Week in review + some

I have such fun dreams most of the time. Last night I was first saving 2 Chinese kids from the attacking Japanese air force of WWII, then I was an assassin hired by someone who looked a lot like Anthony Hopkins.

I have had the most amazing week. I have had such fun times - hanging out with Anneke Sunday night...watching a movie at home Monday night...Dinner and laughter with the Huckabees and Robert Tuesday night...Lunch with April and Jekyll rehearsal Wednesday night (hey! 3 nights off in a row is unheard of right now. I'm very grateful for it.)...Walking around the fair and listening to the B-bats (whoo whoo!) sing and then practicing with FCC worship team Thursday night...Football game and watching the band perform for the first time Friday night....Cleaning out the cabinets and fridge/freezer resulting in throwing away 5 big bags of expired food (mostly left over from the many people who have moved out) and having Anneke over to keep me company Saturday afternoon. Lots of funness going on this week. :)

I am most excited about cleaning out the cabinets. Now instead of opening door and looking at the overflowing shelves and saying, "there's nothing to eat," I can open the shelves and find exactly what I want and it's all edible! I was planning on doing a general cleaning, concentrating on my room. But I went to the grocery store and when I got home was overwhelmed by the fact that there was no place to put anything. So plans changed. And I am pleased.

This next week I'll be busy organizing the costumes and props from this year's shows out at the warehouse. And there will not be any evening rehearsals due to a vital member of the creative team taking a trip to the most creative place on earth. ;)

So this is good recovery time. I am happy. :)

And Saturday is the Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Banquet at FCC (I will be serving - hooray!) where Tim Tebow's mother is the guest speaker.

Also....it is football season. I know this because I have my very own fantasy team for the first time ever. But I won't get into that now. Let's just say, last week my sister came home to see me yelling at my computer monitor in encouraging tones and when she asked what I was doing I told her I was trying to win a football game. She was incredulous.

Shakespeare ~ Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments, love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no, it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand'ring bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come,

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom:

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Diary of Anne Frank musings

We are now half-way through our run of The Diary of Anne Frank. The audience has really enjoyed it so far. The laugh, and clap and cry. We had 1300 middle and high schoolers this morning come to see it. They actually were very well behaved and attentive, at least until it came to the scene when Peter and Anne were talking and he kisses her on the cheek...but what can I say...they're middle school and highschoolers.

This has been a very different kind of show for Overlook. There is no glitter, no kick line, no razzle dazzle or show stopping songs and even though there are funny parts, you definitely wouldn't call this a comedy. True to form, it is well produced (to brag for just a bit, we had a school teacher this morning say she has taken her class every year for the past 18 years to see a different production of Anne Frank somewhere. She said this was without a doubt the best production she has seen and the only one that has made her cry at the end.) and the actors do an extraordinary job of portraying their characters, especially when you consider that they are just normal people in the community who most of them have little or no drama training. They do an amazing job of conveying the emotions felt by their characters.

When we started production on this show, I collected picture of Anne from online and made a sort of collage of them to put on the front of my folder to remind myself that this was more than just a story; these people really lived and died in a time that was very difficult for many people around the world. Anne Frank was a real girl who had hopes and dreams and aspirations to be more than what her circumstances told her she could be.

When I was younger, I watched the movie version of The Diary of Anne Frank, and pretty much hated it because I felt that the world view offered was contradictory to Scripture in that the most quoted line "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart," was incorrect when held up to scripture which says that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." And I believe, but that for the grace of God and the transforming power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, each of us is capable of being a Hitler or rapist or child molester or murderer.

But through living the experience of this play repeatedly, I have come to see another way of looking at Anne Frank's statement. More than saying that people are basically good inside, she was saying that she was not willing to give up hope that humankind could be redeemed. She was not going to let the circumstances she lived through or the injustices forced upon her make her become a bitter, jaded individual. She was choosing to believe the best and to hope the best.

Now, that may be reading into it a bit far, but in light of the world she lived in and the horrible things that were happening to her, I think it is amazing that a girl of 15 could have the maturity to maintain that outlook on life and not choose bitterness or self-pity.

It is an emotional journey each night as the cast takes us through the 2 years of hiding those 8 individuals had to endure. They were none of them perfect and there was more than one argument. But there is a beauty in their story and in the story of the young girl who wrote it all down. There is a lesson to. A lesson of hope in the midst of the most horrible circumstances.

Every time we reach the end, I tear up and have to make myself focus on the things I have to do backstage so I won't be blinded by my tears as I move around in the dark. And our precious performers are as moved each night as the audience is.

This is an amazing show to be a part of. Not many people will come to see it because it is hard to be excited about coming when you know the outcome. There is no glitz or glamor. No big dance numbers or roll-on-the-floor laughing moments. But those who do come will be touched by the simple innocence and beauty of the true story of a young girl who chose hope in the darkness.

Too much (I just didn't know)

Last week was the "big push" that always happens right before a show. It's the time where you finish all the little things that have been left undone (if there are still a lot of big things to do, then you're in trouble). But it's amazing how much time and thought and energy have to go into tying up all of those lose ends. It's leaves me exhausted and working crazy hours. As some of my friends have pointed out, this time I was way too intense over the whole thing and thinking about and stressing over things that weren't ultimately my responsibility. Which I am sure is why I was not sleeping. This part of a show is usually my favorite time, but I took more on myself than I was asked to and ended up being unable to sleep and barely civil to those I love most. So sorry if you had the misfortune to encounter me in this state.

I guess the point of all this is, I am a person who likes, no, loves to be helpful and who wants to live a life of integrity and also not be considered a slacker or not do my share. But it is easier than I thought to get such severe tunnel vision and become consumed by those things that I think are my responsibility. I honestly had no idea until this week of how extreme I was behaving - oh, I knew I was stressed, but didn't realize just how much my behavior had changed or how it was affecting those around me. I will pay more attention next time when people comment on my attitude. But I must say, I do have great co workers who make the theater a great fun place to be, when my craziness isn't in the way. ;)

Anyway, the cast of Anne Frank are doing an amazing job, and if you get the chance to see it, I would recommend it. It will make you laugh and cry and think and feel.

How many???

I am learning that according to popular belief one tylenol pm is all most people need...and some only use half. However, I am only now learning this and the bottle says take 2. Perhaps that is why the past 2 days I have woken up to my alarm still feeling sleepy and it has been 9pm before I have any energy. Or that could have to do with the fact that rehearsal is over and I don't have to worry about it again til tomorrow (There's a lot of fast things going on backstage in this one).

Anyhow, I decided to skip the pill last night and see how I slept. After a nice 8 hours I was awake before my alarm and super hyper...which mostly has to do with 3 days off to visit Laura and Michael with Robert. Now that's a good time. :)

Insomnia? Nah...just insanity. :)

This week I have not been able to fall asleep before 2am. I try. Like tonight I was in bed lights out by 11:30 - which is a decent time for me. 1.5 hours later I sat up and turned on my light, tired of just lying there. So I got up to see if Camila was up yet on Skype. She's not which is why I decided to blog instead (although I do keep checking to see because that would be something fun to do and all of my other friends are asleep).

Tonight wasn't too bad compared to 2 nights ago when I kept stressing myself out thinking about, if I marry Robert, what will we do with his dog!!!!!! Which is not something I am really worried about, but when I'm half-way asleep, silly things can be overwhelming. In that case, I turned on my light and read for 2 hours til I was to exhausted to think and fell promptly to sleep.

I think most of my issue comes from the fact that we open a show in 8 days (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I still am working on many lists simultaneously as well as constantly thinking up different ways to make things run smoother and to think of anything I may have forgotten prop wise or tech wise. It's not as bad for me as I am sure it is for Scotty since he is in control of every aspect of the show and has to deal with props, set, costumes, techies, and actors and marketing. I have plenty to handle with just my little part. It's fun, but whew! I'm looking forward to the time when Anne Frank does not consume my every spare moment and keep me up all hours of the night.

It is a beautiful night, though. The stars were just gorgeous on my drive home tonight from the theater. And it started to turn cooler today. I opened all the windows when I got home, and I pulled out my Mickey & Minnie blanket to wrap up in as I sit on the couch typing. I love it! Fall and Spring are my most favoritest times of year, but I think Fall is my #1.

More ramblings...

Anneke and Andrew moved in this weekend. They have such a fun house! It's amazing. There is still unpacking to do, of course, but it's coming along quite nicely. There was quite a throng of people helping unload the U-Haul. Even the little kids got in the action and carried in small items. It is absolutely lovely having Anneke living so close to me - the closest she's ever lived to me, in fact; about a 1 minute drive.

I am looking forward to having a break this weekend. Unfortunately that means I have to miss this weekend's concerts, oh darn. ;)

It will be super fun to see Michael and Laura, and Robert is actually going with me this time. We planned a trip to visit them once before, but somethings came up unexpectedly and he couldn't go last minute. I think a mini vacation with him will be very fun and relaxing, especially since he will be getting to know my good friends better and vice verse. Laura threatened to have some very serious questions to ask him, but I'm not worried. ;) I'm looking forward to some great fellowship and, of course, some yummy food. :)

And.....Camila is still not on Skype. I just checked.

Did I mention how great it is to feel the cool air and hear the crickets chirping outside? I love needing a blanket.

I am starting to feel a little bit sleepy, but I don't dare try going to bed again yet...that would undo all that the last 30 minutes have accomplished. I am seriously planning on purchasing Tylenol PM tomorrow for the rest of this week, because I really want to get to sleep earlier so I can wake up earlyish to go walking. As it is, my work days are so long right now, I wouldn't make it on only 5 hours sleep. So tomorrow I'll try drugs. :P

I have found myself baking/cooking a lot more often in the past 2 weeks. I don't think it was a conscious decision, it just happened. But I like it. I have made brownies, and lemonade cupcakes, and broccoli cheese chicken & rice casserole, spaghetti with chicken (cooked from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, yea!), fajitas...easy stuff really, but way more than I usually do. I do want to eat in more, it's healthier (potentially) and cheaper, so I'm really glad that it's working out.

I have been singing "I'm Henry the 8th" since last Thursday. Peter Noone is a great entertainer and I really enjoyed his concert last week. It's a silly song, I know...but then, I like silly songs. :)

I am so glad I have friends in the theater, otherwise I wouldn't ever see any! Even though I did choose to eat by myself today...perhaps I needed a break from immaturity ;) And, I would hardly ever see my man friend if he wasn't also involved in theater. I could say boyfriend, but that sounds so middleschool sometimes. Sometimes I call him my special friend. :) Whatever. You know what I mean when I say it, however I choose to say it.

Well, now that this post is so long no one will ever read it, I'll go on and post it and maybe do a crossword or 2 before attempting to sleep again...although "crossword" does remind me of a prop in this show...and we all know where that leads......