ASSSSCAT!!!

I've seen a lot of improv in my 26 years, but last night I got to see Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, and Jack McBrayer perform in ASSSSCAT! For free! And at the UCB, the theater that Amy co-founded, and where I saw my 1st improv show. And let me tell you, it was a comedy-nerd's dream come true. I mean, I watched Amy and Horatio religiously the whole time they were on SNL. It was their cast that got me hooked on comedy, and that lead to the rest of everything that I've done. I'm pretty sure I pinched myself every other minute to make sure I wasn't making up this masterpiece in my head- but alas, and thankfully, I was not. I witnessed Amy do improv (along with a whole bunch of other brilliant improvisers) with mine own two eyes, and I am one ecstatic, eternally grateful gal!

It all started when Jeremy and I saw Alex's class show at 4pm (after a lunch of ice cream with some other great friends), and it turned into a mini-Philly-improv reunion of sorts (very mini, three Philly improvisers including me, haha), which led to pizza and standing in line for ASSSSCAT!! And we were numbers 27-30, so our odds were looking good. Of course we had about 2 hours to kill in line, so some song hole was played, American Pie was sung start to finish, there were many a phone sing a-longs (props to Kristen for doing a great Ke$ha impression), a photo shoot, some candy bashing, a lovely rendition of "Saturday Night's Alright" with a lisp, turning it into "Sawuday", some break dancing to ring tones...you know, all of that cool stuff, haha. When we got in there, we saw Jack McBrayer walk across the theater before the show, and I would've been super content with just him- but what happened next blew my mind- the stage lights dimmed, and Amy and Horatio walk out of the stage doors to explain the show and ask he audience questions, which prompted Horatio to reveal his hangover food (McGriddles) and how they made him feel like there was a vibrator behind his heart, Amy Poehler called some audience members liars- to make a long story short, it was awesome, and brilliant. Obviously. It was Amy and Horatio!

I could write for days about this show, so I'll try and condense it. As soon as everyone was on-stage, I couldn't help but think that I had to pay attention to everything, and could never forgot anything said. We saw Jack play the receptionist at a car wash where Amy's van dissappeared (at one point this scene resulted in a full-cast dance number to "Carwash" thanks to Horatio), Amy and Jack play Comcast phone receptionists who would switch places every few sentences while the other one took a break, a hitch-hiking scene where Amy was the hitchhiker who got in the car of a couple, one of whom was paranoid that she was a murderer, and there was Jack McBrayer in jail, and team of kid CIA agents who fought crime and were housed in a treehouse, Horatio played a character who peed himself when scared, the guest monologuist was the editor of the Onion, Joe Randazzo. There were so many more brilliant scenes, but I will spare you every detail in writing. Plus that was my first time seeing Chris Getthard do improv!! He is briliant!! The whole cast was and I wish I knew more names, but the scene work was flawless, and none of them missed a beat, and the transitions and edits were so smooth, and after the first act, the group I was with all high-fived each other cause we knew how freaking lucky we were to be in that room watching those people work their magic.

And what's even better was that the whole weekend was just as epic as all of that was! We got to go to the MoMa and see the Tim Burton exhibit (which was so cool), got to see some LAB Tennessee Williams readings and saw Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Bobby Cannavale there, went to Serendipity for a lunch of ice cream and frozen hot chocolate, ate dinner with Ali, Brent, and Amy, and had a lovely breakfast with Joy and Kev. It was exactly what a weekend should be!!

To Comedy!!! TO LIFE!!!

I had every intention of blogging more when I first started this, but I've been working on a lot of little projects- labors of love, if you will- which have been keeping me super busy (no complaints here, only L-O-V-E). I think back to when I was at Temple U, and I would drive into school while eating breakfast in my car, hitting up the bagel hut for coffee once there, going to class, rehearsing for class, directing, writing papers, and then going to rehearsals for a show with almost no time in between to think or breathe or sit. Call me a masochist, but at the end of the day, I enjoyed that. Even the days when I had to swing by the drive thru at Wendy's at 11:45 pm on my way home from school because I had forgotten to eat since lunch (or, probably more realistically, had about three full meals of only large coffee drowned in cream and sugar but no actual food). I learned so much, and I felt so focused, and sure, a double cheeseburger and large fries at midnight while driving over a bridge, in hindsight, isn't the best idea, but it was all part of my routine. And delicious. And fun.

So, enough reminiscing- back to the present! Next up for me is our first Local Holiday Miracle show, which we are putting up in the So Low Festival (a festival for original works- solo pieces, one acts, experimental stuff- everything and anything!) that was created by two friends of mine from the Arden, Amanda Grove and Thomas Choinacky. LHM is comprised of my friend Andrea, who I met in 1812's Women in Comedy Bootcamp (how appropriate!)- we are a two woman sketch/musical duo, and we are writing all of our own stuff!! It has been so much fun and so exciting thus far- can't wait to bring these sketches to life on stage! Our only performing as a group so far was in Sketch Up or Shut Up at PHIT in January, which was a lot of fun!! Here is a link to our video via YouTube!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fZgm28cAsQ

Yes we are wearing MJ Tribute shirts with belts and tights, haha. Also, please try and look past my wardrobe malfunction of my sleeves rolling down every two minutes, and me trying to fix them instead of just letting them go, haha!

Project #2 is another two woman comedy show I am co-writing with my lovely friend Joy Notoma! She is based in NY (Brooklyn to be more exact), so we will split our time between NY and Philly while writing and rehearsing and experimenting, and eventually try and put the show up in both NYC and Philly. I met Joy at Temple, and we did our acting thesis together- a Texan comedy about housewives that will always hold a special place in my heart called Laundry and Bourbon!! I learned so much from Joy and from doing that show, and it really was the best way to return to the stage for me after a long hiatus. It also started a wonderful friendship, filled with lots of laughter, great times, and happiness- so it makes perfect sense for us two to find yet another excuse to spend time and laugh together (a very productive excuse, might I add).

Last is just a little side hobby that started back in good ol' 1217 Spring Garden when Jeremy and I were bored. We would jam in either one of our living rooms, thinking of ridiculous cover songs to do...it all started with Gaga and Fergie, and we always had intentions of turning it into something- or at least video taping it for us to laugh at in the future, haha. We recorded our first two videos over the weekend (the one posted to FB is a tribute to our lovely friend Ali who moved to NYC, and we had just learned the song not too long before). I definitely need to get more comfortable with my guitar and singing in front of people, as I'll be doing it in our LHM show (dressed in a pretty awesome costume too...oh, just you wait!), so it was a good way to just do it and put it out there. We go by the name Lady Croissant and Master Danish, and will eventually turn this into a musical comedy duo of epic proportions, haha. Especially when dressed as these characters!!!

So, these are a few of the things that are keeping me busy and overjoyed right now- along with hanging out with family and friends, my job, and just living life and going where the wind blows me. All that's missing from this list is double cheeseburgers at midnight...ahhh, the good old days!! To the past, the present, and the future! TO COMEDY!! TO FRIENDS!!! TO LONGER DAYS!!! TO CHEESEBURGERS!!!

Etc., etc....

What a difference a week makes.

7 days ago I was in West Hollywood, driving through the hills with windows down. This saturday, I was in nyc, snow on the ground, celebrating the birth of a dear friend from college. I love NY, the buildings, the energy, theater everywhere you turn. Hollywood's theater district was like a ghost town when I walked through during the week. I'm glad I got to experience both worlds within a week of each other, as it made me appreciate both more, and I hope one day I can afford to hop back and forth often!

In LA I realized I hadn't seen many Broadway shows- only Rent and Wicked. So I decided to take my free solo time yesterday and see a matinee- the first theater I passed was the one housing Mary Poppins, and i'll take any opportunity that allows you to be a kid again, so it was a no brainer! For someone who took tech theater and is not often fooled by stage tricks, I was blown away by the effects and such. I don't want to give much away, but *SPOILER ALERT*- there was a point where a chimney sweep tap danced around the proscenium and a part where Mary spread a sheet out and it turned into a bed that they could sit on instantly. Man oh man, if that doesn't turn you into a wide-eyed 5 year old again, I'm not sure anything will! It was a fun, inspiring show. One of my favorite quotes from "Anything Can Happen" was "stretch your mind beyond fantastic, dreams are made of strong elastic, take some advice and don't forget it, anything can happen if you let it." All in all, a great last minute decision! I still have a long list to get through (next up, probably Phantom and Fela), but it's only been a week since I set that goal, and already one more in the bag. See, anything can happen if happen if you let it!

The real reason behind my trip was to celebrate the lovely Joy Notoma's birthday! We were scheduled to go to Panna II in the east village, which was 1 of 3 competing Indian restaurants all decorated the same, with the same menus, all right next to each other. They were competing for business, so we got pulled into Royal Bangladesh instead. The food was awesome and cheap, the decorations consisted of tinsel, chili pepper and blinking snowflake lights hanging from the ceiling (not very conducive to the tall, sadly), and the company and conversation awesome. Lots of laughing. Full bellies. A girl wearing a headband with a tiny sparkly hat attached that inspired us to one day create a crazy headband line. Oh what a night!
My new favorite cupcake- sorry Magnolia!!


Now I'm leaving NY, inspired once again, ready to get going on Joy and I's project, excited to write with Andrea tomorrow, and with lots of other little goals to set and get goin on- namely, working on a ridiculous hidden talent that I must perfect soon, and may reveal to the world eventually...although that wouldn't make it much of hidden talent now, would it?

Alright blog-heads, until we meet again.

First post: A Day Late, A Buck Short.

I guess it's fitting to write my 1st blog thousands of feet above the pacific ocean, above the clouds, sun glaring. It has been an amazing week, a much needed week to gather thoughts, explore, catch up with friends and family who I have missed dearly. It was my 1st time on a flight by myself, which has been liberating- and even though it's not a huge deal, it's good to know I can do things like these on my own, and everyone should try it at least once- it's refreshing to be able to sit back and think and not have any distractions.

This vacation came at a perfect time, and really gave me so much fuel and inspiration for when I head back east! I admire everyone I know who has headed out to Hollywood- they are all doing so much cool stuff and working so hard and so dedicated to what they do. Hearing all of their stories made me want to work harder, be better, be fearless like they are. And while I can't do it on the west coast anytime soon, I am going to take that and infuse it in everything I have been working on before I came out here- not to say I wasn't working hard on everything before I came out here, because I was- but it has fueled me more so to realize on what aspects of my career I want to focus on right now, which is writing, performing, being inspired by the people I love and letting all of those things feed into each other and take me on an adventure. Cause that seems to be the best part of life to me anyway.

Lots of adventures this week- hiking to Griffiths Observatory with the cuz Tommy, seeing coyotes in hills below while venturing up the hill to get a closer look at the Hollywood sign, and then eating delicious Thai food with him and his girlfriend Monica, hitting up the most amazing flea market with Gabe and Tara and finding such cool stuff (so sad I had to leave so early today or else I would have hit it up again in a heartbeat...next time!) and getting lots of shopping in general done, Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel ride with Gabe, exploring Hollywood Blvd with Gabe and Dan, eating at Equator and future house shopping in Beverly Hills with Gabe and Kristen. So many things to see. The history is amazing- I wish I was around when old Hollywood was in full swing, but ill take even standing by Judy and Dean, Marilyn and Bing's hand and footprints at Graumans. Pretty amazing.

One of my personal fave moments of the week was one of those moments where you're just like "did that really happen?". And for me it was followed by a "you really are a huge nerd Aubrie". Gabe and I were walking around the Grove, enjoying ice cream cones, when Gabe's celebrity spidey-sense kicked in, and she noticed Idina Menzel walking into the Gap. To make a long story short(er), Gabe talked me into going in to tell her I was a fan, we followed her up the the GAP Baby section (not creepy at all), I was a wimp so Gabe asked her if she was Idina Menzel, pushed me towards her when she said yes, I told her I was a huge fan and she was amazing, she was super sweet and grateful, and that was that. It was hilarious in hindsight, especially since I was dressed like a country bumpkin at the time, and so freakin cool to meet someone as insanely talented as she is!

So, all in all, amazing week! Sad to leave, but good to get back to the grind and work harder than ever. Goodbye Hollywood. I'll be back. Hello Philly. I was wearing shorts and tank tops earlier this week, so I didn't miss your blizzards too much, but it will be good to get back!