Opportunities

Hello to all you readers out there!  First, let me say that I apologize for the very long hiatus in my blogging.  I have been pretty busy lately with work and school and all that jazz.  Most of it has been fairly mundane and ordinary, but I will fill you in on the big things. 

Last week Tuesday I monitored for some of the “general auditions” at Lifeline.  This means that I greeted the actors, had them check in, and introduced them to the panel before they performed.  Then on Sunday I got the opportunity to sit in on some of the auditions.  It was really great to watch how the professional audition process works.  One of the directors for the kids’ shows sat next to me and gave me his personal opinions about what to do and what not to do in an audition.  It was really great to get advice from someone in the business.

I also was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to audition myself!  Dorothy, the Artistic Director at Lifeline asked me if I would like to audition so that I could experience what it’s like to audition professionally.  It was a quick audition.  I had 2 minutes to sing a song a deliver a monologue.  I felt fairly good about it, and Dorothy told me that she really enjoyed my piece. 

On Monday I was invited to come to a reading of the first draft of The Woman in White (a play that the Lifeline team adapted and are performing next season).  I got the chance to read along with some of the ensemble members and listen to their feedback about the script.  It’s really cool to watch the artistic process.  It really is a collaborative environment. 

Last night, I went around the corner with some friends to watch The Fray perform at the Riviera theatre.  We got their early, and it was general admission, so we were super close.  We were less than 10 feet away from the stage!  At one point Isaac Slade (the lead singer) leaned out into the crowd and I got to touch him!  I know it sounds so lame to be excited about that, but it’s a cool thing to get to say to people.  Haha.  The concert was absolutely incredible!  They really are just as good live (if not better) than they are on their albums. 

 

As you can see, this past week alone has been jam-packed with fun and interesting activities.  I am trying to make the most of my last couple of weeks here in Chicago.  I’m really sad that it’s almost over.  Soon I will have to figure out the rest of my life.  But, I am making some strides in that department.   

Georgia, the other intern at Lifeline worked on Mackinac Island last summer.  She was talking to her boss and found out that there is an opening at the same hotel where she works as a hostess in their restaurant.  The island is a small, tourist island where there are no cars aloud, so people bike everywhere.  There are beaches and there’s horseback riding and all sorts of other activities that employees can enjoy as well as the tourists.  As an island employee at this hotel, I would receive housing and three meals a day.  It could be a really great summer gig, so I will be sending in an application this week.  Georgia’s boss said that he would keep a look out for my name. 

Another opportunity appeared this morning.  A few weeks ago I sent out some e-mails to people that I know in the arts community to see if they knew of any opportunities.  This morning, I was surprised to discover that Sara DeBoer (my high school voice teacher, whom I had e-mailed) had put in a recommendation for me.  I received an e-mail from Brooke, the Artistic Director at Fine Arts Stageworks—a small performing arts studio in Palos Heights.  She said that she would like to schedule an interview with me when I get back in town.  All I know is that she thinks there are several avenues that I would be a good fit for, but she needs to speak with me and understand my “skill set” first.  I don’t know what she is looking for, but I know that it’s an opportunity to work in the performing arts community, so I am excited to be interviewing with her.

I can’t believe that this semester is almost over!  In less than 2 weeks I will be back home in Worth and then graduating from college.  Things are going by so quickly, and I’m not sure how I feel about all of it yet.

Thanks to all of you for reading!  I ask for your prayers as I close this chapter of my life and move on to the next. 

 I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Busy Bee

This week was a very, very busy week for me (which is why it has been a while since my last blog post).  Sunday Kailee and I went grocery shopping and then we spent the rest of the day lounging around the apartment and doing homework.  (Not the busy part, I know.)

On Monday my CS supervisor came to have an evaluation meeting with me and my site supervisor.  It was a little scary having to sit and listen to them talk about what I have been doing and where I can improve.  Luckily, Allison said that I have been doing a great job and is happy with how I have been fitting into the Lifeline team.  After the meeting, I spent the rest of the day doing maintenance around the theatre for Project Monday.

Tuesday, I was assigned to help Georgia with the interview process for the summer internships.  I will essentially be doing the same work that I did for the front of house position.  They have a lot of applicants so it would be a little too much work for just one person which is why I was asked to help.  I also worked some more with the casting director on scheduling auditions for our next season.  That night Georgia and I got to sit in on two meetings: one for the Jane Austin benefit this summer, and a board meeting.  It was a long meeting but it was interesting to sit in on the planning process.

Wednesday we had classes and after that we had the “Hunger Banquet”.  This was a dinner that all of us had worked together on to address the issue of hunger in the U.S.  We all drew cards that separated us into different classes: upper class, middle class, lower class, and homeless.  The upper class got served a lot of delicious food, and the homeless got rice.  We split into small groups and discussed how we feel about hunger and homelessness and what we can do to address it.  It was an interesting evening.

Thursday I spent most of the day working on a financial report for the staff meeting.  I was happy that this time I only made a couple of small mistakes and it took me about half the time that it had taken me to do the last one.  So I must be doing something right (though math and I are still not on very good terms).  That night our arts class went to see Ballet Hispanico, which is a ballet company made up of dancers from various latino descents.  They performed 4 pieces and it was a really wonderful night.  It’s events like that that really make me wish that I could dance!

Friday my practicum group had our “neighborhood visit”.  Each group is assigned a particular neighborhood to learn about and immerse themselves in.  Unfortunately for us, the one day this week when it wasn’t 80 degrees and sunny outside is when we had to walk around all day.  It was pouring rain for at least half the time that we were down there.  But we still had a good day.  We got to look at some of the beautiful stone architecture throughout the neighborhood and we at a really delicious lunch at a small hole-in-the-wall café.  Then we went to visit our PG leader’s friend who literally has an art gallery in his home!  He has been collecting for 45 years and has over 1200 works of art in his apartment.  It was really interesting to hear him talk about all of the work that he has collected and how he knows most of the artists on a personal level.  It was really great of him to let us into his home and look around.

I house managed on Friday evening, and Saturday night my roommates and I went out for dinner and drinks.  Jenny bought a grill at Target last weekend for 20 dollars so today we took advantage of it.  We bought a couple of steaks and some chicken and Jenny grilled them up for us.  We also had salad and homemade mashed potatoes with the skins still in them.  We sat around the dining room table together and ate a real homemade meal like a cutesy little family.  Now we are sitting and watching movies and I’m about to start on a reflection paper for class. 

I can’t believe that I only have another month here in the Chicago!  I’m starting to get very sad about that.  First because I will miss my friends.  I will miss my internship and the people I work with.  I will miss the city.  And most of all, I am terrified of having to graduate and figure out my life.  I have no idea what I am going to do with my life, but hopefully the Lord will provide. 

Well, that is a brief rundown of my week.  I’m sorry for not posting more often.  But that’s how the world works around here I guess.  I hope all of you are doing well and I am looking forward to Easter so that I can see some of you again!  You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Interviews and Naked Mole Rats

So, this week. 

Well, I worked as usual.  On Monday I helped Erica to schedule some final interviews for the Front of House position.  On Tuesday we held two of the three interviews.  It was really interesting for me to conduct my own portion of the interview.  I wondered what the interviewees must have thought seeing a young intern come in to interview them for a position.  But Allison and Erica assured me that because I have been at Lifeline for a while and I know how things work and what it’s like to be an employee ther,e that I was more than qualified to help with the job.  I felt like I was back in my Senior Seminar class, except that instead of practice interviews with fellow students I was conducting a real one.  It was a fun experience. 

Today I started the day watching the first performance of our new Kidseries show: The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.  The book that the musical is adapted from is not very long, and there is very little dialogue, so it was really fun to see what the adaptor and the composer had done to create a more involved storyline.  The costumes were so fun, and the characters were hilarious.  It was funny to watch a show where the main character was being ridiculed for wearing clothes and not wanting to be naked all the time: not exactly how we human beings would react.  Haha. 

The opening number for this musical is entitled "Naked".  Yes, it is about all of the naked mole rats and their love of being naked.  It's actually a very catchy number, and it has gotten stuck in all of our heads for the past week.  Throughout the day someone will randomly sing "naked!" and the rest of us will quickly chime in.  I caught myself singing it on the train home the other day, and I got a few strange looks.  But, there have been weirder people on the CTA.

This weekend I am house managing for the Friday night performance of Hunger.  And Saturday is St. Patrick’s day.  My roommates want to venture into the city to see them dye the river green and watch the parade.  I’ve lived near Chicago my whole life and I have never been in the city to see the festivities (probably best because I’m sure the crazies will be out to play that day).  We are looking forward to walking around and enjoying the gorgeous weather!  I’m very sad that I don’t have any of my flip-flops with me.  I thought that I would have another few weeks before I needed my warm clothing (I think we all did). 

Well that’s all I have to say about my week thus far.  I hope you all are well!  As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers. 

~ Julie ~

This Week of My Life

Alright, so what did I do this week?  Well at work I have been working with Erica to schedule interviews for the Front of House position.  It turns out that I will be conducting a portion of the interviews myself!  This will be a really great learning experience for me, although I am a bit nervous about having that kind of responsibility.  But don't worry, folks.  I will not let the power go to my head.

I also was given a new “assignment”.  The casting Director at Lifeline asked me to be his intern and help him with upcoming casting projects.  Soon Lifeline will be holding general auditions for the upcoming season.  I will be helping him to schedule all of the audition slots; and the best part is that I will get to sit in on all of the auditions!  He said to me, “This will be a really great learning experience for you.  You will get to see first-hand what we look for, what makes a good audition, what makes a bad audition; you’ll learn what to do and what not to do.”  As someone who wants to perform someday, this will be such valuable information!  I am really looking forward to this experience.

I have also been helping the Artistic Director with some planning for the Glenwood Arts Festival.  She started this annual event a few years ago.  The entire block near and around Lifeline is set up with booths by various painters, photographers, jewelry makers, and other artists displaying and selling their works.  It will be fun to help her work on this, and I hope to come back for the festival this summer.

We went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Thursday for my Fine Arts class.  It was really fun.  We got to hear a Brahms violin concerto and symphony.  I really enjoyed the experience.  It did make me miss my fellow music students.  I know that a few of them were pretty jealous to hear that I was attending a Brahms concert.  Yes, we are nerds.

Friday night I got to see some of my friends from Trinity.  They came up to visit and we went out on the town for a little bit.  I always love seeing them and it’s so great to see them getting along with my roommates and other Chicago Semester friends.  I love it here, and I love the people I’m here with; but it’s always so wonderful to see my friends from home.  I miss them a lot and wish that they could be sharing this amazing experience with me.

Today was a good day.  Mommy, Daddy, Laurie and Matt came up to visit me.  Mommy brought me some homemade cookies and other yummy snacks (my roommates were very excited about those too).  We went to Bennigan’s , a restaurant that we used to go to all the time before almost all of them closed.  The food was delicious, and it was great to spend some time catching up with my parents and laughing with my siblings.  Matt had sent me an e-mail the day before with a bunch of funny “Whose Line is it Anyway” video links that made me laugh really, really hard!  As silly as it sounds, I was kind of touched that he sent those to me.  Maybe that’s his little, brother-like way of letting me know that he still thinks of me from time to time.  Haha.

Well, that’s all that I can think to tell you at the moment.  Thanks to all of you for reading!  I apologize for my little hiatus there.  Sometimes my days are pretty mundane and there is nothing to say.  And other days I am very sleepy and forget to write.  I will try to be better about it.  But in the meantime, know that I am well and having fun.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 48-51: A Mid-semester Day’s Dream

Hello everyone!  Sorry I took a bit of a break there, but it’s been a busy few days.  Thursday, I had a meeting with Allison and Georgia to discuss our new HR assignments.  I spent the morning working on the assignment of helping Erica hire a new Front of House person.  I e-mailed responses back to potential applicants and scheduling their “phone screening” times for next week.  It’s fun to be a part of this process.  Georgia will be doing the same thing except she will be helping Allison hire summer interns. 

Then Georgia and I helped to move the How to Survive a Fairytale set pieces to the basement and started moving the props for the next kids show into the backstage area.  The next Kidseries production is a musical adaptation of the children’s book The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.  It’s a really sweet story about a naked mole rat that is teased by the other mole rats because he likes to wear clothes.

Thursday night my arts class went to see Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Of course many of you know that I was lucky enough to perform in this show at Trinity last spring, so I am particularly fond of it.  I have never been to a show at CST that I did not enjoy, and they did not disappoint this time!  They set it during the early 1900’s and they also added a lot of musical elements to it.  Their interpretation was very unique, the costumes were stunning, and I really enjoyed the production!  If you have the opportunity to go, you really should!


My favorite moment of the production had to be when Oberon (the king of the fairies) entered for the first time.  He had long brown hair down to his waist, and his costume was a full, floor-length skirt made to look like fire. He entered from stage right, which was also the side we were sitting on, so we saw him from the back.  Cassie leaned over to me and whispered, "Oh my gosh, that woman is topless!"  Granted, the actor playing Oberon had some impressive pecks, so from her angle I could sort of understand her misunderstanding; but it still took all of my energy not to laugh out loud as I explained that he was, in fact, a man.

Friday I worked on cleaning up the theatre for the weekend shows and preparing programs and all that kind of jazz.  All of my roommates were out of town this Friday night except for Kailee, so she and I ordered in Thai food and watched Phantom of the Opera together.  I house managed at Lifeline last night, and then some friends and I ventured out to Lincoln Park.  All in all, it was a pretty low key but fun weekend. 

Tomorrow all of us in the CS program have the day off, for Pulaski day.  We don’t get a spring break, so they give us a couple days off now and then I think.  We haven’t thought of what we are going to do tomorrow yet, but we hope to do something that is cheap (preferably free) and fun.  No matter what we do, it will be nice to have a Monday when we don’t have to work and can just hang out.  Unfortunately Jacqui, Cara and Jenny won’t be home until tomorrow night so we can’t have a complete roommate adventure, but it will still be fun.

Random tidbit, for those of you who don’t know, Daddy sold my car, Bella, this week.  Laurie got a “new” car and I suppose they sold my car on the same day.  Although she was old, dented, and a total clunker, I will miss my little Bella a bit.  However, I’m excited because Laurie’s old SUV is waiting for me when I get home.  That will be really fun!  I’m looking forward to a care that doesn’t have manual locks and window cranks.  Haha.  I hope to be able to come home sometime soon to take it out for a test drive; and to see the family, of course J.

I hope that all of you are doing well!  Please, if you would like to come up North and visit me sometime, feel free to do so!  I miss you all and am keeping you in my prayers.

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 45-47: Work & Workouts

 
Alright folks, let’s see what I’ve done so far this week.  Monday was Project Monday.  We worked hard on striking the set for How to Survive a Fairytale, because it closed this past weekend.  I mostly helped with washing and putting away costumes. 

Tuesday morning was really fun!  Dorothy got complimentary tickets to see Nancy Drew and the Sign of the Enchanted Candles at the DePaul Theatre School.  They adapted one of the Nancy Drew books for an interactive kids show.  It was really fun to see how Nancy’s character talked to the kids and asked them for their help, like to warn her when someone was sneaking around behind her.  I also really liked that all of the actors made the sound effects.  They would sit on the side of the stage where they had all sorts of gadgets that made sounds of footsteps, thunder, or even a car driving on a gravel road.  It was neat to watch them paying attention and timing their sound effects to the actor’s actions.  It was a really cute show, and the kids really seemed to like it.

After the show, we had our “writing jam” with some of the Storytelling Project.  Again it was really fun to hear all of the different stories and directions that one word of phrase could be taken in.  After our writing jam, Georgia and I had a meeting with Allison about interviewing, because we are going to be helping them to hire some new employees.  We will be in charge of pre-interview projects and also meeting with the Lifeline staff as they discuss the interviewees and help them decide who to hire.  They are trying to expose us to as many of their processes as possible, which is great!  They are putting a lot of trust in us with this, and it’s great to know that they value our input.
 

Today we had class.  We had a speaker come in to talk to us about Shakespeare, because tomorrow night we are going to see Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I was a little bored, because I have recently been involved in a production of this play already, so when she was trying to explain and ask us questions about the language, I already knew it all.  It was kind of nice to sound intelligent when I spoke up on occasion, but other times I just felt like I was back in Shakespeare class hearing the same stuff I have heard several times.  It was also similar in that in both scenarios, my classmates know that I am a theatre major - which means that any time there is a discussion about plays or the performing arts, they expect me to do all of the talking.  I am passionate about the theatre, but I do not claim to know everything.  And even if I did, I do not like looking like a pretentious know-it-all; so sometimes I refuse to answer just for the principle of it. 

Tonight is a chill out night.  I just had some mac & cheese for dinner.  Kailee and Cara have started making me work out with them lately, so I may be doing that.  They are both really good at it, because Kailee played volleyball and Cara was a dancer for like ten years,  and I haven't been an athlete since I was 16, so I feel really pathetic when I work out next to them.  But, who knows?  Maybe with their help I will have abs by May.  Haha.

Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers!  Keep me updated on all of your goings-on! 

I miss you.  I love you.  Always.

~ Julie ~

Day 40-44: Let’s Have Some Fun!

Alright all, so once again I have been neglecting my blog.  I apologize.  I know that you all have been going nuts wondering what I have been up to these past few days! (note the sarcasm here)  Don’t worry, Thursday was nothing too special.  I spent the entire day working on a financial report for Friday morning’s staff meeting.  This means I spent all day doing math.  Yes, I Julie Wiltjer, did math for over 5 hours straight.  I can’t believe it either.

Friday began with a staff meeting, followed by odd jobs around the theatre and in the box office.  Nothing too exciting to report there.  It was Friday night that was wonderful!  Jon B, Calob L, Sasha B, and Sam H came to town for a visit!  We went out to dinner and ended the night by going to Improvised Shakespeare in Wrigleyville.  For those of you who don’t know about it, or have never gone, you HAVE to see this improv company!  They are so spectacular.  They take a phrase that will be the title of their show, and then they improvise an hour-and-a-half production.  And it’s all done in ye old English.  They even improvise monologues in iambic pentameter.  It is so amazing!  Long-form improv is such an art, and these guys are such great artists!

Saturday afternoon I house-managed the matinee production of Hunger, which the entire CS program attended.  My roommates were super excited to watch me work (although I wasn’t doing anything particularly amazing).  After that, we all went to McFadden’s to have a few drinks.  I had some more Trinity friends come out that night to visit:  Shannon, Paige, and Willie.  It was really fun to get to see them again and to see them bonding with my roommates and some of my CS friends.  We had a great night full of fun and laughter! 

We spent today lounging around, doing homework, and being bums.  It was good and bad.  Procrastination seems to always be gnawing at us.  A lot of us seem to have multiple papers due this week, and we work full time.  *sigh.  Well, life can’t be all fun and games I suppose.  Right now we are having a good time watching the Oscars together.  Homework aside, life is going pretty well.

Thanks to all of you for keeping up with me and for all of you thoughts and prayers.  I think of you all often, and miss you very much!

Always,

~ Julie ~