Thank You

It is nice to get a little attention for your work. I sat down with Jaris English, a Renton-area writer, and she captured my feeling about theatre in this article that was featured in the RENTON REPORTER.

Click HERE to read it!

This is What a Dream Come True Looks Like

This marquee.

This represents a dream come true.

A dream come true that continues to come true.

In November of 2008, after only 5 rehearsals, my "Nephew" Aaron and I brought our show to the stage.

And we've been going strong ever since (and plan to keep going strong.) The show featured in this marquee was our 5th anniversary show and our 60th show together, too. I love it when things synch up like that.

Pastor Steven Furtick says, "The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."

This marquee is our highlight reel. A few other pieces of our highlight reel include:

• Being chosen for King County 4Culture's Touring Arts Roster of juried acts
• Performing all over the Pacific NW and two trips to perform at Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park, FL
• Newspaper articles written
• Magazine articles written
• Parade appearances
• Performing for hundreds of people at a time

What was behind-the-scenes was:

• Late nights spent writing jokes, poring over music, listening to music, choosing music, creating a website, Facebook presence, Twitter presence and Instagram presence
• Hours of rehearsal together and separately on all the pieces of the show
• Hours of rehearsing and performing PRIOR to joining forces and creating a show (We both, separately have OVER the amount of hours that according to Malcolm Gladwell would put us into the "outlier" category.)
• Emails to potential venues that were never answered
• Checks that bounced from venues where we performed
• Hours of texts and phone calls
• Hundreds of dollars spent on costumes, props, music, etc
• Shows where only 9 people showed up
• Sore feet, sore voices, sore backs

And it was ALL worth it. Your dream is worth it, too! Keep going friends, keep going!

Being Honest

I realized I don't talk about it much on this blog, but, in addition to writing about creativity and teaching improv, I also perform a 2-person show that I created.

It is character-based improv. This means, I slip into an alter-ego and perform a show. Prior to that, I'd always performed for other people, in their shows -becoming a part of something they'd created and it was great! I loved it. Creating and performing my own show was a different thing entirely.

In November, the other half of this two-person show and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary of performing together. As we approach this milestone, I wanted to share some things I learned along the way:

1. Creativity isn't always easy. It often it feels like WORK and you might have to deal with things you never thought you'd have to deal with! As long as you are PREPARED for that piece of creativity, you'll do fine. I have to work nearly EVERY function of this show, except the piano-playing part which my great friend, Aaron, does. Advertising, posters, set up, tear down, programs, costumes, prizes . . . I've performed in venues where we had to set up the tables and chairs so our audience would have a place to sit. I learned along the way that in creating a SHOW, I was also learning to CREATE the other stuff, too. Thankfully, I've had some GREAT help along the way. It has been VALUABLE for learning and growth and I'm grateful for that part of this creative journey.
2. Creativity can make you want to give up. Many times.  If you can make it PAST that place. Past the "giving up" point, you will get through to the other side! Believe me! What will help you is a great SUPPORT NETWORK. A couple of days before my first show, you would've found me, crying on my living room floor and telling my husband, "This is the STUPIDEST thing I've ever decided to do." Luckily he just listened and said something soothing and I picked myself off the floor and did it. It was great! And, after the show where we had 9 people in the audience, I wanted to give up. And my daughter was there to say, "Remember Mom, you sing it at the end of every show, 'Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along.'" She was right. And that show had some amazing, intimate moments with the audience that are priceless.
3. Creativity can be humiliating or frustrating. Again, just be prepared for it. I've found that those moments teach me what I want and what I DON'T want. That venue where we had to put out tables and chairs and set up for ourselves? We know we don't want to create in a space like that so we don't do shows there anymore. I also have a mantra for those rough times, I say, "This will be a GREAT story for Letterman when we get big." That gets me through.
4. Creativity can be scary. I'm a firm believer that each creative experience should scare me just a little. So, to that end, I keep adding new songs to the show; stuff I never in a million years thought I'd ever be singing and/or doing. I think, if you're a little scared then you are creating something personal and unique.
5. Creativity is ALWAYS worth it. It really is. There's been no greater creative pleasure than nurturing and constantly growing this show. We have been blessed to perform all over the Pacific NW and in Florida, for great audiences (large and small!) The majority of our audience are the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. And, we have the satisfaction of performing this unique, one-of-a kind show that no one else does. That feels great. So, KEEP CREATING, friends! Keep creating. 

(Here's a sizzle reel of our show.)