Pity Party Time!

But first: My friend posted this on facebook: http://canyourelate.org/2011/05/24/rape-prevention-tips/
I think it's fantastic because I hate it when people play the blame the victim game and there's always tips given to women to keep themselves from getting raped (I think I first got these tips in Middle School and they seriously never go away), but no one ever gives these tips out to men or other possible rapists. I think these should be required in the high school health class hand outs as well. Maybe I'll start a petition. Who's with me?

Now the pity party! (feel free to skip if you so wish)
I'm totally going through withdrawal right now. I miss New York a whole lot and being able to hop on the subway to bypass traffic or walk around the corner to get a really good, cheap meal.  Chicago's great and I'm really enjoying my time here, but my god there's no place like NYC. I feel bad for not liking Chicago as much as I think I should, and I think I would be liking it better if I came here before I went to New York, but it's currently competing with two of the greatest weeks of my life and that's tough. Springboard changed my life. It taught me so many new things and rekindled that passion for performing that I let drain a little bit. It gave me the full confidence to stand up and announce: I am an actor. Chicago is not giving me anything new like that. Yes, I'm learning how devised shows work, which is pretty awesome, but it's currently being overshadowed by mediocre public transportation and that some people have the inability to show up on time to places.

I'm probably being over-dramatic. I have only been here a week and I have learned some pretty neat things. I'm sure I'll get accustomed to the buses and end up loving this city as well by the time I leave in August.

On a positive note: I'm getting an A in my online course! Woohoo!

A bit about Collaboraction

I have officially started my internship at Collaboraction theatre in Chicago. I have been in the office three times and I have already made curtains, been offered a position as a possible understudy (didn't end up happening, oh well!), found props, attended meetings, been given research projects, etc. . It's been nuts. I love days off.
Currently, Collaboraction is doing their Sketchbook series that they put up every summer and it is really incredible. It's a series of five productions that run up to 60 minutes each, with visual art placed throughout the playing space and "surprise" guest musicians every once in a while. I've only been able to see two of the productions, but even with just those two, I have laughed, cried, been inspired and have been pushed to contemplate things I've never thought about before. It has been a very new and different theatrical experience than what I've been exposed to before. It's intimate and innovative and definitely risky. There's an integration of music and movement, with projections and use of space that makes it a memorable experience. Matter of fact, the piece that had me in tears, Untitled 862, had no dialogue: just movement, dance, and music. It was beautiful. So anyway (shameless plug about to happen) if you're in Chicago, come see some Sketchbook shows because they're awesome.
Also, the people at this place are so friendly and nice. I've met a handful of other interns and everyone seems to be excited to be here and they want to make theatre accessible and entertaining to the public. It's pretty awesome.
Overall, Chicago is a success. The only complaint I have is public transportation is really slow and closes way too early in comparison to New York. But then again, I think this city actually sleeps. Who knew!

Also, we still don't have internet. I'm becoming good friends with the local cafe bar-istas and am longing to watch some Arrested Development via Netflix or Hulu. I guess this gif will just have to do for now... 

New Day, New City.

Once again, I am in a new city without internet. It's really not a bad thing because I'm much more productive and I'm more inclined to explore the city I'm in. Currently, I am sitting in a fun little cafe called Let Them Eat Chocolate (gladly.) with my friend Joanne. They sell gelato and little handmade looking chocolates and it's delicious. I have found that there are a surprising amount of gelato places in the area I'm staying along with a couple of really fantastic book stores. One is called the Book Cellar, and yes, you can have wine and browse for books! It's pretty cool. There's also a used book store that is literally overflowing with books. It's one of those places you can get lost in for days and continue to find interesting things to look at.
Oh! I actually start working, sort of, tomorrow. I'm going to help with front of house stuff for Collaboraction's Sketchbook festival and hopefully it will be a nice little way to ease me into the environment of the company. Then I officially start working for them on Monday. at noon. I will have plenty of time to get ready and maybe i'll head over to the cafe that sells the best mocha I've ever had. :) Seriously, it's delicious. I think they might put crack in it.
OH MY GOD AND THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPS ARE THE BEST. It's going to take everything I have to stay away from them for the next seven or so weeks. They just make me so happy and I want to do this:

Oh, and you should go see Brave because it is Scottish and adorable.

That is all.

A bit about the last 2 weeks...

So I definitely dropped the ball on posting about Springboard. I apologize for anyone who was actually looking forward to those! Hopefully I can slowly recap about the shows and people once I get to Chicago!
Overall though, SpringboardNYC was an incredible experience and I am so incredibly thankful that I got the opportunity to attend. I met so many wonderful people that I plan on staying in contact with for a very long time. I know that they would be willing to lend me a hand when I needed it as I would for them. There were 37 of us and EVERYONE was nice, and kind, and talented, and excited, and I miss them all so much and it hasn't even been a week! I don't even think there are enough adjectives for me to accurately describe how great everyone was/is.
General things I learned at Springboard:
1. Be nice/kind to everyone. But not fake nice. be genuinely nice.
2. Everyone is on their own path. You can't compare your path to someone else's because that's just not fair to anyone.
3. Say YES, AND. Otherwise known to say yes to everything, even if it doesn't pay.
4. On that note: Don't be afraid to say NO.
     - Do the stomach ache test, if something doesn't feel right to you, don't do it.
5. Be yourself.
     - trying to be someone else isn't going to get you very far at all because people will see right through that.
     - don't cut off your comet tail.
6. Your job is not being in shows. Your job is AUDITIONING.
     - seriously. getting in a show is like a yearly bonus.
     - if you don't love auditioning, you're going to want to learn to.
7. The theatre community is TINY.

And finally, you can't be afraid to put yourself out there. The people on the other side of the table want you to do well, your family wants you to do well, your friends want you to do well. You just have to be yourself and be kind because that's how people will know if they want to work with you. If you think it's cool to make fun of people based off their facebook pictures or the shoes they wear and then try to be all smiley at them to their faces, that won't fly. It will bite you in the butt because the theatre community is tiny. Everyone knows everything. Seriously, follow the 6 block rule and then add on another mile and put a locked door between you and the public before you say anything.

Ok. that's all for now. I honestly don't even know how much of this post makes sense because I'm still not done being exhausted. Maybe that'll happen when I'm done packing/unpacking? Maybe?

I lost track of what day it was

So I finally realized it's Saturday and that I didn't have to be anywhere at 9 o'clock in the morning. So I decided I should write a new post and attempt to do an overview of the last...3(?) days. Here we go!

Everyday, they bring in new "famous" people/people working in the business and it has been such a whirlwind that I really don't remember who I met on what day, but each and every one of them has been incredible. They have given me new insights into the theatre world and how to approach it, killed some misconceptions, and have made me even more sure that this is what I want to be doing.
I've done a Q+A with Stacy Seidel Tea, a commercial/voice-over casting director. I now know that I should really get some experience on-camera and with voice over because a lot of people use that as a way to earn an income when they're not doing theatre.
Amy Ryan came in for another Q+A session and was great because she has had experience in film, tv, and theatre and was able to give perspectives on all of them. My favorite piece of advice from her was "be fearless, have moxie." Who says MOXIE anymore?? She does. Because she's great.
Then, David Caparelliotis (Dave Cap) came in on 2 different days to do an audition workshop with us. It's great because he's a big time casting director in New York was still willing to take time out of his schedule to come work with us. The first day he literally ran from a casting session to MTC while eating a slice of pizza. He's great. He made it very clear that auditions are not about what character you are suppose to be, but how to bring yourself to the character to make it real. His big thing was honor the text, honor yourself. If you do that you will have a good audition.
THEN CAME MY FAVORITE THING EVER: the working actor panel. It included Jeremy Shamos (he's fucking tony nominated.), Donna Lynne Champlin, Patti Murin, and Leslie Oden Jr.. Seriously, this was so great. They addressed what it was like to get here and get started and how to get an income and how to stay sane and how every actor thinks that they aren't as good as everyone thinks they are. JEREMY SHAMOS IS STILL INSECURE ABOUT HIS ACTING. HE'S NOMINATED FOR A TONY. So, that was incredible to hear that no matter what, everyone thinks they're just tricking everyone else. And once again, we heard that auditions are all about being yourself. Don't try to be a poodle if you're a great dane. Also, no matter what theatre actors make like 200 bucks a week, but film actors can make like 20,000 for a pilot. NBD.
Then, Nina Arianda came in. She is probably the luckiest woman in the world. She started getting work right out of grad school at 25. She's worked for Woody Allen, she's Tony nominated this year, shes' won multiple awards already and she's not even 30 yet. But she's making me consider grad school as an option. And apparently I look like her.
Yesterday, we got to talk to Lin-Manuel Miranda. He's another one of those people who has had a great career at a young age and just hasn't stopped working. He believes strongly that writers should act, and actors should write so they can understand each other and writers who don't understand actors normally end up in film. He's hilarious and his big point was Fake it till you make it. That was great.
And last, but not least: Peter Francis Johns.Shakespeare extraordinaire. I have never really worked on Shakespeare before, but he made it so much fun and so easy and afterwards I felt like I kicked Shakespeare's butt. It was so great. He was all about following the Geography of the text because the text will tell you exactly what to do. Shakespeare was a good guy like that and wrote in the text exactly what you should be doing. So do it.
Those are the people I have met so far. It's been crazy and busy and wonderful. I am so lucky to have this opportunity. I have learned so much and have realized so many things. The main one that people keep talking about (and they don't like talk to each other ahead of time to plan what to say) is that performing, doing plays, is not the job. Auditioning is the job. So be yourself and enjoy it.

Oh, I'll write about shows in a different post. I figured this one was long enough :)

First Day of the Springboard Program...

...AND MY 21ST BIRTHDAY

It's been magical. The people are wonderful, the town is wonderful, the food is wonderful, everything right now is wonderful (except for the communal dorm like bathroom)! I started the day in a room filled with 34 other theatre students, some still in school, quite a few were recent graduates. We mingled and ate free bagels and met a lot of people from big fancy schools. I think there were 5 of us where no one had even heard of our schools/locations. One girl even went into a mini-panic when I told her I was from Truman State because it was a school that she had never heard of located in the middle of nowhere. She said:
"Oh my god. You're going to be that girl that my professors always talk about. The one from the middle of nowhere that is working twice as hard as you that makes it on Broadway and gets famous."
Why, yes. Yes, I am.
But that's not what I said, or really what I think, but it's fun to respond in a sassy way, even if it's just in my head. But that has probably been my favorite reaction ever to the fact that I go to Truman.

So everyday at Springboard, we work and meet working professionals in the field. It's awesome. Today, we worked with Leigh Silverman. If you don't know who she is you should seriously look her up.
She's incredible.
And out of 35 students, I was the FIRST person that got to work with her ONE-ON-ONE.
It was so great and I managed to trip and look like a fool on my way to the floor because for some odd reason there is a studio that uses bleachers as seating, which are always difficult to navigate. Always. But who cares because I got to work with Leigh Silverman one-on-one!!!!!! Seriously, in 15 minutes she took one of my monologues to a whole new level. I'm obsessed.
After the audition workshop, Springboard treated all of us students to dinner at an Irish Pub and slowly the news made its way through the other students that it was my 21st birthday and a girl just turned and said to me "we're singing Happy Birthday to you now." and before I could open my mouth to protest 40 people were singing happy birthday at me in 3 part harmony. It was awkwardly wonderful. And then another guy in the program bought me a drink and one of the Production Managers for Springboard came up to me and asked me what kind of coffee I liked and if I liked cupcakes and I just said Yes to both. I hope I get a cupcake tomorrow!
So overall it has been a great 21st birthday. Completely nontraditional in the sense that I'm not going out to a bar and didn't take a shot at midnight, but honestly, I wouldn't trade this 21st birthday for anything.

Oh! Here's the shows (that I remember off the top of my head) I get to see over the next 2 weeks:
Peter and the Starcatcher
Once
Uncle Vanya
Sister Act
Newsies
...and I think there's something I'm forgetting, but I just can't remember right now..I'll keep ya'll updated!
(also, a lot of people say ya'll here. I really don't get it, but I'm probably going to get in the habit of using it.)

Day 1 of NYC

There is no way to have a normal start to a trip to New York City. I don't really know why I thought it would be normal, but that was a mistake. It started with getting to the airport at 6am, which isn't too bad, just early. Then I went through security with no problems except the TSA security lady decided to take away one of my bins that my stuff was in before I was done with it and proceeded to drop my phone, shoes, and sunglasses on the floor of the airport and instead of apologizing she said: Oh, well, I can't see things when they're all bundled up. BULL SHIT. Next time, you should just try looking at the bins before you snatch them away. Other than that everything else at the airport went smoothly. The only thing I can even think to complain about is the guy sitting in front of me decided it was completely necessary that he lean his chair back the entire flight. It's just a little pet peeve of mine when I'm on a short flight.
Then, I GOT TO NEW YORK CITY. It is big and shiny and dirty and loud and I love it. So, I got to the YMCA and was all ready to check in and get settled and, lo and behold, check isn't until 2:30. At that point it was only 1:15. And so I start to just cry because all the itty bitty things that bugged me finally added up, and I was tired, and I was hungry, and basically there was really no good reason to why I decided I had to cry at that very moment. It was stupid. The guy just told me I could lock up my stuff in the security room so I could go walk around the city and kill some time. So I did. And the security guard guy who locked up my stuff was really sweet and told me about a little cafe around the corner where I could get a coffee and clear my head and "be happy, don't be sad." He was adorable. That's when I realized I was hungry and hadn't eaten since 5am, so I probably needed a sandwich. I got my sandwich and went for a stroll through Central Park and saw a man dressed all in pink wearing a Statue of Liberty crown and riding a hot pink girls bike with streamers. It was perfect.
That's really all I have to say for today so far. Except the rooms are very prison like and the bathrooms are gross, but it's a communal restroom so it's what's expected.
Also, I think the guy at the table next to mine is also part of the Springboard Program. I keep looking over there, but I don't know how to approach him. I'm such a creep. I really should get an award for how much of a creeper I can be.

On your marks! Get set!

Go! In twelve and a half hours I will be boarding a plane to New York City! I don't even know what to do with myself right now. I finally finished packing and it only took about three days total, which, for me is pretty good. Probably the main reason why it took me three days is because I kept getting distracted by the pretty shiny internet and random trips to Target. I also had to stop by QuikTrip and while I was there buying soda for my mother a grizzly man bear walked in and had the following conversation with Mr. QuikTrip man:
....
Grizzly man bear: You guys got any liquor?

Mr. QuikTrip man: Why, yes. It is all in the case right over there.

Grizzly man bear: You got any in plastic?

Mr. QuikTrip man: We do have some in plastic bottles.

Grizzly man bear: I need vodka.
....
This was the first time I have been in a QuikTrip where I have ever seen someone buy liquor. Not beer, but liquor. The whole time this was happening Mr. QuikTrip man was trying to ring up my 12 pack of diet coke and looked incredibly confused by the fact that this Grizzly man bear desperately needed vodka in a plastic bottle. Probably because this Grizzly man bear looked like he could have ripped his arm off if he didn't get what he wanted.

Also! Look at what I found on pretty shiny internet:

Now, this is just a parody. I really hope Hollywood doesn't see this and get any ideas.  Fingers crossed!