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1 out of 3 ain’t bad

    If you need a laugh and to feel seen, watch comedian Robyn Schall revisit her goals for 2020.

    Next, if you can stomach it, revisit your own like I did.

    Ann’s 3 goals for 2020:

    1. More love, less dread: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahahhahaah (ahem)
    2. Reclaim the stage: This one, I did!

    My path to this goal led me through 18 months of auditions for professional theaters to community theater open calls. One audition found me in a church gym, lined up with children, and a very patient if disheartened choreographer who pleaded I know I said SELL IT and it doesn’t matter if you know the steps–but maybe if you could focus just a LITTLE more on the steps. I sold the crap out of that Alabama Stomp! The steps? Not at all. A year plus of these humbling bumbling experiences left me ready to give up. And then…

    I received an offer during quarantine, to play Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (gulp), in a concert with Music Theatre of Madison, one of the professional companies in town.

    “Trailblazers is an extraordinary ode to many brave women who have made (and are still making) a better world possible.” -Isthmus

    While I didn’t get to bond (or even meet) my castmates–not the junior high Alabama Stompers from the story above, to be sure– nor did I get to perform before a live audience, the fact that I got to perform in any kind of theater whatsoever in 2020 counts as a small miracle. And you can watch it online!

    “Wisconsin-based composers have worked with local performers to create musical theatre pieces about the womxn who inspire them, From actors to advocates, writers to philanthropists, rulebreakers to game-changers, this concert takes you into the lives of ten extraordinary people who challenged the rules, defied the odds, and made history. With Beyond the Ingenue: Trailblazers, we prove once again that, on stage, womxn deserve better stories”

    Read the Wisconsin State Journal feature about the show (and me!) here.

    Buy (pay-what-you-can) tickets here, and stream the pre-recorded concert through December 20th.

    To recap my 2020 goals:

    1. Ha ha ha NO
    2. Check!
    3. (Not ready to share. Still holding hope!)

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