A Numbers Game

20...5...30...47...70...144...

No, these are not the combination to a safe or winning lottery numbers. What these numbers represent are both important markers and goals in my 'Strega Nona' adventure. While it has been a few weeks since I last blogged (after all, I have been busy enjoying my holiday season!), I have been reflecting upon the past, present and future. What do these numbers signify?

20 - There are exactly twenty days before I hit the road again. The total length of my holiday break is actually 7 weeks long, which seems like a sufficient amount of time, but has vanished at an astonishing rate. Seven weeks is not that much time when there are holidays to celebrate, life to live, people to see and lines to review. Given the extended time that we will spend away from the show on our break, it has become necessary for me to review the show on a daily basis to keep it 'fresh' in both my body and mind. It is so easy for a character and lines from a show to leave you when you are not performing it regularly. I must do my best to keep up my voice, stamina and memory so that I can create stellar performances for our next leg.

47 - Twenty days is also not that much time when there are holidays to celebrate, life to live, people to see and suitcases to pack. In twenty days, I will be heading to Boston for the longest leg of this tour. I will not be able to return home for forty-seven days (a long period of time compared to the two sixteen-day stints that I have already completed) and I am not quite sure how I feel about that. How does one pack their life into one suitcase, one carry-on bag and a backpack? How will I be able to live out of suitcases and hotels for almost two months?

5 - In the seven weeks that I have been home, I have been at the gym five days a week to keep up my stamina and endurance for the show, and also to work off this horrid five pounds that I managed to gain during the first leg of the tour. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, eating right on the road has been EXTREMELY difficult. However, for the coming year, I have devised a plan which will enable me to eat healthy and to exercise as well. Number one - smaller portions. I will make a stronger effort to eat smaller portions during the 2010 legs of the tour. I think that I will be able to accomplish this by budgeting the daily amount of money spent toward food. So far, I have not been that stringent about how much of my per diem is spent on a daily basis.

30 - Number two - thirty minutes of exercise. While on the road, I have made the goal to do at least thirty minutes of exercise on a daily basis. If the hotel has a fitness center, I will make an effort to use it. If there is no fitness center, but I am close enough to a 24-Hour Fitness, I will go to the gym. And if I have no access to any fitness facility, I have come up with several creative exercise options: running up/down stairs at the hotel, doing sit-ups and push-ups in my hotel room, using my castmate's jumprope and working out with my exercise DVDs in my hotel room. With this many options, I have no excuse not to exercise.

70 and 144 - our last performance at Purdue marked the seventieth time that I had done the show; by the time we finish the tour, I will have performed the show 144 times. While it is always exciting to be performing in a new venue, with a new configuration, crew, audience and conditions, I know you must be wondering...how will I be able to keep each performance fresh and new? You might think that it would be easy to become bored with anything after doing it 70 or 144 times. But for me, it is a challenge that I am willing to accept. I once had a wonderful friend and director from Reno, who told me that every time you perform, you must experience and discover everything as if it is the character's first time. This practice has enabled me to escape boredom onstage and keep my performances fun and exciting. I bring this practice to each performance that I give, be it my first or my hundredth.

What the mathematician in me has realized is that the numbers listed above play a significant role in my 'Strega Nona' journey. What the artist in me has discovered is that if I am able to understand their impact fully and make the most of the opportunities they present, how could I not have a great adventure on the next leg of the tour?

Next stop - the Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/21/09-11/23/09 - Our final stop for this leg - Loeb Playhouse, W. Lafayette, IN

From Paducah, KY, we travelled to a new time zone (EST) and the final stop in this leg of our tour - West Lafayette, IN. The cast was brimming with anticipation as this destination marked the end of the first portion of our tour and also the start of our seven week holiday break! On our way to West Lafayette, we passed Metropolis, IL, the home of Superman, and many, many, MANY fields filled with corn and wheat.



West Lafayette is located 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis and is the home of Purdue University. Founded around 1888, the city is located on the Wabash River across the river from Lafayette, IN. Both cities are named in honor of General Lafayette, the French military hero who fought with and aided the Continental Army during the American Revolution. With a population of around 29,000, West Lafayette is the most densely populated city in Indiana. The growth of Purdue University in the late 1800s fueled the growth of the city. The largest commercial area in the city, The Levee, is a thriving, 90-acre, urban district featuring shops, restaurants, hotels, a movie theatre and skating center. During our stay, we visited two businesses in this location - Noodles & Company (a chain, noodle restaurant - very good) and Insomnia Cookies (a cookie chain featuring delivery and late night hours - not so good).



The Loeb Playhouse, our final performance venue, is located on the Purdue campus and contains two tiers of 1011 seats total. We played three shows to packed audiences. Although our first show at the Loeb Playhouse was rough, both technically and performance-wise, our last two shows were great...full of crispness and energy since everyone was so excited to return home.



We loaded up our van and trailer for the last time in 2009, drove to the Indianapolis Airport for our flights to Atlanta (for Jess) and San Francisco (for the rest of the cast) and waved goodbye again to our trusty crew, Daniel and Craig. We were homeward bound!

I am amazed at how quickly the first portion of the tour flew by. Of course, we were only gone for a month, but it was a month filled with exciting memories, happenings, laughs and tears. The next leg of our journey will be three times as long, in much colder climates, but I can only imagine what amazing adventures will happen. In this season of 'thanks', I am extremely grateful to have this unique opportunity to work as a professional actor, in a job that I love, with people that I love, admire and respect.

Next stop in 2010 - the Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

Ode to Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, a staple of the Strega Nona team's diet

As I mentioned in past blogs, the experience of eating on the road has been difficult...VERY difficult. Given the varying palates of the cast, it is often hard to reach a consensus on where to dine. Dining choices are limited by the region in which we are touring. And then, there are the portions - restaurant portions are 2-4 times the size of a normal, healthy portion, and we usually feel impelled to eat everything on our plates since we have no/limited access to microwaves and fridges.



Needless to say, my dining experiences on the road have ranged from divine (Himalayan food in Durango!) to detestable (Chinese buffet in Arkansas is ALWAYS a bad idea). There has been one restaurant, however, which has provided Team Strega Nona with great nutritional satisfaction - Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches.

Jimmy John's is a gourmet sandwich chain, serving delicious concoctions filled with ample amounts of meats, cheeses and vegetables. I had my first Jimmy John's experience in Fayetteville, AR, and it was wonderful! The sandwiches are filling without being overwhelming, and depending on which sandwich and toppings you order, you can have a fairly nutritional meal. Each restaurant is decorated with funny neon signs and placards, making eating at Jimmy John's also a fun-filled experience.



The best thing about Jimmy John's, however, are the pickles. Whenever you order a sandwich, you have the option of making a combo by adding chips and a drink. Since their chips are fried in peanut oil and I am allergic to peanuts, I was allowed to substitute a pickle for the chips in my combo. Jimmy John's pickles are HUGE (basically, the size of a regular cucumber), extremely crunchy and full of dill deliciousness. Check out this picture of me and my pickle:



We visited Jimmy John's a handful of times during our first leg of the tour. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to visit them again in the second leg of our tour. YUM!

Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/19/09-11/20/09 – “Paducah, KY…halfway between Possum’s Trot and Monkey’s Brow”

From mediocre West Memphis, we trekked to Paducah, KY. Located at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers (i.e. where the two rivers meet), across the river from Metropolis, IL, this city hosts a population of about 27000 people and covers 19.5 square miles. Paducah began around 1815 as a mixed community of Native Americans and white settlers. It was named after Chief Paduke, who welcomed people as they travelled down the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers on flatboats, and served as a hub for the Illinois Railroad.

From our first rehearsal, the entire cast has been excited to visit Paducah. Sadly, Paducah does not have a Piggly Wiggly supermarket as we had hoped, but it is a beautiful, quaint city, nevertheless. Twenty blocks of downtown Paducah have been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. The city holds a yearly musical festival called ‘Paducahpalooza’. According to Wikipedia, Paducah is also known for its doughnuts. The founder of Krispy Kreme, Vernon Carver Rudolph was affiliated with a local Paducah doughnut shop. He turned his earnings from this shop and recipe for a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe into the Krispy Kreme dynasty. Several Paducah businesses serve doughnuts that are similar to the Krispy Kreme doughnut.

During our first night in Paducah, I received news from my fiancé John that our home in San Jose had been burglarized. I felt quite helpless, since I could not be home to comfort him and assess the damage. There is nothing more violating than having strangers entering your property, be it a house or a vehicle, and stealing your possessions. Thankfully, it appears that our loss was minimal (only the Xbox 360, some jewelry and our cash box) and our animals were not harmed during the event. Definitely not an experience that anyone wants to have happen when they are away from home…

But back to my Paducah adventure…

Located in downtown Paducah was our beautiful performance venue – the Luther F. Carson Center for the Performing Arts. This five years young theatre features 1806 seats, three tiers of seating and is absolutely gorgeous. The audience was only seated in the orchestra section and was almost full for one of our two performances. It was a strange sensation, heading back into performance mode after a few days away from the show. Unfortunately, our Paducah performances did not go without a hitch. Due a radio frequency issue, our sound system had problems and our microphones did not function properly. My microphone seemed to have the most trouble, cutting in and out throughout the shows. As a result, I performed with a handheld mike for the majority of our second show. It was pretty difficult playing a magical, musical character and having only one hand functional, but I managed to get the hang of it. An experience that kept me on my toes and allowed me to perform in ‘Strega Nona: The Rock Show’. =)

Following our performances, we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the local Olive Garden, where we had some of the best restaurant service ever and also met an amusing server named Mark, who fondly referred to himself as “a freak on a leash” and elicited giggles from our group. Jess and I made a short trip to the nearby Wal-Mart and then were followed in the parking lot and down the street by a strange man. As a side note, I have taken to not removing my show make-up after our shows in Texas, Arkansas and Kentucky. It seems my heavy stage make-up (rather than a natural face) fits in quite well in this region of the US.



Three of our tour members – Jimmy, Mike and Craig - have decided to absorb the Kentucky culture and have taken up pipe smoking. I enjoy the smell of their honey- and vanilla-scented tobacco and have made a promise to enjoy a “smoke” with the boys one of these days.

During my late night internet surfing, I discovered my picture on the OCPAC website, under their ‘Strega Nona Fun’ section. Check it out:

http://www.ocpac.org/home/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?NavID=739

We only have one more stop in this leg of our tour before we head home for the holidays and we are all bubbling with anticipation, eager to return to our loved ones, beds and comforts of home.



Next stop – the Loeb Playhouse in West Lafayette, IN. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/16/09-11/19/09 – Walking in Memphis…West Memphis, AR

After a cold, windy, wet and long (7+hours) drive from Richardson, TX, we arrived in West Memphis, AR. West Memphis is located across the Mississippi River from Memphis, TN. Situated at the intersection of two of the most travelled interstate highways, Interstates 40 and 55, the city possesses a high crime rate. Notable residents of West Memphis include B.B. King and Sid Eudy (better known as Sid Vicious).

Although the motto of West Memphis is “Beautiful from every direction”, there was nothing all too beautiful about our extended stay there. A cancellation at one of our venues brought us to this city for a few days. Even though it is located close to Memphis, TN, lack of funds and our cumbersome, impossible-to-park van/trailer combo prevented us from visiting and enjoying this neighboring city. Several of our rooms had bloody sheets on the beds (yuck!) and housekeeping did not clean our room once during our three-day stay.

Our days in West Memphis were spent either in understudy rehearsals or channel surfing. Sadly, our hotel did not have the Bravo Channel, which only intensified the ennui experienced by me and my roommate, Jimmy.

We did, however, have two great dining experiences during our stay. First, at Jim Neely’s Interstate BBQ in Memphis, TX, where the ribs and chicken were not only delicious, but also Flintstone-sized; next, at Margaritas in West Memphis, where both the food and drinks were delectable.

We eagerly departed West Memphis, AR, bound for the Bluegrass State.

Next stop – the Luther F. Carson Center for Performing Arts in Paducah, KY. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

A Mighty Wind*

(*The characters contained within this story may or may not resemble members of the Strega Nona cast. Reader-discretion is advised.)



Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Jimmy. Jimmy was a wonderful little boy, who possessed a wonderful singing voice, and enjoyed laughing and eating. Jimmy consumed a diet comprised entirely of fiber – fiber bars, bran flakes, whole wheat bread, apples and broccoli…lots and LOTS of broccoli. If, like the old adage says, you are what you eat, Jimmy would be a walking bran muffin. As a result of his high-fiber diet, Jimmy would fart…and fart…AND FART! He would fart in the van and in elevators, evoking winces from his fellow passengers. He would fart in his hotel room, engulfing his roommates in clouds of smelly air. He would fart in rehearsals and onstage, much to the chagrin of his fellow castmates. His farts ranged in sound from tentative squeaks to bugle-like calls to loud foghorns calling to lost ships in the night; and ranged in frequency from single peals to multiple shots in succession. Sometimes his tuba-sounding farts were so loud that they would awaken Jimmy from his slumber.

One day, Jimmy met a little witch who advised him that his gassy habits were not always welcome, but still giggled nevertheless upon hearing his flatulent calls. “Jimmy,” the little witch said, “I have a challenge for you. If you can make it through an entire day without passing gas, I will provide you with a handsome reward. However, if you fail and emit even one single noxious toot from your bottom, you must face the consequences.”

Jimmy reflected upon the witch’s challenge and asked, “What is the reward?” The witch replied, “Why that is easy…your favorite thing in the entire world…delicious phở soup whenever and wherever you want it. If you make it through one entire day without farting, I will give you this magic soup bowl that will fill with phở at your command. Wouldn’t you like that Jimmy?”

Jimmy nodded in agreement as phở was his favorite thing in the entire world. “Your challenge is easy, little witch,” Jimmy said, “I know that I will succeed.” The witch emitted a long, high-pitched laugh and warned Jimmy, “Remember, not one single toot, Jimmy. Fail and you must face the consequences.”

“What are the consequences?” Jimmy inquired. And the little witch laughed again, “You shall see Jimmy, you shall see. Let’s just say that they will be very fitting…are you up to my challenge?” Jimmy accepted the witch’s quest and smiled in satisfaction, knowing that there was no way that he could lose. “We shall begin tomorrow, Jimmy. Remember – not a single toot!”

The following day Jimmy woke up, eager to prove to the witch that he could manage to make it through one entire day without passing any gas. He proceeded to consume his usual diet of high-fiber foods – fiber bars, bran flakes, apples and broccoli…lots and LOTS of broccoli. Jimmy managed to make it through the first half of the day without a single fart. “Silly witch,” Jimmy said, “see how easy your task is…that phở bowl will be mine by tonight.”

A few more hours passed without a single squeak or toot…and then it happened. Jimmy felt a faint gurgle in his stomach, the sound of bubbles brewing. “Not a single toot – come on, Jimmy, you can do it!” As the day passed on, Jimmy grew hungry and consumed more fiber. His tummy growled and churned, intent on pushing out the gas created as a result of digesting his high-fiber diet. His belly rumbled in protestation and the pressure began to build in his intestines. Jimmy clenched and pinched, desperately trying to prevent the gas from escaping. Finally, the pressure of the gas was too much for Jimmy to bear. He had to fart and fart soon or else he would explode!

Hoping to dampen the sound of his impending fart and to fool the little witch, Jimmy searched for a body of water into which he could jump and fart. As he ran further and further, sharp gas pangs riddled his sides. He could bear it no longer. He found a small pond, jumped in and emitted the longest fart he had ever released in his life. He glanced over his shoulders, nervous that the witch might have heard him. Luckily, the water from the pond had muffled the sound of the fart and all that could be heard was the sound of bubbles percolating.

Jimmy smiled a grin of satisfaction, convinced that he had eluded the little witch and won his prize. But before he knew it, the little witch appeared and scolded him. “Jimmy,” she said, “you have failed my challenge. I warned you – not one single toot. Did you think I wouldn’t know that you had farted in the pond?”

“Um…yes?” Jimmy replied. And at that moment, in the pond water all around him, dozens of dead fish and frogs began to rise to the surface. Jimmy had killed the pond’s inhabitants with his flatulence. “I warned you, Jimmy,” the little witch said and raised her delicate, gnarled hand. In an instant, Jimmy was changed into a beetle…but not just any beetle…a stink beetle. A fitting consequence for a very flatulent little boy.



THE END


Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/14/09-11/15/09 – Charles W. Eisemann Center, Richardson, TX

Heigh ho, heigh ho – it’s back to Texas, we go! From Fayetteville, AR, we journeyed to Richardson, TX, which is located about 15 miles outside of Dallas. We enjoyed a nice stay at the venue-provided Holiday Inn Express in Richardson. Our performance venue was the Charles W. Eisemann Center, a 1563-seat facility with two theatres and a reception hall. Upon arriving at the center, we were excited to see our show featured on the venue’s external banners.


Although our one show at the Richardson was not filled to capacity, the entire orchestra section (about 800+ seats) was sold out and we put on a solid show. We participated in an overwhelming meet and greet in the theatre’s steamy, greenhouse-like lobby – the kids and their parents swarmed the actors, pinning us against walls and tables in an effort to obtain our autographs and pictures. During our meet and greets, we always try to have minimal physical contact with the children in order to avoid illness (like colds, the flu or even pink eye, as one of our young Richardson patrons appeared to have!). When the audience members engulf the performers, however, it makes it very difficult to minimize our physical contact with the audience. Thank goodness our Tour Manager, Daniel, surprised us with a treat of rainbow popsicles following our crazy lobby experience (of course, we only enjoyed them once we washed our hands).

Upon leaving the Eisemann Center, we encountered a torrential downpour so strong that it set off car alarms in the local Target parking lot and soaked several of my castmates to the bone. The rainy weather, in combination with our spaghetti-laden show, put us in the mood for warm pasta. We retreated to the local Spaghetti Warehouse, where we soon discovered that not only was it raining outside, it was also raining inside. Our new, inexperienced server managed to spill an entire tray of drinks on Jen, dousing her clothes and her iPhone. And to top it all off, there was a leak in the ceiling, which dripped steadily on Jess’ back, arm and lap.

We returned to our cozy hotel rooms to rest up for our long drive the next day to Arkansas. I found that our producers, Maximum Entertainment, have loaded a press release for our show to the internet and have uploaded a promotional video to YouTube. Check it out:

Next stop – West Memphis, AR for a three-stay and understudy rehearsals. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

Meet Carl – Our New Tour Member!

Somewhere in our journey from Fayetteville, AR, to Richardson, TX, we acquired a new tour member – Carl the Caterpillar. I first noticed Carl’s multi-colored, segmented presence when I looked in the back seat of our van and saw Carl riding on the window, next to Kevin.

What can I say about Carl, with his impressive green, orange, red, yellow and purple body? Carl prefers to face the back of the van so that he can practice his moonwalking skills and guard our luggage (don’t mess with Carl’s wicked caterpillar-fu). Carl’s official tour duties are threefold: to serve both as tour security, group counselor and tour interpreter (he is extremely proficient in regional dialects). Although he can be reserved and stoic at times, Carl is a great source of back seat companionship and words of wisdom. His presence is comforting and reassuring, helping to round out our odd number in the van. Welcome, Carl - here’s to many more Strega Nona adventures!



Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/12/09-11/14/09 – Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR

Over a three-day span, we played five shows at Baum Walker Hall at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR. The Walton Arts Center is Arkansas’ largest performing arts center, built in 1992 as a result of funds donated by the Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame). This 1200-seat theatre serves as a cultural center for the Northwest Arkansas area. Four of our five shows were sold out, which is always nice and reassuring to everyone. In addition to participating in our standard meet and greet in the lobby of the theatre post-show, two of our cast members (Kevin and myself) made a public appearance at the main library. For a small, but nevertheless, appreciative audience, we read from Tomie DePaola’s ‘Strega Nona’ and also did a drawing for tickets to our final show. A rewarding performing experience was had by all in Fayetteville – both onstage and off.

Outside of the Walton Arts Center is a small, pleasant garden with two creepy bronze statues. We spent a few moments playing in this garden, posing with these statues. Check out some of our photos below:















I am always amazed by the amount of trust that is necessary for a show to exist. There is the trust that a director establishes with his/her actors to create a safe and nurturing environment in which they can breathe life into their characters. There is the trust that each actor must develop with his/her fellow actors in order to work as an ensemble. There is the trust that each actor has in their crew, designers and technicians, to know that the production will run smoothly. And then there is the immense amount of trust that we impart in the local crew, who are usually strangers to us, each time we enter a new performance venue. It is refreshing to know that we are all here for a common purpose, to create a living, breathing theatrical experience for everyone to enjoy.

We wrapped up our fabulous four-day adventure in Fayetteville, AR, and proceeded onward to the next stop in our journey – back to the Lone Star State, we go!

Next stop – the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX. Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/11/09 - Happy Veterans Day - Welcome to the Track Capital of the World!

From ladybug-filled Texarkana, TX, we journeyed east to Fayetteville, AR. Like Texas, I have never been to Arkansas before. Our drive through Arkansas was pleasant - basically a lot of farmland, trees and mountains. And then, there it was, like an oasis in the desert...Fayetteville, the Track Capital of the World! Located in Northwest Arkansas in the Ozarks, Fayetteville is the home of the University of Arkansas. The university's track and field program has won 42 national championships, hence the flashy moniker. Fayetteville is the third most populous city in Arkansas and was the first home of the Clintons when they taught law at the University of Arkansas.



Fayetteville is a fun college town, filled with many unique shops (like 'Condom Sense', a sex shop, and 'Flying Possum Leather', a handmade leather goods store), restaurants, businesses (a bank located in a train car) and a great performing arts center (the Walton Arts Center). The main drag, Dickson Street, runs through the center of town and empties onto the campus of the university.



In one of our several Fayetteville outings, we found a statue that resembled one of the characters in our play (Papa Bambo the baker) at the Hoghaus Brewery. On another outing, we met 'Bugsy', the Dickson Street dog, who sits in the window and guards the 'Flying Possum Leather' store.



The cast experienced a great drag show at Tangerine, a gay bar (sadly, I missed out on this as I stayed in the hotel to fight off a cold). We also discovered what may be one of the best postcards ever - check out the image below:

With all of these great sights to see and experience, how could we not have a blast in Fayetteville? We knew that our extended stay here would be almost as much fun as our stay in Durango, CO!

Until the next adventure...

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/9/09-11/10/09 – On the road again…Lutcher Theater, Orange, TX

We gathered at the Oakland Airport early in the morning, excited to see each other after the short break home and eager to continue our journey across America. We flew to Houston by way Salt Lake City and reunited with our van and our crew at the Houston Airport. From Houston, we drove three long and rainy hours (thanks, Hurricane Ida!) to Orange, TX. But the long day of travel was not over once we arrived at our hotel, as we still had to complete our load-in at the Lutcher Theatre.



The Lutcher Theater is a multi-tiered, 1450-seat theatre with beautiful brickwork inside the house. We played two wonderful, packed, back-to-back performances at this theatre, which is always great. What made our stop at the Lutcher Theater so enjoyable, however, were the extremely nice staff and volunteers that work at this theatre. They are the modicum of Southern hospitality at its best. From the local crew to the ushers to the resident house poodle ‘Simone’, all take great pride in their town and their theatre. I loved their lovely accents and charming vocabulary, peppered with “darling” and “girl”. The ushers are comprised of a group of giving senior citizen volunteers. As a parting treat, they provided us with a delicious Southern cooked lunch, complete with fried chicken, coleslaw and corn bread – DELICIOUS!



We pulled away from the lovely Lutcher Theater in a food-induced bliss and headed toward our next stop in Fayetteville, AR. I have never been to Texas before (with the exception of landing at the airport in Dallas) – it is very flat! It seems that many of the ‘interstates’ are not major freeways, but instead large roads that pass through small town after small town. Many churches and religious signs decorate the landscape, along with firework stands and ‘Pappy’s Bargain Barn’. We stayed the night in the small town of Texarkana, TX (not to be confused with Texarkana, AR!). Nothing too memorable about our stay except for the copious numbers of ladybugs we each found in our rooms.

Next stop – Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/4/09-11/8/09 – This Little Piggy…

I arrived back home in the Bay Area feeling extremely bloated, puffy and fat. When I weighed myself, I was shocked to discover that I had gained NINE pounds in my two weeks on the road. Fortunately, five of the nine pounds was water weight, but gaining four pounds in two weeks was not a good thing. If I kept gaining weight at that rate, I would be FORTY pounds heavier by the end of the tour!

Eating on the road is difficult for many reasons. It is not always easy to find healthy, filling food everywhere and it is often trying to reach a consensus on where to eat. And then there are the portions…the restaurant servings are large, and refrigeration and access to a microwave are impossible, so we feel impelled to eat every last bit to get our money’s worth. Many times, we are forced to spend long hours sitting in the van following a large meal. And we have had access to a fitness center at only a handful of our hotels. No wonder I packed the pounds on! I knew that for the next part of the tour, portion-control would be key, along with being more physically active during our down time. My costume simply does not allow me any extra room to gain weight.

Life on the road also has its other share of issues. There is the loss of sense of time and location - we have a hard time remembering what day it is and where we are. There are the backaches and neckaches from sleeping in the van or on lumpy beds and pillows. There is homesickness and depression from missing loved ones. There is the bloating, water retention and constipation. Our poor little bodies are having a hard time adjusting to our changes in routine and time, and I am not quite sure if these issues will ever be corrected with more time on the road.

My break at home was spent at the gym, exercising away my new poundage, in the kitchen, cooking healthy and nutritious cuisine, and in bed, catching up on lost sleep. Five days to get my body and mind back on track before hitting the road again.



Next stop – Lutcher Theater in Orange, TX. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/2/09-11/3/09 – Popejoy Hall, Albuquerque, NM and Homeward Bound

We arrived in Albuquerque, NM, still coasting off of the memories of our Durango adventure. At this point in the tour, exhaustion had set in, but we were excited as we would be travelling home to the Bay Area in one day, for a brief break. Ah, to be home again in our own houses, with our loved ones and comfy beds and clean showers!

Our stay in Albuquerque was pleasant – our hotel was venue-provided and had a fitness center, which is always a plus. We enjoyed an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant, where the food and margaritas were decent, but the pricing was ridiculous. The restaurant menu was fairly priced, but they insisted on charging for all the extras, including an extra plate and extra tortillas. Ridiculous, right?


We had an extremely early morning the following day with a 5:30am van call and 6:00am load-in at Popejoy Hall, another beautiful, multi-tiered, 1950-seat theatre. Performing in Albuquerque, which is 5500 feet above sea level, was exhausting (this theatre was also equipped with oxygen tanks), but not as difficult as performing in Durango. We performed two great back-to-back shows to appreciative, packed audiences – a perfect way to end our first two weeks on the road.

And then we were homeward bound! We departed the theatre, waved goodbye to our crew, Daniel and Craig, and headed to the airport for our flight to Oakland via Salt Lake City. The first two weeks on the road were a great test run for all of us – an introduction to our exhausting schedule and routine, a lesson in what to pack and what to remove from our heavy suitcases and an eyeopener to the next six months of our lives. Although the two weeks flew by, the memories and events which occurred within them would not be as fleeting.
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Next stop (in one week) – Lutcher Theater in Orange, TX. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

11/1/09-11/2/09 – Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO

As we walked up and down Main Street in Durango, I noticed that all of the storefronts had posters for Strega Nona. Since the population of Durango is only around 15,000, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people would turn up at our show.

Our performance venue was at Fort Lewis College, a two-tier, 600-seat theatre. Sadly, our one and only show had only 200-300 people in attendance and was one of our roughest performances ever. Due to the high elevation (Durango is at 6500 feet above sea level and Fort Lewis College is at 6750 feet), most of the cast experienced altitude sickness, including shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fatigue and dizziness. Oxygen tanks were positioned strategically in the wings just in case they were needed. Of course, being unable to breathe makes it extremely difficult to perform an extremely physical show, let alone a musical! Having lived and performed in Reno, NV, which is at about 4500 feet above sea level, I thought that I would have an easier time, but even the altitude got the best of me.

Following our performance and load-out, we enjoyed a nice evening filled with Himalayan cuisine (very similar to Indian food, but delicious nevertheless!) and pleasant Bluegrass music at the historic Diamond Belle Saloon.

We concluded our memorable Durango sojourn with a visit to Thru the Lens, an old-time photography studio located on Main Street. The studio was featured a couple of years ago on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', when Oprah visited it with her best friend, Gayle King, in a cross-country tour of the US. We had TOO MUCH FUN at the studio, participating in an Old West-style photo shoot of the Strega Nona cast and crew. The perfect end to an extraordinary and unforgettable trip to Durango, CO!

Next stop – Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, NM. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine

10/31/09 – Happy Halloween from Durango, CO!

After a brief stopover in Flagstaff, AZ (and my first Cracker Barrel visit ever – yummy!), we travelled to Durango, CO. Our long drive through Arizona unfortunately did not take us to the Grand Canyon, but we were still able to see many majestic red rock formations. The voyage constantly reminded me of my visit a few years ago to St. George, UT, where the landscape and vegetation are very similar. We made a short stop at Four Corners, USA, headed into New Mexico and then entered the mountains of Colorado.

Before we knew it, we arrived in beautiful Durango, CO! Durango is a quaint, picturesque ski town. This former mining and railroad town boasts a rich history. Many of the buildings in Durango are haunted, including the regal Rochester Hotel at which we were staying. The Rochester Hotel has been around since the 1890s, where it served as low-income housing for railroad and mine workers. In the 1990s, the city decided to renovate the building and convert it into a hotel. However, all of the construction workers refused to return to work because of strange events that occurred onsite. According to legend, Room 204 of the hotel is frequented by a playful female ghost dressed either in full Victorian garb or in classy lingerie. The room books up a year in advance for Halloween stays with people hopeful of seeing a ghost. While I did not have the opportunity to stay in this room, I did have the pleasure of staying in the room directly below it, Room 104. Let me tell you…I heard every single little noise and several times even heard strange noises at odd hours of the night.

Our stay at the Rochester Hotel was venue-provided and was extremely nice and comfortable, very much like a bed and breakfast. The hotel rented bicycles to guests, provided fresh baked cookies and cocoa every day and each room was stocked with Aveda products. Pure bliss!

Halloween is a crazy night in Durango! The streets are filled with many costumed and inebriated individuals and at midnight, there is a raucous Halloween parade on Main Street. Alas, we were sans costumes this evening, as our luggage did not allow us any extra room for costumes (and frankly, the desire to wear costumes was not dire as we wear costumes almost every single day at work). As we walked from one bar to another, one of the locals approached us and asked one female member of our group, “Where’d you get your mask at?” Of course, she was mortified by the comment, but the event provided a hearty laugh for the remainder of our group.

At one of the bars we visited, we were treated to a peepshow by female local. Hoping to obtain a free drink, this colorful local climbed on top of the bar and proceeded to flash her boobs and nether regions to the bartender and everyone seated at the bar. Drinks and a show - what lucky individuals we were! We wrapped up the evening at Lady Falconburg’s, another local pub, where we saw many creative costumes, including The Flintstones, Jesus, and a Dick in a Box.


The weather in Durango was cold and dry for our sojourn, with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. At least we had our yummy cocoa, thick quilts and hotel ghosts to keep us warm!

Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine