Rossland, BC - The Quaint Little Drinking Town With a Skiing Problem

My time in Rossland is drawing to a close. I arrived here the evening of June 4th, and after a 4-week rehearsal period, started an 81 show run of "John vs John". As of this evening we have 16 shows left. It's home stretch now, ladies and gentlemen.

I often feel inspired to write a post about something, so I jot the idea down in this little notebook that I have that I carry around with me everywhere, but by the time I actually get around to writing the post, the inspiration is gone and I forget why I wanted to write about it in the first place. I wrote in my journal "Moving/Arrival in Rossland" at the beginning of June and it is now mid-August. Thankfully, this topic is still inspiring to me, but it's going to be more of a comparison of my experience between last summer and this summer.

This is the second time I've done this contract. The pay is okay - I make less than I would bartending/waitressing for the summer, but I don't have to pay rent here so it about evens out. The show is alright. It's not particularly fantastic, to be honest. I mean, it's a typical summer theatre show, but don't come expecting Gershwin or Jason Robert Brown or anything. It wasn't the show that brought me back here. It was the town.

I drove into Rossland last year and instantly fell in love. The town was quaint, visually adorable, and one could instantly tell that the people here took care of it. I soon discovered that the residents were all health-conscious, morning people. The town is buzzing by 7:00 am, but pretty much dead by 4:00 pm. Most coffee places are closed by 3:00 pm and there is actually no where to eat past 11:00 pm. Every person I met was friendly and caring and supportive of their community. It was refreshing and exactly what I needed in my life at the time. My fellow cast mates seemed like normal 20-somethings at the time, but in comparison, were actually quite the crazy party animals when placed next to this years group. I had a lot of fun with them. I made some really great friends and had a really great time. I felt healthy and truly happy for the first time in my life. I remember sitting on the banks of Gyro Beach on August long weekend, seeing my friends Harris and Kate laying beside me on their towels and thinking to myself, 'Wow, this is bliss.'

I knew that there would be no way to recreate last summer. I knew that if I re-auditioned, I would have to go expecting something completely different. I was right in thinking to do that. It certainly has been different. Much much different. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I definitely am not experiencing the same level of happiness that I did last year.

Maybe I got off to a wrong start, with a crazy change of plans the week before coming here. We won the Fraser Valley Zone Theatre Festival. I got a callback in Toronto. I had to cancel my trip home to see my family. I left for Rossland way later than planned. But it was really something bigger than all of that.

The biggest difference has been in the chemistry within the cast. Last year's cast was very social. We wanted to be together basically all the time. Every second night we were stumbling out of the bar. I took more risks than I ever have in my life - professionally, socially, sexually, and even lawfully. I forced myself to challenge myself and go out of my comfort zone and I reaped a lot of benefit from that. This year we have a lot more homebodies in the cast. There are a few couple among us (and were couples before we got here) and lot of people that like to spend time alone or with Skyping their friends from wherever they came from. I was forced to spend a lot more time in my own company, and one learns a lot about oneself when doing so. I was left alone in my own thoughts to discover some internal faults and develop ways of encouraging my growth as an individual. This scared me at first, but as I spend more time alone, I grew accustomed to it and I think I will return to Vancouver with a stronger idea of who I am as a person and what I want out of life.

Last year I was coming from a crazy busy year of college in Victoria to the pretty chillax Rossland energy. My plan was to move to Vancouver after Rossland, which is what I did. But I was going from something familiar to something new and knew that there would be more new to follow, so Rossland felt very much like a "pit stop" or a transitional period on my way to starting a new life in Vancouver. This year I left the home and niche I had created in Vancouver to come here and to Vancouver is where I will return in two weeks. I didn't realize how attached I had become to Vancouver. I truly feel like I belong there. I used to have the goal to live in every province in Canada at some point in my career, and though I would still like to, I now can't picture myself living anywhere else except Van. I "fit" there. I feel like it's where I belong. I want to meet the man of my dreams there and raise my children and then finally and eventually retire and die there. I am a Vancouverite through and through. Of course, there will always be the Albertan in me that remains a little bit country - the corner of my heart that loves horses, country music, and to go through the trouble of making homemade pies for dessert, but I've developed the big city attitude. I take myself more seriously and I think that is a good thing. I became really used to  being able to have whatever I wanted to at my finger tips and at all hours of the night. I loved having so many options. There was always something going on, somewhere to go, and everything I wanted and needed was accessible. I miss that. I really do. And I miss my friends. I've never really felt like I ever belonged to a tight knit group of friends. Even though I've always had plenty, I've never felt like I always had someone to call when I wanted or needed to. I found my niche of friends. Feel like going for a bike ride? I'll call Greg. There's a show that I've been meaning to catch? I'll call Ryan. Something is bothering me? I'll call Nicole. Want to have a board game night? Call the whole gang! Maybe the difference is that last year I had nothing to go back to after Rossland and didn't know what I was missing.

The worst thing about the summer - construction. I don't completely understand why it was necessary but apparently it couldn't be avoided. We've been dealing with the disastrous, ugly maze that is this all summer...

My precious Rossland. The town that reminded me of the fictional town of Everwood, Colorado from one of my high school favorite TV shows - in shabbles. Gone. I've never been so disappointed in something in my life. I drove over the crest into the town and my heart literally sank. Rossland was ugly.

I'm making it sound like I had a terrible summer. This isn't the case at all. I've had a good time. I've made some great friends. We were more adventurous than last year, even though it seemed to take a lot of effort to plan these excursions. Grace and I went on a shopping trip to Spokane, Washington. A group of us went to Silverwood, an amusement park in Idaho. I've been out to the lake at least 4 times and the river once. I've even been to a few locals' house parties. My billets are amazing. It was nice having a house to myself last year, but Kathy and Dave are so great that I don't mind having them around. It was kind of nice to have animals around again (they have three cats, a bird, and they babysit a fourth cat quite often) and I mostly got over my fear of birds. I got to have many experiences being in a position of authority and have more confidence in that respect and I got to watch an original musical come together. Also, I'll probably never live in a house this immaculate again (my shower here is the same size as my bedroom back home). It's been a real treat.

I've had a good time here. I still love Rossland. I still love its people. (Though, just a note of warning: Don't make enemies in a town this size. It's not fun.) And I still think that this town has a lot to offer me. It's taught me a lot and maybe I will return here someday, but for now - I'm ready to come home.