Disney's HOCUS POCUS Coming To Broadway in 2014

APRIL FOOL'S BITCHES!!!  Especially you, Jason Keef:)

With A Belly Full Of Chipotle, I Stab At Thee.

Don't ask me what that title means, I don't know.

Well hello there, bloggies!  How are you my dears.  I have been inspired to type at your faces.  Not sure what is going to come out here, but would it be great if it were something interesting?  I thought so too.

Anyway, here we go.

First off guys, serious, serious, SERIOUS news.  I am now the Acid Queen in "The Who's TOMMY" with DOMA Theatre.  To say I am thrilled is an understatement.  This is one of my dream parts because come on, who hasn't wanted to be Tina Turner at least once in their life, and it is seriously one of the coolest songs in the show.  Not to mention that my feminist side is very proud to have nabbed one of three female roles in the entire show.  It is a very male-driven show - not as bad as 1776 but still - and I am pretty tickled that the production thought of me.  I am PSYCHED, playas!!!

So yeah, the next 2 and a half weeks of my life are going to be twice as hectic.  But as far as I'm concerned, it is more than worth it.

Other than that I am shooting a music video next week as a sexy bearded lady, (Can't WAIT to show you guys all that, it should be a blast!,) and I have started a little webseries from my car called "The Traffic Jam Diaries."  It came about from sitting in my car for over and hour on a near-daily basis, singing my face and wanting to do something a little more creative with my time.  Hence my Flip began to go back into heavy rotation and TJD was born.  I loves it.  It's so much fun and I feel like a rock star.  And clearly you guys are liking it, because of the heaping praise, love and requests you send.  So keep it coming, and I will do so in kind.  Thank you guys!

Also, thanks to Netflix, I have officially begun an unhealthy obsession with "The Vampire Diaries."  What most people don't realize is that they were actually books back in the 90's and I cut my vampire-loving teeth on them.  Me and Damon Salvatore have been together a very long time, and if he wasn't undead he would have been put in jail for marrying a minor back when I was 12.  I shied away from the tv show, because I knew the only reason anyone even THOUGHT about this book series after all these years was because of the Twilight craze, but I finally broke down and watched.

God, every week it's like I'm that 12 year old ninny all over again.  DAMON SALVATORE, MY HEART WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS.  You wonderful bastard.  Too mad you like petite brunettes rather than ginger amazons.  But in my mind, in an alternate universe, we are together, we are happy, and we live happily ever after.

As far as teen dramas on the CW go, it ain't half bad.  I've tried to stomach quite a few over the years, and "Supernatural" has been the only one that has hung in there for me.  But I'm enjoying the storylines and honestly, there is something happening on this show that you rarely see.  That is:

A group of totally hot actors and actresses who can ACT.

It's staggering.  Sure, there are pretty people who can act, and you may see one or two in a show or movie, but never a whole cast.  It is truly beautiful, (I mean that literally,) both physically and creatively.

So I get my eye candy and I get good performances.  Awesome sauce.

Well, I am off to lick some elbows, shoot up some heroin and snort some glitter cocaine.  Peace.

All's Well My Bloggies,
Steph

It Is I...

So I bet you're all wondering why I suck so much at this blog.

To be honest, I don't ever know what to write.  People tell me my life is interesting, and I'm sure to some it is, but as far as I see my life I see it as follows:

1. Wake Up
2. Work
3. Rehearse
4. Watch Netflix until I pass out.

The fact that #3 on that list even exists is a tremendous blessing to me.  If I wanted to do the 9-5, I...actually, I tried the 9-5 thing.  Didn't work out so hot.  The biggest thing that contributed to that I believe was even though I was performing in Ohio, it wasn't fulfilling.  I needed something that felt more focused.  In Ohio I grew compliant, and it made my work suffer.  Columbus was clearly not a proper fit.

I never dreamed Los Angeles would be a proper fit, though.  The world of plastic and bleach and tanning?  Of people who live at the gym?  No thanks.  But it is in LA that I am getting the opportunities I strived for so long in New York.  It is a true blessing to be able to do professional theatre work on a regular basis, and I honor each and every person that got me there and will get me there in the future.

Sure,  I could once again try to conform to the normal, the standard.  And that would go over as well as a lead balloon.  I would once again feel miserable and drained.  Sure, it would be nice to have the steady schedule, the steady paycheck.  No stress over juggling the schedule.  But I would be nowhere near happy.

My name is Stephanie Hayslip, and I am happy.

Except I can't fracking sleep.

Later Bloggies,
Steph

You Can't Take The Sky From Me...

I just had to share this, because this is quite possibly the best thing I have ever seen.

Remember the "Good" of the "Bad"?

Here it be!

Hello bloggies.  It is lovely to see you once again.  Mama's been busy.  In fact, mama's amazed she's still upright and knows her own name.

With all the projects I'm working on and all the job interviews I've been juggling, I feel like my head is full of cotton and I can't seem to pin one simple thought down from moment to moment.  But I'm still waking up and getting it done!  As my idol Teresa Dowell-Vest always says "You Gotta Work That Hustllllllle."

Seriously guys, there is a lot happening.  I'm incredibly excited about it all, and hope you're ready to hang on and enjoy the ride!  Like you're a Na'vi and you're riding one of those massive dinosaur birds.

Anyway, I promised a "Good" in my last post so here it is - "In The Heights."  If you have not seen this show, there is something seriously wrong with you.  I'm just being honest.  I'm pretty disgusted with myself that I waited as long as I did.  A friend of mine gave me the opportunity to go see the national tour last week and...

This show has given me back my faith in Broadway.

Come on people, let's get real.  In the past decade, Broadway has turned into a weird, inflated version of watching re-runs on cable television.  I mean "The Wedding Singer"?  "Legally Blonde"?  To find something new and original on Broadway, I feel like you would have to make a deal with the devil.  Actually, when I sit and think about it, I think a deal with the devil is what is causing this whole mess.  What else could explain "Elf: The Musical"?  No, I am not kidding and yes, it is slated to open soon.

I'm not against all movies-turned-musicals.  "Hairspray," "The Full Monty," "Hocus Pocus," (which is due out next year,) are all well done shows that deserve the praise.  Except maybe "Hocus Pocus," who knows about that one.  I'm just excited as all hell for it.  But why on god's green earth was "Xanadu" ever created period?  And while shows like these are mortally wounding Times Square with the help of the Disney Corporate Machine, shows like "Next To Normal" play in smaller theaters, in danger of closing every day.  Fresh, brillliant, new work unlike anything else seen on Broadway today, or ever.

"In The Heights" is everything that made me fall in love with the Broadway Musical - gorgeous score, a sharp, witty book, a brilliant set with equally genius staging and choreography to go with it.  Spoken word blends perfectly into the dialogue and the music is both reminiscent of the flavor of the show and grand enough to satisfy any theatre patron.  It is a love letter not only to the true backbone and meaning of New York City, but to Broadway.  I left speechless, giddy, and sated in such a way that I hesitate to say when the last time I felt it was.  I have not left a Broadway show feeling that way in such a long, long time.

Yeah, "Avenue Q" is epic and "Next To Normal" is so stirring and emotional that it can change your life.  But it has been so long since a show moved me so and connected with me.  I missed my musicals that made a stand and was large enough to dazzle your senses.  I missed a show where people not only made you fall in love with them, but sang their faces off while doing it.

It has been so long since I saw well-crafted, well-executed Broadway on such a scale.

This show took me back to when I first saw "RENT," which will now and forever be a turning point in my life.  It took me back even farther, to when I saw "Phantom of the Opera" for the first time and was felt like I was shown the path to heaven.  It is in theatre that I find my passion, my strength, and the steady deterioration of the quality and artistic integrity of my beloved medium has caused me nothing but frustration and pain.  "In The Heights" set my heart at ease.  It said one thing to me, and one thing only.

Hang in there Steph, I'm still out there.  And I won't let you down.

All My Best, Bloggies,
Steph

You Take The Good With The Bad

Sorry for the long absence, bloggies.  Momma's been busy.  But now I am here, squishing you to my bosom, happy to see you all again.

And she's got some beef.

First off - The Tonys.  I did not even watch the Tonys this year because I had a feeling, a premonition if you will, that the show was going to make me gnash my teeth.  And from what I understand and was forced to watch on youtube, I was right.

Can someone please explain to me why it was some sort of solo-performance workshop?  This isn't American Idol, and I didn't want to tune in to see 32-bar cuts, especially of Christiane Noll singing "Back To Before."  That woman should have been allowed to stand there and sing the whole song twice.  She's freakin' Christiane Noll and she was playing MOTHER in RAGTIME.

And if you are going to give her a 32-Bar of "Back To Before," then have some other pieces from the show to pair it with.  It was the whole cast that got nominated for the show, not just Noll and her personal nomination. Do a bit of the opening number and then finish it off with BtB.  I'm not a brain surgeon, nor am I related to Hal Prince, but I figured that one out all on my own.

Speaking of whole casts, "Everyday Rapture?" They did a minute of one song too!  That had no depth, gave you no real concept of what the show was about, I wanted to scream!  That is SHERIE RENE SCOTT, people.  Do you have ANY idea how brilliant she is?  And one of the chicks singing with her was curvy!  The more strong, sexy, curvy women on the television the better.

But no, no we had to cut Christiane and Sherie short.  They aren't names, don't you understand?  We know why people even turn their televisions on these days.  It's to see celebrities.  It's to see movie stars.  So no, we aren't going to do "A Weekend In The Country," from "A Little Night Music."  We aren't going to even do "Perpetual Anticipation," which is short as hell but at least is a group number.  No, we're going to let Catherine Zeta-Jones sing a song that when not done properly sinks to a dirge, and slowly sends everyone watching into a coma or out to find some Draino to drink.

I refuse to judge Catherine for the performance.  Who knows why her head was whipping from left to right, who knows who chose to do a complete version of a very simple and stark ballad when her other contenders only got cuts.  But it was a simply appalling truth that most of the people who gave their blood, sweat and tears to get these shows up and running and nominated on Broadway were refused the chance to present and celebrate their wares.  "A Little Night Music" is my favorite Sondheim and it kills me how many people now won't even get it a fighting chance because of what they saw at the Tonys.

Urgh, I knew that was bugging me but I didn't know how much until I looked at all I typed here.  I guess I will save the "Good" from the title above for next time.  Until then, my sweet bloggies.

~ Steph, The Vengeance Demon Of Broadway

The Life Of A College Graduate

So I graduated college!

10 years in the making, guys.  And can I just say that through all the hard times, all the tears, all the darkness, the people who have helped me up and dragged me along if need be have seen me reach the finish line to that chapter in my life.  I have never felt so accomplished, blessed, and RELIEVED.

But onto new challenges!  Right now I am a hitting the pavement hardcore, y'all.  You need to be hustlin' to get that cheddar and trust me, I am hustlin' and bustlin' my freckled bum off.  I got a full schedule to the point that every day I get home, look at the clock and go "I'm sorry, when did it get to be THAT late?  Didn't I just wake up an hour ago?"

I'm both auditioning and job hunting, so keep me in your thoughts.  As the illustrious Chris Fields says, (who occasionally is an intelligent man,) "Just keep telling yourself 'I'm Getting A Job, I'm Getting A Job."  Well Chris, that mantra is holding fast in my head.  It's getting me job interviews, so let's see that chant become reality!

On the auditioning front I've been working on some print and TV stuff, since the theatre auditions are definitely on the slow side right now.  I'm currently in development of a short film I got the bug to produce, and as for the cabaret...

Let's talk about that for a minute.  The cabaret is developed as it can be without a solid pianist to develop it with.  And it's incredibly important to me that they are a good fit with me.  So I put an ad out.  Granted, it was on Craig's List, but you gotta start somewhere, right?  And most of my pianist friends are otherwise engaged at the moment.  One of the individuals that submitted was SO lovely, and we hit it off well, but after some discussion we found that we both thought it best if we look for someone whose goals were a little more parallel with my own.  The other was...well...

The other was a drag queen who played with two fingers.

And with that thought, I leave you all to bed.  Sleep tight, my bloggies.  And may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Much Adoration,
Steph