My Life in a Blog: 2012

Hey everyone!

So I'm currently in London, England with my Mum and I haven't been able to take the smile off my face since I've arrived. It's currently 12:16 a.m (6:16 in NY/Toronto) and I'm exhausted, yet wired.

Today we went on a tour of The London Tower. First, can I say how much I love history!? It's so fun and interesting to think of all of the events that have happened since the world began, and how society has changed. I can't count the number of times I heard the word "beheaded" today. After seeing The London Tower, Buckingham Palace, The Houses of Parliament, and The Westminster Abbey I started thinking of the Monarchy and my feelings towards it. They're mixed.

First off, I have to say that I love the tradition of it all. I like that Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses still exist here and that it's not a bunch of ancient hoopla. I like that little girls can dream of being Princesses and actually have one to look up to. I like that some of the things that are most strict in the Royal family are manners, loyalty, and honour (I'm in England...sorry Americans, I'm putting the u's back in the words they belong in). I love that a country gathers around the gates of Buckingham Palace just to see a newly married Royal couple kiss on a balcony. I LOVE it.

HOWEVER...

Today I saw more diamonds and gold than I have ever seen. I saw the biggest punch bowl made entirely out of gold that held 144 bottles of wine. The punch bowl took so long to make that the King who demanded it be built didn't even live to see the final product. With the current value of gold, that punch bowl could fix hunger for an entire country. Half of the things I saw (not even all of it- maybe not even HALF) could solve WORLD HUNGER - no problem. I have a problem with excess. Now listen, if you've worked hard to get your fortune and you want to get a bottle of Cristal instead of Brut, all the power to you - you worked hard for it - just don't get 144 bottles of it and but it in your golden punch bowl accompanied by it's matching ladle. The fact is, the Kings and Queens did not work for it. So Monarchy - how about you sell a couple of these things and make the world a better place for everyone? You can still kiss on top of the balcony and I promise, people will come, people will watch and people will cheer. But afterwards, you might have to use a punch bowl that only holds a measly 72 bottles of wine. It'll be hard, but I'm sure you'll manage.

Ok...off my soapbox.

London is amazing. The people are GORGEOUS and every single person here dresses well. Today my Mum and I stopped in our tracks because there was what looked like an 85 year old man wearing nicer jeans than I have seen on my 25 year old friends. People care how they present themselves- I like and respect that. In addition to looking great, English people are sweet as hell. Everyone has been more than helpful and nobody has shown the least bit of annoyance when helping us with directions (take note, New York).

After touring, I went for a walk around the theatre district, specifically to go see the Shaftesbury Theatre where Rock of Ages is playing. I wanted to go say hi to Sandy Moffat (their Franz) thinking it was a 7:30 show, but when I arrived they had already started the opening number as they started at 7. I'll try again later this week. After missing the Rock of Ages boat, I went to surprise my friend MiG Ayesa at the Lyric Theatre stage door (where he is currently performing in THRILLER Live) and was greeted with that same smile I last saw him with when we were performing together in Rock of Ages on Broadway. He's taking Mum and I out for drinks later this week and I can't wait to catch up!

Another friend of mine, Mark Evans, is currently performing as Sam Wheat in GHOST: The Musical at The Piccadilly Theatre here in London. We're going to see the show tomorrow but alas, Mark has the next three days off :( I'm sure his understudy will be fantastic!

OK, that's enough for now. I honestly can't express how much I love London. It is now #1 on my bucket list to do a show here. I am in love. Is it possible to ask a city to go steady?

Cody.

Me on the top of my first Double Decker bus-ever!

Our Tower of London tour guide. Guard at The London Tower.

The Shaftesbury Theatre! RoA London- 5 girls! HOT!

Late night Stroll through London.

It's actually quite laughable every time I go to write a new blog and see when the last one was written. But hey, it means I've been busy, right?! :)

A year! A year on Broadway! To think back to March 15, 2010 when I was starting rehearsals in Toronto, I never thought that 2 years later I would be HERE! I've gone from living in Times Square to living in SoHo & gone from living alone to living with a room mate. I performed in front of over 2 million people live in Times Square on New Years Eve. I've met tons of celebrities, who are now in a way my peers as many of them have worked/are working on Broadway themselves. I've gotten the chance to work with so many talented actors in Rock of Ages (the family that keeps on leaving...and coming back). I got to perform for the New York Giants Superbowl Homecoming. I'm a student at the Upright Citizens Brigade. I have watched RoA go from not on the list at all to the 75th longest running Broadway Musical of all time (and we keep getting lower!). I have met new friends, lost old friends, and most importantly I have learned to love myself more than I ever have before.

This year has taught me a lot about growing up. There is no one to set my alarm clock for me, there is no one to watch my finances, there is no one to MAKE me go to that audition, it's all on me. I think moving to a place where I only knew a small handful of people forced me to step into reality and see what was up. The first year of living here, I wanted to get acclimated. I walked....a LOT! I took different subways just to see where they went. I watched Broadway baseball every week just to learn who different people in the community were. Now that it's been a year, and I know this city pretty damn well, I'm putting my focus into belonging here more. Taking class at the UCB, performing at friend's cabarets, saying "yes" when someone asks to go out for a bevy...these little things are making me feel more and more at home every day.

The one thing I learned when you're doing a Broadway show 8 times a week (same character for 2 years) is that you have to find ways to re-invent it for yourself. Something to make it just as exciting as it was the first time so that the audience doesn't see you get bored. The one thing I knew I had to do was keep busy during the day: find something that makes me happy, and that way I won't be living solely for the 2.5 hours every night. If I'm happier during the day, I'll be excited to come to work, which shows through my performance. After taking a week off for my best friend Erica Peck's wedding in January and after signing up for UCB, I found that a whole new love and appreciation for RoA came through and it's like the beginning all over again :)

The most important thing I've learned from growing up: Financing/budgeting. Whoooooo baby! Now you'd think that Broadway Actors are rich...well we're not. So get that thought out of your head, throw it away and make sure it never comes back. Now, I'll be honest and admit that if you are a big star, or have a giant following, the production will pay you a pretty good sum, but when you're the Canadian boy in his Broadway debut whom no one knows, you don't make what Daniel Radcliffe makes. The amount looks like a good amount on paper, but then taxes hit. Now I thought Canadian taxes were bad!!! I was wrong. NY takes more tax than I've ever seen, so when you get the paycheck at the end of the week and you go to a store and a pack of gum is $4.00, you need to budget.

I am proud to say that I filed my taxes without my Mommy this year. This was huge, and not as hard as I thought it would be. I was a smart boy and started filing my taxes into envelopes from the day I moved to NYC, so I merely opened the envelopes and started recording. That's one thing people don't suspect of me...I'm very organized.

ANYWAY, I'm blabbing!

Time to talk about some friends:

My good friend Justin Sargent has just joined the cast as our new Drew. Justin was a swing at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, and covered Drew there so it is nice to finally have him in the role permanently! He KILLS it nightly.

Neka Zang has replaced Emily Williams as Constance Sack as well. Emily and I were together from the first day in Toronto and she is one of my dearest friends. It was so hard to say goodbye, but Neka has stepped into the role, made it her own, and is killing it every night as well!

I just recently saw 'GHOST: The Musical' here on Broadway and loved it. My fellow Canadian, Caissie Levy was a STAR and Robert Fleeshman is a gorgeous, talented specimen. My Mum and I are going on a trip to London in May and she wanted to see GHOST. I told her that I think she should see the Broadway company as I have some friends in it, but I would look into the London Production just in case. Well, I was glad I did! I had no idea that my friend Mark Evans had recently took over the role of Sam Wheat, so I immediately messaged him and got Mum and me some tickets :) So excited to see some theater from the other side of the pond! The trip was a graduation trip for me from Mum but since I've been working consistently since College, we haven't found time to go until now. (Not complaining...ha!)

Alright, I'm gonna get off this bed, and go for a run. It's beautiful in NY!

XO Readers,

Talk soon (ha!)

Performing at Battle of the Belt @ Bartini w/ Donnell James Forman