School
So Eric is still trucking away with all of his assignments. Jen drops him off at school every morning, and he comes home around 8:30 or 9 every night. He is a busy guy, and is learning so much. Jen helped him learn some scenes for his score class, and she enjoys listening about things that he learns about in his classes. His professor, DC, who he knew before from Dueling Arts, has been out of town until this Monday. Eric was so excited for him to come back, and we are hoping to get together with him and his family soon.
Jen is still looking into the Sociology Program with the University, and hopes to talk with someone soon about the program and qualifications.
Work
Jen is still having a great time playing with the babies(she would like it more if they didn't poop so much), and likes the people she works with. Although this isn't the exact job she thought she would have when we got here(or the exact income she was expecting), it is good for now. They are super flexible with hours, and if you need a day off. Jen put in her application at WIU to see about getting a position there as well. They hire many people in all of the offices as secretaries, and they get full benefits. She will meet with an interviewer on October 13, and take an exam to see what positions she qualifies for. So cross your fingers!!!
Other News
Eric and Jen have both been working out at the student rec center. They both like the treadclimber(you get super sweaty and burn major calories on that thing), and Jen has taken an interest in the classes offered. So far she tried a 15 minute ab class. She thought that she could handle something that was only 15 minutes, but was she ever wrong. Those people are crazy. She's never done so many crunches in her life(let alone in 15 minutes). She also took a step and sculpt class. It is an hour long class with 35 minutes on the step, and 20 minutes of sculpting(crunches, lifting, etc.). Her absolute favorite class so far though: Bellydancing. She doesn't seem to do a single move right, but it is super fun and a great workout. She finds herself dancing around the apartment at times, and can't wait to go back to class. Unfortunately, it is only offered on Thursdays.....so something to look forward to each week!!
Jen is also missing home a bit. While she loves it here, she just found out that her best friend, Brooke, is pregnant and due in January. She and Brooke have known each other since elementary school, and she never thought she would be this far away when any of her best friends were going through such an amazing time! She will get to see Brooke big and pregnant when we come home for Christmas, but won't see the baby for several months after s/he arrives! Weekly pictures and videos will have to be sent our way!!! Sarah is also having a little get together, and while it's not such a big deal if Jen was 45 minutes away, it is sad to know she can't just run over there for a few minutes. Sorry, Sarah, that I am going to miss Roxy's(the dog) birthday party!
Maggie also has some news. Because of Jen's allergies(and her sneezing and hacking), we decided to get Maggie a "big girl bed." Last night consisted of Eric and Jen yelling at Maggie every 30 minutes to get out of their bed, and get back in hers. Hopefully she will get the hang of it. She seemed to like it, but she likes to cuddle next to us, so we will let ya'll know how it turns out!
Jen is also looking into things to keep her busy. She is looking at joining an organization or volunteering with the Chamber of Commerce on upcoming events they are planning. We will keep you posted!
Hope everyone is doing well. We love getting emails, comments, letters, or a phone call! Christmas is only a few months away, and we can't wait to see everyone!! It looks like we will be home December 22-January3, so we want to try and visit everyone of course!!
We will post another update soon! So stay tuned!
Love,
Jen, Eric and Maggie
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy!!!
School
Just finished my second week. I've got a couple of projects in my Analysis class due soon, so I am hard at work on those. We start discussion on "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekov tomorrow in Analysis, as well.
After studio auditions, I still did not get cast in anything, but the Director of the first mainstage show, "Women's Minyan", approached me on Friday to perform a vocal role in her show. The play's cast is all women except for a male voice at the beginning of the first and second acts, so....that's me! I was a bit bummed at not getting cast in any other shows( and to an extent I still feel like the department was just throwing me a bone ). That's not say that I'm very grateful and pleased to be a part of "Women's Minyan", though. I think it is an important cultural show. Actually, since it is a smaller part, I'll have more time to spend on my school work. I did talk with a few of the directors and got some feedback on my callbacks. I'm glad I did too, because they have given me a couple of specific things I can work on for the next round of auditions for next semester. Namely, exploring the extremes of roles to show the directors that I can go there.
I will possibly have the opportunity to do some choreography work too. The head of the acting program sent my info to a director at a smaller college in nearby Jacksonville( about an hour away). They need someone to come down and choreograph a fight for a production they're doing. If it works out, it will be a paying gig, but I'm working out some of the details before I commit to the project.
My other classes are going well, but still lots of reading to do. I'm excited about learning so much, and getting the chance to throw around ideas with my classmates. Speaking of which, I don't believe I've introduced them yet. There are five actors, including myself, three directors, and one designer in our first year class. Of the actors, Rick and Nicole are from the Milwaukee area, Chad is from a little town south of Joliet, Illinois, and Caitlyn is from Freedonia, New York. The three directors include Craig and Zach, I can't remember where they're from, and Sandra who is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Cindy is the designer, but we only have Analysis with her, so I haven't really had a chance find out much about her. Cindy is the oldest, in her late thirties - early forties, but then I'm the second oldest. Craig is 26 or 27, I'm not sure how old Zach is, but I think he is around my age, then the other actors are only 22 or 23. Some interesting dynamics in any case, and certainly a fun group.
Work
Jen is doing alright at work. She had to miss a couple of days at the end of the week, because she wasn't feeling well again. Any time one of the teachers gets ill, they immediatley get sent home. Her boss and co-workers have told her that it might take a while for her to build up a tolerance to some of the "bugs" the kids pass around at the daycare. Of course, this has become a bit of a frustration, but we're doing what we can for both of us to stay healthy.
Actually, Jen was able to get a membership to the recreational center on campus and we have started working out. Jen has "taken the bull by the horns" and is also going to get a fitness test, and attend some of the free classes they give in the evenings and on the weekend. Eric, of course, meets up with her when he can, but is also starting to work out during the day. The rec. center has great machines called Treadclimbers that burn almost twice the calories as a regular treadmill, in the same amount of time. We're really excited about getting fit and losing the weight.
Jen has also started looking into getting involved with events in the community, and is finding some things she might volunteer for. Again, Macomb is a really small town, so Jen is scrounging for things to keep her busy. Some fun possibilities, though, and we'll keep you posted.
In Other News
The annual Macomb Balloon Festival was this weekend. We got to see some of the hot air balloons take off from a field next to campus on Friday, but unfortunately flights were grounded Saturday afternoon and evening due to approaching weather. We'll look forward to the next festival, though, and hopefully post some great pics.
Oh, and there was a funny thing we saw. There is a show on MTV called "Busted" that's kinda like COPS, but for college kids. We had heard from Chad that he saw a member of the show's crew earlier that day around campus. We dismissed it, though, thinking that they wouldn't come out to Macomb, Illinois. However, we were heading home Saturday night from dinner and decided to cruise down the party strip next to campus to checkout what was going on. WIU is a party school( if you're an undergraduate ) and there are parties going on almost every night around campus. We like to cruise from time to time to be entertained. Anyway, we were getting toward the end of the strip when we saw that a cop had pulled someone over. As we got closer to the vehicles we saw there was a cameraman filming a guy the police had cuffed, sitting on the curb. "Busted" in Macomb!! Needless to say, we got a good laugh out of that.
More to come next week, so stay tuned!!
Just finished my second week. I've got a couple of projects in my Analysis class due soon, so I am hard at work on those. We start discussion on "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekov tomorrow in Analysis, as well.
After studio auditions, I still did not get cast in anything, but the Director of the first mainstage show, "Women's Minyan", approached me on Friday to perform a vocal role in her show. The play's cast is all women except for a male voice at the beginning of the first and second acts, so....that's me! I was a bit bummed at not getting cast in any other shows( and to an extent I still feel like the department was just throwing me a bone ). That's not say that I'm very grateful and pleased to be a part of "Women's Minyan", though. I think it is an important cultural show. Actually, since it is a smaller part, I'll have more time to spend on my school work. I did talk with a few of the directors and got some feedback on my callbacks. I'm glad I did too, because they have given me a couple of specific things I can work on for the next round of auditions for next semester. Namely, exploring the extremes of roles to show the directors that I can go there.
I will possibly have the opportunity to do some choreography work too. The head of the acting program sent my info to a director at a smaller college in nearby Jacksonville( about an hour away). They need someone to come down and choreograph a fight for a production they're doing. If it works out, it will be a paying gig, but I'm working out some of the details before I commit to the project.
My other classes are going well, but still lots of reading to do. I'm excited about learning so much, and getting the chance to throw around ideas with my classmates. Speaking of which, I don't believe I've introduced them yet. There are five actors, including myself, three directors, and one designer in our first year class. Of the actors, Rick and Nicole are from the Milwaukee area, Chad is from a little town south of Joliet, Illinois, and Caitlyn is from Freedonia, New York. The three directors include Craig and Zach, I can't remember where they're from, and Sandra who is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Cindy is the designer, but we only have Analysis with her, so I haven't really had a chance find out much about her. Cindy is the oldest, in her late thirties - early forties, but then I'm the second oldest. Craig is 26 or 27, I'm not sure how old Zach is, but I think he is around my age, then the other actors are only 22 or 23. Some interesting dynamics in any case, and certainly a fun group.
Work
Jen is doing alright at work. She had to miss a couple of days at the end of the week, because she wasn't feeling well again. Any time one of the teachers gets ill, they immediatley get sent home. Her boss and co-workers have told her that it might take a while for her to build up a tolerance to some of the "bugs" the kids pass around at the daycare. Of course, this has become a bit of a frustration, but we're doing what we can for both of us to stay healthy.
Actually, Jen was able to get a membership to the recreational center on campus and we have started working out. Jen has "taken the bull by the horns" and is also going to get a fitness test, and attend some of the free classes they give in the evenings and on the weekend. Eric, of course, meets up with her when he can, but is also starting to work out during the day. The rec. center has great machines called Treadclimbers that burn almost twice the calories as a regular treadmill, in the same amount of time. We're really excited about getting fit and losing the weight.
Jen has also started looking into getting involved with events in the community, and is finding some things she might volunteer for. Again, Macomb is a really small town, so Jen is scrounging for things to keep her busy. Some fun possibilities, though, and we'll keep you posted.
In Other News
The annual Macomb Balloon Festival was this weekend. We got to see some of the hot air balloons take off from a field next to campus on Friday, but unfortunately flights were grounded Saturday afternoon and evening due to approaching weather. We'll look forward to the next festival, though, and hopefully post some great pics.
Oh, and there was a funny thing we saw. There is a show on MTV called "Busted" that's kinda like COPS, but for college kids. We had heard from Chad that he saw a member of the show's crew earlier that day around campus. We dismissed it, though, thinking that they wouldn't come out to Macomb, Illinois. However, we were heading home Saturday night from dinner and decided to cruise down the party strip next to campus to checkout what was going on. WIU is a party school( if you're an undergraduate ) and there are parties going on almost every night around campus. We like to cruise from time to time to be entertained. Anyway, we were getting toward the end of the strip when we saw that a cop had pulled someone over. As we got closer to the vehicles we saw there was a cameraman filming a guy the police had cuffed, sitting on the curb. "Busted" in Macomb!! Needless to say, we got a good laugh out of that.
More to come next week, so stay tuned!!
Monday, September 1, 2008
This Is What I Wanted....
Okay, so its the end of my first week in school, and boy did we hit the ground running! After sitting through an actually quite enjoyable orientation on Friday, the other first years and I met Saturday to attempt the MFA exam. The test was comprised of nine questions, all essay, requiring an in depth, analytical response to nine different plays. Needless to say our attempts at answering any of the questions was feeble at best. Not to worry though, as mentioned before it was more a chance for us to see what the test was going to be like than an actual attempt at taking it. Then, we met later that day and performed our audition monologues for the head of the acting program and received critiques. Sunday, we met at the head of the directing program's house with the other grad students, faculty, and staff to meet and mingle. Jen and I, and the other first years showed up at the same time, but unfortunately for us, that was 30 minutes after the party started. Of course, we were teased about this for the rest of the evening.
On Monday, classes kicked off. Here's what I am taking: a Movement class that centers on warm up activities, games, and relaxation techniques, an Analysis class which focuses on complete analysis of plays as a whole, a Voice class looking at basic vocal exercises and relaxation techniques, and a Score class that focuses on the complete analysis of individual characters of plays and different acting techniques. In addition, I'm also assistant teaching the Unarmed Stage Combat class. Both the Analysis and Score classes will be constituting the bulk of the work that I will be doing this semester. Both classes incorporate several analysis projects, reports, and presentations. This program has been described as a more academic program, which I am worried, but also excited about. I'm worried because most of the training I have done has been more practical, and some of the lower grades that I have received in the past have been due to the lack of self discipline in getting the work done. That being said, I am excited about the work laid before me because of the challenge it presents. I am continually reinforcing the attitude that when I am presented with an assignment, I don't think of it as something I have to do, but something I get and want to do. One of my teachers made the point that the faculty here are training my classmates and I to become their colleagues. Therefore, they are obviously going to push us to become professionals worthy of that distinction. I appreciated that because of course this is my passion, and I was inspired to achieve not only the degree, but more importantly, the knowledge and experience. Of course, I hope I can still count on all of you to help me stay motivated.
Auditions went okay this week. I got callbacks for two of the mainstage shows, but did not get cast. Auditions for the studio shows, which are shows that the directing grad students present, will be tomorrow night, though. There are seven or eight studio shows being staged this semester, so, I still have an opportunity to be cast in one of those. Of course, given the class load I'm kind of embracing the less is more mind set when it come to how much work I take on.
Also in the News!!
Jen is still doing well at her new job. She likes the work, loves the babies, but is still keeping an eye out for something that has a little better pay rate. She is actually starting to look into her grad program, and taking note of deadlines for applications and possible financial aid. I think she is leaning toward the sociology program now, instead of elementary education. While at work the other day, she covered for one of the teachers in a class with five year olds and it kinda freaked her out. She's still doing research, though, so we'll see what she settles on. Jen has also begun delving into the family cook book and trying out some recipes. She made sour cream enchiladas for dinner one night that were excellent, and she baked a couple of buttermilk pies. We had the other first years over this evening and they all had second helpings of the pie. Way to go Jen!!
We had the Graduate/ Undergraduate softball game today. They have the game once a semester. Major bragging rights at stake. It was pretty intense. The Grads all got personalized jerseys and had practice before the game. Eric had a couple of hits including a base hit and a deep fly to left field that almost went the distance for what would have been a three run homer, but was caught. He also got to play catcher for a while and did well as he helped the team get out of three innings with one strike out and only allowing one run to score. Of course, Jen and Maggie were in attendance cheering Eric, the first years, and the other Grads on. Unfortunately, after having won two previous games in a row, the Grads lost to the undergrads 6-1. Oh well, we'll get 'em next semester.
We are continuing to find our daily routine since classes have started, and looking into other ways of getting involved in the community. Eric has two of his Analysis projects due soon,
a minor/personal analysis of "The Misanthrope", by Moliere, and a Major/researched analysis on "Othello". We are also scheduling time to work out and attend various fitness classes offered at the campus recreation facilities. Hopefully, by the time we come home for Christmas we will be lean and mean. As always, we're looking forward to hearing from you all.
Love,
Jen, Eric, and Maggie
On Monday, classes kicked off. Here's what I am taking: a Movement class that centers on warm up activities, games, and relaxation techniques, an Analysis class which focuses on complete analysis of plays as a whole, a Voice class looking at basic vocal exercises and relaxation techniques, and a Score class that focuses on the complete analysis of individual characters of plays and different acting techniques. In addition, I'm also assistant teaching the Unarmed Stage Combat class. Both the Analysis and Score classes will be constituting the bulk of the work that I will be doing this semester. Both classes incorporate several analysis projects, reports, and presentations. This program has been described as a more academic program, which I am worried, but also excited about. I'm worried because most of the training I have done has been more practical, and some of the lower grades that I have received in the past have been due to the lack of self discipline in getting the work done. That being said, I am excited about the work laid before me because of the challenge it presents. I am continually reinforcing the attitude that when I am presented with an assignment, I don't think of it as something I have to do, but something I get and want to do. One of my teachers made the point that the faculty here are training my classmates and I to become their colleagues. Therefore, they are obviously going to push us to become professionals worthy of that distinction. I appreciated that because of course this is my passion, and I was inspired to achieve not only the degree, but more importantly, the knowledge and experience. Of course, I hope I can still count on all of you to help me stay motivated.
Auditions went okay this week. I got callbacks for two of the mainstage shows, but did not get cast. Auditions for the studio shows, which are shows that the directing grad students present, will be tomorrow night, though. There are seven or eight studio shows being staged this semester, so, I still have an opportunity to be cast in one of those. Of course, given the class load I'm kind of embracing the less is more mind set when it come to how much work I take on.
Also in the News!!
Jen is still doing well at her new job. She likes the work, loves the babies, but is still keeping an eye out for something that has a little better pay rate. She is actually starting to look into her grad program, and taking note of deadlines for applications and possible financial aid. I think she is leaning toward the sociology program now, instead of elementary education. While at work the other day, she covered for one of the teachers in a class with five year olds and it kinda freaked her out. She's still doing research, though, so we'll see what she settles on. Jen has also begun delving into the family cook book and trying out some recipes. She made sour cream enchiladas for dinner one night that were excellent, and she baked a couple of buttermilk pies. We had the other first years over this evening and they all had second helpings of the pie. Way to go Jen!!
We had the Graduate/ Undergraduate softball game today. They have the game once a semester. Major bragging rights at stake. It was pretty intense. The Grads all got personalized jerseys and had practice before the game. Eric had a couple of hits including a base hit and a deep fly to left field that almost went the distance for what would have been a three run homer, but was caught. He also got to play catcher for a while and did well as he helped the team get out of three innings with one strike out and only allowing one run to score. Of course, Jen and Maggie were in attendance cheering Eric, the first years, and the other Grads on. Unfortunately, after having won two previous games in a row, the Grads lost to the undergrads 6-1. Oh well, we'll get 'em next semester.
We are continuing to find our daily routine since classes have started, and looking into other ways of getting involved in the community. Eric has two of his Analysis projects due soon,
a minor/personal analysis of "The Misanthrope", by Moliere, and a Major/researched analysis on "Othello". We are also scheduling time to work out and attend various fitness classes offered at the campus recreation facilities. Hopefully, by the time we come home for Christmas we will be lean and mean. As always, we're looking forward to hearing from you all.
Love,
Jen, Eric, and Maggie
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