Monday, August 31, 2015

Ed Fringe

So our magical month in Edinburgh has just wrapped. I would have loved to do more blogging during the actual festival, but sometimes it's better to just live life and not worry so much about documenting it, you know? That being said, this August was one of the best four weeks of my life. Let me fill you in on some of the details:

Like...reviews of the show?






As a first time company, we were over the moon to receive three different four star reviews for Reconciling. We knew we had a great show on our hands and were proud of what we'd brought no matter what, but it'd be a lie to say we didn't appreciate the validation. Plus it's a hella lot easier to get people to take a chance on new writing when they see stars papered over your posters and stapled to your flyers. We did a lot of stapling of stars. And we loved it. :)


Speaking of social media, here's some more of our filtered and hashtagged journey:







A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on



A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on




A photo posted by @jojoginn on

A photo posted by @wakeandshake 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




Of course it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It's an exhausting month, but I don't think I could have asked for a better group of people to go through it with. I love these guys with all my heart. The things they've done for me. It's hard to wrap my brain around it.




For those many family and friends back in America that didn't get to see Reconciling, our wonderfully talented friend Aslam came and took some production shots for us right before we left. Check out his great website here: Aslam Husain photography. Here are some of my faves!









My heart and mind are honestly too fried at this point to write any kind of poignant wrap-up of the whole experience. So instead, here a list.

Through Ed Fringe, we-

-successfully produced our first two shows.
-made some great friends doing theatre in different pockets of the globe.
-experienced support from our classmates and professors like no other.
-climbed an extinct volcano. (Arthur's Seat- look it up.)
-killed many a tree with our flyers. (really sorry about that, trees)
-saw some seriously AMAZING theatre.
-saw some seriously not-so-amazing theatre. (that is a true #edfringe experience)
-spent a month acting opposite lifelong friends.
-slept far too little and were the better for it.
-closed a fantastic first chapter of The Barrington Collective.

In other news, I leave London for the states in about 40 hours.

To the pieces of my heart I'm leaving behind all over the UK,


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Monday, July 27, 2015

MFA & Such

It happened. I wore a sweet hood, walked across a stage, shook some old dude's hand, got a fancy piece of paper. (It was awesome.)

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on


My parents, y'all. Seriously ace. 

My dad has this thing that he always makes a seal noise whenever he gets a chance to applaud for me. Dance competitions, curtain calls, piano recitals - I've heard this "ORK ORK" over the crowd for decades now. It was pretty cool to get to tap my ear in response as I headed off that graduation stage.

My parents were also able to see a run through of Reconciling while they were here. 

I was maybe just a bit nervous?

Luckily - they loved it. 

(evidently this is a Michael Scott gif post now)

The next few days were filled with sightseeing/tour-guiding with the parentals, rehearsing for our #EdFringe previews, and moving into yet another temporary home. Lots of change, lots of upheaval, lots of transitional elements outside of Jenny's control which...hmm, how do I deal with that again?




However much I'd like to throw an adult-sized tantrum, the reality is this is the season I'm in. Transitional. The next three to six months feature a Jenny without a permanent home or plan. And that's ok. I just have to keep repeating that to myself.


I know that because it's such a struggle means that there's probably some important growth and learning happening in the mix. (Actually, I'm sure of it.) It's a life-long lesson to learn you're not in control. I do get that. I've just been thrown a whole new set of data and I'm just not sure what to do with it.

So until then, I'll look at things like this on the internet to make me feel better.

I'll tell you another thing that makes me feel better. I gave my parents my tour of the British Museum while they were here. The British Museum is one of my absolute favorite places in London - you could spend a whole day in there looking at all the priceless treasures the mighty British empire stole from across the world.

(It's just the truth)

Anywho, I get them into the Parthenon room where there are actual sculptures and reliefs from one of the most important and recognized buildings in all of human history. (Again...not in Greece for some reason.) My dad got emotional and then made my mom and me emotional (the King family does emotional really well). See, Dad's favorite verses in the Bible are Paul's speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17. Paul said these words in the shadow of the very pieces that surrounded us. Beautiful and intricate art - their best work dedicated to their gods. And this is what Paul boasted to them-

Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

The stuff in the British Museum will easily take your breath away. Heck, I'd get married in the Enlightenment Gallery.


But hearing my dad recite those words in front of those beautiful pieces of history was priceless. This art is just the imagination of man. It's seriously great. But it's ultimately stone. God does not dwell there.

Whatever plans there are for me, they are astronomically bigger than my imagination on its best day. I don't mean that to say, "God's gonna make me a movie star" or anything like that. I think I just mean that He knows better. That's what all my control issues come down to, right? Trusting enough to say- You know better. You, that aren't served by human hands. You, that give all mankind life and breath and everything. You know better.

Now. I'm not saying I'm doing that all that well at this right now, but you know- at least I'm aware?

Here's the timeline of my situation. I leave for Edinburgh in less than a week. After a fantastic and furious month up in Scotland, I head back down to London for a precious few days before flying back to the States. I will not put 'permanently' on the end of that sentence because I refuse to believe that. But truly- my home city will be changing very soon. Dwelling on that sends me back into my King family emotional place.

Michael understands.

I think now that Dr. Seuss was wrong when he said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I will definitely smile- a lot. But I'll also cry. A lot. 

And there's nothing wrong with that.

To transitions,



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Sunday, July 5, 2015

28

This past Wednesday, I officially entered my late-twenties. You'd think that would freak me out more, but I have bigger fish to fry.

(In the above gif, I am playing the part of Ellie Goulding and my problems are playing the part of the offscreen target that I'm not looking at, but hopefully will still hit because dang that's a missile launcher.)

I say problems when I really mean something more along the lines of "exciting challenges to tackle and conquer." These include my continuing journey with The Barrington Collective to #edfringe this August, followed by a showcase in NYC with Drama UK, and then a figuring-out of where my life is heading...geographically, financially, and all those other -llys.

So here's where I should list some goals for 28, right? 


Yeah, see because of the nature of the coming year (shall we say...a bit uncertain?) I don't feel the need to tie myself down to specific expectations. There a few specific things I want: have a great Ed Fringe run, solid showcase performances, a JOB. There are bigger, less concrete things: to love God, to live in bravery, to be "successful."

But instead of putting a list together here, I think I'll just leave some inspiration. A few gifts from the internet that will put the coming 52 weeks into perspective. Let's begin, shall we?


(doesn't need to be July 4th for this to motivate)















That's a start, I think.

To not freaking out over aging,


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Saturday, June 27, 2015

48 Barrington Green

Though I don't officially leave this magical island for a few months still, the lease on our beloved grad school home is up on Wednesday.

Wednesday also happens to be my birthday and truly, what more glorious way can you think of celebrating entering those late-twenties than by moving?

(hint: it's sarcasm)

The amount of memories 48 Barrington Green holds for me seems so much bigger than two years. Here are some of my favorites:

The Jam Sessions

These happened so often, Tillett eventually just left his extra guitar over at our place. Also luckily for us, Katie can harmonize like no one's business. Sometimes it was 2 am, with nothing but the glow of our fake Amish fireplace accompanying a soft melody. Sometimes it was 2 pm and my Texas accent wanted top billing. See some excerpts below:

A video posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A video posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on


A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on


The Parties

I'm super glad for these late nights with both big and small groups of my classmates. My favorite by far was our Too Cool for British Rule party last July 4th. Reveling in that love for 'merica - always a good time.

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


The Flatmate

So let me tell you my first real memory of 48 Barrington Green. My parents and I get dropped off in a taxi the morning of move-in. The door is already open, a lady from our letting agency is finishing up check-in. I'm lugging one of my suitcases across the threshold when all of a sudden I hear a shriek of pure joy and feel JoJo Ginn pulling me into the biggest hug possible. All of this before I actually *see* her. It was the best first moment possible and is kinda a perfect symbol of our whole friendship. I'm so incredibly thankful for sharing this place with this girl.

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


A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on

A photo posted by Jenny King (@jkitsmejenny) on



The Barrington Collective

Our theatre company was born out of our living room during one of the many, many late nights Katie, JoJo, and I spent talking, laughing, and singing together. Katie, though not an official roommate, spends so much time with us she has a toothbrush and a spare mattress at 48. We became a trio of lifelong friends under this roof.

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


Sure the house gave us a few problems - the occasional downstairs toilet flooding and washing machine clog. But overall, this place has been pretty great to us. So in a few days, as a new 28-year-old, I'll try to say goodbye to this beautiful little place without ugly-crying.

(hint: it's totally gonna happen)

To 48 Barrington Green,




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Monday, June 1, 2015

Zorro

A few years ago, I was in the middle of my first year teaching, just barely afloat. I'm sure most of you have heard the saying "the first year's the hardest" - it's 100% truth. I remember calling my mom crying sometime during my second week just not sure how I could do this for a whole year. Of course it gets a bit easier as you get the hang of things like discipline and keeping kids engaged- you learn what works and doesn't work for your classroom. You also get huge burn out. You're exhausted- drained in a way that you've never experienced.

I was also a little bit lonely.

None of my best friends from college had wound up in the metroplex yet. I moved between three schools each day and therefore had just a few work friends. I had been desperately looking for a church and had finally found the Village, but was yet to really plug into my amazing home group that would become my family for the coming years.

I went to school. Came home. Went to bed. And repeated.

That cycle gets hard after a while.

So I thought it would be really nice to have something/someone to come home to. *insert Christian dating joke here*

Han gets it. Han always gets it.
No, I just wanted a cat. (Side note: love dogs, didn't want to have one locked up inside an apartment all day.) I had looked around for a few months and on a trip back to Waco, my mom and I visited Fuzzy Friends - an amazing no kill animal shelter.

There are several, free roaming cat rooms with a dozen or so cats each. You can wander around and just play with any cat that'll have you. This time, in a separate area, there was this funny-looking cat that had been shaved in a cage all by himself. We thought maybe he had a skin disease or didn't play nicely with others. We started talking to an employee who said, "My favorite's Zorro, he's the sweetest" and motioned to the weirdo in the corner. As soon as I opened the cage door, he had his front paws up on my shoulder and was meowing in my face. It was over. I didn't even pick him- Zorro made his choice very clear. He picked me.


Zorro was an amazing cat, right from the start. I think he might have thought he was a dog. He loved people and always wanted to be near to you, sometimes to a fault. ;) Every night when I came home, he's be right there jumping up on me and meowing like crazy before the front door was closed. He truly was what finally made my apartment into a little home of its own. 

He had some health problems about year into my having him during which I found out that he was either hit by a car when he was younger or suffered some other great trauma that left him with a diaphragmatic hernia. He had to go on special food to help his poor, messed-up innards deal with digestion, but other than that, he was healthy and happy like always. 

He did shed like crazy though, so for the summer he got a haircut. Luckily, he had no idea how silly he looked.


Every time he had to go into the vet, the techs always marveled at how he was the most easy-going and friendliest cat they'd ever met. He'd routinely rub his head against the nurses and purr while they were giving him a shot.


 When I moved away to England, my mom really wanted to send Zorro with me as a present, but it's actually extremely difficult to get a pet into the UK. I didn't want to subject such a good-natured creature to months of quarantine. So he went to live with his grandparents in Waco where he loved it. (I think he fell in love with my dad more than he ever loved me, but I don't hold it against him. My dad's pretty great.) He was also great with my two nieces- extremely patient with toddler "petting" and the like. The more people that were on the couch, the more he needed to be touching all of them at once.




My first trip back home after moving abroad was Christmas 2013 and the first thing I did upon entering our house was take a picture with Zorro. He was shell-shocked at my return, as you can see.


 We took more selfies later though:



Fast forward to a month or so ago when my mom let me know that Zorro wasn't doing well. He wasn't eating well and was lethargic and having digestion issues. My vet had warned me could eventually happen with his injuries. He lost four pounds very quickly and stopped eating all together.

He was in a lot of pain.

It's that really sucky time that you always have to deal with when it comes to owning a pet. I'm really thankful for my parents, that they were there in Zorro's last weeks, days, and minutes, loving and caring for him just as good as I could have. I hate that I never really got to say goodbye. But it's more important not to be selfish in situations like this. It's important to end suffering.


When I think about Zorro, I think about becoming an adult. A real adult who started out on her own in a new city, grew a support net, chased after the Lord, followed her passion, worked her butt off, made difficult and scary decisions- all with a cat snuggled up next to her as close as he could get. 


 Zorro, who didn't care if I got the role or was saving enough money or had a boyfriend or didn't eat any vegetables for a week. Zorro, who only cared that I loved him. And he loved me. That's all you can ask for. Being loving to him today was difficult, but it was right.



To Zorro- I love you.



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