Just Keep Swimming

So I haven't posted in a while! Oops! The last few weeks have been pretty good. Audition season is starting to slow down a bit. I made it to three auditions this week, all on Wednesday. I love having multiple auditions in one day. It was my first audition day back from my trip to New Orleans. Felt so strange to be away from auditioning for 2 weeks! But singing in front of smiling faces and knowing that I nailed it is such a great feeling. I leave happy knowing that I did the best I could do. I'm learning not to wait by the phone, although my phone rarely leaves my side... so when Broadway calls, I'll be ready! Speakin of... there should be an app where your phone shits glitter if/when Broadway calls. Someone get on that! Last week I had the unbelievable opportunity to attend and perform at The Big Easy Awards in New Orleans! It was such a fantastic night. Everyone looked so beautiful and there was soooo much talent in that room. It was an honor to be nominated for Best Actress for Tracy in Hairspray. Even more of an honor to represent our cast by performing "Good Morning, Baltimore". Gosh... I would love to do that show again. Just putting that fat suit and wig on made me instantly happy and I was running around like a 15 year old again. And that's what Tracy is... a giver of joy!! The best part of the night was when it was announced that Hairspray won BEST MUSICAL!!!! We all screamed and I was dragging people on stage. It was such an amazing feeling! We worked so hard and were closely bonded through what most consider a 'campy' show. It was the experience of a lifetime and I'm so glad we were recognized for it. I think I cried for a solid hour. Hah! I've started to really enjoy auditioning. I like meeting new people there and just chatting. And it's such a routine now that there are never any nerves. There's this one group of girls I call the Mean Girls. I'm sure they're nice girls... but they make their presence known at the auditions. And from time to time one of them will boss the room around and tell us to smoosh together or stand up or scoot up to fix the line. Whatevaaa. We're grown, we don't need to be told how to stand in a line! =) I wish I could share some great news... like booking a show, but nothing just yet! As Dori says.... "just keep swimming". "Like water, be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world."- Brenda Peterson

Hold your breath. No, really.

The last two weeks have been pretty good. I made it to three auditions last week and felt great about all of them. I also chopped my hair off. I wanted a change and I wanted to use a different headshot. My upstairs neighbor, Mario, is a hair stylist out of L.A., so he was able to cut my hair in his apartment for a great price! I love it!

Yesterday I went to an ECC for Billy Elliot on Bway. They did not want to hear any songs from musicals and wanted to hear something pop/rock. I sang "Walk on By". They were grooving as I sang, and commented after at what a great song choice I had made. So I felt good about that.

Today I woke up at 6:15 AM to head over to Tesley to get in line for Wicked on Bway EPA. I was pretty close to the front of the line. We had to wait outside until 8 AM before they let us in. Sign up was at 9. Telsey is such an awkward set up because there is one wall of chairs, where the line began, and then there are these 8-10 big, brown bench/ottoman things that line the rest of the space. Staying in line and figuring out how to coil can be difficult. Someone always starts shouting and takes control and tells everyone what to do. Surprisingly, I don't do that. I either keep my headphones in, or chat with the person next to me.

I got a 3:30 time slot, then headed home to go back to sleep because I didn't sleep well at all last night. After my nap, I woke up and got ready for my audition. I left my apartment in more than enough time to get over there. When I switched from the M to the E train, something was wrong. I was immediately hit in the face by a wall of vomit-scented hell. Everyone in the subway car was looking for the origin of this scent, but there was nothing to be seen. I tried to sit as far away from where I thought it was coming from, breathing into my coat. It was hysterical to watch people come onto the car at each stop and realize what they had just stepped into. To add to this fun-filled ride, the E train was moving at a terribly slow pace. I was so scared I would miss my time.

Finally got to Telsey. And they were calling my name! I turned in my stuff, put on my heels and was 3rd in line for my time slot. I walked in with a big smile, and was just chatting when all of a sudden I said: "Y'all... I just rode in a vomit-filled subway car and it was the worst experience of my life". They laughed so hard! As I was showing my music to the accompanist, I said, "I hope I don't smell". He laughed. The audition went really well and I bet they'll remember me!

Just a thought: there are certain rules that require tours and Broadway shows to have auditions after a certain amount of time. I'm not quite sure what the exact requirement is, but when I go to calls like Billy Elliot and Wicked, there is the chance they are actually just meeting their requirement and not necessarily REALLY looking for people. But it's good to be seen, to make yourself known.

It's so thrilling to know that I have so many people out there who love me and support me from afar. I really appreciate all of you who 'like' my Facebook statuses or send well wishes. You have no idea how much it means to me. I'm trying to remind myself that if I keep putting out good energy and showing up to auditions that something is bound to happen for me. I've worked too hard and dreamed too much for it not too.

This note was on the desk of the Equity audition monitor today...

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."- Thomas Edison

Dashing Through New York

So after working Friday-Tuesday I had a busy day of auditions today. I woke up at 6:30 this morning to go sign up. When my audition buddy Allison and I got to Pearl Studios to sign up for North Shore Music Theatre, we were towards the end of the line in one room. Then it seemed as if the floodgates opened and another room had to be opened for people to line up in. I'm so glad we got there when we did. When you go to sign up for an EPA, the first 30 people or so get chairs around the perimeter of the room. After that, everyone is zig-zagged through the room. I think they crammed close to 70 of us the room this morning.

I signed up for a 3:50 appointment for North Shore. Then I went a block down to Ripley-Grier to see what the sign up was like for Barnstormers. The line was ridiculously long and they were only doing one musical, Charlie Brown. So I decided to skip that one and run to Actor's Equity to sign up for Cape Playhouse. I got there and there were still lots of times available and I was able to sign up for a 4:30 slot.

After signing up, I went home to take a nap. I didn't set my alarm because I thought it would just be a snooze. I shot out of bed at 2:15, freaking out!!! I thought my first appointment was for 3:30 (it was actually for 3:50). You have to be there 10 minutes before your scheduled time. I threw my dress on, layered myself for the weather, ran the straightener quickly through my hair and ran out the door. I got there just in time to turn in my headshot and resume for the 3:30 group. I was then informed that I was in the 3:50 group. Oops! At least I had time to catch my breath.

My group was finally called. I was more nervous about missing my 4:30 appointment time for the next audition then I was about the audition itself. The guy in front of me and I quickly realized we were both in the same predicament and decided he would wait for me and we would cab it together to Actor's Equity. My audition at North Shore went well. I ran out of the door and my new friend was waiting there, jumping up and down for me to hurry. They held the elevator and off we went.

We busted out of the front door of Pearl Studios and ran to the the street in search of a cab. We quickly found one and asked him to take us to 46th and 7th Ave. He agreed to 46th and 8th Ave. My new friend, Justin, paid for the cab and said "Hurry baby!! We've got five minutes! Time to sprint!" We then RAN down 46th Street from 8th Ave, dodging tourists and Scientologists (the Scientology building is on 46th) to Actor's Equity. I was praying, "Dianna... please don't fall or sprain your ankle. You can do this!" We made it JUST in time!

Turned in my headshot and resume. Then our names were called to get in line for our 4:30 time. Justin told me the alternate list for the company in the next room, St. Michael's Playhouse, was empty and that I should go sign up! So I did. I went in to the Cape Playhouse audition room. The Artistic Director is also an accompanist, so he was the only person in the room. He was so nice. After I sang, he asked about school and where I was from and how long I'd been up here. He noticed that I have a second degree in Public Relations and said that with my second degree and my accent, people would love me. I said thanks. hah!

As soon as that audition was over, I stepped on over to St. Michael's and was in the next group. That audition also went well. I sang the same song at all three auditions today. "Ireland" Reprise from Legally Blonde. The gentleman at St. Michael's said how much he loved the song and was very nice.

All in all it was a successful day! I felt great about all of the auditions and know that I did my absolute best. And I made a new friend: Justin! I owe him a cab ride.

Typed IN?!?!?!?

So I'm finally starting to fall into a routine. I'm finished training at my new job. I start on Friday as an official employee! I will be working Friday-Monday and auditioning Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I'm trying to average four to five auditions a week. I feel that if I can keep this up, something is bound to work out eventually... right??? (*fingers crossed*)

I've been in the city for a month now. Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:15 AM and went to the Actor's Equity building to stand in line for Agents Access Auditions. About once a month some agents come to AEA and we get to audition for them. They only sign up 50 auditionees and 50 alternates. I was 4th in line. I froze along with my new actor friends for two hours. Equity is nice enough to have "winter hours" when it's cold. They let us in at 7:30 and then we get to wait the reminder of the time in the warmth of the lounge. So sign up was at 8:30, then I went home and crashed before the audition that night. We were supposed to present our strengths so I sang "Old-Fashioned Love Story". I think it went well!

Today I had two auditions. One was this afternoon, an appointment for TriArts Sharon Playhouse, they are doing Hairspray. Another was this morning for the 2nd National Tour of Wicked.

Just in case anyone reads this blog and maybe doesn't know all of the audition terminology, I'm going to break it down here... If you know it, just scroll down.

There are two types of Equity auditions: EPA- Equity Principal Audition, ECC- Equity Chorus Call.

For an EPA, members arrive early the day of the audition and wait in line to sign up for an audition time. You can sign up for any time that day, which is great if you want to sign up for specific times because of work or other things. Then you just come back 10 minutes before your audition time. This is for men and women.

For an ECC, members are able to sign up on a list that is posted a week before at the Equity office. This is broken up by Males and Females: Singers who Dance and Dancers who Sing. On the day of the audition, members go to the holding room 30 minutes before the audition time. The list is read. Sometimes the list could have 400 people on it. Not all of those girls show up or some people sign their friends up so one girl's name could be on the list 3 times. If you aren't there when your name is called, you have to get to the end of the line of the women who didn't sign up before then.

At an ECC, there is something called "typing". This happens when there are lots of ladies there and the casting directors don't want to waste their time or yours. A lot of the time they are looking for something very specific (i.e. ethnic girls... tall, lanky girls... etc.) So they take you in the room with 20 other girls. You stand there in front of them. The accompanist plays a little diddy on the piano and they ask you to talk amongst yourselves. At this point the people at the table go through your headshots, they might look at you as well, and make a stack of who they want to hear sing and who they don't want to hear sing. (The girl next to me said one time she was in the ladies room when her group went in and she got 'typed in' even though she wasn't even in the room. THEY LITERALLY JUST LOOK AT HEADSHOTS SOMETIMES.)

So... after all that explanation... they were typing for Wicked today. And I was thinking "Shit. I just want them to hear me sing." And wouldn't you know..... I GOT TYPED IN! That was a very small, but exciting victory for me. It was the first time I got typed in. It tells me that just because my body type may be different doesn't mean I won't be needed. I was so excited! I sang for them, and I think it went well! Regardless, I got to sing! It was a good day!!

The Move to NYC

Much has happened since I posted last. I really need to make a point to update this blog for not only your reading pleasure, but to remind myself of my journey.

Three weeks ago I moved to New York City. I live in Astoria with Jake and Jacqueline, two of my friends from college. The three of us get along great and I couldn't be happier with our living situation. The energy in the apartment is positive, exciting and supportive. The neighborhood is great. Everything we need is right outside of our door. Our train ride into the city is only about 25 minutes or so.

My mom came up with me the first weekend to help me get settled. She saw the bare, white walls of my bedroom and immediately said: "we're painting". We walked out the front door, went about a block down the street to a hardware store and picked up some paint to match my bedding. That weekend, we turned the empty, white room into a beautiful, calm place for me to feel at home. I am so thankful for all of the hard work she put in with me that weekend.

Usually my mom likes to see at least one show when she comes to the city. This time, she wanted to see Spiderman. We waited out in the cold for HOURS to get Rush tickets (partial-view seating given to the first people in line for a cheap price). My thoughts on the show should be saved for another post. Let's just say I'm glad that was a preview performance and I look forward to seeing lots of changes made between then and the opening.

My first few weeks have been a whirlwind. I'm so happy to be surrounded by my Bama family. We really have a special group of people who support each other and believe in each other. Nothing worth having comes easy, and we know it. We pick each other up and keep each other going. I already know I couldn't fight for my dreams without these people in my life.

I've been to quite a few auditions. I was quickly thrown into the rules of equity and learned the hard way when an ECC list goes up. I was 'typed out' of two auditions, which means they look at you or your headshot before they ask you to sing. It sucks, but at least they don't waste your time.

I have had a handful of jobs. I was a dog walker for a week. I walked a beautiful, sweet English Bulldog named Daisy. It was the second week I was here. I got to walk her through Central Park and it was a great way to spend a half hour of my day. Unfortunately, with the commute and the time they wanted her walked, it just put a chunk of unusable time in my afternoon. I sadly had to stop walking Miss Daisy. My other dabble at a day job was quite the experience. I was one of THOSE people... "Excuse me... do you like stand-up comedy?". I froze my butt off for hours trying to talk to people who didn't want to talk to me. It was terrible.

This week I got a front desk position at a Doggie DayCare. It's called Ritzy Canine Carriage House. I started training today. I worked at a doggie daycare, Camp Bow Wow, in New Orleans and I absolutely LOVED it. It will be fun to be in that environment again. Another perk is that they have been great about the scheduling. They know why I am in New York and have given me 3 days in the middle of the week each week to audition. I really think this will be a good opportunity for me!

To add to my good week, I got my first callback! It's for Jan in Grease at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah. The callback is tomorrow. I'm really excited to be given this opportunity. No matter what happens, the callback alone is just what I needed at this time.

Week 3 has been a great week! I'm ready for what's ahead.

Forbidden Broadway

Update! Currently in rehearsals for Forbidden Broadway at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans! Working with a fantastic cast: Leslie Castay, Vatican Lokey and Cliff Thompson. Under the direction of Bill Selby. We are having a fantastic time! I have lots and lots of words to learn. Even if I know the song we are parodying, learning the lyrics to the parody is proving to be a challenge. But we are up for it!!

Tickets are available now on the theatre's web site or by calling 504-522-2081.

The beat will go on.

Sunday marked the closing of Hairspray. It was a bittersweet day. This cast and this show absolutely touched my heart. The beauty behind this show was magnified by the love we, as a cast, had for each other and the show itself.

Tracy Turnblad spreads joy and the hope of unity regardless of skin color or size. This is something we can all relate to in our own lives. As actors, we are given the unique opportunity to step into the life of a character. We experience their ups and their downs, their shortcomings and their triumphs. The cast of Hairspray dove head first into the world of Baltimore, 1962, and we emerged with a greater understanding of love, compassion and what it's like to have a dream.

I'm so thankful to be blessed with such an amazing cast and production crew. Thank you everyone for your hard work and dedication. I'm putting Tracy Turnblad away for now, but hopefully she and I will be reunited soon.

"When we win, I'll give thanks to my God cause I know where I've been."

Welcome to the 60s!!!

I've been cast as Tracy in Hairspray at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans. I am so excited!! I haven't performed in New Orleans since I worked at Six Flags in 2005. My last show here was Seussical in January of 05! It's been over five years, and I'm so glad to be back home and doing such a fantastic show!!

My family is going nuts. I don't think I've ever seen them so excited for something I've done. They have bought about 30 tickets for opening night already. Family members from Texas are making plans to come in. I'm so happy that they are so excited about this production!

I'm looking forward to working with people I haven't worked with in a while!! I get to work with Blake Coheley and Jefferson Turner. They played such a huge role in my early theatre life, and I'm glad to be working with them again! I'm also incredibly excited to be working with people I haven't worked with before. In college you work with a lot of the same people, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Each day is a gift. We work hard. We fight hard. Good things come our way. I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

Inspiration can come at any time...

Today I was babysitting a 9 and 7-year-old. Part of their daily routine is to take 30 minutes to read anything they'd like. When I announced that it was Reading Time, I expected them to put up a fight, but they quickly ran to their books, picked a seat and immersed themselves in their reading. I decided I should probably read as well, so I went to the bookshelf to look for a book. For some reason, a book of Shel Silverstein poems caught my eye. About halfway through our Reading Time, I came across the following poem. I really think it sends an incredible message to me and many of my peers at this point in our lives. Each and every day I hear people make negative comments about what I have chosen to do with my life. But I really don't see it as a choice. This is what I was put here to do. Each of us has been given a gift that we need to share with the world. Our journey will not always be easy, but with the knowledge that this is all we are here to do... we will succeed. We will be strong. We will prove the Mustn'ts, the Don'ts, the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts and the Never Haves that anything can be.

Listen to Mustn'ts, child,

Listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves,

then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,

Anything can be.

- Shel Silverstein

Moving in before getting out.

It's official. I have moved back in with my parents. Temporarily, but still... it's a strange feeling. Today my mom and I unloaded the last bit of stuff from my car. I immediately purged through my clothes, tossing away anything I haven't worn in a while. Anything that looks like a 23-year-old shouldn't be wearing anymore... gone. Then I felt like Andy from Toy Story 3. We made boxes of things to donate: dolls, purses, etc. I couldn't bear to donate my Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. That cannot go. I did give up Tweety Bird though. Then I came across my NSYNC marionettes. They are in perfect condition, just a little dusty. They aren't going anywhere for a while though. I came across so many pictures from high school. Why did we think it was cool to carry around a stack of wallet-sized photos of each other? I have a stack of close to 350 pictures that I know I carried around in my school bag.

So now what?? Well I'm planning to move to NYC in the fall. Auditioning for LePetit Theatre's "Hairspray" on July 17, so we shall see what happens with that. Life is a journey. It takes unexpected twists and turns, and we just have to be ready to go along for the ride.

You just got iced...

So if you haven't heard of "icing", it is definitely something that you should look into. The SummerTide cast has taken a liking to it. "Icing" is a viral drinking game that has given many of us a reason to buy Smirnoff Ice.

The rules are simple:

1. Buy Smirnoff Ice.

2. Hide the Smirnoff Ice where an unsuspecting friend may unfortunately stumble upon it.

3. When a Smirnoff Ice is found, the finder must drop to one knee and chug.

4. If you stumble upon a Smirnoff Ice and you happen to have one on your person, you are able to block being "iced" and either move it or leave it for the next person.

5. It is very fun to have a camera on hand.

So go for it. Ice some folks, y'all....

We grew up undeniably...

We only have one week left in Gulf Shores! I will be very sad to see the Bee close. This show has been an absolute JOY to do six days a week. Our audiences have been very responsive. It's an incredible feeling to look out into the audience during our epilogues and see a smile on every single person's face. This just reminds me how much I love doing what I do. If I can be a part of what is making those people smile, I am doing my job.

The Bee Begins...

Well, tonight is the official opening night of SummerTide Theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. On Sunday, the cast moved down to Gulf Shores, Ala., and into our condo. We have a gorgeous living space on the beach on Fort Morgan. To date there has been no oil on the beach, although some cast members said some sticks had been washed on shore today with oil on them.

Last night we had a preview night for press and the Chamber of Commerce. The show went really well. One of the best things about this show is the volunteer spellers. Last night was the first time we had volunteers who none of us knew. It is so unpredictable! I got nervous before the show last night, mainly because I was worried about how the volunteers would react to the situation they were about to be put in. They were great!!! We had a teenage girl, a really tall, buff man and a mother who had her family in the audience. They loved it. In addition to spelling, we drag them around the stage in two musical numbers. The rest of the audience applauds them for their ability to keep up and follow the directions we yell at them under the music.

If you are in the Gulf Shores area, you should definitely come check out our production! The cast is fantastic!

Leaf Coneybear- Bobby Becher (@bobbybecher)

Chip Tolentino- Bentley Black (@BentleyBlack)

Marcy Park- Katie Burton (@Katie_A_Burton)

William Barfee- Lawson Hangarter (@law_son)

Olive Ostrovsky- Erica Hansen (@EricaLHansen)

Mitch Mahoney- Michael Luwoye (@prettyboy14)

Douglas Panch- Nick Shabel (@ohthisistoomuch)

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre- Caroline Schmidt (@CaroSchmidtty)

And I play Rona Lisa Peretti.

The show runs every night Tuesday-Sunday at 8 PM at the George C. Meyer Performing Arts Center if Gulf Shores, Ala.

It seems we're living out our dreams...

Someone's in the dryer with Nanna...

We move to the beach tomorrow. Tonight is my last night in my apartment, The Jungle. With only 11 channels on my TV, we had to improvise...

Nailed it.

Doing great!!

Can't handle the fun!

Bring on the Beach

I move to the beach in 4 days! I can't wait for this to be what greets me every single day.

Fit in by standing out...

This Saturday, my beautiful cousin Danielle tied the knot! The wedding was absolutely beautiful. She got married at sunset outside of Houmas House in Darrow, Louisiana. Jake Hougaboom, shown in picture, accompanied me to the wedding. As you can tell by the picture, he fit in just fine. Most of the night one could find him in line at the bar or on the stage pelvic-thrusting the drummer of The Bucktown All-Stars.
The Bucktown All-Stars were incredible! At the beginning of the night they were all looking good in their suits. Ties and coats on, shirts tucked in and buttoned up. By the end of the night, they were untucked and unbuttoned and rocking out! They would come out onto the dance floor and dance with us. My favorite part of the night was when they came onto the dance floor during "Brick House" with their trumpets and surrounded MawMaw. They wanted her to "shake it down, shake it down now". She replied, "I'm 80-frickin-years-old!"
The night ended with a second line from the reception area to the front of the Houmas House. The guests were given sparklers and the newlyweds ran down the aisle. That's where the picture above came into play. The bride was not ready to leave yet, so we continued to dance. Jake assisted the band.
The wedding was a complete success! They had to open up an extra bar for us. After all... we are the Duffys.

Dolly Duffy

This is Dolly. The biggest shitzu in the world. 29 pounds of love. Miss that bitch!

New Blog

So I decided to start a blog. Here it goes.

I haven't really decided what this blog will include, or how formal/informal I will make it. Part of me wants to tell tales of tonight and the stripper who showed up at the bar we went to, but part of me thinks that might not be the best story to tell for my first blog post....

I am currently rehearsing for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We move down to Gulf Shores on Sunday! I cannot wait! The show is going to be FANTASTIC! Tomorrow night is our Tuscaloosa preview, so I'm looking forward to an audience.

Right now I'm sitting on my couch watching Celebrity Apprentice from two weeks ago. Not a fan of Bret Michaels. Something about the bandana and the eyeliner that I can't get over...

Roll Tide.