Sarah and I first landed in Missoula in Dec 2014 anxious and excited for the journey ahead. Before landing, the pilot came over the intercom to warn we were going to circle in the air for a bit as the ground crew attempted to de-ice the runway. “What have we gotten ourselves into?” is all I could think in the moment. As it turns out we were getting into some of the most rewarding times of our lives. Initially signing on for a winter tour we hit the road with The Jungle Book touring the Pacific Northwest from January through May of 2015. I still look back at our first week out and thank our lucky stars for Andrew Coopman (our on-the-road trainer) who refused to let us fail. Our second week was when we experienced the true impact MCT makes. Following our Saturday performance, Sarah was approached by the father of “Wolfy” who recounted to her that his son was on the spectrum and typically non-verbal. Our show was the first time he had heard his son speak in ages.
After that tour, we eagerly signed a year contract, taking Rapunzel across the entire Midwest with an extended stay in Canada. Sarah and I lovingly nicknamed this tour the “Turn Left Onto the Unpaved Road” tour, as this became a phrase frequently spoken by our GPS. It is during that year we were able to see the World’s Largest Ball of Twine and the World’s Largest Covered Porch Swing. We also met some incredible people during this year including a homestay, in Canada, who packed us lunch every day.
Following that year, Sarah and I settled into a regional theatre for summer stock before being lured back to the jungle one more time, including the opportunity to travel to a Navy installation in Italy; bringing theatre to military kids who really aren’t exposed to it outside of MCT was incredible. The casts were enthusiastic, the contact and families welcomed us with open arms, and the food! Oh, the food!
After Italy, we were ready for a change of pace. We still had desires to perform and make an impact but also to be somewhere a little more permanent. We moved back to NYC and I took a job managing restaurants while Sarah began working with a nonprofit bringing theatre and physical therapy to children in hospitals. That was until 2020 when Covid hit and our world was rocked. The industries we had relied on to survive were gone. It took some time and prayer, but we determined it was time for another change. In April 2021, I enlisted in the U.S. Army. It was something that Sarah and I had talked about many times before, but the timing hadn’t been right. This time around there was nothing holding us back. I shipped off to Basic Training in April, (one of my best friends in basic turned out to be from Shelby, MT and grew up doing MCT). After 6 months apart, Sarah and I were reunited in September in Virginia where we now call home. It is a major change from our lives both on the road and in NYC and comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. We bring all the amazing experiences and life changing moments from MCT into this new chapter with gratitude and excitement for the future.