If you have gone back to recent blog entries, you may have realized that not a lot has happened this year on my blog, or rather, this entire year, well, you are partially true!
Moving to Las Vegas 13 months ago was definitely an attempt at this surviving Mormon couple trying to settle down- buy a house, maybe have a baby or two- but not a single ounce of progress has taken place- there is a lot to cover and there is a lot I still have planned with this fateful blog of mine. For now I will share with you only a preview of settings, in the form of a Blog's To-Do List:
ASIA
Hong Kong
The Wishing Tree
Thai Food Regrets: or how I Still Didn't get to eat Fried Rice out of a Pineapple
Tokyo
Tokyo Disney
Osaka- The largest Aquarium and Largest Spinning Wheel: or So I Thought
Russia in the Winter
ALASKA
Klondike
Abercrombie State Park- not the one with Fitch
Alaskan Sun
USA
Seattle Trip December 2014
San Diego Trip April 2015
PERFORMING
The Me & Ivan Cabaret
Setting the Stage for What's to Come
Becoming Jane
Ok- So there is A LOT to cover here- and I managed to prove myself wrong that a lot HAS happened this year... yet... still no blogging! But at least the world is well aware of my honorable attempts and my successes at procrastinating! I'm continuing to sort through all my photos, and continuing to wish I finished doing this all one year ago, but I will still try and make it happen... soon!
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I'm not quite sure what order I will put this in- for now all I want to write about is Becoming Jane or.. #becomingjane, or My Long Road back to playing the Leading Lady after many years...
During the last several weeks, I have been cast as Jane in Tarzan at Spring Mountain Ranch here in Las Vegas! I'm already in the middle of rehearsals and it's almost all I think about. When I first found out, I called my twin sister and we were just ecstatic over the phone. It seems to have been far too long since I have been in a MUSICAL- opposed to cabarets and tribute shows and "sets" and 40 minute cruise ship shows. This is so much more of a JOURNEY- a journey becoming Jane! A journey that I am all too thrilled to be a part of. Sarah also brought to mind that it has been a long time since I have been a lead in a show- too long.
Now, there is much, much more backstory and details to this recollection, and only my oldest friends could possibly understand, but for now I will just state it- that one of the best times in my life was during high school theatre. Some combination of the friends, my best friends, my family, the school, the small town, feeling like I was known and heard everyday- it just made me feel so alive- like everyday I had something to be over excited about! Some plan or event, or new person to meet that made me laugh, or a friendship to keep growing- those were the feeling of just unreserved LOVE and FUN that helped me grow into an optimistic, sassy, excitable human.
Ivan and I talk about what was that FIRST moment that made you fall in love with theatre- I compare this experience with that of my other performing friends and the typical answer is always "The Arts, It's my passion, I love it" but in general, I think it can all be traced down to a few reasons: The Fame, The Money, The Love.
Ivan was 11 years old in Oliver at Music Circus in Sacramento and made about $2,000 one summer- and was hooked! -The Money
I remember being 10, the lead role in a Christmas show,
Gift Rap, and having everyone clap for me, compliment me, bring me flowers and my little 5th grade self felt like a princess! -The Fame
So, it very well can be traced down to those very 2 purposes, but I threw in "The Love" assuming most artists in the world are less shallow that me and my husband (oops)
So as I suppose my long explanation of this qualifies for the blog entry: Becoming Jane Part 1,
I'm starting to reveal my heart and tell you that playing a lead role again is helping me to become more of myself. I felt so alive when I was 17, surrounded by friends and a cast that I loved and we experienced art together. Art that made me grow, dig deeper, and find out who I was and what I wanted to be.
It reminds me of my most favorite quotes, that became my favorite during this same time.
To feel most beautifully alive is to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend, in the flow of language, the sudden flash of poetry.
gaston bachelard
Inspired art speaks in the language of eternity, teaching to the heart, what the eyes and ears may never understand
m. russell ballard
Our ideal should always be to strive for what is eternal in art. that which will never die, which will always remain young and close to our human hearts
constantin stanislavski
This is my Blast from the Past.
Feeling connected to myself and truly loving myself because I am doing what I love most- being me!
More to come, Melissa
