Billy Sharpe (Cratchit, A Christmas Carol: The Musical) checks in with a new blog about working (and playing) at ASF.Sooooo, I was asked a couple of weeks ago to write a little something for the blog, and that is when anxiety and panic set in… what could I POSSIBLY have to say that would be of any interest to anyone? After much angst and confusion I am sitting down to write a TELL ALL about the cast of A Christmas Carol – The Musical… well, maybe NOT a TELL ALL… How about a TELL SOME…
Most of the cast gathered on Oct 10th for the first day of rehearsal. I was “stuck” in the Pacific Ocean on a cruise ship that was sailing from Hawaii to Mexico. After making it through the hurricane, I missed my initial flight and had to overnight and take the first flight out the next morning. I arrived in sunny Montgomery on Saturday afternoon just in time for the lunch break! When we met for rehearsals after lunch I was filled with excitement and anticipation about meeting the cast! I knew Rodney Clark, and Jessica Blair from Beauty and the Beast here at ASF two years ago. I also have a dear mutual friend with Mark Woodard, so I knew to be on the lookout for him. As for everyone else, I had NO idea who these people were; however, I was excited to get the process started of developing new friendships! It is always fun to gather for the first few days of rehearsals and see who fits in with whom, and how the group dynamics will work.
It seemed that this group already started to play well together as they had a chance to mingle at Geoffrey’s house after the first day of rehearsal. I discovered that I had actually met one other cast member three years earlier at a Mexican restaurant in New York City! Small world – after all. I also had mutual friends with many of the other cast members so that gave us common ground and a springboard for conversations. The first two days of rehearsals were a blur, albeit a fun blur! On our first Sunday night, we gathered at an apartment of one of the interns and laughed, had a few drinks, and some cubes of cheese MAY have been thrown… I was drinking a concoction I like to call “Summer In A Glass.” If anyone would like the recipe… find me, I’ll gladly share it… perhaps I’ll put it at the end of this entry?!!?
The next day Jessica Blair, Mark Woodard, Will Ray and I started the tradition of Buffet Monday. We decided that every Monday we would find a different Buffet and use it as our grazing spot for lunch. So far, we have gone to Buffet City (*****), Donny’s Home Cooking (*****), King Buffet (***), Golden Corral (*****), and some other Asian Buffet that I don’t remember the name of right now (***) where I ate a crawfish for the first time… I missed Ryan’s this past Monday because I was suffering from intestinal trauma… I will not elaborate… let’s just say I am gluten intolerant and I ate some wheat and it knocked me out for about 16 hours…
We have also had many other outings in addition to the Buffets!!! Some cast members/ASF MFA’s went to the Haunted Chicken House in Hollis, AL… (If you have never been, GO next year!!!! It is a hoot! We had a blast!) We also caught up on the Saw movies by watching the first 4 on DVD before we went to see Saw 5 at the Rave! What a gory good time! We usually try to gather on Sunday nights at someone’s apartment to wind down from the week and have some laughs and drinks and occasionally play some mindless party game!!!! There was also a fun night when many members of the cast went bowling… I do not bowl, because I am THE WORST BOWLER in the WORLD… however, I went along for moral support and of course to critique the bowling techniques of my coworkers!
This cast is an AMAZING group of FUN and TALENTED people without a rotten apple in the bunch! I hope this gives you some insight into our activities so far, and I hope to have another entry to the “Times” in about a week!!!! Here is the Summer in the Glass Recipe:
1 can of Frozen Minute Maid Limeade (the large size not the small!) empty into blender
Fill the can almost to the top with vodka and add to blender
12 mint leaves in blender
Sooooo much ice that you think it is too much and then add one more ice cube
Blend/Mix/Liquefy until completely mixed… enjoy!!!!!
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