New York City: Spring Break EXTRA CREDIT

This Spring Break, March 11-19, I travelled to New York City. It was an amazing experience filled with new oppurtunities and tourist attractions to fill up my trip. Here is a photo montage of my experience in the big apple! :)

The first night we went to the Empire State Building and enjoyed our beautiful surroundings. We were all still in shock that we were in the big city that we all love so much.

Our cute little picnic in Central Park :) we got to buy all of our food from the Whole Foods organic market!

We saw Pippin!!!

Motown the Musical: the story of Motown! This is me with little Michael Jackson!

Even though it was rainy and sad, Times Square was still so beautiful!!!!

The whole group in the airport before we left Springfield. 4:30 looks good on us, doesn't it? ;) 

This was such an amazing experience to go and visit, tour, and love the city of NYC!!! I hope to live there one day and get to experience the beautiful place every day of the rest of my life! It was so beneficial to watch all of the shows and experience all the food, sights, sounds, and people that New York City has to offer!!!!

Tony Nominees 2014

As any theatre person would know, the Tonys are coming up this summer. They are an awards show for the Live-Theatre Productions and the strides they've made in the past year. The awards, which honor the best of this year's Broadway season, will be handed out on June 8 in a ceremony hosted by Hugh Jackman airing live on CBS. You could compare them to the Oscars with some of the awards being similar such as Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting...etc. Well, the shows have been nominated and it's time to take a closer look into the Tony Nominees of 2014.

Best Play

"Act One"

"All the Way"
"Casa Valentina"
"Mothers and Sons"
"Outside Mullingar"

Best Musical
"After Midnight"
"Aladdin"
"Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"
"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Revival of a Play
"The Cripple of Inishmaan"
"The Glass Menagerie"
"A Raisin in the Sun"
"Twelfth Night"

Best Revival of a Musical
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
"Les Miserables"
"Violet"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett, "Twelfth Night"
Bryan Cranston, "All the Way"
Chris O'Dowd, "Of Mice and Men"
Mark Rylance, "Richard III"
Tony Shalhoub, "Act One"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly, "Mothers and Sons"
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, "A Raisin in the Sun"
Cherry Jones, "The Glass Menagerie"
Audra McDonald, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill"
Estelle Parsons, "The Velocity of Autumn"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Ramin Karimloo, "Les Miserables"
Andy Karl, "Rocky"
Jefferson Mays, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"
Bryce Pinkham, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies, "A Night with Janis Joplin"
Sutton Foster, "Violet"
Idina Menzel, "If/Then"
Jessie Mueller, "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"
Kelli O'Hara, "The Bridges of Madison County"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, "Casa Valentina"
Paul Chahidi, "Twelfth Night"
Stephen Fry, "Twelfth Night"
Mark Rylance, "Twelfth Night"
Brian J. Smith, "The Glass Menagerie"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Green, "The Cripple of Inishmaan"
Celia Keenan-Bolger, "The Glass Menagerie"
Sophie Okonedo, "A Raisin in the Sun"
Anika Noni Rose, "A Raisin in the Sun"
Mare Winningham, "Casa Valentina"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, "Cabaret"
Nick Cordero, "Bullets Over Broadway"
Joshua Henry, "Violet"
James Monroe Iglehart, "Aladdin"
Jarrod Spector, "Bullets Over Broadway"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond, "Cabaret"
Lena Hall, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Anika Larsen, "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"
Adriane Lenox, "After Midnight"
Lauren Worsham, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll, "Twelfth Night"
Michael Grandage, "The Cripple of Inishmaan"
Kenny Leon, "A Raisin in the Sun"
John Tiffany, "The Glass Menagerie"

Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle, "After Midnight"
Michael Mayer, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Leigh Silverman, "Violet"
Darko Tresnjak, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin, "Aladdin"
Douglas McGrath, "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"
Woody Allen, "Bullets Over Broadway"
Robert L. Freedman, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater
"Aladdin" (Music: Alan Menkin; Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Begeulin)
"The Bridges of Madison County" (Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown)
"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" (Music: Steven Lutvak; Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak)
"If/Then" (Music: Tom Kitt; Lyrics: Brian Yorkey)

Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle, "After Midnight"
Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine, "Rocky"
Casey Nicholaw, "Aladdin"
Susan Stroman, "Bullets Over Broadway"

Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, "Bullets Over Broadway"
Jason Robert Brown, "The Bridges of Madison County"
Steve Sidwell, "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"
Jonathan Tunick, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, "Act One"
Bob Crowley, "The Glass Menagerie"
Es Devlin, "Machinal"
Christopher Oram, "The Cripple of Inishmaan"

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca, "Rocky"
Julian Crouch, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Alexander Dodge, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"
Santo Loquasto, "Bullets Over Broadway"

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, "Act One"
Michael Krass, "Machinal"
Rita Ryack, "Casa Valentina"
Jenny Tiramani, "Twelfth Night"

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"
William Ivey Long, "Bullets Over Broadway"
Arianne Phillips, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Isabel Toledo, "After Midnight"

Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski, "The Cripple of Inishmaan"
Steve Canyon Kennedy, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill"
Dan Moses Schreier, "Act One"
Matt Tierney, "Machinal"

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, "After Midnight"
Tim O'Heir, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Mick Potter, "Les Miserables"
Brian Ronan, "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical"

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, "The Cripple of Inishmaan"
Jane Cox, "Machinal"
Natasha Katz, "The Glass Menagerie"
Japhy Wideman, "Of Mice and Men"

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
Christopher Akerlind, "Rocky"
Howell Binkley, "After Midnight"
Donald Holder, "The Bridges of Madison County"

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood

Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre

Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O'Donnell

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus
Charlotte Wilcox

If you didn't already gather this, A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder is leading all the other musicals in amount of nominations. I was fortunate enough to see this show during my trip to the city this spring break. It was a very charming musical about a man, Monty Naverro of the D'Ysquith family, realizes that he is ninth in line to inherit a dukedom, so he decides to eliminate the other eight heirs in his way. It was a great show and critics think so too!

Be sure to tune in to the Tony Awards 2014 on June 8th. 

Touring Cast of HAIR!!!!

Hey y'all. I don't know if I mentioned this, but a few weeks ago I had an amazing opportunity to work and have a talkback session with the Touring USA/Canada Cast of HAIR!!!

This is one of the cast members (and some photo bombers) afterward.

The cast really did have some great things to say about theatre and life on the road. This was especially entriguing for me because I have ALWAYS wanted to go on a broadway tour for a few years. That would be a dream come true. Here are some of their main points about Life on the Road and Touring and And actor is life in general:

Colleges are important but following your dream is more important, so if you get the opportunity, take it.

Don't take it personally.

At dance calls, don't 

This is my opportunity to dance, to act, to do what I love. It alleviates the pressure of being awesome for every audition.

DO EVERYTHING. Tech etc

Go into an audition and show your personality

Use a monologue that shows attributes of yourself....directors want to 

Don't just say words.... Each word means SOMETHING. find out what it means for you.

Don't apologize 

No place for ego.

BUT. Don't forget about shrek!!!! We open in 2 weeks and I am freaking out!!! Things are finally coming together. :) 

Check out SLT on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! And visit springfieldlittletheatre.org for more information and tickets.

Shrek The Musical Week 3

WOW!!! It sure has been an exhausting week in the life of an actress. I may sound dramatic when I say this but I rehearsed for 24 hours this week and it's been a little bit rough... Haha! Either way it's still fun and I am LOVING what I do and what I do to contribute to the show. I  don't think I ever mentioned this, but I am actually 4 different characters in Shrek. Throughout the show I will have 4 different costumes but I will probably have about 7 costume changes. Crazy right? My roles are one of the 3 blind mice, a Duloc Dancer, a Tap Rat, and a cute little gnome. I cannot wait to really dive into the character development in this show!!! 

Speaking of character development, a show that stretched me in my character development skills was the Little Mermaid. If you remember I played Jetsam in this show along with Pricsilla Schmitt who played my counterpart Flotsam. She has been added to the cast if Shrek and we have been SO excited to work with one another again. She is so talented and definitely one if the sweetest people I know. (We had a little rehearsal-twinning so of course we had to take our signature pose😉) In shrek she will be playing a Woodland Being. 

In other news, at CHS I recently found some Shrek fever catching within the art students... 😏

Anyways, catch the Shrek fever for yourself and BUY TICKETS!!!!

Check SLT out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. THANK YOU!!!👍😊

Shrek: Week Two

It's officially week two, and I am overwhelmed with emotions. I am a crazy combination of sore, happy, excited, TIRED, and eager all wrapped up in one. We have set so many numbers, including a GIANT tap number and all the other big numbers in the show. Some of these are familiar tunes like What's up, Duloc? And I'm A Believer; some musical numbers used in the movie-version of Shrek. My newest favorite among these numbers we have choreographed would have to be Make a Move. It's a FABULOUS number featuring donkey and the three blind mice. Donkey's objective is to get Fiona and Shrek to confess their feelings for one another. Anyways, the number was actually choreographed tonight, and it's an awesome balance of difficulty and fabulousity💁 I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to kick things into high gear with this show. 

The tickets are on sale and they WILL go fast so get your tickets for Shrek The Musical today!!! At 

www.springfieldlittletheatre.org

Also- enter to win a 2014 Shrek Jeep Wrangler!!! Follow SLT on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Shrek: Week One

Well here we are again. Shrek dance rehearsals began this Sunday and I am more excited than ever!!! We have already learned so much and it is all so very upbeat, charming and fun that the audience won't help falling in love with it!! All thanks to the fabulous Lorianne Dunn, director and choreographer! She has helped us so much with this process already. She is in charge of making the rehearsal schedule, coordinating everyone, making sure everyone has at least a little bit of stage time, creating new choreography, blocking, and everything else that goes in to creating a show. She's awesome! Our dances are so professional looking already and we owe it all to her!!! Of course that means I've rehearsed for 20 hours this week and can barely walk because I'm so sore, but other than that it's been PERFECT! ;) 

In other news, the first video blog for Shrek The musical is on YouTube. It shows the journey of auditions and the entire process of the dance call and the song portion...I am actually featured in both sections! :) Soooooooooo what should you do? Check out the Audition vlog for Shrek by going to http://cp.mcafee.com/d/FZsS76QmjhOyqejhOed7bNEVdTdFEFIzHLczC3qqar8V6UVdMSCyCOeKYOevdFEFIzAkNPy9I-Ipr27E0GyQpg8KOYZ0-kVD_cD-Pz_00jt5EOwhtBVW1YFPf-pfZD7-00CTQS6nDkT-LP8VBdwsqeuLsKCyqemuvojohj7sJteOaqJT6ul3PWApmU6CSjr9K_9TLuZXTLsTsSjDdqymokUJlKrp3-nMNIX4OhAUbO0y0y11Cwy2MeQX-PrzVNqHsS-8urQ_M-BEX2to0Ey9YKrjjd7apIaOwlEq81uIjh01WJCy4Qg6QnPtQIwuXzX-XWc !!! :):) 

ENJOY!!!!

Also. Check out www.springfieldlittletheatre.org and order your tickets for Shrek the musical because they are on sale NOW! And they WILL go quickly. Don't miss this beloved tale turned musical! Also find SLT on Facebook, twitter, and now PINTEREST! :) 

Shrek the Musical LIVE at the Historic Landers Theatre

The cast list is up and I made it!!! I'm finally fulfilling the dream of being a part of a show of such high caliber. We've completed a full week of music rehearsals and we've already gotten about half of the show memorized. Luckily the show is filled with talented cast members who sight read music really well so this first week has gone by very smoothly. Our first rehearsal was last Sunday and basically we just turned in some of our paperwork like our media release forms, bio forms, and TShirt forms to the main office. Then we started on our music. I found out that I will be portraying one of the iconic Three Blind Mice, a Dancer, and a Gnome.

The Three Blind Mice have a 3-part harmony trio in the song Make a Move. Lucky me, I'm the first soprano!!

(And not to mention a FABULOUS dance)

I am so excited to get started in this amazing show!!

Tickets are on sale NOW so don't delay! We're also having an auction to win a Jeep Wrangler! So you can buy your raffle ticket when you call the box office at 417-869-1334 or visit SLT online at springfieldlittletheatre.org 

Shrek The Musical: Auditions

In my theatre world, my next upcoming audition is for Shrek the Musical. Yes, Shrek! The beloved (and very quotable) movie has been transformed into a musical extravaganza. The plot line follows very well and adheres to the movie almost perfectly. In fact, some of the lines from the movie are used in the musical. Despite being a cute movie, Shrek also received publicity very quickly and eventually won many awards. Shrek the Musical won a 2009 Tony Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for many others like Best Musical, Best Actor/Actress in a Musical, Best Orchestrations and many more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPSPj3kx3Cc


My audition will take place Monday and Tuesday of next week. We have to prepare a one-minute vocal selection to sing in front of our auditors (directors, choreographers, music directors, set designers...etc.). For my age group, I would not be considered for Fiona or a lead like that, but for a supporting character, like a fairy tale creature or featured dancer. One part I would be auditioning for would probably be the shoemaker's elf. She's a shy and cute little elf who is very lighthearted but is easily saddened by the ongoing struggle of finding somewhere to stay that isn't Duloc. In the original cast, Kristen Wyatt portrayed her very accurate interpretation of the character. I will hope that I can be as great as her if I am cast! Wish me luck.