Official Website of Christopher Showerman

Saturday, September 02, 2006

New York!

Happy September, Friends!

I'm FINALLY back online here. I have been spending most of my time in rehearsal for the LEGENDS! show. New York truly is the city that never sleeps and I've been sparse on sleep myself but it's all so exciting it doesn't seem so important! Thank you all for posting on the last topic. I have had limited access to the internet and no access to the blog until today so please know I have read all your posts and appreciated every one even though I wasn't able to respond.

Joan and Linda are wonderful to watch and work with. They both have so much energy and passion for what they do - that must be what keeps them so young! We also have a magnificent director, John Bowab, who is a magician with comedy and conflict. Tonye Patano from the TV Show WEEDS plays a very funny part in the play as well. It is turning out to be a really fun show and a great experience.

I will be in New York for only a few more days and then we leave for our only Canadian destination on the tour, Toronto. I will hopefully be able to post some pictures from Toronto as it is one of the prettiest and cleanest cities I have ever been to. Packing for this extended adventure has been interesting. When you live out of a suitcase, you really get the opportunity to find out what is really important and what you can live without. It is a great way to shed the "excess baggage" literally and figuratively without feeling deprived. Food for thought!

Thank you all for writing in. I can't wait to see what you come up with this week!

PS: I had a chance to go to one broadway show with my publicist last Sunday called "History Boys". Fantastic performances and thought provoking plot. No leg room though. Also saw the movie "The Illusionist" last night. GREAT MOVIE - that's all I'll say, I don't want to give it away.

Have a fantastic holiday weekend and I'll be checking back in from my extended stay in Toronto!

All Things Possible!
Chris

21 Comments:

At 9:06 PM, September 02, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Chris,
Looks like I might be the first to thank you for "checking in" with us while you are on tour. As I think you know, I also enjoy occasional trips to the "Big Apple" and will certainly mark down "The History Boys" to try and see on my next trip. I haven't been to Toronto in years - but I agree with you that it is a very clean city, and a great place to spend a few days!

Thanks for the packing tip - it sounds like good advice for both traveling and life (I always tend to overpack for both).

Dave
At 1:24 PM, September 03, 2006 , Christopher Showerman said...

Hey Dave!

Thanks for being the first to post. You live kind of close to Toronto don't you? We'll be in town for 7 weeks if you happen to find yourself there let me know!

Be well!!

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 3:53 PM, September 03, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hi everyone! Great to hear from you Chris and thanks for letting us know such good news about you and this your great experience. I'm looking forwand to hearing what you will tell us in the next weeks and months and hope you will be able to post some pictures too. Also thanks you and Sue for your kind words about my previous post and Sue i would love to visit the United States and Canada sometime.

Hope everyone is fine and have a great week!

Have a fantastic week and tour Chris and hope to hear from you soon!

Alex in Turin, Italy
At 9:55 AM, September 04, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hi Chris,
Yep, I am only about a 4-5 hour drive from Toronto (according to Mapquest at least) and am actually thinking of making a trip to the Stratford Festival near Toronto to catch some shows - so who knows? Are you able to predict what performances you would be acting in? Or is it a case of you needing to be ready every night "just in case?"

I notice that you will also be in Toronto during their famed International Film Festival - I hope you get a chance to see some of the great films that I am sure will be showcased there over the next couple of weeks!

Be well yourself - and "break a leg" whenever necessary!

Dave
At 8:31 PM, September 04, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Best wishes on your opening in Toronto, Chris. What an odyssey you are on, with the Legends!
Dave, I hope you'll be able to connect up with Chris in Toronto...and you're right, it sounds awesome to be there during the the International Film Festival.
A special thank you to Alex for your note about my posting...I really do hope to someday visit both France and Italy.
Wishing all the forum family wonderful new September beginnings on your own personal odyssey, too! Sue
At 5:52 PM, September 07, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Happy September, all!

The Labor Day weekend at Deer Lake in Pennsylvania was beautiful and relaxing. Having dinner on the porch while looking at the lake and watching the deer eat near the tall grass makes one very reflective on why we are all here.

Chris, enjoy your travels! Remember that you are doing a job, but you are also living a life while you are gone...so make sure you live it to the fullest. Experience all you can, be aware of everything around you, and lock this time in your memory so that you have a great memory book to read later when the traveling is less.

I hope to be able to catch one of the shows. I am equidistant to Toronto, Washington, and Philadelphia. I also travel back and forth to Chicago for business, so I really hope one of those shows has me in the audience!

What plans does the Forum Family have for this fall? I am "cleaning house" and donating a lot of items to charity in an effort to downsize my weekly cleaning and maintenance. I also will be doing some traveling to Miami in October and Salt Lake City in November.

I trust this epistle finds everyone in the Family well and healthy. I look forward to hearing from all of you!

By the way, my friend Jonathan in back to work and his life seems to be normalizing. Thanks to all who sent positive thoughts his way!

Take care of yourselves!
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 8:26 AM, September 08, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hey Chris,

Where will Legends! be taking you? I still try to keep up with my theater children and would like to see your latest show. I am still in Lansing and helping Heywood at Sunsets with Shakespeare (in my spare time).

I found your website just last week and shared it with KT Pupp. She was in Toronto Labor Day weekend at a car race.

I love the positive comments that you share in your interviews. Keep it up!

Love and Blessings
Mama Gwen
At 9:15 AM, September 08, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hi Chris,

I looked up the Legends tour schedule on line and I see opening night is Tuesday 9/12. Wishing you and the cast much success. Break a leg!

Do you have any photos of the Royal Alexandra theatre? I'd love to have a virtual tour. I look forward to hearing more about your adventures in Toronto.

Sending positive energy,

Nisha
At 4:27 AM, September 09, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Morning Chris,
So I see that Legends will bring you back to MSU in November. What at great time to be home.

What part do you have?
It sounds like a great show and tour!
Enjoy Toronto and break a leg.

Love and Blessings
Mama Gwen
At 10:40 AM, September 09, 2006 , Christopher Showerman said...

Howdy!!

Thanks for all the well wishes and great comments. Toronto has been every bit as hospitable as it's reputation. It has rained a lot since we have been here but we have spent most of the time inside the theater (where this post is coming from!) I have had trouble posting some pictures for you but as soon as we get that technical issue ironed out, I'll put up pics along the way. The Toronto Film Festival is happening this week here as well as the TASTE of TORONTO fair right across the street from our theater. This morning I looked out my window to see a parade of Bag Pipers and brightly dressed marchers celebrating something else (don't know what) so it's very festive here at the moment!!

I recently bought a foldable bicycle as well. It folds down to the size of a large briefcase. Pretty cool!!

If you'd like me to send you some updates and pictures along the way, just email me with TOUR NEWSLETTER in the subject line and I'll get you images that way.

Be Well!!

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 8:44 PM, September 09, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Film, food, fun, and a folding bicycle - sounds like your tour is off to an exciting start! Glad you were able to find a moment to check in.

By the way, I hope that you have time to let us know how that foldable bicycle rides - does it have full size wheels?

Take care!

Dave
At 5:39 AM, September 10, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Chris, good morning!

What fun you are already having, and the tour has just begun! Toronto is beautiful with or without rain. And the city is so eclectic, you may today see bagpipers and tomorrow see steel drum players!

I trust the rest of the Family is doing well. It is cool here in Pittsburgh today. The city was quite sad this past week with the passing of our mayor, Bob O'Connor, from a very rare form of brain lymphoma. He just took office in January and everyone was looking forward to great accomplishments from him for our city.

We are having three new windows put in our home today, which will be an interesting Sunday activity. And then later I am off to a pin collectors' meeting at the Hard Rock Cafe. I am presenting three designs for pins to be sold from our cafe in 2007. One pin of which I am particularly proud is a guitar with a dangling blood bag that says "Save the Planet. Save a Life. Donate Blood." If this pin design is accepted, it will be sold during January, which is National Blood Donation Month...so everyone plan to give a pint in January!

Love and good wishes to all,
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 8:11 PM, September 10, 2006 , Anonymous said...

To Chris and forum family...

Toronto does sound exciting, especially with the film festival there. Sounds like an awesome time to visit the city. While I've never had the pleasure of being in Toronto (hard to believe) I do hope to get there sometime, as well as on to Montreal and Nova Scotia. Always on the back burner. But sometimes we need a nudge to get priorities in place and move some of those things to the front burner. Me especially.

Chris, it sounds like all of us are pretty curious about the folding bicycle! And it's hard to keep from picturing you folding and unfolding it to get to all the movie venues! Maybe you can post a picture of you with it...guess you could be a courier now, too!

Patrick, it has been cool here in Michigan, as well. Suddenly we in the mid-west feel the touch of autumn...it's a bit of a sad feeling to see summer go, yet the change of seasons is also good for the soul, I think. My California daughter, who is now in Virginia for a year, probably wouldn't agree with me! She loves the sunshine and warmth.

Sorry to hear about your mayor. I lost a dear friend from a lymphoma type of cancer two years ago. It happened so quickly. The past couple of years I've been asked to help with the fundraising for a cure, and that effort is coming up again this month. Your posting reminded me to start working on that.

Your pins you've designed sound great. I look forward to perhaps giving blood again then. Hope you will give us an update about them! I'm skipping the September drive because that day I hope to walk with a local man who is walking the length of Michigan this month and also raising money for charity. It's been on the news some, perhaps you've seen it. If not, I'll report back about how I do with it!

Lara, I really appreciate your note about my posting about work. I'm getting the feeling that most of the forum family are thinking about the priorities in their lives. It is so interesting to get perspectives from people in different states here in the U.S. and from other countries, I really enjoy you all very much. Best wishes and prayers as you zero in on those things that are important to you and continue to discover your purpose in life.

Well, opening night is nearly here. God Bless, Chris. We'll all be waiting to hear all about it! ATP! of course, Sue
At 2:34 PM, September 13, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hello fellow forum family members!!
How great to hear how everyone is doing! And some new names out here too it seems. Welcome to the family.
Patrick: your Deer Lake weekend sounds wonderful and so much stuff going on in your life! Good luck with the pin designs.
Lara: Glad you enjoyed the China pics. I'm sure you'll do fine in focussing on your priorities there.
Sue, Dave, Alex- I found your posts very interesting to read and I agree with Sue that it is good to get some different perspectives on things- from all over the world in this case.
Chris: I enjoyed your updates very much- thanks for sharing and keep us posted.

And why is that everybody seems so interested in your foldable bike? *lol* Over here in the Nethies they are quite common..but I guess that is no surprise in a country that is (in-)famous for its many bicycles.

We are having some nice last days of summer with temperatures even higher than my hubby in China is having! Still I look forward to autumn. I love the colors of fall and the windy days. :)

Finally a little note on behalf of our forum sister ANGI: she is sorry to say she will be absent for a bit- that is, she will be trying to keep up reading all the comments but she will have to restrain from posting herself. She is having trouble typing with one hand. ;) She has been out larping (live action role playing) over the weekend and took a nasty tumble and broke her arm. She might need an operation- that decision will be made tomorrow. Funny enough she was 'in character' at the time of the accident. Her character being a Dryad (tree-person-thingy) it is rather ironic she seems to be 'tackled' by a tree trunk. ;)
So, Angi: GET WELL SOON! All the best and big hugs.

Take care everyone and watch out for that..tree!
Be Inspired!
At 2:59 PM, September 13, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hello dear friends!

Chris, what's up? We want details...

Lara, thanks for teaching us that Merhaba means hello in your language. I will use it! And thanks for your comments about Jonathan. It seems like the horrible event almost never happened. How time heals wounds.

Sue, thanks for your time spent on fund raising for any type of charity. And your helping the man walk through Michigan sounds very interesting. Do you have any web links with the full story?

Angi, so sorry to hear of your mishap. May you heal quickly and get back to connecting with us in the Forum.

Enjoy the rest of your time for what little of the week we have left. And go to bed happy about your day!

Love to all.
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 6:46 PM, September 13, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hello again...

Tim, Jaschenka and Patrick...good to hear from you. Guess we all look forward to hearing about opening night!

I liked what you wrote about the folding bike, Jaschenka. Hope to someday get to your country, as well, and see all those bicycles! We are light years behind you guys when it comes to sensible transportation!

All the best Angi...sending you ATP wishes and hope we hear from you on the forum again soon. And Tim, glad you are OK after your fall.

Thanks for the note about the walk, Patrick. I haven't heard yet from our walker, Clayton Klein, since he's on the road. I keep trying to find updated news stories on the web...these two links are from August in the Chicago Tribune (he was on the travel page) but topix is the closest I found to that. And the other is the Detroit News...that one has a photo. Neither article really tells the whole story, but you get the idea. I'll try to explain more later after I hook up with him when he arrives in our area on Monday. He is truly an inspiration!

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/METRO04/609010406/1003/METRO

http://www.topix.net/content/trb/0851282732236882563531448838831683288198

Hope these links work. In any case, he has inspired me to keep on walking! I agree with Tim, staying healthy being the best way to live. Wishing the best of health to all the forum family...Sue
At 7:28 PM, September 13, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Thanks for the links on Clayton Klein, Sue. I've always secretly admired people like him who do something interesting and raise awareness and funds for charity to boot! Did you hear about the group of high school boys from the Toledo, Ohio area (Rossford)who just walked from Toledo to Ground Zero in NYC to raise funds for the survivors of 9/11? So a lot of good can come by just putting your best foot forward!

By the way, I hope everyone signed up for Chris's email newsletter - got the first one this week and it included pictures of his stay in Toronto and some of his fellow cast members.

Dave

PS I'm still trying to fold my bicycle!
At 7:55 PM, September 13, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Dave, just saw your post and thanks for the comments. No I hadn't heard about the walk you speak of. Is there a link to that? Yes Clayton is quite the adventurer. He actually walked across Michigan twice and last year he also walked the length. This is his first time combining it with charitable causes and inviting people to walk with him. He hopes it will go great and next year do it up even bigger. I forgot to mention, he calls it walking from Paradise (town at top of Upper Michigan) to Hell (town down here by us) and Beyond (to Ohio border). Last year there were articles about him with the governor at the Mackinac Bridge Walk, as he arrives there in time for that on Labor Day. So far I haven't found any current update, but I will by this weekend. There may be a TV interview here and there too. Thanks for asking! Sue
At 7:17 PM, September 14, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Lara,
I got the newsletter on the 11th - but I signed up on the 9th. I can't post the pictures directly, but I'm sure Chris won't mind if I pass along the text - so here it is:

Howdy All!!

Thanks so much for the response for the LEGENDS tour newsletter. I hope some of this is entertaining and enlightening! My goal is to give you my behind the scenes experience being on tour with Joan Collins and Linda Evans. At the moment, I don't have any pictures of these two ladies as they don't like to be photographed without warning so they can always look fabulous in pictures. We have a performance tonight so I'll hopefully be able to get you all some pictures of them then.

The pictures I have attached so far are of the two guys I am understudying - Will and Ethan. I find it funny that they are so different and I'm nothing like either of them. Also, there is a picture of the view from the roof of our building from the Jacuzzi on the 28th floor. (Note the CN tower in the background!) We haven't yet had a lot of time to use the Jacuzzi, but it is nice just to know there's one there should the opportunity show itself. It will only be open for another few weeks before they close it for the winter. The final picture is the actor's point of view from the stage of our first theater (The Royal Alexander in Toronto).

Keep me posted with all that is going on with all of you!

PS: If you got this newsletter in error, just send a quick reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

All Things Possible!
Chris

**********************

Given his limited access to the internet these days, this note may have to hold us all for awhile (though we can all keep each other company, of course).

We are looking forward to a beautiful late summer/early fall weekend here in Southeastern Michigan and Northwest Ohio! I hope that everyone else's is beautiful in both weather and experiences.

Dave
At 9:05 AM, September 15, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Hey Everyone!

It's a party in here!! Great to read everything you have all been up to. Thank you so much for keeping the good energy going in here. It realy gives me a boost to read it all!! As you may have noticed by my absence, it has been very busy here. Tuesday was the unofficial opening night. The audience ate up Joan and Linda and got every joke and punchline. Some of the references are even before my time so I had to ask why some of the jokes were funny.

Patrick! Congrats on the pin design. I'm saving up a pint for January for you. Hope they pick you design.

Sue! Thanks for the link to Clayton Klein's articles. What an inspiration to keep us all healthy and active regardless of age!

Jaschenka! I have a picture of the folding bike and a funny/sad story that I will include in the next newsletter. So for all interested parties, if you haven't signed up yet, be sure to send me an email!!

Laura, I'll double check that you are on the list. Many Thanks to Dave W for posting the text. Dave, you're the best!

Tim! Great to hear from you again and you'll have to send in a pic of your new puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck with the arm, Angi! Casts can be cool because everyone wants to sign them! And now you can put on your resume that you do your own stunts!!

Hey Gwen!! If you're looking for more information about the LEGENDS tour, you can go to the official website at www.legendsthecomedy.com. You'll notice that my name isn't up there yet (at least last I checked) because I waited so long to join the show the website had already gone up.

Nisha, I promise more pics of the Royal Alexander theater in the next newsletter! Thanks for asking.

And speaking of royal Alexes, thanks Alex for checking in from Italy. If you haven't yet, please be sure to send me an email with TOUR NEWSLETTER in the subject so I can get you on the list and send you pics from the tour.

All the best to all of you. Be good to each other!

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 12:19 PM, September 15, 2006 , Anonymous said...

Chris, my face lights up when I read your posts in the Forum. Even though we have not physically met, I feel that you are a part of my lifecircle, and I love you being there. Thanks!

Hope everyone is well. Just downloaded a truckfull of kitchen/household goods and holiday items to St. Vincent de Paul Charity here in Pittsburgh. It felt good to make the donation, and even better to downsize the storage in the basement! Next we will donate the living room furniture as we do not use it that often. We just need two La-Z-Boys and a humongous TV and life is good!

Finished up a huge document import project at work that took my energy for the past 2.5 months. Now I get a breather before starting another energy-draining project. Guess that's why they pay me....

Heard from a friend that just attended the grand opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Narita, Japan. He has wonderful stories and pictures to share about some amazing folks he met along the way and while there. Can't wait to hear the adventures!

Have a fun weekend, everyone! Do something you would not usually do and be aware of everything around you...something will have a message for you that you do not want to miss! (I am starting to sound like a sequel to the Celestine Prophecy!)

Love to all,
Patrick in Pittsburgh

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Saturday, September 02, 2006

New York!

21 Comments:

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