2 more shows for JAWS the Musical

There are only 2 more shows for JAWS the Musical this month, and though I have a feeling we'll be back, I'm already missing the gang.

          
We did a promo for the show this past Monday at The PIT, and it was such a blast! Even on the fly, we seem to be able to perform anywhere, and I think that's a testament to how connected our cast is. True, most of these folks have been improvising together for years, but I feel like they took me in! :)

Clare Cooper is our rockin' musical director. She can play anything, any time, anywhere! She was even playing in the near-dark at The PIT, but she totally rocked the house! She's just amazing! And I'm delighted to get to play with her again in her own musical, "How To Marry a Divorced Man."

Brett Douglas plays my sweetheart Chad, and he steals every show, I swear! I get such a kick out of playing with him!

John Flynn plays the titular shark, and he is so incredibly talented! Such a great voice, and he just owns the stage! He moves as a shark, which means to say he is constantly in motion, because a shark can't stop swimming! As Byrne Harrison from StageBuzz.com wrote, "How do you make a shark funny and sympathetic?  Ask Flynn because he nailed it."

                            me, John Flynn, Wayne Henry, Jason Salmon, and Suzanne Stein

Wayne Henry, who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the show also plays Hooper, the Richard Dreyfuss role, and I just adore him! He wrote my big number, "At Night He Swims Home to Me," which every audience has just gone nuts for, and I am so thankful for the gift of that song! Such a treat!

Jason Salmon plays Chief Brody, and his dry humor cracks me up every time! Seriously, I think he could be the next Tim Allen! He's off to Vegas our last show (just booked a stand-up gig), so our director, Steven McElroy will be stepping in, and we're all looking forward to giving him a run for his money! ;)

      Suzanne Stein as Quint, Jason Salmon and Brody, and Wayne Henry as Hooper

Last but not least is the incomparable Suzanne Stein as the salty seadog, Quint. She is a mistress of disguise, morphing her face, body and voice into the role made famous by Robert Shaw. ;) People love her faces, and she does a tap-dance at one point that always brings down the house! Such a funny lady!

I love them all! Looking forward to diving into this show a few more times. Hope we continue to grow with it!

If you want to catch JAWS the Musical, we're at the Broadway Comedy Club
318 West 53rd Street bet. 8th and 9th Ave.
Final performances
Saturday, September 15th @ 5:30 pm
Friday, September 21st @ 6:30 pm

$10 tix (cash) at the door plus 1 drink minimum Email JawsTickets@gmail.com to reserve seats. Mention number in your party, performance date. Show runs @ 40 minutes.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

I love this tagline. Not only is it used for JAWS, but it makes me think of comedy, which, like any art, is not safe. It's throwing yourself out there, taking a leap.

Tonight I'm diving into JAWS the Musical with an incredible group of performers, most of which are UCB/PIT alums.

Brett Douglas, John Flynn, Wayne Henry, Jason Salmon and Suzanne Stein are the incredibly hilarious folks I get to play with tonight. Catch these characters below in the order just mentioned. I'm the redhead. :)

They're all so darned funny! Every rehearsal has been filled with laughter!

Clare Cooper (Toxic Avenger, Memphis) is our marvelous music director and Steven McElroy is our fearless director.

Wayne Henry wrote the book, music and lyrics and it is such a joy to sing the songs! It makes me think of so many genres - everything from an Avenue Q vibe to a bit of Phantom and Les Miz with a delicious pop rock groove.

It's wholly its own show. It starts with the premise of JAWS, the book and movie, and then, like any sketch comedy, goes off in an entirely different direction.

I'd like to think Peter Benchley would have approved since we give his great white shark a new life, no matter how humorous.

Hope audiences will "Get hooked" on our show.

We're playing in NY at The Broadway Comedy Club Fridays July 6 and 13 at 6:30 PM, Saturday July 7 at 6 PM, and Sunday July 15 at 3 PM. Tickets are $10 and reservations can be made via JawsTickets@gmail.com.

On July 15, there is an 8 PM performance in Montclair,NJ at Tierney's Tavern. Tix are $15. Call 973-731-2967 to reserve a seat.

Hope to see you there!

Blessed in Friendship

These past few days have brought me an influx of friends. It's just such a treat when you get time to connect with people you care about and who care about you.

I saw my friend, Deb Radloff, for lunch yesterday. We had worked together a year ago on Hell's Belles, and we've done a few readings together (SIN, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Vienna) and recently recorded a demo of the new musical Argentina Rumpus. Deb is an amazing woman, phenomenal friend, incredible actress and singer, and she's also training to be a yoga instructor. Talk a Renaissance gal! I'm just so proud of her and very excited to be working on a cabaret with her.

Since she's going through intense training to be a yoga instructor, she shared with me one of the sutras, which is something akin to "Change your mind and you change your world." Ironically, this has been something I've been exploring as well, realizing how perspective - and a positive one at that - has such an incredible bearing on our life experiences.

My brother confirmed this with his college course on Hindu studies and how he's realizing that what he focuses his thoughts on grows, whether its good or bad, so why not focus on the good stuff and increase the good in our lives?

I totally dig it.

And speaking of good stuff, check out my friend Wayne Henry on Logo's Big Gay Sketch Show contest produced by Rosie O'Donnell:

http://biggaycasting.com/people/waynehenry

Wayne needs over 4,000 votes to get to the next round, so please cast your vote! You can do so every 24 hours, and believe me, this funny man is worth every second!
Wayne and I worked together on Johnny on a Spot, though we actually didn't get any stage time together. When he was on, my character was up to mischief offstage and vice versa. But we had such a blast backstage and in rehearsals that we swore our characters should come together for their own show! Hmmmm - perhaps we really should give those characters their due. I have no doubt hilarity would abound!

I love how all these people inspire me - artistically, professionally and personally. I am surrounded by really wonderful folks and that makes "the ride" so much fun!

Happy trails!

2012: What a trip!

It's been a really weird year, seeing people go through incredibly traumatic times, doing what I can to help. I am hopeful that each day brings people closer together, hopeful that people will let go of hate and really let love light the way.

Not to get heavy. I just care.

My husband always says that laughter is the best medicine, and I found in 2012 that my artistic adventures were indeed more skewed towards comedy. It was cool to hear many a casting director discover, "Oh! You're funny!" ;)

Most of my work was Off-Off Broadway, and I took part in several readings. At the Manhattan Theatre Club, I played Judy Garland and Janis Joplin in the musical, Hell's Belles, which has a Forbidden Broadway vibe. I've been involved with this show since 2008, and the audiences are incredibly loyal. Many folks have come up to me after each presentation, telling me that I remind them so strongly of Judy Garland, that they can see and hear her entire career in my performance. I'm always moved by how people respond to my take on Judy, and I'm thrilled to take them down memory lane.

Wayne Henry, a friend of mine from the Off Broadway play Johnny on a Spot, caught me in Hell's Belles at HA! Comedy Club, and asked if I'd be interested in playing Sally, the quirky female lead in JAWS: The Musical! Wayne wrote the book, music and lyrics; took the basic premise of JAWS and made it entirely his own, focusing on a love story between the shark and a woman while finding plenty of humor for all the characters that inhabit "Amity Island." It was one of the most joyous experiences of the summer and ran from June to September at the Broadway Comedy Club.

Wayne is working on extending the 40 minute show into a full length musical for 2013, and I'm hoping we record some of the tunes, because they ROCK!

I also got to work on the new musical, "How to Marry a Divorced Man," reprising the role of Glenda, a punk rock mom going through a divorce, trying to find love and reboot her punk rock career. It was a lot fun! We did the reading at an art gallery in Manhattan, and as one of the producers said, I was the art! :)

I also found fulfillment, preparing for auditions and callbacks this year. I was called back for Martha in "The Secret Garden," received great response in my audition for Clarice in "Silence! The Musical," and was called in for leading roles in "Educating Rita" and "Urinetown."

Studying with LA acting teacher Tim Phillips was life-changing. I also took a 5 week commercial workshop with Brette Goldstein and video game voice overs with Kim Graham.

It was a good year, and I look forward to many more adventures in 2013. Hope your New Year is very happy!

Taking the Plunge

The last 24 hours have been pretty incredible. I just feel like I'm vibrating!

First off, last night I went to see The 39 Steps with my friend, Wayne Henry (Pepi Pisano from Johnny on a Spot), and it was BRILLIANT! Truly, anyone who wants to see high quality work on Broadway should head over to the Cort Theatre, because this show is exceptional!

4 actors bring about 150 characters (so billed) to life in Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece about an average fellow in London who gets mixed up with a beautiful spy and begins a wild goose-chase to clear his name of... murder. Hitchcock even gets his famous cameo in one of the chase scenes! Hysterical!

What's incredible about this piece is that it's basically a trunk show. There's no set - just bare brick walls - which reminded me of the show I did this summer Off Broadway at Cherry Lane, Kaboom - and the props are minimal. But what is there is brilliant! There's great use of the red velvet curtains that open and close the show, and there are simple pieces of furniture like a moving door that gives you a sense of being in a cavernous mansion.

The show is brilliantly brought to life by the stellar cast who are all tip-top with crystal clear characters, various dialects and precise physicalizations. Plus the lights and sound and the music (gorgeous!) all create the proper mood. Very Hitchcock! Great style! Mmmm!

(L-R: Sam Robards, Arnie Burton, Cliff Saunders, and Jennifer Ferrin)

One of my favorite scenes was when the hero makes a daring escape on a train, which consisted of a few trunks, but the cast made every part of that train real - from the individual cars, doors, windows, tight squeezes... to the great chase on "the roof." Really exceptional!

And I said to my friend, Wayne, "This is why I love theatre! You have to commit 100%. You can't do any of this half-baked!"

(me and Wayne backstage on the last show of Johnny on a Spot)

And that brings me to Part 2 of "Taking the Plunge."

After last night's show, I went home and worked on my scene from The Dark at the Top of the Stairs for today's master class in film directing at Columbia University. The director for the scene was a 2nd year grad student named Sally Liu, and she had found my name in the casting files for Columbia and asked if I could do this scene for her. We only had 2 days to work on this scene, so it was intense work, especially for this highly emotional scene where 2 sisters are coming to each other with their troubles. Just getting 10 pages of text memorized in 2 days was a challenge, but I was excited to take it.

We presented the scene to the class this morning, and the professor, Emmy Award winner, John Erman, gave us amazing adjustments. He had us improvise the scene and actually flipflopped the characters a bit, which made me discover the softer side of my big blousey character. He also was very kind and complimentary and encouraging and showed the director how she could achieve what she wanted with the scene by trying a few different things like improvisation. He also mentioned how important it is for a director to dig deep, to help an actor "plunge into the pit" of an emotion. It was brilliant work! I learned so much! And I feel so honored that I have worked consistently with directors this year who have helped me to "take the plunge," to be big and bold in my work and to trust my instincts, to just go for it!

Like the hero says in The 39 Steps, When you are thrust into a situation, you often can amaze yourself with your own inventiveness, or something of the sort. :)

So here's to the next step! And the next!

Vote For Wayne!

My friend and funny buddy Wayne Henry needs your vote to make it to the next round on The Big Gay Sketch Show! Can ya help?

You can vote every 24 hours, so if you can, put Wayne on your daily "to do" list.

Thank you! :)

Jaws the Musical

It's been a while since I've blogged! Just been too busy with classes and life and starting rehearsals for "Jaws the Musical." You heard me right: Jaws the Musical. It's a half hour sketch comedy pop-rock musical that has the zaniness of SNL combined with heart-felt humor like Avenue Q.

The writer, Wayne Henry and I worked on a show together a few years ago called "Johnny on a Spot." It was a very fun play from the '40s, and our characters were the comic relief. We never shared a scene together, though, so every time we'd meet backstage we'd say, "We have to do a show together - where we're onstage at the same time!"

Along came JAWS the Musical.

Wayne wrote the show for the Strawberry One Act Festival a few years ago, and it was very well-received, so he's putting it back "out there" (just when you thought it was safe) to see how other theatre-goers respond.

We've had a lot of great response so far. The title alone seems to get people excited! And it's a really fun show. We start performances next month, running in theatres and comedy clubs throughout NY and NJ. I'll keep ya posted on dates and places.

"Aaron's Uber" on Funny or Die!

I recently filmed a fun sketch with my friend, Wayne Henry, whom I've done a ton of work with over the years! He's the genius behind Jaws The Musical in which I played Sally, the love interest of the Great White Shark.

So of course, when Wayne said, "Do you want to do a sketch?" I was totally on board!

Enter "Aaron's Uber," written by the hilarious Brad Heller. He's a UCB alum who totally reminds me of a young Jerry Seinfeld.

I play a country gal who has no problem squeezing into an already packed Uber:



And we're on Funny or Die! How fun!

Shark Lovers at the Sharkbite Sideshow

Performing in JAWS the Musical has brought me into contact with shark lovers from everywhere!

When the show extended in July, we heard from "Joe the Shark," a gentleman who runs a shark-themed burlesque show called Sharkbite Sideshow at the R Bar on the East Side. Burlesque has been making a major comeback in Manhattan, and I know a gal who's a fellow classmate from Josh Pais' acting class, who regularly performs.

The cool thing about the Sharkbite Sideshow is that part of the proceeds go to shark conservation efforts. Also, any scuba divers or shark enthusiasts get in for half price!

Joe contacted Wayne Henry, the writer of JAWS the Musical and asked if he could raffle 2 tickets for our show at this Friday's Sharkbite Sideshow. Wayne agreed and also asked if I could perform a song from the show, so I'm performing in my first burlesque! I feel like Gypsy Rose Lee! ;)

Billed with "the allure of burlesque, the wit and wisdom of a good story, and the mayhem of a circus sideshow," the lineup of performers look fascinating! There's Sasha FireGypsy, story-telling by Princess Sunshine,  Minnie Tonka, Coco Te Amo,  Nelson Lugo,  Kyssy Kocktail, Bunny Buxom, ballerina Aurora Black, and host Cardone. Sounds like a wonderfully wild night!

I'll be singing the powerhouse ballad, "At Night He Swims Home to Me."

Only at R-BAR this Friday August 24th
218 Bowery. 8-10pm. $10 tickets.

Madcap Musical Review

Last week was non-stop musicals for me!

On Monday, I performed in the concert reading of  the new musical, "Merton of the Movies." It's about a young man in the silent film era, who dreams of making it as a "serious" actor in Hollywood, only to discover he's a born comedian! AJ Shively, the recent lead in Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's new musical, "Bright Star," was our amazing Merton. He cracked us all up! As one audience member said afterwards, "I'll never look at eyebrows the same way again!

I played one of Merton's buddies, Edna, a jazzy comedienne who stars in one of the old pie fight films. My big song was "The Chase," and though we had no props or set, so many audience members said they loved when I pantomimed getting stuck in a trunk, trying to evade the Keystone Cops. It was a BLAST!

"Merton" was composed by the dynamic Doug Katsaros, who also wrote the lyrics, and the book was by my "Sasquatched the Musical" director, Donald Brenner. In fact, the reading was a mini Sasquatched reunion, as I got to play with my old "sweetheart," Patrick John Moran....

And the incredibly versatile Jonathan Randell Silver, who played Harpo Marx in "The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid," had a pivotal role as Merton's friend, Elmer, from his smalltown beginnings.

Jonathan's heartfelt performance actually made me cry! He was so sweet!

Our marvelous music director was Jeffrey Lodin (above top L). Patrick and Jonathan are also above, followed by the fabulous Martin Van Treuren, who was hysterical as the madcap film director of the Buckeye Comedies.

The rest of the cast was completed by gorgeous voiced Tony Castellanos, the lovely Loni Ackerman (former Broadway Evita and Grizabella - she had the BEST stories!), Janine Divita as Merton's love-to-be (who also recently played Evita) and Lara Hayhurst, a former Elle from "Legally Blonde."

Everyone was so wonderful, and it was such a charming show! I hope we go somewhere with it! :)

Last but not least, I ended the week with a turn as Blanca Vacuous, a maid of dubious origin in "The House in Beverly Hills." I also recorded demos for "The House in Beverly Hills" on the weekend.

For my next trick, I'm back to the writer's table with Wayne Henry and Roberto Cambeiro, fleshing out "Petunia's Coffee House."

Transforming Theatre

When theatres closed down because of the coronavirus, so many people were suddenly out of a job: actors, directors, stage managers, costumers, dressers, lighting designers, set designers, painters, technicians, sound designers, prop masters, conductors, musicians... the list goes on. A massive crew brings a production to life, and I know so many people who've been hurt by this shutdown. 

But shutting down is essential because people are dying from this virus. I have so many friends who've lost loved ones to this virus: parents, mentors, students, teachers, friends and family. We had two neighbors pass away from the virus. One was a nursing assistant who died because the hospitals didn’t have enough PPE in the beginning. 

This is an unprecedented time, and as an artist I wondered how I could help. I checked in on friends and neighbors. I shared info about what was going on in New York City, and I shared what I knew of how to protect against the virus. My sister-in-law’s friend was living in Shanghai as a teacher, and she immediately told us about masking up. I’m pretty sure she saved our lives.

There was so much trauma. I felt like I lost my voice, but then people in Italy sang, so I sang.

A friend told me New Yorkers were singing, “Lean On Me” to essential workers, so I opened my window and sang.

And NBC picked it up.

Then a production company I’d worked with Off Broadway, 16th Note Productions, contacted me about doing a video of a song from the new musical, “Starcrossed,” and I was so thankful to put on some makeup and get into character and sing!

I started filming more episodes for my webseries, Laura Loves NY. In addition to my usual running around the city, documenting life in NYC, I filmed and edited 4 Zoom interviews: rising star Deb Snyder, hilarious puppeteer-comedian Wayne Henry, herb writer and soap makers, Tina Sams and Maryanne Schwartz; and Constance Cooks who's been hosting wonderful weekly cooking shows on Instagram.

I did a Zoom reading of Steel Magnolias with my former castmates. We had done the show in NY a few years ago.

That was my first foray into Zoom theatre, and it seemed to work. People still resonated with the characters and the story. We all laughed and cried.

So when I was asked to audition for Mixing It Up Productions’ Zoom presentation of the new play, “The Broken Closet,” I had a sense of what worked. I put the pdf of my script on screen and looked into camera, so it seemed as if I was talking directly to the other characters. I positioned the lights I had for self-tape auditions around my laptop so I was well-lit. And I did my usual actor work of breaking down the beats of the scene, focusing on what my character wanted.And you know what? It worked! I booked the gig!

Rehearsals were fascinating. Our director, Kristen Penner, helped us with the pacing, because for those who have Zoomed before, you know that hearing and talking to your fellow Zoom participants can be wonky. So imagine trying to do a dramatic scene where you have to break down and cry. Or fall in love. It can be done. Just like any theatrical experience, as an actor, I commit myself to the character living her life in the story of the play. There's just this extra technical experience of doing it all on Zoom.

“The Broken Closet” was about a family grieving the loss of a young woman - a daughter, a sister - who’d died from a heroin addiction. With all the stress of COVID, I wondered how the play would be received, but it seemed to resonate with folks, and we all felt the catharsis of tears.

Then I was asked to audition for and booked “The Cribbage Game,” which dealt with 3 middle aged folks finding the next chapter of their lives at a beach bar in Mexico. It was a beautiful piece, and I enjoyed playing Claire, a breast cancer survivor who goes from uptight spinster to a woman blossoming with love.

These plays have truly been a gift, and I’m so thankful for the playwrights who have continued to write about people trying to connect during challenging times. And I’m thankful to the producers who are putting theatre out there in new and innovative ways.

Theatre will always last because audiences want to be transported by a story that’s happening in real time right before their eyes. Theatre is a shared experience, and it truly can transform us all.

Terrific Teams

Last weekend, I filmed a sketch with the fabulous Wayne Henry, whom I've worked with for several years. He brought me on board with this wonderful cast, all of whom were deliciously talented. We spent most of the shoot cracking each other up! And afterwards, we were all abuzz with ideas and stories about Art and The Biz.

This is something I just LOVE, the energy that bubbles up amongst artists when they're in the groove and creating something as a team.

I've been so lucky to do a tremendous amount of that this year, working with terrific teams to create wonderful productions for the stage and on various screens.

It started with Steel Magnolias at Stomping Ground Theatre Company:

The co-founders, Angela Shultz and Melissa Harlow, the crew, the team spirit of SGT was simply amazing! It was everything theatre should be.

Then I re-teamed with Darg and Rayne for The Pound at the Signature Theatre. SO excited to have had my debut at this amazing Off Broadway theatre!

We also managed to record my big Park Ranger song from Sasquatched The Musical

Then I joined my Pageant Princess creators, Lorelei McKenzie and Kristen Penner, for a reading of the new pop musical, Pieces:

I went back to Stomping Ground Theatre Company to sing for their cabaret, Perspectives:


And I just wrapped filming with the incredible team behind Human Telegraphs:

 What a crew!

I feel so thankful to have worked with so many talented people this year, and I'm grateful they've invited me into their wonderful worlds, telling unique stories with heart and humor!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Divine Sister

I recently saw this delightful play Off Broadway, and I just had to sing its praises.

The Divine Sister is written by Charles Busch, who also stars as the Mother Superior.

I first became acquainted with Busch's work via the film Psycho Beach Party, and I was instantly hooked by his humor and great style.

There's also an awesome documentary about him called The Lady in Question. I caught pieces of it on TV and it's so inspirational. Any kid with a dream about working in the theatre would benefit from it. I know I did! :)

My friend, Wayne Henry, from Johnny On A Spot, saw The Divine Sister with me, and we, along with the entire audience, were in stitches! It's a fun story, complete with music and special affects... What's a miracle without special effects? ;)

The cast and crew are stellar, and the direction is handled with great ease by Carl Andress.

It reminded me of the musical I did a few years ago, The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun. I played Sister Smile with the wonderful Tracey Gilbert as my companion, Annie.

Seeing Busch's Divine Sister was like watching a bunch of talented friends get together to just put on a show - Off Broadway no less! I was reminded of how fun theatre can be, and that we really can make our dreams can come true.

The miracle is you!

Wonderful Writers

This has been a busy month for me, working on new projects by wonderful writers I'm lucky to know! :)

On May 4, I had the honor of singing in a cabaret honoring female writers of musical theatre:

Clare Cooper asked me to sing one of her pieces from her show with Bryan D. Leys, "How to Marry a Divorced Man." This re-teamed me with Richard Binder, who's played my husband in many shows! In this piece, we played exes who have a tender moment, much to the chagrin of his new love interest, played by Tiffan Borelli, who also rocked a song from "Urban Momfare" by Pamela Weiler Grayson:

Then, on May 18, I played a sister mourning the loss of her brother in Rob Cardazone's new play, Terribly and In Private. It's an exquisite 5 character play that re-teamed me with my "Petunia" co-star, Wayne Henry, and gave me the opportunity to work with Andrew Schulz, whom I met in Heidi Marshall's on-camera class. Andrew is an incredible actor from The Actors Studio who recommended me to my current acting coach, Susan Aston.

Rob was mentored by Romulus Linney (father to Laura Linney) and Arlene Hutton, whom I met when I auditioned for her play, Gulf View Drive. Small world! Rob and I worked together a gazillion years ago at the PA Renaissance Faire, which was the basis for his play, "Ren Rats," which premiered at the Hunter Playwright Festival in 2013. Reading a play like Terribly and In Private took me back to my drama roots and was such a delicious piece to dive into! Hope to do so again soon!

Keep Up with Your Studies!

Have you ever noticed the potential to learn something else every day? I've been acting professionally since I was 14, and I love that I'm learning more about this craft, more about myself and what I can bring to the table of any project every day.

This past month has been full of good growth! I took some workshops with casting directors from CBS and NBC, and both workshops gave me the opportunity to strengthen my cold reading skills. I also realized this is something I can do even when I'm not in class. Just grab a script and go! 

Working with Tim Phillips' technique of "Sherlock Holmsing the Text," helped me take this up a notch. Tim teaches in NY every month, and I had the pleasure of working with him last month. He teaches in LA regularly, so if you can study with him, Go! Go! Go! His book is incredibly helpful.

Lastly, I've been in rehearsals for JAWS the Musical, which has been such a gift! The writer and cast are all UCB / PIT alumni, and so the funny factor is constantly going. Talk about getting a workout!

(L-R Wayne Henry, Jason Salmon, me, Suzanne Stein and John Flynn)

It is such a pleasure to play with this talented bunch and to sing such great songs! I've got a gorgeous power ballad in the last half of the show, and I just love it!

It's so clear to me the more you do something, the stronger you get. And the more open you are to learning something new, the more joyous the experience.

Every working actor I know keeps up their studies, whether they're in or out of a show, and I admire them all! I'm in good company! :)