Hello again!

If I’m making another blog post, you know what that means: I’ve got a new update!

I’m so so so excited to share that I am a part of the Chicago cast for Disney’s Winnie the Pooh (Yes, the show that went viral on TikTok for their cute puppets)! I’ll be rotating the roles of Piglet, Roo, and Kanga with two other lovely Chicago-based ladies. This had been something I’ve known about since January, and it’s been so hard to keep it close to my chest, but I’m so glad the secret’s out! You can find Pooh and all his other friends at the Mercury Theatre from March 15-June 12. Find tickets at www.winniethepoohshow.com

Other things… This is the big one haha. I’m so incredibly honored to be joining a show filled with such talented and kind performers and designers, and a show that carries nearly a century of childhood memories for a lot of people. If you get the chance to check it out, I’d love to see you there!

In the meantime, be kind to someone today and be well <3

Yes, that is a Hadestown reference, I’m glad you caught that. Theatre shut down for almost a year and a half, and ever so slowly, it’s coming back.

I realize I haven’t made an update in all this time. I was, like a lot of people, trying my best to take care of myself, and stay alive. And sometimes, I think that’s all we can ask for.

But!! I have been doing quite a few things recently. And I’m feeling good. So I’m going to share them with you:

I’m performing in a show right now! It’s a devised play titled The Legacy of Sherwood Forest, based on the legend of Robin Hood, and placed in a modern context. I play and created the character Ruby, the equivalent of Will Scarlet, a hip young hacker-type who uses her knowledge of technology to help the Sherwood community. We’re performing at the Morton Arboretum as a walking play (the audience hikes along a trail and sits down at various settings as the play progresses). I’ve been having a good time with it!

I’m in rehearsals for another show right now! A former acting professor of mine referred me to a production Water by the Spoonful at Northeastern Illinois University, since they were looking for an actor of Asian descent for the character of Orangutan. So that’s just started up, and I’m super excited to be a part of it!

I made a virtual show! Letters to the Universe has been a personal project of mine on and off for the better part of three years, intended for a virtual audience but adapted to the internet because… (gestures broadly) of the state of the world. It’s about love, connections, mistakes, and endless gratitude. I’ve been making the joke to myself that it’s the magnum opus of my early 20’s, but it kind of really is. Here is the link to watch the show if you are interested.

So… that’s me right now. There’s also a lot of happenings with my personal life, but… we don’t need to delve into that. I hope you are also doing well. :)

The state of the world is… a lot, to say the least. During these times, it’s important to take care of yourself and others, and take a stand for what is important. The global pandemic, combined with the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, provides the opportunity for lasting change, if we are able to have discussions and learn.

(Steps on soapbox)

Just to make it clear, Black Lives Matter. They mattered then, they matter now, and they always will matter. Racism seeps through the core of everything in our lives, from beauty to work to yes, the theatre industry. Ask any BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) in the industry and they can tell you stories of racism they’ve experienced in class, in the rehearsal room, or on stage. I have my own, too. Theatre companies make audition posts that call for any ethnicity, and when zero/few BIPOC show up, they cast white actors instead of evaluating why none showed up and reaching out to them specifically. Their executive boards are primarily white. Their audiences are mostly white. Theatre companies need to not only denounce racism, but develop and implement steps to dismantle it within their structure. One Instagram post is not enough.

(steps off of soapbox)

How am I doing? I’m fine. I’m trying my best to take care of my mental health, especially since so much of my life depends on a routine that has been upended by the events of the world. I’m back home in Texas with my parents. Some sanity is maintained through Animal Crossing, group chats, and a YouTube Channel that a few friends and I made (we just play games over Zoom. Nothing too exciting). As life slowly picks back up, scheduling gets more complicated.

The things I mentioned in February’s post (Mentalhaus and senior showcase) went digital. Not how I imagined things going, but oh well.

I recently signed with Gray Talent Group! It’s exciting and humbling to be able to join the ranks of some wonderful people, and I can’t wait to see where things go from here.

Until next time, stay safe and be bold.

This is the most common thing I’ve heard recently, and to that I’d say: Well, you’re right. But as it turns out, I’ve still got some business to wrap up.

As I mentioned before, I’m the dramaturg for Failure: A Love Story. That opens this weekend, and I made a pretty rad lobby display for no budget. I’m also holding a post-show discussion next week, and I’m very excited about that.

To add to that, I got into the senior showcase at Columbia, so I will have to spend some time preparing for that.

To add even more to that, I’m joining MentalHaus, a theatre ensemble made by a graduate student as part of her thesis.

So like I said, I’ve got more to do. This is a pretty short post, but there’s enough to warrant an update before the mayhem strikes again.

So… I’m officially a college graduate. I survived doing five things at once (remind me not to do that again). My diploma’s in the mail, and my parents are getting all the letters saying how well I did (Dean’s List and Summa Cum Laude, woohoo). Check out these pictures from Urinetown and Richard III. I still have no clue how I did those two at the same time.

The new question is what happens now?

I’m still wrapping up a few things at Columbia, like Failure A Love Story dramaturgy (and walking the stage haha). I’m also helping choreograph some violence for the one act play festival. Someone was originally assigned to it, but then five of the six plays required violence/intimacy, so they recruited some more people to help out, including me.

In the meantime, it’s just auditioning and getting a job, whether it’s theatrical or “real.” So we’ll see what happens next.

Currently, I’m in Urinetown with the Beverly Theatre Guild, and understudying five tracks for Richard III with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. In addition to that, I’m also completing my final semester of college, working as a TA for the stage combat program, directing a scene from Sender by Ike Holter with Columbia College, and serving as a dramaturg for Columbia’s Mainstage production of Failure: A Love Story by Philip Dawkins. In short… I’m doing a lot. So of course, the main question is how am I going to handle it all?

The easy answer is that I won’t, and the will be some point in October where I finally realize the chaos that I got myself into. The more complex answer is that I fully believe I can make it to 2020 alive and whole, and here’s three ways how:

1) Keeping organized

My room may always be messy, but my planner definitely isn’t. My planner keeps everything I have to do on something physical so I don’t have to worry about keeping anything in my head except for my lines and blocking. Color coding is my best friend, especially with Richard III, where I’m learning multiple fights within one scene.

2) Compartmentalizing

When you’ve got a lot of things to do, it’s very tempting to hop back and forth between different things, since that seems like to best way to multitask. However, multiple studies suggest that multitasking is actually less productive than just doing one thing at a time. Dedicate an hour or so to one project, then move on to another. And remember to take breaks!

3) Communication!!

Look, when you’ve got a lot of commitments, double booking is bound to happen. Make sure you let both parties know about the issue as you try to work something out. As someone who is double-booked very frequently, I’ve seen what happens when you try to handle it without telling anyone. Do better than past me.

As I go through these next couple of hectic months, I’ll try to also keep this website updated with things, although with everything I’ve got already… we’ll see what happens.

Senior year technically started in January when I had 90+ credits, but either way, official senior year starts this fall! What a crazy few years it has been. A few updates on what I’ve been up to:

I played Ophelia Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at Columbia. I also got up to some pirate shenanigans and took part in perhaps one of my most favorite mayhem fights ever.

“Read on this book, that show of such an exercise may color your loneliness.”

I also got SAFD tested in quarterstaff, smallsword, and singlesword; I passed all three and got recommended in two! This means I have now been deemed proficient in six weapons total. And starting this fall, I will be a TA for Columbia’s stage combat program, which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. If you told baby Tina that she would be swinging around weapons like a BA onstage, she would not have believed it. But here we are!

via GIPHY

In the meantime, I’m working on campus as a tour guide for prospective students, seeing more theatre, going to auditions, and moving into a new apartment. Wish me luck.

Wow! Moby Dick ran (swam?) for an entire month, and what a voyage it was. I made gifs from our promo video:

via GIPHY

Discover & share this Whale GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

via GIPHY

Oh, what a fun time it was! I’m so grateful for the cast and crew of Moby Dick The Musical. I’ve left with more skills, more confidence, and some new friends.

So what’s next for me? Well, I’m about to kick off senior year with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Columbia! I’m still so surprised I got cast, especially since my callback was… an interesting one. Anyway, here’s to hoping I have another fun time.

Whoa, I’m back.

Life has been kind to me, and rehearsals for Moby Dick the Musical are going well! Here’s some promotion photos:

The whole team behind this show has been super fantastic. It’s been worth the hour-long commute I have. My face hurts from laughing and smiling with these people, and we have a great show on our hands. If you get the chance to, please come see it! you can get tickets here.

Other things I’ve been up to: I worked with Bring Your Own Theatre (BYOT) and their monthly 24 hour play festival. This month, the theme of the plays were “I just wanted to play board games.” I got to flip a table, which is always fun. You can check out my performance here.

That’s all I’ve got, so until next time, be kind to each other in these tumultuous times. And vote!

This summer has felt unreal.

First, I performed in a 10-Minute Play Festival, as Alexa (yes, Amazon's all-knowing device).

My job as an orientation leader was probably one of the best jobs I ever had, with some of the greatest people ever.

And I'm in a musical! I haven't really been in a musical since high school, and even then I didn't do much singing, so this is pretty big for me. Rehearsals started last week, and it's been awesome so far.

Classes start up in two weeks, and I'm only mildly nervous about my packed schedule. So things have been good.