I'm Back!

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.

North Carolina Part III

My summer trying to solve history's greatest mystery and looking for Blackbeard's buried treasure is quickly coming to a close. We have 28 performances left of a 72 show run and only 8 shows left of Puss in Boots, the children's show I've been working on. As is to be expected, the summer flew by. I've managed to meet a lot of great people and have some wonderful experiences in North Carolina. I went to the Aquarium, toured the Elizabethan Gardens, walked out on Bebop's pier, spent a few great Sundays at the Comfort Inn Beach, gotten into plenty of trouble in the Grove and had a blast the whole time. I still have a lot of things to accomplish in the next month, but I'm more than ready for it.

This past weekend, I went to Ocracoke Island with a few friends. It's about 2 hours south of Manteo. We stopped at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse for a bit and fed some very friendly turtles. Then we hopped onto a ferry to tiny Ocracoke. Lunch was mussels and calamari at Howard's Pub and then I spent two hours collecting shells on the beach. The best part about Ocracoke was that there weren't very many people around. You could look down the beach and not see a single person. I came home with a handful of shells to commemorate my trip and some lovely memories of sea air and sand between my toes.

I never thought I'd like the beach because I've never been drawn to it. Missouri girls don't know much about beaches, but I've grown to love my Sundays on the beach, whichever beach I can find. There is something so soothing about listening to the water. My favorite time to go the beach is late at night when you can look up and see the stars and listen to the water gently lapping at your feet. I highly recommend it.

As the summer draws to a close, I'm getting nervous about moving to Connecticut, but I'm also excited for a new adventure. I still have to go kayaking, see the wild horses at Corolla and tour the shipwreck museum, oh and find some treasure. Here's hoping I get it all done in time!

North Carolina Part II

Now that we’ve all had time to recover from that insanely long entry, I’m going to treat you with a short one.

Where did I leave off?

Oh yes, Roanoke Island: home of history’s greatest mystery and more recently, Paul Green’s symphonic drama The Lost Colony, which is what brings me here.

          I arrived on the afternoon of Monday, May 6 and moved into my new home for the next four months. Morrison Grove is a collection of simple cabin apartments to be shared by four roommates. Each apartment has a porch, a sizable living room, a dining room connected to a tiny kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. It’s not the Ritz; think of it more like theater summer camp for adults. My “cabin” is designated as the “quiet housing” which means that it is further off in the woods, set back from the main compound and the perfect location for a horror movie. As a member of the production staff, I arrived one week before the vast majority of the company and found myself entirely alone in this cabin and worried about murderers jumping out of the woods to behead me. Fortunately, that did not happen. I spent Monday and Tuesday getting settled in and meeting a few members of the production staff (all of whom are great people!) and fully believe in the idea of “work hard, play hard.” During prep week, which is what we call the week before rehearsal begins because it’s a time for preparation, I got to know the Production Stage Manager and my co-ASM. The three of us work together really well and have already developed a great dynamic and just sort of naturally fell into our respective roles. It’s going to be a great summer working with them. Yesterday was Day One for the entire company and consisted of a welcome breakfast, understudy auditions, combat auditions, work calls, a read through and a late night. It went very smoothly and if it is any indication of how the rest of the rehearsal process will be, I think it’s going to be wonderful. On a side note, I now have all of the names of everyone in the company memorized and as a stage manager that is impressive and extremely helpful. But I digress.

            Last night after a full 15-hour day, the SM team had to walk through the woods back to the production office with no light and it was terrifying. Walking through haunted woods in the dark may be the only downside to working here. Now, we've begun standard days of rehearsal during which choir, dancers, principals and actor/technicians are separated during the day and then brought back together for a full company evening rehearsal.

            It’s good to be me, living the dream. Thanks for checking in. 

North Carolina Part I

Those of you reading this may or may not know the following pertinent information about my life and recent events: I quit my job at Barnes and Noble in Columbia because I was offered a summer ASM position with The Lost Colony in North Carolina. Quickly following that development I was offered a two year contract to work as a PA (Production Assistant) with Hartford Stage in Connecticut. Two supremely huge happenings, right? You’d think I would have blogged about them before now, when I’ve already been in NC for a week. Well, friends, I have tried to blog it out several times but the town I’m living in, Manteo (pronounced Manny-O; apologies to those of you I told when I thought it was pronounced Man-tay-O.) is the picture of American small town life. You can cross the entire town in under 5 minutes, the library is only one room and Wi-Fi is scarce. In fact, I’m typing this blog in Microsoft Word first and then I’m going to paste in into the blog page because I’m usually only in a room with Internet access for a few hours a day and 100% of that time is spent working on something else. Such is life, I suppose. I suffer for my art and if what suffers most is the blog, then so be it.

First things first: I left Columbia on the morning of May 4 with all of my worldly possessions (that would fit) crammed into my car and started the 18-hour solo drive across the Eastern half of the United States bound for a city I couldn’t pronounce in a state I’d never set foot in. As many of you know, I’m somewhat of a “world traveler,” at least as far as my family is concerned. I moved away to go to college, I moved farther away to work while I was in college, moved even father away after college and then wound up back at home. Even with all of my travels and a strong inclination toward a nomadic existence, leaving home this time was hard. It wasn’t just the fact that my car was weighed down by so much stuff that the wheel wells were rubbing on the tires, it was looking at my family and knowing that this time was different and things will never be the same. I can’t quite explain it, but it goes something like this: every other time I’ve left home it was with a clear return date in mind with multiple visits planned for the near future. In college there were breaks from school and if anything really terrible happened (which it did), I could get home in less than two hours. When I lived in Iowa, it was only for two months and by that time I was confident in my ability to survive on my own in Missouri’s hat, plus I was with friends from school. Then, after graduation, I thought I was really ambitious by moving to Minnesota, a staggering 8-hour trip from my nearest relatives. But, just as before, I was only planning on staying for 4 months. When my contract was extended to 9 months, I think it was the beginning of a permanent transition from being based in Missouri to being truly on my own and away from my family. Last year, when all of that was happening, I rebelled at the thought of true independence and ran like crazy back into the comforting routine of central MO. My year-long diversion where I tried such things as working at a bookstore, testing out graduate school, volunteering as a designer for a church and living with my brother and his cat was well-timed and absolutely necessary. I don’t think I was ready to officially leave my comfort zone, but when these two opportunities presented themselves I felt like it was a sign and the chance I had been waiting for, because honestly you can only avoid breaking out into the world for so long. Even so, it was tough to drive away on a cloudy Saturday morning while my parents fought to hold back tears and I fought (and failed) to do the same. For the first hour of my drive I kept thinking, “You can turn around right now and go home and no one will judge you for it,” and “Maybe there is something closer to home, I haven’t explored all of my options,” but the most prevailing thought of all, the thought that rode in the passenger seat with my all the way to North Carolina was this: “My family will always be there for me. I am lucky to have a rock solid foundation and a place to call home so that I can step daringly into the world knowing that win or lose I will always be loved and if I don’t take this chance now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.” And I thought back to my last looks out the window at my parents and remembered how strong they were for me. Neither of them wanted me to leave: my mom didn’t want to lose her almost daily call at work and my dad didn’t want to lose his Duck Dynasty watch buddy, but they both understood (and so did I) that I was meant to go out into the world and experience it and they continually support my dreams, even if that means smiling as I drove away.

             I don’t know what it is about crossing a state line, but it’s like a reset. New state, new attitude. When I crossed the river into East St. Louis, Illinois I was finished being sad about leaving my family and fully engrossed in a feeling of excitement about the adventures to come. There isn’t much to report about day one of driving because that’s all it was, lots and lots of driving and then some more driving. I went from Columbia, Missouri to Huntington, West Virginia. Five states in one day is my record and probably my limit, especially if I’m driving alone. I cranked up the radio to keep myself entertained and when I rolled through Kentucky I switched to AM and listened to the full coverage of the Kentucky Derby. It took a fair share of willpower to keep myself from driving to Churchill Downs just to catch some of the action. Night one was a uneventful as day one because all I did was get to my room and relax and sleep. I had originally planned to Couchsurf my way to NC, but upon the insistence of my grandmother, I opted for hotel rooms to minimize my risk of being hacked into pieces by a machete-wielding madman/rapist. In the end, she was right because I was much more comfortable in a locked hotel room than I would have been on a stranger’s couch. On the second day I drove across the entire length of West Virginia and on through to the southeast corner of Virginia to Chesapeake. The last time I drove through the mountains was a family trip to South Dakota where all of the mountains looked like “just a bunch of rocks” according to pre-teen Amy, but as an adult I can appreciate the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. It was hours of gorgeous scenery and mildly terrifying steep highways plunging me down, down, down to the coast. It never occurred to me that the difference in elevation would be so great, but my ears popped on several occasions and gum was my only source of relief. Somewhere in the middle of West Virginia I came upon a toll road (my first!) and shortly thereafter was in desperate need of a gas station so I pulled into Gary’s Sunoco right off of the highway and after filling up my tank, walked across the gravel lot, stepped over a sleeping dog, entered the station, noticed that both bathrooms were out of order, promptly paid for my gas and high-tailed it out of there. When I arrived in Virginia, my GPS led me to a gas station right outside of Busch Gardens and very near Colonial Williamsburg, so even though I’ve never been to those tourist attractions properly, I can at least say I’ve seen them. Before I reached my hotel, I caught my first glimpse of water and promptly freaked out. The ocean is not new to me, but experiencing it like this is. Plus, it meant that I couldn’t go any farther east unless I rented a sailboat and that indicated that I was closer than ever to my ultimate destination. I saw seagulls and yachts and bridges galore and even drove through an underwater tunnel. I sort of wish there had been a bridge because I was mesmerized by the water and was a bit perturbed when I realized I wouldn’t be able to look at while I was underneath it. I soon resurfaced and once again found myself lounging in a comfortable hotel, relaxing and preparing for day three of driving.

            Fortunately, I planned ahead and day three consisted of only two hours on the road, which was about all I could take. I drove out of Virginia and into North Carolina and through a bunch of little towns until I found myself driving along the Whalebone. The Whalebone is the land that sits out in the ocean and runs nearly parallel to the coast of mainland North Carolina. Between the Whalebone and the mainland is Roanoke Island, home of the Lost Colony and birthplace of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. This place is lousy with history. I’m sure the world Roanoke set off a little buzzer in the back of your mind sending you back to fifth grade when you learned about Sir Walter Raleigh and his lost settlement of Roanoke. Well, this is that place.

            Clearly, I underestimated the amount of blogging I had to blog so I’m going to pause here for a moment and update later in the week. Thanks for your support and encouragement and thanks for reading. 

I'm Writing this Post Instead of a Paper

I'm a terrible blogger. It's funny how life can get away from you so quickly, but alas it does and then seven months go by like the blink of an eye.

As I compartmentalize my life, so I shall do the same with my entry. Sometimes I look at the parts of my day and think that I must be crazy and then I realize -duh- I am crazy.

1. The last entry I made (in June, embarrassing) was about my new job at the bookstore. I started as a general bookseller and specialized in Nook sales and support and each day was an education. Everyone should work retail at some point in their life. It's illuminating to say the least. Thank goodness I started in the summer, because if I had been hired in October or later, I never would have been able to survive the holidays. Pure insanity, and I didn't even have to work on Black Friday. Miraculously, the holidays ended (but the world didn't) and once again we are back to a normal amount of business. At the beginning of the year, I switched departments within the store and and became a Shelver. Now, I show up at work at 7 am (a bloody miracle) and shelve books for a few hours.

2. When I started at the bookstore I was working at a local church as a lighting designer and I had just been admitted to MU's grad school. The church lighting work had to be put on the back burner as I attempted to be a successful graduate student. Looking back on it, I think the best term for my stint at MU is an "educational detour." There's nothing wrong with grad school (in theory), but my personal experience reads like something out of a horror story. I was taking two classes and stage managing one show in the fall semester and was doing great balancing everything, but it just wasn't right. I was admitted as a post-baccalaureate non-degree seeking student and intended to submit my application to the department at the end of the fall semester, but couldn't bring myself to do it when the time came. I will definitely pursue graduate school later in life, but not at MU. If you're considering going to school there, don't ask for my recommendation, 'cause you won't like what I have to say. Basically, I paid a ton of money to SM a show and all I got was a glass unicorn.

3. I "started" my own business. I've been a pet sitter in Columbia for years, but I thought I'd better make it more official. My schedule was full of sitting appointments, so I made a website and all that jazz. It's a pretty steady line of work and perfect as a supplement to all of my other activities/jobs.

4. In September, I moved in with my brother. It's surprisingly awesome. We get along really well and after the initial adjustment period, we are in a good rhythm with each other. He's teaching me how to be more domestic and imparting his wisdom about loading the dishwasher and baking leftover pizza. It's a lot of fun and conveniently only three minutes from work.

5. Right before the end of the year, I got a call from the production manager/artistic director of a local theater company asking if I would like to stage manage an upcoming musical and of course I said YES!

Turn the corner to the beginning of this year. 2013: No longer in grad school (that was a bust). Working at the bookstore and looking for another theater job out of state. Pet sitting all over town.

6. That SM job from #5 has begun and I'm having a blast. It's Terrence McNally's A Man of No Importance which opens February 21 and will be followed by rep performances of two other shows that I've also signed on to SM (Personals and Singlemarriedgirl). That get's me through March and after that I'll really be itching to get out of Dodge for awhile.

7. I'm still dealing with residual classwork from my foray into grad school, but at the end of the month I'm finished with that business and can hopefully erase it from my memory.

8. That church I was working for? Well, my cousin is getting married there in March and I'm hoping to help out with the lights for the ceremony and then get back into designing lights for their services regularly. It was such a cool job with a great group of people, and now that my bookstore schedule is set, I can finally plan some sort of social life (as long as it's before 9 pm- my new bedtime).

9. Yesterday, my dad had bilateral knee replacement. His knees had been bothering him for years and it finally got so bad that he agreed to have them replaced. Waiting for the surgery was torture and today was a VERY long day, but he survived the surgery and the doctor said it went very well, so now we are at the beginning of what is sure to be an arduous recovery process. In the end, it will all be worth it and I'm glad that we've made it over the first hump. He had a ton of visitors today and it's great to see how much his friends and co-workers love him. Hopefully, being surrounded by so many people who care is going to make this process so much easier for him. Tomorrow, he takes his first steps as the bionic man. He's expected to go home on Saturday and then has six weeks of recovery and physical therapy to look forward to.

10. I need a tenth thing to talk about because I can't just leave it at nine, but what? Oh, how about this? We got a cat. Her name is Fiona and she's a former farm cat from my parent's house. She was getting picked on by our other outdoor cats, so we brought her to town and now she's the queen of her domain. It was a bit of an adjustment for her to switch gears as an entirely indoor cat. On her first day she peed on my bed (she's lucky she survived that ordeal). Now she's very politely using her litter box and she's spoiled rotten.

Phew, made it to 10.

It's A Mall World After All

Working at the mall is going to be great! Not only am I surrounded by books and (more importantly) people who love books, but the constant influx of new people means that I'm meeting and re-meeting all sorts of exiting individuals.

My first day out on the floor, who should walk back into my life but Zeeshan, a dear friend from college. And my second day in front yielded a stunning reconnection with one of my wonderful friends from high school named Lizzy. Fortunately we have the kind of friendship that picks right back up where it left off regardless of how much time has passed. Seeing her again further cemented my decision to stay in Columbia for a little while longer. I take all of these random encounters as signs that I'm headed in the right direction.

Today, I was off and got to spend the afternoon with Fallyn, who was passing through town on her way home for a weekend trip. We went craft shopping and had a great catch-up lunch and commiserated about how much we would miss summer camp this year. Having someone who is going through a similar phase in their life is great and she is incredibly supportive of all the changes that are happening in my world. I only hope that I can give her the support and strength that she has given me.

When a friend, past or present, crosses my path I'm always grateful for the chance to reconnect and catch-up. Hearing from others always gives me great perspective on my life and my goals.

School's In For the Summer

Woohoo! I got the job at Barnes and Noble and I'm still working at the church. Today I ran my first wedding and tomorrow I'm running a full service by myself with no help at all!

Also, big news: I'm officially a graduate student! I'm taking Religion in Film and Theatre Topics this summer and  Advanced Directing in the fall. That means I'll be in Columbia for significantly longer than I had originally planned, but I'm fine with that. I used to be worried that I would get stuck in Columbia, but now that I'm faced with the prospect of spending a few years here, I'm not panicking at all. I know that I'm a goal-oriented person and it is my goal to move away from home. I will do it when the time is right and nothing can stop me!

I'm still addicted to baking cupcakes and will be making another batch tomorrow for my cousin's graduation party.

Post Grad Rad

Too often I end up doing "catch-up" posts because I get distracted by my life. It's a good problem to have and as much as I feel guilty for people who read this having to invest several hours reading my novella length updates, it's just how I roll and it's probably not going to change any time soon.

Here are the headlines:

Employment
I have continued to scour theater employment websites almost every day searching for new openings and chasing down leads whenever they present themselves. I've had a few promising interviews that all too quickly ended as disappointing emails. I've been told that your second job post-grad is the hardest to get in the theater industry and I believe it. So, I'm learning to be patient and keeping up the faith about my next big thing.

As far as temporary employment until something in the theater comes along, I've landed a job working as a technical assistant at a local church. As soon as I got home from Minnesota I started looking into volunteer positions to add to my resume, give me a chance to learn some new skills, etc. and I found an opening at a tech team at one of the big contemporary churches in town. Several of my family members attend church there, so I thought it would be great to have that connection. I went in and met with the IT Director and signed up to volunteer for that weeks service. Immediately I felt so comfortable with everyone at the church and loved the challenge of running lights for a live non-scripted event. It's a completely different experience that calling a play. The next week I got a chance to design lights for a big event at the church and it was incredible. It was definitely baptism by fire, but I made it through and have been working more and more as a designer for the church. A few days after my big designing debut, my supervisor asked if I wanted to dedicate a little more time to volunteering and really focus on directing Sunday morning services. Of course I said yes and we were off. I started spending even more time at the church and observing the inner workings of a technical team handling a church service complete with video, IPad slide shows, rock band, and lights. It's quite a thing to see how stage management translates from theater to churches. It would certainly be a good thesis topic. After a month of shadowing the service director, I got to jump into the driver's seat for the third service two weeks ago. I was scared out of my mind, just like the first night of Godspell, but I survived and learned a lot. My supervisor, Jake has been simply fantastic, taking the time to really make sure I feel comfortable and prepared for taking on more responsibilities with the services. Last week, I was calling all three services with Jake as a shadow. Moving up the volunteer ladder fast, huh? Working at the church is fulfilling and relaxed and I'm hoping to make the most of the opportunity while it lasts. In that same vein, the IT Director of the church knew my situation and understood the possibility of my leaving after only a few weeks. Apparently, everyone at the church was so impressed with how committed I've been and the quality of my work that they invented a position for me. There you go. My main duty as a technical assistant is burning and printing sermon series CDs for the bookstore in the church. I've been told it's basically a position to keep me around for as long as possible. The church is going through an expansion and they've hinted at keeping me on staff while that happens so that I can manage one of the auditoriums in the bigger building. It's a great feeling knowing that they trust my potential, but I'm just happy to be around for now.

At the same time I started volunteering for the church, I applied for a part-time bookseller position at Barnes and Noble. Last week I went in for a preliminary interview with the assistant manager and two days later got a call for a second interview with the store manager. The interviews were very smooth and I enjoyed talking with both of them and I'm in the final pool of potential hires. I should know by Monday or Tuesday about the final hiring decision, but I really hope I get it! I'm thinking that I won't be leaving Columbia until the fall, so this job would keep me occupied and keep me in the money while I chill in MO.

I also applied for a weekend job at a Vet Hospital because (believe it or not) I'm incredibly qualified to work there and I had a nice interview there and am waiting to hear back about that job too. I'm less excited about that because it would be mostly weekends and that would infringe upon my volunteering time at the church.

Slowly but surely, I'm becoming less and less unemployed, or more and more employed.

Domestic Issues
With so much free time, I've been experimenting with crafting and up-cycling. My dad and I cleaned out the garage and I found a bunch of old records and cassette tapes that I have since turned into a lamp (sort of) and two cupcake stands. I've also refurbished an old rocking chair, a sign, a coffee can and a small suitcase. I've also gone a bit cupcake crazy. I've always enjoyed baking cupcakes and now that I have a full kitchen to work with, I'm taking full advantage. About once a week I treat my parents to a fresh batch of cupcakes. I recently bought two trays for making mini-cupcakes, a special batter scoop, chocolate sauce bottles and a vat of Crisco to make my own icing. It's a good thing there are some big-ish holidays coming up because I need an excuse to bake. I bought a dress just because the pattern reminded me of cupcakes. It's bordering on obsession.

I occasionally help my mom with her rabbits. We now have about 80 rabbits living in our backyard. My family never does anything small.

My brother moved across town to a new house so my dad has been calling on me to help him more and I really like that I'm getting to spend more time with him. He'd never admit it, but he really wants me to stay unemployed forever so that I can live at home and hang out with him all the time. Every time I bring up the job search, he just says something like, "Don't worry about it, you're not causing any trouble being at home." He hated me being so far away and he's loving every moment I'm home. We've been hauling wood, getting feed, grilling and watching Duck Dynasty. It's the good life.

Foreign Affairs
There are several community theaters in Columbia and I contacted a few of them regarding stage management positions, but it ended up going nowhere. In an effort to stay connected to the theater industry, even in a small way I looked up a new company in Columbia called Talking Horse Productions housed in the Berlin Theatre (that's the Foreign part, I'm trying to be theme-y). I went to see [title of show] the musical and it was great! I was impressed and afterwards I met with the Artistic Director and found out that the next show they are doing is Five Women Wearing the Same Dress!!!!! I nearly had heart failure. Auditions are this weekend, and I'm really considering going. Just to be involved with that show again would be spectacular!

World Travel
I've made the trek up north to Kirksville a few times to see No Exit and Spring Awakening and had a blast hanging with some wonderful friends. I got to catch up with the Chicago crew and the St. Louis posse and party hard with everyone around.

New York Times Best Seller List
Sometimes the sheer strangeness of my dreams is astounding, but not too long ago I had a crazy dream that inspired an idea for a novel. I don't want to give it away, but it's a historical fiction thriller set in Austria in the late 1800's and several young girls go missing and then things get intense. It's still in the research and outlining phase, but I'm hoping that it turns into something. I've always been a huge fan of books and I love reading and writing, so to combine the two and get something original out of it would be interesting. It's going to be a challenge because the idea of writing a novel is daunting, but I'm pacing myself and staying focused so that it doesn't overwhelm me.

Society Pages
Most of my friends live out of state or are incredibly busy so I don't get the chance to see them very often, but when I do it's always a good time. I've seen a couple of friends who are in grad school and a few who are battling it out in the real world job market. My social life is definitely lacking these days, but I hang out with my parents. If you think that's lame, you've got the wrong perspective.

Health
According to schedule my six-month check at the dentist came up shortly after I came home and it was the first dentist appointment EVER that I was worried about. Two days before my appointment my mom pointed out how much my jaw popped and I had noticed it over the last few years but never thought anything about it. She told me that it could be something that needed to be fixed which immediately got my thinking that I would have to be rushed to the hospital, thrown on the operating table and cut open face first to have my jaw sawed off and reattached with some minor adjustments. At the dentist's office, I asked about the popping and he informed me that I have a mild case of Temperomandibular Joint Disorder, which basically means that my jaw joint is structurally wonky. He also informed me that there is no solution for the problem and that I'm just going to have to deal with the popping sounds for the rest of my life. I was relieved that surgery was out of the question and quite entertained by my strange affliction.

Obituaries
Don't worry, this isn't what you think. Today, a snake somehow wound up in our house and met it's untimely end. The only kind of snake I like is a dead one.

I think that's it for this issue of Amy's news.

Rabbit Wrangling

In recent days, I have added "rabbit wrangling" to my set of special skills. My parents and I worked on revamping three old hutches over the weekend and then several of our young rabbits escaped so we had to chase them down in the dark. I should probably look into animal handling as a possible profession, I have enough experience.

I'm going through all of my stuff and trying to get rid of as many of my unnecessary possessions as possible. It is slow going, but I'm making progress. I discovered that it is difficult to travel when you have more things than space in your car.

I've been getting addicted to bad television. Mostly I watch Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, Hardcore Pawn and Swamp People. I don't know what it is, but I love those shows so much and it doesn't hurt that my dad and I have a blast watching them together.

Also, this is going to sound so cliche about an unemployed person, but I've been challenging myself almost daily to beat the high scores on Angry Birds. As per usual, I'm about two years late on the "hip" trends, but such is life.

Growing Up

I still haven't heard so much as "boo" from any of the places I've sent applications to, but it's only been a few days. Patience is a virtue... that I'm apparently lacking in. Mom has given me some tasks to keep me busy for the next few weeks and I'm going to use this time to forget about my uncertain future and focus on the present.

Today, I celebrated my youngest cousin's 18th birthday. It's strange to be growing up. In all of the fanticizing about my future, I never made it passed graduation from college. Now that I'm out here dealing with the real world, it's very different from what I imagined (some days in a good way, some days in a bad way). Life is never what you expect it is going to be, but that's half the fun, right?

Hello Unemployment!

Well, friends there is good news and bad news. The good news: I'll be updating my blog with more regularity from here on out. The bad news: My new-found dedication to my blog is simply because I am officially unemployed (for the time-being).

Let's recap, shall we?

I spent all of January and February working at the Guthrie on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as a Child Supervisor and really embracing my place in the Twin Cities but also aching to come home and spend some time with my family. I sort of view my time in Minnesota as my "first two weeks of college" in the real world. When I went to college, a mere 100 miles away from home, I was miserable for the first two weeks because I was alone and unsure of the direction my life was going in, but I survived and became a better person for that struggle. The eight months I spent in Minnesota were exactly like those first frustrating weeks in college. I had to strike out on my own and be brave in order to make the best of the situation and appreciate what I was experiencing. Now that I have lived in a different state and survived on my own, I know that I can handle anything that comes my way. After I fully embraced Minnesota life, I flourished and dare I say it, thrived. I had some amazing opportunities to meet with professional theater artists and network with equity stage managers and hopefully I have begun some career and life-long relationships that will continually draw me back to the Twin Cities. I feel so blessed to have been granted such a strong first step into the professional theater world and I will actively try to take full advantage of the chance I've been given to meet and work with and make a fabulous career for myself.

In terms of the job search, I have about 30 resumes out around the country and I have interviewed with several theaters about summer stock and full season positions. While I'm bumming around home, I've started to look into community theater stage management jobs, backstage camera jobs at local television stations and a few other odds and ends to develop some new skills to keep myself marketable. I'll definitely keep you posted!

Sunday, February 26 was my final performance at the Guthrie and if I thought I had the stamina to drive 8 1/2 hours in the dark I would have run out of the theater to my car and hit the road. But, I knew that was a dumb idea so I stayed for the party and a last night at Grumpy's Bingo. At 5:30 the next morning, I jumped out of bed and loaded all of my earthly possessions into my car and drove like a madwoman until I was south of Des Moines, IA. As per tradition, I stopped at Truman for a brief visit, which turned into a multiple hour ordeal. It is astonishing how loved one person can feel. My friends who are still kicking butt at Truman welcomed me back with open arms and reminded me why I love coming home so much. My parents were less than thrilled at the six-hour delay, but every second I spent at Truman I felt so grateful for the wonderful friends I have. Thank you to everyone for making my pit-stop so amazing. In addition to feeling so loved, I also had the chance to feel really important and successful because I was allowed to sit in on a stage management workshop and was able to talk a bit about my experiences in the professional world. It was strange to be on the flip-side of a conversation like that, but it was gratifying to have the chance to motivate my younger colleagues.

I got home around 9 pm and nearly had a come-apart because I was so happy to see my parents. It's easy to get caught up in the rest of the world, but when it comes down to it, you have to remember how lucky you are to have such a wonderful, supportive family. As I was driving I thought about how blessed I was to be missing my parents over the past few months, because a lot of people don't miss their parents or don't have parents around anymore to miss. I'm so lucky that my parents and I have a functional and sometimes nauseatingly perfect relationship. I'll always be grateful for that.

Now that I've been home for two days, I'm going a bit stir crazy. I have a stack of 17 books to get through and I'm putting out feelers in the community for some part time work. Speaking of books, I'm already at 13 out of 75 for the year and I've read some fantastic novels this year and often I think that goodreads.com should hire me for all of the new members I've gotten on their website. As for the giveaways, I think they've cut me off until I've read the 15 books that I've accumulated in the last six months. But now I have the time to blast through them.

I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading. Here's hoping I have some exciting news in the next few days/weeks.

Just Another Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Last night I once again showed just how much like my father I really am. I had originally planned to go out with some work colleagues and tear up downtown Minneapolis, but by 10:00 I was too exhausted to do anything, so I took a nap and woke up just in time to see the clock strike 12:00. Then I went back to sleep. 500 miles away, my dad went to sleep at 9:00 and missed all of the festivities. We are so related. Today doesn't have the magic feeling it usually does, probably because I just let it happen. I liked it that way though. I'm just going to take life as it happens and enjoy it.

I spent all of yesterday really pondering New Year's resolutions. I have made the standard resolutions I suppose and I'll let you know how those go. But I guess I should back up to before New Year's Eve. Christmas Carol closed on Friday and I start work on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Tuesday. A three day weekend is the longest break I've had since I moved here and I'm reveling in it. Yesterday I cleaned my house and did dishes and laundry and finished the third book in the Percy Jackson series. The completion of that novel made a staggering 36 books total that I have read since I moved to Minnesota. Which brings me to the resolution I am most excited about. I have decided to read 75 books in the year 2012. It may not seem like a lofty goal, but reading so much has made me fall in love with the written word again and I can't explain how much I love getting lost in the world of literature.

A reflection on 2011: I graduated from college, spent a second year working at JBA, moved 500 miles away from home, got my first post-grad internship followed closely by my first post-grad job and had a blast the entire time. I think it is fair to say that 2011 was a year of ups and downs and one that I will never forget. But you know me, always looking to the future. And that's what I'm doing today, looking forward to a stellar 2012.

Merry Scrooge Mr. Christmas!

As per usual, I can't keep up on journal-based activities. Sorry I've been AWOL for the past few...months. It has been for a good cause, I promise. On October 25, I started pulling double duty as a stage management intern and a child supervisor for A Christmas Carol and felt like I didn't leave the building for a month. We opened on November 19 and have been running the show doing nine-show weeks since then. My internship officially concluded on the 23rd of November and I have been working entirely with the 13 children who are featured in A Christmas Carol. See, I told you I have been busy. During the run our cast and crew have adopted a family and done a pajama pancake breakfast. Tomorrow is a wrapping party for the adopt-a-family gifts and a chili cook-off. And since we are doing two shows on Christmas Eve, the wonderful volunteers are going to make us a holiday feast between the shows. It's going to be very strange not being at home for Christmas, but I knew it was coming and I have plans with my friend Amber and her family to celebrate on the 25th. My mom already sent me my presents in the mail so I'm ready for the holidays.

I'm currently looking for a second job to serve as supplementary income. Working as a child supervisor is awesome because I can pretty much get a solid 9 to 5 job and still make it downtown in time to work in the evening.

I'm finally starting to develop a social life and I have two... count 'em TWO offers for plans on New Year's Eve.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that this whole living far away from my family and friends hasn't been really hard on me. I know that what I'm doing is right and I love my job and want to continue working in this profession, but I wish I could bring all of the people in my life with me. Sometimes it dawns on me that I don't talk to anyone on my day off and that the only reason I've read 31 books since I moved here is because there is no one around to hang out with. I do know, however, that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I can say without any doubt that my heart is exponentially fonder of all of the great people who are my family and friends and that I am counting down the days until I can see all of you again. A second job would help with the bored aspect of my loneliness.

I'm looking into jobs starting after March1 and considering relocating to the East Coast or to Chicago... scary. You think I'd be cool with the whole moving across the country thing because I've already done it once, but I don't know if relocating will ever get easier. Every time I pack up, my life resets and I have to start from scratch. It's terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

Can't tell you when I'll update again, but I will try not to me so remiss about it. Let's shoot for sometime in the next few weeks.

Prep Week

Well folks, I'm up to my old tricks again. After a restful two week vacation in Missouri, I made it back to Minnesota and have started working on A Christmas Carol. I am so excited to be doing this show because it is such a staple here and since my job includes stage management intern duties and child supervision, I am going to get paid!!!

It has been a very long time since I posted last (slap on the wrist for me) and I have a lot to update so I'll be brief and just cut to the chase on most of these points.

Much Ado opened with very little to-do, which is nice and got into performances very smoothly. My family came up to see me and to see the show and they were impressed. It's nice that they got to see me doing so well and got to familiarize themselves with my surroundings so they don't constantly picture me out in the abyss flailing around.

I was supposed to help out on the studio show, The Edge of Our Bodies, but it is a one-woman show so they didn't see much need for me to sit around for 40 hours per week twiddling my thumbs so I got some time off. I helped out with prep for Bodies and also worked as a helper at an opening night party before I went back to Missouri. Helping with the party was awesome! Not only did I get paid to mingle, drink, dance, eat and carouse but I was also sent home with enough Greek food to feed me for a week and a flower arrangement. Connection to recent news: I booked another party helper gig, so I'm hoping to come away with some free stuff from that too!

It was wonderful to see my family while I was on vacation. Since I won't be home for the holidays this year, we all got together and spent some much needed family time hanging out, so it was like Thanksmas Eve in October. I was also home in time for Truman's Homecoming and the first main stage show of the season, A Melancholy Play which was great! It was weird to be back at Truman because I can tell that I do not belong there anymore, but it was fantastic to be able to support my friends in their success on stage and off just like they supported me.

I spent some time at home looking for jobs, reading and hanging out with the three friends I still have in my hometown.

Okay, so I guess that wasn't really that much to update. So now I'm all caught up and I'm going to work to keep this thing up to date and relevant to what is actually going on in my life.

Whirlwind

Life has been hectic over the last couple of weeks. All I can say is, please bear with me.

I went to the Minnesota State Fair on August 29. As a die-hard fair fanatic, missing out on the festivities was not an option, so on my Monday off I drove through rush-hour traffic from Eden Prairie to St. Paul and went to the fair. I decided that I would only eat truly Minnesotan fair food, so I stuck with cheese curds, hot dish on a stick and root beer. I also had something called an Australian potato that I'd never heard of and it was delicious. Upon arriving at the fair, I wanted to find my way as quickly as possible to the barns to see if there were any representative goats at the great Minnesota get together. After about 45 minutes of walking around to find the elusive ruminants, I finally had to go up to some sheep people and ask if they knew where the goats were and to my utter horror, they said that there were no goats at the fair. Can you believe that? What is a fair without goats? I did stumble upon the Grand Champion Meat Goats and in the Miracle of Life Pavilion there were several Boer does with kids, but that wasn't enough. Minnesota let me down on the goat front. Furthermore, the rabbit and poultry barn was closed for cleaning so I couldn't even look at them. In the main arena, they were having a draft horse show, so I watched that for a while. Then I walked around and through the midway. I stopped by the Minnesota lottery booth, as is tradition and played a few scratchers tickets. Then I decided to be brave and go up in a Space Needle looking ride that took you up 373 feet in the air and spun you around while you looked out over the fair and the Twin Cities area. It was totally worth it, because it was night and the view was breathtaking. I had a blast at the fair and took some great photos of butter sculptures, animal art and got my fix of fair for the year.

Most of my life has been consumed by work lately. We moved to the stage and had tech last week and now we are in previews for the show. We are talking over 60 hours of work last week, line notes multiple times a day, schedules, sign in sheets, etc. Lots and lots of time in the theater. I'm still loving it and yesterday I got to run a dance rehearsal on the stage and use the stage manager's headset and console and I got to announce breaks over the God mic. It was awesome! In other show related news, I may be appearing on stage at the Guthrie. We have had some trouble with keeping extras on the show and it is getting to the point where it is too late in the game to find a replacement to help with scene changes. The director mentioned that I could be dressed as a maid and help with the transitions because I already know the show and have proven myself to be trustworthy and responsible as well as professional. It's not a guaranteed spot or anything, but just being recognized as an option is amazing at this level. I won't know until the middle of this week, and it would mean a shift of duties for the second show I'm supposed to intern for, but I'm not about to pass up an opportunity like this. Also, during the first preview, I got a program with my name in it!!!!! I freaked out a little, but it's just so cool to have it in black and white that I worked at the Guthrie!

I'm finally starting to make friends with some of the actors and that is great, I don't feel so disconnected from them anymore. Several of the actors eat dinner in the building, and I was around so I started talking to them and I already knew they were nice, but it was so great to be welcomed into a conversation so readily. It's taken two months, but I've finally begun to feel like an "insider" at the Guthrie.

I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (forever ago) and got to see some great art. I may have already mentioned that.

My family is coming to see the show in a few weeks and I am so excited to see them! I can't wait to show them around the theater and let them see the show that I've been working on.

In addition to my family coming to see me, some of my friends are going to be in the area in a few weeks as well. It will be so nice to see them and catch up with them!

Time to get back to reading my book. It has taken me two weeks to really get into this biography of Mary Nisbet and I'm starting to get bummed about not keeping up with my "book a week" goal, but what can I say? I'm super busy.

I promise that as soon as the show opens, I will be better about keeping this updated...maybe.

Sober Ramblings

I'm feeling much better now. Last week is behind me and the future is out there waiting. 

This week has been a steady stream of good news and happy occurrences. After finally admitting to myself how lonely I was last week I decided that I would be proactive and go out in search of friends. I started with a place I knew I would run into some genuinely good people: church. I went to the church right across the street from my house and of course, had a wonderful time. The service was awesome and I liked the pastor. It is a non-denominational facility based in Baptist beliefs so I felt right at home. Megachurches in general, tend to put me off a bit because it seems that they are trying to hard to "relate to the people" and adorning sermons with unnecessary bells and whistles. I love the theater and all things theatrical, but I felt that when a church had a sound system and a light board, something just wasn't right. Well, I suppose it is time to eat my words because the church I attended on Sunday is the very definition of a contemporary church. With seating for over 4000 people, three projection screens and two cameras filming the entire time, it was exactly like being the audience for a television show, but surprisingly, none of it bothered me. I still got the message and the feeling I want when I go to church and even though there were tons of people there, it was still apparent that I was new and several families and individuals took the time to greet me. It was an undeniably positive experience and I am looking forward to going back next week. In addition to the great service, I was treated to free lunch because I was a first time guest and a member of the church welcoming committee chatted with me about my specific purpose for attending church. We discussed the 20's singles group that meets weekly and the need for volunteers at the church bookstore. I walked away feeling great and with a brand new volunteer opportunity about to start. Monday is my first day at the bookstore and I'm very excited to see what comes of it.  

I got my official letter of employment from the Guthrie for my Child Supervisor position and an employee handbook this week! As the days pass, I keep reminding myself that soon I will be a paid member of the staff at one of the best theaters in the country and I can't believe how lucky I am. I am still having a blast with the show and am really looking forward to moving on into tech work next week. The days are starting to run together and go by very quickly and it is hard to believe that it is almost September. I am cherishing every moment I have at the Guthrie because before long, my time here will be finished. 

Fall is approaching and that used to mean going back to school and classes and friends and homework, but it doesn't mean any of that anymore. Class at Truman started on Thursday and I felt so strange not being in Kirksville. It still feels like summer and I have sort of subconsciously fooled myself into believing that this is just a summer job that will end in a few weeks and honestly, I'm betting that I don't realize how truly finished I am with school until snow starts to fall here (which will probably be very soon, because I am in the Great White North, after all). I don't really miss school except for the social element, because I'm learning a lot now and I don't have homework, but the making new friends thing continues to elude me. Well, one thing at a time. I am also sad that I won't be able to see any of the shows at Truman this year and I would love to go back and support my friends who are still toiling away in the quest for that magical piece of paper that declares that they too are and official Bad Ass. School is behind me and the real world is awesome. 

The State Fair also started yesterday and when I am finished with my volunteer shift at the church on Monday, I am going to spend all day looking at animals and having a blast at the fair! I am in my element at th fair and it will be good to mingle with some goat and cattle people for a few hours. 

Last night, my boss from the genetics lab (whose parents I'm staying with) arrived in Minnesota for a weekend visit. She brought along with her a care package from home that my mom lovingly put together. The contents of said care package: two Bibles, the complete series of Gilmore Girls, some snack crackers, my proof of insurance card for my car, two letters I received after I left home, a purse, four bottles of wine and a rent check. There is nothing better than a hodge-podge of stuff to make you feel great at the end of the week. 

I think that's about it for now. 

Oh wait, I have confirmed that I am addicted to the library. I now have 10 items checked out and a request for three more books. I'm still keeping to my one book per week goal, but that may fall to the wayside as we approach opening. 

I'm sure there will be more to report in a few days.

Lightbulb Head

What a week.

We started staging the show on Tuesday and I am still having a fantastic time in Minnesota. I have slowly started to assert myself in rehearsals and I am steadily gaining more responsibilities which is good news.

That night, I had a message on my phone from my mom letting me know that my 19 year-old neighbor had died suddenly. It had been a long time since I had spent time with him or even seen him because I was away at school and we moved in different circles, but it hit like a ton of bricks. It is terrible when death happens at all, but when it is someone so young, it is exponentially worse. Hearing about his death opened the flood gates to all of the memories of my friend Paige, who died when she was 17. I still miss her and think about her a lot. So, my distress was a combination of being sad about the loss of a young man with so much of his life ahead of him, remembering what it felt like to lose someone so close to me, hurting for his family and knowing that I was in no position to offer any help at all. I wish that I could take all of that pain and absorb it so that no one ever had to feel that terrible.

Wednesday, I got the good news about the job I applied for at the Guthrie. I was hired to be a Child Supervisor for A Christmas Carol and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, so I will be staying in Minnesota until the end of February. I will also be getting paid $10/hr so I won't be completely broke!!! It isn't my first "job" job, but it feels different, more professional, more grown-up.

Today, I sat down to check my e-mail at work and between messages about my reserved library books and a Groupon deal was a short e-mail about Toby, my dad's dog. He had been having health problems and had deteriorated so quickly that my parents were forced to take him in to be put to sleep yesterday. It was the combination of all of the events of the week and the odd juxtaposition of such bad news with fluff e-mails that I lost it. Fortunately, none of the actors were around and I was quickly ushered out of the room and given the day off to recover from my roller coaster of a week. I was driving home and all I wanted was a hug and I had nowhere to turn to get one. Phone calls just don't cut it when you need a shoulder to cry on.

This week has thrown my situation into very harsh perspective. I am in Minnesota working and doing what I love, but that means missing a lot of things. It hit me how lonely I've been over the last few days and how I will probably continue to be lonely for quite awhile.

In addition (if that wasn't enough already), school starts back, or has already started back, this week. This will be the first time that I haven't gone back to school. This is one of those times in my life that I am really scared and I have to constantly remind myself that the things that scare you are the things that are most worth going after. So, I'm just hanging in there today, ready for tomorrow and a new day.

Bad Day, Good Day

A few days ago was my first "bad" day at work. It wasn't anything too terrible, but the day was doomed from the start. I walked into the rehearsal room and learned that the schedule needed to be changed and that added a lot of pressure to the rest of the day and we were recovering from the mistake for the next few hours. Then, I was in charge of a rehearsal room, but didn't have the necessary items to properly run the rehearsal and one of the actors decided not to show up at all. I was panicked because I didn't want to disrupt the other rehearsal, but I had to and I just felt completely incompetent all day long.

The next day was better and on my way home from work I called in to a radio show and won a pair of tickets to a St. Paul Saints game on Friday. I can't go because I have rehearsal, but it's still cool that I won.

I also made a stop by Arc's Value Village in Richfield because I needed some more professional attire and it had to be cheap. I bought two shirts and a belt and made Kylee very proud.

Today, I'm hanging out at the library and I think I'm going to explore some more of what Minnesota has to offer... maybe Minnehaha State Park or Walker Arts Center, or both.

What's Between the Mainstream and the Fringe?

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is the largest non-juried festival in the United States. It lasts for eleven days and features over 160 shows in venues around the Twin Cities. Having never been to a Fringe festival, I decided that since I had been exposed to a lot of mainstream theater, I would be adventurous and see what else the city offered in the way of performance. Tuesday was the first day I was able to go to the festival, so I got on the website and found a show that I thought sounded really promising. The Proper Way to Beat a Dead Horse was a show about how we interact with people that grew from improv work and was conceived and performed by five high school students. All I can say is I wish I hadn't paid $14 to waste an hour of my life. It seemed like nothing was working for these kids. I salute their bravery and passion for theater, but it sucked. The actors were no more than four feet in front of me and I had to strain to hear them. This is also a beef with the coordinators of the festival. They booked a dance/comedy show on the stage directly above the performance I was watching so most of the time the only thing I could hear was stomping and cheering from a crowd that was obviously having a great time. It made me wish I had chosen that show. Approximately 30 minutes in to the hour long performance, the actors seemed to have lost what little semblance of composure they had to start with and they were breaking character left and right and eventually just gave up all together and the show dissolved into nothing but five kids trying to kill time by any means necessary, including pulling someone from the audience into the scene and dumping water on the stage. The rest of the audience was trying to be supportive because every single one of them was either related to or good friends with one or more of the actors. I was alone in my contempt for the show. When the curtain call was finished, I was pissed that I had wasted time and money on these kids who didn't even care enough to stay committed to their show. As I was leaving the theater, I heard them say to their friends, "Sorry that sucked, we'll get you comps for Saturday night." That's all well and good for the people who could see the show done properly, but what about those of us who only had the chance to see it once? I had my hand on the door when the cast said, "Thank you for coming!" and I know they meant me. I just briskly walked out of the show and didn't look back. Needless to say, my first experience tainted my opinion of the festival, but I was determined to give it another chance.

Last night, I went to Theatre in the Round and saw Power Lunch by Alan Ball. It was a cast of four mature actors who did a wonderful job, and thank goodness because if I had seen a second bad show I would have been put off of Fringe festivals for life. The show was very funny and clipped along at a nice pace. I am probably slightly biased because I adore Alan Ball, but the show was good fun and a great way to end the evening. It also restored my faith in the Minnesota Fringe Festival and I will be going back tonight after rehearsal and probably for the rest of the week. Two shows and two very different reactions makes for two incredibly eventful days.

Perhaps along the same lines as my above rantings about the Fringe, I have taken it upon myself to cultivate my telephone skills. I was walking out of the theater on Cedar Ave and had about a 3/4 mile walk back to my car on 8th Street and I had just received a text from my friend Mandy so I decided rather than texting I would  call her. We had a fantastic chat for almost an hour and that one phone call made me realize how much I miss hearing my friends' voices. So the next night I called my friend Sarah and spoke to her for about 30 minutes and then called my friend Andrew and talked to him for over an hour. After I hung up with him, I felt great. It was a feeling of connection that I have been missing in Minnesota because it's taking time to develop friendships and connections here. So, I have added a goal to my list. I am making it my goal to talk on the phone to a different friend every week. Friends, if I have your number, look out for a call!

In other news.... I had an interview yesterday for a paid position at the Guthrie!!! The position is a Child Supervisor for the children who are cast in Guthrie shows and the commitment is from first rehearsal to closing performance. In all likelihood, if I get the position it will be for A Christmas Carol, a show that I am already working on as an intern, but I would get paid for the hours I spend with the kids and I would get to stay until the end of December. In my interview, I noticed that children were also being cast for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that runs through the end of February and I let them know that I was available and more than willing to sign on for that show as well. I won't know until the end of next week if I got the job for December and then after that for the February show, but I really hope that I get to stay at the Guthrie until the end of February! That would certainly decrease the amount of down time I would have before the start of most summer stock contracts. If  stayed in Minnesota until February, it would mean missing the entire holiday season, but I knew that was a possibility when I moved 8 hours away, so I would just have to catch my family at Easter or St. Patrick's Day. They are very supportive, though and understand that building my career is very important and that this is a crucial time.

That's a lot, so I can't really in good conscience say, that's it. We have come to the end of this post and if you've made it this far, I thank you for your attention.

Just dropping a little knowledge on you at the end. "A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be."-Steven Brust

Rehearsal Rehearsal Books Books Sleep

I have successfully completed my first two weeks as an intern at the Guthrie! It has been an experience, to say the very least. It has been a whirlwind of prep, shadowing and rehearsals. My first few days were spent getting all of the paperwork ready for the cast and crew and figuring out more specifically what it was I would be doing while I'm here. At my first meeting with the PSM, I got into a discussion about looking for work to supplement the internship and I applied for an extra position at the Guthrie and have an interview for a paid job at the Guthrie tomorrow! Also, on that first day I met some of the other SM team members and secured three shadowing opportunities. I sat in the booth during a run of H.M.S. Pinafore and God of Carnage and quizzed the stage managers about their careers and their education. My third shadowing experience was trailing an ASM backstage on H.M.S. Pinafore and I have to say, that was the coolest! I got to meet several of the actors including Barbara Bryne (Jack's Mother), ride a huge hydraulic turntable and witness other secret kinds of theatre magic.

In my limited time at the Guthrie, I have had a chance to meet with props and scenery department heads, tape out the set and get the rehearsal room ready for a meet and greet and rehearsal. Last week was the beginning of the rehearsal process for Much Ado About Nothing; read-through, script work, character analysis, etc. It has been wonderful to watch such talented professionals work on the show. As far as I'm concerned, here at the Guthrie, there is a very steep learning curve. You are thrown into work and you just have to do it, which I'm finding to be extremely educational. I have become a master at making copies and coffee, but I have also been entrusted with other duties, like distributing the schedule and today I get to run a rehearsal room!

Today is my first Intern Workshop. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited to meet the other interns and to learn some new things about getting into the theater profession.

In other Minnesota news, I have no Internet access at my house so I have commute to Wi-Fi hot spots to keep in touch with the rest of the world. Now, I know that it isn't a big deal to drive down the street and sit in a coffee shop for several hours, but on my days off I just like to relax at home. In my lack of connectivity I have reawakened my yen for recreational reading. In the three weeks I have been here I have read 5 books and show no signs of slowing down. That is good news, but I only brought 9 books with me, so you can see where that presents a bit of a problem. Solution: yesterday I went to the Hennepin County Library and got a library card. It was a strange experience because it made me feel like a permanent fixture here rather than a visitor. Real grown-up stuff.

I am still going down the list of touristy things to do in Minnesota and on Saturday, I checked another one off. I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Arts... well, sort of. I arrived at the museum at 4:30, not knowing that they close at 5. I checked my bag and jogged around the museum for 30 minutes and then had to leave. In the short time I was there, I saw works by Calder, O'Keeffe, Gorky, Beckmann and others. I promised myself I would go back and leave myself plenty of time to leisurely enjoy the works of art.