My Day Off

Today was my last full day off before leaving for tour. I had a ton of Theatreworks "work" to do as well as a few personal items to take care of and a couple fun items planned.

I woke up to drizzle and "feels like 26 degrees." Great. But I got over that. I dressed warmly and walked the 24 blocks to try to buy some new shoes at Infinity Shoes. I bought some shoes months ago from there and didn't like them but apparently instead of giving you money back they give you store credit. SO although I would be paying for new shoes, I spent the money so long ago it would feel like free. They didn't have anything I liked. Strike One (I'm ignoring the weather b/c really..what are you going to do?)

Then Ryan and I went back to to 110 to eat at The Heights, my favorite restaurant in NYC, so far. We had been planning this for a week and I already knew what I wanted to order and everything. They were closed for renovations. Until TOMORROW!!! Strike Two.

I spent the rest of the day "working" at home until I received 2 emails from Theatreworks people (my director and the costume shop guy we work with) telling me to stop working on my day off. So I figured I should probably get some health insurance. Apparently the insurance company I found wants proof of residency. They take only certain items as proof. My drivers license is still TX, my voters registration is still TX, I no longer have car insurance since I don't have a car and I don't have electicity bills because we live in Columbia housing and everything goes to Ryan. Therefore the ONLY way they will believe I live at my apartment is if I get a notary to notarize a signed document WITH a witness that states I live in my apartment. ARE YOU KIDDING? I work 9 to 6 everyday and I leave NEXT WEEK on tour. STRIKE THREE.

Day off???? I would have rather been at work.

onward and hopefully upward.

Editors Note- Thank you to my artist Colleen who saved the day by being a notary public. Come see Colleen star in Max and Ruby as Ruby!

Theatreworks Schedule

So today we got our first month's schedule.  It is as follows-

Jan 13th - Travel to Richmond VA
Jan 14th - Travel to Lumberton NC
Jan 15th - Show in Pembroke NC
Jan 16th - Show at Children's Theatre, Winston- Salem NC
Jan 17th - Show at Children's Theatre, Winston- Salem NC
Jan 18th - DAY OFF in Savannah GA
Jan 19th - Travel to Clewiston FL
Jan 20th - Show at PBCC, Belle Glade FL
Jan 21st - Show at PBCC, Belle Glade FL
Jan 22nd - Show at Mahaffey, St. Petersburg FL
Jan 23rd - Show at South Florida Community College, Avon Park FL
Jan 24th - Travel to Fort Lauderdale FL
Jan 25th - Show at Miniaci PCA, Davie FL
Jan 26th - Travel to Alma GA
Jan 27th - Show at Bacon Primary, Alma GA
Jan 28th - Show at Gospel Baptist Church, Montgomery AL
Travel to Biloxi MS
Jan 29th - Show @ Columbia in Hammond LA
Jan 30th - Travel to Bessemer, AL
Jan 31st - Travel to Dalton GA
Feb 1st - DAY OFF in Dalton GA
Feb 2nd - Show at Wink Theatre in Dalton GA
Feb 3rd - Travel to Decatur AL
Feb 4th - Show at Princess Theatre in Decatur AL
Feb 5th - Show at Princess Theatre in Decatur AL
Feb 6th - Show at Princess Theatre in Decatur AL
Travel to Bessemer, AL
Feb 7th - Travel to Mobile AL
Feb 8th - DAY OFF in Mobile AL
Feb 9th - Show at Center for Performing Arts in Mobile AL
Travel- Tuscaloosa AL
Feb 10th - Show at Bama in Tuscaloosa AL
Feb 11th - Show at Bama in Tuscaloosa AL
Travel-Athens AL

I am hoping that everything goes smoothly.

You can follow my progress with an updated google map here

Onward and Upward

I love San Antonio

There are many places I have lived and liked. Saudi Arabia, Louisiana, Nederland Texas, Delaware, New York City. There are many more places that I have visited and enjoyed. London, Prague, Italy, Seattle, Colorado, New Mexico, Memphis, Paris are just a few.

However the only one that feels like "home" is San Antonio.

I love it. I love breakfast tacos and the warm air. The wonderful old oak trees and the beautiful homes. Southtown and downtown and Hemisfair Park. The colors of Mexican folk art and the sound of Spanish. I love it.

Going back to places you have once lived is always awkward. And returning to SA this December was a little weird. But my friends are amazing. And the city welcomed us with open loving arms. We ate breakfast tacos and mexican food, visited The Magik Theatre and KRTU 91.7, walked the riverwalk, drove up to Austin to see Lani and Becky and helped Davey celebrate his new apartment. (Only 5 months after he moved in!)

We also went to Kerrville for a wedding, and I went down to Corpus for Christmas. Houston and Kerrville and Corpus are nice. But I have a special place for SA.

Go SPURS Go!

Keep San Antonio Lame!

Remember the Alamo!

Onward and Upward.

TheatreworksUSA

I got a job.

I now work for TheatreworksUSA and in the spring I will be out of NYC 60% of the time on tour with Max and Ruby. We will perform the show up to 12 times a week in school auditoriums, cafatoium/ gymnasiums and "real" theatres. Sometimes we will be under a "sponsor" which means a venue has brought us in to perform and sometimes we will be a "field trip venue" which means that Theatreworks or another larger organization has bought space in a theatre and we are performing for audiences to whom TW or the Larger Organization has sold tickets.

I will most often be sleeping in hotels throughout the country and we will travel in one cargo and one passenger sprinter vans. The company reserves 4 rooms. 3 doubles and one single. The single is for me. I have 4 girls and 2 boys on my show. Every night that we are staying in a hotel we will be paid a per diem which will cover the cost of the room. Once a week we get a day off from traveling/ performing. During that day we can re-pack, clean, repair, rest, go to the mall, see a movie or get the vans serviced. It isn't the same day each week so sometimes we will go 13 days between days off.

For this work I will be paid (fairly well especially considering how much I have been making) and I will get overtime AND my equity card. I will also get to travel the country and get to know 6 hopefully cool people.

I'm looking forward to it. TheatreworksUSA

Onward and Upward

Rockefeller Christmas

Friday night we went to a Ben Allison concert in Queens (for more on that check out one of Ryan's blogs) and on the way back uptown decided to stop by the Rockefeller Center to see what all the fuss is about.

They really fancy that part of town up for Christmas. I suppose that it is famous and it is a major tourist center but the amount of people within a 4 block radius was staggering. First we went to see the tree (of course) and then we made our way over to look over the ice rink. It's much smaller than I had expected. The ice is also pretty far below street level so it is a little like looking into the seal pit at Seaworld.

Right as we arrived someone was proposing in the middle of the ice. Somehow everyone else had cleared the ice and this couple was in the middle. She thankfully said yes and then they took a very awkward turn around the rink before the Zamboni came to clean up. I wondered how he got everyone off the ice without her noticing. Then I wondered how much 15 minutes of time at the Rockefeller ice rink costs. Probably a lot.

We took a turn up through the angels and watched the light show on the building at the top of the walk before walking over toward Radio City Music hall to look at the huge balls. I mean, huge Christmas ornaments. I tried to count the number of Santa's and quickly gave up. How do you think parents explain all those Santas to their kids?

Another NYC tradition off the list. Check.

Onward and Upward.

Vermont Speaks

Stealing from Shannon's blog ideas here is a look at a few notable signs we saw in Montpelier, VT.


And my personal favorite....

Apparently even Vermonter's dogs are independent.

Onward and Upward

Vermont

This weekend we went to Vermont to visit Ryan's cousin and her husband, Amy and Pete. Pete's mom and dad were there for a little while and his brother Paul stayed with us the whole weekend. Amy is a "homesteader woman" so the most of the bread we ate and all of the jams and jellies were homemade. The rest of the food was from their co-op. Pete works for Magic Hat brewery so all kinds of beer were readily available. They also had wine that his father had made and grapa that a friend of theirs had made.

We had a weekend of amazing food, lots of talks and cold temperatures. Their house is heated by a stove that burns about one bag of wood pellets a day. The bedrooms actually have holes cut in the floor so that the heat will come up to the second floor. On the cold nights that made it bearable but not particularly toasty. They live in Montpelier, VT which is a very small artsy town. You would never think of it as the capital. Burlington and Stowe are pretty nearby and they are both much bigger than Montpelier.

We had some snow on our last night in VT. The five of us walked down to the Mexican food restaurant for $2.50 margaritas which were actually not bad. The city looked beautiful all covered in powdery whiteness.

All in all not a bad way to spend a weekend. When we got back to NYC it actually felt warm! Also on the way back we saw the actor that plays Christopher on Gilmore Girls so that was super exciting! (at least for me) Above I have posted some pictures.

Onward and Upward.