From Bubble Boy, to Cowboy to Broadway Boy.

If you don't know me yet, well Hello, my name is Julie Murray and I am a huge theater nerd. I have been in shows since I was a sophomore in high school and just recently I started stage managing for some theater companies around Boston and local ones in  Framingham. 

When I was a kid growing up, my life long goal was to be a Disney Princess. I was obsessed with Aladdin (so hot by the by if cartoons were real people I would tap that in a second) and Jasmine and that sweet tiger....oh man what was her name???????????? Well regardless, I knew for certain that I was going to grow up and live in a castle, find my prince charming, and live my happily ever after. 

In third grade we had a dress up day for what we wanted to be when we grew up. Why in the world did our teachers think that we knew what we wanted to be in third grade is beyond me, but I chose a veterinarian. I was gonna save animals lives, I mean I had already practiced on all my stuff animals how hard could it be? WRONG. Thats when I learned that with fixing animals you also had to put them down and watch them die. Well that was that!

After that I didn't really think to much about what I wanted to do until about sophomore year of high school when my parents and I sat down to watch a movie. They picked out a movie called Funny Girl. Now at 16 I wasn't too interested in old time movies with actual intermissions in them. But it had Barbra Streisand in it so I had to give it a shot. By the end of the movie I was in love. I had never seen anyone as talented as Ms. Streisand. It was like looking at theater threw new eyes. I immediately signed up for auditions for the spring musical and knew I would be its leading star!

WRONG.

Apparently I can't sing my way out of a paper bag. But lord knows that didn't stop me. I sang everywhere I went. When people tried to sing with me I sang louder. When I was in the car with my dad I would belt out Britney Spears, and NSYNC and any tune that caught my fancy. My apologies dad. I didn't realize what pain I had been putting you through! After living in the land of denial for almost 4 years I decided in college (after being denied role after role after role) that I was gonna audition anyways. I was having fun and lets face it, I definitely didn't go to a music theater school, so the talent was sparse at best. And you know what, my senior year was the best year ever because I was JUST HAVING FUN! I didn't care if I nailed the high note or harmonized the best, I just put all my energy in having fun with it and giving the best performance I could. 

Along the way I also found this passion for behind the scenes work that just took over. I assistant directed my first play sophomore year. I was in the Vagina Monologues every year and directed it solo my last year. I did backstage work for different shows and helped other members put together stuff for their shows. I LOVED IT. I felt important and needed and like I was doing something really really special. 

That was it! I had found my calling..........To bad it was a year after I graduated when I realized this is what I wanted to do with my life. Well now what do I do? I had my 900th emotional break down with my parents, I talked to multiple members of the family and my friends, and I even considered going back to school (which is still up in the air). But the one major thing that people kept telling me was you need experience. 

So experience I went to find. At first I went local. I did a stint with Framingham Community Theater. It was a rough start but slowly I got through it. Then I went on some professional backstage job sights and found a company out in Wakefield putting on a production of Spring Awakening and that they needed an Assistant Stage Manager. CA-CHING! Jackpot. First off, LOVE that show, secondly it was a win-win situation because I got to learn from the lead stage manager and if something went wrong I couldn't be blammed. I emailed the producer and told her I wanted in and that I was looking for experience and a chance to grow. She sent me an email back and told me that it was taken care of but that they always needed volunteers for show days. It was disappointing but I was looking for a foot in the door and was happy to get what I got. 

About a week later I got an email from the producer that said someone had dropped out and that they wanted to know if I could take over as ASM. SWEET! I was in. After meeting the director and the cast and sitting in on one rehearsal I was hooked. I had never worked with such an amazingly talented group of people in my life. Shocked and I mean Shocked was I when I got a phone call about two weeks in where the producer informed me that the Stage Manager had dropped and they wanted me to take her place. HOLY CRAP. I was so freakin nervous; this was my first legit gig and I didn't want to screw it up. She informed me that I was gonna do fine and that she believed in me. Well clearly I was a sucker cause that little bit of encouragement was all I needed to say yes. And let me just tell you BEST decision of my life. I had the greatest time, met the most amazing people, and worked with talent that could literally be on Broadway. I couldn't be any luckier. And my love of musicals and theater has just sky rocketed from there. 

 And with all this talk of love of theater let me introduce you to the hottie of the moment.......

Hottie of the Moment 

Jake Gyllenhaal

Ugh. Jake Gyllenhaal. What a panty dropper. Am I right?

Not only is he an unbelievably talented actor but, if we could feed the world off of his handsomeness I am positive that there would be no more world hunger. And apparently as if being in films is not enough, he is making his Broadway debut on August 24th at the Roundabout Theater in the play “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet”. It is basically about this girl who is getting bullied at school and head butts her tormentors. Um awesome!

Gyllenhaal will play the girl's foul-mouthed uncle, who forms a bond with his struggling niece. AWWWWWW. I am already sobbing. I can't wait to see this and I am crossing my fingers that he will be at least shirtless once......ok maybe twice! Hey, a girl can dream.

Julie<3