22 People Who All Think, Laugh, and Dream Like I Do~

So here I am, a member of the top internship program in the country. As I packed up my bags and headed out to Kentucky a million things ran through my head. What will I be doing? Where will this lead me? Who will I meet? Will we all be best friends by the end? Will we fight the whole way? Will I grow as a performer in ways I never imagined I could? What I hadn't realized yet was the process Michael Legg and Amy Attaway, the director and assistant director of the Apprentice Program respectively, had gone through to pick us out.

2800 people of varying talents and from different walks of life had auditioned. I'd thought about the level of talent I'd be working with, but not about the character. Michael and Amy picked out 22 people that they would be OK working with for 9 months of their lives. They had to say to themselves, "Yes. I would not mind seeing you every day for the better part of a year. In fact, I want to. Come be a part of this program."

The apprentices are the nicest, most driven, smart, and fun group of people I've ever come across in one place at one time. They all dream big, and loud.

I remember the first day we all met in one place, the associate dinner, when all I could see was a room full of smiles. We all burst into the room with a chorus of, "Hello! I'm so and so, who are you, cause I can't wait to meet you!". I mean, I just can't believe how wonderful each of them are.

Just think for a minute - a place where everyone accepts everything about you. A place where you can be you, completely. A place where everyone wants the same things you do. A place where you feel a sense of home 4 days after being there. I'm there. I'm right in the thick of that rainbow coated world.

A member of the cast of KITE RUNNER, Kario Pereira-Bailey, turned 21 last week and the cast threw a surprise party for him and invited all the apprentices. We crammed into his gorgeous apartment for about an hour before he got there. Most of us barely knew Kario. We'd talked to him passing in the halls, or had a beer or two with him, but we were there along with the whole cast to celebrate his birthday. He had no idea. In fact, just days prior the cast threw a surprise party for him in rehearsal with a cake and everything just to throw him off. So he walked in and we all started shouting and his face - just priceless. Not just shock though,  like, sheer joy. It was all in his eyes and his smile. He was just so surprised about it all.

My point is we were all there, and it was a fantastic night.

We're only a week in a half in, but I'm feeling like we're off to a really good start. I'm sure arguments and fights will break out. It's inevitable. theres 22 people and we work together all day long. But, if that happens, We'll be able to remember, "wait a minute. At some point, this person was awesome. I've gotta get back to that. Who knows, maybe we'll all just kill each other by the end. :)

A bit on the talent pool out here of the apprentices~
    They're all fantastic. We've been working on the Apprentice Ensemble Project for like 7 days (I'll be posting one enormous post about this process at the beginning of September) and seeing everyone work is amazing. to give you a better picture of it:
     The second exercise we did, on the first day was to theatricalize the story of the "Barefoot Bandit" (if you don't know it, click here http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/07/12/five-reasons-why-the-barefoot-bandit/ ) in three different ways. We had 15 minutes. We were in groups of 4-6, and we all did it, and it was fantastic. Thats what we've been doing for 3 days. Generating work through talking and improv. Its kind of an amazing thing to see 4 people that BARELY know each other get up and throw a piece of theatre together in 15 minutes. Its a magical thing. Its kind of blowing my mind actually, the amount of work we've done in 3 or 4 days.

The long and the short is, everyone is amazing, I barely know anything about them, and I Freaking love them.

Kerri

Alexander

Victoria

Alvarez-Chacon

Monica

Bergstrand

Dinah

Berkeley

Martina

Bonolis

Jordan

Brodess

Daniel

Desmarais

Havalah

Grace

Rebecca

Haden

Ellen

Haun

Alex

Hernandez

Emily

Kunkel

Devin

Olson

Sean Michael

Palmer

Brandon

Peters

Elizabeth

Schwarzrock

Alex

Stage

William

Steele

Scott

Swezey

Peter

Vergari

Zachary

Virden

Ryan

Westwood