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

Maleficent & Co.

One of my favorite parts of working with Creating Arts is getting to do the Meet & Greet after the show is over.  We always take our bows and then go outside to take pictures with the kids, sign autographs, and just chat with the families (in character of course).  It's so heart-warming and I love talking with the kids and hearing what's on their minds.

Stages of emotion in meeting the kids, so excited to take
pictures and hear their stories, and then they hug you
and I just melt.  Best feeling in the world!

Since "Maleficent" came out in theaters it's really shed a new light on my fairy character, thankfully.  The little girls have told me they loved MY movie, and that I'm one of their favorite characters.  Some are even dressing up like me for Halloween!  Yet again, even better than all of that, seeing the children overcome their fears.  Like this one little girl, who came up and got into my arms, we shared a little moment, and after setting her down another little one had come over to say hi and I asked if she wanted a hug.  She gave me one of those scared half/barely-touching hug and the first little girl heard me ask the other one that, and flung her arms around my neck so tightly, all I could do in that moment, was appreciate the love.  I was so overcome with emotion and started to tear up right there!  Even the little boys get excited to meet the villain, and I love playing along with them.  I learned how to 'hi-five' this weekend and what 'Halloween' actually was.  I mean, did Halloween even exist in the 14th century?  It does now, because they're be a bunch of little mini-me's, meaning Maleficent's running around in a week or so.  Plus, it's great to see them protective of their sisters and try to coax them into meeting everyone.  All of them are so adorable I can barely handle it :)

Our 'Sleeping Beauty' Cast and some fans!

This past weekend, we signed so many autographs, you do start to feel like a 'mini celebrity.'  In these kids eyes, we are famous, and I can remember thinking the same thing about the actors when I saw shows as a child.  I loved hearing a little girl talk to me about the show and then ask if I could come to her house.  I laughed and said, that could probably be arranged.  We have to remember that the pictures we take with these kids will be forever remembered by them and in digital format.  They may look back on them when they take their own children to see theater.  How cool is that?!

Maleficent in 'Sleeping Beauty'

We've got three more weekends of "Sleeping Beauty" and so much more fun to be had!  Come and check out the show, and see my amazing wings that always bring gasps from the audience...pictures can't even do them justice :D

*Tickets can be found on www.creatingarts.org or for a discounted price on www.goldstar.com*

Playing Maleficent in 'Sleeping Beauty'

"Sleeping Beauty" is at the top of my list of Disney movies and it's always been my favorite!  Aurora has been my all-time favorite Princess, too!  She's the only Princess to have violet eyes and I always thought she was just classical beautiful.  So I was very excited when Creating Arts decided to do this as our Pint-Sized Play during the Fall Season.

My Maleficent Costume!

For this production of "Sleeping Beauty," I'm playing Maleficent, the evil fairy who has magical powers and can turn into a winged dragon.  After seeing "Maleficent" in theaters this past Summer, I fell in love with the story even more.  I won't give away the storyline of "Maleficent" but I like the hybrid character I created to play the role with a mix of evil from the original Disney movie, and that air of confidence, an edginess, and a little humor from Angelina Jolie's role.  Plus, I've got my Guard to make me look more sinister and mean, and she gets to play it off more goofy.  As much as I'd love to play one of the Princesses for a show and not be the villain, this gives me more room to grow as an Actress and a better opportunity to delve deep into character work by doing some research and analysis.  And obviously, I'm not an evil person so this is truly acting...muah ha ha ;)

All the Fairies in "Sleeping Beauty"

We put this show together in just two weeks and it's got a six week run (with one weekend off, which was this weekend).  Right now, we've already had two weekends of shows at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica where we do most of the Children's Shows.  I think one of my favorite things about the show is how different each audience reacts.  The first week I made a lot of kids cry, I heard them wailing after my first entrance and exit (and that seriously tugs at my heart) but then the following day, the kids were more brave.  When King Stephan asks what he should do now that I've cursed Aurora some little boy yelled, 'kill her!'  We've had children with Birthday's in the audience so our next show we could barely get through our lines because all the kids were talking the entire time.  And our last show we did was probably the hi-light so far because when the Prince asks if the audience wants to forgive me for trying to hurt Aurora after they banish me from the kingdom, all the kids said yes, and as soon as I got on-stage they mobbed me, about 15 kids, hugging me, saying they forgave me, told me 'You're beautiful, you're evil, but you're beautiful.'  So cute!

The costume for the show is just incredible!  It's this long sequined one-shoulder dress with a wing on the one side, and I'm wearing the green glitter shoes from "Wizard of Oz" and of course the Maleficent horns, and later on, get a ginormous set of wings!  They are literally magical.  I came up with a make-up plan doing shades of purple, with winged liner, glitter, and then lots of contouring, plus no CAC show is complete without glitter lips!  As the villain I really do get some of the best and most beautiful costumes.

We've got four more weeks of shows lined up for "Sleeping Beauty" and a lot more fun to be had!  Each week brings a new challenge of scaring the kids but winning them over in the end, and finding myself in my character to bring out something new and different for every show.  I always look forward to those challenges!

Recapping...A Hooter's Reunion, Maleficent, and more!

I love that for the past three months I've been busy with performances and rehearsal for Creating Arts; it was awesome to get back into theater and be on-stage once again.  Plus, I loved meeting the kids after the show and hearing their stories.  But every once in a while, a little break is necessary, and last weekend was my first weekend off in months!

Kristina & I in matching blue :)

I had Hosted Karaoke on Friday night which was a lot of fun since my Wednesday's are usually pretty laid back, so this brought new life into Gabe's, and was a pleasant surprise.  On Saturday night, Kristina and I had planned a little catch-up since she had just gotten back from Mexico, so we made Dinner together, and then made impromptu plans to check out Ocean Bar on a Saturday night.  It was a spontaneous and fun night and great to spend a little girl time together :)

Then on Sunday I was going to our Santa Monica Hooter's Reunion.  I haven't worked there in over 8 years and people have come and gone, so it was nice that Angel had organized a get-together for all of us who had worked there to meet each other and enjoy some beers and wings as well.  We ended up at the Hooter's in Hollywood where about 10 girls and some of our regulars joined us for reminiscing and fun.  Jen (whom I had worked with, Angel too, all of us were bartenders as well) had a Wing Party from nearly 20 years ago that we were able to use.  A Wing Party lets you order as many wings as you want for an hour, so needless to say, we showed the Hooter's patrons how Hooter Girls eat!  I can't even tell you how many wings we ordered but I can tell you I saw lots of empty plates by the time I was leaving!  I'm really not a huge wing person but for some reason, I love my Hooter's wings!  I wish we could have gotten more girls together, especially for the time that I was working there but everyone is so spread out nowadays and have babies so it was more difficult than expected.  Still it was awesome to see everyone after eight years!  That was my first job here in Los Angeles and I'll never forget it.

Angel & I at the Santa Monica Hooter Girl Reunion!

This last Saturday I tried another new restaurant, my first for the month of June.  It was Magnolia Cafe, in North Hollywood, just a nice little cafe where I had some chocolate chip pancakes and Parmesan chips made from scratch.  A new restaurant but typical for breakfast.  I'm sure I'll be back there again!

That Saturday night, I wanted to take Katy out to see a movie for her Birthday, so she and her friend, Keeley, met me at the Century City AMC and we saw Maleficent.  I've been so excited to see this movie since Sleeping Beauty is my absolute favorite Disney movie.  I've never been a huge Angelina Jolie fan, I've always been team Jennifer Aniston, but I do enjoy her movies and think she's a good actress.  In Maleficent she actually blew me away!  I was so impressed by her transformation into the character, and how I felt for her the ENTIRE movie, even when she was being evil.  She looked so beautiful and after seeing the movie, there is no one else I can think of who would have played the part even half as good as she did.  She completely encompassed her role as Maleficent and brought tears to my eyes at certain points.  Not to mention, the visuals and scenery were just gorgeous.  They created a world unlike any other and told the story of Sleeping Beauty from her perspective and it gave new light to one of my favorite movies.  The only thing I didn't like was that it was so perfect, the viewer knew it wasn't real, and I would rather see some gorgeous Mother Earth created beauty than CGI.  And I wasn't really into the actor who was playing King Stephen, he did a good job, just didn't wow me.  Needless to say, I honestly can't wait to go and see the movie again.  I've been waiting for a movie like this to come along and break into my Top 5 favorite movies, and it did just that!  Incredible :)

How Hooter Girls do Wings...and that wasn't even half!

And I'll leave you with that :)