Please Read With Alacrity

I've started studying GRE vocabulary, so I may throw some gems into the blog to help solidify definitions in my brain. However, my study guide is in alphabetical order, so any $10,000 words will likely begin with "A"...possibly "B" by next week.

Steven Varble arrived last week, left on Friday and will come back again tomorrow night en route back to the US. If his train is early enough, he will have the good fortune to attend our public performance of the Penguin show. We had long two rehearsals today, with a quick rehearsal for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" for me in between (I had to abscond from that one to get back for Penguin rehearsal part 2)

Jodi, an ensemble member of "Millie" asked me to be in her Tom Sawyer cast. Performance is in December, for those looking to travel to HK. Tom is played by one of my favorite backstage crew of "Millie," and since I'm the teacher, most of my scenes are with him.

At long last, I had a day off for a hike. David, his friend Pierra, and I went on a very "steppy" hike in the New Territories, seeking waterfalls.

Top Falls:


Along the way:

A small settlement near the start of the trail:

Fortunately, there was a gaggle of HK teens there, ready and willing to take a group picture for us:

Last weekend, Michael and I sang "A Little Fall of Rain" at a fundraiser for the HK Breast Cancer Research Society. Thanks to Rita for the picture!:



We've been busily finishing the new "100 Movies" script and preparing the technical elements for that show. Also on my mind lately is the incredible news that Mika will be stopping in HK on his quick Asian tour. This news is analogous to...well, to something that would make the peasants rejoice. The thing with Mika is that concert goers typically wear costumes from his album covers. I take this opportunity in a public forum to ask my mom if she can make a Mika costume for me. (?) The concert is November 26, which leaves little time. I'll email pictures of possible costumes post haste. Thanks in advance! My friends think you're cool and so do I!

Picture DUMP!

Look David, you made the blog! Your dreams have come true. Above is my friend David and I after a performance of Millie. Friend support for this was incredible! Elvis even came back to life. I had someone there for every performance, in addition to my grandma who sits in 3rd row center for all my shows.
My maternal unit has requested "more pictures" from Millie. Ask and ye shall receive. I can't see what most of these are, so you are spared inane captions.















For the sleazy scene, which didn't require much acting, right, Devon?:



Finally, a picture with Arvin, leading man of the show and my heart, but let's not tell him I said that:


Rita is here! She attended Michael's and my performance tonight as part of an eventful day of Hong Kong activities. Rents--we went to that noodle shop where the guy likes to write random English words on bits of paper and put them on our table. Today, we got "belonged" and "appeared". He's getting more advanced. We had a great, albeit tiring, day. Macau tomorrow. I'll try really hard not to get deported this time.

Everything Today is Thoroughly Modern...this is where I've been.

Despite the lack of a tech and or dress rehearsal, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (except for a hellish opening night) went GREAT!! Again, I can't see what pictures I have on here, so I'll take an educated guess. One is a bunch of girls in 20s flapperish gear. Note the wig. I wore the wig to differentiate myself from my character, Miss Flannery, also likely shown below.
I know you won't believe me (Devon) but I designed and created my hairdo all by myself after several failed attempts to locate an appropriate wig.
There should be another photo below of the Speed Test. We're all stenogs who use tap dancing to simulate the sounds of typing in an office. It's just like real life.

I don't have any of my photos uploaded yet (I'm currently on a different computer and just lifted some friends' photos off the facebook)
Someday, when I feel like it, I'll get on my computer and put up some other doozies.

So yes, Millie basically took up my life for about 2 weeks solid, not to mention the half of my life it took up for the 2 to 3 months prior. Good experience over all. I had a scene involving elbows which the audience found so hilarious that the other actor and I often had to hold for laughter after EVERY LINE. And uproarious applause on my exit! It was incredible...it's not all about that, but I really worked intensely on this character and it was nice that the audience appreciated her.








Now life was supposed to go back to normal, but the Hong Kong theatre scene has proven addictive. I'm auditioning for "The Odd Couple" (female version) tonight and on Saturday, Michael and I (plus another 39 couples) will be singing at a "Night of Broadway Duets" to benefit a breast cancer research organization.

I'm also looking very much forward to two visitors in the coming days: Rita, originally from Spain and currently residing in Beijing, will be here Friday night until Sunday night. Steven Varble, famous Jacksonville resident will arrive Monday night for nearly a week of mayhem and a quest for wonders!

And of course, I still have my day job. We're working on finishing the script for the "100 Movies" show and we're cutting down our 1-hour Penguin show to 30 minutes to offer a cheaper alternative to primary schools. Today we filmed some footage to be put up on our new TIE website, the address of which I will disclose in due time. Like, when I know what it is.

Birthday was fabulous--2 Millie shows and a cast party! What could be better?

So, is that a real bayonet?

Today may have been the most bizarre day of my Hong Kong life...and I've worn a clown costume and rolled a giant inflatable ball down a street shouting Happy New Year in Cantonese to the thousands in attendance. And I regularly don a full-body penguin suit and tap dance on a stage in front of hundreds of students in surgical masks.
Today a group from the Thoroughly Modern Millie cast went to Stone Cutter's Island (which, confusedly, is no longer an island, but a peninsula). This is the place where the Chinese military goes (and are not allowed to leave) for at least two years of training. Since they don't allow the soldiers to go anywhere, they have an annual event where they bring in dozens of celebrities (and apparently cast members of a local musical) to provide entertainment for the troops. Kind of like what Bob Hope used to do, but with more neon lighting.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures of the stage/theatre. However the several descriptors which come to mind may paint a decent picture: glitter, pink, reflective white floor, and dry ice. I was, however, able to take several pictures of the various uniformed gentlemen and Canto stars.
First up, the army band:


Ines definitely had a good time. She speaks Mandarin, which increased her popularity with many of the soldiers, since most come from the Mainland:



I made friends with these kung fu warriors:


One of the celebrities, known only as "Jonathan" became my friend, too. He has only one name (like Madonna) or he didn't tell me his surname for fear of an internet stalk. I approached him, due to his good looks, and spoke Cantonese to him, only to receive a response in perfect English with an American accent. He was really tricky, though, because after his segment, he ran away from me in different clothes. I was searching for the red clothes, but he had apparently ripped them off during his performance, to reveal hipster attire. Then he got in his special white van and drove off with the curtains pulled. But before he knew I was planning to stalk him, he agreed to a photo:


You might notice my new look.

These people shared our holding room. They are back up dancers for a very famous singer:


I saw Janice and Fiona, who are incredibly famous...so I am told. The whole thing was on TV, but someone said it aired only in China.

Surely every station around the world broadcasted the Chinese National Day parade. Wasn't it incredible? It was comparable to the Olympics opening ceremony, but more specifically Chinese. I had rehearsal all day (since no one works, let's have a 6 hour rehearsal!) But we started out with a yam cha (aka 'dim sum', Dad).

First the group:

Miguel, Aaron, Sky, and Vanessa.

This is one of the few restaurants left that serves yam cha in the original manner--patrons take dishes directly off the carts:




I didn't eat any of these, but if you were fortunate enough to get a copy of my first go at journalism in Jacksonville's hometown weekly publication "The Source," then you will appreciate the significance of this discovery:


Saturday was the mid-autumn/moon festival. I ate a homemade mooncake from Angel, but I didn't stay out late for the lantern festivities since I had to get up at 6:30am to go to the army thing. However, I did meet with Patrick in a newly opened part of HK that has a colonial feel, which may not make sense considering it's new and the colonial period has been done for over a decade. But anyway, photographic evidence:


So ends a purposefully long post, as I will not have time this week to devote here. "Millie" opens in 2 days and I have shows for work 3 days this week, plus recording sessions for the radio version of the penguin show. I may not even have time to call my family so they can wish me a happy birthday until a few days after the fact, but I know they'll still mean it.