I like to respond in ALL CAPS!

Hey friends!

Oh.

My.

STARS.

Sooooo much has happend that I don't even really know where to begin, but I shall try.

(ahem)

We had our first week of camp last week in Austin, Texas and it was CRAZY! We made a few mistakes but thankfully we had our trainer, Kepler, help us out but sadly he couldn't fix everything. At the auditions, Loretta and I both miscounted the number of Camelotians, Knights and Squires. We accidently cast 20 Knights and Squires rather than 12....whooOopsie! Oh and speaking of knights, I was incharge of who got what color knight; we have a blue knight, a red knight, a black knight etc. Welp. I possibly cast an actual black kid as a black knight. Big. Whoopsie. In my defense I honestly cast him as that character because the black knight is kind of a rockstar in my opinion and this kid acted it from the moment he walked into the audition room. It was very innocent and I gave him that role because he played it the best. It wasn't until later that I realized after I gave him that part, had rehearsal and realized what happend and HOW it might look. You just gotta laugh it off and just go with it.

Actually, Loretta, Kepler, and I had to do that A LOT last week. We weren't able to put up the set until the day of the show because the theatre had a concert the night before. Also the stage was extremely small so we could only put up the side walls of our set and they just barely fit. There was a scorpion in the dressing room sink. Come show day, the cast wasn't very (how can I put it?) dedicated so NO ONE knew their lines. It's one thing when your stressed about forgetting just your line onstage or tripping infront of everyone but its an entirely different, overwhelming feeling when you know that the ones your onstage with don't know their lines. Needless to say a few lines where dropped during the performance which shaved off about 15 mins. Did I mention that the one sound cue in the show the sound guy missed and left the 4-6 year olds onstage BY THEMSELVES waiting for their dance music to start for 3, thats right 3, minutes of silence? Thankfully we had an amazing accompaniest who made something up on the spot and the kids just went with it! What was really cool about this theatre other than the fact that it looked like a castle, was through the magic of technology the parents of some of the kids who are in the army over seas got to watch their kids perform. Way cool! Like I said, it was a CRAZY week. After the show we met up with some fellow TADs who were only an hour away for a night out on the town. We all went downtown for dinner (courtesy of Missoula Children's Theatre) and walked along the strip, it was a lot of fun. :)

Now Loretta and I are in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where it is sunny...most of the time. Haha! When its not sunny we're under "weather advisories". You know the usual TORNADO WATCH. Remember we're in Oklahoma. Our first night here we stayed at the Motel 6 which wasn't very accommodating unless you were a colony of bugs. Thankfully our Presenter hooked us up with these awesome rooms at the Microtel which just so happens to be 4 minutes away from the theatre. This place is SO nice. Its clean, bugless, has an outdoor pool, good looking hotel lobby guys, AND Panera Bread is right across the street.

It's the little things.

We also have an amazing cast this week! Each kid is so well behaved and talented. I have to up my game. I'm the "professional" and I fear that their making me look bad. These kids are so great and I'm constantly laughing and enjoying performing with them. It's funny, I feel like each week I'm gonna see at least one of my friends traits in a kid. Last week there was a kid that looked and acted just like my friend Alan. It was uncanny! I wanted to just hug him/take a picture but neither of those are allowed for MCT actors. LAME! This week our Merlin reminds me of Tyler and our Ghost reminds me of my other friend David. So far I feel like my friends and I are STILL acting together which warms my heart and makes me feel at home in so many ways.

Today a girl in the show, who happens to have a speech impediment and is kind of a loner told Loretta that we were her favorite team and that already this week she's had more fun then in past camps.

This is what it's all about, making a difference. When Loretta told me that, it completely put things in perspective for me. Yes travelling for hours and hours is tiring. Yes bugs are gross. YES, I miss my family and friends. However, this is why I'm here and it humbles me everyday and yet fills my heart with so much joy. Just like this little girl, many other kids are going to get their moment in the spotlight and feel like what they have to say is important because it IS important.

I have the best job in the world.

:)

The End

-Jen

PS: I counted 13 words in this blog that are ALL CAPS.