35 Days and Still Gushing

My Ladies

I went to see the second to last performance of Little Shop of Horrors at Ford's Theatre yesterday afternoon. As many of you may know, the 3 Doo Wap girls were played by my dear friends, [left to right in photo] Felicia Curry, Kara Tameika Watkins, and Eleasha Gamble. They were utterly fantastic! I was so proud of them, and you should have heard how these girls SOUNDED singing with each other. It was amazing. And if there are any theatres listening - THEY are your DREAMGIRLS. Just saying.
The three of them finished the show last night and are off on a vacation together. I wish them sun, fun and good times after a long and successful run. GREAT JOB LADIES!!!!
XOXOXOXSGS

Image of the Week

yummmmmm.

Lunch and Dinner today. Lemon pepper chicken cooked in an army of sliced limes.

DELICIOUS.

Cow Crossing

A few weeks ago Bligh, Chris and Matt and I took a visit down to where his parents and family live in Stephen's City, VA. I have been there many times, but this was a first for me. While driving up his brother's driveway, I saw that his brother's cows were out. They were literally right next to the driveway. I naturally got the camera out and started taking pictures. We had a great time, and there were many friends and family members there, since it was the weekend of Winchester's Apple Blossom Festival. Good times. And livestock. All in one day trip. Hard to beat that.

The Worst Ecological Disaster in American History

I don't know about you guys, but this oil leak is really upsetting me. I think that many of us see the footage on TV and think, "Wow - that looks bad", and then go along their way without thinking about it again until you hear it mentioned again. I have to admit, I am guilty of the same thing. But I am aware that this is not just a spill that you clean up and then everything is back to normal. This oil, as you know continues to leak into the Gulf waters, and the eco-system will suffer from this more than we even are capable of knowing right now. I think what really brings this home the most to me is watching this Live Feed streaming video from the leak source. If you click HERE you can see LIVE video of the oil as it is spewing out into the sea. It is terribly disturbing.

PACMAN's 30th Birthday!

Today is Pacman's 30th birthday, and to celebrate it, Google is letting you play Pacman on it's main screen all day! Just go to GOOGLE and click the button under the search bar that says "Insert Coin". I've been playing it for like the past 20 minutes! Full story HERE. Enjoy!

Hey Jupiter...

One of Jupiter's cloud bands has dissappeared...again. Weird things are happening everywhere, apparently. Of course, the below Tori Amos video is just a song that says the word "Jupiter" in it a bunch of times, not a video detailing the real story. The full story can be read HERE.

UPCOMING: ARRRRRRRGGGGHHH

I will be choreographing this children's show at Imagination Stage! More details to follow, but here is the show info. Tickets are available HERE.

How I Became a Pirate
June 23-August 15, 2010

Imagine Jeremy Jacob’s surprise when he’s accosted on the beach by a motley crew of pirates. They need a digger to bury their treasure and Jeremy, clutching his little sand spade, is recruited. At first, the pirate life is all fun: swabbing decks, counting ducats and singing shanties. But when night falls, Jeremy gets no bed time story and no tucking in. And when there is a storm, they get very wet! At last, Jeremy comes up with a novel idea which both pleases the pirates and allows him to return to his “regular” life in time for his next soccer practice. A light-hearted summer musical romp!

Enjoyed by ages 4 +
Adapted by and Lyrics by Alyn Cardarelli

Music by Steve Goers

Based on the book by Melinda Long, illustrations by David Shannon

Directed by Paul McEneaney
Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 & 4:00

Tuesday-Friday at 10:30

Sign-interpreted performance July 18 at 4:00

Oklahoma Hail Storm of May 16th

This is the WORST hail I have ever seen. And at baseball sized, you would probably be killed if you walked out into it. This storm season has been incredibly violent so far. It is truly shocking.

Tornado forms in front of a car in Raleigh, NC

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a21_1272449856

Breaking News - Ohio Valley Tornado Outbreak predicted for tomorrow.

From Dr. Greg Forbes of the Weather Channel -

FRIDAY. Severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak in a limited area: IN, OH, west PA and NY, south MI. Could be some early-day hail in IL. Could be a strong tornado in OH, west PA.

And the Storm Watch continues...

So it's been about a week since I updated, as Brandon so cutely pointed out in his comment on the post below. lol. My parents made it there fine, and now are on their way back, and staying at my Aunt Gloria's for the next night or two.


Aunt Gloria lives in Cleveland.


TWC came out with Friday's Tor:Con probability chart today. Here it is...


Yes, that's a 7 out of 10 (ten being the highest) for Northern Ohio.
I swear these storms follow my parents around.
Here is how TWC lists it's number probability charts, fyi:

10: Near 100% chance of a tornado within 50 miles (we'll call that "area")
8: High probability of a tornado in area
6: Moderate probability of a tornado in area
4: Low probability of a tornado in an area; hail and high winds in t-storms likely
2: Unlikely to have a tornado, but hail and high winds in t-storms possible
0: Near-zero chance of a tornado or severe t-storms in area.

So my parents risk in this area is somewhere between Modeate and High. I will keep my watch up tomorrow, and fill you in as more becomes known tomorrow. This looks like a highly explosive weather scenario for the Ohio Valley, and let's hope it is not half as bad as Dr. Greg Forbes seems to think it will be - as he was saying earlier today that the possibility of not only tornadoes, but perhaps a LARGE tornado to touch down in the Ohio Valley is high. Details to follow.

sgs

Eyes to the Skies...

Indication map is for tomorrow's probabilities for Severe Weather...

This is from the Jackson, MS HWO.
Quote:
DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY...FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES. ALL AREAS OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE BEST CHANCES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR WEST AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM BROOKHAVEN TO MERIDIAN WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL EXPECTED OVER THE DELTA REGION FROM NATCHEZ TO GRENADA..


SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS MAY BE NEEDED FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

With my parents starting a road trip to Peoria, Illinois tomorrow, I will be monitoring this situation carefully.

The Weather Channel's severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes says the next several days could be stormy.

UPDATED at 4:07PM: Dr. Forbes' updated areas of risk for tomorrow are not as advanced to the East as before, probably due to the large high pressure system in the Northeast pushing it back.

Here is their map for today's risk areas.

Stay tuned.

xoxosgs

Image of the Week

Buddha doesn't like his gourmet dinner. But his "avatar" does.

AVATAR

I watched the film, Avatar for the first time, and found it utterly amazing. The creativity flowing through this film was awe inspiring, and the thought that this ENTIRE WORLD was created in someone's head was truly breath taking.
The metaphors in the film are so very right beneath the surface, and you can feel them from the onset. This is an alien movie in which you root for the aliens instead of your own race. One part Pocahontas, one part Dances with Wolves, and one part Jurassic Park, this film delivers on so many levels, and features the always amazing Sigourney Weaver.
If you are one of the few who have avoided the film or not seen it because blue people turn you off, I strongly recommend that you reconsider. It is an amazing film that I did not want to like, but have ended up LOVING.

TGIF

Hey all - WHEW! Busy day - had a callback for a straight play at a very cool and hip downtown theatre this morning, and it went very well. Then went and recorded 6 songs for a composer friend, then went to the gym, then went to do Many Moons at Falls Church Art Space. Very long day.

To the left is a picture of Sean with his dogs, Lady and Albert, along with Buddha. He has been back in the area of late, as Phantom is now in Baltimore. It has been nice as always to see him and spend time with him, and I miss him so very much.

Buddha misses the dogs, and that much is certain. Albert and he go WAY back and Lady is pretty much his new girl.

In other news, this is the last weekend of Many Moons at Falls Church Art Space. We have 2 shows tomorrow - at 2pm and 7:30pm, and 2 shows on Sunday - at 2pm and 4pm. Please come and see this adorable show. It only runs about 35 minutes, and tickets are a mere $10.

Visit www.creativecauldron.org for details.

After this show closes, the next time you will be able to catch me onstage is in a DC Fringe Festival show entitle Claudio World. The premise is a video game musical that mirrors Super Mario Brothers, and I am the Mario, Sam Ludwig is the Luigi, and Lauren Williams is the Princess. This is a multimedia piece, and the script is hysterical. More details will follow as they become available to me. Also forthcoming are photos from the Parade reading and rehearsals.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will chat with you soon!

xoxo

SGS

Parade

I had the pleasure of spending my past week participating in a workshop of Jason Robert Brown's Parade at Ford's Theatre. Ford's is looking to produce the show, and wanted to rehearse a group of actors on the piece for a week and present it to some of the theatre's donors to get feedback on the possibility of producing the piece, which had a limited run on Broadway and a brief tour afterwards. This piece has always been a favorite of mine, and the chance to work on this amazing score was impossible to resist. The cast was made up of what we like to call most of the "Usual Suspects" i.e. - Eleasha Gamble, Tom Simpson, Chris Bloch, Amy McWilliams, Lauren Williams, Bligh Voth, Chris Sizemore, among others.

Leo was portrayed by Steve Rosen, and Lucille was played by Jill Paice - both of who are NYC based.

I had the pleasure of playing Britt Craig, the news reporter who starts the sensationalism of the trial via his columns in The Atlanta Georgian.

Parade is based on the true story of the murder of Mary Phagan, and the subsequent trial and lynching of Leo Frank in Atlanta, circa 1915.

The story is very grim material for a musical, some might argue, but I think that it is an important story to be told, and the musical does it so very well. It is truly an American Opera.

The reading went great, and time will tell if the piece gets the go ahead or not, but there seems to be a great deal of excitement around it.

xoxo

sgs

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Sorry everyone! Life is a little bit crazy right now - I have not posted much because of this. I am teaching in 3 Fairfax County schools, just choreographed "High School Musical" for Rockville High School, I am doing James Thurber's "Many Moons" at Falls Church Art Space - (see below), am bar tending at Signature, working at Ticketplace (sometimes), and doing a workshop of "Parade" at Ford's Theatre this week. So a very busy man am I. And this is also audition season here in DC, so there has been plenty of that, and ongoing.
More updates will follow soon, as many things are forthcoming - including me doing a DC Fringe show for the first time...stay tuned!
XOXOX
SGS