Two Thousand Twelve

The Universe blessed me with some very important people.

I went to NYC with my class of insanely talented lovelies.

Then after that exhausting trip, turned right around and spent St. Patrick's Day in Memphis with my very best friends.

Loralyn visited me in St. Louie!

I said goodbye to my Mimi.

My last MWTA

My Last Seminar

I Stage Managed a beautiful show of Lady Windermere's Fan with a group of amazing people

I discovered beeritas

I got a BFA! (with honors!)

I said goodbye to my best friends

I rocked it hard at LTOTS with two amazing ladies and a company of fantastic people.

Visited picturesque Holland, MI!

I rediscovered my love for reading!!

I moved into my first apartment!

Got a pen pal and a friend back.

Saw the Circus!!

Saw some beautiful nature. Felt blessed and was reminded how incredible this world really is.

I never stopped missing Vienna.

I started my first professional SM gig at the Imaginary Theatre Company.

Equity!!

And I couldn't be happier!!

I've had ups and downs and hard goodbyes. I've met some amazing people and there were so many memories made. This is my first year not in school - my first year on my own and I feel so blessed to have my friends and family beside me as we go through this crazy thing called life.

30 Days of Thanks Giving

30 Days of Thanks Giving. Giving Thanks.

To the Universe, to the late night decisions that turned into the best paths, to anything and everything that made me who I am and gave me things to be thankful for.

1. I LOVE my job. I love it. To me, there is nothing in the world more rewarding than the smiles of children who have just been captured by theatrical magic. They're grinning from ear to ear. Their jaws are dropped open at this thing that they've just experienced. They are using their imagination. They don't know exactly what they've seen, but it's awesome, it's cool, it's really neat and it just happened right in front of them!! For a while, they are in this magical world of theatre. Who knows if they'll remember it years from now. But they've seen it. They've embraced it, they've dived in, no questions asked, completely accepting that we are now in a magical forest where giant birds talk to you or near a quiet old farmhouse where gnomes really exist! Theatre for Young Audiences is more than my job. It's my passion and I'm so thankful to be able to do what I love.

2. My parents have always supported me, always loved me, and always encouraged me. When I said I wanted to do theatre for the rest of my life, they never said, "No, that's ridiculous." or "You'll never make enough money to support yourself." or "What about a real job?" They told me that whatever I wanted to do was fine and helped me get to where I wanted to be. They taught me right and wrong and respect and how to see the world. They taught me to trust people and to love everyone. They instilled values in me and I hope I've made them proud with my work and who I am. I love them to the moon and back and I miss them constantly and look forward to seeing whenever I can.

Every Moment

There are 45 days left. Sorry...make that 44 since it's 3 in the morning.

45 days till they're gonna kick us out in to the real world. All 12 of us--and we've got our fingers crossed so damn hard that we've learned something worthwhile over the past 4 years: between school and summerstock and internships, maybe we've found something to hang on to that will help us live.

Every sleepless night. Every almost-unfinished project. Every rendering we wanted to rip to shreds. Every fundies project we bitched about. Every drafting, every sound file, every light demo. There have been shows and tech weeks and hell weeks and days where we would rather be in hell, cause it couldn't be much worse than where we were right then. There have been tears and fights and "WTFs" (lots of those) and "Can you believe x, y, & z?". Hugs, love, drugs, and alcohol. Rock and roll and show tunes and everything in between. For every shitty day there was one that made it all worth it. For every fucked up cue we called, there was a perfect button that made us smile like idiots. For every time we thought we'd ruined the show, there was a moment when we found out, 'yeah, it can get worse', and the precious few moments when we realized and remembered that this is school and...really, it's gonna be okay. For every great idea--for every sucky one. Every zoo trip, every road trip, every seemingly-endless summer. For every year away and long phone calls and facebook messages just to say "I miss you", "I love you", or "Please come home now". There were fall breaks and winter breaks and spring breaks. There were moments of pure happiness and things that broke our hearts. For each and every crazy party and the mornings after. Every hug. Every kiss. Every "Hey, can you come over". Every toast, every shot. For all the times when we realized we were never alone.

Every moment.


45 days will give us another beginning. Another chance.

Here's to you, the future of theatre.

Lest We Forget Why

May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candor, and grace. May you overcome adversity, censorship, poverty and nihilism, as many of you will most certainly be obliged to do. May you be blessed with the talent and rigor to teach us about the beating of the human heart in all its complexity, and the humility and curiosity to make it your life's work. And may the best of you - for it will only be the best of you, and even then only in the rarest and briefest moments - succeed in framing that most basic of questions, "how do we live?" Godspeed.

- John Malkovich