An Ode to Lisa Austin

What's so remarkable about this next donation is that I don't really know Lisa.

We went to the same college (Woohoo!! Davidson College! Yay!!), and we met one time at a Young Alumni in NYC event, and became facebook friends after that day. I've been posting my blogs on my facebook account, and Lisa clicked on one, and I guess the rest is history!

So I sent Lisa an email asking for her update. In her words:

"As far as what I'm up to, I'm living near DC now. I live in Reston, and work at a healthcare consulting firm in Alexandria. I, too, have a DBF who has shown me the same unyielding support that yours has shown you. Things are going well for me, and I'm inspired to re-start my efforts. As you know, it can be hard to stay motivated and even harder to erase tapes that have been continuously playing in your head for years. I'm happy you've been doing it, and I'm happy that I'm going to do it too."

All I can say is: GOOD FOR YOU, LISA! You have already done the hard things, like taking a nice hard look at your life, what works, and what doesn't work, and are moving towards a change to make things different. And you're accepting your own role in that process--both as instigator and resolver. I am not sure I would ever have the faith and the confidence to donate to someone I barely knew, but that speaks volumes to me about your character. (But, I mean, you went to Davidson, so you're already upper echelon of the human elite! :)

You've got a fan in your DBF, and you've got a fan in me! As you work out your stuff and your NTs, let me know if there's anything that I can help you with! I recommend marathon running, simply because it has been so amazing for me, but it certainly doesn't have to be the only way. I can't wait to hear more updates about your successes!

An Ode to Manami!

I am so lucky to get to work with Manami almost every day. Manami is one of the accompanists at Hands On! (where I work as a teacher), and we have been paired together since she started last spring. Manami is a fantastic jazz pianist, trained at Berkley, and a recording artist in her native Japan. She is a amazingly talented musician.

I sadly don't have any pictures of Manami, and since she's not on facebook, I couldn't steal any!

But she's also just super-duper fun! She always makes me laugh, and I can always count on her to make it a great day, no matter what. I am in awe of her constant optimism, sense of humor, boundless energy and the fact that she doesn't judge me for being upset when the french horn is sounding awful, or whatever non-essential thing is bugging me. She lets things roll off her back. I am generally not so easy going!

I hope that I get to see her on race day, doing a wild and crazy dance, jump, cheer, whatever, because I know it will make me laugh and I will take all the laughs I can get on November 7!

An Ode to Elyse Marrocc

I love every Thursday because I love going to the Lincoln Center location of my job and seeing the smiling face of Elyse!

Yes, this is a picture of Elyse with The Backstreet Boys... More on that later.

Elyse is a recent college graduate and hopes someday to be working in the music business industry, but for now is helping our little preschool music business. She is our office manager, meaning she deals with the crazy artists, the crazy parents, the crazy kids and still keeps coming to work. And she deals with me saying things like "Elyse, we're going to need two mini accordions stat!"

She is always happy. I actually don't know how she does this! But it is always a pleasure on Thursday mornings to come to work and check in with Elyse.

Elyse also writes an awesome blog, which you should all check out! It is so awesome, in fact, that she's getting paid to write it. Elyse is unabashedly in love with pop culture, and takes on no irony when she tells you she loves the Backstreet Boys. I like a girl who likes what she likes, no apologies.

Thanks to Elyse for a wonderful donation, and for making my day each and every Thursday!

An Ode to Jodie Bentley

I am incredibly grateful for a generous donation from Miss Jodie Bentley. Jodie is an actress, singer and business woman extraordinaire, and a founder of the fantastic company, The Savvy Actor.

I "met" Jodie when I audited a class that Savvy Actor taught, and I can only say it changed my career life. Savvy teaches performers to find and be their most authentic self, and to take that energy and uniqueness and turn it in to a brand. It is very smart, and indeed very savvy!

After the class, I decided to use the one-on-one coaching services with Jodie. I am not sure I can really describe what the coachings were to me because they were so helpful on so many levels. It gave me guidance, confidence, a game plan. But there was one very distinct and important thing coaching did for me:

It made me decide to run the Marathon!

As part of my original prep work for my coaching, I had to set career and personal goals for the next few stages of my life. And a year ago I said in one year I would be running the marathon.

So here I am, about a month away from running 26.2 miles, in the best shape of my life, feeling strong and athletic and immensely proud, and I really have Jodie and The Savvy Actor to thank, for this, and much, much more.

Thank you!

An Ode to Jeremy Smith (and Billy Clark Taylor)

I am so fortunate to know Jeremy, who is the boyfriend and partner another Spitfire Grill (Roanoke Version) alumni, Billy Clark Taylor. Billy played my husband, Caleb, and let me just say: this boy can SANG. For those of you not in musical theatre, to be able to sing is one thing, but to sang, with an A, means you are at a different level. Billy has an amazingly beautiful and smooth voice, something that you honestly don't hear much of anymore. People don't write ballads for men anymore, unless they're pop-rock, power ballads. You should absolutely go to his website and give a listen and enjoy!

Me, Billy and Jeremy

So I met Jeremy during my stint in Roanoke, and Jeremy and Billy have the distinction of being the only other couple I know, besides the DBF and myself, that is a Corporate Lawyer and Actor Couple. In fact, at their most recent party, I almost got myself into trouble. The DBF had told me some "insider information" about the law world and some changes in workforce and allegiances, and had said to me "don't tell anyone about this". Well of course, when he said that, my thought was "Who would I talk to that would even remotely care!" A few nights later we happened to be at Billy and Jeremy's for a wonderful party, and I remember from somewhere in the cavities in my brain, that I actually have something interesting in the law world to talk about, so launch into a conversation with Jeremy about this law-gossip. Of course I couldn't keep all my facts straight and called the DBF to clear some things up, and he gently reminded me "Remember the thing that I told you not to talk about with anyone?" and we laughed. Now instead when he shares law-gossip he says "Don't tell Jeremy". It's much clearer.

But Jeremy has got the DBF beat on the Lawyer Actor Powercouple standpoint in one major way: he is a huge fan of Musical Theatre. Long before he met Billy, he was already collecting as many recordings of musicals as he could get his hands on. And when I say he's got almost all of them... he actually has a recording of almost every musical theatre production that ever did get recorded! Anytime I am looking for something obscure, or even not obscure, to learn for an audition or to get my hands on for reference sake, I know I can turn to Jeremy and Billy!

Jeremy and Billy also are two of my favorite people because they love food just as much as I do! In fact, Billy can attest that when I was doing Spitfire, I was not nearly the athlete that I am now training for the marathon. He was the one going to the gym every day to work out before coming to rehearsal or performance! But Billy knew then what I know now: you can't love food as much as the three of us do and not work out semi-regularly (and the truth of this statement goes exponentially higher the further you get away from 25!) I love hanging out with the two of them because I know we will always enjoy a fantastic meal, and if they are hosting, I know there will be delicious foods and baked goods!

I am just happy to be around them. They are a lovely couple, and they are strong and loyal to each other and the people they choose to call friends. I am humbled and honored by Jeremy's generous donation. The only thing we're missing is some desert. ;)

An Ode to Natalie Newman

My dear friend Natalie Newman and I also met during the 3rd installment of The Spitfire Grill at Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, VA. If you're keeping score the only one without representation is the first one, in Memphis, TN. Step up to the plate, Memphis! ;)

Natalie and I at Magnolia Bakery in West Village

Natalie played Percy, and on stage we were best friends, and she remains to this day one of my best friends. I know I say this about all my friends, but she truly is amazingly talented. A true tripple threat, she can dance, act and sing, and she works all the time! In fact, that may be her only "fault" because she leaves town too much! I get lonely!

Natalie is dedicated, resilient, focused and ready for anything. No matter what the idea, Nataie is always game to try anything once! And I love that she isn't afraid of walking. When I suggest we walk from Chinatown across the Brooklyn Bridge to go see a movie, she doesn't flinch or think twice. Natalie experiences life through a very active and participatory way of living it! She's fun to be around, and she makes you want to enjoy your life more.

What I love about Natalie is no idea is not worth a shot. When I ask "Wanna come over and help me make zucchini bread, eat leftovers and watch reality tv?" She always has an enthusiastic response of "Yea!".

Natalie and I share obviously a love for theatre and not sitting still, but she is also a deeply spiritual person, so it's a wonderful gift to connect on that level as well. She is a rock of a friend. You know you can call on her: anytime, anywhere. She will not judge you, and she will not get bored with your stories or process. She is patient and kind.

I am very grateful for Miss Natalie and I'm honored that she chose to help me with the marathon by her donation. And I wish she would book a Broadway show so she would stop leaving town and hang out with me more often! Sounds good.

Yippee! Having fun in Roanoke!

An Ode to Stacie Bono

I am so grateful for the very generous donation of my beautiful friend Stacie Bono.

Stacie and I met when we were both in Astoria Performing Arts wildly successful production of Ragtime in the winter of 2009. Stacie played the coquettish Evelyn Nesbitt to a T, and she was always so spot on. I remember in the very beginning, at our very first rehearsals, hearing Stacie deliver a line and nail it, and for everyone to laugh (she's a fantastic commedienne), or to subtly break your heart a little and hear the moment of awe from the room. But then the realization dawned on us all that she was already knocking her performance out of the ballpark, and she could only get better through the rehearsal process, and therefore we would all have to start working harder to meet her at her level of talent.

(I would like to think the whole cast did that for each other: raised the bar, and everyone consistently met it after each raise, and went beyond. I think critics who reviewed the show would agree. But Stacie certainly made me quake in my boots almost immediately, the woman is so talented!)

But I want to write something here about Stacie that I hope I can accurately convey, and I don't know if I can use words eloquently enough to describe it. Stacie is a wonderful performer, absolutely. She has training and technique and is also just naturally beautiful, gifted and inspired. But she is uninhibitedly and unabashedly Stacie. So many performers try to phone in their best Indina Menzel or their best version of pop-rock princesses, or whatever it is they think "they" (casting directors, agents, whoever) are looking for. But Stacie is Stacie, and she shines. I envy this about her. There is a freedom to her performances and her vocal work that I admire and am quite jealous of.

Acting is a crazy business. Yes, it's crazy for lots of reasons, but for me the most consistently mind-bending is the concept of running your own small business that sells only one thing: you. To be objective enough to know how to prepare, present, refine and improve yourself, and to be consistently proud of that product... Stacie seems to have this one down.

So I am a huge Stacie Bono fan, because to me she exemplifies a type of grace and freedom which is not only inspiring but encourages her fellow co-workers to be more, and reach their fullest potential.

And she is a wonderful friend. I told the DBF recently that I would like it if she and I became better friends, and I asked him how do adults do that? Just choose to be better friends? The answer it seems has remained the same since our mothers were our social directors: you arrange a playdate.

Hopefully we'll have a playdate soon!