13 Opens School Matinee Tomorrow & then Friday

I’ve been in 12 theatre productions and have to say 13 is one of my favorites. The music is great and the show is awesome. I’ve had a lot of fun with this cast. We’ve hung out together at Dave & Busters and other places. Some of us even sang the national anthem at the Dynamo Game. This makes the scenes where we are friends on the show seem more real because we’ve gotten to know each other. I’m the only actual 13 year old in the show but the cast has been great. I can relate to some of the things in the show like Evan planning his party. I had to decide where I should have my big 13th birthday party. I ended up having a laser tag party. It was a big decision where I should have it so I understand why the party place is such a big deal to Evan.

My character in 13 is Archie. He is living with a disabling disease but has such a great sense of humor about it. He laughs at himself to make others feel more comfortable. I don’t have to live with anything as serious as that but being a guy who likes to sing, dance and act can be tough at times because kids will make fun of you and want to know what sport you do or when you’re going to take a break to focus on something like athletics or just hanging out. I won a comedic monologue contest a year ago doing a spin on a bully wanting me to teach him to dance since the school dance was coming up so like Archie I’ve learned to laugh with others about it. That’s a great thing about being in an all teen cast where all of us have tons of the same interests. I know no one will make fun of me for singing or dancing.

I think the parents who see the show will get some insight in to how much pressure there is to fit in at school, make the grade, get a date, etc. For the teens who see the show I hope they’ll see in the end it doesn’t matter how many friends you have but the quality of the friendships you have. My biggest hope is that those who see the show will be nicer to those who seem a little different. I just got to spend some time in California with a girl who had muscular dystrophy like Archie in the show has. Even though she has struggles with upper body movements, she was just like me – likes to sing, swim, laugh and hates homework. It made me appreciate no matter what we look like on the outside, it’s how we act and who we are that counts.

Interviews About Playing a Character with MD and Meeting an MD Survivor

In the musical 13 I'm playing a boy who has MD. I've been doing some research about MD to make my character more realistic. I even met a finalist at The All Star Planet gala who sang for MD because she was recently diagnosed with it. She's living with a disability and has such a great attitude. She sang I Will Survive. I've gotten to do two interviews this week (one with the Houston Chronicle and the other with Houston Family Magazine) to promote 13 and talk about playing a character with MD. I've been excited to share with them Sybil's story. Sybil is the real star and my prayers are with her as she leaves the glamor of LA to have surgery because of her MD. Sybil I'm giving you a standing ovation and asking anyone reading to consider donating to the Jerry Lewis Telethon Labor Day Weekend.

Back to School

I go to a great school - Logos Preparartory Academy - where I only go to class on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Today was first day of classes. I still have work to do at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays and also on the weekends but this gives me some freedom like tomorrow to go to an acting lesson or Thursday to go to a voice lesson when most kids are in school and just get my work done around my schedule. Since school was starting and I've been busy working too my parents have been good about building in time for fun. I already wrote about going to Splash Town last Monday. Tuesday took a friend to audition and headshots and then dinner with me and then had another friend sleepover and play video games. We hung out Wednesday until I had to go to photo shoot. Thursday played some Laser tag with friends before rehearsal. Friday went with friends to Brenahm, TX before rehearsal to Bluebell factory for tour and then lunch. Sunday bowling with friends and tonight after a school assembly Dave & Busters with some of the cast of 13. It's a busy life but also a lot of fun.

Mission Days

I'm in between shows right now so took the time this week to do some mission work with my church and have some fun. Monday we took a group to the Boys & Girls Ranch and painted a new fence they had. It was hot! Tuesday spent some time at a Food Pantry/Resale Shop cleaning up and then cleaned a church at Beasley. Today spent the afternoon swimming after all the hard work. It felt good to help others this week and last as I helped with Vacation Bible School last week.

Got to Meet Aaron Sorkin

Last night I got to meet Aaron Sorkin, writer of The Farnsworth Invention and The West Wing, A Few Good Men, etc. He had a question and answer session where he talked about how he came up with the idea for Farnsworth, how he likes dialogue, and how he got started writing. Then the actors got to meet him backstage. It's been great in this play to work with one of the top directors, David Cromer and now to get to meet Aaron Sorkin.

Why I Hate School Projects

This past week and continuing on into this week I've had 2 big school projects. Trying to get projects done with normal homework and life is hard enough but then add in the following: Learning lines and driving to Austin for a movie callback audition, rehearsing for 2 shows downtown, practicing for a piano recital, going to church, and actually just having a little fun. Then we have to add about 15 hours for 1 project and I've worked over 2 hours on the other and a lot more to go. Plus now finals are coming up. I cannot wait for a summer break but then my mom will probably have projects around the house for me to do.

Win Some/ Lose Some

So I auditioned at the opera today and they already sent an email that I did not make it to the final 2. That is the way this business is. I get Farnsworth and then I don't get the opera. I did the jingle recording then had to go back and redo in a higher key. Now waiting on that. I auditioned for a movie in February for a supporting role and then Friday get an email they now want me to read for the lead. I'm now busy preparing for the Tuesday movie audition. It's an up and down business where you are celebrating one minute and dealing with disappointment the next.

My Other Life

Anyone reading this blog might think I only focus on my career but not true. Right now I'm on my school's track team. We had 2 meets this week and am I ever sore. I also love to play basketball and played in a church league this year that won the championship. I'm lucky I got to be a starter because on my school team I had to miss so many practices and games, I did not get to play much, but I still had fun. My sister and I got a new goal for Christmas and I shoot a lot of baskets. I also enjoy playing video games. I have a WII, PSP, Play Station III, and GameBoy DS and an Apple Computer that I also play on. For my 13th birthday I got Rock Band II for the PS3 so have been playing that a lot lately. When we were in New York we went to Nintendo World and I got some games that had not come out yet. Other things I do are skateboard, facebook, text, and listen to my IPOD. I hang out with friends and watch movies with my family. Unfortunately, I do homework too. So I do work hard but I play hard too.

Seeing A Show You Auditioned For

Last night I'm watching Disney Channel and I see the show I auditioned for. I even see the guy performing the same lines I had to say. He was older than me which gives me some comfort but it also really makes you want to get the part when you see the show. It's a weird feeling and hard to describe. He played it much different than I did in my audition. It's so different in an audition as you are on your mark and not moving around plus the person I was reading with was off camera. It's humbling to see someone else performing it though.

A Night Out with the Rockets & the Jazz

This week my school got to play basketball at the Toyota Center. After the afternoon game, my mom, my friend, and I were killing time until the Rockets started. We were going to have dinner at House of Blues when we noticed a bus in front of the Intercontinental Hotel. We went over and got autographs from some of the Utah Jazz players. I got my tennis shoes signed. Their center was really nice. A guy standing there felt sorry for us and got us a couple of blocks of wood to get signed and another guy loaned us a sharpie. Then we had dinner (the chocolate cake for dessert was awesome) at House of Blues and watched the Rockets win. It was good to have a night just to relax.

The Reason It's Called "Heck" Week

There is a reason the technical rehearsal week, usually the time right before show opening, is called "heck" week. It is long, late rehearsal nights. We've been rehearsing until 11:30 most nights this week. With the drive home and then having to get a bath I have been getting to bed between 12:30 and 1:00 and then having school and homework to get done. There are a lot of starts and stops while they work out all the technical details of the show. You end up redoing things over and over. Tech week officially ended today and I'm glad. Now we just have final dress rehearsal before the show opens Friday night.

Got the Mac

I got the Mac and uploaded files from the video camera easily but then got an error when uploading to Youtube so the technical problems continue. I'll have to work on it next week after tech week ends at the opera. I am going to start going for training beginning with garage band so I can start getting some music to some of the lyrics I've written and also work on updating some 80s songs. When I get some training down I think it will be helpful to me and my sister is also liking how easy to use the photo functions. It has a built in mike so I can also start working on some voiceovers which is another part of this business.

Compassion International

Tonight while blogging and reading other blogs I see that Compassion International has a blog. My family also sponsors a child from Compassion International in Bolivia. We sponsored Jeanette for 8 years until she moved out of the compassion sponsorship area. I picked Jeanette when I was 3 years old. My mom showed me lots of pictures and I picked hers. My mom was surprised and asked why I picked a girl instead of a boy. I replied she did not have a smile and I wanted to see her smile. For awhile Jeanette had to be separated from her mother as her mother had to move to find work. She lived without running water and was so excited when the school got showers so she could shower at school. After 9 years of sponsorship, Jeanette was smiling in the photo we received and ready to go live with her mother. Compassion did not have any area where she moved. Therefore, she dropped out of the program but she'd been a joy to correspond with. Now we sponsor Marina, also from Bolivia, and my mom picked her because her birthday is Christmas Day. Marina is who my sister's school class is going to make cards for tomorrow and we're going to send them all to her. Our family has been greatly blessed by our involvement with compassion. We love getting letters from our sponsored child and learning about Bolivia. To all reading it seems a lot to sponsor a child, but it is a small amount for the things they can get with even small amounts of money. What a great Christmas gift that gives all year long - sponsor a child today.

Recording CD

Today, I spent part of the afternoon recording a Christmas CD to give as gifts. It's always awesome working with Tan Troung at West Side Recording Studio. He knows how to get the best out of my singing and has tons of patience when I have to fix things. I love that about recording a CD because if you mess up, you can just fix in on the spot. No worries. Today was neat because my sister and her friend got to sing back up on one of the songs. If you need any recording work done check out West Side Recording Studio. His blog is on my page.

An Off Week

This week I've been sick with asthma which has really messed things up. I was going to record a Christmas CD Tuesday but got to studio and just couldn't get my voice to cooperate so I had to quit. At the Alley I had hard time being loud enough without coughing. Wednesday night I was suppose to rehearse my solo for Sunday morning at our church and also had a rough time with my voice even though doing breathing treatments. Tonight I did not get a solo at the audition at the opera but a cover instead. I don't know that I can blame that on the asthma but it's disappointing any way. I'm hoping I'm recoverd for Saturday Christmas Carol and my Sunday solo.