Thursday, July 30, 2009

I have to wonder: is there a correlation between smoking and committing a crime? Whenever I work an early shift and walk by the courthouse, half the people going in are smoking right beforehand. Actually, any time I walk by the courthouse there are people loitering around outside smoking. It is actually SHOCKING to me to meet/see people who smoke nowadays. I mean, I just can't believe it. Why would you pay SO MUCH MONEY for something that gives you cancer? If you need to have an addiction or need to spend $100 a week, get addicted to giving ME your money. That solves all the problems I can think of right now.

One week ago today a theatre in NJ called me and asked me to come in on Tuesday to audition for them. In New York. I didn't think I'd be ABLE to go on such short notice, but Josh lent me his car, Jeremiah covered my shift at work and Jessica and Beth let me stay with them for a night in the city and I was able to get there. I drove to, from and IN New York City. It was a long, long drive. Well, it wasn't THAT long. Not as long, as, say, Los Angeles to Kent, Ohio. It was about 6 hours. I was terrified to drive in Manhattan but that ended up being fine, it was driving in New Jersey that was REALLY terrifying. It is so confusing getting to New York! I wanted to cry a little. After I got there I couldn't find street parking (Beth and I drove around for almost an hour but the only spots that would open would have street cleaning the next morning) so I parked in a parking lot for what was, basically, a reasonable price. I loved their neighborhood. I want to live there. The funniest thing about me loving their neighborhood was the fact that the thing that REALLY made me love it was the Starbucks on the corner and this huge McDonald's on Broadway. I'm so easy to please. (The audition went okay, too.)

Driving back here was the longest drive ever. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before and I was totally losing it. I did "discover" the most beautiful Led Zeppelin song ever, though. I don't know if somehow I never heard it or I just never paid attention, but "Thank You" off of II is just amazing. I was so stunned. I heard it on the radio and then found it on my ipod and then I just shuffled Led Zeppelin for a while in the car.

I'm going stir crazy. Even though I just left the state two days ago. I need to be in a place where things are still open after 10pm..... or, if you're in downtown, after 7pm and sometimes only 5pm. It's not 1950. You know what people in this town do at night when everything is closed? Stand around in parking lots. I've never seen anything like it. Nothing for 30 miles is open except grocery stores and Wal-mart, so they hang out in the parking lots. Just hangin' and talkin'. Freaking normal people out. If there was a restaurant open, I bet they'd be hanging out there instead.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Today is a cold, rainy day. It's LONDON weather, at least based on movies I've seen set in London... and references from "Oliver!" This is not why we came to the new world. We came for the SUN... and the TOBACCO.

Yesterday we were going to rent a car. There is this new theatre in Philly that had it's season auditions a couple of weeks ago that we had to miss because we couldn't afford to get to them. THEN they posted another audition in NYC for yesterday just for Little Shop that I really, really wanted to go to.... but we couldn't get to those, either. I was so depressed. I felt like it was my second chance and then it was gone. Boo. Anyway, when we decided we couldn't go to the NY auditions I was like "Well, we better do something FUN to make up for it!" We had planned on renting a car and driving to Richmond. We went to two rental places and neither one had any cars. When I called them they said that they did... but when we got there it turns out they were lying. Or just wrong. But either way, I was so bummed out. We did NOTHING yesterday except make a really good dinner and watch all the webisodes of the [title of show] show.... which, yes, was hilarious. And then we watched stuff about the Apollo 11 landing. But our dinner was great. I had completely failed at making corn on the cob last week but this week was a success thanks to my mom and James Keegan. And maybe Martin's for having better corn than Kroger. I'm sure we could get corn super fresh at a real farm... this is VIRGINIA, after all... but we'd have to drive around searching out a farm and we don't have a car. And the farmer's market is only on Saturday morning for 5 hours when I am generally sleeping.

We saw Up again on Sunday night at the cheap theatre. I missed the movie about A Chorus Line at the artsy theatre the other day and now it is gone forever. Now I'll have to rent it someday or something. But NOT on itunes because itunes rentals NEVER work for me. Anyway, Up is still good. The cheap theatre in downtown is HILARIOUS. I don't know when it was turned into a movie theatre but I sure know the last time it was decorated, and that was in the 1970s. It is just a dump. They have some nicer seats in the back but the seats in the front are hilariously bad. It doesn't matter, though... you're paying $6 and going for the MOVIE not the THEATRE. I'm not sure of the future of the building. I know what's next door is being turned into a performing arts center (supposedly) but I think they're keeping the movie part... who knows. I won't be here to find out anyway.

I am going CRAZY because I am so excited to move to New York. It's more than 2 months away but I am just. going. crazy. I wish there was more I could do right NOW. I have told nearly all my NY friends to keep me in mind for a sublet but no one is going to know anything for October right now. I also wish I could look for a job right now... but that's obviously not going to happen before I'm there. I'm sure people who are not in "the business" are going to think Chris and I are having problems since I'd be moving without him but rest assured, we're not. He's just under contract for a while and I am not. Plus, the sooner I can move, get a job and get somewhat acquainted with the city the better because when WE apply for an apartment together they're going to want at least ONE of us to have relatively solid employment. So, stop thinking crazy thoughts. We've been living together for 2 years... if we were going to have problems they'd probably have already come up.

Now the sun is starting to appear and I am going to need to switch computers so I may as well end this post. Good day.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Last night I was finally able to get Chris to sign the thank you cards from our wedding which I wrote TWO MONTHS AGO. I was so proud of myself; I got them all done while bartending the week after we got back. I should have just done them at home and handed each one to him after I was finished to sign. He was REALLY busy during the last week of May and almost all of June, plus I was away doing the show, so it was hard to know if he did or did not actually have time to do it. Last night, though, when he was organizing music on itunes for a couple of hours, I brought it up and finally got it to happen. So, if you're like, "Wow, those guys are jerks for not sending thank you cards yet" know that we're only KIND OF jerks because they were done, just sitting in a bag waiting to be signed. And now we have to send them out in shifts because we don't have enough money for all the postage.

Oh my God. There is this fly in here that won't leave me alone and not only won't leave me alone, every time the phone rings it flies into my face. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I just murdered him. There are flies in here every day because we usually keep the front door open before the show while people are coming in and right after the show as they're leaving. Normally they're annoying but they're not trying to crawl into your brain via your nostrils or sit on your eyeballs. This one was. I don't think I've ever actually been ABLE to kill a fly before but I am happy that the one time I did, it was the one that REALLY deserved it. I gave him a chance. I tried scaring him and shooing him away... it did not work. I think it had gone crazy, anyway.

My friends are back in town! Some of them never left (Dennis) but now the ones who DID are back (Ben, Ginna, Josh, Rick). I haven't actually seen Ginna or Josh yet. I look forward to when I do, though. Tonight I think I am going to see a movie by myself. It's that movie Every Little Step. Had I known it was playing yesterday I might have taken Chris but I'm afraid it won't be here after this weekend. It PROBABLY will but I don't want to miss it by assuming that and being wrong.

I talked to my friend John on Sunday. He's still having fun on Broadway. The cast of Hair (that he is in) performed on The Tonight Show last night. I have seen him perform on TV at least 3 times now... Tonight Show, Late Show and the Tony awards. They were also on Good Morning, America but that was when I was at Heritage and had no TV. I saw some clips online, though! I never even watch anyone else during those things. I am just constantly looking for John or watching John because he's in the middle of the screen. It's very fun. They won a Tony award, you know. One of my best friends from college is in the cast of a Tony award winning musical on Broadway. It makes me want to cry.

I can't believe it's nearly 11am and that I've been at work for 2 hours. That is so absurd to me. I didn't sleep a lot last night because I am so used to going to bed late and getting up late because I haven't worked a morning in about a month and that was only one day (and that was a music rehearsal). This is only like the 3rd time I've opened the theatre all year. I think I am going to have more of this shift for the next couple of weeks, though... mainly because I have no idea how to run reports to close the playhouse since we switched ticketing software while I was away. I am so useful.

I don't remember what DAY I wrote last but I think it was before I got my hair colored last week. I am so happy that it's finally done. Holy crap, it looked so stupid... and now it looks great! They added a lot more blonde highlights than I was expecting but I really like it. I never mind blonde hair. I had a good time at the salon and I really liked my hairstylist... but when I walked back into my apartment and looked in the mirror there was dye ALL OVER my forehead and face. There was even some on my nose. She wiped a lot off my face but I am really wondering how she missed this. I had to scrub it off, which took some serious effort since it had been setting for a while. They did give me a free cupcake-shaped soap and some free lip balm, though. I love free stuff and they always give me some at good old Tease.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

So, I am back in Staunton and back to work. I am freaking out a little bit right now because I don't think I'll be getting as many bartending shifts the rest of the summer and I'm only going to be working in the costume shop for a couple of weeks so... you know... money is on my mind. I keep thinking there is some kind of imaginary job I can get, but there isn't. I suppose we could play our guitars on the street and hope people give us tips but that's unlikely. Chris is talking about moving back into company housing. I would be able to go for a while but we really would miss having our own apartment. It would save a lot of money, though. I wonder what will happen!

The show went really well. I REALLY liked working for that company and I have no complaints about anything. Our housing was great, the theatre was great, the stage managers and director were great and the cast was great. I am still not a fan of the musical "Oliver!" but I had fun every single time I was on stage. I got to dance a lot and I became friends with a lot of girls in the cast. The best part about THAT is that it's really hard for me to make friends with girls, in general. I just have a lot more guy friends but I told myself I HAD to become friends with girls during this contract and I did! I was happy and I like them a lot. Hopefully we keep in touch. I was sad to leave.

...however, just last night Chris and I returned to watch the second show in the season, Pump Boys and Dinettes. I've heard about this show forever and know that both of us would be perfect in it, but neither of us had seen it before. We loved it! It was so entertaining. I am hoping we can get over there at least once more to see Little Shop but I'd also like to see On Golden Pond.

I also watched a dress run of Titus Andronicus on Sunday here at the theatre. I like this play. It's totally nuts and messed up but it's good. It's not Shakespeare's best, but it is not annoying in any way and you really feel for the characters. I didn't even FEEL for King Lear last year and that play IS considered Shakespeare's best. I mean, maybe that's just me... it seems like other people had sympathy for him. But not me.

I have been reading a ton of plays the last month. Unfortunately I don't have a single new monologue to use yet. I have one that is an option, but I'm not sure if it's great or even usable. This process is annoying. I wish there were some kind of database that would give you a list of all the characters you're in the same age range for so you could have things narrowed down a little. I guess it's a good idea to read plays anyway... if I'm not going to, who is?... but, you know, right NOW if there's no role for me in it, I don't have time for it.

This town is weird and even though I hated it before I lived there for a while, I miss Charlottesville. I told one of my friends the other day "I would say Staunton is like Charlottesville's little sister, but it's not. It's more like Charlottesville's kind-of friend who really wants to be JUST LIKE Charlottesville."

I will have more positive things to say at a later date.