oh dear its been a while....

Omg as I read Cassie's blog I went back and re-read my blog from over a
year ago. So much has happened. I have changed jobs more times than I care to
mention. The good news is that I have a permanent full time job starting
Monday. MONEY that is exciting!

I still very much plan to travel, but being that I have been unemployed
for a while I have a lot of catch up to do. I do hope to start saving in the
next wee while.

I have worked on 3 great shows in the last 12 months and have auditions
for the next one this coming week end. I was lucky enough to work with a
company that is allowing me to stretch and grow in my roles. I was asked to
take the reins and be the production manager and try my hand at putting my
skills to work. I feel that I learnt so much and I definitely have so much more
to learn and will work on that in the next show. I feel very privileged.
Life is busy and full. I feel very lucky to have met new friends and
still make time for the friends that mean a lot to me. I am very fortunate that
my strong friendships work for me as I do go a bit AWOL from production week to
the week after the show closes (as you need to recoup).

At the end of the day the goal is to get to NYC and the UK, I have to
earn some annual leave and save the monies!

I’ll try to remember to keep you updated

Take care
Leesh

Melbourne then Broadway

Sorry its been a while since my last update, but I dont feel like I have done much since the cabaret festival.



I have made plans to go to Melbourne on the Oct long week end with Hayley to see a few shows and and shop. We have booked tickets to Hairspray for the opening week end, our lovely friend David Gauci is part of this wonderful show and we are going to support him in his transition to professional work. We also booked tickets to Sugar (musical version of some like it hot) with Mitchell Butel in the lead, who also won a Helpmann last night for best male lead in a musical for Aveuen Q - congrats Mitchell!!. This should be a very exciting week end ( we also hope to get tickets to Mary poppins, but so far its booked out ( well any decent seats are)



I have also made changed to my trip away next year. Although I very much still plan to go back to Ireland and the UK to catch up with friends, Im going to New York to see as much broadway as I possibly can. My friend Patsy's only clause is "as long as she can see The Lion King" she's happy. mmm I hope its on. So by day we will see the sights, and but nights well see all the shows possible. My only regret right now is that Promises with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes will be over by then.



I had put my travel plans ( the overseas ones) on the back burner - but thanks to reading Claire McEvoys blogs about her travels around Asia and how much she is enjoying it, this has really spurred me on to save and live the dream.



Ps I may have some exciting news in regards to work soon....keep posted



until then keep safe



Leesha xxx

Life is a Cabaret old chum

All my shoes got the best work out this last fortnight!!! and I didnt buy any new ones - GO ME!!!

I write this very sleep deprived and slightly run down. OMG the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2010 was amazing. The picture is of myself with the wonderfully nice Mitchell Butel. I saw so much, I saw Mitchell's show twice, Stephen Schwartz and friends and Shoshanna Bean. Can I just say that Mark Nadler in the piano bar was off the hook. What a grand performer and all the wonderful guests he got up to sing with him. This in fact made me wish I'd seen more. I only missed one night, I was addicted. Mark was so gracious, I bought his album after the 3rd night I saw him perform. I am so in love with it, while talking to him one night I asked if he would sing "someone to watch over me" which he did, he even called me a young lady...young lmao. What a fabulous feeling knowing he was singing that coz I asked him. What a grand song/performance it was!

Besides all the grand performance's, I have to admit a highlight was meeting Mitchell. Cass and I spoke to him after he performed at the Stephen Schwartz show. We just wanted to let him know we thought he was awesome, we meet his parents and left it at that. A few nights later, it was Marks last night at the Piano Bar and Mitchell got up to sing. So of course I started to film with my phone, he waved and I freaked and stopped filming. He gestured to keep filming so I did ( coz I wanted to share with Cass later). After the show ended Mitchell came up to me to apologise coz I stopped fliming him. Can he be any nicer? I think not. Everyone I have spoken to has said he was the nicest guy at the festival. So we got a photo to mark the occasion, we had a wee chat and we both continued our nights.

I have in the past met a few other performers (and someone lesser known )and even in my amature theatre life who are rude and have a "do I know you?" or "and who are you?" attitude. So to have a normal conversation with someone I respect as a performer was just lovely.

Seeing friends like Benny perform, makes me so proud to have friends that can do that. Please check out my fb photos of him performing at the Piano Bar with Mark.

To top off all of this I've had a family wedding, a birthday and a engagment to attend. I'm so tired its not funny. I will be smart next year and take annual leave over the cab fest and I'll see a lot more. In the up and coming months will be travelling interstate to see "Sugar" and "Mary Poppins" - this self confessed musical geek just cant enough

keep safe, till next time

xxx

fail with a major side of win

Ill start by saying I failed to put any money in my savings account this fortnight for my trip back to the UK. This was a hard-ish fortnight on the old paycheck. Where I did however win, I paid all the bills, rent, tickets to cabaret fringe shows (totally a necessity) and DID NOT buy any shoes. That is one major win for me! I did slide a little and buy 2 new scarves, but at $10 each, they were bargins I couldnt walk away from :).

This last fortnight was full of shows, shows and more shows. Curtains (Therry Dramatic society) was a smash, the cast and orch played to full audiences and they LOVED IT! - There was some interesting times, but all in all I made new friends, got to hang out with old friends and cemented relationships. The show was tight, the reviews were shinning, they loved it. No bad comments at all.
I also saw Pirates of penzance ( by Gilbert & Sullivan Society), which was also amazing. I am always in awe of set design and concept and staging. I loved the chore and the fact that a friend of mine, who is always nice in real life and on stage played the bitchy girl. My word that alone was worth going to see.

On a health note ( as i also want to look my best when heading back to the UK) - i have lost a few kilos ( not gonna say how many) i have started Zumba classes - so much fun. I hate exercise, but this is dance. Cassie and i have a 7 day free pass, so were gonna try more things to see it we want to join the whole gym, or just zumba. I could probably loose more weight if i also watched what i eat. so will try that too :) - maybe try Maggies idea from her blogs.

This up and coming week is full of Cabaret Fringe shows, Benny Finn and Mark Nadler, Mitchel Butel, Stephen Schwartz and then Bennys own show - oh and shoshanna bean next week.

good times ahead,

till then - keep safe xxx

omg she said it again

Thats right ladies and gentlemen, she's saying it again. I think for the past 7 years I have been saying "i'm going back" and for 7 years i have never really committed to it. Things, life get in the way. I am not getting any younger and if I am to make the permanent transition back, it needs to be soon. So here is the plan, if I blog about my saving journey and maybe ( highly unlikely) people read and support my adventure, or even just support my lack of being able to socialise as much as im saving. That will help. So here is the plan

1) save heaps
2) plan my trip to keep me motiviated
3) plan more that just the Ireland side of things....eg going to scotland too (in a campervan)
4) save for all the west end shows too
5) still have a socail life - eg theatre, but volunteer so i dont have to pay

Being involved in a show can cost you money, petrol, eating out, opening and closing night gift. I am just going to have to be strict. Petrol I cant help, but i can take food with me, I can send emails or facebook chookas for opening and closing encouragement.

so this is my motivation to save, but putting it out there in cyber space and owning what i want, to be sure, to be sure ( wow how sterotypical was that)