Join the Refugee Nation...: Confessions of a touring addict

You know you're a touring addict when you get home, you're exhausted, you're still unpacking, you're still jet lagged, and you are already planning the next tour in the next city and you can't wait to get on the road again. Okay, I can wait, 'cause I'm looking forward to being in one town for a while. Man my own bed feels so good. The road is hard. It's the stress of travel and work wrapped up in one for, in this case, two and half weeks. It's like a little working family, there are moments of bonding, moments of stress, irritation and bickering (and we are a husband and wife time, so imagine the testing of our relationship - poor Jen and May had to witness it). Not to mention the financial concerns of the show just barely paying for itself, and we still must come home to the regular bills we need to figure out how to pay in the coming months. Nonetheless, we begin talking about the next trip, the next stage of development for the show, and the next cities we want to reach out to and perform in.

Highlights from Boston to Alaska:
1) Our dress rehearsal performance for Harbor Middle School students, they were so expressive, and so engaged with everything we did on stage. After the climax of our fight scene when Ova's fighter hit my gangmember character and a student exclaimed out loud "you better run!" and during our Q & A after show a student said she related most to my mother character "because that happened to my mom, when my uncle was deported backto Haiti, she cried and cried like that." (thanks Phitsamay for setting this up!)
2) Meeting Toc and May for the first time at the airport where Mike came to pick us up. Little did we know what this team of people was about to accomplish.
3) Our first baci ceremony at the Lao Temple.

Food coming out of no where, our sound guy being a bit overwhelmed being the only falang (white guy) in the place until we showed up with Mike. And the ceremony itself! I almost cried while it was going on. the symbolism of the community coming together to wish you well. We've been working on this so long, it was amazing to feel this sense of community support. I still am wearing the strings of well wishes on my wrists.

4) Our assembly for Begich Middle School where 20 Hmong students got to share their family stories of escape from Laos with their classmates. It made the evening news where one of the students interviewed exclaimed that she didn't know she and her parents were refugees until she took our theater workshop. After the assemblies, when the principal asked who would participate if they started an after school theater program, almost all the kids raised their hands.

5) In the dressing room Saturday night in Anchorage when Jen our TD comes running in the back door of dressing room looking for extra chairs exclaiming "Monk seating issues, monk seating issues!" and she runs out, and then, looking out the front door of our dressing room and seeing Mike carrying chairs with a jolly grin on his face exclaiming "Monk seating issues! No one told me about Monk seating issues!" His grin was too big, I knew he was tickled by this little cultural surprise his venue was experiencing as a result of bringing a new audience to OUTNORTH.
6) Did I mention FRONT PAGE of the Alaska Daily news?
7) Homer's Fireweed Academy's enthusiastic students and amazing principal.

8) The tears from Asia and Rika after our performance that told me they got it, they really got it.
9) Our performance for the youth at Maclaughlin Youth Center - I don't think I've ever been more energized. Looking out at the youth who live at the detention center knowing they'd see right through me if I couldn't get this gangmember character down. I was supposed to cut out all the "f" words, but I got so into character, I let one fly. But I think if I hadn't, the students would not have believed my character at all. The teachers forgave me afterwards, I think they know it made sense. The Q&A was the most enlightening so far. They asked specific questions about the performance and the characters.
10) Toc, Toc, Toc, Mike, Mike, Mike, - if the two of them were with us wherever we go then Refugee Nation will travel far and wide. And I am thankful for Lee and May - who we also need wherever we go! And Jen who we could not live without. And of course Ova, who still loves me and I still love even after all the madness!

Thanks for all your support everyone! Updates to come once we've set our next destination. Please post more comments if you've seen the show!

Yours, a touring addict, Leilani aka a diva wanna be...