Last night sleeping in the apartment in Minneapolis. Crazy. This has been one of the best summers of my life.
Yesterday:
We had 2 shows for HONK! And they both went very well. It was very fun working with these talented kids. Nothing bad went on during these shows. Yay! All was good. The parents provided a potluck for in between the shows and we had more food then all of us could eat. Before the evening show, we did warm ups and then Ed gave out compliments to the students. During the compliments, the stage manager came through and told them some things then wished them all good luck. Before he could leave a student called G... said, "Hey everyone let's give a round of applause to the best intern ever!" Everyone applauded, even myself...but I couldn't help but feel a little left out...but I'm an actor and I can hide those feelings. But about a second into the applause a whole bunch of students around me started yelling, "But what about Lydia! Don't forget Lydia." Which made G change it to, "The best duo of interns ever." He looked like he felt really bad about what he had done. Then when the stage manager left and we got back to the compliments, the three girls nearest me, who are some of my favorites...and some of the ones I have done favors for in the past, looked at me and said, "Seriously Lydia, don't let what he said bother you. You are seriously one of the best interns we have ever had." Awwww it was really nice that they said that. Made me feel loved again. :) Later I went into the girls' dressing room where some of the girls brought this issue up again. Some of them were mad about it saying that I was a really good intern and that it was awful of G to say that. One girl even said she preferred me over the stage manager. Awwwww, it was too nice. They really do know how to protect me. :)
After the show we had strike and then a little party where we ate some of the food from earlier and had some cake. This is when I said good bye to all the students and told them how awesome they all are. It was really horrible to have to say good bye to all of them, I really wish I could work with them all again. They were such a fun group to work with.
After the party, Sam, Sarah (costumes), Sean, Ed, and I stayed and continued cleaning up. I was sweeping up the room where we had cake. I saw that Ed was saying good bye to everyone else...and about to leave. I felt hurt that he hadn't come down to say good bye to me yet (yes, he knew exactly where I was). So I yelled to him, "Good bye Ed!" And he turned around and said a big OHhhhhhhhhhhhh. That fucking Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh is the definition our whole 3 weeks together. I do lots of shit for him, and what does he do for me? Forgets about me. Grrrrrr. So he said good bye and that he wished me good luck in the coming up school year. I said, "It's been great working with you." Even though at that point I was just super pissed at him. And he said "It's been great working with you too." Then he left. Wow he can be such a jerk sometimes. Oh well, it is over.
After I talked to Sean about it. Another "Ed Talk". He pretty much said that Ed is self-absorbed and that he just doesn't think about the people "beneath him". I really hate people like that. But Sean congratulated me on staying with HONK! and he said that it will help me later on with this career because there will always be "More Ed's and Debra's to work with." And now I know how to deal with them. :) So Sean really made me feel better after Ed left me on a sour note. Thank you Sean. :)
Today:
Today I started off in a depressed mood. I believe this is because I realized I was leaving...and it hit me hard. So I cancelled all my plans and decided I needed to be home by myself packing. But "packing" meant me throwing a few things in a bag and then laying on my bed thinking. When Karla, my roommate, got home she came into my room and asked why I was still home and if I was okay. I just started crying... I was pissed at myself for not doing anything today and that I had cancelled all my plans. But I really think it was all because I didn't want to make a big effort to do that much and that I was really quite sad about leaving. So Karla, being as awesome as she is, said that she would take me wherever I wanted...so I didn't have to ride the bus, which takes such an effort some days. But my friends that I "ditched" were already doing other things, so Karla asked if I wanted to go kayaking with her...I think she didn't think I would say yes. But the yes, really made her happy. So we went to Lake Calhoun and decided we would do a foot pedal boat instead of the kayak. It was really fun and this was my first time seeing some Minnesotan lakes. Karla and I had a blast.
After going on the lake, I went out to dinner with Melanie, an intern at CTC that I ditched earlier. We went out to "The Bad Waitress" and talked for a while. It was very nice and very relaxing. Thanks Melanie for hanging out with me! It's been great getting to know you.
Tomorrow:
I am going to Debra's Assassins rehearsal from about 10am to 1pm. Then I am coming home and doing laundry and packing the rest of my stuff. Then at about 5pm/6pm, my mom and Nana should be here. They are coming to pick me up to bring me back to Michigan. We are going out to dinner then we are packing up the car and going to stay at a hotel. Then bright and early on Tuesday morning we will be heading back to Michigan.
Crazy, fucking crazy.I cannot believe it is over. Seriously. Seriously it has been the best summer of my life. I have learned so much about theatre, children, this career path, Minneapolis, other people, and most importantly, myself. I am so happy with who I am and where I want to go with my life. I am now so sure about this career choice and it makes me so excited about the future and the journey I will have to make to get there. I am so excited for it. I will never regret my choice to come to Minneapolis for this internship. Even though I didn't get paid, paid a lot for rent and really didn't save money or whatever, I know what I have gotten from this internship is worth a lot more than the money I could have earned at a summer job or the money I have lost. I am so proud of myself for taking the risk to come to a new state, city, and theatre to try out something that I didn't know if I would really enjoy.
I want to take this moment to thank everyone to has made it possible for me to be here and to all the people who have made this experience the best ever. Thank you, you know who you are. :)
I plan on coming back here. So it doesn't feel like the end. If I don't come back here next summer, I know I will be back sometime in the future because this place really has a wonderful theatre scene. And it is not as "city like" as New York or somewhere like that. I can really see myself living here for more long term.
So I will probably do one more post tomorrow about the day and then maybe one when I get home saying more about reflection on the internship etc. But after that I will probably not be writing much here obviously because my internship will be over. But I am going to keep this blog, so that next year I can use it and continue writing about my experiences with Children's Theatre in the "big city". Thank you for reading all these posts and for keeping up with me. It's been great. See you back in the Mitten soon. If your not from Michigan, well, I will see you back in Minneapolis sometime in the future and please keep in touch.
Have a great night/day everyone!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Day 61
Tonight was opening night for HONK!!! It went really smoothly. I might have cried during curtain call because I was so proud of them...
The best part of the performance was during the Cats' song called "Play With Your Food." This song had 2 girls and one boy singing. In the middle of the song, the music cut out! But the boy hesitated for one second then decided to keep going acappella! And then they girls joined in on their part. And the best part was that they sounded amazing and were still in tune. It was incredible. Everyone backstage were staring at each other with our jaws to the floor. When they finished, we all clapped for them with the audience. We all seemed to be proud of these 3 very smart actors. Normally actors their age would have froze up and gotten out of character, but not these kids. We also had some mic issues but nothing as bad as that. The students handled it all very professionally.
We had a reception after the show where we were able to mingle with our audience. The girl's mom from yesterday (poop), came up to me to thank me and gave me a thank you card. Inside the card was a note from the mom and from the girl...plus a check for $20. I felt uncomfortable about it but then I found out Sam, the stage manager also got a card with $20 in it so I felt less awkward about it. :)
But the best part about today was this morning. After my last morning meeting at CTC this summer :(, one of the interns told me that Debra wanted to see me. All I said was "Oh shit." But it was a good meeting. She gave me a huge smile and asked (for the millionth) time if we were good. And I said yes. She then repeated how proud she is of me and all that jazz. I then started my good byes but then remembered I would see her on Monday to watch her rehearsal. I then left the office after she "checked in." But then I went back in because I wanted to check what time I should come in on Monday and she said whenever I wanted. I was about to leave again, when she said, "Wait, I want to give you one of my business cards. I want you to keep in contact or whatever. Also you can use me as a reference or whatever you need. Seriously. And I don't say this to that many people. I am very serious." And obviously I was very flattered. I said, "Thank you! Of course I would love to use you as a reference. Thanks Debra." Then we said good bye...I left with a huge ass smile on my face. She is going to be an awesome reference to have for the future. :) I feel so lucky to have gotten on her good side and to be in a place where I feel like she would easily want me back for next year.
Tomorrow we have two shows. One at 2pm and the last one at 7pm. I will have to have another long day. I will be there from 12:30pm to about 10pm+ since tomorrow night we are having our strike. Should be a very good day. I'll try to write tomorrow!
The best part of the performance was during the Cats' song called "Play With Your Food." This song had 2 girls and one boy singing. In the middle of the song, the music cut out! But the boy hesitated for one second then decided to keep going acappella! And then they girls joined in on their part. And the best part was that they sounded amazing and were still in tune. It was incredible. Everyone backstage were staring at each other with our jaws to the floor. When they finished, we all clapped for them with the audience. We all seemed to be proud of these 3 very smart actors. Normally actors their age would have froze up and gotten out of character, but not these kids. We also had some mic issues but nothing as bad as that. The students handled it all very professionally.
We had a reception after the show where we were able to mingle with our audience. The girl's mom from yesterday (poop), came up to me to thank me and gave me a thank you card. Inside the card was a note from the mom and from the girl...plus a check for $20. I felt uncomfortable about it but then I found out Sam, the stage manager also got a card with $20 in it so I felt less awkward about it. :)
But the best part about today was this morning. After my last morning meeting at CTC this summer :(, one of the interns told me that Debra wanted to see me. All I said was "Oh shit." But it was a good meeting. She gave me a huge smile and asked (for the millionth) time if we were good. And I said yes. She then repeated how proud she is of me and all that jazz. I then started my good byes but then remembered I would see her on Monday to watch her rehearsal. I then left the office after she "checked in." But then I went back in because I wanted to check what time I should come in on Monday and she said whenever I wanted. I was about to leave again, when she said, "Wait, I want to give you one of my business cards. I want you to keep in contact or whatever. Also you can use me as a reference or whatever you need. Seriously. And I don't say this to that many people. I am very serious." And obviously I was very flattered. I said, "Thank you! Of course I would love to use you as a reference. Thanks Debra." Then we said good bye...I left with a huge ass smile on my face. She is going to be an awesome reference to have for the future. :) I feel so lucky to have gotten on her good side and to be in a place where I feel like she would easily want me back for next year.
Tomorrow we have two shows. One at 2pm and the last one at 7pm. I will have to have another long day. I will be there from 12:30pm to about 10pm+ since tomorrow night we are having our strike. Should be a very good day. I'll try to write tomorrow!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Day 60
Today was just an interesting day.
It started off with a child getting bullied (which is ironic because we are doing a frickin' musical about bullying) and being asked to look at a girl's poop.
The child was being bullied because some students thought he had been seen going home with his microphone on. And they thought this was an appropriate thing to make fun of him for. So a good portion of my morning was yelling at students for making fun of him and comforting this child. He apparently did not take his microphone home but I guess he must have misplaced it at the theatre somewhere. But anyway he got bullied. Poor kid.
The girl was making me look at her poop because she thought her stomach was bleeding. But really her poop was reddish because she ate a cupcake yesterday with pink frosting... So I got the honor of checking out her poop and then convincing her that she was definitely going to be alright. Oh the perks of being an intern.
Then for the rest of the day I helped with costumes and quick changes and all that jazz. It wasn't that bad but it definitely wasn't entertaining. But it was a great rehearsal and we are very much ready for an audience! Tomorrow night is our first performance! I can't wait.
This evening I went with Logan, Melanie, and Logan's mom to go see a show at the Guthrie. Yes, THE GUTHRIE! And yes, it was so fucking awesome. We saw the show God Of Carnage which is a comedy. It was so frickin' hilarious. I haven't laughed like that for that long in a while. It was easily one of the best shows I have ever seen.
After the show, we went to explore the building a little bit. They have this part of the building called the "Endless Bridge". Which is this piece of the building that sticks out on top of the Mississippi River. What a beautiful view! Here are some pictures!!!
It started off with a child getting bullied (which is ironic because we are doing a frickin' musical about bullying) and being asked to look at a girl's poop.
The child was being bullied because some students thought he had been seen going home with his microphone on. And they thought this was an appropriate thing to make fun of him for. So a good portion of my morning was yelling at students for making fun of him and comforting this child. He apparently did not take his microphone home but I guess he must have misplaced it at the theatre somewhere. But anyway he got bullied. Poor kid.
The girl was making me look at her poop because she thought her stomach was bleeding. But really her poop was reddish because she ate a cupcake yesterday with pink frosting... So I got the honor of checking out her poop and then convincing her that she was definitely going to be alright. Oh the perks of being an intern.
Then for the rest of the day I helped with costumes and quick changes and all that jazz. It wasn't that bad but it definitely wasn't entertaining. But it was a great rehearsal and we are very much ready for an audience! Tomorrow night is our first performance! I can't wait.
This evening I went with Logan, Melanie, and Logan's mom to go see a show at the Guthrie. Yes, THE GUTHRIE! And yes, it was so fucking awesome. We saw the show God Of Carnage which is a comedy. It was so frickin' hilarious. I haven't laughed like that for that long in a while. It was easily one of the best shows I have ever seen.
After the show, we went to explore the building a little bit. They have this part of the building called the "Endless Bridge". Which is this piece of the building that sticks out on top of the Mississippi River. What a beautiful view! Here are some pictures!!!
It was a great night with a good show and good friends.
Tomorrow is one of my last days at CTC....I still have Saturday (And I am going in on Monday for a half day to watch Debra's rehearsal) but tomorrow will still be a sad day. It will be the last day to see a lot of my friends I have made at CTC. This experience has been incredible and I am so soooo happy I decided to take a risk and leave Michigan for the summer and come to this wonderful theatre. It has been perfect.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Day 59
Today was one of the worst, best, stupid, smart, crazy, memorable, and teachable day I have ever had. And it is a long ass story that I have already told like 3 times...but I can and will tell it again. So hold on to your seats because it's a long and crazy story.
This morning I got an email from Ed about a posting on the CTC blog about HONK! I was asked to be in charge of student postings on the blog. The main blog lady wrote a posting about HONK! and stated some information. But this information was wrong. So Ed emailed me, Debra, and Sean asking that whoever is in charged of the blog get the corrected information and fix it. So I responded saying "Hahaha I will fix this right away! But if I get to have an excuse the main blog lady did this one. I have just been editing the students' stuff. But it will be fixed." I thought it was an acceptable response.
But apparently, in Debra's eyes, it was not. I was sitting in the dance studio in the morning with the other interns waiting for our morning meeting when Debra came in. She said good morning to everyone and then asked if I had received her email. I told her I got one this morning from her saying to Ed that I was the person in charge of the blog. But she said no, that she had sent me another one about the fact that it was my fault this posting was wrong because I was in charge of all the editing. But I told her I didn't see this post about the show but she somehow still believed it was my fault. So she started getting pissy with me...so I got a little pissy back. And then just accepted that it was my fault because I didn't want to argue with her in front of all the interns. She said she was just trying to cover my back because she thought Ed would not like my email response because it was unprofessional and was making a joke about something he was serious about. So when she finally left the room, I burst into tears. Which made me feel so embarrassed. But the interns were so incredibly awesome to me, mainly because they know how Debra works even though they didn't know what the situation was really about. Literally 2 seconds after I started crying, Lynn handed me tissues, Chloe had closed the doors, and the rest were comforting me. Thank God for these awesome interns, seriously wonderful people.
Then after the meeting, I had to go into the office to get some tape...which meant seeing Debra. She confronted me and told me she was sorry for talking like that to me in front of all the interns. Then she went to all the other interns and apologized to them about it as well...
Then she told me that she would like to walk me to my class...which was just down the hall. Then we stood in the hall and had another conversation....that should have lasted 5 minutes but instead lasted like 20 to 30. We talked about Ed and our "conflicts" which I thought were resolved... but I guess were not. We talked about the way I portray myself and that I don't portray myself the way I think I do. Fucking bullshit. But she has a point. She thinks I don't take things that seriously...that I joke too much. Which I can agree to. But then she said she knows I that take things seriously...so I guess I portray that I am not serious?...I do not agree with her. She also talked about how I should have brought the Ed "conflict" to her instead of to Sean because it would "have been resolved quicker". Again I don't quite agree. I told her I believed it had all worked out and that Ed and I had been communicating and seemed to be on the same page. But Debra thought this email I wrote would ruin that.
Then she went on about how she thought I was talented, good at this, and would be able to do well in this field and that was why I needed to know this information so I can grow even more. She said I should have responded to they email just "Yes, I will get it done." And that I should not have joked about it especially when we are in our show week when Ed is really worried about things. She does have a point and I will remember it. :) She went on about a lot of different things and she made me cry a few other times. Which made her want to hug me a few different times. But at the end of the conversation we were in a good place and I was open to what she had been saying to me. She then asked me when I was coming to one of her Assassins' rehearsals. And I told her I would be coming Monday in the morning. And she said that she would love that and that she wants my honest opinion about the show and that she wouldn't just take "I like it." So she made me feel like she respected me again. This lady can be so frustrating. But I know she is only doing a tough love thing...she said a few times in her ramble that I reminded her of herself and that she really likes me...
After this chat, I had to go to rehearsal and apologized to Ed because I was late and that I hadn't finished what he needed me to do before rehearsal. I told him I was having a "Debra talk". And he joked, "Doesn't she know that I have you now, and that she can't be asking you to do things?" Which made me feel better because I came to the rehearsal with newly mixed feelings about how Ed felt about me because Debra made me question what I thought I already knew and made better.
During rehearsal, it was crazy. Sam, the stage manager had me doing a lot of errands so I wasn't in the theatre for most of the time. Then a girl had a really bad migraine and I had to try to help her. I felt so bad for her, she kept crying and moving around and was obviously in pain. Chloe helped me with her, because I was holding back a little bit because Ed, on Monday, asked me not to baby the students so much. So I let Chloe do it and she was better at it anyway. :)
Then I had to leave them because I had my exit interview with Duncan and Sean. Which didn't go as expected. I thought we would talk more about the things I did very well and the things I could work on. Which we did talk about but only briefly. We mostly talked about the Ed "conflict". At this point I was already sick of it. We talked about ways that it could have been better and how it went wrong and that it wasn't my fault personally and all that shit. Then Sean said that it seemed that I was happier in the classrooms than when I am working on HONK! Which is true. But the only reason why I was "unhappy" in HONK! was because I didn't have things to do and I didn't know how to go about telling Ed. But I figured it out (also asked for Sean's advice) and Ed and I solved it... But normally I LOVE working on shows and this was literally the first time this has happened. Oh well, I guess there is a first for everything. It was an okay meeting and they said they enjoyed working with me and that their own critic is that I need to be more selfish with my objectives. Which isn't that what I was trying to do with Ed? But I guess it can be something I work on quicker. OH and the best part was that Sean said he could see me being successful in this field as well. :)
Then I got to back to rehearsal, which I apologized to Ed again because I hadn't been present during the morning part of the rehearsal and it was because I was running errands for Sam and dealing with migraine girl. He understood and even thanked me. I then said I had to leave again because I didn't get a chance to eat lunch because of the migraine and my meeting and he just told me "Go eat your lunch! That's important."
The rest of rehearsal was a good but slow process. It was our first time in the space so we went through the whole show scene by scene making sure the spacing was right. It took us the whole day to do the full show, which normally takes a hour.
After rehearsal I decided I would check in with Ed just because I didn't know where we stood any more. And the conversation went something like this: "Hey Ed, I just wanted to make sure we were still good. I have been hearing from others about conflicts going on and I thought we were all resolved. I have been having a great time the last few days and have felt like I have had an active role. But I talked to Debra and she made it seem like there was still a conflict or something."
Then Ed said, "She seemed to make the conflict bigger than it actually is." And I said, "YES! That is exactly what happened!" And then we laughed about Debra for a second. That she just made the "conflict" worse and that we had both thought we had handled it and handled it well. So that was really nice to hear.
Then I said, "I just want you to know that I think you are really great at what you do." Which is the truth. "And I am here because of that and because I want to learn from you. That is why I have stuck here because I really think you are amazing at directing." Which of course made him smile but it so is the truth. Then I said, "I was intimidated by you the first week because you are so good at this and I didn't want to touch anything without your permission because I didn't want to ruin your vision." I think he also respected this honesty. I also said that that may be why we were "conflicting" during the first week. Which may him say, "Well, I really didn't have too much for you to do that week, since we were doing auditions and learning songs. But now I obviously have things for you to do."
I then apologized for my email that morning and I told him I hoped he didn't think I wasn't being serious about this job etc. because Debra thought he would be upset about it. But all Ed said was, "Lydia I knew what you were saying. You were covering your ass and making light of the situation...I would have done the same thing." Which gave me so much relief. I then joked, "You really didn't think I didn't know we only have been rehearsing for 3 weeks instead of 4?" (which was one of the mistakes in the blog posting). Which made him say, "Of course I knew it wasn't you. I knew it had to have been someone else." Then we hugged and said once again how happy we were working together and that the next time we work together we are just going to keep our "conflicts" to ourselves and not bring "others" into it, especially because when we handled it, it made it all better. :) Fuck yes.
So I left the internship feeling good because I do know how to talk to people and how to read them. I knew the email wouldn't bother Ed as much as Debra thought it would. She was starting to make me feel like I don't understand people and I don't work with them to work things out. But she was wrong. :) I also left feeling so much respect for Ed and knowing that we are in a good place. Yay. A good crazy day.
After the internship we had a "Intern Thank You Potluck". Where like all the important people came to meet us. We ate food and then were asked to stand in a big circle so we could all be introduced to each other...such a theatre thing to do. :) The best part of the Potluck was that Peter, the Artistic Director aka the most important person at CTC, came over to my group of interns and talked to us. He is a real down to earth person. He asked me all about HONK! even though I didn't tell him I was doing it...he just knew. :) He really cared about us little interns. It felt really nice.
Then after this Potluck. Logan, Melanie, and I went exploring! We went down by the Mississippi River and took pictures then went out for dinner. It was a really nice night and a great finish to my weird and wonderful day. So I will finish up this long post with some pictures.
This morning I got an email from Ed about a posting on the CTC blog about HONK! I was asked to be in charge of student postings on the blog. The main blog lady wrote a posting about HONK! and stated some information. But this information was wrong. So Ed emailed me, Debra, and Sean asking that whoever is in charged of the blog get the corrected information and fix it. So I responded saying "Hahaha I will fix this right away! But if I get to have an excuse the main blog lady did this one. I have just been editing the students' stuff. But it will be fixed." I thought it was an acceptable response.
But apparently, in Debra's eyes, it was not. I was sitting in the dance studio in the morning with the other interns waiting for our morning meeting when Debra came in. She said good morning to everyone and then asked if I had received her email. I told her I got one this morning from her saying to Ed that I was the person in charge of the blog. But she said no, that she had sent me another one about the fact that it was my fault this posting was wrong because I was in charge of all the editing. But I told her I didn't see this post about the show but she somehow still believed it was my fault. So she started getting pissy with me...so I got a little pissy back. And then just accepted that it was my fault because I didn't want to argue with her in front of all the interns. She said she was just trying to cover my back because she thought Ed would not like my email response because it was unprofessional and was making a joke about something he was serious about. So when she finally left the room, I burst into tears. Which made me feel so embarrassed. But the interns were so incredibly awesome to me, mainly because they know how Debra works even though they didn't know what the situation was really about. Literally 2 seconds after I started crying, Lynn handed me tissues, Chloe had closed the doors, and the rest were comforting me. Thank God for these awesome interns, seriously wonderful people.
Then after the meeting, I had to go into the office to get some tape...which meant seeing Debra. She confronted me and told me she was sorry for talking like that to me in front of all the interns. Then she went to all the other interns and apologized to them about it as well...
Then she told me that she would like to walk me to my class...which was just down the hall. Then we stood in the hall and had another conversation....that should have lasted 5 minutes but instead lasted like 20 to 30. We talked about Ed and our "conflicts" which I thought were resolved... but I guess were not. We talked about the way I portray myself and that I don't portray myself the way I think I do. Fucking bullshit. But she has a point. She thinks I don't take things that seriously...that I joke too much. Which I can agree to. But then she said she knows I that take things seriously...so I guess I portray that I am not serious?...I do not agree with her. She also talked about how I should have brought the Ed "conflict" to her instead of to Sean because it would "have been resolved quicker". Again I don't quite agree. I told her I believed it had all worked out and that Ed and I had been communicating and seemed to be on the same page. But Debra thought this email I wrote would ruin that.
Then she went on about how she thought I was talented, good at this, and would be able to do well in this field and that was why I needed to know this information so I can grow even more. She said I should have responded to they email just "Yes, I will get it done." And that I should not have joked about it especially when we are in our show week when Ed is really worried about things. She does have a point and I will remember it. :) She went on about a lot of different things and she made me cry a few other times. Which made her want to hug me a few different times. But at the end of the conversation we were in a good place and I was open to what she had been saying to me. She then asked me when I was coming to one of her Assassins' rehearsals. And I told her I would be coming Monday in the morning. And she said that she would love that and that she wants my honest opinion about the show and that she wouldn't just take "I like it." So she made me feel like she respected me again. This lady can be so frustrating. But I know she is only doing a tough love thing...she said a few times in her ramble that I reminded her of herself and that she really likes me...
After this chat, I had to go to rehearsal and apologized to Ed because I was late and that I hadn't finished what he needed me to do before rehearsal. I told him I was having a "Debra talk". And he joked, "Doesn't she know that I have you now, and that she can't be asking you to do things?" Which made me feel better because I came to the rehearsal with newly mixed feelings about how Ed felt about me because Debra made me question what I thought I already knew and made better.
During rehearsal, it was crazy. Sam, the stage manager had me doing a lot of errands so I wasn't in the theatre for most of the time. Then a girl had a really bad migraine and I had to try to help her. I felt so bad for her, she kept crying and moving around and was obviously in pain. Chloe helped me with her, because I was holding back a little bit because Ed, on Monday, asked me not to baby the students so much. So I let Chloe do it and she was better at it anyway. :)
Then I had to leave them because I had my exit interview with Duncan and Sean. Which didn't go as expected. I thought we would talk more about the things I did very well and the things I could work on. Which we did talk about but only briefly. We mostly talked about the Ed "conflict". At this point I was already sick of it. We talked about ways that it could have been better and how it went wrong and that it wasn't my fault personally and all that shit. Then Sean said that it seemed that I was happier in the classrooms than when I am working on HONK! Which is true. But the only reason why I was "unhappy" in HONK! was because I didn't have things to do and I didn't know how to go about telling Ed. But I figured it out (also asked for Sean's advice) and Ed and I solved it... But normally I LOVE working on shows and this was literally the first time this has happened. Oh well, I guess there is a first for everything. It was an okay meeting and they said they enjoyed working with me and that their own critic is that I need to be more selfish with my objectives. Which isn't that what I was trying to do with Ed? But I guess it can be something I work on quicker. OH and the best part was that Sean said he could see me being successful in this field as well. :)
Then I got to back to rehearsal, which I apologized to Ed again because I hadn't been present during the morning part of the rehearsal and it was because I was running errands for Sam and dealing with migraine girl. He understood and even thanked me. I then said I had to leave again because I didn't get a chance to eat lunch because of the migraine and my meeting and he just told me "Go eat your lunch! That's important."
The rest of rehearsal was a good but slow process. It was our first time in the space so we went through the whole show scene by scene making sure the spacing was right. It took us the whole day to do the full show, which normally takes a hour.
After rehearsal I decided I would check in with Ed just because I didn't know where we stood any more. And the conversation went something like this: "Hey Ed, I just wanted to make sure we were still good. I have been hearing from others about conflicts going on and I thought we were all resolved. I have been having a great time the last few days and have felt like I have had an active role. But I talked to Debra and she made it seem like there was still a conflict or something."
Then Ed said, "She seemed to make the conflict bigger than it actually is." And I said, "YES! That is exactly what happened!" And then we laughed about Debra for a second. That she just made the "conflict" worse and that we had both thought we had handled it and handled it well. So that was really nice to hear.
Then I said, "I just want you to know that I think you are really great at what you do." Which is the truth. "And I am here because of that and because I want to learn from you. That is why I have stuck here because I really think you are amazing at directing." Which of course made him smile but it so is the truth. Then I said, "I was intimidated by you the first week because you are so good at this and I didn't want to touch anything without your permission because I didn't want to ruin your vision." I think he also respected this honesty. I also said that that may be why we were "conflicting" during the first week. Which may him say, "Well, I really didn't have too much for you to do that week, since we were doing auditions and learning songs. But now I obviously have things for you to do."
I then apologized for my email that morning and I told him I hoped he didn't think I wasn't being serious about this job etc. because Debra thought he would be upset about it. But all Ed said was, "Lydia I knew what you were saying. You were covering your ass and making light of the situation...I would have done the same thing." Which gave me so much relief. I then joked, "You really didn't think I didn't know we only have been rehearsing for 3 weeks instead of 4?" (which was one of the mistakes in the blog posting). Which made him say, "Of course I knew it wasn't you. I knew it had to have been someone else." Then we hugged and said once again how happy we were working together and that the next time we work together we are just going to keep our "conflicts" to ourselves and not bring "others" into it, especially because when we handled it, it made it all better. :) Fuck yes.
So I left the internship feeling good because I do know how to talk to people and how to read them. I knew the email wouldn't bother Ed as much as Debra thought it would. She was starting to make me feel like I don't understand people and I don't work with them to work things out. But she was wrong. :) I also left feeling so much respect for Ed and knowing that we are in a good place. Yay. A good crazy day.
After the internship we had a "Intern Thank You Potluck". Where like all the important people came to meet us. We ate food and then were asked to stand in a big circle so we could all be introduced to each other...such a theatre thing to do. :) The best part of the Potluck was that Peter, the Artistic Director aka the most important person at CTC, came over to my group of interns and talked to us. He is a real down to earth person. He asked me all about HONK! even though I didn't tell him I was doing it...he just knew. :) He really cared about us little interns. It felt really nice.
Then after this Potluck. Logan, Melanie, and I went exploring! We went down by the Mississippi River and took pictures then went out for dinner. It was a really nice night and a great finish to my weird and wonderful day. So I will finish up this long post with some pictures.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Day 58
Tomorrow is our first time in our performance space for HONK! For the past couple of weeks we have been in a rehearsal hall up on the 4th floor. But tomorrow we will finally be moving to the black box on the first floor!!! The black box has at least 10 more feet of room onstage so we have been itching to get there for quite some time. After rehearsal we had another production meeting which only lasted a half hour. Then Sam, the stage manager, some other people and me moved down all our scenery and props from the rehearsal hall into the black box. So tomorrow is going to be a very important but good day.
After rehearsal tomorrow the staff is throwing a "Thank You Intern" Party! So that should be enjoyable! I just got an email about it a couple of hours ago...so I should probably go, even if it is a little last minute. :) Then after that party Logan, Melanie, and I are going to go exploring! We are going to go see the Mississippi River and go to St. Paul. I am really looking forward to this and I will hopefully be taking lots of pictures of these two events to post here.
It is almost midnight here and I NEED to go to bed. But tomorrow I will try to leave some more time to write a much better and longer post. Because I do have a lot I am missing but maybe these can be things I tell you all in person. :)
But in general, already this week has been a good week. But I really can't wait to go home very soon. Have a great night/day!!!
After rehearsal tomorrow the staff is throwing a "Thank You Intern" Party! So that should be enjoyable! I just got an email about it a couple of hours ago...so I should probably go, even if it is a little last minute. :) Then after that party Logan, Melanie, and I are going to go exploring! We are going to go see the Mississippi River and go to St. Paul. I am really looking forward to this and I will hopefully be taking lots of pictures of these two events to post here.
It is almost midnight here and I NEED to go to bed. But tomorrow I will try to leave some more time to write a much better and longer post. Because I do have a lot I am missing but maybe these can be things I tell you all in person. :)
But in general, already this week has been a good week. But I really can't wait to go home very soon. Have a great night/day!!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 57
Holy crap! I have one week left! I cannot believe it. My mom and my Nana come next Monday to come pick me up. Then Tuesday morning we are back off to Michigan! So crazy.
This week is going to be crazy busy but it's going to be great! This week is show week for HONK! Opening night is Friday at 7pm. And then we have 2 shows on Saturday, one at 2pm and the last one at 7pm. Plus I need to start packing to move out (not like I have that much to pack...so that will only take a few hours on Sunday). And I want to still go out and see and do as much as I can. Especially since the last couple days I have not done anything because I have still not been feeling well.
Honk! rehearsal went really well today. We went through some of our trouble spots and then ran through the show. Ed gave me lots of things to do, so I am happy. I am in charge of figuring out quick changes, when people can go to the green room, and really just the backstage area. Ed and I had a talk after rehearsal and it really is seeming like he is trying to include me. Finally. :) Yay! I think once I started speaking up a little bit more and telling him my opinion (even if they were stupid opinions) he started respecting me and realizing I could help. So, I am very happy about that.
Here are some Honk! rehearsal pictures I took on Friday.
This week is going to be crazy busy but it's going to be great! This week is show week for HONK! Opening night is Friday at 7pm. And then we have 2 shows on Saturday, one at 2pm and the last one at 7pm. Plus I need to start packing to move out (not like I have that much to pack...so that will only take a few hours on Sunday). And I want to still go out and see and do as much as I can. Especially since the last couple days I have not done anything because I have still not been feeling well.
Honk! rehearsal went really well today. We went through some of our trouble spots and then ran through the show. Ed gave me lots of things to do, so I am happy. I am in charge of figuring out quick changes, when people can go to the green room, and really just the backstage area. Ed and I had a talk after rehearsal and it really is seeming like he is trying to include me. Finally. :) Yay! I think once I started speaking up a little bit more and telling him my opinion (even if they were stupid opinions) he started respecting me and realizing I could help. So, I am very happy about that.
Here are some Honk! rehearsal pictures I took on Friday.
Some colorful mother hens from the song "Joy of Motherhood"
Ida with her ducklings.
Drake with the ducklings first laying eyes on Ugly.
Drake trying to see if Ugly is a Turkey.
Drake taking a picture of the family.
Family picture.
Ida getting interview about Ugly's disappearance.
Townsducks figuring out places to look for Ugly.
Greylag and his troop during "Wild Goose Chase"
Swan ballet to "Now I've Seen You".
Frog dance to "Warts and All".
The cats helping Ugly out.
It's a really fun show with a lot of talented actors. I feel very fortunate to be working on this wonderful show.
I am going to try to update every single day this week, since I am doing so much and it is my last week. So stay tuned!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Day 53
Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days but I can fill you in very quickly.
Monday: Just rehearsal for HONK! Learned new songs, blocked new scenes, you know the drill. Theune came by quickly so I could give him a tour of the children's theatre. It was great being able to show him this theatre I have been working in for the past two months.
I went out for milkshakes with my friend Madison who just graduated from Grand Valley and lives (and is from) St. Paul. It was great talking about things from back home and hearing about each others lives in the Twin Cities.
Tuesday: I woke up with a super sore throat and just a queasy feeling so I called in sick to the internship and literally slept all day.
Wednesday: Woke up again not feeling the best so I called in again and slept all day. Very boring days. I hated missing my internship. Hated it!
Thursday: I made myself go to the internship, but it has been a hard day. Today was the runny nose, sore throat, and headache portion of my cold. It sucked but I was really glad to be back.
In the morning, at 7am, a good amount of us interns met at the theatre so we could all go out to breakfast before work. A surprising amount of interns showed up (9 out of 12ish). We had the best conversations and it was just great being around people since I had been stuck in my apartment for the past 2 days. I am really going to miss these people.
When I went to HONK! later the stage manager was super excited to see me (he is my age and a fellow intern). Ed greeted me the best ever...which still wasn't that great but I will take it! Some students asked me how I was feeling and seemed to miss me. But not that many and I didn't dwell on that for two long but tried instead to have a good time with them. At lunch we had a mini musical dance party so of thing and I did a little too much and exhausted myself. Oh well, it was fun. We pretty much have the whole show blocked, choreographed, and sung. Which only took less than two weeks, crazy. We just have a few things to clean up and then we will be ready for show week next week! We also have the majority of costumes and props. We are so ready for show week!
Today after the internship we had a resume workshop. Ellen Baker, who is the Production Manager of CTC, lead the workshop. She went through how to write an application letter, a resume, explained some important tips for interviewing, and gave us some employment resources. SO FRICKIN' AMAZING AND HELPFUL!!! She is the person in charge at CTC of hiring the majority of the staff so she knows her shit. She gave us two guides: one for designers, stage managers, administration, and technical theatre staff and one for actors. She then took our resumes to look over to correct and to help make them more powerful. So I should be getting my resume back with helpful tips from the Production Manager of one of the top children's theatres in America!!! What an awesome opportunity. That was the main reason why I went to the internship today because I knew this would be important. Too bad I snuffled through the whole thing, it was worth it though.
Monday: Just rehearsal for HONK! Learned new songs, blocked new scenes, you know the drill. Theune came by quickly so I could give him a tour of the children's theatre. It was great being able to show him this theatre I have been working in for the past two months.
I went out for milkshakes with my friend Madison who just graduated from Grand Valley and lives (and is from) St. Paul. It was great talking about things from back home and hearing about each others lives in the Twin Cities.
Tuesday: I woke up with a super sore throat and just a queasy feeling so I called in sick to the internship and literally slept all day.
Wednesday: Woke up again not feeling the best so I called in again and slept all day. Very boring days. I hated missing my internship. Hated it!
Thursday: I made myself go to the internship, but it has been a hard day. Today was the runny nose, sore throat, and headache portion of my cold. It sucked but I was really glad to be back.
In the morning, at 7am, a good amount of us interns met at the theatre so we could all go out to breakfast before work. A surprising amount of interns showed up (9 out of 12ish). We had the best conversations and it was just great being around people since I had been stuck in my apartment for the past 2 days. I am really going to miss these people.
When I went to HONK! later the stage manager was super excited to see me (he is my age and a fellow intern). Ed greeted me the best ever...which still wasn't that great but I will take it! Some students asked me how I was feeling and seemed to miss me. But not that many and I didn't dwell on that for two long but tried instead to have a good time with them. At lunch we had a mini musical dance party so of thing and I did a little too much and exhausted myself. Oh well, it was fun. We pretty much have the whole show blocked, choreographed, and sung. Which only took less than two weeks, crazy. We just have a few things to clean up and then we will be ready for show week next week! We also have the majority of costumes and props. We are so ready for show week!
Today after the internship we had a resume workshop. Ellen Baker, who is the Production Manager of CTC, lead the workshop. She went through how to write an application letter, a resume, explained some important tips for interviewing, and gave us some employment resources. SO FRICKIN' AMAZING AND HELPFUL!!! She is the person in charge at CTC of hiring the majority of the staff so she knows her shit. She gave us two guides: one for designers, stage managers, administration, and technical theatre staff and one for actors. She then took our resumes to look over to correct and to help make them more powerful. So I should be getting my resume back with helpful tips from the Production Manager of one of the top children's theatres in America!!! What an awesome opportunity. That was the main reason why I went to the internship today because I knew this would be important. Too bad I snuffled through the whole thing, it was worth it though.
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