Sunday, April 28, 2013

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

No amount of time could have prepared me for the goodbye that was this weekend. Parting is such sweet sorrow, right? Well, what's so sweet about it? Bittersweet, maybe. But I want to have my cake and eat it too...because cake IS sweet and that counts for something. 


Before I (temporarily) moved back to the suburbs, I had so much to do before my time was up in Chicago. There was a check list, bucket list, packing list, that all had to be looked over and fulfilled. Let us begin with the day of Sun and work our way forward.

1.I had just given my YES to accepting an assistant directing gig with LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE for the beginning chunk of June. If I've taken away one thing from working in Chicago, it's that my networking skills are beastly. After a quick conversation with the resident dramaturg of the theatre, we communicated back and forth and WAHBAM- placement acquired. We're gonna have ourselves a really swell time.

2.Because I hardly ever check my school email, I decided one day to browse through the ol' trnty.edu. I received an email from the coordinators of the Senior Baccalaureate Ceremony which read that I was selected to give a personal testimony of my time at Trinity. I had been asked to speak at big-deal events before, but this time I was like, "You want me, to speak? How long do I have? Only 6 minutes?" That's not enough. I could go on for days about how rockin' Trinity is, so for those attending the ceremony, I'll do my best to meet the time. "PR," if you will. (That's runner's talk for 'faster than I was the last time I ran 34571904 miles).

3.My last college class of my life ended on Wednesday. As euphoric of a feeling that it was, I couldn't believe that that class it was actually my very last class. After being a part of the school system for 17 years, I'm about due for a break right? Use up my sick days or whatever. I'll need to figure out a new hobby that I can take on with all this new found time- I cannot STAND sitting around with nothing to do. Someone teach me how to knit.

4.Northlight has been far too kind to me these past 3 months. As an 'end of Gina's internship" celebration, we potlucked on Thursday and it was amazing. The NL staff were sad to have me go, but eager to see me back in June for camp which is awesome because it's as though I'm not actually leaving Northlight yet...? I can't wait to be back in Skokie, y'all.

5.Against my will, I was forced to say goodbye to one of the coolest roommates I'll ever have. Me and Julie was like peas and carrots (the Forrest Gump moment of the blog) and as we've proven in the past, if you don't know what you want to eat, get Taco Bell. So for one last time, we ventured to Wrigelyville for crunch wrap supremes and reflective conversations about life; Taco Bell knows more than its fair share of secrets now. #livemas

6.I was able to bookmark my Chicago experience with a trip to the Snuggery, the same way I started this whole party. I met up with my cousin and her boyfriend and celebrate one last night in the city before I moved back on Saturday. I already miss the Gold Coast life, the people, ruthless cabs, bar specials and routines, it never ceased to excite me. Doors open on the Left at Clark and Division.



It does the spirit lots of good to explore, in my opinion. I will always vouch for getting out of the comfort zone or familiarity of a space and venture out for some length of time; it certainly helped make me a more well-rounded individual. There's SO much to do and see in the time we think we have in life, but it won't happen unless you make it happen. And I'm not saying it'll be a cake walk (there I go again, talking about cake) but trust yourself. Be spontaneous and spend more money than you thought you had. Make friends fast. Tell jokes. Visit places even if they sound weird. 

Now is the time to try it all.   


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Let's Stay Together

I wanted to write something last week talking all about how great the week before THAT week was, and never got around to it, shocker. So real real real real quick, let me breeze through 2 weeks ago and end with the present.

I could never in a my wildest imagination, and I've imagined A LOT in my time, foresee what was to come in the month of April. It opened with tragedy when I found out my dance coach from high school passed away suddenly. Sue Hubbard was quite possibly the most demanding woman I've ever worked with, but it showed in performance. At times she made you love what you did and want to quit at the same time. I was someone who fought her creatively on almost everything, whether it was dance, musical theatre, or what have you. What I appreciated about her teaching was that she saw me and any other  opposing force as a challenge worth accepting. "Oh, Gina, you can't do a back roll into the splits? Well let's see it anyway." Don't ask me to do that now, I've been out of commission for too long. But she never doubted that you couldn't do something, and sometimes that made the world of difference in choreography or blocking, because if you fought her enough, you would still lose and eventually be able to do a back roll in the splits. Worked like a charm.

On a much lighter and brighter note, Northlight is continuing to be full of surprises. Our last and final show of the season has been well underway and our staff is beyond excited to see it come to life on May 10th. Stella and Lou features one of theatre's finest and most comedic actresses of all time, Rhea Perlman. My generation would know her best for her work in Matilda  but she's also a 4 time Emmy-winner for her work on Cheers, what an accomplishment! Oh, and I met her. We ate bagels together, so now we're besties.

Aside from all our show hubbub, I was offered (and accepted) a paying summer internship with Northlight's Performing Arts Camp. I cannot tell you how fun it is to watch kids practice and perform theatre, they are by far the most creative and uninhibited actors of them all. I'm really happy to be sticking around Northlight a little longer than originally expected, it's going to be a great summer. 

You know what's really cool? Social media. I will never be sick of the Facebooks and Twitters of our generation because it is a fascinating concept. Just last Friday, I won tickets to see Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers via Twitter just for simply retweeting a Tweet of theirs. That's literally all I did- a mindless act that I was drawn to and BAM- free tickets. I can do anything now.

Recently, I reconnected with a close friend of mine from high school. For two years, we were truly inseparable and have tried to stay close while we went our own ways in life. We had one of those conversations that lasted for 4 hours where we could pick back off where we left off time ago and still recall inside jokes and comments about things from years past. Made my life, man. Wouldn't trade it for anything. 


I was able to see my friends from school over the weekend at Sunday's Cubs Vs. Giants game and although we lost, the time spent with them was much needed. My usual crew was fun as always, AND I ran into some of Tib18ers, also a plus. 

I hate feeling that I have to cram in all this last-minute excitement before moving back to the burbs, because if it were up to me, I'd stay here for at least another 2 years. I am in no way ready to give it up yet. Oooof. This is crushing.