For the past two years, I have had a front-row seat to the developing careers of two young artists, Kelsey Fehlner and Samuel Aaron Tolley. This weekend, their two-year professional journey in Richmond will reach its culmination with their very own original musical Wheels Will Turn. With Fehlner penning a poignant script, built on dynamic character relationships, and Tolley composing fun eclectic music combined with catchy lyrics, the young writing team has made an excellent start.

The musical follows two best friends from high school now in college. Tolley plays the protagonist Logan while Fehlner supports as Logan’s best friend Rose. When Logan learns that their high school drama teacher Mr. Houston (affectionately called “Hughes” for short by his students) is on his deathbed, he suggests a road trip across the country. Conflict is on the horizon though, when Logan insists on inviting Zach, a former high school friend with whom Logan has a complicated history. Played by Sam Jones, Zach reluctantly agrees to join the trip at the behest of his current college girlfriend Katie, played by Nancy Kent Collie, hoping that this trip will help spark some much needed chemistry into their otherwise stagnating relationship. Finally, Teddy, a quirky and misunderstood classmate of Logan and Rose played Brandon James Johns, joins the crew’s trip at the last minute.

One of the shows greatest strengths lies in the colorful relationships that exist between each of these characters, a high tribute to both Fehlner for being able to juggle the various one-on-one dynamics throughout her scenes and director Lucian Restivo for expertly guiding the ensemble and making it easy for audience members to know to whom they should give their attention at any given time. At the forefront is Logan and Zach whose history as high school sweethearts becomes apparent with many hints the audience is quick to pick up on before Zach ever reveals that he is gay.

All of the cast members handle Tolley’s complex score with relative ease and solid skill, at times executing impressive and difficult harmonies. All of the songs flow organically from the scenes, and the most enjoyable numbers appear in the second act when characters break from the convention of being in the van to bursting into fun choreography, helping to provide a mix of fun in light of the impending drama that comes from complicated relationships and fear for a beloved teacher’s health.

Brandon James Johns shines in his role as Teddy. A dynamic character, Johns is able to find all of Teddy’s beats, whether it’s the character’s offbeat love and expression for zoology and animals or the moments in which Teddy provides comic relief and tender warmth and love to his friends, providing for a unique philosophy along the way. His performance alone is reason enough to watch the show.

Zach is perhaps one of the most interesting characters written in the show, and Jones is incredibly strong in the part. He is able to portray the complex internal struggle Zach has throughout the course of the journey, and you can’t help but sympathize the way in which Zach is unable to reciprocate the feelings Katie and Logan have for him, while still conveying that he cares. Tolley and Fehlner’s real-life friendship exudes magnificently through their onstage counterparts as Logan and Rose lean on one another through the trip and wrestle with the fate of Hughes. Collie does a nice job playing Katie, a preppy college girl who has depth beyond her superficial surface.

Amidst all the humor that comes from being stuck in the most awkward road trip ever and the angst of personal relationship drama, Wheels’ real heart comes from the way in which the four high school friends reflect on what will happen to Hughes and what an incredible impact he has had on each of their lives. Even though Hughes never appears onstage, the audience can grab a sense of what an inspirational and loving figure he was through the performances given by Tolley, Fehlner, Jones, and Johns. He means something different to each of them and helped them become the dynamic individuals they currently are.

All in all, Wheels Will Turn combines so many elements of a young person’s life experience that audience members will each come away with some different to reflect upon. It’s a comedic road trip, a journey of self-discovery, a coming of age story, and a question of how we deal with tragedy in our lives, all wrapped up in great musical performances. You’ll find me there tonight in its final performance at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Theatre Gym at 8 pm.

DISCLAIMER: I like colorful language. You will probably see it below.

As you may have guessed from my previous article, certain trends of present-day Internet journalism make me want to throw a glass against a wall and watch it shatter into a million pieces. No, I don’t really want to do that; I just wanted to evoke some strong imagery in my opening sentence, and the thought of that glass representing these deplorable trends and that they could be as easily dismantled by throwing it against a wall is deeply satisfying.

Most of these articles appear to be written by my peers. As someone born in December 1988, you would think that Thought Catalog’s article “17 Things People Born in the Late 80s Are Currently Experiencing” would totally get me. Nope. It only solidifies the reality that I don’t understand my generation. So I’m taking it upon myself to become the counter-argument by co-opting these trends. I’m like ClickHole, but with more heart.

It’s not that I don’t doubt that mid-20 somethings are going through everything that author Christopher Hudspeth is talking about. I just think it reeks of “being an adult is just SO WEEEIIIRD”, “let’s commiserate over our debilitating first world problems”, and “I literally can't even”. I can’t honestly relate because the moment I start to experience any of these 17 things, I choose to respond to it differently. I don’t want to be pitied. I want to rise above. I want to be genuinely optimistic as my own personal “fuck you” to the nay-sayers.

I'm about to take that tiny step from being a positive, uplifting blogger on a mission to highlight the awesome people doing exciting work to yet another asshole on the Internet who thinks his opinion matters just because he owns a domain name.

Actually, probably not. Most of what you will read below is written in the spirit of good fun and respect. I like most things and even when I'm critical of them, I have a great deal of appreciation for them as well. The incredibly informative publication Backstage is no exception; they provide a wealth of insanely useful advice on how young actors can make a steady and rewarding professional career that reflects each individual's values, dreams, and goals. I've made major life decisions based on the information I have read from Backstage and it's turned out great.

But they once posted an article in July 2013 entitled "21 Signs You Were Born To Be An Actor", and it popped up again on my New Feed tonight, so naturally, I had to do something. Any article on the Internet that begins its title with the number-of-reasons format immediately elicits a face-palm from me and makes me want to curse BuzzFeed for making this trend of Internet journalism so damn popular.

*At this point, Corbin looks up at his own title and sees the irony in his own words*

Yeah... it's like that time Arrested Development paid homage to Friends by following their "The One Where/When..." title format. (Scroll to #7)

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.

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.