I only really got into theater my sophomore year of high school. Before then, theater was just a vague idea in my mind that sparked my interest. In 8^th grade, my mom took me to see Wicked. This is the first memory I have of going to a theatrical performance. I went to see The Lion King when I was little, but I don’t remember it. The following fall, I started high school. That fall, the theater department put on The Curios Savage. I fell in love a little more with the full idea of theater then. In the spring, my school put on All Shook Up. Not only was I completely hooked on theater, I was hooked on my school’s department, as well. But this isn’t a story about how I got into theater.

The summer before I started college, the Wicked National Tour came to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. I was beyond excited when I found this out. Wicked already held a special place in my heart, seeing as it was, in my mind, a “gateway drug” show into the world of theater for me. I was lucky enough that I got to see the show for free. My uncle works at the YMCA that the cast would go to during their time in Birmingham. They gave the staff free tickets and my cousin invited me to go with her. After the show, I went up and introduced myself to the sound engineer (I was starting to figure out how important networking is to audio producers). Talking to the engineer paid off for me: I got to come back and shadow the tech later in the week. Being able to see how sound works in theater was a huge confirmation for me. Over the last two years, I started to realize that I wanted to work in live sound – specifically theater. Shadowing the sound engineer for the show that started my love for theater confirmed in me that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

I was in middle school when I first heard about Wicked ­– well, one song from Wicked, anyway. I can remember listening to Popular on repeat and watching a video of Kristin Chenoweth bouncing around stage in a pink dress. When I saw Wicked for the second time, I had two and a half years of theater experience in my lap – which meant a greater appreciation for the work that goes into putting on a show. During Defying Gravity, I honestly cried. It amazes me seeing what a small group of people can pull off. Aesthetic distance helped me to believe what was happening on stage, but my knowledge of a stage helped me to appreciate what was actually going on. The live sound technician in me geeks out over things like this.

The Wizard of Oz was an often watched movie for my sister and I when we were growing up. This background helped me to fall in love with the characters in Wicked even more. Seeing the original characters that I knew growing up adapted in a new way excites me. I quickly fell in love with the story, the music, and the characters. I got Apple Music over the summer and one of the first albums I got was – you guessed it – the Wicked album. I’ve listened to it straight through too many times to count. I think if I tried hard enough, I could sing the whole show backwards.

I think a big part of my love for Wicked is the actors I’ve seen portraying my favorite characters. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth will always be the original Elphaba and Glinda in my mind, but the 2016 national tour cast have probably set the bar so high in my mind that nothing will ever compare – except maybe Idina and Kristin themselves. Amanda Jane Cooper and Emily Koch were incredible as the leading ladies, and Jake Boyd – an Alabama native – portrayed Fiyero in a way that made not only Elphaba and Glinda fall in love with him, but me as well. I follow these actors on social media and I’ve seen their off-stage chemistry. It truly transferred to the stage and to their characters. My cousin and I were lucky enough to meet the cast after the show. They were so nice to everyone that came to say hi. I have a signed playbill and it’s one of my favorite things to this day.

Wicked never fails to make me happy and put me in a good mood. There have been many times that I have jammed out in my car and belted Defying Gravity either with my cousin, to annoy my sister, or by myself and I always come away from it laughing. A dream job for me would be to work on Broadway or traveling with Wicked.

June 22, 2016 || Opening Night of Wicked in Birmingham, AL