Two - No. Three. Three Plays. One Week. The Future.

Somewhere, sometime, somehow in the last few years I must have said to myself:

"I want to act again."

Because I have noticed, when I say things like that, they eventually happen.

Tomorrow - Monday - and Tuesday, I rehearse See Me Naked. For the first time in three years.

On Wednesday, I rehearse Belle of Amherst. Thursday, I perform Belle, at the beautiful Womens' University Club in downtown Seattle.

Friday, I tech and dress See Me Naked, at the funky and awesome Open Space for Arts & Community on Vashon Island.

Then, on Saturday, I perform See Me Naked.

Oh - and I forgot something - tomorrow night I actually have a rehearsal for another play - B4, by Kathy Hsieh - for a reading that will go up November 7 and 8.

This is my week.

And sometime in between all of that, I'll write one or two grants and start the fundraising letter for one of my places.

So Kenny and Finn are leaving me alone right now, blessedly. I am hoping for 4 hours, but will likely get 2. See Me Naked is far from my memory, which is odd - for years, that show was one I could pick up in 15 minutes or less.

I'm scattered, internally. Abuzz.

I am acting again. Like, really. The Belle performance on Thursday will be number 36 or 37 or something like that - and may be my last full one. I have a gig to perform a short section of it at a fundraiser November 14, and who knows after that.

See Me Naked? Here's the thing - UMO has started working with a new booking agent. He books a very successful show all around North America - Defending the Caveman. The creator of that show retired to a ranch he bought in Montana. He doesn't have to work anymore. When I heard about that, I thought about See Me Naked, and I said, out loud, "I wanna be the lady caveman."

And Elizabeth said, "You have to do that show again." And I said, "Yeah."

And 10 minutes later I walked across the field to Open Space, and the wonderful director there Karen said,
"Hey - we want you to do See Me Naked here!"

10 minutes.

Life is... afoot, it seems.

I'll have made about 30% of my very tiny income this year from ACTING. On stage. In Seattle. That is mildly astonishing. I'd like to make 60% of a much healthier income next year from acting.

Next year, and beyond. I do. I want it. I wanna be the lady caveman. I wanna do See Me Naked enough more times to have some fun, earn lots of money, and then have other ladies take it over and perform it all over the world. I wanna sit and talk to Oprah at some point. I wanna retire to my own ranch somewhere and think about what kind of work I really want to do next, and not have to worry for a moment about scraping out a living.

Today. This Week. Next Year. The Future.


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Acting, Emily - it's all about the Hair

Finn: what's that mask?

Me: What mask?

Finn: that thing, on your head!

Me: the braid? Finn: yeah.

Me: that's a braid I wear, to make my hair look long.

Finn: and that makes you turn into Emily Dickinson!

Me: Yes. Yes it does.

And therein, friends, lies the secret of all acting. It's all about the hair. Trust me. It is.

thanks to Emily Kight for putting it on my head every night, and to Mohini (aka MangoPowerGirl) for making me look so lovely in these pics.


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Today. Just today.

I just read my friend Morgan's post on her wonderful Lucky Break Queue blog, and it was a wonderful way to start the day. She captures so lovingly the joy in life, and make me think about my goal for today.

Today, I hope to enjoy my life just as it is.

The "sin" that has troubled me much of my life is envy - wishing I had something I felt I lacked. Even now. I have such an amazing son. I adore him. He is the brightest light in the entire universe. And. Sometimes I wish I was still single and childless, and could in fact go to India (or Europe, again, or just Spain, or Greece, or...)

It doesn't really matter what I have or who I am - all my life, I've wished for something slightly different. For me, the journey seems to be about loving life right now, just as it is, and that includes loving the part of me that wishes for something else.

For a few brief, early years (like the ones 4 and 5) I wanted to be a veterinarian (not sure why, I wasn't in love with animals - I think it was just a cool thing to wanna be) and then Miss America. Then, at 8, I knew I wanted to be an actress. Actor. Whatever. That desire stayed constant, until maybe 5 years ago. My whole life.

And funnily enough, it allowed me to always dance with some other part of me. Most recently, Emily Dickinson - childless, single recluse. Lovely.

I was just thinking about acting this morning, and doing Belle of Amherst. It was so easy. Not to jinx it ('cause I think we're doing it again) - but I really didn't work very hard at all. Just memorizing the lines, really. Then I just got on stage and said them. So much easier than it used to be. So much less worry and ego and push.

Interesting, that.




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