Sisters, Improv, and ...Jeff Daniels?

Hello Blog-World,

I have really been terrible at keeping up with this lately. I promise all 30 Days of Photo-Fun will happen, it just might be a little sporadic. I have been hella busy lately. Gadfly is at a really amazing turning point. We've streamlined our mission and vision (which streamlines the types of script submissions we'll accept), and are simultaneously putting on a show under the original scope while resculpting and preparing for next season. It's big, but I don't feel intimidated at all, just busy. I've been planning and e-mailing and taking workshops and reading and a million other things. It's going to be a really special, amazing final show and a really special, amazing second season. So get ready!

Additionally things are going crazy-good for Mixed Blood and Avenue Q. The box office phone is ringing off the hook and web orders are pouring in. AND I started a brand-new temp job with The National Theatre for Children. The link has more info on the company, whose work I've seen (at a much younger age of course) and am excited to be a part of. Basically I call Elementary Schools and get them to sign up for a show that's completely free to them. It's easy, but a substantial contribution to the company.

All of my jobs end in early summer, so I'm also trying to line up crazy amounts of photo, tarot, and other various arts gigs for the summer. I would love to Direct, Assistant Direct, or Act in one or many Fringe shows, so if you know anyone looking, send them my way yo! Obviously if you want photos, a tarot reading, etc. for this summer fly my way too. Word.

So, that's what I've been up to in my blog absence. It is indeed Thursday, so I will once again try to knock out two birds with one stone by incorporating a Photo-Adventure into my Thursday Thanks!

~The next photo entry I need to do is 'Someone You Couldn't Imagine Your Life Without'. I choose my beautiful baby sister (well, she's the second oldest of our brood but still younger than me). I am very thankful for her, always, so it's completely legitimate to put this in today's article. You can see a super cute baby picture of us the bottom of this entry. Not only can I not imagine my life without her, but I don't WANT to imagine my life without her. That chick's a rock star, and I love her.

~Social Media! I, like the rest of the world have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, Twitter, and yes, even my blog. However, they are invaluable tools for artists and businesspersons. Even more importantly, it allows you to stay in touch or get in touch once again with people who once meant the world to you. This latter reason has been hella present in my life lately, and I am so grateful to live in a time where this is possible.

~Movie nights with friends (even if it is Dumb and Dumber).

~The movie Breakfast With Pluto. Everyone should see this movie. It is touching in parts, hilarious in parts, and definitely worth your time. Cillian Murphy is surprisingly uncreepy and touching.

~Late nights spend reading Sweet Valley Confidential in one sitting. Jessica Wakefield, you harlot you.

~How well things are going for Avenue Q!

~How well rehearsals are going for Suburban Redux.

~Having lots of things to do! Monotony and routine bum me out deeply. I love everything I'm doing, and I love that (at the moment at least), I'm doing fairly well and getting to do it by incorporating variety into my life.

~SPRINGTIME. SUNSHINE. GRASS. OUTDOOR PATIOS. I have spent two of the most wonderful afternoons this week eating on outdoor patios. It has been Heavenly.

~Cheap Improv Theaters! There's a new one in Minneapolis, called Huge Theater. I saw a show for very cheap there that some friends were in on Sunday. It was wonderful.

~Gadfly's fiscal sponsor, Springboard for the Arts. This week they set up a free Marketing and Communications website with Kathy Graves and it was spectacular. I figured I'd leave with some things to think about, some new ideas, etc. Instead I left completely fired up with lots of tangible things to do. It's an amazing feeling, and I owe it all to them and Kathy Graves herself.

~Lowertown St. Paul. I don't know if it's the nearness of the river, the artistic community, or the comfort of old timeless buildings but I have concluded that it is impossible to feel rushed or stressed in Lowertown.

~AND to conclude...the Namaste Cafe. Probably my favorite restaurant in the entire Twin Cities. It's Nepalese food, and I spent my afternoon lounging in a colorful outdoor patio sipping soy chai (that they did NOT charge extra for!)and eating the most wonderful Nepalese food. One day I'm going to write a book called The Hipsters Aren't Always Wrong about the Twin Cities hangouts labeled hipster joints that people should still go too. Number One? The Namaste.

Before I go, I want to encourage/beg you to head over to my friend Chelsey's Etsy Shop. This weekend half of her proceeds go to Gadfly! Your contribution will help us break even for Suburban Redux, and you will get some wonderful goodies for yourself or a loved one in the process. So shop up!

Stay tuned, great things are happening! I wish you and yours the most peace, passion, and love possible.