JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Hey guys!! We are becoming quite the lazy bloggers. It gets to be so difficult when there are so many social media websites that pretty much updates our lives for us. Do people still read this? Should we continue posting? Or is it redundant since everything is pretty much on facebook.

Anyway - we thought we would tell you a little bit about Joseph here in Lancaster PA and post some pictures. The show is a lot of fun! We opened last night with a sold out audience. The community here is so supportive and hungry for entertainment which makes our jobs so much easier.

Again, Whitney and I are extremely blessed to be sharing the stage together in this song and dance filled show about the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis in the Bible. It's an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. They actually wrote this as their thesis project and didn't become a huge hit until after Jesus Christ Superstar was produced.

This will be my 3rd time doing the production. I did it once as a kid and again my senior year of high school. It's been so rewarding being able to do it professionally. The Fulton theatre is where I got my equity card last year and the staff treats the actors so well!

Here are some pictures from the show and from the party last night.

Met Gala

I (Nathan) catered the Met Gala on Monday evening and little did I know that I was going to be serving A-list Celebrities. It was at the Metropolitan Museum on the Upper East Side. You guys, I saw Madonna, Beyonce, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Jessica Parker, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz, Gweneth Paltrow, J-Lo, Ryan Murphy, Julianne Moore, Taylor Swift, Jennier Lawrence, Katy Perry, Emma Watson, Amanda Seyfried, Olsen twins (they looked terrible, they looked like creatures from another planet, soo thin and zombie esk) and the list goes on and on. The event was BEAUTIFUL. Anna Wintour the chief editor of Vogue was the person that put this event together. She is the top dog in deciding who gets invited every year. This a BIG fashion night. The theme was 80s Punk. Some of the outfits were crazy, spikes every where. The table that I served were all board directors - so no one I recognized, but it was VIP table so they were right next to the Beyonce and Madonna table. I was feet away from these celebrities trying to pick up on their conversations/mannerisms. Ryan Murphy (big time producer/director/writer) he created the tv shows Glee and American Horror Story locked eyes with mine and I immediately thought... "PLEASE CAST ME" too bad we were forbidden to talk to any of the guests:(

Honestly, everyone there, I thought looked even more glamorous than they do on film. I thought, wow, movies aren't doing these people justice. You always think the pictures are so retouched and that no one looks that good in real life. I thought the opposite. The next day after the event I looked up some pictures on yahoo of the red carpet. And 99% of the celebrities looked prettier in person. Cameron Diaz looked flawless. I never find her that attractive in movies, but in real life, she looked as if she drank from the fountain of youth. Out of everyone that was there, it seemed as though the 2 brightest stars were Beyonce and Sarah Jessica Parker. They just had a presence about them that everyone was drawn to. Not to mention that Beyonce is one of the most talented performers of all time...

Catering an event can be very exhausting. You're on your feet all night, you are not familiar with the menu because it's a different Catering company everytime you work. AND... you don't get to eat food until after the event is over and everything is cleaned up. We had to serve the celebrities in French Style. I had not a clue what this was, but its when the waiter plates the food from their left. Picture this... 100+staff waiters all wearing tuxes, carrying a tray of food and squeezing in between A LIST CELEBRITIES to get to your assigned table and then having to squeeze through to bend down a bit to plate the food onto their plate. It was SOO awkward and nerve racking.

Here are some red carpet pics from online.

True Video

This video literally illustrates the conversations we've had with people who have NO clue about the business. I laugh out loud everytime I watch this!

I'm sure some of you may be guilty of asking these questions... it's totally fine, it's apart of what we go through. I hope you find it as funny as I did.

Our BRAND NEW WEBSITES!

Since the past few years Whitney and I have had websites that have actually gotten us numerous jobs thanks to Whitney's mom! Shirley is probably the most up to date tech savvy person I know, and I'm so fortunate that she is willing and able to help us with our websites. She built ours completely by scratch... the only problem was that if and when we wanted to change or update our websites we would have to tell her every little detail. This became difficult since we didn't know exactly what we wanted... 

After much research and discussion we all decided that wix.com was a great website builder and Whitney and I began the process of creating our own from scratch and Shirley then linked our website domain to the new wix.com site. There is soooo much to learn about websites and the internet and domains... etc etc. I will NEVER understand how HACKERS can HACK!!!! Haha, well anyway below are the links to our new websites and please take a stroll through them and tell us what you think:) They took a very long time. And we are both so proud of them. 

www.whitneymeyer.com

www.nathanmeyeronline.com

Opening Night of ANN on Broadway

      I just started a new side job here in the city. I sell merchandise for Ann, a new play on Broadway at Lincoln Center and also for Stomp, the Off Broadway show.
    Ann is based on Ann Richards, a once governor of Texas who had a big personality. Holland Taylor is the actress who portrays Ann and is the only character and actor in this 2 hour production. She also is the playwright, and did I mention she is 70 years old. SO AMAZING!
     Opening night was this past Thursday night and the producers were kind enough to invite the house staff including the ushers, bar staff and merchandise sellers (thats me!). This means that I was thrown into a gorgeous party at the PLAZA HOTEL with guests attending such as Anne Hathaway, Gloria Steinem, Laura Linney, and I'm sure many more that I just didn't recognize in person. There was a huge open bar, open buffet, and a pianist playing all night. It looked like a beautiful wedding reception. I just kept thinking..."Is this what it is like to attend an opening night party on Broadway?" (lets hope this experience is a foreshadowing of things to come for me and Nathan, hA!)

      The only awkward thing was that I didn't know a single soul in the room. I had my drink in my hand (because that always makes you look like you belong somehow) and I just kept watching people. I finally recognized someone and found out that he had attended Belmont University! What are the chances? We had graduated the same year, and he was a Music Business major. He worked on the advertising for the show Ann and was leaving advertising to pursue a performing career. I was thankful to have a friend at the party, and we both tried to find a way to meet up with Anne Hathaway, of course! :)
      Anne was bombarded with many people. She was talking and smiling non stop to everyone who came up to her. I'm pretty certain most of the people who greeted her were people that she had met before. I was practicing in my head what I would say to her just in case we were to meet, but she ended up leaving about an hour after she arrived. I'm sure she was exhausted from all the attention.
      I stayed for about 2.5 hours and then finally went home. It was a magical night. I don't know if I'll ever forget walking home in the snow in my red coat and black heels after being at the same party as Anne Hathaway at the Plaza Hotel.

       

February Calendar Auditions

Some of you have asked how many auditions we go to in a week. This number of course varies, but on average it's like 3 or 4 a week. Here is a picture of our Feb. calendar... now these are just auditions that we put in ourselves that we are right for. Meaning, every single one of these auditions - we think, we could be cast in according to our age, voice type, etc. We find auditions on free websites. There are a few that cost money to use, but we don't use them.

99% of these in Feb. were auditions for Equity Regional Theatres. The only Broadway audition was for the show Aladdin. Yes, the Disney movie Aladdin we all know and love is coming to Broadway in 2014. Now, they pretty much have their cast already because they did a sit down in Utah kind of like a showcase, very much like the Boston "Bombshell" part at the end of Season 1 in Smash for those of you who watch that show. So, it's kind of pointless to audition for Aladdin, but then again, you never know what might happen and apparently they were calling some females back for the role of Jasmine... I did audition but heard nothing:(

Examples: Feb. 7th Westchester Broadway - now this isn't a Broadway show called Westchester.. it's an Equity Theatre doing a season of shows in Westchester, NY and their theatre is called Westchester Broadway Theatre. Or... WBT. The more we've been in the business the more we learn about these theatres. It's crazy because this is where the majority of actors get work. It's not on Broadway or even Off-Broadway, it's Regional Theatre all around the country. They book gigs and travel to and from location doing different shows. For instance, many many Broadway veterans who can't get work on Broadway go to these auditions for Regional Theatres and hope to book out, not only to build their resume but to earn income and keep their health insurance. Being an actor is HARD! If, for instance Whitney or myself get on Broadway, it doesn't mean our careers are set and finally taking off forever. It means, finally, we have ONE GREAT credit on our resume and if the show or contract ends, than we'd be right back on our feet auditioning again like every other person. 

It's very true when so many people even our mentors have said, "If you're good at anything else, choose that as your career." Can you believe that advice? I remember hearing this from teachers. Well, I actually can't recall if I personally heard this from a teacher or if someone else told me they heard this from a teacher. Regardless though, it's an intense statement. 

I remember in high school when I heard about 2 people much older than me who had given up Musical Theatre and decided to teach. I thought, "How can they quit? They were sooo incredible? I looked up to their talent and their ambitions... that will never be me!" Now, that I'm in the middle of everything, I can totally give those 2 people grace. Because so much rejection in a week, a month, a few months... it takes a toll on your spirit. But, there is still a fire within me that is not completely blown out and as long as I have a fight in me - I gotta keep going. No regrets right? 

You know when you play Club Cranium and you get the answer wrong and then your team moves on the slow track? That's how it feels. Every rejection is like we are back on the slow track and all we want is an offer so that for awhile we can be on the fast track.  

Living the Dream............

Being an actor is not easy. Sometimes our life can seem glamorous or, "all fun and no work." But to be honest... it sucks.

Let me rephrase, it sucks when you're not working. Because when you're not working, it means you're busting your butt in Manhattan auditioning for as many shows as humanly possible. Sometimes you feel like a robot, a machine, an emotional rollercoaster - constantly and anxiously waiting... waiting for your 60 seconds of glory when you get to sing a 16 bar cut of a song you have no idea if it'll even come out right because your vocal chords haven't properly been warmed up. You get to sing 16 measures of a song you have no idea if they hate or not, or if it's way overdone, or if it's even right for the role they might be picturing you in. After your 60 seconds of glory, you get a "thank you" or if you're lucky, a question... "are you currently living in the city?" or "do you have anything uptempo?" or "do you consider yourself a dancer?" or my favorite, "do the song again, but this time really focus on one point in the room."

This is what we get to do. Audition. I have wished so many times that I could have a discreet video camera recording what our lives are like. I mean it's just ridiculous. There are THOUSANDS of VERY TALENTED people doing and striving for the same dream that we possess. The competition is FIERCE and it's shoved in our faces 100% full throttle every single day. There are women strewn about the audition holding room, curling or straightening their hair, putting on make-up, catching up with friends, or stretching for a dance call. There are monitors yelling out people's names who are next in line.  It's never quiet. It's never peaceful. You are sizing people up around you, judging what they're wearing, what you yourself is wearing. Should I be here? Am I wasting my time? What the heck am I going to sing? Their headshots are incredible... mine are terrible! Or... wow... I don't have any resumes with me... I came all this way and forgot to print out more resumes, crap, I guess I have to leave. OR... what? They're typing? Which means... if a LOAD of people are there - the casting director may decide to do a typing, which refers to, gathering everyone's headshot and resumes and picking the ones they think they want to hear. All the rest are rejected and don't get to audition. So after waiting for hours - you get told that they don't want to see you. This mainly only happens to Non-Equity but still it happens and it has happened to Whit and me numerous times. It truly feels so rewarding when you get typed in, you think, "Yes! My headshot IS good and my resume ISN'T all THAT terrible.." and then when you get typed out, you think, "Wow, I need to find a different passion." Haha, oh my, the constant rollercoaster of thoughts.

Whenever Whitney and I feel down or depressed, we'll say that we have the blues. And it's the immediate challenge to uplift each other by saying positive things... and if that doesn't work.... we go get donuts or sushi.