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TO WATCHPeople

our annual

issue

DEREK ALLEN WATSONKRISTINA NICOLE MILLERANDRE CATRINIJUSTEN KILMERLANNETTE ALVAREZSULIMAN NAWID

featuring

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BLEEP is all about up-and-coming talent but these six individuals are making names for themselves on their own terms.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE FOLKS22

TO WATCHPERSON

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bleepininside

We know you love a good cocktail and our very own ‘Cocktail Connoisseur’ has some recipes that are sure to put a spring in your step.

THE CONNOISSEUR IS IN14

What do you do when you’re an actor chasing your dreams but you haven’t made that six-figure paycheck yet? You get a day job.

AH, THE DAY JOB60

In a BLEEP first, we take a look at a very different type of art. One you might not think about. The art of glass-making.

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BLEEP Magazine began as a way to tell the stories of people who might not otherwise get a chance to have their stories told and it’s with great honor that I present this issue, our “People to Watch” Issue to you. While we feel that in every issue, we present creative people to you that you should have on your radar, this issue feels different. We’ve spotlighted six individuals from different industries that have two things in common: they have big dreams and they’re going after them with everything they’ve got.

I love the spring. This is perhaps the first time in my life when I’ve said that actually so perhaps it deserves another mention. I love the spring. Growing up in Texas, spring doesn’t really exist. Spring is more-or-less a slightly warmer version of winter, which is just a slightly cooler version of fall, which is just a continuation of summer. But after living in New York for long enough to appreciate the transition from frigid to fresh, I now understand spring and the concept of rebirth.

There’s something invigorating about the thought of something that was dormant coming back to life. As creative individuals, we go through that same process don’t we? We go through those ebbs and flows of inspiration. For me, this spring has been more than just the rebirth of flowers in the parks and outside Macys. It’s been a rebirth of my creative drive. More than that, it’s been a time when my life has been enriched by new friends, new collaborators and the deepening of existing relationships. Much like so many of the artists we are featuring in this issue, my inspiration comes from the people around me and in that, I’ve been quite lucky.

So, for the first time, I’m excited for spring and the rebirth it’s bringing to me and to the artists we are lucky enough to get to feature in BLEEP. I feel that way especially about these “People to Watch” in our issue, each of which is on the cusp of something great. I love the spring.

Letter from the Editor

-Ryan Brinson Editor-in-Chief

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Everyone loves lists and in BLEEP, we do too. Each issue we give you a list of things that are on our minds.

THE BLEEP LIST12 Pasadena is known for the Rose Bowl but we take a look at one of the hot spots you should know. Pop Champagne Bar.

A PLACE THAT ‘POP’S80

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Editor-in-Chief Ryan Brinson Editor at Large Julie Freeman

Design/Decor Editor Lisa Sorenson Culture Editor Rachael Mariboho

Online Media Editor Nick DeanBusiness & Audience Development Manager Sarah Rotker

Cartoonist Ben Humeniuk

Cover Photography by Ryan Brinson

Contributors: Danielle Milam • Nathan Robins • Alex Wright • Amy Stone Holly Renner • Colton Scally

Featured Photographers: Matt Tolbert

All articles and photos are the property of the writers and artists. All rights reserved.

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KNOW ABOUT IT AS IT HAPPENS

bliPsBLEEPOn March 22nd, Jesus Christ Superstar made

its triumphant return to New York City. The production that began at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada and made its way to San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse before landing on Broadway is a bold telling for the post-RENT/Glee era of musical popularity. This isn’t the hippie-fied version that opened in 1971. This feels like more a rock concert than a revival of one of the best known musicals of all-time and that’s perfectly alright.

Broadway has been on a religious hot streak recently. Starting with Sister Act and The Book of Mormon last season and continuing with Godspell and Leap of Faith (opening in April), Broadway seems to be ‘feeling the Spirit’ up and down the Great White Way. This addition to the fold didn’t disappoint.

The cast is on point and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score sounds spectacular. It’s everything you could want from a rock-musical. As a matter of fact, I dare you to sit through Lee Siegel’s solo in “Simon Zealotes” and not want to jump up and dance with the cast.

THE ‘BUZZ’ OF BROADWAY

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Cast member you won’t be able to take your eyes off of: Matt Alfano

Why: In a show known for it’s infectious melodies and in a production known for the power-house lead vocalists, Alfano proved to be more than Jesus’ back-up dancer. The intensity and power he dances with may just rival anything sung from Judas’ mouth.

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BY RYAN BRINSON

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Urban Odyssey, the new mixed media performance that’s opened at La Mama in New York, attempts to tell the story of “the experience of immigration to America through movement and visual theatre.”

La Mama is known for facilitating new experimental works of art and being a space ripe with creativity and Urban Odyssey certainly keeps that tradition alive. The show, a culimation of over ten years of performance works,

Under the direction and vision of Federico Restrepo, Loco7, the company producing the work, has been creating works since 1985. By utilizing puppetry as an extension of the dancer, Loco7 is able to incorporate both dance and design. Urban Odyssey is a fusion of rhythmic music, dancers, body puppets and larger then life marionettes.

While this isn’t the type of dance performance with mass-audience appeal, it merges the type of puppetry made accessible by The Lion King with a larger-than-life proportions as seen in Cirque du Soliel to tell its story. While the story is hard to follow for anyone that’s not familiar with overly abstract and seemingly non-linear works, the production paints a visual picture that’s

interesting to look at. I will say that the narrator that serves as a thin string to tie the production together was a mix of the dead lady from Desperate Housewives and the French-Canadian clown emcee from any Cirque show, except she road a three-wheel pedal bike and hid behind a large mask like she was the great and powerful (and mobile) Oz. It was distracting and slowed the show down.

If you’re looking for something new and interesting that will make you think long after you’ve left the theater, Urban Odyssey is for you.

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The much buzzed about production of Newsies has opened on Broadway and judging by all the rave reviews all over Twitter and Facebook during previews, it looked to be a smash.

After it’s wildly successful run at the Papermill Playhouse, Disney decided to give this production it’s Broadway legs and it’s looking like it’s going to runaway with more than box office receipts - it’s running away with people’s hearts.

The sound of applause was unlike anything I’ve heard in a Broadway theater and the mere sight of star Jeremy Jordan walking down the aisle of the theater created such a stir within his fans that I momentarily forgot I was in a Broadway show and thought I’d been transported to a Justin Timberlake concert. Not that the attention isn’t warranted. Jordan is a capable star, both believable and incredibly talented.

But I’m not afraid to say this - he isn’t the star of the show. The ensemble is. The troupe of dancing paper boys take the stage with such zest and such vigor, it’s hard not to sit with your jaw agape as they dance, leap, tap, stomp and flip all over the stage. As a matter of fact, the applause at the end of the big numbers such as “Seize the Day” was deafening with cheering and went on for longer than even Elphaba or Simba can marshall a few blocks over.

The moral of this story is, after months of speculation and then months of buzz, Newsies has taken over Broadway and while other shows may be sweet and other shows may be profound, there isn’t a finer traditional musical on Broadway than Newsies. It’s bursting with fun, bursting with excitement and has the ability to run for a very long time. If only Disney would quit pretending it’s a limited run and allow these Newsies to really become the ‘Kings of New York’ they deserve to be. Until then, get your tickets and get to the theater. You’re guaranteed to have the time of your life. As an added bonus to you music lovers, the vocal opening of “Seize the Day” made me gasp because it was so immaculate. This show is terrific.

THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS TO THE DISNEY THRONE: THE NEW KINGS OF NEW YORK

Cast member you won’t be able to take your eyes off of: Ryan Steele

Why: The show’s strongest virtue is it’s dancing, and it’s hard to take your eyes off Steele, even in the midst of some of the most talented dancers in the business. He’s a true star.

Special Recognition: So You Think You Can Dance has been taking dancers’ dreams and making them a reality for years now, the evidence of which is on stage at the Nederlander Theatre 8-times a week. SYTYCD alums Thayne Jasperson, Evan Kasprzak, Jess LeProtto & Alex Wong prove not only that they can dance, but that they can act and sing too. We’ve been fans since they were on the show and are even more so now.

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BY RYAN BRINSON

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Artists should always think of themselves as cosmic instruments for storytelling. - Ted Lange

Before Martin Scorsese won the Golden Globe for Hugo, there was The Invention of Hugo Cabret told by Brian Selznick in a combination of words and pictures. Selznick has once again wowed us by pushing his craft into a new genre of storytelling in his latest book Wonder Struck.

The story is not an uncommon one - the lives of two people, from different backgrounds and generations collide unexpectedly. However, it is the way the story is told that astounds the reader.

Ben is a boy dealing with the loss of his mother and the questions surrounding his absent father. His story is told through words; an auditory journey into his world of loss and confusion. The reader is privy to his thoughts and feelings through the narration surrounding his life.

Rose is a girl who feels trapped and lost by a world she cannot understand. Rose is deaf. Her story is told through pictures; a visual journey into her silent life. The reader pieces together her motivations and feelings much like those around her.

The book flips between these two stories creating a palpable difference between the telling of the boy who can

hear and the girl who cannot. Intriguingly, when Ben himself looses his hearing the method of his story, the narration, doesn’t change. This curiosity raises some real world questions: Do people who lose their hearing after they’ve had it continue to hear the voice in their head? Do people who have never heard still hear a voice in their head or do they think through pictures? Selznick’s story bridges the gap between two worlds - voiced and silent - in a way that evokes empathy and understanding without loosing the essence of the narrative.

The term “pictures” I have been using to describe Rose’s story is actually misleading. Selznick uses sketches that upon first glance look like simple pencil sketches. However, the ease at which the sketches tell the story overshadows their immense complexity. These are sketches with depth and texture created merely by what appears to be simple pencil strokes. Selznick uses different strokes to differentiate between the grass and the trees, skin and eyes, wind and rain. He also uses a juxtaposition between light and dark to draw the eye to the poignant elements that help advance the story line.

In the world of literature, we have novels that focus on narration; we have graphic novels that focus on the pictures to the exclusion of narration; we have picture books where a picture supplements the narration. Now, we have something completely new. Selznick’s proves that stories can be told through the combination of different mediums. He has defined a new style of literature.

Wonder Struck by Brian SelznickDanielle Milam

5 out of 5 pencils

Must read for: anyone who loves a good story, artists seeking to tell a cohesive story through their work, writers looking at breaking into a new genre.

pagesCREATIVE

BY RYAN BRINSON

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List by Rachael Mariboho

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Since this month’s Bleep showcases some impressive up-and-comers, I started thinking about people who after impressively coming up in the world of film, television, music and Broadway have inexplicably gone away. These aren’t teen heartthrobs with a shelf life of ten minutes or one hit wonders with no sustainable talent, but four talented people whose presence in the world of pop culture is sorely missed.

Cheri OteriWhether she was impersonating Judge Judy, cheering with Will Ferrell or telling us to ‘Simma down now,’ Oteri was one of the standout players on Saturday Night Live in the late 90’s. But her post-SNL career has not been as successful as many of her counterparts, which is surprising considering her talent and comedic timing. She was the Kristen Wiig of her era and we are waiting for her Bridesmaids moment.

Meg RyanOn any given Saturday afternoon, or during Thanksgiving, Christmas, perhaps after being dumped, many women (and men) find solace in the work of Meg Ryan. Nothing cures boredom, the holiday blues or heartbreak like “Sleepless in Seattle” or “You’ve Got Mail.” Add in “When Harry Met Sally” and you have the trifecta of classic romantic comedies. So what happened to America’s one-time sweetheart? Well, she had an affair with Russell Crowe, starred in a movie where she took her clothes off and then got a little too much work done to her face. Regardless, we are still hoping for a comeback. Are you listening Tom Hanks?

Alanis MorrissetteDear Alanis, you were the voice of a generation of women who wanted to tell men what they ought to know. You were angry, you were full of angst and you gave new meaning to the word ‘ironic.’ While it may seem like the current musical landscape has been taken over by exhibitionist performers like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, the recent global success of Adele should remind you that honest lyrics about painful life experiences backed by powerful vocals is all you need for the world to fall head over feet for you.

John Lloyd YoungYoung is not on this list because “Jersey Boys” is one of my favorite musicals of all-time. He is not on this list because I flew to New York one weekend just to see his Tony Award winning turn as Franki Valli and then stood outside in the rain to get a picture with him. He is also not on this list because I dragged my two best friends and my mother to the Hollywood Bowl to see him brilliantly play Marius (opposite a pre-Glee Lea Michele) in “Les Miserables.” Finally, he is not on this list because I believe his talent is being underused. He is on this list because the first time I saw him perform, at the 2006 Tony Awards, he took my breath away. I watched him sing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” and I fully believed a star was born. I still believe this and I am eagerly awaiting his next act. Come back to Broadway, John Lloyd.

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There’s more BLEEPing than just in the mag. Check out www.bleepmag.com for past issues and find us on Facebook and Twitter.

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When I started to think of a drink for Easter my first thought was to come up with a spin on the classic cocktail the Corpse Reviver… but I feared angry letters at the sacrilege. I opted instead for inspiration from a sweeter source: those tooth rotting, annually addicting treats, Cadbury Eggs. Now the recipe calls for ground chocolate and I prefer Ghirardelli’s, but if you must, feel free to use other powered chocolates such as hot chocolate mix, but avoid cocoa powder, it’s far too bitter. A couple of these will make filling plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt much more enjoyable, and who says the holiday fun is only for

kids anyway? Just be careful or you may not want to get up to enjoy the festivities. I prepared this sugary delight as a shot, but if you have a sweet tooth and nowhere to be, it is lovely served over ice or even blended.

Spring is upon us, and what a perfect inception point for my first booze soaked column. Here, I will seek to present you with a selection of

inspired drinks, accompanied by wit dryer than a Churchill Martini. Before delving into the season’s concoctions, a word about mixing drinks. Drinking should be fun, and mixing drinks shouldn’t be stressful. A recent trend I have seen in both popular publications and at the bar scene is to use some of the most obscure ingredients imaginable. I mean really, bird of paradise bitters, bread fruit extract, clarified newborn’s tears; it can all become a bit untenable. If you lack an ingredient, experiment and have fun with it. The worst that can happen is one foul drink… serve it to a friend who has slighted you if you can’t part with the precious, precious alcohol. Have fun, be safe, drink well.

When thinking of spring, any number of things come to mind: pastel Easter dresses, new born chicks, blooming flowers, trashy college vacations involving lost clothing and loose morals, you know, wholesome stuff. I suppose it’s also the season of Saint Patrick’s Day, however no one needs assistance poisoning themselves that day. So amid this season of rebirth and renewal, knock back a few to celebrate the parting of winter with something new and fresh.

The Cadbury

½ oz. Irish Cream¾ oz. Dark Creme de Cacao ¼ oz. Caramel Liqueur (or Butterscotch Schnapps) ¼ oz. Frangelico¼ oz. Simple Syrup1 tsp. Ground Chocolate

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a shot glass.

The Cocktail Connoisseur

Nathan Robins

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The other two drinks may be too sweet for many (and excessive consumption would probably turn your blood stream into something akin to the river in Willy Wonka’s factory), so a cocktail a touch dryer is in order. Spring is alive with blooming flowers and I have been adding Crème de Violette to my Gin and Tonics for a while now, so that provided a natural jumping off point for an effervescent spring drink. The quinine in tonic water would make this drink too bitter, and besides it’s not yet summer so pretending you’re fending off malaria with it is moot anyway, so that’s a substitution to avoid. On the subject

of substitutions, gin is a tricky thing to pin down, I use Bombay Sapphire almost exclusively, and I caution you, should you venture in the wrong direction, the floral notes of the Crème de Violette and St. Germain will be entirely over run by the juniper berry of the gin and you’ll feel like you are sucking on a pine tree. If you are looking for an inexpensive alternative I recommend New Amsterdam, though it lacks the botanical complexity of Bombay. St. Germain is an Elderflower liquor (and pairs superbly with champagne should you have extra) it is somewhat sweet however, so the amount of club soda can be altered for a stronger or weaker drink

and should it prove too sweet the portion of gin can be increased. If it is a particularly warm spring day, this drink is also great in a tall glass with lots of ice. The sugar cured hibiscus flower is entirely optional and frivolous, but it is pretty.

Violet Haze

1 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin½ oz. Crème de Violette ½ oz. St. Germain2-3 oz. Club Soda1 Edible Hibiscus Flower (Entirely optional but again, pretty)

Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into a glass, then top with club soda and stir.

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1 oz. Blue Curaçao1 oz. Coconut Rum1 oz. Vodka½ oz. Midori½ oz. Crème de Banane2 ½ oz. Sweet and Sour Mix

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a z-stem or zombie glass.

If you are wondering, what’s with the tacky cocktail umbrella, well that’s simple, there is nothing classy about this drink. Spring Break, that yearly celebration of bad decisions and liver abuse, how could I resist it as an inspiration for a cocktail? This drink practically smells of regret, sweet coconuty regret, it’s sugar soaked and filled with booze, and as such is imperceptibly strong. So caution is advised, lest you end up in a video advertised on late night TV. I recommend using homemade sweet and sour mix, it’s just equal parts lemon and lime juice and simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water). I suppose it would be a more authentic representation of Spring Break if you used artificial mix and made the drink with the cheapest liquor available, but I won’t be joining you in that, one has to have some standards. If you’re feeling outgoing, this drink can be altered to match your outfit or décor, Orange Curaçao works just as well, or substitute in Triple Sec to let the green of the Midori shine through, but trust me, after one of these you probably won’t much care about the color. There is enough alcohol in this cocktail to keep it from freezing solid, so if it’s a particularly hot day throw a batch in the freezer for awhile then mix it up with a fork for a delightful slushy drink that will make you forget the heat in more ways than one. You have been warned, this is a strong drink, and I take no responsibility for any poor choices, regrettable purchases, or children made due to its consumption.

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Nathan Robins is a graduate student pursuing a degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and has a healthy penchant for all things distilled, infused and fermented. He arranges weekly social events in the Boston area all which center around the divine elixir, ethanol. Ever in pursuit of knowledge, he has yet to find a drink he won’t try, from Black Samurai Shots to questionable concoctions of beat juice and goats milk and he has an opinion of them all.

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I had received e-mail blasts for about a month about a certain dance installation that was taking place at Harvard University; you can imagine my surprise when the whole performance revolved around the notion of technology and how it interferes with daily life and personal relationships. There was even a whole installation section on the negative effects of e-mails on society and interpersonal communication, I kid you not. Looking back at the formerly mentioned e-mail blasts, I scanned the messages to see if there was a hint of irony. There wasn’t. Naturally, the whole event—per-intended, I’m sure—got me thinking about the role of technology in the arts and the role of the arts in technology. This topic, of course, is nothing new, and I assure you I am not going to spend the rest of this article bemoaning technology and how it is the cause of art’s demise in culture; I am typing this article on my laptop, while listening to my iTunes, and I am very happy about that. I will argue, however, that the rapid influx of technology in our society has provided the arts with a very special opportunity, an opportunity to step up to the plate.

I gave myself a challenge this week, which was to not wear my headphones. Gasp! Admittedly, I had tried in the

past to keep my headphone-wearing-times confined to the gym, but that had failed. As an actor, I knew it was important to stay open and aware of my surroundings at all time; it is my job to convey life and humanity, so the more information I can soak in on a daily basis, the more adept I will be at my job. I realized during my headphone sacrifice just how many magical moments I miss because of my iPod: the lovers quarrel in the 7-11, the mother and daughter having a chat about “the change in life,” the woman on the sidewalk who argues with herself. I also became aware of just how many people drown out the world around them by listening to their music. What is this societal obsession with our iPod? We like drama. Listening to music provides a soundtrack to our life and it heightens everything. It makes us feel like our daily routine is important, it pumps us up for that meeting or that class and it intensifies our emotions. It does the job of art. Trust me, I’m not saying that music isn’t art. I’m saying that substituting some wires and a clog in your ear is easier than going to the arts museum, or that concert, or that play. The same goes for reality TV: it can be easier to get wrapped up in a plot-less reality TV show than become invested in a scripted storyline that actually

Technology

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asks for a weekly viewing commitment. It is also easier to watch drama unfold in someone else’s life than actually face the drama in our own living room. These empty forms of entertainment provide us the connection we would get from personal relationships, but it keeps the connection safe and controlled.

It’s my belief during this stagnant time of interpersonal communication that the arts are not just important, they are needed. Technology has made the act of communication much easier—Skype allows you to communicate with someone halfway across the world, Facebook connects you with old classmates and family members—yet it has made face-to-face, real-time communication unnecessary. Instead of feeding audience members what we think they want, AKA mindless entertainment filled with the same old jokes, we need to feed them what they lack in their lives. We need to get back to the soul of what we do as artists. It is not about adding gimmicks onto a script or fluff onto a painting, it is all about taking away: taking away the jumbled mess that clouds our vision and getting down to the nitty gritty, and no, nitty gritty does not mean dark and dramatic. It means striving to make something that really hits the audience, that makes them think or strikes within them something they thought they were alone in feeling. In order to do this, we must first find what moves us as artists, what makes us cry, laugh and feel alive and a bit crazy and scared. Guess what, it’s hard! If any other artist feels like me, I know we approach each project wondering how in the world we will find the creativity or mine of inspiration to pull it off. I always worry that they (this mysterious “they” that all artists worry about) will discover I am a fraud and have no idea what I am doing. Somehow though, something is created. It might be absolutely awful, but this something that’s created is in a way, a miracle. The famous director Peter Brook used to say that all theater is a copy of a copy of a copy; it is a rendition of someone else’s idea replayed over and over again. It is our job as artists to break this copy of a copy and have the guts to create something

new. Of course we will not succeed every time in doing this, but the point is that we tried. We stopped pumping our brains full of the same old tune and we dug deep within ourselves to understand something new about humanity. We used life to heighten life and didn’t rely on a washed-up celebrity rehab show to make our life feel cozy and comfortable in comparison.

Like I have said, I love a trashy reality show as much as the next guy, but I do think that art needs to regain a foothold and that we as artists should give what is demanded of us as artists, which is our soul. It is a courageous profession, and I believe that we often forget that. My boyfriend

recently had a revelation about our job as actors. His uncle had passed away suddenly and when he flew home to be with his family he was asked by his aunt to sing a song at the funeral. He of course obliged and tried to quickly learn the song for the funeral the next day. The day of the funeral his mother asked him to read the poem that she was supposed to read in memory of her brother. She was

understandably devastated and could emotionally collect herself to do the job. As he sat in the car in front of the church listening to the song on his iPod and preparing the poem, he found himself having to put aside his own grief in order to support and care for his family. He realized in that moment that his family was not just relying on him as a nephew or as a son—they were relying on him as an artist. They were placing on him the task of expressing what they could not express. He was to be the family’s mouthpiece for all of their love and grief, and while it was a heavy task for him to take, he took it with grace.

We bear a large responsibility as artists to communicate what others are too afraid or unwilling or unable to communicate, and it is a beautiful, daunting, massive, emotional, devastating, exhilarating responsibility. And yes, the world still needs some headphones, Apple stores and e-mail too but the soul of society needs to continue to be touched and revealed.

We need to get back to the soul of what we do as artists.“

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Derek Allen WatsonKristina Nicole MillerAndre CatriniLannette AlvarezJusten KilmerSuliman Nawid

TO WATCHPeople

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issue

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Where did you grow up? I grew up in Avon, Ohio. It’s a small town about 25

minutes west of Cleveland.

What brought you to New York? Since I was little, my family and I would always come

to NYC and I fell in love at such a young age. I vividly remember being on one of top of those red tourist buses, driving around NYC thinking, “these people are so lucky” because everyone kept saying (including my friends and family) “you’ll never live there because it’s too expensive. No one can afford it.” But as I got older, I thought, if millions of people live there, people can do it. So, as I started to model, I had to choose between NYC and LA, and I just remembered that feeling I got when I would go to New York. Also, my look and die-hard attitude was predicted to do much better in New York rather than LA. I’m not very commercial. My look is more hard and edgy, where LA is more polo modeling and smiling.. I tell people that I don’t smile. Ever. Obviously I’m kidding. Why modeling?

As I was growing up, I think everyone dreams of being in a magazine or on TV, but I never thought it was a reality. I was an awkward kid. I had big ears, a big nose, braces, I was skinny and just awkward. More than the average kid. I didn’t grow into my face until I was 19. All of a sudden, my nose didn’t look huge,

my ears looked normal, I got my braces off and I was excited. So I started to take those “MySpace-y” pictures. Where you get a good angle and snap some “emo” shots. Photographers just started to ask to shoot me. So I did one shoot, that turned into three more, which turned into me starting to travel for it, which lead to me getting an agency in Chicago and then New York. It all kind of happened very fast. The trick is believing in yourself, that you can do anything you want, and never give up if you hear a “no.” I was told I was too short, or too skinny, or had too big of ears, over and over and over again. But it pushed me to push harder.

What was your first paying gig? My first paying gig was modeling for art classes at

FIT. That wasn’t that important to me though because it wasn’t what I was dreaming to be. The thing that was most important to me was shooting with the incredible Rick Day. He was my favorite photographer. I would look at his work, and think, “I’d kill to be one of those boys, or look like them.” So when I moved to NYC, I contacted him, we met and he shot me three weeks later. (We have shot twice since). It just was such surreal and gave me so much confidence that maybe I can really do this and make it happen.

You also act? I was in an Off-Broadway show called “Lysistrata”

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two years ago, and that was cool to be in a play in NYC. But when I was kicked in the balls by Betty White on SNL a year ago, that was the coolest gig of my life. I got to meet all the SNL greats and be on set with them. I woke up the next day and pinched myself because I thought I had been dreaming.

Between the two (acting and modeling), which one has your full attention?

Right now, modeling is my main focus. I’ve taken some months off from shooting to work on my body (gained 20 pounds) and myself and goals. So right now, modeling. But I’m also going to start looking into roles and things coming up. Modeling is good because it gets your name out there and people pay

more attention when they are casting things.

You’ve also dipped your toes into music by way of DJing, releasing dance mixes and hosting events at clubs. What is it about those things that draws you to them?

Lately I have been told that a lot of people refer to me as a “party boy.” I think it’s funny, but I like to have fun. I like to enjoy being 23 living in this amazing city. I dipped into DJing because I love dance music and whenever I would have a party, people would always ask me to make them a mix of my music. So, I made the mixset a month or so ago, and it really took off. I really need to make another one because everyone seems to wants more. It’s a great feeling. And hosting

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parties is always so much fun. I recently have been hosting a party almost every week and I love it. I love it because I invite all my friends and I can see them and catch up, we drink bottles, laugh and just have fun. It’s not a bad job.

What do you do to remain creatively inspired? I stay inspired by my surroundings. I’m always on

Tumblr looking at people’s pictures and what type of shoots they’re doing or what they are wearing. I have a folder on my Mac that says “inspiration” and I’m always dragging things into that folder for future ideas. I will come across a photographer and they will ask me any ideas for a shoot, and I’ll go to that folder, match them to a picture I saw that I think they would

make even better.

What’s next for you? Only God knows, but that’s the beauty in it. I’ve

been blessed with this life that I live and all the opportunities I have been given. And I can shoot as many pictures or act in as many plays as I can. But at the end of the day, when I climb into bed, I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow. All I know is that I am never going to give up until I reach all of my goals. (and that list is pretty huge.)

What’s your dream? To walk by a New York City newsstand, see my

picture on the cover of a men’s fashion magazine, and smile.

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Where did you grow up?I grew up in Akron, OH. The rubber capital of the world (tires

that is. Don’t be dirty). Ohio is a wonderful state with genuine people. I definitely am glad to have the values and compassion that growing up in the mid-west teaches you.

What brought you to New York?I attended both performing arts middle and high schools in

Akron, so moving to New York was the next logical step for my career choice. It’s been almost eight years now and no matter where I roam there’s no place like home, AKA, New York.

When did you discover that you wanted to be a performer by profession?

I can’t quite pinpoint an exact moment. I think it’s something I’ve just always been immersed in. My grandmother had a group with her brothers and sisters, my sisters sing; there was always performance and music around me. I learned my first full song before I could speak full sentences, at around 18-months-old, or so my mom likes to brag, so I think it’s just always been in my blood.

What is the first performance you can remember? As an angel in the church Easter play [at age three]. Mary

asks, “Where is my Lord? Where have they taken Him?” to which I responded, “I don’t know.” The crowd roared. It was a huge success.

What was your first paying gig?I was in middle school and had just finished doing Little Shop

of Horrors at the local community theatre. The director of that show had written and was looking for performers for a short Ronald McDonald House musical to be performed for patients and their families at the RMH in Cleveland. She asked me, I got $100 and immense fulfillment for bringing joy to those kids and their families. It was awesome.

You have some history with The Lion King. How did that come about?

[There was an] open audition call in Backstage for Disney Hong Kong. Who doesn’t want the opportunity to travel like that? So I crossed my fingers, did my best and was able to perform as Nala in ‘The Festival of the Lion King’ show.

What was the most memorable part of that experience? What did being a part of that production teach you? How did it change you?

The most memorable part of that experience was the lifelong friends I made there. I met some incredibly talented people in Hong Kong. When you go somewhere completely on your

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own, to a new place, especially a new country, it’s completely a sink-or-swim experience. You’re out of your comfort zone and completely vulnerable. It teaches you a lot about yourself. It forces you to strip all the bullshit and get to the grit of who you are, and when you’re exposed like that and people still like you, you know they’re keepers.

Besides patriotism, which is something I didn’t truly understand completely until I was in another country for an entire year, I also learned how important artistic and creative freedom is to me as an artist. I am not willing to give up being able to stay in the moment and keep a fresh innovative show for me and the audience for a paycheck. Trying to remember what I did yesterday in this song vocally is unreasonable if the lines move me differently today. That’s something I am not willing to compromise in any sense.

It certainly made me a stronger person. I am so much more secure in myself and my talent than I was before. That experience broke me in a way I had never experienced before, as far as getting to know myself and my gift. When you have all your securities, family and friends, it’s easy, but when you’re all alone and stripped of all those things, you learn things about yourself - some good and some bad, but you learn, you cope, you deal and you grow.

What do you do to remain creatively inspired?I have incredible friends and we often have jam sessions or

what I like to call “meditation for the performer’s soul.” I find it allows you to sing, act and play without inhibition and you find new limits, new boundaries, new sounds, new confidence and renewal in what can be an exhausting and sometimes disappointing career choice.

What’s next for you?I have no clue. Hopefully something good. Since I left Hong

Kong, I took some time off and was focusing on my pup and gorgeous boyfriend. I really craved stability when I got home. I had been lucky enough to have been performing and traveling for about five years straight so it was really important to me to grab some roots. More recently, I got an incredible agent (Hartig- Hilepo) and have been auditioning again. So I guess we just patiently wait and hope like everyone else.

What’s your dream?I guess it would be to have a job that pays my bills, that I love

and in the field I have chosen. As well as have my personal and family life, as fulfilling as it is already, grow and blossom and sustain. I have an incredible support system that keeps me grounded and not so nuts through my non-performing times. Thank God for the best friends and family ever. I certainly have, at one point or another, had half of my dream, either the job or the personal, but it’s time to have it all.

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Where did you grow up?I grew up in Katonah, NY, a small town in Westchester County and was fortunate enough to

live under a single roof from the day I was born until I left for college.

When did you discover that you had a gift for composition?I’ve always been a big musical theatre buff. From the time I was two years old and I saw

my first two movie musicals (The Wizard of Oz and The Rocky Horror Picture Show – this says something about my further development), I was hooked. Throughout my childhood and onward into adolescence I sought after anything and everything theatre related, whether it meant collecting each cast album I could find or discovering rare recordings from Broadway shows of the past. Growing up an hour outside of Manhattan also made it easy to come to the city simply to see something on or off-Broadway, which I did as frequently as possible.

During middle school, I discovered the works of my two favorite composers: Stephen Sondheim and Michael John LaChiusa (although I had already been familiar with Sondheim’s Into the Woods. As a slight anecdote, during a second grade show-and-tell, I performed the entire eleven-minute “Prologue” from the show, lyric sheet in hand, for my class. It was greeted with nothing short of confused concern).

Come freshman year of high school, my Sondheim fascination had blossomed into full-blown obsession. Not knowing what to do with my deep love for his work, I thought the only option was to begin writing lyrics of my own. They were, needless to say, awful.

I began to play piano, mostly teaching myself and taking bi-weekly lessons from a brilliant man, Phil Gaberman, who taught me how to fake my way through a tune in order to accompany myself while singing. Hand-in-hand with playing began my fiddling away at writing melodies. It wasn’t until the end of my senior year that I started to feel the tunes and words I was making fall into a logical and interesting way. Beyond this, it took going to college – the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (CCM) – to truly begin to understand how to write songs that were interesting and engaging, both for the performer and the audience.

I remember sitting down with a teacher of mine (another brilliant man, Aubrey Berg, chair of

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CCM’s musical theatre department) and playing through several of my songs. He looked at me and said, “There’s something here. You’re good. Really.” Those words were all I needed to step up my game and truly dive deep into the world of serious, grounded theatre writing.

What is the first song you wrote?There are two answers to this question. The first is

the actual first song I wrote. It was titled, “Mama’s Boy” and was composed (though I use that word loosely) my freshman year of high school, before I had really begun to play piano. The song (in retrospect) was terrible, though I was immensely proud of it at the time. There was no time or key signature, the lyrics were nonsensical and it was written as part of a musical that never happened – thankfully – titled, Danie Richards.

The song that I consider to be my first “real” song, meaning a tune that I recognized as having worth beyond my own contentment, came about at the end of my senior year of high school. The song was called “Going Is Coming” and existed as the finale for my first true attempt at a musical, Little Sun. The song describes the process of coping and moving on after the loss of a loved one, with lines like, “Going is Coming from another way/So let’s just come and go ‘til then.” While not a great song by any means, it bore a sense of character and build and, I believe, had an important message that was said through its duration. The song was performed during my first public showing of work, A Little Self Indulgent Music, midway through my sophomore year at CCM.

What type of music do you compose? What types of music do you listen to and does that ever instruct how you create new songs?

My main focus of writing is in musical theatre. I occasionally will write for a cabaret artist or on commission (in college I was hired to compose a theme song for the school’s fundraising campaign), but my main love and my best songs have come from my theatre work. The songs that I write tend to be character-driven and have an abundance of lyrics – a habit that has its merits, though I constantly work to also write shorter, simpler tunes.

I am constantly influenced by the music I hear around me. I’m a notorious shower-singer (which is where I actually get a lot of song ideas started) and if I’ve just heard a pop song before going in, I will, without fail, start to improvise a tune that falls in a similar style. I do my best not to ever imitate a specific artist’s work, though, and instead choose to look toward certain writers or musical genres to enhance the project at hand.

What was it like the first time you heard someone else, someone you didn’t know, singing your songs?

Being that I write for the theatre, the first time I really heard people sing my songs was for my debut concert at CCM. While I knew the performers, they were singing songs I had written dating back to my senior year of high school straight through to a week before the actual event. Many of these songs had existed only in my voice or mind and the sensation of hearing a voice that wasn’t my own – particularly in regards to female songs – was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Pure exhilaration and joy took hold of me and I believe it was that moment I realized the reality of the career I was beginning to shape for myself.

The second major shock came when surfing through YouTube one afternoon and happening upon a video of someone I did not know – someone I, in fact, had absolutely no connection to – singing a song of mine. I was both shocked and delighted at once as I realized there were people who desired to sing what I had written, much as I had desired to sing other composers’ work my whole life, and my life as a writer was actually beginning to happen. To this day, I’m amazed whenever anyone purchases sheet music of mine and sings the songs. It is, I think, the greatest honor.

Tell me about your favorite song you’ve written. This is, by far, the most difficult question. I have written

some 130 songs at this point, each one (yes, even the poor ones) holding a unique and special place in my heart. For the most part, I can recall the moment where the songs were written, often times when I came up with a lyric or rhyme I was particularly proud of. The best part of being a young writer is that I am still learning every day, so I often feel the song I am working on at the moment is my favorite, as it feels more accomplished than the one that came before. If I have to pick a single song, though…

…Nope, can’t do it. Instead, I’m breaking the rules. Here are a few of my favorites:

“Have You Met Georgette?” – this song is my favorite kind to write. It is jam-packed with lyrics and tricky rhymes, much like a puzzle, and requires an extreme attention to detail. I wrote this song overnight at a Songwriter’s Retreat in the summer of 2010. I was privileged enough to perform it the next evening, accompanied by Broadway composer Andrew Lippa.

“My Darling” – This number is from my first completed, full-length musical, Other Women. The song holds a special place in my heart for reasons I don’t think I could adequately communicate, aside from it bearing what I find to be a very sincere, wounded simplicity for the two

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characters that sing it. “Roy” – Written recently as an exercise in the BMI-

Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (where I am a composer/lyricist) for a musical version of Tony Kushner’s Angels In America, the song was a great lesson in musical adaptation and writing for a specific character’s voice in a dramatic moment. While this musical will never happen, the song was a vicious, sinister and ultimately gleeful writing experience where everything seemed to sync and fall in its proper place from the moment I wrote the first word to the end.

Now tell me about the song you’ve written that you hate the most.

I think “hate” is an exceptionally strong word, both in regards to work and life in general. I can honestly say that I don’t “hate” anything that I have written. Instead, there are songs I wrote early on in my writing processes that, upon reflection, seem very amateur and incomplete. It’s funny – the song I feel most passionately about remains the tune that’s most often purchased and performed in concerts and for auditions. The song was written when I was 18-years-old and is called, “Halfway Home.”

Without being too hard on myself, the song is perhaps popular due to its naive look at love and forgiveness, which comes off as both youthful and encouraging, and for a catchy chorus that allows the singer to really show off his vocal chops. My frustration with the song lies in its use of a repeated “pop-style” chorus and a verse with a melody line that varies upon each return. I have often times thought to go back and rewrite parts of it, but have decided it’s best left untouched. Besides, I was only eighteen and it is nice to know that work from that young age can still be appreciated.

What do you do to remain creatively inspired?I’m inspired every single day by whatever is around

me. I am so very lucky to have an incredible family and the most wonderful friends support me and my work, and these people – these complete gifts – are what feed me most. Without getting too sentimental or heady, I really do believe in maintaining a positive outlook on life and my work, even if the piece I’m working on is for an unpleasant character or darkened situation. If I’m truly happy and excited about my life, my work has no choice but to excel. It’s when I am down or frustrated that the songs suffer, and in a business where my final product means everything, there’s no room to offer up mediocre or rushed material.

Additionally, I find immeasurable inspiration in reading (I am a huge Stephen King fan – the man never runs out

of unique and engaging ideas, regardless of your taste for his subject matter) and constantly feeding my mind through other musical theatre works. I’ve always been most inspired by the highest caliber of work (such as the shows of Sondheim, LaChiusa, Kander/Ebb and Charles Strouse) and also the musicals that were unsuccessful, giving me insight into what does not work, in hopes that I will avoid making similar mistakes in my own writing (if interested, find a copy of Ken Mandelbaum’s Not Since Carrie – it has been my musical-theatre-flop Bible for as long as I can remember).

What’s next for you?I am currently a composer/lyricist at the BMI-Lehman

Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, a true honor and dream of mine since I began my writing career. The workshop has been a step in the careers of many incredible writers whose work I deeply admire and I pinch myself daily over my fortune to be a part of their company. Aside from that, I am midway through rewrites for my musical Other Women in preparation of a few potential future productions (fingers crossed), which I will hopefully have more news on soon. I’m also in the midst of planning a concert of my work to go up here in Manhattan, which I am looking to produce this Spring, using some Broadway talent as well as a few of my favorite up-and-coming performers.

What’s your dream? Like mostly any writer of theatre, I of course wish to

one day have a show of my own on Broadway. For the time being, however, I am happy to be living my more grounded dream: to create new music that touches people and progresses the art form as best I can. Growing up I admired writers who had created songs that seemed written expressly for me, songs that spoke to me in ways I never thought possible. Recently I had a college-aged student write me about a specific song of mine, asking, “How did you know?” The song had an impact on him that was incredibly personal and necessary at this juncture in his life. He ended his letter thanking me for understanding. After receiving this note, I couldn’t help but feel that the dream I have built in my mind, the dream that has always seemed to exist purely to feed my imagination, has in fact begun to take form. While we, as people, are destined to always desire more, I’m elated to feel like I’ve started to live within my dream and cannot wait to see what lies ahead. In the words of Stephen Sondheim, “Behold the hills of tomorrow.” At this point in my life, truer words have never been written.

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Where did you grow up?New York. Chelsea to be exact, between

Madison Square Garden and the fashion district. The eldest of three, [I was] raised by a single New YorRican mother plus grandmother who was the first to arrive to NYC in 1949 and still resides a few blocks away from my mom’s place. I grew up watching my mom work different jobs while advancing her education to create a brighter future for my siblings and me. My abuela cooked dinner every night and watched us after school until my mom got home. I remember my brother and I going to school with mom sometimes when we were off from school, sometimes on weekends I would type her hand written papers into the

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computer so she could cook or rest. It felt fun for me to read her notes to see what she was learning in college while I was not even in high school yet. When did you first start dancing?

Apparently since I first started walking, according to my mother. When I got older, I was startled to see a picture of my first birthday because there was a ballerina on my birthday cake. One winter, at 12 years old, I called a local dance school I heard about and put myself on the waiting list for the beginner ballet classes. I excitedly told my mom all we had to do next was wait for a phone call once a spot opened, but there was no money for dance classes. I had my first dance technique class at age 19; I started Adult Ballet classes through an internship work exchange opportunity.

What was the first routine you remember? A beginner flamenco class recital routine. I was one

of “big girls” at 19-years-old dancing along side some tiny 10 to 12-year-olds. My partner was a tall 12-year-old [that was] a few inches shorter than me. We had our performance for the school recital and that was the start to my performing path. At what point did dancing become important to you?

I have always dreamt of living the life of a dancer, so after I started training at what I soon found out was a very “late” 19-years-old, I realized how much catching up I had to do. I dedicated myself to taking as many classes in as many styles as I could and I focused on absorbing as much as I could about dance. When I wasn’t in class, I would volunteer usher at different venues and purchase standing room or student rush tickets to performances. When I can’t get to the theater I look at vintage and current dance videos on line and read books about dance great and ballets for research and inspiration. It’s important to me to be a knowledgeable and versatile performing artist. I want to know about dance inside out.

What kind of training have you had? Ballet, Contemporary Ballet, Horton, Jazz, Modern,

Latin Ballroom, Flamenco and attending ballroom socials. When I started training, I took two semesters off from school, would work full time during the day and would take several classes a day, six days a week. Later, during my first two years of college life, I could only take a class or two a week. Junior and senior years as a dance and studio art major, my schedule consisted of Modern, Ballet, folk dance, dance history, countless rehearsals for seasonal productions, choreography, stage production

including changing jells on the light booms, drawing, life drawing, painting, etching for print making, ceramics, more academic classes and performances. I became the flyer manager during my senior year which allowed me to incorporate my visual artistry to marketing materials for the dance department.

Outside of school, my mom encouraged me to attend some ballroom dance parties. Hesitant at first, I attended and for the first time, enjoyed being one of the younger dancers. I learned a lot of American Standard Ballroom styles by just having fun dancing with the well versed mature dancers. Some of those dancers came in support to my performance for Women in Dance at Ailey Citigroup this past January which was so cool of them.

What has been the “biggest”/most important performance you’ve had to date?

I have had two extremely rewarding performances to date, one for a Japan benefit I co-produced and the other at a local senior center. For the senior center, I choreographed and performed several dance pieces to much applause and gratitude. I didn’t realize the impact my dancing could have on an older generation until then. Some people where moved to tears, some came over to share their stories and told me I took them back to good times they experienced in their youth. One woman told me while watching me dance, she became reminiscent of her years as a dancer during WWII; she would perform and dance with the soldiers. How have you been advancing your dancing career?

Training, training and training. That and teaching dance and performing around NYC and Long Island. Teaching adds a great perspective to my dancing because I think about concepts in different ways and approaches to explain and demonstrate to young dancers. This opportunity really allows a deepening in understanding and clarification that I then apply to my own dancing.

Where do you perform, choreograph, etc?Currently I am a freelance performer and teaching artist

with community service through the arts as a personal goal. Last March, after the earthquake in Japan, I co-founded a benefit performance and silent auction event in support of the relief efforts. As well as performing for the event, I was the production director, co-producer, stage manager, flyer manager and marketing director. Within a week we had a confirmed venue, volunteer performers including a former Broadway harpist, opera singers, tap dancers, hip hop dancers, African drummers, a student company from a community center, a belly

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dancer, a poet, visual artists who donated work for auction, a host and over 20 volunteers who served as ushers, box office staff and stage hands.

The immediacy of the issue required a quick response and we coordinated to make it happen. I am still overwhelmed by and grateful to the team of talented artists and generous volunteers that was created almost over night. The event was monumental for so many reasons, it feels good to help. “Artists Responding to Global Issues” took place the first Sunday in April 2011 at Lang Recital Hall with proceeds going to Peace Winds Japan, an NGO servicing the effected area.

What was the Women in Dance program like? What did that open up for you and what did you learn from it?

Acceptance into the Woman in Dance series, after the application and nerve-wracking audition process in front of the LEGROS panel, was a sweet accomplishment. It was just the boost I needed to grow confident in myself as a performer and my work. Also, Women in Dance introduced me to Ms. Debbie Allen, one of my idols who encouraged me during the preliminary stages of the creative process. After seeing the piece I presented with two other dancers she said “well you all can do anything...just beautiful.” I couldn’t believe it. I was thrilled.

The one year commitment to the project allowed me time to brainstorm and clarify my projected vision while

meeting inspirational peers and prominent women in the dance field. What does dancing mean to you?

There is this unexplainable feeling that happens on stage when the lights are about to come on or the stage curtains are about to open. It’s an energy that defines my existence. The anticipation, excitement and focused silence shared by audience and performer through the darkness creates a connection parallel to no other. All of the years of sweat, training, exhausting rehearsals, effort and hustle to get to the theater is rewarded during those few minutes on stage. It’s a passionate exchange and it’s addicting. I want to feel that as much as possible, as often as I can and share artistry and positivity by touching audience members in some way. What’s next for you?

Auditions and travel I hope. What’s your dream?

I dream of traveling the globe inspiring, igniting dreams, sharing and serving communities with a moment of enjoyment, positivity and hope. To perform at all kinds of venues - some traditional stage and some the not so traditional - celebrating the streets of Europe, beaches of the Caribbean and families in Asia and Africa.

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When did you first take to the stage?I started doing theatre at a really young age. I

was doing community theatre at four but started professionally acting at nine. I was constantly going everywhere for auditions. I came to New York when I was three years old and literally from that day forward, I said I was going to live here.

When did you get to New York?2005. I had been working steadily as a kid and until

I was a teenager, I was doing 10 or 11 shows a year. I was really busy. I moved here to go to school. I got into a lot of really great places around the country but I just wanted to be in New York. I went to AMDA. It was a weird program because what you put into it is what you get out of it. But six of the nine people I was in class with are now on soap operas and in Broadway shows so I was in a really good class. It got me here.

What surprised you about moving to New York? It was such a weird switch when I got here. I’d been

working so much as a kid. After school was over, I wanted to be done for a little bit. I took two years off. Well, not off completely, I did some plays, but I just wanted to have a social life because I never really got to have one as a kid.

What did you do for those two years?I experienced different aspects of the business. I was

a personal assistant, worked at a TV station, worked at a radio station, worked at Disney Theatricals and did the craziest odd jobs. I just wanted to figure out if musical theatre was what I really wanted to do

because I was so burned out. Then I got my spark back and that’s when I started cultivating this show.

The show you’re talking about is ‘Are You There Ann Margret, It’s Me Justen,” a show that you conceived, produced and starred in that had its debut at the end of February in New York. Where did that process start for you?

I was trying to figure out how to do a concert with music I loved and grew up with but I didn’t want it to just be your average concert or cabaret. How much life experience do I have that someone would want to listen to a 23-year-old talk about my life? It was at that point when I actually found the paper I’d written about Ann Margaret in the fourth grade. Our teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up and I answered “Ann Margret.” She was my favorite.

So I’m sitting there, cultivating the concept of doing a show, not knowing what the show should be about and it all just made sense. I love her music, I love her catalog and it made sense to explore doing her work. It gave me my creative spark and juices back.

What are your thoughts looking back on it? It’s been such an awesome and challenging

experience. The city is really tough on artists trying to do their own thing. If you don’t have the money or the connections to people that do, it’s an uphill battle. I started the process of raising money two years ago and I’m such a control freak that I had my hands on everything, from designing the set to the costumes.

What did it teach you?

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I’m working on hiring a team because I can’t take on a whole process like that again. It was so much and while I learned so many great things, I can’t do it again. I love all aspects of theatre and live performance so I want to make sure my hand is in it a little bit, just not like this last time. It was a really great learning experience to just go for it and try something like that. It wasn’t a cabaret, it wasn’t theater and it wasn’t a musical. It was a hybrid of all that.

What’s next for the show?It’s still growing. This debut performance was about

35% of the show I wanted. The core story is there and people really responded well to it. The humor is there and I wanted that. But it’s a work in progress. We are planning on bringing the show to different cities and continue to raise money for charities around the country. We’re also working on obtaining non-profit status since all of our proceeds go to various charities. (the February performance raised money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS)

During this process, you also started CooperRose Productions.

We started the company when we started the show. I wanted to create my own works of art and do it my way as opposed to always being told what to do during shows. I was working like crazy doing shows and plays, but I wasn’t fulfilled. There came a point when I had a vision for what I wanted to do with my dreams, so I started my own production company to make them come true. The timing made sense because this show would be the first thing that would come out of it.

What else do you plan to do with the company?I hope to do this for other people, direct their

shows and creatively come up with things that mean something to them. I also want to be able to do the shows for charity. So that’s why I started it because I didn’t think there was much out there that supported that.

What’s your dream for the future of CooperRose Productions?

It’s a creative journey and I’m learning a lot. The world is hard enough and people need to escape. That’s what this company will do: Provide the opportunity for people to get their visions out there and inspire people. Is there anything better than that?

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Why did you start drawing?Ever since I can remember, I was always drawn to and loved art.

My sister recalls that I began drawing images of cartoons at the age of two-and-a-half. She said drawing came very naturally to me and I would draw on anything I could get my hands on.

Through the course of my life, art became my best friend and was the only thing I could count on to make me feel safe and secure. This was because I came from a broken home and had a difficult childhood. I used art as a way to escape the pain and sadness. I would create beautiful worlds that I always wished life had been like. It helped me get through a lot of hard times and in a way saved my life.

Is there a correlation between disappearing into your art as a kid and disappearing into a character now?

Of course. It’s a constant. There is more control now in that I can use art to bring me joy though the eyes of others where before it

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would be more out of sadness or just an escape for myself.

Whys that?It’s a constant because it’s the one thing that truly

makes me happy. Art is a way for me to express visions that are beyond the capacity of words and a medium for growth in my life. For me it represents far more than just a painting, drawing, costume or photography; it’s a vision of dreams, truth and love. It’s a relationship that is strong and a talent that I have been able to nurture since childhood. Something that drives me each day is to create things of beauty, inspiration and happiness that hopefully touch people’s lives and helps them the way it helped me.

You’ve done some modeling in addition to your own art.

I did a lot of local print work in San Francisco but nothing big. It opened up the door to the fashion world with designers and photographers. It takes up a lot of time, you have to put all of your energy into it and right now, I’d rather put all of my energy into my art.

How has your art changed since you moved to New York?

Since I moved here, I’ve met a bunch of photographers and stuff since I’ve been here just throwing myself out there. Like Mike Ruiz. I’ve been a fan of his for such a long time and who thought I’d ever get to work with him? But I contacted him and showed him my work and I’ve been working with him. In two months in New York, I’ve worked more than I did in a year living in San Francisco.

What was the biggest shock moving to the other side of the country?

I expected it to be hard, it’s a lot tougher than I

thought it’d be. I’d never seen snow in my life either so the cold was like, really cold.

Where does your inspiration come from? I was really inspired by things that are morbid but

making them beautiful. I see people like GaGa and Adam Lambert and I get inspired by what they’re doing. It’s different and interesting. I do regular make-up too but I’m more inspired by bringing pop-art to life.

Do you feel you have something to prove?Only to myself. I try to stay focused on my craft,

work as hard as I can and I know the world will follow. I feel the more you want to prove anything, the more situations you attract in your life that make you fight for your position. It’s all about breaking barriers inside your mind and letting go of resistance. Everything becomes easy after you do that.

What kind of an impact do you want to make? What kind of a legacy do you want to leave? How do you want to do that?

Art will be my ultimate legacy, the one thing that will live forever. I want to open people’s minds to art and the philosophy of art. Give them a glimpse through the eyes of an artist and show them how I view the world. I believe art makes people better human beings and elevates their minds. Since I didn’t have all the resources as a child, I would like to open a school one day and make it affordable for anyone to attend. Art is important and knowledge of the arts is an indispensable foundation for enlightenment in this harsh world. It’s something I believe lets individuals explore different dimensions of their mind, brings communities together, shapes the way we talk about issues and formulates visions of the future, both for artists and their audiences.

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Photography by Scott Marrs

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Photography by Scott Marrs

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ACTORPHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT TOLBERT & KELSEY ERVI

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ACTORPHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT TOLBERT & KELSEY ERVI

No way around it. Being an actor is tough and unless you happen to get discovered while in line at In-n-Out Burger, it’s a lot of work. We took a glimpse at what five actors in Texas do while they audition, book gigs and chase after their moment in the spotlight.

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Day job: Server at Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, TX

Most recent role: Adam in dark play or stories for boys at Outcry Theatre

Upcoming projects: Sweeney Todd at Musical Theatre Heritage, Lend Me a Tenor and Dames at Sea at PineCone Playhouse

www.jacobaaroncullum.com

JACOB AARON CULLUM

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Day job: Technical Writer at Devcon Security, a home and commercial security company

Most recent show: The Farnsworth Invention at Theatre Three

Upcoming projects: Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Dallas

IAN FERGUSON

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Day job: Sales Associate at Nest, an upscale gift and home furnishings store in Dallas

Most recent show: Carol in David Mamet’s Oleanna at L.I.P. Service and Big Nose Productions in Fort Worth

Upcoming projects: The Art of Murder at Theatre Three, Oklahoma! at Lyric Stage

ERICA HARTE

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Day job: Store Manager at Gilly Hicks

Most recent show: Ilse in Spring Awakening at WaterTower Theatre

Upcoming projects: Broadway Our Way at Uptown Players

www.kaylacarlyle.com

KAYLA CARLYLE

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Day job: Bookseller at Barnes & Noble

Most recent show: Hanschen in Spring Awakening at WaterTower Theatre

Upcoming projects: August: Osage County at WaterTower Theatre

www.mattallentolbert.com

MATT TOLBERT

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‘pop’sculture that

Photography by Michelle Andriassian

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Models: Daved Munoz, Sean Bramlett, Ash-leigh Sage, Summer Smith and Saltina Mindez. Selected jewelry pieces by Clint Clark.

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POP Champagne & Dessert Bar in Pasadena, Calif., bills itself as a ‘sexy place for first dates, social gatherings, after-work drinks, or any night out on the town.’ Photographer Michelle Andriassian and Co. descended on Old Town Pasadena to shoot in one of their favorite new hang-outs.

“With over fifty wines by the glass, ever-changing flights, and a growing bottle list, POP is the perfect place for novices and connoisseurs alike, to explore and play in the alluring world of Champagne and desserts.”

If you’re in the Los Angeles area or are headed there for a visit, be sure to go to Pop Champagne Bar.

www.popchampagnebar.com

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“I am based in Los Angeles and my main focus is Portraiture and Lifestyles. I also do a lot of location shooting, as well as nn-set work and head shots. Personally, I like to elicit emotion in the eyes and really take the time to make it as personalized as possible. I want to be recognized by my personalized style, as well as being involved with the global community. “

What’s your dream?I plan to start traveling with my equipment in

efforts to shed light on poverty and other major crisis’ in third-world nations. [I’ll do it by] hosting art shows here in Los Angeles, displaying work collected around the globe and [making a] short documentary film to send off to Film Festivals in and around Los Angeles by 2014. A generous percentage of the photos sold will be donated back to the communities who participate in the project.

Spotlight on photographer Michelle Andriassian

www.facebook.com/andriart.photography

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“You do realize this is the extreme canyoning, right? You know that if you make one mistake, you’re dead?”

That’s what our guide said to us when we arrived at Alpin Raft. I could feel my stomach turning.

The group that accompanied me to Interlaken, Switzerland had a similar mind set as me: we wanted to do something dangerously adventurous. That’s why we chose canyoning and that’s why we chose the most extreme, dangerous and feared canyon in all of Europe. As we drove up the mountainside, I was quiet and anxious, while everyone else was talking. I have been canyoning before in Wales, but I had a feeling it was the equivalent to a day at the park compared to what was ahead.

What was ahead turned out to be one of the most exhilarating and unforgettable experiences of my travels.

Our canyon was located in Chli Schliere, Switzerland and when we got there, we changed into our wet suits, almost an impossible task and we waddled, for lack of better terms, to the first canyon.

After climbing up the terrain and balancing on logs to the best of our ability, we reached our first jump. I looked 30 feet down and my stomach dropped. It wasn’t just a simple jump into the water; there were boulders jutting out of the side of the canyon. Boulders we had to avoid hitting.

Since this was extreme canyoning, you can’t hesitate or

you’ll get injured. Our guide counted down.“3, 2, 1…” I jumped into the waterfall. It was exhilarating. We went down rock slides over 40 feet high, with twists

and turns and water rushing down. We trudged through the current, reached another cliff and if the first jump was scary, this one was terrifying. I looked down, looked at our guide and thought to myself, “How on earth is clearing this jump without dying possible?”

I didn’t have any time to think about it. I had one foot on the guide’s foot, and the other on a rock. I had to jump about 15 feet to the right, land on a rock wall with a curve in it and then slide down. Right. I took a deep breath and jumped on to the wall; it was phenomenal. I looked back up after I jumped and I felt so accomplished. I was ready to continue the challenge.

The adventure continued for about three hours, jumping off various cliffs, repelling through waterfalls and sliding down gigantic rock slides. Words could never adequately express this experience that I will never forget.

I conquered my fears. I can now say I have canyoned in the most dangerous, extreme and terrifying canyon in all of Europe. I got that adventure I was seeking and then some.

LEAPING IN INTERLAKENby Holly Renner

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There’s more BLEEPing than just in the mag. Check out www.bleepmag.com for past issues and find us on Facebook and Twitter.

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bleepquizSuliman Nawid Make-up Artist

I am...an artist. I’m here because...of you. What makes me happiest is...doing what I love. The color that best represents me is...red, the color of fire.What I hope to accomplish today is...getting this painting finished. My best friends are...the ones I can call at 3 in the morning. I can’t live without...art.Between an Olympic champion or an Oscar winner, I’d rather be...neither. I’d rather be an Art winner, is there such a thing? If I wasn’t me, I’d be...dead.I like it best when you...make me smile. God is...everywhere. I’m hungry for...your love. I cry…because sometimes it’s the only thing left to do to help you heal. Style means…creating a look that’s true to you. I want to go...to a place where I can be a kid again. The most obnoxious sound in the world is...whining. What makes me weak is...my fears. At this exact moment, I’m passionate about...my life and the beautiful people in it. I crave...recognition. My inspiration is...my Mom.

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www.bleepmag.com