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Aaah, Memphis, TN - the final destination in our Strega Nona touring adventure! Located in southwest Tennessee on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee and the third largest city in the Southeastern U.S., with a population of 670,100. Founded in 1819, Memphis is named after the ancient capital of Egypt, and was settled first by the Mississippian culture and then the Chicasaw Indian tribe. Because of its flood-free location high above the Mississippi River, Memphis was a major transportation center and also a major slave market. Many renowned musicians grew up in and around Memphis and the Mississippi Delta, such as: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, B.B. King and Justin Timberlake. It is the home of playwright Tennessee Williams, the home of nine Fortune 500 companies, and the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 (at the Lorraine Motel). Several movies have been filmed in Memphis, including: The Firm, Cast Away, Walk the Line and The Blind Side.
Our first evening in Memphis was spent on lively Beale Street, the downtown center of the city that features bars, clubs, restaurants and other tourist sites. We enjoyed some great Memphis BBQ ribs and live music at the Blues City Café, located within walking distance from our lodging at the Hampton Inn. The weather throughout our Memphian stay was beautiful – warm with lots of sunshine!
The next morning, before our final load-in, I visited Graceland with three of my castmates. Located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard, 12 miles from downtown Memphis, Graceland is the large, white-columned mansion and 13.8 acre estate that was home to Elvis Presley. It is the second most visited private home in America (the first being the White House), receiving 600,000+ visitors per year. As I walked throughout Graceland, I could not help but feel a little teary-eyed: the place elicits nostalgia for The King of Rock and Roll and all that he accomplished throughout his lifetime.
Following our short Graceland visit, we headed to our final venue – the famed Orpheum Theatre. Called the “South’s Finest Theatre”, the Orpheum is a gorgeous, opulent, 2400-seat theatre, filled with tasseled brocade draperies, crystal chandeliers and gilded mouldings. It originally started out in 1890 as the Grand Opera House and was billed as the classiest theatre outside of New York City. In 1907, it was renamed the Orpheum when it became part of the Orpheum circuit of vaudeville shows. According to legend, the theatre has been home for the past 80 years to a ghost named Mary, a little girl in an ethereal white dress and pigtails who sits in Box 5, seat C-5 and watches performances with a blank stare. I constantly searched the Orpheum house for Mary, but was not graced with a sighting of her.
Our new technical director/sound operator, Chris Strange, joined us in Memphis for our final two performances. We were all a bit apprehensive about having a new sound op, but we made it through both shows with only a few hiccups. To make things easier for Chris, Daniel – our tour manager – pressed the buttons to fire the sound cues since he was more familiar with the show, while Chris monitored levels, balance and mutes. Our final evening in Memphis was spent reminiscing over a fantastic dinner of fried chicken, fried green tomatoes and fried pickles at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. This restaurant hotspot comes highly recommended by all of the locals, and it most definitely does not disappoint.
We played two great final performances in Memphis – one public evening show with an audience of around 400 and one sold-out school show with an audience of 2000+. Throughout our last show, I found myself getting a little choked up and misty-eyed, once I realized that this was the end to this crazy adventure. Our final show was bittersweet, and before we knew it, we had packed up our set for the final time and headed off to the airport, homeward bound for the Bay Area.
Although I am more than ready to return to the comforts of my home and the arms of my loved ones, I realize just how much I will miss everything and everyone involved: my Strega Nona “family”, our daily adventures, our show on which we worked so hard, our memories – both good and bad – created in this journey that will last us a lifetime, and most of all, the lovely little character into which I poured my heart and soul for 145 performances.
Who knows where the next adventure will be for me? The sky is the limit, blog reader, and I am wearing my airplane wings!
Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Well, here we are blog readers…our final long van drive. =) We have two full and rainy days of driving ahead of us before we arrive in Memphis. Since R.J. has left the tour, we have one less person in the van, so we are able to sit two to a row and be comfortable. Throughout the entire tour, we typically have had to transport nine people in the van, which meant that two people sat up front in the driver and passenger seats, while the remaining seven of us battled it out for the three rows of seating in the back. With seven people and only three rows, three of us would inevitably be squished into one row with the other four evenly coupled in the other two rows. Getting premium seating in the van became a game of “the early bird gets the worm”, with actors arriving early to van call in order to reserve a spot in one of the coveted two-person rows. We were all happy to be able to spread ourselves out a bit for our final long-distance van drive.
After one day of driving, we made a brief stopover in Louisville, KY, the largest city in Kentucky. Named for King Louis XVI of France, who aided the Americans during the Revolutionary War, Louisville is located in north central Kentucky, on the Ohio River. It is called “The Gateway to the South” and is often referred to as the northernmost Southern city or southernmost Northern city. This internal shipping port was one of the largest slave trading cities in the U.S. With its close proximity to the free state of Indiana to the North, Louisville was a major stop on the Underground Railroad and was often a point of escape for slaves to the North. Louisville is most well known for being the home of the Kentucky Derby (the 1st race of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing), the supplier of one-third of all bourbon whiskey, and the site of the Humana Festival of New American Plays (a six-week long, internationally acclaimed new play festival at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville). Of course, as with most of our prior stops, we were not able to do any sightseeing in Louisville, but it was still fun to be able to research this location for my blog.
I have been doing some weighty contemplation about my acting performance and career during our long drives. At this point in the tour, I am so tired that I feel like my performance has degenerated. As much as I try to fight it, I am finding myself “unplugging” during the show and operating on automaton mode because I simply do not have any energy to create a brilliant performance. I am also at another crossroads, constantly wondering and worrying what project is next for me, yet so physically and mentally exhausted and uninspired to come up with any rational solutions. It is amazing to me how exhaustion and lack of rest can skew one’s perspective on so many things and cloud one’s vision! I am hopeful that some well-deserved rest and decompression after the tour will help to allay these worries and concerns.
Next stop – the Orpheum in Memphis, TN. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
After a long two-day drive, we arrived back to the Eastern Time Zone and at the first of one of several Michigan locations we would visit this week, Traverse City. Like with my earlier Wisconsin visits, I have decided to combine my Michigan adventures into one blog. Each Michigan stop was memorable in its own unique way, but ultimately, the overall week was just our usual old routine.
Stop # 1 – 3/22/10 – 3/24/10: Traverse City, MI, A Random Act of Kindness. The first destination in our week of Michigan madness was Traverse City. The largest city in Northern Michigan, Traverse City is a major commercial nexus for a seven county area. The city is named after the Grand Traverse Bay, where it sits at the head: the Bay earned its name from 18th century French voyagers who made “la grande traverse” or “the long crossing” across the mouth of the Bay. Producing 360 million pounds of cherries per year, Traverse City is renowned as “the cherry capital of the world”, although it also produces grapes and wine. Each year, the city hosts the Traverse City Film Festival, an event spearheaded by director Michael Moore.
Upon our arrival to Traverse City, Jessica and I ventured to a local nail shop, in search of relaxing pedicures after two painful days of uncomfortable van travel. After a precarious mile-long walk in the bitterly cold Michigan weather, on a road without any sidewalks, we arrived at our nail spa. Our pallid complexions and dark undereye circles, the results of the touring lifestyle, immediately prompted the shop manager to ask us if we were sick, which instantly elicited giggles from the two of us. Who knew that spending hour after hour in the theatre doing what we love, away from the sunlight and fresh air, would make us look like we were on the verge of death? The manager felt so bad for us, with our sickly appearances, that he offered us a discount on our pedicures. He also noticed that we had not driven to the shop, and offered us a ride back to our hotel. How refreshing it was to encounter this genuine random act of kindness in a city with which we had never been acquainted! We graciously accepted his kind offer and happily returned to our hotel, fresh pedicures and all.
Our performance venue was located a little bit outside of Traverse City, at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Nestled in the woods of Northern Michigan, this educational institution houses four performance spaces and has played host to hundreds of top caliber performers. Past alumni of Interlochen include singers Josh Groban and Norah Jones; actors Anthony Rapp, Felicity Huffman and Tom Hulce; and dancer/choreographer Mia Michaels. While our theatre, the Corson Auditorium, normally seats 952 people, our one evening performance at Interlochen was poorly attended, with a little over 100 people in attendance. Throughout the tour, it has seemed that most of our weekday evening performances (Mon.-Thurs.) have not been well attended: our 7pm curtain time is too late for our target audience member and too close to children’s early bedtimes. However, despite our small audience, we had a good performance at Interlochen and enjoyed one of the most delicious catered dinners, courtesy of our gracious Interlochen hosts.
Stop # 2 – 3/25/10 – 3/26/10: East Lansing, MI, Home Again. We drove immediately after our evening Interlochen performance to our next Michigan city – East Lansing, a stop we had visited a few weeks earlier. It was nice to return to our venue-provided apartments with separate bedrooms, our substitute homes away from home. We performed four successful shows over two days at the 600-seat Pasant Theatre at the Wharton Center. As before, performing on the ¾ thrust stage at the Pasant was exhausting as we constantly had to modify our blocking to accommodate the odd sightlines created by this strange stage configuration. And, because we only had a handful of hours of sleep upon our arrival to East Lansing, our first two performances there were particularly grueling. Fortunately, however, we made it through in our typical road warrior fashion and emerged from the experience stronger, yet more fatigued, individuals. Again, thank goodness for our comfy apartment-like housing, which provided us with some quality hours of sleep!
Stop # 3 – 3/27/10: Clinton Township, MI, Mom. From Traverse City, we journeyed toward our last Michigan stop, Clinton Township, and our final shows with our current technical director. Part of the Metropolitan Detroit area, with a population of 46,000, Clinton Township is the 8th largest community in Michigan. It is named for Dewitt Clinton, the popular New York governor from 1817-1823 who was largely responsible for the building of the Erie Canal, which enabled many settlers to come to Michigan. All in all, Clinton Township is like many metropolitan suburbs – a collection of indistinct strip malls, shopping malls, hotels and chain restaurants.
We performed one show at the Macomb Center, a beautiful 1271-seat theatre that opened in 1982 on the campus of Macomb Community College. The Macomb Center has hosted many famous headliners, such as Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Johnny Mathis, Ben Vereen and Harry Blackstone. Decorating the backstage ceilings of the Macomb stage are many collages commemorating past productions. Check out this Hairspray tribute that dangled from the ceiling:
The absolute highlight of our Macomb visit, however, was “Mom” – a colorful and lively septuagenarian (or possibly octogenarian) volunteer who has been taking care of visitors at the Macomb Center for the past 24 years. Marlene Visconti or “Mom”, as she prefers to be called, provides hospitality and delicious home-cooked meals to all of the Macomb visitors. She is always ready to entertain you with a dirty joke or flip you the bird, and she lovingly refers to the local crew as her “little bastards”. “Mom” supplied us with plenty of laughs and an ample dose of Midwestern hospitality.
Our Macomb show was a strong performance, with a full orchestra section with 700 to 800 in attendance. Following the show, we packed up our set and bid farewell to our technical director/sound operator, R.J., who had to leave the tour to return home for the birth of his first baby. Thank you for all of your help R.J. – you will be missed!
Upon our return to the hotel, a few of us visited a psychic fair that was being hosted in one of the hotel conference rooms by local psychic, Coyote Sue. While waiting outside of the fair, we met a few kids who had just attended our show. They could not contain their excitement once they realized who we were. Who knew that we would be the highlight of the psychic fair in Clinton Township? With our identities revealed, we slipped away from the fair without any psychic consultations and retired to the comfort of our rooms.
Well, blog readers…the end is in sight! Two more days of driving to our final destination in Memphis, TN, and two final shows with a new technical director/sound operator. What a long and rewarding journey this has been!
Next stop – Louisville, KY. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Immediately following our Skokie shows, we braved the elements and started our long, wet, snowy drive back to America’s Dairyland, to the city of La Crosse, WI. Seated on the banks of the Mississippi River, La Crosse was settled in the late 17th century by French fur traders travelling the river. The city’s name originated in 1805, when a lieutenant on an expedition up the Mississippi River saw the Native Americans playing a game with sticks that resembled a bishop’s crozier or “la crosse” in French. La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin’s western border and has served as a center for the lumber industry, the brewing industry and education. There are three regional universities in La Crosse: the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse; Western Technical College; and the Roman Catholic Viterbo University.
Viterbo University housed our performance venue - an 1100-seat, three-tier theatre. We performed one show to a half-full, appreciative audience. Although our performance was strong, I am still recovering from my cold and have started to lose my voice. Thank goodness we have a few days off before our next performance! Following the show, I spent the evening at the hotel, trying to catch up on rest, while the majority of the cast went out to enjoy the assorted watering holes and nightlife of this college town.
We now have a two-day journey ahead of us before we arrive at our next destination of Traverse City, Michigan.
Next stop – the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Traverse City, MI. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
From the warm weather in Wisconsin, we journeyed back to Cook County, Illinois, to the village of Skokie. With a population of around 67,000, this Chicago suburb is located 16 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Its name is derived from variant Algonquin words for “fire” as the Skokie marshlands were burned over by the Native Americans to flush out game. In 2003, Skokie was named by Money magazine as being one of the 80 fastest growing suburbs in the US. It is the home of Rand McNally, and several films have been photographed in Skokie including: Risky Business, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science and The Blues Brothers.
Our performance venue in Skokie was located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Established in 1996, this center has three resident companies and houses two state-of-the-art theatres: the 867-seat Centre East (our theatre) and the 342-seat Northlight Theatre. During our Skokie stay, several of us were fortunate enough to get industry tickets to see the play that was showing in our neighboring Northlight Theatre, A Life by Hugh Leonard. Featuring John Mahoney, a Steppenwolf ensemble member who is best known for his role as the father on the sitcom Frasier, A Life is an evocative and bittersweet memory play about the evolution of friendships in a small Irish town. The production was wonderful and endearing, and it was exciting to see two generations of actors play each of the show’s four characters. As the show had just commenced previews, there was an audience talkback following the performance to determine what the audience liked and didn’t like so that the production could be refined. It was refreshing to hear the actors discuss how they approached the play and their characters – what a fun evening!
Our performance day in Skokie - the first day of Spring - was a very snowy and wet day. We wondered if anyone would come out to see our show, given the weather conditions. Yet, despite the bad weather, we had two fairly full audiences with filled orchestra sections, and we performed two solid shows. The staff at the North Shore Center is one of the nicest crews that we have encountered. They treated us like royalty and were exceptionally vocal in their praise of our production. It is always such a pleasure to perform at a venue where they go out of their way to make us feel appreciated.
In the audience of our first Skokie performance were two friends from my University of Nevada, Reno days – my dear friend, Tyler Dean, who I had visited earlier on our Chicago break, and another Chicago transplant from Nevada Rep, Lucinda Alipio. It was so nice to have two familiar, supportive faces in the audience! Tyler is one of my dearest, best friends - in addition to performing together in Reno, Tyler and I also lived in the same apartment complex and worked for the same company. He now resides with his husband Mike in Chicago, where he acts, performs sketch improv at Second City and writes plays. Check out this picture from when Tyler and I performed in Return to the Forbidden Planet with Nevada Repertory Company:
Next stop – Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
After a lovely three days off in Chicago, we returned back to the tour, with a little more than two weeks left in this final leg. We were headed to the great state of Wisconsin - the Badger State, America’s Dairyland and land of cheese. Having never been to Wisconsin, I was excited to experience this state and all that it had to offer.
Rather than to create separate blogs for each of our three Wisconsin stops from this week, I have decided to combine them all into one blog. While each destination of our Wisconsin tour was unique in its own way, the overall visit ultimately was not very eventful or exciting – pretty much our same routine of travel, loading in, performing two shows, loading out and driving to our next venue.
Stop # 1 – 3/16/10: Hartford, WI. The first city in our Wisconsin week was Hartford. Located 40 miles northwest of Milwaukee, in southeast Wisconsin, Hartford has a population of 11,000 people and was an early car manufacturing center. Two of the first things I noticed upon entering Wisconsin were the generous spirit of the locals and their delightful accents. The people from Wisconsin are extremely approachable and hospitable. This area seems to be very community- and family-oriented, and it is apparent in the Wisconsinites’ pleasant, helpful demeanors. And then there is that wonderful, almost lyrical accent…how could one not smile after hearing conversations peppered with “you betcha” and “don’tcha know”?
Our Hartford performance venue was in the Knoll Theatre at the Schauer Arts Center. Originally a canning factory from 1918, the center was renovated in 2001. Our theatre had 571 seats and was very cute and rustic, complete with wooden beams. As we were all well-rested, our two sold-out performances in Hartford were solid and strong.
Stop # 2 – 3/17/10: Eau Claire, WI. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The next point in our Wisconsin journey was Eau Claire. The city, whose French name means “clear water”, was named for the Eau Claire River. According to local legend, early French explorers who had been journeying down the rain-muddied Chippewa River exclaimed, “Voici l’eau claire!” [‘Here is clear water!’] when they arrived upon the Eau Claire River. Nestled in the west central part of Wisconsin, 90 miles east of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the city’s growth was driven for many years by the lumber industry. Its recent economy, however, has been shaped by the opening of a number of plants that manufacture computer hardware. Two famous Eau Claire residents were the advice columnists/twin sisters Abigail van Buren (of Dear Abby fame) and Ann Landers.
We performed two fairly full shows at the State Theatre, an 1117-seat theatre that originally was a vaudeville stage and then a movie house. Built in 1926, the theatre was closed and renovated in 1982, and finally reopened in 1986. Although the State Theatre has a great local crew, this theatre is currently run down and in a dismal state internally. This venue was so sad, dirty and dilapidated that it was very difficult to enjoy my brief time there. Plus, I am sure that the fact that I have now caught another cold and that my bedbug bites have still not healed did not help to improve my Eau Claire encounter. On a brighter note, I was able to savor some great Wisconsin cheese in Eau Claire. Hooray for yummy, fried cheese curds!
Stop # 3 – 3/18/10: Wausau, WI. There are only 13 shows left and 13 days left on tour! The last stop in our Wisconsin week was Wausau, located in the central portion of the state and divided by the Wisconsin River. Settlers were drawn to the area in the mid-1800s and the city derived its name from the Ojibwe language, meaning “a faraway place” or “a place which can be seen from faraway”. As with many Wisconsin cities, Wausau was built around the lumber industry, but is now known for its ginseng cultivation and red granite.
Our performance venue in Wausau was the best of our Wisconsin venues: the Grand Theater, a building of architectural grandeur, elegant surroundings, massive arches and fluted columns accented with gold. Built in 1927, this 1214-seat, three-tier venue features state-of-the-art technology and wonderful acoustics. We ended our Wisconsin whirlwind with two great, filled-to-capacity performances. Following our shows, several of us started to prepare for our return home after six months on the road and shipped some belongings home so as not to be over the airline maximums. Throughout our Wisconsin sojourn, we were fortunate enough to have nice, Spring-like weather and temperatures. Sadly, it looks like this weather trend was short-lived as more snow and rain are in the forecast for the Midwest.
Next stop – Centre East at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
As the famous song goes, Chicago is my kind of town. The third largest city in the United States, this Windy City is the home to many wonderful theatres, cultural and sporting events, neighborhoods, eateries and attractions. We spent three lovely, carefree days in Chicago. While most of my tourmates were M.I.A., opting to spend their time off with friends/family or in their comfy hotel rooms or at the swanky movie theatre across the street from the hotel, I decided to spend as much of my time as possible absorbing and experiencing the wonderful Chicagoan ambience.
Here is a brief recap of my Chicago adventures:
- I enjoyed some yummy Chicago deep dish pizza.
- I saw the St. Patrick’s Day parade revelers as they wandered intoxicated about the city and in Millennium Park. In typical St. Patty’s Day fashion, the Chicago River was dyed green.
- I spent one rainy afternoon inside at The Art Institute of Chicago, viewing many Impressionist works (e.g. Seurat, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh), Surrealist pieces (e.g. Picasso, Dali, Lam, Miro) and Modernist installations (e.g. Pollack, Mondrian). If you are an avid art enthusiast, this museum is the perfect place to pass the time.
- Over the course of three days, I saw five shows. The Brother/Sister Plays, a three-play cycle at the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre; Killer Joe at Profiles Theatre; and an improv showcase at Second City.
Steppenwolf Theatre is a world class, Tony-award winning ensemble theatre company based in Chicago. Founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, IL, this company takes its name from the novel by Herman Hesse. Many of Steppenwolf’s shows often travel to New York City, including a pivotal True West production starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, and the recent dramatic success by Tracy Letts, August: Osage County. Steppenwolf has launched the careers of a number of well-known American actors such as Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Joan Allen, John Mahoney, Martha Plimpton, Gary Cole and Laurie Metcalf.
The Brother/Sister Plays, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Tina Landau, is a series of three plays: In the Red and Brown Water, The Brothers Size, and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet. This play cycle is one of the best theatrical productions that I have ever experienced, incorporating narrative storytelling, music, movement and African tradition. Steppenwolf is truly one of the best ensembles in the theatre world and I hope that perhaps, with work and persistence, I, too, can be one of their members. Truly amazing!
Killer Joe, written by Tracy Letts and directed by Rick Snyder (both Steppenwolf ensemble members), was a wonderfully dark and disturbing production. This tale is about one of the most dysfunctional families you will ever see and Profiles Theatre’s intimate setting suits the play well. The production features a talented cast of five actors. The show has been so well received that not only has the play been extended, but it will also move to another venue following its extension.
Second City is a top comedy club and training center that has cultivated many of the nation’s finest and best known comics, such as Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris and Jon Favreau, among others. Located in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, Second City opened in 1959 and now has branches in Los Angeles and Toronto. This long-running improve comedy enterprise is known for its format of semi-improvised, scripted scenes that are created based on audience suggestions. The improv showcase that I attended on my last night in Chicago was fun and wildly witty, and featured a performer that I knew personally – my friend from Reno and college, Tyler Dean.
- Not only did I get the chance to see my friend perform, but I also had the opportunity to visit with Tyler and his husband, Mike, two of my dear friends from my Reno days. It was so nice to be able to reconnect with them. One of these days, I hope to return and visit them again as our time together was way too short-lived.
I had so much fun during my three days in Chicago that I almost forgot about the change to Daylight Savings Time. My time in Chicago was just what I needed: three days to rest, recharge and renew my exhausted road-weary self.
Next stop –the Schauer Center in Hartford, WI. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Back to Eastern Standard Time and Ohio, we go! We rolled out from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and headed to the little village of Ada, OH. This tiny town in northwest Ohio is the site of the Wilson Sporting Goods NFL football manufacturing facility (the only such facility in the US) and is also the home of Ohio Northern University. Ada has a population of 6,000 people, 3,500 of which are students at the university and 2,500 of which are full-time residents.
Although we were performing in Ada, we actually stayed in the neighboring Lima, OH. Lima (pronounced LI-mah or LEYE-mah, like the bean) is the setting for the popular musical comedy TV show, Glee, although none of the show is filmed there. If only I could cross paths with that wacky Sue Sylvester…
Our performance venue, the Freed Center for the Performing Arts, was located on the Ohio Northern University campus. This 550-seat theatre is decorated with large, retractable chandeliers that resemble ice cream cones. We played two full shows at the Freed Center, but both performances felt weird and off to me. I am so tired - physically and mentally exhausted – that I am finding it increasingly difficult to stay focused on stage. I simply do not have the energy to channel into my concentration or performance, regardless of how much I rest or sleep. Hopefully, a few days off in Chicago will help to remedy this issue.
I am noticing another disturbing trend that is emerging among the cast – irritability and snippiness. We can barely seem to tolerate each other’s presence and everyone is on each other’s last nerves: the smallest, most picayune things seem to set each other off, like specks of dust on an anxious Venus flytrap plant. I think that perhaps it is time for us all to go our separate ways – we are ready to break free from each other. After spending almost every moment together, 24/7 for the past six months, this outcome was inevitable after such oversaturation.
So now we are headed to Chicago for a few days off – time to rest and relax, time to spend some much needed time apart from the group, time to enjoy some great Chicago theatre and time to see another dear, old college friend.
Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
We fondly waved goodbye to East Lansing, savoring our return in the near future, and galloped to Glen Ellyn, IL and Central Standard Time. How odd it is, not to be living on Eastern Standard Time, when that has been the norm for two solid months! With a population of around 27,000, Glen Ellyn is an affluent village suburb of Chicago, nestled 20 miles west of the city on Lake Ellyn. The city was established in 1834, and has been used as the setting for many movies, including the Winona Ryder and Corey Haim movie, Lucas. Prominent residents of Glen Ellyn include playwright Larry Shue (The Nerd, The Foreigner), performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson, and actor Sean Hayes (‘Jack’ of TV’s Will and Grace).
Glen Ellyn is also the location of the community College of DuPage, whose most famous alumni are John Belushi and Jim Belushi. Parked on the campus is the McAninch Arts Center, a state-of-the-art facility which opened in 1986 and houses an art gallery and three performance spaces – a studio theatre, Theatre 2 and our performance space, the Mainstage. The McAninch Mainstage has 793 seats and no seat is more than 16 rows or 75 feet from stage.
As with most of our venues, we played two good shows to packed, appreciative houses. I am noticing, however, a common trend among the cast now that we only have around twenty performances remaining in our tour. Everyone is restless, eager to move on to new projects, places and faces. It seems that most have grown tired of the show and the touring lifestyle, and a faint air of apathy is present in many castmembers. During one of our Glen Ellyn performances, a set piece was placed facing the wrong direction, and no one seemed to notice or care, for that matter, except for the one person who had to interact with the piece – me. Let me remind you, blog reader, that we have performed this show 125 times…mistakes like this should not be happening. While I, too, am weary from touring and ready to move on to new adventures, I have not stopped caring about the show. My commitment to the integrity of this show or any show is unwavering, regardless of how ready I am for a show to be over. I can only hope that this attitude of apathy does not continue to grow among the cast and skew their perspective.
On a completely different note, I have cultivated several ways, both old and new, to pass my free time on the road: working out, reading books that are not theatre-related, ordering room service, and watching crime shows on TV and DVDs on my laptop. Nothing beats a great hour-and-a-half workout followed by a nice, quiet meal in the comfort of your room while watching a Criminal Minds marathon on A&E. Or relaxing under the covers of your comfy bed while reading a chapter or two from Price and Prejudice and Zombies or watching The Hurt Locker. Again, some of the comforts of home away from home – it makes life on the road much more easy and enjoyable.
Next stop –the Freed Center in Ada, OH. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
We proceeded from the land of the Fighting Irish to the land of the Spartans and Michigan State University - East Lansing, Michigan. Situated east of Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, East Lansing was settled in 1847, formally established in 1907, and celebrated its centennial in 2007. The city was a “dry” city from 1907 through 1968 due to a city charter that prohibited the possession, sale and consumption of alcohol.
The downtown area of East Lansing surrounds Grand River Avenue, a wide tree-lined boulevard that serves as a dividing line between Michigan State University and the rest of the city. One impressive structure of the downtown area is the “Habitrail” or “Hamster Cage”, a large multi-colored parking structure near the MSU campus that resembles a Habitrail pet rodent home. This controversial building was designed as a result of a request to create a building that was both “festive” and non-brick. Famous residents of East Lansing include actor Timothy Busfield, Malcolm X and Larry Page, president and co-founder of Google and the 11th richest person in the US, according to Forbes Magazine.
Seated on the campus of MSU is the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts, a gorgeous facility with a striking four-story glass and brick façade. Built in 1982 and expanded and renovated in 2008, the Wharton Center houses four theatres, including the Pasant Theatre, where we performed. The Pasant Theatre is a modified thrust theatre that seats 600 people. Although we played two great public performances that were filled to capacity, performing at the Pasant was difficult due to the odd configuration of the stage. At least we will be prepared for the next time we return to Wharton Center at the end of March.
Our accommodations in East Lansing were the best that we have experienced in our time on the road – two bedroom suites complete with kitchenettes. It was so nice to be able to enjoy home-style cooking and not have to eat out at restaurants. One evening, two of my castmates, Jimmy and Kevin, set off the smoke alarm in their room from their cooking and caused quite a stir in the building, drawing out all of the curious second floor inhabitants from their apartments into the hallway. On another night, four of us created a wonderfully sumptuous meal and watched the Oscars…a small little taste of home away from home. And the best thing is, we will be returning back to this hotel in a couple of weeks – I can’t wait!
Next stop – the McAninch Center in Glen Ellyn, IL. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
From the land of the trees, we ventured to the land of the Fighting Irish – South Bend, Indiana. The fourth largest city in Indiana, South Bend is also the economic and social hub of the region known as ‘Michiana’, an area that includes northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. Located on the St. Joseph River, at the southernmost bend of the river, the area was settled in the early 19th century by fur traders and established as a city in 1865. Early development of South Bend focused on industrial factories and manufacturing. Among the many important events/individuals in South Bend history: 1) in 1934, South Bend’s Merchant’s National Bank was the last bank to be robbed by the notorious Dillinger gang before they were hunted down and killed by the FBI; and 2) the South Bend Blue Sox (1943-1954) were one of the major and longest-playing teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was famously depicted in the movie, A League of Their Own.
South Bend is also the home of the University of Notre Dame, a private Catholic university founded in 1842. The mascot of Notre Dame is the Fighting Irish, as seen below:
Our performance venue was the Decio Mainstage Theater, located on campus at the DeBartolo Center for the Arts. Built in 2004, the center has 177 rooms and 384 doors, and houses six theatres, including the Regis Philbin Studio Theater and the Decio Mainstage Theater. We performed two sold out shows in the Decio, a beautiful two-tier, 360-seat theatre. Our performances were solid and it certainly seemed like everyone was back in the performing groove. The local crew at the DeBartolo Center are some of the friendliest, most hospitable individuals that we have encountered in our touring and I would welcome the opportunity to return there in the future and perform again.
Unfortunately, my Notre Dame stop was not perfect, as I discovered small red bumps on my arms and shoulders after my first night there, and more itchy bumps on my chest and neck after my second night there. After doing some internet research and asking around, it appears that I may have been bitten by bedbugs. It was bound to happen to one of us eventually, given that we have spent the night in so many hotels and motels. I was just surprised that it happened at this hotel and not one of the lower quality motels that we have visited.
Next stop –the Wharton Center in East Lansing, MI. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Welcome back, blog readers, and welcome to the final leg of the ‘Strega Nona’ National Tour! To recap: when I last left you, I was preparing to go on a short break after having been on the road for 48 days. My five-day break in the Bay Area was short, but productive nonetheless. I desperately needed to assuage the physical and mental exhaustion that had set in from the tour, and to recharge myself for the final phase of my adventure. In my time off, I rested, relaxed, spent quality time with loved ones, ate great food, and even attended an audition for Shakespeare Santa Cruz. All in all, an eventful, though abbreviated, respite from an actor’s life on the road and all that it entails.
I also gained some perspective into the dilemma that I had presented in my last blog: how does one keep a performance fresh after 118 performances while remaining true to the integrity of the character and script? As one of my astute readers pointed out to me in my previous blog, Henry Fonda played the role of ‘Mister Roberts’ on Broadway for 1157 performances. Yes, you read that correctly - 1157 performances. And here I am, worrying after 118 shows, when Mr. Fonda’s run was 10 times as long as mine! In doing a bit of research, I learned that Mr. Fonda’s run on Broadway as ‘Mister Roberts’ spanned a period of eight years. Wow…I am in complete awe – how did he do it, performance after performance, year after year? I imagine that it is probably much easier to do a long run of a show when you are in only one location and not constantly moving from city to city. However, fixed location or not, you have to admit that Mr. Fonda’s accomplishment is truly impressive. I can only surmise that a complete and total love for his craft and this character are what enabled him to persevere through so many shows. I will definitely need to read his autobiography when I get the chance.
So here we are now, back on the road again – only four weeks and 27 performances left. From the Bay Area, we rambled to Sylvania, OH. The city’s name means “abounding in woods, groves and trees”, and as a result, Sylvania is aptly nicknamed ‘Tree City USA’. Founded in 1835, this scenic suburb of Toledo, OH, has a population of around 19,000. One of its most famous past residents is actress Katie Holmes.
Our Sylvania performances were at the 850-seat Franciscan Center at Lourdes College. The institute was established in 1918 to educate the sisters of the Franciscan community, but now also schools laypeople. We performed for two packed and vocal audiences at the Franciscan Center. While it felt uncomfortable to perform at such a deeply entrenched religious institution, it felt even odder to return to the show after having almost a week break. All of our performances were a bit off, and for the duration of the shows, I felt as if an alien had taken over my body and was robotically maneuvering me about the stage. Everything about ‘Strega Nona’ and the show seemed so strange and foreign to me, as if I had never even performed it before. What a bizarre feeling to experience after having already performed the show 118 times!
One of the highlights of our Sylvania visit was the wonderfully peculiar woman we met in the lobby of our hotel, who entertained us for over half an hour with tales of rearing rabbits and trimming their teeth with toenail clippers. What a kooky and colorful individual – far more interesting than some programs I have seen on TV!
Next stop – the Decio Mainstage Theater at the DeBartolo Center in Notre Dame, IN. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
With two snowstorms on the horizon, we headed back to Lowell, MA, hopeful that the weather would not hinder our plans yet again. We had already postponed our return to the Bay Area for our break by one day in order to make up these missed performances, and it would be a shame if all of our schedule shifting had been for naught.
Luckily for us, the weather gods were smiling on us again. We performed to two packed audiences at the 900-seat Durgin Hall, located in the UMass Lowell Center for the Arts. This house of this venue has an odd, asymmetrical design. I am curious if the design imposes any limitations on the audience’s view of the stage. It did not seem to cause any issue for our audiences as they were both boisterous and very into the show.
As we packed up the show, everyone was very excited to be able to return home for a break, including myself. Personally, my spirit and will are broken. As I sit on the airplane and write this blog, I know that I need a respite from everything…the cast, the show, the schedule, life on the road. I am just too mentally and physically exhausted to derive excitement or enjoyment from anything - including performing – and that is extremely upsetting to me. Acting is my chosen profession and I live to perform; however, lately, the passion has escaped me.
How does one keep a performance fresh and exciting after 118 performances and 36 venues? For some, the answer is to just get through the experience and make it work from show to show. For others, the solution lies in adding new bits to the show in order to keep their minds stimulated and engaged in the performance process. And yet for me, the answer is not so black-and-white. While I am constantly having to adapt from show to show and make it work, and while I am always adding and refining character nuances, my dilemma lies in my desire to remain true to the integrity of the character and ultimately, to the integrity of the show. At this point in the tour, it is becoming exceedingly difficult to genuinely experience everything that the character encounters as a new event without feeling contrived and jaded. I am not sure if this challenge will be solved in the course of a minute, day, week, or lifetime even, but I will do my best to work through it being the Virgo perfectionist that I am.
And so I will use my time off in the next week, blog reader, to gain perspective on this challenge, to regain my inspiration and passion for theatre, and to prepare for the remaining portion of the tour. Out of 146 scheduled shows, we have had 118 performances, 1 cancellation, and there are only 27 shows left to do. Our East Coast stint is over – our Midwest days will be commencing soon!
Next stop – the Franciscan Center in Sylvania, OH in a week. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Ah, Connecticut! Why are you so beautiful and idyllic? From your picturesque houses to your quaint historical buildings and businesses, it’s no wonder why Martha Stewart lives here.
After a long, tiresome drive from New Jersey, we were happy to arrive in Westport, CT, and even happier to stay at the super comfy Westport Inn. With its plush robes, Aveda products, five pillows per bed and some of the most comfortable mattresses you will ever sleep on, I knew that it would be easy to get a good night’s sleep for our Fairfield performances.
Situated on the Gold Coast of Connecticut, on the Long Island Sound, Fairfield, CT, has some of the most notably affluent neighborhoods in the country. Due to its extremely low crime rates, Fairfield was ranked in 2006 by Money magazine as the 9th best place to live in the US and the best place to live in the Northeast. This “dogwood capital of the world” is also the home of the corporate headquarters of General Electric. Given its storybook-like appeal, several movies have been filmed in Fairfield, including the 2008 Kate Winslet/Leonardo DiCaprio film, Revolutionary Road, and the infamous 1975 pic, The Stepford Wives. Notable natives and residents of Fairfield include Charles Lindbergh, Hume Cronyn, Jason Robards, Justin Long and Meg Ryan.
Over a period of two days, we performed four shows at the Kelley Theatre at the Quick Center, located on the campus of beautiful Fairfield University. This 750-seat venue opened in 1990. All four of our performances were well-attended and went well. As a matter of fact, all of our Connecticut performances have had good attendance. Connecticut really seems to love Tomie dePaola and Strega Nona!
At one of our shows, one of our castmates, Jess, had about twenty members of her family in the audience. Although they were there primarily for her, it was nice to feel such a warm and supportive presence in the audience, rooting for our little production.
We are in the home stretch, blog readers! Back to Lowell, MA, to make up two performances, and then we get to travel back home for a few days of well-deserved rest and relaxation. Several winter storms are in the forecast, so I am keeping my fingers crossed again that the weather will cooperate and allow us both to perform and journey safely home.
Next stop – back to Durgin Hall in Lowell, MA. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
Satisfied at having been able to perform finally in Maryland, we put the pedal to the metal and hit the road again. We prepared ourselves mentally for another crazy day, complete with a blitzkrieg-like schedule that would take us to not one state, but three states in the course of a day: driving from Maryland, loading in and performing in New Jersey, and loading out and staying in Connecticut.
First stop of the day – Trenton, the capital (and almost the exact geographic center) of New Jersey. Dating back to 1719, the city was originally called ‘Trent-towne’ after William Trent, one of the leading landholders in the town. Trenton was the site of George Washington’s first military victory in the American Revolution: on December 26, 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware River to Trenton. Trenton functioned as a major manufacturing center in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and as a result, the slogan of the city became “Trenton Makes, The World Takes”. This motto is still prominently displayed on the Lower Trenton Bridge. In 1968, the city and more than 200 of its businesses underwent significant damage as a result of major civil disturbances that occurred the week following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
We performed only one show in Trenton at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, a setting of Italian Renaissance Revival splendor. This luxurious, 1807-seat venue has been the stage for many world-class artists, including Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington and Bob Hope. Our audience, which numbered in the 100 to 200 range, looked tiny in comparison to the number of empty seats in the house, but was just as vocal and appreciative as any full-size audience. Among the audience members again was our composer, Aron Accurso, who we had last seen at our other New Jersey performance at the Paper Mill Playhouse. It was fun to be able to reconnect with him. Following our performance, we went out to appetizers with Aron, and even let him enjoy the experience of riding in our tour van, an experience that I am sure he will not forget. =)
Our Jersey visit was short-lived, and before we knew it, we dashed onward to Connecticut. Unfortunately, our short two-hour drive to Connecticut ended up taking us over four hours as we encountered all of the notorious New York City traffic. Anxious and bleary-eyed, we arrived in Westport, CT, ready to settle down after a jam-packed day.
Next stop – the Kelley Theatre at the Quick Center in Fairfield, CT. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
After two days in the wonderfully weird city of Dover, we headed back to Maryland for the third time. As we journeyed back to Bel Air, we crossed our fingers, hopeful that our rescheduled performance would not be cancelled due to snow.
Fortunately, the weather gods were smiling on us this time and we were finally able to perform in Maryland. Our performance in Bel Air was at the 908-seat Amoss Center for the Performing Arts at Harford Community College. While we only had one performance at the Amoss Center, the show did have its share of issues: 1) for some strange reason, our load-in took an exceedingly long amount of time, and subsequently, we had less than 30 minutes to prepare both physically and mentally for the show; as a result, everyone’s performance was a little bit off; 2) we had to use the understudies for the second day in a row as Jimmy’s voice still had not returned; and 3) Jess, who plays Bambolona, almost passed out onstage due to extremely low blood sugar. Of course, none of these issues read to the audience (or at least, I would hope that they weren’t obvious to the audience), but they were still detectable by us and unsettling nevertheless.
We ended our Maryland sojourn with a repeat stay at the same, unpleasant motel that we had visited previously. With its noxious rooms reeking of stale cigarettes and its classy beer bottle opener located conveniently above the bathroom toilet, I can only hope that I never have to visit this inn again.
On a brighter note, one of the two newspaper interviews that I did has been published. Check out this article in the Connecticut Post:
We gathered our weak, shaky bodies and motored to Dover, the capital of Delaware. Named for Dover, England, it is the second largest city in Delaware (the first being Wilmington) and is home to Delaware State University. The city’s central square, The Green, is the location of the Delaware Supreme Court, and was the site of many rallies and patriotic events throughout history.
Throughout my stay in Delaware, I constantly felt like I was either in a Stephen King novel or a horror movie. Everything just seemed a little bit…off…about this place – the residents, the locales, everything. Take, for example, our motel, which looked just like the motel from the 2007 movie ‘Vacancy’, the Kate Beckinsale/Luke Wilson movie about a young couple who becomes stranded at an isolated motel with hidden video cameras and realizes that unless they escape, they will become the victims of a snuff film. Not exactly the most relaxing environment in which to stay for a couple of nights…
And then there is the Delaware tap water – it is a lovely shade of yellow-brown and is non-potable. We were warned by several Delaware locals not to drink the tap water. I have a feeling that this water may account for the many odd things that I saw in Delaware.
We performed two shows in Dover at the Schwartz Center, a 596-seat venue. Formerly the Dover Opera House, the theatre was recently renovated in 2001, and converted to the Schwartz Center. Our performances at the Schwartz Center were our first shows back after being away from performing for four days and after being so sick. Everyone was still weak and run down, and for some, all of the vomiting that we had done a few days earlier still continued to wreak havoc on our bodies. Jimmy, our Papa Bambo, completely lost his voice, and as a result, two understudies had to go on (Kevin for Jimmy and Jen for Kevin). Needless to say, our performances at the Schwartz Center were a bit rough, but decent nevertheless. I am sure that with a few more days to recuperate from our stomach illness, we will be back to normal.
Next stop – back to the HCC Amoss Center in Bel Air, MD. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
With our fingers crossed again for good weather and safe travels, we migrated back to Maryland, this time to the city of Frederick. An outlying community of the Washington DC Metropolitan area, Frederick is situated in west central Maryland, and is the third largest area in the state (behind Baltimore and Rockville), with a population of 60,000. Founded in 1745 as “Frederick Town”, it was named for one of three people: 1) Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, one of the proprietors of Maryland (the most likely individual); 2) Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales; or 3) Frederick “The Great” of Prussia.
Frederick has served as a major crossroads throughout history, playing an important role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the Civil War. Due to its geographic location, it functioned primarily as a market town until the early 19th century, when it also became one of the leading mining counties of the US. It is the home of the Maryland Shakespeare Festival, and also the resting place of Francis Scott Key, author of the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”.
I was excited to be performing in Frederick because I would have the opportunity to see my best friend from high school, Sarma. It had been several years since I had seen her last and I was looking forward to catching up. I was also very excited to see our Frederick performance venue, the Weinberg Center for the Arts. Originally called ‘The Tivoli’, the theatre opened in 1926 as a movie and live performance venue. Although the original theatre was decorated with crystal chandeliers, marble and silk wall coverings, it eventually deteriorated and was flooded in 1976. The theatre was completely renovated and reopened in 1978 as the Weinberg Center for the Arts. Since its reopening, this 1165-seat venue has been dubbed ‘The Jewel of Frederick’.
Unfortunately, immediately upon our arrival to Frederick, eight of our nine tour members, including myself, became violently ill with a NASTY stomach bug. The majority of my two days in Frederick was spent either in the bathroom vomiting, at urgent care, or passed out in my hotel bed. Given our proclivity on the road for eating in restaurants, I imagine that our illness probably resulted from poor food handling procedures at some establishment that we had frequented. I feel like my body has been steamrollered. My body is weak, my voice is hoarse from vomiting, and my diet now consists of chicken broth, saltines, ginger ale and watered-down Gatorade. Not the great start to the Year of the Tiger that I had envisioned!
Fortunately for our group, our Frederick performance, like our other Maryland show, was cancelled due to snow. This cancellation was a blessing in disguise as there is no possible way that anyone in our group could have performed that day in our poor states of health. While I am sad that I did not have the opportunity to see my friend Sarma and perform for her and her children, I am hopeful that there will be an opportunity to do so in the near future.
Next stop – the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover, DE. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
