

A Whole New World
Rehearsals have begun for an upcoming singing performance (don't know where yet) during a dinner party fundraiser for Artful Impact! We are singing "A Whole New World" from Disney's Alladin. The lyrics will be altered slightly for the performance to suit the event. We did a test run of the song a few years ago for a Disney cabaret. In this version, we alternate parts between the men and the women. #charity #entertainment #community


Zoo trip
The Celebrate Differences group went to Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora. One animal that we saw is the gray wolf. Fun Facts: The Wolf is the largest member of the canine family. A Wolf’s lifespan is about 12 years in the wild, and up to 16 in captivity. Wolves range in color from grizzled gray, to black to all white. Wolves in the wild, prey on mammals such as Elk, Moose and Deer. They will also feed on smaller mammals such as Beaver and Rabbits. Wolves live in packs with the Al


What's the scoop at Culver's?
This police officer arrested us for having a good time - gotcha!!! Officer Rodriguez and the Aurora IL Police Department had a fundraiser at Culvers for Special Olympics. I concentrated on selling raffle tickets for a short time - the winner gets a Harley Davidson motorcycle. A lot of people made donations also! Scoopie, the Culver's mascot, joined us for a quick pic. That's me hugging him! I ate the Strawberry Fields salad with Thousand Island dressing. That's my favorite k


Guess Who Came to Big Fish?!
On July 24, 2016 I went to see the play Big Fish at the Madison Street Theatre in Oak Park IL. Billy Surges is the Director. He also played Karl the Giant, a humorous character. Katie Meyers, with a beautiful singing voice, was one of the female lead characters, Sandra Bloom. The other female was the lovely and talented actress Aiyanna Wade as Josephine. Big Fish is about Edward Bloom, who always tells stories about great adventures which include meeting a witch, kissing a


Bye Bye Birdie Experience
On June 5, 2016, I performed in 2 shows of Bye Bye Birdie playing Albert. This is the second time that I have played an older character. He's the President of his own music company in New York City. This production was a huge success!!! In this photo, we have Katie, me, MaryAnn and Jack in the foreground. In the background we see Billy (Sound & Lighting) and Ryan with his mom. In this next photo, we have Mrs. Peterson, my mother, played by Elisabeth, and me. Here we have me


Love is Forever
A Tribute to Joey My blog today is a tribute to the memory of Joey, who was my friend Caitlin's horse. He passed away recently. I asked my friend Caitlin to tell me about Joey, and here are some of the things she said: "He was the best horse. I loved him very much. He ate lots of carrots and oats. He was born on May 21st, 1981." Although Caitlin misses Joey very much, she has some great memories of the times she spent with him and that is what she will remember. #community


5K on Sunday
I did not want to get up early. I usually relax on Sundays, but we had to get going to the 5K for Celebrate Differences! The 5K was a fundraiser for Celebrate Differences. It was not easy to park in downtown Oswego, it was way too crowded. Each person who registered received a t-shirt, and Stormy got a goody bag! They had free bananas and free water! Our walking team consisted of Stormy, Claire, mom, and me. Our running team consisted of Anthony and dad. The walking par


Performing on the Big Stage: Bits of Birdie!!!
KidsMatter is an organization that helps youth and their families. They sponsored an evening called KidsMatter/Ignite the Nite! April 16 7 PM @ Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College. My group performed Bits of Birdie, which is the first scene of Bye Bye Birdie, an upcoming performance. Getting ready: I got to wear Axe deodorant, I used hair styling products to keep my nice hair, my glasses were clean, I wore a wireless microphone. The stage was large, the largest I ha


Do You Believe in Theatre?
KidsMatter/Ignite the Nite! April 16 7 PM @ Wentz Concert Hall I have been memorizing my lines and practicing for an upcoming event, “Ignite the Nite!” sponsored by Naperville KidsMatter. KidsMatter is an organization that helps youth and their families. Me and a few of my fellow School of Performing Acts/Spectrum actors will be performing, “Bits of Birdie,” a scene from our upcoming play, “Bye Bye Birdie”. I play Albert and it’s a fun role because Albert is the president o


Donating with Friends
This week at Celebrate Differences we went to Sams Club to shop for items to put in Bags of Hope to donate to a local cancer center. It was hard work shopping, but my team picked out lots of goodies, crackers, veggie straws, chips, etc. It was for a great cause – to help people who have cancer get some foods they like. Check out Celebrate Differences on Facebook! #community #charity