New York and more

So I have not written in this thing in over two months! I am always so bad at these journal type things. Anyway, I am going to keep this short and sweet. So I have lived in NY now for a little over two months, and am loving it here. As irony has it though, I got 2 shows in California, so will be going back to California and living in San Diego from the beginning of January to the end of March. I am doing A New Brain as Nancy D/Waitress for the 3rd time from January 6-11th at the El Portal theater in North Hollywood. I am sooo excited to get to do this amazing show again with such an amazing cast. It is going to be a great finale for this show that never ends. Also, I am starting rehearsals during the day of January 6th for Miss Electricity, the show I workshopped at La Jolla Playhouse in September. I got a call last week and they offered me the role that I workshopped, and I couldn't be more excited! It is for La Jolla Playhouse's "PoP" tour which they do every year. I am going to be doing that show till the end of March, and then going back to New York! I am very excited, but it's going to be so weird living in California for those months. All in all, life is okay right now. My "professional" life is wonderful, so that always helps. I also got a call from Central Casting and I am shooting extra work for "Gossip Girl" tomorrow, so that'll be lots of fun. Anyway, hopefully to be continued. I will write soon...maybe.

So Close

So these past 2 weeks have gone by extremely fast...faster than I ever could imagine. I have been waiting and waiting to move to New York, and now it is finally coming. I am leaving Orange County tomorrow morning, and then leaving out of San Diego Thursday night. It is surreal. I cannot believe the day is almost here. It is amazing to think about, really. I have not thought about it literally much, which sounds silly but I really haven't. I have been so wrapped up in everything and just the idea of New York and have not really sat down much and thought about what it really all means. I am so so excited, but reality has not really kicked me in the head yet...I am sure it's coming. 

So 2 weeks ago I had my staged reading at the La Jolla Playhouse. It was such a blast and I met some amazingly wonderful and talented people. The reading in no way gives you the role that you were reading for, so I am planning on hopefully auditioning for the actual show probably in the beginning of January. I am sure the auditions are going to be in San Diego, but I think it might be worth it to come audition...we will see. Hey, I might even be in CA around then, because as of right now, A New Brain, part 3 is looking like it is going up in the beginning of January at some big theater in LA. Haha...the show that never ends. But if it all goes through, I will be extremely excited to do it again. After all, the cast is filled with my best friends, some of which I probably won't see till then! Other than that, I did a reading of Georgia Stit's new musical The Water this last week. What a beautiful musical! I played the role of Maddy and had an amazing time! I don't want to give anything away, so all I have to say is when it starts playing, you must go see it! I fell in love with the role I was playing, but she was 13, so I am not sure in the real world I would actually play the part...who knows, I may audition for that when it comes around as well! Anyway, back to NYC prep....

I have been saying good bye to some very close people in my life this last week. It is funny...I really realized who I care about this past week based on all of this. I found myself hanging out with my old roommate, Kelsey M. a good amount and it made me realize that she is honestly one of the greatest friends I have ever had, and I am sad we did not talk for so long after our roommate disaster. I know that after everything, we are going to remain friends. She is someone that I will def. make an effort to keep in touch with, as well as lots of others. There were some goodbyes that were hard, sad, and even creepy....the creepy I will leave out...ask me about it and I will def. share with you, but it's not for this blog! Anyway, I had a wonderful going away dinner at BJs on Friday night at 11:00 and I got to see so many of my friends I wanted to see so bad before I left. Thanks to all of you for coming out...it meant the world to me. I love you all so incredibly much, and I hope you know that! I also hope you know that you are always welcome in NY. I miss all of you already! 

So...knowing my blogging history, I probably won't write another post until I am on the other side unless something huge happens and I remember and write about it before then. So...to everyone again, I love you and hope to see you all very soon! Wish me luck!!

Love,

Ashley

Update

So I said at the beginning of this blog that I am not good at keeping up with a blog, and I am proving myself to be quite accurate with that statement. Life either gets a) busy, or b) too boring to blog about. I am going to try to get better at this over time though, I promise. 

So anyway, the newest news. My deposit is down on a 3 BR 2 BA apartment on West 163rd in Manhattan (Washington Heights to be a little more specific.) I am going to be living with my two wonderful friends Jessica and Gregg, and things could not be working out any better, knock on wood. Our apartment is directly above Courtney, Brian and Hillary's, so that is pretty much a dream come true. When Brian and I are at work, we can leave the pups together and not feel so bad leaving them alone for longer amounts of time. Kai and Olive will be reunited at last :) If you want to check out our apartment, here is the link I came up with from you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bttzyfG3Jao

Check it out, I am pretty happy with it to say the very lease :)

So, I have my ticket, I have my apartment and roommates, now I just need to finish selling things on craigslist, working and saving as much money as humanly possible, pack, and find a job. That's all easy, right? Haha anyway, I couldn't be more excited. I am seriously counting down the days, and it is officially 23 days until I board a plane to NYC! My Dad is coming with me and staying until Wednesday to help me get settled and everything. I already have a bed coming on the Friday morning that I arrive, and then my Dad is going to help me find everything else. I've decided that I am going to paint one of my walls either Tiffany blue or a pretty light yellow color. Any suggestions? I am super excited to make my "small space" my own. I am going to feel like my very own HGTV episode! Woo! Anyway, I think that's about all for now. My workshop for La Jolla Playhouse starts a week from today so I am super excited about that, and I am doing a workshop for a new Georgia Stit musical the following week, so once I get through this week, it's going to be smooth sailing! Till next time!

xoxo Ashley

The Move is Official!

So when Batboy fell through, I was really upset and decided that I just needed to get out of Orange County. I realized that I am currently not making enough money at Islands to do really anything with. I have been trying to save money with all of my might, but the money I am making is mostly covering gas and food and that is basically it. So, I came to the conclusion that I need to just move to New York because one, it is where I should be for musical theater, and two, I will make much more money out there as a server than I do out here. 

Sooooo the exciting news is that yesterday morning I bought my one way plane ticket from San Diego to JFK for October 2nd at 9:25 pm. I wanted to do a red eye because that way when I arrive on Friday, it will be in the morning and I will have an entire day to get things situated. I also thought arriving on Friday was a good idea because that way I can have a three day weekend to really arrange my living situation, and then on Monday I can start looking for a job. My friend Jessica who I will be living with is moving out to NY tomorrow, and is going to start looking for a place for us to live. I am soooo stoked to live with Jess because she is extremely responsible and a wonderful person. I just can't wait till we find a place so I don't have to worry anymore. I know that Courtney and Brian will have my back if I need to crash on their couch for a few days, but in a perfect world, I would love to be able to get off the plane Friday morning and go to my new apartment! We are thinking that the Morningside/ Upper West Side area is where we want to be. Hopefully it will all work out! I am just very excited to get the ball rolling! It is nice because I only payed $203 for my ticket and then $100 for Olive to come with. Not too bad. Just have to push myself to pull my savings up before I leave. And I don't even want to talk about my credit card. No bueno. Anyway :) 

Everything happens for a reason, and I've decided that Batboy wasn't supposed to happen because I was supposed to move out to NY sooner than later. I am very excited! To be continued...

♥

Ashley

Bad night...

So I have officially decided that when it rains, it pours. 

I smashed my foot when I came into my house tonight when my mirror key holder came crashing on my foot. Then...

I got a call from one of the artistic directors of Batboy telling me that they have postponed the show until at least March. Meaning, my life is back to where it was before. Boring with nothing to occupy my time but working at Islands. 

I want to move to NY in October again. I am over this place and just want to get out.

This is emo. I am just going to peace out. Just wanted to update those who read this to tell them that I am not doing Batboy anymore.

Ojai and other stuff!

So, the director of Batboy, Philip Nemy called me on Friday and officially offered me the role of Shelly, so I am pretty excited! (I said yes.) It should be a very exciting and new experience. I have not done a show where I had to relocate temporarily before, so this will be a new/great opportunity. I think it will be really cool to sort of experience little town life before I move to "the big city." As of right now, my plans are to move to NY the first or second weekend in November, as Batboy closes on November 2nd. I talked to the guy playing Batboy via email and he seems fantastic! He is 22 as well, and from Colorado. He was cast in a new musical in Pasadena and relocated to CA to do it. He seems like a very fun and dedicated guy, so I am really looking forward to working with him! I am also super excited to meet some new people! I love my friends more than anything in the entire world, but I have not really done a show with people I do not know before. This will be the first big time that I will be meeting a whole big new group of actors. 

In other news, my friend Jeremy who will be finishing up his last year in the acting grad program at CSUF let me know yesterday that he had been cast opposite me in Miss Electricity! He just found out yesterday because I guess they were having a hard time deciding if it would work out or not. He told them he would not be able to do the possible tour in Jan-March because he has to finish up his last semester in the grad program, so I think they were trying to find someone who would be able to commit to both. None the less, the called him yesterday and agreed on contracting him just for the workshop! I am so excited to work with him. He is an extremely talented actor, and I have much respect for him. I am eager to learn from him as we do this show!  

And besides that, let me think of anything else going on....

Oh, I have been watching the Olympics the past few days and am blown away!! To see all of those people with that incredible talent is amazing! I look at those girls doing all the stuff on the balance beam and all the floor work they do, and wonder if they realize how truly gifted they are! I envy them very much! Also, lets talk about Michael Phelps! Wow! He is out of control! I get so excited every time he swims! I know he is pretty much unbeatable, but I want it to stay that way so bad! I find myself getting so nervous for him because I want him to win so bad! Haha I am a nerd.

In addition to that, I went and saw my good friend Lesley in Les Mis at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night and had an incredible time! The Jean Val Jean was beyond anything I have ever seen. His voice just blew me away! The Javert (Brian Stokes Mitchelle) was stunning as well! Overall, it was an incredible show! I did not want to like Lea Michelle ( Wendla in Spring Awakening) who played Eponine, but I have to say, she was perfect for the role. She was a little poppy at times, but her voice is incredible. I was way jealous. 

So that's pretty much all for now from me! I am having my first music rehearsal for Batboy sometime this week in Ojai, and our first read through is Monday night! I couldn't be more excited! Hope all is well with everyone!

New News

So I have to be honest, I forgot my username and password for a brief time, but I actually sat down and thought about it today so now I can write again! 

Lots has happened in the past few weeks! I auditioned for a staged reading at La Jolla Playhouse for a new play/musical thing-a-ma-jig called Miss Electricity, and I found out last Tuesday that I got the role that I auditioned for! I will be playing the role of Violet who's "super-hero alter ego" is Miss Electricity. Right now it is just a two day workshop on Sept. 16th and 17th with a staged reading performance for people on the 17th at the playhouse. I guess this reading is in preparation for the Jan-March "pop" tour, so if all goes well (keep your fingers crossed for me!) I could get that as well. La Jolla Playhouse's Pop program is this thing where they rehearse and put on a 40 minute new show, and do it for a weekend or two at La Jolla Playhouse, but then also tour around San Diego County doing the show at schools, libraries and theaters and such for kids. It is geared to bring theater to kids that have not or would not normally get to see it. I am really praying that the workshop goes well and they offer me the tour. 

In other news, I auditioned for Bat Boy last week for Theater150 which is out in Ojai,CA. The audition was so much fun, and I loved all of the directors/producers I met at the audition. I sang "Come to Your Senses" from Tick, Tick, Boom! And then also sang a portion of the duet that Shelly and Batboy sing together called "Live Inside Your Heart." Then they had me do some sides and we chatted, etc. Well, I got a call from the director today telling me that he wants to cast me as Shelly, but wanted to talk to me about the distance and stuff. Ojai is 2 hours away from Brea, so the commute will be quite challenging. The good thing is that a good portion of the rehearsals can be held in LA as some of the other leads he wants to cast live in the LA area as well. He told me to think about it and let him know tomorrow. So...I think I've decided to let him know that I want to do it. It is not a for sure deal yet though because he still has to go through the producers and such. I will keep everyone updated! I do have to see doing Batboy and playing the role of Shelly would be a blast! The show goes until November 2nd, so I would just push back moving to New York a couple of weeks and get out there whenever I am done.

Anyway, enough talk about that stuff! I went down to San Diego for the past day or so and finally introduced my parents to Olive! They actually seemed to like her a good amount, my Dad much more so than my Mom. I showed them all of her tricks, and as much as my mom probably tried to hide that she was impressed, I could tell that she was. What can I say? My dog's got skills :) I also met their new puppy, Bella. She looks like a tiny little panda bear. She is soooo adorable! She bossed Olive around the entire time I was there which is funny because Olive is like 3 months older than her. All in all, San Diego was lots of fun. I got to see my Aunt Andee and my cousin Cole, as well as my mom's best friend and practically my other aunt, Eileen. They all adored Olive as well :) 

So that's about all for me right now! I dont have to work until tomorrow morning, and Geoff works tonight, so I think I'm just going to relax and finally watch Pirates 3. Yes, I have not seen it yet. 

Till next time,

♥ Ashley