Last week I dreamt that there were several productions going on simultaneously on the multitude of Children’s Theatre Company stages (in reality there are only two), which for some reason resembled Lincoln Center. The costume shop and the dressing rooms were flooded and therefore replaced by a huge registration table in a balcony lobby where hordes of actors, including myself, were trying to get their “costume assignments.” I had something like 12 elaborate costume changes, very Disney-on-ice in nature, and had to rush through racks of clothing to find something that would work for my character; then track down a costumer, get her extremely-divided attention to focus on me, and get permission to wear that costume on stage.

Annoying, right? It gets worse. Occurring at the same time as all of the above, I am desperately leafing through my script, which all of a sudden looks completely foreign. I have a huge role, and I know none of the lines. I knew I had done the show before, way in the past, and should have been able to remember the lines, but I hadn’t bothered to study them before opening night – I had incorrectly assumed that they would just come back to me. The depth of my panic was matched only by the breadth of my idiocy.

It shook me to the core, and I woke up the next morning completely rattled. All in all, I think this is a direct reflection of three things: a) my concern that I don’t yet have a script for The Pouch Play and I feel like I’m going to arrive at the first rehearsal totally unprepared – kind of like the first day of college, when I showed up and everyone already had their books and their first assignment read, and I had no idea how they even obtained that information; b) I read an article in the New York Times the night prior (that I’d been meaning to read for a week) about Stoppard’s latest triptych of plays that involves 40+ actors, six months of rehearsals, and the logistical nightmare of having the cast-members double as understudies for other roles in the same show; and c) fear of my upcoming foray into the structure-less life of a full-time actor.

I’m trying to be brave, but dreams like this don’t help.

So I’ve been a bit lax in posting here lately, mainly because I’ve been expending a bit of creative energy posting over at Metro Petra, my new “character blog” for Chasing Windmills. It’s all fiction, more or less inspired by reality (after all, what proper fiction isn’t somehow inspired by reality?); I’ll leave you to guess which posts were more inspired than others…

Anyway, within a week or so I’ll be officially introduced into the Chasing Windmills cast and I wanted my character, Petra, to have a back-story ready… a character archive, if you will. What I dig the most about this project is that everyone involved has a blog associated with their character, that way viewers can comment and possibly change the course of events for the characters. It’s an interactive alternate reality of sorts.

Is this what Dungeons and Dragons is like?

CTC called me last week to schedule a fitting; when I returned the call, the following conversation ensued:

ME: Hi, this is Leigha Horton from Tale of a West Texas Marsupial Girl returning your call.

COSTUMER: Whoa, you actually said the whole name of the thing.

ME: Yeah, um, well, uh… why, what do you call it?

COSTUMER: Oh, just “Marsupial,” (pause) or “The Pouch Play.”

The Pouch Play! I love all people behind the scenes for this very reason. It reminds me of a personal tour of the Old Globe’s set for How the Grinch Stole Christmas by my Lighting-Director-best-friend – there are a few scenes where you can see townspeople in windows and on the hills silhouetted in the distance, and up close it turns out they were plastic Simpsons and alien figurines. In plain view. Let’s hear it for the folks that make theater magic!

As I’ve been alluding for several weeks now, after five years of service to the Walker Art Center in the position of Performing Arts Assistant, I am (sadly, yet excitedly) departing to pursue my acting career full-time. That said, we have started the official search for my replacement, allowing ample time for new-hire training before my departure December 6^th.

Below is a brief job description. If you know someone who might be interested in the position, and/or who might be aware of potential candidates, please forward along this information. If you have any questions about the position, please feel free to contact Julie Voigt, Performing Arts Senior Program Officer, at 612.375.7625 or julie.voigt@walkerart.org.

Thanks for your help in spreading the word!

WALKER ART CENTER
Job Opening

JOB TITLE: Assistant

DEPARTMENT: Performing Arts

CLASSIFICATION: Full-time, exempt

REPORTS TO: Senior Curator

HOURS: 35 hours/week, M – F with additional hours as required

RESPONSIBILITIES Provide a full-range of assistance to the Performing Arts Senior Curator, along with added assistance to the department. Duties include acting as lead contact between Performing Arts department and other departments for the oversight and coordination of general office projects (IT systems implementations, office moves, etc.); serving as first point of contact for public and collegial inquiries; serving as liaison between Senior Curator and public for incoming and outgoing communications; assisting with, and often managing, grant applications, interim reports, and final reports; coordinating project details for artist site visits; coordinating national- and international-colleague site visits; arranging Senior Curator’s and artists’ complex travel itineraries; working with box office staff to maintain comp lists and attendance records for Performing Arts programs; managing Senior Curator’s calendar; drafting and executing departmental correspondence; and providing support in executing Senior Curator’s presenting responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS Arts administration or related arts degree with practical experience in an arts discipline and project management preferred. Two or more years of administrative support experience required, executive-level preferred. Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills with strengths in marketing and public relations, strong decision making capability, and organizational skills with attention to details. Essential to work effectively with a wide range of people (artists, administrators, funders, community partners, patrons) and have the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously in a fast paced department. Knowledge and experience with the Microsoft Office Suite (PC), database systems, and Internet required. Knowledge of Photoshop, InDesign, and Quark a plus.

SALARY High $20’s to Low $30’s depending on qualifications; excellent benefits

APPLICATION DEADLINE Wednesday, October 25, 2006

For consideration, send letter of interest, resume, and names of three professional references to Human Resources, Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403.

Posted 10/06/2006 Job line: 612.375.7588 or www.walkerart.org/jobs/

Walker Art Center is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer