I MISS JMU

So it's been over a month since I've posted here.

Life's been busy.

Illuminights is in full swing and rehearsals run very late. Still, I enjoy it.

I do wish that some peeps would be more professional. PLEASE, SHUT UP during break times. It is NOT ok for you to talk as soon as the director stops talking. Keep your mouth shut and stop flailing about.

I am so happy to be able to spend another summer with Laura Macinski. Luckily for me, I didn't have to say goodbye to her at the end of the year. She is so pretty and a GORGEOUS dancer. And she laughs at my jokes, which doesn't hurt! :)

Also, as a reminder, don't expect blogs to be private things. They are on the internet, which means anyone can find them. Some people forget and use them as venting devices. Yes, they can help you vent, which is what I'm doing. But I know that anyone can read this. So if you do vent, make sure you realize that this isn't private. It's not supposed to be.

And DO NOT talk about me in one and expect me not to know about it. You know who you are.

Summertime: and the living is ???

Wow.

That's all I can think about.

My freshman year of college is done.

How in the world is that possible?

It feels like I just started orientation. I just got my college id. I just moved into my dorm.

And now, I'm all done. I'm back in Williamsburg, working with Sesame Street.

But I just got a call from Busch saying that they want me to be in the new nighttime show, Illuminights! I am so excited. It has been far too long since I have not danced anonymously. I am not under a suit or behind a mask anymore! YAY!

Still, I miss school. I miss those seniors that have moved on! I miss all my friends that are in faraway places.

My wife is in Texas, having a ball. I am here, doing not much at all.

Seniors, you were wonderful. I will miss the heck outta you. You can bet, I am gonna tell the freshman about how amazing all of you are!!!!

Where has the time gone?

So I sit here with only three weeks of my freshman year of college left with feelings of both happiness and confusion.

Where did the time go?

It feels like last week I graduated from high school and was starting Busch again! And now, it's almost summer and I am going to be a sophomore in college! How is that possible?

I registered for my new classes in the fall and saw that they are all taking place in the Estes Center aka the new Performing Arts Building!!!!!!! That is crazy! I can't believe that Theatre 2 and Duke 120 will soon be gone! It was a great year and I am so happy that I got to spend time in those crappy facilities!

Theatre 2 was the site of nervous auditions, rehearsals, and my first 2 college shows, Originals and Nine. Both of these shows were awesome experiences for me and I will not forget them.

The thing that scares me is that I am basically one-fourth through my entire college experience. Time flies when you're having fun! Enough with the cliches!

One of the major things that this year has taught me is accepting that rejection is a big part of this business. From college searches, to Oklahoma and beyond! It still hurts when my name isn't on that sheet, but it hurts less and heals quicker than before! It is great that I am learning this now, so that I will be incredibly prepared when I graduate.

What saddens me is that my senior lovebirds are leaving for good! I miss them already and they haven't even left yet. They are all incredible and will have wonderful lives after college! I can't wait to line up at the stage door when they are starring on Broadway!

The one thing I hope for is that this year won't have a bittersweet ending. It has a bittersweet taste right now, but I hope to drink some metaphorical apple juice to get rid of the taste in my mouth. Let's end it well!

Hate Ends Now

Enough.

Enough of hate.

Enough of bigotry.

I'm sick of it.

I am tired of people jumping to backward stereotypes and nasty language without any thought to the evil that is coming out of their mouths.

In the Eagle elevator, I was making sure Logan got to her room safely. She saw the pin I had on my jacket and asked what it stood for. I explained that it said "Guthrie", which is a big-time theatre out in Minneapolis. When I visited my sister in Minnesota for Spring Break, we took a backstage tour of the theatre.

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor. Two guys get off the elevator. As the door is closing, I hear one turn to the other and say (this is edited due to vulgarity) "effing bundle of sticks". The other laughed as the door closed and Logan and I continued our ascent.

A knot curled in my stomach and throat. My face became red with anger and I turned to Logan. Not to my surprise, she was experiencing the same emotions and physical disturbances.

What kind of person thinks that it is normal to speak those words?? Especially for no reason whatsoever! It was completely unnecessary and brutish. What would that kid's mother say if she knew that her son was using words like that?

I have the feeling that this red- headed bigot is not alone in his hatred and ignorance. He doesn't know me. He won't know me. All I was talking about was the trip that my loving sister and I took to a wonderful theatre! What scares me is the assumption that possibly more people think in this same track.

This is bad news for society. In order for a nation to function healthily, it must allow bigotry and prejudice to subside. Love and caring must come to the forefront.

I am tired of hearing judgments passed without any real knowledge of the accused. I am sick of people thinking that it is okay to treat others with no respect.

Has society forgotten the golden rule? I sincerely hope not. If so, thank goodness the world is coming to an end in 2012.

I hope that mankind will look at itself from a moral perspective and learn to love and care for itself.

That way, harmony can exist and the world will not have to end.

Make it happen people. Whenever you hear words like the ones i mentioned above, take time to tell that person that their language needs to change. We were not given voices and mouths and tongues and teeth in order to create words of intolerance or separation. We were given these tools to spread love and truth and light and hope.

Stop bigotry and hate NOW.

So, life is moving at a faster pace.

Summer is approaching.

I am spending more time on the Quad and Theatre 2 than ever before.

The air is lighter and warmer.

I am about to pick where I will be living next year! (Can you believe it's almost over?)

Even with all of these things happening so quickly, I still find myself bogged down.

Classes are hard and long. I seem to be writing papers every night and running everywhere in the daytime. I give speeches weekly and am outlining my way through my freshman year.

Nine is getting its feet on the ground and the cast is so dedicated and wonderful. I know that I said this before, but I am going to miss the seniors so much. SOOOOO MUCH!!!

Emily: She can mix-belt her face off. So consistent and wonderful.

Laura: Funny, funny girl. Can dance rings around Rudolph Nureyev.

Ali: Obsessed with this girl. Watch out Sutton Foster.

Holli: Ease on Down the Road. That is all.

Shannon: My shoulder to lean on and my "sorry for partying" gal pal. And she's fierce.

Evie: My wonderful musical director with a heart of gold and a voice of heaven.

Amanda: An awesome director that always knows the right thing to say.

Although I am stressed and nervous up to my nostrils, I know that somehow, I will get through! I love my life, family, and friends.

Until next time, bye!!!!

Exodus of Minnesota. aka: i hate airports

So, Spring Break was great. But, like all good things, it came to an end. Still, I was really excited to get back to JMU and NINE!

Before I got back to JMU, I had to go through one of the worst airport experiences I have ever had. I get to the Minneapolis airport way ahead of time of my 10:00 departure. I get to the gate and it says that the plane will NOW be departing at 10:35. humph. I call my dad and he says "LIES. Airports are all about lies!" I get in line because I am afraid that I will not make my 1:40 connecter flight from Detroit to Richmond. I get to the front and the lady says that I will have plenty of time to make my flight.

Reminder, I am currently in Central Time and will be entering the Eastern Time Zone. So I have a lot less time that it looks. I guess she didn't figure this into my flight time at all... Anyways, she will not rebook me, saying that ALL flights are booked everywhere. Not only to Richmond, but to Newport News, Charlottesville, Washington DC and even Roanoke! LIE. My dad calls Delta and books me onto a flight to Roanoke. Anyways, we start boarding the plane at 10:45. We don't even start moving until 11ish.

I was late for my connector. Of course. So I have to make friends with the "friendly" people down at the Delta Customer Service Center. Has anyone ever noticed that the unhappiest people working at airports work at Customer Service? How'd ya figure?

So, they print out my pass. And I tell them that I have no money. So I have to ask a mean-faced woman at the desk for a meal voucher. She sighs, thinks for a minute, and then prints one out. So I got some food at Einstein's!

So it is around 2ish and my flight is scheduled for 6:15. So what do I do with all my time? Represent all crazy theatre people out there. I put my earphones in, blast XANADU up to full volume, and sing to myself while I am walking to find my gate. Which changed about 7 times in the course of my stay at the airport. I got a lot of weird looks in Detroit. Whatever. If anyone has seen me in person, they would realize that I stand out without trying. I am tall, walk quickly, and love to sing. Which spells disaster (or wonderment, based on your perspective!)

So 6:15 rolls by. Flight boards at 6:30. I land in Roanoke around 7:45. My wonderful parents had to drive 4 and a half hours to Roanoke to pick me up and then had to drive me 2 hours to JMU!!! Thank goodness I have them!

I get home two hours late and unload my stuff (partially). I say goodbye to my loving parents and COLE!!! Logan calls me and I love the sound of her voice! (If you haven't heard this girl sing, you are missing out) I head over to the library, completely exhausted, but happy to see my friends.

What a busy Sunday. Hopefully I won't have to experience this for a long, long time!

First Entry!

So, I am taking the fall and starting a blog! I have written in journals since forever, and I really want to try a new medium! So, who am I?

I'm 18. I'm a freshman at James Madison University majoring in Musical Theatre. I'm 6'4". I'm really loud and kind of out of my mind. I'm ok with that.

I love theatre. And people. I am currently on Spring Break in Minneapolis visiting my sister Leah! I am having a great time. Funnily (is that a word?), people really do talk in "don'tcha know's" here!

One day, hopefully after my college graduation, I hope to move to NYC to pursue a career in musical theatre. We all know the odds that are against me in this life, but I really wanna give it as big a shot as possible! I feel that genuinely nice people that have a love for the art usually succeed in theatre. Still, I am training as much as possible in school.

I am currently in rehearsals for Nine, which runs April 6-10 at JMU! I am having a blast even though rehearsals haven't really started. I am learning my lines as quickly as possible so that I can enter rehearsals ahead of the game. Hopefully, that will work out. Amanda, my director, seems to have a real vision for this show, which I am really excited about. The cast is incredible, filled with some of the best and brightest in the department. From belters to sopranos to even baritenors (me), the cast is diverse! There are only two guys in Nine and 12 girls!

I play Maurice La Fleur, which should be both a fun and difficult role. My role is traditionally played by a woman, most notably by Chita Rivera! La Fleur speaks in a thick French accent and cracks many jokes. He even has a number called Folies Bergeres, which I get to sing with my best friend, Logan!

This year seems to be coming to a close at a pace so much quicker than I had anticipated. I am excited about the summer, but I will miss the graduating seniors so much! Thank goodness I get to work with them one last time before they leave for good!

It seems that I have taken to blog-writing and I will probably write another post soon! Till then, thanks for reading!