NEWSIES takes the stage

When I found out that they’ve made a stage adaptation of the 90s cult classic musical, “Newsies” I didn’t quite know how to react. I wanted nothing more when I was 8 years old than to be in that movie. And growing up in musical theatre meant I was always on the look-out for someone to produce it. And for me to star in it.

Well I guess that feeling has always stayed the same because while I’m mostly super excited about this new production of NEWSIES I’m also a tad jealous that I wasn’t part of it. I mean, I’ve been carrying the banner since 1993, y’all.

I feel like this is going to sweep Broadway and be a hit for years. Like The Lion King or Wicked, NEWSIES is a classic story with a older-millennial cult following. So, while I’m over not being in this production, I am SUPER EXCITED that there are people out there who are just as super excited and “get” NEWSIES like I do.

and I’m back…

Hello again! Much has happened between my last post and this one so I feel like a whole new introduction is needed. What would the trailer for this movie look like? My guess is there’d be a #filmcamp in Denver, a film conference in Ridgcrest, NC  and a move back to Nashville.

After living a year in Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area, I’ve discovered that there really is no place like home. While I made some fantastic new friends and had some of the most memorable experiences I still couldn’t see myself in the DMV for much longer.

The time was right for me to leave Nashville a year ago and the time was right for me to return just last month. Over the course of that year I helped produce the Denver #filmcamp for Inside|Out Global and attended the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival.

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Introducing Inside|Out Global™

Back in 2009, I went to New Zealand for 15 days to be part of a group that taught filmmaking to urban youth as a way for them to discover their strengths, tell their stories and influence their culture.

A year later, I joined them again in Washington DC to do the same workshop with Metro DC youth. Two weeks after that I found myself moving to Alexandria VA with only what I could fit into my SUV.

So what have I been doing this past year in DC? Helping to get Inside|Out Global (IOG) established as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We’re finally official!

The mission of IOG is to empower young people to tell their stories and discover their gifts and strengths through filmmaking and the creative arts. Our vision is to see the world’s youth find, embrace and offer their unique gifts to influence and enrich their cultures.

Bonus: now that we’re a 501(c)3, means that you can make a tax-deductible donation to help us do this year round! (We accept checks of all sizes *wink).

This year, in 2011, we’re bringing the same workshop that’s been done in New Zealand and DC to the Denver area at the end of the month! I’ll definitely be blogging more about this experience as it unfolds.

Be sure to check out our brand new website and watch some of the videos the students have done. Keep in mind, these are filmed by students that (in some cases) have never picked up a camera before or seen the inside of Final Cut Pro. The stories they tell are true. I’ll post more videos this week as we gear up for Denver.

look around you – maths

“Maths” is another installment of the Look Around You series that teaches us to look around us and see our world in a new light. Maths is all around us. Watch the video to learn more about this amazing phenomenon.

drop it like it’s hot

Over the next few weeks I’ll be on a street team for the new Sun Drop campaign. Those of us from the South know that this isn’t anything new; that Tennessee is “Sun Drop Country.” But people here (Metro DC area) have never heard of such a thing.

So I’m helping get the word out by handing out free cans of Sun Drop to college and music festivals. It’s actually a pretty cool gig. Plus, who does like free stuff?

insidious is… amazing

Good scary movies are hard to come by these days. I’m not talking about slashers that hack people up into tiny bits (although Sweeny Todd is different. I guess because it’s also a musical) I’m talking about edge-of-your-seat, this-could-actually-happen kind of scary. Insidious is just that and more.

What I loved about it was they didn’t give everything away in the trailer. Yes, there are some scary parts in the previews, but man oh man… once you’re in the theater they don’t hold anything back. It really is one of the best-made thrillers I’ve seen in a long time. Consider it today’s Poltergeist. The family moves into a new home and quickly discovers that it might be haunted. Their son falls into an unexplained coma. Strange things happen that can’t be explained and some really thrilling moments happen in the first house. The family moves into a new home hoping to leave it all behind them and focus on getting their son well. It isn’t long that their troubles follow them. Sightings and happenings are still, well, being seen and happening. A medium is called in and states the film’s tag line, “It’s not the house that’s haunted… it’s your son.” Dun, dun, dun.
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new social network is crazy good

There’s a new social network in town and it’s Crazy Good.

Imagine what it would be like if you got paid $1 for each of your friends on Facebook. Then a $1 for each of their friends and a $1 for their friends and their friends and THEIR friends. It would start to add up.

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Target: Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular

What do you call 20 sensory-overloaded minutes fashioned out of 60+ dancers, an original visual program created by Daft Punk’s light designers, a new pop symphony from one-half of N.A.S.A., and over 155 rooms of New York’s Standard Hotel? You could start with “Spectacular,” but even that seems limiting.

This one-time-only show for Target’s 2010 fall apparel collection is just about the coolest and most unique event Mother’s ever produced!

Richard Simmons + New Zealand Air = Awesomeness

I love it when big companies know how to have fun and show they have sense of humor. Especially when it comes to boring things like airline safety procedures. Yes, it’s serious business, but it’s also important to not take yourselves too seriously… and New Zealand Air has done just that with their new safety procedure video:

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chase the lion

A good friend of mine showed me this quote from the book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” and it’s full of life-guiding mantras. I had the honor of reading it aloud at a service for young adults at the church I’m currently attending. I can totally hear Morgan Freeman reading this:

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Purse God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion.

Pretty powerful, huh? What does it inspire you to do?