Day One, and all that is Orientation

The past week at Northwestern has been a lot of orientation.

On 9/9/9 I made my way from Arizona to Chicago to set up my apartment and get things in order. I had made the decision to rent a car, and THANK GOD I did. I have never really appreciated how hard it is to move in to a new place all by yourself with nothing. It is a struggle, and a lot of trips to IKEA I'll tell you that. So, with a lot of furniture building, and the subsequent overflow of cardboard I have turned my apartment into a cute little home, and am ready for visitors and guests.

When Monday rolled around Graduate School orientation began, and the week turned into a stream of information and new faces. The mornings were usually spent going over some class information, then in the afternoon we would report to our Assistant assignments, this year I'll be in the Lighting shop for the year, with opportunities to TA and Design in the next two years. The time in the shop is really refreshing. Apart from the some basic organizational differences, working as an electrician just lets me do something I know I am good at, and in about three weeks I'll have the chance to pass along some of my tricks to a few Undergrads.

Once the week of Orientation was over I got to spend the weekend freaking out about classes getting underway, followed by some school supply shopping and brunch with a friend I made at West Virginia this year.

Sunday night we had the 1st Year MFA Potluck. The group of people I am studying with are all so different, yet we are all coming at this with the best of intentions and great attitudes. I'm looking forward to our time in class. The potluck gave me a chance to introduce the group to Vegan Curried Lentils, which still rock everyone's world.

All of this, of course, leads me to TODAY! Day 1, the beginning.

Apart from thinking I had missed the 'L', which I didn't, the commute in was good, and I was super excited to get ready with Model Building, and Text Analysis. I got into the classroom and was talking with the other first years when Joe walked in to the Model Building class to tell us that Todd Rosenthal, the Professor, was trapped by flooding at the Atlanta Airport. Bummer. This small let down, was offset greatly by the first class of Text Analysis, which I think will be one of the best classes I get to take this term. Lively discussion ensued about the process each of us uses to read a play, and some very interesting stylistic differences were voiced.

I'm finding that I, myself, am constantly justifying my lack of design experience... which needs to stop. Obviously something about myself was good enough to get into this program this year, so all I can do is trust in the conventional wisdom of my professors... which leads me to my first night of schools activity: Homework.

Introductions, and How I got to where I'm going.

Graduate School has always been something I knew I would do eventually. Some people told me to go right after undergrad, others told me to wait 5 years, and still others tilted their heads to an odd angle and looked at me with, what I can only assume was, an increasing level of concern for my mental health.

My name is William Kirkham, and I work in Theatre.

In two weeks I'll be starting at Northwestern University, working towards my MFA in Stage Design, with an emphasis in Lighting Design. My goal with this blog is to share the hilarity of this journey, the return to academia after a 4 year sabbatical. Now, to properly frame this journey, I have to talk about the day I was accepted to Northwestern. Where the story begins, as it were, puts this whole process into perspective.

Our story begins in Fort Myers, Florida on a Tuesday, the day Phoenix Entertainment's National Tour of The Pajama Game came to town! I had been touring with the PJ Game for going on 22 weeks at that point, and this was our final full week sit, leaving us one more week till the close. I had decided way back in October that I was going to try to get into Grad school for the following Fall, and had applied and interviewed at Northwestern months earlier. I had been playing the waiting game for a while and had been told two days earlier, the this day, Tuesday April 7th, was the day that I would find out if I had been accepted to Northwestern.

I had been told I would be contacted one of two ways; a phone call if I was accepted, and an email if I was not. I receive email on my Blackberry, so like any normal person waiting for such a life changing phone vibration, every time my phone buzzed in my pocket I would freeze up and slowly take out my phone to view my fate. Through out the day this was followed by me then breathing a sigh of relief as I did not get the call, or an email. That being said, as the day progressed this exhalation started being less relief, and more anger and frustration. Was I not worth this final contact? Is this how students are treated in the program? I was given assurances that THIS was the day! WHY AM I NOT FINDING OUT, IF THIS IS THE DAY!

As the time stretched past the 5pm end of the business day, I went from Angry to downright despondent. I did not know what other options I had. I called my Mother to tell her I hadn't heard anything, that I was fed up with this process, and more importantly, that I was calling another Company who had made a job offer to me and accepting the contract.

The show went off with out a hitch, and as was often the case with Opening Night in week sits, we were whisked off to an opening night Party. There I gathered a small plate of food together, and went to sit in the corner away from happy cast mates, and an increasingly inebriated crew. A few close friends came to sit with me, and we were talking about the day when the phone rang, it was 11 o'clock PM.

"Hello?"

"Hi, William, Joe Appelt calling from Northwestern. How are you tonight?"

"JOE! I didn't think I'd be hearing from you today."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, well listen William, the other student we were considering has decided to defer for a year, and we would like to accept you into the program at this time, would you accept our invitation"

"Professor, I would sign away my soul to you right now"

"Good. You just did. Congratulations William, I can tell you're at a party, so celebrate tonight"

What followed was a burt of adulation from myself and everyone at the table, who then announced the news to the Company as a whole. Phone calls were rapidly made to family and friends across the country.

From that time to now everything has been in preparation for Grad school, a trip to Chicago to find a place, working on my free hand drawing skills, and packing away my few meager possessions to ship across the country.

As I sit here now, in my empty room looking forward to my move on Wednesday, I cannot help myself but to smile and remember how much I wanted this to happen. It is in that spirit that this blog will serve me as a venue for my musings and ramblings, coupled with the odd story, and occasional picture.

The countdown to class begins, T-minus 2 weeks and 1 day.