Friends! Oh it's been such a long time. In my defense, it's been insanity up in herrrrre.
First I'd like to start you with some humorous (albeit disturbing) city happenings before I give a life update.
I pass some woman's ripped out weave everyday from the el platform to work. For a while it was on the sidewalk, covered in glass and leaves. Today it's in the middle of the street and looks distinctly like a dead squirrel. Each time I pass it I imagine some larger than life reality tv altercation with bleeps and blurred images that lead to this horrific hair piece now masquerading as a dead squirrel on Chicago Ave.
Another!
I was waiting for the el one fine autumn Sunday afternoon. The brown line picks up at the stop down the block, and I picked it up there an rode it successfully to the Fullerton stop, where I could switch to the red line that would take me to rehearsal in Lakeview. Sundays mean fewer el cars and longer wait periods, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to sit down. I made it to Fullerton and prepared for another long wait while the red line barreled down the tracks. As I'm waiting, the platform gets fuller and fuller(ton? That's was stupid, sorry). A mother and her five year old daughter set up camp right next to me on the back side of the elevator. We wait there for about five minutes when I start hearing a fuss to my right. Indeed, I turn to look at what's going on, and the mother is pulling down the little girl's pants, in front of 50 people, and making her squat against the concrete elevator. I'm all like, what the WHAT? Crazy mama then proceeds to place a Styrofoam Big Gulp cup beneath the girl and has tells her to “go”. And I'm standing, not 5 feet away, while this poor little girl starts peeing in a cup while surrounded by 50 of her fellow Chicagoans. Mama then stands her up, notices that she peed all over the leg of her jeans, turns to the rest of us and smiles as if to say, “Oh kids! Always peeing on their legs in public places!”. No lady, that's not normal. The little girl was clearly distressed at this, but mama just used her hand to rub the pee further into the jeans. Oh, and the el came. So they march onto the el, AND SIT DOWN. In case you weren't paying attention, the little girl has pee all over her pants. Do you see what I'm getting at? And mama also has pee-pee on her hands which makes me want to vomit. Never was I more grateful that I carry around my little bottle of Purell. Now, if you're observant you'll remember that there is a Big Gulp containing some homemade Mellow Yellow that is sitting on the el platform. Yeah, that never made it to the garbage. Times like these remind me why I'm not a true city girl.
Okay, so......my life. First of all, Evita has been canceled. I was really sad about it, then I was really mad, now I'm just exhausted of the whole situation. A week before our Michigan show we lost 3 ensemble members. With the show coming up so soon, we just soldiered on, got an extra voice to stand and sing with the orchestra, you know....like you do in the theatre. You just keep going. A ton of progress was made that week and we put up a great show. So much fun. I think we were all excited about how great this show was going to be in Chicago.
We were given the week off after Michigan, which was glorious. The Sunday after our little tour to Michigan we met for our first rehearsal in a week, and I was itching to get started again. We were then informed that our Che quit the previous Sunday – a day after our show. He had demanded three times the amount of money he was receiving, didn't like the terms of his contract (which, apparently he hadn't signed. The contract issue is a whole other debacle in it of itself. But I won't get into that), and frankly, was generally a little shit during rehearsals which gave me the impression that he had only wanted the credit with the symphony and was planning on quitting anyway. After that information we were told the show might not go on. It might not go on? Isn't the idea that “it must go on”? “This is crazy defeatist talk/Why commit (artistic) suicide?/There's no risk, there's no call for any action at all/When you have (3 weeks until PREVIEW) on your side.) (Altered lyric from the show that is oddly appropriate.)
To make a long story much shorter, the next two and half weeks we were put on hold. We were told they were going to audition some folks for Che. Communication ceased. We were told a decision would be made by a certain date. We checked our emails multiple times an hour, every day, hoping for information. Those dates would pass without any information. I met up with two of the girls in the show one Thursday evening, a fellow ensemble member and the woman playing Eva, and we drank port wine and commiserated. Had another one of those parties with more of the cast the following week. Things were not looking good, and with each day that passed we hadn't rehearsed in more and more time. But there was still SO MUCH TIME left. Three weeks until previews – come on! Shows start from scratch, rehearse, and are UP in that amount of time. And we live in Chicago, ya'll. No one here could play that role? Not one? Even someone as a mediocre Che would be better than canceling the show during Stage 773's inaugural renovated space performance. I got an email from a cast member last Monday that Stage 773 had removed Evita from the calendar. B'Scuse me? So I called, and another girl called, and they told us it was canceled. OH REALLY? The man selling tickets at the Stage 773 box office has been told something we haven't? It was then put back up on the site. But they weren't selling tickets. Well we got the email on Tuesday that it was canceled, and we were released from our contracts. So that's that. What a waste. And this was going to be my last show for a bit, while I get grad school sorted out. Never, in all my years of theatre, has anything like this ever happened. "I'm gonna wash that show right outta my hair..."
Other moments of note:
It was our 5 year anniversary yesterday! Oh my gosh. We went out to a fancy French restaurant called Cafe des Architectes and saw Esperanza Spalding in concert. The food was mind-bogglingly good. Some of the delish yummies we had were crab salad and pretzel rolls, olive spread, beef tartar over squash puree with cilantro and homemade potato crisps, sole with caviar, game hen over polenta with mushroom (my FAVORITE), pan-seared halibut over braised short-ribs with fingerling potatoes, beet sponge cake with berries and cream, apple bread pudding with brown-butter ice cream. Yeah. All I can say about the Esperanza concert was that it was perfect. If I didn't have a crush on her already...she's just so amazing. We got home that night and were just so happy – I can't believe I get to spend my life with him! Okay, enough gushing.
Other news: I take the GRE on Wednesday, I helped pace a friend from mile 15-22 of the Chicago Marathon, signed up for guitar lessons, and made some delicious food. I will list it here:
- Sweet and sour cabbage soup with cornbread (so, so good)
- Oven baked salmon fillets with a tomato/lemon/scallion sauce with pan-roasted sweet potatoes in a brown sugar sauce. (Made that last night!)
- Homemade gnocchi in a white wine parsley cream sauce
- Braised red cabbage with apple, bacon, and balsamic vinegar
- Sauteed kale and cabbage salad (lots of cabbage this go around....bought two heads, one savoy one red, and it made 3 meals + leftovers!)
- Perfect grilled fillet mignon with a chili-garlic rub (thanks Mehran!), sauteed mushrooms and onions, mashed potatoes, and a light spinach salad.
- Lubia polo – a very delicious, approachable Persian rice dish with tomatoes, green beans, beef, turmeric, and potato ta-deg (thinly sliced potatoes fried on the bottom of the steaming rice. True ta-deg is a beautiful saffron colored/flavored rice crown made when the rice steams and is made golden on the bottom.) The things I learn from Mehran's family! I love it.
- Apple almond bread pudding
- Baked apples with cinnamon (so easy, so healthy. No extra sugar (sweet tango apples truly do not need it), so delicious.
- Oatmeal raisin cookies
We eats like kings! But like healthy, cheap kings.
Life is so fun (crazy, interesting, unpredictable, wild, tasty, scary), isn't it?
K
