Thanksgiving at the the Conner's.

We made our annual visit to the Conner's family home in Stephen's City, VA for Thanksgiving this afternoon. With us this time were Kurt Boehm and Felicia Curry. As is the custom of anytime we go there, a tour of the auction house is mandatory.
I love to pay attention to the signage in the auction house...










In case of lawsuits, I guess they warned you...





















I would LOVE to catch this...
















And these speak for themselves...
























































Felicia thought that all of the decor was charming...























Here at the Conner's Auction, commerce is easy...first you select your purchase and make a bid...



















Go to see the cashier...
















Turn in your number and pick up your item...



















Yes, as you can see here at Conner's Auction, "Selling is so exciting".






















After all of the excitement, you can go pick up a bite at Bil(l)'s Beanery. You can't beat those prices. Still, I am not sure what "nabs" are...

















But don't load up on too much "pop", because lines at the restroom can get a little long...






















Happy Thanksgiving to one and all from the Conner's Auction!

NYC "Bright Lights" Concert Video!

Me, Kurt Boehm and Priscilla Cuellar performing "Dreamland" from Nevermore the Musical written by Matt Conner. This performance took place at the Triad Theatre in New York on September 28th of this year.
Matt Conner is playing the piano.

King of Pizza Workshop

Last night and this morning we had the first open reading of Matt Conner, Ryan Dean, and A.K. Brink's children's musical, Martin, The King of Pizza. We had a couple of days of rehearsal to get it on it's feet.





The cast featured yours truly as Martin the King of Pizza, Kara Tameika Watkins as Patti, Priscilla Cuellar as Mozz A. Rella, Kurt Boehm as Crostini, and Lani Howe as Rosemary.










Music Direction was done by Derek Bowley.







The reading was held at The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in Falls Church, VA. The reading was sponsored by Creative Cauldron and the Pizza was provided by Papa John's Pizza. The readings were well attended and filled with a very responsive audience. There was fantastic positive feedback from all, and I think that the readings were very helpful to the creative team. So look for more news about Martin, The King of Pizza here, and if you have not heard any music from it, you can listen to some over HERE at Matt Conner's website.
Enjoy!

KING OF PIZZA - Reading Number 2

Matt, Ryan, and AK had the second reading of their new children's musical, The King of Pizza at our house tonight.

The show was read by me, Kurt Boehm, Kara Tameika Watkins, Felicia Curry and Priscilla Cuellar.








We all gather around a meal first (pizza, naturally) and chit chatted about everything under the sun as Buddha was frantic beneath our feet for pizza bones...
In attendance but not participating were Danny Tippet, Eleasha Gamble, and Jenny Cartney Speaker...













Buddha was mercenary to all of them, putting on his best pouty face and looking pathetic and malnourished and just being heart breakingly cute...









Now it was time to start....We all gathered in the living room and started to read.

























I think Buddha was thinking about playing the part of the cat, and then decided that he would rather chew a piece of rawhide.











In an unexpected turn of events, one of the songs for the show (we simply listened to pre-recorded songs when it was time for a musical number) was not found on the cd. So we all went downstairs and Kurt Boehm sung the song live. Here is Kurt "selling it". :)

















Buddha went and demanded love and affection from Aunt Jenny...



















The show was fantastic, and so much better shaped this time around. And man is it funny! I will keep you updated on all news with this fun show for kids AND adults whenever something new happens with it. Stay Tuned!
Also, you can always hear and see more at MATT CONNER's website!

Flowing with Flo

My ex-mom Flo Lacey (from One Red Flower at Signature Theatre)is now in town with ACE at Signature Theatre. We met up with her last night at Cap City, and I took a few photos...above we have Matt squared; Matt Conner and Matt Gardiner.








Here is Kurt Boehm with Flo...











Here is all of our group...(including Tracy Olivera, also in ACE)






And finally me and Momma Flo....




We had a great time seeing her, and are glad that she is back here. Go and see ACE at Signature Theatre!

Back on Track

We now have a new computer at home. Our new computer is a used computer, so not new, but newish. It is from Hilary Clinton's campaign, and we got it through a friend who knew she was selling them off cheap and we took advantage of it.
I am glad to be back up and running at home, where I write the best.
I am discovering and uploading photos that I forgot I had. I have been offline at home all summer. Hard to believe.
So...
what is up?
Insomnieoke is over. I loved doing it, but am glad that it is done. I got very naked doing that one. Very naked.
Emotionally, that is.
And somewhat physically, I guess.
Thank all of you for coming, and for coming to Signature's Open House.



It was fun, if not exhausting.

















Fred, Kurt, Matt and I went to see Jerry Springer the Opera tonight.
What a funny show. The cast is great, and I laughed VERY hard.
The problems I had with the show are directed at its book, and the direction the show goes in Act 2. That being said, I still had a great time.

We did quick cocktails pre-show at Playbill, then went and had a blast.
I don't think I have had as much profanity in one day since the last tech rehearsal that I have had.
What's up with me other than that?


I will be performing at Kensington Arts Theatre's Benefit, which in their words "Saturday, August 23rd, will be hosted by and starring KAT favorite Diego Prieto (Side Show, Cabaret, Closer Than Ever, The Rocky Horror Show, Company) and Brad Oscar, who originated the role of Franz Liebkind in the Broadway production of The Producers and received a 2001 Tony nomination for his performance. Brad later succeeded Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock for over 1200 performances on Broadway, on tour, in London, and he originated the role in the Las Vegas production at the Paris Casino. "
Matt and I will be appearing there. I will be singing from One Red Flower and 110 in the Shade. A package of my September Candles will be up for auction there.
Check it out HERE.

Also, On Monday, September 1st, we will be back at Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center for our annual Signature Theatre hour. This time it is a little bit more exciting for me, because it is an hour of totally my husband, Matt Conner's work.
New things that no one has even heard yet.
Here is their take:
"September 1, 2008
Signature Theater presents a showcase of three new musicals by one of The Next Generation–commissioned artists, composer Matt Conner—Crossing, Senior Moments, and Sleepy Hollow (with book writer Hunter Foster)"
You can even watch it LIVE on the day of.
My August Candles are doing VERY well.

The smells are amazing, the design is one of my best, and they are flying off of my shelf.


Get yours at my link over there on the right.
So that is what is up right now. Expect to hear more from me now that I have a computer at home now again. I have missed this.
I have MUCH to share with you.
My 1000th post is like 2 away, so stay tuned.
Thanks for reading, and goodnight (morning?)
NIGHT.
Love,
Steve

Some Shots from the 4th

Here are just a few shots from my friend's yacht on the 4th of July. We had a great time. Pictured are Kurt Boehm, Matt Conner, and me.

Sh*t I like right now...

Our computer is still out of commission and I am about to crawl up a wall. Sorry no recent posts, but it is hard to find time at work to do much on here.
So let's play a quick game of catch up with each other...
My parents paid a visit last weekend, and it was fantastic as always to spend time with them. The time is never enough, of course, and I wish I didn't have to work so much and could take off and see them more, but that's how it goes.
I have been working at the tanning salon and TicketPlace, making candles, and working on my upcoming summer cabaret, entitled Insomnieoke. Details to follow.
The Kander and Ebb Lucy Bowen McCauley show ended on Sunday afternoon, and went very well. I hear that there are great pictures from it, and as soon as I get them, I will share with all of you.


I just finished reading The Alchemist, and I have to say that I thought it was an amazing book that has totally changed my way of thinking. It is a life changing book, and I am so glad to have read it. Kurt Boehm got it for me and Matt for Christmas, and I read it this past week. Thanks so much for sharing that book with us, Kurt! I really loved it.


My last Netflix was:
The Tingler

A real campy treat of a film. I watched it the other night with Kara Tameika Watkins, and we laughed the whole way through. What fun it must have been to be in the movie theatre when the screen goes black and Vincent Price's voice yells,"The Tingler is loose in this theatre - scream - scream for your lives!!!"
*sigh* Good times.





I'm not much on contemporary pop music, but I have to say, I've been really digging Madonna's Hard Candy. Great beats and hooks, and just makes you want to dance. Favorite tracks: 4 Minutes to Save the World, Candy Shop, Give it To Me.



Ok, that's a quickie from me to you. Talk to you soon.
SGS

King of Pizza!

We had a reading of Matt Conner, A.K. Brink, and Ryan Dean's new Children's musical, The King of Pizza last night at our house, and the response was terrific! Felicia Curry, Kara Tameika Watkins, Kurt Boehm, Laura Kelly, A.K. Brink and Nancy Hollenbach were in attendance.
The reading went over very well, and I think that they learned many things from it.
I think that the piece is so adorable, and can't wait to see it fully realized soon (Matt has had meetings with a theatre to be named later that is interested in producing it very soon!).
The evening was fun, and we all ate (of course)pizza as we read the show.
The book and score are very Shrek-ish, as in funny to adults and children at the same time(I love when the old King kicks the bucket). The songs had us all in stitches, as they pastiche all kinds of genres and musical styles (as there are many different ingredients in making a pizza).
It was fantastic to see Ryan Halbrook, A.K. Brink, and Matt Conner's work come off of the page. Highlights were Laura Kelly's hysterical Mozz character who keeps passing out at random between fits of hysteria, Kurt Boehm's Martha Stewart-esque Gardner by the name of Basil, Kara Tameika Watkins' French baker that was played with a Josephine Baker style, and the force of nature that is Felicia Curry as "Patti", a butcher who sells her patties on her Patti Wagon and used to be a star singer. She now belts out numbers on her wagon while trying to sell her wares. All were hysterical, and handled with ease by the very talented cast.
Look for this show which will be equally enjoyable to adults and children very soon!

Memorial Day 2008 - Photos

We had an impromptu barbecue last night, inviting a few folks over sort of last minute to grill out and celebrate with us. I had the best time! It was great to reconnect with Andrew and Katie, always great to see Eleasha and Kara Tameika Watkins, and I believe that most of the Stephen Schwartz Project cast was in my backyard, too!








Matt spent a lot of time working on the yard, and I thought that it looked great!
He even had the idea to bring the downstairs couch outside for more seating options! This proved to be a fantastic idea, as we barely had enough places to sit!









Buddha enjoyed a game of monkey in the middle between Kurt and Laura.












These are some cute shots of Andrew,Katie, Annabell and Eleasha...

















Other Random Party Shots...


We had a great time and I can think of no better of a way to have kicked off Summer 2008!
Thanks for coming!
Luv,
SGS