This is Kirtland! 2013 Edition

Now that This is Kirtland! is over, I can finally catch up on some blogging. I had intended to write prior to the show closing, but here we are a month after it closed! 2013 was the 10th run of TIK and will be the last until at least 2015, if not longer. While I anticipate the show will return in 2015 after a one-year hiatus, it's not a done deal. The good news is that the 2013 run was good enough to get people excited about the show again to the point we had many people asking us why the show was going on hiatus instead of thinking "yeah, I can see why they're taking a break!"

Cast photo

This was my 8th year as part of the cast and, counting my very limited involvement the first year in setting up and taking down the stage lights, was my 9th year with the show (only year I didn't do anything was 2008 when I was in grad school). The big BIG difference this year was that in addition to being in the cast, I was the director, which made for lots of traveling to and from Kirtland, lots of late nights, and more stress than I ever imagined possible.

Talking to the Rollins family with Mary Elizabeth and Caroline (played by Emma and Mara respectively) during a rehearsal. Photo by Lisa Lovato

I can't remember when, exactly, I was asked to be director, but it was sometime last November. At the time it felt so far away, but it also seemed like a huge mountain I was about to begin climbing to get everything to come together the way I wanted. I found a costume head purely by chance in January (we can call it divine guidance!) and I followed the advice of past director and stake presidency member Nate Johnson in choosing our assistant director and choreographer, both of whom had tons of theater experience. Calls were answered for photographers and our various tech people, and we were finally able to get stage managers just after rehearsals started.

Showing Tracee what I had showed the guys to do in the song "Education". I did the traditional choreography for the guys in that song while she did the Young Women and children. Photo by Lisa Lovato

I remember after my first meeting with assistant director Angela and choreographer Tracee back in February how excited I was and that I knew this would be good. Like I said, they had tons of experience, so they shared a lot of the same expectations for detail and quality that I had to make the show technically strong, but also the importance of the spiritual aspect that this show has, a 4th dimension as Angela put it. Tryouts started April 17 and continued April 20, and then we did callbacks a week later. While it was never my intention to cast everyone who tried out, that is exactly what happened. Why? We had a very limited amount of people who tried out, particularly adults. In that, many of those who tried out were part of family groups, so it would've created scheduling hardships for several families if I had cast the two parents and some of the kids, but not all of them. What it ended up doing was giving us a few more kids than normal, but overall the cast of 60 wasn't significantly bigger than it has been in years past. I looked up past directories and all of them had over 50 in a given cast, some right near 60. We did have more very young kids (ages 4-6) than we have before, but we also had some older kids and teens (particularly young men).

The Rollins Family kids were supposed to act like they were having a battle with the utensils since they were singing "of battles and kings..." Here, I'm showing James Rollins (played by Isaac right behind me) how I wanted him to do his line
Photo by Lisa Lovato

So, if everyone got in did it negate the reasons for auditions? Hardly. Even if everyone gets in to a given production or group, auditions serve as a way to know where to put people. The great thing about casting this show was that the leads pretty much cast themselves. In other words, I knew right away who my leads were going to be for everyone except Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth is a young girl who has a solo and I had quite a few girls who could've easily done that part well. In the end, the girl who ended up being cast did a fantastic job, but that's not to say none of the other girls wouldn't have done equally as well. It was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make, and I told them that at callbacks. But really, with most of the other lead roles, I knew after the first auditions who I wanted to be in a given role, as did the committee that was with me. I should also add that even though everyone who tried out was cast, it certainly didn't diminish the quality of the people or the end result.

Photo by Lisa Lovato

We had our first company meeting May 1st and started rehearsals May 4. I remember how excited I was after that first meeting; I knew the show was going to be good, but I never could've imagined just how much work and stress it was going to take to get it to be as good as I knew it was going to be. The rehearsal calendar in itself was a major mountain for me to climb. I'd never set anything up like that and wanted to make sure we had enough time for dance rehearsals for the various groups, as well as blocking and polishing. Of course there were a host of other considerations I had to think about, like availability of the building, other commitments that cast and crew members had, and more. The schedule I came up with inevitably changed several times, so having Google Calendar to use made that much easier than having a hard copy that I would have to constantly change. In general, times would get changed here and there, or I'd move groups to different days because of a planned absence.

Directing while being in the show definitely added some challenges, but I'm glad I decided to be in the show, even though it was only for parts of 2 scenes near the end.

As you can imagine, rehearsals were quite the range of emotions! Some of them were incredible, some made me laugh hysterically, and others made me wonder why I'd gotten myself into. Still others had drama that wasn't of the stage variety that really made me wonder if I could do what I'd been asked to do. But, we made it through. I think I can speak for all of us when I say those last two weeks of rehearsal were pretty brutal, not just because of what I, Angela, and Tracee were demanding, but just the length of time and having to wait for this or that to happen. We also had to deal with various youth camps and other events that caused people to be absent for periods of time, despite my best efforts way back at tryouts to get people to commit to not missing any of those rehearsals. I'm pretty sure our July 2 rehearsal, just 3 days before we opened, was the first time the entire cast, crew, and orchestra were all together. As a result, it was a pretty rough rehearsal and I left wondering how this was going to be presentable in just 3 days. Even so, though, I had that feeling it would be OK. Well, the next day, July 3, we had a double dress rehearsal that ended up going until about 10:45 PM, WAAAAAAAY later than I ever wanted to keep anyone for rehearsal, but especially those with young kids, but you know what? Not only was the show significantly better at those rehearsals, I remember being backstage during the 2nd rehearsal and everyone was in a good mood, very upbeat, and no complaining despite being the 2nd time through and how late it was. After that, I knew we'd be OK.

Our performances ended up going very well overall. Yes, of course there were many things each night that could've been better or didn't go quite as we'd rehearsed, but overall, people walked away from the show each night impressed and entertained. I got so many wonderful compliments on every aspect of the show, especially the dancing. What was even more encouraging was the attendance. Our nightly average was right around 300, well above 2012 and higher than we've had in awhile. In 2012, we averaged just over 200 or so each night, but there were some nights that had barely 100. This year, there was never a night we had less than 200, so that meant we had decent crowds every night. To make it better, we had an increase in attendance even though we had noticeably less tour buses. Usually, we can count on a few nights where tour buses or other large groups will come and account for, in some cases, half or more of the audience. This year, we still had nights with those groups, but not nearly as many, meaning we had a lot more locals who came this year. That alone was reason to celebrate because if this show has any hope at coming back and sustaining itself, it needs local interest.

Yep, I was in the show too, but only at the very end. I came in during the big feast scene and danced with the guys, then danced in the temple song. The solo in the temple song is one I've had the last two years (I'm the only one who's ever sung it!), so I kept it and the same trio we had last year! Photo by Rebecca Thornton

Photo by Rebecca Thornton

During the run, we had a new addition in the Historic Kirtland 5k, which was run Saturday morning, July 13. What was kind of funny for me is people who knew I was directing the show would ask me questions about what to do for the race and it was like "I'm not the director of the 5k!" :) We provided 4 singers in costume to sing the national anthem to open the race, and some other cast members came in costume to create a more festive atmosphere. I'm really glad I was able to participate and am hopeful that even with the show on hiatus next year, the 5k can still go on and some of the cast members can come in costume again! It really adds an additional dimension to the race and ties in the whole "Historic Kirtland" part of the name. It did make for a pretty long day for me, though. We had a show Friday night, so I got home around 10 PM, then had to be back in Kirtland by 8 AM and the race was over around 10:30 AM. Since I didn't want to drive 50 minutes back to Kent only to have to return to Kirtland by 6 PM, I just stayed up there all day, running a few errands at the Eastlake Walmart and then hanging out at the Kirtland Stake Center until cast call at 6. Thank goodness for Netflix! 

Singing the national anthem to open the Historic Kirtland 5k on the steps of the NK Whitney store in Kirtland. Photo by Chandice Richards

At the Historic Kirtland 5k in front of the NK Whitney store. Photo by Chandice Richards

Our last performance was Saturday afternoon, July 20. To be honest, I really wasn't sad to see it end, but more relieved that we were done and that it went well. I guess I felt accomplished more than anything, and ready to move on to the next events in life, which so far have included some much-needed road trips! I've never directed something of that magnitude, though there's no way I would've been able to do it without the support (physical and moral!) of my assistant director Angela, and the creative visions of my various crew members, especially Tracee on choreography. As I said at our final company meeting on the 20th, the dancing is what made the show sparkle! But along with that, our tech crews, and especially our music crew. I don't know what I would've done without my musical directors Nancy and Camilla. And I could never forget the moral and physical support of Nate. He had to listen to quite a few of my rants about this or that!

End of the feast scene, which was better than ever this year!! Photo by Rebecca Thornton

Choreographer Tracee Walker, Assistant Director Angela Baker, and me just before the last performance on July 20. Photo by Rebecca Thornton

Looking back, I can say that everything I wanted to have happen really did happen, maybe not how I envisioned it happening, but it did happen. Even the little things like a cast photo board and pictures taken during rehearsals and shows happened (WAY better than I ever imagined...especially the photo board!) or getting the program done the way I wanted (I ended up doing it myself) or having a professional looking and fresh logo. Things did come together in the end, somehow, some way. I'm grateful for the experience and while I won't be campaigning to be director again, I certainly would consider it if the opportunity was presented to me again, which is how this all happened in the first place. I wasn't looking to be director, but the opportunity presented itself and I took it. I enjoyed getting to know so many people and am grateful for ALL the experiences I had, even the ones that maybe weren't as pleasant as I wanted. In the end, they were all very valuable learning experiences for my own good.

My TIK evolution

This past Friday, July 6th, marked the opening of my seventh run with This is Kirtland! I first appeared in the show, which I often simply refer to as "TIK", back in 2005 and have done it every summer since, except 2008, when I was in graduate school at Kent State.  It has become a rite of summer for me and something I generally look forward to.  Here's a look at my TIK evolution.

I actually first started with TIK the very first year it was started, 2004.  I had just finished my first semester back at Kent State after coming back from my mission, but was unaware that the Kirtland Stake (a stake in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a group of local congregations, similar to a Catholic diocese) had created a new musical production, complete with a full lighting system.  The only reason I found out is because the stake leadership asked my dad to come install the lights, which were all brand new.  They asked my dad because of his work with the previous Kirtland production back in the 1980s, which is actually my earliest memory as a child.  Dad asked me to come help him hang, connect, and aim the lights, which also included quite a bit of time taking care of things at the store where the lights were purchased.  When the show was over, I helped take the lights down and put them into storage.  I attended opening night of the show, never thinking that I would become a veteran of that show in due time.  In watching I remember not being all that impressed with it overall (sorry guys!), but my dad mentioned that maybe in the next year, I could try out for it.

Later in 2004, I transferred to BYU-Idaho, so I wasn't back in Ohio when tryouts were held for the 2005 show.  My dad talked to the director, Polly Dunn, and I was able to get a late tryout up at the Mayfield building, which was good enough to get me a small chorus role since the roles had already been cast by then.  I was officially cast as the character of Titus Billings (who had no lines and was never identified as such), but had lines as "John Johnson".  Those lines have since been reassigned to the characters of John Tanner (the debt forgiveness of Parley Pratt) and Heber C. Kimball (logs from clearing fields) and John Johnson isn't even mentioned in the script now.  It was my first time doing a show since I was the Herald in Cinderella in high school.  At the time, I was also working at Geauga Lake in Aurora, so I was very tan and would basically come straight to rehearsals and eventually performances straight from work.  That was true in 2006 too.

At the conclusion of the 2005 run with Lisa Parker, who played my wife 

Testimony song

2006 was similar in that I wasn't home for tryouts, but since I knew ahead of time, I made an audition CD that I sent in.  Apparently it didn't make much difference.  I found out as I was driving home from New Mexico (I had gone down there after school was over before heading back to Ohio) in late April that I was basically in the chorus again, which was disappointing at the time.  I ended up doing the role of Professor Seixas (pronounced "SAY shuss"), which is only for one scene, and then being a general "Kirtland Saint" the rest of the show, where I had one other line.  I think I had an actual name (usually every cast member has a specific character name even if they don't have any lines), but I don't remember what it was.  The fun part was that I had two costumes, one for Seixas (a non-Mormon teacher of Hebrew) and my other character.  The other big difference for '06 was that my sister was in the show as Emma Smith and a friend from my ward (congregation) was also in the show that year, so I wasn't the only "outsider" (not a member of the Kirtland Stake) in the cast like I was in '05.

As Professor Seixas

As a Kirtland Saint...I don't remember what my actual character name was

Character portrait as Professor Seixas...this was part of an awesome display of the cast

In 2007, because of a change in the schedule at BYU-Idaho, I was home in early April, so I was able to actually audition with everyone else for the first time.  For callbacks, though, I had to do those earlier than everyone else because I took a trip to the United Kingdom.  That year, I got a slightly more notable role, that of Newel K. Whitney.  I had a very small duet to open the show and then a few lines scattered in different scenes.  I found out about the role while I was in the UK, and again, was a bit disappointed.  Nevertheless, I did the role.  My sister was pretty bummed too because after being Emma the year before, she was cast as Keziah Rollins in '07.  In the end it worked out for her for other reasons, but it was still very frustrating at times.  I didn't even dance in any of the feast dances that year.

As N.K. Whitney with my "family" after the show

As N.K. Whitney in the opening scene

I nearly did the show in 2008, but the morning of auditions, I just never got up and decided it would be a good idea to not do the show because grad school was looming and I really didn't know what to expect.  I also wasn't too excited about doing the show because I felt like I was being overlooked as far as my acting and vocal abilities and often found myself frustrated after rehearsals.  I think if I had been more excited about the show, I probably would have tried to make it work with grad school.  As it turned out, grad school was a lot of work and I'm glad I didn't have to worry about the show that summer, but I still think I could've somehow made it work if I had really wanted to.  Looking back, though, it was a good decision to not be in the show that year and I remember thinking to myself as grad school got underway that June that I was glad I didn't have to worry about driving up to Kirtland every night and could take my time on the various projects I had to do for my classes.  I did go see the show and enjoyed seeing so many friends. It was the last show directed by the original director before she moved to Utah.

When auditions came along for 2009, I was nearing the end of my student teaching.  I remember coming to auditions and being under a ton of stress because I needed to get lesson plans done and other worries from grad school and what was going on in my life outside of school.  The entire first half of 2009 was, so far, the most stressful time of my life and I often look back and wonder how I ever made it through.  Being in TIK that year was a major boost physically and spiritually and was a major highlight in a very dark time for me.  I remember at the audition that I did very well and those there were like "where did THAT come from?"  For me, it was like "about time y'all noticed!"  I was cast as Sidney Rigdon and absolutely loved the show that year.  Even now, it's still my favorite year overall and what I compare other years to.  Everything seemed to come together that year and the cast was so cohesive and close.  2009 also saw expansion of the show with some additional characters (two minor characters and one major character) and a new song.  The '09 run was the first time I really felt appreciated for my talents and previous experience with the show.  That's not to say I wasn't appreciated before, but it was especially strong in 2009.  I was also in the couples' dance in the big feast scene, which was a first for me and something I really enjoyed.

Sidney Rigdon in final scene

As Sidney Rigdon in the feast scene

As Sidney Rigdon in the opening scene

After the uplifting experience of 2009, 2010 was very frustrating.  I was again cast as Sidney Rigdon, which was disappointing at the time because I already knew the part, so there was little challenge for me.  When I have to drive 50 minutes to get to rehearsal, I want some kind of challenge.  On top of that, some of the other casting was surprising to me, plus we had a huge turnover from the '09 cast as pretty much half the cast was new, and we had a new director again.  There were several other changes to the staging and flow of the show I didn't really care for (especially my noted disdain for the main act curtain) and rehearsals again became very frustrating for me too frequently.  In the end, I had a great time with the cast (always do!), but I was frustrated after that year, especially in light of the 2009 show.  It was during the 2010 show that I was asked to be on the script committee for the first time (which met in the winter), which was a great experience.

As Sidney Rigdon at the beginning of the education scene

As Sidney Rigdon in the education scene

As Sidney Rigdon in the final scene (temple dedication).  And yes, it was the same costume as the year before!

In 2011 we got a new director again, so after having the same director for the first five seasons, we went through three different directors in the next three years.  2011 was the first time I actually played a role in the preparation for the show (other than hanging the lights) as I had been a member of the script committee.  With a new director came more changes and 2011 had some of the biggest changes in terms of scene order and the Lorenzo Snow song ("Lorenzo's Song"), which had been added in 2009, was changed to be a duet with Lorenzo's sister Eliza.  I wasn't too thrilled about the changes in order, but they ended up working OK. They generally made scene changes somewhat cumbersome, especially when we had successive scenes in the same place.  I was cast as Lorenzo Snow, a role I had wanted in 2009 (though thoroughly enjoyed playing Sidney Rigdon that year).  I loved doing the Lorenzo Snow role.  Not only was it a new challenge for me, but Lorenzo Snow grew up in the same county (Portage County) I am from, so there was definitely that personal connection.  I also had a solo in the new Temple Building song, which was added at the end of the show to replace spoken words by the narrator (Christopher Crary).  In that solo I really learned how to manage my voice and that singing in my head voice and falsetto is something I have to limit and space out!  I'm a baritone with a high range, not a first tenor, even though I frequently end up singing first tenor in the show.

As Lorenzo Snow in Lorenzo's Question scene

As Lorenzo Snow during Lorenzo's Song

As Lorenzo Snow after a rehearsal

As Lorenzo Snow after a performance

I'm glad the 2012 season has opened.  I can't say it hasn't been very frustrating at times, but overall, I've had fun with my fellow cast members and I do look forward to being around them, especially as I've gotten to know them more.  We had the same director as we had in '11 and I was again part of the script committee in the "off-season", this time also helping to edit the Temple Building song.  Can't say very much, if any, of my edits were actually used, though.  We also shifted some scenes around again so the show seems to flow pretty well.  Overall I like the changes made this year.  I was cast as Parley Pratt, which I admit, I was less than thrilled with back in April.  That was because the Parley role doesn't really have a lot of vocal parts and let's be honest: I love to sing.  To placate me, I was again given the solo in the revamped Temple Building song (it's not assigned to a particular character), which goes into a trio.  It's the exact same solo and trio as last year, the main difference is that all the singing below it was taken out, so it's just me singing!  I've come to enjoy the Parley Pratt role, especially because his main scene is probably the one I have parodied the most in my time doing the show over the years (the fire scene).  Opening night went pretty well this year and am looking forward to continuing the run tonight in week two.  In all fairness, though, some of my frustrations this year have been due to external factors, not just the happenings at rehearsal itself.  In any case, rehearsals are done!  Come see the show!

As Parley Pratt in the opening scene

As Parley Pratt in the fire scene

As Parley Pratt in the temple building scene singing in the trio

As Parley Pratt in the temple dedication (final) scene

I am often asked why I do the show, plus I think about it, especially in times like now where money is very tight.  There are three main reasons I do the show.  First, it's one of the few creative outlets I can count on every year where I'll have some kind of role and will be appreciated for my abilities and experience.  It's the only such chance I have in theater at this point.  Second is the people I work with.  They are people I enjoy being around.  I can't think of any member of this show--cast, crew, or orchestra--that I just couldn't stand being around.  They are good people that make me feel good about myself and generally lift my mood when it's down.  Third is my love of the Church and Church History.  This is a chance to share our story in a fun way that combines music, theater, and history--all things I love--together in one production.  That said, I am not sure what next year holds.  A lot will depend on where I am in life and what decisions are made regarding the direction the show will go after this year.  Still a lot of variables to play out before next year!  Even so, if you haven't seen the show, come see it.  Best of all: it's FREE and isn't even that long of a show!

Liftoff, we have liftoff!

This was in the Record-Courier yesterday.  I wrote the
caption and my dad took the picture.  Thanks to
Roger Di Paolo and Laura Nethken!

It's July, which only means one thing for me the last few years: another year of This is Kirtland! We opened last night for our 8th season.  I'm finding it hard to believe we are already open now as time has just flown by.  We've been out of school for a month already and by the time the show clsoes July 16, the month will be half over and then I go into two back-to-back trips that take me into August.

Because of not being able to find a teaching job yet and subbing, I find myself looking forward to school being back in session.  Never thought I'd hear myself say that!  But as much as I like having lots of free time and being able to sleep in a lot, not having very much income coming in during the summer makes it somewhat difficult to really enjoy.  Oh well...it is what it is and after last summer, I made sure I saved enough money to get me by if I wasn't able to find a summer job, which has so far been the case.  Given the roller coaster ride I'm just now beginning, I doubt I'll be able to find anything before school starts again at the end of August.

I am also in the midst of taking three graduate credit hours at Kent State to renew my teaching license, which officially expired yesterday.  One class is online and deals with the use of social networking in education.  It started June 20 and officially ends July 10.  I have been working ahead in that class so that all I have left is the final paper (5 pages) and a discussion post.  I pretty much have gotten everything done for the week at the beginning of the week.  That was especially helpful this past week because my second class was a 3-day class on campus on how to better use SMART boards.  We met Wednesday-Friday at White Hall from 8 AM-Noon.  Even though I already have familiarity with SMART boards from my MAT degree classes and a few times where I've used them subbing, I learned some additional things and enjoyed the workshop.  Even better was the fact that there weren't any written assignments that I had to worry about, so it was a pretty easy class!

Now, on to the show.  I was pretty worried these past few weeks leading up, but as usual, most things came together for us to have a good opening night.  It was by no means perfect, but I was very pleased overall with how things went.  Definitely things to improve on for tomorrow and the rest of the run, but all in all, I wasn't disappointed at all.  I'm finding that the joy of being in the show I had back in 2009 is back this year, which I'm really happy about.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 2010's run, but in many ways it was frustrating, especially compared to 2009.  The difference for me is how I feel about going to practices.  In 2009 I looked forward to going to rehearsals, while in 2010 it wasn't something I looked forward to all that much.  Here in 2011 I found myself again looking forward to rehearsals and have found my testimony of the Gospel getting stronger.  It's fascinating to me to see how Church history affects my testimony along with anti-Mormons.  

Anyway, I'm excited about this year's run and my role as Lorenzo Snow.  After being Sidney Rigdon the past two years, I was ready for a change and have really enjoyed the process of learning a new part and having 2 solos in the show.  When the Lorenzo Snow part was added in 2009, it was a part I really wanted because I liked the solo he has so much.  It didn't work out for me that year (I was Sidney Rigdon that year and thoroughly enjoyed that part).  This year Lorenzo's role has been expanded somewhat and the main solo he has now includes a small duet with his sister Eliza R. Snow that sounds great!  My other solo is in a totally new song about building the Kirtland Temple.  It's not a Lorenzo Snow solo (especially since historically Lorenzo Snow joined the Church after the Temple was dedicated), but I really enjoy singing it in the middle of that song, which features quite a bit of choreography for the entire cast.  Hopefully tonight I will sing it a little better than I did last night.  It wasn't horrible, but could've been a lot better.  I have also enjoyed learning more and more about the history in this area and the characters in the show, especially my own character.  He grew up in nearby Mantua, Ohio, right here in Portage County, so it's neat to be able to portray him on stage.  

The other development related to the show I was very happy about was my own ankle.  3 weeks ago I sprained it pretty badly in dance rehearsal.  It was a "high ankle sprain", meaning I had some spectacular bruises on my foot (in 4 places) and on my leg just below the calf (2 bruises, one fairly large).  Since then I've done my best to stay off my foot as much as I can and while it's definitely not back at 100% (my last ankle sprain, also the "high" variety, took a little over a month to totally heal), it's well enough that I can dance both the men's dance (which is where the injury happened) and the couple's dance.  I started doing the couple's dance again about a week ago, but was only able to start practicing the men's dance on Wednesday.  I am happy to report that I relearned it enough that I pulled it off for last night's opening.  It can still be better, but considering how much I couldn't remember on Wednesday, I was pretty thrilled with how Friday went for both dances :).  I still can't really jump, but I do my best.

So, for those of you in the Northeast Ohio area, we still have shows tonight as well as July 7-9 and 14-16 at 7:30 PM.  Doors open at 7 PM at the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, at 8751 Kirtland Road (S.R. 306).  I've been told the show on the 14th is full due to tour groups and a youth conference, so hopefully many of you can come to another night.  I'm sure we could fit a few extra then if we absolutely needed to!  And don't forget, there is NO admission cost and no, we won't be passing a basket around or asking for any kind of donations either.  If you do want to come and let me know in advance, I can get you reserved seats too! 

On my way up

I finally moved into the world of professional sports in terms of singing the National Anthem, though I haven't hit the big leagues yet.  This past Monday I sang for the Akron Aeros at Canal Park in nearby Akron, Ohio.  The Aeros are the class AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.  If you aren't familiar with the baseball hierarchy, AA ("double A") is two steps below the majors.  Just below the major leagues is class AAA ("triple A") and there is also class A ("single A") and rookie league.  The minor leagues are known as a "farm system".  All teams except one single-A team in Kinston, North Carolina (Kinston Indians) and the Rookie League team (located in Goodyear, Arizona at the Indians' spring training complex) are located right here in Ohio.  The AAA team is in Columbus (Columbus Clippers), the AA team in Akron, and 2 A teams in the area, one in Lake County (Lake County Captains) and one in Niles (Mahoning Valley Scrappers).

Singing in the middle of the field...thanks Manda Garvin for this shot!

One of the shots from Dad...although the Aeros gave us GREAT seats in the first row right behind home plate, they weren't so ideal for getting pictures of me singing since I had to face the flag in left-center field!

Walking off the field, feeling pretty good!!  Thanks to Khris Garvin for this shot!

Walking up to Orbit, the Aero's mascot, after I sang.

Canal Park is a nice minor league stadium that opened in 1997 in downtown Akron.  We've gone to several games there over the years and I've always had a good time.  It's fun to be so close to the action, though being from Kent, I have discovered I can't utter the phrase "Go Akron" so I say "Go Aeros!"  :)  Anyway, I was very happy with how my singing went, though I wasn't able to get a recording of it.  I was able to get several pictures thanks to several family members who came and a group from my local ward (congregation).  There were some problems with my family getting into the stadium as the tickets that were supposed to be reserved weren't, so some confusion.  Even when I got there I got the feeling people didn't know what to do with me.  Having never sung for them before I certainly didn't know where to go!  Once things got straightened out where I was supposed to go and everyone got in, I had a great time and even surprised myself how well I did.  I was worried warming up it wouldn't be so hot, but for whatever reasons, I can "turn it on" when I need to.  The 90 degree and somewhat humid weather didn't hurt either!  I will say I honestly felt like my heart was going to stop after I started singing.  I was standing in the middle of the field thinking how bad it would look if I passed out right there.  Thankfully I made it!  :)

I sent the CD of myself singing the Anthem back in March around my birthday.  I actually sent recordings to 10 teams including the Aeros.  The Aeros were the first team to get back to me, calling the very next day after I sent the recording in regular mail (granted, it didn't have to go far since all our mail goes to Akron anyway).  Of the 9 other recordings I sent out (all to major league teams), I heard back from the Baltimore Orioles (who are the only ones who have an online way to send recordings!), Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Cubs had already filled the spots for the season and the other teams simply acknowledged that they had received my recording.  The Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays never sent any notice that they received anything.  What I learned is to start sending the recordings out in early February instead of March.  I am planning on sending recordings to the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers soon.