Hosting New Yorkers

My buddy Nate, who’s going to grad school at Columbia right now, stopped in to South Bend for a bit on Monday. It was really good to see him and his wife. I hadn’t talked to him very much since around Christmas.

On Monday, right after he got here, we headed up to campus and went to the DPAC so he could visit a couple of the Theatre Professors who are here for Summer Shakespeare. One of the professors noticed that I had lost some weight since the spring, which I felt good about until he told me it means I probably need to get resized for my costumes. We also stopped by the the scene shop to talk to the carpenters, and I got to see my buddy John who just got back from studying in France for the semester. After meeting up for dinner with some of Nate’s friends, we came back to the house and played Rock Band with John and his girlfriend. I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t have really much else to entertain them.

Today we had lunch with those same friends and then mostly hung out and talked while Nate’s wife went for a run. It was interesting to hear about what grad school is like for him. It sounds like his first year is going really well, and that he’s pretty happy. Talking with him definitely makes me excited about auditioning for grad school. I guess I’m not exactly sure if that’s what I’m going to do, but it seems likely.

In other news, I just got my schedule for the first three weeks of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. I’m going to be pretty busy. This year I’m playing two parts in the Young Company show. We are doing The Deceived, an Italian comedy that was source material for Twelfth Night, and I am playing a horny Spaniard and a stomach-thinking Servant. I’m in the Ensemble for the Mainstage, which is obviously Twelfth Night.

If you’re curious, here is the website for the ND Shakespeare Festival.