Day three...

...of our two week tech process. It's wild to come into work, get to the theatre and see 15 Dalmatians running around on the set, doing tricks and pushing lawnmowers and turning levers and what not. It's amazing. I love my job. The only thing is, I'm a HUGE animal lover. I want nothing more than to run up onto the set and play with them. But these dogs are all business. Like I said on Facebook, I'm worried that they have a better resume than I do. They're all about the biz and when it's time to work, they woooorrrkkkk. Not to worry though, once they have some "Down time," I'll be all over that. Though, there are certain sounds and stuff that you can't make because they are cues for their tricks. So knowing me, I'll go up to them, make some rogue noise, and the dog will suddenly grab a lawnmower and go at it.

The set looks wild as well - everything is super bright and slightly warped...there's a set piece I call "The slanty shanty," cause it's twisted and warped. It feels a bit Tim Burton-y to me. Bear in mind, this is a story told from the dog's perspective, so everthing looks like it would from their eyes. And since we're on stilts, things are built according to that scale. So there are massive chairs and love seats and tables. And they're eerily comfortable. Ikea should take note, as the average height of this country seems to be getting taller and taller. Did you guys see the world's tallest man on the news, by the way? He reminded me of "Big Fish." I gotsta rent that again. I dug that movie. It definitely didn't hurt that my boyfriend Ewan McGregor was in it.... what? He knows he's my boyfriend.

Ok all, more news lata. I got to hop in the shower and pry myself out of the uber comfy hotel bed. It's one of those "dream" beds. deeeellliiicious. Talk at ya soon.

Oops

Ok, so I hit the wrong blogger account and my latest blog on the dog show is at www.erinmaguire.com

Check it out over there. Pay no attention to the first pic you see. I don't have that hair anymore... or that jacket... what was I thinkin? Anyhoo, read it over there and I will update later. I'm mid first tech day!
E

A week to go!

We are a week away from leaving NY for the road!!! Can you believe it?! Man alive, I can't. I'm still in denial about packing. It's never an easy thing for me. And I am, most definitely, a tragic over packer. Mostly, I have no idea, after years of travel and gypsy livin', how to appropriately pack toiletries. I start out so good, so organized... and then something horrible happens somewhere along the way (read: I get lazy) and everything ends up in a gallon size Ziploc bag. So if you have any suggestions as to where to get a good toiletry bag, where I can just shove everything in and leave it there, drop me a line.

Alright, this is a short and sweet one, as it's time to take advantage of my day off. Hugs and sloppy kisses.

Hola Act Two!

For the record, I saw the word "hola" today and read it as "holla." I need to lay off all things pop culture...no? But I can't help it. I'm ashamed to admit that I watch "The Hills." Anyhoo, the reality hit me today that we are leaving ONE WEEK from tomorrow!!! Wha wha whaaaa?!? Methinks it's time to start thinking of packing. Man alive. So many shoes, so little trunk space. We're all but done staging the show, which means we're now going back and taking a look at some stuff and shifting some things, etc and so on.

I forgot to write a great Jerry Zaks quote from last week. I've been meaning to blog it down and I just keep forgetting. He used the term "terminally creative," and I LOVED it. That's how I want to be known. When I leave this wacky world, I want my headstone to read, "Here lies Erin. She may have had low blood pressure, but she was terminally creative." Works, don't it? Lots of people have been writing down these nuggets of genius, but this one stuck with me....it has that awesome implication of urgency, that your creativity goes on and on because you have no choice. It's in your blood. That's my deep thought for the day. Mind you, I'm writing this deep thought while watching "The Bird Cage" and eating cold cuts. Ahhh the simple joys.

Ok, I really need to start thinking about what in God's name I'm gonna pack and start flipping out about all the hair cutting and doctor's appointments I won't be making before I leave town. Things might be nutty next week, so don't be hurt if my blogs are fewer and further between. I still love you. Don't worry.

Didja miss me?!

I've no doubt you did. Okay, so I know I've been mildly neglectful of my blog baby, but with good reason. Things have been insanely nuttily (ewww) busy lately. I was playing the role of the maid of honor and showering a bride, not to mention playing the role of good girlfriend and paying attention to my boy. Can't have the loved ones feeling no love, ya know? Anyhoo, back to the blog.

Things are chugging along over at the dog house. We are wrapping up staging act two, which is just wild to me. Like I've said before, I've never been part of creating a show from absolute scratch like this before. So as was the case with act one, I'm shocked that we suddenly have a run of act two tomorrow. When did we do it? Man alive, I hope I remember. Well clearly, I've been working, because I was so pooped the other day, I fell asleep on the PT table.

I went in to get a little hip work done. I was laying on my stomach. Our PT gal put a couple ice packs on my lower back and the next thing you, I was out cold. Literally. This is one of the perks of having dangerously low blood pressure. My heart may only beat once every five minutes, but damned if I can't sleep like a champ.

Also, I have found a new ennui for EVERY restaurant in midtown. NYC is one of THE food capitols of the world. Yet, how do I feel like I have been to every restaurant in midtown at least twice this week? And I'm somehow tired of alllll of them?!? Apparently, 40 restaurants in a two block radius isn't enough for me. I tell you what, I'm gonna be missing all these options when I'm in BumbleCrud, Iowa and my only choice is a Ruby Tuesday's next to a Holiday Inn.... I kid.... we're not going to BumbleCrud....we're saving that for the non union tour. Teehee.

And on a final note, I had an out of body musical theatre experience yesterday. Addams Family is rehearsing upstairs from us. I was getting onto the elevator with our director, Jerry Zaks, to go downstairs. The doors open, and Nathan Lane was in there. Jerry was pow wowwing with him in the elevator down. I was just watching these two huge theatrical icons, chit chatting on the 'vator. Anyone who's into musical theatre knows that it's just cooool to be privvy to these peeps hanging in an elevator chatting about their respective shows.

Ok, I've blah blah blogged for far too long. I have to go watch Tyra teach girls how to smile with their eyes.

Busy bee

Hey all -

Please don't think that I'm a deadbeat dad to my very own blog. I don't mean to neglect. Things have been nutty busy, since, in addition to putting up a new show, I was also playing the role of Maid of Honor this weekend. I had bridal shower duties. And right now, I am brutally tired. So I will give a better update when I have a little more brain power. In the meantime, found this little nugget on Talkin Bway -

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1771944

An honorable mention! You people are reading! Now look to the left of your computer screen and sign up to become a "follower." I promise I won't make you drink the Kool Aid. Ok, I'll talk at ya tomorrow, when I can see straight.

You better BeBelieve it!

I had my first Bebe Neuwirth sighting today in the green room of our rehearsal space. I knew it was only a matter of time. She was trying to get a soda out of the vending machine, which was broken. I did the same thing yesterday. A woman after my own heart. Everyone needs Diet Coke after 12. We're chuggin right along with Act Two. People Magazine was there today, taking pics and doing interviews!!! How cool is that? Very, I say. And with every passing day, I discover my Collie a little bit more. That may be cryptic to some, but all who are involved will understand... it's very tricky when developing your own dialect...Irish pirate.

Alright, back to chaos of life outside of New 42.

An afternoon off!

It's a rare happening, but I had the entire afternoon off. Done at noon. Whhhhaaa? It must be a sign of the apocalypse... that, and the fact that the marquee at B.B. King's says that Sanjaya is playing there. Tragic. I fully expect to see the four horsemen buying a ticket to that one. Since I was only there for the morning, not too too much to report, except the fact that we had multiple cameras there, filming B roll, taking pics of the rehearsal process, documenting the experience and what not.

Oh and I almost knocked Joan Marcus out. For those of you in the business, you know her name. For those of you not in the biz, you should know that she is THE primary photographer of all things theatre. She was moving around, taking candids and stuff. I was rehearsing a hip hop move with Garett and she walked clear in my hip hop exit path. So what have we learned from this experience? Never make me do hip hop.... and if you do, keep all important theatrical peoples far, far away from me.

Ok, I'm taking advantage of my hours off (aka napping)

Ahhh, the difference a day can make.

Or two. We had TWO days off. I, however, did more labor than resting. And so did a handful of cast mates. That sounds so... "pirate." I wonder if pirate will be the next trend in television, like vampire being so trendy now. Really, if I see one more ad for a vampire based series, I'm gonna hurl. I was really confused when AM NY did a whole newspaper insert of all the places vampires like to hang out in the city. It was all an effort to promote True Blood, though I thought it was for real. My favorite part was when they did "man on the street" interviews and gave people's ages... Jane, 126 years old, from Williamsburg likes blah blah blah. For serious. I was sucked in hook, line, and sinker... but I digress, as usual.

We are in our new rehearsal digs, which are FAB! Thank the maker for one whole wall of windows that looks out over Madame Tussaud's museum. Not only is natural light a refreshing break from the buzzing flourescents of Ripley, but the view of the people going into Dave and Buster's is worth the price of admission. We have huge high ceilings, twice the width, and The Addams Family is rehearsing two floors above us. Fingers crossed I run into Bebe Neuwirth.

We're moving onto Act two and chugging right along. We also had stilt camp again this morning, which is so needed, as I wanted to brush up on basics. You start to get comfortable and you forget about some basic safety bits and pieces. I tell you what, my abs feeeeeelll ittt!

Alright, I'm pooped, as I labored on Labor Day. Time to have leftovers and kick it old school, by watching "Parenthood." Ahhh Diane Weist, is there nothing you can't do?

No Laboring...

...on Labor day. And that means no labradors too. Yuk yuk. I sit here on one of my two days off (huzzah!), unwinding after a long and productive week, eating Sabra hummus and watching "The Eye" with Jessica Alba. Loving the hummus... underwhelmed by "The Eye." I live for horror movies. Moreover, I live for crap horror movies. This is somewhere in between - that gray area that is neither terrifying nor campy.

So back to the dogs... end of week three, we had a run thru of act one! I didn't realize how much I knew until we did it. Even though we're still in our pupa stage, I think it's pretty dang fantastic. It's so great to see all the stuff we haven't seen in rehearsal because we were elsewhere, stilting or singing or what not. We have an obscenely talented bunch. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks will bring. And I definitely can't wait to move into the new rehearsal space. We'll finally be able to step back a bit and get a better view. It felt like the last day of school on Saturday. You could tell that, A, we were ready for the holiday weekend and, B, we were ready to move to a place where we wouldn't be on top of each other, especially since now we were all in the same place at the same time.

But what am I doing talking about work on my two day vaca?! Back to "The Eye".... nothing makes me laugh harder than Jessica Alba pretending to be a blind concert violinist. I hope you find something that makes you laugh equally as hard on this fine holiday weekend!

Holla Act One!

End of week three approaches tomorrow and we have a work thru of act one to do tomorrow! Can ya believe it? I know you can't. Neither can I. I can't wait to see where we're at, since we're at the midway point of rehearsals here in NY. That means we have three more weeks before we hit the road. It also means we leave the confines of Ripley Grier and move over to the roomy, bright rehearsal rooms of New 42. Sooo happy for that. We're outgrowing our current surroundings. There's too many bodies for l'il old studio 16L. I don't know why, but it reminds me of the line from Muppets Take Manhattan, when Kermit says, "We need more dogs and chickens and things." Random reference, but we should all be reminded from time to time of the cinematic genius that was Muppets Take Manhattan... and all Muppet movies, for that matter.

So in homage to moving to our new digs, I am making a list of things I will miss and things I won't miss about Ripley Grier.... ahem....

Things I won't miss
*The slower than molasses going uphill in winter elevators. While I enjoy the fun facts and news tidbits the little screen in the elevator shares with me, I will not miss the lag time it takes between the time that you press your floor and the time the elevator doors close. I will also not miss the grated walls that pull out a chunk of your hair when you lean up against them.
*The smell of dance calls....particularly the day of the Taylor Swift back up dancer auditions. Wretched.
*The tanning salon decor

Things I will miss
*Butch's Oasis Cafe... they have amazing cookies that they make fresh every day. The smell is unreal.
*Running into random pals I haven't seen in eons. Why is Ripley Grier as social a hang out as Five Napkin Burger? Dunno. But I've seen people I haven't seen in years in the past three weeks.
*The tanning salon decor

Alright lovers, time to chill. I'll give a little week three wrap up tomorrow. And then sign off for Labor Day, as I plan to... not Labor.
E

Oopsy

Okay, so I missed a day of blogging, but you have to cut me a break... I'm a maid of honor. In a wedding. A wedding of my best friend. And I'm in this midst of trying to put together a bridal shower...all while on stilts. Maybe I should wear stilts to the bridal shower....I digress....so cats and kittens... or dogs and puppies... I had a big rehearsal day today. Rachel and I worked on our song, which is on the verge of hilarious wacky antics. Let's just say, this is the kind of show where I can't walk out the stage door without having taken a shower first. I haven't had to do that since CATS.... that was possibly the gayest thing I have ever written. Well, according to my deal friend Chuck, I am one of the gayest men he's ever met. Touche indeed.

So where was I? Oh yeah, rehearsal. Let me just say, in addition to all the wacky antics and the dogs and the fun that is in this show, it is chock full o'touching moments. I cried twice in rehearsal today. Some may blame PMS. I say it's great acting. There are some absolutely charming moments that will tug on your heart strings. And there are some very real genuine circumstances that, even though these are 'dogs' you are watching who are having these experiences, anyone can relate. I can't wait to see where we're at by the end of week three.. time is flying... soon we'll be moving to our new, larger rehearsal hall in midtown. So excited about that. I plan on, however, doing a top five list of things I'll miss about our current rehearsal space... but that's later in the week. Look what you have to look forward to!!!

Also, people are already in costume fittings. The design for this show is going to be wild. I love it when people are coming back and talking about what they're wearing as what dog or human. I've already started planning on what items I want to buy at the end of the run... and by buy, I mean steal, of course... but you didn't read that here.

Sidenote dear readers, you may note that I use the phrase "wacky antics" many, many.... many times. This, I can't help. It's part of my verbology, my lexicon, my styllllleeee, baby. I once told someone if I had to start up a company, I would call it Wackantics, and I would be CEO. The CEO of wackantics. You'd buy what I was selling, right? Damn skippy. So from here on out, I plan on merging the phrase, "Wacky antics" into "wackantics." It's really more time efficient this way. I'm always looking for ways to save a few minutes here and there.

And on that note, I'm off to take a nice long shower and watch some Top Chef... which I don't think I'm all that into any more. But I need a way to bide my time until America's Next Top Model comes back.

Over and out,
CEO of Wackantics.