Mulan Has Opened!

The show is officially running. :) We opened tonight, and the day leading up to it was full of activities. We had two family shows as part of the Family Centerstage Festival that the Alliance puts on. They had the lobby tricked out in Chinese decorations, and there was even a Chinese lion dance and other things too. I didn't get to watch any of this, but I did get a glance at the decorations while I was signing autographs between the two afternoon shows. There were so many cute little girls in qi paos and other Mulan-type outfits! So adorable! They had a line of tables set up for the cast to sit at, and people just formed a big line and we signed programs, posters, etc. A lot of pictures were taken too.

Then we had a fantastic opening at 7:00 with a huge house. It was so neat to see a lot of the audience dressed up to see us! Afterwards, I took a shower in my dressing room (I know, right?!?) and got dressed in my own qi pao as quickly as I could to go to the lobby and then the after-party. Apparently I was not quick enough - my husband told me that there were a lot of little girls and their families waiting to see me in the lobby. Some of them stuck around long enough and I signed some more autographs and took some pictures with them. People clapped for me when I came out! That was kinda surreal and very exciting.

Next was the after-party, which was upstairs in our old rehearsal hall. When I arrived, people clapped again! I just waved, smiled, and blushed with my sisters and relatives standing there with me for an awkward second. :) The staff did a beautiful job with the Chinese decorations and there were lots of fruits and veggies (did they hear that I'm vegan?!?). My sister complained that there was no meat. :) My husband was gracious enough to get me a sprite and a plate of fruit since I was pretty much talking to people the whole time. Luckily, he had one of his friends there to keep him entertained while I schmoozed. It is quite a feeling to have complete strangers come up to you and tell you how much they enjoyed the show. I am so thankful for this role and this production! I look forward to the remaining 30-something shows we have left! ;)

Preview #1...and #2...and #3...and you get the point...

Previews? Check! Today we completed our final preview show for audiences made up mostly of students. We had 4 previews total this week, and each audience was a little different from the next. Some had kids who were so caught up in the storyline that there was little laughter at the stuff you'd expect. Today's audience had kids who clapped along to one of the Mushu songs and reacted vocally to certain parts. Go figure. Tomorrow night marks the official opening, with a family festival and 2 shows prior. We will be signing autographs for the kiddos. It will be a long and busy day - but super fun too! I must get my rest now. 3 shows tomorrow! Yowsa!

Invited Dress Rehearsal

Tonight we had our first audience - a very small group of families and other peeps who were invited to our final dress rehearsal. It was, as always with every show, interesting to see where they laugh and clap and how they react to things. This show is a little different than what I'm used to because you get different reactions from the children and the parents. But you know Disney is good at putting in elements that appeal to each, and our director Rosemary is even more excellent at helping us pinpoint certain moments for them as well.

Sidenote - I sweat more in this show than I have ever for any other show in my life. Enjoyable. :)

Tomorrow is our first preview. Yippers!

On the Stage! In the Set! Watch out for that traveling moon gate...

So Friday was our first day on the actual stage. Thursday we said our farewells to the rehearsal hall upstairs, though I doubt many of us really miss dancing around a taped floor made to look like the set - especially because the actual set is INCREDIBLE. Words do not do it justice, my friend. The colors are gorgeous and it feels like we're in a Disney movie for reals. :) My castmate Alejandro and I walked around it on Friday with our mouths agape. At one point, he said, "Pinch me." I had to punch him instead. It was just that incredible. :)

Some spectacular details include:

-2 ponds (minus the koi, sadly)
-lush Chinese silk pretty much everywhere
-a horse on wheels
-several 14-foot tall _________ _________ (I'm not giving this away!)
-a traveling moon gate
-a traveling set of stairs
-and, um, lots more awesomeness

Backstage is just as cool - there's tape on the floor that says YES for paths you can walk and NO for paths you can't (like near some of the lights). There is a multitude of ropes to work the various legs and set pieces that fly in and out, and there are two huge pulley systems (for lack of the official term) on the floor to move the aforementioned stairs and moon gate in and out.

Saturday and Sunday were our "10 out of 12" tech rehearsals, which basically means that we rehearse for 12 hours but get a 2-hour dinner break. Now we don't run the show a million times during the 10 hours. For the less experienced readers out there, a tech rehearsal is when you start to add the other elements to the blocking in the performance space, like lights and sound. Oh, and costumes and wigs and real props. So there is a lot of stop and go to make sure that everything comes together nicely, sound/light cues are timed right, quick costume changes happen smoothly, etc. Some blocking gets changed as well, depending on certain things that work out differently on the stage as compared to the rehearsal hall. These tech rehearsals can be exhausting, but I find them super fun because you have a ton of these fun moments where the stage manager says, "Hold please!", and the actors on stage at the time just sit and talk to each other while they wait. I feel like the bulk of cast bonding happens during this time.

It has been so much super duper fun being in costume this past weekend and putting all of the show elements together. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Oh - we have people backstage whose job it is to help dress us between scenes. And they are fantastic at it! They make those quick changes possible and seamless. And the assistant stage managers are always talking on their headsets to make things work too. Such cool behind-the-scenes stuff going on! :)

Media Day

Today was almost like a show, and I only say that because we had several special people watching our rehearsal. We didn't have costumes or a set or anything like that. Just a bigger, different audience. But it was a lot of fun! I was feeling a little icky in my lungs, so my singing wasn't what I wanted it to be, but I did my best. I think I'm getting over a cold. Since I've gone vegan, my colds have been extremely mild - so much so that I sometimes don't realize if I've got one. But I could feel it in some of my singing today. I had to clear my throat quite a bit. Other than that, I feel pretty good.

Anyhoodle, I digress. Following our run-through, I and the actor who plays Mushu, Bernard, were interviewed first by WABE 90.1 (I know! I listen to NPR all the time!) and then by the local TV program Atlanta and Company. Each interview was fun in its own way. The radio interview was cool because I got to do it with Bernard, so it was a little less pressure. The TV interview was interesting because we had to answer some questions twice so the camera could get a shot of me answering and then a shot of the interviewer asking the question. My guess is this is the protocol when traveling to a location to shoot an interview. Otherwise they'd probably have two cameras for it and wouldn't have to do the double take stuff. Ugh - I can't remember the term they used for this so I can't sound as cool as I want. ;) I'm told that we will probably have more media people coming to watch rehearsals in the next few days. So I gots to put on my best Miss America smile and make sure I answer good and sound like I know what I'm talking about. :)

One more day in the rehearsal hall, and then we start rehearsing on the stage! Yay!!!

Miso Lazy

Sooo...I've been kinda lazy on the daily posts. My apologies! However, the last few days of rehearsal have pretty much just been doing run-throughs of the entire show and working little spots here and there. Our first day on the stage is Friday. OMG I can't wait - I hear the set is coming together and it's beeyootiful. Teehee! I could go downstairs and take a peek if I wanted, but I think I'm going to wait until Friday for the big reveal!

On other musical theater fronts, yesterday and today I auditioned for the upcoming broadway musical 'Bring It On'. YES. You guessed it - based on the cheerleading movie. I did a fun 'dance' audition yesterday which was not really dancing but attempting a cheer and being really cheesy and spirited. :) It was a lot of fun actually. I'm so glad I went out for it. Dang - some girls seemed perfect for it! Extremely spirited and whatnot. I didn't make the dance cut, but I was called back today to sing for them. I sang about 16 bars of a pop song and was just told 'thank you', which is how a lot of auditions go. But it's all about being seen and showing up for as many auditions as you can in this business. Every now and then you're a great fit for what they're looking for, and this one was not a good fit. But that's OK! I'm perfectly happy doing Mulan right now! :)

Costumes!

This morning I had my second costume fitting, and all of my outfits were ready - including the gorgeous dress for the matchmaker scene! It is this beautiful and ornate robe-type dress with huge sleeves. The craftsperson finished my headdress - golden peacocks and lotus flowers. This will be a very fun costume to wear...for about 15 minutes. :) That's about how long I keep it on in the show. Oh well. My other costumes are just as fun - the soldier garb I wear for the majority of the show. Duh, since I'm disguised as a boy for most of the story. It's so amazing to have things custom made for you - especially when you're petite and used to things always being too long or too big, etc. I got to wear my wig again today so they could see how my helmet fits. It was fun pretending to have hair down to my lower back. It looks so real!

We worked my blocking a little more for the song "Reflection" this afternoon. We also worked with the surprise element intensely today. I don't get to use the surprise element, although I'm not too envious of the actors that do. Their work with it is incredible though. Trust me, once you see what it is, you will be blown away! Ooh, I wanna tell, I wanna tell!

Blocking? Check!

We have now blocked the entire show, including the finale and bows. Usually family fun musicals have a song specifically written for the bows, and this show is no exception. I'm told that by this point, the kids will be dancing in the aisles. We shall see!

So at this point, I have learned all of my lines and music (theoretically :) ). Now we will begin 'working' scenes, music and choreography - tweaking stuff and making things stronger. I'm not sure which part I love more - the blocking or the working. Well, I know the performing beats out both of them! :) But that won't come for about 15 more days. Eek! I can't wait! But it's all happening too fast... :(

EDO

Day off!

How About a Girl and a Sword?!?

I finally got to do some stage combat today, and with a sword no less! (Well, it's not real of course.) Acting like you're hurting someone is so much more difficult than you would think. You have to make it look convincing and smooth, yet at the same time be careful not to injure your fellow actors. Luckily I share this scene with someone who is experienced in stage combat and looks incredibly composed and smooth in everything he does. :) It's all about practicing! Which maybe I should do at home with my husband...Hey babe - can you pretend to come at me with this broomstick and let me practice disarming you and then pin you to the ground with it? Awesome...

Live Musicians? Too Expensive

I was initially disappointed when I learned that Mulan would be done with prerecorded tracks instead of a live orchestra. However, I must say that the tracks are gorgeous and full and work beautifully. And the coolest part is watching our MD sit and fiddle on his laptop while we're rehearsing whenever we need adjustments made to the tracks for whatever reason. And he's a genius! Five minutes later, he all's like, OK, listen to what I just whipped up. And it's perfect and beautiful. Technology is amazing, albeit detrimental in some ways to the livelihood of many orchestra musicians.

Oh - today we listened to some of the above, and then Mushu and I worked one of our scenes to enhance some cute little moments we have together. It's very difficult to look at the puppet face of Mushu and not the actor's real face. Oops! I just gave away one of the show secrets... :)

Hmm...

Um...we pretty much just blocked and choreographed some more today. Nothing spectacularly exciting, except that maybe it was the part where the guys have to prance around like ladies...

Hair!

I got fitted for some of my headpieces and wig today. The wig is beeyootiful, but because it looks extremely natural and real, not because it's fancy or anything. The wig maker even gave it a widow's peak! Then the sound guys looked at how my soldier hat and wedding headpiece would affect the placement of my mic. There's a hole in the top of my wig made specifically for the tiny little mic to go through so it can come down and sit on my forehead. Once again, I felt supercool sitting there in the costume shop with all these talented professionals milling about me and talking their fancy wig and mic talk! :)

On a less exciting note, I got kinda crabby today when I couldn't get my tai chi and bow staff choreography right. I think a combination of the rainy, cold weather and my brain being tired contributed to me being in a funk for the first part of our work today. For the first time in this process, it's all starting to feel a bit more normal and I commented to a cast mate in my frustration that the honeymoon is over. I don't want to sound at all ungrateful for this opportunity cuz duh, I'm not. I continually feel amazed that I am a part of this show. What I'm trying to say is that when you get down to it, this is just another job. An awesome job, yes. But it's work. And today I realized that the initial excitement has waned and, although I'm having the best time of my life, some days may be a little more difficult than others, just like any other job. But I still can't wait for rehearsal tomorrow! Yay!!!

Reflection!

We worked on my song "Reflection" today! First we went through the new arrangement that the MD (music director) has been working on. It is gorgeous! (but also contains like 3 key changes and may cause my throat to burst if I sing it too much) I can't wait!! :) Then we started on the blocking of the song. I will just say that there are two ponds on the stage in which I see my, er, reflection. :)

Hiya! & Schmoozing

Whoah. Today's choreography was intense. But so much fun! Both my brain and body were so tired, even before we were done for the day. We learned the choreography (or shall I say stickography) for "I'll Make a Man" - the scene in which Shang whips the other soldiers into shape. Mulan is of course at this point pretending to be one of the guys, so I'm totally in the thick of this. We are doing these super cool martial arts moves with our bow staffs - basically long bamboo sticks. Also, I get to work on my tai chi moves again in this one, but they're a little more difficult compared to the opening number. I was sweating about halfway through working on them because tai chi is much like yoga in that it creates in internal heat in the body with little movement. It may look easy, but it's all about using strong and controlled movements and connecting to your breath. A lot to think about; you don't realize what an incredible workout it is until you pause and it feels like you were just running around when in reality you barely moved a few feet! Again, I wish my Waigong could see this! Although, he might have a few words to say about my form. :) I'm getting there! It's definitely something I'll be practicing every day, plus the stickography (at home it will be broomography ;) ).

The other awesome part about today came after rehearsal. The Alliance Theatre periodically does staged readings of new plays, and tonight I attended one with a fellow castmate. There was a talkback afterwards, where the audience can give the playwright feedback or pick his/her brain about certain choices in the script, etc. This was a neat experience. I was a little too shy to say anything - maybe next time! But I really enjoyed the story and had a few good laughs.

Anyhoodle, after THAT they had a party at a local restaurant/bar so that people could meet and talk with the playwright some more, or just socialize with other theater people. I got to talk with some of the actors that participated in the reading, met some new people, and even connected with a fellow vegan! It was a super fun time. As with any profession, it never hurts to go out and meet other people involved in the arts and network a little. Heck - the main reason I got to audition for Mulan was because I happened to know the right person. So it never hurts to schmooze it up! :)

EDO!

EDO stands for Equity Day Off. Since us non-equity actors benefit from many of the perks of the equity actors, we don't rehearse if the equity people are off. So we don't have rehearsals or shows on Mondays, much like the way it's done on Broadway. If you've ever been to NYC, you may have noticed that many theaters are "dark" on Mondays - it's a day off for actors. Shoot - we gotta rest sometime! :) So that's my post for today! Back to work tomorrow!