Missing Florida

It is really hard for me not to miss Florida when we are having such nice, tropical weather here at Maryland. Going back to Disney over break has made me realize how much I miss the place and how connected I am to it. I wouldn't mind working for the Disney Company through life, living in Orlando and being able to travel elsewhere. Central Orlando has such a positive, healthy buzz to it - no doubt connected to the nice weather that exists there. But my time in the college program there was such a pivotal point in my life - whenever I left SW Va and began living in the world- it's no wonder that I love it so much there. I am a happier person when I'm there, cares and stresses literally melt away. The friends I made on the program there and the wonderful experiences are dearly missed by me. I long to sit in my thrid floor condo at Chatham Square again, on my computer with my window open and looking out upon palm trees blowing in the evening breeze. Then there was the entrie Disney experience. They make everything "magical" and treat employees very good. So that multiplied the experience. I lived at Disney World! What could I do in my down time? Go ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster - and get back doored at that! I could eat numerous nationalities of food, meet people from dozens of different countries, and spend my nights on Pleasure Island. And if I ever got sick of Disney or theme parks, there's always the vibrancy of Orlando with so much to do that I didn't even scratch the surface on my first program there! Plus there's a beach only an hour away in either direction! I miss it so much. That's why I've decided on working there again. This summer for July and August I will do Casual Temporary at Disney-MGM then, in the Spring semester of '08, I will repeat the program again. And I will get credit this time - through another institution if Maryland won't let me. I anticipate being back there! And there's so much more I want to do this time. It will be nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of my theatre life here in the North and enjoy Disney for another 5 months.

So we're back in school now, Spring break was way too short. I'm busy with EVERYTHING. The Lab opens this weekend, so we're teching for that all week. Then there's Can Can, the 288 project which I'm directing with Zach Fernebok. Plus there's The 70, and I'm not exactly sure where I stand on that. Then, on April 7th, I have a shoot for "National Treasure 2." I'm very excited about that! But things are going, I'm getting exposure and, above all, experience. It's better to be busy than not. I guess all actors feel this way - have an innate need to work. Sloth is a sin, especially for people who work in theatre. Sloth = death. No work means you're not good, not wanted - or at least one feels that way. So for now, I'll work and be happy about my non-existant free time. It will return when I'm dead!

Sidestreets and Energy

It is so exciting to see the outside turning into spring! How gorgeous things are right now. Soon the cherry trees will be blossoming around the tidal basin and I will have to make a trip to the festival. Gorgeous blossoms on a bright, breezy bank. D.C really is a lovely town.

Yesterday I went with my puppetry group to see the new Amazing Grace movie, which tells the story of Wilbur Force and his campaign to wnd slavery in Britain. We thought it would be appropriate since we're basing our performance piece on John Newton - the man who wrote the song "Amazing Grace" and was only a side story in this film. The movie was, unfortunately, not the best. But on the positive side the neighborhood the theatre was in was absolutely gorgeous. Very nice, reminded me of the town that Gilmore Girls is set in. The theatre was The Avalon Theatre. They only have two small screens and show old and independant movies. It was such a nice day to do that and a good time was had by all. I will have to revisit that neighborhood again.

I'm still working on finding an internship in NYC for the summer. One of my professors, Karalee Dawn, is helping me with this process. Her immense knowledge of the NYC business - from her many years at William Morris and other top notch companies - is such a great resource to have. And she's so nice and willing to help her students, like me. I will be applying with Richard Frankel Productions and any other agencies I can find. I would like to just do some kind of assistant position to get a feel for everything, then experience NYC in my free time. It would be wonderful. I hope that everything else works out!

I submitted to be an extra for National Treasure 2 a couple of days ago through Carlyn Davis Casting. They're filming a large scene here on our mall - a scene that is supposed to be UVa's quad. I found that very amusing. But I don't know who they're trying to fool. Any educated person will be able to differentiate this campus from UVa: the absence of the crackerbox suites, the missing rotunda, and the presence of turtles and red! Ah well, we'll see. I hope I'm selected. In a movie with Nicholas Cage. Fun.

Anyway, a MUCH needed spring break and trip to Florida is right around the corner! I cannot wait to board the plane and forget about things for a few days. Should be much fun.

Breezy Days and Busy Nights

With midterms happening and spring break ever-so-near, my life is going haywire. My days are loaded with work, classes and homework and my evenings are spent rehearsing multiple things, namely The Lab which opens in only a few weeks! So things are busy busy busy. But that's a good thing for an aspiring actor - we crave work, need it. And when we don't have it we feel lacadasical and worthless.

But even with this never ending schedule it's nice to sit back and enjoy the time here, which is exactly what I got to do yesterday. My friend Meghan Kennedy from NYU cam to visit me for her spring break for a day. I met her in Chinatown where the bus dropped her off and we spent the day enjoying D.C. It was so gorgeous and the town was actually very active - something I'd not seen since the cold and snow had been here. There was an electric air about town, something in the air that made me want to just sit a a cafe somehwhere drinking lemonade and watching all of the pedestrians passing by. It would have been nice to go to old town Alexandria, but we did not have the time. We walked around the federal triangle, visited a Smithsonian for a bit, and had lunch at a great Asian restaurant in Dupont Circle. It made for a lovely day. I'm so fortunate to have friends like Meghan. Later that night we attended The Green Bird here on UMD's campus and went to the party afterwards at Kristina Freidgen's apartment (she was nice to invite me, even thought I didn't work on Green Bird). Fun times with great people.

But Meghan left back for NYC early this morning, having to run lights for an off-off Broadway show that some friends of hers are doing. Very exciting. My good friend Erin Fisher is coming in from NYC next weekend to take part in some sort of rally on the Pentagon lawn. I'm excited to see her, such a fabulous actress as well. She recently booked an episode of Law & Order!! I'm so excited for her! It will be nice to see her - even if we may only get to do lunch.

Anyway, now I'm off to rehearse The Lab for a few hours. We're running the show today and will have our design run-thru tomorrow. Exciting stuff! How fortunate am I to be able to participate in such exciting projects with such great people! I have been afforded so many opportunities and am very thankful for them. I cannot wait to see what the future holds!

***COME SEE THE LAB IN CSPAC AT THE END OF THIS MONTH!!***

Rehearsal Here, Rehearsal There

The past few weeks have flown by! The Distance from Here officially closed last night, Saturday, March 3. We finished striking everything today by 8 p.m. and I can say I'm glad it's finished. It was a great show and I met lots of cool new people by working on it. I gained newfound respect for techies and know that I am meant to be an actor. Tech people are way cooler than I am! Even people I had hesitation about at first I have grown to like. It's nice when that happens. But I did enjoy myself while it ran and learned many new things. Job well done (besides the lights freaking out on me - NOT MY FAULT!!).

We've began rehearsals for The Lab: An Experiment in Grand Guignol. Lindsey Snyder and Kris Messer are possibly the two coolest people on earth! Their ideas and concepts for this show are going to make it kick-ass. It will be the best Off-Center so far! I can say with certainty that it will be the best Off-Center of the 2006-2007 school year, having been in them all so far. I'm very glad to be a part of this amazing effort and know the audience will love it! Lindsey and Kris have produced a wonderful script in which they've mixed the original Grand Guignol The Lab script with Sci-Fi type alien interludes. They're staging it in a very over-the-top, non-realism way. Realism is the enemy! as they say. So there won't be too much mental work with the script, but loads of physical work - something I NEED to work on. So this project will be great for me. Possibly the best thing about this show - and definitely the money maker - will be the effects! Grand Guignol prides itself on its life-like horrific, shock effects. The blood will be spurting! And better yet: the audience will get a taste! The audience will surroung the playing area on three sides and, due to the proximity, will be hit with the gorey mess!!! Just like Evil Dead: The Musical except better. So if you're in the D.C. metro area: COME AND SEE THIS SHOW! It will be great! I'm very glad to be a part of it.

I also have rehearsal for The 70 tomorrow: the paying show I'm involved with downtown. My role is relatively easy and the show seems like it's going to be rather big. So that's a great combination. I should get some nice exposure with this piece. The producers sent out an e-mail today saying that Playbill may be doing our programs! Me in a Playbill! That would be amazing! Let's hope that works out. Meanwhile we'll be rehearsing for our world premier in May. I'm not sure which theatre we perform at first, but I do know it will play at the Lincoln Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, GWU's campus, and as part of the Hip Hop Theatre Festival. This will be a fun ride! I'll keep you posted about this.

Now I have to go do some monologue work for Acting 220 and get started on reading The Rover for THET113. I'm living the life now.