MAS Nashville

“What’s a diii—vaaa?”

That’s what my four-and-half-year-old daughter asked last week when I asked her, “Are you a diva?” To be fair, she was singing “Jingle Bells” with the radio with her eyes closed and eyelids slightly fluttering. Now, not having an answer for her question, I did what any college-educated person living in 2011 would do – I Googled “diva”.

The word “diva” has morphed from its original meaning into a negative or derogatory term quite often in modern usage as people attribute selfish behavior to someone being a diva. Originally, however, the word complimented women — translating in Latin and Italian as divine, goddess, fine lady, and distinguished female singer. Beyonce, our modern Diva Laureate, sings that a diva is a female version of a “hustla”. Dictionary.com says a hustler is “an enterprising and often dishonest person, especially one trying to sell something.” Again, negative connotation!

Truth be told I’m sure if I took Sydney to the next MAS Holiday Hangover rehearsal five wonderfully talented women could help demonstrate a positive definition. Each of them are amazingly talented singers. Each of them has stage presence that demands to be seen. Each of them has a healthy sense of humor – about themselves and each other. Each of them exudes confidence and strength. And, contrary to popular belief, only one or two of them carry a switchblade in case push comes to shove and they need to cut a bi—, uh, someone. (This is a family-friendly blog I’m told). The others will just break off whatever vodka, beer, or wine bottle they’re carrying and make-do West Side Story-style I’m sure. (For any non-musical-fans reading this – both of you – that equates to Patrick Swayze Roadhouse-style.)

So with all of that at their disposal along with two successful MAS performances showcasing their combined talents already this year, when they asked me to come aboard as director for the Holiday Hangover I jumped at the opportunity because I knew all I would really have to do is sit back, relax, let them do all the heavy lifting, and ride their coattails. You know, the way Kenny Ortega did as director of Michael Jackson’s This is It concert and film!! And that sure turned out memorable, right?

Now, with a week to go before the show, my dream of a live nativity scene on stage featuring the ladies flown in like Cirque du Soleil angels singing “The First Noel” while sparklers are set ablaze throughout the Belcourt is at risk of being cut due to “time constraints”. Disappointing to say the least. However, I’m privileged to have enjoyed hearing rich harmonies, beautiful solos, and powerhouse vocals from these five divas for the past several weeks in rehearsal. They sound as amazing as you would imagine – and that’s before we add in a 7-piece band and a full house of adoring fans!! Plus they make me laugh out loud every time. In the midst of holiday stress — there’s nothing better than laughter and a cocktail. Or two.

Get your tickets now – because the Holiday Hangover is truly a ONE-NIGHT-ONLY affair that you won’t want to miss. Anything can – and probably will – happen on December 28 inside the Belcourt. Except when it comes to wardrobe. And shoes, of course. Those are all set in stone. If only I can use my hustla skills to convince these divas that “The Christmas Shoes” would make a dynamite showcase for a footwear montage!! “Sir, I wanna buy these shooooeeeesssss …….”

(posted by Chris Bosen, aka Kenny)

photo by ANTHONYMATULA

The only thing that can get me in the Christmas spirit more than a huge box of Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints is an ugly Christmas sweater. I love going to Goodwill and combing the racks to find just the perfect one! I love them so much that the hubs and I threw a party a few years back and mandated that every guest wear one. So imagine how excited I am that we decided to have an ugly Christmas sweater contest to help promote our upcoming  Holiday Hangover show! Being that this is the season of giving, I wanted to give you a few “gifts” of ugly sweaters from Christmas past!  Get inspired. Get creative. Get ugly.

Ok, these people aren’t in Christmas sweaters, but i bet this photo makes you thankful that your family opted for the all white beach photo this year.

photos via my ugly christmas sweater & awkward family photos

(Posted by Melodie Madden Adams)

photo by ANTHONYMATULA

Okay, so the deal is that last week was crap.  I had a bad week.  Nothing overtly terrible happened; it was just that week that we all have occasionally, where every day is defined by these myriad frustrations that keep piling up.  Traffic sucked every time I needed it not to, I felt pulled in 50 different directions at all times, I couldn’t sleep, work was irritating, I felt cranky and drained.  When I smiled, it was a gross fake smile, and normally I leave that kind of artifice to experts like Michelle Bachmann.

You should know that most of the time, I feel like I should be starring in a children’s TV program called ‘I Got Up on the Right Side of the Bed Today, Suckers!’ because my life is awesome and I am a happy lady.  So as each poop-scented day piled up in a row, I just felt cumulatively worse.

On the evening of rotten day number five, we had a ‘Hangover’ rehearsal at my house.  Life in my cube had been a headache, I-65 was a parking lot, and I had made a poor underwear choice that morning; in short, all I wanted to do that night was ball up in the Meg-shaped dent on the couch and be left alone.

But then something wonderful happened.  Everyone showed up at 6:30, and by 7:00 I felt like the children’s TV show version of myself (who, PS, is named Lolly and wears striped turtlenecks.  Lolly, so crazy!).  It was an amazingly therapeutic night for me, and perhaps the most amazing part is that those three-and-a-half hours were in no way drastically different than any other rehearsal we’ve held since we started MAS.  I just hadn’t realized how much pure enjoyment I got out of it until I was stuck in middle of a joy-free week.

We sat around the piano in my living room and laughed ourselves stupid.  When we weren’t laughing, we were brainstorming about ways to make other people laugh.  When we weren’t doing that, we were singing.  And I think the singing alone probably would have been enough to drag me out of my funk; we’re reaching the point where the music is really starting to click, and you can hear hints of what we hope it will sound like in a few weeks (that is to say, fabulous).  These are some talented folks I’m working with, and it’s easy to take that for granted until I hear them perform something so beautifully (or hilariously or poignantly) while sprawled out on my loveseat on a random Thursday night and find myself thinking “holy $#!* she’s not even trying yet”.  If that realization doesn’t knock you back into a better frame of mind, I don’t know what will.

Maybe that YouTube video of pugs playing soccer.

Anyway, this time of year can be a drag.  And I don’t mean the awesome sequins-and-Cher kind, I mean the depressing kind.  But it can also be the time of year that provides an excuse for you and your friends to put on a show, Mickey and Judy style.  I’m profoundly grateful for our little show and the people involved – you should come see it, because I think it’s going to be great.  I’ll be the one in the striped turtleneck.

(posted by Megan Murphy Chambers)

Behind the scenes of our latest photo shoot

Bippity Bloggity Boo!  Isn’t that what the fairy Godmother said?  No?!?  Well, she should have.  It’s MAS blog time again!!  Last entry, Laura gave birth to the blog, and then I waited so long to post that it’s all grown up now and has its driver’s license.  Crazy how time flies, right?

Speaking of time flying – I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but the amazing ANTHONYMATULA has put a countdown ticker to our show on the MAS Nashville website splash page.  I find this both exciting and vomit inducing.  I sit around thinking “Hey – I’ve got a pretty good handle on all I have to learn between now and December 28^th!” And then I look at the countdown.  My palms start to sweat, and the nausea hits me.  Sometimes when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I’ll torture myself by sitting and watching the countdown and wondering how it’s all going to come together.  Then I remember.  Magic!  (Or is it…MAS-gic?!)

This past year has been full of incredible lessons for me, and one of the most important discoveries I’ve made is that there is something truly magical about collaboration.  When MAS was conceived last spring, I simply contacted a few friends who I knew loved to sing and would be willing to punch somebody in the face for the opportunity to do so in public.  I wanted to surround myself with friends that I knew were super-passionate about performing, and who were always looking for ways to get themselves out there.  I didn’t know we were starting a company that would produce four shows over the next year.   I just knew that Velma Kelly’s words were ringing in my ear.  “I simply cannot do it alone.”

Of course, I realize that I could have done a project on my own, but that didn’t interest me at the time.  I had no idea when I contacted Laura, Megan, Melodie and Cori that MAS would grow into what it has become or that it would be a source of such joy and pride for all of us.  I had no idea that Laura was so musically gifted, or that her “we can do anything” attitude could open doors for us that I hadn’t even bothered to try – or that two control freaks like us could learn to work together so well.  I had no clue that she would rope her insanely talented husband, Tony Matula, into making us look fabulous and raise our image to the level of awesomeness that he has.   I knew Megan was funny, but I was unaware of her uncanny ability to put it down on paper.   I knew Melodie was a no-nonsense gal, but didn’t know how helpful that could be to keeping the lines of communication open or keeping me grounded and my expectations realistic.   I knew Cori was a sweetheart, but I didn’t realize that she had a connection to practically every theatre in town or a legion of devoted supporters that we all could benefit from.

I have found that I LOVE collaboration, and I am thrilled by the fact that MAS does not happen through one person alone.  Everyone brings something to the table. Sure, some people end up with more on their plates than others, but part of the joys of working in a group that trusts each other is being able to say, “Hell no, I don’t want to do that – somebody else needs to take the reins.”   Sometimes our differences compliment each other, and sometimes they make each other crazy.   We make fun of one another and call each other out on our bullsh*t in the way that only a close-knit family can.  Sure, sometimes we hurt each other’s feelings (Five artistic women in the same room?  Come on…), but then we talk it out/work it out/get over it like the big girls that we are.   I have learned so much about myself from this group of people, and perhaps just as importantly, I have a hilariously glorious time with them.  Seriously – when we’re in the same room, I laugh until my face hurts and I can’t breathe.  Thanks ladies, for being YOU.  Thanks Tony, for bringing out our inner super-models.  And thanks readers, well, for reading. We hope to see you on December 28^th at the ChristMAS Holiday Hangover, and we’re looking forward to sharing the “MASgic” with you!

(post by Erin Parker / photo by JO MCCAUGHEY)