Good Night, Sleep Tight

and don't let the Bed Bugs bite!

They are not kidding. We had our first and second run ins with bed bugs this past week and they suck. A lot.

First Lauren and Elizabeth were attacked in seperate rooms at a Days Inn in Vero Beach Florida. They had it pretty bad. Luckily Elizabeth's dad is a doctor and he quickly sent a rx for super duper anti itch cream. In additional Lauren called her lawyer boyfriend and he got all over the hotel.

A couple days later we traveled to Rockingham NC and stayed two nights at the sketchy-est America's Value Inn ever. On the first morning I was running late so I just jumped out of the shower and into my clothes. I noticed I felt itchy but didn't pay much attention. Later on Colleen noticed I had bites on my neck. Then I noticed I had bites on my shoulder, a row on my tummy, some down my back and arms or my hands and .... several on my face.

Bed bites itch, but I can deal with that. They get red and nasty but I am on tour and usually look like shit anyway. I've been wearing the same 10 shirts for months now and I only brought 3 pairs of pants so what I look like isn't that important.

The worst part about Bed Bugs is the fact that I feel pretty violated. The idea that little gross bugs crawled all over me while I was helpless and asleep is the most horrible part.

ug. Get me some bug spray!

Vero Beach

A few days ago we went to Vero Beach. Colleen, Virginia, Lauren, Elizabeth, Brian and I got into the van and drove an hour or so to the beach. We spent a few hours laying the in sun and playing in the water before heading back to New Port Richey to sleep before moving on.

Onward and Upward

New Schedule

Stolen in part from Virginia's blog and then edited for content. Thanks Virginia!

Houghton, MI: Tuesday, April 14 @ 9:30am, 1pm Rozsa Center

East Lansing, MI: Thursday, April 16 @ 9:45am, 12:30pm & Friday, April 17 @ 9:45am, 12:30pm & Saturday, April 18 @ 1pm and 4pmMichigan State University - Wharton Center

WI: Monday, April 20 @ 10am, 12:30pm Schauer Arts and Activity Center

WI: Tuesday, April 21 @ 9:30am, 12:30pm The Grand Opera House

Park Forest, IL: Thursday, April 23 @ 10am & Friday, April 24 @ 10am, 7pm Freedom Hall

Janesville, WI: Monday, April 27 @ 10amRoosevelt School

Park Ridge, IL: Tuesday, April 28 @ 10amPickwick Theater

Plano, IL: Wednesday, April 29 @ 10amP.H. Miller School.

Red Oak, IA: Friday, May 1 @ 9am, 10:45am, 1:15pmWilson Performing Arts Center

Bayside, NY: Tuesday, May 5 @ 10amPS 188Q

New Rochelle, NY: Wednesday, May 6 @ 9:30am, 1pmBarnard Early Childhood Center

North Syracuse NY Friday May 8th - Showcase

Madison GA

Last week we were in Madison GA at the Madison Morgan Cultural Center. Below are a few pictures of Madison GA and Athens GA. We went to Athens on our day off.

The Madison Morgan Cultural Center used to be an old school building. Now it houses a theatre and several historical and cultural exhibits.

This is me thinking outside of the box, while also feeling trapped in the crazy box we call Max and Ruby.

The Inside of the Madison Morgan is very small. The stage only measures 20 ft across. Our set is 28 feet.

Historical Downtown Madison Morgan only about a half mile away from the theatre- if that.

Athens GA- University of Georgia.

And that was that.

Kitchen Witches

Last night we went and saw Virginia's mom in the Kitchen Witches at her local community theatre. It was a pretty funny show and Cheryl did a great job. At one point during the show they ask for an audience member to come up and participate as a judge after their "quick fire challange." Of course we had to nominate Brian and he was chosen to taste the food.

This is when Brian realized things weren't going to go the way he thought they would go.

Then they tell him he won't be feeding himself.

Cheryl presents her dessert.

The other kitchen witch presents her desserts.

The feeding begins.

Yum! We were so proud he didn't even puke.


The rest of us were laughing so hard we almost had wet pants. In the end Brian was asked to pick a winner. He chose Virginia's mom mostly because she had named one of the dishes after him.

Good Times.

LOCK DOWN! now including AMBER ALERT

Today we had 2 shows in Spindale NC at the Isothermal CC. The hotel was less than a mile away from the venue so last night Virginia and I took the vans down to locate the loading dock. When we arrived there were a ton of cars so we parked and walked into the building thinking that perhaps we could get a glimpse of the stage. We walked right in the loading dock door and into the audience to see "Junior Miss 2009" rehearsal going on. We stayed long enough to appreciate the amazing choreography and to choose our favorites. The show is Saturday night so we will check the internet on Monday and see if our girl won.

This morning we arrived at the theatre to find some of our favorite things; bottled water, a short load in and nice, competent techs. These three things make our day so much better.

The first show was good even though Colleen was feeling sick. After the show we worked some scenes with our new Louise. Then we took our break and some of the actors drove over to the local drugstore to pick up some soda and food.

While they were gone things got interesting. I was standing in the lobby watching the kids file in when all of a sudden the House Manager started yelling at us to get back in the theatre. The shoved all the kids and teachers into the theatre and then shoved me into the backstage hallway and told me to close all the doors and keep my actors in the dressing room. Apparently we were on lock down.

I immediately made sure the actors were okay and then had Colleen call the actors that had left to tell them to stay in the car with the doors locked until we told them to come into the theatre. Then I went to find out what had happened. Apparently a student had threatened to hurt people and had said that Tuesday afternoon would be a good time because the theatre would be full of kids. We were under lock down for about 10 minutes. Amazingly the show only started 15 minutes late.

Now we are at Virginia's house having an amazing home-cooked meal.

Weird how life goes.

Onward and Upward.

Addition- We are currently in Madison GA in a Red Roof Inn for three nights. After returning from checking out downtown I commented on the broken window on the room between Josh and Me. A lady from the parking lot commented that it was from the Amber Alert Shootout a few months ago. "What??!!" we questioned. Apparently in Janurary a 25 year old man captured his baby's mommy and the baby and drove them through Alabama and into Georgia with his new 17 year old girlfriend. He then checked into our Red Roof Inn. The police caught up with him and there was a stand-off that turned into a shootout. The couple and the baby spent a day holed up in the Red Roof room right near mine before he surrendered to the police. They had to evacuate the Waffle House next door and close down the street. Below is a picture of the missing window and the holes he cut in the curtain so he could see the police.

Excitement surrounds us everywhere we go.

Upward and Onward.

Burlington VT

This past weekend we were in Burlington VT. We had 3 shows at the Flynn Center, a beautiful space near Church Street. When we arrived it was warm and the snow was melting. Even better than nice weather was the fact that Ryan flew up from NYC to visit me. His cousin and her husband live about 45 minutes away and Pete actually works at Magic Hat (more on that later)

Friday night we found a passable Mexican Resturant called "Mexican Resturant" right on the water. The food was pretty good but much more than I am used to eating. Afterwards we wandered around Church Street taking in the sights and hanging out with the teenagers and homeless people. Saturday I had to take the van in for headlight issues but then we spent the rest of the day wandering around Burlington. Later that night we picked up Colleen and ate downtown at this amazing Flatbread resturant that also has its own microbrew. I had the Das Spalter, Ryan tried a light beer named after some guy and Colleen had the Discombobulator. All were good, the food was amazing and our salads were the best I have eaten in a long time.

Sunday I had an afternoon load in and show. The crew at the Flynn Center were very helpful and the show went great. Sold Out as usual. After the show Ry and I went to Magic Hat to have a tour with Pete and then meet up with Amy to go to dinner. We spent the evening with Amy and Pete and had a wonderful time. Both of them are so smart and well informed they are great conversationalists. It helps that they have a good sense of humor and are able to look for the absurd in life.

Monday morning I said good bye to Ryan and went and SM'ed two more shows before loading out and driving to NYC. All weekend we had beautiful weather but when we woke up on Monday it had snowed and it continued to snow all day long until we got near the city. The drive took forever and we ended up incurring like 3 hours of OT.

This week we are back in the city for some day trips and to get a new Louise (bye bye Mara!!) Before taking our 2 month jaunt down to Florida and then on to the Wisconsin area. I will try to come back and post pictures when my internet connection is better.

onward and upward- god this mountain is HUGE!