Don't make me go...

It's finally time to go home- well, not so much finally but more unfortunately. We spent our last day around the grass market area, laid out in the sunshine on a hill with the castle as our backdrop, shopped about, and met the cast for a final picnic dinner and cupcakes at the gardens. We saw the polish production of the Scottish play at the international festival which was quite a vision- filled with pyrotechnics and extremities. Brian and I hit the town one last time and now were getting ready to board the bus :( this has been the best 2 weeks of my life and I am so blessed to have been introduced to this beautiful city!

closing time

Swift as the feet of pegasus it's time for us to close this show :( It has been such an incredible experience going out there every night in this beautiful city and telling our story- despite small houses, the feedback that we've gotten is that we have really touched people and as a theatre artist I can't ask for anything better than that. I can't believe we've already reached the end of our run- Hecuba will certainly be shedding a few extra tears tonight.

Yesterday after our classic "Sex and the City" breakfast at The Abbey, Sumiko and I split off and went to see "American Girlfriend"- a comedy act at The Hive. The woman was hysterical- and american- so what's not to love? We also stumbled upon the Museum of Childhood, where we got to see some super creepy old dolls, play a ten pence "Sweeney Todd" game, and I even got to teach her how to play snakes and ladders! The gift shop was a blast too- we were reminiscing about how fun Christmas/Birthdays were when you got toys instead of socks and underwear.

We all went out for desserts after the show- which were presentationally pretty awesome. We had a crazy Italian waiter whose humor didn't impress everyone, but it was nice to spend some time as a cast post-show. Rachel, Ross, Brian and I met up with our friends again and went out afterwards for another crazy Scottish night.

Today we all went to see "Austentatious"- an improve group that draws audience member's Jane Austen book title ideas out of a hat and then acts out the story. Today's selection was: Anal and Anal Retentive- which I'm sure you can imagine was a riot. We had a blast at the show, one of the funniest things I've seen at the fringe, and they were brilliant at improv (so much "yes, and..." to be had!)

I shopped around a bit on the Royal Mile since it was a glorious afternoon- and now it's off to get ready for our final performance!

Cheers!

the road less traveled (and the mountain to which it lead)

We did it! It was a long and at times tiring trek, but in just an hour's time we made it to the very top of Arthur's Seat. Alyssa chose a sensible dress and took many a dig, but there was not a complaint heard and we were so proud after all nearly dying on the way down. (who would have thought that the path would be so rocky and steep?! on a mountain?! unheard of.) But the view was incredible- you could see the entire city, and couldn't tell where the ocean met the sky.  It was a glorious day- the perfect morning for such an adventure- clear and breezy. I even convinced everyone to join me in a self-timer photo (just for you mom!)

We had a picnic lunch on our campus and heard some very mediocre ABBA karaoke going on nearby. We're going out again with our friends tonight, so most of us decided to take the day of and rest (and to give our poor legs a bit of a break!)

PS- less than 400 views until I hit my goal of 1,000 before I get home (thanks Robert ;) )

Cheers!

Shopping and Shakespeare

We deemed it a "shopping day" (as if that's any different than any other day that we've been here.) The girls and I managed to snag cute new dresses at a boutique nearby- then it was back to Primark, where we each got about 4 outfits for less than our first dress... oops. But alas, I have an adorable new back to school wardrobe straight from the streets of Edinburgh!

The show tonight, despite a smaller house (but still a house!!) went very well... the airplanes for the tattoo flew over the building at a perfect time, so we were able to pass off the terrifying sounds as cues.

Afterwards we went out to see "Sh*tfaced Shakespeare"- A Midsummer Night's Dream in which one of the cast members is selected at random to get well, sh*tfaced, which was an absolute riot! Helena was chosen and proved to be a hilarious drunk. It just about topped the lap dance Brian got last night at the burlesque show...

Tomorrow we take on Arthur's Seat- here's to another sunny day!

Cheers!

you never say good luck on opening night

WE OPENED THE SHOW YA'LL! and managed to get a pretty big house! (much bigger than the fringe average of 9, so we were very pleased.) Joe said from the minute I walked on stage to open the show he felt that it was there and that the audience was thoroughly engaged the whole time and we did wonderful work. I could not be more proud of my cast and all the hard work we've put into this project, and could not be more blessed to have my international debut in a place so incredible. After the show Joe bought us drinks at The Southern, where we had celebrated Brian's  birthday earlier. At last call a few of us were brave enough to go for the coffee-tequila shot, and with that extra boost we decided to stay out and enjoy the city a while longer. We found some guys on the street and asked for directions, but they instead became our new best friends and took us with them to this super hip cheap bar, where they bought ALL our drinks, and then took us out to The Hive- a very happening Scottish nightclub. We had a BLAST, we were so lucky to meet them and a good time was had by all. (maybe a little TOO much of a good time come this morning, but alas, when in Edinburgh...)

This afternoon (after getting about an hour and a half of sleep) to cure the hangover blues a few of us went to get a nice greasy breakfast at a local tavern, and then hit up the Baxter Theatre Centre's (South Africa) production of Mies Julie, which was some of the most brilliant acting I've seen (and some pretty graphic stagework.)

On to show number 2!

Cheers!

don't rain on my parade

So today turned out to be quite a yucky day in beautiful Edinburgh. cold, gray and rainy- it wasn't looking to be a promising hike up Calton Hill to do character/speech work with Joe. However we were troopers, went up to overlook the city (in what we could see of it that wasn't engulfed by the clouds) and it turned out to be a better circumstance to work in regardless. what better image of Hecuba's fallen Troy than to look over an entire city surrounded by cloudy fall and imagine that all it's beauty was demolished? It was quite erie (and yet still breathtaking) and provided me with some wonderful images to work off of. I'm feeling good about tomorrow's opening- I'm excited to get out there and show to the WORLD all the hard work that we've done. (and if not the world, then Alyssa's parents will do). But Calton Hill was amazing, even in the rain- I'd love to go back on a clearer day, but even in it's haze... it's unbelievable that in just a single flight of stairs you can get to the top of the world.

Later I met up with everyone at the National Museum of Scotland- which is not only free, but amazing! The structure was beautiful, long corridors and glass ceilings and pillars (Brian, Alyssa, and I even made it up to the rooftop terrace!) I can't say that I really got an educational experience... we were having too much fun in the interactive areas, dressing up in old time clothes, trying to lift ourselves in pulley chairs, and racing wind up dinosaurs in the gift shop.

Next we headed over to Princes Street again to take a look at the street fair going on- I managed to snag an EXCELLENT gift for "mum"- (who will have to wait in anticipation after reading this). We went to the store we love and discovered before, Primark, and we've already decided we're going to have to go back for round 3.

After searching for an affordable dinner, we finally found a little shack of a place where we got veggie burgers and "chips." It was good and cheap, and I'm sure we'll be returning there as well. (And we ran into our friend from the first night, Graham!- Edinburgh is getting smaller and smaller as the days go by).

We caught Dario on his last night in town and all went to see "Remy," a one woman show about the French Revolution. I didn't get the entirety of the story, but the actress was quite energetic and demonstrated very good use of sense memory. And we even caught sight of another rainbow!

Headed home early to have some down time before we trek up Arthur's Seat tomorrow to do a final line-through before opening!

Cheers!

survived tech, now onto the fringe!

Today marked the fastest tech rehearsal in the history of all theatre: The Trojan Women. With only 10-1 pm in the space, we added costumes, lights, props, and found that our very small dressing room has a farting door that is impossible to shut. Oh, and the one mirror in the room (more notably, a closet) is the size of a paperback novel and is technically on the "other side" reserved for the other casts. (mind you the "other side" is marked by a single clothing rack.) But we shall all cram in our own little corner and change into beautiful Trojans all for the love of theatre! Tech went well- we've got a show, ya'll!- and after only a page of notes we were out to explore. 

We found a small arts and crafts festival going on in the main square and I- SURPRISE!- proceeded to spend money on trinkets. Everyone split after lunch, I found myself in an underground stand-up comedy routine, where I was picked on as the "American Lady." (Tom Petty wrote a song about me 10 years ago, when I was just a girl.) I then found vegetarian bangers and mash (my new favorite meal- but then again, it is mostly comprised of mashed potatoes and bread, so there's really no surprise there) at a local pub for dinner. Later as I was walking around searching for a show to see- I bumped into Dario on the street and proceeded to grab a drink and see the Belt Up Theatre's production of "The Boy James" which was... interesting to say the least. The show started off with enchanting charm and immediately got the audience involved as we were asked to make a new best friend, play a round of wink murder, and all hold hands- but as the story line developed it really just turned out to be a play about "no." there was no "yes, and..." every idea or plot point was immediately shut down by a physical act of violence or curling away in fear/ withering in sadness. But it was quite a nice evening in good company regardless!

Since I didn't get the chance to post about the shows I saw yesterday, I figured I'd blurb them here:

 

We started with "Sex Ed: The Musical"- which I'm sure you can imagine was quite an experience (especially for Brian, who got to make his fringe debut a little early thanks to the magic of audience participation...) This British production was quite a riot, it even rained condoms! A good time (and quite a few good laughs) were had by all.

Next up was "Facehunters" where East London hipsters meet the story of Dorian Gray. Going into this I had no idea what Dorian Gray was, so the surprise bizarro ending caught me off gaurd, and not in a good way. However, the ensemble was great, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. The music was a bit catchy as well, and the concept was cool- the intrusive rock opera, in your face, british glam was something new and exciting at times. The mic feedback... not so glam, or exciting.

A few of us stuck around later that evening and managed to snag free tickets to "Who's Your Daddy?" a one man show which starred writer/director Johnny O'Callaghan and it was BRILLIANT. A heartwarming tale that made us laugh and cry... A single gay Irish man goes to Africa on a suicide mission, but winds up finding a little boy that changes his life. The storytelling was magnificent and I enjoyed every moment. His perspective work was great, and it was so nice to hear him share this story so close to his heart. A MUST SEE if you are somehow reading this in Edinburgh. 

Well, that's all I've got for now- Cheers!