we GRADUATED

This past Tuesday was my last class of Level A Improv at Second City, and most of our class is sticking together and moving on to Level B. We're all so proud of ourselves for graduating on. :)  "Yes, and..." is something that was taught to us in our very first class, and I need constant reminder of it. During our second class of scene work, that principal completely left my brain, and I was over thinking and not just listening and letting it happen. "Yes, and..." means that whatever happens (no matter how awful you think it may be) is correct, and you just keep on going. This past class of scene work was definitely much better! Also, our lovely teacher Kimmie reminded us last week that there is "no room for egos". People are going to learn at different paces, keep them as part of your family and help them out. I'm excited for Level B! 

Our class!

     On Monday, I auditioned for Full-time character positions for Disney World, and I haven't been as proud of my other 3 auditions for Disney as I was with this one. No singing was involved, because it was strictly a character audition, but lots of dancing was. I still need LOTS of improvement in routine memorization, but ballet classes have definitely helped my drastically, since it wasn't an absolute flop like some of my dance auditions have been. Disney auditions are always inspiration for me, since I love them so much and it's one of my dreams to work for them, but this one just felt even more inspirational. Haha, some of the people in the audition room were complaining or being negative at times and I just wanted to turn to them and say, "Umm, have you done research on Disney expecations? They don't hire Mr. Grumpy Pants..."
At the end of the audition, they thanked us all for coming and told us that they will keep our scores on file for 6 months and call us as positions open up for our height range if we are wanted. Of course, there is loads of competition, because they audition weekly in Orlando, and they are also touring the U.S. holding auditions. We'll see! I'm definitely not going to ever give up on them, though! ;)


       Recently my dear friends Jill, Kristin, and I enjoyed a trip to Six Flags Great America. It was an unusually beautiful day (for October) with a high in the 80s, which made it perfect for roller coaster riding. Due to everyone else feeling the same way about the day, we were only able to ride 2 roller coasters, since the lines were so long, but it was fantastic catching up on eachother's lives, getting to ride our 2 favorite rides, splitting a funnel cake, and friend in a show there that was in the cast of Man of La Mancha with us. 
        

          Last weekend was filled with family, Carolina sun, wedding music, Chick-fil-a, and Bojangles Boberry biscuits, after I hopped on a flight down south for my cousin Greg and his lady Keily's wedding. I was happy to be a part by singing "The Prayer" with Greg's best man, and "For Always" while my brother Matthew and our friend Juliana collaborated on viola and piano. It was such a surprise to discover that Juliana was the pianist for the wedding, and it was magnificent to see her again. I know her from college, and she also attended the summer conservatory the same summer that I did. We became friends that summer and also got to collaborate together then!
Seeing family was lovely, especially since it has been at least a year since I've seen most of them.
       
       Denyce Graves gave a  masterclass at the Belk Theatre in North Carolina that weekend, and I got to attend!  I was 10 feet away from her, and soaked in every single piece of wisdom that she gave. She says, "Voila." in the place of "there you go" a lot, and it's adorable. She's gorgeous.

      Something that I wish I would have started a while ago is making it a point to go to open mics consistently. The past couple of weeks, I have attended one particular one with Jill (and this week Kristin!), and have had such a great time. It gives motivation to learn new material, it's great for meeting new people who are fellow music lovers, aside from the fact that it's great experience!

Here's a few smiles: 

Caramel Apples and Baked Pumpkin seeds!

Carved with my nanny kids!