Anywho, it's Thespian Thursday again and of course I have to talk about my amazing incredible wife Whitney Morgan Cox and her awesome scene partner John Dodart. For those of you who haven't heard Whitney is officially the Nations best collegiate actor. She is one of two 2010 Irene Ryan Scholarship winners. For Whitney it was a week of intensive workshops, connection making, and good times with great friends. A truly amazing week. In her words the actual competition became kind of a side note. Until she won of course.
Let me just give you a run down of the competition was like for me.
It was a Saturday afternoon in Washington D.C. on one of the many Kennedy Center stages. I had arrived an hour and a half early to ensure that we got the best seats possible... right behind the judges. We trickled in, took our seats, and waited anxiously for things to get started. The program was in two acts. Eight nominees in the first half, and eight nominees in the second half. Whitney and John were second in the second half.
After watching the first half I was very very impressed. There were maybe one or two nominees a small step above the rest, but everyone was amazing. It was a blast to watch. When the first half wrapped up we were treated to some entertainment by a very talented Morgan Reynolds singing some hilarious tunes from the new musical 'Standardized Testing.'
After a ten minute intermission act two began. I can't remember if the first nominee was good or bad because I was so nervous for Whitney and John to be coming up next. They came out and owned that stage. John nailed the tricky balance of pausing enough without going over time, in addition to some excellent acting, and Whitney stole our hearts from the moment she began her slate. I think I held my breath for the full six minutes of her set. As soon as she finished I new she had an excellent shot of winning this thing. We saw her cry, then she had us rolling with laughter, and she finished with an extremely solid Chekov monologue. I couldn't have been more proud. The rest of act two was just as impressive as act one. So many talented people who all deserved to be there. I was never bored once.
That said, act two ended and I was still fairly certain that Whitney was one of the front runners. Although, I was slightly nervous that my love for her skewed my perception of how amazing she was.
Anywho, while the judges deliberated we were again treated to some some high quality entertainment. We listened to beautiful voices while we paced back and forth in our minds and counted the seconds. Eventually the moment came. First some of the judges awarded nominees and partners with scholarships and internships etc... Whitney's name wasn't being called and I was getting nervous. Finally they got to the Irene Ryan winners. The first winner was a guy named Paul... and I might add that he deserved it. He was very good. Now I was really nervous for Whitney. The second Irene Ryan goes to... Whitney Morgan Cox!
I literally jumped to my feet and screamed like a little girl. Whitney stumbled on stage like a deer in the headlights. When she realized what was going on she didn't walk or run, she leaped across the stage and tackled the guy who had just read her name. After jumping up and down for a few seconds she waved thank you to the audience and skipped back off stage as the nations top collegiate actor. It was amazing. I wish I could describe it in words... but I'm not sure if that would be possible.
To say the least. It was an incredible moment in Whitney's life, and in mine. If this is the rock in the pool, I can't wait to see where the ripples take us.
If I might add a small plug for myself I am very proud to say that the first scene Whitney and John performed was one of my own. A screenplay that I wrote called Angels Landing. It was very cool to see my work on the Kennedy Center stage. She listed me, the author, as Travis Lincoln, instead of Travis Cox, so that there would be no distraction from her scene. On the small chance that anyone is looking for the full script on Angels Landing by Travis Lincoln you're in the right place. Feel free to e-mail me at TravLCox@gmail.com.
Things worth mentioning:
There are some talented actors in this Nation.
I met most of the other nominees and they were nice, humble, and a lot of fun.
Morgan Reynolds is going places.
John Dodart worked his butt off.
My wife really is as amazing as I have known all along.
Thanks for reading!
-Travis_
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing this. I have wanted to hear all about this since you guys left for DC!! What a wonderful time in your life this is, cherish it, but above all cherish each other...that is what is most important in the long run. Love you guys!! :)
THAT is so exciting! I can only imagine your excitement. I was teary reading about it and I don't even know her!
Good luck you two!
Wow, that was such an amazing blog! I got so caught up in it that I actually teared up a little because I imagined what it must have felt like for both of you. What an incredible experience. I would really love to read your screenplay, if you don't mind sending it to me. My e-mail is katie.hinton88@gmail.com.
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