The Greenies: the Most Wonderful People on Earth

Pictured here are some of the most wonderful people on Earth...the Greenies! Well, this is some of them. I always knew that they were amazing, but in the last three days, they have provided evidence that they are more incredible than I thought. On Saturday, a friend of mine lost her battle with breast cancer and passed away. On facebook, I wrote that I was sad and 6 of them took the time to ask me why. After I explained, they each expressed their condolences through some of the sweetest words I have ever read. I really, really appreciate the thought and effort that went into their messages. My friend who passed away is named Amy. She was an inspiration to me and all who knew her. Amy lived life with so much passion. She loved her family and her life. Unfortunately, she had to fight this terrible disease. And now she is out of her pain, that is the only source of comfort. Please keep Amy's sweet family in your prayers appropriately. Thank you to all my greenie friends!

The Show Must Go On!

This is the mantra of one of the most amazing people to walk this earth. He is pictured here with myself and some of my Broadway Bound buddies. Grant Richey is an amazing human being, to say the very least. He is a dynamic director, amazing actor, and fantastic friend. I have known Grant for just over 4 years now, having first worked with him the summer of 2005. We have worked together every summer since. I first met Grant at Sing Minnesota, a performing arts camp for kids. He was the drama instructor there. I worked with him there the following summer as well. The next summer, when I was too old for Sing Minnesota, I switched over to Broadway Bound, which is a musical theatre camp at SteppingStone Theatre. When I arrived, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that I was going to work with Grant once again. That was summer 2007 and I worked with him for the fourth time this past summer, also at BB. Grant is quite an incredible person and I look up to him immensely. Grant is like a second father to me. He has taught me just about everything I know about acting, aside from the stuff I'm still learning. He has helped me grow and watched me grow up into the high schooler that I am today. He helped me through a very difficult time in my life. When we met I was making the transition, not only from elementary school to middle school, but also from district to district. I was leaving behind a lot of my friends and bringing a few with me. I was, still am, a "teacher's pet" and many kids resent me for that. I felt like I didn't have any friends and I lacked a lot of self-esteem and confidence. Then I went to Sing Minnesota and everything changed. It was a place where I could be myself. There were kids who loved performing as much as I do. Since Grant was the drama director, he was in charge of the acting portion of the camp. He helped me learn to memorize my lines, a skill that has come in very handy at school. He also helped me learn to develop character. He helped me gain confidence by putting me on stage and giving me the tools I needed to be successful. After switching to Broadway Bound two years later, I was excited but also nervous to be starting over again, with all new people. It was wonderful to have a friendly face greeting me on that first day. And once we figured out why we recognized each other, we had a blast reminiscing about Sing Minnesota and the good times we shared. In the four years that I have known Grant, he has made many songs and musicals very special to me. I will never be able to hear "Memory" from Cats without thinking of Grant. I will always associate West Side Story with Grant. I will always think of Grant when I hear Mamma Mia or Dancing Queen or What I Did for Love.

In September, Grant found out that his cancer had reappeared. Since then, he has had two successful surgeries to remove tumors in his brain and lung. There was a benefit for him in November (that's where the picture was taken). It was so great to see him again and it was wonderful to chat with him and with some of my camp friends. Since the benefit, he has been performing in a show called Martini and Olive between doses of chemotherapy. He performs because he loves it. To him, the show must go on.

Grant has many friends, but a person can never receive too many warm thoughts and prayers. So, please keep Grant in your thoughts and prayers appropriately.

Grant, you are an inspiration and you never cease to amaze me. Thank you for the memories, I hope there will be many more.

Love,
Kate

Goodbye to Greenies: Hugs and Tears

It all started with a German man telling the story of why people hang up greens at the holidays...it became a play, beautifully crafted and tweaked by Claudia Haas. And now it has been rehearsed for six weeks and performed 14 times. And what an experience it has been. Acting in a play is always fun and often difficult because you don't always know what the writer was thinking when they wrote it, so it can be difficult to interpret. But this time we had the pleasure of having the woman who wrote it also direct it. It really was a blessing. If we were confused she could clarify. If we didn't understand what she meant by writing something, she could tell us-well, most of the time...And now it is over. We had our last two performances on Sunday...and they were as magical as ever. Between shows we acted out a very special sequel to the show written by a very talented actress. I had some friends come to visit me after the first show and then we ate lunch and prepared for our last show. As we were performing, thoughts of: this the last time I will be called by Pinella, this is the last time I will enchant the children, this is the last time the kids will sing, this is the last time Pinella will count needles, ran through my head. It was so sad, not to mention hard to focus! But we all made it through the show, I did start crying near the end just before the last scene, but luckily I was the gushing water spirit, so it was like my character. After our bows, we (including the crew) sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to our small audience. It was an enjoyable time. After we finished our farewell to the audience, we went downstairs to begin our own farewells. First we changed out of our costumes. Ali went out of the dressing room, took one look at Claudia and started sobbing. She came back in to the dressing room and immediately the hugs and tears began. First, we hugged Ali and then I think Brianna B. started crying next. We all gathered our personal stuff and put it outside of the dressing room for cleaning. We cleaned out the dressing room and gathered in the lobby for conversation and goodbyes. First we were presented with our "George Awards" and then Jessica won the fan club contest! (Yay!) After that, our goodbyes began. By this time I was in tears and so was Olivia. I hugged Sylena and got tears all over her shirt. A little later Jessica was crying...It was all really sad. Claudia let me take a picture with her (A miracle!) and I took lots of pictures. After I went home I promptly fell asleep. The next morning I was feeling really strange, like something had just died in my soul. I was feeling empty and sad. I went to school and I was probably the crabbiest person there. I kept snapping at my friends and I was furious with the people who frustrate me normally. I came home and cried my eyes out. I will eventually realize that this is over, but not yet. I'm going to savor it for the next few days before Christmas and by the New Year, I promise I will let go. At least until our sleepover! Greenies, I miss you and I'll never forget the times we shared.

Love,
Kate

Greens: closing weekend

Today we began what will be the final weekend of the Hanging of the Greens. After the last show today, my friends and I went back to my house for a little celebration. I had so much fun. Tomorrow is closing. And though I am looking forward to more rest and being less stressed out, I will truly miss all of my fellow Greenies. This show has been the most fun I've had in a long time. I will miss it. Tomorrow will be an emotional day, for so many reasons. Now I must finish my thank you cards and be off to bed.

It's Always Personal

One of my friends has said (referring to plays), "It's always personal." The first time she told me this, last December, I could not completely understand this statement and now I do, I truly do. In the past year, 6 of my friends have been diagnosed with various types of cancer. One has died and three have terminal diagnoses. For all of them, the future is uncertain. I know all of them well, some better than others. They are teachers and directors past. Wonderful people who I feel very blessed to know. They never seem to complain, always seem to have high spirits. They are some of the most inspiring people I know, before their diagnoses. They are some of the best people in the world.

Anyway, at the end of the Hanging of the Greens (the show I'm currently in), I observe the reuniting of families and many, many hugs. It is such a beautiful scene set to a beautiful Celtic arrangement of Silent Night. Every time I see it I have to force back many tears. Tonight as I write this, one of my friends, her name is Amy, is in the hospital, fighting for her life, to live with her family a little longer. Please keep her in your prayers, as appropriate.

I think that I will tell you a little about these people. Amy and Becky, I have known for a little under a year. We met online. They are both amazing people. Bil is a teacher who works at the middle school I went to. He is one of the strongest people I know. Chris is a woman who attends my church. She is an amazing woman. Grant is a director I've known for five years. He is one of the funniest people ever. And Ann is...well...the most amazing person ever. She passed away last April. She worked at my elementary school and was like a second mother to me. These people are the reason I'm such a cancer awareness advocate.

This is why this show is so extremely personal. I think about my friends every time I get on stage. Every night when I get up to perform, I am hit with sudden surges of emotion. They are always there, no matter what I do. But I have learned to tame them, so that every performance is wonderful. So I can become immersed in the wonderful land that is created each night. A world that is beautiful, charming, enticing. I know that these emotions will always be there, but I have learned to transfer them to creative energy. There is one downfall however, I do my performance and I leave the stage with an extreme exhaustion. Because I have turned my emotions into creative energy, I feel like I have just poured my entire soul out to an audience and my fellow cast members. I often find myself fighting my sobs that I leave the stage with. I go downstairs to the dressing room and push back my tears as I unwind. It is extremely difficult when we have multiple performances on the same day, for I must feel this twice. It can also be extremely relieving because I feel like I've shown what I am feeling without telling anyone.

So, please pray tonight, especially for Amy, that these wonderful people will continue to touch the lives of other people for many, many years to come.

Love,
Kate

Greens dress rehearsal

Tonight was our second tech/dress rehearsal and boy was it fun! The show is truly amazing! Jan, who plays our beautifully-wicked witch, is amazing. Such a professional, she knows EVERYTHING! She is such a joy to watch, she is totally in character and has a never-ending abundance of talent. Tonight was a lot of fun. The show seemed to go by so quickly! I am looking forward to opening on Thursday, but I will be very sad when it closes. Goodnight!