LOUIE’S FAREWELL

Howdy, y’allemaal! It’s your friendly, neighborhood Cast Cutie™️ here with a farewell message for my lovers, enemies, and enemy-lovers (you know who you are.)

I cannot believe that I have been in Amsterdam for a year. It feels like more and less than that at the same time. IYKYK. But I think the funny thing is how I almost didn’t take the job in the first place. Let me paint the picture for you:

INT. A CHICAGO APARTMENT (DEC 2022) – NIGHT
LOUIE (physically 30’s, energetically early 20’s) sits at home, making a batch of chicken tender macaroni and cheese while scrolling through memes.

“Ah, what a life!” he thought. He was about to wrap up a contract with Second City’s Mainstage and had shot three commercials in less than a month. Yet, he was ready to quit comedy. (No joke.) He was ready to stop making haha’s and focus completely on camera work in LA. Years in Chicago showed him that there were many funnier people out there, but if you needed someone to sell you kitchen floor mats, Lou somehow really fit the bill. But then…

…an offer. From Boom Chicago. “You mean that theater in Amsterdam?” he wondered. “The one that echoes of Second City cast members would talk about? What about my commercial career? What about Hollywood?”

“What will I miss?”

He contemplated the question, chewing on a chicken tender. “I mean, I also am physically in my 30’s and energetically in my early 20’s. Am I too old?”

Many talks with friends, mentors, and wine bottles later, he realized, “When the HELL will I ever do this in my life? I have to take it!”**

**Story simplified because it’s a newsletter, not my novel. For more, please subscribe and pay for premium content.

A year later, I can confidently say that I have been changed for good. (IYKYK.) It’s been a blast to bring campy, kitschy Annoyance-style characters to audiences and hear someone say, “What was that?” at least once a week. I think I’ve spoken more Spanish here than I ever thought would be relevant in Amsterdam. I never would have done deep dives on such Dutch pastimes like spijkerpoepen and dropping. (How I would have loved to be dropped off in the middle of the woods as a kid!)

And I realize now that the question “What will I miss?” has returned. (Along with many wine bottles.)

I’ll miss this cast and crew who not only let me be weird and unhinged but also built me up onstage. I’ll miss the bar staff – some of the hardest working people in the building – who provide the heartbeat of the theater each night. And the office staff – who keep things moving each day (…and let me write this for the newsletter – thanks, Macy!) I’ll miss this community – Academy students and audiences alike – who see this work as if it’s magic and wonder. You all have my heart.

I will also miss the ijscroissants from Fort Negen. Those things are absolute fire.

So thank you, Boom. Thank you, Andrew, Saskia, Pep, and Stacey. Thanks for giving me the ticket, and I’m happy I went for the ride.

See you all on March 9th!

(PS – I’m not dead yet, so I will be back lol. But until then, feel free to follow me @TheCordonBlues and tell me who your crush is.)