Practice, practice, practice

So, we are approaching our fourth day of rehearsal and it is a blast! I have to say, I was having difficulty acclimating myself to the new people and surroundings but rehearsal was the great equalizer and reminded me why I am here and helped me focus myself. I think I was in this weird place of feeling like I was on vacation, but knowing that I was here to work.

I am having such a good time in rehearsal - everyone is hard working, fun, and good at what they were hired to do. Everything I heard about working with Bill is true - he is amazing about giving us time to work and he treats each character like they are the main character of the play - basically, the fact that he is an actor is very apparent in his direction and I LOVE that. I think some people are a little apprehensive that we only have three weeks of rehearsal, but compared to the last couple shows I've done, that feels like luxury! And we have a fantastic production team - the model of the set is great and our costumes...Oh my god, our costumes are so pretty. Especially mine. The period is Italian Regency (Napoleonic) and for those of you to whom that means nothing (like me at first) think Jane Austen. So I have a beautiful long-sleeved dusty pink dress with a gold sleeveless top layer. And it goes with my hair splendidly if I do say so myself.

Plus I am living life on easy street because I don't have a lot of scenes, any big monologues, and I am not in any fights. So I have rehearsed for only about 3 hours each day. I am sure I will be doing stuff backstage during the actual production - when we tour, we run our own sound, lights, move sets, etc. But right now i am really digging the free time. It is something I never get in Chicago - it's always 'What auditions are coming up? What agencies are casting? Why don't I have any monologues that don't suck?"

Oh, and I solved the Bikram problem. One of my castmates mentioned that he had borrowed a bike from the generous artistic director and so I inquired as to doing the same. I was fortunate, and got a bike, put air in the tire and purchased a lock and helmet. It is stuck in a low gear and probably needs a tune-up, but it is totally rideable and I am ever so grateful to be able to get around. So yesterday I rode the 2.5 miles to the Bikram studio and signed up for a month. I had a really terrible class. The altitude ( I am assuming thats what it was) really made it difficult to breathe and I had to sit out for about half of the postures. Also, the stench in the room was pretty unbearable - I am used to our spotless, and sometimes carpetless, Chicago studios, so this was quite a shock. And then the bike ride back was pretty close to pure hell.

So I wasn't surprised when I couldn't get out of bed this morning. At least I know I did something right in class - it really felt like I just stayed horizontal and panted for an hour and a half. I was too much of a pansy to go back today...I actually was tempted to not go back at all, but my lovely Bikram mentor (Ian Daniel McLaren) wrote me an email addressing all my issues that convinced me to go back - the main thing he said was that if I could adapt to class at 4900 ft, I would rock when I get back to Chicago.

I have been pretty useless today...and ravenously hungry. I just stuffed my face with thai curry out of a box and hummus. And I think Laura and I are going to go to the ice cream store down the street which has come highly recommended. We really felt like we should get out and explore a little while it is still light, and what better way to do that than get ice cream? And while we are on that subject, I am proud to announce that I am officially in a healthy Body Mass Index range! 6 lbs from my goal weight and then the challenge will be staying there.

Okay, catch ya later. Thanks for reading!