I love watching What Not to Wear (definitely ranks as a favorite show) and I have caught the original British version only a couple of times. Now TLC has a new show with the original hosts, Trinny and Susannah, on their own show. I watched it for the first time tonight and I was so attracted to their honest candor about the realities of the aging female physique and their fearlessness when it comes to exposing (literally exposing) their own body issues, I had to look up more about them. I went to their web page (http://www.trinnyandsusannah.com/) and promptly registered and read all the articles. I chuckled so many times and was so refreshed by their frankness and great advice for ALL body types, skin types and tastes as well as their honesty about the fact that most women are not gymoholics and like to eat food they enjoy. *Beware of the slight culture shock if you go look around: use of the word "tits," a picture of bare breasts, etc.
Here are just a few quotes that made me giggle.
"There is nothing more unsightly than a hairy leg (well, maybe a hairy bottom)."
"It's very easy to be cynical about the wonders of face creams enriched with baby lamb embryos..."
"Some of you may remain sceptical even after reading this practical and realistic take on beauty. Susannah was the same. A hardcore non-believer. But as she has got older, the importance of body maintenance - as with a tired old van - has never been more evident."
"Toothpaste can be a great emergency fixer as it will dry out the spot. Just make sure you are sleeping alone that night or your partner has already started snoring."
"How many face-lifts have we seen where the neck was forgotten? The combination of 30 upstairs and 50 below is dreadful."
"The scarf worn like a choker is the saviour of wrinkly turkey necks."
"...does your pot belly require a waistband that cuts across it or is your bottom so large it needs to be halved by a hipster waistband?"
"If her butt were kept cosy by a nice pair of comfortable knickers that didn't ride up her crack or leave room for a nasty draft between the waistline and her top, the smooth, rounded globes wouldn't be gouged by flesh-eating elastic."
"Surplus income should be spent on a sensible wardrobe that lasts. Well, what's the sodding point if your tits are down by your ankles and your pock-marked arse bubbles the material of your trousers."
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I Gradumatated
Here's proof, if the fact I have a college degree isn't proof enough, that homeschoolers can and do graduate from highschool. I even got to walk and wear my mom's tassels!
Just thought I'd share with my homeschooling mom friends. :)
The Evolution of a Shower
before pregnancy: occasionally think about how nice a hot shower is, but typically just take one to get clean and try to remember to shave while I'm in there.
during the end of pregnancy: stand or bend over for 5-10 minutes at a time just relaxing in the wonderfully soothing hot water. wish that I could still see and/or reach all the places I'd like to shave so I wouldn't have to walk around big as a whale and hairy too.
after baby arrives: cry in the shower because of the stress, lack of sleep and the fact that I'm so sore from breastfeeding that I don't want to stand facing the stream of water.
3 months old: who's showering?
6 months old: hope that she'll entertain herself in the bedroom just long enough for a quick shower. wish that I had the time that I did back when I was pregnant to just stand in the water and relax. what's shaving?
9 months old: take a shower only when really needed because there's no relaxation at all involved when you have a screaming, crying baby sitting right outside on the bathmat wanting mommy.
12 months old: begin to realize what other moms talk about when they say they have no privacy any more. showers now include baby pulling back the curtain and babbling and pointing, making me a bit self-conscious...
today: shower with baby banging on the closed bathroom door and yelling what sound like baby obscenities at the top of her voice. at least I got a shower without an audience. stop to check that there is, in fact, a lock on the bathroom door and plan to utilize it next time, just in case.
during the end of pregnancy: stand or bend over for 5-10 minutes at a time just relaxing in the wonderfully soothing hot water. wish that I could still see and/or reach all the places I'd like to shave so I wouldn't have to walk around big as a whale and hairy too.
after baby arrives: cry in the shower because of the stress, lack of sleep and the fact that I'm so sore from breastfeeding that I don't want to stand facing the stream of water.
3 months old: who's showering?
6 months old: hope that she'll entertain herself in the bedroom just long enough for a quick shower. wish that I had the time that I did back when I was pregnant to just stand in the water and relax. what's shaving?
9 months old: take a shower only when really needed because there's no relaxation at all involved when you have a screaming, crying baby sitting right outside on the bathmat wanting mommy.
12 months old: begin to realize what other moms talk about when they say they have no privacy any more. showers now include baby pulling back the curtain and babbling and pointing, making me a bit self-conscious...
today: shower with baby banging on the closed bathroom door and yelling what sound like baby obscenities at the top of her voice. at least I got a shower without an audience. stop to check that there is, in fact, a lock on the bathroom door and plan to utilize it next time, just in case.
Rehearsal #2
Now that I have recovered from my second, more minor freak-out, I will update you all on the progress of the musical. The second freak-out was caused by a call received Monday afternoon from the director. The stage manager had made the schedule for the following weeks up until the show and my pieces were being rehearsed... wait for it.... on Monday nights. MONDAY NIGHTS! THAT VERY NIGHT! (thank goodness my dance classes I'm teaching for Salsa Mississippi have been temporarily cancelled while they remodel the studio!) Remember when I was trying to tell myself not to think about re-choreographing because I had until the following Friday? Yeah, out the window.
I spent the rest of the afternoon re-choreographing in a hurry, which I hate doing. I'm always afraid I'll regret something when I see the finished piece or that it will just not have lived up to it's potential. Fortunately, I had failed at trying not to think about the pieces and already had a few great ideas for changing things around to fit the stage and the ability of my dancers.
Monday evening arrived and my first rehearsal was with Poor Unfortunate Souls. Everybody remembered everything we had learned last time, which was great, and they all seemed more willing to get into their parts this time. The director was there and she was able to help me with a couple of questions and give some great input in key places. All in all, that hour was fantastic. We got the piece completely done, even down to details like where the scroll and the pen would be for Ariel to use at the end. I'm so so pleased with how it looks and the director flat-out loves it. It's going to be a fun piece to watch.
Then it was on to Some Enchanted Evening. I found out that one guy had been cut and another had taken his place...a guy that wasn't there at all on Friday. Ok, I can work with just one new person. Also, there was one couple completely gone and another that just hadn't made it to rehearsal yet. That means all my diagrams and choreography I had written for six couples, now needed to be for just five and the fifth wasn't there to learn it! UGH! If this had been at the dance department at UGA, that fifth couple would have been out of the piece. You can't not be there for a rehearsal when there are only, like, three more until the show! (Did you like "can't not"?)
I went ahead and worked with who I had there and still ended up having to rework some things on the spot. The director still thinks it's going to look great, but we didn't make the progress I had hoped for because I only had one hour with them. I told her last week when we were first planning the Friday rehearsal that there was no way they would be able to do that piece with just one hour of time. She had blocked out two, but then you read what happened there. Monday night, was almost like starting over, so, once again, I really needed two hours to get the piece finished. Oh well. I will just continue to hope for the best. (and hope for extra rehearsals)
I spent the rest of the afternoon re-choreographing in a hurry, which I hate doing. I'm always afraid I'll regret something when I see the finished piece or that it will just not have lived up to it's potential. Fortunately, I had failed at trying not to think about the pieces and already had a few great ideas for changing things around to fit the stage and the ability of my dancers.
Monday evening arrived and my first rehearsal was with Poor Unfortunate Souls. Everybody remembered everything we had learned last time, which was great, and they all seemed more willing to get into their parts this time. The director was there and she was able to help me with a couple of questions and give some great input in key places. All in all, that hour was fantastic. We got the piece completely done, even down to details like where the scroll and the pen would be for Ariel to use at the end. I'm so so pleased with how it looks and the director flat-out loves it. It's going to be a fun piece to watch.
Then it was on to Some Enchanted Evening. I found out that one guy had been cut and another had taken his place...a guy that wasn't there at all on Friday. Ok, I can work with just one new person. Also, there was one couple completely gone and another that just hadn't made it to rehearsal yet. That means all my diagrams and choreography I had written for six couples, now needed to be for just five and the fifth wasn't there to learn it! UGH! If this had been at the dance department at UGA, that fifth couple would have been out of the piece. You can't not be there for a rehearsal when there are only, like, three more until the show! (Did you like "can't not"?)
I went ahead and worked with who I had there and still ended up having to rework some things on the spot. The director still thinks it's going to look great, but we didn't make the progress I had hoped for because I only had one hour with them. I told her last week when we were first planning the Friday rehearsal that there was no way they would be able to do that piece with just one hour of time. She had blocked out two, but then you read what happened there. Monday night, was almost like starting over, so, once again, I really needed two hours to get the piece finished. Oh well. I will just continue to hope for the best. (and hope for extra rehearsals)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Poor Unfortunate Me
So now that I have settled from my freak-out mode, I can tell a bit of my experience from the first rehearsal for the musical.
Poor Unfortunate Souls went pretty good. I didn't really have a handle on my time, so it seemed too short. I'll probably be better able to gauge one hour next rehearsal. The actors were very willing to try whatever and very supportive of and even excited about the choreography, but I just couldn't get out of Ursula what I wanted. I would demonstrate things with these over-the-top motions with energy through the roof and she would repeat them with about half the energy. That got a bit frustrating, because it just won't look right if she's not a little wacky. Right now the actress may be a bit shy and just not ready to own what I'm giving her to work with. I'm hoping as she rehearses it, she'll be less concerned with how she looks doing it and just go crazy with it.
I had also hoped that she would be really expressive with her hands and body all on her own, so I left quite a few parts with no choreography so she could just gesture and do what came naturally. Apparently, what comes naturally is just to stand there and sing. Now it just looks blank in the sections where I didn't choreograph. I mean, when I was belting it in my kitchen to get into the mood of the piece, I was making all sorts of motions and gestures... so I wanted to give her some space to do that too and not choreograph every single beat for her. Besides, that would be a heck of a lot to remember for a non-dancer. The director wasn't there for that rehearsal, so maybe she can help me pull some animation out of her next time.
Then it was on to Some Enchanted Evening. Ugh! It was pretty much all as bad as I thought it would be. The wings that I had hoped the actors could step from directly onto the stage were actually just curtains denoting the edge of the theatre space about 10 feet away from the raised plywood stage on three sides, so each couple must walk from the "wing" to the stage and go up about 3-4 steps. Not a good thing when I had planned entrances and exits where they dance right out of the wing onto the stage and again off into the wing. Thus, my first big fear was realized.
The stage itself has four different levels. It is a square, but the third closest to the audience is lower than the rest and a small square portion of the stage in the third furthest from the audience is raised higher than the rest. My plan was for couples to dance in a circular pattern around the stage. This is impossible with this configuration of levels! If I had been able to see the stage in advance, I would have never choreographed the piece the way I did... and I've choreographed every single beat, written it all down in counts of 8, gone over and over it in my kitchen so I wouldn't forget while I was teaching... you get the picture, right? When I saw the stage, all of that work pretty much went out the window. Second fear, realized.
My other concern was that the steps would just be too hard to pick up as fast as they need to be learned. I thought I had two hours with my group, but after the director's introduction of the concept of the piece, the stage manager stopping rehearsal to make some folks get shoes on, and my rehearsal getting cut short because another piece needed rehearsal that night, I got about one hour of time with them. NOT enough time to do a whole lot... which, I guess turns out to be fine, since I'll be reworking the choreography this week anyway.
I taught everyone two combinations of steps, which are just repeated in various ways for the entire piece. About three out of six couples got the steps with some level of proficiency and at least two couples are entirely lost. I have no idea if they'll practice them this week, but if I have exactly the same level of proficiency when I come in for rehearsal, or if (heaven forbid!) they've forgotten any of it, I really am not sure what I will do. I need a plan B for sure. I asked the director in that moment when I was watching them all try to do the right turn I'd taught if this was too ambitious for the amount of time we have. "No, no, they'll get it! It's fine!" she assured me. *sigh* ok! I'm taking her word for it and hoping against hope for the best. (and making the whole last half of the piece simpler than it had originally been.)
Needless to say, I was quite distraught about the whole thing when I got home. I drank a glass of wine and tried to tell myself not to worry about re-choreographing that night. I have a week. Just relax. Don't think about it. Showers are sometimes where I do my best work. I had several little epiphanies in the shower this morning about how I can use the space better, re-do some parts to make them easier to learn and dance and still make it look grand. I'm still frustrated about my experience because I feel like a lot of that could have been EASILY avoided if I had just been able to see the stage or at least have it described to me in detail since it was so different from the theater spaces I'd worked with in the past. Despite my frustration and self-pity party from last night, I am feeling more hopeful today.
The show must go on!
Poor Unfortunate Souls went pretty good. I didn't really have a handle on my time, so it seemed too short. I'll probably be better able to gauge one hour next rehearsal. The actors were very willing to try whatever and very supportive of and even excited about the choreography, but I just couldn't get out of Ursula what I wanted. I would demonstrate things with these over-the-top motions with energy through the roof and she would repeat them with about half the energy. That got a bit frustrating, because it just won't look right if she's not a little wacky. Right now the actress may be a bit shy and just not ready to own what I'm giving her to work with. I'm hoping as she rehearses it, she'll be less concerned with how she looks doing it and just go crazy with it.
I had also hoped that she would be really expressive with her hands and body all on her own, so I left quite a few parts with no choreography so she could just gesture and do what came naturally. Apparently, what comes naturally is just to stand there and sing. Now it just looks blank in the sections where I didn't choreograph. I mean, when I was belting it in my kitchen to get into the mood of the piece, I was making all sorts of motions and gestures... so I wanted to give her some space to do that too and not choreograph every single beat for her. Besides, that would be a heck of a lot to remember for a non-dancer. The director wasn't there for that rehearsal, so maybe she can help me pull some animation out of her next time.
Then it was on to Some Enchanted Evening. Ugh! It was pretty much all as bad as I thought it would be. The wings that I had hoped the actors could step from directly onto the stage were actually just curtains denoting the edge of the theatre space about 10 feet away from the raised plywood stage on three sides, so each couple must walk from the "wing" to the stage and go up about 3-4 steps. Not a good thing when I had planned entrances and exits where they dance right out of the wing onto the stage and again off into the wing. Thus, my first big fear was realized.
The stage itself has four different levels. It is a square, but the third closest to the audience is lower than the rest and a small square portion of the stage in the third furthest from the audience is raised higher than the rest. My plan was for couples to dance in a circular pattern around the stage. This is impossible with this configuration of levels! If I had been able to see the stage in advance, I would have never choreographed the piece the way I did... and I've choreographed every single beat, written it all down in counts of 8, gone over and over it in my kitchen so I wouldn't forget while I was teaching... you get the picture, right? When I saw the stage, all of that work pretty much went out the window. Second fear, realized.
My other concern was that the steps would just be too hard to pick up as fast as they need to be learned. I thought I had two hours with my group, but after the director's introduction of the concept of the piece, the stage manager stopping rehearsal to make some folks get shoes on, and my rehearsal getting cut short because another piece needed rehearsal that night, I got about one hour of time with them. NOT enough time to do a whole lot... which, I guess turns out to be fine, since I'll be reworking the choreography this week anyway.
I taught everyone two combinations of steps, which are just repeated in various ways for the entire piece. About three out of six couples got the steps with some level of proficiency and at least two couples are entirely lost. I have no idea if they'll practice them this week, but if I have exactly the same level of proficiency when I come in for rehearsal, or if (heaven forbid!) they've forgotten any of it, I really am not sure what I will do. I need a plan B for sure. I asked the director in that moment when I was watching them all try to do the right turn I'd taught if this was too ambitious for the amount of time we have. "No, no, they'll get it! It's fine!" she assured me. *sigh* ok! I'm taking her word for it and hoping against hope for the best. (and making the whole last half of the piece simpler than it had originally been.)
Needless to say, I was quite distraught about the whole thing when I got home. I drank a glass of wine and tried to tell myself not to worry about re-choreographing that night. I have a week. Just relax. Don't think about it. Showers are sometimes where I do my best work. I had several little epiphanies in the shower this morning about how I can use the space better, re-do some parts to make them easier to learn and dance and still make it look grand. I'm still frustrated about my experience because I feel like a lot of that could have been EASILY avoided if I had just been able to see the stage or at least have it described to me in detail since it was so different from the theater spaces I'd worked with in the past. Despite my frustration and self-pity party from last night, I am feeling more hopeful today.
The show must go on!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Addendum
Did you know the Jonas Brothers sing Poor Unfortunate Souls? Wierd. But I still like them. :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCXiczrRUSg
Favorite Friday
This video isn't necessarily a favorite, it's more informative than anything. This is a video of Ursula singing "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. I am, in three hours, going to be setting some choreography on an Ursula in a local college production. I looked to this video for some inspiration, but, as you can see, she pretty much does nothing except talk and sing. I feel a bit like I'm flying blind. I know how to choreograph and I love to, but choreography for a musical production is different than anything I've ever done.
These people have to sing AND dance at the same time. I don't know yet if they can turn their backs on the audience while singing because I don't know if there are microphones on their person or hanging from the ceiling or any at all. I don't know how big the stage is or how talented the people are that I will be teaching. I don't know how cheesy the director wants to go or how much the actors will be able to contribute. There's a lot I don't know, but I'm excited (and nervous) to find out. I've got a basic structure for the piece and some ideas that I can go different directions with when I'm in the midst of it all. I'm really, really hoping it all goes smoothly tonight.
And that's the piece I'm less concerned about....
I'm also doing a group production for "Some Enchanted Evening" where I'm teaching at least 5 couples some Fox Trot choreography. I have them (hopefully) entering and exiting the stage at specific times and (hopefully) transitioning into a couple of different formations. I really hope I didn't plan too much for them. They've never had ballroom before and it will probably seem like a foreign language. It did to me even with years of dance training.
Did I mention I'm nervous?
These people have to sing AND dance at the same time. I don't know yet if they can turn their backs on the audience while singing because I don't know if there are microphones on their person or hanging from the ceiling or any at all. I don't know how big the stage is or how talented the people are that I will be teaching. I don't know how cheesy the director wants to go or how much the actors will be able to contribute. There's a lot I don't know, but I'm excited (and nervous) to find out. I've got a basic structure for the piece and some ideas that I can go different directions with when I'm in the midst of it all. I'm really, really hoping it all goes smoothly tonight.
And that's the piece I'm less concerned about....
I'm also doing a group production for "Some Enchanted Evening" where I'm teaching at least 5 couples some Fox Trot choreography. I have them (hopefully) entering and exiting the stage at specific times and (hopefully) transitioning into a couple of different formations. I really hope I didn't plan too much for them. They've never had ballroom before and it will probably seem like a foreign language. It did to me even with years of dance training.
Did I mention I'm nervous?
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