Halloween: Part I

Two days before it was Halloween in America, it was Halloween in HK for the SOMA kids. The adults in the cast had decided that we needed to do something fun for the poor little children who would miss the festivities in the states, and so we planned a rocking party. Halloween fell on a Monday here, which luckily happend to be our day off, but a bunch of the company was going to Macau for the day to see another Troika show, West Side Story, so we decided that Sunday night would be special.

During Saturday's show we started getting excited, and planned some trick-or-treating for Sunday night. During Sunday's first show, however, is when we started to really get in the mood. We all got swept up in the Halloween spirit, and rather than a conventional trick-or-treat in the hotel, we decided to do it with clues, like a scavenger hunt. We spent the first shows thinking of rhyming clues that would lead the kids to our rooms, with the idea that I would figure out their different paths, and it would all be more of a mystery, and a little more spread out. Here's my clue:

You'll often see her with lines on her face,
She eats little children at an alarming pace!
She sometimes looks old, but is pretty young.
Go get some candy, or she'll eat your tongue.

The idea was that the clues would be tough enough to make them think, but not impossible. Mine was perfect, since I play a game where the youngest kid in the company, Mary, blows "hungry dust" on me, and then she turns into a pizza, and I have to eat (tickle) her. So after spending hours on clues, I figured out paths for the three teams of kids, and by the time the shows were over we were ready. Forget acting and thinking about being onstage, we were in the Halloween spirit! Every time I'd be in the wings someone would have an idea about the festivities, although luckily the show still went off without a hitch.

On Sunday night I ran home from the show and slapped some scary vampire makeup on my face. I met all the kids in the 4th floor bar (were they pre-partying?) and told them how it would work. From midnight until about 2 they were going from room to room following clues and collecting a TON of candy. They all looked so cute it was unbelievable. Little Mary was dressed like Belle from head to toe (including some professionally done hair). We also had a ladybug, a lion, a giant spider, a cave man, and some cartoon characters that I didn't recognize. All the adults dressed up, and dressed their rooms up in unique ways. Some were haunted houses, some had themes. By the time the trick-or-treating was over the kids had already had the time of their lives.

It wasn't over though, becuase we all met in a huge room to tell a scary ghost story. Our Captain, Jim, jumped out of the bathroom at the end, and some of the kids almost peed themselves. We watched the Michael Jackson THRILLER video, and they were out of there by 2:30 am. They all said it was the scariest, and most fun Halloween they'd ever had. We did an awesome job!!!

Who even knows now

OK, so as far as we know, there's no bird flu, but there are always rocking parties here at SOMA. Yesterday Jim stayed out of the show, after it was previously reported that he was going to do the show. Apparently he was feeling good all day, and had taken some extra electrolytes and that was supposed to help, but right before call he was showering and the dizzyness hit again. Apparently at the doctor they said that they weren't sure what he had. They did know this. When you work out, your muscles pull blood away from your heart so they can use it. Regular people pull something like 10% of your heart blood away, but when you're especially muscly (like ex-army Jim) your heart pulls a lot more. The doctors thought that Jim's muscles were pulling more like 35% of his blood away, and it wasn't returning fast enough, which is what made him dizzy. Even though everyone was unsatisfied with this answer, they are waiting for more tests and all they can do right now is wait. Plus, he's feeling a lot better, so we're all trying to ignore it and move on. He did go on for tonight's show and felt good.

In the meantime, yesterday was a very special occasion. Our Franz, Joe, turned 30!!! Joe's been on the tour since Japan, and did some of the US tour before this, so he is a long-time SOMA veteran. He's also an all around good guy, so everyone met after last night's show in the 4th floor Psi Bar. It's our usual hang out by now, and all our favorite bartenders were out in full force. We started with some homemade jell-o shots courtesy of our lighting guy Chip, and from there it was all downhill. Beer, wine, shots, mixed drinks, and some special on-fire concoctions called Lambourginis later... Joe was feeling pretty good. Since this was SOMA the jokes were flowing freely, and I'm sure I got some digital camera video of some funny stuff. The night ended when Joe disappeared to have some alone time (ralphing?) around 3 or 4am. I'm sure he had a hard time waking up for dance class today!

Beautiful Hong Kong. This is a view from Kowloon looking to Hong Kong Island. I'm taking the ferry across at sunset! 

Bird flu strikes SOMA

When you're an actor, your body is your tool. It's part of your job to make sure you stay healthy and able to do what you're paid to do, and that's what makes it so hard to get sick. Every performer deals with sickness differently, but no matter who you are it's hard to get over. When I was sick and had to go out of the show I knew it was for the best, but I sure didn't like it. Our Maria has gone out several times, but she always does what she needs to do to perform as much as possible. Our Captain on the other hand, has a perfect record. Or did, until tonight.

Jim (Capt. von Trapp) used to be in the army. He's about as far from your typical theatre guy as you could possibly get. First of all, he's straight (and this is reeeeally rare) and engaged. He's pretty quiet offstage, although he does have a temper. He's also very tall, works out all the time, and loves sports. As part of his miliary background though, Jim is tough. More than anything else he's disciplined and controlling.

Every night at the end of our curtain call, Jim leads the full cast bow. He's very tall and stands in the middle of the stage, so everyone is supposed to watch him to know when to bow together. However, after months of doing this, the bow has a musical cue, and we all bow on the same music together. A few nights ago, Jim decided that he was going to teach the children a lesson about paying attention, and changed up the bows. He neglected to realize that the rest of the cast was going to continue the correct bows that we've always done, and the end result would look unprofessional and chaotic. Even so, when the curtain was down he proceeded to yell at the kids for not listenening (even though it was his own fault he was on this power trip). This is a pretty good example of how he likes to be in charge, and takes pride in his strength.

Because of some of these traits, Jim has never gone out of a show. He's done this show countless times (since he was also in the US non-equity tour in 2003) and has a perfect record. He went on in Tokyo hacking in Maria's face, and in Seoul with a 103-degree temperature. We thought he would never go out... until tonight he proved us wrong.

When tonight's show started, Jim seemed fine. Apparently he had told his finacee Chrissy that he felt a bit strange, but it wasn't obvious at first. However, about five minutes into his first scene, he was in the middle of a line when he suddenly stopped speaking. He was quiet for a few seconds, and then picked back up, but there was a change in him. He seemed a bit distant, and started to limp a bit. To some watching backstage, the change wasn't obvious, and even those who noticed it just thought he had maybe re-injured his bad knee. It wasn't until he came offstage a few minutes later and told someone that he barely remembered what scene he had just complete that we started to worry. As the first act went on, things got worse. He skipped several lines, and was constantly leaning on any thing he could get his hands on... the wall, the banister, and Maria. He was sweating and out of it by the time he was pulled out of the show at the end of the first act. Although he didn't want to leave, it was clear something was wrong. He was immediately rushed to the hospital.

Of course the first bit of drama was that his understudy Todd was going on for the first time. This is always a bittersweet thing, since we were so excited for Todd, but worried about Jim. Luckily, Todd did a great job, and Jim went to get checked out. Fortunately for Jim we happened to have one of the kid's dads visiting, and he happens to be an infectious disease specialist from the states. So hopefully the doctor and the hospital will have things figured out soon. Unluckily, there are a bunch of actors sitting around guessing what's wrong and trying to self-interpret the blood tests, which only makes for more drama. I don't know if it's actors or people in general, but we certainly have a flare for exaggeration and the dramatic. Suddenly in our minds Jim has bird flu and it's become airborne. Hopefully this isn't the case, and he's fine, but until then we can only keep our fingers crossed.

Me! Performing for Yao Ming 

Me! Performing for Yao Ming 

Wouldn't you know...

After an exhausting week of dancing, dancing, being sore, more dancing, and shows, I was kind of down and out. The dancing is really fun... most of the time. For the hour of class, I am loving it. Dancing around, making a fool of myself as I can't stretch at all, feeling the good burn of working out and actually achieving something. I love big groups of people, and I love performing at all times, and I don't think I shine harder than when I'm in the center of a group telling a story or making people laugh. This is what I like about dance class. What I don't like is the fact that my body is sore ALL THE TIME, and sometimes I stretch so hard that I feel like I'm going to throw up. I also don't like that I never get to look cute, and I'm always walking around in sweaty, stinky clothes. If this was the only thing happening, I'd be cool, but I'm also suffering some show burnout.

I decided a little while ago that I was done with this show, but I want to give it my all for the rest of my commitment. Now though, when we've been coasting for such a long time, things are changing. Lots of important people are coming to watch the show (the F***ing Niederlanders were there the other night, for God's sake!) and see if they want to take it different places or do anything with it. Because of this, the pressure is on. We're constantly getting notes about our performances, every night. Before the show, during the show, after the show. I understand that I'm not perfect, but all these notes have done is make me NEUROTIC. I start feeling like I can't ever do it right, and then I psych myself out. All this combines to make the week preeeeeety intense, and this made the weekend come all the slower.

However, when it finally got here it was great. All of our shows went well, and on Sunday night I had some friends over for wine and pictures and talking, and I had a great time. Then on our day off, Monday, I actually got up at a human time and had a fun day! I trolled the famous Stanley Market with Jess and Dana, and shopped (with the scant amounts of cash I have left). We took a great bus ride down through the bottom of HK Island, and even though we thought the double-decker bus was going to tip over the side of the mountain, the sights of the beaches and bays were breathtaking. Then we headed to Kowloon (part of HK) for more shopping, and then hung out with friends tonight. I was finally able to have a day off from the soreness and the neuroses, and I was healing emotionally.

Then, disaster struck. At about 3 am I was cleaning up a bit of my room before I climbed into bed. I grabbed my new purchases and opened the closet to stack them on the ENORMOUS pile of presents that I keep on the shelf in my closet. That's when I notice that there is a fricking WATERFALL in my closet. Coming from the light fixture in the ceiling is a Huge amount of water, raining all over my presents, and my clothes, electronics, and medicine. Awesome. I immediately freaked out and started grabbing things out of the closet and throwing them on the floor, before I paused to call the "Solution Center" as they call it here at Le Meridien. Luckily these people are on call 24/7, and within 5 minutes there was a tiny Chinese man at my door climbing into my closet. What a pain in the bum! Now I have wet clothes, wet towels, and hopefully no ruined souveniers. All of YOUR presents are now laid out around my room drying (let's hope this was Clean water). You know what though? I'm going to shake this off. I am back in full force, wet dresses and all. From here on out (we're officially at 30 days today I think) I am going to see all I can see, and use HK for all I can. I'm going to keep busy and do some kick-ass shows, and have as much fun as I can! Hopefully I'll have a lot to blog about!

I'm poor.

It's like I'm living in New York again, I'm that poor. I spent all my per diem this week within three days, thanks to taking a million dance classes. So now I can't afford to eat and I'm sore all the time. This is a tough life.

Sorry I'm so boring, but all I do is wake up, watch tv in bed, maybe go to the pool, shower, dance, do a show, and come home and watch more tv. For real, this is my schedule and I apologize for it. I feel it's my duty as a blogger to live an exciting life and do lots of fun stuff, but I'm failing miserably right now.

I promise that when I get more cash I'll do something good with it. Like shopping - I miss shopping! Don't blame my blog for my boringness. I'm home in 30 days!

Mr. Bigstuff

It's amazing how you can go from being somebody to nobody pretty damn quickly. During my curtain call, I'm the star of the show, and the applause rings in my ears for a few minutes. That ringing is gone by the time my make-up comes off and I leave through the stage door. Suddenly I'm some unrecognizable white lady with ADORABLE CHILDREN! They are the real stars, and in some ways, I like it! It's nice to be able to do your job and get your applause, and then when you're having a long day, just disappear onto the bus with your iPod and leave without looking back. On the other hand, sometimes it's nice to be acknowleged by the big guys.

That's who acknowledged us the other night... Mr. Bigstuff. In our travels through Asia, we have met many important people. It's hard to keep track of who, since it's hard for me to remember who's who in the many varied governments that we've encountered. We're always asking, 'So, is he like the president? Or a senator? Or like a celebrity?'. And usually the answer is pretty impressive. The other night though, we met the star of Hong Kong. Mr Bigstuff, Donald Tsang.

Since Hong Kong is considered a Special Administrative Region, with the change from British rule back to Chinese it's kind of on hold for a few years. The rule is that Hong Kong now belongs to the Chinese, but they can't implement communism for something like 50 years, and until then the government of Hong Kong is to treat it like a business venture, not like a country. Because of all this, the leader of Hong Kong isn't the president, or the dictator, or the king... it's the CEO. Donald Tsang is the Chief Executive of the Administration, and he's the coolest guy in HK. When we read the papers here, it's out of control. He is EVERYWHERE! Every article talks about his political beliefs, and every other article talks about what he is doing next. They talk about his family life and his growing up, and who he's having lunch with next week. They're always asking his opinion of anything, and speculating about how much he would love or hate things. It's like the world here revolves around him! No one ever says anything bad, and they seem to be majorly obsessed with him. So, it was pretty cool when he came to our show.

He stopped by backstage briefly to meet the leads, and then sat in the front row. It was a little intimidating to look out and see a row of suits, including the big (actually he's pretty little) guy and his entourage of body guards and such. The proceeds from the night benefitted a children's charity in HK that takes teens off the streets and teaches them how to live in the real world. After the show we stood on stage with our cheeks cramping from smiling so much as a priest came onstage and talked about some of the kids who they had helped. It was great to know that this performance had helped people, and that we had brushed elbows with Mr.HK. I'm not sure what the moral of this story is, but I'd vote for Donald Tsang if this was a democracy and I had a vote. He's a real cool guy.

The Joy of Lilies

I got flowers! Twice! Excuse me if this isn't exciting to you, but it is to me. Becuase for the first time in the history of this show (history being ever since May 1, 2004) I got flowers on stage!!

Now you'd think this wouldn't be a big deal, but it is. In mainland China, flowers are really cheap. Maybe because of this, when we were in China the leads would get flowers ALL THE TIME. By all the time I mean every time we opened in a new city, sometimes when we closed, any special holiday, and depending on the city sometimes every day or every other day in the dressing room. By the leads I mean Jen (Maria) and Jim (Capt.) and the kids. Sometimes Friesia and Stu (Elsa and Max) were also in this group. Then, anytime an understudy went on they would get flowers too. Because of this whole situation, somehow I was forgotten. When I went out of the show a few weeks ago, my understudy got flowers, and I still hadn't gotten any (this is not to discount the flowers that my parents sent me, I'm talking company SOMA flowers). I know this all sounds complainy and selfish, but I have these moments sometimes and you'll just have to deal with it.

Luckily though, so I don't become too self obsessed, I got flowers this weekend. Twice! One of our sponsors, HSBC, threw a giant party weekend for their company. All our shows were packed with their people, and they had snacks and drinks before the show and FLOWERS for the leads in the show! I got two giant bouquets (which I shared with friends) and now my room smells great! Flowers are just such a great payoff for what I do daily. It's not like I need the reassurance, but it's nice to be reminded that we are working hard day after day, and someone is paying attention. The applause is one kind of payoff from the audience, but it's also nice to know that there are people who have put their money behind you, and they're glad that things are working out so well.

Now the sweet fragrance floating through my room is my constant reminder that as much as I want to be at home, I'm making a difference here. Bringing joy into people's lives daily through music and theatre! And it's what I love best in this world. Aside from y'all.

Behind the scenes with Mickey

Earlier this week, we had some very special visitors who came to see the show. If you remember when I went to Disney, we visited some special people there. Our 'Maria' and her husband, along with our old (now replaced) 'Rolf', all happen to be friends with this guy Toby, who is in The Lion King at HK Disney. So on Wednesday, Toby came to see our show, and he brought friends!

First of all, it was definitely a treat to have a real American audience. We've had people's parents, and producers, and executives from Troika, but they're all old! These were real American 20-somethings, who are in theatre and know how fun a really boisterous audience is. They happily complied, laughing and yelling like they were at a basketball game. I think the Chienese people were probably as shocked as when we whooped while sitting next to them at the Lion King, and some of them covered their ears. And when we met the ten of them after the show, they were very nice about it. It's a little strange to be performing for our peers, becuase we really care about what they think. I get way more nervous singing and acting in front of people who do it for their living too. I know I'm pretty critical when watching a show, and I know I'm not alone in being this way. Luckily though, they were very flattering, and we were immediately comfortable in their company.

So, we all headed out! The usual, Lao Kwai Fong, was especially rocking. We've only been on Sundays, and this was a million times crazier. All of the bars were packed, so we headed down a side street and the giant group piled into a semi-empty Asian bar. A group of 20plus actors brings their own party when they go somewhere, and immediately we were the life of the strip. It was funny, because it's rare that I hang out with anyone who's not from our show, and this immediately felt like I was in New York. It was just like when you're at someone's birthday party and you meet another bunch of actors and they make your world feel a little smaller. We all talked shop occasionally, and Hong Kong a whole bunch. It was great to meet some new people and automatically have something in common, which is usually not true here. Our new friends included a married couple, and about eight black gay guys. Our token homo Matt got all eight numbers, and now just has to figure out how to date them all without causing too many problems. We all hung out and had fun, and decided that SOMA and Disney should be best friends.

It was also definitely interesting to hear about the Disney working experience. Some of the kids in the show have been working for Dis for years, in Florida, or overseas. I have a friend who's worked Dis in Florida, and another who worked a cruise, and overall I've always heard good things. The kids at HK Dis are apparently being treated incredibly well, if anyone is looking to work there. They all have their own single and fabulous apartments, although they are pretty far from the center of the city. They make good money, and it's easy to save when you're making per diem and your housing is paid for. They usually only have to do about three shows a day, as opposed to the six that happen at other Dis parks. They claim that Tokyo Dis is the worst to work for, becuase you're treated like a slave, but the actual park is a lot more fun than HK Dis. And once you're in the Dis family, you're there to stay. It's a pretty good deal.

Not only could these people talk, they could drink and party. They're on the whole a bit more adventurous than we are, which is pretty predictable. In musical theatre world, when you take a Rodgers & Hammerstein show out it's full of singers, who are usually fatter and need more sleep. As opposed to ANY dance show, where the people are skinnier, and they don't sleep because they're doing cocaine. They have more energy, and they dress better, which makes them party animals. On a regular day I have no doubt that they can party much heartier than our cast (on the whole), but maybe on Halloween we'll give them a run for their money!

"God I'm A Dancer..."

In my everyday life, I try to avoid musical theatre cliches as much as possible. It's tough, considering that I am a person who's life involves a lot of musical theatre, and I do like to sing things out every once in a while. Somehow though, I manage not to be one of those people who is always quoting musicals. Today though, it just seems unavoidable. This is because I have a new life here in Hong Kong ("everybody gets a new life on this island" -LOST) and it's a life where I am a DANCER!

I have always liked to dance. I like the challenge of learning chorography for a show, or for show choir when I was younger. I've always liked being physical, and I'd much rather dance than run on a treadmill. When Chrissy, our child wrangler and assistant company manager, said she was offering some dance classes - I was pumped! I love to take dance class. I took when I was younger with my little sister, until we quit becuase her "wegs got tired". I took in college as part of my curriculum, and it was awesome! I'd love to take more in New York, but when I'm there, I'm usually thinking that if I skip some dance classes I'll actually be able to afford my rent. So, when they're offered here, where I have a lot more expendible cash... I jumped at the offer! I signed up for as much as possible, which includes Musical Theatre Dance, Beginning Ballet, and Intermediate Jazz. And yesterday, I had my first class!

Chrissy is an actor herself, who has spent a lot of time dancing or teaching. This summer she starred in 42nd street, and she's taught dance at three different colleges. That's a good enough resume, cause it sure means she's better than me, and she turned out to be a fantastic teacher! My first class was MT dance, and after we talked about the objectives of the class and stretched, we learned a routine from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was actually a routine that Chrissy has taught in dance auditions, which was a great indicator of our skill level. In New York it happens a lot that you're called back after an audition to dance, and when that happens they teach you a combination and you have to perform it a few minutes later. The skills needed to pick up dance moves quickly and be able to spit them back out confidently a minute later are some of the most important you can get. The class was not only a ton of fun, but if it teaches me to be better at that it will be the best investment ever.

Even if I did wake up the next day with some sore muscles. Not quite as sore as the muscles I had the next day, after my ballet class. Although I took ballet when I was young, I never took it in college or later in life. That's because I hate it. It's not as much fun, because you're not bouncing around or feeling like you're actually accomplishing something. Instead, to me, it seems like you stand there and do nothing and yet you sweat and cramp and work so hard! But, even though it's not my fave, it's good for me. And, I'd much rather take ballet with a bunch of my friends than some skinny bitches in NYC. So, I took it, and I didn't hate it. Although I'm sore and all we did was stretch and do some easy stuff at the bar (and yet I was sweating and my legs felt like rubbery noodles afterwards) it was good for me.

I'm sure that by the time I get back to New York I'll be one of the famed "triple threats" of the business (actor/singer/DANCER) thanks to my classes. Untill then I'll just be sore and happy!!

Out and about in the city

After the activities of the weekend, Monday was a day of rest. I woke up around two and sat by the pool for a few hours with Dana, before embarking on my day. Then Dana, Jessica, and I took the shuttle into town for a nighttime excursion!

Since we were starting dance classes (that's right - dance classes - offered by our child wrangler, Chrissy) on Tuesday, we needed to get some new shoes first. We went to the only dance store we were able to find, which happened to be a few blocks from the theatre. As we walked there, we found ourselves falling back into mainland China. It's amazing how Hong Kong seems so much more European, like a real city, and we forget what it was like in China until we turn the corner and are on a cramped smelly street again. We arrived, and walked past people eating smelly "thousand-year eggs" on the curb, up the rickety staircase to the dance store. When we got there, we found a tiny room full of boxes and Asian people. Everyone was trying on shoes and chatting, so we sat down and waited our turn.

I haven't been able to buy a single pair of shoes in Asia, due to my huge feet, but imagine my surprise when they showed me the men's shoes and they fit! A few minutes later the three of us had gotten some new shoes, and made some new friends of the owners, who are coming to see the show next week. We headed down the stairs and out to dinner. We hit up the 'Spaghetti House' for some pizza and lasagna, and then caught the famous STAR Ferry to Kowloon (another part of Hong Kong). Every night in Hong Kong there is a special laser light show along the water, and the eight o'clock ferry takes you right along the coast. We got on at just the right time, and got to watch this amazing phenomenon. All my books said it was worth seeing, but it turned out to be some buildings lighting up as a few green laser beams shot off the tops. We sat captivated (ha ha) until we reached the other shore.

All of this traveling culminated eventually (after a long walk and a trip on the subway) at the famous Temple Street Night Market. In Taipei we often went to night markets, but this is the first time since we've been on this leg of the tour. This market turned out to be a ton of fun. It was over a mile long, and filled with people buying and selling, tourists and locals, all wandering under the generator's humming lights. We wandered down the long street, buying sunglasses, watches, jewelry, and purses. I got some original art, and saw some amazing replicas of famous artwork done my the masters. There were t-shirts, and electronics, and tons of food. Chinese antiques, and vintage kids toys, and adult toys too. We could have spent hours there! We wandered for two and were finally overwhelmed with exhaustion. I'm definitely going back to get my palm read by the ancient Chinese seers.

Lao Kwai FUN!

After an exhausting weekend of shows, I was ready to get back in bed and watch some LOST and pass out and sleep in. Of course that was not to be. Last weekend the NYUtes (as we call the three new cast members who are all best friends and went to NYU together) found an "Amazing" bar, and everyone had promised to tag along this Sunday night before our day off. Claiming a headache I almost escaped, but at the last moment Jessica convinced me, and we were off!

We headed to Lao Kwai Fong, the cool area for bars and nightlife. It's actually not a very big area, but it consists of one long, steep street that is closed to cars. All along the street are bars and restaurants, most open to the street, and there are christmas lights hung all over the place, as a canopy over your head. It feels like a frat bought a whole street and is constantly throwing a huge grown-up frat party. This is a good feeling. When we got there, even on a Sunday night it was rocking, and we got started right away.

Shocked by the fact that we could drink on the street (everyone's been busted in New York one time or another for trying to smuggle and open container) we did just that. A quick trip to 7-11 and we were hooked up. Since I'm still phlegm-y I sticked to coke, but the excitement was enough to make you feel drunk. When we had pre-partied sufficiently, we headed to the famous bar, Insomnia. Inside it looks a little like a cave, and there was a FANTASTIC live band! While we waited for their set to begin we sat and ate pancakes - what a treat! The NYUtes had hung out with the band the previous week, so they made their friends again, and then we all hit the dance floor. The band played a mix of a lot of eighties, plus some recent hip-hop and any other big hits. Of course when you stick a bunch of show-off actors on the dance floor the party really begins, and it did. We danced, and took breathing breaks and drinking breaks, until 3:30am, when we were exhausted. We made some new friends (not including the drunk Austrailian man who claimed to be in love with me) and vowed to come back again. Fun fuN!

this one is pretty heavy

So I just finished yet another weekend of two-show days. It really is interesting to me that for the rest of my life I will have the opposite schedule of the people in the real world. Weekends are my busiest work days! Becuase of this all the weekend entails is shows and a meal. This weekend's meals were Outback Steakhouse and Indian food (which I am currently obsessed with). Other than that, there wasn't much going on. OOOooooo, except the people from New Zealand.

If you've been reading this blog for a while you might realize that one of the things people on this tour like to talk about is where it's going next. Even when they have no idea, there's always a lot of speculation going on about what's to come. Right now we are in Hong Kong. For good. We are here for the next six weeks (actually this leg has officially reached the half-way point as of yesterday) and then we go home. Period. However, there are always talks of extensions, and rumors that this tour will never end, and it will continue until I am actually old enough to BE the Mother Abbess. Since we arrived back in Asia there has been non-stop talk about where we're going next. The latest and most long-standing rumor is that the tour will be picked up again in the spring for an undecided amount of time. Even though we have no official word, there are a lot of rumors, and people are constantly throwing out the "do you believe the..." or "would you come back if...". I guess a few days ago we were hearing that there were twenty weeks booked in mainland China, which makes me want to gag. Not that I don't love China, but I am DONE! Then, this weekend, the New Zealanders came.

It started with just one man, and then there was a huge group. They stayed all weekend, and I believe they saw the show three or four times. They sent someone back stage to look at technical aspects of the show, and by the end of the weekend we were pretty sure they were going to be our Presenters in New Zealand. The Presenters are the people who basically bring the show to their cities, and pay the hotel and everything, and then they make the good money if the show sells well. So the word on the street is that these guys loved the show and we're doing six or more weeks in three cities in New Zealand.

For my old roommate Friesia, who lives in Tennessee and loves to work on cruise ships, this is the best news in the world. She's gonna ride this train until she's 60, or at least until she bags a rich husband and starts popping out her six to nine catholic children. For me, this news made me a little sad. I've been on this tour on and off, since May of 2004. For me, this seems like a whole bunch of time. As much fun as the show is, and as much as I love the people and the lifestyle is so easy to get used to, in some ways I feel like I'm wasting away. I have a lot of big career aspirations, and it feels like I'm being forgotten over here, or just sitting and not making any progress. I can't wait to be back in the states with the people I love, and living back in New York and feeling like I'm making progress toward the rest of my life. I just signed a lease for a new apartment in the city that I can't wait to move into, and I know that I need to get off this tour and start living real life again. However, this New Zealand news makes all that a little harder. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to New Zealand!!!

Can't turn my eyes away

So, after Disney we threw a rocking party for Dana's birthday. Since I'm still occasionally coughing, I'm not drinking, which has made my life pretty boring. In the days that have followed I've found myself concentrating on one thing: LOST.

In America, there is a lot of really good TV. When I was growing up my parents were very careful to limit my TV intake. I wasn't allowed to watch "trash tv", which included anything from Roseanne to 90210, and I wasn't even allowed to watch MTV until I turned 16. We watched family shows like Touched by an Angel, and everyone read books while we listened to show tunes. Becuase of this, you'd think I'd grow up loving books and showtunes, which is totally true. However, moreso, I love TV. It's like the fact that I was denied junk TV for so many years has made me yearn for it. When I first moved to New York I lived in a kitchen, sleeping right next to the stove. I had no door or closet, but I did have digital cable. This was the beginning of the end.

In college my roommate Jill and I would always find ourselves on the couch at 3 am watching junk TV after coming home from the bars, and my old roommate Emily loves pop culture, and actually worked for the Montel Williams show, therefore forcing me to watch it. When I moved in with my roommate Tiffani I began my final decent into TV obsessiveness, and we would watch for hours. We were TV junkies!! At first, I was indiscriminate. Talk shows, sitcoms, reality tv, give it all to me. Then, with the invention of HBO on demand and TiVo, it got worse. Now whenever I sat down to watch tv, it was guaranteed that I would like what was on. There was no more getting bored of the show and turning off the TV, there was just hours of staring, mouth open.

You'd think that I'd grow tired of TV, but instead I remain truly dedicated. And now that I'm in a gorgeous hotel room of my own with a 50 inch flat screen tv, I have no choice but to stare some more. Of course here there are only two good channels, so we turn to the other option. Cheap burned CD box sets of the most popular shows. Which brings me to my latest project: LOST. My friend Joe bought the first season on DVD in Hangzhou, and we are watching like fiends. It's on TV here occasionally, which got my friend Jessica interested. So, we decided to start from the beginning. Now, three days later, we have seen 15 episodes.

15. We're talking us, up all night long watching TV. Our bright eyes glued to the flickering screen as our jaws hang, slack and full of drool. Who would have thought that this show, which didn't really get me in America could now have me staying up all night. I've seen the sun come up numerous times, and all I can think about is this damn island. I don't want to do anything but watch more LOST. Does anyone really know what's going on? The polar bears? The 'others'? What is UP?! Anyway, I've got to get back to that. We've got a two-show day tomorrow but that's no reason why we can't watch three or more episodes and be in bed by four! Who needs sleep when you have TV!

The Truth about Disney

OK, back to my Monday off at Hong Kong Disney. What a day! Under normal circumstances, Disney is quite an experience. Whenever I go to any Disney park, or any theme park for that matter, I go in expecting a few things. I expect incredible heat, as the day I go always seems to be the hottest day of the year. I expect long lines, and lots of people, and as long as I'm prepared for that it's cool. I expect lots of junk food, and some occasional picture opportunities of me and my friends looking sweaty and happy. At HK Disney I got all that, and a lot more.

The day started on the hotel shuttle, with Dana, Jessica, and I headed to HK's biggest subway stop, Central. We took a special train line to get to the edge of HK Island, where we transferred to the special Disney train line! With velvet-covered seats, statues of Disney characters, and windows shaped like Mickey Mouse we were pumped to start our day. Since Saturday had been the largest Chinese holiday, we were warned that the park still might be very crowded, and we were warned right away that this might be the case by the amount of kids and families on the train. However, our spirits weren't dashed, and when the train pulled up to Disney station and the doors opened on the beginning of fantasy land, I was as excited as a little kid.

We headed up the giant staircase, down the tree-lined lane, and bought our tickets to enter the park. By the way, it's quite a bit cheaper here than in the us (only about $32 US for a peak day). When we entered the park, it looked just like Disneyworld. You walk in onto Main Street, with a princess' castle at the end of the lane. We grabbed maps and planned the day (while making a quick stop in the gift shop to grab some Birthday sunglasses for Dana). In our first three minutes in the park we could tell that the energy here was a little different than we were used to. It felt as magical as always, but in the gift shop people were maniacs! They were pushing and shoving all over the place, and grabbing merchandise like crazy. In line to pay for her sunglasses Dana was cut in front of countless times, and people were talking loudly and shouting to family members everywhere. Chaos! Jess and I waited outside until Dana appeared, frazzled with sunglasses.

HK Disney is definitely smaller than any of the other Disney parks, which was evident by the map, and eventually as we walked around. With only Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland to do, we plotted our day and began in Fantasyland. This park doesn't have as many rollercoasters as the other Disney parks, and it has more picture taking spots and opportunities to meet the characters. The lines to take a picture with Mickey were the longest we saw all day!! There were new areas like Fantasy Gardens where people could just walk through the gardens, meet characters, and take pictures. Because of all this the lines were shorter than we expected. We started at the Winnie the Pooh ride, and right away we had a wake-up call.

In line for Winnie the Pooh with tons of kids and families, we were startled by an older woman who pushed past us to join a group in front of us. Minutes later a little girl crawled around our legs, and a second after that her mom and dad were pushing past us to be with her. This happend about five times before we settled on a strategy. Apparently all this pushing was acceptable to the Chinese, but not to us. Jessica, Dana, and I formed a wall with the three of us across, and stayed firm and wouldn't let anyone past us. As we soon found out, this was disturbing to the people behind us. They couldn't stand the fact that we left space between us and the people in front of us, and they started pushing up closer and closer to our backs.

As the day went on this became more and more true. At space mountain an especially pushy couple pressed so far up to Dana's back that the second she would even lean a tiny bit forward, they would press further. One time a girl tried to push past Jessica with an empty bottle to get to the trash can that was five feet away, and Jess had had enough. She grabbed the bottle and threw it out herself. Whenever we would approach a ride, there would look like there was no line at all, and we would walk through hundreds of feet of empty line until we would reach a crush of people pushing further and further. Although we stayed calm and employed the wall method all day, it was pretty intense, and we kept saying that if we had kids with us we would have been frightened for their safety.

The pinnacle of this experience was when we went to the most popular live show in the park, The Lion King. Some of our friends on tour know people in the show, and we wanted to see them and say hi. To get into the show we lined up in a corral behind a gate. On either side of the gate was some tropical jungle with a short fence set up. As people waited, the park worker stepped away for a second. People got crazy and started pushing more and more, closer and closer to the gate. Eventually people lifted their kids over the gate, and some people started climbing through the jungle! When the gates finally opened Jess and Dana and I were seperated by waves of people running towards the theatre. We were forced to run just to avoid being trampled! It was nuts. We eventually found each other, and realized that Disney has a big problem on their hands. I have no doubt it is only a matter of time until someone dies there.

With all this excitement, we still managed to have fun. We rode every ride in the park, and they were all great. After a ride on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups I was nautious and sat out Dumbo's swings. While waiting for the girls I actually became an attraction of my own. Although it wasn't on the map, "Big White Lady on Bench" was an awesome place to stop and take pictures. People sat next to me and secretly tried to take pictures, or tapped me and pointed at the camera I was supposed to smile at. Oh Mainland Chinese at their best. We took a lot of pictures ourself, and shopped till we dropped. We snacked on some Asian favorites, including delicious caramel corn, sushi, and chicken fingers. The day ended when we watched the fireworks from main street. Set to music, they were beautiful and as magical as Disney could be.

Although I'll probably bring a squirt gun and some long sticks, I would definitely head back to the most magical place in Hong Kong. It was quite an adventure, which is what this blog's about!

The Road to Recovery

So, the road to recovery (from my SOMA SARS, as everyone is calling it now) was apparently paved with a busy weekend. Although I tried to get a doctor Friday night or Saturday morning, it seems that it happend to be China's National Day Weekend, basically the biggest national holiday in the country. So, instead of being seen by a doctor, I did a full weekend of shows! Luckily by the end of Sunday's show, I was actually feeling better. Who knew that getting more sleep and not drinking could actually be good for you! So, by Sunday night I was down to a minimum of cold medicine and was only left with a maximum of a cough.

Today when I woke up (early) the cough was on its way out the door, and hopefully it will be totally gone soon, along with the sickness that has slowly affected everyone in the cast. So anyway, healthier, i hope, i woke up at 9 am in honor of the upcoming birthday of my good friend Dana. Her birthday isn't until tomorrow, but today on our day off she requested that we head to the brand new land of Hong Kong Disney in celebration! Since I am such a good friend, I was forced to go along. So Dana and Jessica and I were off on the ten am shuttle.

The only Disney I've ever been to is DisneyWorld, in Florida. However, I have been there a fair amount of times... I'd like to say maybe six, with the most recent being about a year and a half ago in honor of my Grandparents. So, heading to Hong Kong Disney I had a lot to compare it to. Thank goodness it was up to par! HK Disney is about a month old, and is muuuuch smaller than the traditional US Disneys (three lands as opposed to five, seven, or nine). However, we had an amazing time! We rode every ride in the park, including the infamous Space Mountain. The park's layout included a lot less rides than we were used to, as most of the Chinese people are actually more interested in taking pictures and buying things. We skipped most of the picture taking scenes, but we got tons done, and spent a full day having uniquely Chinese experiences.

I promise to write about them tomorrow. Sorry - but I need my sleep!!