Hurricanes, Earthquakes & Floods. Oh My!

So, I've begun taking stock of what interesting situations I (and my fellow New Yorkers) found myself in these past 2 weeks. Here's the run-down:

-AN EARTHQUAKE

Whhaaat? I'm going to be completely honest and admit that I didn't even know about said earthquake until I got home ten minutes after it happened. I had wandered down the street for some Pinkberry frozen yogurt, when, upon my return, I felt a slight sway. My balance has never been something to brag about, so I thought it was in my head or thought I was so invested in my fro-yo that I tripped. But, once I got home and opened my laptop, everyone was all a-twitter about an earthquake; so cool, I can say I've survived an earthquake.

-A "HURRICANE"

The best part about this "hurricane" (besides the fact NYC was very lucky and in no way got the brunt of the storm as forecasted) was the preparation for said "storm of the century." My house guests for the weekend, who were forced to stay two extra days because of flight cancellations, and I made sure we stocked up on the 'essentials.' The essentials, of course, being: Cliff bars, eggs, $5 trail mix (?!?), apples, Koala Yummies (yes, they still make them!), bottled water, soda, coffee and a few options in terms of adult beverages.... We filled my entire bathtub in case the power went out and we weren't able to flush the toilet (thanks to the ever-knowledgeable Jacquelyn Wegmann for texting me that tip before the storm..). We attempted, with no luck, to find an extra flashlights. We made it over to Bourbon Street for $5 Pre-Hurricane Hurricanes (we couldn't resist!) and we even managed to attract the AccuWeather.com reporter, who, despite our haggard appearances, insisted on interviewing us on how upset we were the stores in Times Square all closed early. (Ironically, we weren't upset at all -- See, Mom! Actor training is paying off already!)

Besides our individual preparation, the city itself prepared for the impending storm, and essentially shut down. Words can not express how creepy an empty Manhattan is (think end-of-the-world movies, and you'll get a good sense of it).

Empty 42nd Street

Palm trees secured in Rockefeller Plaza

Times Square clearing out

So... we buckled up for what was predicted to be a hide-in-the-closet-because-glass-is-flying kind of storm.....

Embarrassingly, we slept through most of Irene's show.

AFTER THE STORM:

You should be able to see the George Washington Bridge here.... This was the morning Irene blew through.... it was pretty flippin' windy, but nothing compared to what up-state NY and Vermont got... 

Taxis lined the curbs Sunday morning, and the streets were empty. People were laying in the middle of 8th Avenue taking pictures.

NYC was luckily just side-swiped, and Lower Manhattan did see some flooding, but overall, we fared well.

After being pent-up for an entire night, we happily celebrated a night out after we emerged from my apartment.

Besides all of that excitement, Katie, Kristin and I walked about a thousand miles, seeing the sights, doing some shopping and eating some cupcakes and sushi.  All in all it was a great and memorable visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week I'm heading home to good 'ol MINNESOTA. 

My week will be filled with:

Friends

Family

A(nother) wedding

A much-anticipated trip to my cabin in Wisconsin

and

a few visits to the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR. 

Yay.

I'll be back blogging with my "fair"-share a good stories in a week. 

Until then~

xo,

B.

Good night, Irene.

So, we're gearing up for what they're saying is the Storm of the Century for the NE.

Hurricane Irene just shut Broadway down for the entire up-coming weekend. First time ever.

She also already ruined Kristin and Katie's travel plans, as their return flight for Sunday was already canceled, and the soonest they can get out of here is TUESDAY. So, I'll have them around for a few extra days, which will definitely be welcome.

My sublet Paul emailed me yesterday. The subject of his e-mail was "Hurricane!" and here's what it said:

Brooke,
I don't know how to prepare you for a hurricane, except to ask if you're ready for this.  Are you ready for this?

-Paul

As of now we have food, one flashlight and two bottles of wine.

I forsee another grocery run in our future. And then, yes, Paul, we're ready.

I'll keep ya'll posted!

-B.

Meet Me at the Fair...

Tomorrow marks the first day of the 2011 Minnesota State Fair.

It also marks the first day in FOUR YEARS that I am not running around like a crazy-person making sure interviews are confirmed, Information Booths are stocked, Grandstand Photography release forms are ready to go, employees are happy and everything is in place for the big, opening day. Yes, it's the first day in four years that I'm not working for the Fair. 

And, I'd be lying if I said I don't miss it a little......

and the Pronto Pups, San Felipe Fish Tacos, Mini Donuts, French Fries, Cheese Curds and Sweet Martha's Cookies.......... you get the picture :)

So today my blog is dedicated to my many great friends who are gearing up for the Great  Minnesota Get-Together. "Break a Leg," guys :)

PS- I can't be too sad... I'll be visiting in a week!

Also, I have a good distraction as my cousin Kristin and friend Katie arrive in NYC tomorrow. Watch out Manhattan. Shenanigans will ensue.

~B.

Pomp & Circumstance... and a little "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

It's been a little over a week since I and my fellow Group D-ers "graduated" from Circle in the Square. Our final Cabaret was very, very memorable... for many reasons. We spent the ENTIRE day in the theater (which was the temperature of a meat locker) where we went through a dry-run, dress rehearsal, and then finally, the performance in front of friends, relatives and teachers. The day was shaping up to be flawless...

Until, 20 minutes before the show was set to start, Callum (aka, Boy Wonder - the 16-year-old in my group who undoubtedly will find himself on "Glee" within the next two years) accidentally spilled my entire water bottle all over the front of my dress. So, naturally...... I find this funny. Like, really, really funny. And so does he. We spend the next 3 minutes in a state of noiseless hysterics... you know, the kind of laugh where no sound comes out (and no oxygen goes in) because you are laughing SO hard? Fast forward to me frantically trying to find a hair dryer, successfully doing so and spending the few last minutes before curtain-up blow drying my dress... and shoes. Voila. Disaster averted.

Now... minutes before the show started, we all lined up in our opening number positions, and waited for the familiar piano introduction of "To Be A Performer." When said intro is heard, we all did what we had done 20 times before... shuffle out backwards, in a line and mid-stage, in theory, would PRETEND to run into each other/look surprised/begin to fight to get each other off of us, etc. However, this time around something went wrong (see YouTube clip from my previous post... if you haven't already).

Yes, the majority of us FELL OVER. 

I hit my mark like usual, then noticed people going down in front of me. Then I noticed the poor people in the front of them still backing up, only to be sucked into the chaos because they had no clue of the pile-up behind them.

 It was like watching the Titanic sink-- you know something is wrong, and you know you should help in some way, but you can't move. 

In the video you'll notice our accompanist, Noel, laughing, and probably thinking to himself, "No f-ing way this happening."

Also, if you happened to be sitting next to our director, Kimberly, you would've heard her matter-o-factly say, "Oh shit."

Well, good news. We all played it off well and nobody broke an ankle or even ripped a dress. 

God, we're good. 

So good, in fact, that the audience (my parents included) thought it was choreographed... and so good that our choreographer thought we threw it in at that last minute as some sort of "senior prank." HA.

So, after that, of course I couldn't stop laughing, but had to try and control myself at least until I sang my song, and exited the theater. I sang "The Boy Next Door," exited up-stage left, and that was that.... (my video is floating around YouTube somewhere if you really want to see it....)

All in all, Section D's Cabaret was a huge unique, unscripted and unpredictable success (kind of like Group D itself).... Despite some of us literally falling on our butts during our "Broadway Stage Debuts." Congrats, guys. We made it.

Don't we clean up well?

Mom and Dad made the trip out to NYC :)

However, this was not the end of our time together. One of my group members, Joseph Callari, and his wonderful wife, threw us a graduation party at a great Italian restaurant in Times Square. Not only was the food, wine and conversation wonderful, but Joseph presented us all with "Rising Star" awards and framed Actor's Vow poems. What a guy! We also gave individual awards that were just for fun. I got the "Comedienne Award" as I "have the most ridiculous talent for doing teacher impersonations." Color me honored.

Our awards

Good times, good food, good friends

Besides my parents visiting NYC for the Cabaret and grad party, my sister-in-law was able to spend a few days with us before she headed up-state for work. Here's me and Carrie in Times Square on the way to the party:

This week has been spent tying up loose ends, hanging out with my Circle friends (many of whom have sadly already left for wherever it is they call home), meeting with various consultants, and planning the next steps in my post-school life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am happy to report that I auditioned for my first Broadway show. 

Yesterday my friends Nikki, Amanda and I went to an open call for the role of the "Mistress" in EVITA.

Waiting... on the floor :)

(Since it was an "open call," anyone can show up - union/non-union and everyone in between.) We arrived at 11am to sign up.

It was held at one of the largest casting firms in the city... yet, I don't think they were even ready for what  was in store for them....

Imagine the scene, if you will: 

~Casting for one of the biggest revivals to hit B-way in a while, not to mention this revival will star Ricky Martin as Che (which personally seems a very strange casting choice, but no one asked me).

~An open call (aka: cattle call) for ONE role.

~ Over 300 girls in a room designed to comfortably seat 100.

 Can you see where I'm going with this??

The first list, which I was #70 on, was torn up and a new list was put out... causing all 200+ of us in the room to rush the sign-up table. Tears, cat fights and complaining ensued. And when the atmosphere calmed and the casting company instituted the single-file line rule, I was #151 to sign-up. 

So, we came back to sing for the casting directors, only to find they were running 1 1/2 hours behind schedule, and would be opening up two more casting rooms. Two of which, unfortunately, did not have piano accompaniment. Of course, where did I end up? Yep, in one of the 'a capella' rooms. So... I sang my 16-bars, managed to stay on-key, and was relieved to have had a very nice woman in my room who smiled and said, "Nice!" after I had finished. 

Then, just like that,  a moment I have waited years for was over in 30 seconds.

But you know what? It was fantastic. Even the feeling of being herded like cattle was fun, because I did it. 

Chances are very slim I'll ever make Broadway. But, now I can never say I was too scared or didn't think I was good enough to try. And that perhaps means more in the long-run, anyways.

So, that's that. There will be more auditions for me in the future, and actually a few next week.

But, getting the first one under my belt feels fantastic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although it's been over a week since school ended, I sometimes have trouble believing those crazy/draining/emotional/wonderful 7 weeks even happened.

On our last day I snapped some pictures... which prove I was actually a part of all this craziness...

Callum and I back at the scene of  'the water-bottle vs. blue dress' crime.....

Walking out for the last time... Thanks, Circle in the Square. It's been a blast.

AND SCENE.

~B.

Mi Scusi

Please excuse the fact that I've been a delinquent blogger as of late. 

It's been a big week, and tomorrow is a semi-important/big day as well..........

I'll be back this weekend with great stories.

Promise.

So, this past weekend was insanely and ridiculously amazing... and to describe it adequately deserves more energy than I currently have... however, I couldn't wait to post this gem:

Our Cabaret's opening number:

The "fall" was not scripted.

But, in my humble opinion, turned out to be BRILLIANT. 

~B

Life is a Cabaret

So, guess what? I SUCCESSFULLY managed to be 95% "private in public" for my final Acting Technique exercise. And, I say "95%" because I don't think ANYONE can block 15 people intently staring at them in their underwear out of their minds completely. Anyways, I did my tasks (applying make-up, tweezing my eyebrows, eating my Cliff Bar and stapling my resumes to my headshots) and then did my final "essence of privacy" task, which was rehearsing my Cabaret song in my underwear and character heels. Besides getting a bit of the famous "Brooke Dillon Red Splotchy Chest Rash" (I blame the heat and the general uncomfortableness of the exercise), I fared well! Our instructor seemed to be quite pleased, which was great and I was pretty happy with myself for stepping so far outside my comfort limit. 

FOLLIES!

On Sunday, my friends Chelsea, Lexie and I attended the opening preview for "Follies" on Broadway. We had 4th row seats and the show was amazing!!  

And... because we're geeks, we got Follies souvenir glasses.....

I also was able to get Mary Beth Peil and Bernadette Peters' autographs on my Playbill. I would've liked to have gotten a few more, but the linebacker in front of us wouldn't budge.... even when we tried to win him over by batting our lashes..... jerk.

Mary Beth Peil - she's also on "The Good Wife"

The legendary Bernadette Peters

And, speaking of shows..... our CABARET is tomorrow!!!!

My 14 fellow talented classmates and I will be performing on a legitimate Broadway stage. 

YAY.

Of course, that also means we are nearing the end of our summer together. Friday is our last day of classes :(

Good thing we've got one HELL of a "graduation" party to look forward to on Friday night.

xoxo,

B

Today promises to be very memorable.

If all goes as planned, Acting Technique Class will culminate in me singing "The Boy Next Door." In some stranger's apartment. In my underwear and heels. 

While 15 people watch.

Hmmmmm.

Stay tuned. 

A good friend/former co-worker sent me a package about a month ago. Although said package never arrived (and was probably a huge disappointment to whoever's hands it ended up in) she gave me "package round 2" when I saw her last week. Among other things, she included an "inspiration a day" box, which I've found incredibly motivating... especially in these last couple tiresome and emotional weeks of class.

So, it's like I get to open a fortune cookie every day, and if you know me you know I'm a quote-aholic. Here's one I just loved: 

You were not sent into this world to do anything into which you cannot put your heart.

- John Ruskin

So, there's a little inspiration for you on this Friday :)

My weekend will consist of Cabaret rehearsal (we take the stage this Thursday!)......

Nikki, Callum and I "hard at work" in the theater this past week....

..... and sitting 4th row at the opening preview of "Follies" starring Bernadette Peters, Elaine Page and Danny Burstein.

To say I'm excited is an understatement. 

Happy Weekend, all.

xo,

B.

It's August?

Anyone else having a hard time believing today is August 1st? Good. Glad I'm not alone in my complete and utter incomprehension of this startling fact.

I woke up this morning and actually asked myself if this past weekend even happened. In the span of 68 hours I flew home, surprised my former co-workers and friends at the MN State Fair by walking into the office unannounced, was fitted for my other cousin Kristin's bridesmaid dress, had a voice lesson with Melissa, quickly caught up with two of my very best friends over a glass of Lorraine's White (something I have missed terribly since leaving ;), had wedding rehearsal, the Groom's dinner, witnessed a beautiful ceremony between two people who are so obviously head-over-heels for each other (and who are now en-route to St. Lucia), had a blast at a gorgeous reception at the St. James and return back in the Big Apple. Like the rest of the summer, the hours flew. The only real proof I have that I actually did all this is a couple of pictures on my camera and sore feet from dancing far too long in three-inch heels. Here are few of my favorite photos from Ash & Matt's wedding:

Rehearsal dinner!

My cousin Kristin & I (she's getting married next April!!)

"The Girls"

Wedding Party Shenanigans

Ashlan & Matt watching their slideshow

My aunt/proud mother-of-the-bride & I

Good times were had by all. Best wishes to Matt and Ashlan as they begin their lives together --- in St. Lucia, nonetheless :)

It was wonderful being home for the quick weekend and seeing so many of my favorite people all at once. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad boarding my flight last night. However, arriving back in NYC felt wonderful and surprisingly NORMAL (even standing in the taxi line for 30 minutes was fun!). So, now I know I'm truly settling into my new home-away-from-home. Plus, who wouldn't love seeing this out of the window minutes before touchdown?:

Oh hi, Central Park. I missed you.

Back to normality I go. And, again, I realize just how quickly time has passed as I entered my 6th week of Circle in the Square today. I ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT?! How did that happen?  Our Cabaret is quickly approaching, so we've been rehearsing in the theater lately.... in the actual BROADWAY THEATER. I'm geeking out a bit. Far too much fun and something that was seemingly impossible only a year ago :)

Also, remember that 90-year-old Acting Technique teacher I was telling you about? The one who can see into the depth's of your soul? Well, in addition to regaling us with personal stories about Marlon Brando (they were friends in school, and rumor has it she had a fling with him back in the day) she had everyone put their name on a slip of paper which then went into a baseball cap. The person who was drawn would be the only one to complete our final exercise next Monday, and the rest of the class would watch and, later, discuss. Who do you think that ONE "lucky" person out of the 15 of us was? 

Yep. ME. 

I essentially will perform 3-5 ordinary daily tasks (like putting my make-up on, curling my hair, etc.) and then doing one "essence of privacy" task that is something I only do in the privacy of my own home and would stop doing if someone walked into the room. So, I have a challenge ahead of me. Try to be completely natural going about my everyday mundane tasks for a half-hour while 15 people watch, and think of an "essence of privacy task" that won't end up with my being arrested. Oh, and may I add that this task will be completed in some mystery apartment on 7th Avenue. Really people, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried..... I'm sure I'll be able to dedicate a full blog post to how this turns out.....

I guess it's also worth mentioning that I celebrated my first day back with a trip to Carnegie Deli with my friend Chelsea. I had a corned beef sandwich bigger than my face, and this:

The best cheesecake I've had so far.

Until next time,

~B.