good morning baltimore

Alright folks, back on a regularly scheduled program.
On the whole East Lansing was a bust, audiences were low in attendance, though mighty in response, and the local crew wasn't exactly on top of things, and we even had a creeper hair guy who would always be peering around the hair gondolas to watch us change, and make weird excuses to come up to the guys dressing room. So He had to get a talking to, ugh weird creepy old man.
Now the absolute best things about EL, and maybe the best things on this tour so far, Were 1: the most amazing gym we've been too on tour, and 2: Albert and Denise David. They are Evans dance teachers who I got to meet way back in Memphis when we opened the show, and they took me into there dance family. Well they came, and I told them about all the problems I was having with my body and my right leg, and they worked on me, stretched me out, trigger point massaged my leg, and yanked so good that sunday night I actually had hope again that I would be ok, and could finish out the tour and get back to the dancer I once was. I hadn't felt that good after an 8 show week in months!

So yesterday we arrived in Baltimore, Md, and it seemed that there was a general sigh of relief from half the cast that we are back on the east coast. Folks got to go home to nyc to connect with there loved ones, and to audition. I on the other hand decided to just stay in Bmore for the night off we have to hang out with my li'l bro.
Thats why I'm excited to be here! My li'l bro Michael and my nephew Harper live here, and I get to spend some much needed quality time with him. He is a freelance visual artist, and muralist who is taking Bmore by storm! I love being with him, he sparks so much creativity within me.

Baltimore also bring about our official 6 month mark, which means contracts are up for renewal, of course  thats why people have gone back to NYC to audition cause some have decided to leave, including my buddy Evan. SADFACE! His replacement came in yesterday and starts rehearsal today, we'll meet him at soundcheck. Apparently I have met him before so Scott says cause he goes to our gym. All I know is he better not be a bad egg.

The Twin Cities

Here are some other great moments from The Twin Cities!

Yes yes I know!! It has been a little over 2 weeks now and I'm sorry. I have been living it up in Minneapolis!!
I spent last summer there performing at the Guthrie Theatre in the PBS televised production of HMS PINAFORE. and since that was my last known real residence, it was like a coming home, and I was greeted as such by the city itself because of the wonderful sunshine and warm weather we had.

I had a whole bunch of friends come see me in the show, and I got to see people every day while we were there. It was truly wonderful, and restorative. So I will just post a bunch of pics and fun times with friends there. Enjoy!

We finally got out of Cleveland!! And I truly have to say Thank God!!
That  theatre was such a hard space to be in, and I hated all the changes we had to do to the show to make it fit into it. It was hell for cast and crew to have to twist and change and compromise for us to perform there.
And what made it even worse, was the sunday 1pm matinee, would should just be out lawed as it is, but because of day light savings, it made us loose an hr of the already not enough recovery time, and do a show at noon, which felt like 11. Let me say I'm glad there were no critics in the audience that day, cause we were in too much pain to even have the extra strength to care what the show looked like.( which by the grace of God looked good, I think we were under a special blessing) But of course because of that situation, people were getting hurt left and right, and by the second show we had to do that day, folks were dropping out like flies thru out the show, and boy did it hurt picking up the slack. So much so that I ended up with a pounding migraine that lasted for the next day and a half. All that to end a 2 week stint. I was ready to get the H E double hockey sticks out of there.

Then there was these mid west town called the twin cities. That's right folks we're in Minneapolis and St Paul, and it has been a phenomenal homecoming. Now I say homecoming cause for you that don't know, my last show before this was right here in Minneapolis working at the Guthrie theatre. HMA PINAFORE, which was shown on pbs as part of there master arts series and still is broadcast. Now I of course didn't realize what an amazing summer I had here til I was gone, and thinking back to all the memories, and looking at photo albums. I had a freakin awesome time here! Made some awesome friends,  lived in a great place, and worked for a great theater. On top of that, this place was my last known residence, last place I had sat down in, and made some decent connections before tour started, so it really is like a home coming.

Something to Leap about!

SO the doctor says there is nothing extremely wrong with me. YAAAAY!
He basically said I am a young man, but in dance years I'm middle aged. Which is true. This show is just putting me thru the wear and tear, with no recovery time. So I have a bilateral strain on my knees, with a possible over compensated iso something or other hip sprain as well. You should see me at night its ridiculous, I have ice bags on both knees and my right hip. Sometimes you have to improvise ice packs as well.

A lot of folks in the cast seem to be going on these juice cleanses or fasts, it's quite interesting, Let me tell you though people are hungry!!! hahahahaha, and get moody, heck lord knows I do. This seems to be a season of contemplation, and purging, Of course it's all around lent. People have given up there various vices and disciplined themselves one way or another. A couple of guys have even decided to not talk for a week, sans the show of course, just to look inward. It's been a very interesting time here in Cleveland so far.
And our boring, undeserved featured, staunch republican, in the way, hate conjurer, guest dj is now gone YAAAAAAAYY. Sorry, I didn't like him here. Thats all I'll say about that.


As you know it was the special leap year this week, with feb 29th coming in and blessing us with another day to love and be loved! So I made my famous oreo pie, And Dan wanted to do a leap year shoot, so after the show, I leaped for him!!
www.dswalecphoto.com

Hello hello and hello,

So here we are in Cleveland, and I get to feel semi domestic cause I am in an apt for the next 2 weeks, so I've gotten to go grocery shopping, and cook my own healthy food, and hang out in my living room, YAAAAY!.
Everyone was excited to get and a bit scared to be here. We have our first day off since Christmas next monday. A real actual Golden day. No traveling, no loading out, just a full day of rest. Praise God. Which especially is much needed for our crew. In fact lots of them are totally taking advantage of the situation, by going on vacations. Actually this is the season that vacationing has really picked up. So things are even more crazy.
Now the reason why we are all scared is because this is the official first theatre that we shouldn't be in at all. There is no crossover space on stage, we have to travel under the stage thru the basement, and then go up a single person flight of spiral stairs. A couple of Fly pieces have been cut, and we've even had to have a 2hr rehearsal to re-block and restage entrances and exits. So we're not doing the show that we set out with, which is kinda ridiculous. And our poor crew doubled the usual load in time cause of it.
But the show must go on, and we opened last night.We actually got thru it, though we had some mistakes cause of the new changes the show was a hit of course. The only real thing that messed up was the stairs not moving in for the last scene in act 1. So we all had to improvise and act our faces off. Kudos goes out to Rhett George as gator.

I have my doctors appt today for my knees, it's going to be a journey getting up there, wish me luck!!

Good words

So here we are about to finish our week in Greenville South Carolina with our last 2 shows, and there's really been nothing to report. I had to call out yesterday and take 2 shows off to rest my knees and my ankles cause there was some weird buckling going on friday night in the show, which almost caused me a big accident in the Radio dance break. But I'm back in today. (here's a clip from an old bway cast)

Matt with his beautiful girl Evie.

The absolute highlight for me was being approached by our head carpenter, and Crew Cheif Matt, about being someone who can keep him accountable for going to the gym, and not letting him slack off. It has been great having someone to count on you, someone you have to get up for to not let down, someone who needs you to be on so that you can encourage them. What was also nice about it was, the Y was about a mile and a half walk away so we would use that time to walk and warm up for our work out, but also to talk and spend quality time getting to know each other. He told me how discouraged the crew can get at times, and how it brings him down, so I asked him how could I encourage him,( knowing that effecting the head, can change the body), and you know what he said to me, "you already are."
 I felt awesome.

Oh and get this, apparently they don't know what the doctor saw on Treys xray, but he doesn't have a single broken bone, and all the time he spent off his foot really did well healing his ankle and he's walking again! I miss my li'l bro. Good now we can get back to our extreme parkour training! (google it)