Growing Up South Texas

driving downtown during spring break

     I was born in San Antonio, Texas because my father was in the army and he got stationed there. I was even born on an air force base. But when I turned three my mother and I moved two hours south to Corpus Christi. Both of my parents were originally from here so they thought it was best.
     So I have lived here most of my life. When most people who don't live here think of Corpus Christi they think of summer. We are a city right on the beach and a tourist hot spot. During spring break, it is a fact that more people come vacation here than live in Rhode Island. So we have lots of surfers, beach goes and most people are perfectly tanned.
     We are also in south Texas so we have a large Hispanic population. I am of Mexican descent and my family speaks Spanish, cooks traditional dishes, some even take ballet folklorico lessons.
     Of course being in Texas. we also have those stereotypical western cowboys. They wear jeans, boots, cowboy hats and go to rodeos. Now, I'm not going to lie. I do have multiple pairs of Wranglers, I own Justin's, have worn a Stetson or two and yes have been to a rodeo. My own cousins were competing in those rodeos in fact. To be honest my favorite genre of music is country.
   Then of course we have the typical mainstream American stuff. Your average Joe's.
     Corpus Christi has some cool things about it like:

• declared the nations "birdiest city" for nine consecutive years, I guess we have a lot of birds 
• has the fifth largest port
• hosts the U.S. Open Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Regatta
• home to late Tejano singing star and legend, Selena
• Actress Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi and graduated from W.B. Ray High School
• The average high temperature in July and August is 93 degrees (it's Texas after all..)

     So as you can see where I live is a really fun and unique place to live. I'm glad I get to grow up where I am. Sure there are some bad sides like:

• being dubbed the fattest city in the nation
• we barely get any rain
• it's snows only 5 inches every 20 years
• it is windy every single day so good luck having nice hair
• some sides are so ghetto I refuse to even attempt to describe it because there is enough for a whole other post

     But these these things I deal with have taught me something or another. Growing up South Texas is a nice life.

The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley pt. 5

   I've been so consumed with performances I haven't posted in a while.
     I have always been good about having my energy up but some days it really kills me. Some days I go in tired so I leave really exhausted. For example some days we have PLAYtime (Performing Live Art for Youth) all day and then we also have another evening performance. So I get to the theater at 8:00 in the morning and leave at 9:30 at night.
     I'm not complaining. I love every minute! I am with friends, doing what I love, and all with an amazing audience. The kids we perform for are in elementary school. One school bussed kids from an hour away just to see us. For them we are amazing and they think every song it beautiful, every dance is artistic, and every scene is hilarious.
     Unlike normal audiences we don't get the usual applause. They all jump up, clapping as loudly as possible and yell. They make us feel like rockstars. We also go out for meet and greets and they all tell you "You were my favorite part!" You know they are probably telling that to everyone but it still makes you feel like a million bucks.
     For a lot of those kids it's their first taste of theatre. It's important to rock their socks. This way, they think it's the coolest thing in the world like we do.
     I've also gotten three bouquets of flowers so far. I have them all in my room and everyday when I wake up, I look at them and smile. I look at them and remember the feeling of being onstage. Looking out to see the faces of the audience as they giggle at the funny scene. I feel the heat of stage lights on my face. I hear the soft chatter of the dressing room. I see the dark shadows that are the tech crew moving set pieces almost invisibly. It's a great feeling trust me.

The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley pt. 2

Katie "acting casual" as Belle comes and checks up on us
in the dressing room before rehearsal.

     Some call it Spring Break, we (the cast of Flat Stanley) call it Tech Week.
     As mentioned in my earlier post Belle, our stage manager, stepped up her game even more and now lurks in the shadows ready to pounce on any actor that steps out of line. Nothing big yet but all of us are being very careful. It's a running joke when Belle comes into the dressing room, where we all chill out before rehearsal starts, to say "BELLE IS HERE! ACT CASUAL!", pose and smile huge smiles. Of course Belle just laughs.
    Our show opens on Friday and everything is coming together swimmingly. Our set pieces should be done today, everyone has their lines, dances are staring to look polished and we even have custom animations and a green screen projected behind us onstage.
     We spend three to five hours a day there at the Harbor Playhouse and it's starting to pay off.

Our six year old Sneak Thief waiting for her cue

     Our version of Flat Stanley has no adult actors. Our youngest is six years old and she plays the sneak theif. Our oldest is seventeen and she plays Nurse Betty. You would think all these kids would mess it up and be unprofessional, but they all know exactly what they are doing. The six year old has been in more plays than I have. Yes, I'm being completely serious.