So much has been happening lately!
I think it’s a common myth that things are slow and calm in the summertime. That when school lets out and work slows down that there’s lots of lots of spare time. Time for naps in the sunlight beneath a whirling ceiling fan. Time for picnics in the park, long scenic drives in the sunset, and margaritas and queso with the girlfriends. Time for mojitos in the shade, sundresses and sunglasses, festivals, picking up a pile of great reads from the library, bubble baths, beaches, long walks with ice cream cones, leisurely vacations, biking, dining out, and lazy days spent poolside or exploring with friends and family- something relaxing, something adventurous, something freeing. Time, time, time, and no schedule to keep.
Well, that’s a load of crap.
I’m at least twice as busy as usual since June showed up. I think I kind of knew this would happen all along, but I also think I was kind of delusional and thought, “eh…maybe things won’t be as crazy as they seem.” Delusional. I have a total of two whole days off the entire month of June. Some of my work days are 14 hours long and others will only be 5 hours. But, very thankfully, I am busy with work that I love and work that I’ve been aching to do and work that is fun and work that matters to me: ASMing Next to Normal at ETC, earning my last four equity points so I can at last turn equity (a lifelong dream of mine!), prepping lesson plans and choreography for 6-weeks of camp, applying for theatre jobs, beefing up my audition repertory, and building my website. It’s good work, and it’s important work, and it’s work I am so happy and lucky to be doing this summer. I’m actually being paid pretty decently to work in professional theatre, I’m meeting some huge career aspirations, and I’m going to get to frolic on the shoes of Lake Michigan for 6 weeks – IF I can just get through the massive quantity of WORK, WORK, WORK that is June!
In fact, this summer really did turn out to be my ‘best case scenario’ summer. Life is good. Really good.
My entire week so far has consisted of full day rehearsals, all day everyday, for Next to Normal, which is so fun and is going just swimmingly. Saturday and today we are in 10-out-0f-12 tech rehearsals (so, 14 hour workdays both days) but the work is so gratifying that I don’t even feel the exhaustion.
On Friday night we did take a little “easy living” break after a wonderfully productive rehearsal. Ted and I walked downtown. It was beautiful out and we stopped at a street cart for dinner. Hot dogs. There’s nothing quite as tasty as a good old ball park-style hot dog on a summer evening. We enjoyed our hot dogs as we walked, stopping at a live jazz club to split a beer and enjoy some jazz and fresh air before catching the opening night production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Cincinnati Shakespeare with free comps from a friend, who designed lighting for the show. As all Complete Works shows are, it was hilarious and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After we got home we walked over to the United Dairy Farmers store, which is a short walk from our home, to pick up some hand-dipped ice cream in waffle cones and eat them while we strolled home in the moonlight. It was a really, really great night. I’ll have a few great escapes like this in June, a few more in July, and then a few in mid and late August – and though they are seemingly few and far between, they are truly worth the wait!
Happy rainy Monday, Cincy. Enjoy!
