Inside the Starlight Actors Studio!

And so it ends...

2009-09-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend will be the first weekend we will not have a show up at Starlight. It is an odd feeling. You grow so accustomed to something that when it has disappeared, you can hardly get used to the vacancy. So firstly, I should apologize for this being my first post on the blog. I love being busy, and I really thought I would make time to write more often, but I usually forgot or didn't have anything really to say. So Starlight this summer was quite the experience, and I would like to talk about some of the actors and what they showed me this summer. Brittney Carlson (now Fekete') was one of my best friends this summer. She is wise, beautiful and wonderful. Katie Roundy was also a brilliant friend this summer and I want her to know how much it meant to me that we could talk and be as close as we were. Dugan Jackman, who I am sure you all know was an awesome choreographer and I think my favorite part of the summer was when he ran on stage after hearing the dinner bell in Seven Brides only to find that Adam had used the bell as an example for Millie. His look of disappointment was CLASSIC! His best friend Garret was absolutely incredible. He definitely inspired me to be more adventurous. Seriously, get this. He learned how to do a pretty prefect back-handspring in about 30 seconds. Pretty impressive. Abby Howard also inspired me to be more daring when it came to tricks because she was the first one to try all the lifts, and 99.9% of the time, she got them perfectly. Her sister Sarah and her brother BJ were also so wonderful. Their family let me stay with them some weekends and they became like another family for me. Speaking of family, what about the Davis'? Skye and Michelle are such a wonderful couple. Skye was almost the older brother I never had, and while I didn't really get to know Michelle on a personal level, I did get to witness her enormous talents, especially vocally. It was incredible to be working with someone who could sing so gorgeously with such little effort. Gracie and Maya are two of the most GORGEOUS girls I have ever met! It always gave me such joy when Gracie would run up and jump on me after every show giving me a great big hug. Maya was such a joy because she constantly had a smile on her face and is just so sporty! Congrats on Varsity by the way! Sawyer was awesome too- I loved that he always liked being chorus- it made being in the background an absolute blast! He was a great dance partner too. Ed and Jan- well I am sure you all know them pretty well, but aren't they wonderful? Simply lovely, I think. Who is next? How about Claire Marx? She has the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen and she is sooooo gorgeous! She just started college and we wish her the best of luck! Tim is back at school with me and doing very well. He is so talented and it was a pleasure to watch him grow this summer. Oh yeah, that's what Tim said. There is also Spencer Smith- what a boy! All I can say is that I have finally met my match making funny faces on stage, not only that, but if it were a competition, he would win! And then there is Jared Fillingim. Well, love that boy to death and I think my favorite memory is when he kissed his manikin head! I totally have a picture! Woot! Well that covers the core kids plus a few Davis kids and the Davis parents, but I hope it gives you an insight as to what our crazy summer was like. I love these people and I wish them all the best in the future!

-Francesca Mintowt-Czyz

Getting ready for the 2009 Season!!!

2009-05-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

We are back and so ready for this summer season. I ran down to the theatre and took some pictures so you can see the make over that the stage is undergoing. We have a great group of actors this season (a lot of new faces) and they are all so excited to get an audience up here. Our season kicks off this year with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opening this weekend (May 29th). With only 10 performances you won't want to wait to get your tickets. For those of you who have seen Joseph before here at Starlight, are in for a treat. With all new costumes and choreography it is going to be a fan favorite. Also now is a good time to nab those Season Passes. We now offer Senior and child prices on all season passes.

We are down to our very last sheep. Some of the brothers in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamCoat.

Joseph getting attacked by the girls of Pharaoh's Court.

New Marquee's for this seasons shows outside the Box Office.

Can't wait to see everyone up in the Mountains! Don't forget to get your tickets soon!

Dugan

Thank You and Goodbye

2008-08-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

As we make our way much too quickly through closing week, nostalgia tugs at my heartstrings. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful summer. It has been a time of rest and healing for me after a rough junior year in a very rigorous acting program. It has been 3 months of playing and laying around, as well as of growth and learning. I feel blessed to have been a part of the Starlight cast of 2008 and to have had the privilege of working with so many wonderful people and I will never forget the amazing time I had this summer.

Thanks to Ed for giving me this gift of Starlight for my second season, for Tess and the Fairy Godmother and Aunt Eller (yes, even her) and for Milly most of all. Thank you for days and nights of endless rehearsals and for rafting the Canyons and for a Grandma and Grandpa and for fixed tap shoe heels and paychecks and magic tricks. Thank you for your warmth and love and support and faith.

Thanks to Angie (and Dale) for being my adopted family while I am so far from my natural family. Thank you for Sunday dinners and peace signs in church and grocery lists made at inappropriate times and for oreo cookies and lemonade pie and unrealistic 80's movies and too many kittens and a home. Thank you for your big heart and friendship and shared loved of efficiency and home cooking.

Thank you to my fellow cast members for being friends and jokesters and talented and quirky. Thanks for 5 bricks, so's Dorcas Bixby, call me when you get there, effing cheer, Bowzer's Big Bow, who do I love...all of you, how bout stiff upper lip, and mooo. Thanks for NOT poking my baby and for knowing what I meant when I said "raspberry custard and ...apple...sauce" and for nights at the Dog and going to the hot springs and for reading "Oh The Places You'll Go" to me and for holding hands in the circle and promising to stand by me forever as you can count on me to stand by you. I wish you all the best in whatever future endeavors you undertake and hope you will find happiness and success in your lives.

Thank you also to the wonderful patrons we were blessed with this season, both those returning from seasons past and also our new audience members. I hope your evenings with us were as enjoyable and fun for you and your families as they were for us. We have loved making you smile and laugh this summer and hope we brought you the kind of entertainment you'll come back for again and again. Thank you to everyone who found a way to donate to Starlight this year; it is your generosity that keeps our doors open and allows us the opportunity to do what we love.

I can not express my gratitude to everyone who made this summer the unforgettable experience it has been for me. Keep in touch and watch out for me someday. Many thanks and much love.

-Jersey

A day off....sort of

2008-08-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

So it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Scot has no idea what to do. Lo and behold, an opportunity arises to dress like a pirate and throw candy at small children, so what does he do? I think we all know. Unfortunately the dozens of children were all equipped with squirt guns and buckets and such, and things got ugly in a hurry. So Scot spent an hour or two locked in deadly water combat with his fellow pirates and many, many children. Eventually children were bribed to join the pirates, so everything worked out just fine. All in all a great way to spend what might have been a lazy day in the park.

And I was mocked for only being an ordinary pirate and not a famous one. Pirates at the bottom get no respect. (I'm the one in the white.)

scot with one t

Time is running out

2008-08-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

For all of you folks who've been thinking, "Hey, I should really get up to Garden Valley this summer and see a Starlight show," your time is running out! After tonight we only have two, count 'em two!, weeks left of our summer season. Two weeks to catch Crazy For You, Cinderella or Oklahoma! on the Starlight stage. You do have a couple of weekends after that to see Let's Murder Marsha, but don't miss out on your Starlight fix for the summer! Otherwise you'll be waiting for nine long months to get another chance, and it won't be the same fabulous shows with the same amazing casts! Really, if you've been planning on coming up (or coming up again) this summer, don't blow it. You've only got two weeks left...

scot with one t

Summer Dance Camp!

2008-08-09T12:29:00.001-07:00

This past week I taught two wonderful groups of girls ballet and hip hop at the Garden Valley Fitness Center. I had such a great time working with all of my sweet, talented girls and I only hope they had half as much fun as I did. The first class was the 4-7 year old ballet class and my little ballerinas were Ruby, Lydia, Benny, Katerry and Andrea and we danced to Bobby Darin's "Baby Face." Oh my gosh, they were fall-on-the-floor adorable. My big girls, 8-12 year old hip hop, consisted of Kate, Zoe, Annika, Chloe, Meridith, Cheyenne and Emily and we danced to "Imma Shine" by YoungBloodz to which I choreographed a VERY challenging routine which the girls truly rose to the occasion to master. I was so proud of all of their hard work.

By the way, I'm still searching for a way to get the videos scot so kindly taped for us of our final performances up here so everyone can watch them, but have yet to have any success. Take my word that they are very impressive and adorable until you can see for yourselves.

Thank you to all parents for sharing your wonderful girls with me this week. It has been such a pleasure working with them. I hope they will all continue dancing in the future.

YouTube is Nifty

2008-08-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

So if anyone out here is interested in seeing some of my vocal work away from Starlight you can search my name " stefanie londino" on http://www.youtube.com/ and find my two singing finals. I have very little else interesting to report except that I am slowly falling in love with Garden Valley. City-grown Jersey girl becoming endeared to a tiny Idaho town and its warm-hearted inhabitants ...God, its the premise for a corny Lifetime movie. Sigh. Gosh, the summer is running by. I'm already getting that bitter taste in my mouth about how much I'm going to miss these last 3 months. It has been wonderful and I will never forget it for the rest of my life. Hopefully I am ready to go back and face the music.

Stay on Target!

2008-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

So I was in Target the other day and saw something that is pretty much fabulous, so I took a picture so everyone can enjoy.

I also got a very nice polo shirt for only $6.50. Target is indeed a wonderful place...

scot with one t

Starlight's Magical Summer Camp!

2008-08-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of Starlight's Summer Camp and the kids have been doing an amazing job and having a great time. Here are some pics from their hard work this week. Tonight they perform the pre-show for Cinderella with the two numbers they've been working so hard on the last 5 days, Friend Like Me from Aladdin and Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast.

The kids hiding out in the shade on their water break.

Never...had a...friend....like....ME!

Dugan handing out lyrics so we can learn our second number.

Isaiah, Tobin and Hannah take center stage.

This is my favorite; we're working on a ripple effect with the feet and every kid leans over and watches down the whole line to see if its working! Soooo cute.

Everyone in their character costumes after playing Taxi Cab.

We have had so much fun working with the kids this week and we are so proud of the work they have done. For anyone coming to see tonight's performance of Cinderella, you are in for a treat during the pre-show where these kids will be showing off the fruit of their hard work.

-Jersey

Adoption wars

2008-07-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

So someone else has posted an entry about being able to adopt a Starlight actor and then said something to me to the effect that no one would ever adopt me because...blah blah blah, etc. so on and so forth. You get the idea. And now the challenge is on. I contend that I am indeed adoptable and furthermore will be adopted before the anonymous blogger. She claims that her looks give her an unfair advantage that I cannot overcome. I disagree.

I do laundry and dishes, wash cars, mow lawns, clean bathrooms, and walk pets--in addition to the generic perks she mentioned. I'm also more clever and nice, but I digress. I also help move heavy objects-including but not limited to washers, big screen tvs, pianos, refrigerators, stuffed animals, and feather pillows. I will play with children. I eat leftovers so they don't go to waste. I'm pretty much amazing.

So if you love Starlight and have been wondering, "what can I do to help?" this is your opportunity. Get together with some friends, family, coworkers, whomevers, and adopt a Starlight actor. (Details are under the ways you can help tab on the website.) And please make sure it's me, so I have bragging rights, and you have a cleaner house and happier life!

scot with one t
(photos available on request)

Holy Cow, Adopt Me!

2008-07-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

So in perusing our fancy Starlight website, I came across an AWESOME way to donate to our cause; we apparently have an Adopt-An-Actor program going for donors that want to give $500+ in a really special way, to help stipend one of Starlight's biggest expenses: the salary and housing of its core actors. This nifty program allows you to choose an actor to "adopt" and you get a bunch of cool stuff like:

-Lunch at SMT with your actor.
-A picture of you with your adopted actor.
-Two show tickets.

Coming right down to it...I AM DYING FOR SOME NICE FAMILY TO ADOPT ME! Seriously, if you want to make my whole summer and have a really friendly, fun girl who is YOUR biggest fan, call the box office at 462-5523. I would love to be your favorite and you would be mine!

Photo of a child YOU could give hope to.

-Jersey

The Starlight Crew Goes Rafting!

2008-07-29T12:01:00.001-07:00

Ok, possibly the awesomest thing to do up here in GV is whitewater rafting, and thanks to our awesome friends at Idaho Whitewater Unlimited (who you should go with if you have the urge -check them out at www.idahowhitewaterunltd.com) we got to run the best (in my opinion) run the Payette offers: the Canyons. Its an all day trip down the meanest stretch of river I've ever boated that starts way up Banks-Lowman Road past Pine Flats and runs all the way down to Banks. You stop mid-day for lunch at the Pine Flats hotsprings and its class 3 and 4 rapids all day long! Our AWESOME boat, me and the boys -as usual, had an awesome day running the hardest lines of every rapid we came to.

Yes, we got thrashed in Trashcan. Yes, we dumped our entire boat trying to surf an unsurfable rapid. Yes, some of us spent a little more down-time (underwater) than we were comfortable with. And yes, we had the BEST day EVER and came home exhausted and exhilarated. Here are just a couple picks of just before and just after.

Sterling and I in our sexy boatin' gear. Me-yow!

Scot getting pumped up. Scary, I know.

Andy and I. Aww, bffs!

Team Jesus (pronounced "hey-zoos") after our triumphant river day.

Yes, we shouted every Spanish word we knew that day (which was mostly "Taco!" "Horchata!")

Good times, good times.

-Jersey

Alternate ending

2008-07-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

If anyone hasn't seen Oklahoma! and doesn't want to have any of it spoiled, you shouldn't read this posting. It has some spoiler-type information. If you have seen it or don't mind having part of it ruined for you, then read on!

So I feel a need to put in my two bits about this Jud fellow in Oklahoma! Honestly, does he have to die all the time? Is that really the only way for this show to end happily? (FYI - I am Jud so I'm incredibly biased.) Can't he just stay gone? Does he have to come back and die? He's already been ostracized and dumped on by everyone at his last several jobs when all he's done is worked really hard and done a great job at being a farm hand. Being socially awkward isn't a reason to bump somebody off, is it? (If so, a lot of you reading this might not be around much longer.) Maybe this whole Laurie thing is motivation for him to quit drinking, burn the dirty pictures, and find a nice girl to settle down with; after all, he does have $42.31 in cash to start his new life. Or maybe he shows up at the wedding, kisses the bride, gives Curly some dirty pictures as a present, and then runs of with one of the bridesmaids. It just seems a bit drab Jud dying all the time. Couldn't we jazz it up a bit? At least change up the way he dies every now and again! Maybe we could throw in a rousing chorus of Puttin' On The Ritz before the farmer and cowman become friends by formnig a mob that lynches Jud. What better way to bring a town together? We could have him shot down in a valiant attempt to rescue Ali Hakim from the store in Bushyhead. How about he catches pneumonia again and doesn't pull through this time because no one will bring him hot soup? Maybe we could have the audience vote on how to end it, a choose-your-own-adventure kind of a story. I like it. Any takers? Anybody?

scot with one t

Sad news...

2008-07-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

So I looked at a calendar today and noticed something terrible--only one month left of the summer season Aaahhhhhhhh!!!! And then it's back to real life and finding a job and a place to live and all that stuff that really doesn't matter while I'm up here at Starlight. Why can't I just stay here all year and keep doing what I'm doing? It isn't boring or overly stressful and I get to hang out with and meet so many great people every day! Isn't that what a job should be like? Though I guess it would get a bit nippy doing shows outside in December...but what if we did an Alaskan Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Yeah, they could be prospectors. That's it! Or maybe we'll just have to wait for summer to come around again. Oh well, I can forget about real life for a few more weeks at least.

scot with one t

Boise Road Trip!

2008-07-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Sooooo Chris, Scot, and myself (Dugan) Went to Boise today to go pick up a truck load of water bottles for the Concession stand. So into Costco we go and loaded up a whole cart full of waters. Scot was pushing the cart around the crowded store and we were pretty impressed with his maneuvering abilities until he tried to show off in the parking lot. I think the picture explains it all. But no need to worry every water was recovered and non of them harmed. We are just glad we got a picture of the event. Make sure to give Scot a hard time when you see him. All in all it was a fun trip and definitely one for the Starlight Blog!

Dugan

Closing Night of Brides...So Sad!

2008-07-22T14:17:00.001-07:00

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Starlight's token show, went out with a BIG bang on the 17th to a knock-out audience of almost 500. If you were there, you know how awesome it was, and if you weren't, get out a box of tissues for missing it. I had such a blast playing Milly again and thank you so much to everyone who came to be a part of this epic tradition with us this season. Here are a few pics from closing night.

Brides and Brothers.

The girls.

Aww.

-Jersey

And The Rain Comes Down

2008-07-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Holy buckets of rain this morning. It was well needed for the community and fun for some of the actors.....well Scot at least who quickly put on a swimsuit and ran out and jumped in puddles. I tried to sneak a picture from the upstairs window but couldn't get one so you will just have to create your own visual. Its starting to clear up now i actually saw Blue skies as i got to the office. Weather says that it will be nice for tonight so i Think it will be a great show, don't let the rain scare ya. Anyways if it does rain during the show we can all join Scot in puddle jumping!

What We've Been Up To; A Sneak Peak Into the Life of a Starlight Actor

2008-07-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

So, for anyone who's been wondering what our life up here in GV entails, you're about to read about the wildly exciting lifestyle of Starlight actors. At this point in the season, we have all four shows up and running (except Brides, which is already closed-which is very sad) and that means that we're done with rehearsal, which used to take all day, every day. With all this new free time, what's a girl to do with herself in the thriving metropolis of Crouch, Idaho?

Laying around on the beach and playing in the river are what we do most of all. Some of us are also proud members of the awesome Garden Valley Fitness Center, which has all the amenities of a big-city gym without the annoying oglers who harass you when you're just trying to burn some calories. I'll be teaching two dance classes there for a week in August, one for 4-7 yr. olds and one for 8-12 yr. olds. Check out the gym and sign up for classes online at www.gvfitness.com

As a group, the actors will take awesome day trips. Towards the beginning of the season we had a blast at the Bruneau Sand Dunes, which was the most beautiful natural place I've ever been excluding the beach. Here are a few of our pics:

A bunch of us right before the climb.

Erin and Stef on the way up.

Dalin, Skye & Tyson barbequeing.

Laying around in the grass after the climb.

Scot and Stef after the second climb.

The sunset.

Let me know if you like the pics. I'll put up more if you do.
-Jersey

Summer 2008!

2008-06-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Wow! The Summer is really moving along. We closed Seven Brides on the 17th of July to an amazing FULL HOUSE! Thanks to all of you for your support. Oklahoma, Cinderella, and Crazy for You are all running right now, make sure to get your tickets soon; space is getting limited for some of the shows. Also next week is our Summer Theatre Camp; make sure to get your kids signed up now. Look forward to seeing you all up in the mountains!!