"Experience the Oil Spill"

Last night my roommate and I went to the made performance that the Guthrie Experience actors and Marcela Lorca put together on the Dowling Studio stage. The subject of the drama was the oil spill down in the gulf, the effect it is having on the people there, the effect it is having on BP, the effect it is having on the wildlife, and the effect these large events have on the rest of the country's views and social opinions. It was a wonderful experience to see this production that was made by these actors and showed their opinion of what has happened along with their extensive research they did about the effects. There were a lot of really beautiful artistic moments like underwater scenes showing the fish being attacked by the black mess. There were also some very funny parts such as all the actors portraying celebritites singing a song to "help" with the cause. The spoofs were great and made the audience laugh, then think about what was really said. There were also dramatic elements such as a woman who had lost her husband in the initial explosion of the oil rig and her suffering that he is still in the ocean. It really got me thinking about the meaning of theater...is it to entertain or to make a statement? I can see that there are some theater productions that are solely put out there for entertainment purposes, but doesn't every human experience get you thinking about yourself and how it effects you? It sounds kind of selfish, but I feel that we spend a lot of time thinking about how things effect ourselves. That is why I believe all theater makes a statement. In this production, I believe the question raised is: what is my part in this oil spill crisis?

I also want to commend the Guthrie Experience actors...they are extremely talented and creative and that was showcased in this production. Thank you for your efforts and for being at the Guthrie Theater for you experience this summer. It was much enjoyed by all of us and I'm sure by you! God bless you in your future ventures!

Well, I'm off to Okoboji for the weekend, but I will make sure to keep updating this blog all the way until August 20th...and possibly some after thoughts as well. *Left ear tug!*

"Treasuring the End"

Hi followers! I've sure been busy this last week or so. As I've been put on some more interesting projects such as entering data about the surveys we took during the Target Arts and Wonder Day. It was a wonderful day and that is much reflected in the surveys! I have been blessed with new feelings of appreciation for this experience. I have never not appreciated this experience, but I felt bogged down and unhappy earlier this summer. Thank the Lord, I have finally come out of my slump and am enjoying my time here. I have only a few weeks left, but there is so much to still do and experience. I saw "A Streetcar Named Desire" last week and it was absolutely wonderful! Ricardo Antonia Chavira was wonderful as Stanley, while Stacia Rice gave a different look to Stella that I had never seen or thought of before. I felt her portrayal of Stella was more real; she was less of a victim. Not to mention, Gretchen Egolf performs wonderfully as Blanche. Watching her, I felt that she gave the audience a look at how a tortured woman was trying to keep it all together the only way she knew how. She was trying to find a solution to the problems in her life and sadly, there was no way out. I will get to see this show again with my dad next week and am excited to watch it again and discover all new things about the production. It also was very interesting how comical John Miller-Stephany(the director) and the cast made this production of a traditionally serious play. The next night, my dad and I will be going to the opening of "Scottsboro Boys", a new musical that is making its way to Broadway in New York, but stopping at the Guthrie first. I am so excited for this musical and have heard AMAZING things about it! It is opening in New York on Halloween and I wish I could be there for that great event! Another update: two nights ago I worked an event held at a donor's home. The event was Joe Dowling, the director of the Guthrie, reading some Irish readings for donors who would like to hear him. He really is a talented artist and captivated his audience. Afterwards, I was able to mingle with some of the donors and was told all of the things I must do before I leave Minneapolis. I don't know if I will get to all of them, but I am surely going to try to! On Sunday, some friends and I will be going to Powderhorn Park to watch a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that is staged outside in the park. I'm excited for my first Shakespeare in the park experience! I'm really enjoying Minneapolis and St. Paul and I hope to come back many, many times. There is so much to do and see and the theatre-scene is awesome! I have already learned a lot from my experiences here at the Guthrie and I am looking forward to what I can learn in the coming weeks before I head back to school for my last year. Exciting and terrifying :) *Left ear tug!*

"FOH Inspiration"

Hello all! Yesterday started out as a typical Monday...blah. Yet, it did not end up that way. I had an informational interview with Sue Kotila, Director of Visitor Services. She has a lot under on her plate here at the Guthrie, including being in charge of all the ushers, the parking ramp, the front desk people, Stage Door, etc. She told me that she is in charge of over 500 individuals! I can't even imagine being in charge of that many people! Sue gave me the secrets to how she manages that many people and how she has been successful for over thirty years in this type of a position. She takes everything she can and uses it for positives. Sue grew up in South America and was very poor for most of her life. She promised herself that she would never go without the essentials of life again and came to the U.S. After working very hard at many different jobs, Sue went to school at Hamline University in St. Paul. She told me to never, ever tell myself "no"! Even if others are telling me that I can't do something, I should never tell myself that I can't do something or achieve something. A way that she achieves her goals and has been so successful is that she stands out when she meets people. She may give some chocolates to the guy running the parking ramp across the street and next time the Guthrie has a big event, he'll come in on his day off to check how everything is going. The little things count to make people notice you and to give others the needs that all humans have: to be noticed, acknowledged, validated, valued, etc. Sue really capitalizes on these attributes when she meets anyone. Another area where Sue believes a person's success can come from is networking. She is a big believer in this and pushed this concept on me strongly. One more thing that Sue mentioned to me in her inspiring lesson was that everything people say or do comes from one of two places: love or fear. She tries to relate to others from her place of love. She wants to kill her employees, visitors, and co-workers with kindness. From all of these inspirational ideas, I felt energized to continue on my way in my internship and in my career. I can't be afraid or discouraged, but work at everything I do out of the love place in my soul. Also, as another side note, the Guthrie had their Annual Meeting yesterday evening. I figured it would be a lot of talk about the numbers and projections, etc. I was surprised when after that short section was over, Joe Dowling, the Director for the theater (who has been signed on for five more years as director!) got up and spoke about the vision for the future, the successes and failures of the past, and congratulated the whole organization for how it supports each other and functions as the purpose that the mission lays out: "The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. By presenting both classical literature and new work from diverse cultures, the Guthrie illuminates the common humanity connecting Minnesota to the peoples of the world." I ended up enjoying the Annual Meeting quite a bit. All in all, a good day. *Left ear tug!*

"Target Mania"

Hiya friends and family! I have been so busy this past week or so...I was on vacation! :) Last Friday I worked an Opening Night dinner for "A Streetcar Named Desire" and was not really that eventful except that I met a very entertaining volunteer for the Guthrie, Marlene. She shared her whole life with me and even wore a big southern hat to the event because the play is set in Louisiana. After I was done working the intermission lounge part of the event, I was free to go and headed to Storm Lake for the weekend to see some BV peeps and enjoy Schaller's Popcorn Days festivities! I ended up getting to Storm Lake at 1:30 in the morning and had a drink waiting for me at Puff's...a thank you! The weekend was a blast with spending time with friends, making a slip-n-slide covered in baby oil, and enjoying the beer garden. After that, I headed to Sioux City to spend some time with my momma, sister, and niece, Hannah. Fantastic! (Except I got a scope done on my stomach...that was not a fun day!) I headed back to Minneapolis on Thursday and worked tirelessly for a day or two to help set up for the big event that happened yesterday, Saturday, at the Guthrie. This event was the Target Arts and Wonder Family Free Day (quite a mouthful) and was such a great experience and such a tiresome day. The day started at 8:00 AM with set-up of our stations. The stations were the Target Activity table (my station) where kids could come and color canvas messenger bags that had the Target dog driving a school bus on them...I colored mine with flames on the side of my bus...it was pretty BA. There was also face-painting, storytelling, tours of the theater and backstage areas, demonstrations of things such as movement and stage combat, and finally a place to dress up in real costumes and take a picture with your family. The day started at 9:00 in the morning and ended at 5:00 in the afternoon. What a long day! I was outside all day, but in the shade so I did not get burnt. It was so fun to see the little kids get so excited about experiencing the theater and the families that were there together. The messenger bags were a huge hit and even some of the parents wanted to color one. A couple of the Guthrie Experience Actors decided to color a bag for themselves as well. :) All in all, it was a fun day and reminded me of what the theater really means for me. I feel that theater should serve a community and a community can serve the theater as well. This was really expressed by the support of Target for the arts and the support of the Guthrie for the community. The Guthrie is really about education and entertainment. That is really inspiring. I feel even more that I am going down the career path that I love. I miss everyone! *Left ear tug!*

"So much to tell...."

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I enjoyed spending time with my family and loving on my niece and nephew! :) I thought I should fill you all in on what happened last week. Three big events happened that were very informative and quite entertaining. First, on Tuesday, there was the first Brown Bag discussion held and was hosted by Trish Santini, the External Relations Director at the Guthrie. She told all who gathered to listen about her experiences in dance, theater, and marketing. She has led a pretty interesting life with lots of struggles and career choices that could have made or broken her...but she's at the Guthrie, so I think she made some good choices! Then, on Wednesday, I was asked to help with an event that the Development Department was putting on. It was a meet-and-greet for donors and Guthrie Experience Actors. I did not know much about the Guthrie Experience Actors, but they are all in MFA programs around the country and are invited to the Guthrie for an intensive eight-week workshop where they create their own work by the end. They are extremely talented and this program has produced actors that are well-known around the country and world. One of the greatest things about this event was that it was held at a donor's home that is right next to the Guthrie. It was unbelievable! Their penthouse had the most beautiful view of the Minneapolis downtown and a gorgeous roof-top patio. The evening happened to be just perfect to be out on the patio. After another Development employee and I made sure all of the guests had arrived, we were able to go up to the party and mingle with the donors and GEx (Guthrie Experience) Actors. As an intern, I figured not a lot of the donors and actors would like to mingle with me, so I spoke with another intern taking photos and just enjoyed the beautiful view and amazing food that was provided (I got permission to eat some food...don't worry!). Then, one of the GEx Actors approached me and started to chat. I was ecstatic that anyone even cared I was there! He goes to Julliard and was really interesting to talk to. Extremely nice too! Ya'll know how I love making new friends! Before I left, we exchanged numbers so we could meet up sometime during our downtime (which didn't seem like a lot for the GEx Actors). My next big event was on Thursday morning. I met up with Jeremy Jones, who works in Company Development. Company Development is different from Company Management and the Guthrie is one of the only theaters that has a Company Development Department. Company Management is taking care of the actors in mainstage productions and their needs. Company Development is working on developing those actors with programs such as the Guthrie Experience and BFA program that is teamed up with the University of Minnesota. Jeremy helps Ken Washington run these programs and find the actors that they want to be in the programs. From my informational interview with Jeremy, I learned a lot about these programs and the management of them. It is also was interesting that Joe Dowling wanted these types of programs instituted into the mission of the Guthrie. The Guthrie is concerned not with only providing entertainment and theater education through their productions, but the education and expansion of the artists and employees that work for the Guthrie. I have a couple other informational interviews set up with other members of the staff in different departments that I am looking forward to this week. I will make sure to keep you updated on what I learn. *Left ear tug!*