Week 6: Columbia, MO, Muncie & W. Lafayette, IN, and Norfolk, VA

The last of the long weeks!

Columbia, MO- Halloween night didn’t feel like much of a holiday, as we’d already had our celebration and being on a college campus there was no trick or treating to be witnessed. The wolf puppeteers went outside in their “ninja suits”- the black out jumpers so we don’t seem them onstage – and spooked academics as they walked by during intermission, which was pretty hysterical.

I did get pictures texted from my sisters though! Here's Blake and Rylee (my oldest nephew and niece) as Harry Potter and Sandra Dee.

Here's Owen and Berkley as Dr. Bridger and a lady bug. I'm so sad I missed trick or treating with them!

Muncie- Our Belle, Emily, went to Ball State in Muncie, so it was surreal for her, playing the theatre again. It is an enormous house, 3,300 seats, and we were completely sold out. Funny though, the backstage area is very small so while we had dressing rooms, we did most of our changes outside in the trucks. It wasn’t terrible except as the night rolled on it got colder and colder.

Kolby's new wig made it's debut in Muncie!! The inspiration was a photo of a black soldier in the Civil War, and his wig looks EXACTLY like it! It looks really authentic, much less snickering from the audience about his sort of 70's afro. 

I had written West Lafayette, Indiana off as just another one nighter- roll in, roll out. But we arrived at an enormous theatre, seating nearly 6000 people, more than even Radio City! Most of the side orchestra seats are partial view so we did not anticipate a full sell out, but we ended up filling up the theatre and even managed to make overages for one night!

The longest bus day we’ll have was Wednesday: 616 miles to Charlottesville, West Virginia on our way to Norfolk. Thankfully we didn’t have a show, not that it would have been possible traveling from 8:00am to 8:45pm. While West Virginia is beautiful country side- all fall colors and mountains- the windy roads made for a bumpy ride. Charlottesville is a cute little town and we were right by a long string of restaurants and places to be, perfect for a Thursday night in a college town.

We spent the weekend in Norfolk, VA which was sunny and windy. The Crowne Plaza there is a great hotel, if you happen to be passing through. Another city of great dining, we were perfectly situated near the downtown area packed with restaurants and bars. When we don't have cars, it's wonderful to have so many places within walking distance.

My new wig got to me on Friday in Norfolk! It's such a beautiful light brown with a tinge of red in it. The curls are so fat and long, like real sausage/banana curls. It's so refreshing to like the way you look in your costume!

Gaby's brief stint as a Silly Girl ended on Saturday night as she headed to another job in Nevada. It was lovely actually getting to work with her and hang out for a few days.

We’ve been playing a lot of college theatres thus far. This week alone was Mizzou, Ball State, and Purdue, before that Butler and Nebraska…These beautiful theatres on even more lovely campuses awake the student in me, make me consider what college life might have been like at a “normal” university. While I loved NYU, it was a unique experience, lacking a proper campus, greek life, common grounds, a football team. I know I’ll never be a student like that again, as that time has passed for me, but its certainly been tugging on my academic heart strings...wondering whether I'll ever go back. Just food for thought.

Next up: Jacksonville, Florida!