A Lot Can Happen in One Minute

Several months ago, I met the good people of terraNOVA Collective here in New York, when I did an early reading of Whales & Souls, by Andrew Kramer.  They are good people, smart and savvy, and I hoped that the reading would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  In my imagination, I saw us hugging at parties, laughing at references only WE would get, and getting into smart and intense discussions during rehearsals for The Next Really Important Play.

Since then, I've run into these good people at other shows, some their own, and we have hugged and smiled, and we're even Facebook friends.  But REAL Facebook friends, not the superficial kind.  Like, we've MET in Real Life and everything.

Last week, I got an email from Jessi Hill, the Director of terraNOVA's Groundbreakers program, asking me to be a part of the One Minute Play Festival at Primary Stages October 16th!

(Yes, you read that correctly.  ONE minute.  I had to go back and make sure, too.  I thought they meant TEN minutes.)

I'll be performing in a few of the 50 plays that day and night (There are two performances, should you care to join us), and I'm excited to see what can be accomplished in one minute of stage time.  Off the top of my head, in one minute, a person could:

Die
Make Hot Chocolate
Put on False Eyelashes
Act Like a Monkey
Check the Mail
Make Out with a Pillow.  Or a Person.
Win the Lottery
Throw a Rock Through a Window
Fold Three Shirts (Neatly)
Sing "Happy Birthday" and Really Vamp at the End


I'm sure there are more things.  I'll let you know what they are when I get the scripts.  I hope it's the Lottery, though.

Priorities

Life is too short to do things that don't make you happy.

It's too short to work with people who don't make the work fun.

Life's too short to spend it with someone who doesn't completely get you and support you.

And life's too short to not try your hardest to make the most of it.

The end.

Things I Saw Today

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm doing a bit of background work lately, saving for our trip to Africa. This week, I was at a book party with Kristen Wiig in "Imogene," and next week, I'll be in 1966, listening to Tim Buckley play the Night Owl. 


This requires a costume fitting, as I have virtually nothing from 1966.  To do this, I traveled to The Foundry, in Queens, where the shoot will be next week.  (below)  The wardrobe guy who worked with me wore a kilt, had a red beard like Kris Kringle, and glasses without arms.  

The view of NYC from here is pretty cool, especially when your only view of the city is usually from the ground, smack dab in the middle of it all. (this photo doesn't do the view justice.)  In a four block radius, there was TomCat Bakery, SilverCup Studios, and the place where all the taxis live.  Who knew?

Back to Manhattan (a surprisingly quick train ride), and I hopped off the train at 59th street to walk home in the gorgeous weather, and THAT'S when I met Marina.  Here's a video.

Marina is in town for Fashion Week, promoting (and wearing) Missoni for Target.  She saw me taking her photo, so she took mine.  She was designed by Mother New York, and employed whole team of puppeteers.  I'm glad I got off at 59th.

Then I bought some fish at Citarella, but that wasn't super thrilling, and I didn't take photos.

Tomorrow, I'll work The Flea table at the TheatreMania Street Fair.  I'll be sure to take and post photos if I see anything interesting.  Maybe Marina will show up.

Props Who Eat

Here's the deal.

I am very, very fortunate.  My husband has a great job, and I am able to pursue acting opportunities full-time because of that.

The catch is, no one pays me to pursue acting jobs.  And with our trip to Africa a little over 5 months away, we have to make a plan for how we're going to pay for it.  I was fortunate to be paid for my work in Australia, but we decided to contribute that money to Chris and Emily White's upcoming film.  It feels good to do good things.  To help others.

But the time has come for me to help our family, so I am turning to...background work.  (She sighs heavily.)  I have mixed emotions about background work.  Here are the pros and cons:

Cons

*  It knocks you down a peg to go from starring in a one-woman show in another country to being "pedestrian with baby carriage."

* It's a drag to ride the subway at 5:30am.

*  People who do a lot of background work are often crazy people.  The kind who make you want to move all of your things to a different table.

*  There are never enough power outlets to charge cell phones in the holding area.

Pros

*  It's a decent alternative to sitting in the apartment all day, as there are no famous people in our apartment.

*  You meet interesting people- and then use them for material in improv class.  

*  It gives me time to catch up on my reading or learning lines while we stand around and wait forever, either sweating or freezing.

*  A week or two later, a paycheck comes in the mail.  Actual US currency that can be exchanged for goods and services.

I've done a few days of BG work in the last year.  I've kept that under my hat.  I've been a fashion show attendee on "Blue Bloods," a pedestrian who bumps into Jim Carrey in "Mr. Popper's Penguins," a pedestrian with a baby carriage in HBO's "Girls," and (the most interesting day so far) a zookeeper congratulating "a very funny British actor you may have seen wrestling naked in another film" on successfully delivering a baby goat in the upcoming very secret movie that asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement. It's not every day you get to fawn over a man breastfeeding a goat.

No, it's not glamorous.  It's not even acting, if you ask me.  I heard a PA call BG actors "props who eat."  And while that's a bit harsh, I have to agree.  (Another pro- you get pretty decent meals on set.)  

But if being an eating prop over the shoulders of "a very famous British actor who has wrestled naked in another film" means Dean and I are one rickety bus ride away from our trip to Rwanda, then sign me up.  

Just tell me where the outlets are.  My phone is about to die.

Aussie Observations

We've been in Cairns (pronounced CANS) for a week now, and start the long journey home tomorrow.  Very long, but that's another blog post entirely.

While we've been here, I've noticed some interesting things that Americans may not be aware of.  In no particular order, here they are.

1.  There are giant bats that fly around here, and they all live in the trees by the library.  They're knows as "Flying Foxes," because...they kind of are.  They're beautiful and eerie, and one of them pooped on our friend Eric the other day.

2.  There is a lot of instant coffee here.  Tons of it.  In the two times I've come here, I've not seen a coffee maker in a hotel, but I've seen lots of hot water pots for...instant coffee.  Also, people here will drink hot coffee or hot tea in the middle of a very hot day.  Walking along the Esplanade earlier, I saw many, many people enjoying a relaxing picnic with a hot mug of tea in their hands.  And it's 80ºF here.

3.  Bacon is different, more like country ham.  Not as crispy, but wider, and lots of it when you order it.

4.  There is no ketchup, but there is "tomato sauce," which is LIKE ketchup, but nothing like our tomato sauce.  It's more BBQ-y than ketchup.  But there is also BBQ sauce, so that's confusing.

5.  People refer to their significant others as their "partners," regardless of their sexual orientation.  In the US, I hear this a lot with gay and lesbian couples, but here, everyone uses it.  Pair this with the fact that few men wear wedding rings and it makes things confusing.

6.  Passengers ride in the front seat of taxis.  I took one last night, and as the guy who runs the taxi stand was loading people into cars, he always opened the front passenger door, rather than the back door.

7.  In addition to driving on the left side of the road, people WALK on the left side of the sidewalk.  This proves my theory that the people in NYC who don't keep right on the sidewalks are people who come from countries where they drive on the opposite side of the road.  In Australia, I am that annoying, walking tourist.

8.  There is virtually no free WiFi in Cairns.  It is pay-as-you-go, and slow if you're using a connection at a cafe or hotel, where you've got access to their password.

9.  There are no gummi bears, only jelly men.

10.  A surprising number of people walk around barefoot here.

11.  There is art everywhere.  Painted on the sidewalks, tiled onto buildings, mounted in parks...it's all over the place.  And Cairns is very kid-friendly, and wheelchair accessible, which is nice.  There's even a playground and a face painter at the local version of Home Depot, to keep kids occupied.

That's all for now.  I'll think of more to share...likely during our 14 hour layover in Sydney tomorrow.  Yes, you read that correctly.

But I won't be posting if I have to pay for WiFi.

MW

Our Radio Interview!

We are in Cairns, Queensland Australia, performing Andrew Kramer's one-woman show, Whales and Souls.  Yesterday, we had a great interview with Fiona Sewell of ABC Radio, and here is the link to it.

More bog posts to come.  It's a busy time, as we open TOMORROW on a double bill with La Mama Melbourne.

MWhttp://soundcloud.com/mawyche/whales-souls

Our Radio Interview!

I'm in Cairns, Queenland, Australia, performing Andrew Kramer's one-wman show, Whales and Souls.  There will be blog posts to come, but for now, please enjoy this interview Andrew and I had with ABC Radio in Cairns yesterday.  I think we sound pretty good, frankly.  :)

Wish y'all could see this show.

Oh, wait.  You CAN.  We're doing this show in NYC in October, so clear your calendars for October 19-23.  We'll be at The Flea Theater!!

MW