Billy Mays isn't here anymore....

Just Yesterday I was involved in conversation about the famous Pitchman...
I can't believe he's freaking dead!
Tahrea has a new Rule: NO MORE DYING FOR THE SUMMER!
All celebrities must live til September.
That's it.
Seriously.
At least all of the interesting ones.
First, three MAJOR icons in the TV and music industry.
Now, a beloved spokesman.
Who's next?
Seth MacFarlane?
Harrison Ford?
Oprah?
Jeez...
At this rate, we're going to be left with all the non-talented and un-funny celebs.
And who wants that?!?!?!?

AUGH!
Stop with the dying, already.

Costume Malfunction of the delightful kind

I promised Danielle I would post this picture a couple of weeks ago, and she reminded me of it last night.
THIS, my dears, is a typical case of costume gone OH so wrong.
On the 13th, I hopped over to Groveport for a little function where in I would help promote Rosebriar and all its constituents.
The above mentioned function was the opening of the new children's Center in Groveport, and there were a variety of different people and characters there, including but not limited to Smokey The Bear.
Ol' Smokey didn't appear until we, the Rosebriar Gang, were heading home.
SO, seeing THIS image as we walked out the building caused quite a stir amongst we ever so mature thespians.

Moral of the story: When attending a function or event involving children, PLEASE be sure your outfit/costume doesn't sag in all the wrong places.

:o)

MJ and Farrah... RIP

I felt so strange when I thought about this:
Michael Jackson died.
You never think about these things until they happen, you know?
You almost expect these people to live forever, that they'll be around for your children and other future members of the world to recognize and follow (or despise), and MJ was definitely a staple in the music community.
Everyone knows who Michael Jackson is/was.
When discussing a celebrity of that caliber, you don't need to explain who you are talking about.
And now, I suddenly realize that when I have a kid or my little cousins get older, if/when they hear one of his songs, are ask who he is, it'll be a past-tense explanation.
How strange.
And no disrespect to Farrah.
She was an Icon, though for different reasons.
I really admire that she publicly suffered with the cancer, not hiding it like so many celebrities tend to do.
And it took courage, especially for someone who was made famous for being a sexual Icon, so to speak.
When I heard of each of their deaths, I couldn't help but silently prayed that, in their final moments, all was well between them and God.

It has been a strange week for us all.

RHPS nerd-dom

Things I Learned From RHPS:

Billboards do not belong in cemeteries.
Sluts cannot read.
Transvestites are easily mistaken for vampires.
The secret to life is sno-cone flavoring.
It is difficult to tell the difference between your lithe girlfriend and a hairy transvestite.
Never piss off the guy holding an electric knife.
Do not piss off the same guy if he is indiscriminately turning people into stone.
Fishnet stockings cure paralysis.
Rainbows are caused by antigravity drives.

I may be a total dork, but I am so happy to have finally found a website that lists the RHPS audience call backs/outs...
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/rockyhorror/audience/audience_pg01.html

Contemplations.....

As usual, I find myself on the brink of yet another audition.
Rosebriar will be holding auditions for Taming of The Shrew.
As I know only a little of this show and all that is involved, I must, once again, delve deeply into my Complete Works of Shakespeare and figure out what's going on.
As of right now, I know this much.
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/summary.html
I will learn more as time goes on.
For now, my main theatrical focus, obviously, is Wizard of Wonderland.
Luckily, auditions should take place in late July, early August, after the children's production is over.
In the meantime,I shall attempt to gather up enough information to familiarize myself with the story and the script to secure some sort of thought process as to who the heck all these people are, and for whom I would like to audition.

But now, alas, to work I go.........

BCTCo’s “FUNNY MONEY” lives up to its title

Bread and Circus Theatre Company opened this past Friday with Ray Cooney’s baudy and very British Funny Money, directed by Manny Flowers. The cast is led by Howard Carpenter and Jessica Russell, who play Henry A. Perkins and his wife, Jean, a couple who has accidently found themselves with a grand fortune. The true hilarity starts when Henry reveals to Jean that the money isn’t really his.
Don’t be thrown by the obvious age difference between Carpenter and Russell; they do a wonderful job together as the Perkins couple, working well off each other and the rest of the cast. Audience members will be delighted by Carpenter’s animated facial expressions and gestures throughout the show, always sharing Henry Perkins’ true emotion. Russell does a splendid job as Jean Perkins, who becomes more jumpy and hysterical with each turn of events.
This reviewer was pleased with the supporting cast, each playing their roles and continuing the farcical humor with every line and action. Mony Carpenter and Keith Maloney add several doses of humor and mishaps to the story as Betty and Vic Johnson, who come to celebrate Henry’s birthday and, instead, find themselves thrown into the money mix-up and hysterical happenings. The plot continues with the separate entrances of Detective Sergeants Cecil Davenport (Ralph Butts) and Reginald Slater (Dwight Shumway), both trying to get to the bottom of their own investigations. Butts does a great job as the jokester Davenport, getting his own share of laughs from the audiences. Shumway’s exaggerated accent and facial expressions positively add to Slater’s no nonsense and quickly exasperated personality. Another role that is sure to render laughs is Bill, the quick-witted Taxi Driver, potrayed by Aynn Kilburger Titchenal, who obviously isn’t afraid of a little gender-bending. The last character to emerge onstage is the long anticipated Mister Big. Though his time onstage is short-lived, Albert Vest’s Big does well in striking fear into the other character’s and adding the final plot twist to the production.
This production takes place within and around the Perkins household in present day London suburbs. Action centers mainly in the living room of the Perkins household, which is simply furnished. One might be a bit surprised to find that the walls of this set aren’t the typical theatre flats, but long sections of patterned fabric. Also surprising, especially for a farce, is the lack of actual doors, a move intentionally made by Flowers and Set Designer Mimi Ferrari-Ninde. This aspect of the set may give off a slight funky, cartoonish vibe, but certainly doesn’t detract from the goings-on of the production, though some movement (blocked or not) and set pieces do create for several moments of up-staging and uncomfortable positioning for the actors during the show.
One mishap this reviewer picked up on was the slightly inconsistent British accents, which is not an uncommon problem with community theatre. With that, certain lines were a bit incoherent or garbled in attempts to do accents. Fortunately, these are certainly not major problems and are overshadowed by the fine acting and the hilarious script. Running just over two hours, FUNNY MONEY proves to be a truly great production of which all BCTCo members should be proud.
If you missed opening weekend, you are in luck! Funny Money continues on June 26th, and 27th at 8 PM, in the all-new Harmony Artistic Center, 3979 Parkway Lane, in Hilliard.
Tickets are $12 for Adults and $10 for students. For more information, call 614-470-4895, or check out www.bctco.org



This reviewer only found a few minor drawbacks within this production: Several moments of upstaging and inconsistent accents.

Epic fail....

see more Fail Blog

Uh-oh, she's ranting about texting (so you know it's good.)

I love texting.
Everyone who knows me has seen me text several times before.
They also know that it's my main mode of communication.
In my book, if you're debating between texting or calling me, always text (first, at least.)
I love it.
Unless you text me when I'm asleep.
Then, I'm totally NOT in love with either texting or the person who sent me the message.
SO, I feel I must lay down a rule or two.
(This may be a rant.)
Now, one may wonder, "Tahrea, if you don't want people calling and texting you while you are asleep, why do you have your phone around or even on?"
Good question.
My mother, and up until last week my father, works 3rd shift, which means she doesn't get home until 6:30, 7:00 am every morning.
I keep my phone on in case of emergency.
(Don't question my reasons...)
Now, rule of thumb is this:
I usually wake up around 8:30, 9:00 am everyday.
When I receive a message at 7:30 am and it wakes me up (and trust me, it does), I tend to get a little heated.
Especially if the night before wasn't full of rest and pleasant dreams.
The problem is when the phone goes off and wakes me up, I automatically think it's the alarm.
When I reach for the phone and realize in the process that the phone whistled instead of the obnoxious alarm, meaning someone sent me a message and shook me awake, I get especially aggravated.
I really lose my mind if the message contains a innocuous note that could've wait at least a couple of hours.
I have a few friends who get to bed around the same time I'm getting up, or maybe earlier, much like mom.
To them I say if you want to text or even call me, wait til you wake up in the afternoon or evening, when we are BOTH awake, to contact me.
ARGH.
All the same rules apply if you, GOD forbid, decided to call me.
Trust me...
If you don't want to find yourself on my daily scorn list, don't bother me until after....... 9 am.
It's a good rule by which to live.

Who wants a rant????

Lately, business has been picking up at the Table, which is awesome.
So much so that we have an extra server on the lunch shift to help man the chaos that often ensues.
Except Mondays.
Like today.
I woke up today feeling a bit under the weather and almost considered calling off, yet something told me I had better not.
When I got to work, Jen informed me that we had a significant reservation at 11:30 for about 15 people, and that we were going to set them up in the back dining room.
As we began the lunch, the dining room quickly filled with folks and Ben prepared the back for the expected group, as he was their designated server.
11:30 came and went.
No group.
Come 12:15, a couple of people began trickling in.
In a matter of 10-15 minutes, it became clear that the group well exceeded the originally established number of 15.
(Ben later guessed about 20+ people)
He then said I was to man the dining room, with Jen's help, so that he could properly accomodate the group.
Not a problem.
Then things got hairy...
The lunch rush surged with no signs of relent, and Ben was rushrushrushing to disperse drinks to the ever restless group in the back.
THEN came the lunch orders.
Buuuuuurrrrrrrrr.....
Not only did all of them order some combination of the unlimited lunch special, but several of them had "special request/modifications" to their meals.
As Jen and I tried to keep the dining room to a minimal amount of chaos, and the kitchen staff strived to chucked out the plates of food as we were keying them in, Ben approached the computer to begin the 3 to 5 minute period in which he had to key in all of the food orders for his group.
Along with the special request/modifications, mind you.
(OH, and keep this in mind:
Shortly after they arrived, they quickly informed Ben that they had to be back to their place of work by 1:30.)
I'm pretty sure the kitchen staff began to pray and swear when they realized they were about to be UBER slammed.
Now, usually the kitchen staff, much like any kitchen staff (I assume), approaches each ticket in the order they are received.
Sometimes if it's slower, they can juggle multiple tickets.
UNFORTUNATELY, this was not the case, and this large group's order completely monopolized the kitchen and all its contents, leaving the rest of the restaurant to wonder where the hell their food was.
This led to Jen and I flitting about, refilling drinks, practically hysterical, trying to keep everyone happy, and assuring them that their food was "only a few minutes away."
Ha.
I also completely just told the truth whenever possible and explained that the large, inconsiderate group in the back was completely monopolized the kitchen and no one else was going to get their food for a good while.
Of course, it was worded MUCH nicer, since I wanted to keep my job...
THEN, after they got their food and were able to eat, they wanted to re-ordered.
Somehow or another, their re-orders quickly became To-Go.
I'm assuming it was because they had to leave for their 1:30 thing.
More monopolizing.
More diners waiting.
SOOOOO many To-Go containers.
Jen looked pissed.
Ben looked like he was going to cry.
I was ready to collapse.
Once they all left, Ben recounted us in a conversation he had with one of the women in the group.
Apparently, the woman remarked on the "poor Service" and couldn't believe we didn't have more servers on.
Ben, as nicely as he could, reminded her that they had made the reservation for only15 people and that, had they given us the correct amount, there would've been three servers.
He was also nice enough NOT to mention the fact that they showed up later than expected, right in the middle of our lunch rush.
:o/
Jen and I were horrified to find that the majority of those people didn't even tip him.
We were all a bit heated about that one.

It was a pretty tragic day, to say the least.
And to think...
I almost called off today...