Stage Managing Jazz Concert

Rainy is Normal

Yesterday, I successfully rushed Next to Normal in St. Louis. For this lovely field trip, I managed to convince two other girls to come with me. It's always hard to get people to rush with because you never know if you'll see the show or not. But, I was nice, spared you the drama, and told you upfront that we got tickets (I actually managed to have 4 tickets, but we'll get there). As you can see from my lovely snapshot, it was raining yesterday. Why must it always rain when we go to shows (see Hairspray and Shrek)?  I packed us a little picnic lunch intended for the little park across from the theatre, but we ended up crowding under the lights of the marquee and watching the rain as we nibbled our nutella, Hawaiian sandwiches. When we went in to get our seats, an usher offered us and handed me tickets for floor seats (no, we weren't special, they were doing this for everyone in the balcony), but we opted to stay in our originally purchased seats (and that, my friends, is why I personally have 4 tickets for the show). The show was well performed. We were very excited to get to see Alice Ripley on tour. She won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical in this role in 2009,  so to see her in her award winning performance was a real treat! We made it back safe and sound, and I think I may have created some more future rushers!

Matthew Polenzani

For this show, I was stationed backstage. I got to hear his whole show (he sang Germanic opera) and watch it on the backstage monitor. Here's what everything looked like from my post:

Pretty cool, eh?

Panelist

Yes, not only was I  asked to speak at  a conference this year, but I was also asked to be a part of a panel discussion for a university wide Communication Day! I agreed and was featured as a panelist at an event called "Public Speaking about Unique Topics with Strong Emotional Connections." My unique topic? Broadway. (Did you even have to ask?) The panel went well, and I handled every question that was thrown my way. Thanks to everyone who came out and to the professor who knew I could do it!

I ♥ Disney--every Disneylicious part!

For Spring break this year, we went to Disney. We got to visit Lindsey and Brian, and I got meet Azalea! I just couldn't stop giving her hugs and kisses! We stayed at All Star Music in the Rock 'N Roll Inn (which turned out to be right across from the Broadway Inn!

Disney's Broadway Inn at All Star Music

We teased Daddy about how he should've moved us over there!). We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, but split it over two days this time, unlike our usual "let's-do-everything-in-one-day-that-most-people-do-in-a-week" strategy. Oh! Do you remember the Space Mountain conversation from about two years ago? Well, I am very pleased to announce that we finally got Codi to ride Space Mountain. In fact, during the whole duration of the ride, she was screaming and laughing things like "This is the best ride ever!,"" How have I not done this before?" and "I love this, I love this, I love this!"  Sigh.... We tried to tell her.

I'm gonna leave you with some pictures of me with my new buddy Azalea!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The Heart Speaks

This week was very busy with tech the whole first half of the week and shows at the end. All of this work was for the EIU Dancers and their show entitled "The Heart Speaks." I personally really enjoyed the show--but, then again, I do have a soft spot for dancing shows! By the way, you should check out their nifty poster. Guess who designed it?

It was me! :)

Conference

Last semester, I was asked to complete a big research project for my macroeconomics class. I decided that since I would be devoting a lot of time to research for this project, it might as well be about something I am very interested and passionate about. What topic did I finally decide on? Broadway, bien sûr!  My paper ended up examining the relationship between Broadway and the economy and how the two affect one another. Well, come January, I got a letter that said my research paper had been selected to be presented at the Honors Council of the Illinois Region. Say what now? They want me to present my paper at a conference? Me? I don't know what you think about that, but I think that is pretty darn cool!

When I got to the conference, I discovered that I am a part of a session entitled "Economic Analyses and Outlooks" and will be the middle presenter out of three. The first boy presents on "Structures in Economic Development" and I have no earthly idea what his speech was about. Frankly, from conversations I heard later, I don't think anyone in the whole room understood what his speech was about, but, at the time, it made me super nervous. How was I a part of this session speaking about economics when I didn't understand any of his economics? I just want to talk about Broadway! I glace at the list to see who is after me. It is another boy and his speech was about the accounting department of the United States government and  examines how well university's bachelors programs prepare students for the field. Whoa buddies--won't these people in attendance be surprised by what I have to say! Instead of being nervous about how much I do not belong in this group, I begin to think of myself as a breath of fresh air. These attendees need a speech like mine so they won't go insane! Turns out, I was right. After presenting, we opened the floor to questions and the first dozen or more, and, in all, probably 76.8% of questions were for me! People kept wanting to know my opinion about various issues relating to Broadway, different producers, and new shows as well as theatre in general. Good thing I can talk about Broadway for hours! I didn't, but it is nice to know that that skill can come in handy somewhere! :)