Life After Break

We've been back from vacation for about a week now, and the semester is really starting to pick up! I have another class now, Into the Woods rehearsals have started, midterms are happening, projects are due, etc, etc. Basically I just have to use my wonderful time management skills.

On a happier note, this is what I get to do in class:



Today was animal day in stage make-up. I'm a koala if you can't tell lol, the resolution on my phone isn't very good. I think it came out pretty well considering I decided on it 10 minutes before class started. I didn't even have time to do a design drawing for it, so I just used a picture of a real koala bear.

Next week is re-sculpting our noses :-)

APO

There's nothing much to report, but I figure it's been a while since the last post. Classes are going well for the most part. I have so much free time now that I'm not working on a show, I don't know what to do with myself at night! I've been hanging out with some new people and some people I haven't seen in a while. It's fun so I can't complain about that.
I got into Alpha Psi Omega, the honor society for theatre, so the pledging process is starting. We're the only honor fraternity I know of that actually has a pledge process. Most of the others say "Hey, you're smart enough, give us money and we'll give you letters!" I was also invited to join Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor fraternity. So I'm doing both, even though it's going to cost me $150 to do so. Anyway, George is my "big" for APO, which is awesome (He was the lead in Blithe Spirit for those of you who saw it.) . He and I get a long really well and I haven't gotten to hang out with him in a while. We actually have a pretty big pledge class, usually they take about 5 people each semester, we have 7. I like our class too, it's Michelle, Nick, Me, Melissa, Jess, Josh, and Kari; all of whom I get along with for the most part. Our class name is "anamorphono" which is oh so much fun to try to remember. We have to "report" at the beginning of each "class" we have (about once a week), meaning that we have to state our letter , our pledge class, the chapter, and the name of the fraternity, followed by our real name and eventually our "stage name" when we are officially inducted. So for me it goes "I am Rho of the pledge class Anamorphono, of the Lambda Omega chapter of the Alpha Psi Omega Fraternity, Nicole Baldwin." We also have to memorize a bunch of songs, sayings, the mission statement, all the stage names of the active members (whom we have to greet 3 times a day), the Greek alphabet, and a bunch of other things too.
Well I have a stage management test to "study" for and then an APO meeting so I should probably get on that.

Bittersweet

Today I was offered the summer internship that I wanted at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown. I'm pretty excited. It's not stage management, but Glimmerglass is an awesome theatre to have on my resume. I'll be the production administration intern, basically meaning that I will be running all over the place purchasing things, budgeting, making sure that everything is taken care of and running smoothly; which is what I do as treasurer for Mask & Hammer. They provide free housing and will be giving me a very decent weekly stipend. I can also get up to 12 internship credits through the college for this. The only thing that stinks about that though is it costs $180 per credit. So I'll be applying for more financial aid for the summer session. I'm not really worried about that part of it though. My directing professor is being extremely helpful with the process, as is the rest of the faculty. Glimmerglass wants me to start immediately after the musical closes at the end of April. They want me to come in and work part-time so I know what I'm doing by the time I get there in May. They're willing to work around my class schedule and the fact that I don't have a car, so I guess they hardcore want me for this position, which is wicked cool. So the day started on a good note.
Classes were classes, nothing extraordinary. Then a few of us went to one of the dining halls where they were having a Mardi Gras party thing with a band and everything. That was fun too. Then came homework and prep work for a production meeting tomorrow and hanging out with Melissa and Tiff.
Then things went downhill for a bit. Andrew and I broke up. I'm not really that upset by it at all. Yeah he was nice to have around but I am definitely way too busy to have any kind of relationship. I had no time to see him and it just wasn't fair to either of us, so I think we're both better off.
Then I went and helped Diana fix lights for Vagina Monologues, which opens next week. She's using some of the plot from the operas and I feel bad for her because the other designer was absolutely AWFUL. I mean TERRIBLE. The lighting was so uneven and just inadequate. She's not getting paid for the crap she called a lighting design. Rich did most of the work for her. Anyway, that's over though and now Diana, a very competent designer, is going to fix it. Fun stuff. That's all I've got for now. Good night.

Operas

Today we closed the operas. I had a great time working on them and I met some really great people! I was very skeptical about working on a show put on by the music club since they have such a bad reputation (this is mostly due to the director); but I really loved it. Colby is great, I don't know why people say she's so hard to work with. Granted, she doesn't know much about the technical side of theatre, but who cares? As a stage manager you need to adapt to all types of different directors. I put more work into this show than into any other show I've ever worked on and the difference is that there was absolutely nothing in it for me this time. I wasn't doing it for a class or for credit, and for once I actually felt like the work I was doing was appreciated. Colby kept thanking me profusely and I know that she's sincere when she says that kind of stuff. Ok I'll stop being mushy lol...
After we finished strike today me and a few others went to dinner and then hung out for a while before going to see Across the Universe, which was playing in the movie theatre on campus. Then we decided it would be fun to play on the ice so we hopped on the pond by the college union and danced and played for a while, it was great. Then we were walking on the path around the pond when UPD showed up to make sure we weren't on the ice because "it's dangerous" even though there was like 6 inches of ice lol. So then we got food and hung out more and had an amazing time. I honestly can't recall the last time I had so much fun :-)
Time for bed!!