Act 1: The First 30 Years

It’s been said that every person’s life can be measured in 3 acts, like a play or a movie. Well, if that’s true, then Act 1 of my life has officially come to an end. Years 1-29 officially came to a successful completion on this day, January 30, 2006, also known as my 30th birthday. So, let’s see if I can review 30 years of highlights for one blog entry:

1976 - 1980 The Baby Years

• January 30, 1976 - Hello, world!
• Lot of crying, sleeping, eating and peeing.
• I was a C-section baby. Which means…uh, nothing, I guess.
• I only have two memories from these years. My first (age 2) is my parents packing to move into our new house. My second is walking into our new house in So. Lawrence (5 Roberta Lane) and seeing a million pots and pans. Good first memories. Weird, but good.

1981 - 1985 The Early Years

• Kindergarten - Who had the balloon-letter people? (Nice pants you put me in, ma.)
• 1st grade - My (hopefully) one and only fight. I remember punching away at a kid. Why? Beats me, it was first grade. He probably stole my paste.
• 2nd grade - Got moved to an "advanced reading class". Go, me. My parents gave me an E.T.-themed birthday party. E.T. cake, E.T. cups and plates, the works. (sniff) I love that little guy.
• 3rd grade – Teacher’s name was Miss Devine. Awww.
• 4th grade - I was in the city-wide (that's all of Lawrence, folks) spelling bee. I came in...second (d'oh!). Never forget it...I misspelled "maintain" as m-a-i-n-t-a-n-e (d'oh, again!) Ah, well. Still second place for a city-wide bee ain't bad, is it? But I came in first for the school-wide science fair. My project was...um...I forget. But it was first place!

1986 - 1990 The Junior High Years

• 5th grade - Miss Stacey, the most gorgeous teacher I ever had. The first half of the year, she was just "the teacher". But during Christmas break, adolescence kicked in, because after that, she was "THE TEACHER!" in short skirts and high heels.
• 6th grade - Only time in my life where I could say..."I'm the tallest kid in the class!"
• 7th grade - My teacher was Mrs. Windish...who was formerly...Miss Stacey! (see 5th grade) That's right. She got married, and moved up to 7th grade. Thank God for those short skirts. Also had my first kiss...with an 8th grader! Ha, older woman! Take that, world!
• 8th grade – School band. Was I a good trumpet player? Noooooooooooope.
• Played 5 years of Little League. Was I a good hitter? You bet. In the field? Not so much.
• First theater production ever, "Oliver Twist" (1988). Instantly fell in love with theater.
• Played Captain Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music". Possibly the only time I'll ever have the male lead in a musical.
• 4 years of Boy Scouts. (Future blog entry pending.)
• My mother's older sister, my Aunt Rose, died of a lung disease. Sadly, her father (my grandfather) died 7 months later.
• Paper route for 3 years. Never forget the family who gave me $100 tips for Christmas.

1990 - 1994 The Central Catholic High School (CCHS) Years *

* Could probably max out my blog just with CCHS stories. For now, some high (and low) lights.

• Ran Cross Country (sucked) and Indoor Track (sucked even more)
• Joined the CCHS theater guild. Finally got back into theater, where I belonged.
• Got a job at the Andover McDonalds. Ugh. Let us never speak of that again.
• Went out with a girl who was a head taller than me, who a lot of other guys liked, but she liked me. We can speak of that all you want.
• Got my driver's license. First accident was with my friend’s next door neighbor. D’oh!
• Traveled up and down the east coast, including Florida (Disney World) and also made trips to Canada.
• Junior prom. (I vow to never do the Electric Slide again)
• Senior prom. (So much for that vow.)
• Joined the Sacred Heart passion play. (1994)

1994 - 1998 The UMASS, Amherst Years

• Let’s see, Merrimack College or UMASS…well, since I want to be "away" from home, the choice is UMASS. (How life may have been different if it had gone the other way.)
• UMASS theater guild. (God, this theater program sucks!)
• Frat parties, lab experiments, papers and really, really bad shows.
• Direct a one-act play that gets rave reviews from my professors.
• Four different roommates. What, do I smell or something?
• Traveled to Washington, DC, New York City and back to Florida.
• Women!! (Sorry, ladies.) I was having major problems with not one, but two different girls. (No, not at the same time.) Ah, the wonders of breaking up, getting dumped and being told "It's not you, it's me"!
• I turn 21 (1997) I can legally drink! Not a big drinker, but let's hear it for milestones.

1998 - Present The MVP Years & The Directing Years

• Joined the Merrimack Valley Players with "Damn Yankees." (1998)
• Moved from actor to passion play co-director with Shannon. Five very fun, very crazy and very educational years ensue.
• "Crazy For You", "Forum", "How to Succeed" (All great.)
• "Bathroom Humor", "42nd St.", "Just So" (Even better.)
• "The Wake of One, Ira Chang" (Best of all.) First time serving as writer, director and actor all at once.
• MVP starts a new tradition with the Christmas concert. Welcome, Sue, as MVP's new musical director. (2002)
• A week in Las Vegas with friends (2003) ("I don’t want your porn, leave me alone!")
• My mom's mother, my final living grandparent passes away (2003)
• My final year with the Sacred Heart passion play. (2003)
• 8-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean islands. Highly recommended.
• Get paid for the first time to do theater with 2 staged readings at Merrimack.
• Cast in my first professional show at the Palace Theater in Manchester, NH. (2005)
• 30th birthday party (January 28, 2006.)

Whew. Not a bad first act. Summer vacations in the White Mountains. Boy scout craziness. Report cards. Confirmation classes. Rehearsals, shows, and cast parties. Girlfriends. Laughter. Sadness. Friendship. Love. Yep, it’s all in there.

Thanks to people like Eddie B., Steve and Tim D., Shannon, Dave, Nicole, Sheila, Kristina, Jeff and all the folks at MVP for a great Act 1. Special thanks to Lori B. for turning me onto the world of theater.

What does Act 2 have in store? No idea. I can only hope it brings plenty of memories and new milestones (i.e., marriage, kids, etc.).

"Stage manager": Glenn, you’re on in 2.

Well, gotta go. Enjoy the second Act. I know I will.

(And as the curtain rises on Act 2, we see…)