This much delight fills columns to new heights...

I'm just going to stop saying things like "Wow!  This past month was crazy busy!" because in this post-college DC theatre stage manager life I've got goin' on, it is ALWAYS crazy busy.  So I hereby declare that I will only note when it has been uncharacteristically slow and calm, otherwise assume I am pleasantly drowning in deadlines, tech weeks, attempts at a social life, and watching youtube videos of babies laughing.
WATTAGE is up, running, and going pretty well!  We opened all three shows that are performing at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian last week.  Opened shows on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.  Because of this and a miscommunication thing I ended up going the 8th to the 24th without a day off.  So I'm a little bit tired.  However that being said I am also enjoying working on these pieces very much and the job is great, so it's all turned out lovely.  The theatre is gorgeous!  I had no idea that there was a theatre in that building, let alone one of that quality!

The Rasmuson Theatre
NMAI

The staff at the space are wonderful too, which makes my life much less stressful.

Went to my second DC Theatre technicians cattle call with Phill and Trevor and I think it went well.  Now I did not hear anything back from it last year until August, so I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for job offers to pour in.  If nothing else it was good to get my resume into people's hands and hopefully their filing cabinets.

On Monday night I was fortunate enough to attend The Helen Hayes Awards!  They are the annual awards that celebrate theatre in Washington, DC.  I had such a great time!  Phill and I were up pretty high (row PP, second balcony) for the show itself, but still enjoyed ourselves!  They had some parody songs which I loved including a "battle of theatres" a la West Side Story with Maryland vs DC vs Virginia with hysterical lyrics including "We've got restaurants! But they've got parking!" and "I said we should have taken Metro.  But those trains they move oh so slow. Can this please not turn in to a fight?".  There was also the official dedication of the Helen Hayes postage stamp with the song That's Why The Lady's on a Stamp!  I can now cross off "be at the official dedication of a postage stamp and receive a certificate stating so" from the life goals list (once I add it).
If you know nothing about Helen Hayes (shockingly a large number of people at the party did not) then educate yourself!  For those of you who enjoy 30 Rock she was the first woman to achieve EGOT status  (meaning she won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony).  She was pretty wonderful.

They lovely Helen Hayes immortalized on a Forever stamp

We had a blast at the after party!  It was amazing and fun to see all of the people I have gotten to know over the past year.  Friends and colleagues and TheatreVCU alum.  It was a magical evening complete with ice cream and a photo booth.

Hanging out with some TheatreVCU gentlemen.  They clean up nicely,  don't they?

Of course one of the best parts was being there with Phill, enjoying the life we're starting to build together and the community we are both so happy and fortunate to be a part of.  Ending long distance five months ago (just five months? wow.) was amazing and I am so thankful that Phill took a huge leap of faith and moved here to take that job.  Now he's on his third show at his second major area theatre and people love him.  I think we're gonna be okay here.

Signing off from The Mall (yeah - it has wifi, who knew?)
~Marley