Self-Improvement

Well, gawrsh, it's been almost a year since I last updated this blog; This is not for lack of activity, but rather a lack of REMEMBERING I have one!

Here's a recap of 2010:

• A series of readings of works-in-progress by some brilliant writers at the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program like Dewey Fleszar, Mkhululi Mabija, Diana So, Felice Kuan, Minjoung Hwang, Anita Reyes, Olivios Karaolides, Jake Brandman, Tyrone Robinson, Hyun Suk Park, and Sarh Underwood, Jamie Cowperthwait, Cody Wymore, and Brandon Michael Lowden. Oh gosh, did I forget anyone? There were so many of them and so much talent I was thrown for a loop!
• A bunch of benefits, including one for the new up-and-coming theater company, Leviathan Theater Lab.
• Back to Bacharach, the inaugural offering of the brand-spankin' new Harbor Lights Theater Company in Staten Island, run by some of the most wonderful people you will ever meet: Jay Montgomery and Tamara Jenkins. Don't knock Staten Island: some of the most peaceful moments of my summer were on that ferry. Locals side of course. Tourists, the Statue of Liberty is on the other side, thank you.
• A performance of Felice Kuan and Hyun Suk Park's "Epitaph" at the EAT Illuminating Artists Well-Noted Shorts series at the TADA! Theater.
• Band Geeks! at Ars Nova written by Tommy Newman, Gaby Alter and Mark Allen; Directed by Gordon Greenberg.
• Lizzie Borden resurrects at NAMT! with a new Borden: Beth Malone joining us as Miss Emma, with Jenny Fellner and Carrie Cimma rounding out the gang.
• Playing a Tourette's afflicted manager on Perfect Harmony at Stoneham Theater in Massachussetts, 45 Bleecker in NYC, and at The Acorn on Theater Row, also in NY.

I had no idea what a busy year I'd had till I saw that all written down. Well, bully for me!

The year is coming to a close and my commitments are slowing down; a good time to breathe, relax and plan a wedding. Yes, I am engaged!!! I plan to be a Missus by the end of next year. Whether another blog post makes it on here before then, only time will tell.

Perhaps by that time, I will also be a virtuoso at my new stab at self-improvement: the ukelele! It's not easy. The tips of my fingers are blistered and I can only play three songs, but that's good going I guess for having had it in my hands for 24 hours.

More to come...

Spring is almost here and I can't wait! I escaped most of winter by going home to the Philippines to help my family out after the huge flood that hit Metro Manila and submerged homes to their rooftops.

Before that though, I spent the summer and fall rocking out at The Living Theater playing Alice in Lizzie Borden, The Musical. We were a fierce cast of four (Jenny Fellner, Carrie Cimma, Lisa Birnbaum and myself) and the buzz got rolling fast..soon we were playing to packed houses and dedicated fans who we have not yet christened "____-heads". We have to find something.

Sadly, I had to bid farewell to Lizzie, but moved on upstate to the Half-Moon Theater Company in Poughkeepsie to do my first play play in the United States: Emerson High. Written by Jim Knable and directed by Jeremy Dobrish, I played a high school student that falls in love with her band teacher. A really well-structured piece, I thought it brought up a lot of intriguing questions about the moral ambiguity of such May-December relationships. It felt great to do a play again though I did miss the singing: I drove all the actors crazy by singing at every rehearsal.

Ooh! I also just did a reading last Monday at Ars Nova of a new show called Band Geeks, written by Tommy Newman, Gordon Greenberg, Gaby Alter and Mark Allen. It's opening at Goodspeed in Connecticut next month. Sadly, I won't be able to participate in the show, but watch out for it- embrace your inner geek!

I had started 2009 off by performing at The Old Globe in San Diego in Stephen Schwartz's Working, based on the book by Studs Terkel. I had hoped to end 2009 doing the same show, but the universe conspired otherwise. I hope that Working does come back to life somewhere in 2011 like they intend because it's a funny, touching show with real stories about real people with great songs to boot.

Okay, that's it for the first post of the...ever. Off to yoga!