Sounds of Roller Coasters

Well this weekend was one for the emotional record books.  It was filled with lots of different emotions and different experiences.

So, this weekend we closed our first show of the summer "My Fair Lady."  Even though the show itself was a 3-hour-long trek for the past week and a half, it was a bittersweet moment when the show ended.  As I said before, my roommate, Daniel, played the role of Freddy Eynsford-Hill.  He did the most fantastic job ever and I could not think of anyone better to play the role.  Well, I knew from Thursday night that the weekend would get a little emotional.  Daniel let us know that his last night of sleeping in the apartment would be Thursday night.  It was a little emotional as we thought we'd all have one more night together.  But it was great to be with him.  It was then that we all decided to get Daniel a little surprise.  Spencer, R. J., and I decided to get him a card with a wonderful delicious treat.  The card mind you was supposed to be funny.  Where else to get a funny card than the "Troubled Relationship" section of the cards?  Who knew that this section existed?  I mean really, come on.  Anyways it was pretty fun along with this delightful treat that you see pictured.  It was great and Daniel really enjoyed the surprise that we all got for him.  We then went about our weekends and performing the shows.  Friday night was a little weird as Daniel's things were still in the apartment, but he was not.  First night without Daniel and we all said to each other, "This bites."  Of course, we would all get over it, but we all felt the need to acknowledge this fact.

The part that got really emotional was when we closed the show on Saturday night.  Like I said before, Daniel has been such a great presence while here at the Heritage Theatre Festival.  Being able to open up about my faith with him, sharing great laughs, and many other times together has proved for one heck of a great experience.  One little ritual a few of the cast members started before each show was to say a word of prayer before the performance began.  Daniel would always invite me and it felt great to be in the presence of fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  Saturday night's prayer was the most emotional of them all as it would be the last one.  As we all joined hands for prayer, Daniel's squeeze was tighter than a normal hand hold.  I knew that Daniel was feeling the same way I was about this being the last performance (and having to leave in a mere few hours).  Christ was there with us, and luckily helped me from shedding a tear, and I think him as well.  After the performance, we all took one last picture with Daniel and had to immediately get to work at tearing the production down.  Walking away from the Greene Room and knowing that it would be a while before I saw Daniel again was difficult.  I didn't shed a tear, but I felt like it.  When someone, like Daniel, has such a positive impact on your life, it's always hard to say goodbye.  Luckily I said, "See you later," because I know that I will run into him again at some point.

Work was none too difficult this weekend with a few small projects to get done.  I would soon be ready to see my parents and hang out with them.  We went to get some lunch (after driving around for 30 minutes) at a place called The Tavern.  This place was Dad's choice, and once we were sitting down Mom and I were not too impressed.  We ate and left all within about 30 minutes as well.  The family then drove a little bit around Charlottesville and decided to head to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate.  We had a great time, although we didn't go up to see the house since tickets were kind of an outrageous price.  We went down to a little gift shop around a place called Michie's Tavern.  I had my first Wine Tasting here.  I learned some new things about the proper ways of drinking wine and am ready to put them to use.

After we were done at Monticello, we headed back to my apartments.  Mom and Dad said a goodbye and they were headed back home.  I know that they are probably having fun, but also missing us kids because we are both away for the summer.  I loved getting to see my parents and was happy the entire time to get another little taste of home.

This weekend was a roller coaster of emotions.  I was feeling happy, sad, awkward, and content a lot.  I know that I'm going to be feeling these emotions a lot as the next year goes on.  I'm sure that I will be feeling a lot of unhappiness (not in a bad sort of way) and fear as I get ready to go out into the world and try to make a difference.  The one thing to note is that I can always get by with a little help from my friends [and family] (Thanks Beatles!) no matter how far they are from me.

Sounds of Quickness

Alright.  I know I'm starting to slip again with posting, but there has been lots going on here in Charlottesville.  Where to start is the question.

When I last gave you all an update I was reveling on my recent thoughts about faith and how my faith has grown since beginning my summer job.  And that we were still trying to get everything ready to open our first production of My Fair Lady.  Well I am happy to say that we have successfully opened the show and are selling out almost every night.  Tomorrow we have 2 shows, one matinee, and one evening performance.  That's it.  Hard to believe we have opened and are getting ready to close the show this quickly.  Tomorrow night after the show we will quickly (hopefully) go through strike.  We have to get everything down and ready for Monday when we go into technical rehearsals for our next show Boeing, Boeing.  That show opens next Thursday.  If you are in and around the Charlottesville think about coming to see this show as it will for sure be amazing!

Then later we will open to more shows, but I'll fill you on those a little bit later.  The other really exciting thing is that tomorrow my parents arrive.  I cannot tell you how excited I am to see them.  It's always nice to be able to talk to my parents on the phone every few days, but to see them is really the true treasure.  Unfortunately, Carly won't be joining them as she has to be at camp for the rest of the summer and cannot really get away.  But that's okay.  I know she's having a great time even though I don't get to talk to her much.  I'm still excited to see my family this weekend.  I learned a long time ago how much I really should be appreciating what my parents tell me and the time I get to spend with them.  I remember after my first week with a cabin at Lutheridge calling my parents to tell them I was sorry for anything I may have said or did in middle school to cause them stress.  It comes with the age of that child (and I was prepared), but being able to see what a middle schooler finds funny and remembering what I thought was funny was just a great experience.  I don't often get to see my parents with the kind of schedule my job has for me (even during the school year).  But I know that they love and support me in everything I do.  I hope that I cherish every moment with them this weekend and within the next year.  Before I know it I will be far away from them and they won't be able to make a quick drive to where I am at the whim of a hat.  That I will miss.  But until that moment arrives I will remember every experience I have with them.

I'll post later about what all happened this weekend and all of the great and I'm sure some of the tearful experiences that are to be had.

Sounds of Faith

So I realize I'm already doing really bad about posting, but I bet you would too if you were working 12 hour days, so I'll do my best to fill you in on all that has been happening lately.

Last week we were in big preparations for the big musical of the summer, My Fair Lady.  This production is going to be simply great.  I really like those that have been cast in their roles, with my roommate Daniel being cast as Freddy Eynsford-Hill.  He's doing great and I have to say, when he leaves after the production is over the apartment will not be the same.  Daniel's a cool guy and I hope that he and I can stay in touch just because he is someone interesting to talk with.  Anyways, last week was all the prep work.  Making sure our onstage speakers/monitors were working, and the props that we wired up to work like phonographs.  This particular production has restored my love for this show.  A similar response happened when UNCG did Oklahoma! last fall.

Photo Credit: Margaret R. Toomey

I'm starting to appreciate the classic musical more.  I think because of the simple fact that the older I get, I'm obviously getting further into my career and seeing shows done in a more professional way that makes me cherish them.  We open the show on Thursday night which will be exciting because then hopefully I'll be able to get back to a somewhat regular schedule with work (not that the schedule is bothersome, just some longer hours since we are in technical rehearsals).

After this show opens, it will run until next Saturday, July 9.  So, if you are in town and want to come see a great show call our box office here at UVA.  And let me know because of course I would love to see you.  Once the show is over we will begin to finish getting ready for our next show which is called Boeing, Boeing.  A great comedy, and I'm hoping that I will be able to see a run of the show later this week.  Once I get to do that I will let you know about how great the show is going to be and how you should really come and see it.

Now to something that I have learned within the last week since I my latest post.  So, as I have already mentioned, my roommate Daniel has been awesome and it has been great getting to know him over the past couple of weeks.  Well, last week before bed one night I was doing my look through of my Bible (which admittedly is something I should be doing more often) of my some of the passages I had marked at one point or another that resonated with me at that point in time.  One verse that I came across that seemed great was from Ephesians 5: 15-21.  These verses basically start out saying that one should make the most of every opportunity.  I really found this appropriate considering the talk that had followed reading this verse and the current situation that I am in.

Daniel and I got to talking about our faith lives and how that transpired as we grew older.  It was a great conversation that I got to share with him.  I grew up Lutheran and am so proud to say so.  The experiences that I've had through TEC, Lutheridge, and all the various mission trips I have gone through have been great!  But something I have learned over the years is that while I can be proud of where I came from and what I believe, other people are always entitled to their opinions and beliefs.  Daniel shared about what kind of church he grew up in and it was somewhat different than what I knew.  We discussed about the different customs that happen within a worship service and how the church is run.  There were some similarities and some that weren't.  The great thing that I found during this conversation is that not once did I think, "Well that's really different and to be honest probably the wrong way of doing things."  In fact I found myself so intrigued with the differences that I wanted to learn more and find out anything I could.  Don't get me wrong, I love where I come from, but being exposed to something different is always exciting.  It was great to also talk about what kind of Bible we used.  One that we both have encountered is the The Message.  This is the Bible written in contemporary words, which can be helpful in trying to understand the Words as God is trying to speak to us.  We also briefly talked about books written about the Christian faith.  Daniel has read a lot, and SHOCKER I have not (just in general, since I have not been an avid book reader across the span of my life).  But one book I have been meaning to pick up, which Daniel inspired me to finally buy, is a book called Blue Like Jazz.  I can hopefully (start &) finish that soon with all the other reading I had planned for this summer, but who knows.

I'm just really glad that I have been able to share experiences with a fellow brother in Christ.  Not that there are not other fellow Christians that work here, because there are, but not any that I have been able to share faith stories with.  In my line of work, there are not usually a lot that are open about their faith lives, but that should not scare someone and I'm glad that I am not able to let it scare me.  I love sharing my faith with others that want to listen (I don't force my faith on others).  It's a great way to connect with someone in a way that you may not be able to do so with others.  I have learned through this that I need to continue opening my eyes to the world around me.  I need to take it all in while I can otherwise I'll be spending most of my life thinking about what I should have done during my time at the Heritage Theatre Festival.  I don't like regretting the things that I do so I do what I can to "live in the moment."

I will hopefully be able to post later this week about how the show is going and what all I continue to see of Charlottesville.  This is one spectacular town and I hope that I see everything that I possibly can!