WE DID IT!! We met the Prince (metaphorically speaking) — WE PUBLISHED!!
Our journey with Bear Manor Media as our publishers was fraught with as many challenges as Cinderella had getting herself to the ball. If you were in our intimate “circle of friends,” you received newsletters with play-by-play episodes. Even the one using this image:
Metaphorically-speaking, that’s me crying in the lap of the universe thinking “we’re NEVER gonna get published!!” OMG! Every actor: “. . . never gonna work again!”
Well, I’m here to say: “Never say NEVER!” With a lotta help from our Godmother/Bear Manor Media, we made it happen. We got thru the rough patch to publish on New York City’s “Rehearsal Club Recognition Day” at The Museum of Broadway on May 11, 2023!! Oh Happy Day for all our Cinderellas!
Whenever anyone wants a book signing event created, we are there! So far, hosted by TRC Member, Leslie Middlebrook, we performed for The Lambs in New York City. Lambs Member, Mary Jane Houdina (“I’ve Arrived” Story), directed and choreographed our Cinderellas with a tap routine from 42nd Street!
Later in the year, we helped promo the 110th TRC Anniversary and Wardrobe Event with more stories focusing on the origins of all this at the Lenox Library Writer’s Series in NYC. Photos and Videos from that event are on the events page of our website, along with the Malibu, CA Celebration, produced by Patricia Hill (“Picture This” story). Visit our NEW Facebook page to view the video charting our Cinderella history to A Chorus Line.
The new year, too, is reigning in the publication of our audiobook!! Instead of having Bear Manor hire out, we felt we were professionals . . . why not record our own stories?? Why not, indeed. Just took a little (a LOT) of coordination and again, help from a series of Godparents. First up? Our union: SAG-AFTRA. As a working professional sans the help of a team (agent), I learned to take complete advantage of what my union dues provided. I was using SAG Foundation‘s “self-tape” ability LONG before Covid struck and actors were forced to create their own space within their homes. I created my VO demo in their “pro” studios. Would they be able to help us record our stories with pro capabilities?? As with the publisher, cold call – pitch – work it. And magic happened.
SAG Foundation in both NYC and LA provided support for recording on both coasts. Our women no longer living in NY and/or LA, stepped up to find community services that would allow them to record. Bingo! Everyone got recorded by our November 15, 2023 deadline.
Next challenge? Putting all those individual stories together and creatively adding music. OMG. I totally do NOT trust myself to do that. As with the book, I could create what it “should” look like, but without Bear Manor, I could NOT create a tangible, quality publication. I could collect the individual stories for the audiobook, but creating the full file . . . HELP!
Enter Kurt Peterson, Godfather (we did the original Broadway “Follies” with him). Kurt led us to Victoria Mallory’s daughter, Ramona. Vicky, Ramona’s mother, was a beautiful Young and The Restless actress, “Follies” original with us and was in the cast of the very first staged reading for the new RC Musical in 2013, “Good Girls Only.” She passed waaay too young in 2016. We completely lost touch with her husband and Ramona. Now? Ramona and her fiancé, Sam Ventura, are key in helping our Cinderellas take our stories to the next level.
Sam, a musician/composer/technical wizard, (in charge of NoiseMakers Academy) is now compiling all our stories and adding music, written by John Kroner, lyrics by Charles Leipart, in and around each story. Miracle Manifesting! Bear Manor Media set us up with Blackstone distributors who are waiting in the wings for the final product, publishing by February, 2024!! Sooo exciting to be moving into the New Year with anticipation for whatever happens next. We already have a few irons in the fire which we’ll share via the new Cinderella Facebook page! We hope you’ll follow and enjoy our journey!
