Topsy Turvy Children's Show

I was so excited to be a part of Creating Arts Company's 'Topsy Turvy' Mini-Musical a few weeks ago!  Basically, things got turned upside down and all the characters were singing different songs while telling a story; so there were Princesses, Superhero's and Villains and it was a blast of a show!

I was playing Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast,' (this was my first time playing her character) and singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."  There were songs from 'Wicked,' The Black-Eyed Peas, 'The Brady Bunch' and more.  I even got serenaded by The Beast as he sang 'Your Song' and whisked me around on the dance floor.  I knew the songs from 'Wicked' but I guess I hadn't listened to them all that closely because as we were singing and harmonizing, I got chills.  All of our voices blended so well together, it was really beautiful.  This cast was stellar!

Right before Show-Time with some of the Princesses, Superhero's and Villains!

After both of our shows that weekend we got to take pictures, give autographs, get hugs and hang out with the kids which is one of my favorite parts.  That's what I missed about doing Children's Shows the most.  The kids are so innocent, smart and the way they look up to us is inspiring to each of us.  I had done our Adult Theater for the past year so this was getting me back in the swing of things with the kids.  It's basically play-time for us!  I was so in love with that dress, I felt like a Princess the instant I put it on.  Although, I may not go the ball-gown route when I'm picking out Wedding dresses in the future ;)

'Beauty & The Beast''

I always look forward to the Children's Shows because it's such a different environment and vibe! Unfortunately, I caught that Summer cold so I wasn't able to do a Princess Party the following weekend but there's always more and I can't wait to do another one soon!

Magic: The Gathering

In the past couple months, more and more people have been telling me to get into Voiceover.  I never thought my voice was anything special, low, maybe a little bit husky, and raspy, even though I don't smoke cigarettes.  In acting class, on set, random people I meet in the bar, I've been hearing it on a regular basis and lucky for me, I was able to put my voice to good use a week ago in the recording studio when I got cast for a story version of "Magic: The Gathering!"

Nathan, Lauren, Austin & I in the booth for 'Magic: The Gathering'

Thresa (who brought me in for this project) and I had met when we were in Creating Arts Company's Children's Show in December 2013.  We were cast in 'Babes In Toyland' alongside Nathan and Lauren whom were also cast in this voiceover project.  Nathan's roommate, Austin, rounded out the CAC crew, as we sat in the recording booth excited to be working on this really fun story led by Shaun who knows everything there is know about the Magic card game.

As we got further into the script, I got more and more excited, wanting to know what was going to happen, what was coming for us?  I'm doing the voice for Halana and I like to describe her as a cross between Lara Croft and Katniss Everdeen; she's this badass huntress who fights evil with her close friend, Alena.  Together they're trying to protect the people of the town, Ulvenwald, against anything bad.

That's a wrap for 'Magic: The Gathering!'

Now we're all just waiting to hear if the project gets picked up and turned into a weekly thing which would be an absolute blast!  I like to keep myself busy with all sorts of projects with voiceover being a new venture for me and I look forward to doing more work like this!  Thanks to our entire awesome crew that day...it wouldn't have been such a breeze if it weren't for them!

The Summer Freeze Princess Show :)

After a busy week of rehearsals for 'Thenardier's,' 'Project Mayhem' (which I'll be writing a blog about soon), and Improv, I was also rehearsing for our 'Summer Freeze Princess Show & Sing-Along!'  A couple weeks ago we had two shows on a Sunday with a bunch of Princesses joining in on the fun!

We had two very sold-out shows with tons of boys and girls singing along and creating magic with us.  Pocahontas led us on the adventure this time and was joined by plenty of Princesses from Rapunzel, to Anna & Elsa, Belle, Tiana, and more, including Jasmine, whom I was playing that weekend.  We had just gotten a new dress for Jasmine and it was absolutely beautiful and perfect for my character.

Princess Jasmine with Rapunzel, Elsa, and Pocahontas!

As soon as I got on-stage I was mobbed by children who wanted to tell me I was their favorite Princess, they had just watched my movie, or could they sit with me.  I'm sure they say that to all the Princesses but I always feel so special as soon as I start talking to them.  So while we got the kids up and dancing for a bunch of the songs, we also had them sit down so the Princesses could move about and tell our story that day.  When I was sitting, without fail, a little girl would come to sit in my lap, and another would try to fit in as well, and then one would hold my hand.  Best feeling in the world!

Princesses for the Summer Freeze Sing-Along :)

At the end of the show, we taught the kids 'The Princess Song' which is our original Princess Song written by Dan, our Musical Director at CAC.  It's so magical to hear the kids singing along with us on a song that is all our own.  At our second show, a bunch of the guys who normally play our Princes and Pirates came to the see the show and support us Princesses; that was so nice of them to show their enthusiasm for the Summer Freeze!

The Princess Shows are always a blast and revitalize my feelings on how much I love children.  One eight month old baby got her first photo with a Princess, with me!  All those dreams as a little girl of being a Princess one day and they're all coming true <3

Improv Night!

CAC Studios is literally growing by the minute!  On top of extensions, sold-out shows, our Children's division, Princess shows and parties, we've got things planned nearly every weekend!  So I was very excited to hear we were going to start doing an Improv Night.

Nathan (who I've worked with in 'Babes in Toyland,' 'Wizard of Oz,' 'Thenardier's Inn' and more) is involved in a couple different Improv groups so he decided to start one at CAC Studios.  We had a fun night of playing games and doing Improv as an informal audition.  It's really nice to get to work that muscle because most of the auditions you go to will have some form of Improv in your performance.  It's always great to be prepared with your lines and dialogue but when the Casting Director calls an audible, you have to be up for anything!  Improv helps prepare you for that.

Part of our Friday Night Crew...Adam, Giana, Nathan, and I after the Show!

The show was called "52 Pick Up: The Aces of Improv" and we had two shows about a week and a half ago on a Friday and Saturday night with both shows having a full-house.  Everything ran really smoothly and there were times I was laughing so hard that I actually started tearing up!  We all got to be involved in two different games, I was in Opera (where you have to sing every line, and I turned all of us into past Presidents) and also Two Lines (where you have two different lines and you can only say those two lines throughout the scene).  One of my favorite parts was our closing when we made up a song about a Sloth.  No more can be said, other than you'll have to see it for yourself!  

Which you can check out using this link:

https://video-lax1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xap1/v/t42.1790-2/11359059_10206876367806404_1981618252_n.mp4?oh=30f3e5fb459f72b7fb7d16423874778d&oe=55766DE1

I'm hoping this becomes a monthly thing for us because we all had so much fun and you're basically getting to play and laugh at yourself.  Laughter is the best medicine and it was so awesome to get to work with such talented people!  Thanks to Nathan (all of our Aces: Michael, Dan, and Nick), all the performers and CAC Studios for creating an amazing space for us to be creative <3

Thenardier's Inn Extension :)

Showtime!

I've been a part of Creating Arts Studio's production 'Thenardier's Inn: A Les Miserables Cabaret' which is an immersive theater experience.  We opened back in November for a weekend, sold-out, so it got extended for two more weeks.  We sold out the show again and found out in December we would be re-opening for a second extension that would run for four weeks in January and end on Valentine's weekend.  Needless to say, all of us were so excited to be doing the show again as it's an absolute blast!  In fact, we had sold out before we even opened!

Although the cast has gotten a little smaller, the sound of our voices has grown, and we've made the show tighter, and also added more comedy and humor throughout.  We had a change of actors for some of the roles, created new cocktails for audience members to sip on during the show, and just really honed in on the story.

I just wanted to share some more photos from this run of the show and thank all of my friends who made it out to Santa Monica to see the magic we're creating!  Thanks to Nick, Sam, Scottie & Nicole, Michael & Jordan, Neil, and Khad & Heike for supporting the show and laughing with all of us during our second run :)

Jean Valjean, a Lovely Lady, and Fantine before the show!

I said it at intermission during our first show and I'll say it again now, I really hope we can do this for forever and right now we are! #notlesmisforever

Lovely Ladies!

To read more about the show check out my original blog from November right here: Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret

CAC's 'Retro Holiday Show'

We are two weeks into our 'Retro Holiday Show' for Creating Arts Company and we also just got back from a mini-tour to Twenty Nine Palms Military Base to perform for the troops and their families this past weekend!

My Rudolph Deer Make-Up

I'm playing Rudolph in the show and it's basically a bunch of your favorite Holiday characters including, Frosty, Heat Miser, the Winter Warlock, Kris Kringle, The Grinch, and of course, Elsa!  We sing your favorite Christmas songs and it's really a sing-a-long for the kids and their parents.  In fact, I think the parents get more out of this show because all these stories are classics that even some of the kids haven't seen yet.  There's a line from "The Christmas Story" that always gets a laugh from the adults, 'You'll shoot your eye out, Kid!'

Last weekend we made our way to the military base on Friday afternoon and then we performed two shows in a 1500 person capacity theater!  It was huge!  The kids really loved the show and enjoyed meeting us after and it's really nice to have kids not be afraid of me for once ;)  They're actually excited to meet me and all the other characters and we took tons of photos.  Plus, the kids were so polite and well-behaved.  I know we'd love to go back to perform more shows for them in the future!

When we had our show this past Sunday all of us had so much energy because I think we were all still high off of the Saturday shows.  It literally felt easy to entertain in the smaller more intimate space at the Miles after the huge theater.  There are perks to both of the venues but it's easier to get the kids involved when they're sitting floor level than having to run up and down a giant auditorium (and the altitude change definitely wears you out easier) but we all had such a blast.  

Some of our 'Retro Holiday Show' Cast before Show-Time!

I have my last show next Sunday since I'll be leaving for Wisconsin the following weekend so make sure to get your tickets to any of our Holiday shows at http://www.creatingarts.org/

Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret

I've been doing Theater here in LA for the past year and working with Creating Arts Company that produces Children's Theater year-round as well as Princess Shows, parties and events, and TV appearances.  We just started a new division, Creating Arts Studios, where we do Adult Shows and we just finished our three-week run of "Thenardier's Inn - A Les Miserables Cabaret" last weekend and it was absolutely spectacular!

Originally we were doing one weekend but got extended for another two weeks since we had sold-out our first show so quickly and the buzz around it was so big with the LA Critic's and Times among other outlets showing major interest.  Before our last weekend (we literally sold-out every show) we all found out that we are getting a four-week extension starting Friday January 23rd through Saturday February 14th!  I'm so proud of the hard-work that everyone has put in through this journey and the product is just incredible.

Opening night of 'Thenardier's Inn' with the Lovely Ladies & Mistress of the House

The content is classic yet original, basically everything you're thinking during 'Les Mis' we're saying during the show.  So there's dramatic-sweeping music and moments, emotional heart-felt songs and quotes, and pure comedy as well.  Did I mention that we serve alcohol throughout the show?  That includes complimentary wine from the Mistress of the House or from the Lovely Ladies during 'Master of the House' as well as a free cocktail for those dressed in French Revolutionary costumes.  I've seen the show numerous times now and I still get teary-eyed during certain songs, and laugh out-loud thanks to the writing and directing of Nick Rubando, who also plays Enjolras, and director Lee Marshall, who plays Javert.  Along with the fabulous improv of our entire cast bringing all the characters to life in this immersive theater experience.

Javert and I sneaking around...

I'm playing a Lovely Lady, and all the Lovely Ladies basically spend the entire show on-stage, flirting with patrons, serving cocktails and drinking with the guests.  Our cast packs a punch, tells a saucy tale, and the group numbers are sure to impress with our small 15 member talented cast.  One of my favorite parts of being a Lovely Lady is the costuming, hair and make-up involved.  It's wild, crazy, and totally different than anything I could wear in my daily life so it's fun to play and get dressed up for the show!

Everyone I've invited has been so happy and impressed by the show.  I can try to explain it to people but it just doesn't do the show justice, you have to see it, to really be a part of it!  There's no disappointment, only laughter, love and tears, for how awesome the show is.  Thank you to Bob, Cathleen, Joe & Kevin from Gabe's, John and Tatjana from Irish Times, Jamie & Spark, Ben, Kalissa & Chelsea, my Mom for coming all the way from Wisconsin to see me close "Sleeping Beauty" and open this show, and all of our super duper CAC members who've come to support and check out this life-changing show!  I'm so grateful and happy to be a part of something that makes me realize each and every performance that this is what I'm meant to be doing and exactly where I need to be.  I'm so proud of our talented cast and crew, Shannon and Todd, who keep our spirits alive and growing, and those that support us in this crazy career.  Every show is magic and as I said during intermission of our first show, I want to do this every day for the rest of my life.

Successful show now let's celebrate!!

To get tickets to this amazing show check out: http://www.cacstudios.com/lesmis/  I look forward to serving you a drink and a kiss on your cheek ;)

Mom's Visit to LA in November!

My Mom wanted to be able to see me in 'Thénardiers Inn - A Les Misérables Cabaret,' and the weekend it opened was the same weekend than 'Sleeping Beauty' closed.  So she decided to come for a few days to catch my performances in both and spend a little time with me before I go home for Christmas in December!

Mom with her 'Lovely Lady'

I picked her up from the airport on Saturday after 'Sleeping Beauty' finished and after grabbing a bite to eat it was time to get ready for 'Les Mis.'  I play a Lovely Lady and Mom ended up loving it!  I was worried because it's a little risque but she really enjoyed it.  She had made a joke a week before saying "as long as I wasn't swearing, playing a butch lesbian or giving birth on-stage again," like I did in 'The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told' she could handle it.  She was happy to see some of our other CAC members in the show and meet some of my new friends.  After the show we stopped by Gabe's to see Aimee and sing a little Karaoke.  She had wanted to hear me sing 'On My Own' and 'Just Like Jesse James' :)

On Sunday I was playing Maleficent in 'Sleeping Beauty' and the kids that day were quite rambunctious.  In fact, at one point after hearing nearly every cast mate tell the kids to quiet down so they could tell the rest of the story, I came on-stage to say my lines, and this boy who was a non-stop talker continued to talk over me.  I literally turned and 'shushed' him and gave him an evil Maleficent look.  I could hear my Mom laugh out-loud along with all the other parents and some of the kids.  Later on, I mentioned how talkative he was and asked what he thought of my dress, and he stared blankly at me.  I think it might have been the first time someone told him no; guess I taught him a little lesson...oops!  It certainly didn't stop any of the other kids from coming up to me at the end of the show to hug me and ask for pictures.  Thankfully, I'm Maleficent, so I can play on that scary side a little bit!  Once again, Mom enjoyed the children's show and commented on how different both shows were and how I had changed my look so drastically between the two.  I love being able to adapt to new characters as an actress!

I was able to get Mom to work-out with me for a couple of days and we took our normal walks around the neighborhood, one day having a glass of Sparking Moscato to celebrate because, it's 5 o'clock somewhere!  It was awesome to watch the Packer Game together on Sunday and on Monday we made Dinner together and watched 'Maleficent.'  She liked the movie and even got teary-eyed at the end.  I loved being able to see the movie again and only wish I could have seen it right before I started 'Sleeping Beauty' because it was great research for the role since Angelina Jolie did such an incredible job.  Mom also made this Texas Caviar Salsa that was awesome; it's so good I'm surprised I still have some left over from the giant bowl it made!

On our last night together I took Mom to the Culver Hotel for some Happy Hour cocktails and Dinner.  I've been there before but never got to try the food aside from the the Chocolate Lava Cake so this time it was a must to check out the menu.  The live Jazz started at 7:30 pm so we were able to get in some great music, yummy cocktails, and food as well.  I had Afterbuzz that night for the 200th episode of 'Supernatural' so she came to watch us film the show and see me Host.

Celebrating the 200th Episode "Fan Fiction" of 'Supernatural' at Afterbuzz TV with Bacon Cheeseburgers & Cupcakes!

Once again the few days we had together went way too fast but now it's only just over a month until I head home for Christmas for a nice extended vacation!  Thank you for coming out to spend time with me Mom, see all my shows, and just get some quality time together.  Miss you already and see you soon <3

Princess Jasmine for Creating Arts!

On Halloween a few of our amazing Creating Arts Members got together for a quick rehearsal as we put together a Children's Outreach Show we were performing in just hours later at the UCLA Housing in West LA.  There were over 100 people who brought their kids to see our show and meet us before going out Trick or Treating!

With some Pirates...arrrrgh!

I was playing Princess Jasmine as it's been dream to play her since I joined the Company.  My friend from High School, Sean Sagal, used to always call me Jasmine from "Aladdin" because I reminded him of the Disney Princess.  He was one of the few boys I went to school with that was nice to me, never made fun of me, or made me feel bad about myself.  I didn't have a date for my Junior Prom so I went with a group of girls but he asked me to dance, and we danced to 'Wonderful Tonight.'  After coming back from College he said he was so impressed with how out-going I had become, but I had to joke with him that I was always like that, people just never gave me a chance to be me.  Sean survived from cancer after High School but unfortunately took his own life my Senior Year in College.  He was a wonderful person with such a bright and compassionate personality.  Getting to be Jasmine for this show literally made my heart soar and I gladly dedicated my performance to him and his memory.

The show itself was crazy; there were so many people and I think most of the kids were just overwhelmed by all the Princesses, Princes, and Pirates.  This was their first time seeing any sort of live theater and it felt so wonderful to bring our talents to their Halloween celebration.  We had a short script filled with plenty of songs and I even got to sing 'A Whole New World' with our Aladdin who was moon-lighting as Willa Wonka for the day ;)

Princesses Ariel, Elsa, Anna, and Jasmine for Creating Arts Company

It was a great way to start my Halloween, doing something fun and exciting for these families, not to mention our CAC Members got to make magic for these kids and that's just fulfilling in itself!  I'll definitely look forward to playing Princess Jasmine again in the future and just want to thank Shannon for giving me the opportunity to play one of my dream roles!