Maid by the Fire re-enactment

Re-enacting my Maid by the Fire solo in the dressing room in Columbus:

I think I've seen you somewhere... I remember! You were with that man, they took away, I recognize your face!

where I spent my vacation

I just had a wonderful seven day layoff, in which I greatly missed the tour, but was glad to get some time with family and friends. The first three days I spent in NYC, auditioning for summer stock stuff that starts after the tour. I went to five auditions in two days (I'm psychotic) met with two agents, and slept very little.

Then, then, then, I headed to the Bahamas, with my BFF Dominique. It was a blast...Here is a picture of where we stayed. I got much needed rest and relaxation on a dream vacay! Life is slow in the Bahames-we actually did stuff for about two or three hours a day, and the rest of the time just soaked up the sun on the beach and on the boat. We went to Thunderball Cay (see second photo), a cave where they filled the movie Thunderball and Into the Blue. At night we had dinner on the island, and the last night sang karaoke for an hour an a half. Just the two of us. It was AMAZING. Note to self, never drink rum drinks during the day if you want to have an event-filled afternoon. EVER.

Oh, and yes, Dominique and I swam with the sharks in the top photo (I took the picture from someone else- but it's of the same sharks). There were about 12 nurse sharks surrounding me in the water. They asked us not to splash, and who comes to a crashing splash in the water while hurrying to get out? Me, of course. I am thankful I did not get eaten....

Fast forward a few hours, and I'm in Columbus Ohio, relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready for the road, baby!

all for now

xo

H

my, how life (and I) have changed: a day at Culver

So the last week has been absolutely crazy with one nighters, and I haven't gotten the chance to write about one of my most exciting days on tour so far: performing in Southbend, IN. Why, you ask, is it such a big deal that you were performing in the middle of Indiana when you have performed in LA and Alaska, you ask? Well to me, this was by far the most exciting performance I had so far. I went to boarding school about an hour away at Culver Academies (from sophomore to senior year), and was blessed to have MANY of the faculty come see my show. Everyone, from my acting teacher to my English teacher to my college advisor were out there in the audience that night. It was truly magical, as I always told all of them my dream was to be on tour and then on Broadway, and here I was passing through a town where I spent the best years of my life!

The show ROCKED. I had my best performance so far, by far. itself lost power right after we bowed, and all the girls in the dressing room screamed their brains out. The technical crew had to come down and calm us down, we were like six year olds. HAHA. anyways, because of that, all of the audience had to leave via cell phone light in the dark, so I didn't get to see everyone....but it meant the world to me that they were there.

I spent the night with my voice teacher/ second mother Stacy Warren in Culver, and spent the next day traveling around campus. I visited my old swim coach, who taught me everything I know about being part of a team on tour and beyond, as well as the importance of both leading and following. I saw my favorite lady at the post office, Ms. Sheppard, dropped by to see the theatre, visited my favorite lady at the bookstore, and visited with a retired faculty couple who practically raised me when I was away in school. I visited the small downtown, and went to my favorite weekend restaurant (we weren't allowed to go into town on the weekdays), where I ordered the same thing I got there for three years, for old times sake, a regular coke and a taco salad.

Besides getting to see my large extended family and visit all the old buildings, I felt incredibly old. Cadets from the military academy (it's military for boys) addressed me as ma'm, and some people didn't even recognize me until I said "HELLOOO, IT'S HALEY." why wouldn't they recognize me? well, lets just say I grew up in college. Look at the pictures below for verification of stated fact. I was that nerdy alumni walking around campus wishing I could turn back the clock.

I even spent part of a day teaching a class. Yah, you heard it right. Me, teaching a class. I was actually nervous as hell too. It was a group of 30 in a choir class, who all turned out to be really sweet, great kids! I talked to them about "the biz," life on tour, and pursuing your dreams. I think they enjoyed the talk a lot, as I think they expected an old boring lecturer, not the crazy blond that stood in front of them. I think I had them when they asked me my major, and I said, history, drama double major with a minor in Japanese. You can say a lot about me, but I'm not boring.

And then I left, a little sad at heart, but happy to have gotten the chance to return, and headed in a taxi to Wabash, Indiana, back to my life on tour.

Here are some pretty much unidentiable pics of my younger self in high school. for your enjoyment.

xoxoxo to all-how blessed I am to have you all in my life and reading this!

xoxo

Haley

Sometimes on tour....

random things happen to you. Like you get a call from one of your fellow tour friends saying, "my boyfriend rented me a limo. come out and ride in it and drink champagne." It's 1 AM, you're in your pajamas and asleep, but you do it anyway. You throw your coat on over your PJs, you pt your contacts back in, and GO. And it's a blast.

And you get up at 6 AM the next morning and head to your next destination to perform at 4 PM. Brilliantly, of course!

LOVES IT.

Akron, OH stopover

Slept till 7:00 PM on day off, went to CVS with Amber (above) and Joe, and watched a movie. Henceforth, saw none of Akron, other than CVS, which was standard, ate lots of chocolate, and slept a lot.

Tomorrow we continue, trudging ever-onward in the name of JCS

XOXOX

Haley

Where the hell have I been and why the hell haven't I been writing? The truth is, I really don't know. Last week was a week of one nighters, where I don't really feel like doing much else rather than eating, working out, sleeping, and doing the show. Bus rides are tiring and tough, and take a lot of the energy out of you. I have to make sure I'm takign care of myself in every way. I started getting sick last week, I DID get sick last week, but I've been taking care of myself so that I get better.

Philly was fun. We were there for three days, and I caught up with an old flame, Noah. It was fun to catch up with him, and it was like no time had passed. We talked and laughed and had a great time....

hmm

then some random one nighers, Syracuse my friend Monica came to visit which was really great! It was soooo cold there, but I am glad we went because I got to see her and the theatre was GORGEOUS...then in Baltimore I shopped like a crazy fiend.

And tonight we went to Westpoint, where I got to meet up with my friends Suzyn and Karen, and we took a picture in the hotel on the way backffrom the theatre. It was a blast to see them and catch up!!!!!!!!1

then this week it's on to see my roomie in Toledo and then to Culver, IN!!!!!!!