First of all, I cannot express how excited I am to write
this blog. It may be long, but I ask you to still read it & enjoy.
Saying goodbye to 2013 was like saying goodbye to an old
friend. It was the best year of my life. I was fortunate enough to be given
many different wonderful opportunities to grow as a theatrician and as a
person. Last year I rang in the New Year on whim when Houston & Zac decided
to come into town. We teamed up with Kaci, Anna, & Marcus & hopped from
party to party, which was an excellent way to end 2012, probably the worst year
I have ever experienced, & head on into 2013.
Some of you may or may not know, but 13 is my favorite
number. Naturally, I had hoped that this year would be the best simply because
of that. I had no idea how excellent it was going to be. Before I welcome 2014,
I would like to recollect on significant events from this year.
January 1, 2013: I moved out of my parent’s house.
I
decided I was going to gradually move over to the townhouse & asked my dad
for some help. Well, the entire family ended up helping move all of my junk to
my new house. Then me & Daisy unpacked it all & stayed the night.
Living on my own has been wonderful. I’ve learned a lot about who I am, how
CLEAN I am, & just small things a person doesn’t find out until they’re out
of the supervision of their parents. Mr. Barrow, my high school theatre
director, used to tell me you never really find out who you are until you move
out of your parent’s house & I never really believed him until I experienced
it first hand.
January 7th, 2013: I began my first real
adventure as a costume designer.
This is
the day me & Elizabeth, my advisor, began working on Sweeny Todd. I was the assistant costume designer & I was SO
EXCITED to be given this opportunity to grow. I don’t know how to explain it,
but there are times when you find something you enjoy and you end up being good
at it & there’s a sort of peace, even if it’s a week till show & you
still have a million things on your to-do list, you find in working on your
part. It’s relaxing & rewarding, even it was stressful & crazy.
Photo Credit to Bradley Wilson
February 2013: I decided to take on the responsibility of
getting a dog.
Molly
joined our family in the townhouse! Now, I know this may not be a huge deal,
but having to take care of someone or something besides yourself is a big
responsibility. Molly has also been a huge blessing & a great source of
company for me & everyone else in the townhouse. :)
Sorry about the language, but this picture is really funny. :p
February-April 2013: I wrote a play.
I have
a habit of beginning writing projects and then NEVER finishing them. I cannot
tell you how many books, short-stories, & plays I have began writing only
for them to sit in a folder on my laptop unfinished. So, several other students
& myself sought out our Dr. Fischli & asked him to teach a playwriting
course. It was one of the most frustrating, stressful, and wonderful
experiences of my semester. I was having to force myself to write to meet
deadlines & often I would say this is crippling to the artistic process,
but really what it does is force your brain to pop out ideas & write them
down without thinking. This is often the best way to write, at least that’s
what I found.
December 2012-March 2013: Vagina Monologues
For the
school year of 2012-2013 I was APO’s Community Service Officer. In the fall
semester most of the department took a class called Contemporary Theatre, which
is like theatre history III. One of the plays we were require to ready was Eve
Ensler’s Vagina Monologues which is
not just a play about vaginas, but a play about the beauty of being a woman. I
had read this play back in high school & I had always wanted the opportunity
to be a part in it. Well, Eve Ensler’s V-Day organization allows schools and
organizations to produce the play for free as long as you donate a certain
amount of the proceeds to an organization that assists woman who have been
abused. I threw the idea out into the open, pushed for it, we rounded up an
army of women, and some men!, & we produced it. WHICH none of it could have
happened without the lovely & talented, Emma Brown!, who was the director.
It was a beautiful & rewarding experience that I was so thrilled to be a
part of.
Photo Credit to Carter Wallace
June 2nd-16, 2013: Backdoor to Broadway
I wasn’t
exactly sure what to expect when I volunteered to help out with Backdoor to
Broadway. I was a little skeptical as to how effective it would be & who
these people really were who taught the workshops. Holy cow. I had a blast for
the time I got to be there. I was able to meet not only kids who did theatre at
Backdoor & Wichita Theatre & people from New Mexico, but also people
who have worked on Broadway & have worked on traveling shows as well.
Everyone who I encountered during this experience was amazing & I miss all
of them! I also got to spend time & get to know Ryan better & I watched
some of my classmates from MSU grow as actors, dancers, & singers.
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July 4th-Augst 4th, 2013: London Study
Abroad
London
was the highlight of my year. I learned so many things on this trip. One of the
biggest things is how to enjoy life by myself. Most of my life I have been a I need to be around other people kind of
person, but in London I spent half the trip by myself. I went to plays, to eat,
on silly adventures by myself & it was beautiful. I saw so many new world
wonders & met lots of really interesting people. I found my favorite place
in the world, saw LOTS of amazing theatre, & experienced an incredible amount
of new things. I feel like I’m a better person & theatrician because of
this trip & I cannot wait to go back one day.
August 2013: Senior Year
What a
scary thought being a senior in college is. You don’t really know what you’re
going to do, but you have the beauty of being able to do or go wherever you
want after graduation, life permitting. I’m still scared, but I’m so excited
about my future!
September-October 2013: Props Designer for The Diary of Anne Frank
I have
never been on a props crew in my life, but when I found out we were doing Anne Frank I jumped at the opportunity to
design props. I have also never been the head of my own crew before. So, this
experience presented many challenges that I think many people do not understand
until they have walked in similar shoes. I had no idea what I was getting myself
into, but I am proud of the work I put into that show, which was a lot. Anne Frank was probably one of the most
stressful theatrical position I have ever been in, but I learned a lot &
like I said, I’m happy with ALL the work that went into that show.
Photo Credit to Bradley Wilson
This
was SO MUCH FUN. I loved so much working on this show & with this cast
& crew. It was a freaking blast & we pulled off a kick-ass show because
of all the awesome people who helped. This was my first venture into costume
design by myself & I was nervous, but with the help of Elizabeth & the
rest of the costume crew, we shot out some pretty bad ass costumes that I am so
proud of.
Photo Credit to Bradley Wilson
There are so many other great things that happened in 2013! & some of them were important learning experiences.
- · I took an advanced makeup class & assisted a group in a face-off kind of challenge.
- · I got fired from a job for the first time ever.
- · I found out I’m not a terrible set or sound designer.
- · I was cast in an AWESOME one-act directed by one of my very good friends, Carolyn Lacy!
- · I took a dialects class & actually did pretty well in it.
- · I took my first some-what long road trip by myself.
- · Started working at Market Street, where I have wanted to work at for a very long time.
- · I interviewed for my first internship & got my first rejection letter.
- · I got my heart broken a couple times & broke a couple hearts.
- · I let go of some serious baggage weighing down my happiness.
- · I started working at my cousin Bryan’s AWESOME new comic book shop, Geekopolis.
- · I cooked a lot of really awesome food, this was necessary to say.
- · I TURNED 21.
- · I took a sculpture class & learned A TON of useful skills.
- · I went to my first ever non-theatre school function.
- · I got my nose pierced. :)
- · I took a directing class & got to direct for the first time ever & LOVED every second of it.
- · My best friend, Katie got ENGAGED! & asked me to be her maid of honor. :)
- · I learned to be okay with letting people who don’t want to be in life leave.
- · I also learned to love & appreciate this beautiful life I have been given & the people in it.
2013 was a BEAUTIFUL year. The best. It ended the best way
possible! I was surrounded by people I love & care about & we had a lot
of fun that night! HOWEVER, 2014 will be even better! I have to many things to
look forward to in 2014 & I cannot wait!
