This weekend was opening and closing of Hello Dolly! Eight weeks culminated in just three performances, but it was such a great experience. The city of Englewood’s summer drama program is a hidden gem in Denver’s theater community.

And since it’s National Mutt Day, I also thought I’d share the tremendous growth Harper’s made this past month, as well as what’s on the horizon for us in the month to come.

Mrs. Irene Molloy was a bucket list role for me, and challenging in different ways than Rizzo in Grease or Woman 2 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. I’d previously gone down a road of belting characters, and my voice was suffering because of it. Slowly but surely, I’m finding my voice again, although it can be a bit discouraging at first—similar to getting back in shape after a long period of slacking.

What I’ve been aiming for is to get into the groove of legit musical theater singing and finding better-fitting roles for my vocal style and overall “look.” I no longer feel conflicted about wanting more challenging acting roles; I’ve realized that I can hone my acting chops in any role and always find ways to improve.

I’ve also realized that it’s time to really commit to voice lessons and dance classes in the near future. I’m so excited about that! I’ll be taking the next few months off from any productions, so that I can 1.) support Nick in the last leg of his Run Rabbit Run training, 2.) spend more time with him and the pup, and 3.) focus more on the skills that might improve my auditions going forward.

I’m going to miss the cast of Hello Dolly, though! Especially my Minnie Fay, who is a personal trainer and was writing client workouts before a rehearsal in this photo. 🙂 We had so much fun together!

Nick came to all three performances, which meant a lot to me, even though I told him he should sit one out. Look at the Ruffly Rose bouquet he brought me on opening night! The florists have started asking him: “So what show is she in this time?” 🙂

It’s so beautiful!

Pupdates!

Let’s talk about our favorite little mutt, the Harpster! She’s growing a mile a minute! Since we got her exactly two months ago, she’s gone from 14 pounds to 30 pounds.

Here’s a comparison of her size. On the left, we’d had her for one month. On right was one month after that. What a chunky monkey! She still has tons of skin around her face and neck, indicating that she might still be growing…

But, like seriously, what the heck is she? She must have some terrier or something in there. We have no idea.

She’s smaller than we’d hoped for, but we still love her stupid butt regardless. Look at those legs-for-days!

She also has graduated out of Puppy 1 classes and started Puppy 2 at Denver Paw School on Saturday!

Since she’d had two weeks off, we expected her to be the worst behaved pup in class, but we were pleasantly surprised. Training is paying off!

On deck for the weeks to come:

• I have two voice lessons on the schedule this month 🙂
• Hopefully I’ll get back into running!
• Harper has a vet appointment tomorrow
• Nick’s sister Ava is visiting this weekend
• We’re going to a wedding in Philly the weekend after that, so Harps will stay at City Bark Denver (we’ve heard great things about them)
• The Three Amigas’ Retreat in Seattle is at the end of August! Can’t wait!

Question of the Day:

What are you looking forward to?

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