of the nonspeaking roles he was considering adding. He told us that he is planning on a couple extra servants to help during tea times and also to assist in changing the sets. When I told him this, he said I did a "very sweet Cecily" the other day. I hope this means I shall get a call back, but to me me it also means that my Gwendolyn must not have been up to par *L0L*

The stage manager and producer started stacking chairs, so I asked if they would like me to help clean up. I thought it only polite and also gave me a chance to chat a bit with them. I mentioned it was quite obvious who were going to be cast as Jack and Algie, and asked if the director already had a preference. He said he wants to see them read together and read with the various Gwen/Cecilys before even considering who to cast as which. 

So after two days of auditions, here is who I think might get call backs: Tim (whatshisname) and Mike. Shalyn, Red, and Heather. Brittany, Olivia, Hannah, Billie-Sue. Nancy and Pat. Moira and Bill P. Bill D, Ian, and Mr F. 

If I were the director, the following is how I would cast from the auditions I saw... Lady B: Bill P or Mrs F.  Miss P: Nancy or Mrs F. Chasuble: Bill D (or Bill P if he's not Lady B). Bulter: Ian. Manservent: Steve. Jack: Tim. Algernon: Mike. Gwen: Heather. Cecily: Billie-Sue or Hannah. BUT if I were Cecily I would want to play opposite either Shalyn, Britany, or Red. 

Here is hoping I get a call back!

SUMR

Where is Court when you need him? *L0L* I have two different kinds of daisies, apparently one is an Alaska Shasta and the other is a Becky, but I haven't the foggiest idea which is which. My mum is going berserkers over trying to match the name to the plant, though I can't see what it matters. Personally, I was a bit more upset that my mum managed to kill my wild daisy patch by replanting it all over the garden. She just kept moving it and moving it, until the poor things never came back. My daisies don't have any flowers yet and both plants are about the same height, but if anyone knows the difference do please tell me! 

And to continue on with the backyard plants theme, here are more pictures for your enjoyment. These are just things out and about my parents' property and by the road. I don't know what half the things are, so go ahead and say if you do know! 

  poppies

  vanhoutte? and dandelion

  dandelion fluff

  something and forget-me-not

  bee in the bush

  sedum and rose of sharon

  red current

  whatever it is, its with my daisies

    wild mushrooms 

SUMR 

Today, or technically it was yesterday since it is after midnight and all, was the audition for the local theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I not only love this play, but a couple of his other works -such as An Ideal Husband from which I did a monologue for drama class in university. The performances are not until October, but the director wants to get the casting and some of the blocking worked out before summer, and then rehearsals start in earnest in late august. 

For any of you who don't know, this is an incredibly witty play with a rather small cast. If you have not read it or seen it, I highly recommend that you do so. The movie -from which I have borrowed pictures- is good but somewhat different, so don't think that is good enough. You can do an online search to get a copy as it is in the public domain now. Basically, it is a comedy of errors, as there are two young men around 30 in age named Jack and Algernon who both end up being called Ernest at different times by different people. There are two young ladies, Cecily who is eighteen and Gwendolyn who is slightly older, who are engaged to the different Ernests though believe it to be the same person. Lady Bracknell is Gwen's mother who is very scary, and Miss Prism is Cecily's governess who is essentially a twit. There are also two to three older men, Reverend Chasuble (who has an infatuation for Miss Prism) and two menservants, one each for Jack and Algernon (though the role might be doubled up). The director is contemplating having some nonspeaking roles as well, but who knows where he would fit those in! I hope he does have them as there are so many people wanting to take part, and it is such a fantastic play. 

Three people were auditioning for Lady B, and I say people because one of them was male! I think the man did the best job, Bill P was incredibly funny, though I never thought that a guy would go for the role until I saw him do it. He got quite a few laughs, but that may have just been due to the fact that he is a man, which in itself is part of the humour of his audition. Of the two ladies I felt the taller one did a better job, and she was also auditioning for Miss Prism. The shorter one had an excellent accent, but over-acted I thought. Instead of having various levels to Lady B, she was always really "up" and so her performance was monotonous. It would have been so much better to have allowed her Lady B to have some quieter and less in-your-face moments. The director had the five taller of the eight girls stand next to the three Lady Bs to see how they look together physically -I am assuming that they want Lady B to be taller than Gwen as they are playing mother and daughter. Bill P was the tallest and would allow for any of the girls to be Gwen, but should the director go with one of the females it means that only the shortest of us (of which there are only three or four) will be considered for the role of Gwen. Bill P also did a good job at Chasuble and the butlers, so I hope he will also consider being one of those positions should not enough men audition tomorrow or if he is not cast as Lady B for other reasons.  

Only one young man appeared at the audition -sadly no sighting of Gilbert from Anne of GG- and I think his name may have been Tim? As he was the only male in the right age bracket, he was the only person to be both Jack and Algernon against us Gwendolyns and Cecilys. Needless to say he got to try many various ways of doing the same scenes and learned from what got the best reactions and what felt right for the character. He wasn't a particularly good-looking guy, but the longer he performed the more interesting he was to look at -namely because his acting improved with every attempt. I think he did a much better job at being Jack, but that may be partially due to the fact I don't particularly want him to play Algie to (hopefully) my Cecily. Admittedly, I was rather impressed by this guy's skill at memorization for, by the end of the night, he practically had the four scenes memorized! I do hope many more guys audition tomorrow, though I know it is harder to find males in this age group who are interested in theatre... at least in this town. 

There were eight girls (including myself) auditioning for the two parts of Gwen and Cecily, and this was only the first audition! There is another one tomorrow night -erm, tonight- in which there may be even more people. A girl I went to high school with, Rachel, was auditioning for the parts and I think she was equally interested in both. I thought her to have potential back in high school and quite good in Anne of GG, so was prepared to be fully impressed... yet wasn't. I don't know why, but she did this horrid high-pitched accent when she would have been much better to use her own voice, or at least her normal tone with an accent. I wonder if the only way for her to manage an accent is in that wretched tone? I think she is a great actress and person, but I wouldn't really want to sit through a couple hours of her speaking as she was tonight. 

Another girl from that same school, the one who used to be a best friend of mine until she arbitrarily decided to no longer be friends at all, was also at the audition. By the looks of things she wasn't going to acknowledge me until I said hi to her, and then nothing more was said between us for the next couple hours. She did leave early, so perhaps she may have actually spoken to me had she been there until the end. It would be nice if we could at least be on acquaintance-terms seeing as it seems we are now in the same city again and have some mutual friends. Nevertheless, I do not think she would make a good Cecily, though was acceptable as Gwen. I thought she spoke much too fast and her accent was slightly odd, but her acting has improved since high school. Thankfully this isn't a musical or her being cast would be definite instead of just one of the many possibilities for singing is her strong suite. She is also the tallest of all of us, so that may affect the casting... 

There was a redhead who was rather good -more on her in a moment- and a girl names Shalyn whom I was sitting next to. I think either of them would make a decent Gwendolyn, though there may be someone better I have not yet seen (tomorrow/tonight's audition, remember). There was another girl, the daughter of the man auditioning for Lady B, whom I didn't think did well at all. I have never seen her in anything else, so perhaps she does better with preparation, but she seemed quite bland. There was nothing about her that stood out, nothing in her manner or speech that made us laugh or take notice of her. Only slightly better than she was a girl who is also in Anne of GG, though I did not recognize her at first from my seeing the musical. The other girl whom I know only wanted to be Cecily is named Olivia, and she seemed quite young -I presume she is just out of high school if that. After the try outs she said that she has a british friend whom was rehearsing with her so that she might practice to get it authentic; I didn't really like her performance as much either, though her accent was fantastic. 

I think I did a rather decent job of portraying Cecily, but I cannot say if I was the best or most liked. It may be only vanity and hope talking, but I do think I was one of the better ones. Then again, that is only my opinion and not that of the three head honchos. The first scene I did was with the redhead where Cecily and Gwen meet, and we got a few laughs from the "audience". The director said that he was stopping us before a fight broke out and that we obviously got the underlying meaning behind the polite words. Since we did so well together, that is why I think the redhead would make a good Gwen. I know I watched her do another scene with someone else, but I quite honestly can't recall it; I only have the overall impression she did a good job. I cannot remember her exact words, but Shalyn told me after that she was impressed by my ability to portray being angry while still managing to maintain a "proper" demeanor. I guess reading so many regency novels and watching period films has rubbed off on me *L0L* 

I did the rest of that same scene with another girl, the other one in Anne of GG, when Gwen and Cecily argue over tea. It didn't go quite as well as it had with Red but, as I said, she wasn't the most fantastic actress of the group. The last scene I did was with Tim (is that his name?) where Jack proposes to Gwen. I had told the director I'd take either part, though I did have the preference for Cecily, and thus he allowed me to do this scene. I think it went decently, getting a couple giggles, though he and I had our good and bad moments. I had difficulty keeping my accent with the long monologues Gwen gives, and also accidently whacked Tim's script nearly out of his hand! BUT I was also the first girl to sit during the scene and that allowed Tim to get down on his knee as he proposes -which is called for in the script. 

Sadly I didn't get to do the two scenes I really wanted to do, thinking them to be the easiest (for me) and also the funniest. The one is the first scene of act two between Miss Prism and Cecily, where Cecily dislikes her German lessons and learns of Miss Prism's dream of becoming a writer. The other is the first meeting between Algernon and Cecily, where Algie is pretending to be Ernest and Cecily admits to having an imaginary engagement to him. I think I could have shown myself quite well in those scenes, but I fully intend to attend the second audition so perhaps I'll get to do them yet! The idea of having such a large role with so many lines to memorize is quite frightening I admit, but doing such a role would be such great fun that I simply can't pass up the possibility of getting it for mere fear. I would have three months to memorize the script after all, and surely that is enough time.

So, after tonight my personal casting is as follows - Lady B: Bill P. Miss Prism: the taller lady or someone tomorrow. Jack: Tim whatever his name is. Algernon: tomorrow's audition. Gwendolyn: Shalyn. Cecily: me. Chasuble: someone tomorrow. The Butlers: also tomorrow. 

SUMR

You may have noticed I did not mention work at all in yesterday's post. I did so because I knew it would be long enough to be a post of it's own and the post I had already written about the month of May was more than long enough to start losing your attention  

The publishing company assigned me two manuscripts at the same time, we'll call them EB4 and EB5. Both were relatively short and thus should have been just as easy, if not more so, to edit than one longer manuscript. The catch being was I had to attempt to keep track of two due dates and my memory is not always what it should be. I could have sworn that both manuscripts were not coming out until the mid- to end- of June which would mean I didn't have to get the ms edited until the first of the month. 

You may recall my possibly mentioning that there was a snafu in the previous manuscripts, EB3, due date as well. I can't recall if I wrote about it here or maybe just mentioned it on facebook or just whined to a friend about it. Anyways, on that manuscript, whomever was filling out Delphi (which is the behind the scenes website for authors and editors to check their assignments and share documents and such) put one due date for me, and another for the author. So when the author emailed me freaking out about the looming deadline, I was wondering what was the deal considering we still had three weeks. Yeah, turns out someone typed mine in way, way wrong and we only had one week. 

So one of two things happened that caused me to be confused about EB4's due date. Either I just wasn't paying close enough attention to the dates OR someone messed up typing in my date and later corrected it without notifying me. To this day I am still not sure what the release date is for that manuscript. It is either the first of June -which is also the due date for EB5- or the fifteenth, which makes about as much sense because the due dates are to be four weeks before the pub date, and neither of those dates fit. 

It also didn't help that my boss had canceled two work meetings in a row prior to that wonky due date. During those meetings I go over my assignment information, though I should check it far more often I suppose. Last month we actually only had ONE work meeting, which would have been awesome had I known they were going to be canceled with more than an hour's notice. I turned down plans twice because of said supposed meetings. Anyways, I found out that I was LATE with EB4 during our single meeting of May and freaked out. I asked boss-man for an extension and managed to not only finish the second round of content edits, but did a third as well. How awesome am I? Though the cooperation of the author was very crucial. She is my fave of all the authors I have thus far worked with, as I had worked with her before and will be doing a third manuscript with her soon. 

I managed to get the EB5 in on time which is actually a two-in-one book. It was all right when I read it, but very "tell" instead of "show" and so I asked for some changes -one being to entirely change the point-of-view perspective. Instead of doing what I asked the author did something else with it, and made it even worse in tone. I had the author change it yet again and, due to that little horrible side-route, the author actually got to know the main character better and the story ended up being really good. The stories are only ten pages each, so it only took about a week per rewrite thankfully. We managed to get it to my boss for formatting one day before it was due in line edits

Yesterday we surprisingly got mail -seriously, mail on a weekend?- and I actually got a little something from work. You guessed it, my very first pay cheque from the publisher! Sadly, only three books of EB1 sold in the first three months it was out which is the same amount of books sold in one month for EB2. I know for a fact that one of those EB1 was sold to my dad's friend, and another was Caroline1983! I only get 10% of royalties with direct sales from Musa's website and about 7% from third-parties which means my cheque was a grand total of $1.83, but I also got a signing bonus or quarterly bonus or something that was $25. The cheque may be small, but at least mum has to now stop saying that I am not getting paid for my work *L0L* 

I did get good news in regards to my payment though! I don't have to worry about getting the two government tax forms dealt with before getting my cheques, though I will have to do it soon. I just wish I didn't keep getting the run around from those eejits! One said the company had to deal with it -wrong!- another said not to worry about it until next year -also wrong!- another said I had to contact the freaking american IRS and gave me the number which had been freaking well disconnected -big time wrong!- and a third said i had to use an agency which, by the way, will cost me about $200 for them to do -I don't think so!- so I will be going to the local governementy people to talk to them about it in freaking-well person since contacting the tax people via phone got me all the aforementioned help. Oh, I actually found more assistance on people's blogs about how to fill out the form than I did by anyone who is actually supposed to deal with it. 

If you haven't checked out the books I have been working on, even if you don't plan to buy any of them, you can do so here: http://jkbooklover.wordpress.com

SUMR