Christmas in Christmasville, with a little less Christmas.

Ten things I learned about Christmas and Christmas Eve (since we got that day off, and not the real deal)
1.  Boredom can be productive, I started yet another crochet project I will most likely not finish
2.  Just because there's Christmasy stuff everywhere doesn't mean that your family and friends will magically appear from across the ocean to drink gluhwein and eat French toast with you.
3.  French toast is really good...we ate it with...
        a.  ahorn syrup and butter
        b.  nutella and bananas (as IF I wasn't going to have nutella in this list)
        c.  kaese and speck (cheese and ham)
        d.  almond butter and cranberries
4.  A good friend will cut your hair out of boredom to kill time (thanks Sara!!)
5.  Card games are fun if you play them while performing impressions of fellow castmates
6.  German is easier to understand in cartoon form on the TV
7.  Gluhwein is fine, any time (and super cheap at the grocery store)
8.  Adrienne is super awesome for flying in on Christmas morning from Spain.
9.  Department store truffles from Breuninger are about the best thing ever to dissolve in one's mouth
10. Skype is a gift from the gods, but I wish there was a tactile option in addition to video...I really want to pet my dog and cat.

Oh yeah, here's my new haircut courtesy of Sara Sparrow, multi-tasking boredom avoiding extraordinaire!!

Esslingen Weinnachtsmarkt

What do you do when you have no days off?  You get up early (relatively speaking) and hop a train 5 stops to another town, wander around eating yummy things at the winter market and drinking gluhwein, get super sleepy from said gluhwein, come home, nap, then wake up and do a show.  The nap is key.  It makes it seem like you had a whole day off, then woke up and had to go to work the next day.  Here are some photos from our trip to Esslingen, where the winter market has a medieval feel, you can get a wild boar bratwurst, and the picturesque township Euro feel runs rampant.

Feather and John are visiting!  Lucky Lara 

 I love my Ruby Woo lippenstift

 An entire potato spiraled and fried.  Don't worry, I helped her eat it.  I'm a good helper.

 yep.

I don't understand but I like.

(Ich verstehe das nicht aber ich mag.)

Do they have Groundhog Day in Germany?

I am not a big Bill Murray fan, (though I have had many "Lost in Translation" moments lately) but recently it's beginning to feel like that movie, "Groundhog Day." Every day resembles the previous except for minute differences consciously made by the actors (or Aerialistas in this case).  Youkali is the same show, but we're catching on to its sameness and shaping it as we like.  One show Youkali became a haunted hotel, in one song screams were replaced by pony noises, and in one scene imagining the diva to be a sorceress is far more entertaining.  It depends upon how much manipulation one feels up for.  At this point, it's the little things that keep us entertained and somewhat sane as our last day off was Nov. 14.  wow.  wow.  wow.  The challenge now is not Cupcakes, that is still fun, but preventing ourselves from becoming a wee bit unraveled with the monotony within the dark enclosure of the theatre.

It's like wife swap...

So, over a month into the show and we've really settled into a very nice groove.  We have group rehearsal 3-4 times a week prior to shows, beer and stretch/handstand time post-show, impromptu singing in the dressing room, a regular wordly factoid from Sara during makeup, and lazy mornings filled with updates from home and the smells of eggs, meats, and veggies coming from the kitchen (with the occasional tart).  Bridget and I finally feel like we can breathe a little bit during the cupcakes act, enjoying the headspace to engage in more crowd interaction and character development.  Oooh, I wish it could last!  (Insert ominous music here).

Okay, so I'm being a bit melodramatic.  But I am totally bummed that Jill has to return to Seattle early, at the end of December, and we have to bring in a replacement.  Part of that, I'm sure, stems from my Virgoan resistance to change, but also, Bridge and I have been together as partners for the shortest amount of time and have just hit our honeymoon phase of partnering, where we have our tricks smoothed out and can just give each other little helpful notes after each act to affect change within the routine versus having to workshop choreography over and over.  The other partner pairs have been living in this blissful place for years, as Bridge and I are the new additions to the group and the cupcakes choreography has been around in various versions for over 3 years.  The other part that is a bummer is, well, Jill is flippin' cool and my hero and I will miss her!!

We will have to bring in a new person, and it is impossible to find someone to fill the flyer part that Jill plays. So we will bring in a new base, Lara will become a flyer and work with Bridget (this has to do with body proportionality), I will fly on Sara, and Viv will fly on the replacement.  Everyone has a new partner and, now, a whole new relationship of trust and communication to work out.  Sigh.  I am by no means disappointed to work with Sara, she actually taught me the act and I have almost a starstruck amount of admiration for her skills as a soloist and in partnering.  It just is a very different person, different body, and I lose my free ride on Mirror Butt (our final trick...Bridget totally carries me into position, which is not how it is usually done, and I've definitely been the benefactor of THAT technique we've developed).

As always, this new challenge is going to present an amazing opportunity for me to get stronger and develop a wider skill set, and I AM thankful, just feeling a little lazy about the work ahead.  Forge on, Aerialistas, another chapter to write!

Oh yeah, some random pics...

 Didn't you know that Pretzels are holy here?

 Thanksgiving morning in the flat.

 Me and Maude.  We spend a lot of time together.

 Epic breakfast date with Viv.

Epic breakfast date pic #2.  yep...Prosecco and cake.

Another TV spot...

Youkali, Regio TV, Stuttgart

21 down...80 more to go.

So we are now 1/5 into the run and starting to settle into a bit of a rhythm.  I'm getting used to becoming a night owl, as that is the only way I actually get enough rest.  The Aerialistas are still rehearsing daily (except on double show days) and constantly evolving and refining our act in the air.  Our next big project is a white trash Thanksgiving celebration and we've invited the whole international cast and crew.  We will be provided a very modified historical pageant of the Thanksgiving story...think cowboys, reptilian overlord, Noah's ark.

Things I've learned so far...
1.  It is okay to wear three bras in my bellhop costume...bigger is better
2.  Olive oil removes stage makeup and makes you smell like a sauteed version of yourself
3.  Passing gas is more offensive here than in the states
4.  Dogs are really gods in the German mind
5.  Food service that is not motivated by tips, is...less than motivated
6.  Someone going "gluten free" here would essentially starve or resort to cannibalism
7.  Gluewein is the universal lubricator for creaky bodies
8.  Don't order water at a restaurant, you could get a cocktail for less euros, and why not?  Cocktails any time of day is the norm
9.  There are as many varieties of cured meats here as there are varieties of singer/songwriters in the PNW
10. A post show beer from the vending machine massages away any bumming of what went wrong in the show.

xoxo
Jenn

A morning run.

This morning was so beautiful, I decided to take my camera along for my run from the theatre through the Schlossgarten, a beautiful park which connects the city center to the Neckar River.

 Look!  a Youkali poster!

 And there's a weepy ol' willow, he really knows how to cry, that's how I'd cry in my pillow, if you're to say farewell and goodbye...

 This park goes forever.  It was a color fiesta two weeks ago, but I kept forgetting the camera.

 A picture for my mom :)

 Spooky in the sunshine even.

 There are very few folks running here, unless it's the weekend.

 This statue has a twin, but it is being restored.

 One of the palaces near the city center.

I love love love this sculpture right outside the theatre.

 Trail Run

 Fountain I like (there are tons)

 gemusa market

 winter market and gluwein

 another pic from a trail run

my dinner tonight from the winter market

kartoffle mit apfel und gluwein

German TV spot.

LOok Ma!  We'Re on TelEVisiOn!!!!

Presse

 

 So far the press has been mixed to positive regarding our show, Youkali.  All press has been positive about the Aerialistas however, and we've been described as blonde angels or Marilyns.  Fun.  The storyline of Youkali is about a magical place you can go and be whoever you want to be...flapper, transgendered, drunk, frigid, whatever... or just to expose your inner talents.  The place, however, is just a dream and doesn't really exist. The title comes from a song called Youkali.  Our Youkali happens to take place in a hotel, providing the perfect atmosphere for all paths of life to cross.

Youkali by Kurt Weill: 

It was almost to the end of the world
That my wandering boat
Straying at the will of the waves
Led me one day
The isle is very small
But the kind fairy that lives there
Invites us
To take a look around

Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
Youkali
Is the land where we forget all our worries
It is in our night, like a bright rift
The star we follow
It is Youkali

Youkali
Is the respect of all vows exchanged
Youkali
Is the land of love returned
It is the hope
That is in every human heart
The deliverance
We await for tomorrow
Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
But it is a dream, a folly
There is no Youkali

And life carries us along
Tediously, day by day
But the poor human soul
Seeking forgetfulness everywhere
Has, in order to escape the world
Managed to find the mystery
In which our dreams burrow themselves
In some Youkali

Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
Youkali
Is the land where we forget all our worries
It is in our night, like a bright rift
The star we follow
It is Youkali

Youkali
Is the respect of all vows exchanged
Youkali
Is the land of love returned
It is the hope
That is in every human heart
The deliverance
We await for tomorrow

Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
But it is a dream, a folly
There is no Youkali
But it is a dream, a folly
There is no Youkali

 

http://stuttgarter-wochenblatt.de/stw/page/detail.php/2998472

How does this happen?

All of the aerialistas agree, Germany is making us fat.  Okay, maybe not just Germany, but the insane schedule that was production week.  We never saw the light of day and were moving around like jet lagged zombies (except cuter) on the stage, being placed in this scene or that.  No training or stretch time....then...wapow!  Showtime and performance.  For all of us this was absolutely way less physical activity than we are used too, but far more fatiguing.  Plus, every morning, two crates of bread were brought in to keep us going.  uggh.  I don't think I want to even look at another pepita roll or kaiser bun.
This morning was our first "normal" morning.  I was blessed to wake up without an alarm, have a cup of cowboy coffee that Sara (our early morning riser) makes and leaves on the stove for the rest of us, leisurely drink said cup, and then take off for a run.  True bliss.  I have found two suitable running routes so far, and today's was my favorite.  As close to a "natural" area as I think we will find by foot.  Beautiful fall foliage ont he trees and Oh my God!  I saw other joggers.  First time. My body is responding well already to the rest and activity, and my neck and hips are finally starting to loosen up and pop their normal noises.  Hopefully my tummy will start feeling better soon.  Better for me and better for Bridget when I'm not farting on her mid-act.
Now time to grab a snack and stretch out before donning the wig and makeup for tonight's early show.  After the show, the whole cast will go out for supper and we get to read the critical reviews from the premier night that will go out in Monday's paper.
I finally got some batteries for the camera and will be posting pics as soon as I get to taking them.
love Jenn

 That is me front and center, Bridget being smooshed by me  :)

Viv up front, me behind

Surprise! This is actually musical theatre with circus!

Day two of rehearsal hell week.  Yesterday was 12 hours, today 15.  We are on stage about 90% of the time, only off for costume changes in the two hour show.  Wild!  Aside from our two acts, the chair dance and aerial piece, we interact with the singing main characters and other international acts.  Lots of folks from Germany, but also Russia, Canada, and London.  Beautiful and uniquely talented folks.
Somehow, our Rosemary Clooney dance piece performed with a live band now sounds like Elvis in his more loungy years, but the translation of Ain't She Sweet is sounding nice and will only get better.  K dudes, gotta style my wig and catch some sees.  I will post pics when I actually get out to take some, maybe in a couple weeks, pretty crazy right now.  I may even try to write more original messages at that point.  Til then, Bis Spater!!

I'm missing an appendage.

Hour 2, minute 18, and we're not even going to start on the seconds. Yep. I have given up the iPhone. A crucial step towards the freedom and headspace I've been needing and craving, yet, I feel a sense of loss that is completely absurd. An addiction this strong to pharmaceuticals would get me in a lot of trouble, yet in our culture this addiction is considered normal. As a pacifier is to a baby, and iphone is to a thirtysomething.  Iphone, I miss you, love you, want you, and adore you. Yet you have enslaved me to your silky smooth interface and caressable ease. This relationship has been sucking my braincells dry with the constant distractions and access. I'm through with you, iPhone, at least for now. Although, I'm sure we could arrange some kind of reunion when I return and have established some behavior controls on my OWN operating system.