This week we had two cities. Which is kinda strange for UWP nowadays usually we spend a week in a city and have a show at the end of the week. We spent four days in St. Augustine had some really good community impact projects I will explain these later in the post after I sum up the week. We left St. Augustine on Friday morning and drove to Orlando.
St. Augustine being the oldest city in the USA was really fun. We went on a trolley tour and saw all of the old buildings. Even if they aren't that old to European standards I really enjoyed seeing them. We went to the original Ripleys Believe It or Not Museum. This was really fun with all of the weird stuff in the museum I could have spent hours there, but sadly we only got to stay for a short time. Later that day we went to Flagler College and had a culture fair. Since I have no culture at all except for being an American which is boring, we just played football.
The next day we went to an elementary school which has special needs children in it also. These kids sang to us and it was so amazing what the music therapy teachers have done for them. It was a very touching time for everyone in our cast that got to experience it. These children are really inpiring because they know that they are different but as the song said "I am perfect the way I am." After the kids sang to us we had lunch and then went into classrooms to play games with the kids. I volunteered for a second grade classroom and we went in and had a great time showing the kids all the games we have learned so far on our tour.
The next day was show day so we had another awesome show outdoors. The show was really good except we lacked the energy to inspire the crowd for some reason. I performed in the "Love Medley" which was really fun again, it always is though.
Friday we went to the Deaf and Blind school of Florida. This was another great experience for the cast. I got to see the dance team perform there and this was really fun. The people that performed for us ranged from hard of hearing to completely deaf. I couldn't believe how they danced when they can't hear the music but I guess when it is really loud they can feel the vibrations in the floor. We had lunch with them after they performed and I got a sign name. Ask me about it when you see me again and I will let you know how and why I got this one.
After we got done at the school we traveled to Orlando and got a new host family. My host dad is an alumni of UWP in 96'. As soon as my roommate and I got in the car he informed us that we would be going to the House of Blues that night to watch some local bands perform. This was a great time the bands were awesome and after the show was over we walked around Downtown Disney.
Saturday was showday again. This was a very good show with an excellent crowd. There were a lot of alumni in the audience and they went nuts for UWP. Once again I was only in the "Love Medley" the occurance of this happing is starting to really get on my nerves. After the show I was supposed to to interviews for prospective students but since we only had four people come to the admissions room I didn't get to interview anyone.
So another week gone and this trip is really starting to speed up on me. It is gonna be no time and I will be back in Sioux Falls going back to my typical day.
Tune in next time for another awesome post from ME.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wow I Haven't Posted In Awhile
So I have been beyond busy for awhile. I am really sorry about not posting for so long. So now I plan on making up for it. I might not remember everything that happened but I will give you a general overview of the past two weeks.
So Greeley, CO was a fun city. I stayed with four guys with a lady named Shirley. This was a challenge because of the fact that she was a vegetarian, this was very different. I haven't gone an entire week without red meat until then.
We had a show in Greeley and I think it went really well. The audience loved it which makes the whole difference for our shows. We have to have energy to make a good show and the audience in Greeley fed us energy the whole night. My mom, brother, and sister came to Greeley and this was wonderful because I did miss them as much as I try to hide it.
After the performance in Greeley we had to drive back to Denver to catch a plane. I did not enjoy our forty hour day. I was so tired that I could barely move. When we arrived in Miami we found out that they didn't have enough host families for us. This really made me mad since I wanted a host family in Miami, this turned out to be okay since we stayed in a hostel for the weekend. By Monday we all had host families to go home with.
We had two outdoor performances in Miami which were really fun. Both performances drew a pretty big crowd and they loved the show. On our day off I went with my roommate to the Metro Zoo. This zoo is huge it was so much fun, the only problem was that my camera ran out of batteries so I didn't get to take pictures of all of the cool animals.
So that was my catch up for now. I will write more for later in the week.
So Greeley, CO was a fun city. I stayed with four guys with a lady named Shirley. This was a challenge because of the fact that she was a vegetarian, this was very different. I haven't gone an entire week without red meat until then.
We had a show in Greeley and I think it went really well. The audience loved it which makes the whole difference for our shows. We have to have energy to make a good show and the audience in Greeley fed us energy the whole night. My mom, brother, and sister came to Greeley and this was wonderful because I did miss them as much as I try to hide it.
After the performance in Greeley we had to drive back to Denver to catch a plane. I did not enjoy our forty hour day. I was so tired that I could barely move. When we arrived in Miami we found out that they didn't have enough host families for us. This really made me mad since I wanted a host family in Miami, this turned out to be okay since we stayed in a hostel for the weekend. By Monday we all had host families to go home with.
We had two outdoor performances in Miami which were really fun. Both performances drew a pretty big crowd and they loved the show. On our day off I went with my roommate to the Metro Zoo. This zoo is huge it was so much fun, the only problem was that my camera ran out of batteries so I didn't get to take pictures of all of the cool animals.
So that was my catch up for now. I will write more for later in the week.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sick/Run Through
So recently I have acquired a wonderful cold that is just really ruining my days. I can still dance but I have coughing fits after every time we run a song. This is getting rather annoying but life goes on.
For the past couple of days we have been doing run through of our shows about once a day. This is really good for us since we are finally starting to piece together the show that we have been working so hard on. Every time we run a show we put up a show list so that we know what we are doing for the run through. As of the past two runs of the show I have been dancing in seven specialty dances which takes a lot of energy. Surprisingly I am not singing at all in the show as of now. This has me a little confused since I was pulled aside in the beginning quite a bit to sing certain songs. I can't really complain though because I am dancing so much that I would hardly have time to sing anything anyway. The dancing is starting to come together I believe that by Wednesday, which is our performance for our host families, the whole cast should have a pretty decent show put together not perfect by any means but presentable.
The other day I was walking out of our room where we have lunch and our cast manager, Jen Moody, started talking to me and she said that I was looking really skinny. I went home that night and weighed myself and discovered that I have lost almost thirteen pounds since the start of staging. I am really loving that since now I am starting to get back into shape.
Stuart
For the past couple of days we have been doing run through of our shows about once a day. This is really good for us since we are finally starting to piece together the show that we have been working so hard on. Every time we run a show we put up a show list so that we know what we are doing for the run through. As of the past two runs of the show I have been dancing in seven specialty dances which takes a lot of energy. Surprisingly I am not singing at all in the show as of now. This has me a little confused since I was pulled aside in the beginning quite a bit to sing certain songs. I can't really complain though because I am dancing so much that I would hardly have time to sing anything anyway. The dancing is starting to come together I believe that by Wednesday, which is our performance for our host families, the whole cast should have a pretty decent show put together not perfect by any means but presentable.
The other day I was walking out of our room where we have lunch and our cast manager, Jen Moody, started talking to me and she said that I was looking really skinny. I went home that night and weighed myself and discovered that I have lost almost thirteen pounds since the start of staging. I am really loving that since now I am starting to get back into shape.
Stuart
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Trying to Remember
So the past couple days have been very crazy since I haven't posted since last week. I have a lot of catch up so I will try to remember what has happened to the best of my abilities.
I have been dancing almost every day which is great but really tiring. We learned the love medley on Thursday, the ending to it on Friday, and the blocking on Monday. This was great since this song might actually be stuck in my mind. Every other song that I have learned it seems is just a big jumble in my mind. I don't know if I remember any of the dances that we learned in our first week. That could be a big problem because our first show is February 4th. I think as soon as we start running the show it will be better at least I hope so.
Today as in Tuesday we learned the lifts for the swing dance "Go Daddy Oh" which is really fun but challenging. I have the same partner for the love medley which makes a huge difference since we trust each other so the lifts can go smooth. Even so I doubt that we will be partnered up for the show since they like to throw those curve balls to you by switching up your partner. After the day was over we went out to dinner at Chipotle, this place is kind of like Q Doba but not as good. Later I went to a book store with Zola, Karoline, Kyle, and Lindsey. This was a great time I had another great chat with Karoline about all sorts of stuff.
Well it is almost 10:30 which means I have to get up in seven hours so I am gonna go to bed sorry for the bad post. I will make things back to usual by tomorrow evening for this blog. I am having a wonderful time in Denver and I can't wait to get out on the road, even if that means adjusting to a new host family every week.
Stuart
I have been dancing almost every day which is great but really tiring. We learned the love medley on Thursday, the ending to it on Friday, and the blocking on Monday. This was great since this song might actually be stuck in my mind. Every other song that I have learned it seems is just a big jumble in my mind. I don't know if I remember any of the dances that we learned in our first week. That could be a big problem because our first show is February 4th. I think as soon as we start running the show it will be better at least I hope so.
Today as in Tuesday we learned the lifts for the swing dance "Go Daddy Oh" which is really fun but challenging. I have the same partner for the love medley which makes a huge difference since we trust each other so the lifts can go smooth. Even so I doubt that we will be partnered up for the show since they like to throw those curve balls to you by switching up your partner. After the day was over we went out to dinner at Chipotle, this place is kind of like Q Doba but not as good. Later I went to a book store with Zola, Karoline, Kyle, and Lindsey. This was a great time I had another great chat with Karoline about all sorts of stuff.
Well it is almost 10:30 which means I have to get up in seven hours so I am gonna go to bed sorry for the bad post. I will make things back to usual by tomorrow evening for this blog. I am having a wonderful time in Denver and I can't wait to get out on the road, even if that means adjusting to a new host family every week.
Stuart
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tour Schedule
Cast A 2009 Tour Schedule
January 9 - June 15, 2009
Orientation: Denver, Colorado: January 9 - February 5th
Greeley, CO - February 5 - 12
North Miami, FL - February 12 - 23
St. Augustine, FL - February 23 - March 2
Dade City/Zephyrhills, FL - March 2 - 9
Pensacola, FL - March 9 - 16
US City - March 16 - 23
US City - March 23 - 30
US City March 30 - April 4
Taipei, Taiwan - April 5 - 17
Taichung, Taiwan - April 17 - May 4
Saltillo, MX - May 4 - 10
Veracruz, MX - May 11 - 17
Mexico Norte, MX - May 18 - 24
Tampico, MX - May 25 - June 1
South USA: June 1 - June 15
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Catch Up
Okay so I haven't been able to post for a couple days. Sorry for everyone who is reading this regularly I have been really busy and getting home later and later each night. I am gonna try to sum up the past two days in a few sentences because I am afraid I am gonna fall asleep on my computer.
So Wednesday was our first day of blocking which was interesting. We were taught all of the entrances and where the mics are at during the show. We also did some blocking today, as in Thursday. Nothing to out of the ordinary happened during blocking, except that I got to rest my legs for a day which was wonderful.
Later in the night Cast A 2009 had its culture jam, this was great I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The things that certain countries did were just hilarious.
Thursday began the dancing again, we started off the morning with some more blocking but added on some parts of the show which I won't tell you about so you have to see them yourself. Later in the day we had the "Love Medley" workshop this is a really fun song that if you have seen the show has no message at all but is just there for pure entertainment.
That is all I can write tonight I have to get some sleep. Goodnight and I hope to get an extra long post done this weekend since it is a free weekend.
Stuart
So Wednesday was our first day of blocking which was interesting. We were taught all of the entrances and where the mics are at during the show. We also did some blocking today, as in Thursday. Nothing to out of the ordinary happened during blocking, except that I got to rest my legs for a day which was wonderful.
Later in the night Cast A 2009 had its culture jam, this was great I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The things that certain countries did were just hilarious.
Thursday began the dancing again, we started off the morning with some more blocking but added on some parts of the show which I won't tell you about so you have to see them yourself. Later in the day we had the "Love Medley" workshop this is a really fun song that if you have seen the show has no message at all but is just there for pure entertainment.
That is all I can write tonight I have to get some sleep. Goodnight and I hope to get an extra long post done this weekend since it is a free weekend.
Stuart
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ayiko Reprise
Today was not really a busy day we learned the beginning of "Ayiko" which meant the entrances. This was fun and rather difficult it was very precise on timing and such. I did not do to much today besides that, we only had one dance workshop and these are starting to wear me out. I have some really funky pain in my Achilles Tendon and pain in my shins which I think is the beginning of shin splints. This is causing me discomfort but nothing that I didn't feel during a wrestling practice. I just need to tough it out since I know that my body will adapt to the tiresome activity soon enough.
I can't believe that I have been gone for almost two weeks, this is just crazy to me it feels like I have been gone for months. Funny thing is about UWP I have been told that it goes fast but slow. I might be gone for only six months but it might feel like years because of all the fun/work that we have to do.
Tomorrow we have our first blocking part of the show. This means show costumes, not really looking forward to dancing in black pants I am so used to sweat pants.
Another day gone so far they are flying by but at the same tim seeming really slow. I hope to talk to everyone who reads this soon so I can give you a more in depth story to how my life is going in the amazing metropolis of Denver.
Stuart
I can't believe that I have been gone for almost two weeks, this is just crazy to me it feels like I have been gone for months. Funny thing is about UWP I have been told that it goes fast but slow. I might be gone for only six months but it might feel like years because of all the fun/work that we have to do.
Tomorrow we have our first blocking part of the show. This means show costumes, not really looking forward to dancing in black pants I am so used to sweat pants.
Another day gone so far they are flying by but at the same tim seeming really slow. I hope to talk to everyone who reads this soon so I can give you a more in depth story to how my life is going in the amazing metropolis of Denver.
Stuart
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