Two Thousand Twelve

The Universe blessed me with some very important people.

I went to NYC with my class of insanely talented lovelies.

Then after that exhausting trip, turned right around and spent St. Patrick's Day in Memphis with my very best friends.

Loralyn visited me in St. Louie!

I said goodbye to my Mimi.

My last MWTA

My Last Seminar

I Stage Managed a beautiful show of Lady Windermere's Fan with a group of amazing people

I discovered beeritas

I got a BFA! (with honors!)

I said goodbye to my best friends

I rocked it hard at LTOTS with two amazing ladies and a company of fantastic people.

Visited picturesque Holland, MI!

I rediscovered my love for reading!!

I moved into my first apartment!

Got a pen pal and a friend back.

Saw the Circus!!

Saw some beautiful nature. Felt blessed and was reminded how incredible this world really is.

I never stopped missing Vienna.

I started my first professional SM gig at the Imaginary Theatre Company.

Equity!!

And I couldn't be happier!!

I've had ups and downs and hard goodbyes. I've met some amazing people and there were so many memories made. This is my first year not in school - my first year on my own and I feel so blessed to have my friends and family beside me as we go through this crazy thing called life.

See You When I See You

I didn't know when it would hit me. Because it certainly didn't during final portfolio.
It didn't when I was clearing out 4 years of belongings from the Production Office.
It didn't hit me at graduation or the final hours I spent packing up my apartment with my best friend.

The final hugs and goodbyes were rough. A few were tearful, some were welcome. Some were incredibly difficult and others were easier. There was always the uncertainty of when exactly the "later" in "see you later" would come to pass. Promises of visiting were made. The 6 hour drive seemed manageable.

But one way or the other, I said goodbye to everyone. A hug I didn't want to let go, a kiss I never wanted to stop, a final stop at our favorite restaurant, a last goodbye to the beautiful theatre space that I'd practically lived in for the last 4 years.

I had a moment of realization sitting with him on my couch, crying. Realizing that: Sentimentality is not regretting the times you won't have; it's wanting to re-live the times you did have.

It didn't hit me when I said goodbye to my soulmate/best friend/other half. We shared a quick hug in the middle of the lawn near our apartment. That goodbye didn't seem real.

It didn't hit me when I drove away from St. Louis, or when I got home to Texas.

No, it didn't hit me until Monday, when I sped around the familiar curve on Garden Ave. and drove through campus.

College is over. The best 4 years of my life so far are done.

I spent 4 amazing years with some amazing people and I'm not quite ready to let it go. But driving through campus the other day, an overwhelming wave of panic hit me. Real life. Bills, paychecks, monthly rent, groceries, and all this "grown up" stuff. I'm just not sure I'm ready for it.

See you when I see you.

Luck of the Irish

Galway Girl--Steve Earle

Ireland has been on my mind lately.
It's partly the museum studies project that's looming, I'm sure. I've been Europe-sick going on two years.
But costume design has got my heart aching for old-world Ireland at the moment. My concept is 16th Century Celtic, and as I've researched through Scotland and Ireland, the memories of that incredible few days have been creeping up my mind.

Galway, the beautiful rain we encountered--the pub we ate at just to be warm for a little bit.
Temple Bar-the mecca of drinkers around the world.
The friendliness that Ireland has to offer--the joyous people that know where their country has come from, and what has been sacrificed for them to be where they are now.
The pure enjoyment and legitimate happiness you find in the people there.
And last, but not least, (cause who am I kidding if I leave this out?)--the accent. So beatiful, so crisp and clean, and melodic to listen to.
Guinness--cause it's just not the same here.
The scenery. The lakes, the hills, mountains, valleys. Rich in color and a sharp green, when you catch it in the right season. The morning fogs in the mountains are absolute magic.

Every Moment

There are 45 days left. Sorry...make that 44 since it's 3 in the morning.

45 days till they're gonna kick us out in to the real world. All 12 of us--and we've got our fingers crossed so damn hard that we've learned something worthwhile over the past 4 years: between school and summerstock and internships, maybe we've found something to hang on to that will help us live.

Every sleepless night. Every almost-unfinished project. Every rendering we wanted to rip to shreds. Every fundies project we bitched about. Every drafting, every sound file, every light demo. There have been shows and tech weeks and hell weeks and days where we would rather be in hell, cause it couldn't be much worse than where we were right then. There have been tears and fights and "WTFs" (lots of those) and "Can you believe x, y, & z?". Hugs, love, drugs, and alcohol. Rock and roll and show tunes and everything in between. For every shitty day there was one that made it all worth it. For every fucked up cue we called, there was a perfect button that made us smile like idiots. For every time we thought we'd ruined the show, there was a moment when we found out, 'yeah, it can get worse', and the precious few moments when we realized and remembered that this is school and...really, it's gonna be okay. For every great idea--for every sucky one. Every zoo trip, every road trip, every seemingly-endless summer. For every year away and long phone calls and facebook messages just to say "I miss you", "I love you", or "Please come home now". There were fall breaks and winter breaks and spring breaks. There were moments of pure happiness and things that broke our hearts. For each and every crazy party and the mornings after. Every hug. Every kiss. Every "Hey, can you come over". Every toast, every shot. For all the times when we realized we were never alone.

Every moment.


45 days will give us another beginning. Another chance.

Here's to you, the future of theatre.