How Time Flies...

WHEW! What a week! I can't believe it's been 8 days since my last post. I missed you all terribly. I've been missing a lot of things lately- sleeping in the same place for a good amount of time, home cooked meals, my family, my lovely roommate (Zachary). I do, however, LOVE the traveling. This is the first time in my life that I have been nomadic. When I think about it, I don't technically LIVE anywhere since my room in NYC is being subletted. It's kind of a weird and exhilarating feeling. I say this only three weeks in to tour but I truly think being on the move might be good for me- granted, I definitely miss having a kitchen to cook in seeing as how there are only so many times I can go to Taco Bell in one week... Or one day... 

Enough with sad things! My birthday is in 5 DAYS. Money orders will be accepted. Just kidding! That's pretty much all I wanted to say in this section.

Our first stop of the week after Missouri was Joliet, Illinois. I HAVE to talk about the theatre we performed in because the people there were so nice. The Midwest houses some of the friendliest people on this earth and I'm so glad we began our tour in this area of the US. We had a three-show day that day including a load in AND load out of the set (basically it was a LONG day). But it didn't even feel like it. They were so kind in helping us load in our set and they gave us lunch (Jimmy Johns for the win!) They also decided to theme the evening performance as a pajama party! Yes, everyone participated. Yes, I brought my stuffed elephant. Everyone in the audience was also in their pajamas. Haha fun! 

We have been traveling between Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois this past week. We decided to visit Duluth, MN where we hit up a local restaurant that made homemade beer! Man, we are finding some great beer here in the Midwest. After we gorged ourselves on burgers and beer, we found ourselves at an antique store (which, if you know anything about me, I would buy the entire store if I could... Or a bunch of teacups). Alas, I found no teacups that I could realistically transport from hotel to hotel... HOWEVER, I DID find a reLly cute leather purse with a flower pattern imprinted on the outside. I will include a picture since I promised my mom that I would. The best part of it is that I got it for $19! It's in really great shape, too. Ahhhh vintage purchases. To round out the day, we popped in to a chocolate store (OF COURSE) and we picked up some delectable treats. I was craving cheesecake like crazy and of course this place had chocolate-covered frozen cheesecake! WHAT!? I would include a picture but....uh... I ate it before I even got a good look at it. 

Following these couple of days, we did a lot of traveling, I thought I had bed bugs for like a second (it turned out to be spider bites which were acquired at the theatre we worked at for the last two days, and we basically just ate all week. But today was momentous because I fulfilled one of my bucket list items. We went to the Mall of America in Minneapolis! It was actually pretty magical. A couple of us even rode the roller coasters. Best part was that there were NO lines because of the weather (tons of snow and low temps). We also had some time to go shopping a little... I mean... It's the MALL OF AMERICA. After that, we had a five-hour drive to our current location, Grand Rapids, MN. We are staying in this really cute, historical hotel called the Sawmill Inn which, yes, sounds totally hokey but actually is pretty cool. It's complete with an in-hotel restaurant and indoor swimming pool. Also by some stroke of luck, my cast and I were standing outside of our rooms trying to decide where to go for dinner when a pizza guy was looking to deliver two pizzas to "Larry in room 114". Well. "Larry in room 114" apparently didn't exist so the pizza guy returned to our rooms with pizzas in hand. He only charged us $15 for the $25-worth of pizza that was supposed to go to "Larry in room 114". So the 6 of us enjoyed discounted but AMAZING pizza and then went on to go swimming in the indoor pool and spend some time in the hottub. It's been a pretty solid day. 

As for tomorrow, it's another three-show day. But let's all take a moment to rejoice in the fact that on Sunday we only have one show AND we were promised that we would be out in time for the SUPER BOWL. Don't expect any live blogging on that day because I will probably be eating and drinking some beer. 

Til next time, folks. 

Laura

Up next... How to Make the Most of Your Hotel Room

The restaurant we ate it in Duluth that makes their own beer AND their own root beer!

The Mall of America!!

The wonderfully inexpensive and functional vintage purse I bought in Duluth! 

Adventures in Missouri Part Deux

So it was impossible not to blog about a day off... especially in this awesome city. St Louis is quickly becoming one of my favorite places based on the events I experienced yesterday. 

Our day started at 10am when we left the hotel and traveled to the Gateway Arch in downtown St Louis. While there, we stepped into the visitor center which had a museum about Westward Expansion (constructed in 1965, the Gateway Arch was built as a symbol of westward expansion- it's a reminder of the link between the east and the west). The museum was pretty interesting complete with animatronics so real, they looked like they were seeing into your soul. It was creepy. They also had a gift shop where I got postcards (for you, mom...). 

After the arch, we made our way to a restuarant, the Tap Room... as you can probably guess, they are known for their beer selections. They make all of their beer at the location! Their burgers were also awesome, and I heard their mussles are not to be missed. If you're ever in the area, you need to check it out. 

There's nothing better than running around like a five-year-old after you have eaten your body's weight in food at The City Museum. I will muse about this pplace for the next five minutes and TRY and explain how spectacular and cool it was. The pictures I took will never do it justice- it HAS to be experienced. I will try my best, though. The City Museum is one of the few places in this world where there are virtually no rules. "Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of children’s playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects. The brainchild of internationally acclaimed artist Bob Cassilly, a classically trained sculptor and serial entrepreneur, the museum opened for visitors in 1997 to the riotous approval of young and old alike. Reaching no farther than municipal borders for its reclaimed building materials, City Museum boasts features such as old chimneys, salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile, and even two abandoned planes!" In addition, the museum also houses enchanted caves which lie underground (and can only be found through certain crawl spaces!) There were also about a dozen slides that led to different floors including a 10-story slide that you had to take spiral stairs to (about 150 steps; my thighs were BURNING). There was ALSO a half-pipe course that we parkour'd through. It was SO HARD to leave this place, but alas our time had come to an end after two hours of running around. 

After nap and relaxation time at the hotel, we went to the Chocolate Bar on Park Avenue. This restaurant sounds exactly like what you think! It's all desserts. YES DESSERTS. For the sake of inducing jealousy, I shall tell you what I ordered: A grilled cheese complete with pesto, roasted tomatoes, gruyere, cheddar, and mahon cheeses; a Bailey's brownie sundae, and a glass of Moscato. It was one of the most decadent meals I have ever eaten. 

THAT WAS MONDAY.

I would end it there, but we had a snow day yesterday!!! Another day off... how magical. Yesterday consisted of pampering, shopping, and all around female bonding time. It's amazing how much one can spend when tempted with so many wonderful stores. I also got my hair cut (nothing special... just had to get the chlorine cut out of my hair from all the swimming I have done in the past couple months). 

Today was also nothing spectacular but we DID have two shows today with awesome audiences! It also happens to be our last night in Missouri so we decided to celebrate a great stayby going out to a nice dinner. We went to a sushi restaurant called the Drunken Fish which had some of the best sushi I have ever tasted (I got the spicy tuna rolls but I was also brave enough to have begged for a taste of Lo's White Tiger rolls which were recommended by our waiter; and boy, were they good!) After dinner, Lo (our tour guide for all things St. Louis) had one more St. Louis specialty for us to try: The Gooey Butter Cake. I think if everyone tried one of these, the world would be a much happier place. Paired with a double espresso, I was ONE HAPPY CAMPER. These delighful treats are a mixture of butter, cream cheese, sugar, LOVE, HAPPINESS, and some other things, and can come in a variety of flavors. We went to Park Coffee on Park Avenue (right down the street from Chocolate Bar). Park Coffee offers about 76 different varieties of Gooey butter cake AND they deliver worldwide! SO GET THEM. http://parkavenuecoffee.com/content/gooey-butter-cake <<<There's the link in case you want more info. 

Congratulations if you made it this far in the post! Tomorrow ends our time in St. Louis and I am sad to see it go but we had some awesome shows, really wonderful food, and some experiences I will never forget. We will start tomorrow with a double show day and then we travel to Joliet, Illinois for a THREE SHOW DAY on Friday. 

Our tour goes on. Til next time, faithful followers. 

Laura

An artsy representation of the arch. Yes, I took this myself! Thanks, instagram! Follow me @melchioreo

My roommate and castmate, Dakota and I at the arch.

The Tap Room!

Like I said, the picture doesn't do it justice but the entire building is devoted to this museum! And the outside is just a huge jungle gym!

My castmate, Kane, in one of the two abandoned airplanes at the museum. 

My blog would not be on its way to awesome without proof of my love for elephants.

Giant whale that you can walk through to get to another corridor.

HUGE dragon slide and another view of the outside jungle gym.

In the Home Stretch: A Tutorial About Touching Your Toes

Hi there! This is Laura, Laura's cast mate. But you can call me Lo. 

I spent many years as a dancer, and I've spent many years as a 'not dancer.' I know a whole lot of stretches. I'm going to share a few of my favorite-and most accessible-ones that I've thrown into my bag of tricks over the years.
Besides preventing injury and releasing those nasty toxic build ups, stretching also brings clarity of mind and emotions, which is extremely valuable to performers. I'm not talking about the hippie dippy stuff. It's very scientific. 

If I do a "drop down" (see picture 1) all that gook in my nasal passageways that gives me headaches when I wake up, starts breaking away and my sinuses are immensely grateful. Thanks gravity! 

Or if you take a look at my modified "Halasana pose" (picture two) you will find the kinks in your neck and lower back mutually grateful. I find this modified position more of a passive stretch, great for meditating, as opposed to the active stretch that touches your toes down to the floor. Can someone say intimidating, stupid head person in yoga class? Alas, I was never meant to look like a human pretzel/funnel cake because lord knows I've pulled a few muscles in my
 neck trying to do that stretch so I stay away from it. Although, I would never admit that to Miss Pretzel Funnel Cake. 

Another favorite for mind and body stretching is Picture 3, which has a very clinical title called the "arm against the wall stretch". This stretch is magic for performers, especially singers, because it reaches many muscles in the arms as well as the chest. For me, this stretch gets a pressure point that lives on the inside of my armpit that an ex-professor lovingly called the "cry spot". And yes, poking it hard can bring tears. But stretching it out feels oh so lovely. Don't push too hard in this one though; too much pressure is bad for the shoulders.
Just two more favs, and I will speed up with these two. 

A sitting squat (picture 4) is a must do for actors. It grounds you to the floor and opens up those tight feeling hips. And for you non-performers, let me tell you, after a long day of driving or sitting at your desk, doing this stretch will hurt so good, it will make you feel free like a bird afterwards. Make sure you reverse your arm/shoulder positions as well so both sides feel the same stretch. 

Last but NOT least: the tendon stretch (picture 5). This is great for women who adore high heels, or people who are planning on doing a bunch of jumping/dancing/running around. This stretch is deceptively simple. The key is to relaaaaaaaax. I was doing this stretch wrong for ages, but now it's one of my favorites. You will feel your Achilles pull taught and all those little muscles under your calf will sing (sometimes very loudly). Remember this stretch is not about the calf. The calf gets so much attention it should just shush for a while! Seriously, ladies in heels, after a long day, try this. If you have a history with sprained ankles and tendons, try this before active play. It will help! 

I hope you found this blurb useful! Please feel free to reach out with any questions/comments, especially if you'd like to know about modifications of these stretches!

xo,

Lo

Picture 1

Picture 2


Picture 3


Picture 4


Picture 5

Adventures in Missouri!

This blog post will probably be short since the cast and I haven't seen too many Missouri sights yet. HOWEVER. We ARE in Missouri! Today was a double show day (see what I did there with the title?) Which means-for all you non-theatre folk- that we did two performances of the show today. Let me say first-- THANK GOD we ran through the show last night since there was a lot of it I forgot (hopefully my director doesn't see this...) during our four days off. The theatre we are performing at is SUPER nice as well with a lot of backstage and onstage space. They also provided us with a crew to help unload our set which is a luxury that we usually will not encounter. They ALSO gave us lunch! WHAT! 

The theatre we are currently performing at and will be performing at for the next week is the Florissant Civic Center Theatre in Florissant, MO. Pictures included down at the bottom! 

We have a THREE show day tomorrow which will be interesting. But we also have a meet and greet after our last show. Boy, those kiddos are always so cute! Today we had a ton of kids responding to what we were doing onstage (whether they were prompted to or not) but that is the BEAUTY of live theatre. Most times I wish all shows could be interactive- it brings a sense of reality to the work- but also gives the audience a chance to be a part of what is going on. 

This wouldn't be an actual blog without a rant about theatre once in awhile. Anyway, spending the evening relaxing and watching "Easy A" with my roommate before a three show day tomorrow (I may go crazy). 

Tomorrow I will be handing the blogging reigns over to one of my castmates, Laura "Lo" Babiea, who will be writing a guest post tutorial about stretching because health and fitness is also a part of this blog. Look at how awesome this blog is! Also a quick shoutout to everyone who has subscribed to the blog. 

Keep spreading the love, I appreciate it!

Laura

Up next... In The Home Stretch: A Tutorial About Touching Your Toes

Why Ziploc Bags Are Your New Best Friends: A Packing Tutorial

Ok so packing was an extreme adventure. We were allowed to bring one suitcase and one personal bag. As a female, I naturally panicked. Why is there something about being a female that deems it necessary to take more things? Ranting... 

I must confess, though, that I did not actually pack my own suitcase by myself. My mother is the master packer. Thanks to her and her packing methods, I was successfully able to take everything I wanted and needed with me on tour. Granted, my bag is sooooooo heavy but ITS SO WORTH IT. 

"Laura, what is the mystery to packing all of your items?" you may ask. I'm going to tell you! 

ZIPLOC BAGS. For my purposes, I used 8 Ziploc bags. I am going to try and explain, to the best of my ability, how these magical, zippered, plastic totes work. 

"Get on with it!!!!" 

When you're right, you're right. 

Initial Packing Day

- I think it is absolutely necessary to give yourself two days to pack. This initial packing day should be spent on organizing. Separate everything you think you might want/need into a pile near your suitcase. You will probably stare at it for a long time and contemplate not even going on your trip due to the fact that it's too difficult to transport all your personal belongings. 

The Second Packing Day

- This is when you get to the meat of the packing. After the initial shock factor of the first day, you are able to more reasonably separate what you want/need versus what you will ACTUALLY use. Once you toss aside the expendable items (wipe those tears away!), you can start categorizing everything. I separated my stuff into these different categories: pajamas, tanks and short sleeve shirts, pants, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, underwear, socks, and a heating pad (yes, this has its own bag). 

Creating a Vaccuum-Seal with Your Ziploc Bags

- This is as simple as it sounds. Squeezing all the air out of the bags and creating a vaccuum seal will allow you to more easily pack your belongings. This idea was given to my mother by Mrs. Tax, one of my mom's best friends. To create the vaccuum seal, make sure you have a stable chair- NOT a rolling chair. It will make things a lot harder, trust me. Fill your Ziploc bag with your categorized items. Set the filled bag on the chair and then sit down. While sitting on the Ziploc bag, carefully zip it up. AND THERE IT IS, FOLKS. You own vaccuum-sealed clothing and accessories bags. Easy. 

The Final Step: Tetris

- Figuring out HOW to pack everything is exactly that- a game of Tetris. Use every nook and cranny you see for belts or stockings or tissue packets. Small things like these add up so finding those little hiding places between bigger items will be useful. 

In my suitcase I was able to fit:

- one pair of sneakers

- one pair of lace-up boots

- 16 pairs of underwear

- 7 pairs of socks (fuzzy socks included)

- three pairs of yoga pants

- one pair of jeans

- one pair of shorts

- two t-shirts

- one pair of sweatpants

- five tank tops

- two long sleeve shirts

- one sweatshirt

- one bulky sweater

- heating pad

- bag of medical things

- toiletries

- portable humidifier

- slippers

- tea bags and granola bars

- electronics

- a few accessories including a cute necklace and my favorite rings

- a stretch band for working out 

INSANE. I'm mildly impressed. 

Happy packing,

Laura

Up next... Adventures in Missouri

I'd Like To Thank The Little People...

WHOA! Happy New Year's resolution to me! This was the top of the list, the A to my game, my numero uno prioritaaaaaay! And it's finally here. WELCOME.

At this point in time, I have one follower... myself. But you gotta start somewhere, right? I am going to do my best to keep you entertained, informed, and enlightened throughout this blog. "Why?" you may ask. I am starting out this new year with a new job- and it's one that pays me (my parents are happy)... And it's a theatre job (I AM HAPPY). I embark on a new adventure tomorrow. YES, TOMORROW. Tour begins.

For those of you who have been ignoring my facebook posts or have been living in a hole, I am going on tour with TheatreWorks USA performing in Teacher from the Black Lagoon and Other Stories. What better way to ring in a new job in a new year than with a blog updating my loyal (and soon-to-be-loyal) fans?! "There IS no better way!" When you're right, you're right.

Don't worry, though. The entire blog won't be just about me and where I'm traveling to next.
-It will include handy tips while on the road.
-It will include testimonials from the other cast members.
-It will include jealousy-inducing photos.
-It may or may not include pictures of adorable puppies (let's be honest, no blog is complete without pictures of animals doing people things).

In all seriousness, though, I thank you for "joining" me on my journey. I also thank you in advance for not pointing and laughing at the embarrassing things that I may or may not post (let's be honest, no blog is complete without pictures of people doing animal things).

Regards from the Lagoon,
Laura

Up next... Why Ziploc Bags Are Your New Best Friends: A Packing Tutorial