St. Louis, post #1
Finally, after much anticipation, my St. Louis entry!
I am so glad I went back, saw my friends, and had a great time with no complications. I have really missed Casey and Amy, and was relieved to find that all the best parts of our trio dynamic were very much intact. I think we all worried a bit that there would be something awkward in the way of enjoying each other, but that was absolutely not the case. Instead, we had a great time mixing old favorites with new places and things to do. And I have to say, that is still the most comfortable couch I've ever slept on.
I got in Friday afternoon just before Casey got home from work. Amy gave me the official apartment tour and we ate yogurt and chatted til Casey got home. We ate dinner at the restaurant attached to the Gaslight Theatre, as they are now in the Gaslight District of the city. Food was great, company was better. From there, we went home, Amy got all fancied up, and we went to see Casey's Twelfth Night!
The show was great. I credit the cast more than anyone else, because apparently their director is a little off her rocker. Who decides not to make any cuts to a Shakespeare play and then leaves the actors to direct themselves? Honestly, the woman must have been a bit batty. But the cast took what could have been a 3.5 hour nightmare of boredom and kept the show really funny and alive. Casey's come such a long way with Shakespeare. To think we started as measly little RTSF interns, and then I'm watching him keep right up with the Equity and Shakespeare-pro actors that we were just understudying two years ago. That's a long way to go in a very short amount of time. He's developed a comfort onstage that makes him look more and more like the real professional that he is. I think he's done with Shakespeare for a while after Edward II, which is a good thing. I don't want him to burn out, and it felt like some of that raw joy that we love so much as actors is starting to fade for him a bit. It's a good time to step away and start working on something that's just for him, something that fully satisfies him as an artist. He's got the skill and the passion to do that; he just has to take the initiative.
Anyhow, after the show we went back home and blabbed and blabbed about the performance, and then headed back out to a cast party at Amy's, the woman who played Olivia. After a bit of awkward attempts at mingliing, we finally landed on the back porch (because it was a gorgeous 70 degrees that weekend!) and struck some really great coversations with some folks, especially Mike (Sir Andrew) and his girlfriend Tara. What funny people! And I appreciated that when I told him I was an actor, he took me seriously despite not having seen me work. I like people who don't brush me off, and Mike and Tara talked to me like I was totally their peer.
FAVORITE CASEY MOMENT OF THE WEEKEND: Though the competition was stiff, I found that this moment took the cake. Amy was showering/getting ready for bed, and Casey and I were out in the living room talking, as per usual. I was basically talking about how I had managed to put my life back together and manage to stay stable and healthy, and I think that was the first time he really saw that in me. And before he turned in for the night, he got up and just sort of stood there for a second, which I couldn't decipher until he made this adorable, "Come here and hug me" gesture and said, "Are we still going to be just as good of friends?" At this point, my heart melts all over the floor, because I'd been wondering the exact same thing. The last time I'd seen Casey when I moved out of 6M, things were just so tense between us, and I was a complete emotional wreck anyway. In the months since I'd been gone, he and I never really figured out what our new vibe needed to be or how we needed to relate and talk to each other. In short, things have been a little strained. When he asked that, it was the first time I realized that he was feeling that same worry that I was, and the fact that we were both concerned about it meant that things were all right after all. I gave him a big hug and said, "Yes, of course we're going to be just as good of friends." He said, "Good, 'cause I love you." And thus exited all my worries about my friendship with Casey.
Ok, that's day one. I've decided to do this in installments, so keep your eyes peeled for days two and three!
P.S. I started watching Buffy on hulu, and Amy, you are totally right. What a freaking awesome show. Shame on me for ever writing it off. What on earth was I thinking!
I am so glad I went back, saw my friends, and had a great time with no complications. I have really missed Casey and Amy, and was relieved to find that all the best parts of our trio dynamic were very much intact. I think we all worried a bit that there would be something awkward in the way of enjoying each other, but that was absolutely not the case. Instead, we had a great time mixing old favorites with new places and things to do. And I have to say, that is still the most comfortable couch I've ever slept on.
I got in Friday afternoon just before Casey got home from work. Amy gave me the official apartment tour and we ate yogurt and chatted til Casey got home. We ate dinner at the restaurant attached to the Gaslight Theatre, as they are now in the Gaslight District of the city. Food was great, company was better. From there, we went home, Amy got all fancied up, and we went to see Casey's Twelfth Night!
The show was great. I credit the cast more than anyone else, because apparently their director is a little off her rocker. Who decides not to make any cuts to a Shakespeare play and then leaves the actors to direct themselves? Honestly, the woman must have been a bit batty. But the cast took what could have been a 3.5 hour nightmare of boredom and kept the show really funny and alive. Casey's come such a long way with Shakespeare. To think we started as measly little RTSF interns, and then I'm watching him keep right up with the Equity and Shakespeare-pro actors that we were just understudying two years ago. That's a long way to go in a very short amount of time. He's developed a comfort onstage that makes him look more and more like the real professional that he is. I think he's done with Shakespeare for a while after Edward II, which is a good thing. I don't want him to burn out, and it felt like some of that raw joy that we love so much as actors is starting to fade for him a bit. It's a good time to step away and start working on something that's just for him, something that fully satisfies him as an artist. He's got the skill and the passion to do that; he just has to take the initiative.
Anyhow, after the show we went back home and blabbed and blabbed about the performance, and then headed back out to a cast party at Amy's, the woman who played Olivia. After a bit of awkward attempts at mingliing, we finally landed on the back porch (because it was a gorgeous 70 degrees that weekend!) and struck some really great coversations with some folks, especially Mike (Sir Andrew) and his girlfriend Tara. What funny people! And I appreciated that when I told him I was an actor, he took me seriously despite not having seen me work. I like people who don't brush me off, and Mike and Tara talked to me like I was totally their peer.
FAVORITE CASEY MOMENT OF THE WEEKEND: Though the competition was stiff, I found that this moment took the cake. Amy was showering/getting ready for bed, and Casey and I were out in the living room talking, as per usual. I was basically talking about how I had managed to put my life back together and manage to stay stable and healthy, and I think that was the first time he really saw that in me. And before he turned in for the night, he got up and just sort of stood there for a second, which I couldn't decipher until he made this adorable, "Come here and hug me" gesture and said, "Are we still going to be just as good of friends?" At this point, my heart melts all over the floor, because I'd been wondering the exact same thing. The last time I'd seen Casey when I moved out of 6M, things were just so tense between us, and I was a complete emotional wreck anyway. In the months since I'd been gone, he and I never really figured out what our new vibe needed to be or how we needed to relate and talk to each other. In short, things have been a little strained. When he asked that, it was the first time I realized that he was feeling that same worry that I was, and the fact that we were both concerned about it meant that things were all right after all. I gave him a big hug and said, "Yes, of course we're going to be just as good of friends." He said, "Good, 'cause I love you." And thus exited all my worries about my friendship with Casey.
Ok, that's day one. I've decided to do this in installments, so keep your eyes peeled for days two and three!
P.S. I started watching Buffy on hulu, and Amy, you are totally right. What a freaking awesome show. Shame on me for ever writing it off. What on earth was I thinking!