Surrounded by Amazing

Sometimes I forget just how lucky I really am.

I thrive on talent. I love nothing more than to surround myself with talented people, doing what they do best, reaping the rewards of their endless practice and devotion to their art. Art, of course, comes in an infinite variety of forms, but as a musician, I have a soft spot in my heart for art through music. It's lucky, then, that I have the good fortune to spend my days surrounded by some of the most talented musical theatre students in the world.

I spend so much of my time with other tech/design students doing our own work that I sometimes forget to acknowledge the incredible things happening in the studio below our Design Room by the actors, the singers, and the dancers who bring theatre to life.

I'm presently working as a Mic Dresser on the final production of Ithaca's mainstage season, a musical called Baby. As part of my job, I've grown quite close to many of the cast members, and I've made at least a few friendships that will last long after this show closes. As I joke around with and spend time with these people, I tend to forget how much raw talent, dedication, and passion is contained within each and every one of them. I often ask myself why I am so fortunate to be able to just be around them, much less to call them my friends.

When they're hanging around backstage, they're no more than normal college students sharing gossip, talking about last night's party, and just having fun. But as soon as they start to do what they do best, I am instantly reminded of just how lucky I am to be in the presence of such talent, and I only hope that I can someday harness the dedication to perfect my craft to the level that they have,

To end this post, I'd like to share a few videos from these amazing individuals who I get to interact with every day. While you probably don't know them personally, I hope they can move you as they've moved me.

It's Been A While!

So I realized upon getting home a few minutes ago a few very important things. Firstly, that I hadn't updated this blog in too damn long! After 39 Steps opened, we basically settled into a dull routine where there wasn't much worth writing about, and since we've been in tech all week for Man of La Mancha, I quite frankly just haven't had time to write here. Secondly, I realized for the first time how much I absolutely love this place, and all the people that make it as amazing as it is. Opening night went very well, but the real fun started after the show, when we all just kinda let looses and unwound from a very long, but very successful, week of tech. It really is a whole different world from what I'm used to - everyone just wants to have a great time, and that's it. To my college-bound friends - you are going to have the time of your life when September finally rolls around. You can't even imagine what you're in for.

That's all for now. Time for me to crash - I still hafta run two shows tomorrow!

R