CHEERS by Claire Sparks
Cheers!
I thought it would be appropriate to start my letter with “cheers” since my final city is Boston, Massachusetts. I’m in my final week of performances with my family in Spring Awakening, and it could not be any more bitter sweet. I’ve been sitting at this computer for twenty minutes already, trying to find the words that could express my feelings and my experience. I’ll start at the beginning.
My experience with Spring Awakening started much like yours. I ignorantly flipped on my television to watch the 2007 Tony Awards, only to be amazed forever at the story of Spring Awakening. I was inspired by the truth, energy, and sincerity of the performance and the story, and immediately wanted to share that same story with the world. Spring Awakening hit home, as I’m sure it does with you in some capacity. I begged my parents to audition for months and finally was able to audition at an open call. That miraculously led to a callback in New York and the job opportunity of a lifetime.
I never thought I would find family so far away from home, but the first day we all met in New York, I knew we were kin. We’ve grown up together tremendously over the past year. We’ve experienced the same things, the same stories, and the same joys. I have met good friends along the way in different cities, and have seen some of the most beautiful places our nation offers.
My favorite city, I must admit is San Francisco, California. The town is so convenient, so sunny, and so beautiful. The Saturday market, Muir woods and beach, Alcatraz, the ocean, the wharf, the streetcars, the quaint shops, the nice community, Teatro Zinzanni; I could try to name them all, but it would take up half of the page. You’ll just have to visit yourself =)
I don’t think that I have one favorite memory, but I have a hand full of fantastic memories. My most daring memory took place in San Diego. The cast decided to spend the day at the beach. We discovered a grotto that people were snorkeling in that housed wild sea lions. So a few of us thought, why not? We rented gear and walked into the ocean. I’m not a swimmer. I can keep myself afloat, but in no means, if I was in danger, could I swiftly and confidently swim away. I held onto Chase the entire way while we were “swimming” to the cave. The sea lions were adorable and sunbathing, and the experience was one that I will always remember. I forgot while I was ogling the cute animals, that we would have to eventually get out of the water. I lost a flipper and couldn’t swim back to the beach, so we decided to exit onto a rocky shore. I ended up with a gash on my leg and a great story to tell.
I’m sad to leave the tour, but I will hold my experiences closely to my heart forever. I am so grateful to my family, friends, loved ones, directors, crews, and fans. You all have changed my life so much and I couldn’t thank you enough for supporting me and challenging me. Please continue to follow your dreams, I did and it was the best thing I’ve ever done. I love you all so much and will sincerely miss you. I will always keep the story and message of Spring Awakening and of my memories on tour in my heart. Thank you.
Love always,
Claire Sparks
Thank you, Claire. We will miss you and you will always be part of the Spring Awakening family. There is no news at this time as to when or if other cast members will be leaving. Many of them have not decided yet whether to renew their contract. Krystina Alabado will move from being a swing to a part of the ensemble, so her title will be “Ensemble; u/s Wendla, Ilse.” Congrats Krystina! Well deserved!
On June 1, in Louisville,KY, Krista Pioppi will be joining the tour as a swing. Here is her headshot and bio:
Krista Pioppi (Swing, u/s Wendla) National tour debut! Credits: High School Musical and The Sound of Music at Paper Mill Playhouse, original workshop 13! (Patrice). Love to Mom, Dad, Gina, & Dina Bogner.
Our casting directors have had their eye on Krista since she was 15 and she is finally now old enough to be cast! Krysta has her own blog and will detail her journey on Spring Awakening here: http://kristapioppi.blogspot.com/2009/04/hey-everyone-at-request-of-few-close.html Welcome, Krista! Can't wait to see you shine.
12 comments:
Hey Pun,
Krista's blog says the tour will be in Chicago until Aug. 23 while the site says the 16th. There has been so much confusion on the Chicago dates. Any chance you know which date is correct (Aug 16 or 23)?
Aww, Claire's letter is so touching!
We'll miss you Claire!!
On another note, I look forward to seeing Krista as a part of the cast! Break a leg!!
Claire was a sweetheart! It is truly sad to see her leave. Is she leaving for college? what is she studying? Will we see her again on stage one day? I am interested in what she is aspiring towards....
Oh, how sad! I happened to have the fortune to see Claire as Thea, and she was so good. She seemed like such a sweet girl; I'll miss seeing her on TotallyTrucked, Steffi D's vids, and ExtendedRun.
On the other hand, congrats to Ms. Alabado!
Aww I'm gonna miss you Claire. :(
We'll miss you Claire :( Good luck in all that you do!
Yay Krista and Krystina! :)
Aw Claire, we're all gonna miss you. Your letter was so sweet. I hope you go on to have a great future in whatever you decide to get involved in.
Congrats to Krystina and Krista!
wow. now we have krista, krystina and christy!
haha. :D
congrats krista and krystina!
:( i'm gonna miss claire.
hey pun, sorry to jump topics but i'm freaking out.
i heard that onstage seating for D.C is almost sold out but i wasnt sure whether they have even started selling them yet, because there hasnt been any notice.
i have actually never bought onstage seats before and am pretty clueless about the whole process. do we get to request what seats we want? or find out which ones are still available for the dates we want?
have those seats even gone on sale yet? b/c i know the D.C performances are still a while away...and i'm just really confused and worried that I wont get onstage seats.
Nonny--The correct date for the Chicago engagement ends on the 16th. Sorry for the confusion. The SA website erroneously posted the wrong dates.
Elizabeth--I asked Claire to include her future plans in her message, but she chose not to say anything about it, sorry.
Nonny--On stage seats in DC are not on sale to the public yet. A portion of the seats are reserved for the Guilty Ones street team members to purchase first. The rest will be released closer to the date. We'll post an announcement of it here.
oh thank goodness!
phew. i was freaking out so much.
ok my panic attack is over. thanks so much pun!
The only reason I am anonymous is because i don't have any of the other accounts, but my name is alessia. How old do you have to be to join the cast? Does she have to be 17 just to play wendla because of the simulated sex and nudity, or do you have to be 17 to join the cast period?
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