And Mr. Hudspeth, before I continue, you’re a solid writer, and probably a pretty cool dude. I have nothing against you. It’s just that I feel compelled to spend the remainder of this blog entry respectfully debunking everything you've so carefully written. We’re like Wesley and Inigo Montoya in a sword fight; we’d probably get along just fine but circumstances dictate that we must duel.

You can read good Christopher’s article here, but like last time, I’ve printed his “things” below with an effort not to distort the intention behind his words. I'll be covering the first nine today, and then tackle the rest in Part 2.

1) The troubling realization that you can in fact accomplish anything in life, if only you could figure out exactly what it is that you want to do. 

I switched my major five times in college and you know what it taught me? I suck at accounting. My high school ambition of double-majoring in English and religious studies requires far more reading than I care to do. And in Stage Combat, I can get graded on how well I play with a sword. Maybe we can accomplish anything we set our minds to, but sometimes giving it a try makes you realize that it’s not what you want to set your mind to in the first place. Making a choice simultaneously closes doors and opens new ones you could have never dreamed of. Putting off a choice because you’re afraid to choose closes every door.

2) Your high school reunion isn’t far away and you’re not quite sure where those ten years went

I’ve been out of high school for almost eight years and I have a grand tale of how I got from Point A to Point B. It’s just longer than most people care to hear and I will go on a billion tangents in the process, but damn, it is entertaining! I will know exactly where those ten years went.

3) This is a complex stretch of life because when it comes to screw-ups, you aren’t young enough for youth to be an acceptable excuse but you also don’t necessarily feel like a fully-fledged, sufficiently equipped, capable adult.

Bro, I can’t even begin to tell you how much is wrong with this one. I’m going to challenge you to write down all of your “major screw-ups” as you go through your 20s, then read them back to yourself when you’re 35. I bet you’ll find them all laughable. Furthermore, youth should never be an excuse. I used to use it for not knowing as much as I’d like and then as a reason to soak everything up like a sponge, but the reality is you’re never too old or too young learn as much as you can. There will always be something you screw up. Mistakes are not reserved for the young.

And the idea of a fully-fledged, sufficiently equipped, capable adult is a complete and utter myth. You’ll realize this when you’re 35 too.

4) You’re losing friends and it isn’t because of immature drama or a falling out. It’s because people are finding boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, careers in other cities, children- numerous life changing things, and free time is a hot commodity. Friendships aren’t dissolving because of anger, they’re dissolving because of life.

How dare you compare people moving forward in their lives to immature drama! Yes, what you describe does in fact happen, priorities shift and free time is precious. Most of mine is spent in a van traveling all over the country. Yay for touring theatre.

Because I have spent most of my adult life in theatre, whether professionally or academically, I have an abundance of experiences growing close to groups of people I would call my dearest friends. I spend months growing close to these people only to realize a year later that I haven’t talked to or seen them in a while. A LONG while. I would never call this a lost friendship because I’m certain if I saw these individuals again, we would have just as good of a time together, if not better. Yes--life gets busy and more and more people enter our lives, making it more difficult to keep track of all the different relationships we have. Yes--people do change, but being able to appreciate those changes is one of the most awesome things about growing up. I am willing to bet if you ran into your supposed "lost friends" at a gathering of some kind, you would change your mind about them.

All relationships change. It's inevitable. But don’t delete your friends off Facebook just ‘cause it’s been a few years since you spoke.

5) Sometimes you’re just faking it and casually mimicking others, not because you’re a follower, but you want to blend in while you figure this thing out for yourself.

The biggest disservice we all continually do to ourselves is trying to blend in. I did it before and I thought I’d take cues from the people who claimed to have it figured out, but in doing so, I was depriving the world of the unique perspective I had to offer. Standing out may be scary, but it’s amazing how much courage I had to follow my own heart and be myself when I admitted my own flaws. Besides, no one has this shit figured out.

When in Rome, appreciate what the Romans do, but always do what you do. Like what you wrote for the second half of this number: “Don’t fret, y’all – 60% of the time I’m basically a kid sitting on another kid’s shoulders, wearing an oversized coat and pretending to know the drill. You get it, Chris, and you can come up with far better imagery to describe it than I.

6) Understanding that if you’re not careful, “a little time off” from something can easily turn into a couple of years. Skipping a semester or a leave of absence from your job (if you have that luxury) can be risky decisions that tend to play out extra painfully because there are no refunds on time.

This is the epitome of #1stworldproblems.

Let me tell you a story about a man who decided to fall in line with what could have been described as the family business: practicing law. He had been working a good gig in a photo lab and was able to provide for his family, but he didn’t get to be with his kids as much as he liked. So he apprenticed in his father’s law office for three years, making far less money than he was before, studying for the Bar exam as he worked. After three years had passed, he decided he did not want to take the Bar, and returned to the photo lab where he worked before but in a different capacity that he enjoyed more.

During that time, this man was my favorite youth soccer coach and Scout Leader. He’s also my dad, and my grandfather’s law office was on the floor below our apartment. During that time, the new episodes of Power Rangers that I desperately wanted to see somehow never forgot to be taped…

You’re never taking time off. There’s a reason why your “break” is taking as long as it is.

7) The things you loved as a kid are constantly at risk of being remade/ruined.

Speaking of my dad, his generation has us all beat on this one. Don’t believe me? Two words then: Star Wars.

Imagine growing up with that original trilogy and being told that in an era of better special effects, they were making a prequel trilogy where we would learn how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. Then, imagine seeing The Phantom Menace, not as a pre-pubescent child, but as a grown-up man who’s been awaiting for the cinematic awesomeness to return.

Now imagine repeating this entire process with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skulls. At least now we have enough forewarning to expect the worst. I will probably go see Star Wars Episode 7 in theaters, but I’m not setting my expectations too high.

And to respond to the second half of your entry, Recently there were rumors of a Space Jam sequel and I was in the fetal position rocking back and forth singing “Everybody get up, it’s time to slam now…” for 45 minutes. Luckily it proved to be nothing more than Internet lies and I made a hasty recovery.

Once again, I love the imagery, Chris, but when was the last time you saw Space Jam? Seeing it as an adult may ruin your childhood memories of it more than a remake.

8)  Slight frustration with your parents for not making you learn how to play instruments or try really hard at sports or something you could have turned into a lucrative career.

Have you ever met anyone who had their parents actually do that? They’re not always happy about it. And odds are about fifty-fifty that if your parents ever made you learn one of these skills and pushed you too hard in it, you would probably lose interest. Reverse psychology is a bitch.

Also, let me get on my soapbox about arts and athletics for a moment: their primary functions for children and teens should be to help develop important life skills, self-expression, discipline, teamwork, and other awesome qualities. The last thing they should be concerned with is producing the next Broadway star or Hesiman winner. It’s great when these things happen, but what makes arts and athletics so worthwhile isn’t about a lucrative career.

Stepping off the box now…

9) Birthdays are no longer enjoyable because they’re all just another year in the books after 21.

No wait, getting back on!

I’m gonna turn to my good friend Tony Horton for this one. No, I don’t actually know him; I’ve just heard all of his maxims from repeatedly doing workouts in the P90X family (3 is epic by the way). My favorite is “Aging is for people who do not know better.”

Birthdays are your own personal bragging right to show off that you’re one year better. And my 21st intersected with my Voice for Theatre exam, so it doesn’t take the cake for being exceptionally enjoyable. It was nice though.

So I still have 8 more things to debunk, but this feels like a good stopping point. Being a counter voice is a lengthy endeavor.

But before I go, let me share a proverb with you: “Those who say it can’t be done, should not interrupt the people doing it.”

This anonymous Chinese proverb was plastered to the wall every time I set foot into my mom’s office at school. She was an assistant principal for ten years and she had a knack for investing in the kids others would give up on. She’s a tiny woman who could make 6-foot, 200-pound football players with aggression issues stop fighting just by calling their names to let them know she was near. If she had a dollar for every time she heard, “Oh, sorry Mrs. Puryear!”, she could probably retire early.

Most of these kids she took under her wing turned out better because instead of listening to the stereotypes and the negative self-talk that permeated the halls, they listened to her instead. That doesn’t happen when you take things at face value.

Don’t blend in. Change the response. Rise above the norm and the expected.

Part 2 coming soon :)

But Corbs, it's all in good fun!
Of course it is. So is my blog post today.

But also, their article is a bunch of stereotypes, and I hate stereotypes and love debunking them. So that's what I'm gonna do, because according to "21 Signs", I have no business being an actor. Ridiculous, I know. You can read the Backstage article here, but most of their content will be re-posted below. The only difference is instead of funny, adorable GIFs of Homer Simpson, Spongebob, and Anne Hathaway, you get me poking holes in their argument.

1. You could dance before you could walk. 
Sure couldn't. I couldn't dance until maybe college. Even now, you'll probably enjoy how much fun I seem to be having, but my shimmy is an embarrassment to humanity.

2. You were a very expressive baby.
I have no earthly clue, but my parents have never said anything about it, so I probably wasn't anything too special in the expression department.

3. You wrote, directed, and starred in all your neighborhood plays. (And the neighbor kids hated you.)
I wrote maybe a puppet show or two that got performed in my church. And I liked doing skits at Scout Camp. Thank you, the arts, for permeating your way into so many forms of my childhood that I didn't have to make the neighbor kids hate me.

4. You took drama class every semester to keep your GPA up.
I didn't need to keep my GPA up. I was the token smart kid growing up. I took drama class to rebrand myself.

5. Even the most mundane tasks are performed with great intensity.
That's exhausting. No.

6. You are the one who always has to make the speech at important family functions, even though you hate it.
I'm the one who always volunteers to make a speech at important family functions, and I love it. Writing, speaking, and performing are some of my most favorite ways to express myself.

7. You taught yourself how to raise one eyebrow, just so that you could be more dramatic.
I can't do this. I've never tried to do this. I never ever even thought about this until I read the article, and only now have I started noticing when NPH and Stephen Colbert do it. If I had never read the article, this would have never crossed my mind.

8. You’ve tried “regular” jobs, but they are sooooo boring.
You might have me here, but does Starbucks really count as a "regular" job? Even then, the conversational aspect of interacting with customers was really enjoyable to me.

9. You never were really good at sports.
At my current job, a group of theatre people get together every Sunday to play a game of pick-up football. One of our regulars played basketball at Penn State. In high school, I was far from the best, but I still made the team, and the older I get, the more athletic I get. Honestly, we do ourselves a great disservice by separating the arts from the sports. So many similar values and principles are instilled here, and honestly, most venues of performance require some form of athleticism. Bad, stereotype! Bad, bad, bad!
 
10. Even though you were really bad at first, you stuck with it. 
Okay, I'll give you that one. 
 
11. Sometimes, everyday people just can’t handle you.
I'm actually really friendly and amiable, and I'm starting to get the impression that my cheerful disposition in public places often makes people feel better. I'm great with "everyday people", whatever that means.

12. You are a complex person with many sides to your personality.
You just described every single living person on the planet.
 
13. You have always been very sensitive to the latest fashions.
Nope. 
 
14. You sometimes forget that your outgoing personality does not always fit the situation.
Shutting up and letting other people do the talking is wonderful. I learn so much! My outgoing personality usually comes up when the situation welcomes it organically.

15. Like many actors, you are open to holistic medicine.
I guess so. Sometimes it's worth a try, so you may have me there.
 
16. You have always had a knack for picking up choreography.
It's a skill I had to develop by attending Zumba classes and turning off my inner critic. This "knack" had to be learned and practiced.

17. You always competed with your siblings for attention.
Nah, Braxton and I shared it pretty well. And thank goodness for that, because I hate competing for attention. Part of what I love about being an actor is you learn when the focus is on you and when it goes to someone else. Attention competition has no place in the biz.

18. You really know how to party.
It's debatable, but I hear I'm a really funny drunk.

19. You are always conscious of how you look.
While I do try to look clean and put together, sometimes it just doesn't matter to me. Also, revisit #13.
 
20. You have full command of your range of emotions.
HAHAHAHA, oh sorry, I didn't mean to laugh so loud. Sometimes I just can't control it.

21. Basically, you were born to be fabulous.
No, I wasn't. I have never used the word "fabulous" to describe myself and I never will. I am not fabulous, and before you go assuming I have a self-esteem problem, know this: I am Awesome. One might even say that I am Absolutely Awesome. It might even be what the A. A. really stands for, contrary to what my pesky birth certificate says.

Corbs, was this really necessary? No one probably took that article seriously.
And if you're thinking that, you might be right, but as I said before, I don't like stereotypes. I've met a lot of different types of actors out there in my 3-4 short years in the profession. Yes, some actors fall into this category, and I love them for it. Others are very shy and soft-spoken, and they only truly come to life once they get on stage. I love them for that too. But most of the ones I know fall all over the spectrum between these two extremes. We need all kinds of people to represent humanity on the stage and screen, shy and outgoing, shabby and fabulous.

I know some folks who have been turned off by the idea of doing theatre or pursuing their dreams of being an actor because they believe in generalizations like the ones above. It's a terrible shame, and I'd like to tell them what a great mentor of mine once told me:

During my senior year of high school, I was having a chat with my former soccer coach and Scout leader Bryan Wilson. He asked me what I wanted to do for a career and when he suggested a couple that made sense for my skills at the time, I responded "I don't know, I know some people who are doing that right now, and I really don't want to end up like them."

"But you don't have to," Mr. Wilson replied. "You get to do it your way, and you will always have that choice."

Sure, that may seem a little obvious to some, but it didn't always feel that way to me. I needed that reminder, and I'm glad he gave it to me, because I've been able to pursue my career as an actor on my own terms and now I enjoy finding the other people who do the same. Backstage is the publication that prints the advice that makes this bold individuality in the professional world possible. Most of the time.

You do you, Backstage. Leave the stereotypes and superficiality to BuzzFeed.

While touring Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, my castmates and I often find ourselves answering our young audiences' queries of why the dwarves’ names are different from the Disney classic they know. This weekend, the children visiting The Whistle Stop Theatre Company in Ashland, VA may have similar questions. On October 25 and 26 at 2 pm and 4 pm at the Ashland Firehouse Theater, they will be guided deftly into the enchanting world of The Little Mermaid without ever hearing the name Ariel or meeting her sea critter friends Sebastian and Flounder.

Instead, playwright Louise Keeton and composer Samuel Aaron have adapted this classic fairy tale straight from its Hans Christian Anderson roots, proving that they can successfully create magic with nothing more than barebones storytelling. Devoid of Disney trademarks and elaborate special effects, Keeton and her team of savvy theatre artists have re-imagined The Little Mermaid story with an elegant simplicity, relying on classic theatrical devices that would make the ancient Greeks and Shakespeare proud.

It’s a good thing too, because the original source material is more interesting than its Disney spin-off. In both Anderson’s original tale and the Keeton/Aaron adaptation, the Little Mermaid (played by Nancy Kent Collie) becomes fascinated with the humans above the sea when her father the Sea King (Fred Horn) tells her how humans have souls. While mermaids will disintegrate into sea foam upon their deaths, humans have the ability to live on forever through their souls if they should find true love. The Little Mermaid, youngest of five sisters, waits impatiently until her 15th birthday when she is finally old enough to rise above the surface and see the humans for herself. It is there she meets and saves a kind prince (Chandler Hubbard), falls in loves with him, and then resolves to become human and gain an immortal soul. With the help of the villainous Sea Witch (Ella Mort), she exchanges her voice to live amongst the humans. A love triangle ensues when the Little Mermaid learns her prince has fallen for a human princess (Sara Ann Meinhofer). What follows after may not be quite what you remember from the Disney story, but it’s definitely enticing enough to find out what happens next!

Nancy Kent Collie captures the title character’s youthful eagerness with effortless charm, and has the voice to pull off the several challenging and well-written solo numbers. She carries children and adults alike through this young girl’s story, displaying equal parts wonder in her search for an immortal soul and pure affection for her human prince with a demeanor of child-like innocence.

In addition to their roles as the Sea King and music composer/director respectively, Horn and Aaron show off their impressive skills as musicians. Rather than relying on a full orchestra or pre-recorded sound cues, all of The Little Mermaid's music is provided live by nothing more than Horn’s superb piano playing and Aaron’s multiple talents on the flute, ukulele, and hand percussion.

The role-doubling doesn’t end there; Keeton has charged the rest of her outstanding ensemble to employ this classic theatrical device. Craig Keeton, Barbara Keeton, Caitlin Rose Sneed, Patrick Warren, and Kathy Abbot lend their simultaneously commanding and soothing voices as the show’s chorus of narrators while also revealing themselves as the mysterious Children of the Air. Mort and Meinhofer join Renee McGowan and Elena Riderer as the Little Mermaid’s older sisters, and they do an excellent job differentiating their characters in the process. All four actresses provide a lovely blend of singing voices, and their portrayal as condemning older sisters serves to help the audience sympathize even more with the curious Little Mermaid. Hubbard, while displaying the charming and kind demeanor of a prince with relative ease, occasionally breaks away from his royal role to join the mermaid ensemble in painting each scene with stylized theatrical movement.

Since the set is nothing more than five chairs and a black curtain, director Louise Keeton, has tasked these five actors with using nothing more than their bodies and voices to simulate shipwrecks, crashing waves, and much more. At times, her choreography is both comical and eye-catching, while also providing for some of the show’s more dramatic moments as well. When the Little Mermaid visits the Sea Witch’s lair, her fear becomes palpable when Hubbard and the company of mermaid princesses use jerky mannerisms to portray monstrous fish.

Aaron's inventive music was brought to life with Karen Stanley's choreography. Somehow she was able to take five actors and make them as large and impressive as a Broadway ensemble. Each line of music illustrated with creative, exciting movement to delight the entire audience, adults and children alike.

An incredible, ensemble-driven piece, the cast of The Little Mermaid works seamlessly together to spin a tale of magic and enchantment while relying on very few gimmicks. It is a wonderful example of what good theatre can be, and I applaud Louise Keeton, Samuel Aaron, and the rest of the Whistle Stop Theatre Company for their dedication to bringing it to the children and families of Ashland, VA.

There is still time to buy tickets for this weekend! You can reserve them now by emailing whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com, and you can also visit the Whistle Stop Theatre's website for more information!

Matthew Meckes returns to talk about his songwriting duo A Living Room Hush and their upcoming album Revelation. In addition to this interview, you can learn more about A Living Room Hush on Facebook and download a few of their songs FOR FREE (I already did) at ReverbNation. They are also in the middle of their KickStarter campaign, so if you like what you're hearing, please donate to this talented group!

Matthew Meckes, a good friend of mine from my Florida Studio Theatre adventure, stops by to talk about his experiences working as both a musician and an actor in two separate productions of the rock musical Next To Normal. Meckes was the keyboard player and assistant music director for Florida Studio Theatre's 2011 production, and he currently plays the role of Gabe in the Civic Theatre of Allentown's current production of the musical.

Ricky talks about what he plans to do when he returns to New York City.

In this first episode, Ricky DeRosa stops by to talk about auditioning and working for the touring children's theatre company, Theatre IV.