Fayette, MO

Population: 2,710

Fayette, Missouri, was absolutely a highlight of tour for me. Fayette is the hometown of the effervescent Samantha Williams, Company Manager for Olney Theatre Center. Samantha coordinated with her mother to make sure that the Players had a feast waiting for us upon arrival! Sheri Williams is the most generous, kind, and welcoming human I have had the pleasure of meeting thus far on tour. She invited 10 strangers into her lovely home and made us feel like we were part of the family. The food and company were incredible. There was BBQ, fruit, veggies, salads of all kinds, desserts, and basically all the delicious foods you could imagine. There was a gorgeous magnolia tree blooming in the backyard. We made s’mores and chatted around the bonfire outside. This was our first whiff of spring, and damn did it smell good. After coming from a blizzard, the warmth (from both the weather and the Williams) was exactly what we needed. Huge thanks to Samantha, Sheri, and the Williams family for making us feel so loved. We really needed it.  (Sheri even gave us Easter goody bags on the way out! Can you believe this woman??)

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We performed The Crucible at Central Methodist University’s Little Theatre to a small, but appreciate, crowd.

Eldon, MO

Population: 4,623

Eldon is a small suburban town that reminded me a bit of where I grew up. We performed The Crucible for the students at Eldon High School. All the kids were dressed to the nines! (Apparently the school required this, but it was still quite adorable.) The theatre teacher and his students here were absolutely outstanding! About 20 students helped us load-in and strike. They had studied the play and were so pumped to see it. Josh and I led an Improv class for these students, and they were (often) hilarious. After the performance, we ate pizza and chatted with the students onstage.

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During strike, I got the chance to chat with some of the students and get a vibe for the school and town. One girl with a “Girls Support Girls” shirt opened up to me about the difficulties of being a woman at a school where 99% of the students support our current president. She said that feminist is a “bad word” in Eldon. Other girls started chiming in and agreeing that the atmosphere is not one of acceptance or tolerance at the school. I tried to share some of my own experiences in high school with them. I went to Collierville High School, in a small suburb of Memphis. Collierville is incredibly conservative and religious. Anyone who was different (including my Jewish/atheist/artist/nerd self) was ostracized and shamed. I told the girls to continue doing theatre and challenging those around them. I can’t imagine things are easy for them. Things were hard for me in high school; I cannot even imagine if I had attended during the rise of our current administration. I definitely would have gotten into even more heated debates with my classmates than I already did.

Memphis, TN

Population: 652,236

While the rest of the company enjoyed a few days off in St. Louis, Hugh, Deidre, and I made our way to Memphis! I wanted to surprise my dad for his opening night of 1984 at Circuit Playhouse. On the road about 40 minutes from home, my dad texted me to ask where I was. I told him I was spending the weekend in St. Louis and wished I could see his show. He was completely surprised when I showed up at the front door half an hour later! (Shoutout to my mom for keeping this a secret.) It was so worth the extra driving. It was rejuvenating to spend time with my family. Also, my dad completely kicked ass as the villain O’Brien in his show. It was a blast getting to see him and introducing some of my Memphis theatre pals to Deidre and Hugh. Leaving Memphis was tragic, and I am counting down the days until I’m back in town!

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St. Louis, MO

Population: 308,626

We didn’t have much time in St. Louis, but the time we had was incredibly well spent. Deidre set up a dinner date with her friend from high school who also turns out to be a pal of mine from middle school! We met up with Saakshi to eat ramen and play with her tiny, adorable puppy. Saakshi has been smart as hell since I knew her in middle school. She’s kicking some major adulting ass, working for Boeing. It was really nice getting to see her and catching up.

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After dinner, a few of us went to the City Museum for some strange adventuring. If you don’t know what the City Museum is, I highly recommend you take a trip. The museum is housed in the former International Shoe building and was designed by the architect Bob Cassilly. It’s like part-playground-part-interactive-art-exhibit-part-amusement-park. All of the areas of the museum have different themes, and you are invited to crawl all over anything you can. We climbed up to and then slid down the ten-story slide, which was so wild. I cracked up the entire way down. I definitely felt like a kid again. Also, I got so many pretty bruises from the experience! Thanks for the souvenirs, St. Louis!

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I’m a little behind on posting, but next up is…(drum roll, please)…Iowa and Indiana! Our last stint in the Midwest! (thank god)

Your Dear Lady Disdain,

Jamie