So much news....and a few fun Brownviille facts!

 A lot can be taken out of you when you work essentiallly everyday from 9 am until 11 pm. We finally got our first day off July 9th. I went to Lincoln, NE with a couple of fellow Brownville kids. We had a lot of fun. Went to the mall, a park with a dinosaur riding a bike, and the Old Market downtown. It was a great day. My second day off was spent with my oldest brother Christopher, his wife Mary and my nephew Thomas (6), niece Elise (almost 4), and niece/ god-daughter Violet (2). They came through for the day and we walked down to the Missouri River and had a fantastic mexican dinner. We then had a bunch of performances and that Friday (July 13) I had my 24th birthday! It was exciting because my boyfriend, Ben, drove 10 hours from Wisconsin to spend the weekend with me. I had a GREAT birthday with wine, chocolate, and friends. Plus, a surprise balloon/streamer party courtesy company member Nathan. The weekend was spent doing a lot of work, but cuddling with my boyfriend whenever possible. I was just so happy to see him. After 2 months apart, we were definitely ready for our little reunion. On Monday, we made a trip to Omaha and went to the zoo as well as the Old Market downtown (different from the Old Market in Lincoln, but essentially the same type of thing). It was a fun filled day. I have always wanted to spend a birthday with a boyfriend as well as go to the zoo with a boyfriend. Lucky me, it worked out! Tuesday, we said goodbye and I dove back into work again. We had a full week of special performances and a full weekend of performances (which we are still in the midst of). It has been crazy and busy, but good. On my off time, I made a wallet out of scrap fabric. Without any help. And without a pattern. Just from my own head. It isn't necessarily the best looking, but I did a pretty good job for my first stab at it and I am super proud. Tuesday, I also had an interview for an AmeriCorps position in Madison, WI. The next day, I was offered the job and I accepted. So this fall, I will start a job with Madison School and Community Recreation (MSCR). I am very excited. It is essentially what I did the last two summers with Project Transformation in Tulsa, except it is a year long after school program instead of a summer day camp. I will also be looking for a second job to keep me afloat in Madison. And now the search for apartments is on! But I am really happy that I achieved my goal of getting an AmeriCorps job for the year so I can get myself a little more financially stable before really pursuing acting. Though, I might audition or do backstage stuff for some shows around Madison. We'll see. I was also lucky in that on Thursday, my brother Chris and his family came back through Brownville and made it in time to see me perform in the Apple Tree (though only Chris and Thomas saw it, because the girls are a little too young to sit through it). It was exciting considering Chris hasn't really seen me perform in probably about 10 years. And getting to see them again was aboslutely fantastic! YAY FAMILY!

Brownville fun fact of the day: Dogs!
We have a plethora of dogs that either roam around Brownville or are owned by theatre people. Our company favorite is probably Spook, an adorable black doggy who is owned by the ex-mayor of Brownville. She is so adorable. She herds us from the theatre, to where we eat meals, and our residence because we are her sheep. She likes to hang out by our theatre and stay cool in our shade or in the scene shop and occasionally tries to get inside. She also hangs out on the porch of our residence or by the Lyceum Restaurant (where we eat meals). She is always a delight when we see her, though she often gives us heart attacks when she runs in front of and alongside trucks and cars zooming on the streets and highway. At night, she is a born killer and will occasionally kill a rabbit or a snake in front of company members. She is very sweet to us, however, and is always ready for somebody to scratch her belly. Her main counterpart is Chocolate Dog. We don't know his name, so we just call him Chocolate Dog. He is a big, dumb, and goofy chocolate lab. Some people don't like him, but I have a soft spot in my heart for him. He likes playing with Spook, swimming in the river, following us around, trying to get people dirty, and peeing on things. He is a goof and I love it. The head of the theatre, our boss Doc, has a weiner dog named Rusty. He is only 2 years old and an absolute cutiepie. Though, he definitely plays favorites and much prefers the company of Doc than anyone else. He will often whine if Doc is away. Rusty's main thing is playing catch. He could do it all day. When he returns the ball, he places it on the ground and then nuzzles it with his nose toward whoever threw it. SO ADORABLE. He also has a habit of sitting up on his hindlegs whenever he wants to get attention. When he does this, he resembles a groundhog or something.There is also Woody, owned by our costume designer (Devon) and director of Look Who's Laughing (Josh). He is a funny hipster dog and many of the company members swear up and down that he understands the human language better than most dogs. He really likes to cuddle, which I enjoy. Along with all these dogs, there are other dogs that roam around Brownville or we have met at people's houses. Brownville is very dog friendly...and I enjoy it. I can't wait to one day have a puppy of my own! :)

Catching up- 2

SO MUCH IS GOING ON!!! We had the 4th of July celebration and we got to walk/ride in the parade with the Brownville Trolley all dressed up in fun costumes. A few of us sang a few songs for the 4th Celebration ceremony- also fun. Then we had a few hours of rehearsal for Wrote and then we had the rest of the evening off (WHAT?!?!?!). So we cooked, ate, partied, watched fireworks, and shot off our own fireworks. It was super fun. This last Thursday, we opening And Then I Wrote... to a FANTASTIC audience. Friday, we opened The Prevalence of Mrs.Seal, which I do lights, sound, and costume mistress for. It is a really funny show too. Saturday and Sunday we did two performances a day, with Wrote and Apple Tree on Saturday and Kindly Leave The Stage and Look Who's Laughing on Sunday. Overall, the performances went really well. And with that- we have all 5 shows open, performed all of them in one weekend, and we finally get our first day off on Monday to explore and have fun. I am really excited for this next week. Monday, I am going to Lincoln with four of my other castmates. Tuesday, I get to see my oldest brother, his wife, and his kiddos. Wednesday, we do a special performan of Wrote. Thursday, we open for another weekend of performances. Friday is my birthday and I am getting the BEST birthday present because my boyfriend is driving 10 hours to visit me for a few days. HOORAY!!!! Then on the next Monday, my boyfriend and I will be going to Omaha to explore, have fun, AND GO TO THE ZOO!! This is going to be such an amazing week.

I really enjoy performing here at Brownville. I love performing the different shows for different reasons. Kindly is fun because it was my first show to work on here. It has a special nostalgic place in my heart. Apple Tree is fun because I get to belt my heart out in the second act and then just be RIDICULOUS in the third act. And Wrote is fun because it is such a crazy and fun script that had such a crazy and fun rehearsal process. Basically, I am just loving performing here. I also love being Script Supervisor for Laughing and Lights/Sound for Mrs. Seal. It means I never really get a break from things, but ya know....that is okay. I enjoy being busy and having my time be occupied.

I know I said a lot of things happened, but didn't post a lot. But, seriously...so much happened that I can only really sum things up...otherwise, this would be FOREVER long.