Know you this ring?

I had a dream one night that I was asked to be on the ensemble. I remember in the dream feeling shocked and thrilled and scared to death all at the same time. Then I thought, “this must be what it’s like to be proposed to”.

About a week later, I had a meeting with the artistic council. I was told this was standard and that we would be talking about the past season (also, my FIRST year in LA and California, for that matter) and my full-immersion experience including the past four shows with Furious. You can imagine my thoughts when I was asked what being an ensemble member would mean. So, I spilled my recent dream and explained what I thought. Being an ensemble member would be a lot like a marriage- a long-term, intensified, commitment amongst other things. I thought I’d probably still be doing relatively the same things, but with the long term goals of the theatre in mind, and my place within it at the forefront. My being an ensemble member all seemed at least a while away though, as 2 years was the general time period it took for those before me. I had a long way to go, but being an ensemble member was definitely a goal.

Later that night, we had a combination Say Goodbye to Melissa/Closing Night of Tearing the Loom Party. Everyone was in stealth mode after the show trying to surprise Melissa and set up the party. Soon enough, once the party was up and running, Melissa had conned me into the guise of going to the roof to “talk” and “say goodbye”. The funny thing is that I approached her and then she made the suggestion (totally smooth move on her part, btw). I was completely caught off guard when one by one every member of the ensemble appeared on the roof, drink in hand, and formed a circle around me. Yes I am, in fact, extremely gullible. At that point, I think Brad said something like, "Katie, we would like to know if you would join the Furious Family and become a member of the ensemble". Much like the dream, I was caught off guard, thrilled, and completely anxious. Right then and there in front of God and everyone, I said "I do" to my intended theatre company. It was a short engagement, simultaneous engagement-marriage really.

That was June 26th, about 3 months ago. Married life has been good so far. Since then I have realized that being an ensemble member is a little more than feeling like you're happily married to an inanimate object. Being involved in Furious, pre-ensemble, was the part where I fell in love. It was beautiful and intense and life changing, and there were lots of late nights. And when I was asked to be an ensemble member, it meant that this group of people that I had come to know and respect under such intense circumstances, trusted me with their baby. They had placed enough faith and stock in myself and my hard work to ask me to be permanently involved. Also, I just barely made the cutoff for retreat in Palm Springs, score.

Now, I am doing my 5th show with Furious, and it's going to be amazing. I have a gem of a part, and ironically enough Clem is the classic "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" chick, but not in that self-loathing, annoying sort of way. GO Dress!