HOME bitterSWEET HOME

Well,  I’m back in Chicago! After a layover in Atlanta, which was amazing!–I had collard greens, candied yams, baked fish and sweet tea and people watched and meet some really cool people–I finally came into Chicago and the cold air hit me like a wet towel. I already miss the warm Florida tropical air, but most of all, I miss the experience that I had. The cast of Bubbling Brown Sugar was so SPECIAL. Honestly, we were like a great big family and the beautiful thing about it was that everyone wanted to be there and every single person invested all their energy and heart to this show, from the producer to the director to the stage managers to the cast to the audiences! There were some audiences that were silent–which  taught me HIGE LESSONS: 1. Never judge if ppl are receiving your work if they are silent. Maybe they are just in shock or just speechless. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t enjoying it. Some of our silent crowds gave us roaring standing ovations.

2. sometimes despite the effort and passion you put into a performance, ppl will not enjoy it. There is nothing you can do about the result of your work. Just the quality of YOUR work.

3. When you feel too tired to go on, just think about the audience. People showered got out of their houses, bought the tickets and put on nice clothes to see the show. When I realize its not about me but my service to people (and God) that helps me muster up the strength to go on and with prayer, that supernatural strength will come from GOD!

4. Always find something new in the script/story. Find new things to focus on and discover and play on stage. Then it will never feel like WORK.

5. Never underestimate the compliment or smile or applause of an audience member. Who KNOWS what they have been going thru or what the performance meant to them. As a wise man told me, all we have is TIME. When someone takes time out to acknowledge your work, appreciate it. It is golden and you can get that time back. Even if you didn’t think the performance was great, its more than just what you think.

I’m going to miss my BBS cast. Nancy’s giggle and loving discipline, Anna’s selflessness and readiness to help us with everything, Dan being 100% Dan, sitting out on my patio and doing yoga, going from apartment to apartment, cooking up storms, drinking post show wine with the roomies, watching Family Feud , So you Think you can Dance and Glee with the roomies, GOOFING OFF backstage, going to the beach and laying out, Walmart runs, dancing and laughing until my voice was raw in the dressing room, hair shopping, Disney world, driving the van, the girls night out at Cafe Iguana, so much!! This was truly a blessing and the WONDERFUL thing about it all is that WE ALL KNEW. We KNEW it was special and we ALL had such beautiful energy and we all appreciated every moment. we truly were a family and I’m more HAPPY to have experienced it than SAD that it has ended.  I know have a larger family to visit and meet up with in NYC/FL.

So now….I’m home. Chicago. I missed it. The smell the sights, my family, my home, my friends. I have so much work to do though. Its overwhelming. I have boxes that haven’t been unpacked since i graduated from undergrad because I’ve always been on the go, dropping off stuff at home and going to Gurnee, IL, NYC, FL, or Cohoes. Now that I have  worked out my “pack rat” syndrome by having to move and pack lightly all the time, I can happily and easily dump evertyhing in my room and make it liveable. Or at least usable for my parents. I think it will be very symbolic too, to clear out the old and make way for the new.

Make way!

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