First Impressions

Hey all! I can't believe how busy it has been since Playhouse has started...it feels like I've been here a month when I haven't even been here for 2 weeks yet! It's absolutely crazy and wonderful at the same time. Coming into the summer, I really wasn't sure what to expect and I was afraid that I would get really overwhelmed with everything and that I would close myself off to other people. But that is really hard to do when everyone here is so nice and inviting! I've gotten to be good friends with a lot of the other interns working here this summer (they're from a lot of different places, like Pennyslvania, Connecticut and New York) and it surprises me that I've been able to bond with the actors and directors too. I wasn't expecting there to be a separation exactly, I just didn't think that I would be able to hang out with them as much as I have been. It's really nice that all of the interns have bonded so much too. We hang out together just about every night! It makes me feel much more at ease about being here.
My job at the Playhouse is sort of a combination of administrative interning and acting. My friends Kate and Nate (who are amazingly talented and sharing their wonderful gifts in two of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee's leading roles!) are in the same boat as me too. For these past two weeks, they have spent every day in 8.5 hours of rehearsal and I have been working in the box office with our manager Jenn and her 2-year-old son Owen (just about the cutest kid I've ever seen haha). Once I begin working on Blithe Spirit (I'm playing Edith!!) then I'll focus more on the rehearsals and Kate and Nate will work full time in the box office. Box office hours run from 10-4 Monday through Friday and then after that, I either go to Spelling Bee rehearsals (I was shadowing one of the characters so I could fill in for her on a day she had an audition in NYC) or help out our company manager Josh in anything he may need. I'm kind of surprised how much I enjoy working in the box office. When I worked in box offices at other theaters, I liked it a lot, but there were times when it got boring and monotonous. I never feel that way working here (knock on wood! lol). I think it's because I'm surrounded by so many great people who are all working really hard toward the same goal. I'm keeping in mind that things are going to get a lot crazier once the show opens on Tuesday (gulp!), but for now everything has been really great and I definitely think that it will get even better.
I filled in for one of the Spelling Bee actors during Monday's rehearsal, which was really really exciting, but nerve-wracking at the same time because I didn't want to mess anything up (which of course I did haha, but I tried my best!). It was my very first Equity (professional) theater rehearsal and I really understood at the end of the day how tired Kate and Nate must be because it's exhausting! Seeing how long and hard they work makes me really appreciate Keelia (one of the stage management interns who is blogging this summer too!) and all of the other stage managers working on the show because they have to get there early and stay late everyday and I just don't know how they do it! That's something I've learned a lot of so far: to appreciate everyone's jobs in the theater a lot more. It's really incredible how hard people work to put together this show.
Another exciting thing this summer is that I'm playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, which is one of two children's shows that the Playhouse is putting on this summer (the other is Pinkalicious). I played that part in high school so it's been a cool experience to work on it again. What's strange about the process is that we've put the show together in only about 3 or 4 rehearsals because that's all we've had time for! The director (Marc Tumminelli) is playing William Barfee in Spelling Bee so the only time we have to spend on Oz is either late at night or early in the morning. It's been really fun so far though. There are definitely things that I need to work on and I hope it all comes together by the time the show goes up! I think my problem is that I think too hard and let my nerves get the best of me sometimes. If I just relax, I think it should be fine. The show is going up a week from Saturday and I can't wait!
Anyways, that's all I have time to talk about today. So far so good! I'm adapting well to being in a professional theater, which makes me really happy about the rest of the summer. Hopefully more good times to come:)

And so it begins!

Saint Michael's Playhouse season has officially begun! Well, for the interns anyways. It's so nice to be back up at school again, but it definitely feels weird being here without any schoolwork! I can't say I'm complaining though.

I got up here around noon today and spent the whole afternoon just unloading the car and unpacking everything into my room! This is also the first time I have moved up to school and only needed one car so I'm very proud of myself, haha. It's amazing how much less stuff you have to bring when you only come for the summer season!

For the next two months, I'll be living in Joyce Hall, which brings back memories of living here freshman year. I'm thinking that it's going to be a lot quieter and much nicer without as many people around! However, it still feels kind of strange living in a dorm when school is "not in session." It's been a bit of a ghost town.

After spending a few hours unpacking and settling in, I went to the big meet-and-greet with the other interns in the theater where Chuck Tobin (artistic director of the Playhouse) told us all about the coming season and what we should expect. Basically, he just said that we would be in for a lot of work and a lot of fun so I'm really excited to see what pans out! It's always strange meeting everyone because of that first-day awkwardness, but I think we'll warm up to each other soon enough. I feel like it's the first day of college again! I think one of my biggest fears at this point is that I'll go through the whole summer feeling really shy and not opening up to people and making connections like I should be. I don't think that will happen, but it's always in the back of my mind.

Anyways, that was pretty much it for day one! It's so exciting to be back at school and I cannot wait to see what comes next for the Playhouse! Stay tuned!

I'm so happy with my room though. It's so big! And since I have much less stuff than I usually do (I normally bring my cello up to school with me, which clearly takes up a ton of room), the room feels even larger.

Hey everybody!

Hey guys! My name is Molly Ziegler and I just finished up my sophomore year at Saint Michael's College as a theater/psychology double major. I spend a lot of my time in the theater working on various productions (some of the shows we did this year were 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Notebook of Trigorin, School for Scandal and The Actor's Nightmare) and it is definitely one of my favorite places on campus. In my spare time, I like to hang out with friends, run on the nature trail (trying not to wipe out, even though I do pretty much every time), play the cello and workout at the gym. College has been the most exciting part of my life so far and it seems so weird that I am already half way done, but I can't wait to see what the next two years up at Saint Mike's will bring!
I live in Hartland, Vermont, which isn't too far away from school, but it's definitely been a big transition going from a town where there are literally more cows than people (no really! there are!) to a much more populated and diverse area. I'm so excited to be spending the summer up there too! For two months, I am going to be working as an administrative intern at the Saint Michael's Playhouse, which basically means I live in the box office and do all of the nitty gritty organizational tasks. And I'm going to be playing "Edith" in this season's production of Blithe Spirit! It doesn't seem like it's really going to happen because I can't imagine what it will be like to actually be in a professional show, but I am so pumped to get started with everything!
After Playhouse, I'm going to London for the fall semester to study theater at Queen Mary College at the University of London. That's definitely going to be a big change from Hartland and I can't wait to experience city life! Maybe I'll finally accomplish my goal of achieving a British accent!
I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences this summer and fall with all of you guys and I hope you enjoy it! Stay tuned!