Open Ended

I skipped weeks 4 and 5 due to apathy.

1- I will never squee quite as hard as when a well-deserved award is given.

2- I am so proud of the work my friends do. From high station to low, from big, bold and ridiculous to spectacle to chatting with the folks who are just people watching, I love watching my friends interact.

3- Hot is dumb. Hot an humid is incredibly dumb.

4- Superpowers make the day seem faster, even if it's only watching B exercise her superpower to make people into her living props.

5- MP3 when it's hot is better than when it's cold.

6- Liquid Peppermint Soap from Devonshire makes the shower at the end of the day adequate pay off for a day of hot, humid, sweaty, disgusting suck.hoopkid makes my mornings go quickly, and we sometimes even manage to be useful humans while doing it.

7- I love peeking at the tarts of the day. It makes me happy to see my friends get to be pretty in the ways we don't often get to in real life.

8- If I weren't on cast, I would just eat my way from one end of the site to the other, and maybe see some shows.

9- Ditching my stock bits and going by the seat of my pants is much harder than I ever thought. Improv is hard work man.

10- hoopkid makes my mornings go quickly, and we sometimes even manage to be useful humans while doing it.

Make-up Forever: Professional
Aqua Eyes Pencil Eye Liner
$16 @ Sephora

Comes in crazy colors (I have black)
Goes on gloriously smooth for a pencil (over or under shadow)
Stays put! Does not bleed down leaving me with raccoon eyes--even on my oily eyelids
Comes off with just regular make-up remover

In short, I love it more than any other eyeliner I've ever owned--and for $16 a pop, I'd better!

1- Nate (of the Pretzel Twins, aka Gunter & Goethe Duedelshlager...imagine umlauts in appropriate places) can lick his uvula

2- I cannot fit an entire 1/2 pound of chips & 3 mugs of fluid in my body then try to walk a parade... ok, I can, but the results aren't pleasant

3- I am dumb enough to wear white bloomers on a day scheduled to do a water balloon show

4- Wearing only one skirt makes me feel nakedish

5- I will never stop being proud of the B doing the things she loves and succeeding

6- Apathetic Allen + Apathetic Me = Taylor Lane Shopping time!

7- Breakfast makes front gate better (and by this I mean being the announcer person, not the show itself. My breakfast or lack thereof shouldn't have an effect on the performance of others... I think)

8- I need to re-hem all my full length chemises.

9- I look dashing in a Robin Hood hat

10- I found a faboo eyeliner that stays where it's put and doesn't need sulphuric acid to remove from my face!

As some of you may know, I gave my notice at North Dallas Pediatrics last week.

Yesterday, I got 2 weeks pay, a lovely ice cream social and a petunia on my way out the door.

Though it sounds like a bad thing, it really is a good thing. I now have 2 full weeks to look for a job full time, instead of just in my (previously very limited) free time. I've had feelers out for a while now, so I'm not starting from scratch, but I did want to get everyone a heads up.

If you have my work e-mail listed anywhere (lwelch or lboswell at northdallasped dot com) please remove it.

Thank you in advance for all the prayers I know you'll be sending our way. I will be sure to keep you posted as things continue.

1. Celeste is more than just her stars—hooray!

2. I can be driven! I was a detail-giving supporting character—hooray!

3. There is a “Yes, and” pyramid with Arthur Fisher on the bottom. Sunday, I was on the top—hooray!

4. I realized that my favorite “bit” is less improvisation and more loose script with a ‘choose your own adventure’ feel. I realized this because I did bits that came from nowhere, just started talking and took what my brain gave me—and it was fun! And it didn’t suck—hooray!

5. Parking in the Pecan Grove will throw off my morning, and my already tenuous grasp on necessary details (like signing in) will slip completely.

6. Being offered tips is still unsettling. I do get better each time at finding in character ways to politely decline while still encouraging them to tip others that amuse and entertain them.

7. A dry change of clothes makes the MP3 show really energizing. After that show I felt like I could conquer the universe.

8. I am really bad a “World’s Worst.”

9. I am glad that I am able to be (and feel) successful performing alone. It means I have more options. That being said, I really like having a buddy. Not only does is motivate me to do more (so I don’t look like a slacker), but having someone else to be a safety net and energizer is easier.

10. I need to

a) remember more myths about the gods who the planets are named after

2) remember what family members of cast members look like so I don’t make a buffoon out of myself (dleighb, please apologize to your brother & his lovely girlfriend for me!)

And D) put on more sunscreen than I think necessary. I’ve been burned more in the past 2 weekends than I think I was all last year!

a general cry to the masses:

Unless something drastic happens in the next 2 days, I will most likely be handing in my resignation on Friday, due to complete dumb-assery and an inability to abide further bullshit.

Anyone with leads on possible jobs, please send them my way.
Don't know how to get in touch with me?

linnea at boswelch dot com

I miss Scott Browne.

I am morning wallpaper.

I am at my best between 2pm and 4:30pm.

I’m relearning how to tell time without Morning Dance.

Big, dramatic, feathery hats make me feel like Zha Zha Gabor.

I am picky about my patrons, and after a few of the tables I had this weekend, I remember why.

It’s my job to make other performers look brilliant. I know this. My ego is stubborn and untrusting.

It feels good to be useful, and sometimes being the narrator can be almost as fun as being the heroine.

Little children aren’t as hard or as scary as I sometimes think they are (from a performer’s point of view).

Flora has no personality yet, and that makes her hard to shop for. I guess I should just focus on Celeste and let the worries of next season be worries for next season. Memorial Day will take care of itself in due time.

My taste in music has been shaped by the men in my life, and my best friend Jenny Conway.

(I can’t blame my fascination with New Kids on the Block on anyone but the state of Texas however.)



First, with my dad, I learned to love the Beach Boys and ABBA. I learned that the name of the song I hummed while doing chores was called “Green Onions” and that the original version of “Light My Fire” was 12 minutes long. We had a turntable and a reel to reel in the living room and we laughed when Dad accidentally played “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the wrong speed.

From my brother I learned to love Rush and Yes, who I secretly thought were just different sides of the same coin. I think I even thought they were made up of the same people: Getty Lee, Alex, and God on drums. REM, George Michael and Depeche Mode came from Glenn. My first rock star crush was on Joe Elliot from Def Leopard and I wanted to grow up to be the girl in the Whitesnake video. He’s also the one who told me Kurt Cobain wasn’t singing “palomino” but “my libido.” He’s still the one I call to ask questions like, “What’s the name of the song about chess that goes ‘doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doodoo doo doot’?” (It’s “All Good People” by Yes, in case you were wondering.)

New Kids on the Block weren’t wildly popular at my school in California, but I had their tape that I would listen to at night in my Fisher Price tape recorder, a big, bulky tan thing with orange buttons. When we moved to Texas however, it was a completely different thing. It was a phenomenon with girls wearing huge buttons all over their backpacks and t-shirts. I even went to a New Kids on the Block themed birthday party. I had to go out and buy a t-shirt to wear for the occasion. I blame Texas for that.

Adam Nagao fueled my love of Harry Conick Jr. and all things big band, with some help from Christian Bale & Robert Sean Leonard, because Swing Kids was just that cool. Of course, I left loving Harry’s funk albums best and now am only lukewarm on swing music in general. Maybe it because I realized after 2 lessons that I would never be able to dance it well: fish and chips on my shoulder about that one.

My best friend Jenny Conway borrowed Rattle and Hum from her next door neighbor Amy the summer before we could drive. That was the summer my mother would drop me off at school for my driver’s ed class, then I would walk to Jenny’s house, dreaming of all the ways the boy in the white Chrysler Le Baron convertible would come to sweep me off my feet because once I had been infatuated by his little brother. Trust me; it seemed to make sense at the time. Anyway, we spent that summer saturated in U2’s music, reading everything we could get our hands on and learning the words to all the songs. ZooTV became our soap opera.

Fourthisto, aka Brain, made me mix tapes that introduced me to Ash and Travis and the good side of Blur. He made me realize that I actually did like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots. I’m forever in his debt for helping me discover Gavin Friday.

Then there was Shane, who tried, unsuccessfully, to teach me about ska, though I did remember enough from the brief “history of ska” lecture he gave in the middle of the Fine Arts Day concert by some reggae band to get the joke when I moved to Lincoln and saw 8th Wave perform. However, he did introduce me to Orbital and Underworld, Faith no More, Massive Attack and KMFDM and I think Moby too. He reminded me why Dave Gahan made me swoon and indirectly led to my discovery of the fact that I really do like to dance and that led to many a beautiful night of kinetic worship on the dance floor.

Andrew gave me Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Kweller, OK Go, Cex, Aquaduct, Kind of like Spitting and Mercury Rev among many, many others. I was working at KRNU so had access to all sorts of music I’d never even dreamed of, but without someone to bounce things off of, I never would have strayed from familiar territory. He gave me the Taking Back Sunday cd and said, “Here, you’ll like this.” He was so very, very right.

Nick Kumpula reminded me that Underworld made my heart go pitter patter almost as much as he did. The Promise Ring “Electric Pink” will always remind me of Nick, as will the Gwenmars.

Melissa and Tina get credit for anything from Saddlecreek Records, Elysian Fields, Collide and Cat Power though. And one long drive from Grand Island back to Tina’s house in her boat-like Buick made us all realize the power of a sub-woofer.

Justin Klemz and the evil Justin and Tyson gave me Blindside. And Pillar and the David Crowder Band. And a lot of good practice being a good woman, not a stupid girl.

David Little reminded me I should speak French more often, and gave me all the Erasure and Pet Shop Boys a girl could ever need.

Neil Obermyer gave me free reign to indulge my love of synthpop.

Nick Tarlowski gave me Alkaline Trio, which I really don’t understand why I love so much. I’m not in the habit of drinking myself stupid and my tolerance and/or fascination with blood and gore is negligible. Still, I adore them, every album I’ve ever been able to get my hands on. Maybe it’s the Chicago-to-San Francisco connection. Maybe it’s like “the scratch on the roof of your mouth that would heal if only you could stop tonguing it.”

I moved back to Texas, without New Kids on the Block. Instead, HeyDan gave me the Golden Palominos, Sarah Hickman and Lush. Remy Zero and K’s Choice and Echo and the Bunny Men became more than one-hit wonders. Oingo Boingo made it into my top 10 list. Leonard Cohen became “The Man.” And he dragged Karen & I to a Blue October concert, even though I avoided playing Blue October at KRNU. Turns out I was just listening to the wrong songs.

My husband gave me Leahy and Bond and revived my passion for U2 by letting me show him how much I loved them. He reminded me how much I loved making mix tapes, even though they were on cd now. He helped me reclaim Massive Attack as a source of positive memories. As I took him through my music collection, it was like rediscovering parts of me and finally getting to share all of them with one person was blissful. Blue October is now one of “our” bands. And I listen to bag pipes now. On purpose sometimes. I know sea shanties and enough to sing along at a real Irish Pub Sing. Though we disagree on which version to listen to, “Under the Milky Way” will always be one of our songs.



All of this inspired by the fact that I got the new Moby album, and Moby always makes me think of Kyle Stern and the Andrews computer lab, taking the 15 minute break in my 3 hour poetry class to go poke Moby’s blog and then chat with Kyle about iPods and such.

I don't think things through. In general. I just don't. I say things without thinking all the time.

In today's age of high-speed communication with almost everywhere on the globe, this can be disastrous for me-- in very superficial ways.

Rule #1-- if you don't want to run into someone, don't tell them where you're going to be.

Rule #2-- don't send people to go see your husband perform if your husband's natural inclination upon meeting said person would be to punch them in the face.


Luckily, I remembered these rules before I pressed "send."

Dear szalman,

I don't really know how to tell you this, but I dislike you. I think I realized it when I quoted Santa under the bus and I saw you pour syrup on my avocado plant. I'm sure you're Man enough to understand that Santa doesn't exist. I'm returning your memories from the military service to you, but I'll keep your left ear as a memory. You should also know that I never openly mocked cocaine abuse.

Greetings to your frog Leonard,
-Linnea-

( The Bizzare truth )

1. Celeste doesn’t really know how to stroll.  If I’m moving slow, it’s because I, the actor, am tired or sore or crabby.

2. If you treat a brochure like a prize, you can get kids to do tricks for them. 

3. I really want to play DDR more often.  Watching Lady Mary & Lord Derby have the 3^rd annual GVM Dance-off was amusing and inspiring.

4. I miss dancing. 

5. I am comfortable being a solo character on site.  I am capable of being solo at GVM, but I’d prefer a walking buddy.

6. Driving myself to and from Faire is a distinctly different experience than carpooling… not better or worse, just very different.

7. I am sometimes surprised at the vehemence of my own self-righteousness.  When I am tired and cranky, I need to be reminded to have more grace and compassion, even if just on the outside, because I tend to forget that I don’t run the universe.

8. Some people just know how to push my buttons, whether intentionally or in jest.  I’m not comfortable enough in my own skin yet to not let it bother me.

9. I’m ready for Faire to start, as much for the patrons, as for the shoppes.  I miss the smells and sounds and things that make it a Faire day.

10. My schedule is a big blank slate, which both scares and excites me.

I wrote these on Tuesday, but I'm slow at posting.  eh.

1. Learning the lingo is important in Improv.  When long form & short form meet there is a lot of confusion as I try to apply what the teachers are saying with the lessons I know.

2. The game I always play is “Master of the Universe.”  I want to learn to do more “One Ups” sustainably. I tend to jump to being (surprise, surprise!)  Master of the Universe a little too soon for it to be successful.

3. Did I mention I have a driving problem?  I think I did.  I still do.  HeyDan actually expressed it really well in class (though I was surprised to hear him say it)—I am not a trusting actress.  I don’t want to give up my stage (or control of my scene), because I don’t trust people not to mess it up.  I should learn to trust that even if they change the direction that I was going, together we can somehow fix anything that anyone throws at us.

4. Being “the guy” at Opening Gate didn’t make me want to vomit, surprisingly.  I’m not really all that comfortable taking stage in front of so many disinterested people, but the dry-run wasn’t horrible.  Now let’s see what happens when there are non-cast people out there.

5. Being related to the guy who runs costume parade does have its perks.  Getting to be the centerpiece of “She Blinded Me with Science” was awesome!

6. Feeling prim and priggish doesn’t mean people will see you as such.  As YellowLace put it, I’m not “respectable” enough to pull off ArtaMom face.

7.Driving a pick-up truck for the first time is a little odd.  Doing it in the bonnet of immunity will garner priceless looks from everyone around. 
a) Driving sleepy is hard, but driving a stick shift will help keep me awake.  So will QAL at full volume.

8. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has a zero inch personal space bubble and will invade without thinking.  This will make me feel like a buffoon.

9. Sometimes I don’t want guacamole.  I just want avocado on my chips.  This is when it’s good to sit next to BlueLace & her hubby, because they get ceviche and don’t eat their avocados.  Win!

10. I can’t be everywhere at once.  This frustrates me, because I’m nosy and talkative and want to do everything all the time.  Must learn to delegate and let go.

 

Dalton Ray was born yesterday at around 2:30.  He is a whopping 9lbs 2oz, 21" long.  Mom & baby are happy and healthy.  I should be able to go visit today and hold the "little" guy. 

It really is spring!  Babies everywhere!

1- I have a driving problem. It takes a very strong character/performer for me to be able to play wingman. If you drag me out into a scene with weak chili, I’m going to steamroll you into some semblance of cohesion… hopefully… or I’m just going to steer us into a ditch.

2- I have a problem staying in the moment. HeyDan did not make it any easier for me by giving me onion-like layers to think about in order to make scenes better.

3- Celeste is as flexible as silly putty. My brain has carved familiar archetypes and doesn’t like to break out of them. This weekend I felt a resurgence of “I feel really stupid doing this” which hasn’t happened in a while.

4- There is something in the gravel at Front Gate that sucks out my brains. It’s exactly what we’ve been doing in Improv the last 2 days (not that what we’ve been doing is easy, but it is at least familiar). The only time I thought I had something, what I really had was a way to kill the conflict before the half-way mark.

5- I have a much higher, shriller voice than I think. I doubt my ability to take stage in front of 200 loud, disinterested patrons and be heard.

6- Stress still causes my face to revolt.

7- Playing 1533 gender roles is hard, but I have seen some beautiful examples from strong, independent women, and that makes it a little easier.

8- I need (what feels like) ridiculous amounts of sleep to function well. I have no qualms about going to bed at 8:30 or 9 if I’m tired and after workshops, I’m tired!

9- No matter what I think, I should always bring my tube of cream sunscreen with me and reapply at lunch. Being sunburned sucks.

10-When wearing a bodice that is slightly too small, lunch becomes a three step process.

( The Pooh test results )

( Yeah, I look like that sometimes )

1- I learned that of all the many, many rules of improvisational street theater, I break several naturally (on purpose), and others require a feat of will to even think of breaking. Seeing examples of how to effectively break rules was intimidating, in a good way.

2- Few things inspire and terrify me more than the concept of someone believing I can be better than I am and helping me to get there. Risking their disappointment raises the stakes immeasurably.

3- Sometimes what the scene needs is my character to be the character of the moment. I think. HeyDan may disagree, but it’s what I saw.

4- It is easier to bend and twist Celeste into a “character of the moment” in a familiar (ie: semi-period) setting than it is in a Subway station.

5- Knowing that my class caused instructors to want to drink heavily when they were done teaching us isn’t very inspiring.

6- Being asked to attend a lab because the instructor thinks I’d make a good example does wonders for my mood.

7- I finally solidified Celeste’s nemesis (Lavender, because she is what is keeping her from being able to devote herself as fully (as is possible a woman to be) to my Astrology), hobby (gardening), passion (the dynamic of cause and effect) and song (Molly-Go-Lightly). The “secret” that most know is that Celeste fears being accused of witchcraft and so won’t give predictions. She is arrogant enough to believe that she would always be right.

8- I had forgotten the joy of just singing and finding melody and harmony and giggling and learning all at once: which is to say, my first QAL rehearsal was a blast.

9- I miss dancing, which I actually realized watching “Becoming Jane” last night. In the movie they do the dance the village did for Morning Court Dance last year, and I can’t remember the name of it, and barely remembered the steps. I need to start driving myself so I can stay and dance without feeling like a burden to my carpool buddies.

10- I should start wearing my real bodice now to see that it still fits correctly and will hold up to another year’s wear & tear.

1. Celeste is stubborn and prideful. She considers her intellect a gift from God, and as such, believes that her astrological calculations must be as infallible as it is possible for any human calculations to be.
a. She tries to find the balance between making Sir Thomas proud and staying in her rightful place as wife and mother. Astrology is just a hobby, no matter how passionate she is about it.

2. Celeste fears being seen as either a witch or a poor mother.
a. She feels guilty that she has less maternal feeling for her only daughter than she does for either of her sons.
b. She avoids predictions as much as possible to avoid suspicion

3. I am good at Rants. Not that this is particularly surprising, given that I tend to ramble as it is, but it was very nice to get a break from the brain-busting Tags with something that I feel naturally inclined to.

4. “Ding” is always going to be hard. It’s so easy to think of things to say sitting on the sidelines. When it’s my turn in the saddle though, I’m not nearly so brilliant.

5. It is just as hard to watch my scene partner be dinged over and over again because I feel partly responsible and I really want to help them out.

6. Wearing a Pendragon is very different from my other bodices. I’m glad I have a few more weekends to play with how it fits and a whole year to decide if I want to get one.

7. I learned the difference between swearing by a saint and swearing to a saint. It makes sense and I hope to be able to use it more in the lanes.

8. “Don’t make it personal, make it ugly” is a great rule for curses and insults. I hope to be able to follow it.

9. Hats are fun and the right hat can make a world of difference in my mood.

10. As hard as it is being a student some days, I still look at my friends and am amazed that they have the strength to teach us.

1- If you burn cloth and it turns white and ashy, it’s probably from natural fibers. Thank you robgonzo

2- Heightened emotion makes classes even more exhausting.

3- I enjoy the challenge of separating my 21^st century ideas from my 16^th century character.

4- Celeste and I are equally passionate about God, which will make some other characters/performers uncomfortable.

5- I like that our instructors are eager and well-behaved students. It sets such a good example.

6- “Tag” is my favorite thing that we’ve ever done in Improv class to date. It was hard, hard, hard, especially because there were a lot of different learning curves in any given group trying to play.
a) A good example makes everything make more sense in my head. On Sunday I realized that it is easier for me to jump in to explain a “what” than a “why” but both are necessary and valid places to tag in.

7- I want to get better at seeing the details that need explaining

8- Throwing out my first 2 ideas is very difficult. I totally understand the rationale behind it, and I will agree that my first thought is often obvious, but my brain isn’t used to working that fast to get to layer three between when I yell “tag” and when I start talking.

9- I am working hard to be both more honest and less fearful about being hopeful—this means not only telling other people about them but putting my money where my mouth is when an opportunity to check something off my list arises, which if you’ve told someone about them is easier, because then they will kick your butt to make sure you do it.

10- I need to watch more “research” for a Yorkshire accent/dialect. Oh darn, looks like I’ll have to rent The Full Monty!

1- dleighb is a leftie

2- Gillian Frasier is Scottish

3- "Allow" is hard for me to do, which makes little sense in my brain, because I do it so often in real life. Heck, work is one big "ALLOW" most days. Push- no problem. Pull- no problem. Stop- Totally never a problem. Allow---must work harder

4- I love that there is physicality in all my classes now. Because I am good at it, it gives me a measure of success in each class, and because it's different in each class, I can keep getting better and learning more about it.

5- I am on a gift-giving basis with at least half of the instructors in each class... which isn't to say half of the instructors overall (which seems like faulty logic, but it worked out in my brain). Not really an important revelation, but one that struck me none-the-less.

6- This has nothing to do with Faire, but I remembered that I still say "nother" as in "a whole nother ______". Chalk it up to dialect and trying to figure out Celeste in my head & make her more Yorkshire and less "Lazy English accent that comes easy to me"

7- Hearing performers whom I look up to say "This will always be hard" is really encouraging. I know it's first weekend and we're supposed to be rusty, but I don't like to fail. I'm vain and want to always look good. It sometimes keeps me from trying as hard as I should, and that's bad.

8- I like B as a teacher. Which is different from loving & adoring her as a human and as my family. I always knew she would be capable and good. But now I can say that I like the way she communicates ideas to the class, 'cause I was there when she did it.

9- I don't like doing "scenes" per se, but in the Burt Lab, Burt made scenes the way Faire is. Don't forget the audience, <b>involve</b> the audience, break the 4th wall (it's not there anyway) and be campy, make asides, be cheeky. It was good to do them that way. It felt more productive.

10- Watching Dana run to get her ice cream cone will make me smile when I thought my face was too tired to smile anymore.