home.

Don't worry everyone, I am fine. I know my last post was a bit worrisome, but honestly, last week was a dream come true and made my entire existence on this planet worthwhile. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. But seriously, it was one of the most fulfilling artistic experiences of my career thus far, and seeing those kids' faces during the first touring week cast's performance on Friday warmed my heart. A lot. To keep children of all ages at rapt attention, to make them laugh and smile, to make them gape in wonder at how you do what you do, all the while holding the highest of artistic standards and singing some of the best music ever written (and getting into a giant dress with two other people and sometimes a puppet head named Gretchen) -- well, I couldn't ask for a better job. I am really, really excited for my first tour week (first week in February), but until then I have to keep on top of my game, singing and thinking through the show at least three or four times a week. It's an insanely busy show, because not only do I play Pamina, I also play the Second Lady, which in this production is a Three Headed Lady. And Papageno plays the Third Lady. And sometimes when he's being Papageno, a hysterical puppet head with crazy hair named Gretchen becomes the Third Lady. The whole production is brilliant and hilarious, and I love performing it. And while the aria is tough, it's not very taxing for me to sing, so I'm not in constant worry about running my voice into the ground (unlike the woman who has to play the Queen of the Night and the First Lady. I don't envy her. High Fs at 9:30 in the morning is nobody's cup of tea).

But I am very happy to be home. The place where we stayed was a Catholic retreat center and it was...bare bones. We all got our own rooms with bathrooms in them, thankfully, but the bed was a far cry from the pillow top queen to which I've become accustomed. All of the other singers were super nice and fun to hang out with. In addition to good singing, I think one of the director's main criteria for casting is a good personality. Driving around the state of Wisconsin in a giant white fifteen passenger van with an entire show in the back would be very difficult if everyone involved didn't have a good sense of humor. I've already heard some very funny/interesting stories from returning cast members, such as the time last year when the tour van hit a deer and a baby bear within fifteen minutes of one another in northern Wisconsin. Although I complained in my last post about people saying I'm a bad driver, I plan to use my accident record to get me out of EVER driving that van. I'll carry extra set pieces, anything.

So it's back to the grind this week. And back behind the wheel of a car. I have to say, I'm terrified of driving now. Since I hitched a ride to Madison, and I convinced Nick to drive me around today to run errands and teach one lesson, I haven't been behind the wheel since the accident. I'm not looking forward to it, but much like death, it is inevitable. I'll live. Hopefully.