It's an honor just to be nominated!

When people hear those words, their first reaction is usually, "Yeah! Right!", but in my case, they really are true! Earlier this week the official word came out from the RTCC (Richmond Theater Critics Circle) of this years nominations for the "Artsies" as they've come to be called. The Artsies are the Richmond equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards. Each October for the last 4 years, Richmond's theatre community shows up in their fanciest duds to celebrate the previous season with an awards ceremony. It is always a fun time, and as an actor I love getting dressed up and seeing all of my friends that I have worked with past and present. Best of all the money from ticket sales goes to the Richmond Theatre Artists Fund established to help those in the Richmond theatre community who fall on hard of times due to illness, injury, or extenuating circumstances. I'm always excited to see when the nominations come out, but this year I was particularly invested because I have spent the better part of 2012 involved with a wonderful show called "Always, Patsy Cline" produced by Barksdale and a re-mount under the Va-Rep banner. I play the character of "Louise Seger" a devoted fan of "Patsy Cline" played wonderfully by the fabulous Debra Wagoner. "Louise" is a character I could probably play for the rest of my life as long as I could walk. Every moment on stage has been pure joy for me! I am so proud of our little show and everyone involved! That feeling, and having the extreme luck to be working as an actor would be enough for me. I got my first paycheck as an actor at the age of 10. I have been doing this for almost 39 years. I'm not famous. I'm not a millionaire. I love it, and that's why I do it, and every once in a while something comes along, like this show, that makes all the running around and working a regular job all day and going to rehearsal for another 4 hours worth it. This show was one of those. So in that alone, I count myself extremely blessed! Then, this past Tuesday, I saw the link on Facebook to Dave Timberline's Theatre Blog announcing this year's nominees. As I read the list, I saw Debra's name first. So happy and proud! She works her ass off every night singing 27 songs in one show. Well deserved! then I get down to the Best Supporting Actress Category, and I see my name. I was floored and soooo happy. When you are proud of the work you put into a role, and the way a show comes together, it is so nice to see someone else say, "I like it too! Good job!" That's what the nomination says to me. 
There is a story about Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier when they were working on the film, Marathon Man. Hoffman asked Olivier, "Why do we do this?" (acting) Olivier replied, "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!" That might not be every actor, but it's certainly this one. I enjoy being on stage in the spotlight. I like it when I deliver a line, and the audience laughs. I like taking a bow and hearing the applause. All of those things make it worth it for me, but just once in a while, it's nice to know that somebody "looked" at me and thought I did a good enough job to be recognized for it! 

He didn't just sing in the rain.

I remember sitting at the dining room table having a discussion with my then father-in-law, and the subject of Gene Kelly came up. He said that he couldn't stand Gene Kelly because all he ever did was that one dance in "Singing in the Rain" every time he was on television. Spoken like a person whose only exposure to the glorious movie musical was the little tidbits that were trotted out on Variety shows of the day, all of Gene Kelly's amazing career put into an edited, scaled down version on a 27 inch screen or smaller. I had to disagree with my father-in-law. Gene Kelly was not just this guy who danced around and sang in the rain. Was he an exceptional dancer? Yes, but he was so much more. He was a director, choreographer, actor, singer and don't even get me started on his athletic prowess. Today would have been Gene Kelly's 100th birthday, and I was listening to a story on NPR. Mr. Kelly said once in an interview, "If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I'm the Marlon Brando." If you watch any of Gene Kelly's dance sequences in any of his films, that certainly rings true. They are filled with athletic leaps and rolls and slides. At times you watch, and it is incomprehensible how a human could do what he is doing. I remember long ago seeing a clip of him dancing on the thin two by fours of the frame work of a house. No stunt double, no wires, just Gene Kelly being  nimble on his feet and mastering control of the way his body moved. It's astonishing. He did his own stunts in many movies. When you watch that clip, you can't believe the risk. One of the neatest things about living in the age of technology that we do, you can pull up almost anything on your computer in a matter of seconds and see it. A few years ago someone posted a link to this clip of Gene doing a dance on Roller skates. I'm lucky if I can stand on roller skates, he's tap dancing. When you watch it, there are several things that he does that if most normal people were doing them, they would land flat on their fanny. He stays upright and makes it look like he was born with roller skates on his feet.I am sure that every TV appearance Gene Kelly ever made they asked him to do "Singin' in the Rain" He was probably sick of it himself, but he was a true entertainer, and he gave the people what they wanted. Watch any of his films, and you can see he was about making people happy. And to all the haters out there of that famous dance number in the pouring rain, it's a classic. It's well done, and, by the way, when he shot that he had a fever of 103. How many of you could have performed that way with a raging fever? I love Gene Kelly and always have! Thank God his work is preserved on DVD! Because unlike my father-in-law, I can watch Mr. Kelly do that number over and over again!

Eating less Chikin

So, I know this one is going to get me in hot water, but here goes. Yesterday, August 1st, was "Support Chick-Fil-A Day" This was decreed by Mike Huckabee in response to the call to boycott the restaurant chain after Dan Cathy, president and COO, made some statements in a radio interview about "traditional" marriage. People swarmed to the restaurant yesterday in droves to show their support. Well, this girl wasn't in the Drive-thru line yesterday, and let me tell you why. First of all, I'm going on record right now as saying, I love God! I love Jesus! I believe as a member of the group called Christians, that God and Jesus love me, and that Jesus is the Son of God, and he was crucified and died on the cross to save me from my sins, so put away your pitchforks and torches. I hesitated typing the word "Christian" because those zealots from Westboro Baptist Church also call themselves "Christian," and I am definitely not in the same group as them! Many of my friends were at Chick-Fil-A yesterday, and that was their choice and their right to spend their money the way they see fit. I do not condemn them for attending, I'm sure, what they thought was a stand for Christianity. I'm not sure how much money was made yesterday, but apparently a world record was set. That's what I want to talk about, the money! I have heard for well over a year that Chick-Fil-A had ties to groups who are anti-gay. I still went to Chick-Fil-A. The franchises are individually owned, and I didn't think it was fair to punish the "Mom and Pops" who own the individual restaurants because of a stance the Corporation has. In much the same way, I felt for the owners of the independent gas stations who sold Exxon gas when people were boycotting them because of the oil spill. Their livelihoods and the financial support of their families was being threatened because of something they had no control over. I still visited Chick-Fil-A once a week, at least, sometimes more, even when a lot of my friends were saying I shouldn't be giving them my business. Chick-Fil-A has great food! It's always fresh, and the customer service is unmatched! You have no argument from me on that point. I continued to be a loyal patron! Then, about two weeks ago, Dan Cathy gave an interview to the Baptist Press where he addressed the Biblical principles the company is based on. I read the interview. There is nothing in it that actually says that Chick-Fil-A is anti-gay. Here is the part of the interview that addresses the issue of marriage:
              Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."The above statement brought down a firestorm of comments, videos, and campaigns from the LGBT community and it's supporters to boycott the chain. I have decided not to spend my money at Chick-Fil-A anymore, but not because a group told me not to. All the press made me do my own research, look up what was really said and mostly where my money was going. I will not address every group that I looked up, but this one statement from one group that received money from Chick-Fil-A, my money, I am sad to say, was enough to make me say, okay, I just don't want to spend my money there if this group is being supported. The group is called The Family Research Council. This is their statement on homosexuality:
                 Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed.  It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects.  While the origins of same-sex attractions may be complex, there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn. We oppose the vigorous efforts of homosexual activists to demand that homosexuality be accepted as equivalent to heterosexuality in law, in the media, and in schools. Attempts to join two men or two women in "marriage" constitute a radical redefinition and falsification of the institution, and FRC supports state and federal constitutional amendments to prevent such redefinition by courts or legislatures.   Sympathy must be extended to those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attractions, and every effort should be made to assist such persons to overcome those attractions, as many already have. 

I'm no scholar, but I'm pretty sure that's blatant discrimination! So, just on the chance that my money went to this group alone, forget all the others, I decided to stop spending my money there. Now to address the issue that I know is going to open a flood gate, Yes, I'm a hypocrite. There's a picture circulating of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka appearing that he is making this statement:

Have I stopped spending my money with Chick-Fil-A? Yes. Have I stopped putting gas in my car? No. Why the difference? If I'm going to make a stand for one, I should make a stand for all, right? Well, in theory, yes, I should. But we all know that it would be near impossible for me to make a living without a car, and without gas my car would not run. I guess I feel that I could not live without gasoline, as disturbing as being dependent on OPEC is, and I can live without waffle fries and a chicken sandwich. This is one place I can exercise my right and control where a little bit of the money I spend, and I stress the term "little bit", goes and is used. If that makes me a hypocrite then "guilty as charged"

I know Chick-Fil-A does a huge amount of good. They give millions of dollars to scholarships, and foster care and international ministry. Yay for them! I'm all for them giving money to "strengthen the family" Pass some over to this single mom who struggles everyday to keep her family fed and clothed because her "traditional" marriage fell apart. Shockingly gay couples wanting to be recognized legally in committing to a lifetime of love and devotion and caring for each other as married had nothing to do with it. You're right, Dan Cathy, marriage is in trouble in this country, but my homosexual friends who want to be together and have the same rights as my heterosexual friends under the law have nothing to do with it. Bottom line is I don't hate Chick-Fil-A. I don't hate anyone who went to Chick-Fil-A yesterday. I'm not even telling you that you can't spend your money there. I'm just explaining to you why I'm not.