Lots of Jobbing!

Man, it seems like I say this every time I post.  I have been obscenely busy the last few weeks!  I told you about my new job with Fifth House Ensemble here in Chicago, well in addition to that, I got another new job as a barista, too!  (If you're in Chicago & want to know where so you can visit me, let me know & I'll share!)  And, of course, still running my last show at VG.  I thought I wouldn't be starting the barista training/job until after my show at VG closed (yesterday), but I was wrong.

So, for the last few weeks, I've been working 3 jobs.  But, now that the show is closed, I can focus on repping Fifth House on the interwebs (that's right, I run their blog, twitter, and facebook!) & making lots of coffee!  Check us out!

I did get to spend Memorial day laying in the sun, reading, and riding my bike out at Montrose Harbor!  Included pictures are from that gloriously relaxing day.

As far as crocheting goes, I'm working on cranking out Wedding Afghan #2!  This BFF's wedding I'm in isn't until August, BUT her shower is on 6/25, AND I was able to get off work so I can go.  So I'm trying to get it finished to give her at the shower.  We'll see how that goes.  It's hard to crochet an afghan when you don't have AC...

I'm Alive, and I have a New Job!

Wow...it's been a while.  Things have been pretty crazy, but at the same time, I haven't had much to blog about.  I was home in Indy, mom & I visited g-ma & family for Mother's Day, back to Indy, then the following weekend in a wedding the wedding in Cinci, then back to Chicago a few days later to start back at work right away.  My new show is open & running, and I have to say that this is one of the most talented casts I've worked with so far.  I love listening to them tell their story every night.  (I listen b/c from where I am backstage, I can't see them.)

But there is one big thing to report...I have a new job!  This past year, I did some stage managing for a group here in Chicago called Fifth-House Ensemble.  They're a chamber orchestra (10 musicians), who specialize in innovative, mixed media performances. This season, they put together a series (3) shows that used actors to tell fairy tales with movement set to their music.  The shows were directed by a director I worked with my two years at ISF; she's brilliant, and I love her, so I agreed to do the work for free.  Obviously, the shows turned out amazingly.

While in Indy, I got a phone call from their Executive Director.  The person who had been helping with their Operations & Marketing was leaving, and she was curious if it was something I'd be interested in doing.  Long story short, I'm the new Operations & Marketing Director for Fifth-House Ensemble!!!

I started my training this week, and am super excited to get going!  Today was my first staff meeting, and I already had some ideas & thoughts to share.  One of my current tasks is brainstorming ways to boost their social media use.  Obviously, an exciting task for me, the Twitter & Facebook obsessive!  I think my work with their blog, twitter, and facebook will be my favorite part of my job!  I will also be helping a little with their education & outreach programs.  Mostly scheduling, I imagine.  Bringing the arts to children is something I believe in very strongly; I think children experiencing the arts is crucial to their development & growth as humans, even if they don't end up pursuing the arts as a profession or hobby.  So, obviously, I'm super excited about this part of my job too.

The pictures I've dispersed throughout this post are from my time in Oberlin visiting my g-ma and from the wedding in Cinci.

Whoops!

Hey Friends!  It's been a while, no?  I've been pretty busy since I went back to work...which, let me tell you, is a GOOD THING.  This week was particularly crazy...teching for a benefit, working the benefit, babysitting, opening our show, and shows shows shows!  I even found time to finally go out for some drinks after the show last night (new friends, yay! (VG box office folk)) AND have a wonderful breakfast for a friend's birthday today!  For a 65 year old lame old lady like me, that's exciting!  But because of the fun, and having two shows today, I'm t-i-r-e-d. 

So, in lieu (sp??) of a big, lovely post, here are some pictures to keep you sated.  Enjoy!

Reverb10 12/3

Reverb10 December 3 – Moment.

Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

(Author: Ali Edwards)

You know what...my moment was recently.  While working.  The thing is, though, that I love what I do.  I get a rush.  I feel alive.  

I recently stage managed a project for the Fifth House Ensemble here in Chicago.  In short, it was a fairy tale set to music (played by the extremely talented members of Fifth House) with actors telling the story using movement only.  The 10 musicians are unbelievably talented, the director was someone who I love and have worked with twice before, and the actors were so friendly, open, and wonderful.

The stage for one of our performances. 

I felt the most alive during our first run through with the musicians and actors together.  We rehearsed in a warehouse, studio space.  The light was relatively dim, and everyone looked silhouetted from the light coming from the huge windows.  The space was either really cold or quite warm.  There were green plants hanging from the rafters.  The space smelled faintly of coffee and donuts, and once we started, music just filled the room.  

As a stage manager, it's my job to facilitate the bringing together of many talented people, and this was truly a goosebump and awe inspiring experience. 

The Weaver's Tales

So Tuesday and Wednesday nights were the performances of The Weaver's Tales produced by Fifth-House Ensemble, a chamber orchestra here in Chicago.  I had an absolute blast working on this project, even though I did it for free, and if schedule and income work out, I'd love to work on parts 2 & 3 in the spring.

Tuesday's show was in Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center.  Holy Cow is it gorgeous there.  Preston Bradley houses the world's largest Tiffany dome.  And there's tons of quotes from authors and what not all around.  (CCC used to be the original Chicago Public Library.)  I didn't get any pictures that day because it was a little crazy, and I was running around like a decapitated chicken.  But Wednesday's performance was at a space in Rogers Park called Mayne Stage.  It was the coolest venue, and it would be an amazing place to see a cabaret or burlesque show.  For reals.

The technical element at CCC was funny.  I ran the lights by twisting two knobs back and forth.  And one of the knobs had broken off, so I was twisting a tiny little post.  But the technical stuff at Mayne Stage was pretty cool.  Although I had to run the lights via a very strange type of light board called a Smart Fade.  That part kind of sucked....I was moving lots of sliders (simultaneously!) instead of pressing a GO button.  And I had people to help run sound AND projections.  For the small amount of tech time we had to practice and work through that stuff, it went pretty well!  I have to get over my perfectionism in regards to small, harmless mistakes.  Anyways, here are pictures Mayne Stage.  

This is What I've Been Up to the Last Few Days...

ribbon and medallion (made from ribbon-y stuff) to hold together a fancy diploma that the Scarecrow receives for his brain

dressing the Scarecrow's stand (referred to by some as "the crucifix")

close up of my Scarecrow handiwork

Emerald City sunglasses.

a sign i saw while driving between the theatre and their warehouse...i should hope they do..

i had to leave so early every morning, and had such late nights, that i bought a box of cheerios to eat in the car to keep me awake.  i might have spilled them.  and dropped them all over...

Ruh Roh...I've Been Missing...

Whoa I'm behind.  I missed TWO days of posting.  In my defense, I've been up at 6:00am every day to drive 30 miles north to Lincolnshire to work at the Marriott Theatre helping them tech "The Wizard of Oz".  (a 1 hour kids' show version!)  And then I've left the Marriott to head straight to my shows the last two nights and not gotten home until after 11:00pm, and in order to get enough sleep to make it through the next day, I've basically come home and crashed into bed.  So, needless to say, this is my fourth day of this insanity, and I' exhausted.  So far, I'm pretty sure I have nothing to do tomorrow until 6:30pm when I head to my first rehearsal for "It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph!"

I WILL have 30 posts for the month of November, however.  I've got a lot to post about, so making up 2 posts shouldn't be a problem:  TWO finished objects (crochet!), my show that performed Tuesday & Wednesday, and great pictures from the venue where my show was Wednesday night!

The Girl...

This summer, I devoured The Millennium Trilogy.  That is, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "The Girl who Played with Fire," and "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest."  Holy Cow they were amazing.  All three of them.  And one of my favorite things in life is adaptations...any type.  Books into movies, movies into plays, books into musicals into movies into plays into books again.  Even if they're terrible, I want to see/read/watch all iterations ("Time Traveler's Wife," for example.  One of my top 5 fave books, was dying to see the movie, loved the movie, but it was a terrible adaptation.  Still love both.)

So the original (meaning Swedish) movie of book #1 was on Instant Netflix this summer, and I made old roommate Claire watch it with me.  It was FABULOUS.  One of the best adaptations of a book into a movie.  I was dying all summer to see the original of book #2, but I didn't get around to it.  It became available on Instant Netflix last week, and I've been watching it (in pieces because of various things going on around the apartment), and it is not even close to being as good as the first.  I'm a little disappointed.  I'll let you know what I think when I finally finish it.  And regardless, I'll be seeing original movie #3.  In all honesty, I'll see American movies 1-3 also. 


In other news, the show I'm currently working on is going to be featured on the WGN Midday News tomorrow!  Baller!  I'm not  needed or called for the filming, but I'm invited.  I'm DEFINITELY going, because how cool will it be to see how news and stuff is filmed!

Right now the Colts are playing the Eagles on CBS.  I got home in time to see the second half.  But because my brain is so thoroughly theatre-ized, when I texted my dad to say I was able to watch the second half, I almost said "I got home at intermission and will get to watch act 2!"  Oops!

NaBloPoMo 2010!

It's been a crazy last week around here.  And I've decided to NaBloPoMo...posting on this blog every day for the month of November.  I'm pretty excited, and I already have a list of things to post about!  However, I am a little bit forgetful, so if I don't post, it's likely that I just forgot... But I promise I will have 30 posts come Nov. 30!

I closed my first show at VG, Edward Albee's "At Home at the Zoo", yesterday.  It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to my next show there, "The Boys Room" which I join in January.  In the meantime, I'm stage managing a project "The Weaver's Tales" with Fifth House Ensemble, and this week I'll be helping tech a show north of the city. 

I had a pretty great Halloween yesterday.  I'm not really a Halloween person...I tend to think it's a holiday for the kids.  So yesterday, after closing and striking the show at VG, I headed up to my friend Wych's house in Rogers Park.  I stopped and got some Woodchuck Cider on the way, and my roommate Mikey was already up there hanging out.  Wych made homemade chili, we drank Woodchuck, ate cupcakes, and had a Dexter marathon.  The 3 of us are big Dexter fans, we made a rule that we can't watch a new episode unless all 3 of us are present, and at least one of us has been busy each of the last 3 Sundays.  So yesterday was catch up.

Tonight I have rehearsal, and tomorrow I'm spending the day teching up north.