Me and Nick (my new partner) hiking in Salmon, IDFear not, contary to popular belief, I am alive and well, and finally have an update! Fall tour is fabulous, it's great to have a partner I can actually talk to and go out with... Nick and I are creating our own life on the road: many episodes of "Family Guy", "Sex & the City", and Nick's fav show "My So-Called Life". We've been receiving many cards and little gifts from the kids, so they are randomly strewn about the truck, at some point we'll make a bulletin board on the back window (since the view is already covered by the set when the truck is full).
Our first week together was Premier Week in Missoula, and it was definitely the most STRESSFUL week since June. In addition to normal training odds and ends at the theater, we had a full week of rehearsals and shows w/ kids at a local middle school. Nothing like 12-hour days w/ the home staff watching rehearsals, figuring out how to work w/ a new partner, and the stresses of a Friday afternoon show (only 3 1/2 days of rehearsal). We pulled through though, and in spite of my lack of voice on Friday, my supervisors had great things to say about my performance. Minus the intenseness of the work, the week in Missoula was really cool. I hung out w/ many actors I hadn't met at training, and now Nick & I feel like we do have a solid community on the road... we're planning on meeting up w/ other teams in Washington in the upcoming weeks.
We hit the road, and the first stop was Salmon, Idaho (birthplace of Sacagawea & whitewater rafting capital of the world). It was a gorgeous, western town and we got the most out of our visit (hiking near some hot springs w/ signs "BEWARE OF RATTLESNAKES" and watching "Napoleon Dynamite" in his native homeland--- our town wasn't too far off from his!).
And we've made it to Washington State! This past week was in Pullman, a college town (WSU) planted in the middle of farmland. We performed in a space like the Providence Civic Center or Mason's Patriot Center-huge. They did section it off to 2,000 people though, and we had a great week w/ some really talented kids. The only hitch in the week was the set falling down completely 15 minutes into the second show.. yea.. so we made sure all were safe, picked it up where we left off, and completed the final show! It always feels good to pack up the set after the final show and put the week behind us at a local bar where everyone stares at us because we're not in plaid shirts or hooded sweatshirts!
So, all is well, and I'm SO looking forward to Jacques and Liz's wedding in a few weeks. EVERYONE IN THE DC AREA: I will be flying into Dulles on Monday, October 24 and would love to meet up... I'll be in town for the week!
Noel was my official tour guide to San Francisco
