Yep. I went to Paris again. I returned to perform in the Jazz Opera: "Don't worry, Be HaRpy." It was a wonderful trip - grueling (we were driving constantly to rehearsal and soundchecks) but wonderful. But it didn't start off that way. I should note here that things got amazingly better almost immediately, but I have to describe it to you!! …
The Adventures of Permanent Lifestyle Change Girl: France, July 2015, Heat, Pain, Endurance and how I got through it!
Time to get real with you. The Chateau de Blandy Les Tour was wonderful. The Opera "Don't Worry, Be HaRpy" was gorgeous and a great collaboration. I don't want to sound like a whiner but my last trip to France was tough! Heat, exhaustion, knee pain and obesity made it a real test of endurance for me. I KNOW that my fitness journey made it possible for me to persevere. Up until I started my fitness program, I was almost totally sedentary. All of the things that I mentioned above (except for the …
France: July 2015 Don’t Worry, Be HaRpy – The Whirlwind Adventure!
The Chateau de Blandy Les Tours - what a setting! It is fairytale-like, and very hot. There is a heat wave happening in the region with temperatures reaching Ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit! We arrive in Paris and are driven immediately to the castle for the first of two nine hour rehearsals. This is no tourist trip. We get right to work. We have a show to do. …
France: July 2015 Don’t Worry, Be HaRpy
It was a whirlwind. A quick weekend to France to perform the original Jazz Opera: "Don't worry, Be HaRpy" by French composer and harpist Isabelle Olivier. This particular weekend also happened to be my birthday weekend. It was not an easy trip but it was a wonderful one. High temperatures in the hot Sun, hours of rehearsal and my knees never add up to much in the way of comfort but it did make for a thrilling adventure. The show is wonderful, Isabelle is genius and the players and crew were …
Paris and a Jazz Opera: Don’t Worry, Be HaRpy!
Happy New Year! I know it's been ages since I last wrote and to be quite honest there hasn't been too much new to tell except I did present a staged reading of one piece from my one woman show and it was well received. The response was almost overwhelming. I performed it during a cabaret show I did in late November. Since then I have mostly been scraping by as I experience some of the toughest economic times of my life. I have been poorer in the past, but I had no bills in those days. Yet, I …