I know I know 5 months since my last post. Honestly it was a combination of being too busy and too lazy not to blog more so let me get you up to date. After wrapping up "As You Like It" at Orlando Shakespeare Theater I went back on tour again with Poetry Alive. For 3 months I was on the road again like Willie Nelson going all over America from Florida to Maine and almost all places in between. A few highlights for me was going back to visit my old school Penrose Elementary in Philly. I hadn't been back there in 24 years and everything looked the same except smaller, or maybe because I had grown considerably since that time. I saw my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Coleman again and she was just as feisty as ever. I also visited my old High School the amazing Penn Wood High in Lansdowne, PA where I saw my former HS teacher and mentor Becky Vandenberg. Not only does she look exactly the same as when I graduated but she like Mrs. Coleman is still on the front lines of education making a difference to young people like I once was (actually still am). I also saw my mother, niece, brother while in the Keystone State. When I got to the Garden State to perform I was able visit my collegiate alma mater Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck/Hackensack, NJ. I was able to see my former college professors/mentors/mother figures Dr. Mary Farrell and Jane "Tinker" Foderaro. Later on that week it was off to see my close, dear friends Keri Cerami and her husband Dan. All this visiting of people and schools on someone else's dime was fantastic (especially with gas prices). Oh by the way I did once and a while perform some poetry shows and conducted some poetry workshops as well ha ha ha. Actually I feel a major difference was made at the schools I performed in because when you believe in what you do good things will occur.
After 3 months of touring I came back to Orlando when I am now. I still work part-time at Disney and have been auditioning for more shows there in order to get a full-time contract. I feel like I am exactly where I need to be at this point in my life. The friendships I've made since coming back especially with my dear friends Isabel Garcia and her husband Gabriel Guerra and their children Olivia and Tafy have enriched my life tremendously because I find that in many ways we're all of like minds. I've also decided to get caught up with President Obama and am reading his book "The Audacity of Hope" and have become good friends with the head of Generation Obama in Orlando (and close friend of Isabel and Gabriel) the lovely Sybil McKinzy. Being away from Orlando for a spell also made me realize how much I missed my Writers group in Celebration, FL. Since coming back I've deepened my friendships with 2 members of the Writers Group Jan Eldredge (whose Middle School novel "Demon House" will one day be on the best seller list) and Barb Nefer (who is an inspiration to me because of the amount writing of her that's been published all over the country). Since coming back I've gone camping, karaoking, dinner partying and whirlpool hanging with some of the people mentioned above.
I feel good that I'm going to get a full-time contract with Disney before long and will continue to not only write and submit my butt off but continue to spend time with people who love me and have my back. As for writing I've been published in the Evening Sun thanks to my poem "Mr. Excitement" and long-time highly respected children's poet Kalli Dakos is using my poem "I Miss My Grandma" as a teaching tool in her workshop "Poetry About Loss". I also now work at Sleuth's Mystery Dinner Theatre in Orlando playing a character of my own creation named Remington Card, Wacky Security Guard. I got that job because the amazing Laurel Clark who works at Sleuth's saw me perform at Orlando Shakespeare Theater became my MySpace friend and next thing you know I've got another job. The gig pays for gas money and groceries and they give you a free meal everytime you work there which is music to my tummy.
Last but finally not least welcome to the new and improved charleswaters.net. Isabel updated it to the nth degree giving it a funky, kitchy look that brings the website to life. While Jameson my original web designer did a phenomenal job to start it all Isabel has picked up the baton and ran with it faster than FloJo. My goal is to stay in Orlando for the next year and a half and continue to be darn grateful to my friends here and the life I am carving out.
