Happy

Helllllllo.

It has been a slow week around here. This was the first weekend in a month that I haven't left Cedar City. I had big plans to do all my laundry, clean the whole house, finish my taxes, and do good, productive, adult things that need to be done.

I'm happy to report that I did some laundry. Adult Sarah does adult things.

Improv this week was so much fun, and honestly better than last week. We did scenes instead of step out games and I am much more comfortable with scenes. The difference between the two is, in step out games, the players are given a topic and they step out (into the circle or onto the stage) and make a joke about it, and in scenes, the players are given different suggestions that affect the nature of the scene they're playing.

Ugh, I tried writing that several different ways, and that explanation still doesn't help. I'll just tell you about what we did tonight. We played a game called Accents. (Maybe you can guess how it went?) There were 3 players and they were given a location for the scene, with a person offstage pausing them every few minutes and telling them what accent to speak in. The players then kept playing the scene in the new accent. It would change, and change again, and it's so funny because people are really, really awful at accents. I am really, really awful at accents.

But it was good because it forces you to pay attention to how you're speaking, while also trying to move the scene forward. There were moments when every person on stage was waiting for someone else to speak because they weren't sure how to do the accent. I cannot confidently do a Southern accent, and I literally grew up with it. My English accent is poor at best, and if I you ask me to do Australian, I'll try my hardest, but you would never guess that Australian was the goal. It was a painful game, but at least I tried!

Heather's husband asked me before this round of classes started why I would voluntarily do something that makes me so uncomfortable. (And it does make me incredibly uncomfortable.) I answered that I know it's good for me. Every time I step off the stage, I am both impressed and proud of myself for doing it yet again. When I'm playing, I just accept that this is my reality, and I must get through it. It's always a highlight of my week.

I feel like apologizing for how much I still talk about Improv, but I'm not going to. I wish I could convey how much I truly enjoy every class, even though I truly dread every class. I'm still so excited about it and it's not often I feel this strongly towards something.

Other things I've done this week include two volleyball games Monday night, dinner with some friends Friday night, and a play Saturday night.

The play we went to was called 'Molly and Peter.' An SUU student wrote it, how cool is that?! It was about the struggles of growing up in an LDS family. I admit, it might be a niche topic, but here, it was amazing. There were sex scenes, coming out of the closet scenes, jokes about Family Home Evening, and picture perfect families-- it had everything that is hilarious about Mormons. And it was great because even though they were poking fun, it somehow managed to still be respectful of the people and the religion.

One of the things I love about Cedar City is how much the people value the arts. We Cedarians love events. We love festivals, parades, concerts, and plays. We love the arts. It's one of the attributes that keeps me here. Where else can you live in a small town and also have so many opportunities for live entertainment?

Lately I find myself pausing and realizing that I feel happy. Usually its not for any particular reason-- I just feel good about where I am and what I'm doing. I have things to look forward to and I'm surrounded by good people. What more could I ask for?

What a life we live.