Tour # 20: Madison, WI

Wisconsin's lovely capitol city, Madison!  We had a little time to walk around before Edgar and I headed to our workshop with some great theatre students.  It was a beautiful fall day at the U of W.  However, we were not playing the U of W, we were playing a small private college nearby called Edgewood.  It was a small house, but a really fun show.

 I can't resist documenting things with the family name.

 And speaking of documenting things, I wanted to take this photo before Kyle killed himself.  Spoiler: he's fine.  But don't think we weren't all terrified. 

With Derek out at a wedding, we had Mr. Witaske in for the night.  He did a great job.  Thanks for being Red, Chris! 

Next stop: Mankata, MN

Tour #19: Salt Lake City, UT

 Before we head to Salt Lake City, you should know that Derek made us all Human Centipede cookie versions of ourselves.  Here I am acquainting myself with little pede-me.  Then I ate me.

Oh Salt Lake City, you are beautiful.

We had a great show at the U of U.  Salt Lake City was a delightful place, I am surprised to say.  I'm not sure what I expected, but it was a kind of hippie town that is clearly pushing toward the antithesis of its conservative, Mormon reputation.  I'd love to spend more time there.  I should've taken more pictures, but it was a true whirlwind.  We were escorted by some of the students who were great hosts.  They took us to lunch at Whole Foods (well, Jess predictably ended up at Taco Bell) and out for drinks after.  It was also Tilliski's birthday.  Happy b, T!

Next stop: Madison, WI

Tour #18: Iowa and South Dakota

Long.  Road.  Trip.

RedCo took on the world by travelling by van to Storm Lake, IA, Ottumwa, IA, Watertown, SD and back.  It started with a radio phone interview...

 Derek, Ross and I all did interviews for the shows in Watertown.  They were apparently very excited to have us.  But first, we stopped in Storm Lake...

 Much of the drive looked like this.

And in Storm Lake our dressing room looked like this.  I'm always delighted by our make-shift dressing rooms that are normally classrooms.  The show was fun, and the theatre was lovely, but we found that the town was...quiet.  Back in the van to Ottumwa! 

Edgar wanted to gift us all by contributing a van muffin.  What a great bit, I thought!  Let's take a photo.  Oh man...I didn't need to clarify what the van really looks like.  The muffin didn't stay long.

Oh hi, Jess.  How's that iPod going?

 Here's our press in Ottumwa, in the lobby of the performing arts center where we played.  Another good show.  We found some seriously great Mexican food in Ottumwa (weird?) before we were served a huge pork chop dinner by the theatre.  Bleh.  Delicious and painful.  Back in the van to our final stop...


 Garmin wanted us to take this mud road to our hotel.  We listened, but learned to ignore it on the way back.  Kyle was a real trooper getting through this mess.

 At the end of the dirt road was our casino hotel, haloed by a dreamcatcher.  Nice work, Dakota Sioux!

 Our venue in Watertown was amazing.  The Goss Opera House was really beautiful.  And besides being historic, lovely and welcoming we got to hang out in this living room...

 We even got to hang out after our Saturday show to see Vanessa and Paul's SNL debut.  Huge thanks to our new friend Eric for taking care of us.

 The beautiful stage.  And look at all those ghost orbs!!  Seriously!!!

The trip was awesome, and despite a combined 28 hours in the van together RedCo remained happy.  Things I learned about this part of the country: there was a surprising amount of Mexican food, Tilliski is a terrible Black Jack player, and you may just find a few actual "Oath Keepers" in your audience.  Ok, the middle thing isn't region-specific.  Sorry, buddy.

Next Stop: Salt Lake City, UT

Tour #17: Ann Arbor, MI

OK, so I'm a bit behind on my travel report.  At least 7 people are simply heart-broken!  For you, here is the update on the last few trips in our busy fall season...

Ann Arbor's Ark Theatre was lovely.  I hadn't been to Ann Arbor since a quick drive through the town while I was doing time at Second City Novi.  We had two nights there and found some fun in the town on our free day.  Right, Jess?

 We were all amused that our fruit bowl included lemons. 

 On the way out of town, I stopped to enjoy this ad.  Werewolves!!

 Here is a view of the backyard Jess and I had behind our room. 

I didn't do Ann Arbor photo justice, considering we had quite the time on our second day.  We walked about the town, taking in comic book shops, cupcakes and Zingerman's, the most awesome deli ever.  Our two shows at The Ark went well.  Good to see you again, Michigan. 

Next stop: long road trip to IA and SD!