Xanadu Deserved an Oscar!

Alright... once again I exaggerate, but I have to say that I have a new-found respect for those roller skating, dancing freaks. I'd better - because I'm one of them now.

Last night we went to Leaping Lizards where Robin taught the dance for The Monster Mash. Dance doesn't intimidate me. Sometimes I have a difficult time remembering the order of steps due to A.D.D. but I have developed some coping mechanisms that help a little with that. And although I am not a trained dancer, per se', I have taken a jazz class here and there and one beginners tap class. So when it comes time for dancing, I don't freak out... until now.

If you haven't read yet; I'M ON ROLLER SKATES! Not only am I step-ball-changing and Fossi-Fossi-Fossi-ing but now I am rolling too. The funniest thing is, I'm pretty good on them. I surprised myself a little. Don't ask how I am making 360 turns, but I am (let's just say that toe stops are my best friend at this point). I am pretty confident that, by opening night, I'm gonna be able to do a double pirouette in these bad boys (thank goodness I don't have to though). So there I was last night; pretty confident, that with a few changes due to the skates, I would be rocking the Monster Mash and then I remembered... MY COSTUME!  It's huge and bulky and sooo not conducive to dancing. So this weekend I am going to be on the lookout for a cardboard box that is approximately the size of my costume's upper body so I can practice with it and get used to being the size of Rosanne Barr after a 6-month eating spree at the chinese buffet!

Finally, bravo to Robin Berger. I always enjoy her choreography and I can't wait to perform it opening night!!!  Get your tickets Folks.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Directionally challenged

So last night was my first rehearsal on skates and while I was skating around I realized my problem... I CAN'T TURN LEFT! Okay, "can't" is a strong word. It's more laborious for me to turn left. Turning right is no problem... in fact, I border on awesome going right. I can do a 360 if I am turning right. I can confidently say that a jump wouldn't be out of the question if I could go into it from a right turn.

But for some reason when I turn left, I wobble like a cheap bar table that has had one to many drunk sorority girls dancing on top of it. "Why?" I ask myself. So I tried studying my leg position when I turned left; tried mimicking my movements during a right turn; tried using my toe stop thingamajig to help the situation - all to no avail. Am I doomed to the life of Zoolander (look it up... crappy movie but he had the same problem)? Are there others like me? Is there a whole portion of the population that is left-turning challenged? Maybe there's an actual disease for this affliction... something like lack-o-lefteeitis. Or maybe, just maybe, my body is trying to perform at peak efficiency. UPS avoids left turns for that reason. Who's to say my body isn't doing the same? 

In any case, I hope I can figure it out before opening night.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Getting Nervous

So Betsy came to rehearsal last night and she brought the rest of Ariel's costume. Let me just say... I LOVE IT! It is going to be so much fun and so dangerous!

Let me explain... As I mentioned before, I will be on roller skates for this show and the costume (as awesome as it is) limits my view of the floor. I guess this wouldn't be a problem for someone who is mildly confident in their ability to skate around without falling and breaking their ass. So now I have another impediment in my quest to look like the Brian Boitano of roller skating. But I am up for it. If it comes down to the choice of wearing this costume and walking away from this show with a few less teeth and not wearing the costume... I choose the former. Besides... I live in the St. Louis Metro area. I'll fit right in with the meth addicts and their lack of a full set of choppers.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

"Can a soup wah ooh!" - that's a REAL lyric in the show

Last night was our first rehearsal. After the obligatory nice-to-meet-yous and gossiping about the new people behind their backs, we started going over the music. First off I would like to say this music is a BLAST! When do you get to sing a Beach Boys song in a show? On that note... THANK GOD I DON'T HAVE TO SING THE ENTIRE BEACH BOYS SONG! Most of the music is pretty easy (compared to other Newline shows I have done), but as we learned doing the Sheldon Concert, Brian Wilson's music is H-A-R-D. I think I saw Zach cry a little.

Betsy is our costumer for the show and she brought little bits and pieces of the costumes last night. Needless to say she was a big tease, but I am VERY excited about her vision and I think this show will have some edge to it and the costumes will be as interesting as the material.

Also, the search is on for my robot voice... if anyone has any suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I am thinking something like Data from Star Trek Next Generation. You know... more humanoid than synthesized machine (Oh my God, I just sounded like a geek... ARRGH).

That's all for now... I will keep you up-to-date as we go.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)