i've dreaMT of this.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Monday, June 4, 2012

This shot is from Act 2 of The Odd Couple.
I reminisce about my husband and my old apartment with Zac & Jamie.
I think my pink dress was being fixed the day this was shot..
And my hair isn't done.. .. clearly.. .. So this must've been one of our dry techs..

Sidenote.
See that air conditioner in the back, off to the right?
Our director thought it would be a brilliant idea to have me pick the thing up during intermission.
I haul it back into the hallway upstage, and use a drill on it, to "fix" it.
And then I lug it back. In my skirt, coat, and heels.
Fun stuff.

Health Nut

For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm a bit of a health nut--in my own way. I opt out of cheese on sandwiches, avoid sugary sodas, and try to avoid breads with refined white flour when I can. That doesn't mean that I don't know how to enjoy a good ice cream bar or frappuccino--but I've noticed that eating healthier does.. in fact.. make me FEEL better on the inside.

Lucky for me, I've been rooming with ANOTHER health nut this summer who's been able to teach me so much about what I'm putting into my body and how I can alter my options so that I feel better at the end of the day. Winslow's big into smoothies, and they've become my new thing too. They're so filling and so delicious and SO easy to make!!

Step 1: frozen fruits (i use blueberries & strawberries)
Step 2: yogurt (i've been using Activia, but nonfat vanilla yogurt works just fine)
Step 3: liquid (a splash of skim milk, or orange juice. water's fine too.)
Step 4: leafy green (kale is wonderful!! but spinach works well also! or avocado.)
Step 5: **i forgot this step earlier** half a banana! (to make it sweet!)
Step 5: BLEND!!!!!!

Try it. I bet you'll like it.
Just, don't put an extensive amount of kale in your smoothie if you're making one for the first time.
And remember that you can throw in half a banana (or a whole one if you're feeling adventurous) to sweeten your smoothie up a little.

And hey: get back to me!
Blogger has this awesome option where you can RESPOND to the messages I leave on here---let me know what you put in your smoothie and how it tasted--and I may have to try it!!

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Today was day off #2, so Wins, Marian, Noel and I made the drive to Glasgow around 11am..

Marian drove her boyfriend's parents' hybrid Honda. (That's right.) She said they treat her like she's one of their own children. It's ironic to me that Marian & Ross B. play "the lovers" in All Shook Up, since both of them have such serious significant others, but they're convincing enough onstage. Most of the people in the house ARE in a relationship, or so it seems.

We went everywhere today: Reynolds.. Pamida.. Albertson's.. and of course, a local coffee shop per my request. (I'd been dying for an iced coffee.) We pulled up to the "drive up" window and, after asking specifics about what all the names of their drinks meant (because apparently "frappuccino" doesn't exist in Glasgow coffeeshops) I settled on an English Toffee Grenada. (Pretty much a blended iced coffee.) But check out all the other syrup flavors they had! :O I want to go back and try the cookie dough.. Or brown sugar cinnamon!!

Oh, and yes: we went out to lunch! Tried "Soma Dis"--which wasn't too bad.

The main extent of their menu was sandwiches with turkey, ham, salami, pepperoni, roast beef, or corned beef. They only had about eight sandwiches to choose from (each with a different selection of those meats), but they did have an awesome soup of the day: vegetable beef. I opted for a cup of soup instead of chips, and had their Hot Rod on Herb & Garlic bread. Not bad for a local joint.

The deli also sold handmade truffles for a dollar each, along with bottles of wine, and homemade quilts. And homemade cheesecake, of course. The cute part about having lunch at Soma Dis was when we realized that the waitress bringing us our food was, in fact, one of Marie Fahlgren's sisters. (Marie plays Vera in Odd Couple.) She served us our sandwiches and then told us that she enjoyed seeing the show last night.

So Marie's sister works at the deli... and Luree's (music director for All Shook Up) sister works at the movie theater down the road from there... This IS a small town.

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In a few short hours I'll be going BACK into Glasgow for dinner at the Hangar (Andy wants to buy dinner for the company members who go) and then settling in for another long week of rehearsals. Time to start memorizing those lines for show #2. ...I feel like I'm betraying my Odd Couple roots.. All Shook Up is proving to be QUITE the bundle of fun, though. My number is hilarious--and I've got an entire CHOIR of backup singer/dancers under me to help make it look awesome (which is a first, for me).

I'm off for now. Go make yourself a smoothie and have a great day!
-Danielle-

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Blue Suede Shoes

So.. I'm not in this number, but I thought I'd let you see more of the show choreography for All Shook Up. Jessi leads this one: enjoy!

Odd Couple Review

Friday, June 1st, 2012

(Review written by Nickolas Dirkes)

The Fort Peck Summer Theatre opens the 2012 season with Neil Simon’s “The Female Odd Couple”. In this 1985 update to the 1965 classic, Simon brings a new perspective to the story of unlikely friends Oscar and Felix by reversing the gender of all of the characters in the cast and setting the story in a more contemporary time. While the story is familiar, easy-going Olive Madison, a messy sports fanatic, and neurotic Florence Unger, a neat-freak homemaker, become unlikely roommates after splitting from their spouses; Simon’s updating to the script makes the story feel fresh and exciting. While Olive and Florence carry the show with Olive and/or Florence on stage the ENTIRE show, a quartet of female archetypes supports them during scenes when the pair gathers with their friends for game night. Rounding out the cast are the zany Costazuela Brothers who join our differing duo for a double date . . . of sorts.

As the Fort Peck Theatre turns a new page under the leadership of new Artistic Director Andy Meyers and a staff of nearly all new faces to Fort Peck, one might expect a “settling in period” as the new staff gets their feet under them, but this is not the case. Meyers opens strong, showing clear signs of an outstanding first season at the helm. Meyers trusted his first at bat to director Eric D. Hersh, a director that obviously understands the character driven nature of a Neil Simon comedy. Though many characters are on stage for only a short amount of time, Hersh provided the opportunity for each actor to shine as they tell this classic story. In the lead roles of Olive and Florence are Winslow Rumph and Danielle Gendron, both deliver solid performances.

Rumph as Olive elicits many laughs as she delivers a slew of one-liners, most of which are aimed at the ever-nervous Florence. Gendron as Florence is a riot as her facial expressions and physicality lend itself well to the never-ending rollercoaster of neuroses that is Florence Unger. Though separately, the two deliver strong performances, it is the chemistry exhibited through their quarreling that makes the show a success. Some of the funniest moments of the play occur when

Olive and Florence have guests over to the apartment. The quartet of game night gals brings two Glasgow Natives back to the stage. Marie Fahlgren as the delightfully ditsy Vera and Quinn Vaira as the doctor dating Renee make up one-half of the wise cracking quartet.

The remaining pair are Skye Bennett who plays Mickey a likeable cop and Jessi Little as Sylvie queen of salacious gossip. While their appearances do not arrive until part way through the second act, the Costazuela brothers, Manolo, played by Zac Thomas, and Jesus, played by returning company member Jamie Parnell, certainly standout. These two do a hilarious job of butchering the English language, as their mispronunciations and misappropriations of a variety of words and phrases create for some sidesplitting dialogue.

On the technical side, the show was also a success. The new sound and light equipment purchased this year by the Fort Peck Fine Arts Council will not be put to full test until the theatre opens its first musical of the summer (ALL SHOOK UP opens June 15), but the additional sound equipment certainly improved the audiences ability to hear the actors. The set was well-dressed with all of the elements needed to convey the slovenly living conditions of Ms. Olive Madison, down to the stained wallpaper and greasy hand prints on the kitchen door. The costumes were true to the 80s, the denim was acid washed, the shoulder pads were fit for football players and the hairstyles deserve their own credit in the program.

Overall, The Female Odd Couple at the Fort Peck theatre is an enjoyable experience, bound to make you laugh. Be sure to catch it before it closes on June 10, performance times are at 7:30 on Friday and Saturday and 4:00 on Sundays.

(Or you can read it here.)

Friday, June 1, 2012

Haunted Drinks & Whadja Thinks

Hello hello my readers!!
A lot has happened since I last updated el blog!

Tuesday was "National Ira Day" here at FP (dedicated to a member of the company who passed away this year, whose birthday was May 29th). We celebrated by taking a complimentary ghost tour and sharing "Carl's Haunted Special". For those of you who are unaware of what a "Carl's Haunted Special" is.. just know that it's $12, and you feel it after about 2 sips. The mug is gigantic, and there's pineapple juice in it, but that's all I know. ((I didn't indulge in one--I've actually refrained from drinking for the most part this summer, aside from buying a bottle of wine every once in awhile. It's been saving me money, and I've realized I can have just as much fun being sober than if I was intoxicated. Plus, I just like watching how people act when they're drunk and I'm not. :) Call it character study.))

Alright, now, this one's for the books. Ever met someone in one city, and then found their twin in another? Not literally.. Their look-a-like. Their doppleganger. --I've noticed this before. In fact, I'm starting to notice stock character types when it comes to working with summerstock people. You've got your know-it-all, who will always know more about theatre/shows/people/insert word than you. Then there's your really outgoing actor, that thrives off of doing wacky things just to keep everyone laughing. There's the traditional, dependable one. The one that's uber health-conscious. But ALSO: as put before: every once in awhile you'll find someone who LOOKS like someone else you've worked with. Check this out.