PEAS and Thank You

Kaity designed pea-themed Thank You cards to sell through CafePress. She's donating her entire store owner mark-up ($5.00 profit per box) to the Frozen Pea Fund in honor of Susan Reynolds. Susan is an avid blogger who revealed on Twitter.com that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. You can follow Susan's posts on her personal blog "Boobs on Ice."

Kaity plans to minor in graphic arts in college and she is starting to build her art portfolio. She'll upload other original designs to her CafePress store, using the proceeds from these other products to help finance a replacement car following the teen's recent car accident, as well as donate funds to other charities.

Kaity's First Car

Car accidents are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in the United States, so we don't share this picture lightly. It is a frightening reminder that you can never be too careful around construction zones, especially at night.

After assuming ownership of Grandma's car on Thanksgiving, Kaity is now car-less but alive. Friends and family are grateful that Kaity and her friend Libby walked away from the horrible accident that the girls experienced Saturday night.

El Tour de Tucson

Kaity sang the Star Spangled Banner for the second year in a row at Tucson's annual bicycle event -- warbling on top of the world, above the crowd at the 109-mile event start. Like last year, she was filmed and photographed by various media outlets from around the world.

After this race start, we drove over to the 66-mile event start. Kaity was so tired from having gotten up at o'dark thirty that she slept in the car until shortly before the second start.

My Sister's Keeper

The Pima County Public Library creates book trailers in the summertime, enlisting local teens as directors and actors. Kaity was cast as the leukemia-stricken sister in "My Sister's Keeper." The production was shot in late June 2007 in Tucson, but the finished video interpretation of Jodi Picoult's novel has just been uploaded to YouTube. Photos from behind the scenes of the library book trailer are on Flickr.

American Idol Auditions in Omaha

With a week-long break between the end of Summer on Stage and Kaity's senior year, we hopped on a plane last Tuesday to go to the American Idol Season 7 auditions in Omaha, Nebraska. Sure, it's a long shot, but we decided the experience of being behind the scenes of a major reality TV/talent show would be a unique way to end the summer.

Registration was pretty fast. We stood in line only a couple of hours (on Wednesday) to get our wrist bands and tickets. The audition/cattle call was two days away (on Friday), which means we had plenty of time to go sightseeing and/or catch up on our sleep after getting up at o-dark-thirty.

One interesting perk -- we got to see first-hand just how far people will go to get a shot at fame. Such desperate individuals included a guy dressed in a bathrobe and shower cap and another guy dressed as Cupid, complete with homemade wings. Predictably, they each advanced to the next round, which means they've cemented their places (and reputations) in pop culture history.

Snow Angel by David Lindsay-Abaire

Kaity plays Frida Jensen, the angry and sad outcast, in the comedy/drama "Snow Angel," at the Temple of Music and Art, August 1 and 3.

In the Pretzel Knot cafe, Helen reads Frida's private journal out loud.

Play Description: When Deerpoint, Vermont is hit by the biggest blizzard in over a century, a mysterious girl named Eva steps out of a snow bank and into the lives of 15 confused teenagers. What Eva's searching for -- and who she is -- becomes a mystery that baffles, divides, and energizes the teens of Deerpoint. Told through journal entries and interactions among the students, "Snow Angel" is a funny and eerie tale of teen angst, discovery, and the power of believing. ~ Buy this script at Playscripts, Inc.

Professional Directors and Choreographers On Board

For her third year, Kaity is enrolled in Arizona Theater Company's Summer on Stage. The Arizona Daily Star covered the program, picturing Kaity in a warm-up exercise.

The five-week program culminates next week with two performances — a musical, "Lucky Stiff"; and a comedy about teen angst, "Snow Angel" — opening at the Temple of Music and Art. ~ Photo by Kelly Presnell; article by Levi J. Long, Arizona Daily Star, 07/27/2007

Kaity is cast in "Snow Angel." Read more here.

Teen Advocacy Video for Public Library

Kaity spent the day acting in a teen advocacy video being produced by the Tucson's Pima County Public Library. The story -- an update of John Hughes' classic "The Breakfast Club" (1985) -- is designed to encourage and educate teens on how to use the library. The video will be distributed in the fall to various community outlets and syndicated on the Web.

Library staff and Tucson-based Pan Left Productions shot the video on location in downtown Tucson, Arizona. I spent the day streaming video on Kaity's BlogTV channel "Summer Days" to give everyone a sense of being on the set.


Kaity has appeared in previous projects involving Pan Left Productions, including "My Sister's Keeper," a book trailer for the public library, and "Innocent Convictions," a University of Arizona student film.

Kaity on BlogTV

Kaity has her own channel on BlogTV. What does she do? Why, she sings along to Karaoke backing tracks, of course. How else do you practice in front of an audience every day? Click to hear Kaity sing the song "Popular" from the musical Wicked.

Stephanie J. Block from Broadway's Pirate Queen

Kaity is seen with actress and musical performer Stephanie J. Block by the stage door at the Hilton Theatre in New York. Stephanie plays Grace (Grania) O'Malley in The Pirate Queen. A few days later on May 31, Stephanie appeared on NBC's Today Show, singing "The Wedding Ring," a song from the musical.

Kaity appeared in an unrelated production called The Pirate Queen at Live Theatre Workshop in Tucson a few years ago. Still, it was exciting to see the Broadway version, with all its amazing costumes and sets. By the way, Stephanie is also known for her role as Elphaba in the musical Wicked, another show that is near and dear to Kaity's heart.

There were several wonderful songs in the Pirate Queen that would make great audition pieces for Kaity. I pre-ordered the cast album on Amazon. It'll be out in July.

Tucson City Government - Senior Olympics

Kaity sang the National Anthem at the Opening Ceremonies of the Tucson Senior Olympics on Saturday, January 20, 2007. The event is a program of the Tucson Parks & Recreation Department. On hand was Mayor Bob Walkup and former CNN news anchor Lou Waters, who served as MC.