Lottery-Winning Day!

I've seen three musicals this week, and I do NOT hate it. A good time was had by all.

After seeing Next to Normal (see previous post), Nick and I spent a few days doing a whole lot of nothing. Which was actually really nice. Although it probably would have been smart of me to have used that time to actually do something like memorize a few monologues or memorized some scenes or just basic memorization. Haha - that's basically all I do. I lead a sad existence.

So after spending Tuesday and Wednesday basically hanging out at home and watching Glee or lots of unnecessary episodes of Tool Academy, we decided it was necessary to see another show. (Dana Tarantino would be furious - she told both Nick and me in fairly uncertain terms that we had theatre-itis and needed to experience more culture. We took this to mean "Go to the Met one day, and then see more Broadway.")

So we tried the lottery for In the Heights. And I won! Hooray! Nick decided he was gonna show up late, so he was lucky I was there and that I took some Felix Felicis. I love winning lotteries. There is no other feeling that having someone draw out a piece of paper and hesitatingly say, "KELLY...Vo-it?" A wondrous feeling. Although I think that because you endured the agony of waiting (this is mostly just for In the Heights, where the girl takes her SWEET time pulling out names, and then stops and contemplates why she was put on this earth in between each one), you should be allowed to choose where you sit so you aren't always all up in the grill of the Broadway stars. Let's also agree not to discuss the run-on potential of that last sentence. It's cutting it close.

In the Heights was fabulous. Made me wish I were Hispanic, haha. We had an understudy for one of the main guys and I didn't even know, which was nice because I didn't go into the show thinking, "Oh, understudy. Lame." I sometimes feel superbad for the understudies because everyone walks into the show assuming that they just aren't going to be very good. But when you think about it, they still work for a Broadway production. It's not like they are street performers. Still legit.

I was fascinated with the set for In the Heights. It takes place in Washington Heights, way uptown (which is interesting for me, because I've never been farther uptown that about 80th St, and this took place at 189th St). And the level of detail to the set was AMAZING. They had an ATM. They put graffiti on everything. The neon sign flickered. There were subway signs. It was exquisite.

The only weird thing about the show was because we were in the front row and we could see the actors in detail. One of the main girls is supposed to be returning from her first year of college (therefore about 19 years old) and it was clear she far too old for any of the undergraduate nonsense.

And today, Nick won the Hair lottery! So against my better judgment, I chose not to do all the work I need to get done and joined him for a second performance of Hair. I still couldn't see, which was the most disappointing thing in the world. What happens in the Broadway production of Hair center stage and stage left? I have no idea. I am all about the activities that take place down right, however. Got that stuff MEMORIZED.

And it was my second Broadway debut. Hooray! Now I just need to wait for my Broadway debut with actual lines and blocking and curtain call. That'll be a good day too.

At work this week, I did a whole bunch of unnecessary things. They've started giving me a lot of free reign with what I do throughout the day. And I've realized the reason that they all have to work all the time: it's because they don't get anything done throughout the day. A random sampling of the bizarre things I did this week:
1. Watching Donna draw a Thanksgiving dinner on a dry-erase board. Which I followed up by drawing my own turkey, outlining my open hand and coloring it in. Oh the nostalgia.
2. Rubbing Pat's shoulders
3. Accompanying Pat to JC Penney in Harold Square so she could buy a winter coat. I served as fashion consultant.
4. Carrying approximately 8371947139 boxes up six flights of stairs and organizing the 19875198237698619384 files in the 8371947139 boxes alphabetically.
5. Printing my own headshot on Strasberg's photo paper
6. Convincing Amanda that she is not crazy (this was done about eight times a day)
7. Watching Aaron (the other intern - the legit one who gets paid) do laps around the office because he is an unnecessary member of the office and doesn't have enough to do to fill the day. I think I'm going to start some kind of betting pool where we guess how many times he will pass the windows.
8. Planning Lee Strasberg's birthday party for November 17th. (He died in 1982. Has anyone told Anna Strasberg?)

Ridiculous. My job is bizarre. But I love it.

And tomorrow I have my final audition seminar, where we get to perform for Dana Tarantino, Kathy Rossiter (the woman who ran the seminar) and Mama Linda (the woman who basically RUNS the New York Arts Program).

Following which, I will be going on MY FIRST REAL AUDITION. Amanda and I will be heading over to audition for a national tour of a stage production of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I'm pretty excited. I don't have any serious expectations about this and am expecting some rejection, but I'm excited for the experience. It'll give me an idea of what life will be like in two years (not that I'm talking about moving on into the real world - because I'm trying to convince myself that we'll be in college forever).

But wish me some serious broken legs anyway! I mostly just don't want to look like a fool in front of real casting directors. Yikes!
Love always,
Kelly

PS: Did you know that plants, like people, can get fevers when they are sick? How does that even work???