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.