Big Apple Summer || The 2nd Audition

So this wasn't actually on "Audition Day" - this was at Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea -
but mom's grumpy face was just too pitiful to leave un-posted. ;)

The 2nd Audition: The sequel to The Audition.

Alright, people. So I have the feeling (& high hopes) that this blog post illustrating Audition #2 will make me sound far less naive and much more like the woman of the world that I am. ;) (That ended up sounding a lot weirder than I expected. But I'm going to leave it because it makes me sound edgy.)

So Tuesday's audition was, as I said before, the Newsies' EPA - Equity Principal Auditions. So for me, this was the big fish. The big "kahuna," if you will. Not that it wouldn't be a dream to be in the chorus itself, but Katherine Plumber is one of my top 5 dream roles. It would be hard to explain to you the amount of "Seize the Day" renditions my shower head has experienced. I can't imagine many roles that would be more fun for me! It has the music of my childhood (minus Christian Bale), an amazingly-talented-almost-all-male-cast & she has one big dance number: and it's TAP. That's a caps-lock of pure happiness, my friends. But OKAY, back to the audition...

Because of the aforementioned importance of this day, I woke up right at 5am with intentions of arriving at MTC around 6:30am - we even grabbed tea & oatmeal in our hotel to avoid the extra trip to sbux. But this morning had some trials of its own... Because of the tired & weak-like-a-baby state of my voice the previous day, I decided I needed to warm up this time, but the clerk at the front desk of our fancy schmancy hotel (I won't name any names) told us we'd have to pay to use one of their conference rooms. Even for 5 minutes. At 5:45am. 

...Okay, front desk clerk.

So there seemed to be only one practical option ... Ride the elevator. That's right. My unbelievably sweet and selfless mom rode the elevator with me as I warmed up, pressing the "door close" button as I abruptly silenced myself at each floor arrival, and skillfully choosing floors that didn't have people waiting to get on. (PTL, am I right?)

I'd like to say it looked kinda like this.

But I guess it kinda looked more like this.

And just like that, after some light belting & screlting, my voice was warm! Mom kept assuring me that would make for a great "rookie story" someday - but I gotta say, I didn't even mind it so much at the time. Heck, I'd do it again! #foolproofplan

So 20 minutes, a Quaker to-go oatmeal, and a hug from mom later - I arrived at the Manhattan Theatre Club - and at 6:30am, I was about 6th in line! Score! About 5 minutes after that, a hilarious young guy from California who I'd met the day before shows up...with a mission. He is determined to make sure our 6:30am non-equity line was respected as apparently he'd experienced some troubles with that at the previous day's audition. He reassured me, "We do this all the time at LA auditions." So who was I to call his bluff? Go for it, my friend! ... And he did! He created a "non-equity sign-up list" of his own, and about 3 hours later the man at the front said, "You got a list? Sure, we can use that, why not?!" And just like that, Cali Disney audition boy became the non-eq hero of the day. (Non-eq newbies - take note!)

I forgot to mention, on this particular day, I came PREPARED. I mean, I had a BAG. I plan to make an "audition necessities" post later on, but just for kicks I'll mention just how prepared I was. ;) I brought a curling iron, brush, hairspray (like, what?), two books (read about 3 posts in Jesus Calling - I recommend it so highly), a change of clothes AND shoes, an extra pair of character shoes, an apple, a clif bar...I even brought an extra binder! I'm telling you, people, I was a changed woman. 

Oh, this is exciting:

I was apparently so put-together (ha!) that I even had a mom come up to me and ask what her daughter should expect "because I look like I've done this before." I don't know WHAT gave her that impression, and, granted, her daughter was probably 12 years old, but whatever - I diary'ed that so fast. 

"This lady thinks I know what I'm doing!"
Photo courtesy of Skyy Pamilton & my own swallowing of pride.

Even more exciting than that ^^ ("WHAT could be more exciting than that?" you ask) was that - like all these other people - I finally got to see a familiar auditioning face, too! To my pleasant surprise, a friend from Baylor Theatre arrived - Joshua Gonzales! Josh had just gotten back from a tour with Theatreworks USA (where he received his equity card!), and he had been super helpful all summer by answering all my questions about theatre, NYC, equity cards, etc. and was incredibly encouraging. (Which I so appreciated!) Because Josh is now equity, he had the liberty to show up after 9 - although he still arrived before 8, kudos to Josh - and sign up for his own auditioning slot. Thus, he was in & out before 10:30! (P.s. Check out Greyman Theatre Co. run by my friends Josh ^ & Matt Tolbert & show them some love!) He chose to have his audition in the morning, but many equity members would show up to sign in, and then go about their normal day and show up for a late auditioning slot. How nice! 

My jealousy only emerged when - at this particular audition - there were several young boys auditioning for the part of Les. Many of whom were below the age of 10. And their resume could eat mine for lunch. But whatever, I'm sure they fully realize how fortunate they are... right? ;) But true story, Cali Disney boy & I had been gawking over this precious young blonde boy, and after his mom shushed his squealing he literally said, "But mom... You know I must practice my craft!" HE SAID CRAFT. Cali Disney guy thought this was the most hilarious & endearing thing he'd ever seen. And I...well, I gave a little giggle but spent the rest of the day asking myself WHO taught him that word? #babydiva

Okay so now for the actual 45 seconds of "audition room" time - 

Before they can get to the non-eqs, they first filter in all of the "EMC's" - Equity Membership Candidates. These are performers that have not been given their full equity card, but they have earned points towards their equity card - and once they reach enough points, they can become equity members! Thus, they are considered below equity members but above non-eqs. It's a great place to be. Congrats. After filtering all the EMC's in between equity member auditions, we heard the words, "We will now begin auditioning non-equity members. Listen for your name." Well, I was #6! So my ears were on high alert! I was so excited. My voice was feeling so much stronger, and I finally got to sing the 16-bar cut that I had wished to sing the day before. Yesterday, I had been full of nerves & insecurity, but now I truly could not WAIT to get in that room! And that was a great feeling! (And a little bit of a relief to be honest.) Also, because of the nature of our theatre dept. at Baylor and how large it is, I honestly couldn't have felt more prepared. (Sic 'em, BUT!) It truly felt similar to a BU musical audition... & I loved those. The faces behind the table just looked a little different this time. 

Another comforting thing was how kind everyone around me was. I forgot to mention in my last post, but at the first audition, I made friends with an Australian post-grad who had attended AMDA in new york & was hoping to stay in the US for a couple more years. Her name was Karli, and we became instant friends after I agreed to sign her in while she ran over to her Matilda audition. (Gotta admit...it felt kinda like a Full House episode where later I would reap the consequences of my seemingly harmless deed...but I later found out, it really wasn't a big deal. I'm such a newbie.)  Needless to say, all the gals I had met were super cool! And we all felt equally unexperienced and thus equally supportive and encouraging...that was nice.

So finally, it was my turn to go in! 

I fixed my bangs for the millionth time, took one last swig of water & then it was time! They filter us in & out so quickly that, quite frankly, we hardly have any time to even say our names. So I tried as best I could to greet them right as I walked in and squeeze in a little interaction on my way to the piano. Unfortunately, the pianist didn't want to play the intro written and preferred for me to just start singing it cold - no intro, no nothing - surprise! (So good thing I didn't actually want time to say my name before singing... that would've been so mainstream...;) So, I did what he said! I got up there and POUNDED that first note. And I gotta say... I didn't hate it. ;) No no no... what I mean is I actually felt really good about this audition, which was a huge change from the day before! Once again, the men at the table were so kind and made me feel like a million bucks. But more than that, I was so glad to be able to leave the room (by 11:30am, might I add!) feeling completely confident in my performance without an OUNCE of regret or "I should've done this or that." It was a great day.

Don't we look like we're having a great day?

So, the aftermath: I wasn't - and I'm still not - hanging all of my expectations on this one audition. I left there knowing that there was the possibility I could hear from them for Newsies, the possibility I could hear from one of them for another job or the possibility that I might never see those men again! And I was seriously okay with all of these options. DUH, I want to be cast as Katherine Plumber in Newsies ;) But it is so comforting to know that I can only do what I can do. I can only be myself and sing as well as I can sing, so hopefully one day (& hopefully soon!) that'll be just what they're looking for! But as they taught us over & over at SpringboardNYC - never let any audition be THE audition. Never let the stakes be so high over ONE audition that you end up psyching yourself out or worse - completely letting yourself down.

So since then, I've moved on with my life and have been enjoying a wonderful July & August in Colleyville, TX. But in a mere 8 days, I am finally heading back via penske truck to the Big Apple! I am feeling so many emotions - and I'm not gonna bore you by listing all of the things that Kelsey could possibly be feeling. ;) But I will say that I am so excited and about 92% ready. The Newsies auditions were such a good experience and a SUPER kind entry into this world of auditioning that's essentially about to be one of my part-time jobs. I am so thankful for that experience and so glad that I can now say my first NYC auditions are behind me! The journey has officially begun!

Thanks for following along with me, and I hope I haven't lost you yet. 

Also - please check out a blog by a friend of mine Francisco Lopez - Cisco in Chicago - and follow his exciting theatre hap'nins in the midwest. (Trust me, you'll want to know of this guy. ;)

And so I leave you...with a verse & a pic! Enjoy. :)

Found this verse the day of audition #2. What a comfort.

aaaand a carousel at Central Park, happy wednesday!

Your semi-successful auditioner,

k-mart

Big Apple Summer || The Audition

So here is the post to begin what this blog is REALLY about - an amateur jumping into the crazy auditioning world and true tales of what that's actually like - not just what I might want y'all to think it's like. ;)

The picture shown above is a snap of the non-equity line outside of Telsey Studios at my first Newsies audition (snapping a photo - rookie move, i know. But I was excited!! :) Here we go...

Day One - Woke up at the crack of dawn (err... 5am), hummed silently in our hotel bathroom, and headed with mom on a 6 block walk from our hotel to the Starbucks across the street from the audition - to my pleasant surprise, the audition was being held at the same building as the Manhattan Theatre Club where we had Springboard classes only a few weeks prior - so I led my mom to Starbucks with great confidence & pride;)

After a quick oatmeal & hot tea (...& photo opp for mom) I walked over to Telsey around 6:45am and jumped in line - only about 20 people strong at that point! Another pleasant surprise. Made some nice audition friends (many of which were barely out of high school - what? whatever;) So around 8am they let us into the building up to the Telsey & Co. floor. And there I sat for the next 2 hours. My little, unexperienced self showed up ready to go at 6:45am - hair done, make up on & heels securely fastened to my feet. I would soon find out that this was, yet another, rookie move. More and more, the people arriving (especially women) were dressed in, well, workout clothes! Spandex, nike shorts, tank tops, ponytails, you name it - they were casual to the max. They sat in this casual attire munching on apples and granola bars and chatting with all their auditioning pals - seemed as though 80% of everyone knew each other or recognized each other from their undergrad! But I gotta say...I didn't mind this interaction a bit. The environment was so much more relaxed & friendly than I had anticipated, and to learn from these seasoned auditioners merely meant I got to show up in sweats next time. Score!

So anyway, around 9am the man running the audition called for the AEA members (equity actors), and each of them got the extreme privilege of having an actual audition slot. A real slot...man, what a concept... Once their slot was assigned, the actors dispersed - the time to put on their new self was NIGH. Girls began unwinding curling irons, primping eyelashes & gargling water in a way that almost sounded like a warm-up. All the while, the rest of us non-eqs (rookies) waited for our turn. Finally, he called up non-equity, and to my third pleasant surprise of the morning, people [almost] fully respected the order of the line we had begun nearly 3 hours earlier. How very integrity-filled (integritous? integratious?) -- how very honest of them! Finally, 11am rolled around and my group of about 10 was called up on-deck. It was finally time! With my headshot turned in and sheet music binder in place, I did one last quick-fix of the hair and got in line.

I'd just flown in that weekend from Dallas where I had sung at my best friend Molly's wedding - & that (along with some minor squealing & belting on the dance floor ;) left my voice feeling a little tired.

^^ Look at my dance partners...how could I possibly resist a little Stevie Wonder? ^^

Thus, I sang John Bucchino's "It Feels Like Home" from the musical It's Only Life - this song uses a little bit of a lower range, but is still one of the most beautiful songs in my book (clarification: I don't say "beautiful song" because of how I sing it; I mean it's a flat out "beautiful song" on its own...glad we're clear). So I walked in, said hello, presented my piece to the pianist and the 5 or so young men behind the table, left it all on the floor, & just like that -- audition over! Wild. I knew my voice was not as strong as it normally was, but the panel of men glowed of so much enthusiasm and sunshine that they could've left a tone-deaf 97 year old feeling young, talented & alive. Which -- you know what? I really appreciated that. I was one of hundreds they'd be seeing that day, but they took the effort to make me feel like my time mattered. And THAT mattered!

[a male version of "It Feels Like Home" ... gosh this song's so beautiful.]

So that was that. First Broadway ECC down, and I was out by 11:15am! (Not 6pm as I had been led to believe...although, I do know that summer is a "slower season" for auditions, so fall and spring might not be so kind!) I planned to attend Mamma Mia auditions later that day but figured it'd be better to give my voice a rest before the next day's audition... so instead, we ate! (Who's surprised? Not a one of you.)

So I'll give your eyes a rest and save the 2nd & final audition story for another day, another blog post. :)

Cheers!
Kelsey

Big Apple Summer || Part Two

This summer I had the opportunity to take a second visit to NYC - this time with my mom and one of my two sisters - Kristen [Candidly Red Blog]. I know I already shared a few photos from this trip in my last post, but I realized that there were events in this trip that were pretty key in my current post-grad developments, so I'll share a few in these next couple of posts. There were a few reasons for this trip, but here's a nice graphic laying out the highlights:

After making over a dozen trips to the concrete jungle, here are five foodie joints that make the Martin's top list:

• Friend of a Farmer - Holy cow. If heaven serves breakfast in little iron skillets, I imagine the food inside will look a lot like the breakfasts here. From the Irving Place Omelette to the french press coffee to the Old Fashion Pumpkin Pancakes (& not to mention the precious, quaint atmosphere and waiters in ties), this place has us coming back trip after trip - thanks, Tiffany Martin, for the discovery!
• Serendipity - I know, I know...we can't pretend like we discovered this restaurant, but boy do we claim it. It's almost always worth the wait, and even though we've been on countless occasions, we are ashamed to say we've hardly tried half of the desserts...because the frozen hot chocolate wins every time. And if you click your heels just right, you can pretend you're John Cusack...(I call Kate Beckinsale.)
• Cara Mia - My sister, Tiffany, discovered this little italian restaurant, too. It's in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, and we've taken several of my mom's large high school choir groups to this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and they are always SO accommodating. Oh yeah, and the food is the bomb.

  

  Patty says, "Mmmm, Cara Mia..."

• Dixby's - We love this little sandwich shop! My mom grew up in Summit, NJ, and one of her fondest memories was a local sandwich shop's "sloppy joe's." And lo and behold, we found a shop with an identical sandwich right next to Rockefeller Plaza! Sandwiches, salads, soups & a fun location, it's one of our favorite family stops.
• And finally, a new favorite ... Shake Shack - Holy. Vanilla. Milkshake. When Rachel & I went to SpringboardNYC earlier this summer, we marveled at the CONSTANT heavy lines flowing out of the Shake Shack next to the Manhattan Theatre Club where we had class. We figured there must be a reason but assumed it was "too overrated" to be worth the line. Welp, color me ignorant. My mom, Kris & I finally went to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park - and it might've been raining, but that outdoor eating experience was one of our fondest memories from the trip! (Not to mention getting kicked out of an outdoor covered area because we either looked like solicitors or vagabonds with our wet hair and milkshakes.) Needless to say ... that wasn't our last milkshake of the trip. #vacationcaloriesdontcount

The rest of our week was spent walking the High Line, Chelsea Markets, Soho, Central Park, Washington Square Park...name a location on the island of Manhattan with concrete & we walked it. We are used to 4 or 5 day trips but this week-long trip was just too exciting! We wanted to see everything and then see it again! We also ate. We ate a lot. Magnolia Bakery, the Meatball Shop, Buvette, Schmakery's, Don Giovanni & about a million coffee shops. [We especially loved Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea.]

Finally, we were a little nervous about spending the 4th of July in NYC, but we had a wonderful day trekking through Soho, grabbing dinner in Greenwich Village & we even managed to snag a few items in Chinatown! (What are we, tourists?!) We ended the night by watching the fireworks from afar at the edge of the Hudson, and it was a pretty awesome time. Despite our genuine and valiant intentions of going apartment searching while there, those plans didn't come to fruition. BUT did I mention I attended my first Broadway EPA & ECC? [EPA stands for Equity Principal Audition - for the lead roles - and ECC stands for Equity Chorus Call - for the, well, chorus.]

More on that in the next blog!

Until then, here are some pics to wake your taste buds (now I've caught your attention) - 

Yes, my blogging peeps, those are Friend of the Farmer pumpkin pancakes.

This is from a trip a couple summers ago - my hair has long-since grown;)  
Photo of Max Brenner's Dessert Pizza

This was us & our Shake Shack ... right before we got shooed away by a doorman.

Your NYC foodie rookie,
Kelsey

P.s. Feel free to add my blog to your feed on Blog Lovin'! Just got the app, and it's s-o-o convenient. My blog on Bloglovin (totally up to you;)

Springboarding in head first!

So at the beginning of June, I had the incredible beyond incredible opportunity to attend a program put on by the American Theatre Wing (creator of the Tony Awards) called "SpringboardNYC." I mentioned my audition for this program in an earlier blog post, and I am pleased to say that I got in aaaaaand it changed my life (it feels like it, anyway). While I cannot take the time to explain to you all that we experienced during those two weeks, I CAN explain a little bit. :)

This scripture verse has never rung truer than in these past couple months of post-grad life. I have no idea what I'm looking for or what's in store for me, but my summer experiences have been made so much sweeter in knowing that I have someone pretty powerful laying out my path. My biggest prayer & greatest security for this trip was this statement I wrote in my journal (I know, I've become a journaler AND a blogger - what is my life?!) - "I can feel free to dream a little trusting that my God is big enough to do it, but thankful that He's kind enough to mold it into what's best for me - and for the person He's shaping me into." {see Proverbs 19:21}

So let's do a "who did I get to meet" session:

• We had the UNBELIEVABLE opportunity to do meet & greets with some of the most amazing people in our industry - among the actors were Alan Cummings (holy precious accent), Oliver Platt, Laura Osnes & Jenna Fischer ("The Office").
• Among the incredible creative peeps were William Ivey Long (chairman of ATW), Jack O'Brien, Thomas Schumacher (prez of Disney Theatrical), and Diane flipping Paulus - the now award-winning director of "Pippin" (thank you, Diane). 
• So I'll stop there before you all want to kill me - out of jealousy or disbelief that I actually just listed that many names.
• Oh wait. and TOM FLIPPING HANKS. 
• So that was neat.

The other neatest of all neat things was the fact that we had the privilege of attending both the Tony Awards Dress Rehearsal AND (drum roll...) THE REAL THING! The 67th Annual Tony Awards!

So, there was our night! And the funny thing was that I couldn't have even anticipated how magical the Tony Awards dress rehearsal was going to be. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED the real deal (I mean, I'm a thespian, right? That word... ;) but it is a SHOW! A performance! And to watch the behind-the-scenes and see all of these beautiful [incredibly famous] people practice and let down their hair a little bit was just, ah, magical. Who did we see at the dress rehearsal, you ask? Among them were Neil Patrick Harris (duh), Sally Fields, Patti LuPone, Bernadette, Anna Kendrick, the casts of Newsies, Matilda, Lion King, and so many more... it was heaven! And at the show, many of our own Springboarders saw - and even SAT by - David Hyde Pierce, Jake Gyllenhaal, Nathan Lane, Billy Porter & Cyndi Lauper! And they were all just part of one big, supportive community! 

And did I mention we were seat-fillers? Our job was to fill any seat that was left open by an award-receiver, a bathroom-goer or a no-shower (that's a no "show"-er, not a no "shower" as in they forgot to bathe). What a night! So several of us were running around and filling seats like crazy during every commercial break, whereas some of the fortunate few (ahem, me) ended up sitting towards the front & center, and never got replaced! I had a free ticket to the show! Next to gray-haired men with many hilarious opinions - so we naturally assumed they could only be one thing - producers. ;) 

We couldn't believe that after this unforgettable night, we still had another week of class awaiting us! And we were thrilled! The next morning, all we could do was verbally (what's another word for "upchuck"?) everything we had seen, heard & experienced, and how a part of that community we felt. And let me tell you, that's a great feeling. Later that week we got to meet Diane Paulus and see her Tony-award winning show "Pippin" - along with Matilda and A Trip to Bountiful. We were spoiled. And we didn't mind.

playbillz

Getting to experience all of these shows with people who are equally as passionate about theatre (but not obsessive about their "craft") as you are was actually pretty unreal. I grew to appreciate theatre and understand its power more than ever before. I cried several times! ... I never cry! I recommend this program to everyone with a passion to pursue a life in this industry & the ability to do it. There is so much more to theatre than just promoting your own talents or getting caught up in yourself. It's about other people! It's about having meaningful conversations with your audience AND your cast mates. It's a unique opportunity & a special privilege that not everyone gets. And I feel blessed that God chose to let me find my passion in this crazy, theatre-ey world. 

Well, anyway, that's my soapbox. (Who gave this girl a blog?) I'll probably end up talking more on this trip later ... WHEN I ACTUALLY MOVE TO NEW YORK IN 23 DAYS. (What? Yes.) Til then, here are some more pictures from my two summer trips to the big apple...

My adorable mom & my lovely sis [err, one of the two] came with me!
And this adorable couple we saw on the subway.
I can only assume they were on their way home from a perfectly fabulous night at the jazz club. ;)

love her;) 

cheers for making it this far,

k-mart

Summer without sweets? That's a myth.

Mom & I are trying to get healthy & slim ourselves up. Lean is what we're calling our goal. But when I think of summer, I literally almost only think of one thing: food. (I wish I could call that an exaggeration...but I am learning that my obsession goes a little too far outside the norm.) I think of hot dogs, cakes with American flags on them, fruity drinks, oreo desserts, homemade ice cream...I even think of CHEESE FRIES. Heaven help me if I can ever allow myself to eat those again.

I owe the top right recipe to "Pick Your Plum" and the middle two to the precious Christie McCabe over at Daily Dose of Sweet - follow this blog! Cutest cakes/cookies/cupcakes you'll ever see. (And she's a Baylor Bear, sic 'em! :) And for the cheese fries...Outback deserves all the credit. Tell me those don't make you just DIE...in the best way.

And then there's that. Okay, okay...so salads don't all look that bad (sorry, Cici's), and maybe I actually kind of love salads. But they're no competition to cheese fries! So my mom & I took it upon ourselves to start attacking our diet head-on thanks to Chocolate Covered Katie - a "healthy" dessert blog. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Exhibit A - The Coconut Breakfast Cake:

                                      

Holy smokes. Recipe Here. Don't punish yourself...by avoiding this coconut bread of dreamy goodness. And less than 70 calories per serving! This is not a drill - girl's a genius! Or as Franck would say:

(I'm a Father of the Bride fiend...in the best way...meaning, I love it.) FINALLY, drum roll please, Exhibit B - the deep dish chocolate chip cake that's HEALTHY?! 

Recipe Here. She even tops it with her own healthy "ice cream"! Guys, don't tell your party guests, but this cake has no flour, less than 1.5 cups of sugar, no butter & no eggs...but it does have chickpeas. Yes, I KNOW. I hate chickpeas, & I'm not a huge hummus gal, but I'm telling you - this stuff is indulgent. Even without a food processor! (The blender was tricky & took some time...but it eventually did the trick.)

So here's to staying healthy this summer while only occasionally spoiling yourself with one of these ^ ... and no one has to know you're actually slimming down all the while. ;)

                                             

But hey, nobody's perfect. ;) C'est la vie!

Cheers! Your wannabe health counselor,

Kelsey

Everyone's married. What's my adventure?

Hey bloggin' peeps.

So I'm going to start out the first day of August 2013 with a little honesty...truth be told, I started this blog for a class - a Baylor Journalism "Social Media" class, to be specific. My last couple of blog posts had criteria to follow, so I followed said criteria - very thoroughly! (Hence the thorough amounts of information - not a bad thing, just a thing to be clarified.)

Thus, my blog had been temporarily suspended...UNTIL I discovered the precious instagram of Naomi Davis - aka Taza. Her instagram is full of lively and crazy adorable photos of her two babykins & her husband, fully living my dream life in the big apple! Complete with a website including baby rainboots and the dreamiest apartment. I can only hope she's lacking in babysitters for her sweet lil' kiddies. Needless to say, she started her blog right before her college graduation, and it was crazy to see how far she's come. Hence, the revival of my blog begins...

So it's time to start fresh. I like where the last posts put us, because now I can casually & confidently say my life has changed A TON since March 22 (date of last blog post).

New schtuff:

• We are all graduated & stuff - as in Baylor University Alumni. WHAT? Yes.
• Two of the friends - Sarah Brooks & Ashton Neubert - in my earlier "spring break" pic are now married. M-a-r-r-i-e-d. Wives! (And fabulous, gentle, beautiful ones at that:)
• The other 5 friends, you ask? Ann is Baylor President Ken Starr's new "special assistant," Sarah is headed back to BU for grad school, Bethany is headed to grad school in Dallas, Amber is headed to a Spanish discipleship school at a church in Waco & Simmons is headed to Argentina (what? yes). 

• Oh yeah, & my other best friend from high school - Molly Bolton - got hitched, too. Here are my 3 best friends (left to right: Molly, Sarah & Kristen) at Molly's rehearsal dinner! And she & her hubs, Jeremy, at their reception:

• And me? Well, not many developments...
• Oh yeah. I'm moving to NYC in 27 days. Okay...WHAT? YES. (In fact, I actually got accepted into American Theatre Wing's post-grad program "SpringboardNYC" & spent 2 weeks learning NYC theatre front & back in early June...I'll post on that later - I promise!)

Needless to say, almost none of those earlier auditions led anywhere. But my BU theatre gal pal Rachel & I are about to jump into theatre's most ginormous pond, and I could not be more thrilled if I tried!

This summer has been a lot of learning, listening, praying & leaping (leaping out on faith, that is), and now that all of my friends' lives are radically changing, I'm ready for a change too. A change in location, culture, surroundings, profession...and who knows? Maybe I'll find a change that'll stick for awhile.

Here's hoping, & cheers to blogging once again!
Your adventurous - and slightly petrified - adventurer,

Kelsey

(A couple pictures for the time we lost! Pic 1: best friends in grad attire; 

Pic 2: Graduation day with Rachel - NYC froomie!)