This last Sunday I worked at an expo for which I volunteered last fall. It's apparently the biggest entertainment expo in the country, and it takes place every six months in Times Square. I needed to be there at 6 AM and I worked for over twelve hours, not leaving until after 7 PM. It was one of the longest days of my life, and by the end, I felt like I was about to crack. Over 5,000 people came because there was an open casting call for Broadway musicals, so it was just an intense day with lots of crazy stage moms and people asking questions that I couldn't answer. My job was to be a moderator in one of the workshop rooms, so I introduced the speakers and led question-answer time for classes about "Getting TV Thin" etc. (Step one: eat kale and collard greens daily and drink 16 ounces of water immediately after you wake up.) It was a trip. At least I got paid.

Anyway, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep from that. I went to a party the night before (not the smartest idea, I know, but I had to see old MTC friends). Plus this week has been crazy at work for the most part. We have a lot of money coming in and a lot of events coming up, so I have a lot of balls simultaneously in the air. Ah well, keeps me busy.

Last Thursday I went to the final dress rehearsal for our upcoming musical, Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. It was absolutely amazing. I've never been more proud to say I work at Roundabout than I was that night. It's about the life of impressionist painter George Seurat and his famous painting here: http://anglee.org/proj/MagicBrush/pics/Seurat_SundayAfternoonOnTheIslandOfGrandJatte.jpg

It's the first Broadway revival of it, and the production came over from London. The director is also an animator, so the whole set is animated against huge white walls, creating stunning visual effects. And the people in the painting are characters in the play. Anjanette is going to see it with me when she's in town next week (woot!), and I can't wait to see it again.

I finally got tickets to see an opera at the Met. And my first Met opera is one of my faves: Otello by Verdi, with Renee Fleming singing. For those of you that don't know, that's a big deal. We're in the balcony, but it should still be incredible. That's not until the beginning of March, however.

I'm definitely feeling music-starved. It's been getting worse and worse over these past couple weeks. I was thinking about this on my commute this morning: this is longest I've gone in my life (after I knew better) without some form of active music. It's been a part of my existence since I was six on an almost daily basis, and I haven't really sang that much or played or anything (with a few exceptions) since I came to New York.

It's just so difficult to find places to practice, means to practice, and I haven't really been rolling in dough, so I can't afford lessons. I'm trying to brainstorm things I can do to fix this situation, and I'm thinking about trying to get back into a choir or renting a piano or something. And then maybe lessons will somehow come out of that. It's just driving me a bit crazy.

I must be off, because I have some dishes to do before we start dinner. They all arrived unharmed, by the way!