Didn't get in to Sarah Lawrence.

Saves me the trouble of figuring out whether I'd choose not to go to grad school or to go to a program I wasn't sure about.

Just waiting on Brown (which I know I didn't get into outright) and Cal Arts.

SCARY

Got a rejection notice by email from UCSD. Knew I wasn't going to get in after that interview.

Where I'm at:

Brown (Waiting on Admission Decision)
CalArts (Waiting on Admission Decision)
Sarah Lawrence (Waiting on Admission Decision)


So far I have been rejected from:

Yale
University of Washington
UCSD

[I didn't make the second round of auditions at Brown, so I'm either on the wait-listed or I've been rejected.]

So it's all down to CalArts or Sarah Lawrence. :/

Last week I flew to New York for the last of my grad school interviews.

After that first night when I was all mopey and worried, the trip was good. I woke up Friday morning early for a day of orientation and sitting in on classes with about 10 other applicants, most of whom (excepting one) were substantially older than me.

There are some major things about this program (which I won't specify here) that I'm not sure about, but the way they organized the day was really great because I got to chat with the other applicants about their process, what they were looking for in a grad program, etc. and I feel like I actually made a few professional allies that I can be in contact with in the future. I saw a play directed by a grad student who had never directed anything before, which was a red flag, although there were some good actors in it. I snuck into a dance concert afterwards to see how the dancers were (they're good). I took a cab back and sat in my hotel room and thought really hard about the program itself.

On Saturday I got up and had my interview, which went really well. It felt more like a casual conversation than any of the others I've had so far, and the panel (yes, there was more than one person this time) was very interested in my aesthetic and goals. I talked to others that had had their interviews before me and it became even more clear how well mine had gone, even though I'm not sure what I'll decide to do if this is the only place I get in. The fact that New York City's right there is great, but honestly I'd really like to go to a school on the West Coast and intern at a professional East Coast company to get my contacts on that side of the country.

After the interview I went out to a lovely upscale italian lunch with two other applicants (Oh, did I mention they were all female?) and we had some really good, in-depth conversations about theater, grad school, and just life in general. One of the girls even offered to wait with me for my cab back to the hotel because she wanted to chat more. We exchanged business cards and called each other when we got back to our respective abodes. The whole day really made me feel like a part of the young professional set, rather than just a random girl bumbling her way around the professional arena.

I was so tired, though, after all the scheduled activities that I didn't make it into the city to see any plays. I had real trouble sleeping the entire time I was over there, partly because of the time change and partly because I was in a big bed by myself for the first time in quite a while. That being the case, I guess it's not totally surprising that on the day Daylight Savings started, when I was supposed to wake up at 7:00 for an 8:20 shuttle pickup, I... didn't.

Or not on time, anyway. I didn't wake up when my alarm went off. I didn't wake up when the front desk called. I didn't wake up when the shuttle company called. I only woke up when the front desk AND my dad called to say that the shuttle was leaving in 5 minutes, with or without me. Luckily I'd packed the night before and just had to rip off my pjs, throw on clothes, and run out the door. I just barely made it.

But I had a nice plane flight back, went out to dinner with Cj and my parents, and have had tons of wedding planning practically non-stop since I got back. Things are exciting here, no matter what happens.

This is what I still need to do:

read the play for Uwash,(DUE TOMORROW!!!)
write the directorial analysis,(DUE TOMORROW!!!)
print out another damn portfolio for Uwash (DUE TOMORROW!!!)
fill out Uwash online app
fill out Uwash directing supplement
Fill out 4 other applications (Yale, Brown, SL, UCSD)
Write supplemental essay for Brown
Print out portfolios/Make 4 more DVDs
Print out 4 Below/The Mole scenario
Pay 4 application fees
Check on which transcripts still need to go out


All of this while working 7 days a week.

I'm wasting time!!!! I SHOULD BE WORKING

So, this Halloween was pretty much a wash. I missed a party on Saturday night that was pretty much my only reason for making any sort of costume effort (picture me as Molotov Cocktease from the Venture Brothers ;), but I did spend some time and effort on decorations. In addition to the normal pumpkin carving, I tried out both the Witch's Curtain" and Turnip Jack O' Lanterns from Martha Stewart's website. My camera battery charger is MIA, so I don't have any pictures, but lemme just say the Witch Curtain was super-easy and effective. The Turnips, on the other hand, looked awesome for about 24 hours before they shriveled up and died. They literally consumed the tealights inside them - I couldn't even see the candles to light them after the second day up. Now I know to put them out ON Halloween next time, though.

In other news, I'm reading "Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile's Hunger for Home" by Eduardo Machado, which is a great memoir/cookbook, with recipes at the end of the chapters. The only bad thing about it is it makes me crave fatty food (roast pork, which I don't even like) even more than I already do. Funny that this comes directly after seeing vegetarian author Mollie Katzen speak about the wonder and joy in a life with vegetables. Oh man, there was this recipe in the book that she made to hand out at the book signing, and it consisted of these simple squares of firm slightly roasted squash with a few pomegranate seeds on top. Ahhh, it was amazing. Made me want to eat more veggies. Ooh, I wonder if I could make a pomegranate substitute for cranberry sauce? Something to try out this Thanksgiving. But I digress.

I'll probably be posting my Statement of Purpose up here for criticism soon, so watch out for that. The days are ticking down until my first deadline and I'm starting to get pretty nervous.

Yes, I'm sure you all wanted to know.

I've got my Statement of Purpose revised and mostly finished, now I just need to customize it for each school. The hardest is going to be Brown, because they want it limited to one page and I've got a page and a half, and I'm really being very concise. I'm sure I'll figure it out, but it's a pain. None of the other schools have a limit posted, so I have to email the admissions departments and see.

I did manage to get my resume down to one page by taking off the education and teaching sections (the ed stuff is going to be on all my applications anyway, and most of the schools have seperate applications for teaching).

It's nice to be making progress though, cause I just found out I need to write an additional couple of essays for some of the applications. Boy am I glad I started early.

Laundry today, Movie night tonight. Should be fun - I'm making cookies :)

Mine? No, sadly not. But still an amazing spectacle, the Plaza Hotel in New York celebrating it's 100th birthday.

I stayed up far too late last night working on my statement of purpose for grad school - I have the middle and the end done, which is a typical problem for me. I always start it off with some wacky statement, then come back later and have to delete it and rewrite the opening. The beginning is always the hardest part.

My first graduate school due date is on November 30th - my birthday. Here's to moving forward.

So I'm supposed to find out whether or not I get into grad school sometime this month, but the lady said they were making decisions the end of this week. I'm starting to get a little nervous. The program is really small - only 12 people got in last year, 15 the year before that, and 8 the year before that. There were only 10 people that applied online this year including me. I don't know whether that just means that not very many people apply, or what. Anyway. I'll be sure and let you guys know.

In other news we got $300 for the Revue after the fact from the Vice Chancellor's office, which is good. Pays off some paint and wood we had to buy for the set.

Mmmyep.

Cj's playing Half-Life 2 and it's making me sick to my stomach. But I love it and I want to watch him play it. But it seriously makes me all woozy. I dunno what it is.

Aliens with taser sticks, yay!

I stayed home from class today to work on my grad app, and just sent it in online. Hope everything's okay... I checked and re-checked it and did about five drafts of my essay before I submitted it so everything should be fine. But you know... still a bit nervous.

Ah, well! Time to focus on the Revue some more. Licensing is fine so now we just have to figure out the set, and get all the actors to where they need to be. Also have to call and check to see how much the tech is going to cost us... >_