The Brooklyn Bridge

If you weren't aware, the moment  you turn 18, your whole life is yanked up, sloshed around in the wash machine on an extremely high speed, and spat out in a completely different shape. It's kind of like accidentally touching a portkey for the very first time on your birthday and arriving somewhere completely different. I'm guessing to an outside source it really wouldn't seem that different. But that's a bit of how it feels. Most of it is good, I'm sure. First, the week before school started, I went to this totally amazing, radical magic convention in Las Vegas called MagicLive! It was my very first time and I absolutely loved it. They have a giant showroom with several dealers selling super cool new and old magic, workshops with incredible, accomplished performers, and then the best magic shows ever to top off each night! I wish I could properly express the awesomeaucity that occurred. The whole thing was the epitome of radicality, but I did have some favorit...

        YAWN. My lips stretch over my entire face as the invisible Exhaustion Monster creeps up my throat and out of my mouth. I accidentally glance at my daddy and the Monster bites him too. We each finish our yawns as we stumble into the theatre, another early morning session after a very late evening. Here we are at MagicLive!, a week-long, complete submersion of learning, buying, talking about, and showing off magic. Lectures in the morning, workshops in the afternoon, shows in the evening, and endless brainstorming, chatting, and rehearsing all night. Not to mention a big change of heart, speedily on its way to me and my career.   This convention is, without a doubt, the best four days of my whole summer. As we find our seats in the theatre, we’re weary but very anxious to know who takes the stage to bring their very professional, experience-oriented, and possibly invaluable wisdom. I open my official, laminated, designer MagicLive! binder and flip ...

This is definitely me at the present moment.

A tug on my hand, A kiss on my forehead. A tear on my cheek, And plenty on my my mind. One day we'll understand Why we chose this instead. We'll find what we seek And won't have to rewind. That day isn't today, At least not for me. Au jour d'hui, Tu me manques. It'll be okay, It'll be lovely. Tu es mon ami, Le futur est quelconques.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiie, how impatience loureth in your faaaaaace." The cleverness and variety in "A Comedy of Errors" makes it one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Twins, separated at birth, have now arrived in the same city and a series of mistakes leaves servants confused and overworked, a wife in distress and a really insane doctor trying to clear the whole thing up. I played Luciana, sister to Ariana, wife of Antipholus of Syracuse. Our director was super cool, because he always wanted to do Shakespeare in a different time period or setting. For this production, we were hippies. It was the most radical production you've ever seen. This play was probably one of the most fun I've ever been in.

"This is it, I have found it. I am in hell." This journey is an absolute gem. It has all my favorite feels in it. Steel Magnolias is the story of six friends who give their story to the audience through visits to Truvy's salon. Shelby is about to be married, her mother M'Lynn is like any mother-of-the bride, widow of the mayor Clairee enjoys watching all of it unfold, Annelle is a brand new stylist and scared to death, and Ms. Ouiser Boudreaux is just about every cranky loud grandma you've ever met, combined and magnified by 18. As their lives and love change, we see the beautiful strength in these women. This is one of the plays I am most grateful for. I hold an overwhelming appreciation to my director for trusting me with the gift of Ouiser. She's a nut, like me, but I can't believe he actually believed in me that much, and for that and many other lessons he taught me, I'll be indebted to him in my entire life. I had so much fun in this wonderful...

"I hope I get my raisins from Fresno!" Happy Pioneer Day! I love that we have this holiday to recognize and appreciate the spirit of the pioneers in the valiance of their lives. Speaking of pioneers, that's pretty much what we looked like in our elaborate costume in The Music Man . "Professor" Harold Hill arrives amongst the stubborn citizens of River City Iowa to sell them on the idea of creating a children's band, because the new pool table that's just come in is MUCH to dangerous. He's really a con man who gets caught up in love with Ms. Marian the Librarian, who is quite set in her ways and doesn't want to hear a word from him. But of course, he's eventually found out, changes his ways lives happily ever after (as far as we know) with Marian. As a part of the ensemble, my favorite role was one of the ladies among Eulalie Shinn's band of Grecian Urn Ladies. This musical includes some great, classic Broadway songs like "Rock ...