Irony Never Fails

Here's the first irony which is closer to a catch-22 really. When I have time to blog that usually means that nothing is happening. Literally. Nothing. However, whenever something is happening, particularly if they're exciting somethings, I do not have the time to pop online for a quick and quirky anecdote.

All this to segue into a complaint that I have had virtually nothing to do this summer. Between cooking regularly (and washing a lot of dishes), reading several books, seeing friends, watering the lawn, watching way too much TV, and checking my email entirely too often, I still have many open hours for computer games, sleeping late, going out of town, and redying my hair blue. Beyond that, I have time to stare at the wall, wish I had something to do, and still have very little information worth mentioning to an outside party.

I went to a couple of rehearsals for Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well with my Baylor friend, Victoria, who is playing the lead. I was hoping to help, but the play is part of a festival so the theatre is providing most of the technical support. I did however enjoy meeting and listening to the director, who is very knowledgable and friendly. He was in Miss Congeniality :) Victoria and I watched it one day and were delighted to recognize him for his five minute appearance!

In pursuing this, I was afraid that I had missed the opportunity to volunteer for a production of The Music Man. Randomly, a Baylor guy, Carl, who graduated two years ago contacted me about volunteering as a dresser for the show. I hate anything costume related, but was desperate enough to agree. Rehearsals and the first weekend of performance was last week and the show runs every weekend until August 15; a week before I need to be in Waco. After being there a week, I am glad I ended up on the costume crew since the crews I would have volunteered for seem sketchy. Carl is a professional, so I'm learning a lot about costume crew that I never knew and need to know. I also enjoy the cast--they take a lot in stride. It's outdoor theatre, which is a new experience, but I like being outside and (fortunately) I like the show.

The irony continues in this: the day after I started working for the show that would tie up most of my nights for the rest of the summer I got a call from Express offering me a job. Express was the first store to interview me and even called me back to say they were having trouble getting in touch with one of my references which was the only hang-up. Then I went for almost a month without hearing from them. Apparently, the manager had moved my application into the orientation folder early since she had been planning to hire me, then couldn't find it when she wanted to call me and had no way of contacting me. She finally found it and still wanted to hire me. It's a little annoying that it took so long for the job to come through, but I suspect that will make her more sympathetic to my show schedule. If she had hired me earlier, I don't think I would have been able to do both.

So, I am making the shift from nothing to full days again and as usual it all comes at the same time in ways I didn't expect. It couldn't have come too soon!

And just for the sake of this post, I'll share one more irony. As I was thinking about what to put in this post (early!) this morning, I was opening the door to lug sprinkler hoses around the sticky grass when the breakfast I had been waiting on popped out of the toaster. Go figure, right?

Unexpected Events

I know that I never get the chance to write until Saturday, but my first story happened last Monday. We were in rehearsal and between working scenes, music, and dance, there were actors rehearsing in four different areas of the theatre. The music rehearsal was in the front lobby right outside the main theatre where we were running a scene and I could hear them dimly singing. I was glad to hear that they were working, but after a little bit, I heard loud screams. I rushed out of the theatre, ready to reprimand them for not paying attention and as soon as I opened the door someone (or several someones) shrieked, "Close the door, there's a bat!" Sure enough, there was a leathery winged creature swooping around above our heads. We tried encouraging the bat to leave the building, but it flew away from the theatre toward the art side and rehearsal continued as, well, normal.


The second event was perhaps less rare, but substantially more embarrassing. I was walking out of our dance studio and was on a mission to go upstairs. In my concentration, I turned too early and walked directly into the row of lockers that are outside. I didn't even know what I hit, until I had bounced off. Not a single soul was in the hallway to witness my humiliation, but a friend wanted a reenactment and we did a quick photo shoot:

A Perfect Storm

A science test, a drawing, and the first rehearsal on Monday. A major drawing and a rehearsal on Tuesday. A complete portfolio on Wednesday.

The read-thrus went swimmingly. The first (Monday) was a buzz of organized chaos as we met all together for the first time to take a look at what we are about to create. The second (Tuesday) was a more intimate, more detailed disscusion of the play involving the principle roles instead of all 28 cast members. What a relief to finally have the groundwork! I now know who my assistants are, who my cast is, and we are entering the point of execution as opposed to a year's worth of speculation.

After Monday's rehearsal, I spent seven hours bent over a light table creating an intricate drawing for my scene design class. I left the theatre at 9:15am to run errands for my next project, my portfolio. The portfolio elicited another all-night work call for Tuesday, allowing me only 5 nonconsecutive hours of sleep in the last 63, but I am extremely proud of both projects. They turned out to be high quality and very presentable which was of course the goal. The fortunate part of this situation is rapid approach of Spring Break and the fact that it is all truly behind me now. Here is what happened to me on Monday night:

(photo taken around 5:00am)

Breaking The Silence

After several weeks of neglect, I am now ready to revisit this blog and give an update on my life that is not given in a picture based on a theme.

Major Event 1:
Cyrano de Bergerac finished up two weeks ago and the performances were impressively smooth. The techs and dresses had been a long and painful process, then the storm suddenly abated. There were a few minor problems throughout, but overall it was quite graceful until our last performance. During the first act, the pit was lowered partway with a step unit leading in and out. At the very end of the act, I was supposed to raise it from backstage so that Cyrano rose while delivering highly inspirational lines and epic music swelled in the background. There is always a moment of hesitation between me pushing the button and the pit raising in which I would never breathe. That last day, my breath was stopped for too long and I realized that the pit was stuck. I ran quickly to the basement and checked the settings - everything was correct. We had an emergency setting for Act 2, so the play proceeded as if nothing was wrong. I flipped the breaker off and back on and we tested the pit during the action. It was working again. For the next scene change, I took a run crew member onstage and we took off the step unit. Awkward! Afterward, we took apart the set and walked away--Cyrano is finished.

Major Event 2:
Finals. A few synonyms: nightmare, delirium, ordeal, tribulation, thorn in my flesh, and, because Merriam Webster gave it to me, bummer. My list at the beginning of the week read 21 projects in 4 1/2 days. The main point is, I survived.

Major Event 3:
I told several of my friends that it would not be enough for me to leave town for Christmas, instead I needed to leave the country. The fortunate happenstance and the basis for this almost-joke is that I am indeed out of the country. Last Tuesday my sister dropped me at the airport for a 24 hour trek to the far east. Emphasis here should be placed on "far." After another delusional day, the semester's woes have finally worn off in exchange for days with the madre, seeing the sights, shopping, and sitting at the apartment. Of course, there are office lunches and a girls (should that be girl'z?) night also in the mix. Now, I am cozy and snug and enjoying the big city life that is decidedly NOT America.

It is likely that I will write again soon, now that vacation has come, but I might be visiting pandas or having tea at a fancy hotel. Regardless, stories and pictures are sure to follow.

[Enter Brillance Here]

Boy, oh boy am I tired. This has been a long, crazy semester. I have been running like never before just trying to keep up, and hoping that I can help my friends stay afloat as well. I feel like I haven't had any adventures lately -- either that or I've had too many, I can't remember. There have been several laughs and jokes and ironies, but none of which make sense to anyone outside those involved. I guess I really just wanted to check in and say I'm not dead (at this point). And since this is a random, uninteresting, and unintelligent blog post, I'm going to add a picture simply because I like it and I like having pictures on my blog. Done and done.

Last year's roommates on the playground at Cameron Park Zoo. Good times.

The Great All-Nighter

When I was in junior high and high school my church youth group had a thing called the Great All-Nighter each year. It was a big event involving hundreds of students from about 12 different churches. There would be speakers and entertainment then we would go to the university's rec center and play games all night long. There were donuts in the morning so it was an exhilirating night of delerium and was awesome to stay up and be with friends.

College also has Great All-Nighters. They just happen differently.

Tuesday, my friend Rebecca and I were working on our lighting project and decided that the best way to get stuff done would be to work through the night. We took turns programming and sleeping, so I left on Wednesday morning having slept from 2am-4am and from 7:15am-8:00am. When I left, I was amazed that there was light outside!

Thursday, I had an involuntary all-nighter. I went to bed at midnight, dozed for about a half hour. I was wide awake after that so when I heard some theatre friends in the parking lot outside my window around 3am I decided it was worthless to just keep laying in bed, so I got up and did a couple things before finally sleeping from 6am-8am.

Tonight, I am sitting in the light booth again, with a pillow and blanket at my disposal. I have actually FINISHED my project (it may need a little tweaking, but it's complete and presentable where it stands). My friend, Hayley, will be programming most of the night, so I am keeping her company. Fortunately, there is more sleeping and less homework ahead for me this evening...I hope.

All Should Know

I am so incredibly close to being DONE with my lighting project. I did not think it was going to happen, but I just might finish! Huzzah!!