Hi my name is Nathanial Matthews and this is my first years with elevated grounds. My mother randomly found this group and was excited about the potential that this group has. As one whom has been through a lot in my life I marveled at the opportunity to be apart of such a life changing group. I am now excited to be apart of a play that will surely empower the youth that are to scared to find the help they need. The cast members are great and I am just so touched to be able to perform and believe that I will re shape mindsets and shape lives. AWWWWW I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!

Elevated grounds. Wow. I first got introduced to EG through my mother who has done some work with the organization. She asked me if I’d like to get involved so I decided to see what it was about. After coming to the play rehearsal I was sold, the youth that were working were friendly and great. The program was amazing and I really saw myself doing something big with EG in due time. By the grace of God I became a part of the play. When there was no way He created a role for me that brought the play to the next level. I can’t wait until performance day, it’s going to be tight!

=JV!

Hay this is Olivia, and I’m a participant in this years show for Stress-N-Out.
I’ve worked with Elevated Grounds for 3 years so I’m definitely familiar with
the program. I have had the privilege of watching this years show and I had the opportunity
to perform for the second half. I am excited to be on board for this years show and I’m just
waiting to see what happens next!

o, there’s 2 more weeks left until the first “Stress-N Out” performance for 2010 and it will be 2 months this coming friday of the March Break since EG started rehearsals for the play. I am actually AMPED! But before I go any further, let me formally introduce myself: Trisha Henson, Artistic Resource Coordinator of Elevated Grounds and now taking on the role of the Assistant Director of the play “Stress-N Out”. I actually ended up taking on the role of Director, by fluke and by force, when our originally Director announced she could not join us any further. That is up until a new Director joined us by the name of Nicolle aka Coco, who, btw, is AMAZING and I thank God for because God knows I could not have done it all on my own!

Anywho’s, I’ve been meaning to start up a blog but with all the stuff I gotta do, just never got around to it. But today, reading the cast member’s blogs just really motivate and inspired me so here it is. I’m gonna try to be as real with my blogs here as possible, writing about everything from my feelings of excitement to my frustrations, so if you are reading this (and I really hope A LOT of people are), I hope you do not get offended any way shape or form…. Firstly, I must say that I enjoy working with these young people. They have so much talent in them and A LOT of potential. Of course it hasn’t at all been smooth sailing. I’ve gotten into little disagreements here and there and frustrations when days are going REALLY really slow. From when I had to step up to the plate, I actually panicked a little because I knew that I, myself, I could pull this off directing them on my own. So you can imagine to my relief when Coco joined us. It was like God Fed-Exed her to EG. The whole cast was REALLY receptive to her and they did as they were told on command. I on the other hand found myself having trouble directing them and getting them to do things really quickly and so I am MORE than happy being the assistant director. Thank you again, God, for this wonderful blessing. Things are coming along perfectly and very quickly. Just last week, some of the cast members joined myself and Nicolle to do some backstage work in terms of A/V, props, costumes, music, scene set up, etc. And needles to say it was a very productive meeting.

Did I mention that the cast is doing an AMAZING job? I’ve seen a lot of them step up to the plate through out each rehearsals and I am very very impressed. We have a few people who joined us VERY recently and they are just fitting in nicely, helping out with the technicalities of the play, the actual script and getting their lines memorized. I am also seeing a lot of growth with the actors who were a part of the original “Stress-N” and “Stress-N Out” cast. Kudos to you! Well I’m pretty sure I had more to say as I was starting the first few lines of my blog, HOWEVER duty calls and I must do some Directorial work. I probably won’t be blogging as much as the cast members are but I’ll try every now and again. Till next time world, Ciao!

Trisha

Hello everyone I’m new and this is my first blog

Before I became a part of Elevated Grounds I had little knowledge and big expectations. From what my friend Francaline Kingu told me, I was to partake in a real production with people counting on me to keep up. The only thing that struck out the most to me when she was giving me the details was that it was a musical and I didn’t have to dance (God blessed me with a voice but for my feet they seem to have a mind of it’s own) which isn’t my strong suit. With the information that I gathered that night I became a little intimidated, I imagined that I would see many talented actors, and many talented singers, and many talented dancers, but she assured me that everyone at Elevated Grounds were nice, she said that they were, “very chill people”.

Nervous and not knowing what to expect, I came with an open mind and an open heart. Looking back I feel a bit silly for coming on the first day with heels, not only did I stick out but they were a bit uncomfortable. But the heels were not the only thing that made me feel uncomfortable. Usually people say that my first impression is that I am a very out going and friendly person. That is what I look on the outside but in the inside I’m as shaky as a leaf. What surprised me was that all this did not matter to the people at Elevated Grounds. The fact that I was new and that I was so misinformed did not diminish their respect for me. They all welcomed me with bright smiles and even gave me a few acting pointers.

Now that I’ve been coming to Elevated Grounds I am learning to like these people more and more. They are all very talented and welcoming and they give me a whole other reason why I keep coming back. Slowly they are becoming a network of friends. Friends that go through the same tribulations as any young teenager would. That’s what Stress ‘N’ Out is all about. That everyone has troubles in their life and all we need to do is hold out our hands and pick each other up. Without this, we might as well just run away from life completely.