Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Thank You Pacific Northwest!!!

Hello from the Fabulous Seattle, Washington!!
Current weather: rainy... but still beautiful. I LOVE IT HERE!!!

We are here for 3 weeks!!!! Yayyyy finally a place to really unpack and relax. Portland was absolutely beautiful but, like I said before, we were in rehearsal and shows the entire week. Even so, two GREAT things happened!

1. Marc Bruni (the associate director) came to see the show and I was able to have an Elle work session with him. As a replacement, it is very rare that the creative team can sit you down and work through stuff with you. He was so passionate and had some amazing things to say about Elle Woods’ journey. It really helped me ad some extra layers to her. Pretty cool stuff!

2. I had my ENID debut during the Sunday night show!!!! It was also my Principal debut!! Enid wears clothes that are baggy and flat shoes so I looked like a little girl dressing up in her dad’s clothes… BUT it was so much fun! I just adore my cast mates. They really helped me laugh my way through the show and just enjoy the moment. It was the first time I was apart of the legal team. ☺ Everyone was so supportive and lovely… I just had a blast.

It was also an exciting week because our two show Elle, Kathleen Monteleone, is from Portland so we had an amazing audience every night. I think I mentioned before that she was in the Top 4 of Grease: You’re the One that I Want. So she has a ton of fans that have been following her career from Portland. So it was thrilling to have such a responsive crowd. Poor Rhiannon (our Margot) hurt her back in Denver and was out the first half of the week. But it was cool for Kathleen to go on as Margot (her other understudy role), her own track as the Stenographer, and Elle! Busy busy girl! Sunday night after the show, her family hosted a party at the hotel bar and I was surprised to see my headshot photographer, Paul Gregory, there! Small small world… turns out he is good friends of Kathleen and her husband. So it was nice to catch up with him for a bit too. So even though we were in doors for most of Portland, it was a busy and beautiful week!

Updates on track count (including today’s Seattle show) is:
Stenographer: approx. 38 times
Enid: 1 time
Mom: approx. 8 times. (planned to go on tomorrow for Mom too… so it will be 9)

As far as cities coming up… I am so excited for visitors!!! Just an FYI… it is always safe to say I am the Stenographer on Sundays. So… if you feel the need to buy tickets ASAP… buy them for Sundays because I know that is for sure when I am on. In San Jose, however, I will be on Thursday Night, Saturday Matinee, and Sunday. San Diego is still up in the air… but prob for sure Sunday. Stay tuned for the updates on that one. ☺

Current Obsession: THE PIKES PLACE MARKET here in Seattle!!! One of my favorite memories in High School Musical was coming here and going to Pikes Market as f I was window shopping. It is so entertaining to see the people, the food, the fish being tossed overhead, the art, I could go on and on. One of my favorite places in the entire nation.

Current Book Series: The Sookie Stackhouse Series… the books True Blood is based on. On the first book… aka Season 1. SOOO GOOD!

Current TV Show I am catching up on: Grey’s Anatomy: Not so happy with the 6th Season… hoping it gets better… only on 7th episode. But I AM happy with LOST… well it’s that frustrated happiness. I cannot wait for this season to be over so it all makes sense.

Quick and Easy Meal: (Thanks to Mom): CHILI!! One huge jar of Salsa, a can of black beans, and a can of Kidney Beans... ad some red onion and cilantro… TADA takes 5 minutes and it’ll last ya for days. Me gusta mucho.

Thing I Can’t Live Without: B12 No Stress Vitamins… aka my “happy pill” as my little sister calls it. Gives me energy and a little morning mood boost.

That’s all for now.
Sending Love and Happy Thoughts,
AshMo


P.S. My mom stumbled upon these videos today on youtube and I thought I'd post. 10th grade and 11th Grade in Hart Sound Vibrations... Thank God for showchoir. Those were some amazing days. And then we have UCI Delta Gamma Songfest my sophomore year.




Thursday, February 18, 2010

Long Overdue : ) Elle Dates, Recaps, and Currents

Current City: Portland, OR (Feb 15th-22nd)
Current Weather: High 60/Low 40
Roommate for the week: Myself!!! First city where I am having some me time : )

Hey Everyone from Portland, OR!

The weather is BEAUTIFUL, the shopping is amazing, there’s so much to do, and the cast of Legally Blonde is stuck in rehearsals all week long!!! But that’s okay… we have a couple hours to do as we please here and there. It just means we have to be very good about prioritizing our time. ☺

We had quite the 2 weeks in Denver when we came back from a week layoff. The altitude hit us legally blonders pretty hard. People were getting injured left and right… so us swings kept pretty busy (especially the boys… which is not normal). But luckily, people got the rest and relaxation they needed, and most were back by this week.
It was a little joke to blame everything on the altitude… seemed appropriate. ☺

As far as my show life… I am officially 100% done with learning and walking through all 8 tracks I cover! Finished Act 2 of Elle in Denver during understudy rehearsal… and then BIG NEWS BIG NEWS:
I GOT MY OFFICIAL ELLE DATES!!! SUNDAY, MAY 2ND IN OMAHA, NE… BOTH SHOWS! I know it’s far in advance and Omaha isn’t the easiest of places to get to… but if you can go… GO!! ☺ Now that I know the track… I could go on at any time. BUT those are the set dates that are confirmed. Yahoo. And looks like I will be doing Enid the 3rd week of Seattle for a couple performances (the Enid will be going on for Paulette while Paulette takes her vacay).

As far as the other Stats on Tracks… I think I may have left out a few here and there (if I forgot to write down) BUT from my records… in 5 ½ months I have been on for:
Stenographer: approx. 34 times
Judge: 2 times
Mom: approx. 7 times
DA: 2 times
Kate/Chutney: approx. 7.5 times
Combo Tracks: 2 times

My 6 month rider (aka contract) is up at the end of this month… to celebrate, I finally bought myself something I have wanted since high school: The Return to Tiffany Heart tag charm Bracelet. Since Elle wears it in the show, it only seemed appropriate! ☺ I told myself to wait until 6 months was up… but Portland has no sales tax… so why not 2 weeks early. Haha. Thank you Portland!!

Jumping back further in time, I had a beautiful week layoff at home where I got to surprise my dad for his bday party!! It was such a fun party and I was so happy to see family friends that I haven’t seen in YEARS! It was such a great day and really fun to celebrate my dad’s big 5-0!! I was also thrilled to be able to go make a quick Orange County trip and visit with some friends from college. We had a Fall ’05 Delta Gamma Pledge Class Reunion Dinner. It was so nice to dress up and catch up with the girls! Really cool to see where everyone is at now: working at a law firm, going to law school, an accountant, big promotions here and there…. I have such successful friends!! I’m so proud of them!! And it was really fun to see friends in the drama department… get the latest scoop. ☺

From the trip, a lot of people were asking me what I do as a swing… what do I do on stage and off type stuff. So I decided to add a little recommendations/currents section to the blog. For those of you who know me pretty well, you know that I tend to find something I love and get a little obsessed (example TV show, food, book, movie, show, music, etc). Also, while on tour, I find great travel stuff and easy meal stuff. So why not share with you bloggers! If something catches your eye… you should totally check it out!!


Current Obsession:
The Twilight Saga (Finished all 4 of the Books and 2 Movies in a week and a half)… bought an Edward Cullen bookmark… counting down until the 3rd Movie comes out at the end of June.
Current Goal:
Learn ways to save money… Reading Bitches on a Budget (pardon language… but it’s a GREAT book with some savvy tips). Also hitting up my friend Kathleen and her husband’s site that they helped create called 24savvy.com CHECK IT OUT! Sign up, learn some great savvy tips, and earn prizes!!
Newest Thing I Can’t Live Without: My Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender (get it at Walmart for around $15!!)
Current thing that gets me through the day: Vega Original Flavor: it’s a protein powder that is a “health food optimizer.” Completely Natural and Gluten Free! Add some stevia and ice and it’s a tasty healthy thang. Plus it is filled with a ton of essential nutrients and vitamins… I feel so much better after having it.
Favorite Quick, Easy to Travel, Yummy Meal: Gluten Free Oatmeal plain and add Stevia and Cinnamon
Current Workout Video Obsession: Tracy Anderson Mat Workout
Current Song I Have on Repeat: “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble
Current NetFlix: The First Season of Big Love
Book that I Think EVERYONE needs to get (Thanks Mom!): Living Artfully by Sandra Magsamen: especially for you artists out there. It is a book that really embraces creativity and has some amazing ideas on how you can express yourself. Brings extra happiness! ☺

That’s all for now from the tour world!
Wishing happy thoughts to you all.
Live Artfully,
Ashley Mo

P.S. If you're on twitter... follow me at @ashmonymony : )