By the way, Houston was a swingin' date!

I wear many hats. I am a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and many other roles have emerged over the course of my 48 years. Other than mother, the role that I most enjoy is "Actor" I guess you could say I have been an actress longer than I have been anything else, except for daughter and sister as those roles were bestowed upon my birth. Actor, however, was a role I chose. A choice I do not regret for a minute! From the time I took my first professional acting job at the age of 10 until now I have had some amazing experiences and wonderful opportunities! I have made some lifelong friends, and it's true what they say, "There's no people like show people!" Yesterday, I ended a 15 week run in a show called Always, Patsy Cline at Barksdale Hanover Tavern. Briefly, the play is based on a true story of a fan, Louise Seger, my character, and her love of Patsy Cline music, and her encounter with her in a Houston Honky Tonk back in 1961. I was cast in this show last fall after attending an Open Call audition. For those of you who don't know, an open call is like a human assembly line. Hundreds of actors are there, and you wait, and wait, and wait until you are called to go in, and then you have a minute to show what you can do. You leave and then wait for the phone to ring. This particular wait was pretty long, and I was sure I hadn't been cast. "Louise" was a role I really wanted for two reasons. ONE: The show was being directed by Joe Pabst, one of those lifelong friends I mentioned above, and one of the finest directors I've ever worked with. TWO: Debra Wagoner was cast as "Patsy" I have known Debra since high school, and she has always had an amazing voice. If I was going to do a show where my character spent a good portion of time listening to someone sing, there couldn't be anyone better than Debra. After doubting myself over and over and, despite the encouragement and positive bolstering up from my girls, still assured I did not get the role, I got the "official" offer. I was through the roof ecstatic!! Over the course of a month we would rehearse and put this show on it's feet. I have to say, I was a little intimidated. Debra had done this show several times before. The other pretty scary thing to a 48 year old's brain was that I had pages and pages of dialogue to learn and most of it in monologue form to the audience (translation: if you forget a line, you're screwed!) I even had myself believing this would be my swan song. I was too old to do this anymore, so much so, that after my kids saw the show, they were mad at me for all the worry I put myself through. Looking back, I was pretty much of a fool. The show opened to great reviews, and through the 15 weeks we played to mostly full houses every night. Debra and I met countless people that stayed after to tell us how much they enjoyed the show, how happy it made them, how much they laughed. As Debra said, "That's what makes this worth it." That's what being an actor is about, entertaining people, bringing them joy. For 15 weeks Thursdays through Sundays, I was honored and privileged to be able to do that. As an actor, there are times when you are on the stage, and you can feel to the very core of your being that magic is happening. Always, Patsy Cline was one of those shows. Yesterday was hard for me. My daughter, who was also Debra's dresser for the show, had to keep reminding me of funny quotes from a movie we both love, Malibu's Most Wanted, as a focus, so that when I made the final speech in the show about the time "Louise" hears the news of "Patsy's" untimely death in a plane crash, I wouldn't melt into a puddle of tears. Luckily, I made it through with those thoughts and constantly telling myself that the show wasn't over, we were just going on hiatus.
I also write this post as a thank you. To my "Patsy", Debra : Thank you for all of the laughs in the dressing room, the encouragement and confidence in me and my talent, the make-up tips, the help with "Pepper" and most of all for the deeper friendship we have formed, and yes I am crying while typing this.
To Joe: You gave me my first featured role in this town back in 2003 when you cast me as "Mother Abbess" in The Sound of Music. You also gave me my first lead that same year as "Charlotte Hay" in Moon Over Buffalo, my favorite role I have ever played (although "Louise" is running a close second.) Thank you for trusting me enough to give me all the roles you have given me over the years, but especially this role as I would be sharing the stage with your wonderful wife. Thank you for always being in my corner and believing in me as an actor!
To everyone else involved in the show on stage and off, thanks for helping make that magic happen every night!
Hope to see you again soon! Love always, Terri Moore!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

I haven't blogged in a while. Things in my life have been a whirlwind! but I couldn't let this event go by without saying something. Last week the world lost an American Icon, Dick Clark. I suppose, depending on your generation, Dick Clark was something different to all of us. I'm sure many of us, myself included, first met Dick Clark on American Bandstand. I watched AB every Saturday at noon. For those of you not familiar, which I cannot imagine that would be anyone, Bandstand was an American show dedicated to promoting rock and roll music of the day. It usually consisted of a studio full of young teens dancing to the latest hits, and a "live" performance (I put live in quotes because I'm pretty sure they always lipsynched to their own recording) by one of the popular recording artists of the day, a spotlight dance and the ever popular rate-a-record, "It's got a good beat, and I can dance to it." The show was hosted by Dick Clark from 1956 until it ended in 1989. He began hosting at the age of 27, but he looked like he was 17. Dick Clark seemed eternally young, ageless. He did so much for music. Many artists, I'm sure, owe him for the explosion of their careers. Others may know him as the host of what began as the $10,000 Pyramid, a game show that paired celebrities with everyday people in a game of describing and guessing with the final round being a pyramid of dollar amounts that if guessed correctly from the clues given and completed, the contestant won $10,000. I, personally, loved this show and watched every day on summer vacation. You might have known Mr. Clark from his co-hosting spot next to Ed McMahon on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes. This was the precursor to Ashton Kutcher's "Punkd" The show usually targeted a celebrity with an elaborate practical joke set up, and the other parts of the show were outtakes from television shows that were currently running. I watched that show too. The fascination with this show was seeing celebrities as they really were. There's really no need for that today with tweets and social media we see celebrities as themselves all the time. Dick Clark also created the American Music Awards, but the one thing that Dick Clark did that I'm sure every reader of this blog has seen at least once was help us ring in the New Year. New Year's Rockin' Eve was born on December 31, 1972. Produced and hosted by Dick Clark, it consisted of a live broadcast of the Madness from Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve. Artists performed each year, but what I tuned in to watch was Dick Clark do the countdown when the ball dropped. I probably spent more New Year's Eves with Dick Clark than my ex-husband.

Dick had a genuineness about him, and unmistakable charm that wasn't phony or put on. It didn't hurt that he was very handsome and stayed handsome all through his twilight years. When he died last week, the headlines read "America's Oldest Teenager" He truly was. He was a pioneer, and did more for TV and music in this country than we will ever know. He spent years in our homes and our hearts, and he will be missed!

It's Friday, but Sunday is Coming!

Looking at my newsfeed on Facebook today, I saw a clip posted of a brief mini-sermon, you could call it, with the title, "It's Friday, but Sunday is Coming!" The speaker was addressing Good Friday. He pointed out all the sad and tragic things that were going on that day in the life of Jesus, but with each phrase he would end with the uplifting, "But Sunday is coming!" No one, except, perhaps, Jesus knew that SUNDAY and all the hope that held was coming. Even the human nature of Jesus on the cross cried to God why He had forsaken Him. Imagine the fear, the despair, the grief of his friends, followers, loved ones. We have the benefit of knowing that Sunday did come! Jesus is alive!! But at that moment when Jesus breathed his last, they all knew it was over. It made me think. How many "Fridays" do we have in our lives? How many times do we feel that all hope is lost, nothing will ever be right again, we are stuck in a vicious downward spiral of despair? When those times come, if we can just remember that Sunday is coming. There is hope! We can survive! We are loved!
Several years ago, I felt like my life was one big Friday. Nothing was going right!!! I was taking a Bible study, and the last part of it was to be in a half day of prayer. This was a little daunting for me. I pray, but I could not imagine spending 4 hours praying. How would I stay focused? I read some suggestions the study had of starting by writing a letter to God. I decided that's what I would do. The day came, and we were holding our prayer day at the home of one of the ladies in our class. We each picked a room in her house where we could be alone. I picked one of the bedrooms. Armed with my Bible and a spiral notebook and pen, I sat down in the small room. I began to write, "Dear God......" and it began to flow. However, you couldn't really call it a prayer. My words were angry and filled with "Why is my life this way?" "Why are you punishing me?" "What have I done to deserve this?", "Why have you left me?" "WHERE ARE YOU?!!" I took a small break in my rant to God and looked up as I was writing. There, spanning the wall, directly across from me was a painting hanging over the bed. It was a painting of a stormy sea with a lighthouse shining it's beacon at one end of the picture. That painting was my SUNDAY. It was what I call a sledgehammer moment. It was just like God saying to me, "Like this lighthouse, I am always here to guide you through the storm. However, you must look for Me." I was humbled. My rant became an apology for my selfishness and anger. Do you have goosebumps yet? It gets better. After our 4 hours of prayer were over, we joined each other in the main room to share what we had experienced. I told my story of the painting. The owner of the house told me that the painting had been under the bed and she had just decided to hang it a few days ago. I believe in signs, messages in all  shapes and forms. I truly believe that God knew I was going to be in that room and needed to send me that message. When I am going through the Friday's of my life, I think of that Lighthouse and know that SUNDAY IS COMING!!!

Totes! Another Rad Rant!

For your Tuesday afternoon, a rant for your reading pleasure. What is it with people taking perfectly legitimate words and shortening them in conversation? Here's a little free advice from me: YOU SOUND LIKE AN IDIOT! For some time now the shortened "totes" for the word "totally" has driven me crazy. Hearing someone utter the word is the proverbial "nails on a chalkboard" for me. I even started a Facebook group once called "Totes is a Company that makes Boots and Umbrellas" If you look up the word "totes" on Dictionary.com, there is no definition that includes the word "totally". Anyone who uses this word, male or female, sounds like they should be standing in a Mall with all of their teenage girlfriends, circa 1980 or you are touring with the road company of "Valley Girl"
The latest word to make it's debut in this atrocious behavior is the word "confirm" You may be thinking "confirm" is a word. Yes, as a verb. I am talking about the dolts who use the word as a noun pronounced (KAHN - firm) with the stress on the first syllable as in "We registered for the event, but we didn't receive a CONfirm." Obviously what they mean is, "We didn't receive a confirmation." What is this obsessive need to shorten real words to make them non-words? Are we, as a culture, so lazy we can't even muster enough strength to use full words in conversation anymore? I guess I'm old school, but I enjoy speaking with someone who sounds intelligent. You could have all the degrees in the world, but the first time "totes" escapes your lips when you're talking with me, a flashing neon sign goes off in my brain, "WARNING: YOU ARE NOW SPEAKING WITH AN IDIOT" So if my eyes begin to glaze over, and I look like I have totally tuned you out, I have.