"How are we ever to know?"

When you tell any musical theatre student, "Hey guess what? I am going to do a Stephen Sondheim show in only 8 days!!" The normal reaction would be breaking into a giant burst of laughter and then someone checking to see if I am still sane or not. But its true! I have been working on a show for the past 2 weeks and we opened it last Friday after only 8 days of rehearsal. Stephen Sondheim is an amazing AMAZING composer who did the music for an award winning show by the name of Into the Woods. And when I was cast in it for the summer stock season at Grandstreet Theatre, I received an email that with an attachment of the schedule. The body of the email warned me that if I wasn't scared by the schedule I should be. And believe me I was! Upon arrival to Helena we immediately got to work. After only 3 days, all the songs were learned and the show was blocked. So when the opening day came we had quite the day. When you think of the things to do on an opening day you may think rehearse, or doing showy type things. Well not at the Adams house!! No we went to the carousal. Now if you are not familiar to the Helena area the Carousel is a magical place where they have made the amazing combination of ice cream and riding hand carved ponies. So Josey, Josie, Marianne, Jess and I went to this incredible fantasy land!

Josie hanging out on a horse!!

Jess on an otter

and this is Josey

After taking two trips on the magical circle, we took a break and met up with Sam. Then we went to enjoy the second pleasure of the is incredible facility. That is ice cream. They create their own unique flavors and to all my friends in Missouri, its kind of like Sparky's. ONLY BETTER!! They had flavors like Hot Chocolate (Chocolate with cayenne pepper in it, I heard it was very delicious), pecan cinnamon roll, the montana classic Huckleberry, and many other brilliant flavors. I was suffering from a bad cold so did not participate in the eating of dairy instead drank a huckleberry italian soda, just as good but not nearly as awesome.

So after slaving the afternoon away we got to the point where it was show time. As the the lights came up so did the thrill and as the show ended the adrenaline kept moving. As tradition stands after every Grandstreet show there is an after party down a few blocks at Bert and Ernie's. It was so fun to hang out with the cast, crew and our supporters. It was our moment to breath as a cast and revul in the accomplishment that is an amazing created by all of us in just 8 days. There is one line from the show that has really stuck with me. "How are we ever to know?" As I stood around looking at all the faces that made up this show, and thought how could people ever to know? How could people ever know that simply 8 days before we were complete strangers? How could people ever know that for 8 days we eat, breathed, and slept this show, only for the simple enjoyment of hearing the clapping and cheering during the show (and of course the purchase of tickets ;) ;) ) But how could people ever know the back grounds that brought each of us to this point in time? I look around the after party and think of all the successful people that make up not only Grandstreet but the amazing acting community that was surrounding me. I was with people who had come all across the United States to simply make amazing theatre. A true blessing!

Julia (Cinderella), Myself, Lysa (Baker's Wife), Jess (Stepmother), Kysta (Lucy)

The Step family!

If you still want tickets there are only three performances left!

Thursday @ 7:30

Friday @ 7:30

Saturday @ 2:30

COME SEE YOU US!!!

A Rose by Any Other Name.....

I got to come home for a few days!! "Into the Woods" took a 3.5 day vacation from rehearsals to enjoy the holiday. As most of my cast went to the cabin, I came home for the first time in 6 months. It was so weird coming home, but wonderful none the less. I walked into my room and saw that my sister was storing some of her grad gifts in there, which was fine. And someone had been sleeping in my bed, goldylocks was no where to be found, so like most things I blamed it on Amanda. As I got unpacked and settled back into my original surroundings I notice sitting on the dresser was a prom corsage. The sparkly black ribbon and dried roses were a beautiful combination. But as Amanda came into my room to grab the remaining stuff she had left from sleeping in my bed. I asked, "Amanda, is that your prom corsage." She replied, "No its Alexis'." Later on in the day I asked "Alexis is that your prom corsage on my dresser." She too replied, "No its Amanda's." Well thats not frustrating at all. So now I have this dried up prom corsage sitting on my dresser and it just magically got there.

As I starred at it, my mom called me downstairs. When I responded to her she said, "Will you take those roses up stairs they have been down here for months." Now before you think that I got some dead flowers stored in my room, let me just tell you....you're right. I collect dried flowers. No, not wilted probably should throw away flowers, but turned upside down for a long time and preserved flowers. I know it is an odd thing to collect, but it is a true representation of happy memories, and accomplishments. I have been collecting since I was about 13 years old and some of my favorites are....

When I was 16 I was in my first musical EVER!! It was "The Secret Garden," at Grandstreet Theatre, where I am currently working. I played a ghost/ a nurse. The whole thing was amazing and beautiful. As I looked down on our closing night show, I began to tear up. I wasn't ready for this to end and I knew now more than ever I wanted to be on stage for the rest of my life. As I scanned the audience during curtain call I looked down and saw my mom and my dad. My mom was crying, things that are typical! And as I met them after the show my mom presented me with these antiquely looking roses. The color was the mix between pink and off-white. They are definitely the prettiest of my dried collection.

This one was a flower my 2nd dad Craig Rude gave to me on my senior night for Cheerleading. I was running around, like I usually did before a game, trying to make sure everything was in order when I spotted my 2nd family. The Rudes!! Wanda and Craig are literally like my 2nd parents. I ran up to them to get my usual hug and Craig pulled me into a Craig Rude Bear Hug and the gave me this boutinere. The purple and yellow carnation wrapped in baby's breath, just about sent me into tears. As some of you know my dad was transferred my senior year and was not able to come to senior night. I completely understood, but as Craig pinned the flower on he said, "that's from your dad.....and me :)" As my sisters, mom, and myself walked across the gym floor, I looked up and there was Wanda and Craig. They made sure that even if my dad couldn't be there in person, he was going to be there in some way. 

Some others from my collection:

Bouquet I received from my parents

Junior year prom corsage

Senior year prom corsage

My Montana Jr. Miss winning roses

Flowers I got after winning Cut Bank's 

Each flower is not a dried up leaf but rather a picture onto which I keep memories. So its kinda sad when I see a beautiful corsage from a probably amazing night simply laying on my dresser and no one wants to claim it. People say to stop and smell the roses or as Walter Hagen puts it, "You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way." To me these phrase are simply putting that if you don't take time to make memories and smile onto the beauty of your life and surroundings, life is gone in a flash without you truly knowing how to live. My collection is a constant reminder to me to continue taking advantages of the opportunities life has been giving me. That life is only as beautiful as the memories, experiences, and the thoughts that you fill it with. 

The Beauty in Yesterday

I am back!!! in Montana that is. After 6 months I have finally returned to the big sky. But of instead of going home I am living in Helena for the next 2 months working for Grandstreet Theatre. So I am living with the wonderful Marianne and Charlie Adams. Also living here is Jess, who is from Iowa, and Josey, who hails from Kentucky, so I was the only Montana native, well besides the Adams. So earlier this morning Marianne, Jess, Josey and I decided to take the Helena Historical Society's Tour Train.

As the tour train set out on its journey, we rounded the capital building, saw the new governor's mansion, the old governor's mansion, famous house, famous people, famous events, and the history of Helena as well as Montana. And although I have lived in this state for 13 years I am still fascinated by the stories. But to me the true definition of beauty is history. Knowing that once this place didn't exist and now its a thriving state capital, and everything in between is incredible. For example.......

This is a statue of Thomas Francis Meagher, not General Custer, that was my first guess. Meagher was born in Ireland. He lead the Young Irelanders in 1848 but was caught and original sentenced to death but instead was sent to a jail in Australia. From there he broke out and settled in NYC and joined the Union army during the Civil War. He rose to brigadier general and lead the irish brigade. Post war he was sent to the Montana territory to act as the first acting governor, but sadly drowned in the Missouri during a battle with a native tribe. But now is a statue in front of the capital.

The tour told many more stories of why and how helena came to be. And I couldn't help but feel anything but pride. To know that this is my state and this is my history. I was glad I got to share this experience with Josey, Jess, and Marianne!

My first week back has been amazing. STAY TUNED!!

OMG SHE IS SOOOOO FUNNY!!!!

After finishing STI I got to return to Alabama. For the people who don't know what I am talking about. Last year I competed in a scholarship program by the name of America's Jr. Miss. I was Montana's Jr. Miss for 2010 and I headed to nationals in Mobile, Alabama. While I was there the program announced a huge change. The program went from being named America's Jr. Miss to Distinguished Young Women of America. Anyway...This program is amazing, I have met some of the most amazing girls from all across the country as well as earn scholarship to pay for college. But last August I gave up my title and became a Has Been. But the best part is I gave my title up to my baby sister Amanda. So this June I got to go to Alabama to watch her compete at nationals. And can I just say she whooped some serious booty. She won 2 national awards. One was an essay contest awards thingy and the other was an Interview award, which is UBER AWESOME!!! And she looked so awesome on stage. Take a look.....

SHE IS SO PRETTY!!!!!! but everyone person we stopped and talked to said that she is the funniest person EVER. well I don't doubt it. Amanda is one heck of a gal. And she made not only myself but the whole state of Montana awfully proud. It was so cool to come back, Now this program always allows the girls from the previous year to come back and participate in what is known as the Has Been show. But you have to be there on a certain date and I couldn't due to me being at STI and all. Which is fine! So instead of being in the has been show I got to watch as 12 of my AJM class performed to reworded Mary Poppins music. They were so fun and made me so happy!!

As you can already see there are so many great things about being in Alabama, but without a doubt the best. THE BEST!!!! is the Thornton family. They were my host family for my two weeks last year. They spoiled me rotten and made me feel right at home. Mommy Sherrie, Dad Aj, and my sisters Erin and Emily. They are soooooo awesome. So while I was there I had so much fun hanging out at there house one afternoon. So we played us some Just Dance2, I had never played it and lets just I probably shouldn't. :) But this family is the greatest and I am so lucky. I just love them!!!

I had a pretty fab time in Sweet Home AL! here are few more pics of my 2nd adventure there......

Oh Alabama you never disappoint!!

I HATE AIRPLANES!!!!

AHHHHHHH I HATE AIRPLANES!!!!!

Unbelievable

The theme for our next show at STI is entitled Unbelievable. Our homework assignment was to create a short two person scene about what we thought was unbelievable. The show will premiere the 3rd of June and is a show that is completely student written. As I sat in my room with a blank piece of paper, I tried to think of what was unbelievable. Then I wandered on to facebook as my procrastinator self usually does, and saw on the Joplin, Mo Tornado Recovery page that the death toll had reached up to 116. This post finally gave me the inspiration for my scene. Think of all the catastrophes that have happened in our lifetime. Where were you when all these things happened. and to me it is unbelievable that I can be standing in my house while someone elses is being ripped to shreds. The feeling of through tragedy we realize what we have and that although we are fortunate it is our jobs as human beings and friends that we help the victims. In Joplin people need our help you can help by Call 573-443-4523, go online to http://uwheartmo.org/, or text JOPLIN to 864833 to make a $10 donation. A Missouri family has offered to match up 50,000 dollars when handled through this website and number. 


Because this can't just disappear over night. So lets  help!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."-Ghandi

Love Always,

DW

one mocha coconut frappaccino and a few flashbacks please

So this fine sunday afternoon is being spent at Starbucks with Leslie, Carolyn, and Dylan. All three have laptops open and are hard at work and I am just sitting here observing. As the barista called out "one mocha coconut frappacinno.."I retrieved my drink returned to my table and felt old. It pretty much sums up how I have been feeling since the beginning of STI. But I'm looking at these three lovely ladies and wonder where did the time go. As I sip on my sugar drink it reminds me of a samoas cookie, and all I can see is me going door to door selling girl scout cookies. The years of making sure I sold 75 boxes just to get the little silver figurine. The minor sense of accomplishment of adding another figurine to my collection has faded over the years as did my need to sell the delicious cookies. Now I see these little girls walk around selling with their little sheets with the same look in their eye. The look that says if I can sell cookies and can sell anything. As the visuals of cookies from the past finally faded I began to pull myself back into the table conversation. "Those boys at the dance recital last night were some of the best I have seen," Dylan said. Last night Dylan,Carolyn, Lora, Robyne, Meghan, and I attended the dance recital put on by the ladies who are teaching us dance every morning. As we watched girls perform to sparkling diamonds, which is the routine we are being taught for our showcase, Dylan and I began to secretly wish we were dancers. As the tappers in their sparkly costumes exited the stage they we shortly replaced by toddlers in tutus. As Dylan and I had a minor freak out moment by the amount of cuteness that had filled the stage all I could think of was being a groovy chicken. When I was in kindergarten and living in Yuma, Arizona I took dance classes and my first recital was a performance of the glass slipper, and as Cinderella came out to feed the animals there was a groovy chicken number, me and my fellow kindergartens in bright yellow feather costumes entered on stage. As Cinderella counted her chickens she noticed that one was not on stage. As she pulled me away from my place back stage into the lights of the stage it was the first time I had ever stepped foot on stage.

As I sat in jesse auditorium watching as these little girls danced I couldn't help but smile knowing that only 13 years ago that was me. I had to text my parents at intermission to thank them for taking me to dance classes. But what makes me feel really old is that exactly one week from today my baby sister will be graduating from high school. 17 years ago I became an older sister to two beautiful girls. I have had the best job in the whole world, watching them grow up. I've seen first steps first stumbles. First ER trip to fix up a cut on amandas head that I might or might not have caused. I was the lucky one to see every first school day, every good or bad grade. As the years have passed I got to watch as these little infants have changed into poised, confident, talented, intelligent young ladies. Next sunday Amanda will walk across the gym floor and accept her diploma, and although I will not be attending I hope she realizes that I am so proud of her. She is incredible and she has the power of making me feel really old. I miss her and love her so much. Congrats baby doll.

As I finish my stabucks drink and my friends have gone to accomplish other things I look at how one simple drink can take me back so far. I am a very lucky person, I have bEen able to fill my 19 years of life with memories and moments that make these flashbacks enjoyable. And although I may be old now I know if my future can be as exciting as my past has I am doing pretty darn good.

Thanks for reading a new video should be up soon
Love always
DW