Alissa's Wonderland: Bus Tour Edition

Later that night, I got dinner with the cast at the only restaurant open walking distance from our hotel. For context, it was a Monday in South Burlington, VT. Even though Downtown was just a couple miles away, there weren't any Ubers around to go anywhere. So the restaurant closed at 9:30pm. I happened to have an acquaintance from college who lived Downtown, so he picked me up to grab a drink at a spot called The Wallflower Collective. Yes, it was technically a date. We'll call him James. We sipped on gin and tonics and caught up on life, and just as it was nearing midnight, I felt a sharp pain in my right side. I'd been sitting in a twisted position on the couch all night, so at first I thought it was a muscle spasm. I tried to subtly stretch it out. Then I thought maybe it was gas pain, so I excused myself to the bathroom. Nothing. It worsened in a matter of seconds, and when I exited the bathroom, I was hunched over and said  "I don't know what to do,  I'm ...

 It was the best of times....then it was the absolute freaking WORST of times.  Two words. Kidney. Stones. If you just want the Kidney Stone Saga, skip to Part II. We got TWO nights in a hotel room this week! This is extremely rare on our days off because we usually arrive at the hotel early Monday morning, go back to bed, spend the day off however we want, get one night in a real bed, then back on the bus early Tuesday. But this time, we left Lowell, MA at 8pm on Sunday so we were checking in by midnight and got a full night's sleep before our day off! I got up around 9:30 am to grab complimentary breakfast downstairs which I brought back to my room to enjoy while I caught up on House of Dragons. I stayed in bed until about noon and then decided I wanted to get out and explore before it started raining. I packed up a bag with snacks, a rain coat and an umbrella, popped in my earbuds and started on the 45 minute walk to Winooiski Falls.  It was a gorgeous walk through the...

Theater showers are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get... What most people don't know, is that while on tour, the theaters are essentially our hotel rooms 6 days out of the week. All 3 meals of the day are catered, we spend 80% of our day in the dressing room, and we shower at every venue. We play all sorts of venues: small local auditoriums, big arenas, fancy equity theaters, and even ice hockey rinks! With that, comes a variety of dressing and bathroom accommodations.  Each morning is a scavenger hunt. After I get off the bus, I first must find the stage door. Sometimes this is a lot harder than it seems when it's an unmarked door in an alley way in the city... Once I actually find my way into the building, there are laminated signs posted by production that direct us to all the necessary destinations. Sometimes the layout is easy to navigate, and other times it is a straight up maze. I love the days where the dressing room, catering, green ro...