Groove

I think I've finally hit my groove. Hopefully. I've been out of school for a cool (almost) three months and I finally have time to take a breath and evaluate. From the looks of it, this might be my busiest year of theater so far. I've put up 5 shows since January '10 and have the possibility of doing 2 more before the end of the year. Too much? Perhaps. I was terrified in the last few weeks of school that diving right in and trying to jump start my career would be too difficult, but with a little bravery and a ton of patience, I am doing alright, which is a HUGE relief.

Sound of Music closed two weeks ago and it turned out to be a pretty good production. The children were double cast, so it was a bit of a challenge to build continuity for the run, but it was overall, a great experience for those involved. I've also had some more callbacks recently - none of which I've booked, but that's okay because I went into them knowing that I wasn't a great fit for any of the roles. That's been probably one of the most difficult things for me to grasp - type. As any singing actor, I'd like to fancy myself as someone who is able to morph into any role a director might ask for, but its becoming increasingly clear that there is a rhyme and reason to this whole casting world. Even with my classical background, I'm getting more and more calls for the pop/rock/modern musical theater look and sound, which is great. I love that material, and I'll ride it for as long as it lets me!

An exciting thing for some of my friends right now is the start of a new school year! For my younger buddies, going back to school is always an experience in itself. Each new year comes with things familiar and things brand new. Some good, some bad, some in-between. Either way, I am so pumped for them to have the opportunity to enjoy good old Iowa! For the friends that graduated with me, its a mixed bag of things. A lot of my friends are Education Majors and will be starting their student teaching in a few days, which is essentially going back to school. I am so So SO excited for them because all of them will be phenomenal educators in their own way. I can't wait to hear their stories and see how they adapt with their new experiences! Gah! So cool! I guess I'm so excited because I come from a family of all teachers and have a huge respect for what they do and why they do it, so there's that.

In addition to the endless auditions, I am also doing a ton of teaching and a ton of coaching. More and more, I am convinced that the MM in Voice Ped is the right way to go as opposed to the performance route. Especially because many of the requirements from the ped programs mirror those for the performance majors, so essentially, it wouldn't be that different. I just find myself much more gratified after a successful day of teaching than after performing. At least recently. Granted, I haven't performed a major role in a few months, so once I start rehearsing for my next show, I'll let ya know how I feel. In other updates, Zombie Prom is going pretty well. I've never worked with a group that is comprised of only high school kids before, so I'm getting used to them and they're getting used to me, but the more I get to talk to them, the more I am able to relate and help them have a great experience with this project.

Quick shout-out to friends in South Pacific at the Vivian Beaumont! They were televised on "Live from Lincoln Center" last night and the entire production was fantastic! I did the show a few years ago as Lt. Joseph Cable and seeing it done by such a first-class cast was so refreshing! It gives me a renewed faith in those old classics. Also going to see the Nat'l tour of Wicked this weekend and I hear the cast is good, so I'm excited to go after not seeing it for a while!

I've gotta go eat some cupcakes now, so I'll write some more when I have more to write!

Om nom.

A