Weekend at an English Country Estate

I am so proud to have played a small part in this production. As resident house manger, fire guard and champagne slinger I get to enjoy this romp around the English countryside every night. Which affords me the luxury of watching it change and blossom into the ping-pong match of wit it has bloomed into. The reviews have been glowing and the company can't be sweeter if they tried!! As we go into our last 6 shows I get a little melancholy, but know that it's NOT over, this show will have life after life in theaters at every level!!

Here's one of the reviews:
On a completely opposite note, the Ateh Theater Group is currently performing a piece that is an achievement in comedic timing, acting, directing, and writing. Those looking to have a great time and to see a new play that will most likely end up on the same shelf as Present Laughter and Noises Off in a few years, should make sure to get down to the Access Theatre to see "Weekend at an English Country Estate." It is incredibly rare to find a piece that is so well constructed that it becomes a showcase for every single actor in the cast, but this show does that and then some. With carefully timed entrances and exits, dramatic irony, and bombastic characters this show takes off and does not let up until the bang up finale of the first act. The audience then gets right back on the roller coaster for a second act that is just as exciting and ties up beautifully. Sara Montgomery's script is a piece of writing that is classic. Set in the 1930's the story revolves around a recently separated well to do couple who have each taken their younger fling to the estate for the weekend. They arrive thinking they will be alone and discover one another. The cast of characters that explode out of this simple beginning are hilarious. From a depressed poet, to an acerbic butler, to a bookish young girl with a wild side the wackiness does not stop. To say much more would ruin the discovery of each new plot point which Montgomery layers so beautifully that the second one story runs into the other, hilarity ensues. The cast is phenomenal and entirely committed to the style of the piece with Montgomery herself playing a role that is not too taxing on the vocal chords. The audience was laughing so hard through much of the show, some lines were even lost. Of course, a show like this really soars when it has excellent direction and the razor sharp timing and execution of each moment clearly shine through in this show thanks to Paul Urcioli. Amongst many period comedies that need quite a bit of polish, this one shines as bright as a new piece of silver.

Sara Montgomery you genius! Thanks for making me part of the team!! xoxo

Baby Leg: The Unending Saga....

3 years ago I had surgery on my left leg for plantar fasciitis or "heel spur syndrome". What a mistake that was, the syndrome itself is gone but my heel won't heal. One of the incision sites still leaks and is tender. Unfortunately the right leg is now consumed with the same malady which reaches up into my right hip. So in yet another attempt to be pain free I am seeing Dr. Sheskier on Monday.

He offers a non-surgical treatment option for patients with plantar fasciitis that has not responded to conservative therapy. The majority of patients with plantar fasciitis will be cured within 2-3 months of therapy consisting of physical therapy, night splints and orthotics. Unfortunately for some relief is elusive, leaving the sufferer with the decision to "live with it" or submit to a surgical treatment.

A new treatment option is now available. Extracorporeal Shock Wave treatment (ESWT), a non-invasive technique, has been proven to be effective in the majority of those cases. This in office procedure has been proven to be as effective as surgery but without the risks of a surgical procedure.

Wish me and the baby legs luck, I can't take much more of this, my last resort is a 24/7 morphine drip.

Joy!

For an extended period of time my Joy has been elusive and I realized it's because I have stopped doing the things that make me Brandy "with a Y" Rowell.

Whimsy, magic, an air of wickedness isn't easy to maintain and my process to keep all of the those key ingredients in tip top running order have fallen by the wayside. Until taking on the role of house manager for Weekend at an English Country Estate by my inspiring friend Sara Montgomery. Watching this theatrical adventure unfold has shown me the path that I wandered away from absentmindedly.

I used to go to church every Sunday with my heels dug in and my "doubting Thomas" reared & waiting for a fight. Used to make my mother crazy that I refused to just "believe". Only she didn't realize that she was taking me to the wrong church.

When I walked into my first theatre I realized that God doesn't only live on religious properties. He lives where you find Joy. Where you feel at home, safe and surrounded by what you truly love. I've been asleep. Wasted time and turned a broken spirit away from what makes me, well me. All because I fear failure.

Well sod it all....I know who I am, what I am and what I want to do with my life and if "they" don't like it they don't have to buy a ticket. So here's to me buying the first to the Brandy with a Y Show! More me! Less fear, less hopelessness and more pixie dust please!!!

Oooops I Gleeked....

On Sunday October 10th I was on an early morning M57 bus headed toward the westside to the Javitis Center for Comic-Con 2010. (more to blog on that little nugget later)

When all of a sudden, what should I see but this happy family standing on 57th between Madison and Park.....


Ahhhhh a great day in the city!! and that's how B, sees it!!