Hello Family, Friends and Colleagues!
Over a year has passed since I took the time to sit down and scribble in this blog. My time in Connecticut flew by and was filled with many wonderful experiences, all of which I was too busy living to write down, but now I'm not too busy and as my second year in Connecticut commences, I thought it would only be appropriate to look back on my time here and fill everyone in on my life of the past year.
On August 27, 2013 I left Manteo, NC where I had been working as an ASM at The Lost Colony and drove 10+ hours to Hartford, CT to begin what would end up being my "big break" job as a Production Assistant at Hartford Stage Company. As is typical with my gypsy lifestyle, I had somehow finagled my way into an apartment with a bunch of people I didn't know. I had the highest of hopes when I moved in with a group of University of Hartford students, but my hopes were quickly dashed not only did I realized that my college days were far behind me, but that my days of wanting to be around college kids were also a distant memory. It may not seem like much, those few years between 22 and 25, but it makes a world of difference. I'm not saying that my roommates weren't nice people, they just weren't the people I needed to be around. They were primarily concerned with parties, friends and staying up all night and I was the old lady in the room upstairs who wanted quiet after 1 am. There is a time in your life to be wild and crazy, and even when it was my turn to be that way, I wasn't really committed to the rambunctious college lifestyle, so when I was faced with balancing a full time job and living with a bunch of party animals, it didn't go well.
I like to describe my first room in Hartford as my "Harry Potter" room. It was the third bedroom on the third floor of a converted house with 2 red walls, 2 purple walls and a slanted green ceiling. It had one small window and the only artificial source of light came from a small sconce on the interior wall. When I moved in, the previous tenant had only been gone a few weeks, so of course the room was a disaster. There was a layer of dust a half inch thick on every surface and there were an unexplained number of thumb tacks littering the floor. After a rigorous cleaning it became clear to me that the floor was overdue for a sealing because every time I tried to mop against the grain, a handful of splinters would snag my mop. In my "Harry Potter" bedroom, there was an even more "Harry Potter" closet. A tiny red hole in the wall with a slanted ceiling too short for even me to get near. With 4 roommates constantly in and out with their friends in all of the public areas of the house, I found myself spending a lot of free time in my room, thinking about Harry must have felt in his room under the stairs. When I wasn't reenacting the bad parts of the Harry Potter novels, I would venture out into the kitchen, you know, to do my cooking. Most of my time "cooking" in my college house kitchen was actually spent cleaning up messes made by hordes of university students who thought that dishes magically cleaned themselves if you just put them close enough to the sink. I will say this for my year in a college house, I have learned the value of individual domestic responsibility and the luxury of a dishwasher.
I will say this for my first apartment in Hartford: it taught me that I can put up with a lot and live through almost anything for 9 months. Case in point: I'm not sure if you're aware, but winters in New England tend to be on the chilly side. For a number of reasons, the heat in the apartment rarely made it to my corner of the Wizarding World. From the middle of November to the end of April, I was dependent on my electric blanket to keep my body temperature regulated when I was home. It was terrible, but if I can live through that, I can deal with just about anything, right?
So far, my life in Connecticut must sound like a nightmare, but I can assure you, it was anything but that. One of the benefits of having a job that requires such a huge time commitment is that I wasn't home all that much and did not have to face off with my roommates on a regular basis. My job as a Production Assistant at Hartford Stage is hard to describe, but I will do my best. As a PA, I work with all of the incoming Stage Management teams to prep, rehearse, tech and run each show that HSC puts up in a given season. Basically, I'm a non-union 2nd ASM, if that makes it any clearer. I also serve as a liaison between the production departments and the stage management team. Perhaps most importantly, I'm the keeper of the coffee. My parents got into a heated debate about what my job entails, and (sorry, Dad) I am also in charge of making coffee every day. Those are my primary responsibilities and of course there are a number of incidental jobs I do surrounding those responsibilities. I LOVE my job. It's a good thing too, because if I didn't love it, I never would have made it through last year. In my time at HSC I got to work on a number of wonderful shows, meet fantastic artists, learn a ton about stage management and I do really feel like this is my "big break" into the world of career stage management.
My job as a PA took me to New York City several times last year. As a theater student, you dream of the day you get to set foot in NYC. It's a cultural mecca and it's theater's biggest city. I caught an incredibly lucky break when I was sent to NY for an entire month to rehearse a show. I was able to experience NYC day to day and also do a lot of tourist activities. I rode to the top of the Empire State Building, went to the Museum of Natural History, saw the Statue of Liberty, meandered around several art museums, walked around Central Park, had lunch at Jean-Georges, ventured all around Times Square and countless other things. It was quite an experience and I'm glad I had it. Most importantly, I came to realize that I don't want to live in New York. It's a great place to visit, but I'm just not a big city kind of girl and I never really felt at ease in the city. Fortunately, my month-long stay in the city qualifies for my "I have lived there" list, so I can check New York off and move on to the next state.
Speaking of my crazy life goals, I've officially lived in 6 states: Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Connecticut. I'm staying put in Hartford for this year, but after that I'm out of here. It's going to take me a long time to finish this list, but I'm committed...or I should be (to an institution).
Before and after my trip to New York, I spent most of my time off acting as a "perma-tourist" in and around Hartford. I discovered a love for hiking in the winter and can't wait for the snow to fall again this year.
As you may or may not know, my position is a seasonal one, which means that I had about 7 weeks off from work and was finally able to go back home to Missouri to see my family. It had been 14 months since I had laid eyes on a single person I was related to and they were all a welcome sight. The drive from Missouri to Connecticut takes about 22 hours over the course of three days. I was able to celebrate my cousin's acceptance to medical school, the Fourth of July and several birthdays with my family. Additionally, I was able to travel around Missouri and see some of the sights: a play in Branson, a wedding in Kansas City and little trips around my home town. The only downside to my vacation was my untimely introduction to poison ivy. I have never had it before, so I had no idea what to expect. Boy, it sucks. I was helping my mom transfer a dog across the state to his new foster home and long story short, he escaped and hid in a ditch that was full of poison ivy. I was the only person present willing to dive in after him and it took about 15 minutes of rolling around in the weeds to find him and to haul him out of there. Even after attempting to wash in the nearest McDonald's bathroom, I still had an hour long drive before I was able to get home and properly bathe. But, alas, it was to no avail. Three days later a small patch of poison ivy appeared on my hand, and by the end of the next day I was covered from head to toe with the nastiest case of poison ivy. I quickly got myself on a strict regimen of topical steroids, Benadryl, Zyrtec, Claritin, ice packs and cold showers. For about 10 days in the middle of my vacation, I was completely out of commission. I'm still not 100% yet and it's been a month since I was exposed. Consider this a lesson learned. But towards the end of my stay, I was able to spend some quality time with friends and family.
Okay, that's enough. Hopefully this is plenty to fill you in and keep you interested in what's happening from here on out.
