Week 24: San Jose, CA

San Jose was full of sunshiney days and cool nights. The theatre was a Frank Lloyd Wright design, in the round of sorts...made for a very circular backstage route.

On the trip up from Cerritos we made our lunch stop in a complex that had an In-N-Out Burger!!!! This is just my favorite fast food burger EVER. They don't freeze their meat, french fries are cooked in cholesterol free oil, lettuce and tomatoes are hand peeled and cut each day, and they offer an "animal style" option, complete with cheese, pickle, and grilled onions. Who could ask for more??

As the funny life would have it, I met someone in San Jose who was generous enough to take me to see Totem one day when we didn't have rehearsal. I haven't seen a Cirque show in 10 years and it was so incredible. The performers have skills I've never dreamt of, AND act on top of it!! I want to make a trip to Vegas JUST to see their shows there.

The VIP tent, which I was not privy to, but was definitely photograph worthy.

There was an incredible little bakery/pastry shop just around the corner from our theatre that once I discovered, made the trip several times in the last few days. Killer espresso and this little chocolate mousse and raspberry cup lasted for two desserts. :)

One of our locals makes the drive from San Francisco every day in this fancy vintage car. I'm not even really into cars necessarily, but this guy caught my eye.

And finally, on our last day in San Jose our newest F7, Skye, arrived to replace Jessica! Jess will be moving up from the understudy to the role of Babette as Chandon departs in two weeks. We are eagerly awaiting our new Maurice and LeFou, who will be arriving in our next city: Denver, CO!! Hooray birthday week, a visit from mom and playing Belle again!!

Week 23: Eugene, OR and Cerritos, CA

Eugene, Oregon is a little collegiate town where we only had two shows, but being as big as my extended family is, I still managed to find relatives there. One of my grandpa's sisters and her children live there, so a few of them came to see the show- so nice! I'm starting a list of all the places on tour I've known people/had visitors- it's amazing how many familiar faces I've come across this year.

Eugene was kinda dreary and rainy. I spent part of one of our two days there holed up in a coffee shop reading The Bible and having a little 'me' time.

Another hat! I was on a role after that first one, so I found another pattern with some lace work for my friend Mandy. It was really lovely but a tad small, so I learned a valuable lesson in blocking- where you wet the yarn and stretch it into your desired shape. It's on a wig head here and I used an instagram filter to show off the pattern and yarn detail.

Made it to Cerritos for the second half of the week and it was gorgeous!! Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and warm! It definitely got chilly at night, but being able to lay by the pool was a God send. Our first night there was free so I went to a yummy Italian dinner with Michael and Emily, two good friends in our little Bible study. The next day I spent doing my taxes in the sun before the show, which left me with a violent blood sugar drop, feeling pretty sick. After a soda and a few snacks I managed to get through the show, but it was a little scary there. I'd forgotten how much the sun affects me and it's been so long since we've seen it!

These flowers out by our hotel pool looked like they were straight out of Dr. Seuss! They were covered in bees too...must be sweet!

The Chicago group (top: Jessica, Amanda, Lauren, bottom: Me, Kolby, Matt) celebrated our 200th show in Cerritos! I can't believe we've gotten this far, and we're still counting!

Had Monday off before we headed to San Jose, so I split it between Santa Monica with my NYU friend Jenelle, and downtown LA/Hollywood with my high school friend Luke. It's funny, I know so many people in the LA area, but they all have normal lives and Monday isn't anyone's day off but mine. I'm glad I got to see a few familiar faces who could show me the California scene.

Santa Monica pier, so much color!

After our split week we headed back North to San Jose, CA in the Bay Area. More sunshine!!

Week 22: Seattle, WA and a sneaky one nighter

We haven't had a one-nighter in a while, but between Portland and Seattle we had to make a rather out of the way pit stop to play an arena in Kennewick, WA. Needless to say it was an unusual show, devoid of any rigging that had to go up and down...so no backdrops, no scrim (the thin black drop that can show action when lit from behind). Oh, and even though the stage was raised, the arena's floor is an ice hockey rink, making it a rather frigid evening. Despite all this, we know the audience had no clue they might not be seeing the "full" show, and they seemed to enjoy themselves all the same.

The finished product: my first hat!! It didn't take me very long turns out, but it is a touch on the big side. I never trust the pattern will be big enough, but lesson learned. 

Cool iPhone app: PicFrame. I love compiling a few pictures together and this is a really easy platform to do so. Here's the progression of my first hat. 

On the way to Seattle there was an avalanche warning, closing the state highway straight shot. We had to go back to Portland (!!) then up to Seattle, delaying us significantly and in the end, canceling our first show. Having the night off turned out to be perfect...a few of us caught 5th Avenue's production of "Oklahoma"and went out to eat. There is a lot of great theatre in Seattle and it's been ages since I've been to the theatre on the other end.

Seattle is another city on our itinerary I couldn't wait to visit, and I think I have to return. We actually had a few patches of sunshine- something which I'm told is rare up here in the Pacific Northwest. There were a few opportunities to see the city and I made an effort to walk around whenever I got a chance.

My name twin Carly had her 25th birthday! We hiked up a hill to a funky little speak easy type bar called Hideout, sipped cocktails and had a vegan cake. 

Lovely mural around the corner from our hotel. Anything that reminds us of the show around the city stands out-obviously. "Home" is Belle's first act solo and a significant theme in the show, so this seemed appropriate and very sweet.

Amazing Reuben from Market House that had to be eaten in two sittings. These sandwiches always remind me of NY delis.

Pike Place Market, holy cow!! Station after station of beautiful produce. I felt like I was back in Italy with all the color and quality fruits and veggies.

Beecher's famous macaroni and cheese. I got a large...and devoured it. 

Pike Place fishes. I wish we'd had kitchens this week to enjoy some of the amazing food there.

Carly had the opportunity to go on for Mrs. Potts for the first time! She was a little tiny teapot.

Made it to the Space Needle! What a cool building and obviously very iconic. 

A view from the top. We happened to be there on one of the sixty days in a year when you can see Mt Rainier- so clear!! You can check out a current 360 view with their online webcam here.

Also made it to the Experience Music Project, or EMP. Amazing JImi Hendrix guitar collection, History of Horror Cinema, and Battle Star Gallactica exhibits, in addition to a huge section devoted to learning how to play different rock and roll instruments. I can now play "Wild Thing" on the bass :)

There were a few other birthdays this week I failed to document, but all in all it was a nice week. The weather is finally warming up a touch, so I've put away my big puffy caterpillar coat. Next up is a split week: Eugene, Oregon and Cerritos, California!! Getting ready for some sunshine!!

Week 21: Portland, OR

I think Portland is topping the charts so far. One week in the city was not nearly enough!! I had so much fun in fact, I forgot to take pictures for the most part! I enjoyed the downtown shopping scene as a treat to myself on Valentine's day, went to see The Descendants with a free movie pass (lush life, the little freebies along the way :) ), and did a little press out in the burbs, which resulted in some lovely Willamette valley Pinot Noir consumption.

My sweet friend and former scene partner Sean from Adler at Tisch is currently living in the city and we had a chance to sit down for breakfast one day and catch up. He is a wonderful actor and has been blessed to be living at home and consistently working on a play or musical since we graduated! While one must maintain a "survival" job in Portland, there is a great theatre scene there and I'm so happy things have been going so well for him.

The famous and not to be missed Voodoo Donuts was worth every calorie. I'm pictures here with a McMinnville (maple icing and a special cream filling), but also enjoyed a Dirty Bastard (chocolate icing, peanut butter, oreos), and a regular old Kruller. 

I'm back on the knitting train! Yes, I did jump ship when I lost my needle kit back in Madison- I was grieving! But after my friend Jeff bought me a beautiful set of rosewood needles for Valentine's Day, and informed me there was a very cute yarn boutique called Knit Purl in walking distance, I was ruined. I made him a hat in exchange for his sweet gift (you'll see it next episode). Here's the beginnings of a hat with some beautiful yarn I found at Knit Purl. My first work on double point needles....very exciting.

The Portland food scene is epic and while I could've stood to be there for a month to get my fix, my friend Mandy and I managed to get out one rainy night to a fabulous French bistro called Little Bird. Definitely not to be missed. Great wine selection, perfect food menu, although we missed out on the marrow special :( The food trucks are also no to be missed.

And that's it! It's funny, when life is good it's almost harder to document because you are too busy living it. But for consistency sake, and my desire to get through the whole year on this gig, I will continue to write....despite being TWO months behind!

Next stop: Washington state!