it's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights...

May 12, 2017 Arlene Giddings

well....this is it.
opening night tonight...
{shameless plug but there's still time to get tickets!}

if i said i wasn't nervous,
i'd be completely and totally
lying through my teeth.

i feel sick and excited all at once.
it's a strange feeling...
i can't wait for it to start
and i can't wait for it to be over
all at the exact same time.

the back and forth emotions of
being so scared i'm going to screw up my lines
or accidentally whisper bad words under my breath into the microphone
when i forget to pick up a prop...
to remembering the excitement of last year
and how amazing it was when you were backstage
and you heard that first roar of laughter...
and all the laughter that came after...in all of the right places...

so.

here goes nothing....
(and everything...all at once).

here's to many broken legs...
(I'm not sure if that is how one
wishes good luck to all of her cast-mates...
but...you get my drift, right?)

tuesday truths...

May 2, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i have not been here
in a long, long time.

it's not that i haven't thought
about coming here...
i just got carried away
with spring
and tiny sprouting sunflower seeds
and planting string bean seeds
and daydreaming about
what to plant where
and how much
and should i build a fort
in the backyard
and camouflage it with string bean plants.

i feel a little obsessed.
but in a good way.
:)

my back is aching and my
tennis elbow does not like raking...
my neck is stiff and face is
slightly windburnt...
my polka dot rubber boots
have stepped in sheep manure...
most of the time, i have no idea
what i'm doing
but
that's kind of half the fun.

oh...and when i am not out tearing
the yard apart
i'm in the house rehearsing my lines
for the next play...
i know...i know...
i might have said i would never do it again,
ok...i might have swore that i would never do it
again but you know me...
i secretly like to be shoved out of my comfort zone.
and it really was a lot of fun last time...
and even better this time now that i have a little
better idea of what to expect.

and again...if you see me muttering and gesturing
to myself as i walk home from work,
it's ok! i'm just repeating my lines..over...and over...and OVER...
i'll understand if you don't make eye contact...
i would probably do the same.
:)

lights... camera... island!!

March 5, 2016 Arlene Giddings

it has been a while since i have
been able to get to this page...
not that i haven't thought about it.

but some time before christmas,
i took a deep breath and a chance
to try something i had never
ever
done before...
i auditioned for a play.

and i got a part.

the funny thing was i read for two parts...
one was a bit of a panicky/anxiety-ridden girl
and the other was a "girl from away"
who was calm, poised, confident
and...kind of self absorbed/stressed/a little snarky...

i immediately thought
i AM panicky/anxiety girl
and was surprised when they said...no...you are alice.
:)

this is me...in the dressing room...crazy eyed with butterflies and feelings of what the hell have you gotten yourself into!

the play opened last night
with what felt like great success...
laughter in all the right places
and you could tell the audience was connecting the dots
of the story...it's a feeling i can't really
explain...but it was pretty damn exciting.

but that's not to say that i wasn't stressed out
up until this point.
almost every thing about doing this
pushed me so far out of my comfort zone...
i am not good with change, especially fast change
and there is a lot of that...
I like things to be black and white...
to be sure of what I am supposed to do
and to KNOW what I am doing...
well, for a long time during this play
i had NO idea of what I was doing...
i didn't know the terminology, i stuttered my lines,
i thought "upstaging" myself meant that i was
overacting...not that i had come too far out on the stage, haha :)
I was reminded that I am very much an introvert
and that being around people, no matter how awesome they are,
for long periods of time
is exhausting and may make me extra-emotional.
I won't lie...
there were tears and cursing and
"why am i doing this?" and "i will NEVER do this again"
but
last night
when it all came together
and it was lights and mics,
laughter and murmurs from the audience,
pats on the back and whispered praise to each other
as we came off stage,
shared giggles over lines almost missed...
well....
it all became worth it.

you can check out more info about the play here...
there is still time for you to come and see it, if you like!