Showing posts with label Alpha Chi Omega. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alpha Chi Omega. Show all posts

Sunday, January 10, 2016

15 for '15 & 16 for '16

I did this last year. I liked it. Let's do it again, shall we?

Taylor's clearly excited.

15 Amazing Memories from 2015 (in definite not order of significance):


1. Seat filling at the National Television Awards.

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2. Performing the Housekeeper in Lorca's Dona Rosita at the Cockpit Theatre in London

Read my blog post about my love for the show and Lorca here. 

3. Pulling off the ultimate surprise by showing up to my family's trip to Disney World


4. Witnessing amazing theatre, everywhere











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5. Having my Alpha Chi Omega sisters cross an ocean to visit me in London (and exploring Amsterdam with them)

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A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

6. Turning in the last paper ever (God willing) of my life 



7. Finishing up my East 15 run with Three Birds Alighting on a Field in the heart of the West End

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8. Rome with Katie

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A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

9. JoJo's birthday in Oslo


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A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

10. Experiencing incredible support in the lead-up to Ed Fringe


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11. Graduating with my MFA


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12. Exploring Oxford with my former Baylor Theatre professor and forever role model Totie B


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13. Edinburgh Fringe Festival





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14. Moving to New York City




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A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

15. Christmas in Texas

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on




Of course not every moment of 2015 was amazing. I may be putting rose-colored glasses on it saying it, but I'll call it my bittersweet memory of '15:

Leaving London.

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The longing to be back wandering through Covent Garden, lazing in the sun room on campus, catching a last minute show in Piccadilly - it's all very strong. But while I wish for the past sometimes, I am excited for the future almost all of the times. So without further ado,

16 Things I'm Excited for in 2016

1. Being able to say I survived my first NYC winter
2. Exciting Barrington Collective announcement #1
3. Exciting Barrington Collective announcement #2
4. Showing my parents around the city
5. Seeing all of the amazing theatre (that I can afford) and maybe some of the bad
6. A wonderful day job nannying two adorable kids with seriously awesome parents
7. Growing in community and faith with my new Redeemer family
8. Experiencing a New York Spring
9. Writing more
10. Traveling (probably not to as exotic of locales as last year, but I've got lots of frequent flyer miles to burn)
11. Being a bridesmaid in my sweet sorority sister Victoria's wedding (#sidebysides624)
12. Turning 29
13. Celebrating Baylor continuing to be good at football (still can't believe this)
14. Developing and settling into an artistic routine
15. Christmas in Texas (never mess with a classic)
16. I don't know...surprise me.

To Auld Lang Syne,


(And yes, I know I need to change the title bar up top. New York is keeping me way too engaged for these things.)

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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

My Last Student Spring Break

This was decidedly my last Spring Break as a student. (I've said it before and I'll say it again- praise the Lord for no doctorate in acting.) The great thing about UK university Spring Breaks is that they can be a month long- easy.

Pretty much every night on break, amirite? (I'm not right.)

So what did my last big break consist of? 



I started things off with a grand surprise that you must have read about in my previous post. Here's the YouTube recap version:

 



I realized that the rest of my break was absolutely jam-packed full and that my thesis was due just after we got back from break and that I wouldn't have time to write it unless I pretty much finished it RIGHT NOW. So while everyone and their adorable puppy was out frolicking in the semi-Springy sun, I was elbow deep in grief and escapism in modern society research.


I did manage to go see The Nether at the Duke of York which was disturbingly fascinating, as well as containing some of the best American accents I've heard over here. Also, Katie, JoJo and I joined our friend Matt in a weekly piano man night on the West End. It was kinda perfect.

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on



My sorority sisters came to visit! My lovely little Sarah popped over first. Sarah and I first bonded as part of Baylor Theatre's summer study abroad program. We meandered through Paris, London and Stratford-upon-Avon together. In fact, we experienced our first true moment of friendship sitting front row at an RSC production of The Merchant of Venice where we had ice thrown at us (interesting set design/possible law suit). A few months later she rushed and thankfully I got to become her big. It was so great to have her back in this city I love so much. 

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A few days later, two of my other favorite AXOs joined us- Victoria and Julie! We split the next several days as a foursome between London and Amsterdam. I'm pretty sure we all fell in love with Amsterdam. It's such a beautiful city with amazingly friendly people. (I will say though, we did the kid-friendly version of the city.) The Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum are two of my favorite places I've been. Ever. Period.

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on



This September, some of my classmates and I will get to be a part of Drama UK's New York showcase. In prep, we had a work week in Central London where we set the scenes, monologues, and songs we would use to showcase our lovely selves to industry professionals come early Fall. It was wonderful and also completely terrifying. Times they are a-changing, you know?

(from nerves and excitement)



During my last week of break, The Barrington Collective held developmental rehearsals for my play Reconciling. I had a lot of apprehension going into this time- pressure, nerves, blah blah blah. 


Marshall Eriksen knows my fears.

I'm so happy to say that this week was amazing. Our director Julia was the best leader, everyone in the cast has decided to trust my ridiculous words, and somehow I was able to focus and write new stuff every night. It went about as well as possible.

A photo posted by Barrington Collective (@barringtoncollective) on

A photo posted by Barrington Collective (@barringtoncollective) on

I'm also extremely happy to say that our Indiegogo campaign went ridiculously well too! Through the site and a few private contributions, we were able to raise over $7,000. This is going to make our lives so, so, so much less hard. We're incredibly appreciative- seriously. A few people have reached out to me and said that they didn't get a chance to donate- never fear! We have set up a GoFundMe for any continued donations. Find it at: gofundme.com/BCtoEdFringe


So that was it! My last Spring Break as a student. Travel, friends, family, Disney, theatre, karaoke- I think it was a great one to go out on.

To no more thesis,








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Friday, August 23, 2013

Baylor Proud

So yesterday was Baylor University's official move in day, better known as the 24 hour period where every Baylor alum wishes for just a few hours that they were 18 again, had no idea what was going to happen to their life, and just got to watch all the pretty frat men carry their plastic tubs of t-shirts and nike shorts into a cramped, but homey dorm room.

Now I promise that I am extremely excited for East 15 and London, but that doesn't change the fact that Baylor produces some powerful nostalgia. I could go on and on about all the different branches of my Baylor family tree:

 

All of these organizations (along with daily campus life) gave me wonderful memories to last a life time. I could probably write a top five hundred list, but I'll spare you (kinda). Here are my top five Baylor memories:


Fun fact you may not know: Baylor is home to the oldest homecoming celebration in the country. Our homecoming game day parade also takes top prize for being the biggest of its kind. My senior year was our 100th Homecoming Celebration (big deal alert). Sororities and fraternities teamed up to produce some crazy awesome floats, Bruiser led the whole thing on a Segway, and Student Foundation members got to ride our bikes in one huge mass in the middle of the parade, throwing candy as we went. Waking up at 3 a.m. to ride a bike across downtown Waco in the dark was totally worth it when you turned that corner and saw thousands upon thousands of alum and current students lining your way through the heart of campus. In an effort to not get too choked up (easy thing for me to do) I focused hard on my candy throwing and almost ran over a little girl dressed as a Baylor cheerleader. I gave her like a handful of kit kats, so I think we're even.



Sing is one of those things that's so difficult to explain to non-bears. To put it in perspective, the production as a whole is usually touted as the second biggest off-Broadway production in the US. Did you hear me? Yes, I just said that. Just over 10% of our student body participates in a four hour performance cut up into seven minute themed routines put on by frats, sororities, and independent clubs. Each group has their own backdrop, set pieces, and props that they have two minutes to get onstage prior and two minutes to get offstage after. Go over and you're docked points- oh that's right, did I mention it's a competition? Judges are different every night and for the past few years have included Corbin Bleu. After six performances the top eight groups advance on to Pigskin Review which is a part of our aforementioned Homecoming weekend. 

I loved Sing the two years I was able to participate (theatre conflicts) but my favorite was senior year. Alpha Chi's act was "Whatever the Weather" and I got to sing a classic. Ryan Brinson took that far left picture of me and it is one of my all time faves- I'm right in the middle of belting out, "It's gonna start rainin' MENNNNN!" You can't imagine how fun it is to sing your heart out with that silly line to thousands of people each night and have them whoop and cheer you on.



It's almost impossible to pick my favorite mainstage experience at Baylor Theatre, but Drowsy edges out all the others for several reasons. It was the "University Premiere" (meaning we were the first college given the rights to perform to the show) and it's fun to say I was the first 22-year-old Mrs. Tottendale. Plus, look at my costume. In the whole first number I was singing about my "fancy dress" and man was that thing fun to wear. Drowsy was also my last big show at Baylor and my senior musical, so it will always pull at my heartstrings when I think about it. 

The small picture in the middle is part of one of the best Baylor Theatre traditions. All our dressing rooms are lined with makeup counters that have drawers underneath where we list all the shows we were cast in. At Senior Wills (another tradition) we hand down our specific drawer to a deserving underclassman.



Talk about changing your whole life perspective in less than a month. I was a part of the theatre department's very first abroad experience in the summer of 2008. We spent two weeks in class prior to the trip and then immersed ourselves in Paris, London, and Stratford-upon-Avon. It's impossible for me to pick one favorite moment, but doing a sic 'em on Shakespeare's front porch (bottom left) is pretty up there. This trip was also my first time in London and I got hooked fast. I always knew that city had more in store for me. :)

When people ask me what my favorite moment of theatre that I've ever experienced is, I have this trip to thank for my answer. We studied The Taming of the Shrew pretty in-depth beforehand, because we knew we were going to see the show at the Comédie-Française. About two of us spoke French. I could say "Hello", "Pardon me", "Please", and "I'm sorry, I'm an American." 

Being a modern woman, I've never really cared for Taming. It always put me off how Kate just crumbles at the end and gives up her strength to Petruchio. Obviously, I had just never seen the right production. Or maybe I should just see shows I don't understand in French, because in this case I got the meaning crystal clear. Kate's big speech at the end was used almost as a manipulative tool and by the end she had Petruchio literally baying at her feet. She didn't lose any power or self-worth. It was fantastic and one of those (overused word alert) transcendent moments of theatre. It didn't matter that the text of the play was originally in Early Modern English, translated into French, and performed for a contemporary English speaking audience. The production communicated everything it needed to even with all those hurdles. Experiences like that will make you fall in love with an art form real quick.



I was lucky enough to get to participate in one of the weekly hangout shows that Mental Floss video puts on every week to discuss my mascoting experience for Baylor. I come in around the 10:15 mark-


In the video I get to tell my absolute favorite mascot story- meeting Art Briles as Bruiser. Getting to be the symbol of your University is one of the coolest things ever. I did sic 'ems right next to REAL bears. I hugged RGIII several times- he just didn't know it was me. I helped kids get over their fear of anthropomorphized forest creatures. I got to lead all of Floyd Casey stadium in a sic 'em after a football victory. That's the kind of stuff you'll never forget.


Well, there you have it. A not very short at all top five list. If you made it the whole way through- snaps for you (sorority girl forever at heart). I'll always love BU with all my heart, but reminiscing now is a good thing. It's urging me forward, not weighing me down in the past. A Baylor trip down memory lane just makes me more excited for when I'll have a new memory lane to walk down... this time in London.

To flinging my green and gold afar,


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