FREE Days, Snow, and Shows.

I love Chicago's museums, and I really love the museums' free days. There are a couple of great websites such as this one that have all of the free days nicely compiled together for our enjoyment.

Yesterday, I was able to see two dear friends that I haven't seen in a long time. My sweet friend Iliana came to visit for part of the day. She lived across the hall from me in college 2.5 years ago, and she just happens to be from a suburb an hour away from the city. She took a train into town, and we headed over to the Shedd Aquarium prepared for the worst line to wait in which has happened in previous experiences on Shedd free days. To our surprise, we only waited about five minutes! Being an animal lover, or maybe fanatic would be a better word, I ate up every minute there. After we visited, we stopped in the gift shop, and I spoke with the manager about the possibility of getting hired back with Event Network and working there at the Shedd. Event Network owns the gift shops in multiple tourist venues, and I was employed by them when I worked at the Willis (Sears) Tower then transferred to the AMNH.

 Here are just a few pictures of our time there! (Not wonderful quality due to my camera/difficulty taking photos through tanks)

My new little friend Iliana bought for me! :)

Monday evening I had dinner with the newly married Joe and his father-in-law at Gino's East! My family has known Joe and his family for many years from attending the same church/school. Joe came into town with his father-in-law for business related matters, and it was so wonderful to see him and catch up on life. Gino's East is a famous deep dish Chicago pizza place, and I've heard great things about it. It was delicious.

Chicago is blanketed with white again! While walking home today I had a moment that I've only ever seen on TV or in Movies. I was waiting to cross the street during rush hour, and a giant snow plow was zipping a long on the side of the road that I was on. I saw that it was madly spraying everything in its path , and I tried to think of a quick get-away plan. The moment I turned to run, it attacked me. Soaking wet, I just laughed and laughed and proceeded to wait to cross the street. Thankfully I was near home, so I didn't freeze too long. I can imagine it was a funny sight to see for the traffic around! I bet the snow plow drivers have contests for how many people they can soak. I know I would.... ;)

I'm very excited to attend the musical "Grey Gardens" opening at the JPAC this weekend. My friends Jill and Austin are in it! When I heard of the musical, it was suggested that I watch the documentary of the two ladies on Hulu or netflix to watch the story of the ladies of Grey Gardens. When I watched it, I couldn't believe how young Edie acted for her age, and I couldn't get over how adorable Edith was. It was so cute to watch her smile and sing a long listening to her recordings of herself singing back in her vocal prime. Her never ending love of ice cream, cats, and singing make me think I'm going to be a lot like her when I'm in my 80's. haha. 

If you're in the Chicago area, ticket info can be found here.

Hurdle.

Today marks the first time in my singing/acting career that I've gone into an audition, hugged, and recognized more than one person in the waiting area. I've always felt like the anti-social person hiding in the corner whenever I've attended auditions. Everyone always knows everyone--except for me. What brought on this change? I auditioned for the G&S Opera Company which I was in the Mikado with last year. This year they are doing G&S's "The Sorcerer". A new friend of mine named Denise (singer/actress that recently moved from the south as well) came with me to audition as well, and I'm sure I might have freaked her out with my hyper-excitedness as we neared the University of Chicago where the auditions were to be held. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by friends. I mentioned overcoming the hurdle of not knowing anyone to Denise and she knew exactly what was talking about! Oh, and The audition went pretty well, too!

Ahh...It was such a warm feeling. 

Domestic Diva

The Primm ladeez used to be known for their inability to cook and that one of their top qualities wanted in a man was talent in the kitchen. When I lived with my aunt and uncle just over a year ago as I was finishing up my last semester, I was inspired by my aunt's fabulous vegan cooking and careful attention to detail when she cooked. A dish that I soon adopted when I moved out was Broccoli Potato Soup. It was pretty much the only real meal that I could put together at the time, if you don't count spaghetti, mac n cheese, grilled cheese and PB&J. Before I moved to Chicago and when I'd visit home and make it for the family, I'd look at everyone to get their reaction, and soon have a proud smile. Since then, my cooking knowledge has expanded greatly--especially upon the return to Chicago. Oh, and I've perfected the Broccoli Potato Soup recipe. ;) A recent guest Alex Maryol was the lucky first person to try the tweaked version. Rebecca and I have discovered that you kind of have to know how to cook around the holidays and when you want to entertain guests.....haha. 

There have been two tragic disasters during this quest, but I'll tell just one of them. It's been a tradition for the Easterday women (Mom's side) to make the "Red and Green Jello" for Christmas dinners. I really wanted to attempt this task, so I asked mom for the recipe. My sister and I were going to visit the Perez family (Mom's cousin Coleen and family), and I wanted to bring the Easterday tradition. I bought the ingredients and began the task. When it was supposed to be finished, I could not figure out what in the world I did wrong. I skyped with Mom, showed her the runny Jello, and we figured out my mistake. OH YEAH! THE CREAM CHEESE AND COOL WHIP! Off to the store again. Round 2 took place, and this time it worked! Again, I watched everyone take a bite to see their reactions (and boy was it intimidating---Jose Perez makes amazing food...), and they went back for seconds! Success. :)

Red and Green Jello!

I mentioned my trip south in my previous post. The first day of this trip was the most thrilling New Year's Eve  ever. Our NYE's usually consist of amazing parties with family and friends. This one was just the 6 Primms. Mom had an idea that she had heard about---Carolina Christmas at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now if that doesn't sound redneck...... ;). She said it was a light display at the speedway, but it was $20 per car. I was hesitant about it, but agreed and thought it had the potential to be a fun time. We arrived, and it being NYE, we sped right in since there were such few cars. Talk about amazing light display! It was so awesome to be inside of the speedway, driving through the light display, and drive next to the track that the race cars go on. Little did we know, that the most AMAZING part of the whole evening was at the end. We were on the path, and there was a sign next to the track that said, "CHOOSE". We were so confused, not actually believing that they would let us drive on the track! Mom rolled her window down, and the guy standing there waving us on said, "Have fun!" Ok...well, mom sped up and we felt like we were zooming. All of us were screaming, Jonathan was covering his eyes, but she still wasn't driving on the slanted part. Guess what passes us in our mini-van? A 15 passenger van. Laugh it up. So, she was only going 55mph.... Soon the chance to drive on the track ended, and we saw a sign that let us go around again. We were picking who would drive next, and if you have ever experienced my brother Matthew's driving, you'd be kind of scared to let him go over 80 on an angled race track, too...so Rebecca hopped in the driver's seat. We enter the track, she speeds up to 95, once again we're all screaming, Jonathan is freaking out, and I was worried we'd tip over. What's weird about the part about us screaming---none of us really scream on roller coasters. I really wish we had a recording of our mini-van zipping around the track and our screams coming from the van. So, it was worth the $20. ;) Who gets to say they drove on the Charlotte Motor Speedway? 

Today, I auditioned for Circle Theatre's upcoming production. I had heard that they were a great company, but I never auditioned for or attended one of their shows. I walked into the theatre, was kindly given and informed about the audition forms, and was soon told I was "in the hole" (their version of "on-deck"..."up next") They led me to a room where she said I could vocalize before it was my turn. I was shocked and so happy. I haven't been to an audition yet where they had a special warm up room! I had prepared Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, so I was vocalizing through it. Then they come and get me, explain the audition process, and I handed my music to the music director. Finished my song, read the side from the script they had given, and went on my merry way. Everything about the atmosphere really made it the best experience I have ever had!

I'm super excited for tomorrow afternoon's audition for the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company's "The Sorcerer". I had a truly wonderful time with them last year in The Mikado! It'll also be great to see old friends at the auditions.

Completely different note...

Over the past few months, I've had some difficulties, and since music is my main outlet for expression, I slowly put together a playlist that related the things that were going on. Ok, yes..I admit it...it could be called a sappy breakup playlist....

 It all started with a song from the musical The Last Five Years--"Still hurting" then it went to "I'd give it all for you" from the same musical. When Shontelle's music video came out for "Impossible" I was shocked. It was like watching my life. Rebecca added one to it when she said to me that this particular song was just like me--"Boom" by Anjulie. Another shocking video that was even more like watching my life was "When Love is Gone" from the Muppets' Christmas Carol. Soon these were added:

--"I Don't Believe You"--Pink

--"Hold Me Now"--Renee Olstead

--"If I Were A Boy"--Beyonce

--"What Hurts the Most"--Rascal Flatts

--"Perfect Nightmare"--Shontelle

--"Last Kiss"--Taylor Swift

Now here comes my daily inspiration that always boosts my spirits ;)...wait for it...ok it's an obvious one...Jason Derulo's "Ridin Solo".

Mmmhmm.

New Year, New Website....

New business cards, New Auditions,  New trip, New presents, New roommate...and probably even more news...

Can't believe it's 2011. I'll most likely still be writing December 2010 for the next couple of months. I was able to fly down with my sister to spend NYE in North Carolina with my family then a road trip with them to Florida. I can't express enough my love for Florida. The warmth, the palm trees, the sand, the smell, the odd tap water taste, the lizards, the large light up street signs, Disney World...Yesss. Since we've had family there way before I was born, we've gone every single year.

#1: New Website! After years of dreaming and scheming, rachelynprimm.com finally exists. Photos and Media will be uploaded soon, but I'm happy it's here. My brilliant artist sister, Rebecca Primm, designed the page. I was so proud of myself to figure out how to attach my blog as well as social networking links to the site.

#2: New business cards! The brilliant Rebecca Primm took the website design and tweaked it a bit. Can't wait to hand my first one out :)

#3: Auditions. This month is a big month for auditions. The theatres have come back from vacation, and one of them is the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company with which I was in the Mikado last year. Other theatres that I will be auditioning for include Light Opera Works, Circle Theatre, Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, and possibly Drury Lane (an equity theatre!).

#4: Roommate! A very fun art director named Jacquie will be staying in the Primm ladeez apartment. She'll be in my sister's room while Rebecca is in Charlotte working on two gigs until mid-February. She's very awesome, and a great fit. I'm excited for times to come.


Conversation of the day involving Jonathan my 12 y/o brother and me:
(Background: Jonathan has always wished our family would live in the same home together forever and ever...)
  
Jonathan:     "Why do you have to go back to Chicago? Why can't you stay here and live here with us like Rebecca?"

Me:             "There are more theatre opportunities there...plus Rebecca is only staying for a month...."

Jonathan:     "So, are you living there permanently?"

Me:             "For now..I don't know exactly how long, though."

Jonathan:     "Well, you are going to have to come back soon, though, because you don't have enough money."

Me:             "You are so encouraging."

Jonathan:     "Thank you. Is that a compliment?"


Poor guy. I'll miss him. :)

Back to Auditions.

According to the Rachelyn Dictionary, the phrase "Back to Auditions" is defined: "Re-learning to handle rejection."

It's been a while since I've truly ached over an audition. The last time I remember crying over one was in late January/early February due to not getting cast in a musical I REALLY wanted to be in, and my close friend was cast, so I thought I was going to have to deal with the pain every time he went to rehearsals. A little dramatic? Just a tiny bit. It didn't hit me until probably a week later that I was competing with myself in auditions--no one else--plus it doesn't mean that I'm terrible and should end my dreams of performing...I just wasn't what they were looking for. You need to walk in there, show them that you're the best thing that ever happened to them, walk out, and forget about it. If not, you'll get discouraged if you constantly mull over them in your mind. It's kind of like having a "their loss" attitude if you aren't cast. ;)

I've known this for years. I've read this in multiple books. Why do I have to remind myself of this?
Ok. I have to admit...that...I had a little pity party for myself complete with hot chocolate and cookies the other night. I had rehearsed, recorded myself,  was critiqued by Rebecca and Austin, rehearsed and rehearsed some more for my first audition here in Chicago. It was for a Rodgers and Hammerstein revue called "Some Enchanted Evening" with a well known theatre company. The director had a "disclaimer" at the start of the auditions stating that he wants to move things along and will cut us when he has heard enough of our voice and will possibly ask some of us to stay longer so he can hear more. I was 4th to audition---I walked in and handed my music to Austin (who is music directing this show!), gave him my tempo, and we began. I sang "I wish I were in Love Again" which is an upbeat and has a quick tempo. I sang about 13 bars which moved very quickly, but these 13 bars were only the introduction and I didn't get to show my favorite parts of the song complete with my acting. I wasn't even into my song until right before I was cut off (My mistake, definitey--not theirs). I knew at that moment that I didn't stand a chance. I walked away from the audition begging inside my mind to please let me show more! I can do better! That was definitely the shortest audition I've experienced. I was reminded that evening of something: Be prepared the minute you walk in the door of the audition space! I was prepared when I got in the building, but as soon as I stepped in front of the director, my mind didn't focus and sing/act as I had rehearsed. Now I know better for next time.

The complete opposite feeling happened last night. I received a group e-mail from a director that I had auditioned for previously that they were wanting ladies to come in and audition that evening for a play at JPAC. They audition was to consist of a comedic monologue. I decided to go ahead an sign up to audition, but I only had a serious one prepared, so I began to learn one that was recommended by my friend. Over the next few hours, I worked and worked at it, and learned it. Since it was originally intended for a guy, I had to change a few words. Here's the monologue:

A Fat Temple



I looked in the mirror the other day and a horrifying thought came to mind, "I'm fat." Now, this started to worry me some so I thought on it throughout the day and then I went to lunch. I was kind of depressed so I didn't eat much. Then a revelation hit me, "Oh no, thinking you're fat is the first sign of anorexia." I could be starving to death and not even know it. Maybe that is why I can't get a date; I'm so scrawny I scare the guys away. And then I continued to consider this and I thought, "Oh no, what is I really am fat?" I could be second away from a heart attack. Maybe the guys think I'm a disgusting blob and that is why I'm single. I couldn't ask anyone because either I'd find out I'm anorexic or huge. So I began to think of way solve this issue. Then I realized I must simply come to terms and look at the positives of one of these issues. When I was young I was told I serve a big God. When I grew older I was told that the body is the temple of God's. So why not look at being fat as simply giving God more room. So I know I am on a daily quest to fight my battle with anorexia. This I promise will eat my way to victory. Please join me in my battle.
 
When I arrived at the audition, I was asked to begin my prepared piece, and I did. I ended proudly, and looked at the director only to see his face emotionless. I looked over at the other man, and he cracked a smile. Soon after, I began the cold reading from the script, which went pretty well. They thanked me, I wished them a good night, and went on my way. On my drive back home, I thought about the audition and could not stop laughing. They probably didn't take it comically at all, and might have taken it seriously! Did they think I was personally struggling with this and that's why I chose that monologue?
Laughing as a opposed to crying was definitely refreshing.
Oh dear. I have some serious reworking of that one to do if I'm ever going to do that monologue again.... ;)
 
Here's a photo from the Caroling gig!



Many people tell me I could be Snow White, but I didn't think that it was my only option until I saw this photo....haha, just kidding--I promise it was the flash and that I have a little bit of color. Well...pink.

Déjà vu.

In the afternoon of Wednesday, November 24, the six Primms squished into either the van or the car to begin a longer-than-planned journey up to Chicago. We had originally wanted to leave Tuesday evening, but if you truly know our family, it would come of no surprise to you that we didn’t leave until almost a day later ;). We did have excusable circumstances, though—one being the absolute necessity to bring our beautiful antique French mirror that we had found a just over a week prior at an estate sale. This proved a difficult task seeing that the mirror is 4’ tall and 5’ wide and couldn’t easily fit into the van with the many other items all crammed together. Mom’s brilliant solution: tie it to the top of the van. Of course, we were quite concerned about it the entire trip, but it made it safely into our apartment with just a little bit of water damage that leaked under the tarp.

We didn’t pull into Chicago until about 10:30am Thanksgiving day due to stopping to rest along the way.  As I was driving into the city and the beautiful architecture came into sight, a comforting feeling came over me. This is a place I know, and I don’t have to start completely over.  As soon as we pulled next to our new apartment, some of us headed over to our friend Austin’s house to prepare the Thanksgiving dinner, since he so graciously offered his kitchen due to our gas not being turned on yet. The other family members began to carry in furniture. The meal was wonderful, and we soon returned to carrying everything in.

The next day, our family took off to Flint, Michigan to clean out the storage unit which held furniture from my grandmother’s home that we stored after she passed away. A trip to Michigan wouldn’t be complete without a stop in Frankenmuth, MI, though! Frankenmuth is a little German town, and our favorite places there are the Bavarian Inn Restaurant (especially the buttered noodles!) and Bronners, which is the world’s largest Christmas store. The Bavarian Inn was our first destination. Snow was flurrying as we drove into the town, which was the perfect setting for the gorgeous Christmas light display. The food was delicious, as always. We soon went to a hotel to return again in the morning to Bronners. Next stop: the storage unit. We crammed the van full of furniture to take back to the apartment. Yep, we even tied a few things to the top—which caused for many stops along the way back to make sure it was secure/stop the tarp from flapping wildly.

It was an odd feeling being in Michigan. It was the first time that I had been there without Dad, so there was a down feeling, but yet there was a bit of comfort that I feel each time I am in Michigan or even just the Midwest. We spent so much time there growing up--visiting our grandparents, friends, other relatives –plus the fact that we were born there.  While driving, Rebecca and I remarked on how we were Midwesterners that grew up in the south…interesting combination for sure.

We all drove back to Chicago, unloaded more furniture, and a few hours later after everyone got a tiny bit of rest, Mom, Matthew, Victor, and Jonathan left to go back to North Carolina. They all were so kind in sacrificing their Thanksgiving break for us. They endured much work and stress just to help us!

Upon returning to Chicago, we were able to see “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph” (amazing cast/production!), “Frosty’s Shakes ‘n Dogs” (cute children’s show) –both of which were musical directed by Austin Cook, and “Home” at Court Theatre. My friend Matthew Sitz, the house manager of Court Theatre, was so kind in hooking Rebecca and me up with fantastic seats to see the show. Everything about the production was incredible.

Rebecca took over the decorating aspect of the apartment and it’s looking quite lovely. We have spent many hours in thrift stores finding the right touches. The thrift stores here in Chicago are amazing. HUGE selection, great prices, and if you go to our favorite thrift store chain, Village Discount Outlet, they are organized as well. It’s night and day difference in organization between the Village Discount and the Salvation Army stores here. The Salvation Army stores are one giant headache!

Reuniting with friends here has been wonderful.  I didn’t think I would ever see some of them again when I left Chicago back in June.  Having Rebecca here hanging out with them too has added an even more fun dynamic!

A huge blessing these past two and half weeks here: Already having 2 gigs. Sunday, December 5, I sang in a Christmas concert put on by my friend Kyle at a beautiful church in Lake Bluff, IL. I was shocked at how many people came out for the event. It was a lovely intimate concert, and the audience members were such kind people. The other event that I sang for was a gig that I found on Craigslist! Michael Goodman, singer/guitarist, posted his need for a female singer to sing with him at a private Christmas party. They were to be costumed as traditional carolers and sing throughout the home. I sent e-mailed my information, exchanged a couple more e-mails with him, and he stated that he would like me to sing with him. He later told me that the reasons why he picked me were because he wanted to help me out, because he read my blog and found out that I had just moved here, and my voice was more of the style that he was looking for. He just moved from Kentucky in August, so he is newer to the city as well. He mentioned that the home that we would be singing in was a recently restored $10,000,000 home downtown and the couple was very generous in their payment of musicians from his past experience of working with them. I was EXTREMELY excited. I met him at a costume shop, picked out the costume, and the next day we headed to the home. Six floors of beauty. We were greeted by valet, coat check girls, servers, and the couple—all were very kind. We changed, and sang outside as the guests drifted in, and an hour later we moved inside. I loved being a part of this gorgeous party. The servers were kind in making sure we were taken care of as far as water and hors d’oeuvres.  It was a grand experience. When I checked the envelope to see my payment, I was super thankful, because it covered half of rent. Now I don’t have to freak out as much about not having a job! ;)

The “blizzard” and single digit temperatures these past couple of days has been beautiful to gaze out the window into, but definitely a change from what we “southern” girls are used to! Still not used to the puffy coats and snow boots Chicagoans wear...although I did break down and get some from the thrift store so that I don’t freeze….haha!

RaRe

The other day as I was thinking about mine and my sister's upcoming move, I sketched out letter and nickname combinations for a possible title to refer to us together. Rachelyn + Rebecca= RaRe. I was quite proud of the outcome, and I shared my "brilliant" idea with my sister. Her reaction wasn't one that I had hoped to receive. It was more of a concerned reaction--hoping that I haven't become too attached and needy. She wasn't completely serious, but had probably begin to deep down inside question my intentions. I rethought the name and even the process in even trying to come up with a name and realized her point. I proceeded to laugh, because it would make us look even more like a couple. I might still refer to it here and there---just for laughs. ;)

It's approaching three months since we have been back in North Carolina. Friends and family have visited, trips to both to NY and Chicago ocurred, a visit to the beach, watched my brother's orchestration premiered by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, seeing musicals/operas, and soaking up family time at home have been the highlights.
The past 3 months have been difficult in the area of life decision making--where to move to now? As fun as it is, I've realized that I can't city-hop and need to somewhat settle down somewhere in order to build up connections. Going back to NY would be grand for sure, but the financial aspects of living there caused us to realize that we just can't have NYC right now. There was a glimmer of hope in early October that we'd be back sooner than we thought, but the apartment turned out to be a scam--even though we knew the man renting the room from a brief meeting on our last day in the heights.
Rebecca agreed to check out Chicago due to is affordibility and having stronger connections in the theatre world there in order to build up a resume. We drove up there on a Wednesday and left the Sunday after. In between, we checked out apartements, saw my dear Chicago friends and enjoyed the city. We found a beautiful vintage 2 bedroom apartment in the same neighborhood as my old apartment and decided to rent it. It has a great skyline view out the bay window facing south! The fantastic things besides its beauty: no lease or security deposit were required, and the landlord is a lawyer whose office is at the bottom of the building, so he is accessible plus he is super friendly. It really is a gorgeous apartment. I'm THRILLED that she and I won't have to share the same bed or room like we suffered through while in NY! ;)

My thoughts on this move:
I'm excited to get back into auditioning. I'm happy to be able to hang out with my friends there. I'm looking forward to the snow :). It's wonderful that we will be in my old neighborhood which I loved so much, and I can't wait to show Rebecca officially around. I'm thankful that she will be joining this time. I'm excited to go back to Moody. Thinking about the stories and adventures to come excites me greatly.
I'm also scared. This isn't a "go to Chicago for a gig--come back home soon" or "sublet a room in NY for the summer with the possibility of coming back home." This is more permanent for me. My sister will be going back and forth when work in Charlotte calls, so it's not as permanent for her, but it really is for me. I'm also a bit scared about finances. There is much encouragement from old coworkers from the Willis Tower gift shop that I will be hired back there which would be great to have a job starting off so that I can survive. I also wish Mom could move up north, so that we can be there for her more and not as far away when something arises. She hasn't completely opposed to the idea, though! :)

RaRe + the rest of the Primms will be leaving Tuesday evening for a more "relaxed" drive, officially moving in Wednesday,spending Thanksgiving day in Chicago (parade/etc) and taking a quick trip to MI this weekend. Our family is being so kind in helping us move and spending Thanksgiving with us.

Updates will come!