You would think my Journey story would begin with taking classes or participating in a show but in reality my story with Journey began a year before I joined. My sister and I had heard that there were auditions for Beauty and the Beast where anyone could come and watch talented theater kids sing their hearts out for a chance at being cast. Our little theater-loving minds were blown that there were other kids like us.
The following year, my sister and friends convinced me to join. So in 2005, I auditioned and got cast in Godspell, not realizing how much that would affect the rest of my life. I went on to be cast in six more musicals before I was too old to participate. It felt so sad that my time here had to come to an end. I had jumped headfirst into the world of theater and engrossed my life with as much theater knowledge and exposure as I could glean. I felt like I hadn’t even scratched the surface on what I wanted to accomplish and that’s when I was invited to teach a class.
Teaching Journey classes expanded my understanding and love of theater even more and I felt so grateful to the community that I wanted to embed myself even further into the DNA of Journey. Soon I was asked to be assistant director for several musicals thus launching the next chapter of my life in Journey.
Directing became this wonderful outlet of artistic expression, teaching, and, honestly, nerding out about theater. I have directed 7 shows with Journey, all of which I am exceedingly proud of the cast, crew, and volunteers for their trust in me.
When tragedy hit my family in 2019 and I had to step down from my role as director, the amount of love and support I had from the Journey community was unmatched.
Now my daughter participates and I’ve got to step into an entirely new role in the Journey community: parent. And thanks to Journey Community Theater I have been in five productions as an adult and still get an outlet for all of my theater nerdiness.
I have made some of the best friends in my life here at Journey. I have grown and have been challenged as a person and performer. I have failed and triumphed here. I have been a performer, teacher, director, and parent. I even wrote a musical based on it. Journey really truly is in the fabric of my life. And as corny as it may sound, it’s really not just live theater. It really does change lives. It certainly changed mine.