The End is Near!

I can't believe that Twelfth Night will be over tomorrow.  It is a sad thing.  Everyone did such a great job and worked so hard!  I'm going to miss this show.  Doing props for Twelfth Night was a fun and new experience for me and I really loved every second of it.  I got to experience what it feels like to have actors, directors, set designers, and stage managers rely on me.  It was a humbling experience as well as a great view of how theatre is collaborative.  I enjoyed going out and finding props after researching the time period, going to the production meetings, and also making some of my own props.  Behind the scenes there are still some things that need to be made on the spot, like hotdogs, rootbeer floats, and letters.  Doing all of this makes it even more important for me to be at the actors' service.  I love it, love it, love it!  I would like to stage manage and do scenic art for a play as well, but props is most definitely something that I would do again!

Good Friday

On Good Friday, my best friend from high school and I are going to Charleston with a few friends.  I'm really excited!  I haven't seen Lauren in a while and I haven't been to Charleston in years, so it's about time that I do.  Lauren is coming up on Thursday and spending the night after she sees the play.  My other friends, Brittany, Tiffany, and Jessica are coming as well.  After Charleston we're all going home.  Jessica's parents are missionaries so she's going to my house to stay with me for Easter.  The whole weekend should be lots of fun.  I'm just worried about the fact that studying will be hard.  I can't believe that exams are next week!  I'm taking the time I have at home to get organized for the week ahead.  That is what I really need right now.  Wish me luck! :)

One Act

In two weeks I will be performing a one act called, The Chairs by Ionesco.  It is about an old couple in their 90's who have gone a little crazy.  The couple lives on an island completely surrounded by water and they are all alone.  To entertain themselves, they imagine guests coming to their house to hear a message.  The husband never reveals what his message is.  They hire an orator to explain the message to the guests but before the orator speaks, the couple throws themselves out of the window and commit suicide.  The twist is when you come to find out that the orator is actually deaf and mute.  And so it ends with a conveyed message consisting of odd combinations of consonants and vowels.  It is Theatre of the Absurd and is VERY funny!  Even though the lines are split between only me and the other actor, playing my husband, I can't wait to put it on!  I've never acted old before but it has proved itself to be very fun.  It should be a great adventure!

Castle

Castle is my favorite show right now.  I have to watch it on Hulu.com when I get the chance because I don't have a t.v, but I still count down every minute until I get to watch the next episode!  Castle is all about a writer who decides to shadow a police officer, Kate Beckett, for inspiration for his novels.  He writes murder mystery novels.  Richard Castle has a daughter who is beautiful and a washed up actress for a mother.  Castle always ends up helping Becket solve murder cases by thinking like a writer, and they develop a cute little relationship that never actually gets into a relationship.  The craziest thing about the show is how freakishly good-looking everyone is in the cast!  There is not ONE ugly actor in this show! The endings are always exciting and comedy is at every corner.  I think that everyone should watch Castle.  Everyone of my friends that I've said that to have gotten hooked on it like me. I can't wait to watch the next episode!! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Hanshaw

On Sunday, I went to a wedding for my mom's best friend.  It was interesting because Mrs. Sheryl, the bride, lost her husband about 5 years ago and it's going to be weird calling her Mrs. Hanshaw instead of Mrs. Wechlser.  My family has been friends with Mrs. Hanshaws family for about 10 years.  The wedding was quite beautiful despite the bad memories of losing Mr. Wechsler that were in my head.  The couple got married at Table Rock, here in Greenville, and it was the most beautiful day I'd seen in a long time!  The ceremony took place on a big, stone balcony looking over a lake with dogwood trees framing the picture.  It was a celtic wedding, so the groom wore a kilt and traditional scottish garb while the bride wore a celtic/ medieval gown that was green and lace-up in the back.  I got to help set up the room for the reception and, in doing that, it helped me think about what I want my reception to be like.  The entire wedding was personal, meaningful, and very homey.  The best part was that Mrs. Sheryl gave me her bouquet because, she said, she knew I'd be the next one to get married! :)

((Sigh...))

I can't wait until I'm done with school.   I know that it is bad for me to say that because I'm only a freshman, but I still feel like my life has yet to start.  I have established who I am, I have established what I love, and I have established who I love.  Now, it is time to apply it all.  When my school doesn't let me live on my own until I'm 21, I feel like a child.  The fact that I have to be in my room by 12 am on weeknights and 1 am on weekends makes me feel like i'm 16 again.  (I didn't have a curfew after I was 16 because I'm a responsible person.)  If I'm worrying about grades in classes that mean nothing to me, that's just adding on extra stress that I don't need.  The best thing I can do to prove to myself that I'm an adult right now is pay for my car.  Some of my teachers tell me that I should quit the job so I can spend more time worrying about homework and things like that.  Maybe if I can be curfew-less and live in my own apartment I'll look into cutting back some of my responsibilities.  I'm not saying that school isn't a responsibility.   I have so much more potential for great things in me than just... school.  I want to be who I am, who I'll become one day.  (But not right now because I'm in school...)

Tragedy.

In theatre, there are tragedies and there are comedies.  In life, it is the same.  About five years ago, I baptized a girl named Bradlee Edwards.  She was twelve at the time but had already read through half of The Bible.  She said in her testimony that she looked up to me, but now she'll never know that it was HER that I looked up to.  Bradlee, named for her father, was seventeen years old and a triplet.  Other than her two identical sisters, she had a mother, a father, and an eight year old little sister.  Last night there was a tragic fire at their house in Oklahoma.  Bradlee went inside to go to the bathroom when she realized that the house was on fire.  Her two sisters made it out into the yard along with their father, but he quickly realized that the eight year old was missing.  Their father ran inside to save the eight year old.  The house was completely consumed by flames and in the process of rescuing the little one, his feet caught fire.  Bradlee never made it out... neither did her mother.  The father's feet had to be amputated due to the burns and the eight year old was burnt past recognition.  She passed late this afternoon.  Now the father is going through surgeries and the two girls are staying with their older sister who did not live with them.  I pray that God will give their father the strength to comfort and lead a family, practically cut in half, while also dealing with a new disability.  Bradlee Edwards was the godliest young woman I've ever met.  She was on fire for the Lord and never put him out of her sight.  On her Facebook, the final post she had written stated lyrics from a song called "Something Beautiful" by Need to Breathe.  It said, "this is my desire, consume me like a fire..."

Build-A-Bear Workshop

I have the best job ever!  I get to do birthday parties and play with kids.  I get to be the one in the videos and pictures of first birthdays, anniversaries, first proms, first broken bones, and even deaths.  What I do sticks with people for the rest of their lives.  Being a theatre person, it's easy for me to be comfortable and confident in taking people through the experience that is Build-A-Bear.  I love getting shy kids out of their shells and showing them how much fun they can have building their own special bear.  I get to help a lot of special people as well.  Just today I helped an autistic boy build his first Build-A-Bear!  I've had deaf children make bears with me before and knowing sign language comes in handy with those situations.  People travel from all over the world to come to Build-A-Bear.  I've spoken german many-a-time to families from Germany.  It's just great to hear all of the stories that are out there.  Every Build-A-Bear has a story behind it.  That's what makes them so special! :)

My Life

My life is pretty great right now.  I'm engaged, I have awesome friends, and I have the best job ever!  The funniest thing that happened to me recently was my friends hacking my Facebook.  I left my facebook up on my friend's computer and she and her roommate changed a bunch of my stuff.  They put my interests as things like; Justin Bieber, Hannah Montana, and books titled "how to poop".  They changed my sex to male and put my profile picture as a picture of them being silly.  The best part, however, was receiving multiple comments on my wall wishing me a "Happy Birthday" because they changed my birthday to today.  It woke me up and it was a bit depressing to see that people didn't know when my actual birthday was, but it was still funny!  I love my friends!  It definitely could've been a lot worse.  There were a couple of things that they changed that I actually kept.  Twas all in good fun! :)

PURPLE

Purple is my all-time, favorite color.  I don't own many purple outfits, but my toe nails are always painted purple and I have many hats and scarves that are purple as well.  Most things that I use on a daily basis are purple.  I have purple shampoo and conditioner, purple face wash, a purple toothbrush, my mouthwash is purple, and my toothpaste itself is not purple but it's blue and red so when I spit, the foam is purple.  My bed sheets are purple, my computer is purple, and my phone is purple with a purple case.  I think that it's pretty obvious that I love purple.  I must say that colors greatly influences my choices when it comes to purchasing what I need.  I think that purple candy or food usually tastes the best.  Sometimes purple can be flavored like liquorish (which I hate) and it always throws me off.  But I can't stay mad at purple for long.  There's just no such thing as an ugly shade of PURPLE.

"YES!"

I got engaged Saturday night!!! It was the most perfect day I could have ever imagined! Spring break was simply amazing for me.  Not just the break from school but Ohio, eating tons of indian food and sushi, snow, the Cincinnati Zoo, and finishing it off with a proposal!  I was so happy that the proposal was a sweet moment between just the two of us because (even though I'm a theatre person) I don't like to make a scene.  My mom and dad are REALLY excited. (Especially my mom.) And my boyfriend (now: Fiance) did it on a whim so his parents didn't know until monday.  But all of our parents are happy for us so I'm SUPER happy!  After four years, when Randy looked me in the eyes and asked if I would marry him... of course, I said, "YES!"

Pandas

My boyfriend LOVES pandas.  I think that being around him for so long has made me love the furry, little guys too!  I've bought about twelve stuffed pandas for Randy and they (along with five others) sit on a shelf at his house.  The shelf is a little small so all of them are completely squished together and look like a panda collage. You can never go wrong if you buy Randy a panda.  It makes it a lot easier to get him gifts for special occasions. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a panda tattoo.  Actually, I'm pretty sure that he is planning on getting a panda tattoo.  Everyone calls Randy "Panda".  They say that it is his "spirit name".  It's pretty cute.  I think the goal is to own a real, live panda someday.  That would be awesome!

Cincinnati

I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio for spring break.  Everything is amazing here!  I went walking with my boyfriend down the main street from his school and it was BEAUTIFUL!  There are tons and tons of amazing, unique houses that were built between the 1920's and the 1930's.  I basically picked out all of the things that I liked from the houses and put together my dream house in my head.  It feels really great to be somewhere outside of South Carolina for once.  The six-and-a-half hour drive to Cincinnati is the worst part of the visit but I say that it's totally worth it!  Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (where my boyfriend goes) is just filled with beautiful architecture and tons of great places to eat!  They have two Starbucks ON CAMPUS! (Not to mention the one that's off campus as well) There are tons of parks connected to the campus, and this weekend we're going to the Cincinnati Zoo!  I can't wait!  So much Skyline Chili, Graeter's Ice Cream, and Penn Station subs, so little time... :)

Scrawberry Milk

In my scenic design class, we had to do a copy project.  That means that we had to take a normal-sized picture and paint a replica onto a 4 foot by 4 foot piece flat.  I knew that I wanted something with color but I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to do.  So I found this picture of a cow that has a bright, pink background!  I loved it right away!  The head is the focal point but his body is in the picture.  My teacher wanted me to add texture so I did a spatter of white over the pink and pink over the white.  I was really proud of how it turned out.  I spent 3 nights in the scene shop until midnight working and a total of about 25 hours all together.  First I had to base the flat white.  Then I had to grid out the picture by measuring the size of the picture and applying the same system on a larger scale to the flat.  (I didn't do a very good job because some of my proportions were off, but I'm still proud of it!)  After putting the grid on the flat, I had to paint layer after layer after layer until I matched the colors perfectly.  I had to examine every little line and make it match with the picture.  This was a very challenging project, but I made it through and I'm proud.  I can't wait until I get to hang it on my wall!

There she is!!! :D

E.D.S

I have a joint disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.  I was born with a little, extra piece on my 23rd chromosome which hinders the protein in my body that produces connective tissue.  Basically, I was born with ligaments and connective tissue, but once I hit puberty my ligaments stretched and I didn't reproduce any more.  It's an interesting disorder to have.  My clavicle (collar bone) isn't connected to my sternum, my shoulders sit about an inch away from where they're supposed to be in the socket, and I get pinched nerves and dislocate a lot.  It takes a lot of caution to do what I want to do.  Being in scene design and carpentry, I have to be extra careful with heavy-lifting and how I hold my drills, how long I hold my drills, and how I use my arms in general.  I remember my freshman year in high school, I was playing indoor soccer when I rolled my ankle over the ball stepping on it at a 90 degree angle.  Because my ankle dislocated, I only sprained it.  I had to get a cast for it because I can't use crutches due to my dislocated shoulders, but then my collarbone started popping while I was brushing my hair.  I knew that this wasn't normal, so I told my mom and we saw an orthopedist right away.  The doctor told me that he'd never seen anything like it and put me in a sling.  So there I was, a freshman, with a cast on one leg and a sling on one arm.  It was so embarrassing!  I was officially diagnosed that year and given the name of my disorder.  Up until then, I just thought I was weird... okay... so maybe I am.

LOVE :)

first picture together. SCGSAH 2007

Final performance of HONK! Senior year

My boyfriend and I are best friends and I love it!  We play Call of Duty together, cook together, he goes to all of my plays and I go to all of his concerts (well... not so much since he started school in Cincinnati, but it's okay).  I only have a couple of friends that I can hang out with all day, everyday.  Randy is one of them.  We've been together for almost 4 years now and we can never get enough of each other!  Randy was one of two cellists to make it into Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (out of sixty freshman auditions).  He is the most amazing, sweet, and humble musician I've ever met!  We met at Governor's School here in Greenville.  Of course, I was there for theatre and he was there for cello.  We've been together ever since.  It's really nice having a boyfriend who understands the pressure and commitment that comes with being an artist, although, because he's in music and not theatre we can both vent about our situations and feel sympathy.  There's no, "oh yeah, well, I have that class at 8 in the morning so you have it easy." Or, "Your intonation is off, maybe you should practice more."  Virtually there is no competition.  Simply; understanding, support, and motivation.  We're planning on getting married on our anniversary the summer before senior year.  We will be living apart for the one year, but my parents had to do something similar and I know that we can get through anything together.

Randy's 18th Birthday

Now :)

Props Mistress

I just got my next stage position for the upcoming play this semester! We're doing Twelfth Night by Shakespeare and I get to be Props Mistress!  That means that I get to go run and get all of the items needed for the play.  There will probably be a few items that I'll have to make, but that's the best part!  I'm really excited!  I've never done props for a main position before.  I've gone and gotten props for plays in my high school, but I've never been put in charge of the whole ordeal.  This will be a good chance to show how dedicated and trustworthy I am.  It's a big deal to be dependable in the theatre.  If you can be depended on, you can be trusted with any job you want (or have skill in).  It's a compliment to be busy. 

katiebug

My little sister is coming to stay with me today.  While I'm at work my mom is going to drop her off.  She's going to go see Winnie the Pooh and she's really excited about getting to watch me do the animal's makeup.  I bought her a build-a-bear before it sold out.  (it's a ladybug.)  I got the ladybug for her because her name is Katie and we always call her Katiebug.  She's ten years old and she's pretty happy that I'm allowing her to come hang out with me and my friends.  It's funny how much she's grown up.  I'm glad I could give her this experience.  I'm very proud of her, and I try my hardest to make sure she's proud to be my little sister.

busybusybusy...

So doing Winnie the Pooh every day from wednesday on, two times a day has been a little crazier than I thought it would be.  It's been fun, don't get me wrong, I love it.  But sometimes I have to sit back and think about what my priorities are.  My homework has been slacking BIG TIME.  I've been trying my hardest in my academic classes, but theatre always keep coming up on top.  I guess theatre is the thing that I want to do with the rest of my life, but there's so much you can learn from all of the other things asked of you.  Even sweeping in my practicum class (yes, that's a theatre class) teaches me something.  So I guess what I'm saying is, that my homework is slipping more and more each day... but I'm learning a lot.

ALIENS!

So my boyfriend showed me all of these crazy videos of alien sightings that just happened recently and it's awesome!  The same thing happened in Jerusalem and then in two different states in the U.S.  First, there was this huge orb that morphed and hovered over the big dome in Jerusalem.  Next, this giant burst of energy flashes around the orb and it suddenly jerks back up into the sky.  The craziest thing about the whole situation is that two guys caught this on video at the same time! (One of the guys, you could actually see video-taping the scene because he's in the first guy's shot.)  After the orb shoots up into the sky, you see about five tiny red lights fading in and out in this sort of formation in the same spot that the orb disappeared!  It's CRAZY!!! I mean, God says that Earth was made for man... so who's to say that other planets weren't made for... "other creatures"?  Not to mention, the same red lights were seen and video-taped in Utah and Arizona.  I love God and all of his awesome creations! :)

YAY Day!

MAGICAL FRUIT LOOPS

I just accidently found this band called Pomplamoose on YouTube and I immediately had to buy their CDs because it was SO amazing!  They do great cover songs as well as some of their own stuff.  The only difference is that on YouTube, their videos are really cool and it's half the fun of watching but you can't watch them on Itunes.  Also, I went home friday because the Steelers are playing in the Superbowl.  (My mom is from Pennsylvania so you know she's pulling for them.)  Even though it's not Sunday yet, I had a pretty fantastic day!  I went to get my hair done and it looks awesome, and it smells WONDERFUL, but even better than that; I found these Fruit Loops with MARSHMALLOWS in them!  And not just any kind of marshmallow.  They have the same kind of marshmallows as Lucky Charms! (My second favorite cereal next to Fruit Loops.)  I am definitely taking them back to school with me so I can eat them whenever I want!  Goodbye cafeteria, hello locking myself in my room with a bowl of Fruit Loops Marshmallow and POMPLAMOOSE! 

Winnie The Pooh!

I'm really excited to be working on Winnie The Pooh here at NGU!  We just got started on painting the set and it looks awesome!  There are all of these big trees and hills!  I just got started on painting one of the trees and it took about 3 hours to get a third of it done.  Scenic art and design is a long process, but it's worth it!  My arms might be a little sore in the morning but when that play opens, I'll be floating on air when get to step back and see it all!  I'm also helping with makeup and that will be fun to see as well.  I will be in charge of doing Rabbit's makeup and Winnie the Pooh himself.  (Also a long process, but very fun.)  I'm so blessed to be working with such a great crew and under the best directors and designers I know!  I'm having to juggle a lot right now but it's all worth it in the end.  Not to mention the fact that... THAT'S THEATRE FOR YOU! :) 

My Suite

                   I live in (top)Horton-Tingle in room 23.  My suite is full of theatre majors and it's probably the best thing that could've ever happened to me! My roommate, Addi, is a sophomore performance major and I am a freshman design major.  One of my suite-mates, Lindsay, is a junior performance major and Christie is a senior design major.   That means that we have one of each class in our suite.  We have SO much fun all the time and it really helps me to know that at least one of them has probably gone through what I'm going through.  We just recently got into a bunch of stage makeup and played around making crazy videos and singing. (You know, normal theatre people things...) I have been so blessed to be able to start off college with these girls!  We all understand what it's like to have to memorize tons of scenes at one time, late rehearsals, naps, physical stress and the emotional stress that comes with being in theatre.  I'm acting in one of Addi's scenes for her Drama Ministries class, I'm doing makeup for Winnie the Pooh with Lindsay over me as makeup designer, and Christie is the lighting technician so she's showing me the ropes in another level of theatre design that i'm interested in.  We all have our own special talents and interest, goals and weaknesses but together we make a great team.

Theatre

Honk! (me as Ida. I also designed and built the set)

The set I designed and built for The Diary of Anne Frank

Also The Diary of Anne Frank ^

The "mini" grande piano I built for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

Snoopy's doghouse that I built for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

  
        I was cast in my first play at age 8.  It was The King And I at Village Square Theatre in Lexington, SC.  I was an acrobat, a twin (daughter of the king), and a dog in the play within a play (Uncle Tom's Cabin).  From there I went on to be Grace Ferrell in Annie Jr. at my elementary school, Birds/Snow White in Into The Woods at my high school, and then I suddenly jumped to larger leading roles.  I played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Kelsi Neilson in High School Musical (one and two) at Workshop Theatre, Laurey in OKLAHOMA!, and Ida in HONK!.  I played a few more roles throughout the years, but none worth mentioning.  I always thought that acting was my calling... until I got to college, that is.  I was excited to start my new acting classes with a professional teacher and classmates who would take it as seriously as I do, but then my teacher told me I was "boring" and graded me on things that I couldn't control.  I simply decided to step aside and let the REAL actors do their thing while I focused on something I REALLY loved: Design.  My junior and senior year of high school left me with no choice but to learn the basics of carpentry so our school plays could be presentable at the least.  I never saw it as one of my passions until I took my first step into NGU's scene shop.  (You should check it out sometime... it's really quite magical.) If you saw A Christmas Carol at NGU, I built the table that The Ghost of Christmas Present rode in on, I also installed the trap door that Marley's Ghost came out of.  I love building and painting sets, I love doing stage makeup, and I don't mind helping with costumes (even though it's one of my weaker skills.)  Mainly I love the carpentry aspect of it.  I got an 18 volt, lithium battery-powered, Hitachi driver AND impact drill for Christmas this year! (Thank you Santa!!!)  My dad and I are working on building me my own set shop down in my basement at home.  I already have a chop-saw, table-saw, and all of the storage and wall space I could imagine.  All I need is the clean space, and to organize all of my tools into drawers.  Nothing excites me more than the thought of being able to go home and build anything I want! My siblings have already shouted out some requests. :)