Only two weeks left. Where did my semester go? But seriously, it’s almost finals and I have no clue where all of my time went. Not that I’m complaining that it’s almost Christmas break. Instead of writing about the daunting two weeks ahead, why don’t we rewind and talk about the past few weeks, instead?

I just wrapped up my Thanksgiving break, which was wonderful, but before that, I did musical direction for our main stage production of 1940s Radio Hour. It was my first time providing direction for a mainstage show in college, but I had been doing musical direction since I was a junior in high school. Unfortunately, this was my first time working with a full band. Let me preface this by saying I had never taken a conducting class in my life. Fortunately, my friend Katie met with me to go over some basics, but that was it. Needless to say, I was terrified, and it didn’t help that our trumpet player, Bud, had played in the Lawrence Welk show and our clarinetist, Pete, had played in the pit of both Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha.  Our first rehearsal was, to be honest, a little rough. I didn’t quite ever manage to shake off my nerves, but, the band did their best to follow my shaky conducting.

Fast forward to the sing-through with the cast. Miraculously, between Tuesday and Friday, things had come together. The sing-through was beyond smooth and during one of our breaks, Pete congratulated me on how well he thought I was doing. I about wet myself.

Although, like any live art experience, there were always some hitches, the process succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. The band rocked and encouraged me through every step of the short journey. And, of course, the cast blew me away nightly.

After that whirlwind wrapped up (sorry for mixing my metaphors), I celebrated a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday with my family. Since this is getting a little lengthy, I’ll go ahead and close off so I can get some rest before my early EARLY flight back to Austin tomorrow morning. Adios!

The afternoon preceding the bull and the bars, I overloaded myself on cupcakes/nutella brownies/all kinds of goodies provided by my residents (I’m an RA), my boss, my friends, and my mom. I got nervous that I wouldn’t be able to finish all of the goodies before they went bad, but then I remembered I lived on a hall full of college students. Problem solved.

Unfortunately, now that all the celebrating is over, it’s back to papers, mid-terms, and group projects. It’s a bit difficult to force yourself back to reality after a big birthday and Halloween weekend. Oh, well. Back to the grindstone!

(For the record, the Alamo is tiny and there’s a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not across the street. Go figure.)

Last weekend, I went to Schlitterbaun for the first time. I know what you’re thinking. I live in Texas (sort of) and it took me two years to make it to one of the most popular water parks in the state (and country, for the matter). I’ve still yet to see a bluebonnet, I’ve never owned a pair of cowboy boots, and I’ve never ridden a mechanical bull. I know. This is cause for alarm. Fortunately, I’ve made a Texas To-Do List. I’ll admit that it’s a little bit Austin centered, but I’m ok with that. It’s also a little bit extensive, so I may not finish it in the next two years, but I’ll do my best. Enjoy.

Things To Do Before I Leave Texas

Attend a rodeo (Mesquite, San Antonio, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.)

Two-step in a dance hall (Gruene, The Broken Spoke)

See bluebonnets

Buy cowboy boots (and maybe the hat…)

Ride a mechanical bull

Tubing down the Guadelupe

Eat real bbq (Rudy’s, Salt Lick, Mesquite, Lockhart, Elgin)

Shoot a shotgun

Hang out/Sleep in the back of a pick up truck

Go Star Gazing  in East, TX

Stroll down 6th St.

Eat at Kerby Lane or Starseeds at 3 am

Hang out on The Drag

Attend a real crawfish boil

Celebrate Eeyore’s Birthday

Walk Down the Riverwalk

Ride a Rollercoaster at Six Flags

Eat a Fredericksburg Peach (It’s tough to compete with a peach from my hometown, but I’ll give it a shot)

Fresh Donuts at Round Rock Donuts

Rock out at ACL or SXSW

Watch the Astros and/or the Texans play

(Just a side note- I’ve actually completed some of these things, but I’m keeping them on the list so you won’t think I’ve left out something important like the Alamo)

Even though two weeks of school have passed, I’m still recovering from a whirlwind of a month spent in Bulgaria. From July to the beginning of August, I spent my time at the Rhodopi International Theatre Laboratory learning new techniques, creating new works, and reviving an older work in a new language. I attended the program as a part time student and, thanks to a grant from Southwestern, as the musical director for the Bulgarian workshop of the musical revue Bittersuite: Songs of Experience, by Michael Champagne and Elliot Weiss. I had the fortune of working with SU senior Rachel Hoovler, SU professor and director Rick Roemer,  a cast of four dedicated and incredibly talented Bulgarian professionals, and most importantly, a wonderful translator, Daisy Karapetkov. I learned an incredible amount from the experience and got the chance to know many wonderful theatre artists from all over.

Of course, I’m thrilled to be back at SU for the semester. In these first two weeks alone, I’ve gotten to know a lot of awesome freshman as a first year-RA and have logged countless hours of rehearsal for the theatre department’s production of Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9. (I’ll shamelessly plug that show in another post, I’m sure). On that note, I’ve got to run and work on lines. Enjoy the pictures from Bulgaria!