Located 30 miles NW of Boston, Lowell is the fourth largest city in Massachusetts, with a population of 103,000. Due to its position at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers, it was founded in the 1820s as a planned manufacturing center for textiles. Several businesses and products originated in Lowell, including CVS/pharmacy, Moxie Soft Drink and telephone numbers (Lowell is the 1st city in the US to have phone numbers). Lowell is also the birthplace of several important individuals, such as Jack Kerouac, Bette Davis, James Whistler, Olympia Dukakis and Ed McMahon. With its motto of “Art is the Handmaid of Human Good”, this arts-friendly community has served as the filming locale of several movies, including ‘School Ties’ with Matt Damon and Brendan Fraser, and ‘The Invention of Lying’ with Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner.
Our performance venue was at the Durgin Hall Center for the Arts at UMass, a uniquely-configured 900-seat venue. We had a very late load-in at UMass, but unfortunately, did not get the opportunity to perform at this venue. Our two shows were cancelled due to snow (although very little snow accumulated in Lowell), and we got an unexpected day off to rest and relax in Lowell. (On a brighter note, our Lowell shows have been rescheduled and we will be returning in a couple of weeks).
While in Lowell, I participated in my first newspaper interviews with The Connecticut Post and The Delaware State News. While both interviews were conducted via phone, I still found them to be a bit intimidating…let’s hope that my answers were coherent and intriguing!
Next stop – HCC Amoss Center in Bel Air, MD. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
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