Finster Finds

About a month ago I started a blog to track my reading. If you like to see what others are reading check it out. It is on my links list as "What I am Reading".

Well, the Fringe is over. It was definitely worth doing but it was a totally different energy from any other shwo I have done. I did close the run out with a sprained ankle (just for fun!) so that affected my last show. I actually think it was one of my best of the run so I am thankful for Ibuprofen and Adrenalin for keeping the pain down while I was onstage. All this talk of juried shows and the "professional" vs. "amateur" debate that I have been reading continues to swirl in my mind. I am concerned for a change that might be made that wouldn't take into account everyone's perspective. It's the Libra in me. If a change is made I want it to be fair. Besides, when I went through the Fringe program I saw plenty of "professional" names. They want it to be more fair --> maybe Trevor Schmidt shouldn't have 3 shows in. Don't bounce someone with one show when there were people with 2 or 3 in there. Why couldn't he step aside...

Just thought I'd mention it was #100. Anyhow, I made it through my show last night despite making up a complete verse to a song. Apparently it made sense and rhymed and was in tune. I have no idea what I said, but I am glad I made it through to the next section of the song. I think I was nervous because I had lots of "peeps" in the house. I am always far more nervous in front of friends as opposed to strangers. Strangers - you never see them again, Friends - now they know what you can and cannot do. It all went well and they seemed to enjoy the show. I am not sure if it was our best show - Saturday was MY best so far - I think the Review was hanging over our heads. We worked it though and did the job. That's all you can do.

We got 3* in the Journal today. It is the 'inconsistency' of the show that holds our rating down. I , however, did get a mention: "Kristen Finlay wails out powerful solos as the homely, trashy Katalina,.." Not a bad mention for me. I am hoping some of the people singled out as "weak" don't let it crush them. You do what you can. It is always hard to find enough strong males to round out your cast. The guys certainly got the brunt of that review.

Okay, we got 2 1/2 Suns from Colin McLean. Hmmm. Oh well. So far the audiences have enjoyed themselves. I know the show has weaknesses, and he was at our opening so what can you do? We have enjoyed nice big houses and I have heard lots of positive feedback from complete strangers (and friends too) so I think it's all good. I hope that the rest of the cast is still feeling okay about it. He did say it was still worth going to so hopefully people won't be scared away.

Two shows down and four to go! We are on our way and the audiences seem to be enjoying themselves. No reviews yet, but it's still early. With only 4 musicals in the Fringe I think we will do okay. They seem to like me so I am having fun.

Any of you out there who are parents know this to be true. I think even if you don't have kids you can probably figure out the logical connection. I am a little cranky because Gibson is being a cranky little gus lately. I don't know why, but it is really getting on my nerves. Yesterday and today he freaked out at the park because his stick (an item picked up at random from the ground) was broken. I started calling him ostrich-boy because he literally was sticking his face in the sand having a big ol' tantrum. I don't know. If you are 2 3/4 and you can't have fun at the playground --> there's a problem. I hope the dark cloud passes soon.

This last week I have been very stressed about the show. Tuesday and Thursday were not good runs for me and I was feeling panicky and generally not ready, however, yesterday was FABULOUS! Maybe it was the costumes and makeup. Maybe it was having the set (nice set!). Maybe it was my conscious effort to go to rehearsal with a VERY VERY POSITIVE attitude. Whatever it was, it worked. The afternoon run was so good! We have a show! Then in the evening when we went to the venue (Westbury) for our Tech Rehearsal we did another run and it was great, too! On a mixed note, I did lose a duet and part of a solo. Unfortunately Fringe shows are guided by strict time lines and we had to shave about 5 minutes off the show. The duet I was not so sad about, the recit from my solo was a little harder to take, but I was determined NOT to lose more. If we didn't get the time down I would have lot the whole solo, so I told everyone to pick up their entrances so I wouldn't lose it. We luck...

We have come to the point that I really enjoy in rehearsal. We are into runs. We ran Act One on Tuesday and Act Two on Thursday. Finally we get a real sense of the shape of the show. It was great to see all the pieces that were worked on when we weren't there. Now we can review and run and fix and clean and get even better. The show is in good shape. It does need work, but we should have time for at least 5 runs before we open (not counting the Tech rehearsal in the venue). We should also have time for cleaning in addition to the 5 runs. I am happy with the level of challenge that I have experienced in the show. It is definitely out of my comfort zone so it was good to attack it and (hopefully) rise to the challenge. So,.... Come see El Muchacho , at the Fringe, August 2007 . Show dates are posted on this blog. tickets are now available online through Fringe Theatre Adventures.