That title's not what you, um, might think.
After rehearsal on Friday night some Hairspray cast members headed out to eat. Several of them happened to be part of the show's so-called "white council." One of the underlying themes of the story is the 1960's-style dance show that features all-white participants except for one day a month ("negro day"), and the teen dancer troupes of each color are referred to in off-stage lingo as the white and black councils. Will this problem be overcome? That's a whole other blog post.
This post's just about dinner at Applebee's with a great group of people, punching the air with howls of laughter for hours.
Bridgette Richard's next to me, who's about as plugged into her passion for theater as you can be, willing to do anything you ask of her for the cause... serve on the board, direct, make props, sub in for absent actors. She does this for multiple theater groups in town.
Wendi Fleming's the cool mom. Her house is slumber party central and she just has a caring and supportive way about her. But to me it's more like she's a cool person who, yes, happens to be a cool mom too.
Kelly Slater's living her dream role for this show. She'll chill out in the theater with her feet up (maybe even a blanket or neck pillow to boot), always with an easy smile on her face, and then step out and nail scene after scene on stage. Her junior high students probably enjoy that kind of friendly and laid-back personality too.
Jennifer Stevens knows her dream too... studying theater, French and Spanish at ISU. She's a Mary Kay consultant who may just be on a Disney stage some day, and is so sunny that you just know she'll be successful at whatever she does. She loves to learn about other people and has this way of making you feel like the most important person in the room.
Sean Stevens was probably born grinning. He's strong, athletic, handy, musical, spiritual - and as casual as a fisherman on vacation. He's a fan of Bruce Lee and action flicks. At any given moment he may burst into Transformer mode. He'll also eat anything. Honestly. Like a spoonful of ranch dressing mixed with chocolate sauce.
Chris Stanford will not eat anything. I could've said that better, he won't eat lots of things (it takes one to know one, by the way). He did confirm that he'll eat hot dogs. Not turkey dogs, God no. But most any and all forms of chocolate, sniffing it out like a rabbit in a carrot patch. His family hails from Mexico, and much time was spent debating whether he was a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation American. He has enough energy launch a small space shuttle, and another one of those 1000-watt smiles.
Jeremy Pease makes a good co-star with Kelly, just taking everything in around him with bright eyes and then unleashing this witty sense of humor with flawless delivery. He takes an active interest in other people, looks you right in the eye, doesn't get rattled or boastful. He's figuring out what he wants to be, and always seems to be enjoying the ride.
Samm Bettis has found love in her life too, helping to take care of older or sick people in her work. She knows what she wants... kids, a house with some space in the yard, vegetarian meals. Just a spark plug of a person brimming with confidence.
What adds to the fun is that we're just comfortable with our own selves and each other to ask just about anything.
How old are you? Why are people so uncomfortable sharing their age?
Where are you from? Do you like what you do?
Do you have kids? Want kids? Why do some people have kids?
Are you really going to put that in your mouth?
We've been working our tails off, complicated dances, lines, songs, for weeks and weeks. A place like this, with a little alcohol flowing, could easily be place to pour out worries or frets or gripes. But this was a care-free zone in the lightest sense of the word. Soon it was 1:00 a.m. and close-down time. After all, we had a song rehearsal coming up at 9:00.
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