It's Finally Summer in the Big City!

My wish for excruciating Summer heat has finally come true! I'm positively melting with excitement! Sweating with joy! Perspiring with Inspiration!
~The Pish Tosh Podcast          ~The Loft Circus Arts          ~The 1st semester of the 2nd City         ~Short Film Shoot          ~June's Artwork          ~Urban Exploration

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The Pish Tosh Podcast

On June 12th, I decided to start my own podcast. Less than a week later, I had published the first episode of The Pish Tosh Podcast. I simply purchased some equipment, scheduled some interviews, taught myself the basics of recording & splicing audio, & hoped for the best. I was not expecting just how much I would love getting to know my guests one-on-one & discovering what brought them to the Second City. At first, I planned to publish an episode each month but I enjoyed the interview process so much that I quickly changed my mind & will now be publishing episodes every Tuesday for the foreseeable future. I currently have the first two episodes completed & published, three additional interviews recorded, & an array of promising guests for the future! 

Listen to the Pish Tosh Podcast

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The Loft Circus Arts Training Center

I have discovered even more wonders that Chicago has to offer! For example, the Loft Circus: Contemporary Circus Arts Training Center! Before heading to Illinois, I discovered my love of the circus arts in Concord, NC at the Cirq-U Training Center while taking a Lyra workshop (hanging hoop acrobatics). On the first of June, I attended this fabulous show [videos below] performed by the students currently in the most intensive & inclusive program at the The Loft. If you can believe it, they are only 9 months into the program (only about half-way & are already amazing)!

I hope to start beginners trapeze in the Fall (time & energy permitting). Fortunately, I have already broken my neck before & I've heard it's like chicken pox, once it's happened, it can't happen again. 

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My First Semester at the Second City 

     I absolutely loved my Improv level A course & feel as if I made some lovely connections with some very talented & brave individuals. 
    I learned so much from my Writing 1 course & walked away with at least a half dozen original sketches in my portfolio. With the valuable feedback I received from my instructor & classmates, I now feel confident that, with some workshopping, my writing can be considered legitimately good literary comedy. 
     For my second semester at the Second City, I planned to take acting & more improv. When I expressed this to a classmate they asked why I didn't move into the Improv for Actors program at Second City. I let them know that the program required that the applicant have a degree in acting &/or theater & I didn't feel like my experience would be enough. The more I thought it over though, the more I was reminded that I enjoy a challenge & that the worst that they could tell me is no & I at that point I would be in the same boat. I talked to instructors, sent emails, made phone calls, spruced up my acting resume, & on June 10th, was accepted into the Improv for Actors program.  This means it will take half as long & half as much coursework to reach toward my overall goal of auditioning for the Conservatory Program (similar to an internship). 
     I started my first Improv for Actors class on Sunday, June 30th (yesterday). While inside the black, windowless walls of the classroom, I felt completely free & exactly where I'm supposed to be. To someone else the class might be suffocating, terrifying, embarrassing, but not for me. Through the exercises & activities, I felt transformed into dozens of characters, I felt as if I traveled to multiple locations every time I stood up. I was an old woman, a hairdresser, a professor. I was at a concert, a mini golf course, & The Walgreen's. 
     I can honestly say, after only one class, I can vividly remember the teacher's & all of my classmates' faces & names clearly. What I mean is that this feels important. This is important to me.

I have been enjoying listening to the amazing works of Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, & more amazingly talented writers & performers in this Second City compilation.

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I performed my first speaking role in a film!
​We Will Build a Great, Great Park
I had such a blast with my cohorts/actors/new friends.
Saturday, June 29th, 2019                ~            Montrose Dog Beach, Chicago, IL

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June's Doodles & Dallies
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Urban Exploration & Acclimating to City Life

Sometimes the city can be overwhelming for someone with social anxiety & a history of isolation but I choose to focus on all of the positive experiences I had in June & appreciate how far I've come & the opportunity to continue to experience new & wonderful things.

• I ate authentic Indian & authentic Korean cuisine for the first time
• I saw stand-up comedy storytelling at the Lincoln Loft in support of a great cause
• I watched the pros at the Second City at two different shows in June perform sketch & improv shows, making it all look so deceptively easy. 
• I learned to navigate the L Train on my own
• I met a family of raccoons
• I played in parks & explored festivals

A Taste of Home :D Salisbury, NC. Thank you, World Market!

Delicious Indian Cuisine!

Flavorful Korean Food

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July holds some promising opportunities & I would like to start the month off right by expressing some gratitude:

• Thank you to any & all who take the time to read this blog &/or listen to the podcast. It all may be pish tosh but it certainly means a lot to me - so, Thank you.
• Thank you to my guests on the Pish Tosh Podcast: David, Jeff, Riccardo, Sam, & Cody! I loved getting to know each of you better. Thank you for the laughs & the incites. 
• Thank you to my partner, Corey, for the encouragement, support, & brainstorming sessions. Also, Congratulations to Corey for auditioning & being accepted into the Second City's Coached Ensemble! Whoop Whoop!

Until Soon...