So here I am, starting what would seem like any other summer, but (even though I don't think I fully realize it yet) its not. Normally, come August, I would have to go back to school in Iowa, but for the first time, I will start trying to live life as a real human, more specifically an actor. After living in small-town Iowa for the past 4 years, moving back to Minneapolis has been a bit of a crash course in a lot of things. While I really loved Decorah while I was there, I am now acutely aware at just how much of a bubble it truly is. While I was accepted into grad programs for musical theater at NYU and Boston Conservatory, I have decided to take a year off and make sure that this is really what I want to be doing....as well as make enough money to actually attend one of those schools.
So far its been a great summer. I was super lucky to get a music directing job that actually started the day of my commencement! Besides that, I have been working as a freelance accompanist and vocal coach and have fortunately kept pretty busy with that. However, its been a while since I've had the opportunity to actually be on stage in a production, so after a couple auditions, I have a couple callbacks, and I will post about them as soon as things start to solidify....which is just as much an "if" as it is a "when".
I have also been reminded how strong your support system must be to actually even think about making it as a performance artist. My friends, family and teachers have been a huge support to me in my transition from school to "real life" and hopefully I can reciprocate.
Fun fact: I spent last week at my cabin in the UP of Michigan with two of my favorite people ever, Ben and Laura. All three of us went to school together and became super close because of our mutual interests and activities. Through some real fancy scheduling work, we were able to get about 6 days up in the deep woods on Lake Superior and had a GREAT time! I'm not sure if you can post pictures on here, but if I figure that out, I'll put some up. Thanks to Laura, we tried some really tasty local food and we spent a good amount of time being frost-bit in the lake, yelling (singing), getting lost in the woods and reading really questionable books that we bought at the local grocery store....sketchy, I know. It was a really unforgettable experience, and I'm really hoping to make it a yearly happening!
This is starting to ramble a bit.....and because I have little self-control, my bedtime has gotten increasingly out of hand since graduation. I need to work on this. Anyways, thats all for now.
Tenderly,
A
