an now for something completely different.

if you are interested in another fantastic production, do go see the gift's "a long day's journey into night." i know that i'm kinda partial to one of the leading men, but i'm not the only one that thinks they're doing a great job.

train wrecks and tomato plants.

this past weekend, we opened our show...it seemed to transform quickly from a lot of work into a ton of fun within just a few days. we had nice audiences for previews and saturday night was just as satisfying. some very nice reviews came out this week which never hurts anything.

it's been a rainfest in chicago this week and i don't mind. it seems like each time this weather occurs, i feel calm and at ease...i think it's because it reminds me of seattle (former place of residence). i don't mind because it makes everything so ding dang green which is just fine by me. i went out into the backyard yesterday to check on the tomatoes and they have gone absolutely crazy! i will get a pic when the rain lets up and show you how wild they've gotten. there are lil' toms everywhere! and the big ones are just getting bigger. we've learned one main thing with this our first vegetable garden: don't plant 12 tomato plants in a small, 5 x 10 plot. they will overtake it.

cats in a tub.

it's been such a busy week(s) i have neglected to keep up with my typical house-cleaning regimen. normally, i make it a point to tidy at least once a week. i vacuum (because the evil of cat hair is ever-present), i dust, i move stacks of paper around (occasionally throwing some into the recycling bin), do the litterbox, clean the bathroom...the cleaning is usually the first thing to go when life gets crazy. b and i are both in previews for our shows and i am ready for them both to open so we can get into the groove (so to speak).

in the midst of the chaos, i took a moment to clean the bathroom yesterday. it was much needed. after a thorough tub-scrubbing, i found both cats taking naps inside it. cats. they do the darndest things!

mmm...

i made cookies.

enjoy.

the sore throat is strep throat. sucksville.

heading into tech week for the show, so you might not hear from me much...until next time, please enjoy this video on meiosis (made with love by my friend joe and his science class).



wait a minute...watch this too.



i feel better now.

I'VE GOT A SORE THROAT!
(this makes me angry.)


in happier news, here's some more info

"ROUSTABOUT:

the great circus train wreck!"

for your wednesday.

regroup

so, it's been a busy couple of weeks and i am sorry that i've not been able to post more...i'm rehearsing a bunch for "roustabout" and learning how to teach classes (which i'll be doing in the fall, a big ol' job switch), so there's been a lot of learning going around for me.

chicago is truly perfect outside today, 80-some degrees and sunny and breezy and so much better than 104.

right now i'm taking a moment to regroup from the seemingly constant phone ringing. it's literally ringing off the hook today.

a soundscape of office noise at 12:01pm:

me buzzing the front door
phone ringing
me buzzing the second door
my co-worker trying to make life plans with her boyfriend over the phone
children screaming
children "talking"
a teacher, "are there any sales at the gap?"
my bosses chatting in low tones, a bit further away
my keyboard tip-tapping as i type
more buzzing

i consider this to be a quiet moment.

haircut today.

then i gotta go buy a hula hoop.

veggie update!

remember these?


















well, take a look at 'em now! that's some progress, people!

ahoy!

on wednesday we went to visit the tall ships. there were a bunch of very tall ships visiting the chicago river and we went aboard each one of them. it made us want to travel on a tall ship for a few months...

good weekend.

it was a weekend chock-full of rehearsals for the next show i'm doing...it's called "roustabout: the great circus trainwreck" and it will be up and running later this month at the neo-futurarium. yippee!

after my rehearsal, i popped in to visit dean who was holding auditons for the show he'll be directing this fall (you can read about it in the above link). i got to witness, among other things, my first "reverse transvestite striptease." as much as i want to reveal more to you, i cannot...you might just have to wait for the show.

later that evening, some friends and i attended a lovely dance/performance piece (pictured above) that my friend kasey created. nice work, my dear!

and speaking of good work...this past saturday, our friends amy and jim had a baby. well, i'll give amy most of the credit for doing the actual having as she did the having naturally. wowser. if you so desire, you can find out more about their new arrival by visiting amy's blog. a big, warm congratulations to the beck family!

ahhhh...

sweet mama! i have just felt something that i've not felt in more than a week. a sweet, sweet cool breeze! rejoice! there is rain pouring from the sky, shattering this mass of heat that's been hanging in the air since i don't know how long. my tomatos will be pleased.

pitchfork 06

so this past weekend, we braved the blistering heat to attend both days of the pitchfork music festival at union park in our fair city of chicago. we listened to a lot of great music, ate surprisingly good festival food, and spent a lot of time drinking water in order to not pass out. i have included some digipic-highlights below...enjoy!





b contemplates the many, many bands appearing at the festival and wonders which one might tickle his fancy...as he wears a tiny sombrero.










nora and i attempt to keep cool as the heat index heads into the triple digits...









one of the most engaging performances of day one was given by art brut. they were awesome, swaggering and sweaty...










later that evening, the silver jews worked their magic on the crowd of adoring fans...







day two was not nearly as toasty and it was kept buoyant by a too-short set by jens lekman. fun times. aesop rock and mr. lif also presented us with some very fresh rhymes and beats. i have no pic of that...i was too busy throwing my hands up in the air like i just didn't care.








as the sun went down, everything seemed to get a lot better...we had a real nice time.