The premiere of my one woman show, "How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This?" at TaDa Theater, off broadway in New York CIty, was a big success!
It was a short show, clocking in at around 20 minutes. This was a toe-in-the-water test for the material, to see if the general public would want to see a show about illness. In the past I've limited my "sick humor" material to about 3 songs in a 60-90 performance of general comedy. The good news is, they really enjoyed it, so I'll be expanding the show to an hour!
It's a mix of comedy and music, and a little bit of uncommon sense. Give me about 6 months to finish writing the long version, then watch for some full-length performances of the show.
I'm Writing a Book - May 5, 2010
I've had this notion for years that I'd write a book about my adventures as a patient.
Over the past year, I thought about it more than usual, and boom- a book deal fell into my lap! It's a small press doing interesting books.
My book, which I've been secretly working on since fall of 2008, is slated to come out in late 2010. It's a collection of humorous essays such as "You Can Biopsy When I'm Dead: My 15 Least Favorite Medical Procedures," and "Top 10 Annoying Things to Say to Someone Who's Just Been Diagnosed."
I've gathered a few pictures for possible inclusion in the book, ranging from attractive to mildly humiliating. My famous $40 wig will hopefully make it into the photo section.
It has been copy-edited (they fixed my typos and grammatical errors- I made a lot so the editors would feel needed). We're entering the final phases- final revisions, graphics, biz stuff with the publicist.
I'll keep you posted on the expected release date as we make more progress on these last bits of business.
One Woman Show Premiere! - February 18, 2010
One-woman show premiere!
"How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This?"
New York City
Thurs., May 6, 9pm
Emerging Artists Theatre presents…ILLUMINATING ARTISTS: New Work Series
Tada Theatre
15 West 28th St., 2nd Floor
Between Broadway/5th Avenue
$10 Admission
Advance Tickets & Exact Showtimes at www.emergingartiststheatre.org
This is a humorous show including comedy and songs, about surviving illness- and the medical system!
Duet with a Klingon: #5 for the year! - December 27, 2009
"Duet with a Klingon" is in Dr. Demento's "Funny 25" of 2009. In fact, it's #5 for the year.
Leftovers is back- temporarily! I unearthed a partial box of Leftovers CDs in my garage. If you've ever seen my garage, you understand how easily a small box could get misplaced. Of course, I know you haven't ever seen my garage, because I won't let anyone in there, lest they never make it back out.
Box Sets are back! Because there are 8 copies of Leftovers, Box Sets are also (temporarily) back!
OK, there's no actual box- it's just a great deal: get all 5 Carla Ulbrich CDs for $50 including shipping. Until I run out of Leftovers.
The New Live CD is on the Grammy Ballot! - October 18, 2009
The new CD, "LIVE FROM OUTER SPACE," is on the ballot for the Grammys!
It's in the comedy category, along with 50 other artists, including Jonathan Coulton, Capital steps, Kathy Griffin, Paula Poundstone, Jeffrey Ross, Christopher Titus, Ron White, Jonathan Winters, Rodney carrington, Cledus t judd, Weird Al Yankovic, Steven Colbert, George Lopez, Dane Cook, Stephen Lynch, Nick DiPaolo, and Patton Oswalt.
Nominations, where they narrow the field further, down to 5 in each category, will be announced Dec. 2, 2009. Approximately 7000 people are voting members of the academy.
The actual Grammy awards will be presented Jan. 31, 2010.
Conventions! - September 21, 2009
I'm just home from a long fabulous trip that involved a medical convention (for patients), a filk convention (science fiction music convention), a folk venue, and a general interest science fiction convention, with 2 days of sightseeing on the Pacific Coast Highway squeezed in. And lunch with Dr. Demento.
I'll try to be brief because I haven't had much sleep and that means lots of typos.
The Myositis convention was wonderful. A gathering for patients with a rare autoimmune disease, it is often the first time many of the attendees have ever met anyone else with the same diagnosis. I was the kickoff presenter, and I sang songs and talked about keeping a sense of humor and removing blame and shame from our situation. Wonderful bunch of people, and a very meaningful day for me.
Conchord was the "filk" convention in Woodland Hills (L.A. area) where I was guest of honor. A small but very charming music convention, they sang me a birthday dirge to the tune of volga boatman. It's a must-hear. They treated me wonderfully, and I was delighted to hear some great new songs from Kathleen Sloan and to finally hear Kathy Mar.
Highlights on California's hwy 1 include going under the golden gate bridge for a very strange view of it, and checking out the park on the south side of the bridge. the one of the north side is also very cool. We stumbled upon a beach made entirely of pebbles somewhere on that highway.
We saw some folks doing what I guess is called para=boogie-boarding? parasurfing? You use a kite-like sail to propel you along the water on a small surfboard. We hiked into a state park and saw some giant redwoods, and did the 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach (didn't see any beaches made of pebbles at the place actually called pebble beach, a golf resort area full of pricey mansions and a nature reserve). On "bird rock," there are bunches of sea lions and seals. Very stinky, but supremely cool. I have pictures.
Finally, we landed at Fencon, a general interest science fiction convention in Dallas, where I was one of the guests of honor, along with Paul Cornell, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Keith R A DeCandido. There were many other guests, including Tom Smith, Luke Ski, and the dashing and talented Joe Giacoio.
I was at the very first Fencon in 2004, and I have to say I *love* the programming there. A great mix of writing, music, art, costumes, and extremely well-run. It feels like a party, but without the guy with the lampshade on his head. Oh wait, there was one of those at the masquerade. If you've never been to a science fiction convention, this is a great first one to try. About 700-800 attendees, it's not too crowded, but plenty going on. www.fencon.org
I'm home (for now) and back to my 2 days a week of guitar students, my dog, and some fruits and vegetables. I've had enough road food!
It's here: The new live CD! - August 5, 2009
This is mostly non-medical humor (except for the bits about coffee enemas and tombstones). Mostly just a bunch of silly songs and jokes recorded live in concert at the XM radio performance theater last summer.
But laughter is the best medicine, so if you want to get your mind off your troubles (unless your trouble is with Klingons), this may be just what the doctor ordered.
Here's what's on the CD:
- Let it Go
- The Force Is the Force
- My Love
- I hope you’re happy
- Duet With a Klingon (live, featuring my husband, Joe, as the Klingon)
- Bad Song Ideas
- Big Hit Medley
- One Good Song
- Scrambled Eggs
- It’s Never Polite to Ask a Girl How Old She Is
- We Don’t Need a Walmart
- If I Had the Copyright (The F word Song- bleeped)
- Duet with a klingon- studio cut
plus some comedy bits.
I had great engineers, so the sound quality is fantastic. And a really talented illustrator, so the graphics are awesome.
The CD is mixed, edited, and mastered!
Now working on graphics. I have the fabulous Debbie Ohi doing the art!
Editing the Live CD - April 4, 2009
Hard at work when time is available on editing last summer's Live at XM radio concert into a CD. Have to remove some previously released songs, cut it up into separate tracks, and find the balance of guitar, voice, and audience. Aiming for summer '09.
Standup Comedy School! - April 2, 2009
I took a 4-week standup comedy class at the Stress Factory (great comedy club in New Brunswick, NJ). We graduated Sunday. This is a great thing to put on your bucket list!
I've decided to go back to teaching 3 days a week so i can fund all these great projects I want to bring you- the Live CD, the leftovers CD, the book tour.
I love teaching- I've taught guitar over the years at 2 stores, my basement, 2 colleges, and 2 summer camps.
Currently I'm finishing up a beginner's group class (done through Franklin Township) and offering ongoing private lessons at Lou Rose Music in Edison, NJ and Golden Age Instruments in Wesfield, NJ.
Lou Rose is a great shop for sheet music, accessories, beginner guitars, and of course lessons. Golden Age is filled with fantastic high-end guitars, both vintage and new. Both are one-store, owner operated businesses (not franchise chain stores).
If you're interested in lessons, I've got just a few spots left. e me.
carlau@mindspring.com
Attending a Health Conference - January 8, 2009
Sometimes the "next right thing" to do is really obvious. This is one of those. I have been griping about the state of our health care system for years now. Well, here are some people who are going beyond just griping and actually trying to change it, to envision what a healing, affirming, affordable, fair health care system would look like.
I jumped on board and will be attending (as a student). "Thinking Outside the Box" healthcare system design intensive in
Baltimore Maryland, Feb. 2-5.
I'm keeping a lighter performance schedule in '09 so I can focus on several projects I want to complete.
Meanwhile enjoy this goofy little video I put together ("Duet with a Klingon") for a song on my upcoming Live CD- coming out in Spring 09 (I hope!)
WLSC - December 3, 2008
I was a contestant in the Williamsburg Live Song Contest in November. For anyone outside of Brooklyn, this is not in Virginia, but a neighborhood within Brooklyn. I didn't win, but I made the top 9 (of 150 selected to compete), and the guy whose song I liked the most won.
A lot like the time in 1998 or so when I was in a live song contest at Eddie's Attic with 25 other acts and I heard this duo "Lo-fi Masters." I said to myself "Those two should win. Of course, I want to win, but if they don't make it at least to the top 2, those judges are deaf.
Well, they won, and shortly after that one of the guys left the duo. The other guy went on to release a few albums and date Jennifer Aniston. Yeah, John Mayer. How much is that other guy from the "lo-fi masters" kicking himself right now? Oh, yeah I made it to the top 4 that night. And a few months after that I was playing at Eddie's and John was working the door. (The record contract took a little while to come about).
Carla in concert on XM radio - July 23, 2008
Carla Ulbrich LiVE!
XM15 is proud to present Carla Ulbrich live from XM Satellite Radio Performance Theater before an audience. Get ready for Carla unleashed - one hour of PG-13 comedy. And you may find this performance on a CD sometime in 2008.
Eastern Time:
Tuesday Aug 19, noon,
Friday Aug 22, midnight
Carla to appear at Chet Atkins Convention - July 3, 2008
What a thrill! I'll be singing a song or 3 in the "Licks and Laughter" concert at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention (CAAS) at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville. The convention runs from Wednesday night through Saturday night, July 9-11.
Also in the Licks and Laughter concert- the affable Antsy McClain of the Trailer Park Troubadours, and Todd Hallawell, a Winfield Fingerpicking Champion. Maybe a 4th person... we'll see!
I attended this convention several times before ever getting on stage last year (also for the Licks and Laughter concert). Chet was quite an icon, quite the country gentleman, and quite an entertainer. No wonder there is both an appreciation society and a convention. Like fingerpickin'? check out http://www.misterguitar.com/caas/
Be there or be... somewhere else!
upcoming tour - March 25, 2008
Hey I'm headed South to do some shows in Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I'll also be enjoying 10 minutes of fame on TV with "Good Morning Arkansas!" No, you can't call in and vote me off, but you can tune in and see just how many pounds the camera adds...
The Aiken Uu and Louisiana hospital fundraiser are "Sick Humor" shows The others will be a mix.
Every year i do some holiday parties in December (and sometimes January for the companies who are too busy to have one in December). These company parties are illuminating. I almost feel like it's a sacred place that I, the interloper, somehow have the privilege of visiting. Sometimes it is joyous celebration of folks who truly love being around each other, and when that is the case, they usually have a charismatic, caring leader. Sometimes they are suffering as a group- maybe some folks have just been laid off and their absence is painfully obvious at the party this year.
This year, among other things i played for an Army hospital staff, and at some point we were all asked to remember fallen comrades, with a beautiful ritual where an empty table, with an upside down glass, an empty chair and a few other symbolic things were all given explanation. 7 or 8 toasts were given, the color guard presented the colors... it was all quite meaningful (except for the macarena and chicken dance contest where people competed for grab bag presents). Before i performed we were also asked to remember those who were on shift that night at the hospital, and had to miss the big party. They rotate so no one has to miss it every year.
Someone reminded me today of all the folks who have to work on Christmas- firemen, hotel workers,
policemen and ambulance driveres, and clerks in the few drug/ grocery stores that remain open.
You know who else that makes me think of is my Aunt (who has brain cancer), and all the other folks who are spending their holiday in a hospital bed- especially those alone. I thought I had been to the bottom, lying in the hospital bed wondering if I'd live or die, but it wasn't my birthday and it wasn't the holidays. I just can't imagine how that adds to the loneliness.
I think we all go through, at one time or another feeling "I should be happy but I'm not" at the holidays- my heart goes out to those patients, and their families, as well as our soldiers, who are not living in a time or situation where they can call a Christmas truce and play soccer together. May they find some comfort somehow.
Winning the hair battle when you're ill - December 12, 2007
One of the toughest parts for us gals with health problems is how disease and the drugs prescribed to us affect our looks. Last year in the hospital, I mentioned to the doctor how I hate the way the prednisone makes my skin and hair all dry and sickly. He started in on the typical lecture about saving my kidneys (heard it before) and I cut him off and said "I know I HAVE to take it. But I don't have to LIKE it!"
He was put off by my frankness and thought I was being obstinate (his words), but since I was trapped on the hall (they don't allow you to wander the hospital) and full of drugs that make me not just unattractive but extremely anxious, to the point of near psychosis, and they don't have any available counselors or psychologists in the hospital... well, how surprised can he really be that once in a while someone blurts out the truth about how they feel?
Alright, so prednisone. Can't live with it (or another human being if you're on 40 mg or more), can't live without it (if you have an autoimmune disease or an organ transplant). At least it's generic and therefore cheap. But short-term it has some horrible side effects: weight gain, mood swings, nasty skin, hair loss, moon face, hump back; and long term, some even worse ones: osteoporosis, cataracts, high blood pressure, diabetes. Swap in one disease, get 4 more, and look and feel like crap in the process. All for only $4 (generic) a month at WalMart! What a deal!
I've been on this stuff 3 times now, for about a year each time. I'm on it right now, so if you don't like this blog, don't tell me about it, because I can't be responsible for my reply. Hey- if someone can get acquitted on the twinkie defense or PMS, why not the prednisone defense? It's much more valid than twinkies. For one thing, I doubt the twinkies were forced on anyone as part of a "take this or die " prescription (more like a “do this often enough and you will die”warning). Think about that.
So anyway, I don't know which causes me to lose more hair- being ill or taking prednisone. All I know is I gotta frequently pull out a blob of hair the size of a small rodent from my shower drain cover. My hair looks frizzy and damaged (probably because it is), and as someone who had long luscious blond hair most of her life, this is hard on my self-image.
So here are a few things I've done to improve my hair situation during my stints of illness/ prednisone hair melee:
1) Leave-in hair conditioner. I get this pantene stuff you can just spray in your wet hair before putting a comb through it. It helps the comb run smoothly through my hair without getting snagged, which reduces a lot of damage. You can also buy Paul Mitchell "detangler" which you use in the shower. Works as well.
2) Air or towel-dry hair before blow-drying, to cut down on blow-dry damage.
3) Do not wash every day.
4) Deep-conditioning like hot-oil or 3-minute deep conditioners. they say do it only once a week but I do it twice a week because my hair is so damaged.
5) Cut off the dead ends. Dead, dry split ends do not make your hair look longer, just more dry and unhealthy.
6) Use control paste (a dab smaller than a dime) to make the ends less frizzy. Rub it between your palms, then work it into your hair, starting from the ends. If you get too much of it near the roots, it makes your hair look greasy and unwashed.
7) Use "shine" or other hair gloss. Again, a dab'll do ya, work it in from the ends. This gives your hair back the "shine" it loses when you're fulla drugs and not metabolizing nutrients normally.
8) Use curlers (NOT hot curlers, but the kind you just put in when you hair is damp and leave in 'til it's dry) for special occasions to make your hair look fuller.
9) Use natural products as much as you can. I use healthy shampoo and conditioner that I get at the health food store or through mail order that has no perfumes or other chemical crap, and instead has tea tree oil/ aloe/ other things that are good for your skin
10) I put a water purifier (this is even better than just a filter- a purifier removes more stuff than just chlorine and lead) for my shower. My hair is softer, and is not being exposed to chlorine and other chemicals. it took me 30 seconds to install.
11) Get a GOOD swim cap (like a speedo racing cap) if you swim in a chlorinated pool. Swimming is good for you. Chlorine is not. Anyone remember green hair from childhood summers in the pool?
12) Get a wig. if you're in a stage where you've lost so much hair that you can see your scalp, or you have curly hair growing in under your straight hair and it's making the hair stick straight up (been there, done that!), get yourself a wig. Unfortunately, as of now, "Locks of Love" (the free wigs of donated human hair) are only for cancer patients. But some health care plans may cover at least part of the cost of a wig if your doctor prescribes it as a "necessary cranial prosthesis" (I am not making this up). I was not in such a position (though I did have prescription compression panty hose). So I went shopping with my most princess-y adult friend and got myself a nice discount synthetic wig for $40. I still have it. I was nervous that everyone would know it was a wig. The first day I wore it out, the clerk in the store commented on my great haircut!
13) Then, of course, there are hats and hairpieces. One of my friends who has thin hair - not ill, just born with thin, lifeless hair- had an especially cute 'do one day. I complimented her on it and she told me it was a hairpiece she bought- at the dollar store! For a dollar!
14) Color it. Sometimes certain drugs keep your hair from absorbing the dye. And some folks will tell you shouldn't be exposing yourself to more chemicals while you're sick (what do you think all those drugs are?). Maybe they're right. But, looking in the mirror and hating my hair every day isn't good for me either. The way I feel emotionally affects the way I feel physically. And not wanting to leave the house because I feel so unattractive is also bad for my mental health. So for a $10 bottle of highlighter and an hour or so of my time, I go sit outside or in the garage so I don't stink up the house, and change the way I look. It makes me feel more in control of my looks, and I think it came out pretty good this time!
15) take flax seed/ flax seed oil. it makes your hair grow faster and gives it shine. And, it helps keep your regular! Wahoo!
One thing I regret is not having the brass to tell my family I did not want to have my picture taken the Christmas I was wearing a wig. we only get them done every 10 or so random years. Why did it have to be the year I was sick? Why immortalize that? I say this for my own ears/ eyes as much as for yours: it is your right to say "I'd rather not have my picture taken today. Can we do it on a day when I feel better so it will be a good memory?"
Many good hair days to you all. If you have ideas, please leave a comment!
Carla
