Merced, CA
So, as swiftly as the show-adding fairies swooped in, they were knocked down by the winds of show-cancelling Fate!

We found out today that, indeed, the Truckee show has been cancelled, and our Whole Week Off has been officially reinstated. PSYCHED! Of course, some people who cancellend or changed plans are now going around frantically changing it all back, but most of us are just thrilled (I think) to be able to look forward to a real vacation. ;)

Have to get ready for PM show...

Merced, CA

Well, it's been a tough week. I've tried to keep these blog entries up-beat, but to be honest, we are all really exhausted! Mentally, emotionally, physically... it's just a lot. And we just found out that Theatreworks added a show during our week off, so that had us all really bumming out this morning. Then the shows in Fresno were in a beautiful theatre that had NO HEAT! It was freezing -- weird, too, because it wasn't THAT cold outside, cloudy and in the 50's. But, it was a beautiful, old house with adequate stage-space and decent dressing rooms. Could have done without the piss-smell back stage right, but... what can you do.

The news about our added show in Truckee, CA did not go over well; there was great dismay, some throwing of things, storming off, followed by stress-eating (cookies and chips, mostly). The show was then infused with a kind of passion I haven't seen since our first shows back in January. A zest, an abandon, if you will, came over us, and we threw ourselves into the play; the kids were so very appreciative, (we were rock stars again, like in Vegas), and we made each other laugh so hard (sometimes before Laura had a chance to mute us/me), that by the end of the second show, it seemed as though we were all ...somehow... okay. Better, even.

Strange shit happens, out here on the road. Your life is not your own... you're told when/where to show up, there is a loss of controle that can sometimes be soul-crushing... but the one thing you do have control over is, ultimately, those damn kids. We can make 'em do whatever we want (like Tim, today, during his climactic "he's over there?" scene)... and what we really want, more than anything, is to make 'em scream. Make them scream and laugh and applaud like there's no tomorrow. Because WE know, even if most Americans are ignorant, that we're better than a movie. Theatre is just BETTER than TV and the internet and the X-Box... and maybe the only thing we're not quite better than is a kick-ass rock concert. And it's important, what we're doing... little "i", not capital "i"... but still, important.

At any rate, after the show we went searching for food in Fresno, and the tech guys at the theatre sent us to a little hip, downtown area. I'm not sure where everyone else went, but Patrick and I found this place we couldn't resist: Chicken Pie Shop. So, of course, we HAD to have the chicken pie (which was phenomenal)... and we also split an order of the special of the day, homemade Mac N Cheese. And it WAS ... as the Director says... "FANTASTIC"! Then Patrick wandered into a shop and emerged with ...what else? ...a small sling shot. We pelted the van for practice (don't worry -- they were very harmless bouncy balls, and did absolutely no harm to the vehicle) before he ambushed Paul, Greg and Laura as they walked by.

One bag of bouncy balls... $1.
Paul's reaction to an attack by a bouncy ball? Priceless.

Los Angeles, CA

We're in the heart of the city, now, after a beautiful morning in Pasadena. The theatre there at CalTech was WACKY -- some stoned Cal Tech grad probably designed it. It LOOKS cool (it's a circle -- no, I mean the BUILDING itself is a circle -- and was art deco inside, very cool), but I'll be damned if anyone who ever actually spent any time backstage took a look at it before okay-ing the plans! No wing space... NONE, people! It was fine, of course, because we're professionals... and we've done plenty of elementary school cafetoriums... but still, it was a challenge. The crew was nice enough; although one of the stage hands was dropping some serious bombs backstage! That is just not the kind of warm welcome we were looking for. At one point I think Paul's eyes actually began to water in the middle of a scene. That was seriously some El Pollo Loco gas. Some very, very nasty nasty emissions, there. Should be inspections and regulations about that stuff.

Anyways -- all went well, throngs of children were entertained, and the Man in the Yellow Hat went home with a monkey. Twice. Briana's uncle and three young cousins came to the early show, and gave us the thumb's up!

There was lots of silliness backstage today, as everyone seems to be feeling better. (The crud went around, few escaped it's mucus-emitting clutches.) We're convinced that the passenger van is a petry-dish, and that the various bacterias that have taken up residence are causing us all to get sick. Windows DOWN, ya'll! I don't care if you're chewing on the smog... windows DOWN! Greg and Tim both still have lingering sore throats-- we've told them over and over to stop making out, but they just won't listen. (jk...)

The weather here in southern Cali is beautiful... oh, and the hotels last night and tonight are the BOMBdittyBOMB! (Thanks, Theatreworks!!) Hot tubs, and saunas, and pools... you're spoiling us, you know. We won't know what to do at our next Super 8!

So -- I think that's the general report for today. Maybe if we're bored later we'll post some photos.

Pasadena, CA
If this group were stranded on a deserted island, let's say the island of LOST, who among us would fit right in, and who would be, well... the extras?

Well, first of all, I'm at a loss to find a character who I resemble; to my knowledge, no one on the island has had ONE head cold. Not ONE! If I were on that island, I'd have had three sinus infections so far, and would have had to do God-only-knows for Sawyer in exchange for pills ending in '-cillin'. (Oh, DARN). Also, none of those women seem to have any problem eating... 'oh, whatever'. I, myself, would never have come upon Hurley in the jungle holding a perfectly good chocolate bar and REFUSED the offer to 'split it'. I'd be tackling him to the ground and demanding to be taken to his stash. Lastly, none of the castaways have any trouble strapping on a backpack and going for a hike through the freaking HAUNTED JUNGLE... or whatever the hell it is that's out there... these people are all much braver and more insane that I could ever pretend to be. Just give me a campfire and some strong sleeping pills, and wake me when the ocean liner pulls up.

Laura would do well on the island, I think, seeing as how she's the female version of Jack. Oh, sure, maybe she doesn't have his incredibly low hairline or perpetual manly stubble, but Laura is the one who we all go crying to when we have a boo-boo, need to blow off some steam, or can't figure out if the new guy really is stranded, or is one of the "others". Wait.. never mind, we don't have a new guy.

Greg can be only one character, and that would be a very thin version of Hurley. He eats like there's no tomorrow, keeps us all in stitches, and even when he's not feeling well, he never makes waves... wait, is Greg secretly worth 150 million bucks? Um... Greeeeeg...? Of course, there is that little bit of Charlie (the junkie) in Greg, as well -- when a guy needs vodka in his juice --when he's sick, no less-- for a ride down to Venice... um... hello, ALK-IE!!??!

Paul would do well on the island, except for the whole deserted-island-with-no-gay-men-anywhere thing. He'll be pleased to read that I think he is somewhat like Sawyer, because of how much he's been reading lately, plus there's a mischievous little grin can seem Sawyer-ish, at times. Other times, however, he reminds me *just* a little bit of Shannon, sunning herself while the plane behind her is a smoldering wreck. Ah, how we miss Shannon...

Patrick is Jin, if for no other reason than his terribly romantic devotion to his woman... and, let's face it, at 7:00 am, like Jin, he can be a tad moody. (Okay... but who isn't at that hour?)

Briana is like the guy they've got locked up in the hatch. One minute, she seems completely innocent, a poor, stranded bird among wolves... and the next... she seems like she might be capable of knocking you over the head when your back is turned, and dragging you off to the Others for a good, old fashioned anal probe. She is a tough little lady, to be sure.

Which leaves Tim. I have no idea who Tim would be, other than maybe Walt's golden retriever (who's name escapes me). Tim can show up, tail wagging, at any hour of the day or night; seemingly unaware that being stranded on a desert island is really all that different from having a nice, big back yard to play in. Sick as a dog, too -- maybe that's why I thought of him.

Las Vegas, NV
Okay... if I were to play by the "what happens in Vegas..." rules, there would be no entry.
So, to HELL with the rules!!

We're actually having a great time, but the Cosmo-induced hangover I had this morning... not so much.

On Friday, we had two shows; these Vegas kids are INSANE. Never heard screaming that loud. It was like being a rock star. And VOCAL -- right in the middle of the painter/director scene, a kid yells out, "She's funny!" I can only imagine that he mistook Patrick for a girl, because everybody knows how un-funny I am. I mean... either that, or the child had some weird version of Tourettes.

Anyways, after the shows, we all rested for a bit, and then made for The Strip. We met up with Greg's sister Elizabeth (of Oscar Party fame) and her friend Katie, and took in a Cirque show. (Briana went to see "KA", while the rest of us opted for the racier "ZOOMANITY"). Then there was much drinking (see "hangover, above"), some gambling (Tim & Elizabeth won a little on slots; Patrick won a couple HUNDRED at roulette); and we even managed to find a karaoke bar in the middle of the MGM. Greg sang 'backup' for me on "Respect"; Paul stole the show with "Livin' on a Prayer"; and Patrick sang something, but I can't remember the song-- and DAMN is that boy funny. Then we bar-hopped and club-hopped (and all three of us girls hobbled, due to the incredibly lame move of wearing cute little heels) until ...oh, 2:30? 3:00?

Today, there was more hyjinx, most of which I've managed to stay out of! I was in bed with afore mentioned hangover until noon, keeping me out of any AM trouble. Then Briana and I did some "normal" stuff in Vegas-free Vegas (grocery shopping, Barnes and Noble, etc). The rest of them, god bless them, are seeing the rest of the Strip, and probably will not be fit to drive back to CA, come morning.

Isn't tour FUN?

Briana bought a camera, so I'm hoping she'll be more responsible about sharing her photos for the blog. As soon as possible, we'll at least have photos of Vegas, for all of you patient readers...

So, as of 10:00AM tomorrow, Vegas will have been DONE by the cast of Curious George!

Riverside, CA (suburb of LA)

Small letdown for half of the cast, tonight... "LOST" was a re-run! WHAT the DEUCE?! Boo, ABC. BOO.

However, the girl voted off American Idol tonight was clearly the worst of the bunch, so there is some justice for us, here at the Econolodge in Riverside, CA. (Sadly, we fear it will be weeks before 'America' decides to kick Chicken Little's scrawny little ass to the curb.)

The shows this morning went really well; the kids were responsive and went away happy. The venue (San Gabriel Civic Auditorium) was beautiful, and the 2-man crew was awesome... however, there was one hitch. The loading dock at the back of the stage was a 20-foot long ramp; the stage was built about 16 feet below street level, ... which meant that we were schlepping the set up and down a 30 degree incline! Okay, so geometry wasn't my best subject... but it was freaking steep, whatever it was. Too steep for anyone to drive their van or truck down it, that's for sure. The guys said they've had to call tow-trucks for those who've attempted it, in the past! So, load out was a challenge. But what is life without challenge? At least their was inexpensive sushi nearby! (Ah, California...)

So -- I have to give a shout-out to Greg, Tim and Patrick for a well-played 'bit' in the show, today. For a couple weeks, now, they've been searching for their long-lost "No-Yeah-Maybe" chord. During the first part of the tour, they really had it; then they lost it... but they found a new one, and it had us rolling backstage. Patrick (who builds on Tim's note) decided to go UP instead of down... and Greg's natural inclination was to go UP, too -- into falsetto. The result was COMEDY GOLD. The look on Greg's face was priceless: 'Oh... what the hell...' "MAYBE!" Briana's entrance (which follows their chord) was a little shakey, as she tried to quit laughing and frown at her plate of spinach. I've never seen her have to fight so hard to hang on, before -- she did, just barely. Luckily, we didn't lock eyes while holding back our laughter, or we might have really lost it. ;)

After loading out of San Gabriel (and lunching on sushi), we drove to Riverside, CA... a 50-mile drive that ended up taking over 2 hours, thanks to ...what else? Traffic! Of course! What would Southern California be without it? Driving near LA is like watching a real-time documentary on paint-drying; the scenery is nice and the soundtrack is hummable, almost hypnotic in it's nice, easy predictibility... when BAM! Out of nowhere, a 10-second, wheel-screeching, brake-test shocks you into an adrenaline rush that can only be parallelled with being caught in the middle of someone knocking over a 7-11. I'll take the Brooklyn Bridge at rush hour over that shit, any day.

After tomorrow's shows... we drive to Vegas! Vegas, baby, VEGAS.

San Diego, CA
"San Diago...I believe it translates loosely as, "a whale's vagina." -- Ron Burgandy, in "ANCHORMAN"

We are officially in CALIFORNIA. We have driven from one coast to the other. BWBWBWAAA!!!

We were in Dallas this past Thursday; followed by two travel days. The first took us to El Paso, TX -- it was a long day, but we all banked some overtime $$, so it was worth it. On Saturday, (travel day #2), Briana and I got ahead of everyone else in the cargo van, and made it to Phoenix in record time... because SOMEbody's husband was waiting there to see her!! (We were very careful, and did not speed, but we were persistant and didn't even stop for lunch!)

The other van took their sweet time, taking sidetrips to see "The Thing!" (a roadside attraction that was later described as "indescribable"), buy cowboy boots, and generally enjoy the fine art of road-tripping.

Our weekend in Phoenix went by so quickly; Sunday was our day off, and it was glorious (55 degrees and sunny); then we had two shows this morning, and before we knew it, it was time to leave. I said a tearful goodbye to Warren, and we took off for San Diego, about a six hour drive.

We took Hwy 8; what an absolutely beautiful drive. First, the Arizona desert landscape, with the giant cactus and tumble weeds, followed by the craggy mountains. At the highest elevations (about 4,000 feet), there was SNOW -- felt like we were in a Twilight Zone episode. The full moon illuminated the mountain snow, so even after the sunset we could see the landscape -- really cool. Patrick remarked that it looked like a different planet...

This is the point where I insert pictures of the landscape... and "The Thing!"... and everyone in their cowboy boots, right? WRONG! TOO TIRED! I know, I keep promising pictures, but today was just too long and exhausting. SOON, though, I promise.

Short entry -- more tomorrow.

Hey there! Briana here!

(see Cara's previous post below first!)

Ah-hem indeed: Everyone was hung over, Except for me =) I went home earlier with Ma and Pa Gorden.

Mrs. Gorden took me to Cavender's Boot City, where I bought awesome cowboy boots ("dancing boots" so I am told) and a hat Mrs. Gorden most skillfully selected in one shot. I'm a kicker, y'all! And I got, and gave, a hat tippin' "Howdy!" from an old Aggie at Chicken Oil last night. As we left Mrs. Gorden remarked she was glad I got hit on- I was "the only one he noticed!'' And, now, of course, everyone wants boots. Who doesn't want the attention of portly old men in felt cowboy hats?

Anyway, all of Greg's folks are just the best. It really is nice to be in a home, just to have that lovely vibe, and to be around friendly interesting people in a casual setting! And I must echo Cara's sentiments, that Texas truly is a state with which one should not mess. And that this show ROCKS- it's always evolving, and draws the best audiences you could ever dream of- not to mention that it's a great cardio blast!

In other news, the van needed a $1500 makeover- air conditioning, new steering somethingrather that is apparently a very big dangerous deal (no, Laura, I readily admit that am not a mechanic), and something else I can't remember. Lucky for us we have discovered these problems before getting stranded somewhere in the desert to draw straws on who walks to the next city. However, it adds several hours to our driving for the next couple of days because we had to leave it in College Station and will pick it up after Dallas, which stinks, but Hello overtime!! We're renting a real luxury vehicle for now, with working AC and--- get this---- POWER WINDOWS. "Dang!"

Also, Blue Bell cookies and cream ice cream is the Best, just FYI.

In summation, Hats off (I couldn't resist) to Greg and his peeps!!! Howdy, woohoo!!!-or whatever those Aggies say.

Love,

Briana

Houston, TX

Okay, so... TEXAS ROCKS. The people we have met and/or worked with here have been the nicest, most warm and friendly bunch of people... you're kicking Louisiana's ASS, right now, Texas. Just so you know.

For the past two days, we have been in Bryan/College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M University (Greg's alma mater)... and Greg's parents! Beverly and Guy were SO incredibly gracious: knowing that we are all poor, starving actors with a per diem of $*ah-hem*.00 per day... they opened up their home for all of us to stay! So... bless their hearts, they hosted seven road-weary theatre-types (and their luggage) for two whole days and nights (and part of a third). With the help of Greg's sister Elizabeth, they threw us an Oscar party on Sunday night (Guy won the pool), complete with games, prizes, and film-themed decorations (SOMEbody's a first-grade teacher). They fed us BBQ and fixings (HOWDY!), and as if I needed one more reason to let my jeans air dry, there was even cake and ice cream for dessert. It felt like it was my birthday... without the hysterical, I'm-over-30-now-aren't-I crying fit in the bathroom at the end of the night.

The family entertained us with stories about Greg ("I knew we didn't have a quarterback on our hands" --Guy), which were so fabulous and endearing... and yet somehow not at all surprising! I knew Greg and I were kindred spirits when his inability to make his bed came up... ah, my BROTHER-man!

Thanks to Beverly and Guy (and their inability to say what they really thought of all of us and our disgusting habits and foul-mouths), we got to feel as though we were home. It was so incredible to NOT be in a motel, first and foremost! To be able to sit on a porch, have a nice spot in the sun, eat a home-cooked meal, and even pet the family dog… ah, it was better than all the wireless-internet-free-breakfast-indoor-pool in the world! Gus, their feisty Jack Russell Terrier (*is that right?*) entertained us for hours. He had absolutely no loyalties; a true attention-whore, he went from lap to lap, from plate to plate, and I think (if Beverly hadn't whisked him away) he might have happily joined us on tour.

The shows at A&M went very well; lots of good, rowdy kids, easy to laugh and happy to tell you where George is, even when you didn’t ask. Doing the show isn’t even boring, yet. There is still so much to play with, and working with this group, it's easy to keep things new. I swear, every time I do something just a little different, my scene partner's eyebrow will raise, or a little smile will appear, as if to say... "oh, REALLY? It's like THAT, today, huh? Okay, well, how about ...THIS?!" and their reaction will be just as fresh and new as what you did—sometimes better. (JD: I think I've FINALLY got a good rhythm going with my sneezing, and I'm getting laughs, now. It took a lot of trial and error, but from now on, I know - it's all about Schadenfreude!).

We were a little sad to drive away from A&M, today -- the crew was so friendly, and we were just starting to feel like Aggie's after Greg showed us the ropes. (It was "Howdy Week" on campus, so everywhere we went there were students trying to get us to say "Howdy". I don't think it serves any real purpose; Greg kept saying "it's Tradition”. Everything is “tradition” at A&M. Someone could be wearing a shaving bowl on their head, whistling Dixie out of their ass, and Greg would just shrug and say, “it’s Tradition”. Everything at A&M has some kind of tradition behind it; frankly, I’m wondering if you are allowed to take a piss here without an upperclassman first ‘showing you the ropes’. I swear, I half expected Tevye to be around the next corner hollering “Oy, vey, it’s Tradition! Howdy!”

But it was cool to see, and experience; the past three days has been like an archeological dig of Greg’s frontal lobe. From the alma mater to the mater-and-pater, it’s been loads of fun getting to better know Greg… and where he came from.

And what would a tour of one’s alma mater be, I ask you, without a tour of the local watering holes? NOTHING! A farse, I say! So, last night Greg took us to three or four of his hang-outs from back-in-the-day… a joint called Chicken Oil for dinner, (great burgers); then Margarita-something for $2 well drinks (ouch, headache); then two other bars, and somewhere in there I decided to be the designated driver (1 margarita + 1 brownie sundae + 3 hours of 7-up = sober); finally we ended up at a place that had a real rattlesnake in a cage. They had tons of empty pool tables, so we played a game Patrick taught us called Speed Pool. TONS of fun; somehow the two homosexuals won it, though, not sure how that happened. (Greg also impersonated Stockard Channing in GREASE, starting the drag racing… oh, comedy gold…) Of course, everyone was hung over this morning… it’s a good thing they don’t ask us to meet the kids after the shows, because they’d probably get little contact highs from the evaporating-sweat-fumes.

Well, I should sign off. I’m exhausted, and NO, bitches, I still don’t have pictures from the boys – but I SWEAR, soon there will be more images (for those of you who are afraid of text). I promise, I promise, if there’s internet between here and Phoenix, I will have photos on the blog ASAP.

Lawton, OK... or should I say... Texa-homa?!
For the next ten days, we are traveling back and forth between Texas and Oklahoma so many times, it's insane. I think are crossing the Texas-Oklahoma border seven times. Okay, maybe it's only four. But four is REALLY CLOSE to seven, dude. Really, really close.

So, Cara lost her drawers ...in Fort Worth! Yes, although I am still sore from the embarrassment at having leaving my own costume behind, I admit that some day it will probably be funny. Maybe by College Station, TX... where we're getting the costume FedEx'd back to us... maybe it'll be funny by then. Yeah, yeah, it'll be funny by then.

The drive down into Texas a couple days ago was quite beautiful, and the weather has been awesome (70's and 80's!). Big sky, nice sunsets, great weather... can't complain too much. Tim, Patrick, Briana and I found some good BBQ in Fort Worth (Angelo's) but all agreed that it wasn't quite as good as Dreamland. GOOD, mind you, and plenty of really good taxidermy on the walls... but not quite as good as Dreamland.

This morning we had a show in Oklahoma City... ONCE WE FOUND THE THEATRE! Apparently, there are two Civic Centers in that town, and we (along with three of the school buses) went to the wrong one! But, once we found the theatre, we had a quick setup, a good show, and the crew was awesome. They even found us a pair of coveralls for me, (granted, they were extra large and shit brown, but who's counting?) and even tried to cheer me up about the loss of the original ones, isn't that sweet? They also shared their secret-stash-coffee with us, which is SO far above and beyond the call of duty! So, it was a pretty decent day, all things considered.

Finally, today, the end of an era: Patrick got his stitches out today. Now he can shave off the little catapillar he's been growing around the scar! Tim took pictures of the event... one of these days we'll publish them...

More later...