Long time, new post...

As it turns out, my last semester of college kind of filled up and left me with little time to blog. Here's a summary: my Senior Project - 4.48 Psychosis, filling final gen. ed. requirements, road-(and train-)tripping to and from Chicago over Spring Break, finding out about the opportunity of my current job (and getting it!), being cast in Montford Park Players' production of Cymbeline as Imogen, and then the whole graduating/winning college-thing. Then summer happened...lots of landscaping, play rehearsal, movies, teaching a friend to drive, and a tiny weeklong vacation before I started my new job.

Nowadays, I'm still at the college working as an AmeriCorps VISTA in our Service Learning Program. It's a different perspective being at Wilson in a non-student role. As familiar a place as it is, there's plenty newness around. I still get to participate in theatre productions, for which I am very grateful, and a little over a month ago, I took on the role of Hermione in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. It had a shorter rehearsal period than usual (about six weeks) and a tight-knit ensemble, most everyone playing more than one role. In short, a wonderful and challenging experience that left an impact.

Giny-Camilla, Lauren-Hermione (me), Sofia-Perdita, Rachel-Paulina

Since that time, among other things, I led a service trip in Asheville over Fall Break called "Artists Serving, Serving Artists." I created the whole trip from scratch working with arts non-profits in the area, many of which the school had never had "official" service relationships previously. Eight students went on the trip, and it was extremely successful. We worked with Asheville Mural Project, Asheville FM, Burton Street Center, Asheville Community Theatre, Just Home in the Mountains/Homeward Bound, NC Stage, Montford Community Center, puppeteer Hobey Ford, and Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre. Initially I was worried we wouldn't have enough to do during the week, but in actuality, it was packed to the brim, and still a lot of fun.

Last Day Group Shot at Moments Café

Then I got sick, turned 22, got into a bit of a head-fog-funk, went to a couple NC Campus Compact events, and went about my day-to-day business. I'll do my best to get some more posts up here regularly. Much love to all...

Lauren

Oh, and just for fun, take a peek at a couple shots from a mask workshop I was able to observe a couple weekends ago...amazing stuff.

Lauren in London

Actually I'm about to leave London, but look for lots of posts (or at least a couple) soon. Having seen a play, musical, or some other sort of performance nearly every night I've been here these past three weeks(ish), I have a lot to say, but being on an airport computer with limited time, I can't say it now. I'll be back in the U.S. in a matter of hours!
Be well,
Lauren

It's been a while...

Since I last posted, I went out to California and Oregon, returned home, got back to school to welcome new freshman and train for soccer, and started the new/last school year at college. With all my shit going on for this last year of school, I found myself too busy to realistically stay healthy and consequently took a break from soccer so I could maintain sanity. A lot of my time was invested in the theatre, as usual. I just got done with an amazing production of You Can't Take It With You in which I played the role of Penny. It was a huge and valuable experience - I learned a lot about ensemble work, comedy, life and myself. The night of our last dress rehearsal, we learned we got ourselves a new president. The play went up last weekend, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of my birth. My whole family was together for a family member's birthday for the first time in over five years. It was really nice to have them near, even just for a short while.
Currently I'm working more on my prep work for my senior project, Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis, which I'll be performing as a one-woman show in late February or early March 2009. I'll be working closely with some good friends and teachers experimenting with solo performance. Also, I'm doing some reading and research on happiness, suicide, mental illness, and creativity. It's an interesting process. Other goings-on in my life include: a small one-act called Post-Its going up in early December, classes in preparation for a trip to London late this December, thoughts on travel in France and Germany post-London, and general procrastination in various departments of my life. Oh, and I'm reading a good bit of Sartre right now.
I haven't done nearly as much photography, writing letters, baking, or napping as I would like to, but I anticipate those re-entering my life sometime in the near future. I watched The Shawshank Redemption tonight for the first time and was blown away. Great story, incredible movie - well written, well acted, everything well done.
This has evolved into a random assortment of rabble, but so it goes. I think I will go to bed. I took two long naps in the past two days and they felt wonderful, although a bit disorienting, so off I go to the land of sleep. Sweet dreams, y'all. Sleep well, be well.

Checking in from NYC

So yesterday I spent over fourteen hours in airplanes as I made my way back to the States. I arrived in New York at about 4.30 or 5 in the afternoon and loaded all my things on me like a hermit crab and took the subway to my aunt's apartment. Having woken up at 5 AM Spain time in order to catch a 5.30 shuttle to the Madrid airport, and going to bed around 11 PM EST, I spent approximately 24 hours awake, not counting the naps on the plane. I also read 120 pages of Junot Diaz's Drown, watched two movies, and did a sudoku puzzle or two. I thought I would be more surprised or something coming back to my home country, but it felt fairly normal. The only strange occurrence I had was trying to formulate questions in Spanish to ask officials before realizing it was okay to speak my native English. The only thing I lost going through customs was an apple I bought the day before. I told the guy I hoped he would enjoy it before he told me, "Nope, it's just heading to that yellow trashcan over there." Oh well.
I'm feeling pretty relaxed and rested having slept ten-and-a-half hours last night and another two hour nap shortly following breakfast this morning. I'll be seeing a few shows while I'm here, and I'm looking forward to that. I went out to dinner with my aunt last night and witnessed a crazy car accident right across the street. I'm currently sitting in the Starbucks (it's evil, but I needed Wifi [wee-fee]) that the Benz shot backwards into, breaking a few windows. Apparently, like NYC, Starbucks never sleeps. So it goes. I leave for Springfield on Sunday shortly before noon and don't have any real plans ahead of me for my time here in New York. I'll be home for a few days before heading out to California for the remainder of my summer, going on a river trip then working on building a house until early August when I head back to school. It's been a good summer so far and I look forward to the coming weeks. I'll be writing a post of the remainder of my travels shortly. It will comprise what I did in Barcelona, Valencia, Córdoba, Sevilla, Lisboa, and Segovia before I returned to Madrid in order to come home. In the meantime, I'm going to wander and explore New York City.
Until next time,
much love, be well, and thanks.
Lauren