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I’m thrilled to report that in our great state of Minnesota, it is Hot. Hot weather, Hot people doing things outside as well as Hot ladies rehearsing for a Pirate Musical inside. It’s official, rehearsals for “Yarrr!” have begun. I know what you’re thinking “Holy crap! Isn’t the fringe in August? What are you doing in rehearsal already?”

Well, 1 – kudos on remembering when the fringe is and 2 – one of our leading ladies is tying a knot this weekend – and not in the nautical sense. So for her marriage and honeymoon, we have a break. That being said, we’ve already begun dialect coaching and music rehearsals so by the time July rolls around, we’ll have a wooden pirate’s leg up on the competition.

This show has me playing a bad guy, a good guy and a puppet. I’m also finally getting the opportunity to learn and Irish accent – feel free to check in with Chris on my progress, assuming he is still listening to me after a month of practicing around the apartment.

In addition to all of that, work has been moving forward with The Sketch Nation at a great speed. We’ve just produced this commercial submission for Sally Hansen and are hoping to be one of the top videos as then we might win cash and prizes. Or just cash. That would be great too. Please take a moment to watch it and “Like” it as the traffic and “Like”s might assist us in winning. Thank you!!!

So, it’s March. Theatrically speaking, things have been a bit slow lately. I’ve been to quite a few auditions, but nothing’s been the right fit for me. Alternatively, I may not have been the right fit for those things either.  One really nice thing about not being involved in rehearsals though, is getting to actually go out and see theater. In the first two months of this year, I’ve seen at least 10 shows. One of those being Walking Shadow’s Mojo –  It was honestly one of the best productions I’ve seen in Minneapolis in a very long time. Other memorable shows included Mel Brooks’ The Young Frankenstein  and TRP’s Burial At Thebes.

Some recent side projects that I worked on have become available to the public – including the music video in which I drenched myself in corn syrup blood. I Am One was completed in the middle of February and still creeps me out, in good ways. Besides that, I worked on an in-office email campaign video with ‘Kreisle Productions’. I hope to have that online shortly as well. As one of my coworkers said “You can go from normal to crazy really quickly.” True story.

Back around the time we shot I Am One, I got the opportunity to work with Three Volts as an extra on a series of mini commercials for Chex Mix Crazy Party Crashing Ideas. It was a really fun night and they turned out really well. I definitely hope to work with them again in the future.

In other news, February was a month of Travel – the first few days were spent in Chicago with Mom and Grandma to celebrate Mom getting closer to 50. Last week I decided to see what it was like to be a snow bird and made my way down to Tucson, AZ to visit Grace at grad school. Good times were had and pictures will be posted soonish.

Hopefully I will have news of a new production soon and updates will follow suit!

I’m not sure how it happened, but over the course of the last two months I managed to shoot a music video, shoot a trailer for .Faust, shoot some web-only commercials for Chex Mix, rehearse for the dinner theater show, work on a film in Lake City, visit the beautiful city of Lanesboro and the Commonweal Theater, open the dinner theater show, host Thanksgiving and officially roll over the annual odometer. If anyone has seen October or November, tell them I missed them, Please?

Now that Let’s Scrap Christmas is up and running, I’m really hoping to get some updates on this a here blog – let you know how the process was and about our fantastic audiences and such. In the meantime, I have to share the .faust trailer with you. It was such a great shoot and I hope to work with them again. I’m still eagerly awaiting clips from the music video – in which I played a Zombie-Goth-Bride. I don’t know if I ever actually got all of the corn syrup blood out of my belly button or not, but here’s hoping.  Following that filming, I got to work with My Town Pictures in Lake City on their upcoming feature-length film Shy, in which I play the leading lady’s uptight roommate. We had a really great time on the set for that one.

Moving back to my staged world, rehearsals for Let’s Scrap Christmas began in late October. The premise of the show is a weekend family gathering before Christmas, only this year is the first gathering without Granny Lorretta. I play Darby, Lorretta’s 3rd granddaughter, and let me tell you – she’s got quite a lot on her plate. I won’t tell you what it all is, because I don’t want to ruin the surprise for those of you that might make it to the show.

This past Thursday, the entire Capan clan made it to my apartment for one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember. Then that following night, a portion of them made it to the preview of Let’s Scrap Christmas. My favorite moments where when I would hear my Grandma laughing at something, as that was the signal that her hearing aids were on and she was enjoying the show.

Now that we’ve opened, we’re on a crazy schedule with 32 show is December, with Monday nights typically being our only night off… Which means no Glee or excessive indulgences in adult beverages for Lisa until New Year’s Eve. All I ask is that you bear with me in the coming month. And let me know if you’re coming to Coon Rapids for the show – I might be able to slip in one drink on a rare occasion here or there.

I won’t lie – I basically began counting down to the Ivey’s when the Fringe Festival ended. OK, that’s a lie. I actually bought my dress for the big night in mid-July…. So I’ve been looking forward to it for roughly two months, and you have to believe that this past Monday, September 21st, I was past the point of being reasonably excited. Picture small child riding through Toys-R-Us on a miniature horse who’s saddlebags are filled with gummy peach rings and lollipops; then believe that I would have kicked that kid’s level of excitement down the stairs.

Which would now explain why my manager suggested I leave an hour early to get ready…

After a quick jaunt home to Glamorize, I was back on the bus headed downtown and found myself having a fantastic conversation with a fellow glamorized gal, Carla Waldemar. She too was on her way to the Ivey’s and we were able to share our theatrical backgrounds and our picks for the evening.

Upon arrival, I headed into Rock Bottom Brewery to meet up with my partner in crime – Matt Spring. 2009 marked our 3rd annual attending of the Ivey’s and our group had tripled. 2007 was just the two of us. 2008 we added Brent and Amber. 2009 was out of control – Jason, Nick, Brant, Katie J, Max, Nate, Danielle, Mark comprised our posse. It was sort of “Four Humors meets The Aspect Lab” affair. Ideally this meeting will lead to ‘Four Aspects and an Ivey’. Eh? Eh?

Before I knew it, and by that I mean 1/2 a plate of fries and a Jack and Coke later, it was time to walk the red carpet. The Humors made it past the paid Fans/Photographers first and Nate, Mark, Danielle and I were caught second. Due to the volume of our group and in best attempts to keep us seated together, we were about three rows from the back of the State Theater. This was still close enough to enjoy how intoxicated one of the first presenters was. As well as how amazing all of the performers were. Something I really enjoyed this year, which I’m certain was planned, was how there were multiple instances ofIvey award winners that happened to ‘coincedently’ be performing. Which I understand is one way of ensuring the winner is in attendance of the event.

For those of you not as familiar with the Ivey’s, please allow me to shed some insight on their philosophy of how to host an Award ceremony.

Unlike typical award ceremonies – your Oscar’s, Emmy’s, Grammy’s, and so on, where you have set categories for awards and each award that goes out has Nominees. All of those things – except the physical award – are missing from the Ivey’s. The ONLY set awards are the Life Time achievement award and the Emerging Artist award. Everything else, is kind of random. Best ensemble, Best Company, Best Production, and so on. The kicker is, because there are no nominees, no one really knows who the awards are going to. Which leads to awkward moments where people have to accept awards for other people who were too sick to come and saying things like “I wish I hadn’t told my mom not to come.” It would break my heart to not be able to share a moment like that with my family.

OK, I’m stepping down from my Ivey Soap Box, so that I can share now about the After Party. The past two years it was hosted at the IDS crystal court and hosted by Mission. I LOVED this because it’s a beautiful location AND my friend is a manager there which means – Lisa Got Hooked UP. This year, the after party was hosted by The Capitol Grill and held in the hallway of the Lasalle Plaza. The mini bars were over priced and no one felt the need to alert Rock Bottom that there would be over 1,000 people hanging out that evening, so they were tremendously understaffed.

To end my Negative Nancy rants, I have to say, my absolute favorite part of this whole event is having the opportunity to reunite with so many friends that sometimes I only get to see once a year. I was able to see my Jackson folks – Karen, Allen, Nathan, Seth, and Nora – who all are so beautiful, I cannot handle being with them for too long. OK, that’s a lie, I could be around them forever. They’re amazing.

Overall, the evening was wonderful – even with all of my complaints, nothing beats getting dressed up, having drinks, dancing, and having the opportunity to catch up with old friends and spend quality time with new ones. I guess my final beef is with my partner in crime and the fact that he a.) didn’t pass the flask and b.) bailed early. Let it be known, I won’t be as forgiving next year, Spring.

Wow, it appears that I fell off the Blog-Wagon immediately after the Fringe Festival closed. Subsequently, that is also when my post-fringe hangover began. 

I’m happy to report, that after a trip to Washington DC to visit my friend Cindy, 6 or so auditions, 1 casting, a weekend wedding at Breezy Point, and a run in with the plague, I’m Back! I’ve been quite busy during the five weeks since Foolproof closed, I have also almost finished unpacking, though I’m certain Chris would tell you otherwise.

So, I know the question that has been on everyone’s mind since August 10th: “What will you do next, Lisa?” Thank you for asking! Next weekend I’m going to work with a friend on a metal/goth/vampire music video shoot. This will be a whole new experience for me so I’m pretty excited. That and I get to wear a wedding dress from 1986 that’s been dyed black. What more could a girl as for?

The next big thing on my plate is a little something called Let’s Scrap Christmas! with Season’s Dinner theater in Coon Rapids. It’s going to begin rehearsing in Mid-October and the show will run from November 28th through December 31st. We’ll be doing 9 shows a week. I want everyone to know this, just so that I can A.) fully disclose how crazy I am – given that I will still be working my regular 40hrs a week. And B.) Apologize now, for any unreturned phone calls and/or my general disappearance from face of the earth – I promise that I’ll be free again in January. 🙂

I’ll post more info about the show as time progresses. Another round of thank yous to everyone that made it out to the Fringe this summer and I can’t wait to share this upcoming music video!

Being from northern Minnesota, the acronym FFA brings visions of livestock and grains to mind. Now officially a city girl, FFA now stands for Fringe For All. Each summer, a few weeks before the Fringe Festival begins, the Fringe hosts an evening of 30, 3 minute previews. This is to help Fringe Enthusiasts get a taste of what’s going to be on stage this summer and in some cases help them determine go or no for a show. Foolproof  previewed this Monday, July 20th to a packed house at the Ritz, along with 29 other companies.  I will follow up with my own Top 10 list of Fringe shows that I would recommend, but right now, I just wanted to get this preview out to every one.

Tony took the time to write a new script for our preview, as there really isn’t a perfect 3 minute scene that would make an audience member wet themselves in excitement over our show. Well, that’s not true, but if we performed that scene, it would sort of give away the show and then no one would need to come and see it. Without further adieu, here are Tony, Mark and I, and our preview of Foolproof.

So here’s our 59 second sneak peak at our show… Enjoy!