Life is sooo good. And funny!

I should have titled my Blog "Life Amongst Teenagers", because that's what my days mostly are. For those that don't know me, I am a woman of many jobs - all in their turn and sometimes several at the same time. I am a performer (actress, singer, dancer), a director, a choreographer and a substitute teacher, and I am blessed (or cursed - depends on your perspective) to encounter THOUSANDS of teenagers every year.

At the moment, I am choreographing a production of BACK TO THE 80's - A Totally Awesome Musical at North High in Torrance, CA. The 80's are fabulous again, and teenagers are all about nostalgia (though none of them were even BORN in the 80s), big hair and flourescent colors once more. So, unsurprisingly, we had a MASSIVE turn out for auditions - more than 100 students came out to audition for the show (which is absolutely unheard of at most American High Schools)! Even more unreal, HALF OF THE CAST IS MALE (AND THEY CAN DANCE!). This is the first time in my life as a choreographer or director where HALF of my cast has been male. Crazy.

So yesterday, I got to set choreography to the song "Footloose" with 22 young men. SO FUN (and exhausting - they're tough to keep up with at that age). The best times of the days were the moments where they were on break, though. First, the vending machine at school starting giving out popsicles for five cents a piece. Naturally, there was a male stampede, and before you know it all of us are outside in the sun, having an impromptu popsicle party.

THEN, I had this conversation with one of the boys in the cast:
-"Ms. Erin, do you want a cookie?"
-Yes, I do, but sadly I can't have one. Thanks, though!"
-"What, are you on a diet or something?"
-"No - I'm just really allergic."
_"To what? Chocolate?"
-"No. Gluten."
-"OH. So you can't have milk or dairy?"
-"Well, no, actually, I can't because I'm also lactose intolerant."
-"OH. So you can't have milk or dairy?"
-"Nope. But I'm gluten-free too."
-"Gluten? What the heck is gluten?"
-"Anything that's made from a wheat product has gluten in it, and I'm super allergic."
-"DUDE. So you can't have like rice or anything?"
-"I CAN have rice. And potatoes. And corn. But not wheat."
-"Wait. What?"
-"Just nothing with any wheat or wheat products."
-"So you can't have cheese or milk or wheat."
-"Nope."
-"Your life sucks!"

I'm pretty confident that I haven't done this conversation justice. Sadly. But it was seriously funny.

Here's a rough video of our rehearsal (I post choreography on YouTube so they can practice at home), so you can get a feel for the young men I get to work with!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuD37sCBwvQ

Have a wonderful day!