I have had a whirl wind of couple of months. I don’t think that even begins to describe it. I shall try and try to keep it brief…
Right after Alice in Wonderland closed, I had another amazing weekend in Steven Anderson’s Actorswork intensive. Always walking away fulfilled and with a skip in my step.
I adapted the short story, The NUTCRACKER, into a play for the Bellevue Youth Theatre entitled – CLARA & THE NUTCRACKER, which opens at the end of November.
And just when I thought I would have a weekend to recuperate from my summer of 140 kids and my adventure down the rabbit hole I was invited to participate in 14/48 – The World’s Quickest Theatre Festival. And if you are a theatre artist in Seattle this is not an opportunity to which you respond with anything but an exuberent F YEAH. This experience [9/7-8] was one of the most incredible fulfilling artistic experiences of my life. I could write for days about it and still not have the words to explain what it meant to me to be a part of it.
I [somehow] went into rehearsals the following day [9/9] for the OWL & THE PUSSYCAT with theater simple. A few [literally] quick and dirty rehearsals and I made my debut as the PIG at the reboot of the Seattle Fringe Festival. Fun. Fabulous. Always a pleasure to play with theater simple & their unyielding creativity, support & love.
I started rehearsals for CLARA & THE NUTCRACKER at BYT and have had such a fun time discovering this story with my kids. They are some of the most imaginative, talented kids I have ever worked with and I am getting so excited for all of our theatre magic to show up during tech week! I hope you get the chance to see it too.
I got to play again with the Pacific Play Company. We put together another night of Playwrights vs Poets. This time for Seattle’s ART CRUSH. Another quick & dirty chance to play and work with some of Seattle’s finest writers & actors.
Balagan Theatre is producing one of my favorite plays, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. And I am lucky enough to have been given the chance to Assistant Direct it this spring. We are in auditions now & it continues to amaze me the level of talent that exists here. I am so happy & excited to be here working, creating, collaborating & playing with this community.
I had another Actorswork weekend with Steven Anderson this past weekend and as I said walked away as fulfilled as ever, if not more so. I had one of the most incredible acting experiences of my life during my scene. It truly makes me realize what consistent training and dedication to one’s craft can do. I’m in this for the long haul, friends.
And FINALLY. I think finally, anyway. I was offered the opportunity to direct PUSS IN BOOTS [a new musical] at Second Story Rep. We have auditions this Sunday! Come. It is going to be a fun one. Promise.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but this looks like [way more than] enough of an update for one day.
Let me just say as a final thought – you never know what is going to happen today. My life these last two months has been picked up, flipped around, upside down, juggled and I didn’t see a second of it coming. I am so happy to be in this moment. Wait for it, Seattle. I’m going to write you a love letter. [Thank you.]
racheldelmar 