One Week till GUTS is OUT!

"I can feel it. I can touch it... I'm here!"
Though this is a quote from GUTS, it also describes how I am feeling today, exactly one week before the vision of GUTS materializes.
Yes, I am here. A couple of years back (and forgive me for the cheesy moment....) I read 4 lines from my diary to my mentor, Gregory Simmons, and he said "You must create a play out of this!"....
"What?! Who? Where? How?.....No way! That's a crazy thought!", I responded... Plus, it's my personal "stuff"! 
Mr. Simmons insisted that there is something very universal in my messages, he urged me to keep writing, he urged me to get out of my comfort zone, he urged me to develop a play because what I had to say was bigger than me...
I resisted. I resisted A LOT....But what kept me going (other than Mr. Simmons' incessant support and faith in this project) was that deep inside I knew that GUTS could make a difference. At first I didn't know exactly what kind of "difference", but I'm more clear about it these days. 
The name GUTS came to me one day, not too long ago, after quite a while of working on a nameless play. It immediately felt like "the one". Made so much sense to me. I had somehow known that the name would come when it's ready to come, and it did... All the associations of the word GUTS exist in this play, though the word is not used even once. 


Cut to where we are now.....


That diary, which I always liked personalizing (I tend to personalize things....), became Mr. Diary; fiction was added; Middle Eastern dance, an agent in telling the story of Hellthy, was added; multimedia was added; many drafts were created over and over...And then I found my superwoman director/producer, Shoshona Currier, and she put together an incredible team, gifted award-winning designers, passionate artists, who amaze me every day. I couldn't have asked for more. 
GUTS, my surreal dramdey, my multi-media fantasia, is going to hit the stage in one week! What began as a personal story of triumph, something a private person like me did NOT want to share with the world, is about to materialize as a theatrical piece. Now, that alone seems surreal to me....But like my mentor said, it's a lot bigger than me, and I am beyond honored to be the GUTS' vessel.


Here's a lil something from yesterday's costume fitting (Sydney Maresca, our costume designer, is a wizard...):

GUTS Film Shoot Blew Me Away

Even though today was a long day of shooting footage for GUTS, including, but not limited to, a lot of dancing (you'll see it on stage and on screen when you come see it...), which resulted in sore muscles and (sweet) exhaustion, I had to stop by here and say how amazing today was. We shot most of what will end up becoming the "multimedia fantasia" aspect of GUTS, all done brilliantly by our incredible video designer- Kaz Phillips Safer. Can't wait to see the footage!

Gotta say, I was blown away today by her ideas, creativity and imagination, not to mention by the strong wind, provided by New York City. I don't care that I had to cut my nails (for the first time! I love my long nails) for the role of Hellthy, and I don't care that I had to wear summer clothes while the cold wind was trying to fly me away. Because it's worth it. My GUTS experience these days is a dream come true. I couldn't have asked for a more talented, inspired and passionate team. So much dedicated work is put into GUTS, and to think that it's a solo show....

My body needs to rest now.....until tomorrow's rehearsal. 

We open in 2 weeks!!! 

GUTS.

My GUTS...coming out....soon...

PS. I leave you with a photo taken on set today, with our edible props...

Da News is OUT!

I like warm weather, just like Hellthy, my character in GUTS. Had to layer up this morning for rehearsal, since we're in that time of year, when city heat isn't on yet, though it should be.....Even though I constantly move on stage, I am still cold....

BUT, may I say, I am now super warm, and not because the heat at home is on (it's not...), but because our FIRST announcement is out! GUTS is OUT! We open 4 weeks from today!!! Yay! It's amazing that even though the apartment is cold, I am feeling soooo warm inside and out! Cheerz!!
Read:

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Liat-Rons-GUTS-Begins-Performances-113-20111006

My GUTS

I don't quite understand why I've been so neglectful of my blog. It's rude. Please forgive me, Mr. Blog.  I may have been focusing too much on developing a play (GUTS) based on my Diary, and so Blog didn't have much room to grow....

Now, just to be clear, GUTS is NOT my diary! It's actually a fictionalized version of my story...But its original seed was a diary that was written during a very pivotal time of my life, not too long ago. 

So here I am, trying to make peace with you, Mr. Blog, asking for your forgiveness. I didn't mean to desert you. I am back now! I am back now, straight from our first rehearsal of GUTS.  

It's so incredibly exhilarating, hard to put it in words....

Opening night is November 3rd! (and yes, there WILL BE belly dancing...). Sooo pumped! We have the most talented team on earth! (Yes, on earth!) and I have to pinch myself to believe that this is finally happening. GUTS.

I'm leaving you with a glimpse from last weekend, which was designed for memorizing all of Hellthy's lines (that's my character's name, and it's not a spelling mistake) somewhere......in Massachusetts....Enjoy! I will see you back here, VERY soon! Oh, and thank you for not giving up on me...I'll totally make it up to you, I promise!

Shana Tova, Blog (and my Jewish readers too.....)

Quick Brilliance to Brighten Up Your Day

Just to show how silly can be genius. I don't know how it's physically possible, but no matter how many times I watch this 16 seconds clip, I laugh out loud (snorting including, for those who know me....). Keep it at arm's length, and use as needed:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJQp-q1Y1s

(Oh, yes, and this is my little homage to 40 Years of Monty Python, who's been magically crossing generations and cultures, and I'm sure will keep doing so for a long long time!)

My King-dom for High Rating: Musings on Last Night’s Interview with Ahmadinejad

“Thank you, Mr. President. Always good to see you”, was how Larry King ended his hollow hour-long interview with Ahmadinejad last night.

You seemed so timid, Larry, so meek, that I’m not sure you had such a good time with Mr. “Allow Me”, after all. But oh my, Mr. King, did you indeed “allow” him....and then some. Is it out of fear? I mean, I promise he would have not thrown a nuclear bomb at you had you dared to challenge him (he might actually come closer to doing that if he’s NOT challenged, but that’s another story…)

And speaking of challenging an interviewee, can you please refresh my memory and tell me how many decades of experience you have...? Isn't it 50 years? Something like that? Now, I do understand that you are most comfortable interviewing about the real issues, like reality TV and beauty pageant controversies. But cut us some slack, Larry, you had an opportunity last night, to sit face to face with someone who is one of the world’s major threats, who wants to make our future a very very dark place. And instead of telling this overwhelmingly dangerous man “all of your answers are absolute lies and allow ME now to confront you with some truth”, you sit there and every 120 seconds, on the dot, you say “we gotta go to break”.

Yesssss, commercial breaks is really what you needed last night, to fill 75% of a crucial interview. Not to mention you needed a break to squirm in your seat without the world watching (the president of Iran saw it though, I wonder if he offered you some xanax). But commercials mean money, and apparently money is what you needed to provide last night, more than anything else, to your excellent reputable Network.

Has anyone prepared you for this interview? Do you understand how important this interview was? How come you were more prepared for your John Gosslin interview?!
Why would you let this man go on and on about the wonderful democracy that is Iran, where it’s so sad that people just don’t seem to know how to honorably lose an election? Would it have been so hard to articulate some facts for Mr. Allow Me?!

And one more thing, Larry: When somebody tells you how it’s so unfair that people maliciously ostracize him simply because he goes against “common opinion” about the Holocaust, you ask him if he ever heard of the Final Solution, and then you talk to him about facts, and if it’s necessary, you explain to him, very slowly, the difference between Opinions and Facts. Okay?

You can also ask him if he’d like to see for himself any of those pretend showers that instead of water, poured Zyklon B gas on millions of people, in order to systematically mass slaughter and annihilate a whole nation.

I only wish, Larry, that you mentioned the gas chambers, the crematoriums, and the extermination camps. And more than that, I wish you offered to take him on a tour.

If Larry King represents the current attitude of a world seeking a peaceful future (or a future at all, for that matter), all I have to say now is:

We Need to Wake Up!

And on that note, I will also say “Gmar Chatima Tova”, to those of us who observe Yom Kippur. As a Jew, this is one of the most important days of my year.
...And while at it, Shana Tova: Happy New Jewish Year!

A Tribute to Billy: September 2001- May 26, 2009

I received a sad message this morning from my ex. Our cat Billy, Bill, Billbillon, Billbilloni, passed away a couple of days ago from a kidney disease.

He was a lot more than a cat. He was a rare creature that brought endless joy and laughter to anyone who knew him.

I read the message over and over again, and my brain knew what it meant, but all I could do was to write back a “be strong” reply, delete the message like it never existed, and continue my day.

Early this evening, sitting with my eyes closed in the beginning of my yoga class, when you “set your intention” for the next 90 minutes, tears started streaming out. When I opened my eyes, my face was wet. Billy. Billy is dead.

It wasn’t love at first site. Not at all. I’m a dog person, always have been. Actually only German shepherds. Never cats. Frankly, pre-Billy, cats used to scare the hell out of me, partially because when I was seven I was haunted to read this scary story about how they had nine souls.
When I fell in love with a guy who had a cat, I had to adjust, but I didn’t know how to handle Billy’s presence, so I simply tried to ignore him whenever I visited the boyfriend up in Maine.

But every time I slept over he would come to bed in the middle of the night and sleep on my face. Now, if you know me, you know that no one in this whole world is allowed to wake me up, ever (!), unless asked, let alone a skinny little orange cat, a peculiar cross-breeding of a chirping bird and a fierce tiger (not to mention that the nine souls trauma didn’t work well with this particular way of being woken up…).

I didn’t know what to do. I was in love, and had to somehow come to terms with Billy’s existence. We had a couple of bonding experiences, here and there, especially when the ex left us alone for a few hours, but that was about it. Deep inside I was hoping that befriending him would make him stop sitting on top of my head every night at 3 am.

A couple of months have passed, and we decided to move in together. There was no way Billy was coming to New York City, I thought. Living with me under one roof was not an option.
I knew the boyfriend would not be happy about it, but there was no way I was going to live with a cat, doesn’t matter what cat!! (quite naïve I was, wasn’t I…?)

Needless to say, after one short fiery conversation, I learned that Billy was here to stay. Billy was not going anywhere. Well, he was, actually. He was moving to New York! And was going to live with me! Despite the million conditions I laid out (for instance: I don’t take care of him, his poop, his anything), I wasn’t happy about the situation.

And then we fell in love…..Billy and I. I was, without a doubt, his new mommy.
He became the most gorgeous cat in the whole wide world. He was irresistible. And I was proud to have him and to show him off.

Billy. Billy loved to talk (or chirp), and we used to have lively discussions for hours.

Billy knew how to play fetch better than any dog I knew.

Billy was obsessed with my banana bread. I can still see him now, attacking it right as it comes out of the oven, acting like a sneaky panther, chirping like there’s no tomorrow.
And…passionately eating brown rice out of Chinese takeout. And…my biscotti. And pooping. He really liked to poop.

He didn’t like our fights. Fighting when Billy was around was tough. He would come between us and then it was hard not to laugh.

Billy made me laugh at times when no one else could.

When we broke up Billy went back to Maine. It tore my heart, I wanted to keep him, but that’s how it works: even though I became his mommy, he belonged to my ex first.
I would get updates about him once in while.
Now there will be no more updates. Billy is gone.
But he will always remain in my heart, and my happy memories of him will never go away.