I'm Carol!!!

As many of you should know, I auditioned for A Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater in Orem last week. I haven't been in a play (that I claim) since the last time I did CC in 2005. That was the year when I played Fred (the role I had always wanted) and my good friend Trash didn't get cast at all. We were really sad because we wanted to play husband and wife. Don't feel bad for Trash, though. She got a Batman trick-or-treat pail out of it. And she's a Trash Ball.

The next two years, I was so busy with school stuff (Nunsense, Tempest, Ha Wilderness, Canyon Suite) that I was unable to do the show again. It was nice the first year to have a Christmas without worrying about a show, but last year, Trash played Mrs. Fred again, and I was a teeny bit jealous.

Months ago, I decided that if there was any chance my schedule would allow it, I would audition this year. Since my work for Nosferatu is pretty much done, and the bulk of my work for Chess will be done soon, I figured it was a good time. So, I auditioned.

And may I just tell you that I ROCKED that audition? I was going to just sing "Unworthy of Your Love" from Assassins, because that's what I had just finished working on in musical theatre class. However, I didn't know who the pianist was going to be, and it is a little tricky to play. At 1 AM the morning of the audition, I changed to "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2, which is sung by a man in On the Record (and much better, I feel). I had a practice track, so I went through it a few times throughout the day.

My audition time was at the same time as my friend Heidi's, so we got there together and went in. The auditions were running an hour behind, so we got to sit in the crowded hallway and wait patiently for a long time. When I finally got in there, I found out it was a good pianist, so I didn't need to worry afterall. I went ahead and did "When She Loved Me" and focused on the words so much that I didn't act it quite as well as I would have liked. However, I felt REALLY good about it. Then I read Fred's monologue about profit from Christmas (which President Monson has quoted before) and it was easy, since I had it memorized 3 years ago.

After a night and morning that crept by, I got a phone call inviting me to callbacks the next night. Trash got called back, too, so we planned to go in together and show them how fun we are and how much chemistry we would have on stage. (I'm convinced that the reason I got the part in 2005 was because Crocky and I had so much fun together when we read.)

The callbacks were done completely randomly, and Trash and I never read together. We were totally bummed. I was also called back for Topper, so I had to read that as well. The women were excused, and those of us who were up for Fred stayed to read the scene where Fred tries to get Scrooge to come to dinner. I freaking rocked it. I know some people have a warped sense of how good they really are, but looking at my scene as a director, I was blown away. I was the ONLY guy there who had any levels and didn't just stay the same the whole scene. That was Friday night.

Saturday morning, some people were already finding out that they had been cast. I was bummed. Trash found out that afternoon that she was cast, but didn't know her part (although, we really suspected it was Mrs. Fred). By Saturday night, I still hadn't heard anything. I was a little bummed, but I still felt pretty good.

Sunday night, I got the call. Trash Ball and I were officially man and wife. So, we did the most natural step. We changed our Facebook status to show that we were hitched. Several people have congratulated me on the wedding, some have been offended that they weren't invited, and some have caught the joke.

In case you were wondering, here is a rundown of the actual wedding festivities.

Friday night, we prepared by going to Smith's and buying Coke and pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies with orange sprinkles. Then, the actual ceremony, or callbacks, happened.

Afterward, we spent a lovely wedding dinner at Mimi's Cafe with our good friend, Matt. Trash was a little cranky to be spending time with another man while we should have been honeymooning, and she snapped at Matt and scared the waitress at one point.

Saturday, we spent our honeymoon seeing a play, Dial 'M' for Murder at BYU. It wasn't very good. Some of the actors were downright great, but a couple were pretty bad. And the director was under the impression that it was a comedy, when in fact, it's a dark drama with a few little jokes here and there. It was supposedly film noir style, but nothing about it said film noir. And the music....EW. There was modern music with synth sounds mixed with old stuff that was accurate. Hated that part the most.

After the play, we were fortunate enough to spend our second night as man and wife at dinner with the Culps and their families. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Culps? Well, I love them a whole lot. They're loads of fun.

Sunday, we went to our respective wards (at least Trash Ball BETTER have) and then I finished Nosferatu. Oh, and then that night we found out were were married.

Overall, it was a good weekend. If you would like to send Trash and me a wedding gift, let me know, and I'll give you my address. Otherwise, just plan to come and see Christmas Carol in a month and a half.

PS - If you get the title of this blog, you win five hundred dollars. And by "five hundred dollars", I mean the privilege of knowing that I think you're cool.