OMG! OMG! Al Nevins totally just tweeted that he is definitely going 2 re-team with that classy babe Nancy B. 4 another year of SV madness! They R just 2 die 4 and I 4 1 cannot wait 2 C what they come up with this year!!!

 

 Hi! I'm Austin. I was supposed to have this thing written by the 13th of May which was three days before we started rehearsal. I found the task a bit overwhelming considering I knew practically nothing about the show aside from the basic schedule for rehearsals and performances. Such is the case each and every year for any person cast in the musical satire famous for giving a voice to the oppressed left and shining a light on the absurdity and utter stupidity of the dick heads responsible for prolonging said oppression here in our great state. You can't know anything about it other than that you're in it and they expect you to be damn funny. At any rate, like a good little procrastinating wiz of a student I didn't finish the blog by the 13th, instead I waited until today.  Why? Maybe I'm a rebel without a cause who just doesn't give a shit, or maybe I just forgot... OK, I just forgot, but I'm glad I did because now I actually have something to write about!  

  

So dig this: I just came from my first first rehearsal with the cast and crew of Saturday's Voyeur. I call it my first first rehearsal because it isn't technically my first appearance as an actor in Voyeur. Last year I was lucky enough to fit into Aaron Swenson's pants (sort of) who was sadly unavailable for the extension run of the wildly successful show leaving me to take his place for the last week of the run. So you see I was not present for last year's first day of rehearsal (though I was able to make a smashing debut as the token ethnic cast member) and in a way I felt like a total newbie today as all of the glamorous stars of past years yucked it up in the lobby and exchanged banter far wittier than anything I had up my sleeve. I stood there three feet small in the dense shadows of Ken Haze, Alexis Baguette, Jeanette Poohich, Steven Fair, Chelsi Jetson, Jacob Johnston, Shannon Musgrove, and Veronica Flores... er... yeah, trying not to say anything stupid or accidentally get myself fired. I kept expecting to burst out of my shell at any moment, but it never happened. As more and more of the work ahead of us was revealed to me I began to feel more and more that my A game, if ever I had such a thing, was going to be needed for this process from beginning to end. We're all originating new characters, new jokes, new dialogue, new music, and new choreography to be performance ready in a matter of five weeks! If it weren't for the success I've witnessed in past years I might have half a mind to bow out now and save myself the embarrassment of looming failure. The artist's around me are too qualified and too savvy though to let anything like that happen obviously. They're a fun bunch. They're a crazy, talented, intelligent  hilarious, fun bunch of vital artist's and I feel so lucky to be working on this with them. 

So... daunting? terrifying? Sure. But I've always been an actor who loves a good challenge, and that leaves me with nothing but excitement.

Also that Chelsi girl totally made out with me today. Score.