Gettin' on the Road: Ft Meyers

Seashell art on Sanibel beach

Okay I'm getting caught up! Life seems to move so much faster on the road, and I always seem to just lose time! So let me tell you about our first week on the road! Now we are officially a "touring" group and we really get to see what UWP is like and what we signed up for.

We left Monday morning , and although it was sad to say goodbye to a city that had been so kind to us for a month (or 5 weeks), it was so exciting to be moving on to someplace new! My bus date was Jessica from Mexico and she is a hoot! Such a talker and very funny and loud (typically Mexican, I have discovered).  We talked the whole 2.5 hrs it took to get here.  She is now actually living in America and wants to go to Rhode Island School of Design to be a designer/architect.  My host family is great.  It’s a man and woman, Tony and Christina who have 2 sons, 19 and 23, but they are both at college.  He works in the lighting sales business and she is an architect, so naturally, the house is beautiful, and I have my own room which is nice because then I can do my own thing and not worry about being in someone else's way. 

My roommate is Simone from Denmark and I really like her! I have wanted to get to know her since the beginning, but just haven’t had the chance, so it was great.  The first night we stayed up til 9 45 (which we thought was really late) talking like girls and just getting to know what each other thinks of different people in the cast and way things are run.  We talked about guys which was fun, cause we really don’t have time to do that often. I have also since introduced her to PBJ and the Sweedish Fish candy, and in turn she has told me a ton about her culture and let me taste Danish licorice (I don't recommend it!).  She is also very inquisitive so everything that you wouldn't talk about at the dinner table like politics, abortion, gay marriage, religion, she asked about all of those to Christina and I one night.  It was a great conversation and I really feel like I learned a lot from it.  Maybe that's a good idea to become more inquisitive!

Simone and I at Sanbel Beach

My CI was at the Food Bank and it was great.  We got a tour by a very enthusiastic volunteer coordinator and really made us understand why we were sorting green beans and packaging rice.  We had so much fun the whole day and worked really hard from start to finish.  I got to know Josh from the Philippians, and he is very different from what I thought he was going to be like.  We also discovered that we have participated in some way in 3 of the same plays! Children of Eden, Once on this Island, and one other that I can't remember.  Who would have thought that a high school from a small city in CO USA and an island in the Philippians would have similar musical tastes! The FSC students and I had class on Wednesday .  We spent most of the day working.  I love Breakfast Club, so that was fun.  Especially to see the reactions of others who haven’t seen it before.

Decorating all the cookies!

Thursday I got to introduce the cast to my city because I come from Loveland CO, and we have huge celebrations of Valentine’s day.  Simone, our host mom and I baked 12 dozen cookies and decorated them! I also cut out hearts for each of the cast members, and then passed them out and different cast members wrote valentines for different people. It was kind of like secret santa for Christmas, except we called it stupid cupid. The whole day was just full of love and happiness.  We also got a speaker that day about Human Trafficking which was very interesting, and I've always had a passion for it, but I want to do more for it because of the presentation.  The last part of the day was especially fun.  We got split into small groups and went around to all the different staff members and got to ask them anything.  We kept getting told that our group was the best and asked the most unique questions.  I feel like we really got to know the staff as people and not staff

My awesome group!

Friday, both Simone and I were home sick with really bad colds that we had been fighting all week.  Then on Saturday we toured some islands and their beaches with our host mom, and that night we had the Edison Lights  Parade.  Thomas Edison, inventor of the Lightbulb had a winter home in Ft Meyers and his lab is also there.  Anyways, there's this great parade at night full of lights and UWP got to participate!  It was kind of cold, but really fun, and everyone had a blast.  I got to carry the Canadian flag! Sunday was a double show day and it was crazy! The first show was not nearly as good as it could have been, but the second show we pumped it up.  We sold out both shows which was great as well.  16 hrs is a long day, but it’s still so worth it because of the reactions we get from the audience afterwards. 

Having fun with Abbey (CO) Ambrea(MN) and Tara(CO) from FSC class!

Monday we left for Orlando! Tune in soon to see those adventures! So mouse ears included! ;)
Love much, Mal

PS. if you want to see more cast photos, please check out the uwp blog here and "like" us on facebook here!

Ready, Set, Show!

I am so sorry I'm late! So here's an overview of our last week in Lakeland, show week! Whew, it was a crazy one! After 4 weeks, on the 9th of February, we put on our first show! (if you want to know more about the actual show, check out my last post) There were still a few bugs that we can work on, but overall it was a really great show! Working up to it though took some serious endurance.  The whole week we were running the show over and over getting ready to perform and spread our voice! There was a ton of make up, color, and adrenaline! There's really nothing like opening night, and it will never be replicated.  It was truly memorable and was a fantastic starting point!

After the show, we had to strike the stage.  Which meant all our lights, risers, speakers, everything that we need to make our amazing show, had to get packed and put on the UWP truck.  For the next 6 weeks I get to be on the costume crew, so we take care of all the specialty costumes  putting them away, setting them out, making any fixes, etc.  It's a ton of fun, and it helps me learn different aspects of the show! 

Our first city on the road is Ft Meyers, which was great, so check out the next post on that great week! 

I'll leave you with some photos of the show :) Much love and thanks for the patience! 

We have a few generation medley: 60's

80's 

We also do songs and dances from around the world

One Month Down...

Can you believe I've been gone a month already?!! Neither can I! The weeks keep mashing together, but this week was all about the show! We began staging last week and it's been crazy.  We put the whole show on the stage in 2 days! Usually that takes around 2 or 3 weeks.  None of the solos are set in stone yet, so it's been really cool listening to a bunch of different people try out songs and tweak them to make them their own.  I don't have any solos, but I do get to be on what is called mic groups.  These are just a few of us who are miced in the ensemble to create a fuller sound to the group.  I was pretty darn excited because I've never thought of myself as a strong singer.

I suppose you are all wondering what show I'm talking about! The show that we are taking on the road is Called VOICES.  UWP is very unique in the fact that it's not just a story with music and it's not just a concert of songs, but songs put together and originally written to spread a message.  It's so much fun! We have songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's 90's and beyond as well as many original songs for VOICES and older UWP songs that they brought back from previous shows.  Then on top of that we have songs from all around the world! We are singing a song from Cuba, a chant from South Africa, and Irish step dance, and so many others!

This weekend was pretty busy! We had rehearsal on Saturday as well, and then 2 girls that are staying with my host mom's friend spent the night because their host mom had to work late.  That was some fun girl time, but we went to bed at a reasonable time because sleep is such a precious gift! Then on Sunday, Montana and I spent the day at Clearwater beach soaking up the sun, wandering around the cute downtown strip, and even taking a dip in the cold Gulf of Mexico.  We happened to meet up with some other girls from the cast and then had even more fun! A funny moment of the day was when a random (pretty cute) guy walked up and pulled out the cheesey moves and asked if we were all models or something and asked to get a picture with all of us. Pretty crazy, but a fun memory! That evening we went over to host mom's friend's house to have a traditional Thanksgiving day dinner for Conny from Germany she is hosting.  It was weird not only to be having that meal in February but also to having it in the heat, just because I am so used to eating those foods in the cold. 

McKenzie(UT) Amilee(NJ) Me Montana(Can.) Misa(MI)

Today (monday) was our first rehearsal with the band, and it made everything feel so much more real! Tomorrow is our first full dress rehearsal with costumes, the band, everything! hopefully it goes well, because we have a show in 4 days! 

I'll leave you with a view from my bedroom window.  Love you!