Once Upon A Promise....

There's a definite promise. I feel it in my soul. The Lord is bringing the cast together. It's looking so wonderful now. Sure there are some that just don't want to do it anymore and people that aren't sure of their steps, but I'm sure the Lord will bring it all together at the end. We were blessed by God to add another member to our cast. She is so adorable and sweet and she is willing to do everything. The feelings of being uncomfortable of telling them their blocking is really going away quickly. We figure that the show is actually going to be put back (which means forward.... I think) in the early weeks on November. The 10th at 2pm and 7:30pm and on the 11th at 10:30am for church. Having John (who has worked with us before in shows) and my father being the two male leads really helps me a lot. They give me wonderful suggestions that really put me on the right direction when I'm going down hill. I've started the last two rehearsals reading some Psalms to put a little devotion on each, because most of these kids aren't Christians and they live in a horrible neighborhood. So, I read yesterday Psalm 1. Today, I read Psalm 16. I thought todays selection was much better to go with what has happened in all our lives. One of our cast member's mother is dying and she has about a month to live, and this lady is a huge part of our church. It hurts all of us. Ya, so if everyone will keep praying, I'm sure this will turn out just fine and we will be able to get these kids into Church after the show is over.
=)

Well.... that went...

pretty well. It was an hour voice lesson and the first 30 minutes she warmed me up and insulted my voice and how I was a young singer and she usually doesn't teach people so young. Which I think I understand. All and all. She was a nice person. The next 30 minutes consisted of her looking at my audition songs saying, how can you sing this, it's a grown woman's song. You're a little girl. But then I kept on singing and by the end she said "Alyssa, you have a beautiful voice, still undeveloped, but beautiful." So, I take the compliment and tell her that I was very glad I got to meet her and I met her next voice student, a kid from Point Park. I'm so scared of the auditions but she said because Aries (we are both Aries) are quick learners, and that I'll learn these well. I just hope she is correct. Well, thank you to all that took my nerves today and tried to calm them.
=)

Rutabega Sausages....

Are you serious?!
Blueberry and Pheasant. Yum.

=(
Ucky.

I just need to talk....

to let everything out that's inside of me, since this is a blog, and since I am a slightly emotional girl. (Which I am getting so much better!!) There isn't much in me that is burning at my soul but just a few things that I just need to write down. I guess it mostly has everything to do with school.

1- my love, tutoring- It's basically not there this year. I had 4 study halls at the B2SN and because I'm in AP Brit Lit, they took one away. Ok, I'm fine with that. But I had 8 Study Halls last year. 8. 8 hours of tutoring. 8 periods to help people out that really needed to be helped. I wanted to do that so much this year. SO MUCH. And now, it's taken away. I understand I will have a class one day and I will get to teach the kids, and I also know that my academics are important, but.... hold on, this is becoming a horribly run on sentence. Ok, now that's better. I really think that this tutoring will really do well on my transcripts when I try to find a job and show them that I am responsible. Well, at least next year will hopefully be much better when I'm doing my Sr. Project in teaching. That's going to be.... how do the French say it?.... trés amusant. Well.... something like that.

2- Classes- What is up with the sizes of the books this year? I swear, they took some steroid medicine or something and grew up to be 100 sizes larger. That is so annoying! Dragging your book bag home with 2 over 1,000 pages books and an Algebra 2 book and nothing else can you stick in your book bag so you have to carry the rest. But I have to say, it does really feel good when you bring all your homework home, and sit on a couch and just think to yourself as you are doing your homework. After you are done with all of it, you feel so accomplished. I know all of this will soon pay off. If I do well on my studies, I should do well on my midterms and finals, which will be nice on my transcripts, which with do well to get into a college, which will do well on getting a job, and which will help me teach kids with disabilities. All to honor God. Oh, if I haven't mentioned, and I don't think I did.... I finally figured out what I'm going to study in. Ready?..... A double major in Early Education and Special Ed. I always thought it would be great to be able to teach Special Ed, ever since I was in elementary school and was in a group that helped the mentally handicapped in gym class. =)

3- STRESS. - I totally need a stress ball. I'm not going to go into details with this one but yes.... I'm stressed. I'm trying to control it, it's getting better everyday. I'm beginning to get better at eating in the mornings again. I have only gotten sick 2 times since school started and that was on the first day. I just want to do my best in this school year. I'm so stressed that I can't think about what's happening now, all I can think about is what is happening next month or next year. I'm so stressed about everything, but I somehow found time to write my graduation speech. Ha ha. I'm so stressed about today, but I find comfort in thinking I will be doing a (hopefully more than) 25 hour senior project. I don't think those past 2 sentences made much sense, but in my mind they did, you have to forgive my horrible English.

4- Friends - I love my friends, someway I think of them as my sanity. And that's nuts because if you know my friends we are all somewhat insane. =) My friends and I are getting along pretty nicely this year but I'm not going to lie. Without R it feels different, and I know that I'm going to have to get used to it but ya. I just pray that everything feels better shortly. It's weird to look at the audition sign up sheet and not see her name on it. But praying that God will strengthen me through this will be helpful.

5- Once Upon A Parable - So two guys have dropped out and the cast is still barely making any noise out of their mouth when they sing. I'm trying to pump them up but being only a kid and not really knowing that much. I can't help them as much as I want to. I try my best to explain things to them. We have some of our props now and we are finally understanding the songs. We have only blocked 2 songs (maybe 3) and 1 scene. It's going slow and everything.... little by little..... is kinda (I hate to say it) falling apart. But there is a coming together part of this, everyone seems to be getting comfortable with each other. I need to remember that this is an amateur show, and that this is for the glory of God. If you could also pray for me about this too.

Well, I need to be done, this is getting ridiculously long. If you have made it this far, then thank you for listening to all my thoughts. =) It's is much appreciated.

My Magical Theatre Moment

I have experienced it. I thought I had my first magical theatre moment when I was younger, but no. I had it tonight!

I was standing on a chair in the back of the sancutary in my church. I was staring at our platform where the minister stands and the choir loft. My friend Sam from my school was singing one of the songs from the show that I am directing called "Once Upon A Parable". He was singing a song called "Parable of the Vineyard". I gave him my solo when I found out I had to be the prodigal. That was the best decision of my life. So, he was singing and and the rest of the cast was silent and began singing after his solo was done and it was just a boom of voices. I was halfway in tears. It was so wonderful. It feels so great standing in front of everyone and them smiling at me and all of us knowing that this show is for the glory of God and not for ourselves. If anyone comes to see this perform and doesn't get even slightly moved, well.... then we must not have given out the message fully. But, ya, it's absolutely wonderful. God has given me so many challenges in this production and it has humbled me so much. Thank you to everyone that has been keeping up to date with me and praying for me. =)

Love.

The Ultimate Gift

Let's start off with.... I love my sister. She came home for the weekend and we have been watching the TV Show "Charmed" and last night we watched "The Ultimate Gift". If you are unaware of this movie, it's about a young man that's grandfather died and he is somewhat rebellious and thinks that his grandfather left nothing to him. The grandfather gave him 14 gifts, each represented on the way to manhood. IE) Gift of work - He worked on a farm till he finished making a fence. So, one of the gifts was the gift of friendship where he had to make friends with someone in a month. He falls across this girl at the park and asks her to be his friend. Throughout this movie, they did intend to, but made wonderful friends with each other. He finds out that she has leukemia and she was going to die soon. She later dies and he becomes a man and the grandfather ends up giving him 200 billion dollars.... that's all very well, but there was something about that girl and what they talked about together that got me. I sounded like this....

They are in the hospital chapel. Jason is the man and Emily is the girl who has Leukemia. There is a statue of Jesus with his arms open.

Emily- something like.... "Do you know how scary it is to know you are going to die?"

Jason- Staring at the statue of Jesus. "I don't know too much about God and Jesus but I know those arms are for you."

Lately I've been having some bumps in my journey. IE) I've had to go to the doctors on Tuesday for something that really scared me and my mother. I know I'm too young to have the cancer we thought it could be but we wanted to make sure nothing was wrong. I sat there the whole time looking at my Christian doctors room saying "God, why can't I feel your presence?" I think that I'm asking, if anyone is reading this, if you could pray for me and if you know of any reassuring scripture passages that would be great. I'm praying continuously. Thank you for everything.

On one happy note.... there is a new couple in my church who are in different shows and are professional singers, dancers and actors. Their names are Jason and Summer. We've become friends and they have really been blessing in my life and have been supporting me in the church with singing and directing my show. Jason has today, said that if he doesn't get this job or if he does, he is going to try to be Judas in the show that I'm directing. It means so much to me. Summer is an absolute joy to be around and she wants to go into Public relations and is thinking about getting a job at the American Cancer Society. She has a heart of gold. I'm so lucky to know them. =)

The first weekend

My first weekend being a Jr.... well, it's been quite the interesting one. Last night, I hung out with Chris over at the mall and got an outfit for Paul Wilson. I bought him a vertical stripped shirt with a hat that was really cute (and reversable). It was a grand time. So, I went and talked to R last night. I did pretty well, well.... till I was saying goodbye. Then I cried my little heart out. That girl really did a lot for me. I told her about my grad speech and how I already wrote it but when I'm talking about my classmates I am talking about her also. She and the Fab 5 have really brought me to Christ and it's been a great journey. So, I let her know that I really appreciate her and she walked me down to my car and we cried again and then left. I know that we are going to keep in touch all the time but it's so hard to say goodbye. I came home just to read about a paragraph in "Beowulf" and fall straight asleep. When I woke up this morning, Sean had asked me to go to brunch with last night so I woke up and got ready. We had a wonderful time, we went to a small cafe near his house and came back home and watched a movie and I took him to work. Now, I am sitting at my computer procrastinating on my homework with a horrible headache. I'm going to try to sit down and work, but I will write later.