Journey On

Hi Friends!
Alright, now I know you all have been curious about what's next for me now that tour is over but I can't just TELL you. That would make me a terrible blogger. I have to give you the whole story so I'll start at the beginning.

I arrived back home to find balloons, cake, and banners with phrases like "Welcome Home!" all throughout the house. As heart warming as these where and as much as I appreciated them, I knew that I wasn't going to actually be home for the next couple of days. What was I up to you ask? Well like any non-working actor I was about to commence to "hitting the pavement" once more. When I wasn't auditioning I would be helping out with my best friend's wedding, Dad with selling a house in D.C. as well as moving into a new house he purchased, and spending as much time as possible with my favoritest person before she headed back to Europe to be an Au Pair, this time in London. I was a busy Gill and looking back already my first month home was such a chaotic blur! haha I loved it!

Anyway, the day after I came home Dad and I hopped on a train to Boston, Ma for an audition. Now for those of you who haven't been to a professional audition let me just tell you it's not like a job interview at all. There's a lot you have to plan for even before you arrive at the audition like "Where are you staying?", "Is it near the venue?", and "How are you getting there?", those type things. Seems pretty typical for any trip. Let's not also forget that you have to come prepared for the audition with a book of  different songs and monologues that are memorized and good to go incase they ask you to do something else which they WILL do. There's a few other things you have to plan for but these are the main things. The audition itself is really quite an experience of adrenaline. I LOVE it! So Dad and I arrive in Massachusetts and we have just finished unpacking. As I'm going through all my stuff,  I soon realize that I left my notepad with ALL my information (the venues address, my time slot, and other useful info) at home. Crap.

5 minute pit stop in NYC

I thankfully remembered what time I was supposed to audition but I couldn't remember the address. Dad and I both got on separate computers and tried to find out where this audition was being held but we couldn't find anything! Dad later tells me he found the address. I looked at it and something told me that what he found wasn't the right one. It didn't sound familiar at all but I couldn't find anything on the internet to confirm my theory. I couldn't find anything at all! Ha! That night plans were made for the hotel shuttle to take me to the audition. The next morning, the shuttle drops me off and low and behold thats NOT where the audition is taking place. I KNEW IT!

Ok no need to freakout. It's probably just down the street and the shuttle guy just went to the wrong place. I'm checking my phone trying to find some kind of information once again about this audition and I find nothing. NOTHING! So I start strutting my little self down the street in some VERY high heels and even asked around if people knew where the audition was. To my dismay no one knew what I was talking about.  I called the shuttle guy and he told me that he wouldn't be able to pick me up for about another hour. Great. There I was stranded in a unfamiliar city, no theatre in sight, I had NOW missed my time slot, and it had just started raining. I then remembered that while I was in Hendricks, Mn the theatre had called me and that I probably still had the number on my phone. The problem was that they were in auditions (where I was SUPPOSED to be) and no one was probably in the office. I called anyway and just like I thought, no answer.

I felt so defeated. I had come all this way and I had nothing to show for it.

I have this little mantra when it comes to auditions and certain issues in life: "If it doesn't just HAPPEN then it wasn't meant to be". Cliche and not very deep I know but hear me out. I just mean if theres a lot problems with a goal or some ideal you're set on and it doesn't come easily then you probably shouldn't do it. There IS a difference between determination and fighting something that's just not part of God's ultimate plan. I'm all for determination and overall achievement but somethings SHOULD come easy without complications for example relationships.  It should just fall into place. I feel that's when you just know that you're right where you need to be at the right time in your life. I guess this is a faith based theory that the Lord will just take care of you. This doesn't mean rely on Him to do everything. No you gotta get out there and try and He will see your works and reward you in His time. I was convinced that it just wasn't "meant to be" as I waited in the rain for the shuttle man to pick me up and take me back to the hotel. Yea, I was disappointed but there would be other auditions and other plans for me.

That's when I got the call.

A lady from the theatre had called me and was wondering where I was. I quickly explained how I was lost and didn't know where to go. She sweetly tells me the address and says that they would be glad to squeeze me in as soon as I get there. YEA!!!! The problem now was the shuttle man could only take me as far as a 5 minute drive from the hotel. UGH! He takes me to the hotel where I called a cab and tried to make myself not look like a drenched rat within a 5 minute span. I hop in the cab and he takes me to the Strand Theatre just outside of Boston. FINALLY!

I was so excited and despite all the nonsense from earlier that day my audition actually went really well. As I was about to leave the girl who was sending us into the theatre tells me that I made "Callbacks" which were on Wednesday. Callbacks are like a second round of auditioning for a show. It's always good to get one because they usually have you read/sing from the show or it'll be just a dance call. I love dancing. :) I also found out that the lady I had been talking to on the phone that day and throughout the several phone calls in Minnesota was the actual director! Ok that may not seem like such a big deal but trust me, it is. It's normally the assistant assistant assistant stage manager who contacts people if need be and here I was, hadn't even auditioned yet and I was on a first name bases AND had the directors personal phone number.

Coincidence? I think not.

Well now there was a new problem. Callbacks were on Wednesday and not that Monday night like I had anticipated. Dad and I had planned on leaving early the next morning so he could be at work on Wednesday. Thankfully by the time my Dad and I met up for dinner he had worked out all these details for me. He went back the next morning while I stayed in the hotel room and watched Harry Potter and went to the shopping mall next to the hotel. I was mentally preparing for Callbacks the next day. Haha!

The next day I went to the Callbacks and it was a wonderful experience as usual. I did think it was funny that I didn't "know" any of the people there. This is going to sound weird but when you go to enough auditions you start recognizing people from other auditions you've been too. Everyone here knew who everyone was and were even congratulating each other on shows they'd seen them in in NYC. There I was, the little goob in the canary yellow leotard just sitting against the wall not knowing anyone. Haha! Well I didn't want to look out of place or unprofessional so I found somewhere to go stretch. I figure I'm flexible and if I ACT like a dancer that'll make me look like I belong . Ha! I think it worked because I started making friends not long after that. Hahah!

This was one of my most favorite Callbacks that I had ever been too. Everyone there was extremely friendly and kind. Not only that but I got to dance and sing a lot which made me feel really good about the possibility of the job. I was trying not to get my hopes up but I couldn't help but notice that they kept grouping me with the ones everyone KNEW they were considering for the leads. I seriously was just excited to be there. The Lord had worked everything out for me and now this trip wasn't a complete waste. I told myself that even if I didn't get the job that I was really pleased with how everything ended up working out. I also got a reboost in confidence. Honestly, I thought I might feel out of place and maybe a little rusty on picking up a dance that fast. Thankfully that wasn't the case and I truly believe that this trip taught me that the Lord works things out for those who love Him. You can be told things or read things over and over but sometimes you just have to experience it for it to really stick. Well Friends thats what the Lord did. I went home the next day with a happy heart and was looking forward to my best friends wedding that weekend. I was content in every possible way.

(Skipping ahead because this already is a VERY long blog post. SOYYE!!!!!)

As we're touching up our makeup before we walk down the aisle in our gorgeous green gowns for the wedding, my phone rings with a (by now) familiar number. It was the Director. She then informed me that they had cast me as a "Featured Dancer" and one of Evelyn Nesbitt's main girls in the ensemble for the musical Ragtime.
I was THRILLED!!!!!! We then discussed a few details about pay, equity, and how they were going to provide me with a place to stay. Now I was floored.

PRAISE BE THE LORD WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!!!!!

Don't worry, I'll keep you informed on my adventures up there. : D
-Jen

"Goodbye" Tour

Hi Friends!
Yesterday we drove all day and saw some really cool sights before crashing for the night at the Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings, Montana. I was then awakened by the sweet sounds of a little baby being made in the room next door and couldn't fall asleep again.
>:(
Our second day of driving back wasn't nearly as exciting as the first day but we tried to make the most of it. We kept trying to make some music videos but something kept going wrong with either the memory space or whatever but we had fun. It also helped make the time go by. When we finally pulled into the now familiar Missoula we headed straight to the mall. We're girls, what can we say?

The REAL reason was because we had a TAD date with Hannah and Laura who were also going to be our roomates for a night at the Ruby's Hotel. We've actually been blessed to have had several dates with these lovely ladies and hey it kinda makes it a full circle. Hannah and Laura were the first Tour Actor/Directors we met for a TAD date way back when we were in Texas for our first week on the job. I guess it only seems appropriate to end the way we started out. :) We all met up at this little Asian restaurant at the mall called the Mustard Seed and it was so good to see these girls and catch up. Afterwards we headed to the hotel to unpack and get ready for a night out with a few other TAD's. I really wasn't feeling it that night. I guess I was tired from driving and was full of dread for the next few days and what they entailed. Thankfully, Loretta and the girls talked me out of it and we all went out for some Karaoke. I must say I feel as if I'm getting pretty good at it.:)

A Love Letter from Jordan

The next morning was the first day of Check in and honestly Check in went by in such a chaotic blur that I really don't remember it. I remember it happening and certain aspects of those two days but other than that? I've got nothing. We had some meetings to go to with Dylan and later Victoria (the two main honchos) in between unloading the truck/getting a bunch of stuff signed off and by the second day Loretta and I were both a little fed up. Thanks to tour, we know how the other one ticks and if one of us is annoyed we know how to handle it.
Note: 50lb bags + several flights of stairs= NO FUN!

One aspect of Check in was nice though. At the end of tour the home office was going to throw a big bash for us TAD's but unfortunately we would be unable to attend. The party was happening the week after our Check in because that was when the majority of everyone was Checking in. Loretta, Hannah, Laura and I were the only ones Checking in early so Dylan wanted to take us all out for dinner which I thought was a really nice gesture. Thaaaaaaaaaanks Dylan! :)

Although I did not like Check in, I have to admit it was nice to see the everyone at the home office. I feel like everyone there is so nice which made saying "Goodbye" kind of hard. I didn't get to say "Goodbye" to everyone because they were all busy preparing for next week with all the TAD's coming in. Again, Check in was a big blur and if I had been thinking straight I would've taken the time to really say "Goodbye" to everyone after I got them to sign off on the check list. I do kind of regret not being able to say bye to a few people. I did however get to get a quick pic and a final hug with some of the home staff. I'm really glad I got one with Michelle. I feel like Michelle really helped me along this whole time. She was there at my audition and helped me get the job and while I had the job, was pretty helpful when it came to things on the road. I just loved her.

Loretta and I said our "Goodbye's" in the TAD lounge before some fellow TADs took me to the airport and before she left to go back home. We hugged and took one last photo together before we said our final "Goodbye's". She truly was an awesome Tour Partner and I know she is going to continue doing great things. I'm just thankfully that we both got to experience this chapter of our lives together and I honestly couldn't have imagined sharing it with anybody else. Love you Lo. :)

I was then wisked away to the Missoula airport where I got on a plane that took me to Seattle-Raleigh-Lynchburg. It was a long night but well worth it because the next morning I was home eating breakfast at Chic-fila. Now I bet you're wondering what's next for this Gill. Well friends, you'll just have to wait and see. . . .
-Jen

Badlands Badlands whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when THEY come for you..

Hi Friends!

Loretta :)

On the road again! Loretta and I were headed back to Missoula for our last Check in. This was one "Last" that I wasn't sad about at all. I mean maybe a little sad but not the sad you'd think, more like the "UGH! . . . Check in.".  >:( Loretta and I have been really lucky when it came to past Check ins. Yea they were no fun but we didn't have to do nearly as much as other teams who were switching shows or partners but now it was our turn to unload everything out of the truck, lug them all over tarnation, and "Check it" all in the prospective places. Grrr! Thankfully we had a long drive to numb the dread. ha! We drove straight from Hendricks, Minnesota to Billings, Montanna which made a very long drive but we  found fun things along the way.

We knew we would be driving through North Dakota where there were some really cool things to see. One of the first things we saw was this praire dog farm where we saw and fed a bunch of those little critters. We drove through the National Park of the Badlands which was soooo cool. It felt like we were in another world and the view went on for miles. We took lots of photos and ventured the land whilst trying not to step on a rattlesnake. I can take on spiders and any other kind of creepy crawler if I have to but NOT snakes. They scare me.

We also got to go to the famous Wall Drug. This was something that was apparently every TAD thought was a "Must See" when on tour. I think this place is just a hodge-podge of stuff. They have really cheap homemade donuts, souveniers, clothes, fudge, and little playgrounds for kids (aka ME) to crawl on/climb. What I think it's most known for are all it's signs on the highway 90. All the signs are different and all have catchy phrases on it with a random object or animal.  You'll see signs like "Catch ya at Wall Drug only 215 miles away" with a big fisherman on it. By the time you get somewhat near, you start thinking, "Well NOW I'm curious. What ISSS Wall Drug?". We now know and honestly it's kind of cool but I don't feel the need to go again. Been there. Done that. :)

The last place we stopped was a place that I had been HOPING to see all tour but never really thought I'd get to go. I feel like there are certain places that every American should go see, places like the Grand Canyon, the White House, and Niagra Falls which technically is in Canada too but STILL! Where we last stopped on the way to Billings, Mt falls under this list. . . . . Mount Rushmore. I was seriously stoked all day to see it and see it we did! I never realized how big it actually was but at the same time it seemed small. Of course its big it is a mountain but it seemed so far away which made it appear small. We later found out that we could've taken a trail to get up closer but we were on a tight schedule and couldn't stay long. However, we did get roam around the town and even considered staying there for the night instead of Billings because it seemed so cool. After much discussion we agreed to keep on going but not without buying a souvenir or two. We went in this one store and this elderly man who worked there stopped us and filled our brains with all this information about Mount Rushmore and the architect/his family line. He was a very nice man and I did learn a thing or two but we had to get going.

Once back on the road, I got this burst of energy that I could drive all the way to Missoula. We were only 5 hours away and I was wide awake. One of Missoula's driving rules for long trips are for each of us to drive in no more than 8 hour segments and together no more than 16 hours a day. TECHNICALLY I would be breaking that rule but I just kept thinking by the time they find out we'll already be there and what are they gonna do? Nada. Loretta wasn't on the same page with me but that was ok we made it to Billings safely and had a good night's rest which was what we needed. Well I did wake up at 5am at the sounds of the couple next door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for over an hour. . . . thats all I will say. . . .
Haha OHHHH cheap hotel rooms!

I guess I was starting off the next day of driving on an interesting note. :)
I'm almost home!
-Jen

Last Week of Tour

Hi Friends!
After a year of life on the road with multipule locations, performances, workshops, tiffs, laughter, and starbucks giftcards it all came down to this: our final week. My final performance week was in Hunter, Nd but I still had one more week as a Tour Actor/Director in Hendricks, Mn. I think in all we couldn't have ended tour on a better note. In Hunter we had a wonderful cast and in Hendricks we had an AMAZING Contact. Our Contact found out that this was our last week on tour and she and her family went out of their way to make sure we had an awesome week.

We pull into Hendricks, Mn, a small town with a population of 713, and headed to the school to meet our Contact. She was there with two of her girls and one of their friends and instantly we knew this was going to be a good week. The youngest of her kids was there and she was SO excited for us to be there because this year she was finally old enough to be in the show. That's what we do, bring joy to little children everywhere. We're kind of a big deal. ha! We got a tour of the school and discussed the details of the week and then our Contact showed us where we would be staying that week and boy were we surprised.

The town is super small and consisted of one main strip that had a restaurant, the post office, a knick knack store for gifts/ pharmacy and then the place where we stayed. Now this town doesn't have any hotels because well it's just so small but this one man (who happend to be friends with our Contact) travels to and from Hendricks for work and we stayed at his home away from home. It was this fully furnished MODERN apartment and it was SO cool. My room had two twin beds and what kind of way would it be for the end of tour if I didn't put them together? A NO FUN way thats what! We got settled in and then we met up with our Contact and the rest of her family for dinner. They took us out for pizza and ice-cream and we had so much fun. At dinner we swapped all kinds of stories of life on tour whilst Loretta convinced the youngest daughter that she could "time travel" and then afterwards the family gave us a bit of a tour of the town. Remember this was a very small town so needless to say the tour was very short. We then headed back to our place and rested up for our last Monday.

Our Mondays usually ran the same; we have an audition and maybe even a workshop, not this week. This week Loretta and I did something a little different, we had to speak at a Kiwanis meeting. Now I had never been to one of these much less ever heard of one. The closest thing I could associate it with was like a Boosters or a Moose Lodge Club like what we have here in Lynchburg. From what I understand these people have meetings and donate money to things in the community to help imrove things like the local playground or whatever. Well since they were bringing in Missoula Children's Theatre our Contact asked us to prepare a little skit or something to encourage them to keep supporting "The Arts". So we got up there and performed the beginning part of our Actor's Tools workshop and I think it went over well. :)

That afternoon we noticed a lot of little wooden trolls and golf carts all over the place. The trolls was apparently a Norweigen thing and most of the town was made of Norweigens so that makes sense. The golf carts was because the people of Hendricks had a little golf club not too far away and because the town was so small everyone just drove their golf carts everywhere instead of their cars. Ha go figure. We later held auditions which to be honest didn't go as smooth as we would have liked but I think we handle the situation pretty well and cast the kids in the right roles. After that we finished up our last Monday on a good note because the rehearsals went really well. YEA! Tuesday we got to sleep in a little and then headed to the school for our last Tuesday rehearsal. Monday and Tuesday? Check! No more Knights/Squire and Fab Four/Terrific Ten rehearsals for this Gill. I knew Wednesday would be the killer for me...

Wednesday we had all three of our workshops which meant we finished up tour with our favorite/most performed workshops which were Creative Dramatics and Improv. They both went... relatively well so thats good but what I wasn't looking forward to was that day's rehearsal. Wednesday is the day when I teach the Minis the show and I'll admit I was a little sad to say "Goodbye". I LOVE the Minis and I LOVE teaching the 5-7 year olds. Every week something they do makes me laugh. On this particular Wednesday we found out 5 minutes before that some of the kids had dropped out and that one had an "eye appointment" and couldn't come to rehearsal today. Well poo. Now I have to be the bad guy and tell the parent the next day, if the kid shows up, that little so and so can't be in the show anymore because it would be unfair to the other kids who showed up everyday for rehearsal and maybe if we had known this earlier we could've worked around it and blah blah blah. That speech is never fun but the parent usually understands because we mention this at the audition and in the parent letter we send home on Monday. Something told me that this week would be different and booooooy was I right.

Anyway, I've learned to work with what I got and what kids were there did such a great job! They picked up on the songs and lines really well. I did feel a little terrible/thought it was funny because there was this one little girl who kept crying at EVERYTHING! She cried because she had to stand next to a boy, she was nervous to be infront of other people, the music was too loud, she had to pee, the dragon sound scared her etc. Bless her heart. I've dealt with cryers before but usually you let them get a drink of water and sit and watch how much fun the other kids are having and then they wanna jump right in. Not this little girl! I was convinced that I was gonna cry that day but that didn't happen because I was laughing at how extreme this little girl was. Hahaha! Like I said I felt terrible that she was so upset but at the same time there was no win so it made me laugh in my heart. I'm teyyible.

Loretta really wanted to go for a drive to Iowa so she could cross it off her list of states visited and I'm always up for an adventure. The problem was we only could really go to the border and get lunch and head back before rehearsal, not much time for gallavanting. However, on the border of Iowa was a Casino. Wooohooo! It was decided, we were going and I wanted to live dangerously. How dangerously? Three dollars worth at the Slots hahaha! We ate lunch and then found Loretta a T-shirt to prove that she was there. It made a fun afternoon indeed. We then went to rehearsal and this was the day the kids were supposed to be off off book so rehearsal was a little bit rough with lines but what made it worse was the Mom I had to give the whole speech too about her son not being in the show. It did NOT go over well. This lady went NUTS and I learned the true definition of a "Stage Mom". All I will say is that she and her 7 year old made the rest of the week interesting. If you want the FULL story just ask me and I'll be glad to fill you in. :)


Friday started off well, our Contact let Loretta and I drive around town in their golf cart. I've never driven a golf cart before so I was REALLY excited. After we toured the town in a matter of 15 minutes we wanted to see how many golf carts we could find parked in town or in people's driveways. Our final count was 27 and I don't think we counted ours soooo 28. HA! Rehearsal went better than Thursday's and Stage Mom sat queitly on the gym bleachers. Some of the kids had really been struggling with their lines and on this day we saw a HUGE improvement which was really awesome since the show was the next day.

The day of the show our Contact worked out for us to go horseback riding but because it was raining that morning we couldn't go. :( Although it made us feel like our Contact really cared because she went out of her way once again for us. :) We head to the school and start setting up lights before anyone showed up for the day and what happens? The power goes out and there is no emergency lights which meant we were in complete darkness. Oh dear. Just like a lot of things that week we just HAD to laugh it off. What would be a week of tour without SOME kind of disaster? A boring week. Haha! Thankfully the power came back on and we had our shows. The kids were a bit nervous so a few lines were dropped but Loretta covered really well and after the final show we packed everything in the truck.

SO recap: Final rehearsals, Final, workshops, Final makeup, Final disasters, Final Set and light put up and take down, Final passing out and check in of costumes and Final "Goodbye's" to wonderful kids. After the show and after everything was packed up some of the cast members hung out in the gym and we had a mini little basketball game. It was a lot of fun and I think our "Goodbye's" were prolonged for as long as possible. Our Contact was so kind and gave Loretta and I these wonderful souvenirs of t-shirts and sweat pants. She was just too kind and then they took us out for dinner. We went to this really nice restaurant called Cedrics with our Contact's family and then that storm hit again. The building was really old and so we had to evacuate and go to a safer building which made the night really interesting. We ended up going over to our Contact's brother's house and played Wii with the kids and ate our food to go.

The next morning we had to start our long trek back to Missoula for our Final Check-in. Our Contact and her family got up at 7:30 in the morning just so we could eat breakfast together and say a final Goodbye. You know you are loved when someone is willing to wake up that early for you and their still wearing their makeup from last night's show. It was a fun breakfast but sad at the same time. While on tour I've run across some very nice people and the some not so very nice but I feel its the not so nice people that make the kind hearted ones seem that much more wonderful. I honestly felt like our Contact and her family in Hendricks will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for taking us in and for treating us so kindly.
-Jen

Friends ...and Mr. Cluck Cluck

Hi Friends!
It was a bright and sunny day in North Dakota and all seemed to be going well. I had my Starbucks in hand, sunny skies above and we were headed to Hunter, Nd for my final week to perform with King Arthur's Quest. Ok so that last one kind of made me sad but I never like to focus on the downside of things. :)

Loretta and I had a homestay this week which I was really excited about. The people seemed (and were) so nice and their house was literally across the street from the school. This was very convenient and we took advantage of this by walking instead of driving all the time. Nothing like a good walk. A day or two I even walked over just to swing on the swing set. I also liked this homestay because we were on a barn that had plenty of chickens and friends. Not gonna lie, one of my favorite things that week was chasing the chickens. hahaha! This was fun for me because since Loretta made a friend in Fargo I felt it was my turn. My friend just so happend to be a chicken who I named Mr. Cluck Cluck. I don't count the barn cats because I ALWAYS make friends with the cats. THEY'RE SO CUTE AND FLUFFY!!!!!

One day I decided to go explore. I got tired of just hanging out in my room and even if that meant just going for a drive, I was ok with that esp since we were saving so much on gas by walking all the time. HA!-not really Anyway, I went for a drive and I can honestly say we were in the middle of NOWHERE in Hunter, Nd. I drove by some of the "towns" that were down the road and the town was as big as a Panera Bread, real small. The GPS took me on a bunch of country roads which was fun until we opened the truck later that day and the inside was covered in dirt. Whoopsie! Now I know. Still I had fun just getting out and doing something.

During this week we had workshops which isn't out of the ordinary but we had to do If The Forest Could Talk one again. UGH! We had only done this one once before and all I'm gonna say is that this isn't one of our favorites but we made it work....somehow. Ha! The school actually had this trail that went through "the woods" there so we spent most of the workshop just walking through it. Good decision. :) It was fun for me because I was leading the line and doing a terrible Australian accent with the kids. I would pick up a stick that was in the middle of the trail and toss it aside and scream "SURVIVAL!" and before I knew it everyone was doing it too. Haha too fun. :)

Now being on tour, Loretta and I pretty much have dealt with it all. We've had kids who were bipolar, had various forms of autism, kids who would come to rehearsal with strange bruises on their arms or necks but this week was a special and truthfully a scary week. We had our first muscular distrophy kid. This little girl words honestly can not express how much she meant to us. She is the type of kid that Missoula bases itself around. Parents (and sometimes teachers) place kids like her in this little box thinking that they can't do theatre or sports and hold them back. However, we come in and give the kid a chance to shine and then that kid's confidence grows which makes the adults see them in a new perspective. Everytime this little girl walked out onstage I'll admit I focused on her not falling more than I did of "being in the moment" because I didn't want to her to suddenly fall while standing. She did this several times at a rehearsal and each time she fell to the ground my heart froze. I would do everything I possible could to help her and yea the rule of "Not touching the kids" went out the door this week. I wasn't about to let her fall to the ground like a ragdoll. I'm gonna catch her so she'll have one less injury in the morning. The kid's safety comes first.

Was I scared every moment she walked out onstage? Yes. Did I think she was gonna take down the set and a few other kids too? Yes. Come show day did ANY of this happen? No. Truthfully I was scared but I knew that she was fully capable of pulling this off and she did! What was so great was she proved this to her family, her counselor, and the entire school. She was phenomenal and I couldn't have been more proud of her.

The kids in Hunter wereall awesome! These kids were well behaved and soooo cool! They were also fun to work off of onstage and I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids to do my final performance with. The Lord truly blessed me every moment while I was onstage with them and He helped me cherish every second of it. The performances were flawless. These kids ALL grew as performers within the course of a week and it was obvious to everyone how much fun they were having which is what its all about. This was my last performance but next week in Hendricks, Mn would be a week full of lasts for both of us. It'll be our Last Audition, Last Mini Rehearsal, Last Workshops, Last Makeup, Last Set and Costume take down and the Last "Goodbyes". Oh dear. It's coming to an end so fast! I don't think I like this very much. I can already tell that I'm going to miss this job so very much.

Now since, Hunter was only 30 minutes away from Fargo, Loretta got to hang out with her friend Drew alot while Mr. Cluck Cluck and the cats were my companions for the week. You can imagine my excitement when I found out that another team would be coming through Fargo on Sunday which meant another wonderful TAD date! Well a TAD date for me since Loretta was on a REAL date with Drew which was fine, no big. I had actually known Anne for awhile but she had gotten a new tour partner whom I had not met yet. I was excited, she kind of reminded me of me friend Rachel Rodgers back home. Plus I like making new friends and hanging out with some old ones. :) We went to this very cool coffee place that was based off of Pikes Place in Seattle. I thought that was pretty cool and I LOVE local restaurants! My friend Allison always says that she doesn't feel like she's really experienced a place unless she's eaten there. Needless to say, I adopted that theory on tour and I love it cuz it's SO true. It was a wonderful coffee date with two lovely ladies and then once Loretta and I met back up we were headed to Hendricks, Mn for our week full of lasts. Hopefully that won't be my LAST TAD date. If so I don't think I'll like that very much. > : (
-Jen

love them

Productive and Fun

Hi Friends,
Loretta and I had a very uplifting week in Lisbon where we took some challenges and made the best of it. Challenges such as having a really small cast and other little things that you get used to while on the road like no cellphone service. I'd say it was a successful week. We were both looking forward to our next week in Fargo, Nd where we were going to be staying in a hotel. During the summer we got really used to staying in hotels esp when they had pools for us to relax and work on our tans at. However, since the fall tour we've had a lot of homestays which are always fun and I have A LOT of funny stories about them but we were looking forward to our own space. Plus Fargo is a big city which means CELLPHONE SERVICE.

Once we were all checked in and relaxed in our hotel rooms, we got ready for dinner. We had a TAD date with two of our friends that were on the road too and we were going to our favorite place: Olive Garden. It was so nice to catch up and share tour stories with another team who goes through a lot of the things we go through with life on tour. Loretta actually made "friends" with our waitor which between you and me Adam (one of the tour actors we were eating with) didn't like very much. Ha!

I loved our week in Fargo. Our Contact was on top of the game and took on a lot of responsibilites that most Contacts wouldn't do. He did a lot of little things that add up to big things for us like making lists of the kids names, making sure that there was a parent around just incase a kid was forgot to get picked up or didn't have a snack. He had been a contact for Missoula for awhile and he took it seriously which we liked. :) We also had 3 Creative Dramatic workshops and I love this workshop!

No date for this Gill.

We teach the kids that they can put on a play anywhere using their bodies and imagination and then we tell stories with them using mime as well as warming up their bodies. At the very end of the workshop we all act out The Troublesome Dragon; I play the Dragon and various other characters and the kids play the funny townspeople.  The teachers always like us doing workshops because for 45 minutes they just get to watch and not have to worry about the kids. What made it better was that the kids in Fargo were really wellbehaved. Truthfully a lot of the places we went on tour the kids were really well behaved but this week was pretty awesome. Our performance space that week was so great. We were so used to having small spaces and we just had to make the set work somehow which usually meant only using two walls instead of the four. When we put up the four walls and still had loads of space for backstage and wings we were pretty happy.

When we weren't in rehearsals or doing a show Loretta and I spent our time very differently. Loretta went on several dates with the waitor from Olive Garden and I always loved breakfast with her the next morning to hear all about it. :) I however spent my time a little differently. I went to the gym just about everyday and worked on gymnastics and dance. I loved it. I feel like I haven't danced in so long and this week really showed me how much I miss it. I even went and saw The Vow by myself and then afterwards I danced in the parking lot in the rain. Why? Because I could! Haha! Later on that week Loretta and I went out to see what Drew (the waitor) did for his second job.  It wasn't really my scene but I had fun.

For our next week on tour we were supposed to be in Hunter, Nd which was only 30 minutes away from Fargo so since Loretta and I didn't have far to go we used our spare time wisely and went shopping. haha! Loretta even got to go on another date with Drew while I caught up with our Contact and my Dad on the phone. I felt really productive. Recap: Fargo was a fun, relaxing and a productive week. Now off to Hunter!
-Jen

Easter. Dolls. McGill. 'Nuff said

Hi Friends!
Spending Easter Sunday on the road was very weird for me. Normally on Easter morning I wake up and I find on the kitchen table a small Easter basket filled with reese eggs (and probably a cd) with a sweet Hallmark card from my Dad. He's very thoughtful. :) He and I then head to church at Thomas Road and then have lunch at my Grandma's. Oh what I would give for some home cooking right now! Not this Easter. This Easter Loretta and I were headed to Lisbon, Nd. No Easter card from Dad or a cute little Easter dress to wear and no Easter celebration, it was kind of sad. Before we headed to Lisbon we had to make a quick stop at Walgreens and I thought, well we may not be able to praise the risen Savior today but we're at least gonna eat some Easter candy!!!!!!

For our week in Lisbon we were staying with an elderly couple who were very sweet. We had the whole basement to ourselves which was nice to have our privacy but tour has changed my mind about basements. I used to think they were really cool and nice to have extra space or a game room but not anymore. When I think of basements now the first word that pops in my head is "dungeon". I'm not saying this because of our stay in Lisbon at all but the basements we mostly have stayed in don't have windows so we never see the sun and the temperature is always cold down there. In other words, they're dungeons. Sorry I just had to say that. Anyway, as I was bringing my luggage downstairs, I overheard Loretta talking to our homestay. I knew I was in trouble because all I heard was Loretta saying, "Jen LOVES dolls!"

Oh no.

I thought I already met my "doll room" quota for tour.

Wrong.

I walk in the room and there were dolls EVERYWHERE! I thought the doll room in Wibaux was bad but it was nothing compared to this room in Lisbon. An entire wall was being taken up by this clear cabinet with rows and rows full of porcelain dolls and vintage dolls. It was terrifying and hilarious. There was one doll that really did kind of creep me out. It was a really old wood doll and it's face was all scratched up. This wood doll hung up on the wall which made it look like it was levitating and it was right beside my bed that had doll sheets. Our homestay then decided to pull out every single doll she owned and then show them to me. She even showed me some of the ones she put in storage (in the closet and under the bed) that she took down because she didn't want me to feel overwhelmed by them all. I think she was showing me all of these so I would invite her to come down and play dolls with me.

Not happening.

I made a video and put it up on my youtube channel (Team JeLo) because one picture just would not have done it justice.

Also during our week in Lisbon, it finally happend. Loretta has been really wanting to have a super small cast all year so we could see what challenges that would bring for us to overcome; I was ok with either. That week rather than having our typical 60 member cast we had 16 cast members. Big difference. We decided to not have Camelotians or Squires, to have 3 Damsels and have the regular Super Six (Big King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Talisien, and Raven) say the Mini's part instead of having actual Minis. This was so much fun! With the cast being really small we got to connect with them a lot better than if we had 40 some more in the show. The kids were young that week but they were so talented. We had these two brothers (Lancelot and Mordred) and they kept Loretta and I laughing the whole time at rehearsals. They were awesome and so energetic but so was the rest of the cast. Since the cast was so small, Loretta got to perform as the sarcastic Damsel of the 2nd Order. It was a lot of fun to perform with her as the Keeper.

The place we were performing at was called the Lisbon Opera House and it was built in the late 1890's. One of the cooler places we've performed on the road. It was very old and the were in the process of fixing it up but were trying to keep as close to what originally was as possible. I just liked walking around and looking at all the old wood and patterns on the ceiling. I love theatres that have a bit of history behind them.

The theatre just so happend to be right across the street from this cafe called "Hodenattes". (The title is a combination of Home, Garden, and Lattes because it was a place that sold all three.) It was really cute and had so many neat trinkets. I always got the Carmel Frappicino which was probably a terrible decision but I was ok with that since I got the Veggie sandwhich. That sandwich was AWESOME! I love Veggie sandwiches.

When we weren't in rehearsals we would just chill out at our homestay but one day we had to do an Assembly workshop. We hadn't done one of those in such a long time. It's my favorite workshop we do because we do it in front of the entire school and because it's for so many just one Assembly counts as three workshops. In the "package" of a week we're allowed to do 2 performances and 3 workshops anything extra costs more. I like it because its for the whole school and I remember thinking Assemblys were always cool when I was in school. I also like the fact that we get all three workshops done in 45 minutes. :) In this particular workshop I'm supposed to be really clumsy and at the end I'm supposed to trip over my feet and say, "I learned that I'm really clutzy today." Well I didn't feel like tripping that day; they would know it was fake anyway. What did I do? I flung myself down the bleacher stairs. Hahaha! It was sooo fun!

Something else that was fun for us that week was we got a little site visit from Micheal McGill who writes a lot of the shows for Missoula Children's Theatre. He wrote King Arthur's Quest so no pressure. He actually showed up to our rehearsal just as it ended but I feel sure he would've been happy with what we did with the show with the amount we had audition. He then took us out to dinner and we caught up and shared stories. He is seriously one of the sweetest people at MCT and I just adore him. Whenever we would go to Check In he would alway get up in front of everyone and tell us how much he was so thankful for us out on the road and how we're making a difference. He's very encouraging. It was a very encouraging dinner that night. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I love my job. :)
-Jen

She's gonna make it after all!

Hi Friends!
After a very fun and rewarding week in Wibaux, Montana, Loretta and I were headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have been from one small town to the next and it was soooooo nice to be near civilization, stores, movie theatres and a place that had internet. Don't get me wrong, small towns can be nice but sometimes a girl just needs a trip to Target. Haha! I was also excited to go to Minnesota. I really don't know why. I think it might be because I know this girl who is from Minnesota and used to always talk about how it was such a cool place. I wanted to see it for myself. On the way to Minneapolis we drove through the "Bad Lands" again and saw The World's Largest Buffalo and some of The World's Largest Public Art. It's amazing some of the random things we see on the road.

We stayed at this REALLY cheap hotel called the Travelodge in Burnsville, Mn which was 5 minutes outside of Minneapolis. We didn't have any high hopes for where we were stayinging since it was $30 a night but this place was actually really nice. Surprise! Once we got settled in it was off to bed for us girls. Tommorrow was a big day we were going to the Mall of America!

We had to get all gussied up to go to the mall I mean c'mon it's the MALL. We wanted to look like we had style. That morning I felt like I was in the 7th grade again, getting ready to go to the mall with my friends. Haha! That was the cool thing to do in Lynchburg. You got dressed up in your coolest duds just in case you saw someone you knew from your grade which you ALWAYS did. Ha! We found a parking space and the proceeded to go inside. We soon saw why this place was soon categorized as the largest mall in America.


THIS PLACE WAS HUGE!!!

 

There were four floors jam packed with stores and not just your typical stores like claires which can be found at any other mall but really cool and different stores that you wouldn't find anywhere else. One of the first ones we went into was this cowboy place. They sold everything from cowboy boots to chaps to John Wayne coffee mugs. Pretty cool. I love stores like that but Forever 21 will always be one of my favs. Not only was there every store you could imagine but the food court was AWESOME!

There was the typical chinese and pretzel places but there was a Bubba Gumps and fancy restaurants with expensive menus. We went to this cool place called Kokomos Island Cafe, which my Dad would have loved, for dinner. There was also an amusement park and a Lego land inside the mall! We didn't want to spend our money on that when we can buy CLOTHES! We did however go to the Sea Life Aquarium where we saw all kinds of sea life. My favorite was the sea horses. :) We pretty much covered all of the mall on our first day but we went back a second day just to make sure we covered all our bases. Plus we had to finish buying souvenirs for our families just to make them jealous. HA! Just kidding!

The next day I really wanted to go for a run. I ended up going to downtown Minneapolis, good decision. :) The one thing that was dumb about downtown Minneapolis is one theres no parking spots and IF you find one you have to pay at least $6 for two hours. Not this girl! I ended up finding this sort of Jiffy Lube place and just parked the truck there. I guess I got away with it because they were closed until noon and I got there early in the morning and if someone was there they probably thought Ranger Rooney was supposed to be there. Nope, fooled ya Minnesotians! I went for about a two hour jog but I took a lot of pictures so it wasn't that bad.

I found the Mary Tyler Moore statue in front of Macys and took a picture. I'm really proud of this pic, not gonna lie. I feel as if tour has made me a better photographer. You decide. I ran wherever my little heart lead me and it was so nice. I couldn't have picked a better day, it was nice outside. I even went and checked out the Target Field Stadium where the Twins play. I'm not a Twins fan but this place was pretty cool. There were all these statues of past baseball players for the twins and all sorts of public art. I then noticed that there were these guys planting flowers and where going in and out the actual gate that lead to the field. I used my "womanly ways" to get a quick look and picture of the field. It worked! Now I feel like I HAVE to become a Twins fan because the people there were so nice. We'll see. . . :)

If I could sum up the rest of our stay in Minneapolis I would only need to say 4 words: "Panera Bread" and "Movie Theatre". I did take a Zumba class one after eating all those wonderful calories at Panera but other than that not much else happend. We love Panera! I introduced Panera to Loretta while we were in Texas and she loves it too. That week we saw "Mirror Mirror" and "21 Jump Street" both were entertaining and fun. We almost went and saw "Titanic" in 3D but we instead opted for watching silly teen movies in our hotel room. I will say the place we went to watch movies was pretty cool. There were all these greek looking statues all over the lobby. Epic.

For our last night in Minneapolis, Loretta and I went out to see if we could find a place to sing Karaoke. I wasn't really in the mood to sing that night besides I had to watch out for Creeper Creep who wouldn't leave Loretta alone that night. I however recieved a flower from a homeless man but it was then stolen and given to another girl by one of the guys who was talking to us earlier that night. It was just a carnation but STILL!!! Haha!

Minneapolis was a very cool place to visit. I don't know if I'll go back and visit but who knows where the Lord will lead me. I do know that the girl I know was right. Minnesota IS a cool place but I don't know if it's as cool as Virginia. :)

-Jen