The Dramatic Entry

Sigh. Double sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh. For the past couple of weeks, I've been coming to theatre and wistfully watching the sweet scenes between Kyle's and Jessie's characters (Andrew and Deirdre), but I've also been teasing them about how they haven't yet added their makeout scenes to their rehearsals. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that Jessie's boyfriend is furious about her having to kiss Kyle & having Jerry kiss her neck in this play, and Jessie's very distraught about her dude being so mad. But I was totally unaware of this predicament when I was laughing about the total lack of lip-locking between Kyle & Jessie. But Kyle, at least, managed to get his revenge on me last night. Lori finally directed the Lillian/Barrymore scene toward the end of the play that Jerry and I hadn't practiced together yet. Before Lori gave us stage directions, I had no idea that this scene was supposed to be so... "Danielle Steel book" intimate. But it's like... all romantic and intense. Here's how it goes, basically:(The ghost of Barrymore is shocked when Lillian enters and can see him. At first, he doesn't remember her & she's rather extremely irritated by this. But then he remembers... really remembers, and holds his hand out to her. Lillian's still pissed at this "vomanizer" but she takes his hand, and they reminsce about that night when they stole champagne from a party, came back to his apartment, and made love. They passionately embrace and are almost kissing when...)Kyle suddenly decides to imitate porn music. Loudly. Non-acting members of the class decide this is the funniest thing ever. *Is slightly ashamed* I guess I had that coming... When we got back in the swing of things, Jerry had to twirl me into his arms in a stunningly romantic gesture that I managed to ruin, take after take, but actually did it pretty well in the end. But then Jerry and I had to attempt slow-dancing while reading our scripts around each other's necks. *Makes a note to memorize lines ASAP*In other news, I went with Sarah and Matt to the ultrasound last week and am thrilled to announce that they're having a GIRL, they're having a girl! Matt was sort of dissapointed, while Sarah was more tickled than I've ever seen her. I'm so excited, I almost want to get a job, make a few trips to Babies "R" Us and buy 2 years-worth of girlie clothes, teddy bears, and other baby-worthy merchandise. But Sarah has a lot against the color pink, and I don't have time for a job. *Pouts for a bit*

Well, it looks like Mom's marriage to Mike isn't going to last much longer. He's full of promises he can't keep, and she just can't take it anymore. Mom and I stayed at my grandparents' house last night, and Mike keeps calling and... she can't talk to him. It's so heartbreaking to see my mum go through this for a third time. She's the absolute best person in the world, and it's terribly sad that she has to keep going through this crap with guys. To change the subject once again (though not completely), I wish I had a guy in my life. I know it seems like such a weird time to wish for this, what with Mom & Mike's problems, and hearing about boyfriends who are jealous of the other girls kissing guys in our play (nope, it's not just Jessie's boyfriend that's mad). But watching Sarah & Matt and seeing Moulin Rouge-romantic couples everywhere I go, and having this super-close scene with Jerry... really makes me wish I had a guy of my own. And it's scary that I seem to know who the guy is that I want. It hit me tonight when I was watching everyone act out a scene from I Hate Hamlet. Of course, I can never have this guy, what with him being gay and all. Maybe if I could just have a guy that's exactly like him in every single way except that he's not gay. He's so awesome, though... I hardly ever whine about this sort of thing, folks, but I had to get this out. Once again, sigh. When did drama become so... dramatic? Later, everybody.

<3,>

A Lesson in Tough German Elegance

It was a chaotic Wednesday night two weeks ago at Mott College. The stuffy air in the hallway was thick with tension as theatre students practiced lines in small groups, all from little yellow books titled I Hate Hamlet. Lori would call groups in, one at a time, and every group seemed to want to be the first to audition. I liked how we were able to audition in groups, rather than stand up there in front of Lori and her clipboard alone. After finding out that Lillian (the chick I wanted to play) was supposed to speak in a deep German accent, I got more than a little freaked out, as I'd auditioned for the part with a smoker's voice. As I practiced with various groups in the hallway, I decided I'd like to try out for the part of the phony, suck-up real estate agent, Felicia too. But when Lori asked me to sit out in the audience, I felt my stomach drop-- only Nick, Frankie, Meg and I were sitting out there, while everyone else still got to rehearse and try out some more. This didn't look good at all. Meg and I decided that if we didn't get parts (and we really wanted parts now), we should at least get candy or something for trying so hard. Miraculously, Lori let six of us stay an hour later than usual and audtion our arses off. She told us the cast list would be posted the next day.So Thursday, I went back to the college and checked for a cast list no less than five times. It was never there! I was so anxious, I felt continually sick all day long. I couldn't even eat! And when I can't eat, it's time to call an ambulance and pump my stomach because I must be frickin' sick. I didn't sleep much that night, and I couldn't get to school fast enough Friday morning to see if the cast list was there yet, for the love of Almighty God, before I ripped all my hair out and shipped myself off to the nut house. It was there and I was in the play! I got the part of Lillian, and my kiddo Shawna's going to play Lillian on the alternate days! *Does the ultimate happy dance, which happens to be a combination of the Macarana, the twist, the Monkey and an odd-looking version of jumping jacks* I was so thrilled, I wanted to conjure a patronus or make amends with my arch-nemesis or something. But I don't really have an arch-nemesis, and I can never get the fake wand I bought at K-Mart to do any sort of magic. *Shakes it half-heartedly, then tosses it over shoulder bitterly* So instead, I went to lunch at the lovely, deliciously elegant Italian wonder, Ruggeros, with Sarah. I was all giddy to see that Sarah's tummy is all paunchy, and you just know there's a tiny dude or chick growing in there. I'm excited because I'm going with Sar-bear to her ultrasound tomorrow afternoon and we'll see if she's got a guy bun or a girl bun in the oven. Fun will be had by all.

Currently, I am in my P.J.s and ready to go to sleep, after two long nights of theatre in a row. Not that I did any work tonight... it was more like, Cast B did a ton of acting while Cast A (that's us!) sat around and watched/supervised them. I'm very excited that Cast A looks like this:Andrew Rally: Kyle John Barrymore: Jerry Deirdre McDavey: Jessie Lillian Troy: Holly (that's me! Hoo hoo) Felicia Dantine: Meg Gary Peter Lefkowitz: Justin

Monica and I played with Nick's baby, Jay, a lot. He's a hilarious little guy whose hobbies include drooling all over the place, snoring while he's awake, and staring at random people in complete awe. I heart Jay. *Pats his fluffy, cotton-like hair* I'm having a lot of trouble with this whole German accent thing that my character requires me to have. Lillian's supposed to be this elegant, 80-year-old chain-smoker who speaks in a very deep, tough-sounding German accent. Everyone kind of fears and respects her, but she also has to be extremely likable. *Blinks* It is very hard to do, and my throat hurts so bad after doing the Lillian voice, but it's fun to hack my words out while talking about the torrid love affair I once had with The Famous John Barrymore. Bow chicka-wow-wow. Oh yes... I am the chick.

<3, Holly

Hyperventalation Ensues

Theatre is different this year in the fact that Lori will no longer be just handing out parts and saying, "Okay, get memorizing." This time we'll have to actually try out for parts. Lori has decided we'll be doing I Hate Hamlet, a play in which there are only 6 parts. However, we're to have the play over a course of 4 nights in November, so Lori's going to try this thing called "double casting." That means, two people will play the same part, but on different nights. *Shrugs* But that still means that only about 12 of us will get parts, out of about 22 people who almost all want to act. So crap. The play goes like this: Andy Rally's a TV actor whose girlfriend, Deirdre, thinks he's hot stuff... but she still refuses to have sex with him, or anyone, much to his dismay. When Andy's show gets canceled, TV producer Gary decides to cast him as Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park, but he... well, isn't a very good actor. So his real estate agent Felicia, his talent agent Lillian & his girlfriend Dierdre, have a seance to bring back the ghost of famous Hamlet actor, John Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's great-great grandpa) to coach Andy so he can play Hamlet well. Sounds good, no?

Wednesday was Script Reading Day in theatre, so we all gathered ourselves into groups of six containing 3 girls and 3 dudes, so that we could read the play together for the first time. In our group, the likable & easily amused Danny played Andy, shy & quiet girl Ashley was Deirdre, good ol' Kyle played Barrymore, cutie-pie Monica was Felicia, the walking pick-up line Ben played Gary, and I was Lillian. I have to say it went quite well, except that Danny seems to be very near-illiterate and Ashley doesn't seem able to say the word "sex" or make out with anyone on stage, as her part requires. Kyle kept helping Danny pronounce words & Ben asked Ashley who turned on the sensors. During this reading, I decided that I very much want to try out for the part of Lillian. She's all old & won't quit smoking... She has hilarious lines, and although Leah will probably also want her part (and may be better at it, seeing as she is a chain-smoker & I'd never touch a cigarette with a 10-foot pole), I REALLY want to be Lillian. I can do a smoker's voice quite well though & perhaps Leah and I can both do the part. I'm not very excited about competing with Leah, as she's my kiddo, but... sigh. I know one thing-- I don't want to do technical work or makeup or directing or... anything other than acting, so over the next week, you can watch me hyperventalate. *Fishes through purse for inhaler* Look, Nick & his wife had their baby and he brought him to class! His name is Jay and Leah seemed to go even more nuts for him than I did.

Mom and I went to Great Lakes Crossing yesterday to look for the I Hate Hamlet script in their bookstores, since Lori didn't make enough copies for everyone, and I must practice before trying out. But they didn't have the script there, or at Borders, or at the Borders here in Flint, or anywhere else. While at the mall, we were bumped into by many foreign people who apparently felt the need to yell things back and forth across the mall to each other in Yugoslavian. In other, completely off-topic news, OH NO, JOHN RITTER DIED! I loved that guy! I had just recently started watching Three's Company reruns and 8 Simple Rules was my favorite show! I watched a special about his life, and Mom and I thought it was quite neat that, when asked what he would do if he wasn't an actor, he replied that he wouldn't want to do anything but act, as that's what I always say... *Hugs for Angel-version of John Ritter as well as his family, friends & cast-mates*

Holly

Improvisational Humping and Daria Is Neat

Name: Holly
Nicknames: Wanda
Age: 19
Height: 5' 7"
Hair Color: Brown with some fabulously fake blonde highlights
Eye Color: Blue-ish green
Born in: Flint.
Education: Edjamawha? Oh right, my schoolin'. High school ran into my sleeping schedule, so it was pushed aside and replaced by a G. (good) E. (enough) D. (diploma). And now there's college, and I make my own schedule now, so my classes are in the PM nowadays.
Fav. Hobbies: Teaching my dog to talk (she's up to three words and no, they're not "bark, woof and arf"!), reading nerd stories (fan fiction), and acting (like a dork).
Fav. Singers, Groups & Musicians: Amy Grant, Lifehouse, "Weird Al" Yankovic and Michael W. Smith. And Evanescence is fairly awesome as well.
Fav. Movie: The HPs and Orange County, Moulin Rouge.
Fav. Books: The Harry Potter series, courtesy o' J.K. Rowling, the Kissed By An Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler and This Lullabye by Sarah Dessen.
Fav. Animal: Kitties, dogs, horses, they're all good.
Favourite Place you'd want to Visit: Besides Vegas for the 40th time? How 'bout Platform 9 & 3/4? *Grins nerdily*
Fav. Color: Tickle Me Pink (for you weirdos who weren't brought up with Crayola, light pink).
Fav. School Subjects: Theatre an' English.
If you were a character on the Cast of Friends, who would you be?: The guest character who doesn't like any of the normal characters, and brings her friends Daria and Johnny Bravo to make the show better.
If you were a Flower, you would be a...: Holly plant. I'm poisonous yet festive!
If you were a tree, you would be a...: Peach tree. Mmm, peaches...

As pertains to Harry Potter:
House: Gryffindor. I used to think I'd be in Hufflepuff since I tend to be all optimistic and I tend to be a bit of a doormat, but I don't like doing work like the 'puffs and folks tell me you've got to be brave to be a theatre major.
Favorite Book: Good ol' book 3, Prisoner of Azkaban.
Favorite Character(s): Hermione Granger. That kid's great, sticking up for the House Elves and always looking out for her kiddos, Harry and Ron. *Fondly ruffles her hair, making it a bit bushier*
Wand: 12", Holly (*grins*) and Veela hair, springy, good for Charms.
Pet: (Pets, actually) Chyna the Talking Dog, Daria the Escape Artist Cat and Amy "Scratch Attack" Cat.
Hi kids! What's new? What's new with me is that school has started, which, of course, means that theatre has started! *Bursts into relieved tears* Oh-ho, I'm so freaking glad! *Sputters and sobs* Do you have any idea how much I've missed that class? To me, the word theatre is synonymous with the term complete and utter happiness. The good news is that Leah and Kyle (theatre just wouldn't be theatre without them), Nick, Shawna, Sudie and Monica (from 1st semester) have all returned! The bad news is that Don, the dude who gets my vote for Hottest Theatre Kid and everyone's vote for Most Likely to Win an Acadamy Award, has graduated. *Goes pale* I'm just sick about it. Plus, we lost a ton of other fun actors... like, 12. So that sucks. We haven't done a whole heck of a lot yet, but we did some pantomiming which consisted of the whole class losing their friends' dog, and ruining folks' hair colors. We also got to play my all-time favorite theatre game, Bus Stop, where you must get the person "waiting for the bus" out of their seat by doing some quick-thinking improv. I got a new guy, Justin, out of his seat by walking up and saying, "BEEP BEEP! I'm the bus, get in!" but then stealing his seat when he got up and exclaiming, "Ha ha! I'm not a bus, I'm just a person who wanted your seat!" Then Kyle decided to get me out of my seat by walking up to me and pretending to hump me. After about 5 seconds of this, I looked at my watch and asked him when the bus would arrive, but he pointed out that, has this happened in real life, I would have been long gone. I had to agree, and admitted defeat. *Hangs head*
I recently decided to re-read some of the Daria fan fiction I used to read obsessively a few years ago, and realized that I can't just abandon this awesome stuff just because I now read Harry Potter fan fic. That would just be wrong, as this stuff is great, and I'd forgotten just how great it is. I used to bloody love the show Daria, but it was the fan fic I was REALLY addicted to... specifically a cluster of Daria fan fiction written by a writing goddess who called herself Invisigoth Gypsy. The fics always managed to cheer me up and make my day a zillion times brighter, and I think you should all read her stuff if you ever get the chance. The whole series is focused around Daria and Trent, and how they were both too scared to admit they liked each other, so it was extremely cute, and it's one of my favorite sources of entertainment. Plus, there was no Tom (the boyfriend Daria eventually had)! Hurray for Trent and not for Tom. Now, move toward the link... that's it, closer... closer... The IVG Shipper Continuum

<3, Holly :-D

Of Best Friends and Baby-Sized Miracles

I don't exactly remember the precise moment when I met my best friend, Sarah. In fact, the first year I knew her, we weren't close at all. We ate lunch together with a number of our old friends, most of whom I can't even name now, even though I'd known a few of them almost my whole life. When set Sarah apart from those other friends was that she really seemed to care what happened to me, as she proved over the next five years. When my dad made me get my teacher's signatures on my assignment sheet, Sarah made sure I got those signatures so I wouldn't get in trouble. When I was struggling with restless leg syndrome, she didn't freak out and keep the heck away from me, she stayed with me and kept my mind off it. When I was too sick to pay attention in driver's ed, she took notes for the both of us and kept me from failing. And if she didn't have enough money to buy me a birthday present, she made me beautiful pillows, which I love more than anything she could have bought... except, perhaps, for this bloody awesome theatre ring she got me for my open house. *Pats it and snaps picture*
I thought Sarah was so cool, I set her up with my brother, one of my other best friends. For 3 years, Zach and I hung out with Sarah all day, every day. I had a blast with them, despite their constant "make out then break up" ritual. When Sarah and Zach had the mother of all breakups, it looked like I was going to have to choose between them, and I was alternately devastated and hysterical for weeks. I loved them both way too much to pick a favorite. I decided I couldn't, and would never choose one of them over the other, though I'm ashamed to say I haven't made time to hang out with Sarah since I started college, and I've missed her so much.
A couple weeks ago, I went to Sarah's diary and saw that she had rather huge news-- she's pregnant! I had to read the entry four times before it really sunk in. My best friend is pregnant. This is huge! At first, I way too worried to be happy. I kept thinking, Is her dad angry? Is she okay with this? Matt had better stay with her and be good to she and the baby... But as I read the entry over and over, I realized everything will be okay. She and Matt are really excited and they're both working; they'll be able to get their own place soon! When I finally actually realized that my best pal was going to be a mom, I became really thrilled too. A new mini-miracle kid... this is going to be so awesome! My worries immediately turned to excited plans-- What gifts am I going to spoil this kid with? What decorations will we put up at the baby shower? I'd better start shopping for this kid now, only nine months to go...
Of course, I'm going to do everything I can for Sarah, Matt and the baby... after all, look at all the great things Sarah's done for me. *Raises bottle of root beer* To best friends and miracles!

In other news, my dad surprised me with the gift that keeps on giving... or at least, it keeps taking... taking pictures! He said it was a late open house present, so that's fun. And not only does this digital camera take pictures, it also takes minute-and-a-half-long videos! So my camera is super neat, as opposed to just plain neat. This means that there will be lots of pics and videos of Sarah's baby (uh... you know, when she has the baby) and you online folk will be able to see part of my next play! Oh, aren't you just in fits of rapture? *Grins cheekily*
<3,>

Annual Crap Hits the Fan Day

Once or twice a year, a time comes along when my dad and I have to have a big fight about something. The most common Fighting Subjects are (A. my grades (B. anything school-related and (C. my grades. But this year, my grades weren't so bad, so the subject of the fight yesterday had to be the not so commonly fought about (D. money. For my open house last month, I got roughly $700. Now, a month later, I have about $80. Sure, I suppose I spent that a little fast, but I feel that I bought things I've been needing for quite a while with that money (hilarious fluffy pink steering wheel cover and adorable stuffed mermaid not included). Plus, that money was kind of mine to spend, right? Not the way Dad sees it. Apparently, I should have saved all my cash so I could pay for my own books when the school year starts in the fall. Of course, I could have done that, but seeing as Dad's always payed for my books, how would I have known to save my money to buy my own this year? So, a good part of yesterday evening was spent with Dad engaging in his yelling routine, and me in my habitual crying.
When that was done, Dad decided to interregate me about my brother, Zach, and his girlfriend, Christina, and what they do day and night. *Rolls eyes* The high points of this argument were when I pointed out that I'm not my brother's keeper, Dad insisted that I should know where they are and what they're doing at all times, and I talked Dad out of kicking Zach out of the house by suggesting that Dad make sure Christina has gone home before Dad goes to bed. The overall argument ended with Dad insisting that I get a job immediately to get back the money I blew. So, starting tomorrow, I'll be out job hunting, once again. *Throws a small, contained tantrum*
Last week, Dad, Zach, Christina and I all decided that next Tuesday, we should head over to Cedar Point. The reason for this is, Zach insists that he can't make it to Vegas this August, like we've been planning all year because Vegas Vacation time conflicts with Christina's Birthday time. Of course, I could still go to Vegas with Dad (he almost has to go because the Vegas trip this year happens to also be a business trip for him), and it would be just the two of us, but what am I going to do while Dad's in meetings? And what if he wants to do some gambling, as he always does? It's not exactly safe to wander around Las Vegas by myself, methinks. And so, I'm out of the Vegas trip I look forward to all year long. Hopefully, we'll still be able to do this Cedar Point thing Tuesday.
Okay, I believe I'm done whining for the moment. It's just making me more irritable, and I'm supposed to be an optimist, for God's sake! I think I'll fill out a nice, happy survey... one I'll steal from Ashley. *Nods decidedly*

What do you eat late at night?: Life cereal almost overflowing with Silk vanilla soy milk or peanut butter and jelly dunked in a mug of Silk vanilla soy milk. I'm a bit of an oddball, I suppose...
Your completely irrational fear?: Bugs. I have nightmares about them, I get uncontrollable shivers when I'm around them, I can't sleep in my bed if I've spotted one anywhere near the vacinity of my room. And it doesn't matter what kind of bug it is, I freaked out over a roley-poley that I spotted trying to roley-pole its scary arse underneath the couch today. I realize I could squash it, but I'd probably have a heart attack if I came within two feet of it.
What do you carry with you at all times?: Lemme check my purse... Okay, I always carry my wallet, sunglasses, cell phone, a mini-Kleenex package, dental floss, gum, my sparkly pink makeup bag, my sparkly pink mini-fan, and a picture of my mom and I.
What do you miss most about being little? Hanging out with just Zach all the time. I don't remember the time it was just me and him, but I really, really miss those days. We used to hang out in the back yard playing Calvin Ball (the game from Calvin and Hobbes) and then we'd come in and play Matchboxes on Atari and eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches dunked in milk. *Sighs in a reminiscent manner*

What was the last song you were listening to? "Family Tree" by Darryl Worley. Hee, I just love that song with the little kids laughing at the beginning and end and the whole thing about the "hand me down clothes... and hand me down shoes, we got the big bellied momma, here we go again blues." Adorable!
If I were a __, I'd be -
sin: Obsession... what with all the obsessing I do, you know.
scent: Pumpkin, since I'm always eating stuffed pumpkin shells... I'm bound to smell like a pumpkin!
body part: A stomach. Woo hoo, all the food comes straight to me!
Well! That brightened my mood up considerably! Hurray, hurray!
--Holly :-D

Hired and Fired

Highlights of the past few weeks of Holly's life:

*My brief employment at Ziggy's Ice Cream
*Having my open house at church
*The purchase of the new Harry Potter book
*Attending Sarah's open house
*Grandma Z.'s 3-way bypass

*Glances nervously at date of last diary update* Holy guacamole, has it really been that long? Well, I s'pose I'd best get 'round to updating then, hadn't I? Let's see, where shall I begin? I guess I'll start with Ziggy's...
I'd been wanting to work at an ice cream place for quite a while, so when my aunt Barb got me an interview with a friend of hers who just happens to be the owner of Ziggy's Ice Cream, I jumped at the chance. I got the job immediately, and started working, but only for a couple of hours a day, while I was in training. I practiced swirling soft serve ice cream into cones (they all tilted unsteadily to the side), mixed up various kids of flurries (I always seemed to punch a hole in the bottom of the cup), and got zapped horribly on the blended fruit machine. Customers yelled at me, my co-workers snapped at me, and I went home crying more than once. I can't say that I wasn't surprised when my boss called me and told me I was just too slow for that kind of job. And so, I am, once again, unemployed. *Sigh*
Two Saturdays ago was my open house, which turned out peachily, thanks to my awesome mom and grandparents. We had lots of fun decorating the church with colorful Japenese lanterns, picture-laden poster boards, and Mom's beautiful giant paper flowers (I "entertained" my mom by continually singing "Paaaaaper flowers!", a lovely part of Evanescence's song, "Imaginary"). I created my only real decorative contribution: a concoction of pastel jelly beans in champagne glasses. *Beams proudly* I stole that idea from a magazine! *Nods happily* The open house that followed the decorating party was quite wonderful as well, as I played my Open House Mix CDs and greeted lots of folks, some of whom I never thought I'd see in the same room together *COUGHmyparentsCOUGH*.
In honor of the release of the new book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I purchased a new outfit, including a blue tank top that Harry and Hermione have been ironed onto. I sat up all night reading the last few chapters of the Goblet of Fire so the ending would be fresh in my mind the next day. As an open house present, Mom had reserved me a copy of the book, so at 7:30 the next morning, I drove my poor tired Mom to Target to get the book. When I spotted it on an end cap, I squealed and ran to the cash register where a Daria-type rang up my book, eyeing my Harry/Hermione shirt and huge grin with obvious distaste. The book was wonderful, although I admit to hysterical crying toward the end... and that's after peeking ahead!
My grandma Z. went into the hospital for a 3-way-bypass this past Friday. My dad, grandpa, aunt Barb, and cousin Lindsay were all with her right before she went into surgery, so I think that put her mind at ease about it, a bit. As soon as they'd wheeled Grandma away, Lindsay broke into sobs, just like she does every New Year's Eve when Grandma and Grandpa leave for their winter Florida trip. We stayed in the Family Waiting Area where a loud, huge, annoying family took up nearly the whole room before a nurse came in to tell us that Grandma was going to be okay. And she should be home tomorrow! Hoo-ray!
--Holly :-D