Astonishing

I guess I'm well overdue for an update.

I just graduated in December. I found that to be incredibly exciting, but terrifying at the same time. I knew that I wanted to get out and start auditioning, but now that I have to knowing that it's how what I need to do next makes me anxious. But I am loving it all the same.

It's been a while since I've gotten to perform in a play, and my last semester, I felt slightly out of touch with the world of theatre. While I still was participating in theatre (I was directing New Dawn, a musical that I wrote), I felt like I had forgotten the joy of getting to perform and create. So since graduating, I have been working up my audition book, and finding material, performing scenes in my room with invisible scene partners, and just having fun and reminding myself why I fell in love with theatre in the first place. It's been wonderful.

My mom and I went into the city to see Anything Goes Saturday. I don't know how else to describe it besides phenomenal. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw the evening performance, and even after having performed the ridiculously demanding show once, they still gave a stellar performance that evening that never faltered or failed to blow my mind. An 8minute tap number is enough to make anyone exhausted, but they performed just that at the end of the first act, and proceeded to flawlessly sing at the end of the number. And then the second act was JUST as strong as the first. The show was absolutely magical. And as if seeing Sutton Foster and the company tap their hearts out and belt up a storm, seeing Joel Grey performing was absolutely inspiring. He's 79 years old, and still never fails to give a remarkable performance. The show was beyond words. It was spectacular to the nth degree. It was absolutely astonishing. You couldn't help but walk out of the theatre feeling lighter than air with a huge smile on your face! (plus I got to see Natalia. It was totally a wonderful night.)

My point in all of this is not to brag that I saw a wonderful show (but I recommend everyone go), but I feel it necessary to mention because it's what made me stop and examine why I'm doing this. I've always known that I love performing theatre. There is some part of me that is only ever fully satisfied when I'm getting to perform. But seeing this awe-inspiring show made me sit back and realize that I do theatre because it brings me joy, but also, because it bring other people joy. While it's easy to get caught up in the anxiety of theatre or competition, I think the people who perform out of joy and absolute positive love for all things theatre are the most successful. I'm not sure how anyone else measures success, but I believe success in theatre is measured in how many people walk out of Anything Goes with smiles that can't be wiped off their faces.

Boy With Dreams

So it's been quite some time now. I figure I'm WAY overdue for an update.

This summer's been fun so far. Caleb has been spending the summer here, and we're working turning him into a dancer every day. It's a blast. It's also made me become a stronger dancer and definitely worked me because I have to think about what I'm doing and how to explain it.

Caleb and I have gone to see some shows too. So far, we saw Sister Act (front row), Catch Me If You Can, and Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark. Honestly, I was and still am floored by all of them for various reasons. Everyone in each show was fantastic. They made me remember why I love theatre so much. It truly is magical.

Caleb's staying here until we go back to school. We're going to Making It on Broadway in August, and I'm stoked. We have another friend from Murray coming to the intensive with us. We're super excited.

I'm also excited that I finished my first draft of New Dawn. It's a musical I've been working on since my freshman year at Murray State. What's more? I talked to the executive director at Playhouse In The Park (the local community theatre), and I'm getting to do a full stage version of it this fall. I'm really excited... nervous, but excited.

However, on a closer term... I leave Saturday to go to Germany for the International Performing Arts Institute. I'll be there for a month... I'm excited. But I get more and more nervous as it gets closer. I've had a bunch of music to learn for it... one of the solos they assigned me is 17 pages long (damn you JRB and your beautiful music). I love it though. As it gets closer, I get more and more anxious, but more and more excited. I'm having a blast just prepping for it. If the actual program is at least a fraction of the fun I've had this summer working up to it, I'll be ecstatic.

While I've had a lot of fun preparing though, I've also struggled. I get frustrated because, vocally, I'm not where I'd like to be. I get frustrated easily because of it too. However, I've found that (this is kinda lame) reading the notes I toke and quotes of people from Making It On Broadway, as well as just random quotes that are just delivered into my lap by God have helped me realize that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. If I was supposed to be singing like Aaron Tveit or Michael Arden, I would be. But I'm not. That's not God's plan for me. And as scary or frustrating as it is, I am more than happy with who I am and what I have been given.

So... Before I quit rambling, I have to share this story that happened to me. A few days ago I was INCREDIBLY down on myself about my voice. I went to bed crying and begging to know why I don't have the voices that so many people around me have. I woke up the next morning with a tweet saying that StudentRushNYC is following me on twitter. I go to their page and the first tweet that comes up by them says:

" 'I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else.

I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you

could be.' -Ken Venturi"

I smiled and cried. I then went to fill out my housing application for school next year, and I needed my student number. As I go to pull out my student id, an old fortune cookie fortune feel out of my wallet. I looked at it. It read:

" Your talents will be recognized and rewarded."

It's times like that I know God is watching and there to help at any moment.

All Good Gifts

This semester's almost over. One week plus finals... Then I only have one semester left.

A lot has been happening.

Starting off, I choreographed Disney's Beauty and the Beast for Campus Lights. It was madness. I had to create 2 large company numbers and teach them. I had a BLAST doing it though. And I couldn't have asked for a better cast. There were literally people of all dance levels and they all gave 110% to make the show wonderful!

I was also cast in Molly Sweeney. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to do the show because it's a show that consists of 3 people never talking to each other... only in monologues that go on for a couple of pages at a time. That thought terrified me. And on top of that, I'd be required to learn an Irish dialect (I'm horrible with dialects). So when I saw that I was cast as Frank Sweeney, I almost had a heart attack. I mean, yes, I was ecstatic that I was cast, but I almost died because the only thing I could think about was, "How in hell am I going to get through any of this?" Fortunately, everyone who worked on the show was absolutely wonderful. Cindy and Jody who played Molly and Mr. Rice were absolutely wonderful. And Lissa, Chase, Joy Beth, Roma, and the rest of the production staff was a dream! Somehow, because they all believed in me, I was able to get through the show... all 2hrs and 10mins of it... (45-50 of those minutes were taken up of me talking in an Irish accent to the audience about random facts and useless pieces of information). I didn't want the show to end though. I had SO much fun doing it, and I learned so much about myself as a performer.

That was the bulk of my semester. And unfortunately, I don't have the fun of performing that show to keep me going through each week until the semester is over. The rest is currently all about trying to keep up in classes.

My summer is looking promising and fun, however. In July, I am getting to go to Germany for the International Performing Arts Institute for Musical Theatre. I'm incredibly excited for that. And I'm also getting to go back to Making It On Broadway in August. I cannot describe how grateful I am that I've gotten these opportunities. While I am terrified and continue to be terrified about graduating, these programs such as Making It On Broadway and hopefully IPAI make me feel much more secure about my future. While Murray is a great school, there's not much training here for musical theatre. Most of what I learn about musical theatre, I have to find out myself. However, getting to attend these intensives, I feel like I'm getting the knowledge I need to be successful in this field. I'm hoping at least.

This semester, I also picked New Dawn up again. New Dawn was a musical I started working on my freshman year here at Murray as a Theatre Class project. I continued working on it for a while, but quit because I got discouraged. Somehow, I picked it up this semester and am almost completed with the score. I have to finish the opening numbers for each act as well as one other number within the show. I'm hoping to finish the numbers and the book this summer, and if all goes well, potentially trying to have a blackbox production of it next semester. Or at very least, a reading. I'll keep posted on it, but I'm super excited.

But as a whole, I think this semester, I've learned a lot about trusting myself, but more importantly, I've learned a lot more about trusting God and knowing that God has a plan for me. I'd been focusing on making everything work how I want it to work, but I'm starting to see that opportunities that I think I want may not be what is best for me.

"I've let go the need to know why. I'll take what answers you supply. You know better than I." - John Bucchino

A Cockeyed Optimist

So, I don't even know where to begin. It's been an entire semester and I'm just now updating.

The semester was the roughest yet, however, I did make it through.

This weekend, I finish up the run of White Christmas at Playhouse In The Park in Murray, KY. It's been a blast. I am playing Phil Davis, and the character is one that I'm VERY happy to be playing. The rest of the cast is doing a phenomenal job. We managed to get through two Thursday morning shows with a twenty min break in between shows and still have enough fun onstage to get through the regular weekend performances. I don't get to go home to see my family until the 20th however, but at the same time, I'm not ready for the show to end. It's been beyond fun!

There's still a lot coming up which will hopefully turn out well and keep me busy. At school next semester, we're doing Molly Sweeney and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'm choreographing Disney's Beauty and the Beast in January for Campus Lights. We have two and a half weeks to put the show up, which is terrifying, but fun at the same time. Everyone who does the show year after year pours their heart and soul into the show, so the show is always a blast to watch and be a part of. I'm also choreographing Hairspray at Playhouse in the Park which opens in February. The beginning of next semester will be hectic, but it helps me keep my mind off of things that may bother me.

I'm also going back for a second round of Making It On Broadway. I went in August, and it was more than I could ever ask for. Going to that intensive before coming back to school was one of the most difficult things I've had to do because for 6 days, I was in an environment that fully embraced musical theatre. Everyone was positive towards each other, and everyone had a passion and need to do not just musical theatre, but any theatre. The intensive was one of the best experiences of my life. Coming back to school, was difficult because it was like leaving home and not knowing if you'll be back. So, I'm truly blessed to be getting to go back in December.

I know it sounds cliche, but I've learned more about myself this semester than any other. It's been difficult at times, but I think I'm starting to see what I'm getting myself into... and I'm ready.

Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'!

Wow... so it's totally been over a month since I've updated. Sorry.

Life's been going this summer. I've done a whole lot of yard work and a little working out, and a LOT of thinking. But things seem to be getting clearer and the future not quite as daunting as it used to be. For some reason, everything seems to be looking bright, and I'm liking it!

But in terms of theatre, I've been attempting to find audition material for next year for everything from school auditions to KTA and Midwest Theatre Conferences. Finding material that I REALLY love and feel that I can connect to is much harder than I planned though.

The KTA, Midwest, SETC, Theatre Department audition prep...thingy...that Ashlan and I were talking about is actually going to be getting off the ground. It's called Audition Madness (what we used as the facebook event title for pre-audition get-togethers last year), and we're meeting Saturdays to go over singing and acting and devoting a great deal of time to that monster that EVERYONE loves, dancing. We're hoping to prepare people for the demands of auditioning for summer theatres that (from the seasons we saw at auditions last year) primarily like to do musical theatre. What's more? It's free! lol... It'll be super fun, but I'm super nervous about having to instruct people in dancing. But, hopefully this will go over well, and we'll have people who participate on a weekly basis.

Thursday, my mom, (possibly) brother, and I are making a trip into NYC to get some stuff before I go back to school. Some basic dance clothes and scripts and possibly sheet music. Musical theatre stuff I guess...

This does bring me to my next exciting topic though. Well, I'm gonna be three days late to school. But I'm going to get to attend a Musical Theatre Intensive in NYC August 16-21. I am SO stoked about this. It's so cool and they work with you on EVERYTHING... I cannot express my excitement. It's an entire 6-day intensive focusing on musical theatre. I'm truly at a loss for words. I'm SO nervous and excited about it. And I'm hoping that a lot of good will come from this workshop!

Well, I'll see you guys August 23 if not before! :-D

Aaron

I Dreamed A Dream

So...

Sorry that it's been a while. I should probably try to keep up with this better.

What to talk about...

Not much has gone on worth telling about here in New York. Nothing really exciting has really happened. I've done a lot of thinking about life and sorts... (one of those cliche things that people do when they don't have things to do)... But truthfully, I've thought about everything that I need to get done. I've also been thinking about what I can do next year to make it really worth while as it will (hopefully) be my last year at Murray. I will possibly have to go an extra semester though.

ANYWAYS!

I was looking through all of my music that I have trying to prepare my audition book and realized how hard it is and how much work it really takes. So one of the things that I really hope to start or at least get people who are interested to start preparing their audition books now. I really wish I would've had all of the info before with all of the resources I have and the time to work on it. Had I had all of this last year a while before KTA and Midwest to work on, it would have made those auditions SO much easier. It really makes me nervous because this may be getting close to my last year to attend these conferences because I will be graduating. After graduation, I'm hoping to come up to NY and audition for anything and everything... I just got sidetracked...

Ok... so next year, I hope that people will start working on their audition stuff early on in the semester. Right when we get back to Murray would be the best time. (Actually before would be better...but better late than never).

One of the things that I feel I learned from attending auditions this summer was the importance of dancing. I know people will probably say how stupid that seems or that they did some show choir in high school and can dance, but truthfully, it's difficult. One of the things that I know I'm gonna do next semester is make an effort to go to the dance studio Saturdays when it's free or find some alternate space and just practice. ANYONE who wants to go is more that welcome to join me. The auditions this summer made me realize that I need to work A LOT on my dancing and honing that...

I mean... I need to work on EVERYTHING much more and start developing my dancing, acting, and singing into something marketable that people will want to hire, and I know I could use some help and company along the way...so what I think I'm trying to say is...

Does anyone want to work on all of their skills with me outside of class even so the future hopefully doesn't seem as scary?...

Cause graduation's coming and soon everyone will be out in the field.

Overture/Only In New York

So...Hey! I'm Aaron.

I suppose I'll just jump in and say life's not too bad! It's summer break and there's not too much to do! I've done a lot of yard work. And that's one thing that looks like it'll be fairly constant this summer.

So, a little bit about myself. I am a Theatre Major with a Music Minor at Murray State University. I love it. I love theatre and music and combining them is one of my favorite things in the world. Musical theatre is more than just a silly past time or a like. It's a passion. I mean, I like ALL theatre, but musical theatre just speaks to me differently.

Anyways, I'm up in New York with my family, and there's not a whole lot to do here. I didn't grow up here so I don't really know anyone, which makes things difficult. I've met some of my brother's friends and they're really cool. It'd be nice to have some friends of my own up here though. However, one thing I get to do in the summers is audition for shows in NYC. It's really good practice, plus I don't have to worry about anxiety on my first audition after graduating anymore because I will have done it before. This summer, I auditioned for the national tour of Wizard of Oz. I loved dancing at the audition. It was SO much fun. I wasn't kept to sing though. It was kinda a bummer. I did do an audition for the national tour of Grease on Monday though. It went really well. The dancing was the most intense thing I've ever done: worse than Midwest, worse than the combination I made people do for Music Man auditions as school. It was SO much fun though. I was kept to sing for this audition so I mean, at least I was seen. And come to find out, Carole Demas (the ORIGINAL Sandy in the original Broadway production) was there to watch the dancing and singing. She was REALLY sweet and the entire experience was SO much fun. But that's the stuff that I'm doing this summer. There are a few more auditions I can go to luckily. But I need to find stuff to do to take up my time. If anyone has any suggestions, please tell me!!! lol...

But I think this is sufficient for an initial post. Nothing much has really happened so I don't have too much to talk about. Except, every time I go into the city, I see someone famous. (I've walked past Cory Monteith, Telly Leung, and sang for Carole Demas.) Not too much going on though. :)

So... I just figured I'd add a picture of one of my favorite shows that I've done. It was Godspell at MSU in 2008!