Where to go?

I'm finding that one of the more exciting things about wedding planning is deciding where to go on your honeymoon.  Now that Will has his passport, there is a whole world out there we can explore.  Here are our current top picks:

Iceland

Photo from bestourism.com.

 Not only are two of my favorite bands from Iceland- Sigor Ros and Amiina- the landscape is breathtaking and there are tons of natural springs you can relax in.

Sigor Ros' film Rembihnutur.

Sweden

Photo from Olika Gronsaker.

I deeply desire to stay at the eco-hotel Urnatur (you can check out my earlier post about this beautiful place here).  Sweden also boasts many other unique hotels, such as the Ice Hotel and the Treehotel (a mirrored cube tree house).  Not to mention the lifestyle... below is a video on the midsummer tradition, which still thrives in Sweden to this day.

                                    

Australia

Photo from Rainbow Tourism. 

The Great Barrier Reef.  Swimming with sharks.  The outback.  Sydney Theatre Company.  Australia is the ultimate adventure.  Need I say more?

Photo from Perception.

England

Photo from Earth Times.

 What I would give to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform on their home turf.  And London. And the Queen!  I've read so much about England, going there may be like going home.

 

Photo from ebookers.com.

St. Kitts

  

 

Photo from Nick Ryan.

Our lovely friends Tori and Leah have a family home here, and have generously offered us the use of it for our honeymoon.  I have seen their vacation photos, and St. Kitts seems to be the perfect place to go for a mix of relaxation and fun.  Wouldn't it be thrilling to zip-line through the jungle?

 

Photo from The Planet D.

 Where did you go on your honey moon, or where would you go?  We are considering doing a honeymoon registry instead of a traditional one.  Have you ever done or considered a honeymoon registry?

Happy Fourth of July!

What are you doing today to celebrate?  We are heading to my cousin's house for a cookout (I made apple pie) and then back to Westerville for the fireworks, which we discovered are within walking distance of our place.  I hope you have regained power!

In other news, King Lear opens this weekend, so stop on by!  We run till August 5th.  For more information, click here.  Enjoy the holiday!

(Photo from Do512.)

Scapin Has Opened

Last weekend we opened Scapin, and received a nice review from Columbus Underground.  Tonight, unfortunately, we were rained out (it was an incredible storm!) so Will and I stayed in and watched The Fighter, which we hadn't seen yet.  The heat has been crazy here in Central Ohio, but despite the 100 degree weather yesterday, we entertained a small but mighty audience:)

 Kelly Hogan and I in Scapin.

This weekend we are teching King Lear and performing Scapin.  It's going to be a long weekend, but I'm excited to have both shows on their feet and to see what it's like to perform two shows at once.  I hope you can make it out to the island!

For more info on New Players Theatre, including Scapin and King Lear, visit here.

We're Engaged!

While we were in the Bahamas, Will proposed to me while we were parasailing over the ocean:)  It was the most amazing moment! I was so happy, I was smiling and giggling and forgot (briefly) to say yes!  As soon as I realized it I said aloud what I was repeating over and over in my head.

 Us in our Bahamaian hats: that's the view from our hotel room!

The Bahamas were amazing; I could feel my shoulders instantly drop the moment we stepped off the plane.  And while my family wasn't there- we were there for an Interstate Battery convention for Will's job- a lot of Will's family works for Interstate and they were there to share in our joy.

I'm so thrilled that this amazing man asked me to marry him:)

 The resort (Atlantis) had a few shark tanks.

The area around the resort.

  Outside the resort's casino.

Happy Graduation!

This past Saturday, my brother Sean graduated from Ohio University.  He will be starting a media internship at OU in July, working on directing and editing sports stories for the university.  I am so proud of my little brother, who's talent cannot go unnoticed!

Check out my brother's basketball reel below: he shot and edited all the footage:)

Congratulations Sean!

Do you have a green thumb?

Personally, I do not.  And I would love to be good at gardening!  I have dreams of having a lovely cottage garden full of flowers and veggies.

Photo from The Innovation Diaries

I have a small garden now with some struggling blueberries and sunflowers, a few daisies, a geranium and a Japanese flowering bush.  Of all of these, the Japanese bush is doing best.  I water, weed and fertilize, but nothing looks quite healthy.  I'm hoping over the course of the year that I will learn what the plants each need specifically and be able to oblige them.  For now, I take comfort in living mostly in the woods, so we always have a lot of vegetation.  

 Ancient woods in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall

I hope we always live in a wooded area: it's so lovely and shady and I really enjoy the sound of the rain on the leaves.  Wouldn't it be amazing to live on acres of woodland?  Someday:)

500 Clowns

I love finding new podcasts to listen to, and recently I stumbled on Talk Theatre in Chicago!  The first podcast I listened to provided some wonderful insight into producing children's theatre, and their show about auditioning was taped while an audition was happening, with actors coming out of their audition and going into taping.  How cool is that?

Today, I downloaded and listened to an episode called Interview with 500 Clowns, about the Chicago based troupe of three actors.  They take serious stories, such as Macbeth and Frankenstein, and turn them on their heads in a way that creates pathos by engaging the story in surprising ways.  

Frankenstein, from their website

The structure is that three actors are trying to put on the play Macbeth, say, and a series of misfortunes occurs that prevents them from telling the story, but as such, they are telling the story.  There is a lot of improv and audience participation, though the framework is always the same.  Doesn't it sound like fun?


I was inspired by their ideas of clowning, such as "always say yes to the audience".  This is an idea we accept between our fellow actors, but I've never heard it in regards to the audience's energy.  They also mentioned that it is the clown's job to be honest; they don't just make us laugh, they make us cry and cause us to get angry.  It is the supreme truth that elevates clowning.  Their words are inspiring, and I can't wait to see how I can implement them in Scapin:)

 500 Clown Macbeth trailer

Would you want to or have you seen their show?