Momma said there'd be days like this...

Hi friends,

Well. I did it. I graduated from college- college!!!

I planned on writing this really meaningful blog entry about college, and how it changed me, and the people who meant the most....but then I got kind of busy....enjoying my life. And though I definitely still plan on doing it at some point in the future, that point is not now. Right now, I'm enjoying SUMMER.

Since we last talked, lots of amazing things have happened. All those shows I mentioned opened and went so well. Here is a photo from the Ursuline show: this is EXACTLY how I imagined the turtle went I wrote the script. And may I say, Miss Nina Bolka directed this play to perfection. I was so happy I wanted to cry. But instead I laughed. Because, well, it was funny.

And now I'm just a working girl, living in LA. But not working like that.....you know what I mean. But I like it. Life is good.

And now, as per request, my "note from the playwright" from my senior showcase. Enjoy, my lovelies. Expect another update soon....there is much to say.

A note from the playwright:

So here’s the thing. I think theatre should be fun. If it’s not fun, why are we here? That being said, it should also be moving. Not in that after-school special kind of way, but in the way that it’s nice to have some sort of message, to let the audience walk away feeling something. And that is why the 3 plays you are about to see (or just saw, depending on when you read this) are a mix of comedy and drama. Because that’s what life is- a mix of some truly hilarious and some truly awful things all happening to us in this short span of time that is our life here on Earth. If you can’t laugh about these things, well, that’s your first problem right there.

I write plays. That is what I do. I put them on, because there is a thrill in live theatre that you can’t get anywhere else. And it occurred to me that I’d done my shows in NYC and some in Dallas, but I’d never really done a show here, at LMU, my stomping ground, you know? So I decided it was high time for this to happen and thus, here you are, at the show. I can’t imagine a better way to end my 4 years at LMU. This school has been so kind and supportive to me. When I was just a baby freshman, Ron Marasco put me in Beth Henley’s creative process class and my whole world opened up. I read her plays in high school and suddenly I was sitting across from her! Theatre is magic. I truly believe that. And this show is my thank you to LMU, and my farewell. In one of the shows you see tonight a character says this about art: “It makes people feel things. It’s changing lives.” This school, and the people at it, have changed my life. And for that I will be always grateful. I am grateful to them, and I am grateful to all of you who have come out tonight. It means the world to me.

As a side note, playwriting is only part of the production. Directing is a whole other animal. I have to extend my deepest thanks to my dear friend, Orchid Taira for lending her directing skills to this production, a vision the two of us came up with together. It’s amazing what wonderful things can happen when people come together to create something.

So enjoy the shows. And also….enjoy your lives. We only get one, you know.

With love,
Michelle Weilert