Busy days ahead

Today is an early day (well, early for me). I have a costume fitting for a gig tomorrow for an opening of someplace. I still have to find out where it is and how to get there. Then I have rehearsals for the one woman show.

The one woman show is getting completely revamped. Though in the long run it will be a good thing as it is to make it better, but in the short run it's going to be hard as I will be learning the new show while performing the old show and the whole time trying not to get both of them confused.

If the new show were completely different, it wouldn't be nearly as hard (although there would be a lot more memorizing). With the shows being similar and having a lot of the same aspects in different orders, that is going to be the confusing part.

Lets just hope that my brain doesn't explode.

A night without Baby...

So far, the Friday's Favorites Hoppy Easter Treasury has 66 views and 20 comments. We're doing great so far.

In other news:

Last night two of my friends came to see my one woman show. I always get really nervous when someone I know is coming, but with these people I was even more nervous... You see, they just had a baby recently and had gotten a baby sitter for maybe the second time ever. I really felt responsible for them having a good evening, and didn't want to ruin there one night out of the house.

They said they liked it and we all went out for drinks afterward. I was so relieved. Who knows when they'll get another night out together by themselves...I really didn't want this one to leave a bad taste in their mouth.

Yay for a night without baby! Now if she could just finish teething so they can get a good night's sleep.

What a Show!

I often wonder why people go to a show when they're really not in the mood to be entertained. Especially my show... I mean, I'm not some famous star where you buy tickets months in advance and you go no matter how you are feeling that day. Most people choose that day that they want to see my show.

Through 75% of the show, I swear the audience was glaring at me, as if to say, "Get on with it!"

Now, I could understand if I hadn't done the show for very long... then I wouldn't know if the jokes were funny and how most audiences react. But I've done "My Secret Diaries" for months and months, and I know that the jokes work, and most people think it's funny.

Not last night. They were not in the mood to see a show, so I had an hour to kill (a very long hour), on stage, in front of people with their arms crossed glaring at me.

I really hope that tonight is much better... *sigh*

Take it off Tuesday Headband Sale!

But first...

Today starts an incredibly long work week. 8 days in a row, 6 shows a day at the Venetian, and then I'll be having rehearsals after my last show. The producer is revamping the one woman show and taking it in a new directions. It could be a good thing, but right now it means lots of work for me.

Take it off Sale:



Today, all headband earwarmers are 20% off!

Coupon Code: TUESDAY

Though I won't be including special orders in this sale, if there is a color that you would like that you don't see, I can make it for you.

And as always, free shipping anywhere in the US and Canada!

Money: Yay!...but I'm tired

With 3 inches away from finishing the sweater edging, I could do no more as I had to go and perform my magic at the Venetian, and then off to do the one woman show. Venetian went well, the show, not so much...

I understand wanting to cheer someone up by taking them to a comedy show, but maybe...just maybe...the day after someone's sister commits suicide, might just be a bit too soon. So half the audience came in depressed and stayed that way.... (I didn't know about the suicide part till after the show, but I did my best anyway).

Today it's 6 shows at the Venetian and then the one woman show at night...the longest work day of my week. I usually tell people that my 5 day work week is smashed into 3 days, but since so many performers are sick, insured or on maternity leave, I've been averaging about 4 or 5 days a week... New computer, here I come!

...oh wait... taxes here I come...

OMG It's Early...

I'm sitting here right now at what I consider the butt-crack of dawn, and I'm totally not used to having to be up this early.

Today I have to go to the Venetian for a photo shoot. I'm not really sure if it's for advertisements or what..though the egomaniac in me is hoping for advertisements. I am on a few of the billboards at the moment, but it's one of those pictures that unless you know it's me, and unless you turn your head and squint a little, you wouldn't recognize me. We shall see... At the moment, bed is sounding a little better than fame.



In other news:

My dad came to the one woman show last night. I was positive that he was going to hate it as he doesn't usually like the things that I'm in. He also doesn't know how to watch things as a dad (he's a director and theater critic by trade), and so is overly critical.

He actually really enjoyed it, and actually told me that I was good! Even the few times he has thought I was good, he's never said it to my face...I usually have to find out from my sister.

He's in town one more day, so after the photo shoot, sleep will be out of the question as I'm sure there's some sightseeing that he wants to do.

Relapse? Or Fatigue?

So, I'm thinking that if you just got over being sick, then running through the Venetian (which must be a mile at least though I haven't measured it out), is probably a bad idea. I had just finished my last show at the Venetian, so I walked over the bridge to Treasure Island to meat my dad for dinner (did I mention he was in town?). Well, on my way back I realized that time had gotten away from me and if I didn't hurry, I was going to be pushing it to get to my one woman show.

So off a charged through the grand canal, my only thought being, "please don't let there be a line at the Coffee Bean, so I can get a cup on my way to the car!" (Yeah, I have my priorities).

Everything was fine, got my coffee, got to my car and headed out to the theater, when all of a sudden, waves of nausea hit me. Now all that's going through my head is that I have to stand up in front of a bunch of people for over an hour, making them laugh and not letting them know that I wanted to throw up, and how was I going to do that.

Luckily fate was smiling on me, and there wasn't enough people to do the show. For the first time in my life, I was happy that a show was canceled.

Still a little queasy today, but I'm not planning any sprints in the near future.

In other news:

My Tube Top made it into this treasury!

Monday Funday Video

Yeah, I know it's supposed to be the Sunday Funday video of the week, but there was so much to do yesterday...

The producers scheduled a special showing of the one woman show, for tour people, destinations people and a couple of reviewers. I had to get there before the wine and cheese party so that I'd be tucked away backstage, not to be seen until it was time for the show.

It went really well. I actually got a standing ovation...which I think is a first for me.

Then once that was all done, I had to get ready and do the show all over again for the regular night time performance. It was really tough doing that show back to back.

Now onto the video!

This video was a prank, and the girl was supposed to lift up each pot until she got to the end...see what happened:

A Multilingual Evening

Today I was able to take the day off from the Venetian, since I have a gig in the early evening that would conflict. I was so excited since that's the only day the boyfriend has off...but...he works every third Saturday, and as my luck would have it, that would be today. I still haven't had a day off with him since Thanksgiving.

Tonight I'm first going to the theater and getting it set up for the one woman show, then driving down the street to do my Japanese magic show, for a group. Then turning around and going back to the theater to get into costume and to do the show.

I haven't done my act in Japanese since I was there this summer. If I don't use it a lot, some of the words escape me...or sometimes they come out in a different language than I intended...lets hope this isn't the case.

Weekend? What Weekend?

My life is kinda reversed right now from most people. I'm always happy when Monday comes, because that is the beginning of my weekend...and while everyone is looking forward to the upcoming weekend, I'm preparing for my work week to begin.

Saturday is always the hardest for me... 6 shows at the Venetian, then off to the theater to do my one woman show... it's a good 12 hour day. Sunday is the easiest, I get to relax all day, surveying the mess that accumulated on Friday and Saturday, then off to my one woman show at night.

Not that I'm complaining... I'm living the dream! It just seems kinda daunting on a Saturday morning when I'm on my first cup of coffee... Couple more, and I'll be raring to go.

Surprise! ... It's Showtime!

Yesterday, the plan was, go to the Venetian, do 3 shows and then go to rehearsal as the one woman show was supposed to re-open today. Right after my final show at the Venetian, I received a call saying that they'd sold tickets and we were having a show THAT NIGHT!

Now I hadn't done the show in 2 weeks, so this was quite a nerve wracking phone call...on the flip side, I hate rehearsals but love doing shows, so it was good news as well.

We did a "quick" run through before the audience arrived and then I was on. Once the lights went up and the phone started ringing (that's my cue for coming onstage), I forgot about all the anxiety and just became the character and did it.

Tonight will be a bit more difficult as I have a full day at the Venetian (6 shows), plus the one woman show straight after... I'm gonna sleep well tonight.

No show... :(

Last night there were not enough tickets sold for the one woman show, so it was cancelled. Though I was sad not to be able to perform, it is a bit of a releif too. The show is really draining, since there's no one in it but me...it was nice to have a rest, but I'm hoping that we have one tonight!

In other news:

A couple of security guards came up to me at the Venetian and told me they'd watched my magic online. I was kind of suprised, since in order to find it, you need to know my first and last name...and at the Venetian, none of us go by our real names (we all have to be "Italian"), and Joan does not sound like I'm from Venice.

After thinking about it for awhile, though, I realized that they might be facebook friends with one of the performers and there's always pictures popping up of "people you might know"... So as of yet, I don't think I have anyone stalking me...lol.

Friday's Favorites...and more!

Happy Friday everyone! This weeks favorites are all about knits. Some were submissions and some were from the etsyknitters team and the madeinvegas team. I hope you guys like them, so give them a heart or two...or maybe you'll find that perfect gift for that special someone.




In other news:

Last night was opening night for the One Woman Show. The audience was small but mighty, and I had a wonderful time. Today it's off to the Venetian for shows during the day, and then back to the one woman show at night....woot!

In treasury news:

It's been a while since I've been in one, but my green sweater made it into this lovely treasury! Click here and check out the etsyknitters in this treasury!

Headache...ugh!

Yesterday was supposed to be a really productive day! I not only had the day off, but the night off as well. However, a few hours after I woke up, reality set in. I had a headache...and not just any headache...a headache to end all headaches.

I took some asprine, made it to the post office to send out some things people had bought. Made it home and tried to work on my special order gloves. I just couldn't...

I finished off the rest of the asperine (there were only 2 left), and proceded to lay on the couch and moan until the boyfriend got home from work. He got me some medicine... this time a migraine one... and it worked! I was able to salvage the last part of the evening and made some headway on one of the gloves.

I don't think I actually had a migraine. I get bad headaches every once in a while, but I don't ever have the light sensitivity that migraine sufferers complain of. I don't know what it is, but I'm glad it's gone.

Today WILL be productive, well until I have to go to dress rehearsal for the show...tomorrow is opening night!

Some Randomness

In etsy news:

One item from the Friday's Favorites sold! The Crocheted Albus Dumbledore! Congratulations Linsthings!

In One Woman Show News:

3 more days until opening night. I have tech rehearsal tonight and run-throughs for the next couple of days. I can't wait!

In Special Order News:

I have 2 special orders that I'm working on, and will hopefully have out by the end of the week. I still have two Christmas presents to knit as well, one for the boyfriend and one for his mom.

In Fishy News:

My guppies keep having babies and my tank is overrun by fish. I'm thinking of changing the aquarium theme to "Trailer Park"... sigh ... Natural selection? Where are you when I need you?

Countdown Starts...

Tomorrow, the countdown starts to opening night of my one woman show. In the theater, this is known as hell week, although because it's a one woman, low tech show, it won't be quite as hellish as some of the other productions I've done.

What is envolved is going in, running cues with the people who are going to be in charge of lighting and sound effects, and then just running the show every night. When one is in a show with a large cast, the cues part of the rehearsal can run through many nights, but I'm hoping with this one, that particular rehearsal will only take one...we shall see.

Opening night is Thursday... Not counting today, that's 4 days until the big one... I don't know if I'm more excited that the show is finally opening, or that the rehearsals are finally coming to an end.

Randomness

In knitting news:

One more glove to do, and then that package gets shipped off. Then I need to start on a custom sweater order. I'm really hoping that there is a good marathon going on TV while I bust this stuff out. NCIS is my favorite at the moment and I have a huge crush on Gibbs.

In life news:

The laundry has been piling up to astronomical proportions. I really need to get that done today too. Luckily, it's one of those chores that you can do while you do something else, but I'm really not looking forward to lugging the loads down the stairs... Does carrying laundry count for your daily workout?

In show business news:

The billboard for the show is going up in a week. Hopefully I'll have time to run down to the strip and take a picture of it. I've never been on a billboard before...yay!

Shows, shows, shows...

Yesterday was a long one as I had rehearsal early in the morning for the one woman show, and then three shows in the afternoon at the Venetian. It was busy over there, and according to the tourist bureau, we have more people here than last year at this time.

Today will also be long as I have six shows at the Venetian and then I'm helping my friend with his show...not performing, just doing tech work. Though I prefer to be onstage rather than behind the scenes, sometimes it's nice to just do a job and not worry about how you look or whether the audience likes you or not. It's a nice change of pace every once in a while.

Of course I'm also stressing with the amount of knitting I have to do. I have two custom orders, plus two christmas presents to make. I promised the boyfriends sister that I would make her a new scarf and hat, plus, the boyfriend is due for a new beanie and loves getting them for Christmas.

Scarves are 20% off for the month of December...get 'em while they're hot!

My First Review!

The one woman show that I'm in just got its first review on a blog. It's only a short blurb in one paragraph, but everthing has got to start somewhere, right? I'm so totally excited about it, especially because it was not one of my best performances, and the reviewer seemed to like it. Yay!!!!!

Click here if you want to read it...You have to scroll down a little before halfway before you see it.

The picture on the right is the promo headshot we took for the show, so you'll know you're in the right spot when you see it.

In other news:

I'm going to LA tomorrow to help my friend look for a place to live. Just a day trip... I like hanging out with her, but it's going to be a looooong day. 4 hours there and back, plus all the driving to look at different houses. I hope I'm not back home too late at night.

Randomness

In etsy news:

I was just checking on my etsy shop, and found that I can now do coupon codes! I'm so excited! I'm thinking that I'm going to do a special blog sale every Tuesday, so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming discounts.

In One Woman Show News:

The writer has done a whole bunch of rewrites on my show. Now, just when I thought I was done memorizing everything, I have to go back and do it all over again. The new opening is now postponed until next Thursday...well, at least I have 2 paid shows under my belt for now.

In Venetian News:

I'm back performing at the Venetian again. I'll be there for half of Friday and Saturday. It's a little extra money, and every bit is needed right now. I'm having a frustrating time since the shows keep changing and no one writes anything down, so when I come in I have no idea what's going on. Gotta love show business.

In other news:

Tomorrow is the Sunday Funday Video of the week! I've been searching for something good, but if anyone has any suggestions, please post the link in the comments.