Catch Up Later

I have days and days to catch up on...I have photos, a show, a trip...lots and lots of days that I have started little tidbits and haven't finished them.

Now that I am through the latest show (final performance of "Jersey Boys"), I feel like I have some freedom and some time.

Thank you for your patience this summer - it has been busy and crazy.

Most importantly, Patti Digh's husband, John, has been diagnosed with cancer.  He is uninsured. If you have wisdom or if you can help support their family, please go here.

Back to Rehearsal

I gave myself some time off from the show, but now I have to get to work. I have some tweaks and some dialogue I'm working through for the second performance.

Here's a clip of "Jersey Boys" when they were on the Tony Awards:

One Down

Well, the show went very well. There were a couple of rough patches and it was SUPER LOUD as we were placed directly in front of the giant speaker tower. There really isn't a better place to put us and that is normally where we stand. I just plug my ear when I have to turn my head to the stage for too long.

The audience was energetic and enthusiastic.  I hope everyone enjoyed the show.

I wasn't quite hydrated enough - I could tell by the end of the show that I was needing more water, but it wasn't too bad. I feel like I was really close to where I needed to be, so that was nice.  I did have a weird reaction this show - I started to lose my voice.. Weird, since I don't have to sing or talk at all.  By the time I got home, I was super hoarse and my throat felt like it was raw. I think that might be part of the lack of hydration - I drank about a gallon of water when I got done.

Oh. Also, I found out that I am extremely vitamin D deficient this week. I am taking supplements, but I wonder if that may have contributed to the weak/hoarse voice after the show.  I have been running around so I haven't really had a bunch of time to research it. I know being low is not good and also quite common in the Northwest. Gotta get outside more to help those supplements along.

Good Show

We saw the touring production of "Jersey Boys" tonight. The show is really quite good. The dialogue is fast and furious and full of NJ lingo and pop culture references that always make things interesting.  We have a lot to do by tomorrow, but I know it will be a good performance.

You know you are "mature" when you decide that sleep will benefit you more than cramming and pulling an all nighter...I'm going to bed...

Gearing Up

The show is on Thursday this week, but we don't get to see it until tomorrow night. Usually, we see it on Tuesday night and have another day to fix some issues, but when the shows are here for a long time, we sometimes don't have the opportunity as the opening night is changed.

It will be fine - just throws my schedule off a little bit. It's funny how we get into such habitual behavior - I have all my week before the show, week of show, day of preview, day before the show and day of show "traditions". I'm not superstitious about them - except for hydrating and eating the same kind of food at the same time of day on day of show. I finally found a good combo of carbs and protein that gets me through the show. I used to get really sick day of show and not eat, then I would run out of energy so this is a big improvement.

Wish us luck! I think it will be a fun show and a challenge. Then, we have a couple of weeks to rework some of it and do it all over again!

Day of Recuperation

I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the work I do - I love interpreting shows.  As I get older (or is it just having a FULL time job?), I find that I feel the constraints more when I am pulling double-duty.  It is more mentally tiring than it used to be - yesterday, it was very emotionally draining, as well.

Today, I felt the freedom of not having to do anything, not having to think about the show, not feeling guilty if I don't rehearse for another hour. My original plan was to read the third book in my trilogy, but I didn't. I slept A LOT. I watched "Transformers" - brain candy.  Played a couple of video games...I didn't even do any art. I didn't even THINK about doing any art.

Today was all about recuperation.

Connectedness and Emotion

My second interpreted performance of "Wicked" was today. I had friends in the audience and it was a matinee. I don't love matinee performances as it is not the time of day I feel most energized and alert, but I tried to set myself up for success. I had rehearsed the heck out of it since the last performance, knowing where my trouble spots were.  I decided to take as much of the positive energy from my tribe as I could and channel it into the performance.

I had a few rough spots and a couple of silly mistakes, but overall, I think it went very well. My hands were shaking before the show, which is unusual. I had eaten, so I'm pretty sure it was nerves and emotion.  This was cemented when I almost started crying like 3 times during the show. Luckily, the tears came at appropriate moments - during, "I'm Not That Girl", "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed".

I felt really connected to the character of Elphaba this time - in a way I haven't before. I was thinking about it on the way home today and I realized that she is like Mark in "RENT" - a little alone, an observer, somewhat misunderstood.  Their lives are not conventional in some ways and I sometimes feel that way - like my life's purpose is not on the traditional trajectory - marry, kids, happily ever after. I am a recorder, a watcher, I have other things I'm supposed to do.  I think I'm okay with that, but sometimes, it is just the realization that other people experience that, see that happen to people.  I don't know if that was all it was - it was good to have people from my tribe there - I felt like something was really complete in the day for me.

Anyway, it was a good day. I'm exhausted but happy.

Book 2 - I'm on a Roll

I completed the second book in "The Hunger Games" trilogy last night. I realized that I was thinking about it all day long and I knew that I was going to be distracted until I completed it. I read and read and finally finished it quite late, by the light of a Kindle-compatible book light. It was REALLY good. I'm chomping at the bit for the third one - it is my reward for getting through the show on Saturday, so I'm not even starting it yet. It awaits me when I'm done with my work.

Rewards are good.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read when I'm done with this...Maybe "Game of Thrones"? I heard that was good. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Baby Steps - One Down

I finished reading "The Hunger Games" today! Finally, I finished a book! I have been starting and stopping for so long now, I actually wondered if I would ever finish another book...Seriously. Now, I'm dying to read the rest of the trilogy, but I also have a show to rehearse.

So, in case you are wondering, I spend much of the day today going through "Wicked". I went through the whole show one time, page by page, song by song. I rehearsed all the "in unison" songs several times before I started the whole show run-through and then I did them again when I was done. I plan to do them at least 3-4 times in the morning and evening and I am working on a couple of my solo songs - just some tweaks to be sure the story is clearly conveyed. Yesterday, I did the whole CD and did the "in unison" songs 3 times each.

All in all, a fairly productive weekend, if I do say so myself.

Interview with Alan Champion and Candace Broecker-Penn

One Down

The performance of "Wicked" went pretty well last night. One of our translations was just way too complicated and we didn't pull it off, but the song that is almost all in-unison signing went very well, so I was happy.

We have a couple of weekends to refine and work and make the second performance spectacular. :)

I'm happily exhausted today. I am co-sponsoring a workshop tomorrow, so I have to stay upright until that is done.

My Mentors on the News

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the TDF/TAP's "Interpreting for the Theatre" Intensive in 1999 and again in 2005. The three interpreters in this news story are three of the instructors in the program. The male interpreter is Alan Champion who passed away nearly a year ago.



I thought it was fun to see a little clip of the type of thing I am doing tonight, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Hope you enjoy the clip. I'll be writing again when this performance is done. Just needed to focus on this show.

Wicked, Wicked, Wicked

And for a change of tone, "Seasons of Love" from "RENT" - a version I hadn't heard before. :)

Broadway Babes

I'm working on "Wicked" right now.  Love this show. :)

Busy Busy Bee

I have really hit the ground running this weekend. I have the show, I have some other work that I am struggling with, I have the show...Lots of running around, lots of work.  I'm a busy, busy bee this week.

I love "Wicked" though and I can't wait to interpret the show. :O)

Sometimes You Have to take a Hint

I stayed home sick from work today. I slept a lot this morning, then I did some work. Then I tried to do some more work and I was foiled by the technology - the thumbdrive I was given didn't have any audio on it. :(  So, then I tried working on my show, but my iPod battery was dead, so I had to recharge it.  I took it as a sign that I should chill and trust that I will get it all done.  I have been trying to burn a CD of the show from iTunes and for some reason, it won't play right in my car...this is the first time that has happened.

Sometimes I just need to take the hint. I finally did. It will all be there tomorrow.

What I'm Rehearsing Now...

Defying Gravity - performance from The 2004 Tony Awards show

Earning My Keep

The show went very well tonight, considering all factors.  I was not feeling emotionally there, so I really had to work for it.  We had a big audience for the interpreted performance of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" - several Deaf or Hard of Hearing audience members, lots of interpreting students and even a person who asked for me by name at intermission.

I know that it seems odd that I would say what I'm about to say given that I regularly interpret in front of 3,000 people, but it is true - I get REALLY nervous when there are people I know in the audience. It took me a little while to settle down tonight.

Another interesting idea is creeping into my consciousness and I am working to process it:  I have been feeling bored with my translations - feeling like they are stale. So I am working on upping my game - trying to think of some ways to make a change, spice things up.  At the same time, I realized that part of this, for lack of a better word, stagnation, is part of being familiar with a genre. There are very few surprises in musical theater for me - I consider myself fairly experienced in the genre.  What I mean to say is that while I have some insight into the build of a Broadway musical in terms of story, rising action, formula, denoument, etc., it doesn't mean that the audience is feeling the same sense of sameness. They have purchased a ticket and are there to enjoy the love story. Just because I want another way to talk about falling in love in American Sign Language doesn't mean that what I've come up with is boring. It might not be brilliant, but not every song in a show is brilliant, either. In translation, sometimes a song that is brilliant in the "hearing" world isn't as inspiring to a Deaf audience member, but another song/scene might be more so due to the visual nature of what is being presented.

Anyway, I'm all hopped up on adrenaline, so I will leave it at that. I felt like I worked hard to get myself to the right place, emotionally. It felt good to know that even if I wasn't feeling 100%, I could still get out there and do what I needed to do. Not brilliantly, but hopefully, the audience enjoyed the show.

Valentine's Day and the show

I'm not a big Valentine's Day celebrator - I never really enjoyed it, even when I was a kid. There was some inherent meanness in the Valentine's card packs - always one or two cards I didn't want to give because they seemed to imply something I didn't want to say and I was always afraid I would GET one of them.  I am also of an age that experienced both the Valentine's Day celebrations when you didn't HAVE to give everyone in class a card. As the kid who moved into town in December most of the time, I never knew how it would all play out. I think it actually went fine, but the fear of badness stayed with me.

Anyway, it isn't a holiday I relate to. This year, I didn't really have to.  At work, I sort of knew that someone would bring something to celebrate the day so I decided that I would save my contribution for a day when people least expect it - spread the wealth.  After work, I went to see "Beauty and the Beast".  Good voices, some low production quality, same story we've seen before.  I think the hardest part is that it is right before "Wicked", so I'm chomping at the bit to get on to the next show. I shouldn't do that - I should try to enjoy where I'm at instead of looking ahead.

Show Done, Moving On

Well, I'm a little sad that I am just checking "West Side Story" off my list of things to do, but I am.  I enjoyed the show and I feel like I did a good job.  At the same time, it felt like a dangling piece of 2011 since I started working on it last year. I have all these projects and things I want to be doing for the start of the New Year and I am going to be able to start doing some of them.

I feel really good about where things are and how I feel about this year. I don't have unrealistic expectations, just some good plans to do some things for myself - things I have needed/wanted to do for a long time.

Blogoversary coming up on January 7.  4 years. 16 year anniversary of Roby's death on January 8. Dec. 28 was 5 years since my Dad died.  Winter is a heavy time for me, sometimes.  This year, I feel like I'm connecting with some of this in a new way and I'm happy about that.

I was smart enough to take the day off tomorrow, so I roll into a weekend with a day to myself. Nice.