Unscripted

I feel like I've been living in a thick cloud; a cloud of stress, schedules, and failed plans. I've been trudging through this cloud sending emails, mailing resumes, and doing homework that I had procrastinating like crazy on. A couple of weekends ago, Megan and I traveled to Castleton to catch up with Jake and Kate and see their Spring show Chicago. We had a great time, and the weather was so beautiful it was almost like nothing could go wrong.

Also, I was wearing my piano key suspenders for the win.

That was when everything started to go crazy. It started when the job I had been lining up this summer, the one I held last summer that allowed me to stay in Burlington for free, completely fell through because the 18 days I'm going to be in Europe this summer on Eurotheatre are too much to take off. Suddenly, I felt lost, and entirely without a plan. I can't live without a plan. What was I going to do without a job for the summer? Where was I going to get money to apply to grad school? So many questions were racing through my head about what this summer is going to look like, and what next year is going to be like especially since Megan got accepted to the University of New Hampshire for graduate school. It's entirely too much change for me to handle. I'M NOT THAT GOOD AT IMPROVISATION! WHAT DO I DO WITHOUT A SCRIPT???

Then Megan took me out on a drive and a walk around downtown Montpelier, just to talk, and to bitch about how crazy life is and what I'm doing with it. That was when I realized...I have so many more skills than I give myself credit for, and there is no reason why I can't use them. Why can't I get a job doing what I love? It's so not impossible, despite what people may say about theatre majors. Theatre, movement, creating, performing, writing, teaching...that's what I'm good at, it's probably all I'm good at, so why am I not using it to my advantage? Why don't I write my own script? So that night, I emailed a bunch of different theatres, and I received a few replies back, and I sent out my resumes, and you know what? I'm going for an interview next week.

I'm not saying that everything's all good now, because it's really not. Rehearsals for the senior directed one-act I'm starring in are going so well, but I'm still super nervous. This will be the biggest role I've had in a show at UVM, and it's thrilling but at the same time terrifying. I'm also worried about setting everything up for next year going into my senior year of college (yikes!) like being a new Program Director in the Living/Learning residences, some opportunities in the works, and my honors thesis project I'm going to be working on that I seem to be churning out ideas about everyday...and what's going to happen after next year when I have to look for another new school. I'm still so stressed about the logistics of this summer, but there are a few things I do know: I'm going to Europe in June (YES!!!), I'm going to be taking a summer English class to take some of the load off myself next year, and I'm going to have some kind of job somewhere that some sort of amount of money (I don't care how much...it's something) doing what I LOVE and what I'm good at. Because I'm better than being stuck in a rut, and I'm better than the same old scripts that have been written for me before.

I'm adding in a PLOT TWIST.

Peace out!

Now There's A Stratagem for You

This is the story of my physical ailments. I know what you're thinking: why have you not posted in so long just to come back talking about your stupid and boring physical ailments? YOU MAKE NO SENSE. And the truth is: I really don't make any sense. So...there. My only excuse is that things have been very busy. A couple of weekends ago we opened our spring show at UVM: The Beaux' Stratagem.

We had an amazing run and fantastic audiences. At our closing performance there wasn't a dry eye in the cast. Seriously it was an amazing show to be a part of with an excellent cast. Anyway, that opening weekend my jaw started to kill me from the tension I held in it during the play making my awkward bad guy face. It was quite a problem and a nuisance, but it definitely didn't distract from the awesome weekend with Velvet! That's right, after two years we finally got to hang out with Velvet again! She traversed her way up to rural Vermont from the big city on Long Island and spent my "birthday" weekend with us. It as the perfect reunion and despite a couple of tiffs (what family doesn't have a few fights?) we had a great time all together again. 

As you can see, we had fun. And as you can see, another physical---I'm just going to call it an ailment---on my face. That bloody beard. I grew it for Beaux' and it definitely worked with my wonderfully cutthroat character Hounslow, but when the beard was on my face in the public eye during real life I was not having it. So Sunday evening as soon as the show was out, I went to Spinner was immediately shaved the whole thing off. It was an intense shave session.

BEFORE

AFTER!!!

It's been a great past two weeks full of dancing pirates, our sassy black friend, and beards performing a disappearing act. Congratulations to the sensational cast and crew of Beaux' for our awesome show, and I promise to blog more often. Again.

Peace out!

Show photos by Andy Duback

The 20s

In less than an hour it will be my twentieth birthday. The not-very-funny-more-like-interesting thing is I honestly don't feel any different. Everything feels the same. Granted, my life has changed so drastically in the past three years that it's kind of hard to define what is "normal" because everything is changing. In the blink of an eye anything will be different. I find college is a part of life that will always keep one on their toes.

That being said, this is not what I expected my twenties to look like. When I was younger I imagined my life at this time to be like an episode of Friends - a not-so-glamorous-yet-fashionable-contemporary-fast-paced life in a city like New York where I drink coffee all the time and have adventures all over the city with a cute little apartment.

Literally what I imagined life to be like in the future.

However, life doesn't always work out the way you picture it. Maybe one day my life will be like an episode of Friends, but right now it's pretty damn awesome. As I begin this totally awesome and new period of my life I want to completely let things go. Will I have a job next summer? Not entirely sure...Am I going to Europe next summer? That's definitely for sure seeing how I've bought my non-refundable plane tickets and our apartments in Italy are amazing. Will Megan get into grad school? and if she does will it be at UVM? We don't know. That being said, will we be able to get an apartment and live together? I hope so...There are so many questions coming up that appear will never be answered but hopefully---and I truly believe it will, seeing how I'm always the optimist---everything will come together. It always does. So what will my twenties be like? I think it will be one giant play-by-ear. It has to be. As much as I feel the need to plan every minute of my life, I know I can't.

Right now, I'm going to enjoy my birthday as much as I can, things are extremely busy with the play and homework and responsibilities, and I will wait to see what happens next.

Check out the beautiful cast photo for The Beaux' Stratagem which opens this week Thursday 16th at UVM's Royal Tyler Theatre. Get your tickets now!

Peace out!

Rosie's Turn

Thank you Ms. Midler for that splendid opening number. I thought this song would be appropriate because I'm taking this time to celebrate one of Megan and my bestest friends in the whole world. This afternoon we rushed to Barre, middle of VT to help Rosie finish moving out of her apartment she was being kicked out of by her so-called "Scumlord." She was planning on moving in a couple weeks to a trailer on the property of her cousin's farm she has begun working at. It's a beautiful farm, minus the manure but that's only because I'm a different breed of Vermonter, and her new place is awesome. Save for a finnicky shower head and some fixer-upper and cleaning, she'll be able to have that place looking great. I just wanted to take this time to tell Rosie how proud I am of her, both me and Megan. Here are some pictures from today at the farm:

And now, I leave you with pictures from the Champlain College Snowball last night at the Burlington Hilton. It's the one night when us college kids get to break out formal clothes, and because it's at Champlain and I don't know most of the people there, I feel the need to break loose and be absolutely crazy...not that that's much of a problem anywhere else. It just seems right at this kind of event where there are free meatballs, a giant cheese platter, and a chocolate fountain.

We found Jess!

Weren't we beautiful? And yes, that's a bowtie. Bowties are cool.

Peace out!

'Twas the First Week of Classes

'Twas the first week of classes,
And all through Burlington, Wills, and Spinner,
All the creatures were stirring,
Theatre kids, bros, and biddies too.

Outside was cold, but the theatre was warm,
And the classes were starting right on time.
There was essay writing, Sherlock Holmes, and T.A.ing,
Eurotheatre group bonding, Beowulf, and masks.

After class was all the fun, and dreams of weekends ahead...

There was 30 Rock and Brennan's food,

And Ashley hula-hooping for three hours while watching The Jersey Shore.

Of course we must not forget our British accents!

So... 'twas the first week of classes,

And we were all happy to be back.

Still waiting to get in groove,

But I know it'll happen soon.

So goodnight unto you all,

It's rehearsal time for me.

Peace out!

Looking Back, Moving Forward

The snow is slowly falling outside the large windows, the sky a milky grey. The flakes drift through a new air brought on by a new year. A fresh start. The air is chilly, but familiar like an old friend. It's reminiscent of winters long gone: of sledding down hills, skiing across open countryside in the colorful dusk, snowball fights, and warm afternoons with hot chocolate. It's also the snowfall of new adventures and memories yet to come. 2011 was quite a year, definitely busy, and it was full of amazing memories and good adventures.

It was a very stormy winter in haunted Converse and Megan as an R.A. at Quarry (aka The Q). There were lots of treks across frozen tundra and cold walks.

I received one of the most epic birthday cakes of my life shaped like the Doctor's TARDIS. Thank you Kendra!

Twelfth Night was an awesome and fun show to be a part of!

I was a part of the Catamount Singers and took an amazing improvisational movement class which changed a lot of my views of performance and opened myself up to new possibilities.

Megan and I started a brand new adventure as a couple.

UPlayers had a very successful semester this spring with an awesome bake sale , cabaret, and scavenger hunt!

I got a new job at UVM this summer and got to live and explore in Burlington during a beautiful summer. And I saw things like waterless toilets. Weird.

Megan and I took a trip to Cape Cod to see Ashley after her epic semester in Ireland.

The Doctor, his Roman Goddess, and the Gypsy had an epic and classy Halloween weekend.

I had ovaries.

HAIRSPRAY! happened after all that hard work and a debilitating bout  of bronchitis...

I also flexed a technical muscle in designing the lights for Toys this year. AND I was a teacher's assistant this semester, something that I loved doing and it confirmed my drive to be a theatre teacher. This summer I also started a "Ryan Performs in Places" segment on my blog which has been a lot of fun and a great outlet. I'm hoping to expand on it this year and possibly make a new blog for performances and writing. Hope to see you there!

I got my Dad a hoodie-footie for Christmas. Winning.

Iris had a good Christmas.

Finally, this Christmas and New Years was a lot of fun and full of Christmas cookies, family, and friends. The New Year concluded for Megan and I in Barre/Montpelier Vermont with one of our good friends Rosie. We went to the First Night dance party and then saw them release these beautiful paper, fire-lit lanterns into the night sky.

Happy New Year and a toast to new adventures.

Peace out!