Why I Tried Out for America's Got Talent

  "You went to New York City for the America's Got Talent T.V. Show auditions .......Really? Why, How ? What was it like? Tell me more!" I've heard that a lot in the last week!

Imagine this scenario:
"Hello CBS Broadcasting how much is a 2 minute commercial? 
                 
                    A few questions, of course, yes, Prime Time, yes a show with High Ratings....

                    No my budget is fixed........
Is there a discount if I buy two commercial slots? I'd like  one for my storytelling business, the other a general promotion to highlight storytelling as a performance art, entertainment, and educational program. ...................

The price is what?................................Dollars? ................................gulp  and deep breath, Thanks anyway, I think I will look for Plan B!

I didn't  actually make the call, I  just had to think about it. There is no way we are going to break into that market share anytime soon!  There are many discussions though on how to grow audiences and reach out to both new tellers and listeners. Reaching out would help me and storytelling in general.  The way to do that is mass media, and, it is expensive.

Along came Plan B!

   If I can go to the try outs for America's Got Talent then I might boost my career and help storytelling. There's a chance, because they have not featured storytelling before,  could I get picked and get my two minutes on television? This would take some planning and a strategy. Carolyn Stearns Storyteller, I can do this, I thought, I have to do this! www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com

   Online at AGT I found  information on how to try out. I read this several times. Then thought about my constant question. What story should I tell? There were no tryouts in the Northeast posted but I went ahead with the plan knowing it would work out if it was meant to. There was video entry allowed.

    I chose several stories that I thought were powerful and could hold their power when edited to the appetizer sized morsel AGT would allow. Video entries could only be 2 minutes! I called on Jim Harriman, storyteller, theatre director, play write to coach me and help me hone the words to a sharp  2 minute presentation. Jim's help and advice to get the best punch from the 2 minutes was incredibly valuable. I had my goal in sight and soon it would be in reach. We met at the CAST Children's Theatre, Manchester for the coaching and video session, I really appreciate the CAST space for its quiet and welcome for my project.  http://www.casttheatre.org/  I was not telling anyone what I was working on, there were only three or four people who knew about this project.

    The story choice was a tale of Clara Barton on the Civil War battlefield at Antietam. This also allowed for use of my Civil War era costume as I felt in a live audition finding a way to stand out in a crowd of thousands was a critical point. I sent the video and watched their website. Some time later they posted the New York City audition information. I filled out the online forms and pushed send! All planning then was focusing on getting there. On Feb 1, 2013 I got the phone call confirming my time of arrival. They also told me I could only have 90 seconds! I can do that I thought! For the first time nerves made my stomach leap. I don't know what made me more nervous the trip or the try out!

    I am a country mouse, prior to  AGT I had been to New York City only 3 times. The first New York City trip was in high school to march in a parade, then on a bus trip to the Statue of Liberty, and more recently with a friend to research my Christmas Spirits story. I checked it all out feeling very intimidated by the city and the prospect of travel there. I asked friends which also then entailed telling them what I was up to, and swearing them to secrecy. No one was available to go with me, but in the end this was a good thing.

    Before dawn February 2, 2013 I drove out of the yard, my trip to the America's Got Talent try outs at St. John Studios in Manhattan was underway. I told my husband what I was doing the night before and packed my car with costume, I was off on my adventure. At New Haven I took the train to NYC, this was only my second time taking the train, I loved the ride through lower Connecticut. Arriving at Grand Central I got a cab to the studio and joined the line of all pursuing the AGT dream. It was a bitter cold morning as we stood in the tunnel waiting to get into the building. I dressed for the cold and passed the time with a new young friend chasing her dream, her Grandma the hero that brought her to the try outs!!

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel was a reality on this day!! At the corner they were organizing people to go inside.

    Two security checkpoints and I had my number. The bathroom was so crowded I found a corner in the hallway to change to my Civil War style dress. I had thought this out too, I had some of the under layers  already on, so slip off one piece and slide into the hoop and dress.  Then another line snaked through channels taped onto the floor all the way to the registration area.

I was registered and moved in to he first holding room. This was a mass of people all gathered in sight of a dream and working their way  toward their 90 seconds.

      Slowly, in groups of about 100 the group was sifted. I waited, the hours slipping by. A text message of encouragement came in from my brother, one of my secret keepers. He made me smile, yes I have this, I am in the moment.  First they pulled my group into a curtained area. The dancers left us, then the people needing a keyboard left. Staff then took the instrumentalists, our group was now about 40 and we headed off through the building. We were put in a small room in silence as tryouts were taking place right next door, we could hear the voices singing. Again we were sorted and a smaller group of us left to yet another room. Here they asked if all were singers, if not raise your hand.  I raised mine, they took the paperwork I had carried all day, a storyteller? You will go with these stand up comedians in a couple minutes. Across the room a weary mother playfully cuffed her teen daughter, Why couldn't you be a storyteller! I soon left the singers.
    Four of us were ready, this is it! The three comedians and I were asked to follow our guide to another room, inside were the two producers listening to spoken auditions. The guys held the door and I swept in lifting my big dress to step over a threshold. The two producers looked up beaming - "Great costume!"  The four of us were lined up at the back and they called out names from our paperwork. I went up last, stood on the big green X taped to the floor, I introduced myself and took the deep breath. My mind set its mental clock I had to finish this in the 90 seconds. " She lifted her skirt to step over the dead bodies in search of those with life still in them....." I had their attention, my story was told and it was over. The four of us were done and we left. In the hall we were excited to have  done our piece,we talked on the elevator ride down. Soon I was changed and out into the city.
    I had plans to meet up with storyteller Robin Bady of Brooklyn, a debriefing and celebration. I had not been nervous, intense focus on the job to be done. Nerves could only get in my way. Now though the adrenaline coursing through me was intense, I DID IT!!!
   
  

 10 p.m. I post to Facebook a picture and what I had done that day and lay there watching the comments roll in. Someone said I was Brave! Later in the week when I am with my brother he repeats it, he thinks I am brave, and maybe I am. I will never let a city intimidate me again, I can do  my work where ever and when ever,  I am a country mouse, but I am a mouse that roared!

 

Civil War Mystery Modern Day Detective Work

Who, it is a great mystery, who the little girls are in archived images retrieved from Civil War battlefield dead.  Technology might have the detective power to unravel this mystery. If these images of the little girls and their companion unidentified  images are spread on the web, just maybe, just maybe someone will recognize them from family pictures. Here is the link to the full article and pictures.


http://news.yahoo.com/civil-war-photos-help-sought-solve-old-mystery-092732336.html

I tell stories from the Civil War, but these images, their stories have never been told. Please  share
the link and the story help find the families of the battlefield lost.

Civil War General Edward W. Whitaker CT. Hero

   Through storytelling, lecture, web promotion and sharing in conversation I am slowly spreading the word about the brave farm boy from Ashford and his heroic record in the Civil War.  His story like so many thousands of Civil War era stories is about a farm boy turned soldier, many of whom did not go home after the war. Edward Whitaker was indeed one of the lucky ones. His story is not his alone to share though. His is a family story, of how this family raised their children and the deep sense of duty and honor in them all.  Four Whitaker brothers enlisted  Edward and Daniel here in Hartford,Ct. for  three months as privates in the Infantry( Edward was 19 at the time). Older brother William was  in New Hampshire when President Lincoln's call for troops went out, he enlisted in the Infantry in New Hampshire. George, another brother was in California and served his time in the Civil War between California and New Mexico.

                                                                              
After the three month tour was over the Whitaker brothers knew the war was to last a very long time, they re-enlisted to see it through. Edward and Daniel decided they were not going to walk the rest of this war, they enlisted in the CT. Cavalry and their unit was attached to the Union, Harris Light Cavalry of New York.  The unit fought in most of the major conflicts all the way to  the end at Appomattox Court House. In telling the story of a hometown hero to school students and historical groups I paint a vivid picture of Edward riding  through the enemy lines with a small unit to capture the renowned Confederate spy Harry Gilmore. You would wince to hear the telling of his horse being shot out from under him as he charged and leaped over the Confederate lines at the battle of Five Forks.
    There is no way you can escape the pain of hearing how he escorted his brother Daniel's body home for burial after he was shot and died in the battle at Aldie, Virginia. How hard it must have been to return to battle without that brother at his side. How hard to be brave and know the toll it would take on his mother back in Ashford if he should lose his life in this seemingly eternal war.

                                                                                 
    Four sisters were as heroic as the men of the Whitaker family. Four sisters who packed bags right at the end of the war. Four sisters who went beyond what was so recently enemy lines to open schools for freed slaves. The Civil War is rich with the tales of heroism and sacrifice, courage and resolve.  Sharing a family story of all these noble traits is a not a gift, it is what we owe!
     150 years since the Civil War ripped this nation into bloodied halves and 150 years for healing the gaping wound. Sharing the stories is the best way to insure we never never take these advantages, passions, courage and freedom for granted. General Edward Whitaker rode out onto the field at Appomattox with allguns aimed, galloped across under the white flag of surrender carried by a single Confederate soldier. Edward, the once farm boy of Ashford CT., accepted the unconditional surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia from General Longstreet and went  on to be forgotten by history.
    Please visit our page on FACEBOOK  "Family Tree of General Edward Whitaker". We will be adding more info and items and looking for descnedents of any of the Whitaker family lines. Edward was one of 16 children raised here in Ashford. Descended from the Whitakers of Rhode Island and his mother's family, the Colegrove's whose family line goes back to Roger Williams founder of Rhode Island. This is a family of Old New England as I researched the geneology I even found members of the Allen family which are also my ancestors. All the more reason to honor the memory of these family members thrust onto the field of battle from a humble begining along Horse Hill in Ashford, CT.

" What Was Civil About That War..." CD Review

What Was Civil About That War... a CD by Storyteller Megan Hicks, 2004 stories (un)folding

isbn: 8 2534646922 5 Stories ( Un) Folding PO Box 7994 Fredericksburg, Va 22404

http://www.meganhicks.com/

The lilting tune "Gary Owen" belies the eerily haunting tale of Civil War events at the battlefield that permanently transformed the sleepy town of Frederiscksburg, Virginia into battle mayhem and subsequently a National Battlefield Park. The courage of " The Angel of Marye's Heights", a soldier long remembered after his days of service to humanity while in the Army of the Confederacy is shared in story on this poignant CD. Sgt. Richard Kirkland survived the siege at Fredericksburg and went on to serve in a later battle and die on the field of battle a young man whose promise was cut short, like so many others. His tale of courage and that of resident Martha Stevens and the soldiers of the indomitable Irish Brigade come forth in a personal telling that takes a dry lesson of history into living reality.

www.militaryheritage.com/sound.htm hear Gary Owen at this site

A Hole In Time

We talked a few blogs ago about Civil War history and reenactments and I just received email updates now available from one of the calendars, so I have included the link for you. There are listings from many different states so there just may be one near you. Seeing an encampment is a great way to get a feel for the times and immerse yourself in their story. www.reenactmenthq.com/eventlist.apl

Those whose heart lies with the times of the Wild West let me clue in in on a great event. Cowboy Mounted Shooting is one of the fastest growing equine sports presently competing for the horse owners time. Riders old and new are flocking to the events and clinics and capturing a piece of our Western heritage. You can check http://www.cowboymountedshooting.com/ for a National listing, or http://www.ctrenegades.com/ and the http://www.masixshooters.com/ for events in the Northeast. One coming right up is the Northeast Regional Cowboy Mounted Shooting Competition. This year it will be held at the pavilion at the Tri-County Fairgrounds in North Hampton Ma. The three day event will run Aug. 6-7-8, 2010 starting with a Friday night 3 stage ( pattern of shoot). Saturday will be 4 regular stages and a 2 stage rifle event and a civil war stage. Sunday begins with Cowboy Church and is followed by two stages of competition and the awards. Come out to the fairgrounds to see the 1880's go riding by and learn all the fast action lingo to go with their competition. The guns they carry are real but they fire blanks( provided by the competition) for the safety of everyone. You can find one of these competitions near you!

1820 your destination year? Then try a day or weekend at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge Ma. for a trip through time. www.osv.org No vehicles allowed so unless you have a horse or oxen pulling it the vehicle won't be encountered on the streets of Old Sturbridge. You can walk the dirt road up past the school and potters barn to the farm and see the animals and down to the village smithy where they are shoeing oxen and making iron implements. On through the mills along the river , carding, grist and sawmill all in working order and when there's water they're running. The inn has delicious food and then stop over to the general store, candle make tin shop and more. There are gardens and interpreters all along the way and a horse drawn stagecoach to give you the sense you have gone so far back in time that mass transit is 6 of you in the coach.

One of the special event weekends at Old Sturbridge Village is a Redcoats and Rebel encampment weekend and there are craft and kid weekends, holidays to celebrate in period and more. They have a new program to sponsor a flag and when you do, it also sponsors an inner city child to visit for a day, that's a great 2 for 1 deal! They are not all 19th century though if you want to keep up they will be happy to meet you on Face Book.

4th of July

Imagine now if those fireworks we stay up late to watch were really the 'Bombs bursting in air". Can we stop a minute and be thankful that the ooo's and ahhh's are the response, not the screams as people flee the whistle of an incoming threat. It is a rare day in America when we have had to take cover.

Imagine if you will as the grill flares up and the smell of juicy burgers and steaks wafts across the neighborhood, the fires at Valley Forge in winter when General Washington was running out of food to feed his freedom army. Each day a crew went foraging further afield to secure firewood to keep frost bite away. One pair of boots to six men, taking shifts to wear them.

Imagine for just a minute the women as they parade arm in arm through the street for a right to vote, just to have a chance to have her voice counted. It is hard to imagine when so few turn out at the polls to vote for the local representatives. Where were the other 10,000 voters the last vote, they stayed home and will expect to have their complaints heard later.

Imagine a mother with 6 sons gone off to the Revolution. 6 Hale boys went, and son Nathan was hung in New York where people go about their day shopping and doing business now. They don't even realize they may walk past the spot he said his famous words. " I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country!" His body was never recovered but a few of his personal items were returned to his family. A small measure of gratitude, but one that lasted, the items still are in the family home in Coventry Ct. they remember!

Imagine if you would hearing a voice call from the battlefield in the Civil War. Wounded and under fire he lay calling for help for hours but it is constantly under the barrage of attack. Finally an officer under cover of darkness crawls out to the dieing voice, it is his son!

Imagine if you will a submarine in New London Ct. slipping away from the dock and slowly dropping down into the cool depths as the very pregnant woman on the docks waves goodbye until not even a ripple remains. Finally upon its return to home port, she is there once more on the dock and her son walks out to greet the father he has never met.

We have so much to be thankful for and to celebrate this 4th of July. Every 4th of July is special, but the freedom we enjoy comes with the highest price tag. So as we venture into the day with parades, music, picnics and of course fireworks, take a moment and imagine how it might be, or may have been. Celebrate our Independance Day with all the American traditions. We are the land of the Free and the home of the brave! Happy 4th of July America!