Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for coaching

Puzzles, Work, and Christmas

December 20, 2023 at 9:20 am by Claudia

Finished puzzle – the title is something like 50 Plants from Around the World, It’s absolutely gorgeous with incredible detail. This one is by my favorite puzzle manufacturer – Lawrence King. That’s the same company that does all “The World of…” puzzles. They’re beautifully illustrated and the puzzle itself is very high quality.

My next will be “The World of Hercule Poirot.”

On the egg cup cubby.

In front of the putz houses.

I have a coaching job. Well, I’ve had it for a while but it doesn’t begin until tomorrow. Sadly, theaters are struggling, with many canceling seasons, or greatly cutting back, or closing altogether, and I see that in my work as well. So I have one day of Zoom coaching with the 5 actors in this play, one filmed run-through to watch and take notes on, and one visit to the theater to watch and note the first preview performance. That’s it. For the last year or two, I have found myself having to coach actors on-the-fly (that’s really what it is) and it’s very depressing. I can’t coach thoroughly, I can’t even coach somewhat thoroughly. When budgets are slashed, it’s people like me who are the first to go or, at least, the first to have their hours/days cut. I’m grateful for some work, but I never thought that after almost 40 years of coaching professionally, I would have to work this way. Believe me, I am only one of many, many theater professionals that are trying to cope with less work and less time in which to do the quality of work we’re committed to. Anyway, it’s a production of Dial M for Murder, and I’ll have one day this week to meet with all the actors and give them every possible note I can cram into an hour session per actor. Next up will be watching a run-through virtually, and then – in January – I’ll drive to Rochester to watch a preview.

So I’ve been reading the script and prepping for the coaching sessions. And sighing a lot. Today, I chat with the director (who I know from my Hartford Stage days.)

Miranda in front of the tree.

Yesterday, I worked all morning on the script, and then, worried that I would run out of free time in which to dress all the girls in the sweaters, figured that now was the time. So, I redressed all the girls in some form of a Christmas sweater and socks or pants or tights. It took FOREVER. Then I took all sorts of photos and I can only hope one turns out well. And then I shot a little video of them, which I am unable to post here. But if you want to see it, just go to Instagram and search for sophieandherpals which is the name of my Blythe account. The video is there.

Okay. We’re caught up.

I have to mail a package this morning – another Etsy sale.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, coaching 13 Comments

Coaching, Former Students, Cleaning up the Garden

April 20, 2023 at 8:47 am by Claudia

Found this crabapple by The Dude on the edge of the Secret Garden. This is my favorite kind of crabapple because of those pink buds. It’s just like the one that was cut down by that idiot last spring. I miss that tree so much, but seeing this yesterday helped a bit.

Well, I’m done with the show. I drove to New Jersey, checked into the motel, checked out of the hotel, took notes at the show, and drove home late Tuesday night, getting home at 12:15 am. Too long a story as to why I decided to check out, but I’m glad I did. The show is in pretty good shape, needs a bit of tightening. The actors are doing well with the dialects, save for a few mistakes here and there.

One of the nicest things to happen on Tuesday was reconnecting with a former student from Boston University who works for the Paper Mill Playhouse as Production Manager. He came up to me and surprised me, and my goodness, it’s so wonderful to see former students again and find them happy and working in the theater. Mike lives with his wife and two kids fairly close to the theater. Confession: I’m always wondering if students from that time in my life are shocked at how much I’ve aged, my gray hair, etc. I’m always slightly embarrassed and then, because I’m insecure, I make jokes about it.

Speaking of former students, I posted this recently on Instagram:

Both Maura West and Cynthia Watros were students of mine at Boston University. And both have them have been working on soap operas for years. They are terrific actresses and human beings. Recently, Maura wrote me to tell me that she and Cynthia were on set one day and were reciting a monologue I assigned to them years ago. It’s from The Caretaker  by Harold Pinter and I used it as tool to learn the Cockney dialect. 30+ years later, they both remembered every word! Maura said “We remembered and laughed together with such love for our memories of you!!”

Oh my. That fills my heart, it really does.

She also added that she’ll probably be ‘blathering it (the monologue) in the nursing home!” I get it, Maura. I still remember every word as well!

I worked outside yesterday, but I got tired fairly quickly. I’m just now coming out of that upper respiratory thing, and I was tired from my trip to NJ. Plus, every year at the beginning of gardening season, I realize I’m out of shape. I did clear a chunk of the big garden bed, annoying the robin who is adding to the nest on the shed as I traveled back and forth with a wheelbarrow.

It was also very windy. I wore a mask and sunglasses, but the pollen got to me. And my back, of course. Today, I think I’m going to go to the nursery and hope they still have pansies left. I’m about a week behind on everything around here.

Glad to be coming out of that dreadful illness. Glad to be home. Glad to finally start working outside. Grateful to have had employment.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: coaching, flowers, friends, garden, teaching 18 Comments

A Few More Egg Cups

April 13, 2023 at 8:24 am by Claudia

Well, I made it through the day yesterday on four hours of sleep. The run-through went very well. Then I ran into some problems with the theater on how I get paid, which eventually got resolved. Still pisses me off, however. When I finally got home I had to fill out additional paperwork and then I collapsed in my chair. Kept falling asleep throughout the evening…

I have a bit of a break before I have to drive to NJ on Tuesday. Today’s theme (for both of us) is ‘Do Nothing.’

Adrian is still in a great deal of pain and it’s taken a while for him to think and respond to questions clearly. That’s slowly getting better, according to Margaret. How I wish he wasn’t dealing with pain!

We text one question a day to Margaret because we know she’s got her hands full. We usually wait until the evening. Prayers for Adrian and Margaret and Adrian’s son, Tyler.

I forgot to include these beauties in my little egg cup tour! I suspect I’ll find a few more that were left out.

The silver egg cup on the left (which I quickly polished this morning with an anti-tarnish cloth) is my most expensive egg cup. Don bought it for me in Paris several years ago. It’s petite in size and that art nouveau design is gorgeous. (It’s currently reflecting the surface of the stool, so keep that in mind.)

The two beauties on the right are antique egg cups from Germany. I found them on eBay a few years ago. I love anything with bluebirds, so I had to have them. Aren’t they lovely? The birds are so detailed and delicate.

I’m going to take it very, very easy today with a possible stroll around the property to see the green buds on the lilacs and the crabapple tree next to the catalpa.

It’s going to be 88 degrees here today. I mean, come on! Way too hot!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: coaching, egg cups 16 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 35
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT