New Developments...

It's been a busy month, September. I was promoted away from the front desk at the WSO and am now the Development Associate and Education Coordinator. Yay me! So far, it's been a bit overwhelming. I'm still at front desk until the new Front Office Manager starts on October 10, and there's a lot of work to be done. Still, I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to settling into my very own office.

Two weeks ago, I saw a spectacular production of The Velveteen Rabbit at Towngate Theatre here in Wheeling. The cast gave impressive, lively, energetic performances, Dave Henderson's set was imaginative and full of charming details, and Tim Thompson's visionary direction was evident throughout the show.

On October 15, the WSO is hosting a swing dance with Davina and the Vagabonds, a band from the Twin Cities. There will be a lesson from 7-8 and dancing from 8-11 in the Capitol Theatre Ballroom. Tickets are just $25 and include the lesson, the dancing, and food! They can be ordered by calling 304.232.6191 or commenting below.

Tomorrow (October 2) is the Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra's annual Bluegrass Barbecue, with food catered by Ye Olde Alpha and music by Out of the Blue and Bluegrass Express. The event is sponsored by Main Street Bank and Bachmann, Hess, Bachmann & Garden, PLLC. It will be held at Hess Shelter at Oglebay Park from 3-6 PM. Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for students. Children under 5 years of age are admitted free of charge. Tickets will be available at the door.

Next Saturday, my friend Pete (whom you might remember as the Beast from way back in January of this year) is marrying his beautiful bride Bethany, and my dear friend Hannah will wed her handsome prince Joshua. On Sunday the 9th, Bob Troeger and Juan Jaramillo will present a recital (details to follow - not to be missed!). The weekend after that is the swing dance. The following weekend, the WSO String Quintet will present a chamber concert at the Scottish Rite in Steubenville, OH (again, details to follow - not to be missed!), and then I am off adventuring with my dear mother, both grandmothers, and two aunts.

Whew! Life lately makes me feel like doing this:

and that's a marvelous way to feel!

"Buy the Foot"

I adore dorky wordplay, so the title of this fundraising campaign is near and dear to my heart . . . just like the theatre its efforts will help restore.

Support the Strand Theatre . . . one foot at a time!

The End of the Cinderella Summer

Other than a brief appearance by the resident bat (literally) and a few minor hitches, the show went off beautifully. We all had a marvelous time, Kelsey and I did not injure Doug (or ourselves) during the fight scene, and Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after (of course). It’s bittersweet to see it end, to tear down the set and sort out the costumes and clear off the stage for the last time this season, but we do still have the cast party to look forward to, our last big hurrah.

It’s been a big learning summer for me, humbling at first (You can read about that here.) and then tremendously encouraging. A humongous thank you goes to Ryan, Vera, Mel and Gretchen for all of their kind, upbuilding words throughout this whole show. I do not have the words (silly English major) to express my gratitude to you so a thank you will just have to do. This show afforded me the opportunity to work with so many talented performers, some of whom were making their stage debut. It has been such a joy to watch them grow and to grow with them over the past two months, to learn from more experienced actors and to bask in all of the spectacular performances.

Another big thank you goes to Ryan for his unfailingly positive attitude, even when things weren’t going so wonderfully or when his cast’s energy was lagging or when the scene changes all went to pot. Thank you, thank you, thank you for setting an upbeat tone for the whole process and for keeping us motivated.

Finally, my love goes to the cast, crew and orchestra, for their solid performances and energetic spirit. I’ve had a wonderful summer, due largely in part to all of you: Ryan, Rae, Justin, Renee, Tiffany, Izzie, Blake, Sue, Vera, Frank, Mel, Katie, Heath, Dave, Peter, Michael, John, Kelsey, Jessica, Shanan, Val, Kathryn, Sarah, Sara, Doug, Zara, Natalie, Sophia, Megan R., Emily, Megan J., Ruth, Leslie, Lindsey, Natalie, Joan, Harry, Matt, Pat, Buddy, Ben, Keith, Wendy, Jamie, and Annie.

(Oh, and if you’d like to know what Eloise thought of the ball and ensuing events, you can read all about her experience here.)

Another Op'nin, Another Show

In five hours, we will take to the stage for our opening performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. For two months, we've spent our evenings treading the boards in preparation for this moment. The butterflies are having a party in my stomach, but I'm excited to have a full audience.

After a bit of a disastrous cue-to-cue on Tuesday (during which the orchestra managed quite well but the rest of us stumbled through set changes and ended up in spotlights accidentally), we shone in a strong final dress rehearsal last night. Now, we must make sure not to be overly confident or we'll find ourselves making silly mistakes. In any case, we are ready to show the world (or at least the northern panhandle of West Virginia) what we've been doing this summer. Maybe I'll finally have pictures . . .

Break a leg, all!

Runnin' Wild

It's been a wildly busy summer, and it's hard to believe it's nearly August already. Tonight is the cue-to-cue for Cinderella, our first rehearsal with orchestra. Tomorrow is final dress, and we open, at long last it seems, on Thursday. Thankfully, attitudes have been top-notch, and everyone is still having fun. Energy is lagging a bit, but I'm sure we'll all be busting out all over on performance nights. (Hopefully, we won't be busting out of our costumes. Only a few snaps on my dress continue to come undone during that one scene, but "a few" is far better than "oh, wow, her whole dress is gaping open in the back".)

Last night, I strutted about in my one fabulous burlesque-ish costume, raising a few eyebrows and causing the King to comment that all of the palace staff should wear that. (It's quite an outfit, but worry not - it covers everything.) No comment from the director. That means I can wear it for the show, yes? Probably not, but I'm amused. With a pair of ostrich feather fans, I could put on a striking dance number, but it's not really appropriate for a children's show, I suppose.

In other news, my family welcomed the first great-grandchild last month. My cousin Melanie gave birth to Landyn Joshua on June 28 at 6:13 PM. He is a precious little bean and already spoiled by his many loving aunties and uncles and cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents. Mel's sister Jena is due in September, and we are all looking forward to meeting her baby girl. This weekend was the baby shower, and she is sure to be the best-dressed gal around, just like her mama.

The summer has also provided a number of opportunities to go dancing in Pittsburgh. Lots of new and old friends, including a rather comical moment of "That looks like Patrick from Tampa, but why would he be here? No, wait, that is Patrick from Tampa, but why is he here?" As it turns out, he's not really from Tampa but rather from nearer by. Huh. Lately, the dancing has taken a backseat to "I'm exhausted and really need to do laundry and I just don't want to go out tonight," but soon, there will be lindy hopping in my life again. :)

Kind of a boring update perhaps. It's all much more exciting than it reads. You can catch some of the excitement by coming to see Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, presented by the Strand Theatre and directed by the somehow-still-smiling-and-saying-please Ryan Ferrebee, with music by Justin Jones, choreography by Renee Zelinski, and sets beautifully painted by Ruth Keim. Hope to see you there!

If I Told Him . . .

If you know me, you probably know that for round about two years, I’ve been pining for this guy. You might have heard me gush about him. You might have noticed not-so-vague references to him in that blog about the show I’m doing right now and even at least once in this blog. I might have annoyed you with my near-constant sighs of longing. I hope not, but I’m sure it’s true of some of you. You’ve all contributed your opinions on what action I should take with regard to said guy, and here is a great chunk of that advice:

Grandma: Just tell him, “Hey, I like you. Let’s do something.” (Protests of “But I’m too shy” are ineffective in resisting the idea of this approach. Apparently, I just need to come out of my shell so that I can have a love life so that I can get married so that she can have more grandbabies to love on.)

Gram: (Essentially the same as Grandma but more adamant since she is subject to the aforementioned sighs of longing far more frequently than Grandma is by virtue of proximity)

Matt: Be bold and confident!

Mother: (Gram & Grandma combined times twelve. As my mother, she is the primary confidante and as such, has been listening to my often pathetic pining for all of those nearly two years.)

Michael: (in a terrible paraphrase of what was actually said over the course of a conversation via Facebook chat) I can’t woo the girl I’m crazy about because I’m over here in [country] so don’t let opportunity pass you by. Don’t you remember that thing you said back in college? I remember it. You said that the thing you keep coming back to is the thing you’re meant to move toward in life. (Me: I said that?) Yes, you did. So stop being so shy and ask him out!

Julia: Hold out and let him ask you! Wait, it’s been two years? Wow . . .

Jamie: You have to be very straightforward with [guy]. (Me: So I should just say “Let’s get married and make babies”?) Well, if that’s the goal . . . (and on a separate occasion; paraphrased) Man up and ask him out. (among other specific advice about [guy])

Annie: Ask him to dinner. Do something.

Gael: You want him to pursue you, don’t you? (Me: Yes, I do!) So who’s going to tell him to ask you out?

Dad: Do I need to have a talk with him? Do I need to get the boyfriend application ready? (Me: No, Dad. You’ve never needed it in the past. I doubt you need it now.)

Grandpa: I know there’s somebody out there for you, but there might not be, and you need to be prepared for that.

Ilana: (on multiple occasions) Let him pursue you. (among other advice) Do I need to send him a message on facebook? (Me: Don’t you dare!)

Darian: Just ask him out. Stop being so old-fashioned.

Ryan: (unaware of how applicable his words are in this situation and quite possibly unaware of the situation altogether; this comment was actually in reference to a bizarre scene at the end of the 1957 television broadcast of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella wherein the Fairy Godmother tried to get Cinderella arrested – watch it; it’s quite comical) How many people do you know who wish and wish and then opportunity presents itself and they're too shy or too self-loathing or too lazy to seize it. I know a lot of people like that, and I'd want to throw them in jail too! (Me: Yeah, I want to throw myself in jail sometimes for being shy and self-loathing . . .)

Pete: (Tons of wise things about managing expectations and not feeling too let down about a forgotten post-show dessert)

Lisa: You're still talking about him? Oh, roomie . . .

You’re all wonderful. Thank you for putting up with my daydreams and ramblings, even when I’m annoying, redundant and delusional. I appreciate you. J 

Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Bubbles! Oh My!

It was a quiet day at the Children's Museum of the Ohio Valley this past Saturday, and for once, I remembered to bring my camera. So here's a peek at the goings-on at the CMOV. Visit us at 1000 Main Street in Wheeling, WV, to learn more.

As part of Summer-at-the-Museum (SAM) Camp this year, campers learned about recycling.

Helen is the CMOV's Chilean Flame Tarantula.

King Charles is a South Florida King Snake. His eyes are cloudy because he is preparing to shed his skin.

Kid Construction Co. is one of the museum's most popular exhibits. It has blocks, giant tinker toys, tools, and even work gloves and aprons.

SAM campers and counselors created colorful new wall art to brighten up the museum.

More wall art and the space habitat that campers built out of old newspapers.

Step into the art box to make your own collage or draw a picture to take home or leave on the walls of the art box for others to enjoy.

Buddy is a bearded dragon. He looks quite regal here. Check out the video of him stalking his weekend meal below.