DNA and CABARET!

Hey there, all!
Man, it has been a busy time, and it has been awesome 🧡. 
I started the month with a week of background work for a television show I cannot name at this time, but I had a great outfit and met some fabulous people on set. They may have been long days, but when you share it with fun people, it makes it all the easier to pass that time.
Right after that, (DURING even) I went into rehearsals for one of my favorite projects, The Prospect Theatre Lab. Each year, music theatre writers are chosen to write short original musicals based on a theme. This year's theme was "Caption This". The writers got to choose from a collection of photos and go from there. The inimitable Amy Englehardt, who I have known since she became a regular guest of No Name Presents: The Uptown Cabaret, chose a photo of one boy and two middle aged men in Annie costumes. The resulting show: "Annie Dream Will Do", about a middle-aged woman named Andrea still dreaming of playing Annie, while her best friend, Sandy (yes, my character was named after the dog in Annie, and there were many other hilarious references) is trying to help her move on. I got to work with one of my best friends, the stupidly talented Doug Shapiro, (surely, you've heard of Doug Shapiro!), finally get to work with the fabulous Dana Aber, as well as meet and be in awe of Sammy Hahn. (And I also got to explain cassette tapes and cassingles to her.) I have to say that this was one of most fun projects I've worked on to date. Thank you, Dev Bondarin, Cara Reichel and everyone at Prospect Theater for this opportunity. 
Next up: The DNA Play. Back in 2020, my friend and fellow Emerson alum, Nicole Jesson contacted me about working on a project with a couple of her grad school friends, Elizabeth June and Malini Singh McDonald. It could be over Zoom and maybe grow into something else. 
Well, last year, we realized we had something else and we did a reading of this project, then called "Insert Name", sharing our stories of DNA tests and family histories. This year, we worked on it some more and brought it back before an audience 11/27 to record it and...it looks like we still have a thing! I will you all posted on how it evolves and progresses. 
In between the background work and Caption This, I got to be a guest star along with cabaret icon Karen Mack at Sue Matsuki's fabulous and warm cabaret open mic at Pangea. Sue does such a great job making a safe space for both established and emerging cabaret artists, and is such a force for good in the biz herself, it was an honor to be able to sing there that afternoon.
So what's next? 
*12/11 No Name...And A Bag O' Chips will be returning to a live show at last! I'll be singing and playing drums "behind the funny" once again. HUZZAH!
*12/15 Speaking of things returning to live performance, Madison Avenue Baptist Church's Christmas Extravaganza returns. We sadly couldn't do our concerts during the height of Covid, and then our wonderful MD, Paul Stephan retired to Maine with his husband this year. Our new MD Aza Sydykov, though, believed it was time to bring it back so we are ready for you to come on by and see some wonderful artists perform along with members of the choir singing holiday classics. Check the MABC website for more information. 
AND THEN...
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Come close out the year with LATE BLOOMER!
Yes, we will back at Don't Tell Mama 12/30 (and a couple of dates in February). I am so excited to bring this show back and close out the year with some love. Come on down to Don't Tell Mama, 7pm, $20 cover/$20 minimum, reservations HERE. We'd love to have ya. 
That's the news for now, but, like always, if you need a tall, mixed mezzo for your theatre, music, film or TV project, head on over to that CONTACT page 🧡.
✌🏽