To My Lucky Stars: Thank You!

...And to the deer that was traveling east on route 675 north at 7:45 this morning in Saginaw: if you are reading this you are not only a very technologically savvy deer, but you are also a very lucky deer to boot. My hunch is that you are either dead, dying a slow death, or wondering where that patch of fur and bit of blood went. I can only hope it is the latter, but I fear you were just as unlucky as the two windows of our van. Instead of chide you, though, dear deer; I wish to send you my best wishes and, indeed, kudos. In this modern world of interstates, big white vans and traveling actors, all too often it is the unwitting deer that is struck in its side by the front of a vehicle. But you! Oh, you! Being the brazen fellow that you are, you took it upon yourself to challenge the traditional roles that this stifled society foolishly accepts by throwing yourself against the van. What spender! What significance! I salute you, friend. I would imagine it would be difficult to hit a vehicle moving at sixty miles an hour. But, in a victory that can be claimed by cloven beasts everywhere, you did it! The tables have turned with a vengeance. I will admit that having your fur blow throughout the van and mingle with all of our personal items was a bit of a drag, as was the extreme danger you put all of us in but, hey, you win some, you lose some and I think we can safely say the score today is Deer: 1 Van:0


My jacket, blanket and seatbelt. I was the luckiest girl in Saginaw this morning...

For the record, dearest of deer, we are all perfectly safe thanks in no small part to the wonder that is tempered glass. So, while it did not take us four days to hitchhike from Saginaw we have quite eagerly moved on to other, less wooded parts of America...but not before stopping at the Saginaw Hooters for venison burgers and a toast to you, our newest friend.Oh yeah, and we also went to Chicago. This is when I told Nick and Janelle that I would be performing an interpretive dance at their wedding. Chicago buildings. Not so exciting without mangled deer parts and broken glass.

I have tasted Shawn Colvin's Fruit...

our cast and crew approach the gateway to the west...

and what sweet fruit it was. Sweet because it was free, fruit because it was an apple that she left behind in the venue we played a few days ago in Memphis. Everyone loves a free apple, especially if it is Shawn Colvin's reject apple. That was one of the more exciting events in the last week. I mean, other than losing a cast member, gaining a new cast member, learning that we're losing THAT cast member and looking forward to gaining yet another cast member by mid-week. Actually, it's been just fine...nothing some long drives and a case of PBR can't cure. In other news, today my roommate Tom and I discovered that we both take the time to smell the hotel shampoo while pooping. Today's scent is ginger-citrus and I must say it is my favorite so far. Soooo, now we are in Normal, Illinois. We have just left St. Louis - which was also my favorite so far, though I didn't decide that while pooping. If I think of anything else while pooping I'll let you know. It's a Steak n' Shake Monday, so I'm off to rot my insides for dinner. Oh, and today our crew was drunk...and they didn't share. Over and out.

I ponder dangling over the city of St. Louis...

Sometimes

The sunset in Mississippi

sometimes you get a travelin' job
with costumes, set and, yes, a blog...
sometimes an actor is so sick
you have to leave him with the hicks...
sometimes the only place that's free
is the indoor pool or the rainy street...
and as the warmth rises from the pool
you teach the show and keep your cool,
for when tomorrow roles around
you'll be out in front of a crowd
with a man who learned his part last night
next to the pool in the fluorescent light...

wish. us. luck.
love from somewhere in Arkansas...

I like to call this one "Pool Rehearsal 2000"

What's shaken' in Macon?

Me - in my boots. I think I peed a little in my pants within the first ten minutes of walking around the desolate, ghost-town that is Macon, Georgia. The city's official website claims that it is "The heart of Georgia and the historical crossroads of the south." I beg to differ...and to leave. We have, however, learned to love the commercial comforts of the strip malls our hotel is nestled in. I have amended my personal add on Eharmony.com to read: Enjoys - trips to Eckerd, Kmart and the Laundromat. Ideal date - A romantic, sunset stroll along the highway and then retiring to a hotel room to bitch about the internet not working and wonder what the fuck that smell is. Despite the accommodations, the shows are getting better and better. We played Symphony Hall in Atlanta on Friday to a packed house of almost two thousand kids. Tomorrow we play Macon and then head to Alabama... Hope you are all well.

Our tiny, little Sarah next to our tiny, little set in the expanse that is Atlanta's Symphony Hall. Click on the photo to see it full-sized in another window...

Yugiwho?

Dearest Reader,
I am sorry it has been so long since my last entry. I know both of you have been waiting with bated breath to read the latest entry...and by both of you I mean Tom and Nick. (Guys, you're on the tour. You can just ask...) So much has transpired that I feel it would be prudent to simply list the highlights below. I mean, I don't want to make anyone jealous by sharing actual details. Enjoy.

In the past seventy two hours I have:
1) Spent quality time with the Yugioh convention in Newark, Delaware. (I didn't know what is was either...yet now I feel I know too much.)
2) Enjoyed the sight of a beloved cast member projectile-vomiting immediately after our first show.
3) Sat in the truck all alone while it was parked in a parking lot and enjoyed the wonder that is shock-absorbent seats. No, not in that way. You're gross.
4) Obtained some sort of infection from the seat of an exercise bike at a Best Western. Yes, in that way. I'm gross.

We have had two shows. Only sixty eight more to go...

Nick after his first ever pee in South Carolina. Congratulations, Nick. (Yes, that is a sleeping mask on his head and a rusty gas tank behind him.)

Robbie and I plan our our route the day before leaving Boston. I am skeptical...

I Saw The Tandori Oven Guy Picking His Nose...

...and then continue to cook naan. I wouldn't lie about something so very significant. The Indian restaurant in Davis Square that shall remain nameless has a glass booth that houses the tandori ovens so that you can watch the man who makes the naan do things like make naan and pick his nose. Frankly, it doesn't bother me all that much. I plan to eat my naan as soon as I finish this post. Updates as warranted, as always.

In other news, I have noticed that I bear an uncanny resemblance to Angelina Jolie's brother when I am in my makeup for one of the very sickly character I play. Remember when they hooked up all over the red carpet at the oscars? That was actually me. Surprise! Seriously, though, take a look and see for yourself. We had our photo call today so our amazing makeup artist came in to make us look good instead of crazy, which is how we usually look. I also added a picture of Princess Jasmine in the Disney on Ice production of Aladdin. Just thought you should see it.

I had the great pleasure of both Alexa and my mom's company in my twenty four hours off. It took feeling very relaxed to realize how very tired I have been. Getting out of rehearsals and out of Boston (sham of a city) will actually be a relief. We leave Sunday for Winston-Salem and have ten hour rehearsal days through Friday to make sure our fingers our placed correctly as we hold props and our feet are angled in just the right way while we stand onstage. But, as Julia just eloquently put it "Hey, you're not serving bitchy people at a shitty bistro." Word.