Friday, October 17, 2008

Life...


...is completely crazy right now! I feel like I've reached the calm before the storm. The rest of UEA I have nothing scheduled except when we get back to school everything will come crashing down! I just realized the show, Sleepy Hollow, is in FIVE DAYS!!!! I can't believe our productions class is almost through with our first show this year. We've already been down to shakespeare competition at SUU and we did very well, placing fourth overall in our division and fourth in our ensemble scene. I had the oppurtunity to compete in individual events with a monologue and was almost able to perform in the performance showcase.
I absolutely love shakespeare and I was practically giddy with the amount of shakespeare and amazing theatre I was presented with. Every time someone mentions shakespeare I just can't help but get a little excited. There is something about the way he is able to present universal truths through his plays that allows him to still touch his audiences today. Thats what I find truly amazing about being a playwright; the ability to touch audiences you don't even know. Words on a page can live on past the writer. Its like a way of being immortal. Your life will come and go; and, actually is very short in comparison with the overall picture, but through a simple paper and pen you can live on. I find it amazing that things as simple as words can be constructed, molded even, into a thriving piece of work. That work can then be experienced over and over by others and its vitality remains the same. It doesn't decrease in value the older it becomes, on the contrary, it grows as more people connect with it. The more people that are able to realize something--whether it be big or small--and are able to connect with writing the more powerful it becomes. Then, the amazing part about theatre is that those words are able to jump off the page and be embodied by real, living human beings on the stage. It becomes something real, and yet somehow incomprehensible that it can be so powerful to combine human talents in such a way.
A man named Cary Tryvanovich (sorry thats probably not spelled correctly, but his website is manonstage.com) recently came to our school. When he was here he did the most amazing pantomime(yes I said pantomime, don't scoff) show I've ever seen; however, it wasn't the show that really moved me, it was his speech afterwards. He spoke about the arts in general. He said that entertainment pleases the senses, but art touches the heart. How true that is! Through theatre, dance, music, painting, or what have you we can reach a different level of understanding. It is just something that is pleasing to the eye, until you have placed a bit of yourself within the project and then it becomes art. When it touches someone else its art. When people are able to realize another part of themselves then its art. Theatre is something that I see as allowing people to understand a different part of themselves. To catch, if only for a moment, a glimpse of what its really all about. What humanity really is. After hearing him speak, I realized that this is what I want to do with my life. I mean, I've always known that I really enjoy theatre and I would stick with it, but this sort of cemented the idea. I will go on and do theatre. I don't even really care what aspect of theatre it is. I could write, direct, perform, or anything really and be happy. I will continue writing, but it will probably be integrated into theatre in some way because I don't really see them as seperate things. I talked to Cary after he spoke, because I couldn't let someone who had possibly changed my life just leave without realizing the impact he had made. While I was thanking him I almost started crying; I felt so ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. It was like a spiritually moving experience to realize that this is what I am meant to do with my life.
I know lots of people talk about going on and doing great things and being passionate about them, but never really pulling through.I won't be one of those people. This is something I feel so strongly about that it can't just be chance. I will work my hardest to bring theatre to those around me. I will do it. Really,I will! I will live my life trying to help others realize that deeper more eseential part of themselves. That indescribeable part of us we call the soul.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

New York...

...is amazing! I had the oppurtunity to vacation there for a week in the beginning of June, and had a blast! Here's a look at what happened.


Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Stress...

...is beginning to set in for the coming school year. I just feel like my life has been put in drive and the gear shift is stuck there. There never seems to be a moment when I can just sit and do nothing and I'm pretty sure I have the beginnings of an ulcer forming in my stomach. I start rehearsals next week and then school will hit. It all seems so surreal that I am actually going into my senior year of high school. If I so much as blink, I'm sure the rest of this year will just pass me by.
There is just so much that I want to accomplish that it doesn't seem possible. That is when I have to stop and tell myself to take it one day, maybe even one hour at a time. I know I can handle the work, its just thinking about the work to come that stresses me. I've decided that this year I won't allow anything to hold me back. I'm going to do everything in my power to reach my goals and be better than I was before.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Rain...


...is beautiful. This morning I woke up at seven. I know its summer and that is really early, since I didn't have to get up, but I was rewarded. I woke to the sound of rain pattering on my window and the secluded feel of a clouded dawn. Instead of hitting snooze and sleeping a bit longer as I would normally, I got up and just walked outside. When I saw the glow of the sun rising over the mountains I realized something: life is beautiful. There is so much out there, and if we only pause to see how amazing it is, we'll realize how blessed we are just to be alive and experiencing this earth. Barefoot, I walked out in the rain and just stood on the street corner, the rain tickling my head. I just stood there and couldn't understand why nobody else had woken to experience this. I'm sure I looked a bit ridiculous standing in my rain-spotted pajamas with my wet hair tousled by the wind, but I loved it! There is something empowering about standing where everyone can see me, but no one is looking. It was just me, the rain, and my thoughts.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

August Rush...


...has inspired me! I know most people don't like it or think its too far fetched, but I don't care. I love the idea of music being something higher than all of us. It is this powerful force that is everywhere. I believe that its how the soul can really communicate. I may not be the best musician, but that doesn't mean I don't feel music. Music can communicate what can't be said. Those thoughts and feelings that can't be put into words can be spoken through music. I love theatre, but there is something more grounded in musical theatre. When feeling a character through the music its as if there is some other level of connection that happens that can't be achieved any other way. I'm going to actually listen to the music around me, and I don't just mean on the radio. I mean music anywhere from anything. The sound of your feet on the pavement, the squeak of a gate, the rush of the leaves. Just listen. There is so much more out there in this world to learn and one way to discover it is through the music that is out there. Take a moment, reflect on life, and just LISTEN. I'm going to find that deeper connection and understanding that can only be discovered through music. I challenge you to do the same.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Singing...

...with my new voice teacher turned out to be all right. Actually, it was better than all right, it was amazing! There are issues I have been trying to work through with my voice and in one lesson she wa able to fix them. My new teacher specializes in a technique called speech level singing and I swear it is sent from heaven! It fixed problems with my breaks that I haven't been able to even come closing to solving before. I have only had one lesson, but in that one lesson I have learned so much. I just hope that each consecutive lesson will be just as good and that this will work out for me. I know I am going to work my hardest to improve and hopefully this is the teacher that will make the most of my efforts.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Voice...


...lessons have been a real pain for me recently. I have been trying to find a new teacher and now I've finally got one! I'm just hoping she'll be exactly what I need. I have my first lesson with my new teacher today, but I'm a little freaked! Its just scary to go to someone and just be open about singing with them. I'm scared she'll be really harsh, yet scared she won't be harsh enough. I need someone who is going to work me to my limits so I can really progress. Acting is what I love to do, and singing comes along with that so I've got to do my best to improve in all areas of performing.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Juno...


...has some of the best quotes, but one of my favorites is when she says almost as if she's realizing it for the first time herself, "I don't know what kind of girl I am."

I realized that thats true. As cliche as it may sound, i'm still trying to find myself. Sometimes I think I know exactly where I'm headed and sometimes I get a bit confused. There are infinite possibilities and oppurtunities out there, and all I've got to do is pull myself out the petty crap and focus on the bigger picture.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Michael Buble...

...is one of the sexiest men alive! When I listen to his music I can't help but sway to the swingin' band. Then is sultry voice is just intoxicating! He growls and I forget to breath. I mean he's decent looking, but the fact that he can sing so well that he sets every woman's heart racing is not even legal! He's sexy...and this is my rant about his sexiness. THE END

Friday, June 27, 2008

Broadway...


...is more than just a sign to me. I went to New York for a week and it made me realize something: I want to be on Broadway. But, I don't mean that in the usual sense of the phrase. I want to write a Broadway play. I want to direct a Broadway play. I want to be able to see my vision portrayed on the stage of the ultimate theater destination.

Shakespeare...



...was, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant men to ever live. His amazing plays have stuck through the ages and his characters continue to confound the world with their raw sincerity. I love to read, perform, watch, and study his collection of works. I am never bored by his ability to use words to paint pictures as well as emotions.

Religion...





...is a stronghold in my life. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Without my religion I don't know where I'd be. This is one of my favorite books, along with the Bible and other scriptures.

Temples...

...symbolize eternity for me. Religion is a big part of my life. One day when I'm ready to be married I am going to be sealed for time and all eternity in my Church's temple.

London...


...is one of my dream destinations. I have never been outside the country, but I dream of going to Europe. One day I will go there and write my stories.

Sisterhood...


....is key in my life. These are my sisters! I have three of them and I love them so much, even though I may not always like them. Even though we're different in so many ways, we're always there for each other.