My first 40-hour week in a while

Well, for better and for worse, I have not had a solid full-time job in quite some time. It has essentially been 3 months since I worked an 8-5 gig, so after this first week, I am certainly exhausted! I kind of laugh at myself, but it has always been a challenge to wake up early, mostly because I naturally stay up later. But I'm adjusting, so all is well.

This week was quite a busy one as well! I went to Baha'i activities Sat-Wed, then I had my first PartyLite candle party on Thursday, and a friend's party on Friday. With working during the day and doing all these activities at night, I was certainly grateful for Saturday!

And it was a great Saturday, because my Aunt Terry and Uncle Gavin stopped through Minneapolis on their way back to Alaska from traveling. They had about a 3-hour layover, so Shelly and I were able to pick them up from the airport and bring them back to the apartment to chat for a while. It was so great hugging them and getting to talk. Particularly because I was feeling a little bit homesick yesterday, so it was nice to have a little piece of home here for a bit.

The last bit of news is that I have an audition with the Guthrie! It's by total luck that I found out about the opportunity. I was calling their offices just to get an idea of what the typical rehearsal schedule is when they are working on a play (I was seeing how I could organize my availability for work), and when I talked to the guy, he told me about an opportunity that was happening that afternoon, where there was a 2.5 hour time period where non-union actors could call in and make an appointment for an audition. It was happening that day! If I had called one day later I would have totally missed it. So during my lunch hour I called over and over again, trying to get through--but it was busy for so long! I had pretty much given up hope, when after about 40 minutes I got through! I couldn't believe it. Anyway, my audition is next Saturday, at 11:30, so I would of course greatly appreciate prayers and positive thoughts. I'm so excited about the possibility of getting a smaller part and starting to earn my points towards eligibility in the union. It would be so awesome to do this at the Guthrie, so I hope I have a chance! Seriously, I would be happy to be the third spear carrier from the left if I was on the Guthrie stage :)

Bye for now,
Lindsay

Creative ways to make money

Well, since moving down to Minnesota took a chunk of change, I've been looking into various ways that I can be earning some money that don't lock me into a job that will prevent me from doing theater. So before I left Alaska, I started considering becoming a PartyLite candle consultant--that's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm selling candles!

I'm actually really excited about it, which is great. I just received my starter kit in the mail, and it has all of these really cool products in it. The best part is that I didn't have to put any money down to start! I had a starter show, where Pam, who is my sponsor, ran a show that I watched (while I was back up in Alaska, which Megan hosted--thanks Megan!) and studied all the different things she was saying. That show allowed me to not only get the starter kit, but I was able to choose additional products to add to my kit to be able to display at shows--for free! So it was a great success, and Pam, who was the one who got me started in this business has been a lot of help.

So, I officially have my first party this week! I hope I don't fall flat on my face, but since I like the candles and holders so much, that goes a long way to help with my enthusiasm. I'm still trying to book shows here in the Twin Cities, so any of you local people wanting to host a show and get lots of free stuff, just let me know! Heck, there are some of my friends holding shows up in Alaska--they're awesome!

So that's the latest development for me. The plan is that this is something that I have the flexibility to choose when I do it, so that if (or rather, when) I get involved with a play, I'll be able to work around my schedule. I'm still doing temp jobs for now, but eventually this may end up being my main income. We'll see how it goes! At least my home smells really good :)

Weather and Music

Well, I for one don’t understand the weather in Minnesota. For the past couple of days it has been sunny and in the 50’s… and then all of a sudden we have a winter storm in effect. Whereas most of the snow was completely melted away yesterday, there’s already close to a foot fallen in Saint Paul—yeesh! Fortunately, I have my beautiful all-wheel drive car (which TODAY makes it all worthwhile). Earlier this morning, I tried to help one of my neighbors get unstuck… but being the little person that I am, and the only one that was pushing, I didn’t really end up helping (but I think he appreciated that I came out to try). So I was really grateful for the all-wheel drive when I set out to get to my work this afternoon.

Here's something wonderful: www.pandora.com. It is the coolest site ever! My friend Matt F. was the person I heard about it from (on his blog). Here’s what you do: You enter a song or artist that you like, and Pandora starts a playlist that includes that artist and a bunch of others that are similar in style. It’s a great way to expose yourself to other artists out there and hear other music that you are more than likely going to appreciate. And you can rate things, so if you don’t like a song, you just click that you don’t, and it won’t play that song again. It’s like listening to a radio station which is playing all the music that you are currently in the mood for. And the best part? It’s free J Hooray! There is a subscription-based version as well, where there is no advertising… but I just love that this exists, and I love that there are people that are such supporters of music that they have found a way for well known and lesser known artists to be heard. Awesome.

The audition experience

Hello everyone! Well, the good news is that I did not leave the theater in tears :) I actually left smiling--hooray!

The whole experience was very nice. We waiting out in the lobby and then went in groups of 5 to stand off to the side of the stage and audition. It all ran very smoothly, and the people who were running it were very nice.

Of course I was nervous beforehand! Especially because I'm still dealing with gunk in my lungs. I had some trouble falling asleep last night because I kept coughing... but I had enough adrenaline running through my body to keep me awake for the audition! Going into the audition, I was more worried about my monologue than my song, but I ended up doing very well on my monologue... and only so-so on my song. Again, because of the sickness, my voice was a little rough, so it just didn't sound as smooth as normal--but I hit all the notes and acted my way through it! I was really grateful that I didn't have a coughing fit on stage, and in reality, I don't know if they could tell that I was sick or not--they may just think I can't sing so well :) But that's okay! I still feel pretty good about the whole thing. I wanted to do the best that I could do, and while there's always room for improvement, I was very happy with what I did!

So now the wait begins. There are some callbacks for out of state companies this afternoon, but seeing as I don't really want to work out of state (I need to get established here!), I'm not going to be too bummed if I don't get called back for those. Other local companies will call me at some point, but it will be different for each company. And, actually, I'll only get called if they want to see me again. So there's a possibility of no calls.

But, putting things in perspective, there were about 300 auditioners, and I was simply one of them. Hopefully something about me stuck in some minds, but regardless, I've officially completed my first of many auditions to come! So I feel like celebrating! Well, I actually feel like taking a nap--I'm exhausted!

Bye for now!

Rally the Troops!

Hey everyone! Well, tomorrow is a big day for me! A big day that will be over in 90 seconds, that is. Tomorrow I get a chance to audition in the Twin Cities unified audition, where a bunch of different theater companies gather together and watch auditions at the same time. So I am doing a monologue and 30 seconds of a song for all of them to see... this is great in many ways, but if I bomb... well, it's just a little more damage :)

But I'm actually looking forward to the experience. It will be my first official audition in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, so I'm just excited that I am finally doing something that is focused on the main reason I moved away from Alaska!

So I have a favor to ask: Whatever your religious beliefs, I beg that you say prayers or think positive thoughts for me. My audition is at 11:33 am on Sunday (that's Central time, so Alaskans, that's a bright and early 8:33 am your time). I've been getting over a cold, so I'm hoping that in spite of that I can go in there and knock their socks off! I'm hoping that I feel even better than today, but as long as I don't get any worse, I should be able to work through it. So I'm rallying the troops!

On further updates in life, Kelly Services has been assigning me to jobs--hooray! Even though I was hired with them before I left, there wasn't anything for me to do in the time before I left for Alaska. So it feels good to turn in those time cards! I've also... drum roll please... become a PartyLite candle consultant! It kind of makes me smile to think that I'll be selling candles, but I actually am really excited about this. I've love their candles for years, so I get to sell something that I believe is a good product. Also, I have lots of friends who love the candles and holders as well, so they've benefited from hosting parties and getting free stuff (like Megan--yippee!). If any of you who read this in Minnesota want to host a party, just let me know :) I'm definitely going to have to expand my circle of friends here in order to keep working, but I'm looking forward to it! This will hopefully help me to avoid being a "starving" actor :) and still allow me to do theater--hooray!

Okay, that's all for now! But I love you all and hope you're happy!

Home safe and sound

Hello all! I've made it back safely to Saint Paul! Halfway through the trip, I started fantasizing about a direct flight :) But it wasn't all that bad.

I must mention, that a few of my friends (Erin, Shane and Megan) came out this morning to see me off at the airport---at 6:30AM! My mom was the one who took me out to the airport, which was just great--but she's my mom, it sort of goes with the territory :) Seriously, I think they are better people than I, because I really don't know if I would have come to see a friend off at the airport that early ;) I was trying (unsuccessfully) to hold back tears, as this was the true parting for quite some time, but it was really special to me that they came. And as I was going through security they started singing a song, that in my delirium I don't remember the name of (one of you three can add a comment with the name), but it made me so happy! And all of the other people in line to go through security clapped afterwards, and the people working in security were smiling... that was a moment where everyone WISHED they had friends like mine!

It was great being with my family in Alaska, and I'm truly missing my parents and brother right now, but I'm grateful for the time we had--they are the best family on the planet! Well, at least for me :)

And it was wonderful seeing a bunch of my friends in Alaska. The time just flew by, and I wish that I could have spent more time with more people, but I suppose that's always the case. Okay, now I'm really rambling, so I'm going to bed... or I'm going to play sudoku (curse that habit!).

G'night!

Time to say goodbye...

Well, dear friends, it is once again time for me to leave Alaska. This trip up here has been wonderful--fast, but wonderful. The show finished on Sunday, and I have this one last day to cram in all of the things that I wanted to do while I was in Alaska... there will be no way that I can do so, but I'm gonna try!

I just wanted to publicly thank all of my co-stars from "Pirate Tales". Not only was it an honor being on stage with all of you, but it was pure joy me. I love performing with you, and several times I thought about how safe it was on stage--we were all there to support each other and laugh (or in many cases groan) at the jokes and stories we told on stage. Thank you :)

The show was so much fun! I wanted to share some photos from the show, courtesy of Tony Batres, a wonderful photographer here in town (you can click on any photo to see it larger):

The Cast: (back) Andy Rogers, Dennis Cleary,
Leif Sawyer, (front) Erin Dagon, Elle Delaney,
Petra Banks, Shane Mitchell, Kristin Fernandez,
Lindsay Lamar, and Wayne Mitchell


The Men


The Women


Erin and I finishing the stories of
Anne Bonny and Mary Reid


Me and my onstage boyfriend Wayne :)


It's so much fun playing violin in this show!


I always danced with Vera (the bass)
during Sloop John B


Andy and I tried to change jobs in
the show--works out fine for me!

Thanks again guys! I'll be thinking about you pretty much daily while I'm in Minnesota :) I love you!