Crying sequence.

"Bastardo!!!"

Gimmick

Here's our All Shook Up review:

Get “All Shook Up” At The Fort Peck Summer Theatre

Monday, June 18th 2012

If you’re up for an evening of great musical entertainment, the Fort Peck Summer Theatre in Fort Peck, MT should be your destination. Currently playing until July 1 is “All Shook Up”, a delightfully funny romantic musical featuring many of Elvis’s best known hits. The cast members are phenomenal, not only as actors, but dancers with voices that will give you goose-bumps – the good kind. The set is simple using only lights, balconies and stairs to capture the casts’ talents to the max!When entering the theatre, the mood is set for the rest of the night with Elvis music coming from inside the theatre. You cannot sit still! Whatever you shake –shoulders, head, feet, or hands you will be moving before the show ever begins. The cast members are tops in their trade. You would be hard pressed to choose any one outstanding actor, as they have been perfectly selected for each role. “I’ve never heard, or seen so much talent in one place.” Andy Meyers, the Artistic Director, has assembled an outstanding cast for this production. He has used his experience and expertise to get the most from each cast member, and he does it superbly. If you’ve never attended a performance at the Fort Peck Summer Theatre, you need to do so. This 1930’s theatre is an unexpected treat for those who attend, especially for the first time. Every year improvements have been made to keep this delightful building in tip top shape. Who would expect to find something this wonderful in the small town of Fort Peck in Northeastern Montana? “All Shook UP ”will be followed by the musical “Gypsy”, “Willy Wonka” and ending the summer season at the Fort Peck Theatre will be the Alfred Hitchcock who done it mystery “The 39 Steps”. For more information on the Fort Peck Summer Theatre call the box office Wednesday through Sunday 12 to 4 pm at 406-526-9943. J Oveson – Great Falls

And here's a little something from Gypsy rehearsals

--with my favorite girls. :)

Wine & Hair Dye

Woof.
Smell those fumes.

Went to Pamida (downscale Walmart) today during dinner and picked up some hair dye, since I'm fading fast.

And as I'm writing this, I'm beginning to wish I had a fan in my room..

Maybe I should open a window..

...

Want to see my "cast gift" for All Shook Up?

:)

I have a line in the show about making Dean "cookies for the bus".
((See note attached in picture:))

I hope my cast members like lemon creme.

Burgers

There's fewer things more tasty than a really good burger.
Especially if you can figure out how to make it yourself.

I found a giant package of burger patties in our community freezer (e.g. up for grabs for whoever wants it)---added Miracle Whip, Ketchup, pickles, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and some of the bread I had left and, VOILA!

I'm going to have to make another one of these, soon.
Maybe tomorrow.

--sure beats oatmeal and yogurt.

Update

Alright. As promised (unless I didn't promise? In which case.. out of the goodness of my heart..) here's a more in detail post about what went down at the Pitchfork Fondue yesterday.

The log cabin was beautiful. The Etcharts (Mrs. Etchart was the first executive director on the board at Fort Peck. One of the kindest women I've ever met.) live there in the summer with their kids. I think I remember hearing that Mr. Etchart was a carpenter, and designed the layout of the backyard himself. It was stunning. One of those pictures you see in a "Escape Here Now" catalog. They could totally rent out their cabin and make bank.

Here's the deck right outside the house (I should upload these to Pinterest.)

The wooden-side paneled countertop back there had many types of wine inside of it.

 And here's a shot of the side of the backyard. You can see what I mean by those levels.

That canopy chair (right) definitely became my hideout during the water gun fight.

 

And here's the view from the back of the house. 

Beautiful.

 

There were SO many different salads there: cabbage salad, some sort of "Milky Way" salad, cucumber tomato salad, spicy southwestern potato salad (my favorite), broccoli salad... And... the other ones I can't remember...

Most people who came up to me at the get together would look me up and down and then say "You're so.. .. .. .. (pause) .. TAN." I heard this so many times from so many different people that I started to think a joke was being played on me. Mrs. Etchart did mention that they don't usually have "tan" actors working at Fort Peck during the summers (which, makes sense.. since we rehearse and work inside all the time..) but I think my painting outside for the past two days is what got me to the shade I am now. I've got one hell of a sneaker--tan line. Let me tell you.

Ah. And did I mention my ride from yesterday?

Morgan & Stephen were kind enough to let Winslow and I be their biker chicks for the evening.

Riding on the back of Stephen's motorcycle was literally one of the greatest feelings in the world. So freeing. So exciting. My mom's probably going to want to shoot me in the face when she sees this (but hey look ma, I'm the one with the helmet). But there's nothing like riding down the road and being able to really HEAR and SMELL the things around you.

I challenge you all to go out there and do something dangerous. Do something that someone else has told you you shouldn't. Or can't. 

 

Just make sure no one dies in the process.

                             .. .. and try not to break any federal laws.  

                                                                       You know what I mean.

We only live once. What's the point of living if you can't get out there and do something awesome every once in awhile?!

So go, right now. And do something crazy. For me.
You'll thank me later.

<3

Panorama

Here's a panorama of the Pitchfork Fondue that happened yesterday afternoon.

I'll upload more pictures to my blog and give you the full report when I get back on here later. But know that there were about 8 different types of salads, a pool overlooking the lake, plenty of wine, and a pretty epic water fight that went on.

Ooh and they had one of those swinging hammock / cocoon chairs.

A pretty great way to spend my last day off in Montana.

Bridge Photoshoot

Scobey, MT.

Dirty Shame Show

Drove out to Scobey, Montana on Thursday to see the "Dirty Shame Show."

No explanation need apply.

But there were Cancan dancers.


I look like their choreographer..

And Ross & Morgan got pulled up onstage during part of the show:
Which was fun to watch.

The shows went pretty well this weekend.

And today (Monday. Day off.) is Pitchfork Fondue day.
Don't really know what to expect, but apparently there'll be steak going into vats of oil....
And a pool. So that's good.

Sidenote: I have a new favorite drink! Ever heard of a "Paralyzer"? Vanilla vodka. Kahlua. Diet soda. And a little bit of cream. YUM!

Update! (Long one!)

Alrightyyyy.

Guess who has call at 9 aaaand can't sleep?!

>.<

Ah, well.
More time for coffee and toast with jam. :)
I can sleep when I'm dead.

I don't believe I've told you about this special jam.
I think they lace it with something..
Winslow bought it a while back at Reynolds (formerly "Gordons"? .. know. ..Both names are catchy.)

Anyways: they sell locally grown jams--well.. I say locally, I mean "from South Dakota"--in their teeny tiny store aaand the Blackberry Rhubarb is deLICious. The only ingredients in the jam is sugar, blackberries, rhubarb, something, and something. But it's all natural.

So I'm basically eating sugar & fruit on wheat toast. But it's all natural. So it'll wake me up.

Life's too short to care about eating egg whites for breakfast your whole life. Don't judge me.

-------------------------------------------------

Sara (new girl, with long hair who lives in Hollywood, CA) took a picture of everyone from opening night of All Shook Up. Want to see?

Of course you do. You're reading this, aren't you?

:)

Oh! And I just realized I never shared my hiking story the other day!

 

So, on our day off (Monday) I decided to go hiking and get some sun. (Bad idea. Jogging with just a bathing suit top on got me BITTEN.. real bad..) I saw some buffalo.. and eventually passed a guy in a field who was whistling to a couple horses. Long story short, we talked, I told him about my riding ventures back home, and he said he'd be more than happy to let me exercise his horses!! (They team rope and it's better for them to stay in shape anyways, and his wife can't ride anymore.. and the girl who used to exercise them moved away..) PERFECT!!!

Anyways. Here's them:

Sugar & Boo.

So.. while the rest of the company is at a Burlesque / talent show that's about a 90 minute drive away from Fort Peck, I will be saddled on the beautiful paint you see before you.

I've been warned that she likes to "go". I don't know if you've seen the size of the fields out here, but that makes me immensely happy.



So I'm still sitting here... Coffee cup half finished now...

And it's not even 7am yet.

I suppose I could even drive to town if I wanted and pick up a few things.

But I won't. For gas reasons.

Poor Marian dented her car the other day, while I was in it (with Winslow & Noel in the back). :( The horrible part of it is, it isn't her car.... It's her boyfriend's PARENTS' car... that they let her borrow for the summer. ((They treat her like the daughter they never had but, still.. .. I feel for her.)) She and a few of the other costume shop girls are making a trip to Billings today. Wonder if there's anything in Billings they might be able to pick up for me.. Hmmm..

Google search: let's go.

-----------------------------------------

Oh! And there's a new guy in the company! (He and Sara are both relatively new still.) Plays children's roles, even though he's 26.. and a smoker.. .. .. ..

.. odd.

Anywho: he looks like James Franco, so that's pretty cool! At least, I think he does.

I mean. Come on. .. .. .. Tell me you see it.. ..

I'm getting to that point where I do that a lot, actually. Whenever I meet someone new, it usually takes me the span of about 24 hours, tops, before I think "Oh wow. He/she sorta looks like ((insert name))".

It feels strange to not be called into rehearsals anymore. JF and I (see above photos) spackled boxes yesterday for what felt like an eternity. After we cut them, screwed them together, sanded them down, and stapled on sides and facings.

The head 'shopman' (making that a word now), Doug, left us recently to go work in Missoula. He's in high demand apparently.. since he does such great work. (In all seriousness: Doug is amazing.) The shop was sad and cried tears for him yesterday:

I know.
Yuck.

They're supPOSED to be putting in concrete for us, right outside the shop. But ----when you've got workers who get paid by the hour---- breaks come frequently.

So for now we've got ourselves a temporary hole for mud wrestling.

Or a pool.


James Franco and I (I think I'll just be calling him that from now on) had a debate yesterday as to whose voice we thought was better in the company: Jamie's or Ross B.'s. I was pulling for Ross, but he seemed to like Jamie's more. All you need to know is that Jamie has a more mature sound, and a really strong vibrato. Here's one of Ross's songs though. I think you'll like it. Since his voice is awesome. More awesome than Jamie's. Did I mention he wrote this too? Yup. Nope. I'm right. James Franco can suck it. :)

Have a good Wednesday everybody! Here's to hoping that I stay awake til lunch... And then til dinner... Today may become the day of naps. We shall see. Depends on how much coffee I get in my system.

Jailhouse Rock

Here's the opening dance number.
(Rehearsal cut.)

Devil in Disguise

Alright! Here it is!

For those of you who couldn't make it out to see the show-----i.e. all of you-----I have bootleg footage from last Sunday's matinee! I'm the fuzzy white blob that's hard to make out.

Keep an eye out for Andy & the two Ross's. They make such beautiful old ladies. :)

Opening Night

Opening night for All Shook Up was a success!
We got a standing ovation at the end of Act 1... ACT 1!

These Fort Peckers really do like they're musicals. That's for sure.

           

"Gonna take a sentimental journey.."

Today's post is brought in part to you by the sentimentality between my sister and her boyfriend.

The two of them seem so happy with each other. Makes me wonder if I'll ever get to jump into someone's arms like that.

Rain.

This is what happened to me today.

 

It only lasted 10 minutes or so. And the air smelled fantastic afterwards. :)

Now that we're into tech week, members of the board have been bringing us dinners. Last night was tacos, and I think tonight is Chester's chicken & rolls. 

Doug let me bring the truck into town this morning by myself to run some errands for he and Skye, so that was fun. And I'm in love with my All Shook Up costumes. (Last night was our first dry tech. No one died--but we had a few trouble spots. As it turns out: I've got a heck-of-a-lot more vast openness to run around on. And I have to fly up and down a narrow staircase during the big chase scene at the top of Act 2... and then fly up the other one at the very end of the show while I'm wearing my long-sleeved wedding dress.. complete with very long train (that will be tacked up and out of the way, thank goodness.)

                    here's my Jailhouse Rock outfit                                         and my Matilda garb

  aaaand my eccentric long-sleeved wedding dress

 

Off to take a nap before the run tonight.
But I'll leave you with this thought:

If you haven't already: invest in a man razor and some man deodorant. My legs have never been smoother, and Old Spice is probably my new favorite scent.

That' all.
<3

Anything-But-Clothes Birthday

So, today was Andy's birthday. (Artistic Director.)
And Marie & Jamie wanted to surprise him. (Stage Manager & Company Manager.) But they knew they'd have to come up with something creative because they actually threw a surprise birthday party for him LAST year.

So...
Marie & Jamie decided that we would make a "sign" that said "Happy Birthday Andy!", and all sign it. We 'pseudo-surprised' him with it this morning at our company meeting. But then the real surprise came tonight when we threw him an Anything-But-Clothes party. (Every once in awhile the house hosts some sort of randomly themed party. A few weeks ago we had our Cowboy party--

and this week we dressed up in everything from feathers & flowers to trashcans and tires. (Wow. Definitely didn't plan that alliteration there.)

Here are some shots from the night.

Doug's costume was definitely the best, though. (Our shop manager.) He created a dress entirely out of luan. ...Yes, luan.

                                                       

 Tomorrow we're called to the shops from 11 to 4, and then, we run the show for the first time in the theater at 6! Thank goodness I don't have to worry about meals as much this week. (The board brings us dinners during tech week. Tonight was sloppy joes and potato salad. :))

Matilda's been fun to play thus far. I've been struggling with finding the truth in what she says, since so much of it is "Musical Theatre-Cheese" style. But I'm working on it. I have to be completely serious about every statement she exclaims, no matter how insane it sounds. Because the second I think I'm funny.. I won't be funny..

Oh! And I think I might've found an apartment in New York that I can live in. And I think I have a roommate lined up. So things are looking up! We'll see what happens.

Ta-ta for now.
-Danielle-

Last Odd Couple

Another opening.. Another show..

The last one.

Strike was today.

I was put in charge of laundering dirty clothes

--so it wasn't so bad.

I got to try on my Diane Keaton Because-I-Said-So dress tonight.
(That's what I'm calling it.)

This is what it looks like on:

The top was never fitted to my torso so I might have to be stuffed for the show.

 

And in other news, I think I've found a decent apartment in Washington Heights that I could move into at the beginning of August! We'll see what happens--!

Goodnight my readers!

...

...........

...

"Close your eyes. Now. Imagine yourself happy. ...Whaddaya see?"