Week 5: Lincoln, NE, Ames, IA, and Champaign, IL

After a long trip to Lincoln (with a stop over in Wichita, KS) we were pleasantly surprised by a lovely downtown area, three completely sold out shows, and a fun Halloween party hosted by our company! It was pretty chilly in Nebraska but definitely one of my favorite cities thus far. I also happen to have lots of family who live there, and on both Thursday and Friday night I had a little crowd at the show just to see me. Thursday my grandparents drove down from South Dakota (on their way to Texas) and stopped in Lincoln to visit with two of his sisters and their families.

I know this photo just affirms my dorkiness, but I was so excited to finally acquire these knitting needles. Practically every project needs a different gauge and length of needle, so having an interchangeable set makes the most sense on the road. I found this at a Michael's in Denton on the way to Wichita.

Lincoln is the hub of the Nebraska Cornhusker football, and we were even witness to the very early tailgating beginning as we left the city. I just had to try on their namesake corny hat. It was heavier than I thought. 

This is Melody and me on my family's backstage tour. She is my mom's cousin's daughter's daughter...so we are related somehow? Sweet thing that she is, it was her very first live theatre production. She stayed up the whole time!

This is a lacy scarf I knit as a gift for Sarah Claire, our most recently departed cast member and a wonderful, beautiful friend. It turned out so lovely and cushy. 

Thursday night NETworks hosted a private Halloween party at our hotel's restaurant, complete with appetizers, drinks, and a costume contest! A group of us were dead Mean Girls and we made the semi finals (we take contests pretty seriously- especially when the grand prize is $100!)

There were lots of zombies, and Maddy from Dance Moms looked tasty...

My brilliant roommate was Paul Revere, complete with a stuffed horse she split in half to ride.

The whole group, including Chocolate Chip, the Enchantress, a "cut" napkin, Aloysious the Pretentious (all from the show), the Kennedy's, lots of zombies, and a few pirates.

We drove in to performances in both Ames and Champaign, where you spend half of the day on the bus and the other half at the theatre, then repeat. Most of our excitement revolves around the constantly changing venues... the house reminded me of the meeting grounds in Star Wars, and we played a basketball arena in Champaign...they literally built the stage for us. I have been knitting up a storm backstage to pass the time, and Mom told me the other day my Great-Grandmother Pearl  apparently did the same!

Once I get a picture of me wearing this I will replace it, as it's not clear what exactly it is like this. This is a continuous scarf called a snood, so it sort of bunches up on itself like a turtleneck. My first successful circular knitting project-and everyone wants one now!

Ames was a very old theatre, and this arrow just reminds me of that sort of star vs. chorus hierarchy that is most obvious in dressing rooms. We are usually not stage level, either upstairs or in the basement. It always makes me laugh, the delineation between the classes, of sorts. 

Much of the cast was measured for new wigs in Chicago and they did finally arrive while we were in Lincoln. Carly and Mandy were some of the first lucky receivers of these beauts in Champaign. Carly (R) used to have black hair and is now looking more natural in her ginger state, while Mandy (L) was auburn and now much closer to her shade of blonde.


Next up: the last bit of one nighters in Columbia, MO, Muncie and West Lafayette, IN, a stopover in Charlottesville, WV and FINALLY- Norfolk, VA!