My parents are the Greatest!

The absolute best. My parents are the best. In the midst of my bored sitting around-hoping-that-just-being-still-is-making-me-better TV watching frenzy, I called them to complain. They weren't home, and I'm sure my message sounded like the end of the world, since I was frustrated and sitting around, and I hate being sick! So, I went back to my TV night, which actually wasn't bad (I got CSI, Alias, AND The Amazing Race Family Edition -- Three of my ALL-TIME favorite shows) and eventually fell asleep around midnight.

Today I woke up at eleven when my parents called, but I was exhausted and still buzzing on Ny-Quill, and only talked for a minute before rolling over and passing out again until 2 pm. At two my friend Dana called and convinced me that I had slept enough. I woke up enough to let her in, and she soo nicely brought me tea and oranges. We sat and gossiped about the show I had missed, the understudies, etc., until a delivery rang the doorbell. When I answered it was the concierge with a HUGE bouquet of flowers and a HUGE tray of fruit!! I was blown away - and I almost started crying when I read the card from my parents. Now in my room I have this bouquet, full of tiny roses, these bright yellow flowers, these tiny purple ones, eucalyptus, and white lilys. Plus, I have oranges, apples, plums, grapes, peaches, and dragonfruits (these are freaky... they're flourescent pink on the outside with green tentacles, and inside the fruit is white with black poka-dots). I will be eating and smelling for days!

Anyway, I felt good enough to do the show tonight, but later regretted it. I'm running a fever, and I'm a little out of it. When I spoke my lines my voice was all gravelly (at least I sounded older) and when I sang I was out of breath and I'm sure it sounded terrible. Now I'm off to bed, in hopes that a little more sleep will kick this out of me. Ugh! I hate being sick, but I LOVE my parents.

200 shows to sickness

Last night we celebrated the incredible fact that we have now performed 200 shows. OK, it's not that incredible considering that I've been committed to this show for about 18 months, but it's still quite an accomplishment. Who knew two years ago that I was about to embark on a journey that would take me to six countries that I'd never been to, and introduce me to people and cultures I could never have dreamed of. It's amazing to see how much I've done. In celebration, the cast had a cake and watched a slideshow of some of the fun shots from the show. I had no cake, and went straight to bed, because I'm sick.

It's true. Me, who never (knock on wood) gets really sick! Maybe that once a year sinus infection, but this is crazy! In my whole performing career I have never missed a show, including in high school when I had a knee injury and wore a thigh-high cast as a nurse in Whose Life Is It Anyway. Including in college when I had killer bronchitis and croaked my way through Into the Woods. I have never missed a show, until now. Now I am sitting in my hotel room with some tea and some soup, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ahhhhhh! It's so frustrating!! I have always wanted a chance for my understudy to go on, but now that it's happening it really sucks. I just have to sit at home feeling powerless and sick, and there's not even anything good on TV.

Yesterday afternoon the cold got bad. We're talking stuffed up face, drippy nose, clogged ears, coughing up green goop, etc. I felt pretty ok, but my speaking voice sounded like someone was sitting on my face. Since I could sing fine, I decided to go ahead and do the show. And even though by the end I got some great applause at my bow, I felt ridiculous. I sounded like a man in drag, and I couldn't be understood when I said things like "singing", which I realized that I said about a million times. So today I went to the hospital.

The closest hospital to our hotel is Queen Mary's, which is apparently one of the public hospitals here in Hong Kong. I woke up late, so I didn't get there until about two pm. It was quite a task trying to find my way around and get help in a mainly Chinese speaking country, but luckily there is a fair bit of English here too. I eventually found the Emergency bay, and a front desk where I had to fill out minimal paperwork, and they checked my visas and such. Then I had to wait for 30 minutes to be check out by a nurse who then would label my level of triage. I was labeled level 4, semi-emergency. Mind you I almost missed this check because they paged Miss Colleen Elizabeth, since they had entered my name in the wrong order. After being labeled by the nurse I sat in a waiting room for two hours.

In the waiting room with me were a caucoughany of people. All of them were Asian, and several of them were fascinated by me. There were a lot of tiny old people who looked like their problem was just that they didn't eat enough and were reeeealy skinny. There was totally a lady with these huge tumors all over her face just like I had seen on TV a few days ago! The couple next to me consisted of a sick girl and her juvenile boyfriend who was punching her and poking her for fun while she cried! They were all watching a TV show with some kind of crazy game going on that seemed to be lots of fun. When Colleen Elizabeth was eventually called again I was thrilled to go. I met a little lady who spent about two minutes asking my symptoms and five talking about how she's going to see SOMA on Friday. Then I had to wait for her to finish paperwork.

When she was done she sent me to the next building over, to go to the pharmacy. I stood in the wrong line twice, and then dropped off my prescription and waited for an hour and a half for my number to be called. Eventually I got some strong aspirin, some cough medicine, something to make my nose not run, and some cough drops. No good antibiotics! Crap!! The strangest thing about the whole thing was that I had to pay 100$ (about USD 12$) to register my name, and then I didn't pay anything else the whole time! No doctor's fee, and no fee for drugs! Everyone else in the cast who's done this has spent about USD 75$ on drugs and doctor's fees, so I'm a little worried. I think I didn't just walk out without paying, and even at the pharmacy they said it was free for me! How strange!

Well now I've got a whole BORING night ahead of me, since I shouldn't leave the hotel, and there's nothing good to watch and I just finished my book. Wish me luck getting better fast, cause it better happen soon.

I haven't been to the pool in days

It's true. I haven't! Here my cute sister is, blogging about being jealous of me floating on my back all day in the sun (www.katherinekirkpatrick.blogspot.com) and in reality I've barely been outside in days. That's because - we opened! We opened on Friday, after a long day of rehearsal, and since then we've had two shows a day until today, Monday, when we have our first day off.

First of all, the show's going great. It could always be better, but it's doing pretty well. We're selling awesomely, and it's great to see packed houses after coming from the disappointing sales in Hangzhou. The audiences speak more English too, so they're actually laughing at the right times, and paying attention to what's happening on stage, not just the subtitles. Unfortunatly we've had some sick people... our Maria has been out for two of the matinees, and our Elsa claims to have a bad cold. Luckily though, everybody's sticking it out and the show is going on nicely.

So basically my weekend, which for normal people is a time of rest and relaxation, was spent being busy, busy, busy! All I remember is a lot of shows, a lot of Euchre, and some occasional eating. Overall, the food in Hong Kong is great. We did Mexican this weekend that was awesome, plus I've had some decent pizza, some Chinese,dim sum, Indian, and lots of room service that's divine. We had an opening night party at the hotel with some delicious snacks, and big time Broadway producer of Hairspray, the Producers, and tons of other shows was there. Of course everyone had to kiss up to him, and although he didn't say anything about my performance to me (I swear he doesn't know who I am when I'm not wearing pounds of old-age makeup and acting like a nun) our director Dal claimed that Tom raved about me when the curtain went down.

The only sad thing about this weekend is that we're losing some people who have been with the tour for a long time. Last night we had another party for them. Clogger, our longtime Head Carpenter is leaving, as are our Head Electrician Swing and another crew guy who just joined us on this leg, Brian. Clogger and Swing are both super-nice guys who are great to work and play with, and even though we haven't known Brian as long, he's a great guy who will also be missed. Those of us left are hoping that they people (locals) who have been hired to take over are going to be able to handle this, or Tuesday's show will be a bit hectic. It's a bit strange that these guys are leaving, but since the tour is over in eight weeks when we're done in HK, I guess it makes sense that everyone can hold it together. Anyway, last night was a crazy party that I didn't come home from until 9 am, so it's no wonder I have a sore throat today. I slept until five and just got back from dinner. Thank goodness for days off.

In other unrelated news, I have an apartment! Since tour is not being extended (until the spring, when I have no intention of signing on again) I know that I'll be back in the states by December, and I'm going to be able to live with two old college friends! I'm so excited!! Even though HK is really amazing, I really miss New York and everyone there, and I can't wait to be back in the swing of things. You're welcome to hang out on the UWS anytime!

Hi Yao!

So, after a few more days at the pool I definitely have a great tan going on. That's almost all I have to show for myself, but I'm cool with that. I'll take my time slowly getting to know HK.

The other night we all headed out to the area that I believe is called something like Lao Kwai Fong. It's the rocking nighttime district, where we're definitely going pub crawling later, and where there are always tons of restaurants and bars. We had a reccomendation for a great Indian restaurant, and it was fantastic. We climbed up a flight of sketchy stairs and found a room the size of a subway car, and there we had some gooood food. Look at me, who a year ago thought I didn't like Indian food - now it's my fave! Afterwards we all headed back to our usual hang out, the hotel bar.

After another free sakitini, and some free vodka tonics, my besties Jessica and Anissa and I were feeling good. It continued until some of our friends across the bar sent us some shots, and then things got a bit crazier. A huge group of us partied at the bar for a few hours, but by one we were all upstairs... in Radar's room! The absolute best part of the night was when one of our techies, Clogger, got on the iron and made some food. I have never tasted anything as amazing as the grilled cheese sandwiches he made... with an iron. I've always heard about this, but to actually see it being made was like watching a great artist at work. It was delicious.

The next day I slept in, of course, but I also had my biggest press event ever to prepare for. Maria, the kids and I were heading to Hong Kong's Grand Hyatt to perform for basketball star Yao Ming at the China Fights AIDS benefit!!! We rehearsed and met some of the uber-famous Chinese pop stars who were performing also. We hung out in the makeup room backstage where people were toally getting ready like backstage at a rock concert. We had to move back and forth from the hotel to the theatre to prepare, and when we actually performed it was great. Yao was hugely tall, and he sat right in front. When he was sitting it actually looked like he was standing next to the table! Jen (Maria) and I sang "Favorite Things" and then she and the kids did part of "Do Re Mi". We preformed on a huge stage that was set up in a conference room, and all the people in front of us were eating and hanging out. It was MC'd by famous Chinese people, and apparently televised all over the country!! I have some hilarious pictures, including one of Yao getting up to leave after we finished singing, and one of me making some strange face. It was a load of fun, even if we didn't get to meet Yao (we were just the hired help).

Since then I've been playing Euchre regularly (go me - I've slowly taught everyone, and it caught on very well) and sitting poolside. Tonight we had our sound check, and somehow we're opening tomorrow - it snuck up on me! Since our director, Dallet, is back in town it's been a bit stressful, so we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Paradise.

I am in paradise. It’s true. When the weather clears up completely (we’re still having sporadic rainfall) you might not be able to get me to come home. After a late night movie showing of the Brother’s Grimm at the theatre across the street, we headed to the hotel bar. As part of the SOMA we get buy one get one free drinks at the lobby bar, and I can already tell this is going to be dangerous. I slept in until my alarm went off at noon, and I immediately headed to the pool.

It is a gorgeous infinity pool that overlooks some mountains and the ocean, and it feels like a cool bath. With a whirlpool and some warm weather you’d think that’d be enough, but the best is yet to come. I brought a PB&J sandwich down that I had made myself, and when a pool attendant came toward me I thought I might be in trouble. Little did I know that he was heading toward me with an ice-cold glass of water and a plate of fruit! It’s true!! Pineapple and melons and other delights come with the pool. I almost died.

I eventually had to leave to get ready to head into Central Hong Kong Island. Le Meridien is on the South West corner of the island, and most of the shopping and business and commerce all happens on the Central Northern part of the island. I almost missed the hotel shuttle because it was full, but luckily the hotel paid for a cab for those of us who couldn’t fit! We rode to the Central train station, and from there we hopped on the subway. The subway system here reminds me a bit of Tokyo. First of all, it’s spotless. There are clocks telling you exactly when the next train is coming, and lighted maps inside the cars with red dots that blink on what station is coming up. It’s so organized and well-marked!

Anyway, after a few stops we ended up at Causeway Bay, which is right by the beautiful Victoria Park. Today happened to be the Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Festival, a giant Chinese holiday celebrated all over Asia. Because of this, the area beside the park was filled with games, art, and shows celebrating the fall. Unfortunately, it rained on and off for a lot of the day, so some of the entertainment and things weren’t happening. We alternated walking around and seeing things with popping into a nearby mall for Thai food and a bit of shopping. We saw Chinese opera, giant plastic flowered decorations, blow up pagodas, and a dragon parade. It was all very cool, and a bit crowded like a twisted Asian Disneyland.

Exhausted, hours later, we came home and ended up at the bar again for complementary Saki-tinis. I love love love this hotel! When the bar closed at midnight a bunch of us got together for a game of Balderdash. Now I’ve got to get to bed because I have a pool date tomorrow. This is the LIFE!

Oops, it’s the next day. I woke up, and sat by the GORGEOUS pool for three hours. I enjoyed some PB&J, and alternately sunned, swam, and sat in the whirlpool. Eventually I got up and showered and went out to a delicious dinner. Then, I organized a huge euchre tournament. I hung out with a bunch of people in my AMAZING room, and now I’m going to bed. PARADISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm never coming home.

P.S. Happy 19th Birthday to my awesome brother Rob!! Wish him well on aolim (kirkpatrobrick).

It was all worth it.

Today was a travel day. No matter how many I have I can never really get used to them. I guess I’ve gotten more flexible as far as they’re concerned, but I still have a long way to go. I think the problem is that I really don’t understand why it is so hard. I realize that we are a large group (probably almost 60 this time including actors, kids, parents, techies, and musicians), and that we have A LOT of stuff. But you know what I want to say? So what. I am perfectly able to get myself quickly in and out of airports, even though I chronically overpack, and I think a group should not have to be a million times more difficult than that.

We met in the lobby at 7 am (gag) and already had problems. Our bus was late to take us to the airport. Then, not everyone had turned their keys in, so the hotel was making lists of who still had to return keys… and of course you know the flaky moms had lost them or something. When we were finally loaded and on our way to the airport we thought we were out of the tough spots. Sometimes the trucks that they give us to transport our luggage are too small, and we didn’t even have that problem this time. However, as soon as we arrived at the airport things got complicated.

Whenever we fill out paperwork there are ten people telling us how to fill it out. You know, are we here for Business? Or Leisure? Or maybe even Employment? It all depends on whether or not our presenters have gotten the proper visas yet. When it says "address in China" does it mean the mainland? Or is Hong Kong technically China? When it says you have to declare large electronic possessions, does that include your computer? Does it count if you’re an American citizen or only if you’re Chinese? The questions go on and on, and it’s no wonder that half of the company filled things out wrong.

Then we stood in line to check in for about an hour. Usually it takes that long until they can find someone who realizes that we’re a huge group and that our plane is about to take off. We got through that end of customs and ended up at our gate with enough time to have some beers before the flight took off. Mind you it’s about 11am by now, but that’s technically evening in America and therefore happy hour. The flight was nice, but we sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half waiting in line to take off. Three hours later when we were finally in HK we had to circle above for another 30 minutes before we could finally land.

After that it went pretty smoothly for me. I got through customs quickly and got to baggage claim and both my bags were there! I waited to help one of the moms with the two smallest kids, and once we all had our bags we headed out to the lobby to wait for everyone else. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that somewhere along the way were supposed to bump into our (incompetent) company manager Walter, and pick up our visas. Now here we are in the lobby with no visas, having incorrectly entered the country on a tourist visa for 90 days. We weren’t the only ones, but now we might have to head to Macau for a day just to leave the country and get back in on the correct visas. What a pain!

The real worst part is all the waiting. Picking the wrong lines to stand in is my specialty. I’m always behind the problem person who takes forever. I try to be patient but I’m not very good at it. I just want to take over and get people organized so that when they get to the front of the line they’re ready! And I want people not to stop in the middle of the road when walking. I want everyone to take care of themselves and not dawdle, and for us to check in and out in a timely, neat manner. Oh well, I guess this is all too much to want. Instead, I get a day of chaos that leaves me exhausted! Luckily though…

I'm going to stop all this complaining. Because...we’re in HONG KONG! It’s raining now, but as we drive to our amazing hotel, I am getting some gorgeous views of the island ( although it’s not technically an island anymore). It is so far reminding me of Hawaii, with lush mountains all around, and so much water. The tall buildings are very modern, and I believe they’re huge apartment complexes that hold thousands of people. Most of them are neutral, but then you’ll see a huge cluster of brightly colored buildings – pink, green, yellow, and blue! There is a lot of construction and equipment for that all around. The harbor is filled with shipping crates and boats that look like they’re ready to drill for oil. It’s beautiful… strangely modern but also with a backdrop of so much water and green. The city itself is cramped at times. The streets are narrow, and they are lined with brightly colored shops with apartments over them. We’ve already seen more white people here, along with Indians, and people from all over. There is English and Chinese everywhere, and it’s chaotic but so cool! We drove across a huge suspension bridge (bigger than the golden gate) and I can’t wait to see more! I am going to LOVE LOVE LOVE it here!!!

p.s. I'm posting this from our hotel, Le Meridien, and I am about to pass out with how Fantastic it is. Honestly, I can't describe the joy it's bringing me. Please come visit!

Almost there...

OK, so I'm leaving tomorrow for Hong Kong. I technically should be packing now, but typical me, I'm hanging out online instead, checking email and wasting time. Anything to procrastinate I guess!

Anyway, to kill time I wanted to share some of the things about mainland China that I think are a bit strange, and probably wouldn't remember to share when I get home. Here goes!

1. In China, there are a lot of sidewalks. I would say that at any given time about 1/3 of them are under construction. There are always ripped up sidewalks with giant piles of bricks beside them. There are also old fashioned wheelbarrows that look like the carts the gladiators rode in. They have decorative wheels and seem to be made of flimsy sticks. Next to these bricks and carts are a few guys, usually wearing dirty polo shirts and dress pants. They wear belts, and you can see them when they get hot, becuase they like to lift up the front of their shirts to cool off. There is no kind of safety wear at all, and half the guys are usually wearing plastic shower shoes like you see at CVS. They put the bricks down in a straight line, on top of a layer of concrete that they've mixed with large brooms made of bunches of sticks. There is no mortar or anything between the bricks, and the bricks are set by being pounded gently with a rubber mallet. The cool part is, in every sidewalk in China there is a path down the middle for blind people. The bricks are different, with raised patterns depending on if the path is going straigh or turning or stopping. It's amazing to me that these five guys in shower shoes can actually make these cool patterns, which are very pretty, although kind of dangerous if you're in stilettos.

2. Fashion in China. After many moons in this country you think I'd have it figured out, but I do not. There is no rhyme or reason to the parings of pants and skirts to shirts, and all manners of colors, textures, and patterns are apparently an option. Most of the men end up wearing slacks, in navy blue or grey. Jeans are all around, but usually they're pretty funky, with stuff sewn on them or rips all around. For girls, dresses are popular, even if they look like a cleaning lady outfit or an eighties prom dress cast-off. A lot of the women wear knee high stockings in tan that only reach to the top of the ankle. I assume these make your strappy sandles more comfortable, but they also end up giving you tan toes and a tan band around your ankle that is tight and cause your legs to baloon above them. It's like they're trying to reverse the kankle effect. A lot of people are into disney fashions, and even more like to wear english words on their t-shirts. Today I saw a girl whose shirt read BIMBO in giant letters. I am certain she had no idea what it meant.

3. Sales as a buisness and a concept is very different here in Asia. For one thing, there are only two styles of salespeople. The ones who are horiffically pushy, and the ones who ignore you. When you walk into a store, type one grabs you and starts trying to see what you're looking at. When she identifies it, she grabs it and starts extolling its values in whatever English she posesses. For example, "Sirk! Sirk! Goo Quality!" It's impressive, and way better than my Chinese, but it can get a bit old. When you try to leave the store, if you haven't bought anything, she grabs your arm and maybe spits at you after you're out the door. Fun! Type two will ignore you for days. You browse for awhile and you decide what you want, and you still can't catch her eye. She might be eating or reading, and even after you use your pigin Chinese "duibichi" to say excuse me, she won't look up until you've said it a few times. Even then she acts like you are the biggest nuisance ever and she doesn't have time to waste on you. It's amazing that anything ever gets sold here with how difficult it is to buy! Incredibly though, I've met some very nice ladies in the end who sold me all of China, and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it in my suitcase.

4. White people are damn funny looking. When I walk around with my roomie Jessica, who is short with a curvy figure and huge curly hair, we get more stares and whispers and catcalls then I've ever had in my whole life. In New York when I walk around sometimes I play the "stare at people and see who's staring at me game". Here, when I play that game I realize that EVERYONE is looking at me! People send their children up to say Hello to me, becuase they're learning English in schools. Other familes make their toddlers come touch me, becuase they're frightened. Men yell out that they love us, and people stop and stare when we walk by. The other day I was in the elevator with two Chinese girls. When they got on their mouths dropped when they saw me, and as we rode up together one girl turned to the other and grabbed her boobs and started speaking in a loud voice. They alternated staring at my boobs and grabbing theirs, while making a face like WOW. That's all I have to say. Wow.

OK, back to packing now. Ugh. This always makes me wish I could teleport myself. If anyone has any information on that, please let me know. Take care until civilization!

Goodbye land of cheap shopping!

So we finally closed the show tonight, after a rocky run. After a year of tour you'd think they'd have everything figured out, but it was pretty rocky all the way to the end. Everyone blamed everyone else (new techies blah blah, cell tower in the theatre blah blah) but all I can say is that I'm glad to get out of here. After a day off tomorrow, which I plan to spend walking by the lake and drinking tea, we're headed to Wonderful Hong Kong! I am sooo excited.

Until then, I've been doing the show, and shopping shopping shopping. On my day off I went to the famous History Market here in town, with a bunch of castmates. Our cabs landed us at one end of the half-mile strip of stores and stands. They had everything Chinese I've ever wanted... silk robes, clothes, scarves, jewelrey, jade, boxes, fans, statues, toys, ties, art, etc. Somehow here I've been saving a lot of my food money, which I then managed to spend in two days. I now have an entired bed COVERED in stuff that will somehow have to make it home. We'll see if that happens.

The only other exciting thing happening in this town is that I have officially taught everyone Euchre. We play constantly, during the show, before, and after until the wee hours. I might have taught them too well, becuase now they're all beating me. Oh well, I'm bored of this town and I spent all my money, so it's on to Hong Kong. See you there!

Already sick of this place

So, we opened last night with success. After some intese teching, rehearsals, and emotions we actually did it, with no major problems. And we followed it in the typical SOMA fashion, with a massive party. Apparently our presenters got mad when we wanted the local crew to rehearse the day of the show, and so they cancelled our opening night party. Luckily, Randy Buck (not a porn star, just the money man behind Troika) came to the rescue.

We partied in an Italian/Chinese restaurant until the wee hours of the morning, and then got up today and did two shows. Our Maria hasn't been feeling well since we came to this smog-ridden town, and she didn't do her matinee, letting our brand new Maria understudy come to glory pretty quickly. She did an excellent job, and we survived it all.

Even though we haven't been here long, after seeing the rest of China I'm kind of done with this place. I can't wait to leave for Hong Kong in a week!

The day after tomorrow?

So apparently we all just realized that we open... the day after tomorrow. Here we have been just hangin' out, sleeping' in, lazin' about, and suddenly we're in way over our heads and there's going to be some people expecting a show!

Not that it's out of control, but we're so far behind where we've ever been that it is unbelievable. When I left four months ago we had one of the smoothest, most polished shows I've ever been in. You know, the ones where everybody feels the same vibe onstage, nobody (even me) ever forgets lines, and scene changes happen so fast that you hardly notice them? Now suddenly it's a few months, and a few new people down the road, and we're drowning!

Today the crew ran their first full dry tech on the show while I was still asleep. When the cast arrived around one, we were supposed to do a sound check, get that all figured out, and then sing through the whole show with the orchestra (it's called a sitz probe). Then, if we had enough time we'd run the show from start to finish with costumes. Tech was running late when we arrived, so we improvised by going over problematic solos with our assistant music director for a few hours. By three we were sitting on the stage waiting for sound check. Little did we know that there had been NO dry tech since there were problems with things missing or something. Little did we also know that there were problems with the sound equiptment. Two and a half hours of sitting around later, we had run three songs with the orchestra, and nobody had been sound checked.

A dinner of cafeteria food gave us the strength to return around seven, when they decided we should just run the show. Unfortunately, the kids had to leave at eight because of labor laws or whiny parents or something, so we continued without them. Even without the kids (skipping some of their scenes) by nine o clock we still weren't done... with ACT ONE. My big song is at the end of act one, and I have sung it exactaly ONCE in the week-ish we've been here. Awesome. We got out of costume and finally sound checked, and were home by eleven.

Now is the time that I sit down and start to think and get a little nervous. We have one full day of rehearsal left (tomorrow), plus probably a dress-rehearsal for press the morning of the show. Even so, we are cutting it a bit close! Added to this is the fact that our Captain VonTrapp AND our Maria have been sick all week and aren't rehearsing. Both of them have been doing the show for about a milllion years, but I feel so bad for their poor understudies (one of whom is brand new) who might have to perform the day after tomorrow. Craziness!!

All I can say is, wish me luck tomorrow. And the day after!!

Hangzhou hang what?

In Hangzhou China, when you make a hand signal like you're saying "hang ten" in Hawaii, it means the number six. This is just one of the many things I've re-learned since entering the great land of China again. It only took me a bijillion hour flight. I flew from Cincinnati to Detroit, where I was reunited with some of the returning cast and crew members. We kept our eyes peeled and spied some tiny white kids on a flight to Tokyo, and knew we had found some of our SOMA buddies. We met them and the rest of the cast in Tokyo, and then we all hopped on a flight to Shanghai. Luckily there was nobody with TB on any of these flights, but they were loooong! Even after we arrived we had to take a three hour bus ride to get to the middle of knowhere, Chicago-like Hangzhou.

I stayed awake the night we got in until about 4am China time, which screwed my sleep schedule completely when I slept until 6pm the next day. Now, a week later, I'm finally back on regular people's time. Since I've been here I haven't been doing much shopping or sightseeing, since I've been to China before, and I'm in no hurry because we'll have days off once the show starts. So... we've been eating (or trying to eat and sometimes ending up back at McDonald's for a second course) and sleeping and rehearsing. About half of the cast has returned, which includes almost every lead. The new kids seem very nice, although there are a bunch of NYU kids who all graduated together and are besties. I've been trying to bring everyone together, and it's slowly working. It's so strange to be working on the same show again months later. It's nice to give it a second chance, but it's so easy to feel like I never left.

As far as China goes, it is like I never left. I'm still getting marriage proposals (in Chinese, thanks to the translations from my roommate Jessica and my friend Stu) and seeing babies with split-bottom pants - there are no diapers here. The distinctive smell pervades the country, as well as the lack of toilet paper. It took me a week to find peanut butter, and I'm still searching for the perfect dumpling. We already have a favorite bar with a female Thai cover band where we picked up some hot foreign guys as a cast and made friends with them. Basically we're working and biding our time until the show opens and we can party!

Until then I'm eating Chinese food and going to bed early! Well, relatively early anyway.