And so 2009 begins...

In amongst all the commotion of the New Year festivities last evening, I took time in my head to think back and pontificate about 2008. Wow...was 2008 a crazy year for me! Honestly, for the most part, it was an emotional roller coaster, that has only recently pulled into the station. ;-) My life was a whirlwind last year. It started off very scary. I had just gone through a break-up, which had left me a little dazed and confused, to say the least. I was in a funk and a rut...Didn't like to get out of the house. After being a hermit for way too long, I decided I needed to get out of that state of mind and if nothing else...shower...heh heh. I needed an outlet for my frustrations as well as my underlying sadness. So, I finally decided to try and get back into the theatre. I managed to successfully make it into a show at A.C.T. The Philadelphia Story. Happily, I discovered that a big part of my funkiness, all boiled down to getting back onstage and getting involved.

After it's run, I was also invited to audition at SART, which was pretty cool. Someone had noticed me...and theatre folks like to get noticed! ;-)

I'm a theatre person...I like to perform...I like darn near any aspect of the theatre and have to be involved in any way shape or form...It's my nature, my one true love, and my soul. It's my escape too...

Onstage, you can be anybody you want to be...or anybody you're chosen to be...During rehearsals and then performance nights, you can escape your life for a while and not worry about what's going on anywhere else in your life.

At least it's how I feel...I mean, if I let most of my life problems get in the way of my shows, I wouldn't be worth a damn onstage. Real life gets in the way too much...in more ways than one...

Besides feeding my soul, being the new kid on the block in this town and with the theatre, presented me with the opportunity to meet new people. By getting involved, I was able to meet all kinds of wonderful, funny, and talented people. I was finally able to expand my acquaintances to more people than just my co-workers and friends from back home in East TN.

Now, don't get me wrong, I adore my friends from back home. I love hanging out with them and doing everything with them. But let's face it, it's kinda hard to drop what you're doing and just go out for a drink or something to eat if you live about 60 or 70 miles away from each other! I mean, it isn't far, but it's still too far...does that make sense?

In any case, I started meeting people and made new friends...which is another thing I needed desperately at this point in my life. I'm a people person...and crave the company of others. Not all the time, mind you, but I get easily bored if I don't have something specific to occupy my time.

So, after The Philadelphia Story, I was asked to be in another show, Plays from The Lil' Nashville. A HOOT of a show, written by Waylon Wood and directed by Betsy Puckett. I had already had the pleasure of meeting Waylon in Philly Story, so it was a great experience to be in something he had written as well.

I suppose after Lil' Nashville, my whole world started kicking off after that. I was a busy gal! Much to my surprise and happiness, I was invited by the gals of LYLAS (Love Ya Like A Sis), to become a member of their sketch comedy troupe. Of course, I gave an almost immediate 'yes'. It was a fast and furious next couple of weeks after that...cause a show was coming up SOON! And we had to be ready!

As expected,LYLAS's show: Local Comedy Thousands Of Miles Funnier was a SUCCESS! People laughed, they cried...they wet their pants...one person even had a seizure...And that's not a joke...it happened FOR REAL! I wouldn't joke if it wasn't for the fact that he is now okay and doing fine.

After that, I was again asked to be in a show for Dark Horse Theatre, downtown at the BeBe. The Twilight Zone. This baby was the brainchild of Emily McClain, and quite an experience to be involved with. This was another show that was needing to be put together QUICKLY! October was jammed packed FULL of rehearsals AND I was also working backstage at A.C.T.'s Misery. You talk about a tired puppy! I was never so glad to see October be OVER and I would have free time! No more shows for a while!

In amongst all the theatre, I did meet some random people that weren't involved in some way with the stage. I even managed to meet people who touched my life in ways I had never thought possible...and in good ways...ways that have left their mark on me...and have made me a happier, brighter, and more positive person than I ever was.

So, as I now look back on 2008, I can look back on it with happiness and joy. It may have been a tough year...in many many ways...Love lost, financial worries, worries about friends in need, family health diagnosis...but now I can see that everything that happens, happens for a reason and it leads us to where we are today in life.

Now, I send a salute to all of my friends, former lovers, confidantes, acquaintances, cast mates, co-workers....anyone who I may have crossed paths with in the past year...You made 2008 another wonderful chapter in my life...Now, it is time to turn the page, and see what happens in the rest of the story... Happy New Year! And may 2009 bring another big adventure for us all!