Last weekend for Bye Bye Birdie!

Since I last wrote, I was cast in Saratoga Drama Group's production of Bye Bye Birdie! This was a surprise, because I was asked at the audition if I could tap dance and do the splits - neither of which I can, but I was still cast as Gloria Rasputin, a woman who has a tap solo that ends in the "flying" splits! As the summer progressed, I worked with dancer friends & yoga teachers to start getting to the splits - finally accomplishing a "jazz split". Close enough, apparently - *phew*!

Rehearsals began, and I was originally under the impression that I would only be on stage for a few minutes for this "cameo" role of Gloria Rasputin. After a few rehearsals, the director asked me to start learning the "adult" music, so I could join the chorus of parents when I wasn't being Gloria. Sounds great!

Then one night, the director asked all of us "parents" to learn the teenager songs so we could beef up the volume by singing from the wings. No problem, I said.

A few more rehearsals, and the director asked Carla (another "parent") and myself to additionally be teenagers. Um - Okay!

So, now I am proudly the oldest teenager in the cast - and here I thought my days of playing a teenager were over!When I did finally get to my first rehearsal for the "Gloria" scene, I was surprised when the choreographer, Kayvon (who rocks, btw!) was not there. Once I inquired, I found out I would be choreographing my own tap dance. Apparently, it's very funny when someone doesn't know how to tap stomps furiously across the stage in leapord patterned "hot pants" and a jacket made of purple feathers. The choreographer's favorite part is the "cheetah butt section", which I've been told can never be removed from the dance.

SDG has been fun to work with and I'm so happy to finally be cast in one of their productions after many years of auditioning for them.

So, if you have time tonight, tomorrow or Saturday, come on down & see the show. I promise you'll have a great time! You'll recognize me in my hot pants.

Goodbye Gaslighter, you will be missed

A long standing Bay Area icon, the Gaslighter Theatre, has gone the way of the Dodo bird.  I spent more than five years at that theater: singing, dancing, fake tap dancing, overacting, sewing, painting, serving beer, spilling beer, ripping costumes, losing costumes, losing wigs, losing props, doing magic and banging on the tamborine.  The Gaslighter was in its last home on Campbell Avenue in downtown Campbell California for 37 years, and it passed quietly out of existence.  That is certainly the only thing that the Gaslighter ever did quietly!  This lovely little theater, that has housed melodrama, vaudeville, magic shows, rock bands, blues bands, political parties and educational speakers, filling a niche the Bay Area desperately needed.  Children and adults of all ages have been entertained in this little building for 37 years.

With the earlier loss of the Opry House in Almaden, and now Big Lil's on "hiatus", we melodramatic types have lost our last venue in the Bay Area. Gone are the days where you can boo the villian (dressed entirely in black, from the top of his hat to the tip of his pointy shoes) and cheer the hero (strong of arm, but a little dense in the head).  No more popcorn to eat or throw. No more audience numbers. No more lobby songs to thank the audience with on their way out.  No more Gaslighter Rag.

A Campbell city representative was overheard saying of the passing of
the Gaslighter, simply: "Businesses come and go."  This was not just a
business, it was a life for so many of us in times when we needed it
more than anything else in the world.

I will miss the 8-20 costume changes over an hour long Vaudeville review.  I will miss talking to my fellow cast members while sitting on those little wobbly, fishnet stocking eating stools putting on our makeup in that cramped and slightly musty dressing room.  I will miss emergency costume repairs.  I will miss performing in a show I've never seen before, and certainly never attended a rehearsal for.  I will miss doing audience interactive theater, where each audience makes the show an entirely different experience.  I will miss set pieces falling over. I will miss missing props and missing cues.  I will miss the blue eye shadow and all the glitter.  Most of all I will miss performing with some of the best actors to ever trod the boards in live theatre.  I will miss it all.  Goodbye Gaslighter.

ALA Breathe Easy Bike ride a success!!

After 100s of training miles, the American Lung Association's Breathe Easy 65-mile bike ride was a huge success! Team Salty Dawgs raised nearly $15,000 for lung disease research & prevention! (and with a few last second donations still coming in, I think we'll make $15,000 before the week is up). The ride was incredible - it was windy, but not too bad. It was so beautiful! I've finally mastered the art of drafting, so with my friend Richard's help, I was able to complete the ride without destroying my body this time. It took me 6 hours and 13 minutes this time, but the ride was actually 66-miles this year - so that's a slight time improvement over last year.

I hope to get pictures from my teammates soon & I'll let you know when they are up on bubb.org (my woefully out of date website).

We spent the weekend at the Larson Family Winery's Captain's Cabin - wow, what a treat! The home is beautifully decorated, and no modern convenience was overlooked. The wines, which we were able to taste across the path from the "cabin", were wonderful as well. I would have to say the Wingo White & the Pinot were my favorites. This is a family run winery, and it truly shows. We were all treated like family while we stayed, chatting with folks in the tasting room - even singing showtunes with Bob. The family dogs were ever present and incredibly friendly.

65-mile bike ride, here I come!

It's just days now until the American Lung Association's 2 Rock Breathe Easy 65-mile bike ride. I haven't been able to get in nearly as many or as long of training rides as I did last year, and fundraising has been a lot more challenging. Take yesterday, for example, I was planning a nice 45 mile ride in Hecker Pass wine country - but it poured rain most of the day! This isn't why I moved to California! Well, I guess we can't always have perfect weather :-)

Rode my bike into work today, for probably the last time before the big event on May 27. I hope to get one more mountain bike ride in tomorrow, then I'll be resting up. I'll have to have a word with my cat about letting me actually sleep through the night! (really, I *don't* need my armpit kneaded at 4AM!)

Wish me luck, and if you can, sponsor me!

All money raised is tax deductible & goes to fund research for lung cancer, emphysema and asthma - 3 lung diseases that very intimiately affect my family.

In addition to all this training, I managed to squeeze in an audition for Saratoga Drama Group's season auditions last night. I screwed up my song a bit, but turned it around at the end. When I finished singing, I was asked if I could tap dance. I replied, "No, but I can fake it - I smile so big you won't know what my feet are doing!" Well, I got a call back to the tap dance auditions. Ummmm... now, can I learn to tap dance in just a few hours? we'll see.... ;-)

Spring is finally here!

The rain has finally stopped here in the SF Bay Area, and I've been able to ride my bike in on a much more regular basis. Flowers are blooming along the bay shore trail like crazy - it's beautiful! Shoreline park is a bird sanctuary, so it's cool to see lots of different species hanging out in the very large park. Today, I saw some pheasants and tons of geese. The geese today were quite puffed up and were hissing as we approached, because they have lots of baby goslings! Last week I saw an egret that had caught a rodent, and a pair of burrow owls just hanging out. I knew the burrow owls the moment I saw them, after years of listening to the Dead Milkmen's "Stuart".

With the dry weather I was also finally able to get out on my mountain bike this week. WOW! Mountain biking is much harder than road biking. I went down to Los Gatos with a few other mountain bikers & road up St Joeseph's hill. It was so hard, with my heart rate constantly spiking into the high 180s, but I did it! Now I can't wait to get out on my mountain bike again - soon!

At this point, though, I just want to make sure I am in shape to do the American Lung Association's ride at the end of this month. I know I *can* do it, but I want to do it without hurting myself again!

Murder Myster Solved by locals!

I got to do something very cool for the first time this weekend - perform in a murder mystery!  I was hired by Mystery By Design to perform an exciting golf related murder mystery at the  Hollister Ridemark Country Club.  It was a blast!  I've done interactive theater before, but never anything quite like this.  The method to the acting is completely different than stage acting, so I was very fortunate to have some great coaches & fellow actors to help me transition from the stage to the floor.  The biggest difference from stage acting is  that you need to always try to keep two  tables distance between you & the other actors you're interacting with.  This was awkward rehearsals, but once you're there with an  audience it seemed the only natural way to include them in the fun.  The audience was incredible - hanging on nearly every word, interacting with all of the characters and  excited about figuring out.  The only, well, strange thing that happened was a  woman in the audience decided to reach up and tickle my arm pit while I was pointing at someone and delivering a line. It was a bit distracting!  The audience was wonderful and the  country club treated us really well.  I do hope I'll get another opportunity to work with this group, since it was such a thrill to perform again.

Dive Bar tour of Mountain View!

Last Saturday night, my friends and I embarked on a walking tour of the dive bars on El Camino in Mountain View. We started out at the 101 Club, only to find that this very classic Mountain View dive had closed its doors just a couple of months ago. Pity.

So we walked up to Ugly's. Ugly's had a surprisingly modern digital jukebox, playing jazz, rock, country - well, a bit of everything! The bartender was very friendly & quick, and the drinks were reasonably priced. They have lots of good beer, including Fat Tire, on tap. It was a small & cozy place, but we didn't stay long because there were more bars to explore!

Next we hit Ron's Farmhouse. True to its name, it had a country theme inside, though it was definitely not a country western club. It was Karaoke night at the Farmhouse, which will always bring out an ecclectic crowd. The rotations were short, the song selection was good and the singers were, well, Karaoke singers. I don't think any of us should be expecting recording contracts any time soon ;-). This was a large place, with snacks on the bar. The drinks were tasty and again reasonably priced, but no beer on tap.

We've previously toured the dive bars on Middlefield Road, but I feel there are many more we just need to walk in and see what's inside. My favorite is probably still Fred's Place. Big bar, imports on tap, friendly bartenders and a pool table. :)

Since then I've been trying to get caught up & trying to nurse my grandmother's cat, Queenie, back to health. Unfortunately, he had FIP which is untreatable and fatal. We lost Queenie Tuesday morning, just after finally receiving a diagnosis. He will be sorely missed.