Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in erikaamato's LiveJournal:

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
8:36 am	New York, New York... We're officially moving to NY! How did this happen, you may ask? Well, I was subletting an apartment in Weehawken, NJ (just across the river from Midtown) for the past three months, and I booked a couple of shows while I was there (one in NY and one in Wisconsin), and my agent really insisted I needed to move there, so I called my husband and said, "Honey, how do you feel about moving to NY?" and he replied, "Sure, why not?" So, there ya go. I was lucky enough to be able to take over the lease on the apartment I was subletting, which is fantastic, plus I also was very blessed in that the girl who is leaving the place has given me all her furniture. Yep, gave it to me. So, we're just going to supplement the place with some of our pieces, but most of our LA furniture (and our car) is getting SOLD, baby! Our new apartment building I have an unbelievable amount of stuff to get done in the next three weeks, so I probably shouldn't waste much more time on the computer. If you need any furniture or are interested in buying a gorgeous 2002 Ford Thunderbird, let me know! ;-) --E (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
9:25 am	The Muppets It is a little-known fact that I am a huge fan of the Muppets. I grew up watching them, and I had all of their records. Yes, records. On vinyl. I am also a huge fan of jazz. Ella is my idol as far as vocalists go, but anybody who can lay it down is alright in my book. Well, I came across this gem today and I just had to put it in my journal. This is the incomparable Cleo Laine performing "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" with the Electric Mayhem! Current Mood: cheerful (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
7:40 am	OK, it's been months... See?  I told you I have a hard time blogging.  I do OK over on MySpace, I guess... But I digress. So, White Christmas was a fantastic experience.  It was a really great production, and I had just a wonderful time playing "Betty Haynes."  Got great reviews, too!  Yay! That kept me busy and out of LA from mid-October through the end of December...  Since I've been back, I've just been picking up a few days' work down at Disneyland and doing a couple of little concerts here and there.  I had to take it super easy for most of January because I was laid up with the flu.  I caught it on Jan. 3rd, and it KILLED me.  Well, not literally, but you know what I mean.  Also, my husband got in a freak accident with our "good" car back on the 5th, and I've been in a rental car FOREVER.  Kind of sucky.  (It's taking forever for the body shop to fix it, plus it's going to have to go to the mechanic, as well.) On a positive note, I've been having some very cool audition experiences recently.  I did super well auditioning for Mamma Mia back in November/December (yes, right in the middle of White Christmas), and even ended up getting flown to Chicago to meet with the complete creative team on my day off (for my 3rd callback).  They paid for my airfare and everything.  I was up for the role of "Tanya" on the National Tour.  Apparently, it was down to me and one other actress (from NY), and it just came down to who ended up getting cast as "Donna," and how we'd look together onstage, etc.  So, no, I didn't get it (obviously), but it was great to be so close. I also have a callback for another show that Tara Rubin is casting this week.  This time for Broadway.  So, I guess I'm on their radar right now.  hehehe I'm not really auditioning for much else in LA at the moment, since I'm leaving for NY on March 1st for a 3-month stay, and there's not much point until I get over there.  ;-) Oh!  And no, I didn't win the Ovation Award I was up for, but I had a marvelous time at the festivities, and Jeff made me the coolest frame/piece of artwork to house my nomination certificate.  :-)  Here's a pic from the awards: And here's the piece of art Jeff made me: It's hard to see how cool it is, but it's many layers of clear and blue colored Plexiglass, with big exposed bolts and such, in a black box interior frame, then painted silver along the outside.  I think it's neat. I guess that's it for now.  Thanks for reading! -E (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
8:17 am	Ovation Award Nomination! So, I just found out yesterday afternoon that Sleeping Beauty Wakes (the show I did back in the Spring with Center Theatre Group and Deaf West) got nominated for 10 awards, and I got nominated, too! SBW got nominated in the following categories: World Premiere Musical Musical Large Theatre Direction of a Musical (Jeff Calhoun) Musical Direction (Brendan Millburn) Lighting Design Large Theatre (Michael Gilliam) Sound Design Large Theatre (Eric Snodgrass) Lead Actress in a Musical (Valerie Vigoda) Lead Actress in a Musical (Alexandria Wailes) Supporting Actor in a Musical (Kevin Earley) Supporting Actress in a Musical (Erika Amato) WOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO! Congratulations to everyone in the SBW family, and also to everyone nominated this year! (For a full list of nominees, go here: http://www.theatrela.org/ovationaward.asp or to this nice article on Playbill.com: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111309.html) This is my first individual Ovation Nomination, so I'm pretty psyched. Yay!  I get to dress up and go to a nice party in November!  Awesome!   The wonderful cast and crew of Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007
12:32 pm	Rainy day, some silly pics, etc. Well, it's a fabulously rainy day here in the Los Angeles area, and I just love it!  I normally don't like the rain all that much, but it's been so long, it's a really welcome change!  (Particularly since I have nowhere to go until this evening.)  :-)  I think the thing I like the most about the rain is the sound it makes when it hit the air conditioning units in our apartment.  It's just so LOUD, and I dig it. Things are good, work-wise.  Still doing the Disney gig from time to time (see pics below), and I'm currently working on a staged reading of a new musical to be presented on Monday, and then I have ANOTHER one starting up, which will be performed on Oct 6th.  After that, I'll sing at 88's Cabaret and then head down to Escondido to start rehearsals for White Christmas.  I'm looking forward to it! Me and my super talented friend Jason doing the Coronation thang... Why, hello there! I went to the Los Angeles County Fair last weekend with my friend Madelynn.  We had such a good time!  We basically reverted to being 12 years old the entire time we were there.  We went on rides, drank beer (OK, I guess that's not a 12 year old activity...although...???), bought silly crap, and ate corn dogs and funnel cakes.  YUM!  I have to admit, though - my neck was a little stiff after the bumper cars!  Dang, I must be getting old!  LOL Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...  Corn dog! Did ya notice that enormous Ferris wheel behind me and my corn dog?  Well, we're on it in this pic.  :-) Well, I guess that's about it for now.  I'm looking forward to climbing into bed with a cup of tea and a book for the rest of the afternoon, and then it's off to West Coast Ensemble to help out with box office duties for the evening. Huh...my life is pretty good!  :-) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 1st, 2007
1:04 pm	Here we go... I've got random blogs scattered all over the internet:  some that were initially free, then started to charge, so I stopped blogging; some that I posted in once or twice, then completely forgot I'd opened an account; some that I still update, but are  completely disorganized, etc.  So, it is with great reluctance that I even post this entry (does the world really need another blog entry from me?), however, I feel I simply must post something, so that this account - which I seem to have opened quite some time ago, and then forgot - isn't completely useless. First of all, my latest news is that although I am still waiting for final confirmation from my agent, it looks like I will be playing Betty Haynes (the Rosemary Clooney role) in White Christmas down at the Welk Resort Theatre in Escondido (San Diego County), CA.  That will take me from 10/26 through 12/30.  Should be fun!  This year (2007) has been extremely eventful for me, career-wise.  First, I created the role of the Bad Fairy/Clinic Director (along with deaf actress, Deanne Bray) in the world premiere musical, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, which was co-produced by Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, CA.  It was a fantastic show, and I am so proud to have been a part of it.  Then, I workshopped the new musical stage show of Toy Story for the Disney Cruise Lines, playing Bo Peep.  After that, I played Rosa (a bit of a hussy) in the first full workshop of the new musical, The Thief, at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.  Then, I played Myrtle/Roxy in yet another workshop of yet another new musical, I Come For Love (part of Theatre League's Festival of New Musicals) up at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.  And last week, I shot a new short film entitled Le Bureau Du Petit Mort (yes, as those of you who speak French know, it's a little racy), in which I played the female lead, Chloe. In between all these gigs, I've been a part of the new wonderful live performance series, 88's Cabaret, held on the 3rd Monday of every month at the restaurant, Eleven, in West Hollywood.  I was also invited to sing "Turn Back, O Man" at the star-studded Stephen Schwartz tribute concert, Changed For Good at the same venue.  What a fantastic show, and a great experience. I'm also working from time to time down at Disneyland, doing the cute little Disney Princess Fantasy Faire for the kiddies (playing Lady Lillian, whose main purpose is to sing, dance, and introduce the Princesses).  Oh!  And I recorded voice overs (i.e., provided different voice characterizations, as well) for several deaf women who were interviewed about their experiences for a new DVD series about pregnancy and childbirth being put out by Signs For Intelligence.  And I've sung for numerous fundraisers at various venues across Southern CA. So, like I said, it's been a busy year.  And I wouldn't have it any other way! Let's see how long it takes me until I post here again...  Any bets???  ;-) (7 Comments |Comment on this)