iPhone Saves The Day and Morrible Dates

I'm sure you're sick of hearing about the iPhone. And I was already in love with it ever since I've had it in my hands. But this week, it proved its $599 price tag and then some. Here's the scenario....

We were in route from Columbus to East Lansing, a short 3 1/2 (or so) drive, so the company bused us instead of our usual flying. What a perfect time to utilize my iPhone...all of it. I was literally usuing every function on the iPhone all at once. 1) I was listening to my ipod function 2) I was paying my bills on line 3) taking phone calls when they came in (which, by the way, the ipod fades in volumne when you pick up the call and then goes up to full volume and starts where the song left off when you finish your call...way cool) 4) sending text messages to freind, 5) in general, having a grand old time until suddenly I realized the bus was jumping around a lot. When I looked up, I realized we were on a country one-way dirt road in this huge tour bus in the middle of farms and cattle...in other words...the middle of NO WHERE!

"Where are we?" I questioned.

"Well, the GPS says this is the shortest route," says the bus driver.

"To where? China?" I said. (Okay, so I didn't really SAY that, but I thought it as I gave a questioning glance to the company manager.

So I whipped out...guess what...my iPhone.

"Wow, you have an iPhone already?!" said my company manager. Clearly, he had not been paying attention for the past two weeks when i was touting it to everyone in the company LOL

Anyway...I went to the map function to punch in a street name (which of course there were none since we were literally in the middle of no where!) But finally a tiny little street call Arkon had a sign. No joke, I typed it into the maps and it found where we were and it gave us explicit directions to get back to the highway. When I showed our Company Manager he was thrilled and told the bus driver, who insisted that her GPS was showing a different route and that it was probably better to stay on her route, at which time the company manager stepped in and said, "no, hers take us right where we're going."

So sure enough, the iPhone saved the day. We got to our destination (after an almost 6 hour bus ride) and not once did I lose battery power or a wireless signal. Crazy! The iPhone and ATT were life savers.

NEXT: I've finally going on as Madame Morrible. I'll be performing the role for both shows on Saturday, August 4 in Philadelphia! Hope you can make it.

ALSO: Just FYI, I'll be on vacation Sept 3-10, so you'll miss me in the show if you come during that week.

We'll chat soon ; )

The Quest for the IPhone is Complete!

Ahhhhh sweet success! I am now the proud owner of the new IPhone. I got it on the first day, waiting in line with all the other iphone fanatics and it was a blast! Thursday night after the show I drove to the Mac store to see if people were waiting outside overnight. Luckily, the store was not allowing it so I didn't have to do that. The next morning at got there at 10 a.m. and there were already 45 people waiting. They had been there since 6 a.m. (and this is in Columbus, OH!) At 12:30 my friend came and replaced me in line while I rushed back to rehearsal. When I returned, there was only an hour wait left and the guys on either side of me and my friend hit it off so well, they let my friend Eric stay in the line and get his own iphone too. These are my iphone friends: David, Eric and Paul! Woo hoo! At 6 p.m. Eric's girlfriend called and said that she had just seen the two of us on the news. Yippee...we're famous! I owned an iphone by 6:15 p.m. Friday night, then rushed back just in time to do the show. I left my phone at home so I could do the unveiling when I returned back in the quiet of my hotel room.

But alas....the road was not a smooth one. Despite all the prepping I did, it appeared I indeed did NOT have the right operating system for the iphone (for those of you mac enthusiasts, you MUST have 10.4.10 for the iphone to run.) The phone activates directly through itunes. So without the right operating system, no iphone. So I had to be patient overnight which was okay since I had played poker until 3:30 a.m. the night before (won $85) so sleeping was welcome. I rushed to the mac store the next morning to get the upgrade and as they were loading it, they found a glitch in my computer (all of this, mind you, before the iphone was ever plugged into my computer). It took several hours for the them to fix my computer, so I had to get back to the matinee. I was BUMMED to say the least. My friends from iphone line were already texting me on their new iphone and I had SQUAT

But alas, 5:30 p.m. came and I dashed back to the mac store between shows. They set me up, fixed my computer and helped me activate my iphone and then, low and behold...angels sang!!!

This is the coolest, most technolgically advanced machine I've ever seen. It is worth the hype and beyond. They have thought of everything. It works perfectly. My email (all of my accounts) loaded with complete ease. The interenet and WiFi is fast and wonderful and the clarity of photos is incredible.

I say, rush right out and get one. you'll love it. And of course there are plenty left to by. I didn't NEED to be there at 10 a.m. and wait in line for all those hours....but I'm sure glad I did. It was fun to be a part of something amazing. You can even view this blog on your iphone.

Thanks for doing the happy dance for me

Woo hoo

Free Wicked Ticket in Columbus In Exchange for iPhone

Okay, I need your help! As you know I'm dying to own the new mac iPhone which comes out this Friday, June 29. I had every intent of waiting in line all day,(even camping overnight if I needed to) and low and behold, we have a put-in rehearsal for some new cast members. So, I need your help!

I need some fantastic Wicked fan to wait in line for me at the ATT store from noon to 5 p.m. here in Columbus while I rehearse. In exchange you'll get a FREE Wicked house seat, a backstage tour, a signed program from the cast and an autographed copy of my book The Organized Actor®.

If you're interested, send me an email to: Leslie@LeslieBecker.com with the answer to this question: What kind of animal am I when I play the Midwife? First person to answer the question gets the package! Be sure to leave your phone number in the email too so I can call you with the details.

This is not a joke. I want an iPhone and I"ll do whatever it takes!!! With your help, I'm in!!!

Thanks!
Leslie

A Healing Side of Oklahoma City

Well, I found my peace in Oklahoma City at the National Memorial for the Oklahoma City bombings that happened back in 1995. This was truly one of the most stunning memorials I have ever seen. If you ever take a trip to OKC, you've got to check it out, but do it at night. It is truly spectacular and extremely moving. I had my camera, but I just couldn't bring myself to take pictures. It somehow felt wrong so the memory will be in my mind. When you visit, it is well worth the trip.

Oklahoma City certainly played some havoc on our company. We had so many people out with injuiries, illnesses and what not so it was quite interesting. Our wonderful Elphaba, Victoria Matlock is out with an injury for a while, so Colleen Sexton and Marcie Dodd have been going on for her....both terrific.

Nope, I still haven't gone on as Madame Morrilbe. I'll tell ya what...I'm in the wrong company LOL All the other Madame Morribles seem to go on all the time. LOL I'll just patiently wait my turn ; ) And if I know ahead of time, I'll announce and hopefully all of you can come!

We're now in Columbus, OH and we've already found some great places to hang. But my highlight here will be being the first in line to buy the new iPhone from MAC. Yes, I will be one of those techie dorks waiting in line for hours to be one of the first to own this fabulous new piece of equipment. I can't wait!!!

Anyway....that's what's up for now. Stay tuned.....more to come when I get my iPhone LOL

From Heaven To Not So Heavenly

I must say, it's quite a shock to go from the mile high city of Denver to the 90 degree heat of Oklahoma City, OK. OK for who is what I want to know : )

But Denver was truly glorious. I took a lovely hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains, saw the Denver botanical, ran a 5K and in general enjoyed the beauty of this amazing city. This big ladybug was on display at the gardens.

We did say goodbye to our good friend Josh Lamon as he made his last performance as Boq. But we welcome in Brad Weinstock! It appears the next few months will continue to bring more and more turnovers in cast members. It's a given when you're in a long running show, but it's always sad to see your friends go away. But we wish them all the best.

I was quite busy in Denver in another way too. I finally finished my second book and will have it ready for purchase in the next two or three weeks. If you'd like to reserve your copy today, click below

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/javanof.asp?MerchantID=53498&ProductID=3591103

Or if you have not yet signed up for my free newsletter Work IT! Tips for Workin' Your Acting Career and Your Life, do that below too so you can keep up on all of my products and classes

www.OrganizedActor.com

Wow! Long Time...

I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged. For those of you waiting on tender hooks (I'm sure) thanks for your patience. It's been a whirlwind for the last month as we've moved from Houston to Dallas to Denver. Then, without warning I took a side trip to Los Angeles. The company whisked me to the LA company of Wicked to stand by for Madame Morrible. Here's what happened...Carol Kane was on vacation. Her understudy Linda Kerns was on. And the other understudy was injured. So they wanted to make sure that there was another Morrible in the building in case (heaven forbid) something happened to Linda. The great news was....nothing happened to Linda. I did NOT go on as Morrible but I did get to perform as the Midwife for the last three shows of the week. So I guess I can now add The Los Angeles Company of Wicked to my resume. Yippee. It was actually very surreal to be peforming in the show with an entirely different company. They were wonderful to me and are a very fun company!

But I must admit, I'm glad to be back with my own peeps. In fact, I flew in just in time to perform in our Broadway Cares Benefit here in Denver. We raised over $50,000 for the organization and even sold four Wicked Walk ons. So we'll soon be hosting some new Wicked cast members. For you true Wicked officiananadoes, can you spot the winners????

We're about to have somee big cast changes to. We're saying goodbye to Josh Lamon, our incredible Boq. He will be greatly missed. We're also saying goodbye to two ensemble members (both Fiyero understudies) Geoff Packard and Kyle McDaniel. I'm looking forward to meeting the wonderful folks who will take over their roles.

I'll be better with keeping up in the future! But for now, enjoy this shot of me in the LA company with the Witches Mother Gina Starbuck (and in my very own brand new Emerald City costume oooooohhhhhh) and posing with my fellow benefit performers. We were called the Manhattones and sang give Manhattan Transfer songs in the benefit.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

A special note to all of blog readers and fans. You guys have been great to come to the stage door and visit! Thanks for all the goodies and kind words. Particularly I'd like to thank the Witches of Oz creators Aundrea and Adam. They are providing a great forum for Wicked fans to gravitate. And my interview is going to posted on their site soon.

One of the things they did ask me was "What is appropriate fan etiquette in terms of meeting cast members?" I thought this was a great question and one that I thought I'd answer here too. So here are some guidelines for meeting us.

First and foremost remember that we are people...just people. We are not the roles we play on stage. We are real people who of course appreciate kind words, but also very much appreciate our privacy and maintaining a distance from strangers.

When you're at the stage door, it is totally appropriate to ask for an autograph and even sometimes a photo. But ALWAYS ASK! Most of us are more than happy to sign things and pose for shots. We are not so happy about someone randomly clicking off the flash for 10 minutes while we sign autographs. Asking for a photo at the stage door is perfectly fine. Photographing any part of our private life including our animals, our families, etc is NOT appropriate, particularly if we then find it posted on a website.

As for gifts. It is very kind of you to use your time and money to make us things. However, we often feel badly because a lot of the stuff either doesn't reach us, or we feel badly that you've spent so much money on something for us when you don't even know us personally. I can't speak for everyone, but I would rather get a nice letter from you than a bag of chocolates. Or even better, simply email me through this blog. I try to write back to everyone who writes me.

And finally, always know that we appreciate your support and energy, but we ask that you keep everything in perspective. We are simply people who have chosen to be on stage, in front of the public eye, but we also value our privacy greatly. I hope this info is helpful.

As for happenings....Wicked's in Dallas...a perfect spot for two-steppin' which we did Sunday night. Also, this theatre and the folks who run it are so wonderful and supportive. We had a fabulous opening night party at a beautiful home on a lake...just delightful! We also said goodbye to our precious Sunny Yokoyama. She is a bright spot in our cast and will be missed greatly. Other cast changes are coming up. Those of you who are fans of Josh Lamon, be sure to catch him before he leaves June 3. In a long running show like this people come and go and it's often like losing a family member. But they all go off to do other wonderful and delightful things!!!!