Ruidoso, NM

I skipped one post on our stop in Fort Stockton. But truly, there was only three things to report: IHOP, La Quinta, and I drove the Penske. So there you go.

New Mexico is super lovely. I've never been in mountain country (I am from a beach family myself) but I really love it up here. The altitude has been something of a struggle...Alice is not an easy show at sea level and at around 7,000 feet singing and dancing is taxing. Apparently dance companies bring oxygen tanks for the dancers to take in offstage. Despite that, it is enchanting.  

Here's a picturesque view just outside the theatre. Postcard material.

This is the theatre...pretty much the only building in site. Very cool structure. On the left is a staircase waterfall and the darker structure on the right is a stained glass type atrium connected to the lobby. Obviously the weather was really beautiful. Blue skies and sunshine with a touch of wind.

                                     


And Chihuly glass in the lobby! I'm a huge fan of his work and was super excited to see this!

Here's the whole gang outside the theatre. We were happy to survive the day and have the afternoon off! Left to right: Damian, Apollo, Anthony, Andy, Kelly, and me.

Apollo and I doing a lift from Alice outside. Usually I'm about 8 inches lower...we got excited.

We've got a few LONG driving days ahead of us....Ruidoso to Tulsa, OK. Tulsa to Indianapolis, IN. Then Indianapolis to Allentown, PA. Pretty much three straight days in the vans. Predictions: I'll finish my book- Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest- and have found some new music. Thanks for tuning in! I'll update if anything exciting happens before our next show in Brentwood, NY.

Houston

The Wortham Center in Houston was BEAUTIFUL! 2,000+ seat house, full of screaming adoring children for three performances. The sound system and stage were lovely and our local crew was very kind and helpful. I could've stayed there for months.

We had a sweet little guest star, Sadie Rose. The Wortham Center auctioned off a walk on role in Pocahontas, where our guest Native American came on to let me know my "father was looking for me and didn't look happy". She was a sweet girl and I can't believe this didn't catch on with other theatres!!
Here's Kelly, Sadie, and me before our shows on Thursday.

We had the entire afternoon/evening off (which I spent in bed due to a virus I'm currently fighting) and then went to an excellent dinner at Caffe Bello. Apparently Houston has a great food scene, and this is a new Italian place. I had the veal grinder (sorry veggies out there) and it was superb.

On the virus front: started with a sore throat for a few days, which morphed into a cough and feeling very faint. Fever spells come in and out. I've been sleeping 12ish hours every night in addition to taking several different meds, which seem to be helping. Losing my voice is always a big fear...it is hard relying on my body to be able to do my job.

On to Fort Stockton today, then New Mexico for some shows in the Mountains!

On the Road

We took off on our pre-launch launch, and have arrived in Houston. I'll have more on our experience here once we see the theatre, etc, but on the way we already had a small adventure.

Here's my new ride: The Magik van. Sometimes people stare on the highway and we forget what the exterior looks like. There's also a Penskie truck...we'll save that picture for when I drive it.

There is something called Beaver Nuggets in Luling, and we were told to go to Buc-ee's and try them. We were thinking the worst: Beaver Jerky deep fried in some backwoods Texas fashion. But it turns out they are a tasty delicious dessert, like caramel covered corn puffs. I bought some...super delish.

This is a picture from my Hipstamatic application. There are cool lenses and different types of "film" which alter the picture to make it look vintage. I've got an entire album on Facebook, but I thought I'd include this one of the sky. There was a beautiful sunset and Harvest moon tonight, and Texas highways remind me of Dad. Seeing the ranches of cows and horses, long stretches of green grass and white fences make me think about all the road trips we took as kids, and the endless history lessons we got.

That's it for tonight. Once we are done here we go back to San Antonio for the weekend. I'll update on our Houston fun from there!

Tour Schedule

I will write a personal note on life in a completely separate post, because this is a lot to digest...

As promised, here is a piece of the tour schedule. It's pretty fast and furious. I've bolded the show days (some are multiple...one day we do Alice THREE times!!!) and then anything in between is where we stop to stay overnight. There is a whole month that is still being mapped, so once I get October 25th-November 22nd I'll post that as well.

September       20-21^st     Pocahontas                   San Antonio, TX

                        21^st         Alice in Wonderland    San Antonio, TX

                        22^nd        To Houston, TX

23^rd-24^th Pocahontas                   Houston, TX

                        24^th            To San Antonio, TX

26^th         To Fort Stockton, TX

                        27^th         To Alto, NM

                        28^th         Alice in Wonderland    Alto, NM

                        29^th         To Tulsa, OK

                        30^th         To Indianapolis, IN

October            1^st           To Allentown, PA

                        2^nd          Alice in Wonderland     Brentwood, NY

                        3^rd           Alice in Wonderland     Allentown, PA

                        4^th           To Princeton, WV

                        5^th           Alice in Wonderland     Princeton, WV

                        6^th           To Dayton, OH           

                        7^th           Alice in Wonderland     Dayton, OH

                        9^th           To Perrysburg, OH

                        10^th         Alice in Wonderland     Perrysburg, OH

                        11^th         To St. Louis, MO

                        14^th         To Junction City, KS

                        15^th         Alice in Wonderland     Junction City, KS

                        16^th         To Rolla, MO

                        16^th         Pocahontas                     Rolla, MO

                        17^th         To Hartford, WI

                        18^th         Pocahontas                     Hartford, WI

                        18^th         To Florrisant, MO

                        19^th-24^th Pocahontas                     Florrisant, MO

                        24^th         To Kansas City, MO

Music Music Music

September has begun! I've always loved this month, something about the way the word crunches in your mouth: "September". It's crisp, a new page, the start of school- until this year. It's odd to see my friends who are still in school fall off the map with the start of classes. A part of me still feels like I should be in that headspace. I hope this month will be as full of new beginnings and creative juice as usual.

I'm in full swing rehearsal for the two shows at Magik and loving my cast. It's fun and strange to be in another male dominant cast...they have SO MUCH energy! After high school and university where there are always 20 girls for each guy, it is a nice change. There is a LOT of music...I am learning quickly what I can and cannot do the night before a 9-3:30 rehearsal, and how to maintain my voice through multiple sing throughs. There are days on tour where we do "Alice" three times!! As soon as I figure out how to map our journey I will post all our stops and shows.

It is funny though how rehearsal can be going so well and home is not so easy. I guess I'm still cycling through all the emotions of loss, but last week was a real roller coaster. Coming home to an empty house full of photographs and memories everyday, I still expect to see Dad walk down the hall or peep into my room. The blow of reality is still a daily thing. My sisters and I have talked about how the day goes by somehow, but the night is full of voices and a hollow that you cannot fill. That is the worst of it.

I just have so many questions for him...a lot are simple- "What is the fastest way to get from downtown to the medical center?"- and -"Where is your heating pad?" Others only he could answer. As a child my favorite question was "How many babies did you deliver today?" I try to listen for him, but often my impatience or fear gets the better of me.

That is my current struggle: impatience and fear of the unknown. BUT to end on a positive note- which I think is always the best policy- I had a really lovely weekend with people from the theatre and realized (yet again) what a wonderful, compassionate, and hysterical bunch of people I work with. In a time of great instability, Magik feels like home.