Anderson Cooper Meets Volunteers for Hurricane Victims

Dozens of college and university students from around the United States spent an alternative Spring Break volunteering in New Orleans, helping rebuild homes for Katrina-area victims. Partnering with different groups on each campus, students traveled to Louisiana, giving up what could have been a typical week of awesome parties.



Kaity was there with her fellow UA students when CNN's Anderson Cooper broadcast Anderson Cooper 360° as part of his Road to Rescue series. He highlighted the post-Hurricane volunteer efforts while also debating AIG bail-out issues and entitlements with financial pundits and experts. Kaity texted home during the broadcast, and phoned home in-between commercial breaks to share her excitement.

Kaity's Mom and Dad watched the live show together back home, with Mom (me) pointing to the TV screen whenever the camera panned and Kaity waived.

During Kaity's dedicated week of volunteerism (March 15-22), she put her theatre production skills to work building a chicken coop, pouring concrete, caulking decking, and hammering and nailing her way to help folks reclaim their lives. It was a busy, tiring, fact-filled and eye-opening 7 days, with less-than-comfy living conditions, but well worth the trek, as Kaity reports. Kaity would like to volunteer again during next year's spring break.

UA Alumnus Geraldo Rivera Visited Campus

Kaity was one of dozens of University of Arizona students waiting to meet and greet American journalist and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo came to his alma mater to promote the release his new book His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S. You can tell by Kaity's grin that she is enjoying the moment.

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.

Floyd Lands In Tucson

Top American cyclist Floyd Landis poses with National Anthem singer Kaity Bayne, at El Tour de Tucson XXIV. Kaity had just finished performing the Star-Spangled Banner at the 109-Mile First Magnus Event Start. This photo was taken atop the scaffolding that overlooked the crowd. See more photos of Kaity at events on Mom's Flickr page.

AIDSWALK Tucson

This morning, Kaity sang the National Anthem at the Opening Ceremony of the AIDSWalk Tucson. Standing on the stage on the University of Arizona mall, you could hear her beautiful voice echo over the loudspeakers at 8:15 a.m. Yes, it was another early morning for this teen vocalist.

Photo Credit: Picture by jcelentano

Summer on Stage 2006 at the University of Arizona

In August, Kaity played two roles in Steve Martin's comedy "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" -- Schmendiman (male) and, oddly enough, Schmendiman's (female) admirer. The play was staged at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, Arizona.

Also playing this month was "Godspell the Musical." Kaity sang a solo as a philosopher.

Both plays were produced as part of Arizona Theatre Company's Summer on stage program, in cooperation with the Arizona Reperatory Theatre and the University of Arizona's Fine Arts Department. High school students from around Arizona hone their acting skills in this annual summer program.

Will We Ever Top This?

Imagine what your life would be like if you were 16 years old and in your element all summer long.

Here you see Kaity posing with Conductor Erich Kunzel, who directed the National Symphony Orchestra for "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.

Just to recap...

In June, Kaity sang in "Smokey Joe's Cafe, a musical review staged at a local Tucson high school. Then at the end of June, off she went to our nation's capitol to sing with the chorus for "A Capitol Fourth." Kaity's Aunt Ann belongs to The Choral Arts Society of Washington, which performed in the broadcast.

Now that Kaity's back, she is rehearsing in ATC's Summer on Stage program for high school students. Performances will be in August.

Will we ever top this summer? Well,the bar has been raised. Bring on the challenge.

Teen Pop Singer and Actress JoJo

Kaity found she had a lot in common with JoJo, who sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the annual July Fourth concert at the U.S. Capitol.

Kaity and JoJo are both teenagers learning to drive this year. And both young women sing the National Anthem at sports events. JoJo has sung at the SuperBowl, while Kaity has opened the Tucson Sidewinders and Arizona Wildcats games.

[ tags: National Anthem, teen singers ]

Country Star Jo Dee Messina

Kaity was elated when one of her favorite country artists Jo Dee Messina asked chorus members if she could rehearse "God Bless America" with them for "A Capitol Fourth." Word has it that Jo Dee had never sung the patriotic song before in public, so she was learning it on the spot.

"I was smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt," said Kaity, who stood a few feet away from Jo Dee while they both ran through their parts.

[ tags: Independence Day, Tucson singer ]

Singer Vanessa Williams

Kaity met singer Vanessa Williams, one of the performers on "A Capitol Fourth."

"She was really nice," said Kaity, who posed with the former Miss America during a break in rehearsals. Vanessa had brought family along and asked Kaity if she'd seen them and to point her in that direction.

[ tags: Independence Day, Tucson singer ]