Oh man, we are in tech week. 

Muses: Gillian did you have a 5 hour rehearsal yesterday?

Gillian:  We did.  It went really well.  A lot of junk food.

Muses: So are you ready to open right now.

(Gillian laugh hysterically and burst into tears and then laughter again)

Gillian: Uh...close.  Muses, have you ever tried to build a pipe and drape backdrop?....Turns out the is one heck of a beast.  41 yards of material is more than I can carry.  And you know, there is that minor detail that I only know how to operate a sewing machine is someone who knows how to operate a sewing machine is standing next to me.

Muses: Well seems like it's a good thing that you are worrying about pipe and drape rather than worried about the show.

Gillian: Touche Muses!  We are gonna rock the hell out of the show.  It's just all the little pieces have to come together.

Muses: They will Gillian.  Have faith.

Gillian: Well, I have faith that the people around me are going to rally.  Which is such a gift.  I'm going to pin the curtains during the day and our costume designer Brie is going to sew them for me while I am at the theater.  Now that Brie Madrid, she is a class act.

Muses: Gillian no one says "Class Act" anymore.

Gillian: Shut up Muses!  I'm in tech week!

In Cougars news, Chuck Malone is finally back from the cruise ship!  Horray!  Below is a video of Chuck working with Brian and Paul on Dick to Dick time.  Brian really rocks it out!

The thing is when you rent a theater on a late night slot, there is NO storage.  The other thing is when you drive a compact Mazda Protege.  The entire set does not fit it your car, and it is in fact pretty difficult to also fit an amp and piano. Sometimes you just have to stick the piano out a window.  See picture below.

Oh man, things are heating up!  Sun Times called and asked for a picture.  That seems like a good sign. :)  I am doing a pre-interview with reporter Travis Truitt today. 
Chuck Malone has finally returned and we have our first rehearsal with him today. 
Jim Vozella, the set designer, has theoretically finished building the pipe and drape for the space.  Saturday I buy the material and sew the curtains with Brie Madrid, our costume designer.
We ordered more postcards, posters are up, Facebook is groovin'.  Now we just have to hit the right beats, the right lines, the right notes, and the right moves and all will be well.
I think I'm moving into a place of less panic and more excitement.  This is really happening.  My words, our work will be on that stage and what started as an idea has become so much more.  We have created the circle between artist and audience.  We will participate together in the creative experience.  I get excited before improv and stand up shows, but not like this.  This is like being 13 and going to a school dance.  ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!  Yeah!  I'm a 13 year old girl.  Super awkward and adorable.  Let's do this thing...

I had the amazing honor of accompanying our costume designer, Brie Madrid, to Unique Thrift store on Sheridan and Montrose.  Oh man, it was half price Monday and were things kickin' in Unique.  The knee high stripper boots hanging at the front we already on hold.  Dang it!  It was packed.  There is almost so many clothes that there wasn't room for people with their tiny shopping carts.  We were all moving into the piles of clothes to get out of each others way.
But we still managed to find some sweet treasures.  I mean if you need a wind suit...look no further than Unique.  If you need a fanny pack...unique.  Cat in ribbons sweatshirt...unique.  Bad Bad granny outfits that make Brie laugh out loud in the store when you put them on.  Unique!
And thank heaven it was half price Monday becase our $114 bill went down to $57.  TGI Unique! :)

We are coming to the home stretch.  We have less than three weeks.  LESS THAN 3 WEEKS!  It's gonna be great.  Sold out run, extension, options.  Let's make this happen people.  The costume designer, Brie Madrid, and I are shopping for costumes tonight.  Nothing like thrifting for gold. 
I'm somewhere between excited and panicked, but that seems like the right place to be.  We have a full choreography rehearsal on Wednesday.  My friend and acupuncturist, Molly Cofman, will be coming in to watch and give notes. Then we have music on Sunday to prepare for Chuck Malone's return. 
Chuck Malone is almost back!  Thank heavens.  Cause this lady doesn't speak music very well.  Well, at least in a way that other people understand it. :)  I still need to hang posters, but amazingly most of our marketing is in place.  We just need to focus on the show.  This is going to AWESOME.

Only a few more rehearsals left...I AM CALM?
I am mostly.  I have only brief moments of freak out. Like how do I fit our set pieces in my car, when they literally can not fit.
It's gonna be okay right?  It's just gonna work itself out. Right?
We shot another vid.  I find it amusing.  It's below.  I also made sure to take a sweet picture of Maddy in her old lady earrings.  Those clip-ons go a long way with the boys.  I sure know I was attracted to her in full costume.
There are a couple of pics of rehearsal too.  Those Cougars look so good.

So we are little over three weeks away from opening.  Eventually I will stop hyperventilating.  I think.  My friend Adam Guerino, a Chicago producer and comedian, produced an event at Chicago's Berlin, called Art Haus.  He invited us to do a promo for Cougars.  Art Haus started with two workshops for musicians and comedians to work material.  Then they perform things they have been working on.  There is also a part of the show called "Around Town", where shows display part of what they have going on.
It's always a bit odd to take a show out of context and plop it in the middle of a bar. We did well considering the environment, but there was some adjustment due to mics and limited space.
Justin stood in for Maddy and looked very smashing in her costume.  Rebecca made her first appearance as a Cougar, and we preformed the Blanche Devereaux rap from the first incarnation of Cougars! That song hasn't made it into this show, but it's so great we don't want people to miss it.  :)  Below are pics of the show...

Oh man, anybody ever have flashbacks to high school.  You start doing something, and you realize, "I've been here before."  That's how I felt on Sat. while helping build our set with the set designer, Jim Vozzella.  I haven't built a set since senior year of high school.  Sanding?  Who knows the last time, but I am pretty sure that I am great at it. :)
Jim's parents were nice enough to let us build in their garage.  Remember neighborhoods?  I barely do.  It was so charming to have parents around and dogs and neighbors and kids.
Jim, is AMAZING.  He built our set pieces, and I just came to help sand and paint.  Oh man I would have been lost without him.  Seriously.  I have no idea what to buy at the hardware store.  So thank heavens for Jim.  Also, he was kind enough to make Chicken Vesuvius. That's right ladies, this man cooks.  Come to the show and I will introduce you. :)
I really felt like I was working on a school project.  It was the best ever.  Mostly because Jim sent me home with leftovers.  :)

We have a new video!  Check it out!  :)

We started choreography last night.  Matt Colton is helping us work through things.  And it is a real adventure.  He showed up wearing his choreography wig and bandana and an additional one for someone else to wear.  Luckily Brian was willing to take him up on that.  Matt looked exactly like the character Sonny from Xanadu.  I'm sure it helped his creative process. :)
It's always amazing how long choreography takes.  We got through two songs and a tiny bit of another.  Both of the songs were ballads.  It was strange to me how hard it is to choreograph a ballad.  The songs are already so still that we don't want to loose the emotional with a lot of movement, but that means we become limited in our choices or at least that's how it feels.  I think it looks pretty good, and is fitting.  Now we all just have to remember it.
We are choreographing off of a track.  The interesting part is that nobody but me knows the music yet.  So they are simultaneously learning the song and the dance.  Probably not the easiest way to put it all together, but when you don't have a Music Director on the scene, you gotta do what you gotta do.
We have another choreo reho tonight and a run through.  Adventure awaits...Cougars! Rahn Rahn Rahn!