Couch Surfing......

So here I am back on fall tour.  Couch surfing my way to New England in the fall.  Yes, couch surfing.  This really neat website that you can go to and set up a profile and locate families or people across the country that have couches or beds available to crash on for a night or several.  For free.   I'm excited because it is a new show and a new part of the country that I've never been to before.  Neat.  I'm also sadly disappointed, or maybe the right word is jaded.  The shiny surface that once was touring for a year has now worn off and I'm left with the soon to be rusty underneath.  Not that I don't like my job.  It's just that I wish I could be in Minneapolis and do my job.  Traveling is hard.  It sucks, especially since my suitcase just broke.  Boo.  Of all the places I've seen and experienced, it makes me realize how much I miss Minneapolis.  Funny, whoever wrote/said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, " really hit the nail on the head.  I miss you all and thank you for supporting me through all of my misadventures.       

I'M COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday we arrived back in Missoula.  Two of the longest days of my life.  We didn't even have it that bad.  Only 20 hours of driving compared to some groups who had several days or half a week of driving.  Still it was great to get to our hotel.  Then we had two days of check in.  Since Nicole and I are switching shows we had to do a complete check in.  Everything had to be inventoried, sorted, cleaned, repainted and stored.  Boo.  Too much work on too little of sleep and I just want to come home.  I'm super excited and I can't wait.  My flight leaves at 2:00pm tomorrow and then I have to drive back from Rochester to Minneapolis!!!!  I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!  AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!  See you soon!

The end is near.......

Home again, home again, lickity split.  Today is the last day of summer tour and I couldn't be more excited to be done for a bit.  I really love my job, but the endless weeks of loud children are wearing on me.  I need to sleep for about three days and then I think I'll feel better.  Today is also the last day that Nicole and I perform the show Hansel and Gretel.  We are switching shows come fall to The Princess and the Pea and we get to tour the east coast.  New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Canada to name just a few.  Tonight after the final show :( and :) at the same time, we drive to La Crosse and then by Tuesday night we will be back in Missoula, MT for check in and I'll be home by next Friday.  It has been a long summer and I'm in need of a vacation.  On Thursday our contact here in South Milwaukee took us to Jazz in the Park in downtown Milwaukee and it was amazing.  We had a picnic and there were a ton of people there groovin' to the live music.  I forgot how much I love live music, it makes my heart happy.  I'm very excited to be hanging out in Minneapolis for a while and I'm very anxious to see everyone!!!  

INTERNET!!!!!

You don't realize how much you use the internet until you can't use it anymore.  Nicole and I had an unbelievably amazing week in Manistique, MI.  The family we stayed with was AWESOME!!!!!  They included us in everything we had meals together, game nights, ice cream nights, nights with Grandparents and they even toured us out to the tourist spots in Manistique.  We had breakfast Tuesday morning with the local Kiwanis, the group that helped fundraise the money to bring us in.  Another great group of people.  Also that week in Manistique was the replica of the Vietnam wall. Very moving and eye opening.  It was indescribable how open and honest this family was.  It was really hard to leave on Sunday and drive to our next town.  Hartford, WI was pretty weird  after Manistique.  It was the first week that we had to cut kids.  That was really hard.  To see the faces of all the kids that didn't get cast was really sad and heartbreaking.  We did discover The Mineshaft.  A restaurant down town that had a game room upstairs where we earned tickets for cheap plastic prizes.  So of course we spent some money and won some tickets, had some fun and got some decorations for Frank, our truck.  In addition to the Mold-O-Rama items from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, he now has several plastic soldiers, jumping frogs, bouncy balls, and a plastic die.  Very much a lot of fun had at the Mineshaft in downtown Hartford, WI.  I'm ready to be done for awhile.  We have one week in Oconto Falls, WI and then our final week in South Milwaukee, WI.  Then we are done for two weeks and I get to come home!!!!!!  I can't wait.  

Boo.....

I really hate those people you meet in your life that think they know how to do everything better than you.  Those people who are on a high horse all the time, like they have something to prove or need to verify that theirs is the best.   I don't claim to be an expert on anything, but I do know my job and what I've been trained to do.  I just expect some professional respect.  You do your job and I'll do mine and let's not criticize each other about the way we do our respective jobs.  I just hate it when people try to tell me how to do my job, when I'm the one who was trained specifically to do my job and they were not.  Grrrr.

  

So just another interesting story that happened in Salem......

So you learn something new everyday.  On Tuesday of last week, Nicole and I learned a very valuable lesson.  So the space we were in in Salem, IL was an old converted theater.  It used to be an old movie theater and now it is a stage theater.  So on every single armrest is a cup holder shaped like a giant donut.  Instead of the newer ones that have an X thru the middle to prevent  your cup from falling this one simply had a smaller circle.  Needless to say it would hold a regular soda cup but not a Dixie.  Anyway, we had all of our kids seated in the chairs before rehearsal waiting for a few stragglers to come in when Joseph, one of our Nasties, he was 8, gets my attention.  I go over and he is near tears in a state of panic.  I ask what's wrong and he says his arm is stuck.  I then notice that he has stuck his arm THROUGH the cup holder up to his bicep and is now stuck.  I asked what happened and he said, in just a slightly twangy southern accent, "I was trying to show off and I got my arm stuck." I try to calm him down because now he has convinced himself that he will be stuck forever.  Joseph is 8 but not a petite 8 year old and in his panic to get free he is sweaty and his arm is starting to swell.  Thank heaven I put ice in my Nalgene that morning.  Nicole grabs my water bottle and I proceed to pour ice water onto his arm and into the cup holder.  At this point our contact Lisa is now calming him down and I'm trying to wiggle his arm free.  So long story short we get Joseph free and big cheers from everyone.  He was fine and only had a slight indentation on his bicep from the cup holder.  So lesson learned:  To remove a sweaty child's plump arm from a cup holder apply ice water and breathing techniques.  

P.S. The very next morning we arrive and Joseph proceeds to have a seat and immediately place both hands into the cup holders.  I go over to him and ask him if he remembers the lesson we learned yesterday about cup holders.  He replies again in a slightly twangy southern accent, "Yes, Ma'am, " and places both of his hands neatly in his lap.  

Sorry.....

For those of you who are diligently following my blog, my apologies.  Internet is hard to find on the road.  I'd go to a coffee shop that has free wi-fi, but most of the towns that we've been in don't even have coffee shops!!  I'm having an amazing time.  Last week we were in Salem Illinois and I have never been so hot in my life! ICK!!  We were in a really cool renovated old movie theater, but the air conditioning decided to stop working and it was at least 85 to 90 degrees the entire time we were there.  It was disgusting.  You literally just raise your arms above your head and you're soaked.  Dripping.  It was hardly worth taking a shower in the morning.  Ish.  I felt really bad for the kids on show day.  They finally got the air conditioning working before the first show, but then between the first and second shows something happened and it ended up being sweltering backstage for the kids.  They were exhausted, sweaty and encased from head to toe in polyester fabric.  I felt awful for them.  By the time the show was over they couldn't be happier that it was time to change.  We stayed with the most amazing couple.  Beve and Don.  They went out of their way to make sure that we had everything and I mean eerything was just how we needed it to be.  Beve cooked for us and Don grilled and they even took us out to breakfast on the day we were leaving.  Super sweet and it really felt like we were at home there.  It was really nice.  They also had a small lake just out their back door that we got to float on whenever we wanted to.  It amazes me that in the towns we go to there are people just waiting to open their doors to us.  It's crazy.  We are complete strangers to them and yet they open their homes and theaters to us with open arms.  I can't believe it.     

DAY ONE IS OVER!!!!!!!

I did it. I finished my first day as a Professional Tour Actor/Director. It didn’t go as awful as I thought it would. My tour partner and I have a really good rapport with each other and that made the whole audition process go much better. On Mondays we have two hours scheduled for auditions and today given the amount of kids we had 48 (a really good number) and the age breakdown, we had the show cast in only an hour. That was really surprising. The second half of the day was a little more stressful. Just getting into the swing of things and getting used to communicating with children instead of adults. Teaching a whole show to kids in a week is a CHALLENGE! AAAAHHHHH!!!!! If I make it through this week and am still excited to do it all again, I'll know that I made the right choice. The kids were so excited it was unbelievable, but also hard to contain at the same time. Get 50 kids in an echoey (I don't know how to spell that word and if it isn't a word I just made it one) gym and it creates a lot of noise. Today we just worked with the leads. We have Hansel, Gretel, the Witch, and The Cooks (there are eight cooks). They are all ages 11-15 so it was a little easier to handle them. Tomorrow we tackle the rest of the kids, except the really little ones. The whole process of auditions, rehearsals, and performances is scheduled down to every last minute, but some how it all comes together in the end with costumes and set and it's a show! At least we hope :) It's only Monday, but we already had questions about what everyone's costumes looked like. They won't see their costumes till Friday. I just have to remember to take it one day at a time.

Driving….

The drive over from Montana was beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. Nicole and I stopped in Medora, ND and saw the Medora Musical on Saturday night. It was cheesy and country and FREEZING, but it was fun. Before the musical we stopped at Joe’s BBQ shack in Medora, to grab some dinner and the two gentlemen working in there saw our Big Red Truck and noticed we were with Missoula. One of them asked where we were headed and we said Fargo. He said that we would have to go to Dempsey’s and tell them that Homeless Mike sent us. Crazy that a guy in a tiny town like Medora, used to live in Fargo, which just happens to be the first place we are going!! It’s a small world after all. Anyway after the musical that night we drove to Dickinson, about 30 miles from Medora and stayed in a hotel. Then we made it the rest of the way to Fargo on Sunday. Our home stay is AMAZING!!!! We arrived in Fargo at her house and she and her husband had burgers and corn on the cob on the grill and we ate outside on their patio. Beautiful and very tasty. Their house is gorgeous and enormous, and really comfortable. They have been nothing but amazing and it’s only Monday!

Leaving, in a big red truck…..
I wrote this yesterday, but didn't have time to post it.......
So tomorrow we embark on our adventure. Nicole and I have decided to go to the Medora Musical tomorrow night and then we have a hotel in Dickinson, ND. On Sunday we complete the journey to Fargo, meet our contact and then MONDAY!!!! Our first day as professional Tour Actor/Directors. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I really think that I will have butterflies in my stomach until next week is done. But I just have to take it one day at a time. That’s all I can do. Nicole and I decided that I’m going to perform for the first week. Can I get another big AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! It’s the craziest thing to think that less then two weeks ago I didn’t know any of these people and didn’t have any idea what Missoula Children’s Theatre was about. I’ve loved every stressful minute of it and I’m so excited I could puke. But I won’t. Last night was the last big hoorah for all of the TAD’s that were still left. We had a little party and then most of us headed out to the bar. It was really fun and a great end to a really stressful period. Today was the last day to collect any other stuff we might need from MCT. We said goodbye to our trainers and then a handful of us went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Now most of us are trying to collect our minds and all of our stuff so we are ready for tomorrow. As it turns out we are booked for next week in Fargo, ND and then we have a week off. So that mean’s I’ll be headed back to the Cities!! I really hope I get to see ya’ll. Then we head to Land O’Lakes, WI and again we have another week off so back to the Cities we come. I say we because I have an amazing tour partner, Nicole. She’s awesome. My brain is fried. I got nothing.

Almost there.....

There is only one more day of training and then we are on our own. I can't believe how much information I've soaked up in the span of 10 days. Just last Monday I was boarding a plane in Minneapolis, crying and now I have the confidence to go out there with my tour partner and our read truck. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!! The first tour team left this morning. The rest leave, tomorrow, Friday, and we leave Saturday. Then it's a two day drive to Fargo, ND and our first residency!!!! It's unbelievable how quickly you get to know people. Right now, I'm sitting in the balcony of MCT with my tour partner and another TAD. I feel like I've known them both for a lot longer than 10 days. I suppose that happens when you throw theatre people into a confined space, stress them out and let them play. It's been so much fun just playing again. When we practice teaching, whoever isn't teaching gets to play act as the children. I love it.

Ford F150's

So today after lunch we had a brief hang up as the Senator from Montana (Max I don’t know his last name) stopped by MCT (Missoula Children’s Theatre) and also a representative from the Ford Motor Company. In case you don’t know MCT has for the past several years sent all of their tour actor’s out on the road in Ford Rangers. Not the most comfortable ride, since they are packed to the gills with stuff for our show, but not as awful as the Toyota trucks they used to have. So in the past year MCT has started to convert the fleet into Ford F150’s. Much newer, bigger trucks. Please those of you who are concerned about the gas we are using, if you saw the amount of stuff that we had to CRAM into these trucks, you would be grateful for a bigger truck also, no matter what the gas. ANYWAY, the Ford Motor company donated 5 BRAND NEW Ford F150’s to MCT and the Senator helped in the process. Ford also gave them a deal on the lease rate for the rest of the trucks to help save MCT some money since it is a non- profit organization. AWESOME!!!!! Today we had to take a picture in the parking lot with all of our trucks, the senator and the founders of MCT. It was fun and a nice break from working. Today we also had to inventory our sets/ the contents of our trucks. Not so much fun. Hot, sweaty work. Lots of hauling huge, heavy bags full of stuff, and running around the parking lot asking if anyone has an extra Nasty wig or “Have you seen my tomato?” (We use giant wooden vegetables in the show. One of our songs is entitled Veggie Stew). This process also involves truck switching. We got our temporary trucks on Tuesday, and my tour partner and me had one of the newer Ford F150’s, but today WE GOT ONE OF THE BRAND SPANKING NEW ONES!!!!!!! We got into our truck after we packed it and it only had 33 miles on it! Crazy! I’ve never driven a vehicle with that low of mileage on it. So when it all comes down to it, we have basically everything we need for our show, it’s all sitting in the back of our beautiful new Ford F150. Also if you ever see a Big Red Truck that says Missoula Children’s Theatre on the side and has a license plate of MCT 53, THAT’S ME. So you better wave.

REALIZATION.

I realized today at the end of our strenuous, sweaty day that I haven’t said anything really positive about my experience here. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life right now. It is amazing that all day I get to run around being a Nasty (yes that is the name of one of the characters in our show) or a Cook or a Gingerbread man or a big Wallybird. IT’S UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t believe it. Right now I’m in a large room at the dorms, discussing whether or not our Grannies/Grandpas should have German accents or not and also if Cousin Wallies should be German, Minnesotan or just nerds. It’s really interesting. It’s just a children’s show and our characters only have to be broad and have lots of energy so that the kids feel it and it builds their confidence. I LOVE it. I’m exhausted and weary, but it’s because I’m doing THEATRE. I know it’s just children’s theatre, but it’s still something in my chosen field rather than verifying insurance. Yeah!!!!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am on information overload!!!!!!!!! I’VE ONLY BEEN HERE TWO DAYS AND IT FEELS LIKE TWO WEEKS. All I’ve been doing is sitting, writing and also running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Boo. We have rehearsal from 9:00am to 9:30pm everyday with about 45 minutes for lunch and about an hour for dinner. It’s just exhausting. Then we are supposed to find some sort of time to look over all of the information that we’ve learned in a day and all I want to do is go to bed on my rock hard mattress. (I shouldn't really complain, since they are housing and feeding us for free) :) I understand their method of madness, but it is tiring. We have to learn our part, learn all of the blocking, choreography, music, costume changes, set changes, lighting changes for the show and ALSO learn how to teach it all to the children in one week. It is a lot of information to take in so of course training will be grueling, but boo. I’m tired and it’s only then end of day two. It was pretty amazing today. We had a teaching theory class for two hours taught by the founder of Missoula Children’s Theatre. He is the MOST passionate man that I’ve ever met in my life. He was teaching us how to teach and the way he spoke, you could just tell that this is exactly what he wanted to be doing with his life and he was so thrilled that he could change the life of ONE kid. It’s amazing. I can’t even describe the amount of love that this man has for what he does. Wow.

Disclaimer Alert!!!!!

So I know that the address for my blog looks like Kotlarek Swings, HOWEVER, I just want to clear the air and state that it is really meant to be Kotlarek’s Wings. I wasn’t able to use punctuation in the address and didn’t realize what it actually looked like. So no judging. And I don’t swing.

Wow. First entry. Saying goodbye is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. WTF am I doing!? I’ve just left all of my friends and family behind for a year to drive around the country in a pickup truck!?!? I know that in order to feel the joy and ecstasy of hello, you have to say goodbye, but I don’t approve. I’m going to arrive in Missoula severely dehydrated because I can’t stop crying and they don’t let you carry your own water bottles on the plane and the ones in the airport cost $4.00!!!!!!! Ridiculous. I’m done, that’s my little rant on the stupidity of airline regulations. I feel like I’m going to vomit. Boo. It’s just nerves. Ick. I hate waiting. If this entry gets dumb, it’s purely because of the fact that I’m bored. I really wish that your loved ones could still accompany you to your gate to say goodbye. Although it was good to just get it done with. It was like ripping off STITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boo.
Thanks Dad for the first class ticket. I had a wonderful chicken Caesar salad for lunch while enjoying my cushy leather chair that was actually wide enough for my butt. During take off we came up through the clouds and I said to myself in my head, “ It’s like Narnia!” Don’t judge . I talk to myself all the time and usually it’s out loud so I was lucky that that particular phrase was in my head. I just finished reading all seven Chronicles of Narnia and was a little disappointed at the ending. (Don’t worry if you haven’t read them I won’t spoil it) If you haven’t read them you should because they are really good books and really quick reads. If you don’t like fantasy, cool, never mind. I love clouds. I wish sometimes that I could fly and then when I got tired I could just curl up in a cloud. You know like the Zeus character in the first Fantasia movie? Nice and soft and squishy.
So day one is almost over and everyone I’ve met so far is really cool. There isn’t an internet connection in the dorms where we are staying so you’ll have to bear with me as I find random internet connections. It’s funny you don’t know how much you use the internet until you can’t use it. Guess where my first tour spot is. I bet you never will. Where’s the one place I didn’t want to tour? You guessed it The MIDWEST. Our first stop is FARGO NORTH DAKOTA!!!!!! Boo. I’m bummed. The rest of our tour is in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. Luckily that is just for the summer. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I will be touring somewhere a little more interesting come fall. Not that the Midwest isn’t great, it’s just that I live there and would like to explore a new region. Also get this. They’re putting us up in the dorms and we have a sink in our room. Cool, no problem there. But, when you go to the bathroom lo and behold….no sinks. They just have a little dispenser of hand sanitizer on the wall. WTF? If anyone can explain that to me, I’m listening ‘cause I don’t get it and it’s weird.