The video about your stroke was one month ago?? And now you’re doing community theater for the first time??? Austin, you’re such an inspiration and I’m so glad your recovery is going as well as it is. Break a leg!
It's kind of fitting that you wanted to try for Wizard of Oz, but first needed a "new" heart. I have been doing community theater in the Boston area for 26 years, and it honestly has saved my life on numerous occasions.
As the director of the community theatre I regularly work with always says "his job is to make you look good, and your job is to make each other look good" It's a team effort! If you make a mistake, the others help to cover it up. Also, even though you've gone through the scenes a million times and know exactly how it's supposed to be, the audience does not. I've got loads of stories about things that have gone wrong on stage, mostly noticed mainly by the actors, and even if the audience does notice, it's part of the charm of live theatre
Man, even knowing that you had that stroke, I see absolutely no sign of it in you anymore. Amazing recovery, and thanks to a lot of hard work on your part, I'm sure!
"I had open heart surgery and then a stroke - I'm getting over it, no worries." - Some Monty Python energy with that one. Seriously though, as you point out, you are choosing what parts of your recovery we get to see but still, you seem to be doing a lot better. It's so great to see!
Hey Austin, just want to say that in my adult life you really have become one of my biggest inspirations to always want to challenge myself, always relishing in the trying regardless of the outcome. Break a leg, I know you’ll kill it.
I grew up acting in a lot of Shakespeare plays in a middle school/high school theater group, and one year I had the part of the page from the opening of "Taming of the Shrew". The play is kind of meta in that this particular role meant I got to sit in the audience the whole time and watch the play with everyone else. So I got a great view of when Petruchio threw himself on a bench and the bench broke. It remains one of my favorite memories because my fellow actors rocked the unexpected situation -- leaning into it as if it had been planned. I always admire when actors mess up or face unexpected challenges and recover in spite of it.
Good for you! I so admire this. Took some drama classes, myself, but turns out I can't memorize pages of lines (high functioning Autistic, my mind works great, but in "another way."). My teacher loved my work in class, but she was cutting us a lot of slack on the memorization. I might have been able to do film, with cuts and retakes, but I prefer being behind the camera (was a photo journalist in state and county newspapers - even won a few awards). Turns out I'm also good at interviewing and writing (have a wall full of awards for that). And, further unnecessary storytelling here: my son took two classes of improv (and was amazing) and then went out and got A PAYING GIG in a show on a riverboat. His first acting job. Paying. I'm his parent, I know, but I think that's objectively impressive. So I am also impressed with your adventure.
Your son's story reminds me a little bit of a RUclipsr named Let Me Explain Studios and how she was a theater kid as well. Except, similar to with Austin, her drama teacher mostly hated her. And when she lost out on a role that she felt she'd not only acted the best out of her class but actually also looked the part (the teacher claimed she was too tall or something), she said screw it to acting for her school and instead got roles in her community theater while still in high school. Nothing more amazing than when a songbird is able to break out of the cage and fly.
My man, whatever else anyone says about your stage performance (break a leg), this one video is stupidly inspirational, and I thank you for that. Been watching you since you had subs in the 4 digit range, great to see you back at it!
Community theatre is fun. Granted, I've only done it once, and the local community theatre I acted at (which sadly closed during covid and never reopened) was basically run entirely by an old lady and her two sisters (lovely old lady, mind you. Very good at getting the best performances from her cast). There were no workshops or call-backs, just one audition where you read lines to the director and she gives you some advice and you read some more lines and she calls you a week later to tell you what (if any) part you got. In my opinion, the funnest parts of theatre is when stuff goes wrong and you're forced to figure out how to shoehorn the important cues and dialogue into there somehow.
I do community theatre in my area, it's a ton of fun. And bizarrely helpful with stroke recovery for some reason. I'm sure there's some study somewhere, but something about it helps people regain language and mental clarity. My local community theatre has two members who have suffered strokes and something about learning lines and blocking was really helpful.
The first show is always the hardest and most nerve-wracking. But I found that once you are in costume it's easy to stay in character; once you hear your cue lines you can spout your own dialogue easily; once you are in amongst the other actors on stage blocking comes naturally; and the lights will mean you cannot see your audience beyond the first couple of row, so they will not distract you. The absolute best part is when you do a comedy and you can really manipulate a joke with adjusting comic timing throughout the run. You will love this, trust me. It's a thrill like no other.
Welcome to the Theatre World my good man. I am a carpenter in the field and yeah, it gets stressful real quick. Glad you chose to give it a shot. I hope you continue after this venture.
Break a leg, Austin!! I did community theater throughout middle and high school and it was such a fun and rewarding experience. It's great to see you facing your fears and trying something new. I'm sure you'll do great!
You're looking better with each video you shoot. I'm sure there's still some challenges we don't get to see on camera, but if I wasn't a follower who's seen that whole ordeal you been through, I'd have never guessed. At least on screen, you're back to your old self. Glad it's going well. :)
Austin, you're a huge inspiration. Let me say that the trick to acting is to remember what it's like to watch a play. I catch myself rooting for the actors and even when I notice mistakes I want them to succeed and I find it endearing. If you remember that, it's less scary to get up on the stage yourself.
Hey Austin, just wanna say that the work you've put into your recovery is amazing. You've put so much work in and it shows. I would have never suspected you had a stroke if I I hadn't known already. Thank you for working as had as you do, and thank you wven more for continuing to make videos. Good luck on the up comming plays and what ever you are working on next/currently. 🤗
It's awesome to see you getting back into, well, living life! Community theater is fantastic and you're exactly the kind of personality that people like to work with in it. Know that no matter how unprepared you feel leading up to it, you'll feel ready after tech week. Just don't push yourself too hard and save some energy for the performance!
I've done several shows for Community Theater. It can be pretty fun, though the time you have to put into it is alot. I never had stage fright (for some reason) and it didn't take me a long time to get into character, but I know some people deal with those issues. Me personally I could separate myself and the character so it wasn't a big deal of diving into another persona. On stage, the lighting is such you barely can see the audience and you've gone over your lines so much at that point that it's not too bad. Plus you know the story backwards and forward at that point so if you do mess up, either you or your cast can easily recover. People going to Community Theater aren't expecting you to be the greatest in the world, so they also are pretty forgiving. Unless the whole production is crap, I think you'll be okay.
I love theatre and have been doing it for as long as ive been able to talk. Hearing people's story and first impressions to theatre always brings an ear to ear grin to my face, there's something so magically perfect about live, especially community, theatre. The community, family aspect of it is truly the heart of life. I'm so glad youre recovering well and doing theatre, I'd love to see you live on stage some day.
The question the whole world is wondering about Austin: WHAT WILL HE DO NEXT!!! 👀 But seriously, man, it’s great that you’re finding hobbies outside of RUclips and I wish you all the best in your new endeavors 😊
Just commenting partially for the algorithm but also to say your dedication and talent is inspirational and it's so exciting to see you trying new things and telling us about them!
It's so cool to hear you getting into community theatre dude! It's such a fun and rewarding experience, I hope the season goes well! I have been part of a local community theatre in the capital of New Zealand for about a decade now, and my sister and I just directed our first children's production this year (ironically The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!). It's so crazy to think of how far we've come since we joined up, we started on stage of a kids' production and now we have directed one ourselves! I recommend trying out every role the theatre has to offer; acting, stage crew/management, lighting, sound, all of it! There's so much to learn from each role :)
It's fantastic to see you recovering so well and so quickly! I realize that an incredible amount of hard work and pain has been part of the process, so I also salute you for your perseverance!
Thank you Austin, seeing your videos about your heart surgery inspired me to do better and value my time more after my own recent (thankfully not serious) ER visit, thank you friend. Love your videos man!
I used to be involved in my own local community theatre, and while I have mixed feelings about my experiences during my involvement, it was/is probably the most important piece of my life during the “coming-of-age” years. I was also heavily involved in my high school’s drama department as well, and often did productions back to back! Theatre (especially live theatre, or even better IMMERSIVE theatre) is so important for a community, imho. Together we can tell beautiful stories, hear incredible music, watch the human spirit grow, and so much more. Cheers to your recovery and break a leg in this new endeavor!! Always wishing you well 😊
In 9th grade I played the same role in "Guys and Dolls." 🤓 Good on ya for grabbing your surgery/stroke recovery by the horns, and for further challenging yourself with this new endeavor. Break a (figurative) leg!
Man, its so enjoyable watching you just enjoying life and doing random stuff. this year i got into debate sports and volleybal both never really done before and its always more fun then expected
I'm excited for you. Doing community theater was some of the best time in my life, not to mention one of the best growing and learning opportunities. Break a leg, my good man
That's awesome! I've really enjoyed the bits of theatre I've done, even though it was also very far out of my comfort zone. Even though as you're always aiming to get everything right, something will always go wrong, but the reassuring things is that the more you act, the more comfortable and graceful you will be at working around the inevitable minor crises. Those moments of inspired and frantic problem-solving make the best stories to swap with other actors :D
I'm delighted to see how well your recovery has come along. I spent my later youth (highschool, college) and early-adulthood in community theater, though the last on-stage role I had was as a background chorus member in a production of G&S's "Patience" around 1983. I started out very awkward and shy; I credit the experience with making me more confident in my bearing and more able to speak to a large audience. In later years, I have been an on-and-off performer (amateur singer/songwriter, mostly Filk (the indigenous folk music of the Science Fiction and Fantasy fan community). On the other hand, other than 1 live stage performance at a Filk convention that I videotaped and posted on RUclips around 2006-2008 (of which there are two versions on my "channel"), I have never gotten up the nerve to do any sort of content for RUclips. (That performance wasn't done for RUclips, but someone asked me to post it to showcase the sign-language interpreter who was on stage with me.) A stroke in 2017 and two rounds of chemo (2018, 2022) kind of wiped out my public performing, but I've been working on getting back to a level where I can once again successfully perform in public. It's hard, but I am determined to be worth listening to again by the end of October, and perhaps start doing concerts and open-mics again by sometime next year. At 65, it's hard to get started again, but it's something I feel I have to do.
Good luck on the show!! I have been wanting to try my hand at improv for a number of years now, and theater tickles my fancy in a similar way. Hard to really say what's holding me back but the thing that I tell myself (and is probably true to a large extent) is that I lack the time for it, having recently bought a house and started a family (and a new job).
I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this video so much I know Austin always has wacky stories in life and does a great job getting real with his thoughts and feelings throughout the experience (all that hard work to articulate yourself in videos pays off, trust us) but I clicked thinking this was just any other ol video But I think your passion for story telling really kicked in this video, and it reminded me of how I found your channel in the first place with your experiences making your first movie that shall not be named. I hope all the best for your performance and cast and hope that if you are able to and decide to pursue theater more you'll continue to document them for us like this as well, cheers
Austin- long-time subscriber and community college theatre professor/director here; so grateful you decided to take the time/risk to not only dive into this but to document(ish) the process! There's so much I could say here- but I'll boil it down to this: while one of the oldest art forms (one that has been continually diminished by new competitors for people's eyes and minds over the past couple of millennia), theatre remains one of the most powerful tools for creating better human beings- in the audience, onstage and behind the scenes. As you've put across in this vid, in a culture currently dominated by our over-edited, over-analyzed and reflected upon digital reality, the analog worlds that theatre creates force us to push anxiety (constantly looking forward) and depression (constantly looking backward) aside- and simply *be in the moment*. As with life in the 'real world', once the show opens, the show *must* go on. You can't redo it, you have no time to overthink it- you simply have to accept what has happened, build off of it, and move on. Not only that- but in a deeply polarized and overtly-opinionated culture, being involved with a show forces you to collaborate and bond with folks you might not choose to otherwise. Thereby creating something bigger than yourself with people you might not share the same perspective and beliefs with. Theatre is also, by its' nature, empathy training. The actors are literally putting themselves in someone else's shoes, and the audience cannot get much out of the experience if they don't at least subconsciously connect with both the characters and the actors playing those characters. Science proves it constantly for both children and adults- all forms of 'play' are actually training for adulthood- disguised as fun. Theatre kids (no matter the age) tend to be more confident, resilient, thoughtful, patient and collaborative- and the world can definitely use more of all of that these days. The point, in the end, isn't the 'quality' of the performance or production values- it's about bringing humans together in the same space to share something with each other. So congratulations on being a small part in that- and thank you for pushing that notion forward to us here in the digital realm. Fully grown theatre kids like myself see you and appreciate you for the effort and buy-in you're giving it.
Been a while since I heard "Dooblydoo" in the wild! DFTBA! Congrats on the show! Maybe don't break a leg, tho... you've already had a turbulent year...
This is simply incredible! What healing powers reside within a human being not giving up is just outright unbelievable! So rewarding seeing you in this state now! Congrats, Austin!
Dude, you are an absolute inspiration in so many aspects. First to me as a RUclipsr, then as a knowledge seeker, now as a life enricher. I wish you absolutely nothing but the best for you and your family and I hope you have a lot of fun with your performance while still taking care of your heart.
Theater is incredibly hard work, you're an inspiration for taking on so much. I've been involved with community theater in a few productions so I know how hard actors and crew have to work together to get everything to run smoothly. I'm overcoming some health problems right now and really beating the sh*t out of them too, and I hope you continue to have luck overcoming yours. If you're already doing this so soon after open heart surgery the sky is the limit for you.
As someone who's been doing theatre professionally and otherwise for a long time, these clips looks EXTREMELY polished for comminity theatre. Usually the funds and time just aren't there. Very cool they’ve got such a strong institution there.
Great to see your improvement. Have fun with the play. Having done community theatre, I can tell you that there is nothing like that applause at the end. I can see why so many professionals fall to intoxicants. Applause, in my opinion, is the most addictive thing in the world.
Congratulations! Went online to check the theater schedule and saw a ticket would be a great birthday present to myself (if I weren’t one of those awful coastal elites).
I auditioned for my first play (Into the Woods) when I was 13 and got one of the leads - Jack. It was an extremely difficult musical and everyone else in the cast were adults, but they were very supportive. It was a great experience, I learned a ton, and I'm so glad I did it! If you're still on the edge about community theater, give it a try. The scariest thing that can happen is you get the role. :)
I’m so glad to hear of this. Your stroke was such a shock. I’m so glad that you’re doing so well to do such a stressful and difficult thing. Way to go bro!
Great choice! I'm so glad you found such a welcoming and supportive community theatre group. I'm a keen amateur dramatist myself. In fact, I'm making my directorial debut the same week you'll be performing, directing a production of Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" in Wimborne Minster, England. I'll be keeping you, your cast mates, and the crew in my thoughts, wishing all the very best for your production! I really hope you'll enjoy the experience. 🎭❤👏👏👍
Hi Austin, I think joining a community theater is a terrific idea, hopefully you'll have a blast and enjoy yourself. I've been a part of the "community theater" class my faculty had in university (Faculty of Computer Science). I'm a terrible actor and the whole casting (and acting) experience was incredibly awkward for me and I guess that's at least part of the reason I've been chosen for a small acting part each of the three semesters I've had the class - the directors considered it a comic relief. It also didn't help me with getting rid of the fear of acting live at all. But with all that being said, it was a great experience and I've gained memories for my whole life there. It also just feels great working on something together as a group. I'm pretty sure this last part will be the same for you - and hopefully you'll unlock your live acting chops and enjoy that part of the process as well!
Good for you! You're a braver man than I am, Austin. I can recall doing some silly little plays in grade school and some reader's theater (where you have the script in front of you the whole time) in college, but getting into costume and into character and being up on stage and performing in front of actual people is way beyond me. Break a leg! I know you'll do great. Be sure and tell us how it went.
I’m going on my 40th production (my next show opens this coming weekend, actually) so I loved this vid! Us theatre nerds looove newcomers, especially those with untapped talent. I’ve seen so many people get that “theatre bug” after their first show and next thing you know, they’re doing shows constantly lol. Break a leg! I hope this is the start of a beautiful stagey relationship for you 💕
![Chino Pacas - Modo Capone (with Drake & JOP) [Video Visualizador Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zoc75M8Swhc/mqdefault.jpg)
The video about your stroke was one month ago?? And now you’re doing community theater for the first time??? Austin, you’re such an inspiration and I’m so glad your recovery is going as well as it is. Break a leg!
His luck is so rotten I wouldn't be too surprised if he did.
Heartily seconded.
He needs a robot leg to go with his robot heart.
Literally impossible to guess what Austin is going to start doing next.
So true
"I became a champion fly fisher"
I bet his next upload will be a video
It's so great
I dying to see his new projects😂
It's kind of fitting that you wanted to try for Wizard of Oz, but first needed a "new" heart.
I have been doing community theater in the Boston area for 26 years, and it honestly has saved my life on numerous occasions.
As the director of the community theatre I regularly work with always says "his job is to make you look good, and your job is to make each other look good"
It's a team effort! If you make a mistake, the others help to cover it up.
Also, even though you've gone through the scenes a million times and know exactly how it's supposed to be, the audience does not. I've got loads of stories about things that have gone wrong on stage, mostly noticed mainly by the actors, and even if the audience does notice, it's part of the charm of live theatre
Man, even knowing that you had that stroke, I see absolutely no sign of it in you anymore. Amazing recovery, and thanks to a lot of hard work on your part, I'm sure!
@@Nvenom8. Honestly before he brought it up I was wondering if he recorded this before surgery because you cannot tell AT ALL
He can do retakes and edit. We see a 16 minute video, could've easily taken him 4-5 hours just to record
@@Zimoria oh absolutely, not denying that, just glad that he's doing well is all!
@@Zimoriatrue - still compared to that first video after…
The only thing I notice is his voice is ever-so-softer than before. It used to be a bit sharper.
So happy to see how far you've come with your recovery!
Absolutely! Hope you keep being well, Austin.
It's amazing! Wishing Austin (and everyone) good health for the future!
"I had open heart surgery and then a stroke - I'm getting over it, no worries." - Some Monty Python energy with that one.
Seriously though, as you point out, you are choosing what parts of your recovery we get to see but still, you seem to be doing a lot better. It's so great to see!
Tis only a flesh wound!
Hey Austin, just want to say that in my adult life you really have become one of my biggest inspirations to always want to challenge myself, always relishing in the trying regardless of the outcome. Break a leg, I know you’ll kill it.
genuinely. if austin can keep pushing through everything, so can i. i hope he has some idea of the impact he’d had on people.
I grew up acting in a lot of Shakespeare plays in a middle school/high school theater group, and one year I had the part of the page from the opening of "Taming of the Shrew". The play is kind of meta in that this particular role meant I got to sit in the audience the whole time and watch the play with everyone else. So I got a great view of when Petruchio threw himself on a bench and the bench broke. It remains one of my favorite memories because my fellow actors rocked the unexpected situation -- leaning into it as if it had been planned. I always admire when actors mess up or face unexpected challenges and recover in spite of it.
Good for you! I so admire this. Took some drama classes, myself, but turns out I can't memorize pages of lines (high functioning Autistic, my mind works great, but in "another way."). My teacher loved my work in class, but she was cutting us a lot of slack on the memorization. I might have been able to do film, with cuts and retakes, but I prefer being behind the camera (was a photo journalist in state and county newspapers - even won a few awards). Turns out I'm also good at interviewing and writing (have a wall full of awards for that). And, further unnecessary storytelling here: my son took two classes of improv (and was amazing) and then went out and got A PAYING GIG in a show on a riverboat. His first acting job. Paying. I'm his parent, I know, but I think that's objectively impressive. So I am also impressed with your adventure.
Your son's story reminds me a little bit of a RUclipsr named Let Me Explain Studios and how she was a theater kid as well. Except, similar to with Austin, her drama teacher mostly hated her. And when she lost out on a role that she felt she'd not only acted the best out of her class but actually also looked the part (the teacher claimed she was too tall or something), she said screw it to acting for her school and instead got roles in her community theater while still in high school. Nothing more amazing than when a songbird is able to break out of the cage and fly.
Would like a update on the Superzeroes universe to know how everything is going along
You'll have one by the end of the month!
@@austinmcconnell Great! 😃👍
My man, whatever else anyone says about your stage performance (break a leg), this one video is stupidly inspirational, and I thank you for that. Been watching you since you had subs in the 4 digit range, great to see you back at it!
I can’t explain it but theater acting is so right for you, if you said you’ve been doing it your whole life I wouldn’t question it.
Incredibly random, but it makes sense. Good for you Austin!
That's funny, we in Czech Republic don't say "Break a leg", we say "Zlom vaz" which means "Break a neck".
For performances in American Sign Language you say "Break Fingers"
And in Germany we say ‘Hals- und Beinbruch’ which means: ‘broken neck and leg’
Bought a ticket for the 18th. Looking forward to seeing you in real life for the first time! Will be my first time attending a proper play.
Community theatre is fun. Granted, I've only done it once, and the local community theatre I acted at (which sadly closed during covid and never reopened) was basically run entirely by an old lady and her two sisters (lovely old lady, mind you. Very good at getting the best performances from her cast). There were no workshops or call-backs, just one audition where you read lines to the director and she gives you some advice and you read some more lines and she calls you a week later to tell you what (if any) part you got. In my opinion, the funnest parts of theatre is when stuff goes wrong and you're forced to figure out how to shoehorn the important cues and dialogue into there somehow.
I do community theatre in my area, it's a ton of fun. And bizarrely helpful with stroke recovery for some reason. I'm sure there's some study somewhere, but something about it helps people regain language and mental clarity. My local community theatre has two members who have suffered strokes and something about learning lines and blocking was really helpful.
The first show is always the hardest and most nerve-wracking. But I found that once you are in costume it's easy to stay in character; once you hear your cue lines you can spout your own dialogue easily; once you are in amongst the other actors on stage blocking comes naturally; and the lights will mean you cannot see your audience beyond the first couple of row, so they will not distract you. The absolute best part is when you do a comedy and you can really manipulate a joke with adjusting comic timing throughout the run. You will love this, trust me. It's a thrill like no other.
Austin: has a stroke
Also Austin: oh no! Anyways
Welcome to the Theatre World my good man. I am a carpenter in the field and yeah, it gets stressful real quick. Glad you chose to give it a shot. I hope you continue after this venture.
Great to see you back happy and healthy.
This is awesome! Definitely wish I lived closer I’d come to the show to support!
Best of luck! But please don’t actually break a leg!
Break a leg, Austin!! I did community theater throughout middle and high school and it was such a fun and rewarding experience. It's great to see you facing your fears and trying something new. I'm sure you'll do great!
You're looking better with each video you shoot. I'm sure there's still some challenges we don't get to see on camera, but if I wasn't a follower who's seen that whole ordeal you been through, I'd have never guessed. At least on screen, you're back to your old self. Glad it's going well. :)
Dude, you’re just awesome. You just went for it. Love it.
Austin, you're a huge inspiration. Let me say that the trick to acting is to remember what it's like to watch a play. I catch myself rooting for the actors and even when I notice mistakes I want them to succeed and I find it endearing. If you remember that, it's less scary to get up on the stage yourself.
Hey Austin, just wanna say that the work you've put into your recovery is amazing. You've put so much work in and it shows. I would have never suspected you had a stroke if I I hadn't known already. Thank you for working as had as you do, and thank you wven more for continuing to make videos. Good luck on the up comming plays and what ever you are working on next/currently. 🤗
It's awesome to see you getting back into, well, living life! Community theater is fantastic and you're exactly the kind of personality that people like to work with in it. Know that no matter how unprepared you feel leading up to it, you'll feel ready after tech week. Just don't push yourself too hard and save some energy for the performance!
Austin, I am so incredibly proud of all you are doing and you taking on this new journey! Very inspirational! Truly.
Damn dude, looking and sounding good!
And I'm the latest episode of, "Austin Couldn't Help Himself."
I can't get over how energetic and fun he seems.
You look so good man, holy crap. I'm happy to get more videos out of you, but don't rush yourself! That said, the recovery looks absolutely great.
How exciting! I hope you have a lot of fun.
I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling well enough to do community theater! 🎉
I hope you enjoy it, and don’t push yourself too hard.
I've done several shows for Community Theater. It can be pretty fun, though the time you have to put into it is alot. I never had stage fright (for some reason) and it didn't take me a long time to get into character, but I know some people deal with those issues. Me personally I could separate myself and the character so it wasn't a big deal of diving into another persona. On stage, the lighting is such you barely can see the audience and you've gone over your lines so much at that point that it's not too bad. Plus you know the story backwards and forward at that point so if you do mess up, either you or your cast can easily recover. People going to Community Theater aren't expecting you to be the greatest in the world, so they also are pretty forgiving. Unless the whole production is crap, I think you'll be okay.
I love theatre and have been doing it for as long as ive been able to talk. Hearing people's story and first impressions to theatre always brings an ear to ear grin to my face, there's something so magically perfect about live, especially community, theatre. The community, family aspect of it is truly the heart of life. I'm so glad youre recovering well and doing theatre, I'd love to see you live on stage some day.
HE'S BACK!!!! So happy to see you back with a new video! This makes me so happy!!! Love that you are jumping back into things so quickly!
The question the whole world is wondering about Austin: WHAT WILL HE DO NEXT!!! 👀
But seriously, man, it’s great that you’re finding hobbies outside of RUclips and I wish you all the best in your new endeavors 😊
Just commenting partially for the algorithm but also to say your dedication and talent is inspirational and it's so exciting to see you trying new things and telling us about them!
Thank goodness you're getting better.
Looking forward to seeing this performance, Austin! My husband and I ordered our tickets today.
It's so cool to hear you getting into community theatre dude! It's such a fun and rewarding experience, I hope the season goes well! I have been part of a local community theatre in the capital of New Zealand for about a decade now, and my sister and I just directed our first children's production this year (ironically The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!). It's so crazy to think of how far we've come since we joined up, we started on stage of a kids' production and now we have directed one ourselves! I recommend trying out every role the theatre has to offer; acting, stage crew/management, lighting, sound, all of it! There's so much to learn from each role :)
I also have done springfield little theatre many times and am auditio ing for a show soon
It's fantastic to see you recovering so well and so quickly! I realize that an incredible amount of hard work and pain has been part of the process, so I also salute you for your perseverance!
Thank you Austin, seeing your videos about your heart surgery inspired me to do better and value my time more after my own recent (thankfully not serious) ER visit, thank you friend. Love your videos man!
I bought tickets to see this weeks ago for my birthday and now I know Austin is it? I think this may be the greatest birthday present ever.
I used to be involved in my own local community theatre, and while I have mixed feelings about my experiences during my involvement, it was/is probably the most important piece of my life during the “coming-of-age” years. I was also heavily involved in my high school’s drama department as well, and often did productions back to back!
Theatre (especially live theatre, or even better IMMERSIVE theatre) is so important for a community, imho. Together we can tell beautiful stories, hear incredible music, watch the human spirit grow, and so much more.
Cheers to your recovery and break a leg in this new endeavor!! Always wishing you well 😊
We love you Austin!
Congrats on getting cast Austin! I live in Springfield so I'll for sure come and see the show!
Congrats! That sounds so fun. I did drama in high school and I’ve so long wished to return to that exhilarating, terrifying high.
You sound so good! Keep on recovering!
In 9th grade I played the same role in "Guys and Dolls." 🤓 Good on ya for grabbing your surgery/stroke recovery by the horns, and for further challenging yourself with this new endeavor. Break a (figurative) leg!
Yay! 🎉 Super excited to see you’re feeling much better! I’m also a local, so I’ll definitely come see you at SLT!!
Man, its so enjoyable watching you just enjoying life and doing random stuff. this year i got into debate sports and volleybal both never really done before and its always more fun then expected
I love seeing you getting better❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ohhhhh snap! Hope there are still some tix available because I'm gonna be in one of them audiences. 😊 Keep it up!
Yeah, that's the way to avoid stress. Do some theater.
Seriously, good luck Austin. 👍
This is so great to hear! Glad you are back being creative Austin!
I'm excited for you. Doing community theater was some of the best time in my life, not to mention one of the best growing and learning opportunities.
Break a leg, my good man
Thanks Austin!
I am glad to hear you are getting better.
Omg love this for you! What a king!!
That's awesome! I've really enjoyed the bits of theatre I've done, even though it was also very far out of my comfort zone. Even though as you're always aiming to get everything right, something will always go wrong, but the reassuring things is that the more you act, the more comfortable and graceful you will be at working around the inevitable minor crises. Those moments of inspired and frantic problem-solving make the best stories to swap with other actors :D
I am so so glad to see such a positive update on your life. Thanks for being inspiring!
I'm delighted to see how well your recovery has come along.
I spent my later youth (highschool, college) and early-adulthood in community theater, though the last on-stage role I had was as a background chorus member in a production of G&S's "Patience" around 1983. I started out very awkward and shy; I credit the experience with making me more confident in my bearing and more able to speak to a large audience. In later years, I have been an on-and-off performer (amateur singer/songwriter, mostly Filk (the indigenous folk music of the Science Fiction and Fantasy fan community). On the other hand, other than 1 live stage performance at a Filk convention that I videotaped and posted on RUclips around 2006-2008 (of which there are two versions on my "channel"), I have never gotten up the nerve to do any sort of content for RUclips. (That performance wasn't done for RUclips, but someone asked me to post it to showcase the sign-language interpreter who was on stage with me.)
A stroke in 2017 and two rounds of chemo (2018, 2022) kind of wiped out my public performing, but I've been working on getting back to a level where I can once again successfully perform in public. It's hard, but I am determined to be worth listening to again by the end of October, and perhaps start doing concerts and open-mics again by sometime next year. At 65, it's hard to get started again, but it's something I feel I have to do.
Good luck on the show!! I have been wanting to try my hand at improv for a number of years now, and theater tickles my fancy in a similar way. Hard to really say what's holding me back but the thing that I tell myself (and is probably true to a large extent) is that I lack the time for it, having recently bought a house and started a family (and a new job).
I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this video so much
I know Austin always has wacky stories in life and does a great job getting real with his thoughts and feelings throughout the experience (all that hard work to articulate yourself in videos pays off, trust us) but I clicked thinking this was just any other ol video
But I think your passion for story telling really kicked in this video, and it reminded me of how I found your channel in the first place with your experiences making your first movie that shall not be named. I hope all the best for your performance and cast and hope that if you are able to and decide to pursue theater more you'll continue to document them for us like this as well, cheers
God I’m glad he’s recovered because his videos are *so* good
Very cool. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Good for you and your castmates. This takes a lot of a certain kind of courage.
Looking better already, Austin!
Austin- long-time subscriber and community college theatre professor/director here; so grateful you decided to take the time/risk to not only dive into this but to document(ish) the process!
There's so much I could say here- but I'll boil it down to this: while one of the oldest art forms (one that has been continually diminished by new competitors for people's eyes and minds over the past couple of millennia), theatre remains one of the most powerful tools for creating better human beings- in the audience, onstage and behind the scenes.
As you've put across in this vid, in a culture currently dominated by our over-edited, over-analyzed and reflected upon digital reality, the analog worlds that theatre creates force us to push anxiety (constantly looking forward) and depression (constantly looking backward) aside- and simply *be in the moment*. As with life in the 'real world', once the show opens, the show *must* go on. You can't redo it, you have no time to overthink it- you simply have to accept what has happened, build off of it, and move on. Not only that- but in a deeply polarized and overtly-opinionated culture, being involved with a show forces you to collaborate and bond with folks you might not choose to otherwise. Thereby creating something bigger than yourself with people you might not share the same perspective and beliefs with.
Theatre is also, by its' nature, empathy training. The actors are literally putting themselves in someone else's shoes, and the audience cannot get much out of the experience if they don't at least subconsciously connect with both the characters and the actors playing those characters. Science proves it constantly for both children and adults- all forms of 'play' are actually training for adulthood- disguised as fun. Theatre kids (no matter the age) tend to be more confident, resilient, thoughtful, patient and collaborative- and the world can definitely use more of all of that these days. The point, in the end, isn't the 'quality' of the performance or production values- it's about bringing humans together in the same space to share something with each other. So congratulations on being a small part in that- and thank you for pushing that notion forward to us here in the digital realm. Fully grown theatre kids like myself see you and appreciate you for the effort and buy-in you're giving it.
Been a while since I heard "Dooblydoo" in the wild! DFTBA! Congrats on the show! Maybe don't break a leg, tho... you've already had a turbulent year...
I'm in Springfield! Been subscribed since LG15 days. I'll come see the show!
This is simply incredible! What healing powers reside within a human being not giving up is just outright unbelievable!
So rewarding seeing you in this state now! Congrats, Austin!
Dude, you are an absolute inspiration in so many aspects. First to me as a RUclipsr, then as a knowledge seeker, now as a life enricher. I wish you absolutely nothing but the best for you and your family and I hope you have a lot of fun with your performance while still taking care of your heart.
Chiming in to also voice that I'm so proud of you!! Community theater honestly sounds so fun.
I need a Catman update, even if its "I have nothing new to show"
Tune in next week!
It is great to see how well you seem to be recovering!
Hi Austin!
Good luck.
Congrats on getting cast!! Great work!
Theater is incredibly hard work, you're an inspiration for taking on so much. I've been involved with community theater in a few productions so I know how hard actors and crew have to work together to get everything to run smoothly. I'm overcoming some health problems right now and really beating the sh*t out of them too, and I hope you continue to have luck overcoming yours. If you're already doing this so soon after open heart surgery the sky is the limit for you.
As someone who's been doing theatre professionally and otherwise for a long time, these clips looks EXTREMELY polished for comminity theatre. Usually the funds and time just aren't there. Very cool they’ve got such a strong institution there.
Great to see your improvement. Have fun with the play. Having done community theatre, I can tell you that there is nothing like that applause at the end. I can see why so many professionals fall to intoxicants. Applause, in my opinion, is the most addictive thing in the world.
Congratulations! Went online to check the theater schedule and saw a ticket would be a great birthday present to myself (if I weren’t one of those awful coastal elites).
I auditioned for my first play (Into the Woods) when I was 13 and got one of the leads - Jack. It was an extremely difficult musical and everyone else in the cast were adults, but they were very supportive. It was a great experience, I learned a ton, and I'm so glad I did it! If you're still on the edge about community theater, give it a try. The scariest thing that can happen is you get the role. :)
I've actually been in and love this adaption of Murder on the Orient Express (I played Mrs. Hubbard!)! You will do a fantastic job as Bouc!
You're sounding Much like your self again, good to hear it
I’m so glad to hear of this. Your stroke was such a shock. I’m so glad that you’re doing so well to do such a stressful and difficult thing. Way to go bro!
Awesome!
Great way to keep the heart rate manageable, ey buddy? Best of luck on the performance friend!
Lookin strong man ❤❤, hope you make a cinematic/theatrical work that would be studied for years
Great choice! I'm so glad you found such a welcoming and supportive community theatre group. I'm a keen amateur dramatist myself. In fact, I'm making my directorial debut the same week you'll be performing, directing a production of Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" in Wimborne Minster, England. I'll be keeping you, your cast mates, and the crew in my thoughts, wishing all the very best for your production! I really hope you'll enjoy the experience. 🎭❤👏👏👍
I'm actually starring as Gonzalo in my college's production of The Tempest!! Good luck with Orient Express!
Can't wait to see the show!
Hi Austin, I think joining a community theater is a terrific idea, hopefully you'll have a blast and enjoy yourself. I've been a part of the "community theater" class my faculty had in university (Faculty of Computer Science). I'm a terrible actor and the whole casting (and acting) experience was incredibly awkward for me and I guess that's at least part of the reason I've been chosen for a small acting part each of the three semesters I've had the class - the directors considered it a comic relief. It also didn't help me with getting rid of the fear of acting live at all. But with all that being said, it was a great experience and I've gained memories for my whole life there. It also just feels great working on something together as a group. I'm pretty sure this last part will be the same for you - and hopefully you'll unlock your live acting chops and enjoy that part of the process as well!
Good for you! You're a braver man than I am, Austin. I can recall doing some silly little plays in grade school and some reader's theater (where you have the script in front of you the whole time) in college, but getting into costume and into character and being up on stage and performing in front of actual people is way beyond me. Break a leg! I know you'll do great. Be sure and tell us how it went.
I’m going on my 40th production (my next show opens this coming weekend, actually) so I loved this vid! Us theatre nerds looove newcomers, especially those with untapped talent. I’ve seen so many people get that “theatre bug” after their first show and next thing you know, they’re doing shows constantly lol. Break a leg! I hope this is the start of a beautiful stagey relationship for you 💕
oh and P.S. I also did Guys & Dolls in high school and did absolutely nothing for that show 😂
At this point, Austin's completed 90% of life's side quests.