I've been posting on my teaching weblog more often than here recently (since teaching is my life!) ;) so I thought I'd pop something up. Been in my new school this week and loving it. It feels so 'right' there, and I am SO glad I waited for the perfect job to come up.

West Side Story is trundling along - I'm not needed this week though, so having a nice rest on Tuesday and Thursday evening.

Ben and I are counting the days until Christmas - can't wait to have 11 whole days off together...

Anyone know anywhere good to get cheap plastic tubs from? The outgoing teacher in my class owns quite a few in the classroom, so i need to pick up a few before the end of term...

I've just been reading this article on the BBC website - apparently the average first time buyer in the UK is now 33! I feel pretty chuffed that Ben and I were able to buy our first house when we were 23, 10 years below the average, but now we're starting to think about our next move, it's becoming clear that this isn't going to be easy. If we stay around here (where house prices have defintiely been rising) we'll have to take on a mortgage of over £1k a month just to afford a slightly larger 3 bed semi... ludicrous! Seeing that the highest my parents' mortgage ever went to was £300 (for a 5 bed detached in south london!) it makes you realise why in so many families both parents have to work, often full time. Ben and I would love to work part time when we start a family, and share the childcare, but with the silly house prices in the UK, that's not looking likely.

Unless we move to Canada, of course...! ;)

Last night I had my 2nd West Side Story rehearsal... it was a call for 'just the boys', but as I'm playing Anbodys, the tomboy, I was needed as well. I think it's a recipe for an identity crisis - every time they call 'the girls' I'm not needed', but some of the times they call 'the boys' I am!

We were working on the Prologue, which unsurprisingly starts the whole show, hence its name! ;) It's a blend of several mimed scenes which introduce the rivlary between the Jets and the Sharks, as well as the personalities of some of the characters. I was amazed to find that I start off the entire show, by running on and vaulting on top of a rail! And that's only the beginning of the acrobatic-ness I have to show. As soon as the director said "i'm so glad you're small and light", I thought "ooooh noooo" - and sure enough, I spend the next 4 minutes of the prologue being lifted, swung, and thrown around by various lads. The tops of both arms are really aching this morning, as near the star 2 of the jets lift me up under each arm, carry me back (whilst I'm supposedly kicking and mime screaming) and plonk me back on the railing. But as we were just learning it last night, we went through that bit 8+ times, and I've got bruises!

In other bits, I get lifted up by 2 Sharks, each holding an arm and a leg, and swung backwards and forwards, then lifted up just by my legs and held up in the air! I only bumped my head on the floor once last night, but it was bloody hard - at least the stage will be a bit more 'springy'.

The whole prologue looked really good by the time we'd finished - and in 4.5 months it's going to be stunning. I'm so chuffed to have such a good part in the show, and am really enjoying it. The guys are a nice bunch, although it's quite funny as a few of them are about 17 - and they're the ones who have to lift me up! I could be their teacher! :D

Last night's first rehearsal of West Side Story went pretty well... although I'm having a bit of an identity crisis. I'm playing a tomboy who wants to be in the jets gang... so whenever they call 'girls' for rehearsals I'm not needed (not in any of the 'girlie' scenes like 'America') yet some of the time (not all!) that they call 'boys', I am needed! It's already starting to confuse me, and I could easily miss rehearsals if I'm not on the ball...

I wonder how long before the Director and MD are fed up with me asking "do you need me for that one"...?!

On Sunday I auditioned for the part of 'Anbodys' in West Side Story which the Southampton Musical Society are putting on at the Theatre Royal in Winchester - and I got it!

I still can't quite believe it - there were around 30 girls auditioning for 13 parts, and somehow I managed to land a pretty sizable one - and definitely the coolest! ;) I'm really excited about getting back into drama stuff - it's almost 4 years since I did any acting, and an amazing 6 years since 20 year old Sarah acted in her last musical. I can't believe time has flown quite so quickly.

Our first rehearsal is on Tuesday night - can't wait!

(and yes, i do find it faintly amusing that as one of the few married girls in the society, i'm playing a teenage tomboy who says "i ain't never gonna get married - too noisy!")

Over the past couple of months Ben and I have had a 60 day free trial with Tesco DVD rental, and have spent the time catching up on lots of films that we've missed during our once-a-year cinema habit over the past few years. We're reluctant to shell out £7 each to see a film, when a few months later we can get it for free on a DVD trial (we've had a few)!

The other night we watched Garden State which we both really enjoyed. Impressively, it's written, directed by and stars the same guy, and he's only 6 years older than us - quite an achievement! It was also the first film he's written or directed... I wonder how he got into it? It's pretty off the wall and surreal, but really well done - and it's given me a new 'favourite song of the moment' - Frou Frou's 'Let Go' which I'm playing on repeat at the moment. The last time that happened was with Sia's 'Breathe Me' which appeared in the last ever episode of 6 Feet Under.

I love the buzzy feeling an amazing song or film gives you... and I'm feeling it now as Let Go pumps out of my wee computer speakers...

Two weeks ago I was really brave and auditioned for the Southampton Musical Society - and I got in! I used to do loads of drama stuff between about the ages of 5 and 21 but haven't strutted my stuff on stage since University (which I started a shocking 7 years ago)!

It's been something I've wanted to get back into for a while, and I'm really pleased I went for it - I've met some really cool people already, and I've only been to an audition and one meeting. But now comes the hard bit - auditioning for my first show. We're putting on West Side Story in April, and there are 13 female parts.... and there were at least 45 girls there last night! So I've got about a 1 in 4 chance of getting in...

most of the audition songs are shockingly high (I'm an alto - my limit is about a D) going up to a crazy top C (yes, almost an octave about my 'top' note). Surely it's not natuaral to sing that high?! I'm not going for any 'big' parts - I figure if I pick myself 'lower' and do that really well, then I stand a much better chance of getting in than if I messed up an audition for a big part. Only problem, the 'generic girls' audition song still goes to an F. I'm going to see if I can do the libretto for the 'smallish' part I fancy, but sing a song from one of the quite big characters, as it's a nice low-middle one.

The audtions are in a few weeks, so I'll just have to practice practice practice, and see how it goes....