It's trying to find the right way to start it. You either want to say something profound that will immediately draw people in and make them think that you're a genius, or you want to write something funny that will help women get over the fact that you lack washboard abs and enjoy beer a lot. Both are delicate lines to walk, as you can definitely come across as pretentious or as someone who is not funny and trying too hard. Heck, I may have just succeeded in failing at both, but at least I'm finally giving it a shot.
I used to have a Livejournal back in early high school, which was basically my first experience with what is technically a blog. If you don't remember what a Livejournal is, then you're probably a few or more years younger than me and some of the content of this blog may be inappropriate for you. Please consult your parents about reading this before you continue.
You still with me? Congrats, you are probably over 18 and I don't have to feel like a creep for stalking your Facebook profile. But seriously, If you don't remember what livejournal is, click on this link and laugh your ass off:
I can't believe that I actually titled it Matt's Life: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly-And Of Course, The EMO. What. The. Hell. Was. I. Thinking?!?! In my defense, this was, of course, before I ever saw a vagina or boobs in person. I'm assuming it was about the time I stopped using that stupid site that I finally did. It all makes sense now...
After Livejournal came Myspace, on which I probably posted equally dumb stuff. If you want to step into a time machine and laugh some more, check that out too:
Now that we're done laughing at how bad and juvenile my first blogs were, let's get to the current one. I decided to start this one to keep everybody updated on my struggles in trying to become a famous Broadway star. For those of you who don't know me, or don't really know anything about my performing career, I should probably give you a little background information first.
I've been singing and acting my whole life. About my sophomore year of high school I told my mom, "I am going to go to college for acting and singing." She simply smiled and said, "No, you're not."
As you can see, things have been smooth sailing...
After she got over the fact that I was possibly going to be broke and living in a cardboard box she eventually came around to be my biggest fan. Surprisingly enough, my dad had no problems with it initially, though that's probably because he knew nothing about the acting world. If he had I'm sure he would have had some reservations about what I was doing, too.
Both my parents fully came to support my choice my senior year when I had the lead in the play and the musical and solos in choir. They really started to believe I could actually make it to Broadway once I had a final callback for Spring Awakening's first national tour and then had an audition for the original pilot of GLEE. In case you were wondering, I was called back for Georg in Spring Awakening and auditioned for Puck in GLEE.
Once I got to college at Western Michigan University I was in for a rude awakening. I was a little fish in a big pond full of very talented people. My confidence suffered and therefore I had trouble pulling it together to get the big parts. It didn't help that I was a very masculine, lacrosse playing, hockey loving, beer drinking, football watching dude stuck in what can be a very effeminate world. I have absolutely nothing against effeminate or gay men, but I felt very out of place most of the time.
Thus, the name of this blog.
I've always felt a bit different no matter where I am in life. I guess I'm just not meant to "fit in", but rather "stand out". It can be both a blessing and a curse. I can be very polarizing even though I'm basically incapable of being mean to someone. That fact will never make sense to me but I'm done wasting the energy of trying to figure it out.
But I digress...
After finding a great group of guys who have become lifelong friends and brothers in SigEp to support me, I finally started to improve and get my stuff together, though the lead roles still eluded me. Four years of a great education in musical theatre performance later I felt fairly ready to take on the world. If you want to hear what getting a BFA in Music Theatre Performance did for me, here's a video of me singing my own rendition of "Radames' Letter" from Aida at our showcase:
That may not be the best video of me singing, but you get the idea.
After college I fully expected to move to NYC after a few months and take on Broadway, but that hasn't exactly happened yet. Even though I did do a concert in NYC at the Lincoln Center and had an audition and a callback for the national tour of Rock Of Ages (for the part of Lonny), I still am stuck in Tecumseh, MI and working at a restaurant as a server and a bartender in Ann Arbor. Basically I am currently living my worst nightmare. I'm broke, living at home, and working a job where I get treated like crap every day.
Because of some personal reflection I've had over the past couple of days I have decided to change my circumstances. I am going to find a job and an apartment in New York City NOW and take control of my life. This is kind of why I decided to write this blog. If I share that I'm doing this with others, they can hold me accountable and maybe even help me to achieve my dreams. I need encouragement, support, people to listen to me bitch and complain, and even people to laugh with me when something ridiculous inevitably happens. So, that being said, if you or anyone you know knows of anybody in NYC who needs a roommate or any company that is hiring (I have experience in HR, hiring/recruiting, food service, and as a theatre technician), I would greatly appreciate if you would hook a brother up.
Please leave feedback and subscribe to this blog. I promise to entertain you at the very least.
