I guess I’m here to explain myself

I feel like I haven’t done nearly a good enough job of explaining my reasons for creating this blog/site.  So here we go.

TCEQ hosts an Environmental Trade Fair and Conference every year in early May.  Even though I’ve worked at TCEQ more than five years I’d never actually made it down to the Trade Fair, so I decided I needed to go this year.  Looking over the list of talks being given at the two-day conference, the one that intrigued me most was “The Top 5 Things Scientists Need to Know about Social Media.”  I left the talk with very few ideas of how to implement any of the topics discussed in my job specifically, but quite a lot of how to use them in my life generally.  Later that day I signed up for all the popular social media sites I’d been ignoring (LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) and stumbled across WordPress.  And now here we are.

I’ve noticed that people from one area of my life are often surprised when they hear about another.  When my coworkers at TCEQ found out I do theatre, the most common reaction was, “Really?  But you’re so quiet!”  People I meet through theatre often seem impressed when they find out I majored in electrical engineering in college.  (One of my favorite reactions happened after tap class a few months ago when I told Danny, “If I pass this exam I’ll be a licensed professional engineer,” and he responded, “I think that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.”  Which, by the way, felt pretty darn fabulous coming from someone with years of Broadway experience!)  Then there are various stereotypes floating around that suggest it might be contradictory to be religious and involved in theatre (and I have found myself in uncomfortable situations with castmates probably more often than I’d like to admit).  And yet, these are the three main components of who I am.  Catholic.  Performer.  Engineer.

So I created this site, hoping to let people who only know one side of me see the other two, maybe introduce them to worlds or ideas they might not have experienced otherwise, and attempt to explain how three vastly different components can fit together as well as they do.  With some fun little quirky stuff thrown in, because hey!  It’s me.

This is almost touching what the beauty is

Last night, after receiving 6 nominations over the past 10 years, my favorite Broadway actress finally won her first Tony Award. So this post is dedicated to the incomparable Kelli O’Hara.

I love what I do.  And I don’t need this, but now that I have it I’ve got some things to say.

I first discovered Kelli when I borrowed the OBC recording of The Light in the Piazza from a friend my freshman year at Vandy.  As soon as I heard “The Beauty Is” in that haunting soprano voice, I knew she was special.  In fact, that song left such an impression that I chose to sing it at my first vocal recital when I started taking voice lessons six years later.

I gradually collected more recordings of Kelli – the revival of The Pajama Game, Sweet Smell of Success, the revival of South Pacific – and became increasingly impressed with her versatility and talent.  Then when I planned a trip to New York with my sister for my 26th birthday and Nice Work If You Can Get It was running, I knew I just had to see her.

Fast-forward past the drama of postponing the trip due to Hurricane Sandy and my sister and I are wandering around a frozen Central Park three months after my birthday, and I can hardly contain my excitement because I’m going to see KELLI O’HARA in a few hours!

Nice Work was everything I’d hoped it would be and more.  Great music, amazing dancing, a few tears, laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe… and Kelli.  She was magical, shining so brightly she lit up the whole theatre every second she was onstage.  Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to meet her at the stage door (she didn’t come out after the Wednesday matinee we saw, or after the Saturday night performance when I came back to the stage door after seeing a different Broadway show just because I wanted to meet her).

Then last year, I bought the OBC recording of The Bridges of Madison County the day it was released.  Oh my goodness.  I have never heard anything so heartbreakingly beautiful.  She brought me to tears on the very first listen, and the album quickly became one of the most played in my collection.  If anything else was needed to firmly cement my love and respect for Ms. Kelli O’Hara, this was it.  I was devastated when she didn’t win the Tony for the role of Francesca, but I was happy Jessie Mueller won if it couldn’t be her.

And finally, last night…  on the edge of my seat, praying that they’d actually say Kelli’s name this time…  I will happily admit that I squealed and cried when it was announced!  And then of course, she gives us all a master class in how to make an acceptance speech, underlining so many of the reasons I love her, complete with a “Shuffle off to Buffalo” exit!

…and I’ll be back!  Maybe not up here, but I’ll be on the theatre stage!

I’m still not sure exactly why I love her as much as I do.  Maybe it’s because I’m mainly a soprano with a “belt” that’s more of a mix, and she’s one of the few leading ladies I’ve found with that type of voice surrounded by a sea of hardcore Broadway belters.  Maybe it’s because she reminds me of myself in other ways.  Maybe it’s just some unknown magical quality.  Whatever it is though, over the past few years she has officially become my Broadway role model, and I hope someday I’ll be able to thank her for sharing her gifts with me and the rest of the world.