Karen's Birthday

It was my sister's 27th Birthday on January 30th. I love her so much and here is my gift to her!





Here are the lyrics in case you can't understand me:
Verse 1
Her name is Karen Meyer, and she is turning 27
she still has awhile before she gets into Heaven
so while she's on this earth, she's smiling away
and I am glad she was born everyday
everybody now
Chorus 
Happy Birthday Karen, Happy Birthday to you
Verse 2
She's driving down the streets of Davenport, IA
She's so sick of the cold, she wants to be warmer
But on this very special day she could not believe
all of the things that she has already achieved
everybody now
Chorus
Happy Birthday Karen, Happy Birthday to you

Busy Whit-Bee

I want to let you know how busy my wife has been. This is all that she is juggling right now.

Performing every weekend in Angelina Ballerina
Babysitting two different families... mainly at random
Working 8 hours a week for work study at STEPS Dance studio
Taking Dance classes when she has time 
Casting Assistant / Organizer for Ari who is married to Composer of Angelina Ballerina
Auditioning almost everyday
Singing a solo in a musical revue
A performer for APPLAUSE NY - a music class & birthday parties for kids
Acting as a patient to NYU Medical Doctors in training (more on this below)

When she is not out running around from gig to gig she is at home with me! I have been acting as stay at home Husband when not auditioning and working. The past month - I have been continuously job searching and audition planning, done all of the laundry, all of the cooking, all of the house cleaning, all of the grocery shopping, and all of the blogging. ;) I would like to say that I've done all of the dishes every time - but since we don't have a dishwasher - this task is pretty much impossible seeing on how every night our sinks are filled to the top. Perhaps we should be cruel to the environment and switch to all paper products...

This morning Whitney was at NYU as a "medical patient" her boss / mother of 2 whom she babysits gave her a character breakdown of this 15 year old who is sexually active. Whitney had to memorize the backstory and pretend to be this girl and answer any questions the doctors in training would ask. Isn't that hilarious? So basically, Whitney got to use her career and improv while helping students train. And get this... she gets paid $25 an hour. What a great job to have on the side right?

Disney email

I wanted to also post this email I got from the Disney casting director because I know many of you have been asking us about the possibility of us working at Disney. I had emailed him Saturday night in regards to my Forever Plaid offer because I didn't want to hinder my chances of working for him if it had conflicted. I got an email back from him today after I had turned down Forever Plaid... but I'm still glad that I did turn it down.

Hello Nathan

Please take advantage of the Forever Plaid contract offer.  We have a few more steps in the process on this end.  I have more auditions, plus a review of the current cast with the Show Director.

I am very happy you came in.  You are on my radar for sure.

Thanks again.

Now this is a perfect example of a company that I would love to work for. He is honest. He lets me know that it will still be awhile before he can consider me and that the contract won't begin at least until March. But also he shares that he is thinking about me as a future employee. It's people like these that make a company run proficiently.  

Red Flags!

On my last blog I posted about how I accepted an offer for Forever Plaid, which is true but today, I decided to turn down the offer. This weekend has been so crazy in the sense of going back and forth with my decision. I got the offer on Friday and then got the contract on Saturday. Right when I got the offer on Friday I looked up the website Non Equity Deputy - it's a website that has all of the regional theaters and there are reviews from performers who have worked there. About 97% of the reviews for this company were all negative, some of them included how their paychecks would bounce! Red Flag. As I looked over the contract on Saturday, I found some red flags, like... some of the dates were incorrect, some of the spelling was wrong, there is a no cell phone rule in dressing rooms and in rehearsal/theatre space. If you get caught with your cell phone - you will get fined for $15. These are Red Flags!! So... I copied all of the issues I had in the contract and pasted them in an email and asked questions about them. He, being the artistic director and president of the company, immediately emailed me back questioning why I had questions about the contract. His tone was very short and rude. Red Flag. I decided to call some theater friends in hopes they had heard about this theater. Luckily two of my buddies had worked there this past Christmas. They had mixed feelings. One of them said the management was terrible and rude - he thought about quitting in the middle of rehearsals several times. Red Flag. However, he explained that my experience probably wouldn't be as bad as his because I would have a guest director come in as opposed to mean rude guy being over us. I had previously looked up the director of the Forever Plaid show and found some really great things about him. He's worked for many companies and has a great rep in the industry. Now I was torn. Do I say yes to something for the fact that I would be performing again and with a great director? Do I say yes to something even though I know the management is horrible and my paychecks may bounce? Do I say yes to something that is going to take me away from my wife and life here in the city and take me away from the busiest time of year auditioning? There were way more negatives than positives at this point. On Saturday night I explain to the company that I would like a couple of days to decide and asked if I could have until Tuesday evening. I get an email back on Sunday morning saying this;
Nathan,
We cannot wait. We will need your answer by NOON today.
Notice how that is all it said... there was no - we really want you to be apart of this production or we understand this is a big decision but we can't give you until Tuesday, we need an answer as soon as possible. I mean this guy isn't trying hard at all to make me want to work for him!  
Red Flag.
So since I'm still not 100% of deciding. I choose to not respond to his email and decide to take time to think about all of my options.

The thing about our career is - it takes time for great things to happen. Seeds need to be planted, and that is what Whitney and I have been doing. We've been living in the city for one full year now. We both have been given offers that we've turned down because we need to be smart! Just because someone offers you a contract to perform doesn't necessarily mean it will further your career. We are both non equity... we are striving to become equity. Now, if we get offered a non equity show, it needs to be worth our time and effort. Also it needs to be something we want on our resume. Sometimes it's better to turn down a contract (even a performing one) to further your career. Right now is the audition season. It would be foolish of me to break away from that unless it's a contract giving me my equity card or giving me lots of money or doing amazing things for my resume. None of these things were true for me for this specific contract. I need to be networking and auditioning!
After long thinking and calling many people for advice I was beginning to feel like I had to turn this offer down. It was strange I felt like my gut and my heart were telling me to walk away but my brain was like... but it's a paying gig of doing a great show with a great director...

Our friends Anton and Courtney came over last night and cooked us dinner... amazing! After that we watched the first video of the Truth Project. This is a new video series we are starting with our small group on Monday evenings. Last week we couldn't go so we got caught up last night. It was so amazing. What is truth? Is it our perception of feeling good? Is it when we lack the feeling of guilt? What is truth? The video explored that truth is the Lord's perception of reality! WOW! Well... what is the perception of the Lord's reality? Just because we may think something is true doesn't mean that is what the Lord sees. Just because we may not like someone for being arrogant or unwelcoming doesn't mean that is what the truth is. Our perception of reality is so different than the true reality. It also says that Jesus came to Earth to testify the truth. When answering that question... Why did Jesus come to earth? I immediately think... to save us! Yes... but it is so much more profound than that. He came to testify the truth! Okay!!

After taking time to let the offer of Forever Plaid soak in, I knew the Lord was revealing the answer to me. The Reg Flags have been confirmed. I am to turn down the offer. When I woke up today, Monday, I emailed the company and thanked them for the opportunity but decided to turn them down. He immediately responds with:

We already replaced you.
Thank you.

All I could do was laugh. First of all... it is very unprofessional to give someone else the role when I hadn't given them a final answer. And yes... they did say they needed an answer by noon on Sunday but don't you think it would have been appropriate for them to have called me sometime yesterday saying we really need an answer or we will be offering it to someone else? What if I didn't check my email? It's a Sunday after all. I shouldn't have to give any answer on a weekend. Let us please wait on a business day. I'm so glad I am not working for them! When I told my mom, she said.. I bet he is lying... I bet they didn't actually replace you yet, he just wanted to be rude and make it seem like, too bad for you. All I can do is just shake my head and laugh.

I feel very good about my decision. And I also am getting very excited about the Superbowl. I am not much of a sports fan. I never have been. I like playing sports and watching live games, but just never got into the whole lets watch it live on tv and be stressed out and blah blah blah. However, yesterday was fun because ever since I was young my football team have been the Packers. Mainly because a lot  of my friends were obsessed with them. So I decided to claim they were my team as well. After all the drama with Brett Favre - I'm so glad Packers are on the right track now, Aaron Rodgers is such a smart quarterback. The game between them and the Bears was so exciting and now that they will be in the Superbowl it makes me so thrilled.

Successful Week

Monday morning: Whitney and I wake up at 4:30am for Disney World open call! We get there at 6am and we are the first ones there!!! Yippee!! After waiting for 4 hours, we get seen. Whitney is number 1 and I'm number 2. They told us that we would be told if they wanted to call us back in the room. Whitney was in and out, no callback. I went in and got a callback for Marlin (Nemo's overprotective father in the show Finding Nemo at the Animal Kingdom). I was super stoked!!
All night - I prepare the Marlin sides (one short scene, 2 songs) and get them memorized. Whitney helps me and coaches me... this is where being married to someone who is in your field becomes very handy! Thank you Jesus! 

Tuesday: Go in for my callback. Things went extremely well. Casting director, Ray was super awesome and directed me and gave me pointers and then they video taped me. After all said and done - he told me that I would know within 2 weeks. Then he asked about my wife.... "beautiful blonde?" He gave me his card and told me to tell Whitney to email him so that they could set up a time on Thursday to have her audition for Ariel. I was so excited. Ray said that if I get the offer for "Finding Nemo" he would want Whitney to be considered for employment at Disney. So instead of waiting around for 2 weeks and look at her then, he thought of doing it right away!

Wednesday: Whitney still hasn't heard back from Ray on when to come in for her audition. That night we go over the Ariel sides... and she went ahead and downloaded the sides for Nemo and Voices of Liberty because she would also be perfect for either of those shows. Now we tag team... and I help her memorize and coach her.

Thursday: Whitney never gets an email back... so... she goes to the audition studio and tells the monitor what is going on. Ray gives her the time and says thank you for coming in! He only has time to hear the Ariel scene and song. Everything goes very smoothly. They videotape her and he gave her positive reinforcement.
While all of that is going on. I'm at Chelsea Studios auditioning for "Forever Plaid" a men's quartet show that I got an appointment for. I went in and got a callback! Came back later and sang with 15 other guys so they could hear blend, etc.
That day - I also got seen for Sunset Blvd - musical by Andrew Loyd Weber, equity contract.
Whitney and Maria also both got seen! What a successful day!!

Friday / Today: I get an offer for "Forever Plaid," and I accept! Yay - I got a job! It's non equity and rehearsals start February 1st! There are 8 performances in total, the last two weekends. The gig is very similar to Altar Boyz at the Palace theater. I will be in Cohoes, NY, roughly about 3 hours north of Manhattan. It's about 20 minutes north of Albany.
Tonight Whit and I are going to our friend Marissa's 25th Birthday Party!

Recalculating

Nathan's Post:

I ran 2 miles today and felt really great. I think I could have run more but I get soo bored when I'm running. One of my goals is to be somewhat of a runner - by February I want to be able to run 4 miles without excruciating pain. This year so far as been going well. I feel like I'm able to get the things done that I want to get done. I am trying to have a proactive mind and attitude - or Nike's - JUST DO IT. Since my schedule is the most chill, all I do is audition and pass out Billy Elliot flyers. I have a lot more free time on my hands which is such a blessing. I have watched many movies. Including; Salt - the one with Angelina Jolie - it was really good, Wallstreet Money never Sleeps - very confusing and very confusing, Easy A - it was fun and better than I thought, Surrogates - with Bruce Willis - not bad and interesting concept, Eat.Pray.Love - really bad, Going the Distance - with Drew Barrymore - Whit and I really liked this but it was pretty vulgar. Every Little Step - this is a documentary on the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line" we watched it on our Netflix on the wii console - if you have time and want to learn about our careers - watch it!! Incredible. Wanting to see 127 Hours with James Franco - about rock climber who cuts his own arm off because it gets stuck.
I just finished reading Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper - holy cow was that depressing! Now I'm reading The Glass Castle, I'm on page 22 and I'm already intrigued.

There have been many many auditions that Whitney and I have been attending. The first week of January was rough for me because I got pretty sick and didn't have much of a voice at all. We are still fighting the fact that we are non equity and 75% of the auditions that we go to we get turned away because of our status but not because of our talent. We know that we are just as good as any of those equity actors. How will we get our equity card? We ask ourselves that everyday - some days it seems nearly impossible because so many auditions won't see us. The Lord has a plan for us and we are just following His path. A friend of mine says that when we steer away from God's plan He says "recalculating" just like the GPS - I find that so encouraging. Even in our mistakes or when we make wrong decisions the Lord just recalculates our journey so that we end up at the same place regardless. Isn't that a cool thought?

Whitney is doing extremely well and I'm so excited to see what the Lord reveals to her. Whitney is still doing Angelina Ballerina but in a different theatre and a different location. She is now performing in the Union Square Theatre in Union Square which is downtown Manhattan near 14 Street. The theatre holds about 500 seats which means she only has 3 shows every weekend since they can fill more people in the space. It is now considered an actual Off Broadway show. They are getting legit playbills for their show and in all of the Playbills for the Broadway shows - they list the Broadway and Off Broadway shows in the back of the program and hers will be listed under Off Broadway. Isn't that fantastic? We hope this means that more agencies and important people in the industry will come see her show. Whitney just got hired to do work study at Steps which is a dance studio. She will be working there 8 hours a week in exchange for discounted classes. Each dance class for one hour is $17 and for her it will be $3.50! She is stoked to be training again. She is babysitting 2 families pretty randomly. One of her families - the dad is the composer of Angelina Ballerina and his wife the mom is a director and has asked Whitney to be a co-casting assistant for her. Needless to say Whitney will be keeping pretty busy.

Look Back on 2010

January - Moved to NYC! Took Disney trip with Garmon's. Visited Iowa.
February - Auditioned. Got jobs at Make Meaning, Pottery Studio.
March - Auditioned. Background work for Film. Teddie and Abby = first visitors.
April - Auditioned. Garmon's visit. Bunch's visit. Italian Easter in New Jersey.
May - Auditioned. Got roles in Sweeney Todd in New Jersey. Sweeney Todd got cancelled.
June - Auditioned. Nathan's 24th Birthday.
July - Auditioned. Visited Tennessee - celebrated 4th of July. Visited Iowa.
August - Auditioned. Whitney's 23rd Birthday. Sam moves to NYC. Nathan gets cast in Altar Boyz. Whitney gets cast in Angelina Ballerina.
September - Our niece Marley is born! Go to Iowa for Kelsy's wedding. Nathan goes to New Hampshire. Whitney visits Tennessee. 1 year Anniversary in NH. Both quit Make Meaning. Altar Boyz opens.
October - Auditioned. Meyer's visit. Angelina Ballerina opens. Altar Boyz closes. Halloween, friends visit.
November - Auditioned. Nathan gets cast in Scrooge in Concert. Get's Billy Elliot advertisement job. Thanksgiving in New York with Sam and his mom Sara. Macy Day Parade.
December - Auditioned. Scrooge Tour. Christmas cheer in the city. Iowa. Tennessee. NYC for New Year's Eve with friends.

What a great year!

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