A Quick Review Of My Life This Past Year

Some of you have probably noticed that I haven't been up to date with my posts on my blog. This has probably been frustrating for you because I know you've all been dying to know what I've been up to this past year.

Well, stop your fretting cause right now, for your benefit, I will give a quick review of my doings this past year.

• Dial M for Murder - After I came home from London I basically had to jump in right away into stage managing BYU's Production of Dial M for Murder, written by Fredrick Knotts. It was a really great experience. It pushed me as a stage manger (I had over 300 cues to call). I had the chance to use the revolving stage in the Pardoe theater at BYU. It really was a great (yet stressful) experience.

• The Belle of Amherst - While I was stage managing I was working on my senior directing project. I knew I wanted to pick a show that had a small cast, was easy to cut, and I was passionate about. I have always loved Emily Dickinson's poetry and in high school I had seen a movie of the play The Belle of Amherst, written by William Luce, which is a one woman show about Emily Dickinson's life. I decided that because of school, work, and Dial M that I needed to keep the work load of my play light. So I chose to do The Belle of Amherst. I asked one of the secretaries in the Theatre office, Elizabeth Funk, to play Emily. It was a really good production. I was very pleased with the look and feel of it. Of course there are things I would have liked to change but overall it was good. It was a very enlightening and growing experience for me.

• Poland - The first week of December 08 I had the opportunity to accompany George Nelson, a theatre education professor at BYU, to Warsaw, Poland. We went over there to work with various education and theatre groups. It was awesome! I made many friends, learned some polish, and basically feel in love with Poland. I loved it so much that I was making plans to move there. I can't wait to go back and visit.

• Student Teaching - From January to April, I student taught theatre and film at Riverton High School in South Jordan, Utah. It was seriously a life changing experience. It was hard and frustrating but it help me see that I have a passion to teach and that I love theatre. It reaffirmed that I was graduating in the right major. I love that school.

• Antigone - While at Riverton High School, I was asked to direct the Regional and State competition piece, Antigone. It was a great production (if I say so myself). I was really proud of the acting abilities of my students. At Region, we got straight superiors, which is the highest you can get. At State, we got one superior and two excellents. I was sad about the outcome of state but the students put a lot of work into it and I was just so proud that it really was a great production.

• Graduation - Just a couple weeks ago, I officially graduated from Brigham Young University in Theatre Arts Education. I didn't really want to walk in the graduation but I promised my parents I would. So Marshall, JC, Mom, and I drove up to Provo (my Dad flew) for graduation. Kohl and his wife, Chris, where up there already so they met up with us for my commencement ceremony. I'm glad I walked because it made the idea of graduating real for me and it gave me the chance to celebrate. I also enjoyed catching up with friends and the people I love. I'm really glad I've graduated but I will miss the friends that are still there.

So there you go. My life this past year. I hope I can continue to post on my blog and to keep you all informed but I guess we'll have to see what life brings.....right? :)
Thanks for reading.

Living and TEACHING in St. George, Utah!

So after a summer of filling out job applications, rewriting my resume five or six times, interviewing with several different principals, and getting over a thousand "stress" zits, I finally get a job offer at a brand new charter school in St. George, Utah. The only problem is that its an elementary school. I have only taught at Jr high and high school levels. I am not experienced in teaching at an elementary level. I wasn't too keen on taking the job but to be honest it was my only offer and the school year was starting, so I needed to make a choice, asap.
What do you do when you need to make a life-altering decision in a limited amount of time?......pray about it. So I did and I knew right way that I needed to take the job and move to St. George.
I've now been here for almost a month and a half. I just moved into an really cool, really expensive, apartment. I currently have no furniture but its nice to have my own place.
I love the town, I love my ward, I love the friends that I have here and most of all I LOVE TEACHING AT THIS SCHOOL. It is hard and I've had to make some major adjustments to my teaching style, but I do love it. It has its ups and downs being a brand new school but the overall experience has been amazing. I get to work with one of my coolest friends(I heart you, Brit), I also get to see Tuacahn shows, do day trips to Vegas, and I'm only 6 hours away from the family. I also think St. George is one of the pretty places in the southwest.
So far its seems like the place I need to be. I just hope that the next year here will be as amazing as this past month has been. :)

News about Chess in Concert

For those interested I found out that Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall will be on PBS in the spring of 09 and the CD and DVD will shortly be released following. It was an amazing concert and worth watching (Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal - who wouldn't want to see them sing together). Also if you are interested you can watch pretty much the whole concert on Youtube. Just type in Chess in Concert Royal Albert Hall and you can view pretty good clips of the concert. It really was amazing.

[This is a picture of the bows at the end of the concert. You can pick out Josh, Idina, Adam (he's looking at Idina), and Kerry Ellis (the blond).]

I'm on "Nobody's Side"....

I took this during the Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. That's right, I bootlegged. Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, and Kerry Ellis all sang in it. This video is Idina Menzel singing "Nobody's Side". It made me think of all the girls who sang it in the MCC summer kid shows. This is for them. Enjoy.

A Plethora of Shows: my London Theatre experience.

Here is the official list of all 46 shows that I had the chance to see while I was studying in London. As you can see it is a very long list and each show was a huge learning experience for me. I truly felt like I was in theatre heaven. I sucked the marrow out of the London theatre scene and I was filled to the brim with the joy of experience good theatre (and some bad). Hope you enjoy the list. If you want to know more about any of the performances just let me know and I will fill you in.

Theatre brings me closer to my Savior and helps me understand the importance of the gospel in my life. Theatre is a rare outlet where we can see up close the human existence and learn from it. It connects us to the divine. I know that Heavenly Father loves theatre and my experience in London confirmed that to me. So enjoy.

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre (musical)
Small Change at the Donmar
The Lover/The Collection at the Comedy Theatre
Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Roundhouse
Into the Hoods at the Novello Theatre (hip hop/break dance show)
The Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House (ballet)
War and Peace 1 & 2 at the Hampstead Theatre
Visiting Mr. Green at Trafalgar Studios 1
The Year of Magical Thinking at the National Theatre
King Lear at The Globe
Happy Now? at the National Theatre
Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (musical)
Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall (musical)
Pygmalion at the Old Vic
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe
The Bird Sanctuary at the Rosemary Theatre
The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre (spoof)
Hello and Goodbye at Trafalgar Studios 2
Fram at the National Theatre
Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace (musical)
Gone With the Wind at the New London Theatre (musical)
God of Carnage at the Gielgud Theatre
Aspects of Love at the New Wimbledon Theatre (musical)
The Cherry Orchard at the Chichester Festival
Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre (musical)
Life coach at Trafalgar Studio 2
Good Soul of Szechuan at the Young Vic
The Pitmen Painters at the National Theatre
Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre (musical)
Troilus & Cressida at the Barbican
Harper Regan at the National Theatre
Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Opera House (ballet)
Romeo and Juliet at the Open Air Theatre
Brief Encounter at The Cinema Haymarket
The Merchant of Venice at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard
The Taming of the Shrew at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard
Major Barbara at the National Theatre
The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal (musical)
The Deep Blue Sea at the Nimax Theatre
The Chalk Garden at the Donmar
After Life at the National Theatre
The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Globe
Story of a Rabbit at the Pit Theatre at the Barbican (multi-media performance art)
Fat Pig at Trafalgar Studios 1
Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre (musical)

(the picture is of me at The Globe Theatre at the production of King Lear)

Is it really the circle of life?

The first show I saw here was Disney's The Lion King. It was the first time I have seen it and I was really blown away by the spectacle of the production. The costumes, set, and lighting were amazing! The first scene when all the animals gather to honor Simba was breathtaking. But other than that it was kind of a let down. The majority of the acting was really campy and cheesy. The singing wasn't the best either. One of my favorite songs in the world is the song that the grown up Simba sings about his father called Endless Night. That song is deep and emotional and if sung right can really stir great emotion. Unfortunately the actor playing Simba screamed the song rather than sang it. It was a hard blow to us as audience members. On the other hand the actresses playing Nala and Rafike were brilliant. Their voices were amazing and their acting was strong. Overall I give this production a 7 out of 10.

Updates on London Shows

The following post will be short blurbs on the different shows I have seen here in London. It has been an interesting journey through the theatre world of London. Lot of ups and downs. I hope you enjoy these reviews.