Day 20- 6/28

This is the last day of rehearsals and classes before stumble through and dress rehearsals! Yikes!! We had the second half of cue to cue in the morning and then classes in the afternoon. When we didn't have classes, we tie dyed our smirko tshirts!!

Day 19- 6/27

Today after much debate, the creative team decided to give our bodies a break and instead start the cue to cue this afternoon instead of the original plan of having it tomorrow. This meant our classes didn't happen, but we learned the show order and worked through many cue and transitions. Also, Al and Zoe (former troupers from last year) came for a surprise visit! We did a nearly dropless juggling routine for them. Here are some photos

Day 18- 6/26

It's crunch time ladies and gents! It's raining and raining and raining here... Woohoo! Here's a picture of the rain and a picture to show you what crunch time means...

Day 17- 6/25

Charivari (opening) and finale are both completely written!!! Now we just have to tweak things to get them ready for the show! Lights and sound are starting to be a part of our rehearsals which is pretty exciting!! Photo of the day is from opening (sneak preview! Don't tell anyone!)

Day 16- 6/24

Today was St. Jean Baptiste day in Quebec! All the québécois staff are super excited about it. Therefore today's photo of the day is Siobhan's trailer decked out in Quebec flags. Classes went well, straps had a great rehearsal and everyone was in high spirits! :)

Day 15- 6/23

Today we had a half day off!! Whee!! It was so nice to only have classes in the morning! The afternoon was spent preparing for the banquet in the evening. This year's theme was "Masquerade" and we all made masks on sticks and ate food only from skewers. It was an incredible dinner and there were many toasts to all the fabulous coaches and staff. Afterwards a few of my friends and I walked up to the top of the hill and listened to the dance party happening in the tent. Later we joined the dance party and had a wonderful time! Oh! Did I mention we dressed up in crazy costumes? Here are some photos

Day 13- 6/21

Happy Solstice! Today was a pretty regular day. I cut my leg again (much to my mother's dismay, I suspect) but this time it has a slightly better story- I was working on a difficult turn on the high wire and I fell. I have so much more respect for wire walkers ever since I've started training wire here! So you lucky people get another photo of my banged up leg!! To lighten the mood, you also get a photo of Nick and Bekk practicing what we call "crotch throws." The challenge is pretty self explanatory- catch the club between your legs without any permanent damage... :)

Day 14- 6/22

Well the weather here has calmed down significantly- we are all grateful for the drop in temperatures. Tonight was an activity we call the no-talent talent show. We all share talents that are not circus related, and the night is full of many laughs. Here are some highlights: Chase and Magnus in drag, and Una & Ezra's sibling folk tunes.

Day 12- 6/20

Yikes! Today was a hot one! Good thing Jesse and Alisan came through all the classes with giant super soakers and sprayed us all! (unexpectedly I might add). Today we really started working with our choreographer, Matt Williams. We are also now doing all of our pyramids without safety lines! Woohoo! Everything is starting to shape up and come together slowly but surely!

Day 11- 6/19

Today we had a few special visitors- Mason Ames, a former smirko and cast member in the 7 fingers' new show Traces. He talked a bit at council (nightly meeting) about life in the professional circus world. Also he told me I was a solid base. *starstruck* we also hosted the smirkus camp staff, who had a day off and we played a game of kickball. We were all really exhausted so the game was hard, but I think everyone had a good time. The photos of the day are Mason at council and Chase shaving his beloved mustache for the sake of the show (it was quite the dramatic moment)

Day 10- 6/18

Costumes were brought in and fitted today!! Everything looks amazing, and I'm so sorry that I can't post actual pictures of the costumes (smirkus rules) but I will tell you- every act is going to have fantastic costumes! In the evening, we got a musical lesson about Giardia from Chase and Magnus, reminding us to wash our hands (to the tune of Alegria). On the note of singing (no pun intended) we had a special guest John Gailmore who came and sang for us (he's fantabulous!) pictures of both the singing presentations:

Day 9- 6/17

So after our day off we sluggishly got back to training and made it through the day. I clumsily cut myself on a tent stake (mama- it's really not that bad I promise) which for some reason I feel kind of proud of (because I'm going to have an amazing scar). So you get a picture for that. Also, it was show pitch, which is when the directors tell the cast which characters are which and also the themes of each act and how they fit into the show's plot. Which was terribly fun and exciting!! Sorry the picture is not for the squeamish (or my mom)

Day 8- 6/16

Today was our day off!! Yay! We got to sleep in and we did nothing circus related all day. First we went to Caspian (a lake in Greensboro) and went swimming and hung out. Afterwards, we drove to the Ben and Jerry's factory and took a tour and ate ice cream!!! Woooo! Lastly, we had a surprise stop at a yard sale on the side of the road which proved entertaining and useful for our wardrobes. Many pictures were taken.

Day 7- 6/15

Alrighty. A few pictures for today. One is me and Sonya doing our chore, filling up water jugs!! Woohoo! In case you were wondering, during training and on the road each trouper has a daily chore and rotating pots duty. Hooray! The other photo is just a silly picture of my friend Nick inside an old canoe (prop from 2010). Enjoy!

Day 6- 6/14

So I had a great day today! At the end of the day, we played a game called Panic, where the trailers (that we live in) are pitted against each other and we compete in challenges for points. Long story short, the girls' trailer pulled through and won for the first time in quite a while! Proud moment. Here are some photos! :)

Day 5- 6/13

Today was a bit of an emotional roller coaster... I have not had a single down moment for the past 4 days, so I'm just figuring out how to pace myself better. I just took a shower so now I'm feeling like a new person! Clean and relaxed! Also I have this wonderful view of the tent which makes everything better

Day 4- 6/12

Ok y'all. Today was casting!!! I'm not supposed to post on the internet about what acts I'm in, so I can't really give you that info in this forum... but in private (aka email) I would be happy to share that with you! Needless to say, I am very happy with my acts, and it looks like I am going to be busy this summer!! Today was physically taxing, but very fun. We were in our act groups for the very first time and it was nice to work more closely with the coaches and other performers. The pictures of the day are sort of unrelated- my favorite snacks in the whole world, and a few people juggling after lunch. Enjoy!

Day 3- 6/11

So today was the last day before casting and things are getting pretty tense around here! Tomorrow morning we find out which acts we are in and we all have nervous jitters! Here are our nervous faces

Day 2- 6/10

First day of training!! I had tons of fun, and I went to a class during every section (there are 7 sections). Here's what I went to- pyramids, adagio, clown, club juggling, wire, trampoline and ladder. Whew! To top it off we climbed the hill overlooking the tent and relaxed :)

Day 1- 6/9

Look at all these cool kids at Smirkus! Day one was all about moving in and meeting up with old friends and getting adjusted to the life of a Smirko!

Ready for Take-off

I feel very positive about everything that's happening in my life right now. Magnus and I are partying it up at the airport!

Grad-u-ation

Onwards and upwards! I have so many fond memories and excellent friends from Mercer Island High School, but I can't wait for where the future takes me!!

A blog is a blog is a blog...

Now, I had a blog once, way back in middle school. It was specifically for a school assignment and I didn't use it for my personal thoughts or life adventures. So, you could say I am new to the blogging world. But here's the thing. I want to remember this summer, and I want it to be documented. I know I am going to have a lot of feelings, what with ending high school and starting college and smirkus-ing in between. So sometimes I will write about my feelings, and sometimes I won't. But I do intend to post a photo for every day of the summer. Sort of a photo diary. Get pumped.

(Note: I will likely not be able to post for the first three weeks of my summer because I will be unable to access this blog from Smirkus HQ in Greensboro, but I still intend to take a picture each day).