Hello everyone!
Clocking in just under 6 months since my last post, I'M BACK!
First, my sincerest apologies for any of you that have lost sleep of the lack of postings here. I've sat down several times over the last 5 1/2 months to write here, but have come up short of inspired.
Second, a quick update and then some BIG NEWS! Alright, since October 21, 2010, I spent Thanksgiving in NYC with Ib, my cousin Audrey, and her friends Justin and Marco; went home for Christmas and surprised my enter family, except my dad (whose reaction to hearing I was coming home early was "WHY?!?"); rang in the new year while standing on West 43rd Street as the ball dropped on the corner; bought an LCD TV (gorgeous); made an impromptu trip to Chicago to surprise Glee Club on tour; caught up with a good friend from the past (glad you're doing so well, Brad); became an "uncle"; worked background for a Hollywood film (more on that to come); was taken out for Valentine's Day; returned to serve as Master of Ceremonies for the Lebanon Show Choir Classic for the third consecutive year; and BIG NEWS: GOT ACCEPTED AS AN APPRENTICE AT THE BARN THEATRE IN AUGUSTA, MICHIGAN FOR THIS SUMMER!!! WHEW! That's a lot.
Let's back up to Christmas. This year was looking rather bleak for my travel opportunities to be home for the holidays. I had managed to get scheduled for Christmas Day--which I had NO INTENTION of working, so I got it covered. Furthermore, our management had requested that we do our best to not even leave the city during the holidays so we were all pretty much on call for the holidays. As far as I'm concerned, that sounds pretty freaking heartless. Luckily, I
managed to book a flight for Christmas Eve, returning to NYC on the morning of the 26th--what a bah-hum-bug of a drag, am I right? Anywho, when our schedule came out for the week of Christmas, I was magically not scheduled for the 22nd or 23rd, so I was fortunate enough to change my flight to Columbus to Tuesday night, as opposed to Friday morning, got my Tuesday night shift covered and made it home just before my mom fell asleep on the couch and surprised her in an almost-asleep state. It took her a minute, but she realized she wasn't dreaming, I was actually there. The next night I took my parents out to dinner and had my mom invite my brother and his girlfriend to join them, but not to tell them I would be there. They were pleasantly surprised to see me, as well. However, the best of all was the next night when I showed up at Cousins Christmas 2010 and surprised my sister on HER BIRTHDAY! I was waiting in the back of the house and they led her back not knowing anything was up. When she got back there I shouted HAPPY BIRTHDAY and took a great picture of her reaction.
I became an "uncle" on January 28 when Charlie and Stacey, two of my best friends from high school, became parents to a beautiful baby girl named Autumn. There were some complications that caused her to be born 7 weeks premature, but both mom and baby are doing very well and I got the chance to visit with them when I was home last month and I could not be happier for this family. CONGRATULATIONS!
Oh, yes, this Hollywood film I worked on. Well, it was background once again, but I think you'll actually see me for a substantial amount of time in this one. The film is New Year's Eve. it has the same premise as the film Valentine's Day with 90,000,000 people starring, including my scene partners Katherine Heigl and Sofia Vergara. When you all see the film when it opens December 9, look in the background as Sofia Vergara jumps up and down and you'll see a burly man unloading a truck of some sort. That burly man would be me.
Last month I made my third consecutive appearance as Master of Ceremonies at the Lebanon Show Choir Classic and once again was met with such intense familiarity that it didn't feel as if any time had past since I was last there. Honestly, this little town and the wonderful people that inhabit it have embraced me so kindly that I would go back week after week and do it all over again. Once again, I prepared a few songs to take care of any down time while Lebanon set up for their exhibition performance and while the judges' scores were tabulated. This year I performance "I Am Aldolpho" from The Drowsy Chaperone and "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot. The audience seemed to enjoy both as they lept to their feet to cheer on this ham of a man on stage. Unfortunately, there was more down time than we anticipated once again and so I started into my "Story Time with Nick" section and this woman stood up in the front section and gave my the "Wrap-up" and "Cut" signals. I wanted to call her out and be like, "Ummm...what do you want me to do, lady, huh? You got any better ideas?" Maybe next year I'll put a box out in the lobby where people can deposit questions for me to answer, because that always seemed to keep my students interested for however long I needed. Suffice to say, the competition was a huge success and I can't wait to return on March 24, 2012!
And YES, the BIG NEWS: just before heading home last month, I recorded a video audition for The Barn Theatre as a Non-Equity Summer Apprentice. I was happy to receive a call a week later informing me they had received my application and had viewed my audition and would like to offer me a contract for the summer. So I'll be off to Michigan in mid-May to work for the duration of the summer on 7 shows at an Equity house!!! We'll be producing Escanaba in Love by Jeff Daniels, Man of La Mancha, Anything Goes or Chicago, A Streetcar Named Desire, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and Sunset Boulevard. This sounds like a great line-up, my friends. Go here to learn more: The Barn Theatre.
In other news, I'm 26 now. That's right, 26. When my parents were my age, they had my brother. I'm 26 and I have my TV--which I am pretty proud of. However, I think it's about time for me take the plunge, kids. Never would I have ever thought I'd say this, but I think I'm kind of lonely. I don't know any different, but I think there's something inside me that is ready for something new. I feel like Bobby from Company at the end of the show when he sings "Being Alive": he's given himself all these reasons not to be in a relationship, but he's never considered all the reason TO BE in one. My shower has heard me sing that song a lot the last few years and I think I've come to see it as two songs sung back to back that have virtually the same words, but the attitude towards the text is different from one to the next. In the beginning, Bobby's rattling off all the bad things about relationships and then in the middle (where I think Sondheim should have written some transitional music), Bobby then asks for "someone" to be all those things for him. He's ready to take that plunge. And I think I am, too. I guess I've just had enough of being everyone's friend and big brother, because that's not all I have to offer.
Make me alive.
Until next time...
