Putting it together....bit by bit

Hi there folk! I'm back with an all-new blog and soooo much going on it's crazy.

HAPPY DAYS at the Pines Dinner Theatre has opened. We have some really wonderful audiences and will continue to have them. The show, based on the popular television show, has been selling like hot cakes. So, if you want to come see me in the show (which is playing through the end of August) you better hop to and make your reservations now because I can't guarantee you'll be able to get them come July.

The review was recently posted. It got mixed reviews but I got a nice little nod from the reviewer. After second guessing my playing Mrs. C it was nice to see the reviewer thought I did an honest job with the role.

This coming week (June 20-24) I've been asked by the Allentown Arts Community to teach an acting camp to Allentown, PA elementary students. I'm honored that I was thought of for this position. It's only 1 week but I'm hoping it attracts future private students and acting students at Civic this summer.

Starting July 11th I have a TON of stuff going on. I start my series of professional theater workshops in Bethlehem, PA.

Also on July 11th I start my 4 week acting class at the Civic Theatre of Allentown. I teach both acting and dance to grades 1 & 2.

Starting July 19th I'll be teaching a 4 week musical theater intensive in Chester, NJ for only $125. This intensive is for ages 10-18. We will cover everything related to musical theater and host a 1/2 hour showcase on the last day for the parents.

My company, Star of the Day Event Productions, is working tirelessly on presenting a reading of 'Poppy and the Magic Tutu' in NJ and PA. We are rescheduling our NJ reading to late July. We are still seeking a venue for our reading of Poppy in PA also scheduled for late July. The music is just about done and I'm looking forward to introducing it to the world. We are all very excited.

Star of the Day is also launching its birthday party program. We offer a large selection of birthday party themes complete with dramatic fun and play, favors, and gifts all at affordable prices.

I'll be performing on July 7th at the Allentown Public Theatre SPotlight Cabaret. The Cabarets perform at Allentown Brew Works on Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA. It's $5 plus 2 drinks! Come one, come all!

This next project isn't yet a confirmed project but I'm hoping to get it. I have had a phone interview and submitted all my materials for it. Just as I was starting rehearsals for Happy Days I was contacted by the ACTeen program at Weist Barron in NYC to teach an 8 week musical theater intensive class there. Well, I'm very close to making that happen. I would teach the class twice a week in NYC. I'm very excited about it and I really hope it works out. Musical Theater is my thang!!! So, any positive vibes you want to send my way, please do!

I have promised to include a VLOG and it's coming just not this week. Sorry! I'm super excited to get all the footage together and edited so I can share it all with you.

The other thing I wanted to mention is my voice studio is officially OPEN! I am accepting new voice students ages 12 +. I'm extremely affordable and have a very gentle approach to teaching voice to new and experienced singers. If you would like voice coaching or know someone looking for a vocal coach, please send them my way! THANKS!!

Also please check out these performers' websites.

Mim Paquin-Robinette
Jason Robinette
Sean Patrick Gibbons
Marshall Gunter


Thanks for reading this week! Stay tuned.....

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs. ~ Vance Havne"

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: GREEN BEANS WITH APRICOTS AND SERRANO HAM

Kirsten Almeida received her B.A. in Theater and Speech from Wagner College. For twelve years, Kirsten doubled as a professional fundraiser for a large non-profit arts organization and an actor, director, choreographer, and playwright. She is currently performing for the Pines Dinner Theatre 2011 season as Sister Hubert in 'Nunsense' and Mrs. C in 'Happy Days The Musical.' She has performed in more than forty shows all over the U.S. She spent four months touring the country with the Omaha Theater Company's production of 'The Little Engine that Could' as the Red Dress Doll. She performed nearly 80 performances in 36 states. In New York City, Kirsten was part of the cast for the award-winning 'Skin Deep' by Mary Lynn Dobson (Fringe Festival winner 2009) which has won top honors from the 2010 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and originated the role of Lavender Blue in the eerily funny 'Professor Von Awesome's Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings.' Kirsten appeared in the U.S. premiere of 'Scandalous! A new musical based on the life of D.H. Lawrence' in New Orleans and appeared at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the World Premiere musical 'The Butterfly Project' which raised money for children's cancer research. Other credits include Children of Eden (Mama Noah), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(Narrator), Hello Dolly!(Minnie Fay), Beauty and the Beast(Silly Girl & Madame de la Grande Bouche), The Sound of Music(Mother Abbess), Annie(Star-to-Be), Oliver!(Widow Corney), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying(Rosemary), My Fair Lady(Featured Dancer), Promises, Promises!(Featured Dancer), Nunsense I & II(Sister Leo), Gypsy(Tessie Tura), Guys & Dolls(Featured Dancer), Back to the 80s(Debbie Cox), Seussical the Musical(Gertrude), Snoopy!(Sally Brown), Pippin(Featured dancer), Carousel, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors(Chiffon), and many more.

In film/tv, Kirsten has appeared in the upcoming comedy 'Big Guns', 'Three Chris'', and filmed the independent short 'Westfield' with Clocktower Productions. She has also appeared in two episodes of 'The World's Most Astonishing News'.

She has also appeared as a guest artist with the Newark Boys Chorus and Triad Ensemble and the Spotlight Cabaret with Allentown Public Theater. She was a founding member of the Boonton Parks & Recreation Theatre Company for young performers where she not only directed and choreographed the shows for the company but also acted as lead fundraiser, costumer, lighting designer, marketing director as well as scenic and props designer. Kirsten also taught dance for the recreation department to children ages 7-12. Kirsten has also dabbled in play writing for children's theater. Her twisted version of "The Three Little Pigs" (a musical from the Big Bad Wolf's perspective) was produced at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick, NJ.

Kirsten teaches drama classes at the Civic Theater in Allentown, PA to grades Pre-K through 4. She also is the Program Coordinator/Facilitator for the "Reading with Cat in the Hat" literacy promotion program where she tours to at-risk communities and performs as the Cat in the Hat. Kirsten also offers an audition class to high school students which helps students audition confidently. Her effective teaching style is requested by groups in PA and NJ and NY.

She is also the owner and operator of 'Star of the Day' Event Productions. A one-of-a-kind full service entertainment experience.

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The story of Bob

Hey there. Welcome back!

I had such an amazing week last week and just had to share all the exciting stuff going on.

On Monday, I got to spend an entire day with one of my favorite people. Kelly Brandt is one of those people everyone should have in their life. Over the past few years we have become extremely good friends. She is the type of friend that would drive you to the airport right after a storm in 20 below weather at 5am....yup, she did that for me. She's also the type of friend that would go out of her way to see to it that you have employment options in your life. :) We had a discussion about me needing to subsidize my income in between gigs and she took it as a personal challenge. We have had numerous conversations about that topic and she never ceases to amaze me with her dedication to me and her other friends. So, I digress. I spent the day at her house on MLK day and she made some amazing chicken soup for me...and it was awesome. Definitely hit the spot on such a cold day and I will be making it for me and the hubster in the near future. As always, I enjoyed the conversation. I want to thank her for just being awesome and being a true friend.


Throughout the rest of the week I was put to work gathering information for my website to Mim Paquin-Robinette and SilverVoiceNYC. Please check out www.KirstenAlmeida.com. Color scheme and layout are still being worked out along with some of the content. But it up and running and I can cross yet another thing off my 2011 goals list.

Speaking of Mim...I got to spend Wednesday - Friday with Mim, Jason, and my beautiful Godson, Zephyr. I was so happy to be there and overwhelmed at how much he's grown that I didn't take a single picture. ME? Can you believe it? I practically walk around with a camera sewn to my hand. But there will be many next times...and I will take pictures. Now, I don't know if you noticed that this week's blog is titled 'The Story of Bob'...well that's because I learned so much about Bob from Zephyr. WHO IS BOB????? Why, to Zephyr, he's a confidant, a friend, a teacher, a playmate...he's everything. I mean every time I turned around Zephyr was speaking of this Bob. Bobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobobob...... bobobobobobobobobobobob. I mean he must be very important for Zephyr to talk about him so often. Right? It was too cute not to mention...and since I love him and his parents I thought it quite apropos to title the blog in his honor.

I also had an audition in NYC this past week. First one in a long time. It was for NYC's Seth Bisen-Hersh. I was asked to sing in his showcase at 'Don't Tell Mama's' on Friday, February 25th @ 7pm. There is limited space so RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW. You can reserve now and pay at the door. It is cash only. $12 plus a 2 drink minimum. If you reserve please show because I'm responsible to pay for you if you don't show up. :( But, I'm quite excited to have this opportunity to get heard and seen in NYC by professionals in the industry. And it's two days before rehearsals begin for Nunsense so it'll be my last performance in NYC until June.



Up next for me is The Legend of Johnny 15. I'll be playing the Narrator and voice of the scanner. It's a rock/R&B style musical written and produced by the Serious Theatre Collective of NYC. Performances are Fri & Sat February 11, 12, 18, 19 and Monday February 14th (VALENTINE'S DAY). I'm extremely excited to be working with this creative group again after working with them in Professor Von Awesome's Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings in the Fall of 2009.





I have auditions scheduled almost every day for the next month and I'm super excited about that.

On the teaching side of things, I'm back into the swing of things at Civic Theatre of Allentown teaching grades 1-4 and 9-12. Yesterday (Saturday, January 22nd) I sat in on the auditions for grades 1-4 for Civic's upcoming junior musical 'Seussical'. These kids are crazy talented and I'm beyond proud of them. They had to stand on the stage, 8 at a time, and audition both singing and reading from a side in front of EVERYONE (minus parents...they were not allowed. THANK GOD!) They were so good, guys! Having had the opportunity to see them audition and see more than what I get to see in class, I now know how much more I can push them in class and it is ON! After the auditions I headed to my high school class. I thought they weren't caring or listening when I would ask them questions about their characters back stories last week. I got a lot of 'I don't knows' or 'I think' or 'I'm guessing' and I would say YES you do know...you don't think YOU KNOW...you're not guessing YOU KNOW. This week when they got up there I could tell they spent time over the past week looking at their monologues asking important questions about their character and really defining their place and who and why and moments before, etc....several times in class I got teary-eyed and had to take a moment. These 'kids' are amazing creative creatures. They challenge me as their teacher but also as an actress. One of my kids wasn't getting it...I just walked up and started some improv as his 'to' and I saw the light bulb go off and he got it. And I just smiled and walked away so he could finish. It was a beautiful class yesterday and I can't wait to explore more with them. Bravo!

So this weekend I've been able to spend some much needed QT with the hubster. We saw a matinee of True Grit yesterday and it was awesome. We came home and I made grilled tuna with grilled pineapple and it was awesome. We watched a few back episodes of Parks & Recreation...all hail Ron Swanson....he's awesome! And then Mike suggested La Vie en Rose starring Marion Cotillard. I said yes! I was speechless. It was magnificent. Makes me want to smack myself for not working on my french more. Oops! Maybe I'll add that to my 2011 goals. Anyway, one of my new passions is foreign films. I've been watching a lot of them lately. And there are many more to see. I still want Mike to see Cinema Paradiso...still my all time favorite foreign film. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to pick it up. Such a simple story with beautiful music and cinematography.



I'm still working hard on my new business Star of the Day Productions. I have spent countless hours writing a business plan and researching online...I'm not quite done yet but I can see the finish line. I am trying to work on the logo. In my last blog entry, I put together something really quick to include in the blog. The logo is still a work in progress but my latest attempts are cleaner and simpler, as suggested by Mim who works with this stuff all the time. Here are some examples:






I think I'm leaning toward the one in the middle. It's colorful like me but simple. Let me know what you think. Drop me a line at kra@kirstenalmeida.com


Quote of the Day: " Singing is a way of escaping. It's another world. I'm no longer on earth. " ~ Edith Piaf


Video of the Week: This clip is from a season 2 episode that was guest starring Megan Mullally who is married to Nick Offerman in real life. I think Ron Swanson is so ridiculous that of course I heart him!





Recipes of the Week: Grilled Lime Cilantro Tuna w/Lime Cilantro Rice

Grilled Lime Cilantro Tuna

Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs fresh Ahi Tuna (frozen/previously frozen is not the same)
Juice from two limes (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions Combine ingredients for marinade, put in plastic bag with fish. Marinate the tuna for 30-60 minutes. Remove from marinade and place on grill. Grill to desired doneness. We prefer medium rare and it is delicious. It is easy to overcook tuna. You can always cook it a little more. A thick steak should take no more than 8 minutes for medium rare.

1-1/2 lbs tuna usually serves 4. You eat a much smaller piece than you would a steak. Leftovers are good the next day on a sandwich or salad.

Number of Servings: 4

Lime Cilantro Rice

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Kirsten Rani Almeida received her B.A. in Theater and Speech from Wagner College. For twelve years, Kirsten doubled as a professional fundraiser for a large non-profit arts organization and an actor, director, choreographer, and playwright. She has performed in more than forty shows all over the U.S. She spent four months touring the country with the Omaha Theater Company's production of 'The Little Engine that Could' as the Red Dress Doll. She performed nearly 80 performances in 36 states. In New York City, Kirsten was part of the cast for the award-winning 'Skin Deep' by Mary Lynn Dobson (Fringe Festival winner 2009) which has won top honors from the 2010 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and originated the role of Lavender Blue in the eerily funny 'Professor Von Awesome's Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings.' Kirsten appeared in the U.S. premiere of 'Scandalous! A new musical based on the life of D.H. Lawrence' in New Orleans and appeared at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the World Premiere musical 'The Butterfly Project' which raised money for children's cancer research. Other credits include Children of Eden (Mama Noah), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(Narrator), Hello Dolly!(Minnie Fay), Beauty and the Beast(Silly Girl & Madame de la Grande Bouche), The Sound of Music(Mother Abbess), Annie(Star-to-Be), Oliver!(Widow Corney), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying(Rosemary), My Fair Lady(Featured Dancer), Promises, Promises!(Featured Dancer), Nunsense I & II(Sister Leo), Gypsy(Tessie Tura), Guys & Dolls(Featured Dancer), Back to the 80s(Debbie Cox), Seussical the Musical(Gertrude), Snoopy!(Sally Brown), Pippin(Featured dancer), Carousel, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors(Chiffon), and many more.

In film/tv, Kirsten has appeared in the upcoming comedy 'Big Guns', 'Three Chris'', and filmed the independent short 'Westfield' with Clocktower Productions. She has also appeared in two episodes of 'The World's Most Astonishing News'.

She has also appeared as a guest artist with the Newark Boys Chorus and Triad Ensemble and the Spotlight Cabaret with Allentown Public Theater. She was a founding member of the Boonton Parks & Recreation Theatre Company for young performers where she not only directed and choreographed the shows for the company but also acted as lead fundraiser, costumer, lighting designer, marketing director as well as scenic and props designer. Kirsten also taught dance for the recreation department to children ages 7-12. Kirsten has also dabbled in play writing for children's theater. Her twisted version of "The Three Little Pigs" (a musical from the Big Bad Wolf's perspective) was produced at Playhouse 22 in East Brunswick, NJ.

Kirsten teaches drama classes at the Civic Theater in Allentown, PA to grades Pre-K through 4. Kirsten also offers an audition class to high school students which helps students audition confidently. Her effective teaching style is requested by groups in PA and NJ and NY.

She is also the owner and operator of 'Star of the Day' Event Productions. A one-of-a-kind full service birthday experience.

Visit my website.