Yesterday was the last performance of “Oklahoma!” at Stage North, followed by one last “circle” on stage with the entire cast. Tears, hugs and kisses were abundant as we all recalled our favorite moments from the past couple months.

I’m sure going to miss this big, goofy, unlikely family. I went into this experience only knowing a couple people in the cast and crew of 45 people, and left with 45 good friends.

The cast party was a riot…fried chicken, brats, potato salad, cake, free drinks at the bar, kickball in the field across the street, and lots of laughing at all the inside jokes created during ten nights of backstage shenanigans.

I’ll admit, I’m excited to have my life back. It will be nice to resume the regular scheduled programming. But I sure am thankful for the experience and immensely grateful to our wonderful director Liz, stage manager Jack, and vocal director Pat for choosing me for Ado Annie’s part, believing in me and giving me the tools to do it justice.

The two most useful pieces of advice I received during this process came from two wise women:

1. Liz told me, “For this particular play, if you feel like an idiot, you’re doing it right.” With that in mind, I learned to check my ego at the door and commit to my role no matter what.

2. My mom told me, “Forget about there being a stage and an audience. Just think about the story you’re all telling.” I totally let myself get wrapped up in the world we were creating every night, and sure enough, it helped me to be less nervous and to be more believable.

This was a scarey thing for me- I had never sung in front of people BY MYSELF like that. And we all know what my previous “acting” experience consisted of…..It felt amazing to conquer this fear and put myself out there.

I was so lucky to have a stellar cast up there with me. Everyone gave 100% of themselves, which allowed me to let go of Tonia and become Ado without feeling self-conscious. Thank you, all of you!

YEOW!