“A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind” -Eugene Ionesco

I, Christina, sit here in my living room in my house with an ice pack on my swelling knee and a knot on my head...

This, my good friends, is the price of live theatre!

But, I'll get to that later. Right now we are about to finish the run of "Cabin Fever". It's been a fucking roller coaster, that's for sure, but it's really been an incredible acting experience. Like I said before, I've been taking the time to truly prepare myself for the role, which I really haven't done before. I warm-up and then take some quiet time to meditate and get into character. I've noticed a big change in my acting by doing this, so I'm definitely going to continue this. It's helped me focus so much and stay in character for as long as I can. I feel very satisfied after the performances because it just felt right. Minus the directing issues it's been a great experience.

It's so interesting when looking at the dynamic of the audience with the actors. I know you aren't supposed let it affect you as an actor, but it's almost impossible not to. Like tonight, for instance, was a great night because the audience was very responsive and active. It really helped with the energy of the show and I know it boosted me up personally. And then there's nights like last night where the audience just doesn't feel like responding. As an actor you try so hard to get some reaction, but it just didn't do any good. It's so frustrating sometimes, but that's part of the biz. Sometimes the audience just won't get "it" or doesn't appreciate it. I just have to suck it up and move on to the next show.

But anyways, tonight was very interesting. Everything was going great until the fight scene. I accidentally slipped whilst being choked and feel backwards, taking my chokee with me! It was one of those slow motion to fast forward adrenaline moments. After I hit the floor I really didn't know what happened because I think I was in shock. Thankfully I didn't get to go offstage until the end of the show, so I didn't have time to process it and let it affect me. It started to get to me during my last monologue, but for the most part it wasn't bad. But it's funny because that's the beauty of live theatre. Shit is going to happen sometimes, and it's our jobs as actors to play it off and make it a part of the moment. We played it off pretty well I think, so I'm glad.

So the broken Christina is now resting her weary bones for the next performance tomorrow. It's our last one, and I'm very sad actually. While summer rep is stressful, I love this show and this part. It's a great role, and who knows when I'll get another one like it. But, never the less, I'm excited for Lone Star coming up. We've been working on it for a while now and I'm ready for some technical elements. I'm especially excited about costumes because I think it really makes my character. It will be a nice change from crazy. And farces are always fun.