OK, time for some major updating for anyone still paying attention to this blog! 

Baby Beatrice is now almost 16 months old and can make it from the couch to the sharpest knife in the dishwasher in 2.2 seconds!  I have lost about twelve pounds since she began walking in late January.  I rarely have the time or the brain space for much beyond basic self hygiene, teaching my two classes, following around little Miss Inquisitive, and sporadic attempts at homeschooling the big girl.  Hence, the lapsed blog.

Urinetown was wonderful--some of the best community theatre I have done.  Rick's Urinetown was better directed and had a cooler set, etc., but I gotta say Greg and I rocked the roles of Officer Lockstock and Pennywise.  Here's what one review said of me--"Part slimy, part sultry, and all sass, she wore the role of Ms. Pennywise as easily as a second skin."  Cool review, huh?  Everyone was quite good--we had several people with professional resumes.  And Greg was really, really good.  I wish those of you who did shows with him ten years ago could see him now.  His voice is richer, with more nuance.  He somehow soaked up all those years of acting classes I took, because he's a better actor, too.  Of course, I think he grows more wonderful by the minute in every way.  (Cue gagging)

Dancing at Lughnasa was not as wonderful.  The director was new and the cast wasn't as seasoned.  I was tired from Urinetown and also high from the enthusiastic audiences and the rave reviews.  Lughnasa is a lovely, bittersweet little play, and it really needed a more subtle hand and fewer rookies handling it. 

Maddie is now in rehearsals for Brundibar, which is a play written in a Jewish ghetto back in WWII.  It was written for children and was performed by the kids and teens in the ghetto.  Many of them were later killed in Auschwitz.  It's a fairy-tale, Hansel and Gretel-y type operetta with lots of overtones about tyrants and overcoming oppression.  Maddie plays the dog, which is one of the larger roles.  I'll be sure and post pictures later. 

Speaking of Maddie, homeschooling is once again all about Greek Mythology.  She's reading these books by Rick Riordan that answer the question:  What if the Olympian gods were real and what if they were still around today?  The main characters are the half-blood kids of the gods--part god, part mortal.  The series is constructed EXACTLY like the Harry Potter books.  There's a Ron, a Hermione, a Snape, a Voldemort, a Hogwart's, etc.  The Harry character, called Percy, is possibly the kid mentioned in a prophecy that may or may not save the Olympian gods from the Dark Lord, uh, I mean the Titan Lord Kronos.  We are all astonished at how it seems Riordan just ripped everything from Rowling.   Maddie is working on a oral/written presentation about the monsters of Greek Mythology.  She's having a blast.

The really exciting news in my life is that I'm doing professional, paid theatre this summer!  I auditioned for the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, which is a summer repertory company that is only in its second year.  They had New York auditions, so I didn't have much hope, but I knew they cast about half of their company locally.  I guess they decided to leave the character roles for someone local, because I'm playing the nurse in "Romeo and Juliet" and the Mother Abbess in "Sound of Music!"  Rehearsals start May 19th.  I get Equity points-yeah!  I'm feeling more confident than I have in a while about acting--it feels good, but it is also pulling me to move to Chicago or New York and REALLY do it.  For now, though, I'm going to do the best theatre I can here and raise my kids.

Greg is about to embark on a major dialect study of Arkansas--the first of its kind in over thirty years!  It will help speech pathologists to know when something is a dialect versus a disorder.  He's also had two papers published in majors journals--go Dr. Greg!

Lots more to tell, but this entry is already too long.  I've done some catering--including a completely kosher (strict kosher!) dinner for 100, more writing and trying to get an agent.  I'll try to post more pictures soon.  Later! 

Oh boy, have I ever let this blog go recently!  I'll give anyone interested a quick update for now, and try to write more later.  Christmas is finally over and all the family has gone back home where they belong.  Beatrice is now 1 year old and cuter than ever!  She is not quite the early bird Maddie was regarding walking and talking.  She's taken a few steps on her own, but isn't walking yet.  She says about 20 or so words, even though they don't all sound like the intended meaning.  At this age, Maddie had been walking for two months and saying a few two-word sentences!  But Bee's right on track for her age and we aren't rushing her at all!  Her birthday was really small because she had been sick the days prior to the 20th. 

I did get in both Urinetown and Dancing at Lughnasa.  I'm Pennywise in the first and Maggie in the latter, for those of you who know the shows.  Even better, Greg also auditioned for Urinetown and was cast as Officer Lockstock.  It has been eight years since he has done theatre, so it's a very big deal for him.  It was a little bit of a switch for him to get Lockstock.  Eight years ago, he would have been Bobby.  Now, he seemed a little long in the tooth compared to some of the boys auditioning for Bobby.  He still had the best voice by far, though.  I am sometimes astonished at the beauty of his voice.  It has only improved over the years.  Urinetown opens January 18th and Lughnasa is sometime in late February. 

While we're at rehearsal, Beatrice and Maddie are with Greg's parents.  It was a little stressful to let the baby go to someone else, but I figure doing a show together once a year or so is probably good for everyone.  The grandparents are loving it!  Maddie comes with us to rehearsal some nights. 

In the category of things you would have never thought I'd do, I've decided my New Year's resolution is to choreograph and put on a dance concert that features--ME!  I know, I'm not a dancer, but I move pretty darn well for a gal my size and I 've had a lot of dance classes!  Not only did i take ballet, jazz, and tap as a kid and early teen, but I also had to take several semesters in both undergrad and grad.  And. of course, as a director I've done some choreography.  But more than anything, I feel compelled to do it.  I feel instinctively that I AM a dancer--cue the song from Chorus Line--and I need to delve into this part of myself.

That's all for now--I promise I'll try to write more regularly!