thanks jackie for the heads up on the blog invite ;)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Whoa... my first blog! Even to this day, I don't know what why its called 'blogging'. I guess that's why there is wikipedia. So, long blog short...
I'm Aaron LaVigne. I graduated from NKU with a BFA in 2005. My only professional theatre I did in Cincinnati was @ the Know Theatre with Bruffy, in 'tick, tick... BOOM!' ahhh Jonathan Larson; this guy had a message... an amazing message. I was fortunate to come into that show last minute the way I did. What a blast and a great group to work with. I would recommend everyone to work with this theatre if you get the chance. go know!! The show was an awesome experience for me, especially being so young and poor ha!. Here's what I've been up to since leaving Cincy in January '06.
I was pretty naive moving to NYC. I sold my car for my first month's rent. really... i did. It took me a few weeks to get in the groove but got a serving job (of course) and started auditioning. I ended up getting a couple cruise ship offers off the bat. I felt REALLY lucky but it wasn't for me. I ended taking a regional show in Gettysburg, PA. The show was called 'For The Glory'. In a nutshell it was a re'worked version of Frank Wildhorn's 'The Civil War'. It was such a great time! A lot of the original B'way cast was involved so there was a plethora of talent to surround myself with. The writers were there, and ended up giving me 'tell my father solo. I even worked with a couple of CCM guys who had just graduated that spring who I'm still good friends with. overall good times and good friends made.
I jumped on the RENT tour right after that; literally 2 days later. It was pretty crazy. I was the Mark/Roger swing. I'm not gonna lie... being a swing was tough and, at times, sucked. I'll admit I didn't know what to expect besides the amount of work I would need to keep up on. So I got a storage bin, rehearsed, flew to Florida, and opened the show with the new cast. I learned even more about Jonathan Larson during this whole process. It was special thing to have come from doing tick tick boom and to now learn everything else about his life. ie Meeting his parents, seeing the faces of the 'real life' life support group from the show; these AIDS victims were his friends; watching home video of him sing 'Why' from tick boom. It was very moving. and incredibly humbling.
It was amazing to see this country and canada through airports and on a bus. From big cities, to the beautiful northeast, old civil war towns like Savannah, GA, southern cali, and smaller charming towns. Playing the 'nati was one of the highlights as well. I ended up playing Roger for a few shows while at the aronoff. We got one of the penthouse suites at the Garfield and threw a real nice party.... well, more like a few parties. no reason to lie about that ;) Not to mention we (some cast mates and I) decorated the xmas tree at my moms. real nice. I felt the love in cincy. Growing up here, going to LaSalle High School, and then going through the theatre program at NKU brought out so many old friends and family. I felt like a rockstar. It was an amazing homecoming.
I turned down my contract extension for tour. It was time to be back in NYC (though I did jump back into the show last week in Chicago and will do another week starting March 4... due to injuries). It had been over a year since I left and I wanted to continue the journey. I did a regional production of 'Hair' with my friend Kaitlin Becker from NKU (small world right). Most recently I just finished a production of 'The Thing About Men' as well.
My biggest news at the moment.... I decided I wanted to start writing music to play... like, singer/songwriter indie stuff. I produced and released my first EP 'Breathing Room' while on tour. It was a great way to promote myself while on the road. RENT fans are great about supporting the cast members so I sold my cd on the road and on i- TUNES. blah blah blah.. so
Now I'm in an online music contest where I'm doing REALLY well, like i could win this thing well. I'm ranked in top tier in the popular votes in two categories; Pop and Singer/Songwriter. the webite is www.famecast.com/aaronlavigne - If I win the poplular vote it is a 10k prize! holla! they also fly you to Austin, TX for a showcase with record industry peeps. So far my friends, fans, and family have helped keep me in the top of the charts on there. You just sign up on the site with your email and then you can vote. the more votes, the more of an absolute chance I can win. I would love your support.
I currently have a couple offers I'm trying work out (business wise and whatnot). I'm just waiting to see if those pan well. well, those might be in the next blog! so... that's it for now... My first "blog". what an ugly word - blawwwwg. I feel like a nerd but anyway, GO NATI! Support local theatre! I know there's an abundance of talent and art out there. I see it everyday around me no matter where I am!
Peace out and Who Dey
a-ron
_________________________________________________________________
Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give.
http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=text_hotmail_join
