Brilliance of the Seas

Well what an adventure this job has been! It has been everything I hoped it would be and more! The best way to describe this job is an adventure! 

Ship life is extremely different from land life. From working hours, to traveling, to living crew corridors. 

Let's start with the living corridors. It takes getting used to living in a closet. I am not joking by that either. We live in very small corridors with many of the cabins not having portholes. These cabins have everything you need, bed, storage, bathroom, shower. All cramped in a very small spot. But none of this matters to me, since you only sleep in your room. (And we do have crew tv! Which is awesome!)

Through out the ship, the crew have many hangout spots to simply chill on their time off. From the day room, mess hall, bar, and forward lounge, having a small area does not bug me as much!

Traveling has been something else I have needed to get used to. I love to travel, but have never been stuck on somthing for 24+ hours. Sea days are extremely strange and can be difficult. 

Strange because there is a lot more work (got to keep the guests entertained) but you can't get off the ship, you are stuck. That feel can get to you, but you find ways to entertain yourself. 

Difficult because, if you know me, I get bored easy. If I have many hours off I between shifts, I get bored because there is nothing to do. This has been a challenge for me. 

Finally the working hours! As for the working part, I work the same hours I do on land at a theatre. Nothing has changed in that. However, you never get a day off, you get hours off. Which has been another big adjustment! However, 3 cruises down and I love it. It does not bug me that I don't have a day off. I guess I was cut out for ship life. Hmmm...guess we will see where this take me. 

In other news, I finally got to check off another bucket list item!! I had my Birthday in a different country - COZUMEL, MEXICO!! What a treat that was! Look for a post about my adventure in Mexico on my birthday!!

Have a great week everyone and write to you all soon!

Daniel Sukup 

The Next Big Thing is here!

Yes, the next big thing is here and it is not a smartphone! It is my next career adventure! 

As most know that I am joining the Brilliance of the Seas by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines TOMORROW! 

I am thrilled for this new experience and can't wait to share every moment with all of you! 

Before all of this begins, I need to continue thanking my family, friends, and coworkers that support me in all of my decisions and adventures! I could not do this without you. I truly mean all of that. Without this support I would not be sitting here doing what I love and reaching my dreams.

The last two months have been a blessing and I can't say that enough either! It was a blast living with my family and sharing memories that will last a life time! I was extremely blessed to be able to have the time that I had with them! So Eldon and Tami Sukup Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done in the last 2 months. Thank you for all the great memories, moments, and adventures! This next one will be huge! 

So here is to the next adventure! Welcome Aboard!

Daniel Sukup

It is only beginning...

We all need to learn about ourselves. We all need to explore who we are. We all need to discover.

A while back, I entered a journey and found an answer that I was wanting. One answer lead to more questions. As of now, I continue to look for more. It seems that today we are spending more time feeling empty. To fill this emptiness, most will take hold of distractions to ignore. While others will always question and find the fulfillment.

For me, I continue the ladder and find the fulfillment. Spiritually, mentally, and physically, all need to be filled. It is an individual journey, that will require others.

Now when it is understood that everything is connected, everything is apart of the same. That is when  fulfillment starts to begin. But not until it is realized fully; spiritually, mentally, and physically that it will begin.

I have reached that point, I have figured out that empty filling and have started to grow. I now look for answers from the past, to know more of who I am, where I come from, and the past of my family.

This is just the beginning and where it takes me will be the mystery. I do know that I will be able to connect the dots one day, and I will have the growth that can be achieved in my Spirituality, mentality, and physicality.

A lot of people have contributed to this and I could not be more thankful.

Now I challenge everyone to experience a self journey/exploration/growth and see where it takes you!

Daniel Sukup

 

Family

Ok, by now most people know my next big adventure! Look for a post here soon about what cities I will be going to soon!

Today I want to talk about family. I have talked about family many times, each one a little different. Now I get to write as an "adult". 

I have been "unemployed" for over a month. I use quotation marks because I had a future job in line! 

Since September 4th, I have been at home, with the company of my family. For the first month, it was nice but I was getting restless and annoyed not working. Not know when I was going to my next job was putting a blind up on cherishing my time with family. I was enjoying it, but not to the degree that I should have been. 

Once I learned about my job on September 30th, I then had an end date wth family. I was given one more month with family. This was exciting, this took the blinds away and allowed me to fully embrace my family and understand that it was not going to be "forever".

Now, with less then a month before I go on my cruise, my time with family has been more Cherishable and memorable. 

It hit me, why do I need to know an end date to value family more then what I was? Having a date that it ends, forces us to take in every moment more then when we don't know. 

If we keep going through life acting like we have forever, then each moment will never reach the richness it could. 

However, if we live as if the next day it all ends, each moment of that day will be richer. Making memories that are vivid and complete. 

Out of these two months, I can guarantee that I will remember this last month more then my first month, simply on the fact that I have an end date. 

Just remember, out of all of this, cherish each moment because we don't know when it will all end. 

Thank you

Daniel Sukup 

Going to a Fair

I have not been to a fair in year! So it was a surprise to me that my family and I decided to go to the "World's Grestest County Fair" and it did not disappoint! 

From rides to events and exhibits as far as the eye can see. Let's not forget about the traditional fair food! 

I had a blast and captured my trip!

Let's start the day off with a group shot at the entrance! Parking was free and they even shuttled us to the gate! So far a great start to the day!

One of many exhibits at the fair! He would crave the trees to be like this. It is an amazing talent and to watch him do it was such a treat. 

For $5 you could shot paintballs at a trailer!!

Dogs racing with monkeys as their jockey! It honesty was a very funny sport to watch! 

 This was a van that they were painting as 'Starry Night' and I got to paint it and sign the bumper!!

Now on to my favorite parts! RIDES!!

gravatron!! I have not rode this style of spinning ride and now I finally have!! Have to admit that I am more enjoy Gravatrons ten Rotors!!

The rides! I also have never rode the ring of fire and that was an interesting experience to say the least! I did enjoy the ride, but why did Six Flags add these??

Fairs never have rules!! About to drop on the Super Shot!

These Acrobatic dudes where very enjoyable to watch. They used the space and made sure the audience was engaged!

Night shots!! I did not ride anything at night because we were leaving but captured a few beautiful images!!

It was a very fun day! I was impressed by the fair, have not been to one in years, and simply enjoyed every minute of it!! What a wonderful experience!!

The rest of the photos are on Facebook! Next post will be about Arnold's Park!

Daniel Sukup 

This is it.

THIS IS IT!

I feel like Michael Jackson for saying this, This is it! (to soon?)

We are in the final stretch of 'Tecumseh!' the worlds greatest outdoor drama. Only 5 shows left to see this amazing show! This summer has flown by so quickly and now the end is in sight. We close Saturday, so make it out to Chillicothe, OH to see this amazing show, but most importantly to see me! As we get close to the end, I have to look back at all of the amazing things this company has taught me!

The past three seasons have been amazing! This was my first big time professional theatre, and I have learned so much in the past three seasons. From stage combat, to horse riding, playing with fire, and my most favorite thing of the show: HIGH FALL! All of these skills will advance me even further into my professional career!

I could not thank my directors enough: Adam Burke and Jenny Male have been amazing to work with and giving me a strong base for my career!

Here are some number to think about for the past three seasons:

222 - Shows

555 - hours of show time

148 - Shows as Kothee

74 - Shows as Leaning Tree

451 - High Falls

11,275 - Feet fallen

148 - Tecumseh! body lifts

592 - Wig changes in the 2015 season

962 - Wig changes in all three seasons

370 - Quick changes

888 - Character changes

Over 100+ New amazing actors that I have met and have changed my life!

Most important: 0 Missed shows, 0 Injuries

All of these in the past three seasons! Some of the numbers are so crazy to me! It is strange to think that it is almost all over. The conclusion of my third seasons is here! Like I said, I have learned so much from this amazing company and there will always be a special spot in my heart for all of this! Tecumseh! 2016 will be here before you know it!

As I wrap up this season, I start to forward to what the rest of the year has to offer me! This is my first full year out of school and I have been working steadily for the last 9 months! Now it comes time to see what will be happening in the fall!

 I already know what I will be doing this fall, but I am not ready to announce this excitement! I will give you a hint that this will be the biggest movement forward in my career to date! In fact, it will be the world's largest! I am not joking about that either! All details will be released soon!


It is always a great thing to look at your past, to see how the dots have connected, to see your growth. Then take this information and fly with it. Reach the stars, once there reach for the end of the galaxy! The dreams only become reality, when starting from a strong base!

My love,

Daniel Sukup

Discovery about life

My life has been very interesting, to say the least. I have been thinking about my life, specifically how I can achieve the best fulliiment or "living to the fullest" as I walk down this road. I may have wrote about this eariler in my blogs, but I have confidently found how I achieve fulliement. There are 3 components to this idea:

1) it has to be a challenge (physical or mental) and can't be "safe"

      This is what simulattes my mind, forces me to fiind a way, to think. When I have something that is a challenge it allows me to have a greater sense of accomplishment when the challenge is completed. After getting off that rush, I need to get back to it. I need to be but on this edge to feel awake.

2) I need to not have a set path, variety, mystery to lead my life

     If I know where I want to go, what path to take, then I feel that I am playing it safe. If I don't know then I can see things that may have been over looked. Not knowing what is next allows me to open my senses and see everything for what it is and not thorugh a filter or a narrowed vision.

3) I cant know the outcome, or how it will play out (let alone how it will start)

     If I know how it will end, then I may not like the finish. Feeding ff the mystery, the end can be the best outcome. You never know how the dots connect until you look back. If we know how they will connect by looking forward, then the adventure of the end is not a full as not knowing.

I have discovered that these three items will make me the happiest, most fullied, and a live. It may seem crazy of an idea, and you may be thinking this is stupid, dangerous, or I am out of my mind. Quite possibly  you are right, but that is the beautiful thing about life. There are 7 billion of us and only one Daniel P. Sukup that is from Iowa! 

We all need to figure out what makes us full, happy, and unique. We all need to stop with the social norms and be ourselves and listen to our durm and not the factory made. This has been a simply self discovery that I needed to answer myself. I had answered these questions before, but I have not been able to answer them under a different setting. 

I challenge you all to do this. What makes you feel the fullest, the most happiest, the most unique?

Thank you,

Daniel Sukup

Tecumseh! 2015

This summer is flying by and I don't know what to think of it. It seems to me that as you get older, time just flies quicker and quicker. 

Anywho, this summer has been an excellent start to Tecumseh! 2015! We are officially 20 shows into this season and it is just getting started!!

Being back for a third season makes this place feel more like home then work. Being around this many actors for a summer is always an adventure making them your family away from family. 

This year I am back as Kothee, but doing so much more! Jenny Male (our incredible director) has added a lot of beautiful moments in the show that have transformed this show yet again. A narrator, who signs the voiced narration, has been added. I was given the honor to be that person this year and make it come to life. I could not be more blessed to be signing the narration. 

This year is already shaping to be an incredible season for myself and also the audience! 

Last 5 Years

Good morning Baltimore (I have always wanted to say that)! Yesterday I occurred to me that it has been 5 years since I graduated from, dare I say it, High School. A time in my life that was there to provide great lessons.... lets just leave it at that! A lot has happened in 5 years, a whole book has happened! Crazy thoughts, but it is true. Like my parents have always told me, I don't let grass grow underneath my feet!

Last 5 Years

Lets start off this post right! I will be interviewing myself to answer questions that will answer what has happened in the Last 5 Years (how many more times can I get this show title in this post!)

How many Cities have you lived in?

I have officially live in 5 cities. Omaha, St. Louis, New York City, San Diego, Missoula, and Chillicothe! 

How many state have you been to in the last 5 years?

Any where between 15-20 states (not all knew, just traveling)

What degrees did you get in college?

I recently graduated with BFA in Acting, BFA in Technical Theatre, and a Minor in Dance

Now time for the juicy questions: What have you done job wise in the last 5 years?

I have worked at a lake in Council Bluffs, that was a fun summer and that was also the summer of the great Missouri River Flood. The next summer, I worked at Six Flags St. Louis as a ride op for the roller coaster Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast, that was a chance to knock off items on my bucket list. Then for the last two summers, I have worked in Chillicothe Ohio, working on the show Tecumseh! I will be heading back there this summer for a third year. During college time period, I work as a House Keeper (that was a blast and I miss my boss Beth and Elvin!), also worked on countless productions professional and academic. My favorites being that I interned with Mike Kantz for a month and worked underneath Brian Ebbinghaus for 2+ years! Now in my post-college years, I have a solid 9 months of work lines up, first with Missoula Children's Theatre and second with Tecumseh!! I do have plans after September 2015, but I want to keep that a surprise.

What is something you are most proud of in the last 5 years?

To much to say. I think what has been the most rewarding is looking at life a different way. As I have been going through life, I have soon realized that we are not guaranteed tomorrow and we need to spend every waking minute doing what we love. 


What do you love?

Theatre, art, creativity, expression, etc. 

What is your biggest accomplishment in theatre or your art?

I have a few: First off, I think meeting the people that I have met in my life and getting to know their story. I count this as an accomplishment because I now know stories that some people will never hear, and these have changed my life. 

I think my other accomplishment goes to working in professional theater. I was told many times in my life that, "They don't need you, theatre is over crowed and you won't get work." I have told these people to watch me and learn! It has been a thrill and a huge accomplishment showing them that they need me in the theatre world, because there is only one Daniel P Sukup that is 23!! 

Finally, getting into stage combat. Last summer, I recommended pass my Quarterstaff testing. This was my first weapon I have ever trained on and it will now not be my last!!

You mentioned art, what type of art do you do other then theatre?

Any type of visual art! I love working with new mediums and coming up with new mediums to be able to tell the story that I want to tell. Unfortunately, being on the road I can't always work with new mediums, instead I have been working with photography. This is something that my parents have been pushing me to do longer then I can remember. Thanks to them I will be advancing it even further then before!

Getting back to the last 5 years, what is something you will take away for the next 5 years?

Self exploration and finding exactly who I am. This may sound weird, but in the world of technology, majority of us have lost this connection and are lost. We are addicted to these screens and not seeing the real world for what it is. This is something I am working with my photography to do. I want to capture the real world and get that connection back, as I move forward with the next 5 years.

Finally, what are 5 goals for the next 5 years?

1) Continue being a working Actor and not to lose the love for the arts
2) Continue to have the drive to explore and find
3) Be on a  National Tour 
4) Build my film career up
5) Write a book and get published

Bonus: Be a published artist

What do you want to tell your 28 years old self?  

Never lose the child in your heart. Keep the innocence alive with every new day. Never forget that tomorrow will never come and today could be your last. Smile and stay chill. Stress is worthless and not needed.


Thank you for reading this self interview. It has been an adventure writing and talking to myself. It really has gotten me to think about has happened. In the words of Steve Jobs:

"You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path." -Steve Jobs

Homestays

Good Wed-nes-day morning or as some cultures say: Happy Hump day! I have been gone for some time and today I really have the urge to write! Writing is like a meditation that feeds the soul and allows your mind to be cleared.




Before I get into today's topic, I want to let you know what I have been doing in the past few weeks! Ever since the beautiful app Enlight has been released on the app store, I have been working on my photography! I have attached some of the recent shots that I have taken!

Follow me on INSTAGRAM for more information and images! I have some huge news coming this summer, but you will have to follow this blog to find out more!



Now to todays topic:

Homestays

It has been very interesting working with Missoula Children's Theatre and staying with different families. At first this sounded as strange as monkey's talking to a pig. However as I am now officially done to one more week with MCT, this does not sound strange anymore! 

It is weird, when these families open up their home to us, it is more then providing us with a bed and a roof. It is a statement of "Welcome Home!" You are now home! Every single family has been more welcoming then I could ever had imagined! 

Being away from my personally family has been a little hard. I don't think I have ever made 5 full months being away from my family and this was the first. Having these homestays have been incredible and have been a huge help in making this much easier to be away.

I have been a part of over a dozen different families this tour and each on we were a part of them, telling us stories that would be shared to every family member, you know what I mean. This makes it hard to leave the families each week. 

I do know that I will have a lot of families to return to when I come back to MT in the future! As this tour comes to an end, I will miss a lot of stuff, but that is why social media was invented! I have a lot of people to keep in touch with!:) 

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I hope that your Winter/Spring has been amazing! Summer is almost here for majority of people and if that is one of you what are your plans?

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The side roads

It is strange to say that MCT is over. It was my life for the past 5 months. That is not a long time, compared to others, but it is my longest job I have had. 

I learned a lot from this job. Ironically the best lesson I learned is to take the side roads. 

This lesson was greater then the many others lessons because from this I was able to stem to these other lessons. There were three major lessons to stem from taking side roads:

1) Taking a side road will take much infer to get to your location, sometimes hours longer. This is where I learned to extend my patiences. When you finally train your mind that you don't need to rush, that you will get there eventually, you start seeing very positive changes in yourself. You don't anger as easy, you manta in a "stress free" or "chilled" life longer, and you present yourself with a more positive atmosphere. 

2) taking the side roads not only enhanced my patiences, but in the process of slowing down I was able to see beauty that I did not before. 

On an interstate, you zoom past everything at a speed that does not allow you to see things, to appreciate things. Taking a slower road, allows time for these things. Being able to see towns that one would not if they were on the fast lane. Being able to see monuments, historical markers, mama and papa stores, and simply unique items made for a slower drive simply beautiful. 

My level of appreciation increased 10 fold, allowing this to extend past the visuals of the road but to the people I was working with easy week. Being able to see through their "tough" mode or see them for what others don't made this experience so much more then what it was. 

3) with interstates, it is very easy to get to point A to point B. With side roads, your focus, concentration, and presentness have to be there in order to make it to point A and B. I made this harder on myself and did not use my GPS and would "memorize" the map before we started to dive to see how far I could get before I needed a map. By the end of tour I was able to make it majority if not the full route without a GPS. 

Allowing your mind the always think like this when driving, with enhance your senses. You will be safer because you are always on the lookout, always focused for problem areas, always present at the task at hand and never are you in "auto pilot" as this would kill you. 

Using this method, allowed for the job to never become a "job" as you were always fouced on what will happen now, what is different. It was harder to become "bored"

Side roads have taught me a lot about myself and how to work and live. Before I continue: there is a time for Interstates, they are not bad and I am not saying I now advoid them. Just learned different things from different roads. 

Side roads did teach me a lot about my self, and how to use these lessons for my job. I suggest that every person to take a moment when driving to take the longer route to point A and B. 

The Job Behind the Job

A Tour Update 

Missoula MT

What a crazy 5 weeks it has been on the road! I have been to 5 towns/cities that I may have never gotten to! I have seen the height of beautiful mountains, I have seen the flat of MT, I have seen the canyons that divide, and I have see the beauty in people that I have never met! 

What is beautiful about this job, is it is almost like we have two jobs. Meaning the first and most important job is to put this show on it feet in a week, and the second job is meeting all of these people who have the most amazing stories to be told. Now before I continue I have to define "job". From me this job is not a job, yes I get paid but it is so much more then that. Job simply means an activity that comes with pay. YES technically I get paid for one of the two I listed.

Columbia Falls, MT

We all know the show I am doing: The Jungle Book, and it has been a blessing to be on tour, an amazing experience around every corner, and a lesson builder for myself. Each of these have such a heavy impact to my life that I can not wake up each morning with a sad face, but instead wake up with the most enthused face I can have. Every morning I wake up, I get to work with students that don't get theatre, that don't have art, and this is all the have. Every morning, I get to push these students to their max and see amazing work come from them. Every morning, I get to live in communities that have crazy amount of love for Missoula. And every morning, I get to wake up knowing that I impacted their lives in a way that could change their life forever! I think I have one amazing job! 

Vaughn, MT

For 5 weeks I have been on the road, we have had almost 300 students work with us, we have had over 130 families see their child on a stage and rock it, and we have had people who have never see theatre and have their second thoughts about how this can be done in a week, and proved them wrong! This is just the scratch of the surface. This is the main job, but the second job is just as much fun!

When on the road, we met so many people. We have our home stays, our school contacts, the contacts helper, and then we also get to met the housekeeping staff, the teachers and professors, the community and everyone in-between. 

Meeting these people is such a treat, we get to hear their stories that they share with much delight. I get to know them on a level that makes the word stranger fall away from the vocabulary. I talk to these people and connect! This is the other side of the job that it just as thrilling as the main job!

Cody, WY

I can tell you about a person who just lost their mother and how hard it has been, I can tell you about a family who knows their family history here in MT, I can tell you about a person who works with young children and wants to know more about theatre, I can tell you about a person who is considering moving back to MT and she told me that I made her mind up and she is going to do it!

World's Shortest River - Great Falls, MT

This is just the starch, I could go on for hours telling you stories about people I have had the incredible opportunity meeting and hearing their story. That last one just happened recently, we were talking about where we were from. After telling her my story about living in STL and how we are building back as a community and then I told her what I have noticed about MT. She agreed with what I said and told me that I made her mind up and she is moving to MT! 

Again, I could type and talk for hours about this experience so far, but who wants to read pages of information like that? I will keep you all updated on the happenings of this tour!:D

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Gildford, MT

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Time to Balooo

Hello All,

What a week it was preforming as Baloo! This was the first time preforming with the children on stage. Working backstage for the last two week is something special and getting to see all f the great work that is happening and getting to really see the progress is tear jerking. Now I finally get to see what it is like on stage.

Last week was my first time, and it was something special! Getting to be on stage and see, visually seeing, and hearing the progress actually took me out of the production! I sat there amazed by what was happening on stage (I almost missed my line!). I am thrilled to be playing Baloo again this week and am already seeing great progress in rehearsal!

When I was playing Baloo, I did realize that I am doing my dream! I was on stage preforming and it hit me that I am getting paid to be on tour to act! I am a professional Actor! It felt so amazing to be on stage and be alive! This has never felt like a job and that is something I have always wanted!

We are officially on week 4 of this tour, and I can't begin to think how many students lives we have impacted and how much I have learned.  Doing the math really quickly, we have reached over 450 students just in 4 weeks time!! Some of these students have learned so much!

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Where I be in 5 years times, I used to be able to answer that! Now, I can't even answer where I will be in 2 months! I am ok with this because if we live life planned out, then nothing magical can happen, this journey we are on will cease to breath life into our hearts and minds. Not knowing is apart of the game.

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4) and finally my website: www.dpsukup.com

Thank you for your huge support! As I was writing this blog, I started to write another!:)

Big Sky, Big Country

A while back, I finished a self journey... or at least I thought I did. When that one was taking place, I learned something extremely important that I need to bring that "child" back into my life. However I never thought I would still be on a joinery, until now.

This morning as I was showering, before the frozen pipes backed up our water in the guest house, I was thinking to my self about this tour. I have been noticing certain things that are very similar in each of our homestays. Something that is making me second guess God's reason for this tour.

I will not speak about this journey until I learned what I am to learn, but I am starting to realized that we are all on a journey. Some journeys will take days, some will take months, and even years. My first self claimed journey lasted 2 years. This one it just starting.

God's reason for this tour could be more then one. I thought it was about children, because my more recent jobs (other then MCT) have been with children. I am starting to think there is another lesson for me to learn, or maybe even more that I have not noticed yet.

Not all of these journey's are driven by faith, as my last one ( I claim) was a self journey. I needed it for myself and for me the artist. These journey's help me move to another phase in life, or strength need to head into a new level of faith.

One thing I need to clear up, when I talk about these journeys some people my get the wrong idea to what I am doing. All I am doing it learning about myself from the lesson provided around me. The environment is my visual canvas and when my eyes have been opened enough to see a lesson, then I can learn about it. Personally, I feel that we are all on these journeys, some people may never see them.

Enough about journeys and lessons, this is sounding like school again! :D

I have completed 3 weeks of this 15 week tour and I am thrilled to announce that I have officially played Baloo and I loved every minute of it! I will be going on this week as well, but with a different cast!

For everyone that is still wondering if I love this job, I will just say this, "I AM IN DREAMLAND PEOPLE!!" Each day brings a new adventure, each wee
k brings new memories, what more could I ask for! I am meeting people and hearing their stories that I would never have known if it weren't for this job!

We just finished up Cody, WY and I am going to miss that city! That was one of my favorite cities! There is so much to do, even in the winter! If you can't find anything to do then you are not trying or you are DEAD!

The community was incredible and they loved having us there. They support the Arts so much that I wish MCT stopped in the town twice, because we are almost all they have for theatre (other then a strong high school drama department!)

Anyways, it is getting late! I will make sure to keep updating my blog as much as I update Instagram! Speaking of which, please check out my instagram: 2oculars - you will find photos about the tour and so much more!!

dpsukup.com - my professional website!

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Look forward to tomorrow post specifically about my performance of playing Baloo! Also look ahead to the week about my adventures in Great Falls, MT and Cody, WY!


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End of another week!

This week has been extremely....stressful....amazing....adventurous....crazy...you name it, but one thing it definitely has been is MEMORABLE!

When I was young, I never wanted to have a job where I hated it or I felt like it was work. I remember even tell my parents this when I was young. "I would rather have a job that makes little money and be happy, then a job that pays great and not be happy." It took many "fights" to convince them I knew what I was talking about.

This week relates to this statement, it has been a lot of work, it has been stressful, but it has never once felt like work. It has felt like a hobby.

This week was our first week on our own, last week we had an on the road trainer, and this was why this week was stressful! However, Terry and I have kicked through the drowning feelings and have survived on our own!! Tonight we have a show, the true test is upon us on how well we did as a team and as directors!

This week has been amazing because these kids have put their hearts into this week! They have made sure that they would have a strong show when it came to show time! One thing I have noticed so far during these two residence weeks, the kids give it their all! They put so much into this week that it blows me away. It remind me of my childhood and how much I did in a day and my passion and the HUGE support I receive for my parents!

This week has been adventurous for many reasons! First: I learned (or practiced) how to weld with two different kinds of welds! I know one was an arc weld and the other was something else!:)

Second: I pulled out a dent from our homestay's truck that he is rebuilding! That was so much fun! To think that I have a spot on that truck that I helped with... it so COOL!! Third: Tomorrow (Saturday) we goto King Hill about 70 miles south of here to go snowshoeing! I have never done this before and I look forward to say that I have. My next goal this winter is to try cross country skiing! This looks like so much fun and a lot easier then downhill skiing!!

This week has been CRAZY! Last week we had the easy of have a full week of rehearsal and then a show on Saturday. This week we have a show on Friday and and that means we lose a day of rehearsal. For Terry and I it has been extremely fast pace and a great challenge for our first week on the road. I do want to add, even though it has been crazy for us, the students has done amazing!! Even with a day less of rehearsal we still got done with everything we needed to and ADDED CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!! I am so proud of them!!

And all of this adds up to a very memorable week!!

Hope all as been going great where you have been!  Continue to follow my adventures on INSTAGRAM! where you will find all of the photos you need to see my adventures through my eyes!

-Daniel Sukup

Week 2

Hello all,

I bet most of you are waiting to hear how the first week went (in detail) and I am pleased to inform you that you don't have to wait any longer! 

As you may have read on facebook/instagram that I was extremly proud of these kids! They learned the show, the songs, the blockings, the dances all in 1 week! That is still blowing my mind! 64 cast members got together and put on a show that will hopefully be remembered forever! 

The 64 cast members had a total of 20 hours of rehearsal, not much at all, and then 2 preformances on Saturday!! Both preformances were amazing, even if their was some skipping! Speaking of skipping, I have never in my life seen actors cover as well as these kids did on a Saturday! That almost made me tear up!

Now this is not to say that this week was a breeze, it was my first week out on the road and I can say that it was STRESSFUL!! Only because there is not a lot of time to teach everything and can get very confusing to us and the cast as it is all be rushed to be put on! I will also stay that the cast made this week so much easier on us! They were amazingly well behaved and ALL wanted to take part in this amazing journey!

Last week was my first experience with a homestay, and I loved it! Meeting people that I would never have met otherwise is one of the coolest parts of this job! I got to hear their story and listen to what they had to say.

It was even more nuts when we were talking about where everyone was from, and hearing that the Mrs. lived in STL and Omaha for many years in her life! To the degree that she has a lot of family in western Iowa!! We had a lot of common ground when it came to palces we have lived!!

Unfortunely all good things have to end, well not really, we had to depart to our next destination! We were able to cut through the mountains by Glacier National Park and see some of the most beautiful senerary I have seen! (look at photos below)

I love how we went from mountains with about 30 inches of snow on the ground, to hills with inches on the ground and high wind! Still, we can see the mountains around us and it is very beautiful!! Vaughn is where we are now and I can't wait to see the school we will be working out of! This is a smaller community then I grew up in and the people are just as welcoming! I can't wait to explore the area! I hear there are some amazing trails and Dams to see!!

This was a huge Dam, but I forgot to take a photo of the dam!:( we had a snow ball fight instead!:D

They still exist!!

Some what of Glacier National Park

Beautiful, thank you whoever poured food coloring on the water!:D

An amazing gift shop!

I was scared!!

Still frightened. 

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Here comes week 2 ready or not!!

Daniel Sukup

Now it Starts!

What is crazy to me, that a year ago I was sitting in the basement of my parents home and thinking about heading back to school, in St. Louis. A year ago today, I was trying to get all the paper work done to get graduation in line, I was trying to not be mad at winter! A year ago today, I was focused on finding Summer work and finishing school. 

Now today, I don't sit in my parents basement watching Spongebob or have to write papers. I don't have to worry about "grades" any more or have to worry about that assignment that is due in 20 minutes. Today I am sitting in Columbia Falls, MT. I am sitting in a house that is not my parents. I am getting ready for day 1 of this 5 month adventure. I am figuring out what to do next. Today I am on my own!

It all starts today. We have had the two weeks of training that left our heads spinning out of control. We now know everything we need to, to be able to hit the road and have a successful trip! Today we hold our first every auditions to cast the show Jungle Book! We will be casting a show of 64 people! That means that two tour actors will be in charge of 64 amazing children that want to be apart of this world of theatre, or at least put their foot in the waters. 

I am nervous, needless to say, but I am prepared to be able to hit this day running and not "lose my cool" with the ship starts to sink. As I was told during Training: "you can either run from that sinking ship, or you can fight through it." And taking this words from a trainer, I will fight through it!

As it all starts today, the good emotions and vibes need to be here!

-Daniel Sukup

The job

Hello all,

Well today is offically New Years Eve and the year is over, but a new one is starting!:) be prepared!!

As I am writing this, it is almost 1am, and I had a recent thought a few minutes ago that I have to share. 

While I was walking back from some TAD's hotel room (Tour Actor Director), it hit me stone cold in the face. Either it was this thought or the fact that it is 5 degrees outside. 

In my life, I have experienced many "jobs!" From paid to not paid, and even volunteer, each one has thought me something. How ever (minus volunteering) what ever job I had, it was not satisfying and felt like a job, it was work. 

I even told myself that I NEVER want to have a job that I feel that I am forced to go to work. All of my past work, they were amazing experiences and had great memories, but I felt forced to go and never did I feel like I wanted to go. I think SFSTL was the closest as I got to operate a roller coaster, but other then that, I never wanted to go. 

Well tonight, it really hit me. I new that this line of work, theatre/performing/art/etc., is my field Because I don't feel forced to go to work, I don't feel miserable when I wake up early, and I don't feel bored. 

I wake up with my heart full of love and excitement, I don't frown at a 12 hour day, I want to get there as soon as possible, I want to dive into my material,am and I never feel as if this is work! 

I have found what I told myself, when I was younger, what I wanted in a job!

It has only been day two, we have work for 24 of those hours (with breaks for lunch and dinner) and it blows me away! It does not feel like that at all!! 

What I want to tell people is that you need to find that job, that feels like a passion, where hours don't matter, where love is so abundance that hate can't fit in, where stories of greatness are told and not stories of crap! When you wake up you see a smile, because you are working the best job in the world. 

The first sign to finding this job, is not work think about money first. Your investigation needs to be looking at what your passions are and seeing what work or jobs for that, then your budget can come into play. 

My goal for each and every single one of you, that read this, to go out there in 2015 and find something you love! Wether it be a job or a hobby! Find the passion and drive!! Fill your heart with love! 

Speaking of hobbies, what are some of your hobbies, passions, or interests? Let me know in the comment section! 

Have a great New Years,

Daniel Sukup 

Real World

Hello, 

I have entered a new chapter in my life, I am finally in the real world! This is the real, REAL world! There are many mixed feelings that have entered my life and I know the road ahead of me is going to be extremely tough, however I know that I will be perfectly able to handle it all. This reminds me of a professor I had in my life who told me:

"My teacher once told me that there are a lot of people in this business (acting) and they don't need you, that is why I started to teach." 

I can tell you right now, that quote has been one of my biggest motivators in my life to do this dream of mine! There are a lot of people that do want to be a perfomer, there are a lot of people that want to make it  big, and there are thousands of new people every day. However, there is one DANIEL SUKUP and they DO NEED ME! They have never had a Daniel Sukup, each of us are unique and have something great of offer. I am here to prove that statement, that this proffesssor told me to, WRONG! 

I am here to encourage everyone to take negativity they face in life and use it as a motivation to attack your dream! Don't ever let someone be the devil on your shoulder, telling you that you can't do it or you are not good enough! 

I am here to tell you thhat you are good enough, you can do it! All you need is a drive that is so strong that you will find a way for it to work. Will it be easy? No, but any dream that needs a "specality" then it will be work, otherwise everyone would do it!

So go out there and do it! 

In other news, I made it to Missoula safely and have already started! It is so incredible here!! Words can't decribe the awesomeness! It is a lot of work, 12 hour days, but it is AMAZING!! So amazing that it does not feel like work! 

Look out for a post soon regarding Missoual Childrens Theatre. 

Love you all, 

Daniel sUkup 

Graduation Picture Edition

Ok I lied, I was to publish this a few days ago...but packing,finals,etc all got in the way! 

Below are the images of Graduation through my eyes, well my camera's eyes!:) 

Yes, I got very bored and was on my phone!:)

Me before the ceromny! We had to wait for about an hour before we walked in! 

A friend from Graphic Design also graduating! CONGRATULATION! 

All of the BFA people waking!:) we represented!!

So many people! 740 walked...not that many, but made it a very long graduation!

 ...bored...had to wait for all of the Grads to walk then me!:)

Meet her at Graduation! She waited 20 years to get her degree!! So proud of her!! 

Hey guess what!! We did it!!! 

Ok that was the Ceremony and it was awesome but way to long!!!

Have a great one! I will be getting some good posts coming soon! Only 2 weeks till Mossoula!!

Daniel Sukup