Blonde!

First off, this past weekend was opening weekend of White Christmas! It was so much fun, and I'm looking forward to eight more performances and seeing it grow even better each time. The set came together gorgeously, and I feel so special to have gotten to be a part of that aspect of the show. I was honored to get to go to the "tech people" opening night party, haha. My older brother, Matthew, was able to fly in for the weekend to see it, so all of us Primm's were reunited!

 Here's a little show invite video from  my partner in crime and me that we did for some of her friends ;)

They say that "every woman should have the thrill of being a blonde. It gives you an automatic boost of confidence and it's just plain fun." What I failed to listen to was "make sure you get it done by a professional, especially if you have dark hair." Aside from the video above, here's the outcome in a couple of White Christmas photos: 

BUT, that didn't come without an almost hair tragedy!

I had been planning to lighten my hair to overall blonde for quite some time, and when Teya (Rhoda in White Christmas) and I were discussing show hair, I found it was the perfect timing to go blonde for the show so that I would contrast her reddish hair! In order to save money...famous last words when referring to hair...I did some research and decided to attempt it all by myself since I've had coloring success in the past. I purchased Clairol's Born Blonde, mixed the ingredients, received some help in application to the back of my head from my mom, and finished the rest. It was taking a bit longer than I had expected to lighten, and I had originally wanted to go Platinum, but was worried that my previous highlights were going to turn blue or another odd color, so I washed it out. At that moment I realized a BIG mistake--I forgot to add the liquid lightener (step #3) to the bottle! After it was dried, the outcome didn't look terrible, but it didn't look GOOD. It was yellowish and my previous lowlights were a weird red.That night I went to sleep and had nightmares about the hair, haha, and the first thing the next day I contacted my stylist friend. She reminded me about using toner when going blonde! Whoops--and I had even known that from past highlights! Off to Sally's Beauty Supply I went to purchase Wella toner, went home, applied it, used a deep conditioner, and VOILA! It was fixed!! 

Lastly, here's a photo from one of rehearsals of one of my favorite moments in the show:

Photo Credit: Willa Folmar

This is Lucia as Betty Haynes in the Regency Room scene singing "Love You Didn't Do Right By Me". Also during this scene, Bob Wallace sings "How Deep is the Ocean". Aside from my mom's giant chiffon curtain, my diamond curtain, artist Larry Wu's NYC painting, and the beautiful music...I want to point out Lucia. She's amazing. Every time I hear her voice I want to close my eyes and soak it in. She has been through so much this past month in her life AND to add to that--two days before the show opened, she was injured backstage and severely sprained a ligament in her ankle. If you look closely, you'll see the boot on her right ankle. She has been performing--including doing choreography in the song "Sisters"--with it--in spite of the pain! 

@rebeccaprimm's #theatreTechbaby

 Remember those sweet skills learned from helping paint the set to Sylvia? Well, they've been used quite a bit lately. I've been hired to work with my sister painting the set of White Christmas! (Lots of thanks to her as she knew I needed some income and could have hired others) One of my duties last week when I began was to be in charge of the volunteers that come to help paint. I was nervous out of my mind, mainly because I'm basically on their level of knowledge yet I was supposed to look like I knew what I was doing. Guess what helped me look more experienced?



I hope you guessed, "You're wearing Rebecca's awesome paint clothes," or a variation of that answer.

If you guessed, "Oh, you're wearing the key to the theatre around your neck," you get 100 bonus points, because that's really good attention to detail and extra guesswork you just did. (Opening up the theatre each morning and holding the key definitely gave a sense of power)

There were a couple of set pieces that seriously needed spackling, and I taught myself how! You should have seen the giant gap in the wood pieces. Spackling like a BOSS.

 

And what makes the start to your day better than crazy smilies on your work instructions?

 

 (Ok, well maybe a Grande soy-no water-Chai and a croissant from Starbucks or even better Amelies waiting on the work table when you arrive would, but I'll make sure I'll let you know when that happens...)

 

It has been a humbling experience realizing the amount of work that gets put into the tech world of theatre. Everything from the design process to the building of the set has taken months. I remember Rebecca having skype meetings with the Technical director and working on the designs this past summer while she was in Chicago with me. Every day so far my whole body has ached from the previous day's work. I told this to Rebecca and Evan (the technical director), and Rebecca said, "That's how I feel every day" with an empathetic look. She wasn't exaggerating when I was in Chicago, and we talk on the phone, and she tells me how exhausted and aching she feels. Tech people work from the morning hours into the late hours of the night. They were there with me when we began work in the mornings and were still there after my rehearsals have ended that evening.

And it's all for the love of theatre. I've been guilty amongst many other actors who haven't thought twice about the tech side of things and haven't properly shown appreciation. I've mentioned this before, but this time I've experienced just a bit more of a taste of the work that's put in.

 

Here's a sneak peek at one of Rebecca's backdrops! It's for the number "I Love a Piano" which is a really big tap dance number and basically a showstopping number. The drop is unfinished in this photo, but last night the drop was raised and it is STUNNING!

 

 

 

This show has obviously been a great learning experience for me, and it solidifies even more how staying in Charlotte for this bit of time was the right decision. It has been the theatre tech class I've never had, a dance gaining experience, and also more character work experience. I really love our director, Ron Chisholm, the cast is all very pleasant and helpful (especially in the choreography remembering area), and being Rita is a constant laughing time as she and Rhoda are lots of fun.

 

All of us Primms will be reunited opening weekend as Matthew is going to fly down from CT!



Every theatre has a ghost.

I had never heard a theatre ghost story from someone that I actually knew until Friday evening. I had been helping Rebecca paint the set of Sylvia at Pease Auditorium that day (my first set painting experience!) along with my mom and our artist neighbor, Kathy, as Rebecca needed lots of help to finish before the show opened that evening. Rebecca was finishing up painting as her boyfriend Justin, James Duke (set designer), and I were admiring the set. She was also taking a poll from all of the workers on whether or not I should go to a haunted house that evening with a guy I just started seeing. Why the poll? I can't stand horror movies, I still sleep with a night light, and I was so sure I would die in the haunted house, BUT I had never been to one before. Then, the topic of ghosts came up. James told the story of a time when no one was in the theatre, and he looked on the monitors of the stage and there was a lady dancing in a colonial costume. Another time, he walked into the house, and the same lady in the same costume was sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands crying. She looked up, saw him, got up and ran through the stage right wall. The moment he said the second time he saw her, my mind flashed through a few experiences I had that day. I asked him what color her costume was, but didn't talk about the experiences right away, because I figured it was lack of sleep. Then I decided to. I told them all of how quite a few times that day I while I was painting, I saw something white out of the corner of my eye from the direction of that stage right wall. When I turned to look, nothing was there. Rebecca instantly said that she had the same thing happen to her, but she, too, thought it was just lack of sleep or something. James said, "Maybe she was watching you." I wonder why. I wonder why Rebecca and I were the only ones that had that happen to us that day. As Rebecca and I were talking more, we came to the conclusion that she was probably an actress. Maybe she was rehearsing her scene when James came in that time she had her head in her hands.

Soon after, I was on my way to the haunted house. What a way to begin that evening, haha. Guess what? I didn't die in it! I was EXTREMELY freaked out, though. ;)

Here's photos from that set painting day:

I look either really experienced or really messy with Rebecca's paint clothes on ;)

Rebecca's really fast finishing touch. A manhole since it  is set in NYC.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...

This week I received a call from Matthews Playhouse with the results of the White Christmas callbacks....

I happily accepted the role of Rita!!

I'm so excited to get to be in another show that Rebecca has designed/painted and be in my first NC show (aside from the Opera Carolina supernumerary roles in high school). It's kind of strange that we Primms have lived here so long, but haven't gotten involved in the theatre community of Charlotte until just a few years ago.

The other day I found an issue of Backstage (a theatre resource which mainly lists auditions) that I had saved from the summer of 2010 when Rebecca and I were living in New York. The article that instantly caught my eye was "10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Deciding to Become an Actor", and when I read number 7, I remembered how much that point had made an impression on me the first time I had read it.
Here's a quote from number 7:
"Money isn't everything.
You can have a satisfying actor's life without making a dime off your acting....I now believe that continuing to act, in and of itself, is success."

Rereading that article came at the perfect time. It was during my whole decision making process whether or not to stay in Charlotte for a bit to audition. Charlotte does have quite a few opportunities, but Chicago definitely exceeds theirs greatly and would be the better "career choice".
 One of the friends I sought advice from was my long time actor friend Ryan Roets who replied, "You can work anywhere under the right circumstances, but it's all about what you want to do. I'm discovering that my happiness in doing theater is more important than where it is or what I'm getting paid. Have fun. I say stick it out and have a blast."

With all of the advice given and my prayers for wisdom, the decision to stay in Charlotte for a couple of more months to be in White Christmas with Matthews Playhouse, help out my family, and pursue audition opportunities here just felt right. Due to transportation costs, unfortunately, I won't be able to return to Chicago until the show ends, but probably not until after the holidays. I've felt bad for just vanishing and not saying goodbye to my Chicago friends (for now)! It isn't the first time I've "vanished" from a city, though ;)

a different plane

This past Friday evening, I enjoyed a brand new theatre experience--seeing Children's Theatre of Charlotte's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with TECH PEOPLE (not with other theatre lovers or fellow actors).

When sitting in the audience of a show, I usually watch on the plane of soaking in the actors and musicians and learning from (and critiquing) them. I appreciate the set, lighting, and other aspects, but they aren't usually my main focus.
This time? I was sitting with my sister, Rebecca, to enjoy her set painting, as well as her tech friends.
It was amusing paying attention to all of the things they cheered for, clapped for, and laughed at, because a lot of the time they were non-actor related. It was fun getting to experience their pride in their contributions to the show.

Having a set designer/set painter sister has really taught me to show your appreciation for your tech people in your show genuinely even more. So many times actors can get wrapped up in themselves, other actors, and their art, and forget to properly thank the others who contributed. We would be so bare on stage without them!

Here is one of her works from the show (also in collaboration with Tim Parati):

 

 



 

 

New addition to my stage tools:

Tap dancing shoes! Also pictured: a piece of wood I found in the garage for my own mini tap floor so I don't destroy the floors.....you're welcome Mom ;) 

In hopes of stretching my time spent with my family significantly longer as well as getting to participate in a fantastic show that my sister is also working on the set of, I auditioned for a production of White Christmas down here in NC. The audition went very well, and I have a callback for tomorrow morning! The leads were precast, so they are looking to cast the ensemble, and from the ensemble they will cast the other characters. 

Since the show requires so much tap dancing, there will be tapping required tomorrow. This presents a ginormous problem for me, because I have no tap dancing experience, and a smidge of dance experience. Primms aren't known to run away from challenges, so what is my mission of today? Watch many many learn-to-tap youtube videos. 

This will definitely be a good experiment. ;)

life intersections.

After two years of knowing where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing in life, I'm at a fork in the road...again. Actually, it's more like those really confusing six-way intersections in Chicago. It's quite the dangerous situation, especially if you're a Primm. To keep up with the confusing six-way intersection analogy, we've been known to make a sudden lane changes or turns. For example?  Our seemingly random NY move the summer of 2010, then the random move back to CHI the fall of 2010.  It was instilled in us from the moment we were born to dream big, and we all have quite a lot of dreams that just seem necessary to accomplish.

Current theme song:

Oh, Disney. You're amazing.
Back to thoughts:

One direction tugging at me is due to my very recent experience acting in a short film titled Good People directed by the incredibly talented Hunter Spears. I was the character of Detective Sharon Dana. Oh yes, I sure did get to carry a gun. Oh yes, I even got to arrest someone. I won't spoil the rest, though. ;) That weekend on the film set and the rehearsals prior really opened my eyes up to how exciting film is. Hunter kindly reminded me to think subtle rather than large as you would on stage. The idea of having a simple regular conversation and not worrying about projection/microphones intrigued me instantly. Getting to try again if something wasn't correct during that scene and not only having one shot like you would in front of an audience was nice as well. I definitely want to continue to learn more and gain more film experience!

(Here's the film teaser for a sneak peek!)

Another direction? Well, I just had a birthday. I'm realizing that my dream of spending time in Europe is still lingering in my heart. The idea of being an au pair was introduced to me a year ago, and it has come up every so often in my mind. As another year rolled around, I realized that I won't always be free of commitments as I currently am to just be able to go experience a new culture in that way.

This past week I had a beautiful time with my brother visiting his home in Hartford. He and I got to take a day trip to Boston (which was absolutely gorgeous)! I also spent a few days in NYC visiting dear friends like my old roommate Jacquie, Ryan Roets, Will, and David. All of that time spent in travels really helped me begin to think about that six way intersection.

After returning from New England, I strapped my fish's tank in the seat next to me and took off to North Carolina for a much needed couple of weeks off from Chicago for family visiting/helping time. It's been something I've been desiring to do for a while! My main goal while here? Get some nice family time in and help get the house ready to move. Another goal while here? Learn Charlotte. While in Charlotte, I've mostly just gone downtown to see shows or rehearse for Opera Carolina when I was in highschool, but I've never taken time to actually learn the streets, restaurants, boutiques---basically learn all of the great things that Charlotte offers. So far, all of this southern time has been lovely.