The Year the Blog Stood Still

Hey guys..Well...it's been a few minutes, hasn't it?
I feel like all I ever do is write catch up blogs after long droughts of posts.  Last time, I was so determined to keep posting, keep going...but then I fizzled out. To be fair, I have focused my laser beams mainly toward the shows that I have been writing with Matt.
I have had the honor to be at Ford's Theatre since early February, performing in Freedom's Song. It has been a fantastic experience, and I will miss the cast, and especially my dressing roommates, Greg Maheu and Kevin McAllister. We have laughed our asses off together almost every single night.  The added bonus of being a part of the 150th Anniversary of the Assassination commemoration was a night I will never forget. Freedom's Song runs till this coming Wednesday, May 20th. As the icing on the cake, I get to be a part of the Ford's Presidential Gala at the end of the month! I love all of my Ford's family!

The Turn of the Screw was received exceedingly well, and will have a cast recording made next month! I can't wait to revisit the gorgeous score of the show, and am very excited to hear it all again.

The next project that we are working on is Monsters of the Villa Diodati. The show focuses on the summer of 1816, when Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Dr. John Polidori, and Claire Clairmont were staying at the Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva. There was a volcanic eruption from Mount Tambor that spring, which caused volcanic ash to obscure the sun in much of Europe.  It is remembered as the "year without a summer". Byron issued a challenge at midnight on June 16th. A contest began to see who could write the most terrifying ghost story. From this challenge, "Frankenstein" and "The Vampyre" were born. I am thrilled to be working on this piece, and we are intending on doing some very cool and experimental things with it. I am very interested in writing about the actual creative process of a writer, as they ponder bringing "life" to their "creature". It is sure to be a very sexy show as well, as they were all a bit on the promiscuous side, being believers of "free love".

We continue to take things one day at a time with Boo. He has good days and bad days. Every day with him is a blessing. He was featured in Nova Dog magazine this past winter.  HERE is the article.
He continues to be the most cantankerous old man that he can possibly be with most everyone except me and Matt. No one ever believes me that he is actually very sweet. lol
He continues to have his acupuncture from our beloved Dr. Jane Morse. He still enjoys pizza crust, cookies, and his dinner.
It's hard to believe that he has been by our side for 12 and a half years. It seems at once like forever, and also the blink of an eye. I clearly recall every second of his puppydom, every moment that I have spent with him ever since. He is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and it's hard to even understand that he won't be with me forever.
So everyone reading this  (you know who you are - the four of you from Guatemala and my Mom), please send positive energy in little Buddha's direction. We need all the love we can get.

The next show that I will be a part of is The Fix over at Signature. I can't wait to work on this piece, because I love the score. I never got to see the last production, so I can't wait to experience the full thing. It is always a joy to go back to Signature, and this is a cast full of old friends, so all in all, a fantastic way to spend the summer!
That all being said, until the next time that I catch up with you 5 readers, I will sign off. I have to get this pug walked (quite the process these days) and get cleaned up before Sizemore picks me up to head in to Ford's.
Talk soon (ish) I hope!
love,
the reluctant blogger
SGS

Rolling Along!

Well...that last post sounded pretty bleak, didn't it? That's the thing about taking care of an ailing pet.  It can drag you down to the deepest depths if you let it. Or you can make a choice to keep fighting and help your fur baby do the same.  And so we have.
Boo started training more in his wheelchair, and after some valiant attempts, we discovered that he needed a four wheel chair instead of two.  He simply lacked the core strength to hold himself up.  We fell into despair for a few days, unable to figure out how to proceed.  We checked the pries of a four wheel chair for dogs, and we clearly couldn't afford one. So, we went to Home Depot and brainstormed together. We bought several pieces, and then brought them to our friend Andrew Fox at Signature Theatre.  He was able to weld on two more wheels for the chair.




I can't ever thank Andrew enough. We brought the chair home and the first day he tried it out, he took eight steps.  The second day, around 15 steps.  On the third day, a miracle happened.  We discovered a female pitbull living around the corner from us, also in a wheelchair. I saw them coming down the street and ran to get Boo and his cart. Needless to say, after seeing another dog in a wheelchair, he understood that this was a thing.  Not just some elaborate torture device.  He took over eighty steps that day.
Soon after, a further miracle happened.  We met yet another dog in a wheelchair.  A dachshund mix named Higgins. We organized a wheelchair dog meetup and the three of them OWNED the sidewalks in Fairlington! Buddha continues to train in his chair every day. He can now walk in his chair without the inspiration of his two buddies. The three of them meet up when schedule allows, but Boo has made it clear that if I fight with him, he will fight as hard as he can.  He is doing as well as he possibly can, and I think this little guy still has some fight in him left. Especially if there is a fine looking black pittbull in a wheelchair walking ten steps ahead.
xoxoSGS

TGIF - 1/11/13

Checking in with everyone here on a Friday morning before I head out to walk dogs. This has been a rabbit hole of a week for both of us. Late last Thursday night, I started to come down with a terrible stomach bug. By Friday morning, it was serious. By Saturday, I wanted to go to the hospital.  By Sunday night, It started to let up a little.  By Monday, I felt something like a human being again. Unfortunately, Monday evening is when Matt started feeling bad.  So the rest of this week has been taking care of Matt as he battles his way out of this mess. I hope that today is the day he finally starts to feel human again. His birthday was yesterday, and what a terrible way to spend your birthday. Buddha, on the other hand, has lived for having us home so much this past week.


Auditions are coming up on Monday evening for my next project.  I am directing Thunder Knocking on the Door by Keith Glover and Keb'Mo at Creative Cauldron this coming spring. I am looking for an all African American, non union cast. Further details available here.  Please let anyone who may fit this know. I first fell in love with the show when it played at Arena Stage in 1998. I have never seen an audience have such a wonderful time in my whole life.  I still haven't.  Nothing that I have seen has set an audience on fire as much as that show.  Here's hoping that I can capture a bit of that fire for my production this spring!



Ok, that's all for now, gotta go walk the puppies, then tend bar at Dreamgirls tonight (here begins closing weekend of the amazing production).  I hope I can catch a nap in-between! 
I'll wake you all up when something exciting happens.
xoxoSGS

Kensington, Cole Porter, Jaylee Mead, Pug Chaises...

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks, but man, I've been a little crazy busy!
Where to begin?
Well, when last I wrote, you see we were missing a Tom for NOTLD at Kensington.  We found one, and the cast was finally announced on my Letters from the Living Dead series over at DCMetroTheaterarts.com - go check the article out over HERE.

Rehearsals have been going well, and I am always excited to get back into the rehearsal room with my awesome cast!


I recently took on another project, which is putting together a Cole Porter review and directing it at Creative Cauldron. The show will feature Carolyn Cole and Sean Thompson, and with that cast and the subject matter, what more could you want?  The show is called Cole Porter: You're the Top!
The show runs from October 5th through the 28th. For more information, click HERE.











The Whorehouse keeps chugging along over at Signature, where tonight we will be dimming the Signature marquee in honor of the passing of Jaylee Mead. Without the Mead's incredible support to Washington Theatre, I can't imagine what this town would have been like, except a lot less lucky.
I also had the distinction of being picked by Peter Marks for an article of 12 Actors that Washington Loves to Watch. For this article, I had a fashion photo shoot by Marvin Joseph that was incredible.  I am, as always, grateful for this and everything else that is happening in my life.  Oh, and also, Buddha has a new chaise lounge. Till later, my friends...

xoxoSGS

Leaving.

We are packing up to leave The Sleepy Dog. It is very sad to me, as I don't know how an entire week has already passed. But soon we will be back in Fairlington, and on to new adventures. I know that Boo had a good time, and is already har core crashing after a fun filled week. See you guys back in Arlington.
xoxoSGS

Pug in Seafoam

Pug with humans

Pug on Raft

Stormy Weather - Part 2

After yesterday's let up in the rain, we got in plenty of pool time, and were tired out by the night.

 However, this morning I woke at 6AM to use the restroom, and decided to check the radar, since the rain was pouring down again, and it looked very ominous outside my bedroom door...

 I pulled up Weather.com and saw this "Special Weather Statement" for my area...

Issued by The National Weather Service
Newport, NC
7:34 am EDT, Thu., Jul. 12, 2012

... SHOWERS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE PAMLICO SOUND AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS...

AT 726 AM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS FORMING OVER THE EASTERN PAMLICO SOUND. A WATERSPOUT WAS REPORTED EARLIER WITH ONE OF THE SHOWERS AND MARINERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR ADDITIONAL WATERSPOUTS.

IF A WATERSPOUT IS SPOTTED NAVIGATE AWAY FROM IT AND SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

Well, after the local weather from the night before, and being the weather geek that I am, I freaked out, woke the husband and dog and went upstairs to try to see the storm come in. I was monitoring radar, and Matt was watching the weather channel, and Buddha was just confused as to whether I was going to walk him, or give him  cookie. When he determined neither was happening, he pouted on the kitchen rug. After about 20 minutes, the storm passed, and no, no waterspouts came near us.

So I made an English muffin, apologized to Matt for being a weather worry wart as always, and we went back to bed. While the rain continued on for hours more, I am happy to show you that my current view from my bedroom door looks far more promising than it did earlier.

Ok, it's up and at 'em time! xoxoSGS

Monday Funday

 In the photo above, we see the pug at lunchtime, sunning himself on the porch before we headed to the beach at 1. As the sand is too hot in the middle of the day, he opted to stay home till evening. So we started our journey...

 I tried to tell Matt that the bus didn't stop here anymore...

 And then we arrived...the water is wonderfully warm.

 Later in the afternoon, Boo joined us, and resumed chasing ghost crabs and barking at the sea.He now lies next to me passed out, along with Matty. Who knew vacations could be so tiring? :)

Till later, xoxoxoSGS, Boo, and Matt

Buddha and the Beach

Two photos of our little beach trip mascot...the first is his waking moments this morning, the second is his morning perch on the ottoman. Needless to say, he is having a great time!


The pictures below are from his first evening here, Saturday night...He has a little color changing light that goes on his harness so he is easy to spot at night. He was chasing ghost crabs and barking at the waves, and generally having the best time ever. He loves being here soooo much.  But then again, who doesn't? We are about to go to the beach for our afternoon swim as Buddha settle down for his afternoon nap. More to come later!