December

A quick update! I survived the semester! YAY! And passed pretty well with my classes! Finals kicked my trash! I was definitely in the Library WAY too much. I also moved out of my apartment, but haven't been able to sell my contract yet, so if you know anyone who needs one, let me know!

The weather was really bad over Tahoe and I-80 coming home, so I had to drive home through Vegas. The snow from Provo to St. George was HORRIBLE. Almost just as bad as the blizzard I wrecked my car in driving down to St. George. All in all it took 16 hours to get home. It was a horrid drive. The week before Christmas was spent shopping, shopping, and more shopping! I ended up getting a lot of new clothes for me too, since I haven't really done some major shopping since before my mission.

Christmas was nice. We spent it at home in our PJ's all day. We haven't done that in a really long time, so that was nice. Right now we're in Eureka. We brought Nanny home. And we'll be coming home Friday. Next week I head to NYC and my adventures of 2011 will BEGIN! I also will be starting to work out...and I mean MAJOR workout with a trainer next year before my cruise. So I will be blogging about that too.

In other fun news, I just got an email from Panama. It was a scanned hand-written letter from Hermana Melida. She's a sweet little lady from Panama. She lives in Colon, my third area on the mission. She's extremely physically disabled, but that doesn't stop her from teaching, knitting, and living a full life. She's amazing. And receiving a letter from her saying how much she loves me and remembers me, even though I only served in that Area for one transfer is the BEST Christmas present I could get.

Happy New Year To ALL! Stay tuned for the adventures of 2011.

Tis the Season....

One of my favorite Christmas things is the Nutcracker! I LOVE the music, I love the story, and I LOVE to watch a good dance performance of it! However, my new favorite version is not your classic Nutcracker, nor is it even Ballet.

Its Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! Oh. My. Cow. Its SO good!

I wish I could take a few years of my life, seriously train only in dance, be hired by Matthew Bourne to dance for his company New Adventures, and be in his performances, like the Nutcracker. He's also created an all dance version of Edward Scissorhands, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and MORE! I'm kinda obsessed with him!

If you haven't seen his version of The Nutcracker, please do yourself the favor and do so! Its on DVD! Here's a trailer for it!

New Directions!

If you haven't noticed (or maybe you did...), I changed the title of my blog! And if you haven't read it for a while, I have a new template too! Why might I do all this you might ask? Well, let me answer...

The year 2011 is going to be a year full of new experiences, travels, and adventures galore! So I'm making sure you all can follow me on my adventures throughout the year. I'll be posting regularly (hopefully weekly if not more). Now I know what you all are thinking..."How many times has he said that he'll post on a regular business and he never does?"

Don't worry, this time, I'm serious!

Please comment, read, and share whatever you want with me. I'll hopefully be posting insights I'll be learning (personal, spiritual, etc.) and I would love to do the same!

This year will be including a year off of school, NYC, Chicago, Panama, Alaska, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Caribbean, a cruise ship, Tonga, and much MUCH more! So see if you can keep up with me! Cause I'm going to be living my life LIVE and in LIVING COLOR! Life wasn't meant to be lived in Black and White. So without further adieu, HERE WE GO!

Update

So, I've been UBER busy this month. October really flew by. And as such, I have not had time to come on here and update my blog.

I guess the first item of news is that I decided to take the cruise. I will be sailing on the mrs. Westerdam from May through December. Come visit me! As such, I'll be taking the next semester off and living at home for a while. That should be nice.

Drowsy Chaperone is still playing and its a BLAST! Don't miss it! I still haven't gone on for the Man in the Chair, but maybe one day...and maybe never. But nonetheless I love the cast, I love the show, and its so much fun.

This week/month have been killer in school. Assignments, midterms, my show, rehearsals, etc. have been eating away at me. I feel like I'm either in a class, at my show, or in the Library. I don't really have much free time right now. I guess that can be a good thing. I just need this week to be over. :)

Besides that, I'm alive, and I'm here, and I'm just keepin' on keepin' on. I'd love any support you can give me...text, email, fb, comments on here. If anyone even reads this. HAHA

Bittersweet.

That is how I'm kinda feeling about life right now. "Life," as the Drowsy Chaperone says, "Is a MAD whirlwind." And I feel like this phrase is very much true for my life right now. So much has been happening in the last month in a half with my personal life, my acting life, my school life, and my family life. I feel like I can't quite keep up with it.

I'm kinda having one of those "I hate my life/I LOVE my life" days. I feel so overwhelmed with schoolwork, performances, a cruise ship contract offer, and various personal issues. And yet at the same time, I am loving my life and I feel so blessed! I'm talented, I'm smart (sometimes), I go to college, I got a contract offer to perform on a cruise ship, I have food every day, a car, a loving family, etc.

So I guess the point of all this is to just say that, like my blog title says, I'm ALIVE! I'm HERE! I'm living a FULL spectrum of things in my life. And I'm trying to be grateful for all that life is dishing to me right now.

Decision Time

So, I got an email last night from the casting director at Stiletto Entertainment. I auditioned for them back in February and was put on their hiring list. They have now offered me a contract to perform on the Holland America liner the ms Westerdam from March to December. I don't know what to do. I'd love your opinions as a comment, email, or on FB.

PROS:

1. Money: I could make about $21,000 from this experience, and maybe walk away with about $19,000. That means when I move to NYC, I'll have about $24,000 to have at my disposal.

2. Get out of Utah and BYU for a while! I love it and all, but a break would be nice. Part of that would be spent at home in Cali for December through March when I leave. So that means family time and possibly performing in "Assassins" at the 6th Street Playhouse. Plus saving money on living expenses.

3. I could do my three remaining GE's during this time online, meaning that when I finally do come back to BYU for my final semester, I won't have to worry about them. I could simply focus on my MDT classes and do Showcase!

4. The Boat goes through the Caribbean, PANAMA (my mission), and Alaska! Nice!

5. Be one year older and wiser (and buffer!) before I jump into the NYC world of theater.

CONS:

1. Staying active with church. How do you do that on a cruise ship? I'm still trying to find out how often we port and how often and for how long we're off the ship for. If we port on a Sunday, I could easily find a church. And on any other day, I could try for a temple trip, like in Panama! But there's definitely the church issue.

2. I wouldn't graduate this year. I would graduate next year (2012). Will that really affect me? (NYC will always be there...I'd rather cruise now and then go to NYC rather than do Senior Showcase and then leave NYC to do a cruise...looks bad.)

3. A Cruise Ship show...not totally productive to learning more about my future career in the theater, but still, its a job.

Thoughts people? I'd love your opinions! Thanks!

Busy Busy

Well this weekend was CRAZY! We had rehearsals all weekend. Friday night went pretty smoothly, but Saturday was ALL day and Crazy! It all started with Delaney falling into one of the trap doors in the opening number of the first run. Luckily she literally jumped right into it doing choreography and Taylor was there to break her fall. He wasn't hurt and she only had to go get stitches in her shin. Besides that the runs went well and things are slowly coming together! And we open on TUESDAY! CRAZY!

I spent the weekend with Greg and Kasi for conference. It was a lovely Sunday. I loved going to the afternoon session and sharing rice krispy treats with them and listening to the wonderful and inspiring messages from living Prophets and Apostles.

Now onto a crazy opening week!! And a Bio Midterm. ugh. not the week for this!

The Drowsy Chaperone!

I can't Believe I haven't posted this yet! I'm in the Drowsy Chaperone at the Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City in SLC. :) Come see it! The show is going to rock! And honestly, the tickets are already selling out! So get your tickets now! I'm in the TThS cast! :)

To buy tickets online, click here or call 801-984-9000.

Here's a video of rehearsal!

COME SEE IT!

I'm Here

So, its Monday night. I got done with rehearsal early, went and said bye to Matty, and then came home. Instead of doing homework or going to bed, what do I do? I watch a movie...naturally.

But not just any movie. I watched The Color Purple.

All I can say is WOW! What a powerful movie and a powerful story. I'd never seen it before. I saw the musical right off of my mission...but I didn't enjoy it very much for some reason...I think I would enjoy it more now that I know more about it and I've seen the movie.

I have no words. I was in tears. Such a great message about love and forgiveness and persevering. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it!

So...I know I'm horrible at this but...

I really should be updating this more often. I keep looking at my friend's blogs and I realize that this could be a good place to reflect and muse on things happening in my life.

So, Jackson ended. It was great. I miss my friends from there. I learned and went through a lot. Now I'm back in Provo at the B Y of U and its good to me so far. I've been in rehearsals for the Drowsy Chaperone all month, which opens on the 5th of October! You won't want to miss this show! The cast is fabulous and the show is so great! I hope you can all come see it! I'm in the TThS cast!

Besides that school is kicking my trash this year. Tons of school work and not enough time to do it. But I must graduate in April. That's the goal!

For now, that's all, because I need to go to bed, but I'll do my best to keep this updated.

Sometimes...

You have good intentions. And they bite you in the butt.

Sometimes those good intentions hurt others.

Sometimes,

life can really bite.

Hope you've learned your lesson.

This Week....

Well, Its been a week since my last post. What has happened. A lot!

First of all, we started our second week of Playtime at the Playhouse. Cody and I wrote a revue about the Jackson Hole Playhouse Glee Club. It was HILARIOUS! It had 9 songs in it too!! What were we thinking. But the show turned out pretty good Wednesday. A few dropped lines here and there, but for the most part the kids did a great job! And they learned a lot of new songs and good skills.

Cody and I with the kids!

The JHP Glee Club!

Last weekend I went to SLC for a quick trip with Ben and Sam. It was really fun! I stayed with Bradford. We spent most of Sunday sleeping, since I was SO tired from the drive. Then I did a bit of much needed shopping at the Gateway, had some sushi, and saw Alyssa, Dave, and Lauren in Hair at the Egyptian Theater in Park City. And boy did we see ALL of them! HA But the show was good. Hair isn't my favorite musical of all time, but their production was good. It was also good to be there for Bradford, listen to him when he needed to talk, and just be with him. Poor guy. He has a lot on his shoulders trying to raise two beautiful children alone since his wife Heather passed in May of Brain Cancer. He has to be so strong for them and for others in the family. I love just listening to him talk about her, and being strong for him so that he can have his moments to grieve a little. Hopefully he'll make it up for 4th of July weekend with Carson.

Now its a new week and we are working on Hairspray with our kids. We have 9 this week! And so far so good! Marin came to the show tonight and said we were doing just great! She had a few small notes, but nothing we had to have rehearsal for. And Ben's family is in town too. My fam is coming soon.

In other news, I just found out that my cat Midnight, who we've had for over 16 years is pretty ill and probably on her last leg. :( She will be missed.

ARRRRRRR!!!

So Wednesday was our first performance of the 2010 season of Playtime at the Playhouse. The kids performed "The Pirates of the Snake River". And it was a SMASH HIT SUCCESS!!! The kids were fabulous!

Here's some photos!

This week we're working on an original script including songs from 13, My Favorite Year, Grey Gardens, Wicked, and Promises, Promises. :) Should be fun.

Besides that things are going great here in Jackson. The show gets better and better, Cody is a dream to work with, and the weather is finally beautiful.

Til next time matey's! AAAARRRRRRR!!

PROMISES PROMISES!!!

So, I bought the Promises Promises soundtrack last night on my iPod touch. I couldn't wait. HAHA I Loved the show on Broadway. And I love Burt Bacharach music. So there you go. :)

I highly recommend seeing it or getting the soundtrack. Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes did wonderfully.

Now, its time to find an eye-patch for our kid's show tomorrow. They have worked all week on "The Pirates of the Snake River". Its absolutely hilarious. And I even wrote us an overture!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Let's Get this going again!

So, this is in honor of Analeece. At dinner today we talked about how last year in Jackson she would always read my blog at the Box office...So here we go again, so that she can have something to do while she's working. :)

A Quick update. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was a major success! SO MUCH FUN! After we closed, I went home to Cali and saw Audra McDonald perform with the SF Symphony. It took my breath away. She is absolutely amazing. After about a week at home, dad and I went to NYC for a week to see Kelly go through the temple. While there we saw Addams Family with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuworth, A Little Night Music with Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Next to Normal, and Promises Promises with Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. It was a fabulous trip.

Now I'm in Jackson Hole again for the summer performing at the Playhouse in Annie Get Your Gun. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't too excited to come back again, but I'm really happy I'm here. I know that this is where I need to be. The show is awesome and our cast rocks. I'm teaching the musical theater workshops again, and this time around working with Cody Walker is a dream. Night and day from last year. :) I also teach Sunday School at the single's ward, which is turning out to be a wonderful little gig.

Well, that's all for now. Annie, I hope you enjoy. Check back later for more.

One Day....

I hope to perform on Broadway.

I hope to be a dad.

I hope to find someone who is just as interested in me as I am in them.

I hope to be a better singer/dancer/actor.

I hope to be loved.

I hope to be a fabulous cook.

I hope to not have to worry about money.

I hope to be a good friend

I hope to be there again.

Just Another Day

So last week was much more relaxing than I ever expected it to be. It was so nice not to have a rehearsal or a performance every night of the week. I got see Fiddler on the Roof at the West Valley Hale. The production itself wasn't like blow your mind amazing, but it was good. And of course the Jewish blood in me flowed and made me cry like ten times...HAHA

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was a technical mess on Friday night. So many tech problems, but it was SO funny because we just ad-libbed our way through them. Then after the show Friday night I took a spontaneous trip down to St. George to visit some friends. It was so fun! And I drove back on saturday afternoon to be able to do my show that night. Needless to say I'm kinda tired from this weekend. But it was SO worth it.

I can't wait for this weekend.

MDT SHOWCASE!!!!

So, I had a great weekend! It started Thursday, when Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened! We had a great opening night, and it was fun to have my parents there! I think its one of the first opening nights they've ever been to! So yay for them!

Then Friday and Saturday nights the lovely BYU MDT majors and I performed a FABULOUS showcase! It was so much fun! And we Rocked! I had solos in the opener (Don't Stop Believin') and the closer (Love Heals). I also was featured in a song called "I Will be Me" with the lovely and talented Bronwyn and Megan, was Bert in "Step In Time", and was one of six singers in "Glimpse of the Weave". Overall, the 2010 MDT showcase was a success!!!

Now onto a not so restful day of rest. :)

Clumsy

So, honestly, I can be the most CLUMSY person sometimes....So we're in rehearsal for Dancers' Company yesterday and I was going off stage, and ran into the light tree. Mind you, the light tree is a metal post about 9 feet tall, and it has at least 5 stage lights attached to it...so it probably weighs a total of about 50 lbs.

Now that we've set that up, lets just say i ran into the light tree with my face and moved the light tree about 8 inches out of place. OUCH! So I have a nice goose egg on my forehead. It hurts.

Besides that, I've just been getting ready for the MDT SHOWCASE! Make sure to come see it! Its this Friday and Saturday night at 7 and 9 pm. Also, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS opens today. :) Wish us luck!

And mom and dad are in town and are taking me to lunch!!

Another great preview

So tonight we had a GREAT preview! The audience was super, the cast was rocking, and everything was just grand. :)

First Preview!!

Tonight was my first preview as Andre with an audience for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! It went really really well! I'm so happy to be in this show. Its a blast really. :)

Make sure to see it before it closes! You won't regret it!

A New Week

I must say, I love sleeping in. I spent most of the day yesterday just resting...which was much needed and today (though I probably shouldn't have) I slept in. Sleep is very valuable! Especially before a crazy week!

A few things happening this week. First of all, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opens at the Hale Center Theater! Here's go here to buy tickets! The cast is wonderful and I love working with them. I perform Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Second, this week is the MDT showcase! Its going to be great. I have a few solos, so check it out! That is Friday and Saturday night 7 and 9 pm in the Madsen Recital Hall. You can get tickets at the HFAC box office or online here!!

Plus I have my final scene to present for my advanced acting class...needless to say...I am going to die by the end of the week. So come see me in those things! It may be your last chance to see me alive!!!

Here We Go Again

Well, it's been a while since I posted. I have decided that I really do need to keep up on my blog. Its good for me to just kinda review things from the day, its a form of a journal for me, and a place where I can just write what I feel.

So here's a little catch up time.

First of all, Children of Eden was fabulous! We had a great run, and I really feel like I grew a lot during that process. I also went on a tour with the Dancers' Company for ten days in October to Wyoming and Montana. We saw a lot of miracles and had a great time! Last semester KICKED MY BUTT! But I came out of it alive and learning the lesson to NEVER take 18.5 credits ever again.

This semester has been eventful so far as well. The Dancers' Company performed our Dance in Concert the last weekend of January in the DeJong Concert Hall. It was SO great and got a wonderful response. I was cast in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Hale Center Theater in Orem as Andre, and we open this week! I also attended the YA Alumni weekend and had a great time. Besides that, I've just been doing the school thing. My semester load is much easier, and I'm very grateful for that.

Coming up this week as well is the MDT showcase on Friday and Saturday! Come see it!

Besides that, my life has gone through a lot of changes, some for the worse, some for the better. Mostly for the better. Trials come and trials go, but I have just come to realize what is really important for me in my life. And that is what I'm striving to achieve.

Well, here we go again folks! I hope I can keep up with this thing as much as possible.

REMEMBER! LOVE LIFE AND SIEZE THE MOMENT!!!!