| | A weekend of adventureI know no one will read this, but I think I should write anyway. I went to Napa Valley this weekend to perform "The Mikado" with Opera a la Carte. It was an adventure getting there. We only had one car, and Josh needed to take it to school and couldn't drop me off anywhere, so I packed my small rolling suitcase and small backpack and walked the mile or so to the train station. I must have looked pretty funny. I got there, bought my ticket for the Metrolink to Union Station and sat for 45 minutes, having nothing to do but eat Sunchips. Randomly, a teenage girl came over to ask me the time, then started telling me her whole life story. It was interesting. She's still in high school, but was obviously not in school because she was going to go break up with her older boyfriend in LA who she found out had lied to her. She had had a baby at 14, which she was raising, and whose father was also much older. I think she wanted someone to talk to. I just listened. She stopped when we got on the train. I wanted so much to tell her about Jesus, but didn't know where to start and then there wasn't time. Anyway, I took the train to Union Station, which I had never been to and which is pretty darn cool, I must say. I had chili and Naked Juice as I waited for Michael, who is in the company also and got me the audition, and his daughter Kelsey to arrive from Riverside on a different train. When they got there, we took the Red line (Subway) to North Hollywood. (I had never been on a subway). Then we climbed up like three stories out of the ground and met Rustin, who is also in the company, with whom we then drove for 6 hours to the hotel.
The hotel was called the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel. It was built a year ago and is a "green hotel." They didn't wash your sheets or replace your towels unless you indicated you wanted them to, so as not to waste water. They showed what their CO2 emissions, water and electricity usage were at all times. They used biodegradable "plastic" silverware and take-out containers for the restaurant, made out of corn or something. They had Al Gore's book An Inconvenient Truth on the table. It was indeed interesting, but a nice hotel. Kelsey and I worked out three of the four days we were there, which is more than I do ever. We drove up the valley and stopped and wineries and burger stands and had much fun in pretty country. We performed three times. It went pretty well - except for our director yelling at the audience members who had been let in early before we finished our sound-check the first night. He's a little temperamental. Anyway, on Monday we drove home to LA. Rustin dropped us off at Union Station and we took our separate trains home. This time, Josh picked me up from the station, though. Later that night we went to Scott's parents' house and were transferred ownership of his old car. So now we have two cars. Very helpful indeed.
Yesterday I found out something interesting. Lifetime Performing Arts Academy, where I teach voice in Aliso Viejo, could not work out a leasing agreement at the beginning of the month, and must close their doors on February 29th. I will be out of a job. Thankfully, I have two others, but I am going to need more. Maybe another studio will hire me. It is interesting because I'm not freaking out. After this next tour to the Midwest, Opera a la Carte won't have as many rehearsals or performances and no more tours, and I was thinking of trying to audition for other shows, but wouldn't have been able to do it with the teaching job. Now I can, if I can find auditions. So it's not a total loss, except that was my one steady income, especially for summer. But it was far away. Hopefully I can stay closer to home. I'm tired of driving. Well, that's all I have to say.
|
| | Posted 2/13/2008 4:36 PM - 41 views - 2 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- give stars
- votes0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
From now on, I'm calling you Eeyore. A very tall, skinny, white Eeyore.