Could've Licked the Liberty Bell

Last Saturday, I found myself with an entire day off and took advantage of the time to go to Philadelphia.  I was able to spend a casual day in the Independence Hall area, visiting the Hall and nearby buildings along with the Liberty Bell.  After I saw the stuff downtown, I went to the Edgar Allan Poe house just to see what it was.  There wasn't much there in terms of artifacts, but the house was well-preserved.  It was very pretty, but also a great place to tell ghost stories and the people that worked there were extremely welcoming and friendly.  I very much enjoyed my day and the fact that I'm close enough to do this sort of thing.  Now if only Boston were a bit closer...

Picture time!

Title quote is from an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother'

Independence Hall

Revisting an pose from when I didn't have to reach down to hold the handle

Edgar Allan Poe cellar.  Creepy.

   

Jersey: Weeks 1 and 2

Okay.  I have now been at the Shakespeare Theatre for two weeks.  The first week there was not a whole lot going on for me.  I spent a lot of time waiting for essentially nothing.  The second week was extremely busy.  We're rehearsing from 10-10 every day with lunch and dinner.  The good news is, we staged the entire show and put the whole show together after one week of rehearsals.  The bad news is, there's not much time to work on show stuff (much less anything else) outside of rehearsal.

My second show starts rehearsing this week.  The girl who is stage managing this one will be my assistant for the next one and it's all the same actors (different directors).  There are days we'll be rehearsing for both plays in the same day.  Eventually, the actors will be taking both the shows to various places around New Jersey (there's a third stage management intern that will be traveling with them; I'm not going to do any traveling).  It'll be interesting to see how it all works out, but I'd say we've made good progress so far!

The atmosphere up here is wonderful, although I've been told that Madison is not like the rest of New Jersey.  Whatever the case, I'm enjoying this little borough.  Here are some of the things I have run into up here.

Passed these folks on the way to the post office.  You know, no big deal.

This is my first picture of a chipmunk next to my successful picture of a chipmunk.

I met this guy on my dinner break one night.  He was in our kitchen.

 

Goof Up

Too funny not to share...

I received an email today, boldly proclaiming that my pictures from graduation were ready and I could order a professional shot of me with my diploma in front of various fake backgrounds.  The thumbnails in the email looked odd, so I went to the site and quickly realized what the problem was: it's not me.  The girl in the photos is actually the girl who graduated directly before me.

So.  If anyone wants pictures of the music major that went before me, I can hook you up ;) 

Happy Birthday!

A few days late, but happy birthday Michael!  Hope it was a blast!

Jersey

Just a note to say I finally made it to Madison and into my dorm room.  I was lucky somehow and ended up in a two-person room without a roommate.  The furniture has been completely rearranged to my liking and I've happily taken over every possible corner and drawer.  It's gorgeous here and quaint; I've already lost count of how many deer I've seen on campus.  I'm too tired to say any more, but I'm happy to be (mostly) settled in.

California Dreamin'

Late in April, I interviewed with South Coast Repertory in California. I was told that they would get back to me within the next week. Well, three weeks later I hadn't heard a thing and just assumed the worst -- I didn't get the job.

This Tuesday, I received a phone call offering me a position.

So. About two weeks after I finish up in New Jersey, I start rehearsals in California. Between September and mid-June I will be assistant stage managing three shows, but they are giving me my own show as well. I am extremely excited and extremely blessed to be a part of this company. I'm afraid that California may take quite a bit of getting used to, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. And hey, my first year out of school and I have some job in theatre. That's better than a lot can say.

Currently, I am making my way to New Jersey -- only a day and a half away from moving in. I'll spend the summer with Shakespeare then make my way to the other side of the country for some more good theatre work. This is the start of Chanis: Coast-to-Coast!

Graduating and Getting Gone

Alright.  An update on this week.

Friday: Most of the family came in for graduation weekend.  I had the opportunity to go out with some of my professors and other seniors for a couple hours while family was occupied, then went to dinner with them.  It started out a bit hectic, but was a nice evening overall.

Saturday: Graduation in the morning which wasn't as tedious as I had expected.  After all the dreading a morning ceremony, I became grateful to get it over with and carry on with my day.  The whole clan went to a steakhouse along the river for lunch.  Good company and a cozy restaurant (good to choose something off the beaten path) and some "green water" for the nephews to play along after the meal.  We even found a duck to feed.  Afterwards, we crammed into my overcrowded living room for a while, then most of the family took off.  My mom stayed and we did a little bit of shopping, a little bit of packing.

Sunday: Church, pack, pack, eat, pack

Monday: Early in the morning my mom and a couple of guy friends helped move me into storage in College Station.  Zach and Stephen are a great team and very friendly movers.  In fact, they were thanking me for giving them something to do.  Freebirds for lunch (yes!) then back to Waco.  Dinner and a movie with a friend, just because we had nothing better to do.

Tuesday & Wednesday: A little bit of erranding, a little bit of packing, quite a bit of the Mentalist.  Also, I got a job. (more on that later)

Thursday: The end of the errands.  Also, I fixed my own cruise control.  That's right.  Who needs big corporate dealerships?  Chevrolet Service Man was clearly not interested in fixing my car and made me order my own part (this may be normal for Chevrolet, but the guy was still rude).  Ordering was simple enough, but I didn't want to go back to the other guy.  When I picked up the part this morning, I saw that it was just a clip in, no fancy wiring involved.  Naturally, I went to the theatre, got a second opinion from the shop foreman and a screwdriver, then I popped out the old switch and installed the new one.  I have a working cruise control, didn't have to pay for labor, and now know to be skeptical of Chevrolet.  All in all, a pretty successful day so far.

Tomorrow is rehearsal dinner, Saturday the wedding, and Sunday I leave town for good.  Busy, busy, but good to be running again!