6 weeks. 62 cities. 81 Performances.

ENERGIZED GUYZ: On Tour! 81 Performances of laughs and learning filled with improv comedy brought to life by The National Theatre for Children has been a new and exciting experience. Life on the road has taught me many things, from continuing to decipher between my "wants" and "needs" to getting to know myself better. I initially took this opportunity for two reasons, the first is that NTC is a good company and I get paid to act, which in today's economy, is not the easiest thing to come by and the show is part of community programming and education. Second, my travels are all inclusive so I get to enjoy exploring the country and traveling.

 Co-Star Shelby and I in the "Water Vampire" sketch, based on the Twilight saga

Being the socialite that I am, meeting new people is one things I enjoy most. There is constant change on the road, and as I am a versatile person, change is something I constantly seek. At the same token, changing hotels sometimes daily in addition to time zones, reminded me of the convertibility in consistency. It really helped me better understand what a happy medium could be which I am working towards achieving in my life. Being away from my loved ones back home was hard at times and harder during others, but as someone special to me once said, "No one said following your dreams isn't going to be scary." And while a sense of confiding in strangers and finding a home away from home might not be the scariest thing out there, it has it's moments. Some moments included great friends from my past, like my high school "improv/actor idol" Jackie Southee and my good friend from the American Theatre Wing's SpringBoardNYC Program, Jodi Watson. I even got to pit stop in Kentucky to visit my friend Samantha Figueira and the first ever KFC as well as in Atlanta to see my cousins for a weekend. Such a blessing!!!

Jackie and I in CHICAGO, which I loved!!

 

My SpringBoardNYC mate Jodi & I after her terrific show in Dollywood!

The original KFC Colonel spokesperson at the first ever KFC!!

This is also the first experience in which I had to do more than about 20 runs of a show (The Who's Tommy, at last May being the last show I performed in with several consecutive performances). Performing in 2-4 shows a day with audiences ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred at each show provides several different experiences. I am glad to say that most of our performances were "hits" although there were times I had to find inspiration to bring the same exciting show to life and not jip a new audience from the experience of live theatre magic. Doing the show for what felt like a million times really put my education and college theatre training into perspective. I understood acting concepts better than before and got to "play" with different ideas, characters, and techniques. My top 3 "play" dates were when my favorite character in the show, "Felonious Monk", the evil foreign scientist, entered the scene, once with a peg leg and an array of accents (a hysterical disaster), once traveled through the scene strictly on a rolly-chair (a comical traffic jam), and once with shoes on the wrong foot and a duck waddle in my walk (a cartoony creation).

 

 Yours truly as "Felonious Monk" the foreign evil scientist

Not only did I try different things with the 6 characters I played in each show, but I also tried different things on the road....This includes music, hotels, and my favorite: FOOD! I have probably eaten at every fast food chain in existence, as well as at the well-enjoyed "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants recommended by locals. This can get pricey and be unhealthy but enjoying complementary breakfast at our hotels and having nights off (which gave me time to work on many things like my website and these blogs!!) also lent time for exercising and the occasional dip in the jacuzzi.

Each show I get to play an audience suggested person and improv galore!

All in all, I was happy to not only entertain over 7,000 young aged theatre patrons, but to share with them a message on energy efficiency. The National Theatre for Children's motto to "Teach. Entertain. Inspire." was all over my map for the past month or so on tour and is defiantly a time in my life that I'll look back on and appreciate. While I am looking forward to good nights rests only in my comfy bed back home, this has been quite the experience, from meeting new people and exploring the country, to sharing the gift of theatre performance and education with many. Thank you to my wonderfully talented tour partner and co-star Shelby Nichols, and the entire team at NTC, including Pat Rowan and Jon Mikkelsen.  

Next Up: "HAIRSPRAY" the B'way musical in the DC area! Details later. ;)

"American Idol" Finalist Music Video

This last August I had the chance of playing a "Distracted Teen Driver" in a music video called It Can Wait, by "American Idol" finalist Travis Tucker. My character is so involved in texting while driving that he takes the life of his girlfriend, behind-the-wheel. The "Safe Teen Driving" campaign and DMV have this video as a highlighted feature in their message to the masses on the importance of driver safety. Check out www.safeteendriving.org for more info or click here for the press release! The video is below!! Thank you to Sam Altman for this experience to share an important message.

A Summer of Song: OperaNJ

As the summer comes to an end I look back at the past few months and am so excited about all that's happened. My experience at Opera New Jersey (ONJ) as Assistant to the Artistic Director was nothing less than exceptional. With my past experiences mainly in musical theatre, working in Opera was a different ball game. Nonetheless storytelling through music and the grand ole theater still proved to be a home away from home. My position allowed me to work in all the administrative fields at ONJ from administration and company management, to production, working alongside industry professionals from all over the country, including of course the neighboring Greater city of New York. Most of my time was spent in "the office" but I have a few sit-ins on Opera acting and vocal coachings with artists such as Ron Land and Stephanie Sundine. Our shows and rehearsals took place at the great award winning Regional Theatre known as the McCarter Theatre:

Our summer season consisted of several summer concert series in addition to two main stage opera's, The Barber of Seville and The Consul--which was directed by Michael Unger, director of Broadway's Original 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee--sidenote--one of my personal favorite musicals:

 

Simple tasks like sorting and filing headshots/resumes and preparing materials for directors/agents and showcases to more extended projects, like creating an Operations Manual for the company and an internal company website, I was happily busy.

Luckily, Artistic Director DJ Haugen became a good friend by the end of the summer and shared several little tips and tricks on running a business.

We even talked to each other on the phone when we're in the same room. (JK!) He's great! (I took a lot of the things I learned this summer and put them into Moonlit Wings Productions--which has successfully continued to grow, and with more opportunities than usual, in just a few months!).

As ONJ is located in Princeton, I had the chance to enjoy the beautiful university and its historic campus, much different than what I experienced in a busy city while at VCU in Richmond, VA. The location also allowed me to travel to NYC (via train!!) a quite a few times a month to audition for shows (Godspell on Broadway!), network, and catch up with friends from SpringBoardNYC and old friends from home who are now in the Big Apple.

While I got homesick every now and then, I was happy to share this experience with my awesome high-school friend, Samantha Figueira, and to make new friends. This summer embraced the old and new, the far and near, and the musical theatre and opera.

 Photo of the amazing Lina Tetriani in "The Consul"

What a summer--blessed!

Tune in tonight to "FBI Criminal Pursuit", featuring Walid!

 

CHANNEL

Presents

Featuring Walid Chaya as a Forensic Tech Investigator

7pm EST - Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Verizon Fios Channel 123, Comcast Cable Channel 111

Look at the show site for re-runs of this episode 

Thank you to Hutson Talent Agency for this fun treat!

Casting A Spell...A play-by-play on Audition Day

This last Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to audition for the Broadway Revival of Stephen Schwartz hit musical, Godspell. I luckily made the Promo Video at www.Godspell.com part of the Broadway show's official "Day by Day" blog. I'm 28 seconds into the clip!!

Having directed it last Fall at Shafer Street Playhouse, I was super excited to audition, especially because the Revival of this show is pretty much a very important moment in musical theatre history. Randy Lutterman, director from SpringBoardNYC, suggested for the programs' alumni to try out, and I was happy to wait in line starting at 6am with fellow SpringBoarder Benjamin Williams. Also joining me were TheatreVCU graduates, Kim Exum, Jasmine Coles, and Joshua Grace. Having such a caring support group auditioning beside me was a comfort and joy, especially because this was my first big Broadway audition. Their sense of easy and professionalism was contagious and made me feel at home.

Being use to casting calls with barley a hundred actors, or set appointment times for auditions in the Greater Metropolitan DC arts industry, I had a moment when I realized that nearly 1,000 people were auditioning. During this eight hour wait, I found it hard to keep energized and focused, and with the sun soaking everyone up, it was hot, and we were exhausted and hungry. Also being in the middle of a huge city, there was no place to practice or warm-up. My explorations down side streets to find an alley way to sing in didn't show much promise, but I let myself look like a little bit of a loony as I belted my song and walked down a crowded sidewalk.

Right before I went in, I got up off the sewer vent I was sitting on against the wall and my phone somehow managed to fit and fall through a crack, into the sewer, and down nearly a dozen feet. I let this go for the time being and moved on. I had to let this [important] distraction go--I basically waited half a day and my time has come!! Nerves didn't really get me til I was three people away from my chance to sing. I awkwardly dropped to the floor and did some push-ups, getting into my breath. When my time approached I got in and got out. My 45ish second audition was the quickest ever and included my rendition of "Open the Eyes of My Heart" a contemporary Christian pop-rock song. Being use to singing with a piano, its simple to honor the beats and pauses in a song and listen to your imaginary other, while for this audition it was a bit of a challenge as singing a'capella was requested---oh and they switched the audition request from 16 bars to 8 bars.

Before I knew it I was out and it was all over. Being my first experience of the sort, I was super content with the process and am psyched to come to the city and audition for more productions. It was also super fun to meet so many musical theatre fans in line, network, and make new friends. Making the Godspell.com "Day by Day" Blog was also quite the treat (check out the video above!). The video is also on Godspell on Broadways YouTube channel and is pretty popular!! It's so exciting that I'm part of the promo footage for the premier of the Broadway Revival! Having given up the opportunity to audition for this show back when I was a freshman in high school, I am happy to have made up for it and attend the biggest Godspell audition yet, the Broadway casting call.

Oh, and thanks to a very kind gentlemen who works at the church where the casting call was in NYC, I was able to get my cell phone back after my audition, safe with no damages. Things ended pretty well!

Here's a montage of "Godspell" directed by yours truly at Shafer Street Playhouse last Fall:

Summer at the Shore...

N.Y.C. or L.A.?
The answer is actually JERSEY [for the summer]!

While Jersey is known for it's MTV Jersey Shore fist pumpin' groove and Garden State greenery, Princeton has Jersey's leading Opera Company! Thanks to interviews at SETC, I have joined the Opera New Jersey arts administration team. Working closely with the Artistic Director, I have opportunities in fields including company operations, management, and production. We're producing 2 main stage opera's the summer along with 5 special concerts. Also, Scott Schwartz (son of Steven Schwartz, composer of Wicked, Godspell, Pippin...) is directing a new opera called The Family Room. So little time, so much to do!

Being under an hours train ride away from NYC, I've have been able to continue to explore the NYC theatre scene, from practical things (i.e. the NYC Public Library for the Performing Arts) to business items (i.e. auditions & shoots). This has been perfect, I've been feeling comfortable with the city and growing to love it more with each visit. Thanks to my best friend Jasmine Coles for opening her doors to me!! (Look out for her, New York!!!)

Contact me for tickets to one of our shows or to check out a summer concert!
I leave Princeton at the end of July and am looking forward to directing adventures in DC (or LA??) and a visit to Lebanon to see family and explore the theatre and media entertainment scene in August (and eat lots of Lebanese food, lay at the beach, dance all night...).

Happy SUMMER ADVENTURES to you!

The Journey Begins...

The Top 10 Things I Learned in College as a Theatre Artist

10. Stay true to you
  9. Invest in all you do
  8. Take a risk or two
  7. The safe choice is poo
  6. Work on your material both old and new
  5. The hard times will pass through
  4. Prep for your interview  

  3. Memorize your sides and cue

  2. Say "thank you" to the cast and crew

  1. Always expand your world view

I am psyched that I now have a BFA in Theatre Performance! I really got to enhance and strengthen my craft at TheatreVCU--an incredible program to really be proud of. Highlights along my journey include (but defiantly aren't limited to) Josh Chenard's Chekhov teachings and life lessons, Janet Rogers inspiring Archetypes class, Dr. T's transformative Actors Studio, Paul Valleys joy for language and human behavior studies, Patti D'Becks musical theatre magic, Lorri/Barry's mentorship, the list can go on! Our grad students were also wonderful. I give TheatreVCU:

The journey is the most exciting part of life as an artist, and my journey is just beginning. Hats off to my talented friends and graduates! Thank you to my beautiful parents for getting me here. Cheers to my friends and amazing support group. I am living the American Dream!

Congratulations to the VCU Class of 2011! We did it!