So... My last blog post was over a year ago. I am at a completely different place in my life, literally and figuratively. I can't make any promises as to how often I will be updating this blog or to how well written it will be, but here I go!
I moved to San Francisco March 2nd (with two days notice) and began rehearsals for my new ensemble track in Wicked. My first performance was March 30. I don't dance well or often so even a jazz square trips me up sometimes. My track doesn't dance near as much as the others in the show (thank goodness), but I never thought I'd ever be dancing in a show every night! After I started performing in the ensemble, I immediately began rehearsals for Elphaba. I am learning SO MUCH.
My Elphaba put-in* was on May 21st and was an absolutely amazing experience. The whole cast was so supportive and I was painted GREEN for the first time!
That same weekend, our main Elphaba, Eden Espinosa, was out of town so our lovely standby, Felicia Ricci was on for our first four-show weekend. She went on for the matinee on Saturday, and sounded beautiful despite not feeling well. After the show, she asked if I would be okay if she called out for that night's show... Needless to say, I was pretty excited/nervous to make my Elphie debut! Everything went well and there was a full house of supportive fans and audience members there to root me on. After the show and a quick shower to try to get the green out of my ears (unsuccessfully), I went out through the stage door to be greeted by about 30-or so fans! I can't even explain the feelings I had that night. I am humbled and blessed and incredibly grateful for every opportunity I have been given throughout all this.
All I can say, is THANK YOU to every single person who has supported and influenced me in my lifetime. Words cannot express.
So what now?! One of my greatest lifetime dreams has been achieved. What's next? Honestly, I have no idea what is coming. The Wicked company in San Francisco closes at the beginning of September, so I only ha
ve a few more months left here.Some options are: 1) To see if I can get transferred to another Wicked company. This is something that isn't really up to me, so I suppose all I can do for now is put myself out there and hope! 2) To make plans to get an agent and move to New York to audition. This would be exciting now that I have my Actor's Equity membership, and there could be some amazing opportunities out there for my future!
I'm not much of a planner, so it's hard for me to think about not flying by the seat of my pants for once! Scary and adventurous. I feel that I've learned quite a bit about myself in this experience, so I say, BRING IT ON!
In the meantime, now that all my rehearsals are finished (and LOST is over), I have a lot more time on my hands. I have some plans for the present- including getting my pup, Kamiya, some much needed dog training! Other things I would like to do include: learning Japanese to become more educated about my heritage, start a new website with the help of my dear friend, Mayumi, start reading the Dark Tower series, start playing World of Warcraft again (I know... I know...), and to explore the beautiful city of San Francisco as much as I can before I leave! We'll see how many of these things I can get to before September. I have made some beautiful new friends in the cast too, so I can have a social life, or something like it.
Once again, thank you all for everything! And also, it's corny but, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! Some are more attainable and nearer than you think they are.
Alyssa
*For those who aren't familiar, a "put-in" is a rehearsal that involves the entire cast but is held for the specific benefit of one or more new people. Like a dress rehearsal, but only the people being put into the show are in costume/hair/makeup. Everyone else is in their regular street clothes. Also, it's like a regular show in that there are lights, and microphones, and some technical elements such as fog and lifts and trap doors.
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