Jun
Two Birthdays and THANK YOU!
Guess what? As of last Friday, I have been writing about theatre for two years.
Yup, I posted my first thoughts about the Phoenix Theatre’s production of Neil LaBute’s “Fat Pig” on IndianaAuditions.com on June 5, 2007 under the pseudonym Amaryllis Jones. It felt good, so I kept on doing it.
And now, two years later, I write as myself and I have my own theatre reviews blog with over 5000 unique visitors per month and over 125,000 hits per month.
Thank you for reading!
I think that if I ever have to give up this blog I will not be able to quit cold turkey. This past weekend I left my notebook at home as a way of celebrating my birthday. (My birth-birthday, not my theatre writer birthday.) But, as you know, a friend took me to see “Wicked” on Thursday night and it was so good, I couldn’t resist at least mentioning it here.
On Friday night I changed my mind about which Encore show I would judge in order to be able to afterwards catch the 10pm performance of “FaceTweet” by the Three Dollar Bill Comedy Company at ComedySportz in downtown Indianapolis. I didn’t ask for a media pass to 3$B because I had vowed to enjoy it without writing about it…but I can’t resist telling you that it was a delicious surprise to see Will Pfaffenberger take his shirt off during the show. Twice.
Yeah, yeah, I know he is married and I know he is way too young for me anyway, but I am like that girl in the Alice Walker novel: I believe God likes it when we notice the color purple, or sexy male chests, or any number of other gifts from God.
Speaking of gifts, I had hoped to hear Claire Wilcher do her impression of Susan Boyle singing, but I guess that current event is no longer current. Ah, well. Jeff Clawson’s impersonation of Meredith Burgess reluctantly playing The Penguin to his fans was a hilariously satisfying substitute. And, as usual, I enjoyed 3$B’s odd, odd, ODD sense of humor, and the clever way they thread their stand-alone sketches together in their comedy show.
See what I mean? I now write about theatre compulsively. How did I become this person? I don’t mind, but I’m curious.
And I wonder why I fixated on theatre instead of, say, gardening or books or bird watching.
On Sunday afternoon I went to see another Encore show…only to find myself at an audition because that particular show did not have a performance today. That’s what I get for changing my calendar at the last minute. I bet the box office man will be surprised when he gets the voice mail message I left on Sunday morning asking for a reservation for Sunday afternoon.
I bet I would have enjoyed watching the audition, but as soon as I realized what was going on, I followed the Encore judging rules and left: Encore judges are not allowed to be at any Encore auditions. I didn’t even ask what show was being auditioned. (Something with a lot of child roles, but other than that, I don’t have a clue.)
As I pulled out of the theatre parking lot, I ran through my mental calendar of what was playing that afternoon in the Indianapolis area. I really wish I could have seen Dance Kaleidoscope’s new piece, “Rite of Spring,” but I was too far away from downtown Indy to make it to that in time. Actually, I was too far away to make it to any matinee shows.
I thought about seeing if I could squeeze in to see “Annie” again at the Sunday evening performance at Beef and Boards. I also wondered what time “Wicked” played on Sundays and what my chances would be at the ticket lottery if there was an evening performance. I wouldn’t mind seeing “Annie” or “Wicked” a second time.
But in the end I just came home and did some non-theatre-related things. I didn’t even follow the Tony Awards on the Internet.
Now it is the middle of the night and I can’t sleep because I drank too much soda pop earlier. I don’t want to start a Mailbox Monday post because that will take me until the sun comes up and then I will be messed up, sleepwise, for the rest of the week.
So I’m just taking a few minutes to post a ”Happy birthday” to me as a theatre commentator.
And a ”Thank you!” to you, again, for reading.
Now…please wish me luck in getting some sleep!
Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com
