The Ambassador

So, in a week and a half, we have put the whole show together! That's right folks, in less then 2 weeks we had the whole show done, and so we've have just taken these last couple days to piece it together, and run thru a full show. Man talk about using every minute of your time. The director Larry Fuller said, it took them 4 weeks to put it up on Broadway. And We have now gotten a couple compliments from the music director about how this is the best ensemble she's had for this show, which is pretty awesome to hear.

So now that we are in running the show mode, different things happen. We are now far enough in our process to put in our understudies for our principles. Which is really an awesome place so far to be in. Also we have mad cleaning rehearsals where we just pick the dances apart piece by piece and make sure every arm is turned out, and even every body angle the same. We also work on our character and acting choices thru out the whole dance, and the motivation, or better yet, language in each movement. And will have certain people come watch it. Like today we had 2 older men who were cast members from the original productions watch and give us great compliments .

The most exciting thing is that we leave for our Tech rehearsals on Thursday of next week! Our Techs are in Chattanooga TN. And we stay at the historical Chattanooga choochoo hotel, hahahaha. We are all very excited about this, for so many of us are already living out of one bag, and crashing on the floor, or couches in friends living rooms, and we're just dying for a real bed. That said, I'd like to introduce you to my roommate on Tour, his name is Trip! He is very fun, and keeps us laughing and smiling. He is one of the dancers too.

I have to have someone to represent me on tour, primarily in all the pictures, and kind of of mascot. You know like the garden gnome that is the spokesperson for travelosity. So meet Tigore, (actually it's just eeyore dressed up as his best friend tigger). Now this is a great representation of me, cause I am very excited, and playful like tigger, but very deep and pensive like EEyore. So I will have Eeyore take a picture in each city we go too.

The Long Awaited Itenerary

EVITA NATIONAL TOUR 2007-2008

as of Aug 25,

2007Sep 13&14 - Chattanooga, TN

Sep 18 - Cedar Rapids, IA
Sep 19 - Rolla, MO
Sep 20&21 - Paducah, KY
Sep 23 - Cedar Falls, IA
Sep 24 - Platteville, WI
Sep 25 - Houghton, MI
Sep 26 - Rockford, IL
Sep 27 - Ames, IA
Sep 28 - Mason City, IA
Sep 29 - Davenport, IA
Sep 30 - St. Joseph, MO
....................Oct 2&3 - Jackson, MS
Oct 4 - Lafayette, LA
Oct 5 - Baton Rouge, LA
Oct 6 - Orange, TX
Oct 7 - Galveston, TX
Oct 9 - Mobile, AL *
Oct 10 - Niceville, FL
Oct 11 - Athens, GA
Oct 12&13 - Greensboro, NC
Oct 14&15 - Macon, GA
Oct 16 - Tallahassee, FL
Oct 17 - Daytona Beach, FL
Oct 18 - West Palm Beach, FL
Oct 19&20 - Gainesville, FL
Oct 22 - Ft. Smith, AR
Oct 24 - Pueblo, CO
Oct 25&26 - Colorado Springs, CO
Oct 27 - Cheyenne, WY
Oct 28 - Casper, WY
Oct 29&30 - Rapid City, SD
Oct 31 - Bozeman, MT
....................Nov 2 - Great Falls, MT
Nov 3&4 - Billings, MT
Nov 7 - Escondido, CA *
Nov 8 - Santa Barbara, CA
Nov 9&10 - Long Beach, CA
Nov 14&15 - Arcata, CA
Nov 16&17 - Eugene, OR
Nov 18 - Medford, OR
Nov 24&25 - Yountville, CA
Nov 30 - Modesto, CA
....................Dec 1&2 - Modesto, CA
Dec 4&5 - Fresno, CA
Dec 7-9 - Reno, NV
Dec 11 - Albuquerque, NM *
Dec 12 El Paso, TX
Dec 13 - Alto, NM
Dec 14&15 - Maricopa County, AZ
....................Jan 8 - Lima, OH
Jan 10 - Lowell, MA
Jan 11&12 - New London, CT
Jan 13 - Bronx, NY
Jan 15&16 - North Charleston, SC
Jan 17 - Pembroke, NC
Jan 18&19 - Baltimore, MD
Jan 20 - Greenvale, NY
Jan 22-24 - Kalamazoo, MI
Jan 25&26 - Akron, OH
Jan 27 - West Lafayette, IN
Jan 28 - Evansville, IN
Jan 29 - Columbia, MO
Jan 30 - Springfield, IL
Jan 31 - Ft. Wayne, IN
....................Feb 1&2 - South Bend, IN
Feb 4 - Sioux City, IA
Feb 5 - Sioux Falls, SD
Feb 7 - Wausau, WI
Feb 8-10 - Madison, WI
Feb 12 - Muncie, IN
Feb 14 - Roanoke, VA
Feb 15-17 - Lexington, KY
Feb 18 - Oxford, MS
Feb 20 - Abilene, TX
Feb 21 - Tyler, TX
Feb 22 - Waco, TX
Feb 23 - McAllen, TX
Feb 24 - Harlingen, TX
Feb 26 - Anniston, AL
Feb 27 - Jackson, TN
Feb 29 - Bloomington, IN
....................Mar 1 - Bloomington, IN
Mar 3 - North Bay, ON
Mar 4-9 - Ottawa, ON
Mar 10&11 - London, ON
Mar 13 - Augusta, GA
Mar 14 - Montgomery, AL
Mar 15 - Jacksonville, FL
Mar 16 - Melbourne, FL
Mar 24-30 - Thousand Oaks, CA
....................Apr 3 - Staten Island, NY *
Apr 4&5 - New Brunswick, NJ
Apr 6 - Brooklyn, NY
Apr 7 - Ogdensburg, NY
Apr 8 - York, PA
Apr 9&10 - State College, PA
Apr 11&12 - Buffalo, NY
Apr 13 - Bloomsburg, PA
Apr 15 - New Wilmington, PA
Apr 16 - Williamsport, PA
Apr 17 - Springfield, MA
Apr 18-20 - Scranton, PA
Apr 22 - Ashland, KY
Apr 23 - Champaign, IL
Apr 24-27 - Toledo, OH
Apr 28 - Morgantown, WV
Apr 29-30 - Syracuse, NY
....................May 1 - Syracuse, NY
May 2&3 - Portland, ME
May 4&5 - St. John, NB
May 7 - Pittsfield, MA
May 8 - Sewell, NJ
May 9-11 - Newport News, VA
May 13-18 - Wilmington, DE
May 27 - Joliet, IL
May 30&31 - Milwaukee, WI
....................Jun 2-4 - Winnipeg, MB *
Jun 13-15 - Regina, SK *
* not confirmed
all dates subject to change

The Process from Company to Family

Hello folks,

well we are now in week 2 of Evita rehearsal! Let me just say how absolutely awesome it is to be doing what I love to do, what I've dreamed of doing, and getting paid for it. Not much, but still enough to live off for this next year.

We finished ACt 1 and ran it the end of last week, went pretty well, and we will learn the rest of act 2 tomorow and actually have a stumble thru of act 2, So act 2 in only 3 days!!!! WOOWOO. So now we are more in the process of cleaning scenes, and tightening up dances, and we end up doing alot of quality work, in less time, so time is more spent on relational building, and getting to know each other. We are already finding the time to be goofy, and act a fool.

So getting to know each other has been fun, sometimes we go out to eat after rehearsal, or go walk around the city(though we like most actors can't stand time square), usual times of hangout happen to be at lunch though. I have already found a little sister. Her name is Liz, she actually is one of the understudies for Evita, fierce little dancer, with a huge voice. We've already taken a special liking to each other. It's amazing how certain people just click right in with each other.

It's funny though, since we're doing what we love to do, it doesn't feel like work. I keep hearing how during different times in rehearsal people have it dawned on them that we actually are going on tour. I was getting dinner with one guy named Munib, who is probably going to be my closest guy friend, before we headed to church after rehearsal, and I was relating to the guy behind the counter how we had just gotten off work, and Munib had another revelation that We WERE actually working. So let me just say this is really awesome! and I am so freakin excited.

We do have the full internary! woohoo, BUT,it is always subject to change, infact we got a new one the next day.hahaha. It will be hard for me to post where we're going to be cause I can't cut and paste, but I will try and place where we're going to be for each month. I will still take a picture from each city, and try to write about every show, but please bare with me, for we have 49 cities in 3 1/2 months. Yeehaw

the community developes

Ok folks,

so it's almost been a full week, and we are in full swing. We almost have the full act 1 learned. it has been a grueling process at times. We Had a full 2 hr history lessons the first day about the life of Eva Duarte,Peron, and about the history of the Broadway show. It is all stuff that is interesting and good to know, but it can be so boring. Our Director/choreographer is the original Broadway director/choreographer, so that is pretty freakin awesome.

There's 25 people in our cast, all pretty young folks, and for most of us it's our first tour, so we're all pretty excited to do this.

So we were learning the opening song from act 2 the other day, and I swear all of us wanted to just jump out of the window. It was 2 hrs of us saying the same one name over and over again. Peronperonperon, in all the weirdest most frustrating key changes imaginable. Oh it was so draining, and it was at the end of the day too, man at that point we were just giddy with tiredness, laughing at stupid stuff. But We an amazing cast of some great voices, it's probably one of the most talented choral groups I've ever sang with. I really felt like I didn't belong.But then us special dancers who were hired specially for dancing, got to finally put on our shoes and show why we are here.Yesterday and today we learned the biggest dance number of the show, called What's new Buenas Ares. Let me tell you after 3 hrs of lounging, and twisted wrists, and attitude jumps, our balls of our feet were screaming dogs. Talk about pain. Our Dance Assistant is awesome her name is Kim, and she has taught this show all over this country. Shes this great little women who just acts like she's one of the gang, and totally makes us all feel comfortable, and helps us have fun, and be ourselves. She's probably one of the people I get along best with. WE all wish she was going on tour with us but she'll leave us after out tech week, dang it! She always tells us of these fantastik, funny stories of things that have happened in her past productions.

Since the dancers have been slit up from every one else, there has been this growing sence of longing to see the other half of us, so whever we get breaks we try and find each other and see how everyone is. That's been cool to see, we're showing interest in each other, and an openess to get to know each other. People are starting to goof off a little more show more of how they have fun, and everyone is starting to say how excited they are to go out, and dance with everyone.

We finally will have our full company orientation tomorrow(friday) morning. Though for some reason it's real early. There will finally get all the info, and the full intenerary. I know it's been long time coming, but I should have it all posted on here within the next 2 days. Life here in NYC has been fun, and almost surreal.. Keep prayin I learn this stuff well.

This is Awesome!

NO this is really freakin Awesome!!!

Well yesterday, being sunday, I wanted to go to church, and especially cause I don't think I'm gonna have many opportunities to be able to go to a real service for the next 10 months or at least til break in december. Well my friend who I'm staying with( the beautiful Channie), reminded me about a church we had sun at back in college, so I was headed there, I looked online to make sure where it was and realized I didn't want to go to such a big corporate formality. So I started lookin on other sites to check out Churches, found one I'd thought I'd try, It was pretty good, oh but one thing. Now they had a woman do a dance to a worship song, and it was almost the saddest thing I had ever seen. Almost embarrassed to say that I was a dancer. Anyway, as I was having some refreshments after service, and talking to this cute girl who I found out was a dancer from San Diego, a girl approached me, who to my surprise was my friend Carole, The lead from my first show, AIDA(she was aida). How cool! So we had brunch together and hung out. Then I went to work out, and let me just say New York Sports Clubs have so much more to offer than Philly. SO I took an african dance class, I don't think it's often that the first time you take a class, that when the class is over the teacher asks you to audition for his company. So needless to say I felt pretty awesome after that. Then I had to go hangout with my friends Carole(aida) and Kim( who was also in Aida), to see Kim off, she left today for the National tour of THE WEDDING SINGER! Oh and Carole got the national tour of WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND! Man it's so awesome to be in this place in my life, where I'm in this peer group that is so talented. It was just a totally awesome day!

and I didn't even start rehearsals yet.

Well, the first day of rehearsal. It was great!! When I got there I found that I knew one of the girls, she graduated with me from Penn State. Also our stage manager is from our class to, yeah Penn State represent. I am the only chocolate in the cast, which I was kind of surprised, there is one other bit of spice, that's it. I thought it would be a more diverse cast since my dark self got in. HA! Anyway everybody seems ok right now, but you can already see who you might be drawn too. Alot of people our excited cause it's their first tour, so I fit right in, and most are around my age.

Well we started out meeting the artistic team. You know I failed to mention that the director and choreographer of this show, is the original guy from the Broadway show. Um... it's a big deal to be apart of this tour, talk about contacts and connections. And something that was interesting, I was about to go and told the assistant choreographer Kim, that I was going to the gym so I could get my leg up(which means be able to kick my face, you from the gym know what I mean), and she says yeah someone told me you had crazy legs, and could do all that. Really? SHe couldn't remember exactly who it was, but guessed it might have been the casting director. Now I have auditioned for that casting guy 3 times now, so he knows I can dance, and if that's the kind of name that I'm making already without even working, PRAISE GOD!!

So anyway, we had a big ole history lesson, which I have to admit was pretty boring, but informative to know how big this show is, and who all is involved. Now this show since it's an operetta( it means it's all sung), has mad orchestrations, and since we're going on tour we can't take a huge 11 piece string section. So this other amazing guy went over to London and got the Philharmonic Orch. to record for us, along with some other world reknown brass from Germany, and the rough tracks are amazing!! WOW I love working with the top professionals in their field. After the high school lesson, we started learning the music for the opening and closing of act 1. And let me just tell you theses people can sing. I feel so overwhelmed, and scared cause theses people just vocally have it. But I have to remember I'm here to kick my face. BUt I have never sounded so good as a base before.Praise God.

It is so awesome to be working with professionals, it feels so awesome. by the way awesome is the word of the day, if you couldn't tell. Hey the video to the left is the song we learned today. It's the closing song from act 1. That is the original broadway cast, and Patti La pone( you know, o blah dee, o blah dah). Enjoy!

The Meaning of a Name

Wow,

here it is thursday night, my last official night living here in philadelphia. What an incredible ride and journey it has been here. I was having dinner with my friends tonight, and we were talking how we first met over a yr ago, and how it had only been that short of time. Which feels so absurd, cause I feel so close to alot of people and places here. You know I have had dinner at a different person's house everynight this week, and still didn't get to spend the intimate time with everyone I wanted too.

You know what else was awesome, my friends got together and had a surprise dinner party for me yesterday! I freakin love surprises!!! And it really did catch me off guard, I praise God for them. And The beautiful Melody made one of my absolute favorites desserts, ICE CREAM LASAGNA! Which she made for my birthday, I love this stuff. It was great they indivisually came in with a sign that all read: Goodbye, Alfie, Hello, Evita! You know something I always long to feel special, and these guys did a darn good job. I have to admit I was upset that she made that dessert knowing full well I would eat it, and knowing full well I'm trying to get in shape for rehearsal.

Today I was sent my copy of the contract, and as I look at emails from my Company Manager, and listen to messages from the costume shop, and make ready my staying arrangements, I breathe in the era of my new life, one who is actually living in the knowledge that his dreams are on the way to full being realized, and coming true. Woah...

I spent this afternoon getting the last things I needed for rehearsal, and then crashing on the couch next to my mom as she caressed my shiny bald head. She is definitely proud, and will miss me so much. I found out there is only 2o people in the cast. Smaller than I imagined. That also made me feel good, cause I really know they wanted me. We start off rehearsing in NYC for 2 weeks, then we all fly down to Chattanooga and rehearse there for 2 weeks, WOOOWOOO

You know growing up I hated this city of philadelphia. I was dragged here to see people who I didn't feel cared about me, and to a culture and environment I didn't know or fit into, (come on, I'm not your average urban black guy.)But These past 2 years, has shown me what kind of character, and family this city can create.

The city of brotherly love? yeah philly you win.

The Season of Brotherly Love

Helllooo PeoplE!!

Well I am getting freakin excited!! I leave on friday to go to NYC. I have a costume fitting on saturday, and my rehearsals start on monday. So throughout this week I thought I would post some fun picts of the past 2 years here in philly with fun friends and cool places. Enjoy!