My characters' backgrounds...

The rest of the cast did this over the weekend, brainstorming about their characters' backgrounds while I was in Iowa City and Nauvoo, so I did it on my own, occasionally tossing out ideas with Kristy when we were bored. I sent this to Scuba and Savannah (since they are most affected by it in the play) so here I post it to you, my faithful readers:

Mary Beale (the Spinster) is about 32 and she was in love with a British soldier when she was sixteen. In fact, he'd given her a promise ring. But sadly, he was killed in a training exercise and she remains faithful to his memory, resigned to never marry because her true love is dead. She doesn't think much of Harry Witherspoon.

My optometry patient is named Katrina Loomis (her friends and loved ones call her Katie) and she's 28. She's engaged to a youngish college professor (in his thirties) who teaches music at a university in New Jersey and she has moved there to be with him. She's been dealing with vision problems for years since she was born with Strabismus (a fancy way of saying she was born with her eyes crossed) and had undergone corrective surgery when she was a baby--I actually went through this myself so I figured why not have her do so as well--so she changed doctors when she moved to New Jersey to be with her fiance. Both she and her fiance are LDS.

I've changed my mind about the name of my southern lady. Her name will be Callie Sue Pickett and she and Daisy Mae Cheek are best friends. Callie is 25 and she's been in love with her childhood sweetheart for years and is now engaged to him. She goes on these trips with Daisy Mae to try and keep her best friend out of trouble and will be going on this trip to Monte Carlo as Daisy Mae wants to treat her to one last BFF trip before Callie's wedding, a Bachelorette party if you will.

The nun will be Sister Teresa and she'll have serious vision problems (like Rita) which is why she mistakes a leper for Uncle Anthony. She's also a bit of a dingbat but has a kind heart.

Because my hair's still growing out, I'm going to use the hairpiece I used when I was in Muscatine! The Musical and have a ponytail for Lucky Stiff. I'm also toying with the idea of asking someone from the branch to be my male model for a prop photo of Callie Sue's fiance. We'll see.

I'm really getting into this production and enjoying it. :) If only we could find an emcee...*insert long and very anxious sigh*

We lost our emcee...

Just when I thought it was okay to breathe easy about this production, we get a bit of a setback.

Brandon won't be able to play our emcee in "Lucky Stiff" because of a scheduling conflict. I just found out about it today when I got home from Iowa City. Naturally, Scuba's going nuts now trying to find another emcee. I did a complete knee-jerk reaction and called my buddy Josh from church to see if he could possibly do it (he can't; he's got drill that weekend. Bummer). According to Savannah, Courtney (who plays Rita) is going to try to get Austin (who I remember from my days in MCC's Concert Choir) to do it. Let's hope he works out!

Something tells me poor Scuba's nerves will be completely frayed when this is all over in August.

A weekend away...

I'm spending the weekend in Iowa City and it's been a while since I've done so. Well, it's not all in Iowa City. This morning some friends and I went down to Nauvoo to attend the temple there. I seem to be more at peace there than anywhere else and I'm usually kind of reluctant to leave, because when you go to the temple, you can leave everything, your troubles, fears, and other negative worldly things, outside. At least that's how it is for me.

However while I am gone, things are still going on at home, especially with the play. I just read a message Savannah wrote on my Facebook wall...

"My name is Daisy Mae Cheek and you and I are BFFs and we travel around to meet men. My parents owned a cotton farm in Texas and that's where I get my money. Also::::: My punk's name is Aiden and I play guitar in a rock band known as The Festering Piercing. I also moved to England becuase I learned there was no drinking age and I sell booze."

That's basically what I missed yesterday at rehearsal was everyone sitting around and coming up with backgrounds for their characters. I have to come up with four, but I think I've got a good start with Sue Ellen Pickett. One down, three to go. ;)

Something funny's going on...

...and it isn't very pretty...

(Brace yourselves, my faithful readers. I'm about to show my VERY liberal colors for the first time on this blog)

Seriously, it's not. I've been keeping track of the Election 2008 season and it's starting already. A McCain staffer was quoted as saying that another terrorist attack on our country would be help get McCain elected. Yep, the Repubs are using the fear card again.

Sure, he apologized. But once it escapes your lips, you can't take it back.

And the local Repubs are making their presence known in my life. In fact, there's a die-hard in our cast, which is why I'm keeping my mouth shut at rehearsals from now on. I have no desire to repeat what I went through during Muscatine! The Musical. I was surrounded by Republicans in the cast and we could debate until we were blue in the face, but they weren't about to change my mind and vice versa.

All I will say is this: if McCain gets elected, then I might as well move to Canada, because at least there I have a fighting chance for a decent life, complete with universal health care. I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER FOUR YEARS OF BUSH POLICY!!! And that's exactly what we will get if McCain is elected.

Why would anybody want to take...the plane?

This is a line I have to sing in the musical Lucky Stiff, a part of the musical number "Good To Be Alive" where the hero is taking the corpse of his murdered uncle, an Atlantic City croupier, to Monte Carlo.

But this line has a double meaning for us, considering the high gas prices right now. When we practiced this number at rehearsal last week and when Savannah and I (the girl who's playing the other southern belle in the scene) sang that line, our music director added, "Especially now."

Gas prices are so bad that I've heard about airlines are now charging for things on flights that up until now were complimentary, like soda and snacks. It's really sad. Next time I take a flight, I better bring my own snacks and drink, thank you.

Okay, I'm done dealing with the gloom and doom. Back to things that make me smile, like...the musical!

We finally have a full cast! At last! Some guy that Savannah knows will be playing the Emcee. I've been asking friends in the branch, friends I know who have strong voices, if they would like to be in this play. I even asked Tim (my home teacher) because I know he has a good strong voice (he sings in the branch choir sometimes when I can snatch him up for it, and he did some things for the last musical fireside we had back in February). Sadly, none of them could do it because of their busy and full schedules. But it's okay now. We have our completed cast and something tells me this Brandon will be great as our emcee.

We had rehearsal for blocking last Saturday afternoon and because it was a beautiful day, we went outside on the front lawn of Strahan Hall at MCC. The scenes we blocked were the boardinghouse scene (where I play the spinster), Rita's confession scene (I'm the optometry patient in that scene), the train scene (Savannah and I are the southern belles), the cabaret scene, and the casino scenes. And here was the difficult part: we didn't sing any of the musical numbers as we blocked things. Instead Scuba had us speak the lines of the songs. That was awkward for me because I kept going in rhythm to the music in my mind. During the train scene, Savannah and I kept talking in thick southern drawls and Scuba loved it. He was laughing at our really cheesy accents. He also asked us to name our characters. Since I used to watch "Dallas" reruns on SoapNet, I just grabbed "Sue Ellen" out of thin air, but I'm thinking of changing that. Savannah is "Daisy Mae", and I think that name suits her.

This weekend, I won't be at rehearsal because I'll be going up to Iowa City to spend the weekend with my friends and going down to Nauvoo to attend the temple with them. It's going to be fun, but I told Scuba that I'd take my script and CD recording with me to study. I'll be able to keep up, I'm sure. :)

I really love working on this show, and I will be inviting as many people as I can to come and check it out.

Will this be the year? (yeah, third post from me in one day, but who cares?! It's my blog!)

I'm talking about the Cubs making it to the World Series this year. When I'm not dealing with man trouble or job searching, I'm keeping track of my team, the Chicago Cubs. As a Muscatinian (yes, it's not a word, but like I said in the subject line, who cares? It's my blog.) when it comes to baseball you either follow the Chicago Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals. It's been the cause of a lot of ribbing from friends and associates over the past couple of years.

This year is the hundredth anniversary that Cubs last made it to the World Series. I did some research and learned about the infamous "Billy goat curse". Here it is, according to Wikipedia:

In game 4 of the 1945 World Series, the Curse of the Billy Goat was allegedly laid upon the Cubs when P.K. Wrigley ejected Billy Sianis, who had come to game 4 with two box seat tickets, one for him and one for his goat. They paraded around for a few innings, but Wrigley demanded the goat leave the park due to its unpleasant odor. Upon his ejection, Mr. Sianis uttered, "the Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost game 4, lost the 1945 World Series, and have not been back since. It has also been said by many that Sianis put a "curse" on the Cubs, apparently preventing the team from making it back to (but not actually winning) the World Series. After losing the 1945 World Series, the Cubs finished with winning seasons the next two years, but those teams did not enter post-season play.

I'm not a superstitious sort, but you gotta wonder...

The Single State...and a major rut

When I first started learning about the LDS church I was a young lass of twenty, in college as a music major, working at a telemarketing company, and had no thoughts of getting married just yet. After seeing my brothers' dead end relationships at the time, I wasn't sure if that was what I'd wanted (as it was, Dave was estranged from his first wife at the time). Plus, having to hear my parents arguing all the time frightened me away from the idea of marriage (still does, but we'll get to that later).

Then when I learned more about the church and was preparing for baptism, I realized I wanted the gospel and everything that came with it, especially the eternal family. After baptism, I continued on as I was, going to some singles' events, and just deciding to bide my time and keep up with my schooling while I waited for Mr. Right-For-Time-And-All-eternity. As time passed by I kept hearing about my friends and associates getting married and starting families, and I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me that I couldn't find anyone for myself.

Years passed, I went through the temple (even served a stint as a temple worker in the Chicago, Illinois Temple), and still I bided my time, holding out for that eternal companion (but I did let a friend in the church set me up with one of his non-member friends and it just confirmed what I'd already known--that I needed to stick to my guns). Finally in October, 2005 I went to the Iowa City 3rd Branch for the very first time. It was there that I felt at home, that I felt I belonged, that I was where I needed to be, among other young single people like me. After talking to my bishop in the Muscatine Ward, we both decided it was best that I was released from my calling in the ward and have my records transferred to the branch. I was welcomed with open arms in the branch.

It's been almost three years since I first arrived, and I'm still no closer to finding that eternal companion. That ache of longing for someone by my side is constant and I'm actually used to it by now. The loneliness sucks though and still I wonder if there's something wrong with me, if I'm maybe being too picky. During my stint at Stanley Consultants, I worked with another girl and we would talk about my faith and why I want to hold out for that clean cut upstanding goodly Mormon man. She thought I was being picky and slightly prejudiced because I wouldn't even considering dating outside of my faith. I shared with her that I had a friend who had dated nonmembers before and it usually got to the point where it would have to end. I also told her about my parents' marriage, how all they still do is argue (and the fact that my dad's a heavy drinker probably doesn't help matters either). I do know that I don't want that kind of marriage for myself. I don't want my children growing up hearing their parents screaming at each other. I don't know if she accepted that answer or not, but we didn't talk about it again.

I mentioned before that I was no closer to finding the eternal companion that I seek; I take that back. There is someone. We went out once, but nothing came of it. We're just friends, but now I know the kind of man I want for time and all eternity. My friend has all the good traits I want in a man. And until I know I've found the right man, I guess I'm resigned to the single state.

Sometimes, being resigned to the single state is all right. I mean, I'm doing things with my spare time I probably would find difficult if I was married and raising a family. Right now, I'm in the musical I mentioned in a previous post. I sing with the Muscatine Civic Chorale, and I spend time with my friends and go on trips with them like I will be doing this coming weekend. I'm also volunteering for the Democratic party here in Muscatine. But still, there are moments when I'm lonely, when I want that significant other to be there to offer me his shoulder for my tears, to laugh with me when I tell him about a silly moment during play rehearsal, to cheer me on when I sing a solo for a concert.

Until I find that Mr. Right, I have my family, my friends, and my Heavenly Father (who probably sees all those silly moments and laughs with me anyway).

Lucky Stiff

That is the name of the musical I'm doing this summer for the Pearl City Players Theatrical Society. The plot is kinda like "Weekend at Bernie's" with song and dance thrown in, only the protagonist has to take said dead guy on a vacation, per the specs of the guy's last will and testament.

Okay, no more spoilers. If you, the reader, want to know more, you'll have to come to the show. However, I will say that I am playing four--count them, FOUR--different characters in the show. I play:

A British spinster (who lives in the same boardinghouse as the protagonist and doesn't think much of him)
An optometry patient in Atlantic City, New Jersey (which isn't a stretch for me considering the eye condition I was born with, and the astigmatism issues I still deal with!!!)
A southern belle named Sue Ellen Pickett (the surname is my way of paying homage to a good friend who just happens to be my home teacher; and Scuba[our director] wanted me to give the character a name)
And, finally, an Italian Catholic Nun (and according to the script, it's supposed to be played by a guy, but who cares? This is OUR show and we'll do what we want!;))

Because of the diversity of the characters, I'll have to use four different accents: British for the spinster (probably sounding like Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl), Either my normal speaking voice or a Jersey accent (for the eye patient), a nice, thick southern drawl (time to watch Dallas reruns again!), and Italian (I'm going to have to borrow Dad's copy of The Godfather).

I'm really excited about this show and we open in August at MCC. :)

Where do I begin...?

I've had blogs before, on MySpace and LiveJournal, but this one will be where my friends, like George and Michele, can read it.

My name is Theresa and I live in Muscatine, Iowa. Right now, we're dealing with the great flood of 2008. Oh we had one back in April, and it came up over the banks, onto the street, but it was nothing like this (check my Facebook sometime).

I'm also a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've been a member since April, 1996, making it twelve years since I've been baptized. It's not easy, but I have the faith that it's worth it. I want to be a good example to recent converts like George, Fernando, Cara, and Stephanie.

Not much else to say so I will away for tonight. :) Slan leat.