F*cking Lovely

I realized today that there's less than 2 weeks till Christmas. Not entirely exciting as I have to work both Christmas Eve and Day..but a landmark event none the less. We are doing a special Christmas show for the big day featuring favorite Christmas Carols and spiced up theme park choreography. I'm singing, "Jingle Bell Rock," and I have to admit it's pretty damn fun. It's choreographed so I am center stage and at the end of the number everyone is posed around me jazz hands twinkling, plus Meredith (the fabulous choreographer) even gave me a total show girl moment at the beginning before my 4 boys start dancing with me. Lucky for me I have spent the last...6 years..religiously following America's Next Top Model as well as getting plenty of face time in front of the (my own) camera and all that hard (self absorbed) work is going to finally pay off. I've been training my whole life for this...

The rather obscene title of this blog is infact an homage to a store front I saw on my way to the doctor today...a store called...you guessed it..."F*cking Lovely" (minus the * and + a vowel). The slogan was something along the lines of, "When you want to look....." written in curly black caligraphy across the baby pink store front canopy. Inside were t-shirts featuring an asortment of lacy bows and teddy bears...just one of the many reasons I love South Korea.

Another major reason for my love of this country is that the health care system is truly, "F*cking Lovely." A friend of mine had to have unexpected surgery which landed her in Severnce Hospital..the major international hospital in Seoul. The surgery lasted an hour and a half...her hospital stay lasted 3 days..and her medical bills totaled just over 1,000,000 won..which with the current exchange rate equals out to about $733.00. SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE DOLLARS. Correct me if I'm wrong but you can barely get a week's supply of prescription meds without health insurance for that amount in the states. And I am not talking a 3rd world shack of a hospital. Severance is like 20 floors high..with a lobby the size of an aiport and a food court that rivals a shopping mall's..she had only 1 roommate..a private nurse...and the best OB/GYN surgeon in Seoul. Shut-it-down.

This health care miracle affected me personally today as I was feeling sick and made the trek into Seoul to go to an english speaking doctor reccommended by a friend. I arrived at 1:30 without an appointment (which we all know is code for at least a 3 hour stay in a waiting room full of hacking, gagging, sick people in the US) and was into see the doctor by 1:45. After a quick exam (in a warm, cushioned chair with soft lighting and calming music playing in the back ground) I was back at the check out desk bracing myself for the inevitable three digit bill for the two digit appointment. The exam came to 13,000 won..that's 9 dollars and 50 cents people. I also ended up having 3 seperate medications prescribed which I picked up immediately at the pharmacy across the street with a bill totaling................4,600 won also known as 3 dollars and 37 cents.

Now if that isn't, "F*cking Lovely" I don't know what is.

Penguins' Paradise

My mainstage directing debut at EV, Penguins' Paradise, opened this week. The show is about penguins...go figure...in the arctic who are preparing for the parade of the penguins. During their preparations they throw away all their used "stuff" and the GIANT trash pile blocks the wind and causes the heat to rise. Fortunately...after they become zombie penguins due to the heat...they learn to Recycle, Reduce, Reuse..take down the trash..and return the temperature to normal.

This is by far the biggest undertaking of my artistic career and I'm so very very proud of it. The script..the music..the choreography..were all created here at EV. I designed the set and the rough draft of the costumes which were then created fully by our costume captain here. The set and costumes look almost exactly like what I drew and I have to say that it is an incredible feeling to see the images from my imagination life sized and on stage.

I have been married to this show for the last 3 months starting with my directing interview, auditions, rehearsals, power point, underscoring meetings, sound cues, props meetings, music meetings, set meetings, costume meetings, lighting meetings, photo shoots, tech week, dress tech, and finally the opening which was Tuesday afternoon. My joy and pride in how the show turned out was overwhelming. It'll run for 3 months here at EV and I will actually be understudying two of the roles and getting to spend almost 3 weeks in the show as well.

I videoed some of the scenes and put them on youtube so if you want to take a look here are the links..it's not the whole show...i'll try to video more and put up the remaining stuff as i have the time. Enjoy!!

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=-s33mG2UwXk

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=4QOlARBhPzk

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=o52NENsrMvk

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=AQVCDqC4pPU

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=UYSB3iMspes

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ZmiKRtL38

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=wNRfDgmpvxU