I decided to move this blog over to Tumblr. While I like Blogger, I feel that I will be able to gain more followers and readers over on Tumblr than I would have on Blogger due to the site's popularity.
Hope to see you there!
http://idyllic-actor.tumblr.com/
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Casey Abrams' Effect
Wow! I totally did not mean to take so long to update this! Sorry, guys! I am in two plays right now and trying to finish the end of the school year, so as you can imagine, life is pretty hectic.
Before I continue with the "how I ended up at Idyllwild" story that I began in my last entry, I wanted to update you. I just returned from another visit to Idyllwild (probably my last one before the school year starts!), where I met with the academic dean and guidance counselor, who answered some of my lingering questions. We also went to a jazz guitarist's senior recital, which was amazing. It's just so incredible to see what people my age are capable of!
One of the cool things about Idyllwild this time around was seeing how Casey Abrams' time on American Idol affected the town. Yes, if you have not heard, Casey Abrams, this year's unique jazz/bluegrass singer on Idol, is a native of Idyllwild. He grew up there and attended the school as a music major. His stunt on Idol significantly increased the tourism in Idyllwild, and I also heard that many more people submitted applications to Idyllwild this year. With Idyllwild more in the news than ever, it is certainly a fun time to have been admitted.
What I loved most was seeing how the entire town got behind Casey. It is truly a kind, nurturing, supportive town, and everyone in the town, even people who never watched American Idol, took the time to vote for him. Though Casey was eliminated last week, there were still many signs up around town, encouraging people to vote for Casey. Here is my personal favorite:
Before I continue with the "how I ended up at Idyllwild" story that I began in my last entry, I wanted to update you. I just returned from another visit to Idyllwild (probably my last one before the school year starts!), where I met with the academic dean and guidance counselor, who answered some of my lingering questions. We also went to a jazz guitarist's senior recital, which was amazing. It's just so incredible to see what people my age are capable of!
One of the cool things about Idyllwild this time around was seeing how Casey Abrams' time on American Idol affected the town. Yes, if you have not heard, Casey Abrams, this year's unique jazz/bluegrass singer on Idol, is a native of Idyllwild. He grew up there and attended the school as a music major. His stunt on Idol significantly increased the tourism in Idyllwild, and I also heard that many more people submitted applications to Idyllwild this year. With Idyllwild more in the news than ever, it is certainly a fun time to have been admitted.
What I loved most was seeing how the entire town got behind Casey. It is truly a kind, nurturing, supportive town, and everyone in the town, even people who never watched American Idol, took the time to vote for him. Though Casey was eliminated last week, there were still many signs up around town, encouraging people to vote for Casey. Here is my personal favorite:
One of the restaurant in Idyllwild also went all out supporting Casey. Cafe Aroma is THE place to go to in Idyllwild, and both locals and tourists can frequently be found hanging out there. It has great food and such a warm atmosphere, and I would definitely recommend eating there. On every Monday at Cafe Aroma, live musicians are hired to play in the background. Since Casey and his group had played many times before Idol, Cafe Aroma felt even more compelled to show their support for Casey.
The following pictures were taken from Cafe Aroma.
Posters supporting Casey:
Pictures and articles from a Casey "shrine," located behind one of the larger tables, which depicted articles about Casey and illustrations of him:
Best of all, Cafe Aroma added a special dish in honor of Casey. The live musicians who perform on Mondays are allowed to order whatever they want after performing, even if it is not on the menu. Casey's preferred dish became the "Casey Abrams Gnocci Alfredo." Of course, when I saw it on the menu, I had to order it.
Cafe Aroma has fabulous gnocci and meatballs, so I very much enjoyed the special dish. Even if it had not been named for Casey, I would have been compelled to order it.
I promise my next entry will be about my Idyllwild audition. In the meantime, I hope your enjoyed the pictures in this post!
Friday, April 15, 2011
My First Post: Acting History and the Start of the Application Process
Hello, I'm Mara, and thank you for checking out my blog! If you have not yet read my little explanation page here, then do so! Basically, this blog is all about my journey at Idyllwild Arts Academy, the arts boarding school I will be attending as a theatre major in the fall. Since I haven't started Idyllwild yet, these early entries will be about my anticipation about next year and how I ended up at Idyllwild in the first place.
I was in my first play when I was eight-years-old, as a tiny dwarf in Snow White. I was instantly hooked, and I followed that play up with acting lessons and numerous other plays at my community theatre. I also discovered a passion for musical theatre after I saw Wicked for the first time at eleven and became enchanted by the way music and songs can enhance a production. Since at the time, I lived in a small town in Southwestern, Michigan and did most of my theatre in nearby Indiana, I was beginning to run out of resources (we had trouble finding good voice teachers close by). Because of this, we moved to our current home in Tucson, Arizona, where I started voice lessons, continued acting and dance classes, and found a wonderful local community theatre which I have been blessed to be a part of. I've also done school theatre and have done many acting intensives during the summer, including Arizona Theatre Company's Summer on Stage, which I would recommend to anyone in the Tucson area.
My journey to Idyllwild happened like this: this year, I started doing school via distance learning, after a lifetime of school in a normal classroom setting, so that I could have more time to focus on my theatre. I also started becoming serious with the idea of a post-graduate year, so that I could exclusively focus on my theatre and refine my craft before entering the rigorous audition process that is necessary in order to be admitted into college theatre programs. It was then that we began looking at Idyllwild, Interlochen, and Walnut Hill, the three arts boarding schools in the country, as a possible way for me to spend my post-graduate year. Idyllwild is located in Idyllwild, California, in the mountains above Palm Springs; Interlochen is located in Interlochen, in Northwestern Michigan; and Walnut Hill is located in a quaint suburb of Boston called Natick. There are many arts high schools in this country, but those three are the only boarding schools. All three also offer summer programs.
After visiting Walnut Hill, I reached the conclusion that two years would be better than one, and I decided to apply for next year, with the idea that I would spend two years at the school. Walnut Hill only accepts applicants for a post-graduate year if they have not already attended the school, so I decided to reapply as a junior (I am a junior now). I then began working on my application and audition video for Walnut Hill. After that one was sent in, I started a similar process for Idyllwild and Interlochen.
Since this entry is already getting too long, and I'm trying not to give into my habit of overwriting, I will continue the story in another post by telling you about my visits and audition to Idyllwild!
I was in my first play when I was eight-years-old, as a tiny dwarf in Snow White. I was instantly hooked, and I followed that play up with acting lessons and numerous other plays at my community theatre. I also discovered a passion for musical theatre after I saw Wicked for the first time at eleven and became enchanted by the way music and songs can enhance a production. Since at the time, I lived in a small town in Southwestern, Michigan and did most of my theatre in nearby Indiana, I was beginning to run out of resources (we had trouble finding good voice teachers close by). Because of this, we moved to our current home in Tucson, Arizona, where I started voice lessons, continued acting and dance classes, and found a wonderful local community theatre which I have been blessed to be a part of. I've also done school theatre and have done many acting intensives during the summer, including Arizona Theatre Company's Summer on Stage, which I would recommend to anyone in the Tucson area.
My journey to Idyllwild happened like this: this year, I started doing school via distance learning, after a lifetime of school in a normal classroom setting, so that I could have more time to focus on my theatre. I also started becoming serious with the idea of a post-graduate year, so that I could exclusively focus on my theatre and refine my craft before entering the rigorous audition process that is necessary in order to be admitted into college theatre programs. It was then that we began looking at Idyllwild, Interlochen, and Walnut Hill, the three arts boarding schools in the country, as a possible way for me to spend my post-graduate year. Idyllwild is located in Idyllwild, California, in the mountains above Palm Springs; Interlochen is located in Interlochen, in Northwestern Michigan; and Walnut Hill is located in a quaint suburb of Boston called Natick. There are many arts high schools in this country, but those three are the only boarding schools. All three also offer summer programs.
After visiting Walnut Hill, I reached the conclusion that two years would be better than one, and I decided to apply for next year, with the idea that I would spend two years at the school. Walnut Hill only accepts applicants for a post-graduate year if they have not already attended the school, so I decided to reapply as a junior (I am a junior now). I then began working on my application and audition video for Walnut Hill. After that one was sent in, I started a similar process for Idyllwild and Interlochen.
Since this entry is already getting too long, and I'm trying not to give into my habit of overwriting, I will continue the story in another post by telling you about my visits and audition to Idyllwild!
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