Another Audition... Another Adventure

I participated in another audition today, and it went very well! It was at my new church. (Can I still call it new? We've been there since January...)

Our church has a really neat program for the children. The littlest ones (Birth through PreK) go to "The Farm" while the K-4th graders go to a big area known as "XKids City." (Our church is Crossroads and they just used the X instead of "cross" to keep it simple and cool. It's also how they did our church's website address.) There's a big stage that's nicely decorated with different doors that really work (for skits and such), a full sound system, lights, big screen... it's really great!

Anyway, I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was ready to become a part of all that. So I let the coordinator know, and was sent a lengthy script to learn for the part of the storyteller. (The storyteller is basically teaching the "main lesson" to the whole group each week. There are also sometimes skits, videos, etc. involved as well as the worship time and small group discussions & crafts.) But learning a storyteller script is hard! It's very different from learning a play, since there is no dialogue and no other actors to help things move along! Just me.

Anyway, I was able to pass the audition (whew!) and am scheduled to be the storyteller next Sunday. I'll be talking about God's grace and telling them the story of the lost sheep & lost coin from the book of Luke. I think this will probably be great stage experience for me... I've done the one-act thing, I've done musicals, and I've even handled short monologues. But a whole 5-6 minutes of speech? And being entertaining enough for K-4th graders while doing it? That's a new venture. You'd think because I'm a former elementary school teacher that it'd be easy for me... but it's not. Perhaps because when I'm teaching, the "monologue" or "speech" to my class is less planned out and more off the cuff? (Planned topic-wise of course, but not generally rehearsed). I'm eager to take on the challenge and know it will help me grow and prepare for opportunities to come.

~ Allison

You Can Help Me Fly!

For a $20 donation to my AMTC Fund (which goes directly to AMTC Atlanta, not me personally) you will receive a $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com! I've used Restaurant.com before and LOVED it. Check it out!

Here's the link. Hope you'll consider this great offer! It's a win-win for both of us! http://apps.facebook.com/fiftygiftcard/?fund_id=193478

My First Modeling Workshop & Farmer's Market for August 3rd

Hello, readers! I went to a "bonus" modeling workshop at AMTC last night and it was fabulous! I learned quite a bit in those two hours, including a few things I want to remember for the next time I go in for any type of class:

1) Leave home early. It's a 35 minute drive if traffic is good... I made it OK but not early, and AMTC expects participants to arrive 15 minutes early. I'll do better next time!

2) Bring family. I think I was the only one who didn't, and while I thought it would be no big deal to do this alone, I found out that I really do need my support team. And my family is the best support team I've got!

3) Take pictures/video. I took plenty of notes, but if I've got a family member there to snap photos and/or shoot some video for me, I can use it for personal reflection and for updating all of you on how things are going! You can experience a little bit of AMTC along with me.

The whole workshop was about showcases, which are what I'll participate in at the summer 2012 SHINE event. Showcases are divided into categories like fashion modeling, acting, improv, dance, singing, etc. and the agents/scouts/directors attend the showcases that reflect the type of performer they're looking for. Cool, huh? I get to participate in 3 showcases as part of my tuition and hope to be able to raise a few extra dollars so that I can participate in more than that. The more I perform, the better my chances at a callback.

I worked with my fellow participants on how to do the photography showcase first (where they display photos from your photo shoot on the big screen while you walk the runway and introduce yourself on microphone) and then later on commercial runway. I tell ya what, getting the footing down is a little trickier than one might think! But thankfully my Jazzercise experience helped me know how to get my body to do what my coach was doing, and I think I did pretty good for a first timer.

They're going to be training the winter 2011 SHINE participants in the next few months, but I'm allowed to come to some of the workshops and to the dress rehearsal to get more experience. I can't wait! So stay tuned, dear friends.... more to come soon!

-- Farmer's Market Update! --
What a great week! I've made friends with some of the other vendors and we're bartering goods, just like in the good ol' days. I love it! The frozen bananas sold out in less than 90 minutes, so I promise to have LOTS more next time. I'm so glad they got such rave reviews!

I'll be making up some more sweet & tangy corn relish this week, due to popular demand, and the Memphis-style sweet BBQ sauce. I've had 3 requests now for pear butter too, so I may start working on a recipe for that. Feel free to send me your requests!

ONE last thing - I'm now on Facebook! Visit "Allison Wiener's AMTC Adventure" and like my page to get easy updates on how things are going, what'll be up at the farmer's market, and on my fundraising status. I've got some new ideas in the works, so I hope you'll join me there.

Thanks for reading!
~ Allison

Farmer's Market Forecast - Sunny!

Great news! The Weather Channel has predicted sunny skies for Wednesday, so I will be back at the Main Street Farmer's Market in Villa Rica, ready to offer my home-canned goodies and frozen chocolate bananas!

Also this week, I'll be headed up to the AMTC offices in Marietta for a "bonus" modeling workshop. They've opened it up to both fashion and commercial models, so I'm looking forward to a fun time and lots of learning. And working with those folks and others who are going through the same process is awesome anyway. I'm really looking forward to it!

The local production of "Hoodwinked and Hoodooed" has been postponed. We think that the new performance dates will be August 5-7 but I'll let you all know for sure. It's a great show!

Lastly, I'm auditioning next Sunday to be a storyteller in my church's children's program. The storyteller learns about a 5-10 minute script and then delivers that as the whole-group lesson during one of the Sunday services. Once I'm doing that, I'll also be eligible to participate in their dramas as well. I enjoy teaching kids and explaining things to them, so I think this will be fun! And it will give me another genre of performing to practice. Storytelling is very different from dialogue!

To those of you who are joining this blog as a result of meeting me at the Farmer's Market - please do leave a comment and say hello! You're welcome to "follow" the blog to receive regular updates as well. But I'd be tickled to know that you stopped by. :-)

Have a great week, friends!
~ Allison

Farmer's Market Update for July 20th, 2011

Greetings everyone, and a big "howdy" to any new readers who have ventured here after purchasing something from my booth at the farmer's market!

This past sale went OK, though I'm afraid that the heat kept some of the shoppers away. I'm working on frozen chocolate-dipped bananas for this coming Wednesday to help everyone keep cool! It's a sweet treat I've always loved and I hope you all love it too!

I've also had a request for chow-chow, so I am going to work on a recipe for that. Please do let me know if there's something in particular you're interested in! I can't promise I'll be able to make everything, but I will certainly give all requests some serious consideration.

Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support. I'm still looking for regular work (although I've gained some new tutoring clients and Jazzercise Lite customers recently), so please also keep me in your prayers about that!

Stay cool, everyone!
~ Allison

Welcome to My NEW Adventure!

Greetings, friends! I've decided to turn this blog (at least temporarily) into a blog about my experiences with AMTC - Actors, Models and Talent for Christ. If you remember a prior list I had, auditioning for AMTC was one of my "things to do" this year. I'm not sure how long it's been, but I've felt for a while now that God was calling me out of my teaching position to go do something totally different. And that "totally different something" was acting. My response, naturally, was "God, are you nuts?" Of course He's not... but really? Me?

And He said, "Why not you?"

I wrestled with the idea for quite some time. I mean, there are a lot of people out there who are very talented and would LOVE to become professional actors, singers, dancers, etc. and just don't seem to make it. Was this just an idea in my head that I was entertaining because I've always had a passion for it but never the real confidence to do much about it?

I have spent many weeks, perhaps even months or years if I really think about it, in prayer about the whole thing. I don't want to waste time and resources if this is not truly where God wants me to go. I do believe I received an answer. More than once. (It takes a while for God to convince me sometimes!) I prayed for an unmistakeable sign... something that I couldn't easily explain away as coincidence. I got it. So I auditioned.

The next day, I received my callback, and the exciting news that AMTC wanted to work with me in acting, singing and commercial modeling. Don't worry, I did my homework on AMTC prior to auditioning and found that they are a great Christ-centered company, not a scam! So I attended my orientation and began to pray some more about all this. Part of AMTC (one of the biggest and most exciting parts) is their bi-annual SHINE convention, held in Orlando. There, participants spend 6 days attending seminars taught by industry professionals and performing in showcases before 50-100 top casting directors, agents, talent scouts, etc. (No pressure, right?)

To receive all of the training (online and in person) that I need to prepare for SHINE and the possible jobs to come afterward, it costs a daunting $5,000. This doesn't include travel expenses. I'll likely drive to Orlando, since it's only 6 hours away, but I still need to cover that AND my stay at the hotel while I'm there.

"So, OK God. You've got me this far. You know I can't afford this on my own. I'm leaving it up to you."

And so, I've been a busy little bee. Not only applying here, there, and everywhere for a new job, but also working on ways to raise funds. I've offered myself for odd jobs like computer repair and pet sitting, and have also started preparing and selling homemade goods.

It is on this blog that I intend on posting updates on my progress and asking for your continual prayer and support. It's going to be quite a journey... but I'm ready and excited to see what God is going to do! He's already shown me that He's got my back. Take a look at my fundraising thermometer. God has provided nearly $500 in less than a month! I have no doubt that He will take care of me, my family, and all our needs.

Thanks for hanging with me on this SUPER-long post. Future ones won't be so long... but I just wanted to update "ya'll!"

~ Allison

#11, 14, 33, 62, 70, and 95! (aka "I'm on my way!")

Well, dear readers, it appears that this GPS of mine has taken me on a rather wild and eventful ride through the last few months. There's so much that has happened that I can hardly blog about it all, but most of you who read me on Facebook know the major details anyway. So instead of dwelling on all the craziness, I thought I'd catch up on my list. I set out in January to do 100 things and thought the other day, "Man, there's no way I'm going to make it. I've done nothing since then!" But aha - I have. Makes me think that God probably had something to do with the making of this list. Neat, huh? Read on...


#11. Volunteer my time in a new way.
I could respond to this in two different ways. First of all, I've volunteered at church for Easter weekend. Not sure what I'll be doing because I told them I'd gladly go wherever needed... but I'm really enjoying this new church, and might just stick around as a volunteer if things go well!


Also, because of my mother's recent diagnosis of colon cancer and the major surgery that went along with it, I have had to spend some time living at my parents' house to care for her. My father is an independent contractor with no benefits, so if he doesn't work, the bills don't get paid. And, as you can imagine, the bills for this sort of diagnosis really add up fast! For the first 5 years of working in the school system, I maintained perfect or nearly perfect attendance, and thus saved up a lot of days of leave. I didn't realize that leave rolled over from one year to the next, but God did! And just when we needed it, it was there. So I'm on paid leave until mom no longer needs me home with her. It's been a lot of work and a bit trying at times, but I truly find joy in helping my family out.

14. Become a couponing queen.
I may not be a couponing "queen" just yet, but my parents just laugh and shake their heads at me now when I tell them of coupons arriving in the mail or the latest deal I've snagged for them... so I guess I'm close! Part of helping my parents out has become teaching my father (who does the grocery shopping and cooking for the household) how to do the Grocery Game to help us afford the things we want and need without breaking budget. (And actually, we should be able to be under budget eventually, which will help pay for all the other bills!) We've only been in on it one week and already they're skeptical... but I'll keep clipping and shopping and they'll be glad later I'm sure.

33. Surprise my Jazzercise customers in some way
There was a not-so-good surprise involved, but I won't go into details. But the good surprise for my Lite customers is that we've grown and expanded! Due to the number of people attending class, I had them keep their chairs (for the strength training portion of class) off to the sides and back of the room to create more space on the dance floor. They still say that it feels "weird" to them, but it sure does give them more room to move! Also, I've added new morning class times that will start in June. They're very happy about that. There are more surprises to come with the summer attendance game, but I may blog about that later. Don't want to give away all my secrets yet!

62. Re-organize the pantry.
I didn't actually re-organize my pantry... it was my parents' pantry. We needed it to be better organized so that we could see what was there and to make room for stocking up on deals as they come. I added an over-the-door shoe organizer (the kind with pockets) to the inside of the pantry door to hold little things like granola bars, extra spice bottles, popcorn bags, etc.) Pictures in a future update, perhaps?

70. Refresh my resume.
I've only had one teaching job other than the one I'm currently in, and most of the information was straight from college. So it was time! It's nearly done.

95. Do something for someone that they couldn't do themselves
I've been my mother's roommate for the past 3 weeks, since she came home from surgery. For a while, I was here to help her get out of bed, to walk, to use the bathroom... to everything! Now she can get around OK by herself but still needs rides to appointments, care for her surgical wound, meals prepared, etc. and the rest of my family has needed the extra set of hands with keeping up with the house as well. And then yesterday, I had to whisk our oldest kitty, Dusty, to the vet because he seemed to be struggling to breathe. I was glad that mom hadn't been home alone then, because she wouldn't have been able to take him to get help!

So... you can see why I've been so quiet blog-wise these past few weeks. But God has been very good. I'm embarking on some new adventures, STILL in "Murder at Rutherford House" and absolutely loving it, and I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store!


So there's much more to this story... stay tuned, dear readers. And thanks for supporting me through all this. You know who you are.


~ Allison