Sunday, June 12, 2011

HAIRSPRAY WOW!


So I am currently rehearsing for the show Hairspray! It has always been my dream to be in this show, mainly because I love the music and the message, but also because I get to picture Zac Efron as Link in every scene *Sigh* Every since High School Musical, Zac Efron will always have a special place in my heart. (Don't worry, Mckell knows he is my celebrity crush. He has his, Taylor Swift, and I have mine. It's cool.) Anyways, my dream role is to play Amber in this show. She has the best lines and she is so opposite of me. As I am afraid of failure and I didn't want to have to dedicate my entire summer to rehearsal (although I have to anyways), when I auditioned I just listed wanting a part on the Teen Council (the Dancers on the Corny Collins Show) and I got it so I am perfectly happy with it. I get to hang out with Amber and do basically everything that she does, except say all the clever little lines that try to belittle Tracy. However, I do have one line in the show and a name. It is Shelley and I get to say it during our "Role Call" so I feel pretty cool.

We started rehearsing in April and don't perform until July 21-30 (you better write this down so you know when you get to come see me.) This is the LONGEST I have ever had to rehearse for a play in my entire life! In high school, we would put shows together in 4-5 weeks tops. One time we only had 2 weeks to learn all the music and dances for a show before we performed, crazy I know. So as you can imagine I have been dying with this long of a rehearsal process. We still have 6 weeks to master the show...... 6 weeks, do you know how long 6 weeks is? 1 1/2 months, that's how long it is. We have already been rehearsing for 8 weeks and we have learned basically everything we have had to do and now we have 6 weeks of rehearsals to perfect it so you better believe our show will be stinkin' amazing! That's right, stinkin' amazing. That means you have to come see it because it will be awesome.

You may be asking yourself, where is this post going? Well, I will tell you right now, I have been dying to get to perform and I finally did! (Well, kinda) To help promote the show, we get to be in the Springville and Spanish Fork parades! And this past Saturday was the Springville Art City Parade and I got to dance and sing along the parade route! It was finally a chance to show off all of the hard work our cast has done. So we start the parade and we are all trying to dance the choreography and walk at the same time (Extremely tricky, you should try it if you don't believe me.) and I start seeing the crowd trying to get a better look at our sweet dance moves, and the Disney parade instincts take over and I want to get the crowd involved and "feel the magic" so I lean over to my friends and say, "Hey, Let's turn and face the crowd while we dance and stay there to perform for a minute and then run to try to catch up!" Brilliant, right? I sure thought so, but no one else did. I couldn't convince anyone to try to involve the crowd more, I mean they wanted to get them up on their feet dancing as much as I did but they thought that it would work by showing off how to walk and dance at the same time. I love my cast mates but that really wasn't working and I took the matter into my own hands. I decided to just face the crowds and dance all by myself. Did I look like a fool? Probably. Did I get the crowd up and dancing? Sure thing! I even have pictures to prove it.


Here I am on the left of the picture facing the crowd and getting my groove on and notice the little girl dancing along. Okay so maybe she might not be dancing but it sure looks like it. I do however have real proof of getting someone in the crowd to dance with me. Keep scrolling to see it....






This guy was awesome, I asked if anyone knew how to do the twist and his family started chanting his name (I think it was Trevor or Travis... something along those lines) and so I started chanting too and then he came up and danced with me for like 5 min, He wouldn't really stop and I felt bad leaving him but the group was already so far ahead I had to. So you can see how dancing facing the crowd works so much better then showing off your dance walking skills :)

I loved the chance to perform the dance moves we have been practicing forever and I got to touch roots with my Disney parade performing months. Thanks for the pictures Jennifer!

Anyways, I really do love the cast! Everyone is extremely talented and we already have learned so much of an awesome show! And we couldn't have done it without our amazing directors. You can witness the amazininity of our cast in this photo that was taken right before the parade.

If you would like to see more, we will be in the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Parade on July 25. Or if you would like to see even more, we will be performing July 21 - 30 except on Tuesdays and Wednesday and on the 25th, our show will be at 5 pm for those who would like to go to the rodeo that night. We perform at Spanish Fork High School on Center Street in Spanish Fork. Google it if you are unsure where it is exactly. (What would we do without Google!?!)

Also, THIS SATURDAY, June 18, we are having a Car Wash/Bake Sale Fundraiser for our show. Talent can only get us so far people, we need your money :) JK but seriously we would love any donations you have. We will be at the Spanish Fork Rec Center, 775 North Main Street in, can you guess it?, Spanish Fork from 10:00 am to 1:00pm. Come meet the sweet cast and get the best car wash you will ever have brought to you by "Ultra Clutch Hairspray" and have a snack while you wait. Be sure to write the info down so you don't forget it on Saturday when you think, "Man, my car really needs a good wash. Where was that rad car wash again?!"

Monday, June 6, 2011

I'm Back!

It has been 9 months since I have posted on my blog! So pathetic I know, well now that I have the summer off and, as of now, won't be working next year I have time to waste, I mean update, on my journal.

This past year has been amazing! I was teaching 3rd grade down in Salem at an amazing school. The students and parents there were awesome to work with as well as the staff and other teachers. I didn't know I could grow so close to 30 students over 9 months. The last day was an emotional roller coaster for me. I would be so excited to be done with 10 hour work days but then I would remember I would never see my students again and start crying.

Not only were the students wonderful but they taught me so much. I learned how to be strict and nice at the same time, spring fever is REAL, 3rd graders like to make homemade pictures to give their teacher, if you think something is cool you can convince the entire class that it is too, students' parents aren't as scary as I thought, they can actually become your friends, as a teacher, working 60+ hour weeks is normal, etc. I love teaching and helping students going from confused to getting the concept. I will miss the best 3rd grade class at our elementary because really they were. I had such hard working, smart students to work with I feel spoiled to have such an amazing class and nothing can compare to this year.

This year has been filled with a lot of work for Mckell and I. On top of me staying busy with school and being in the Young Women's in my ward, Mckell was more busy than I was. In order for Mckell to graduate this spring, he needed to take 20+ credits each semester and he did it while working a full time job as well! He also has discovered a love of golf. Working so hard on the weekdays he needed a release on Saturdays and golf was the best thing! I don't love his, now obsession with golf but I am always so busy that I am glad he has something to do.

This summer I have been able to start performing again! I am Hairspray down here in Spanish Fork but I will post more about that later. I am staying busy now with that and helping my older sister who just had her third baby girl! She is so precious, I will post pictures of Little Elanore Rose Lewis later, I don't have many pictures to upload yet but they will come.

I am so excited to not only keep up on my blog but also everyone's as well!!!