WHY MUST IT COST SO MUCH TO BRING YOUR PROJECT TO LIFE? By Vanessa Rae Garcia Funding a production is the biggest struggle for independent artists because you can't do much without money. Sure, you can find places for free and have talent act for free, but you might be sacrificing the quality of your production if you don't pay for some essentials. Don't get me wrong, there are TONS of things you can get and do for free-I do it quite often for experience or to help people I know. But, there are some things that you MUST pay... Continue reading

FOR HIGH SCHOOL OR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE TEACHERS BY VANESSA RAE GARCIA Taking over a theatre program (old or new) is a challenge. It takes a while to build a strong program, so be patient! It took me about two years to see numbers grow and a few more years after that to maintain and continue growth. Little Shop of Horrors- 2014 The first and most important rule is to create a safe environment for your students. Most of the students who join theatre are the kids who feel like they don't know where they belong and are tired of... Continue reading

HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 2 ON THE ROAD By Vanessa Rae Garcia (Producer / Director) It's 1:30am and I just got home from driving across the country. It was fun, adventurous, delicious, and exhausting. Last week I posted highlights from New York City. This week is about every place my bf and I crammed in during the course of a week. We had a day and a half in D.C. and tried to see as much as we possibly could because it was my boyfriend's first time there. It was exhausting! This is the view of the Washington Monument from the... Continue reading

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY WEEK-LONG TRIP TO NYC By Vanessa Rae Garcia (Producer / Director) My boyfriend and I decided to take a road trip this summer from Texas up to New York City. We stopped in Virginia Beach and stayed with family, then we headed to Washington D.C. and continued our trek to the Big Apple on a bus. This trip has been extremely relaxing so far. I got to see some AMAZING shows (all musicals) and spent most of the trip hanging in Brooklyn. My trips usually revolve around spending time with friends, FOOD, and watching shows. Today, I... Continue reading

FEMALE VOCALS YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS SUMMER BY VANESSA RAE GARCIA I've been listening to these artists a whole lot lately and they are Fierce! Some are solo, some are the front liner for their band, but either way, you should check them out! MISTERWIVES - INDIE POP/ NEW YORK CITY I first heard about this group during SXSW. I missed my opportunity to see them perform at the Spotify House! I listen to this band when I go for my runs- it keeps me going. I will have my opportunity to see them at Austin City Limits in... Continue reading

Hamilton makes the move from Off-Broadway to Broadway By Vanessa Rae Garcia Photo by Joan Marcus Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda: Previews begin TODAY, July 13th and it officially opens on August 6th. I missed the chance to see Hamilton during its run at the Public Theatre earlier this year, but I locked down my tickets for the show and will be seeing it on July 23rd. This show has been sold-out since it was on Off-Broadway and is already sold-out through November. I bought my tickets in April to make sure that I was going to be able to see... Continue reading

Costume Design for Theatre Camp By Vanessa Rae Garcia Musical Theatre camp is no joke and not for the weak! I just spent the last 3 1/2 weeks as the Costume Designer for Seussical Jr. I completed the costumes with the help of about 7 students and a budget of $2,000. My team and I had to have all costumes ready for rehearsals around day 9 of camp. I re-purposed existing costumes and created new ones from scratch. Here is a quick look into what the final products looked like: The Whos from Whoville were all fuzzy characters and were... Continue reading

Purge your materialistic items and start fresh! By Vanessa Rae Garcia Dedicated to H.L. Starting a new chapter in your life can be scary at any age. Everyone has different reasons for change: a new job, new relationships, children, relocating, etc. Whatever the reasons are, it's never easy. Two years ago I moved across the country and literally got rid of everything I owned. Shortly after that, I moved again and had even LESS to my name. Here's how it happened: Over the last 10 years or so, I accumulated a TON of house-hold items. With the help of my... Continue reading

LESS CASH = BEING MORE CREATIVE By Vanessa Rae Garcia (director / producer) Producing a show with not a lot of dough? No problem! I've been producing shows for years and started with extremely low budgets. How did I do it? I asked for help and learned how to stretch a dollar. If you're a part of a non-profit organization, then you should be asking for monetary donations throughout the year to help fund your productions. If you're not part of a non-profit, then you've got to get creative. The first thing I ALWAYS do is compile a list of... Continue reading

By Vanessa Rae Garcia (director) (imagebuddy.com) At some point in your life you begin to realize that you have been wasting money on non-sense and decide to make some changes. For me, I started making the switch around age 27. I was young, unattached, and spent most of my money on food and booze. It was fun for the time, but as I approach 29, I feel like I finally have a good sense of how to spend wisely. One of the first things I stopped paying for was flavored and overpriced coffee. I used to order flavored coffee drinks... Continue reading

HOW TO SURVIVE AS A NEW TEACHER By Vanessa Rae Garcia (director) Congratulations on your first year teaching! So you either just graduated college, or you decided to make the switch from performance gigs to a steady paycheck. The saying "Those who can't do, teach," is a crappy saying.Those who teach are people who want to share their knowledge and passion to future generations. Don't forget that you get summers and breaks off. Who can compete with that?! I’ve been teaching theatre since 2008 and I’m still trucking along. There is nothing that prepares you for teaching and working alone-which... Continue reading