Fall Break: A Benchmark

Life at the Burrow these days is a blur of dirty plates, Disney movies, early departures, and late returns. With rehearsals for Blood Wedding (the Book & Buskin show Kari is assistant stage managing) and Something Clever (the Major Arcana show I am co-directing and Lizz is stage managing) picking up steam, classes nearing the mid-way point, and relationships between everyone molding and changing, we have realized that there is little time to wash the dishes and make our beds, never mind breathe.

However, our busy schedules have not deterred us from having a wonderful September. A few of our Fridays were graced with Kevin making us special dinners, including baked macaroni and cheese, tacos, and a tri-salad night. Each dinner is themed or includes some kind of a challenge. The point is to make sure we can all slow down at the end of the week and sit at the table and eat together--like a family! Of course, the dishes that result from cooking a full meal can be a burden.

Fridays are always greeted warmly since each weekday brings a bowl of stress and fatigue. On an average Monday, the four of us (Lizz, Kari, Gloria, and I) leave the Burrow around 8:10 am so we can get to the Performing Arts Center for a meeting at 8:30 for Major Arcana. Then we head to class; Gloria, Lizz, and I go to Honors 201 from 9:30-11:20. [Here I must drift to only give my lovely schedule, since I cannot say I've memorized those of my apartment mates.] This is followed by returning to the PAC for work until 1:30, when I can finally go back to the apartment. I head back to the PAC yet again around 3:40 for a 4 o'clock Boot & Buskin meeting. By then, my day tends to be relatively complete; I go to dinner and sometimes have rehearsal.

Tuesdays and Thursdays mean Acting (10-11:15), Creative Writing (11:30-12:45), and Poetry (1-2:15). This many hours of classes can be very tiring, but Acting is an active start to the day, Creative Writing is amusing since we're writing poetry, and Poetry is exceedingly simple, so I can relax! Wednesday is Honors again, no work, but Playwriting from 4-7. This is one of my favorite classes, since we go sit on couches and talk about playwriting ideas and such. Fridays feature Honors (again) and work (again).

I have rehearsals at least twice a week, depending on the schedule Lizzy has made up for us. My show, Something Clever, is composed of four one-act shows: A Bench at the Edge, With or Without You, Captive Audience, and Soap Opera. My co-director, a senior named Michael, is directing the former two, and I am directing the latter two. Mine are quite funny and my cast, about 50% freshmen, is lovely.

Unfortunately, there is nothing on my mind right now, on the brink of having a Saturday with ZERO obligations (as opposed to last Saturday, when I took part in the PAC's '24 Hour Project', where we write and perform our own shows over the course of 24 hours), other than the stresses I am trying to leave behind from the past 6 weeks... or whatever it has been. I'll be in touch when something more interesting to listen to occurs in our beloved Burrow.