I Survived Ebol-Eye

Well well well. We meet again. 

For those of you who have stuck through this journey with me, I am indeed grateful. If there is anyone interested in hearing and seeing more about this trip than my rare blog post, there is much more to see on Instagram and if you feel so inclined, I could also add you to a photo share I have set up to see even more pictures. 

It has been quite a while since my last post. As usual, I shall give a quick summary of the places I have seen and the things I have done since. I believe we left off in El Paso

Arlington Texas    Ebola 

Little Rock Arkansas   I do not enjoy Arkansas. Nope. Not one bit. 

Tupelo Mississippi    Spelling Mississippi is the funnest thing about the place. 

Macon Georgia    I like Georgia. 

Daytona Beach   Now this was a wonderful week. We got to stay right on the beach front. I had a very good friend come stay with me that week as well and we have a glorious time. Beach nights. Party's. Tiki bar. During this week was also my trip to Orlando to Harry Potter World. Words cannot express the joy this brought. I have never enjoyed anything more. It was everything. A week to remember for sure. 

Biloxi Mississippi  See above

Panama City Florida   Also a fun week. The beach at panama city is exceptionally beautiful and the strip around the beach was fun. My roommate and I spent a very fun day walking around the huge outdoor mall are by the beach. Definitely somewhere an epic spring break could happen. Note taken. 

Okay. This is taking way to long and i'm tired. We hit about a 100 other cities that left no mark on my memory. I’m gonna skip around a bit and just hit the good ones. 

Salina Kansas    Kansas is almost good for nothing but large farms and open air which I actually very much enjoyed. This stay sticks out because we got to spend a day at a local corn maze. It was the cutest thing ever. Three mazes, animals, gourd launcher etc. We had a blast and it was everything you would think Kansas should be. 

Lincoln Nebraska   An old high school friend goes to school 30 min from Lincoln and so she got to come see me and go to dinner and it was just a delight. I never thought I would be happy about running into any old high school friends but this proved me wrong. It was great to see her. 

Lake Charles Louisiana   A pretty boring day stop but Christine and I got to go to a Mardi Gras museum in the top of an old school building (sketch) but it was actually amazing. We found out later it's supposedly the largest collection of Mardi Gras stuff in the state. Pretty cool eh? We took lots of cool pictures and got to see and hear a lot about it. Makes me very excited to see New Orleans in a couple weeks. 

Bossier City Louisiana   We only stopped hear to do shows but it sticks out to me because it was the show of my first "Plan A". A plan A is when a member of the cast gets to go out on stage before the show as a normal human with a live mic and everything and welcome the crowd and get them pumped to see the show. They then announce and bring to the stage a local radio team or someone that has helped sponsor the show. I was picked to do it at this show. I was very nervous but it ended up being a blast. It was fun to get to be myself and just talk to the audience. 2500 people I might add. I'm excited to get to do more. 

Jonosboro Arkansas    This is where we just recently left. It has not changed my mind about Arkansas. I still do not like it. This was also a dry county. Enough said. 

That about sums it up I think. I am still very much enjoying this tour life. We had a couple really massive weeks of shows where we had to live on the bus for about 2 weeks solid and as expected, that was a challenge. Being stuck with the same group of people in a confined torture freeway chamber can have its problems. But alas, we made it and after three days of locking myself in the hotel room alone, I actually kind of like some of them again. Progress. 

One thing I would like to bring up. Ebola. It’s happening. It’s everywhere. It’s in Texas. Not only were we in Texas around the time of the epidemic, but we are going back. We actually spend Christmas there. We will all be celebrating the birth of Christ with internal bleeding in a hospital isolation room. Deck the Halls. 

I’m also fairly positive I have already beat the virus once. For those of you without snapchat, my top eyelid swelled up to the size of a grape for about a good week. I looked like a child molester with a constant wink. It was horrible. Maybe that was my run with Ebola and I am now immune. How do I contact the CDC?

Let’s see let’s see. Anything else I need to touch on. 

Workout portion of my blog. No comment. Pass the Doritos.

I hope all is well and the up coming Halloween celebrations go marvelously. Our company has put together a rather large budget for our party and our party planning committee has been working ceaselessly on it so needless to say, it’s gonna be a rager and Megan and I are gonna look fantastic. Party is Wednesday. Pictures to come. 

Much love to all. I really do miss most of you terribly. Send mail. 

Dixon the King

Ps. As you all have probably figured out by now, I really enjoy making lists. From now on, each blog will contain a list of something that has been on my mind. This blog…

List of possible names for my Autobiography

Dicks in Bowls : My Life Story

How Can I Be A Complete Loner 

Yet Have Everyone Know and Love Me and Other Concerns

Narcissistic in Nature. 

My Belly Fat Provides Comfort From The Cold. 

I'm A Mess. Are you? 

Weight Loss for Dummies. A Story of My Life

Condescending Sarcasm: What Else Is There? 

Not For The Weak Of Stomach

I'll just say it, Texas hasn't been my favorite place thus far on the tour. It has proved to be very entertaining at times (see San Angelo pictures), boring at times (also see San Angelo), but the last week and half have been getting better. Just in time to leave Texas.

San Antonio.

This was a wonderful stop on our list of cities. We played a beautiful theatre on Sunday and then got to spend the rest the week (until Thursday) in the city. If you have never been to San Antonio then I would suggest a trip. The River Walk itself is very fun to visit and gorgeous to be a part of. I could have walked up and down that place everyday. The food was great and the atmosphere was killer. We also stopped by the Alamo. I don't remember much from that but NEXT to the Alamo was this wonderful little tourist place that caught our eye. At first it seemed like the most gimmicky place that was just out to steal our money. But the guy was good at his job and convinced us to pay the $12 to get in. So, on one side was a mirror maze and the other was a bank vault. The mirror maze is just that. A massive maze made completely of mirrors and flashing lights and everything. You put on plastic gloves and walk with your hands in front of you. I have never had anything screw with my mind more. You think you're seeing something, and then no. It's fake. Once you go through once, they give you 3D glasses and you head back in. You mind as well take Acid before you go in. It got real crazy. Scary. Awesome. Let the imagination run wild. It was so fun. Next was the bank vault. There were 4 levels from Easy to Expert. When you walk in, like a bank vault (I assume), a bunch of lasers appear and its your job to get to the other side breaking as few as possible. The kicker is that there is a video on the outside so the others can watch you look like an idiot trying to crawl through. Needless to say it was the greatest $12 and two hours of the tour thus far. (That may be an exaggeration but you get my point).

Day trip to El Paso

Usually our buses only travel at night, but for a bunch of reasons we left San Antonio at 12pm and headed to El Paso (an 8 hour drive). This would usually really upset me because I hate driving. But this particular trip actually ended up being rather enjoyable. I forget how nice we have it on the bus cause i'm usually stuck in my bunk trying to sleep on a rocking horror bus, but actually being awake and using the wifi, tv's, dish, bathroom, fridge etc was kinda fun. I guess it's not the worst way to travel.

El Paso

Basically Mexico. There is no need to visit here.


Story Time - Not For The Weak Of Stomach


As you may have gathered from my touring experience thus far, the bus rides all put one thing very heavily on our mind. Bowel movements. And for whatever reason, a large chunk of our cast (myself included) have been struggling with finding......regularity. Anyways, I am exceptionally lactose intolerant and it seems to be getting worse daily. I can usually handle small amounts if I am careful and take certain precautions afterwards. So, we are doing 2 shows in San Antonio. After the first show we headed to catering to find a wonderful array of homemade tacos that we could build ourselves. Delighted, I head to make myself 1-6 tacos. At the end was the usual, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Thinking that I am doing wonderfully in the shows today I decide I deserve a LITTLE sour cream on my taco. What I did not take into consideration was that by putting a LITTLE sour cream on all 8 tacos, I was actually ingesting half the bowl. I haven't passed a math class in years. Give me a break.
Catering concludes as scheduled and we head back into makeup and costuming for one more show.  About halfway through the first act, the rumbling starts. First just casual "after dinner" stomach settlings, gradually progressing to "exceeds expectations". At about 10 minutes to intermission, I knew I was in trouble. The stomach was a going and the farts were a comin. With every step came the anxiety of what could happen when my foot hit the ground. In the last scene of the first act, the whole cast comes out to greet the royal family and Sophia tells us her gift for the Friendship Festival which ends of being a rousing musical number, aka, my current worst nightmare. The song begins and I am sweating bullets. I have escape routes planned and am beginning to work up how this speech to the costumers, telling them I soiled my costume on stage, is going to go. At the end of the number we all stand in a line, belting our hearts out as the curtain slowly closes. As soon as those tips touched I was down for the count and old lady speed walking to the dressing room. I yelled at the dresser to get my out of this damn thing and threw my costume into the crate, grabbed my robe, tossed it around me like a backwards coat and headed across the hall to the makeup rooms and bathroom. What happened next isn't anything i'm proud of or need to recount for you. It was a mess......but.....I made it. It had to be the scariest 30 minutes of my life. I was sure I was going to have to quit this tour and move home to live in the basement in shame. On the bright side, how many people can say they literally almost shit their pants on stage in a Disney Show?


Well there ya have it. We are currently on the bus and heading for a day stop in Arlington then we head to Arkansas for a couple days! I'm ready to be done with Texas and am excited to be slowly making our way back to Florida! Some beach time is definitely needed! I hope all is well back home and to whoever is reading this. I love receiving mail and will always respond so please find a way to get my address if you want! I have a lot of time on my hands and would make a great pen pal!

One last thing, I shall be going on a "social media fast" for 3 days from Tuesday-Thursday of this week. The only thing I am allowing is this blog site so I can keep you updated on the process and the expected withdrawals that are bound to happen. Should be a good time all around. Stay tuned.

Much love.

The King

Back in Action

As I sit here on the bus traveling from New Mexico to Texas, I am struck with only one thought.

I have to poop.




I am officially back on the road. After a glorious 10 days off spent in Idaho and Utah (sorry for those of you I didn't get to see. Guess you aren't that special after all), I am just finishing up another show weekend and headed to San Angelo Texas for the week. 4 wonderful days off await.

The shows this week have been great. Large crowds and excitement in the show. Today was especially challenging when we realized, halfway into the first act, that the elevation of Rio Rancho New Mexico was rather ridiculous and that none of us could breathe. This fact sent a couple performers straight to the EMT's for oxygen with the rest of us gasping for breath on stage. We got through the show, but I must say, it wasn't our best.

It really was excellent to go home. I had been really struggling with this tour for the first couple months and had honestly considering leaving my contract and coming back to Utah. But going home and seeing everyone and realizing that while life was still going on without me, not a whole lot of things are gonna drastically change while I'm gone. Yes, some sisters will have babies, houses will be built and food will be eaten, but I will be back before I know it and life can resume as planned. This gave me great comfort. So much so that I was actually excited to come back and, dare I say it, am still really happy to be here. Granted, we are only 5 days back in but I am having a great time. Bring it on Texas.

In other exciting news, my best friend is coming to visit me in Daytona Beach Florida. He will be my first tour visitor and I can't wait! For everyone else, BUY YOUR TICKETS! Come see me! Many magical Disney secrets await you (this isn't true. I'll never reveal the magic).

Let's see let's see let's see. I haven't blogged in forever and still have nothing to say.

I got to see a very old and dear friend today while in New Mexico. Tennille Mendenhall is serving her mission there and got to run over and say hi after my last show. It had been years since I had seen her and it was wonderful to catch up if only for 30 minutes. Seeing people I know really makes this experience easier so.....by all means, come see me.

I am actually learning to like this show better to. Yes, it is hard and will always be challenging to do it 9 times in a row on the weekends, but I have had a couple experiences to see recordings of the show or see it backstage better and it really is magical. I am excited to share it with friends and family. It is definitely a cool thing to be a part of. Bringing just a little bit of the "magic" to little kids and families all over the country. I have a good job.

Well, i'm off to bed. The bus just hit the freeway and that means I am down for the count. See ya in Texas!


Dixon

Hey. Hi. Hello.

After a brief hiatus from the pressures of blogging, I have returned.

I have decided that a day by day account of this adventure is useless. I literally do the same thing every day/week. It would kill us all to have to sit and listen to "We did a million shows. I sat in a hotel. It was nice. It was horrible. The wifi was good. The pool was bad. I worked out. Skinny skinny skinny." So from now on, if I don't mention that stuff....believe me, it's still happening.

This week we are in the glorious city of Binghamton New York after a trek through Pittsburg and Buffalo (I literally just had to look up what cities we did. This is getting rough.)

Pittsburg was absolutely amazing. Granted, we were on the campus and therefore only got to walk around the campus area and surrounding little shops and stuff but I must say, I would seriously consider going to school there. So fun. So pretty. The only downfall was everything seemed to be uphill. I'm still baffled at how we would walk uphill to get to the shops, then uphill to get back. There is some weird physics happening in Pittsburg.

List of cities I have visited that I want to return to:

Athens Georgia
Cincinnati Ohio
Pittsburg Pennsylvania 


The shows this weekend were a little bit of a nightmare. Bring on the rehearsals. From dresses being on backwards to cast members being unable to do the show and the rest the cast finding out 30 minutes before showtime. The hard thing about this show (and I will try to explain this as much as I can without giving too much away), is that it doesn't stop. Whether you know what you're doing or not, nothing stops. Sets could be falling down around you with nothing making sense and we press on. It leads to some interesting spur of the moment choices and some really bad ones. Nevertheless, we made it through and as far as we know, no body has been fired yet. Success. 

Tomorrow is a day full of Media Training (finally someone will tell me if i'm gonna be fired for this blog), and another TV show then the rest the day off. What a glamorous life. 

Another very important part of my life has ended this week. I finished The Walking Dead. I won't even begin to discuss the toll this took on me emotionally. It was a rough day. But alas, I have begun House of Cards and think I shall be just as happy with this. There are no zombies in this show, just DC politicians and at this point, I would rather the zombies. 

I have learned something very important this week. The only truly crazy people in this life are not the people on a bunch of medication, they are the ones who take nothing. Yes, deep I know. This whole thing has definitely thrown me a loop. I am not currently taking any medications (except ones for beauty reasons which will remain nameless) but if someone threw open the back of a van and offered me some Xanax I would be on that like a fat kid on cake. All future wannabe performers who are considering a life in touring or just a life with any particular show....come talk to me. There are things you need to know and pills you need to take. We can get through this together. 

Yes I realize all these paragraphs have totally different meanings and go together in absolutely no way but its late and i'm tired and that's what you get. 

Last topic of the day. Workout blog time. 

Yes, the working out is still happening. And it's still the worst. I also have started this thing where I eat only one meal a day and whenever my stomach growls I give myself a pat on the back and have a glass of water. If the next time you see me you don't instantly comment on how skinny I look, whether factual or not, I will scream in your face until you do. Lets not test this. I more than likely won't have much food on my stomach and will just pass out from the screaming and nobody needs to deal with that. 

Well there ya have it. A little catching up, a little philosophy and a little workout blog. Hope all is well. I miss you all very very much. 

Love, 
The King 

The Camera Doesn't Add 10lbs.

And we're back. 

It's been quite a while since my last post so I thought it's time to do some catching up. Quite honestly, the last week or so have been rather rough and so posting a blog during that time would have been most depressing and not fun to read. So...you're welcome. 

Since so much has happened and I have no desire to spell it all out for you, I have composed a list of  50 things I have learned or experienced since the last time we talked. Hope you enjoy. 

1. Being on tour is hard. 
2. Being on tour is fun. 
3. Being on tour is exhausting. 
4. TV studios are rather small and cramped. 
5. The camera definitely does not add 10lbs. 
6. It adds 15. 
7. Being on TV is fun.
8. Cincinnati is beautiful 
9. I'm moving there.  
10. Canada is beautiful. 
11. I'm moving there. 
12. Crossing the border into another country is exhilarating. 
13. Crossing back into USA is lame. 
14. Niagara Falls is exceptionally cool. 
15. And not as big as you think. 
16. But really fun to be under. 
17. The Walking Dead is a fabulous show and should be celebrated. 
18. Erie PA is a rather scary place. 
19. This hotel is haunted. 
20. But the beds are WONDERFUL
21. Which is all that really matters. 
22. Bring on the ghosts. 
23. People in Kentucky are very friendly. 
24. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way in Canada. Beware. 
25. Small momentos from home are very important. 
26. It's the little things that matter most. 
27. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. 
28. Dancing is very important. 
29. Being in love is a challenging thing. 
30. But one of the most wonderful in the world. 
31. Waking up is hard.
32. Having 4 days off in a row then doing 11 shows isn't fun. 
33. Performing is always fun. 
34. No one claps for King Rolands big entrance. 
35. Hate it.
36. But everyone freaking loves Sophia. Upsetting. 
37. Get it right kids. 
38. Not getting to poop on the bus is stressful. 
39. "Planned poops" are very important. 
40. I don't sleep on tour buses. 
41. Sleeping pills don't help. 
42. I'm taking 4 next time. Bye bye George. See you next Thursday. 
43. Some songs are always perfect for everything. 
44. Music is important. 
45. Leftover food is important. 
46. Tuna snack packs are important. 
47. Laundry is very important. 
48. Hotels with fridges and microwaves are a must. 
49. Never give up. 
50. I'll all make sense and be worth it in the end. 



Phew. Made it. Sorry for getting all philosophical and deep at the end. Couldn't resist. Lots of soul searching has been happening and it was bound to slip into this blog at some point. Won't happen again. (Yes it will). I hope everyone is happy and doing well! Feel free to call or hit me up at any time! I would love to hear from you!

Much love ##

The King

Fayetteville North Carolina. My fav.

Yuck.

This is definitely not my favorite place ever.

Yuck.


Needless to say, it's been a long week of not a ton to do. The mall was fairly nice but so far away and such a sketch town to walk around in that is almost not worth it to risk your life to get there. Also, people don't believe in walking anywhere around here. Now that I say it out loud, I clearly understand why. They have also figured out it would be life threatening to do so. They should post signs for us out-of-towners. There are no cross walks and few sidewalks. Getting across the road, should you need to do so, is always an adrenaline rush. I am very excited to do a couple shows here tomorrow and get the hell outta dodge.

Oddly enough, I have been entertaining myself with a trip to the gym every day (yes, that is how dire the situation has become). Not to turn this into one of those sappy and lame, workout and progress blogs, but I am working out and seeing progress. There.

My roommate and I are also completely entranced in The Walking Dead. For those of you who don't know this show, goodbye. It is incredible. We, of course,  don't start watching until around midnight then say that we will only watch one. Six episodes later we are talking ourselves out of "just one more". Last night was an especially upsetting episode where we knew we were done cause we were both secretly crying into pillows. It's terribly upsetting watching ones you love become zombies. Life lessons.

Today at the local Golds Gym was Zumba time. I have only ever had one Zumba class and honestly didn't love it. Or like it in the slightest. But this was actually a wonderful experience. I will definitely be finding more classes. So fun. But turn down the lights and up the loud music and I am always interested. I also always hate going into actual gyms cause I am intimidated by all the machines. This is why I usually just stick to running and pushups and stuff. But today, again, I see the machines and know that I could figure this shit out. Next week I am commanding myself to go to the actually gym everyday and figure it out.

For those wondering, we usually get free passes to local gyms which is why I am going. I am most definitely not to the point of actually wanting to PAY for working out. No no no.

This became a workout blog. Damnit.

Moving on. This weekend. We do two shows here in ghettoville, two in Greensboro NC (where I have my first visitors coming to the show! Can't wait to have people I know in the audience!)  then two in Johnson City, Tennessee then on to Dayton Ohio for the week.


Hmmmmm. Well, that's it. Hope you are all having a wonderful week as well! Much love


Dixon

They See Me Roland, They Hatin'

Well well well, here we are. One weekend down, only about 45 more to go. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

As usual, so much has happened that I don't really know where to start. I'll just start with the weekend. All the stuff during the week is pretty boring and makes me feel pathetic to right about how much I eat and sleep and shop, so we will skip over it.

On Friday we woke up and checked out of the hotel to prepare for a 1pm call time at the venue in Florence SC. Since we hadn't rehearsed all week, our director wanted to have a full dress rehearsal of the show before our first performance with an audience. It was all such a crazy experience. Performing in an arena is incredible. I've always wanted to know what goes on behind the curtains at an arena show and to sum it all up, it's madness. Anyway, the dress rehearsal went well. It was challenging to deal with everything being in different spots and dressing rooms so far away (they weren't actually that far in comparison to how far away they will be in certain places, but compared to 10 feet off stage like in the theatre.....they were miles away)

After our dress rehearsal, we had some catered food then prepared for our big event. Listening to the arena fill up with loud ass kids was really fun. I was very nervous but happy that we did a dress rehearsal even though it was exhausting to do the show twice in a row (yes, I know that most weekends we will be doing 2-3 shows a day. Don't remind me). The first thing that happens in the show is Mickey and Minnie coming out of the side to walk up on the stage. It is my favorite part of the show. Listening to the kids completely lose their minds when they see them is absolutely adorable. Long story short, the show was great. So many things on my bucket list being checked off. It was a very emotional show in the best possible way. I sure do love performing.

We packed up, loaded the semi's and buses and headed out.

We made our first stop at Wal-Mart at around 1am then headed to Spartanburg SC. We drove through the night and when we woke up in the bus in the morning, we were parked outside the next venue. We woke up to breakfast catering in the venue and then began company meeting and venue tour at 11am quickly followed by cast warm up then off to get ready. The warm ups are another one of my favorite parts. It is the first time on stage and getting to really soak up the empty theatre we are about to perform in. Very very fun. The audience wasn't huge for this show but they were loud and loving it so it made it all worth it. Another great show.

Again, we loaded the buses and the semi's and were off by 7pm to another Wal-Mart/food stop then to Athens Georgia. The drive was pretty short to Athens (just a couple hours) so we got there and some people headed out for food and drinks while others of us just stayed in the bus and watched Will and Grace for hours on end (thank goodness for saturday night binge episodes). Sunday morning, same drill. Food, meetings, tour, warm up, show. This theatre was beautiful. It was huge and stunning to look at. It was also fun having such a high balcony that i'm sure most the people could see my bald spot. After the 1pm show, we had the rest the day to hang out and enjoy Athens. It is a beautiful little place. We got to walk around campus which was gorgeous and go downtown for food and drinks. A very nice afternoon. I'll post some pics at the bottom. At midnight, we headed out for a 6 hour drive to Fayetteville NC.

Side note: The thing that hit me hardest this weekend was how do you freaking pack for that? Our suitcases are shoved under the bus so we have to pack everything we will need for the weekend in other smaller bags to carry on the bus. I was a mess. I tried to pack for warm ups, then real clothes to go out, then more clothes to wear in the venue and 4 pairs of show and oh my. It was bad. Some serious planning needs to happen next week. haha I think i'll just spend the whole 3 days in the same pair of sweats. Perfect.

And here we are. We have the week off without a show until Friday here in Fayetteville. We got unloaded and checked in this morning and I think most of us are just enjoying a quiet day in our hotel rooms. Tomorrow we shall venture out and see what we can find. There is a pretty nice mall near by and such so we should have plenty to do. If not, I always have The Walking Dead :)


Thanks to everyone for being so supportive and keeping me company on long drives and boring days of waiting and sitting. I am loving my time here but am definitely missing all the ones I love back in Utah and Idaho. I can't wait to get to see everyone!

Much love ##

Dixon

 Enjoying the streets of Athens

The gorgeous campus in Athens

 A sign for our show in the local Ben and Jerry's. #famouslife

Pictures of the Show

Here are some pics of the show and me hanging out with my friends King Roland and Crooked Boot the pirate. Please direct all comments or questions to them :) Enjoy! 

And We're Off

Hello from Florence, South Carolina. It begins.

Yesterday (Saturday), we did two, friends and family shows in Lakeland Florida where we have been rehearsing. They weren't huge audiences but they were still very fun. It's fun to see the little kids just LIVING for the characters on stage. I can't wait to have an arena full of them. The energy is going to be amazing.

Anyway, the shows went very well. Enough so that we aren't rehearsing at all this week which is still insanely impressive that we got the show that good in just two weeks. Yay us. The second show ended around 6. We then had several hours to pack out, shower and change at the venue then get dinner and hang out in the buses. We checked out of the hotel earlier so our only option was the bus, which I will talk about later.

Or right now.

THE BUS! So much fun. It really makes me miss the days of going out in a camping trailer with the family. I will try to figure out how to put pictures on here and take you on a tour of this bus. But until then, i'll try to explain.

You walk in and up the stairs to a fridge/bar on the right with a  nice love seat thing on the left. You then walk into a sitting area with a couch, table and a flat screen tv. Also connected to that is the bathroom and kitchen area; microwave, fridge, small counter space, coffee maker, toaster etc. Past that is a door that opens into the sleeping area. 12 bunks. The bunks are pretty small but closed off completely so as to be dark at any time. Fun stuff. Past the sleeping area is another door that opens into the back lounge. Dark little cozy space with more sitting area, table and another flat screen tv. Buses are complete with complimentary water, dish and wifi. So very fun.

So we just hung out there until around midnight when we headed to Walmart to prepare for the long journey ahead. Yes, I thought the buses were exceptionally fun just sitting and hanging out on them, then they started to move and it got way cooler. Something about having that kind of luxury while traveling down the freeway is exhilarating.

After an 8 hour bus right (most the time spent sleeping), we awoke in Florence. We didn't check in until around 2 so we got up and again, just hung out on the bus with tv and breakfast and stuff (this wasn't long for me cause I slept until about 12:30. Did I mention the bunks were so dark and cozy?).

Today has been nice. Our hotel is exceptional and walking distance from a couple malls, Target, Walmart and most importantly, ARBYS. The #13 is calling my name. I can basically smell it.

The schedule for the next couple days is pretty minimal. We don't have anything planned until Friday when we will do a full dress rehearsal of the show in the afternoon then our first official opening night that evening. After which we will head to Spartenburg for a 1:00pm show then off to Athens Georgia on Sunday for another 1pm show. I also have my first PR event on Sunday which should be very exciting!

You have been updated. As for the next four days, you can bet I will be sleeping a lot, eating a lot more, and seeing all the wonders Florence has to offer.

Love and miss you all ##

dixon

Catching Up

Happy 4th Everyone! 

It has been an insane several days. I don't even know where to start explaining it all. I think i'll start with today and work backwards until my memory can no longer handle it. After all these rehearsals and shows, it is already impossible to keep them apart. 

Today is a very much needed day off. It was originally just going to be a day that we got off early or had a half day, but because of excellent work and a full working show, we got the entire day off. The cast and crew also has been invited to a special preview of the new Marvel Universe Live show tonight in Tampa! So excited for that. I have heard incredible things about this show! We are then going to have a BBQ and watch fireworks. Wonderful way to spend the 4th in my opinion. 

Moving backwards, yesterday was our official last day of rehearsals. We ran the show twice and called it a day. We have a day off today and we have an audience on Saturday. I keep getting this feeling that this is coming to an end. That it has been a wonderful and eye opening couple weeks and that after this weekend I will be heading home. It makes me so excited that this is literally just the beginning. What I got hired to do hasn't even really started yet. What a crazy adventure.

Also yesterday, we decided to have a company dance class after work. A good friend and amazing dancer, Izzy, wanted to teach and choreograph the class. I was a tad tentative because i'm lazy and my knee hurt but I ended up going and didn't regret it. It was amazing to get to really full out dance. I feel like its been years since i've actually just taken a random jazz/contemporary class. I am either teaching or stuck in Modern. It was also really fun to take class and see all the beautiful dancers that I get to travel with. I also can't wait to get to teach. I miss teaching so much. 

Speaking of my knee, it is much much better. After waiting several hours for the pathetic advice of a "medical professional" who I think moved to this country last week, I have been taking care of it thanks to Wikipedia Medical Advice and it's working like a charm. There is still slight pain but nothing that stops me from a normal day. It still mostly only hurts to run which isn't upsetting at all because I love a good excuse to walk. 

So, backing up even more. Wednesday was the day that Disney Executives and our Casting Director came to see the show. This was a very nerve racking day for several reasons. The biggest being that these are definitely the people that could "let us go" if we weren't performing like they wanted. We also have all heard horror stories about these people and how they like to pull people aside and say, "You have 24 hours to get your shit together or you won't be joining this tour on the road." 
After all this stress, we performed the show and to get notes after all they said was good job, you're on the right track, keep doing what you're doing, wonderful show. Phew. They were all so impressed. I think also that the fact we did it in 8 days was the most impressive part. How dare they tell us we sucked after we did the whole damn thing in 8 days?!

Well, I think that is about it. After our adventures today, we have a two show day tomorrow for invited family, friends and guests from Disney. After our last show, we load out onto buses and head to South Carolina to REALLY begin this thing. I will be in a new state, new city and new hotel by Sunday. Wow. 

On a side note, do you know what hotels have? Everything. It's amazing. And they never run out. Towels? Hot water? Cold water? Room service? Ice? AC? Free breakfasts? You got it. When I have previously visited a hotel I always think "Yes, this will do nicely for the next couple of days." but when you get to one and think that for the next 10 months you will be living here it becomes all sorts of magical. I will not be upset about this life at all. Excuse me, housekeeping?

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July. I miss you all. ## 

The King 

Wearing Off-Day 5

As is to be expected, the last couple days have gotten a tad rough. Brain on overload, physically and mentally exhausted, a long way from home, freaking intense humidity and long hours. All the adrenaline and beginning excitement has definitely begun to dwindle. As we headed into the second act of the show, we all kind of hit a standstill where all direction, choreography, lines, and blocking went in one ear and out the other. Also starting to definitely miss, or at least realize how very much I would be missing everyone at some point because I won't be home in FOREVER, started to set in. This is for sure one of the hardest things I've ever been asked to do.

For those guys in school going into performing, when they tell you they are "doing it this way to prepare you for the 'real world'" they are lying. This is hard. Nothing can prepare you.

In spite of all this, we made it. Today was the end of day 5 and at 4:30 we did a full run of the show. Full tech and props. It was rough, but we got through it. End of learning show. Thank god. Now comes cleaning, adding a tad more tech stuff and full costuming. It's gonna be another long rehearsal tomorrow and next week. Sunday couldn't come soon enough. We definitely need a day off.

Also, to stay fully informed, I have done something to my knee. I think going from lots of days of very little physical activity to 9 hour rehearsal days and trying to run 2-3 miles on the treadmill after was a bit more than my little legs could handle. There is a sharp pain in my right knee. On the bright side, it only hurts when I am moving. So only like 90% of the show. Totally do-able. (Mom-I am being overdramatic. Don't call the paramedics please.) I am nervous about it but doing everything I can to take care of it. I'm sure it's just a strain from sudden overuse. No biggie.

The show is done, it's taking shape and I couldn't be more excited. This is gonna be an amazing experience. All of the cast members are starting to hang out more and more and get closer and closer. I am gonna love these people (or be forced to try). As the day of our first bus experience, new venue and weekend of shows draws closer I continue to realize how much of a dream come true this show is. It isn't the type of show I imagined or in any kind of the right time frame, but this is it. Traveling the country, being on stages, different cities every day, performing. Almost word for word from my childhood bucket list. Check. I feel remembering that in the next couple weeks will be crucial.

I do love and very much miss everyone I left back in Idaho and Utah. 5 days in that isn't a GREAT sign haha but I know you'll all be there when I get back.

Stay tuned.

Dixon

Ps. As for pictures, those of you on snapchat are getting more than plenty to stay informed. For everyone else, when I get a good collection I will start posting in an album on Facebook.

First Attempt

11 days of rehearsals. 1.5 hour long show. 9am-6pm. 18 performers. 2 shows on day 12.

What a crazy couple days. I have finally managed enough strength to write some things about what it has been like.

After all the goodbyes, which sucked really bad and were horrible and awful, it was time to be dropped off at the airport and let the day of traveling begin. Nothing eventful happened. Quick flight to Denver, hour layover, 3 hours to Tampa where we then got on a SuperShuttle and arrived in Lakeland about an hour later. Checked into a hotel and started to meet the others that were arriving. We all headed out for some food and drinks and did some bonding then off to bed.

8am. Breakfast. 9am. Rehearsal.

Luckily, we are rehearsing to a building attached to our hotel so the commute is not far. Lakeland is a very tiny place but for some reason, they have a huge and very nice performing center so it has been very convenient for us. As with most of these situations, when people come together for the first time to work together for any amount of time, I was prepared for a good long talk with the director, maybe some get to know you games or acting warm up games but....no. The director introduced himself, we went around and introduced our names and where we were from then up we got and warming up we started. Needless to say, it was a long day but we accomplished a lot. I'm not entirely sure how much i'm allowed to say about the show and the whole process so i'll just leave it at that.

The most you need to know is that it's happening and in 10 days from now, we will have a full show. Today we were on the stage and started working with props. We have all been fit for costumes already and next week we start putting it all together. Insanity.

Not a ton has been happening besides rehearsals. We had some adventures in a Florida rain storm yesterday. Good food. Lots of horrible humidity and heat. Nice hotel. I am rooming with a member of the crew (he was just hired as an electrician). We haven't talked a ton because we mostly just sleep when in our rooms but he seems great. Once I get him to stop putting the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door after I leave so the maids can do my absolute favorite thing about hotel living, we will have no problems.

I have made a couple friends. I knew a couple people coming into this process and have already found a couple I know are gonna be besties. I also feel like there isn't anyone in this cast I am going to hate. Obviously, i'm sure everyone is on best behavior for the first couple days and the bitches will start to make themselves known eventually :) but for now i'm good and exciting for these guys to become my show family for the next year.

Today there was a 3 hour show production meeting with the cast and crew. Besides being EXCEPTIONALLY long and at the end of a long day, it was very informative and crazy to think about the next year ahead. So many cities, so many hotels, so many fun things our awesome tour manager is trying to plan for us. I am getting more excited by the day. It's just a really well oiled and professional machine that I have stepped into and it is very fun to be a part of and realize that I am the performer they are doing all of this for (Yes, I realize i'm not the ONLY performer but you get my point ha).

Well, I think that's it for today. I am home and in my bed and need some food and a nap, not necessarily in that order. Love and miss you all very much.


Dixon