it's finally fall

Chris is in a really bad mood because he doesn't have any money. I told him, "as long as you're an actor you're never going to have any money." I mean, it's TRUE, is it not? Acting sucks. It is so expensive. Any kind of good headshot session costs at least $250 (and that is a BARGAIN), reproductions are at least $100, joining the union costs I think $1100 (plus dues twice a year), you have to buy nice clothes for auditions, if you go to an audition out of town there's travel+hotel+food+registration fee (like UPTAs) and then there's the fact that no one will pay you any money because half the theatres are not for profit and if they're not they have really low wages because there will always be someone who is willing to act for hardly any money and horrible treatment (see: The Barn). This is assuming you take no classes of any kind and do not have a subscription to Backstage. Then there's the staying healthy because you CANNOT just call off work and having no schedule leeway to do anything else. And, if you want to have any kind of real career, you have to live in a big city with rent that is sky-high. Yes, my friends, acting sucks and I would recommend it to no one. It's a lot of fun, though..... you have a LOT of fun.

Chris Johnston and I are singing at this thing on Friday for the government of Virginia at the hotel next door and it is going to be really funny. Funny for ME, hopefully not for the people who are attending this conference. I guess, since we work at a Shakespeare theatre, they assumed we only know Renaissance music, so that's what they originally asked us to play. We, of course, don't know ANY Renaissance music so we had to use this book to find some and let me tell you... Elizabethan music is TERRIBLE! Sometimes people complain that we play modern music during our preshows and interludes but who in their right mind would want to actually listen to Renaissance music? So, anyway, we're playing a couple songs from this book (most of which are featured in at least one Shakespeare play), some original music Johnston wrote for "Midsummer", "Merchant" and "The Maid's Tragedy", one contemporary interlude song we did for "Merchant" and two random contemporary songs that we just want to do. We are going to be doing a "strolling minstrel" thing and I am just happy to be getting to sing in public instead of alone in the lobby of the theatre.

I am looking foward to winter when my face will be less oily. I've been using those oil blotting sheets because I have some serious excess oil. I don't know how I haven't been breaking out like crazy. Anyway, in the winter, a single drop of excess oil will be extremely welcome. My whole face is so dry in the winter that my nose starts bleeding.

I am so excited about my birthday coming!!! Scot told me today that if I wanted to, he and Kate would let me use their half of this house to have a two-story SPOOKY apartment party! Uh.... HECK YES I would want that!! I am totally excited. It is going to be such a SCARY time and everyone is going to have lots and lots of fun! Dollar General and Big Lots better be prepared for me to buy them out of their Halloween decorations.

It finally happened. After months of watching What Not to Wear every day on my lunch break I finally would rather wear a blouse than a t-shirt. They really do look better.