Home for the moment

It feels good to be back in Western MA after having been gone for so long (3 1/2 months is a long time!). I'm still waiting on the paperwork, but I have taken a position as the Head Electrician for the national tour of "A Chorus Line". I'm very excited and, as always, a little nervous about this new adventure. I will be living on a bus with 6 other crew people and the driver. I don't know yet if I'll be the only girl on the bus. Occasionally we'll have hotel rooms, but more than not will be on the bus - this should be interesting. I've been getting some great advice from friends in the industry who have toured, and one gave me a heads-up on some of the more challenging venues. I'm doing everything I can think of to prepare for this both mentally and professionally. For the folks looking for housing for me in NYC - thank you. I'm now not sure if I'll be going to the City - I may end up just flying to the shop, then joining the tour in Tacoma from there. So here's the first part of the schedule: Tech at shop Oct 9-20. Tacoma, WA Oct 21-27. Portland, OR Oct 28, Abbottsford, BC (yes, I get to go to CANADA!!) Oct 30. And for those of you in Western MA, if you want to get together, call me SOON. Time is slipping away, and I'll only be home for 2.5 weeks at Christmas before I'm off on the road again.

all roads lead to NYC

A more complete update will be coming soon, but for now, I need help. It looks like I will be working with the tour of Chorus Line, and need a place to stay in NYC (rehearsals are at Chelsea Studios)from Oct 7 - Oct 20, 2012. If you know of someone who might be willing to put me up or a safe, clean, inexpensive place to stay, I would really appreciate the help. Thanks! Kat :)

The great roadtrip of 2012

Okay, apologies for the fact that this will likely be a long post - well, no - not apologies in that I have been out living rather than reporting... So when we left off, I was heading out from Castleton, in Central Virginia on a major roadtrip. What a trip it has been thus far! The first stop was just outside of Lynchburg, VA, where I went to the "Walton's Mountain Museum" - if you are a fan of the tv show, you'd love it here. I saw the house where Earl Hamner was born, and learned a ton about him. It is beautiful and peaceful there - just what you would think it would be. It really amused me that the museum is in the senior center! :) I also had a great phone interview for a tour of "Clifford the Big Red Dog" - it was nice to be back in the land of cell service! I didn't ultimately get the tour, but it was a good interview. I then spent the evening in Lynchburg with a magician friend, Hiawatha. We haven't seen each other in nigh on 15 years, and it was good to catch up. From Lynchburg, I drove to Knoxville, TN, and saw my friend, William, who I have known for about a year through working some shows together. We had a great time making homeade pizza (complete with white heirloom tomatoes from the community garden) and just catching up. I also saw a remnant from the world's fair on my way out - would have also seen the world's largest rubik cube, but it seems to have been taken down. From Knoxville, I had a marathon 13-hour driving day to Lafayette, LA (just outside of New Orleans). I spent 2 days in Lafayette with some very dear friends that I haven't seen in 7 or 8 years. I also discovered that I have become one of those women who sees kids and the first thing she says is "My, you're all grown up!" I never understood why they do that - but you just can't help yourself... The last time I saw the boys, they came up to my waist - now they tower over me at 6'2" and 6'4"! And one is starting college this month - oh my, where does the time go? Then it was on to Houston for a night. I saw my good friend, Trixie Bond for lunch, and spent the night with one of my few friends from Indiana (yes, she escaped too!), Sarah. I got to see Sarah rehearse a new show, and play with the 8 month old pit/lab foster puppies. :) Sometimes I feel like I am still driving in Texas, and it never ends. I did have the unique experience of having my "need gas" light come on, without a town in sight. Fortunately, I did finally find Ft. Stockton, with about a half gallon remaining. Needless to say, I gassed up and found a motel for the night. :) I took a detour and spent about 3 hours in Roswell, NM. I had lunch at a lovely place (nowhere near as vegan-friendly as I was told at the Chamber of Commerce), and went to the alien museum. It was very interesting, and well worth the trip. I also discovered that Roswell itself is a lovely town, with a lot to offer beyond the obvious "incident". I then spent a couple of days in Albuquerque with my friend, Jen, who just relocated to Albuquerque for her veterinary internship. I spent a day kicking around Santa Fe while she worked (totally worth it to get to spend the drive with her) - had a skype interview (follow up for Clifford), bought some cool clothes on sale, and saw the new "Batman" movie (pretty good!). From there I picked up mom and we traded the stuff in my car for her and her stuff with my brother, and I took her to Utah for a week. There we visited family, went to my dad's family reunion, and finally buried her brother's ashes (he died 2 years ago this coming Thanksgiving). I met new family that I didn't know I had, saw some that I haven't seen in 30 years, and did a lot of reconnecting. It was wonderful to visit the house I grew up in that is now owned by my cousin and his family. It is definitely and wonderfully their home, but you still see small traces of my family that creates a nice continuity. I met my cousin and his wife that I have only known via Facebook, and it was wonderful to really reconnect with my cousins that I was close to growing up. One of the absolute highlights for me was spending a really lovely evening with Jon, my first boyfriend from when I was 19 years old. We hadn't seen each other in about 21 years, and it was beyond wonderful to get to catch up with him. I am so grateful he was able to make time to see me. :) After dropping Mom back in Los Alamos, I headed back to Albuquerque and flew out the next day to Orlando, FL, for a job interview in Ocala at the College of Central Florida. The interview went really well, and I am extremely hopeful that I will get an offer. It was then back to Albuquerque for a couple nights, then driving to Las Vegas. I am here for a few days visiting some dear friends, catching up with some folks I haven't seen in ages, and basically enjoying myself until I hear about the job on August 28th. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Goodbye, Castleton - Hello Roadtrip!

Saying goodbye is always an interesting experience. Some people make you cry, some you'll miss, some you need to miss. And it has been a full bag of it the last couple days here. Some folks I cried when they left (or when I said goodbye when I was leaving), some it was just nice to work with them, some were somewhat peripheral and I didn't know that well, but a couple couldn't actually bring themselves to say anything to me - no "goodbye", no "it was nice knowing you", nothing. Both of whom surprised me with this - one was a coworker that I thought we were at least sort've becoming friends, and the other was one of the big bosses. Oh well, onward and upward. I still haven't heard from Bryn Mawr, so I'm figuring that's not happening and starting out on the roadtrip of a lifetime. Allonsy!

wrapping things up

Wow - it seems like I just got here, and already I'm looking at packing up to leave this week. What a whirlwind - of activity, learning, and emotions. I had an incredible experience this weekend, doing the lighting for the CATS (Castleton Area Training Seminar) vocal recitals, the Jennifer Koh violin recital, and the CATS scenes from various operas. It was full of challenges - the light board gave me the "blue screen of death", but between myself and my colleague, Tristan, we got it up and running again. Several lighting units died and had to have bulbs replaced (thanks again to Tristan and his height, it was done quickly), and I designed the scenes in about an hour, tweaked a bit just before they opened the house, and again on the fly as they performed. It was exciting and exhausting - I am SO glad to have today off! :) I also had an amazing experience at the company party last night, that I have to share with you. I think Maestro was present at all the events this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday several of the CATS commented how much they enjoyed the lighting for the concerts (just stuff on sliders with a couple different areas and color added in for effect). It was really nice to hear, and fun to "design on the fly" again. Then the scenes - I thought I'd be doing the sliders with a couple specials thrown in, but it turned out to be considerably more complicated than that, so I threw together cues based on descriptions, got to see part of the rehearsal to tweak some stuff, had a quick look-through, then tweaked it while they were performing. It was a true "slash-and-burn", not my best work, but I was fairly pleased considering what I was working under - people were visible, it didn't all look the same, and in some cases added some atmosphere. Anyhow - the amazing part of the day. I went to the company party last night, and at one point, Maestro showed up and gave a little speech. A few minutes later, Nancy, the General Manager, grabbed me and brought me to Maestro to introduce me as the lighting person for the shows this weekend. Maestro was effulsive in his praise - words like "intelligent and sensitive" were used. I was gobsmaked and so humbled that he noticed. I thanked Nancy later for that, and she replied, "I had to do it! He was in the hallway raving about it, so I had to have him meet you!" What an amazing way to end the shows and the summer. David (our Technical Director) made me take today off to rest and pack, then I start working on the Theater House tomorrow (had to refocus stuff, remove a couple units for seating, and generally repair and tidy stuff). Still don't know exactly what my next step will be. Still waiting to hear if I am going to PA for an in-person interview, or just heading out on the road to see friends, mom, and this amazing country. Whatever the next step - it will be wonderful.

Getting back to normal

Wow, what a few days this has been! Major-league heat wave, combined with the loss of power. However, approximately 8:45pm this evening, power was restored to the farm. Yeah, it was about an hour after we ran cables from the ginormous generator to the rehearsal hall, but I think we are glad we have it all in place. If we didn't, I'd bet we'd need it! We here at Castleton Festival are proud of the fact that we only missed one show due to power issues (Wolftrap, over in DC and the country's largest opera festival, as far as I know, is still without power - not to "ha ha" them, just being very grateful that we have Maestro Maazel and that he is willing to put his resources behind this project). In fact, they were saying this morning that it could be up to 10 days before DC gets power back... Aside from the obvious, there has also been a fair amount of drama backstage. Not going into details, but suffice to say, everyone here had a good reminder that perception is everything, and people talk. Sadly, one of our crew was sent home after having been warned several times for questionable behavior. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt that nothing happened, but as we all tried to tell her, "appearances are everything." Its a shame, too, because she had an amazing opportunity in her hands, and I'm sorry to see her leave. Also, a reminder to folks - if you have tried to text me to make sure I'm okay, please remember that I have NO CELL SERVICE here, and will not be answering you! If you want a response, email or facebook me. Also, I am here for approx 3 more weeks. If you were planning to send a letter or something for my birthday (shameless plug for mail! *grin*), you still have time to send it. :) My mailing address is: Kat Lovell c/o Castleton Festival 7 Castleton Meadows Lane Castleton, VA 22716 I love getting mail - it always totally makes my day (and I haven't had any in ages! hint, hint *grin*) Hope everyone reading this is safe and sound. Oh - and my foot, thankfully, is fine after my little adventure. I have to say, I was not sad to see the Barber set dismantled today...

State of Emergency

For all my life I have heard and seen pictures of natural disasters, and places that the President has declared in a "state of emergency" - I never thought I'd be living in one. To be honest, this is a surreal experience. I am fortunate that my house where I am staying has a really good backup generator, and we are pretty much business as usual, including internet. I can shower, do laundry, and get to sleep with a/c and my ceiling fan. Others are not so fortunate - the "Meadows" house is a small 3rd world country at the moment. Their generator is kaput, so the 30 or so people living there are trying to make the best of a very hot situation (its been in the high 90's the past 3 days with high humidity). Since the power still isn't back on, other houses are starting to take them in, including mine. Which means that we are up to about 10 women and one bathroom. The decision was made to rent a generator from NJ for the festival theater - this thing is HUGE! It took until about 4:30am to get it hooked up, but it is working. We discovered this morning that there are issues with some of the dimmers, that they don't dim - they are either all on or all off. Through tracing this issue, we discovered that the boxes that the local power company set up were not set up the way we thought, and that we had been running power off them slightly incorrectly. We got that issue sorted out - then discovered that we still had the dimmer issue. After more time and testing, we realized it is the computer "brain" of the dimmer boxes, and that both of them need to be replaced by next weekend. I also want to take a moment to talk about my boss, Tlaloc Lopez-Watermann. "T" is the Lighting Director for the festival, and by far the hardest working person I have ever met. He does his best to take care of anything anyone asks of him, whether it is the power grid for the festival, fixing the refrigerator truck at the fire house where we eat meals, or cutting trees and moving them off the roads to make them passable after the storm. He is amazing, and an incredible example to those around him of a positive, can-do attitude. I am truly blessed to be working with T and many other incredible, talented, people. So I'm okay, I have food, a/c, and internet. Hopefully soon the phones will be back up so I can call my mother.