The Good and Bad

Work is Work

Wait what!? Work is work? I am talking about the physical work, meaning that if energy is put out then energy is lost, and thus work has happened. 

This job is work, and there are times when I get done with rehearsal, I am exhausted and just want to curl up with a good book, or veg with a good TV Show. It can be very exhausting to speak for 4 hours a day, but also add signing and blocking and you have a recipe for tired. This job is work. 

When I walk out of rehearsal there are nights when I leave and feel down because something did not go right or maybe I did not get to do what I want to do in the rehearsal, but then there is this moment that I look around and realize that I am in Montana, in a town that I most likely would not have traveled to as a tourist and see the beauty of this job and the beauty around me. Then it is like a sugar bomb went off inside me and I am charged up to go!

This job is amazing, you do get extremely exhausted and that is a beautiful sign that you are doing your job correctly! This job is work to get this show up on its feet, but it is so worth it. When I look at what we have done in the 6 schools that we have gone to, I see students that gained so much in their confidence, see smiles, and fear wipe away from their face. 

When that sugar high hits after rehearsal I am not only motivated to start the next rehearsal, but also feel stronger as an artist, doing his thing. I have seen my photography get stronger, my visual art is getting stronger, and all of this is form this beautiful sugar high that I am getting when I see that I am doing my dream job! That I really am an artist!!

That is all I have to talk about now, thank you for listening!

Daniel Sukup

Everyone has a Story

Everyone has a Story

It is very important to understand that we are all apart of the human race, each of us are connected (even if you don't want to admit it), and with that allows us to have different experiences. Each person has their own story, that is just as fascinating as the next. Unfortunately, with today's society we never really get to know the other persons story unless we spend time with them to learn. In this day of age majority of us have the mentality of "time is money" and that is great, but singles out the most amazing feature of humans: their story.

The story, is your life journey. A journey through the best of times and the worst of times. A journey that you experience 24/7 and no one else. Other people get to be apart of your story, but you are the lead character. The story is something that you get to share to people, that may or may not be involved with your story.

The problem, many people don't want to listen any more, they talk over people, they react instead of sitting back, they are the ones that believe that fiction is better then reality, that Fifty Shades of Grey is the best story in the world, while someone who experienced a life changing event is tuned out over the TV.

Chick Fil' A is one of my favorite restaurants because when they have hired someone, they make them watch a video:

The last sentence of this video: "Every life has a story, if we brother to read it." This is so true, our life stories are surprisingly beautiful and better then any fiction book out there. We can learn how to be more human, to show sympathy, to show compassion, to be human, if we simply take time to listen to their story.

Take the time to listen to someones story, see what happens, you may learn a lot about yourself and them as well!

I have always stated, that if I was president then I would require everyone to write their story down in a published book.

So tell me what is your story?

Daniel Sukup

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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Generosity

Edit: I just finished this post, and I just relized it was Valentines day! The funnyness of this is that I was reading an article about being single on valentines day, there are two ways we can take this day: 1) be miserable and sad we dont have anyone or 2) CELEBRATE the love of God! Ha, sometimes God speaks wonders, and just so you all know this post was written today BEFORE I knew it was Valentines day! Hey when you are on tour, all you care about is the day not the date. 

I have pondered if anyone would ask how I come up with a topic to write about. My account on blogger right now has four saved drafts that still need to be wrote, and yet I am starting a new one. 

When ever I open this app, and I want to write, something or someone is telling me to write about a certain topic. For those that have faith, you will understand, and for those who don't, I honestly can't explain it. 

Latly the topic of Generosity has been popping in conversations and also thought. I feel that there is a certain reason for this. In my life I veiw topics like this: if they pop up once in a while then they are not extremely improtant, but if they pop up numerous times in less then a week then we have to talk about something. 

Generosity is not simply giving money, it can be simple as giving time, but the backbone to generosity is to have a reason, even if that reason is simple as "I don't want it anymore!" Each person will find their one reason for generosity, and for me it comes back to that faith I was speaking about a few sentences back.

Just like this post, I am writing it because I had this reason, I had this urge to talk about it, an unexplainable urge to talk about it. I felt that something needed to be said, wether it is an extened thank you to those who have been generous to me or maybe an eye open for me to open up my generosity. 

One area I have struggled with is letting go of my money, I have many people that can contest to that. I have always been a save and not a spender. This is great in real world talk, but not in spirtually talk. If you have been reading my post, I had one about lessons of life annd who we need to learn from ths journey we are on. 

As I have been on tour, and offically on my own (no collage, or school) and I am finally getting to file taxes, I have been presented with many lessons that are helping me with my next journey. This generosity is one of many lessons, and I am talking about it becuase it will show me a digital reminder to work towards it. Each homestay has been teaching me many things in life, one to be more generous! 

Ho can I be more generous on an Actors pay? easy: put faith in God and one will see the grow he can provide. This is an EXTREMELY hard statement and as I type this I wish it was easier, but it aint! (Aint is a word) For me, this is my lesson, this is how I can be more generous to other in this real world around me, this is how I can grow. I used "I" becuase this is not the answer for everyone.

You have to find the reasons for yourself through your own journey to answer "How can I be more generous?"  Then you will see the gifts that will come, as strange as that may seem.

Note to self: do not lack on past contracts that have been made.

Much love ahead,

Daniel Sukup  

We Learn from Our Past...

We learn from our past...

this is a phrase that we all need to understand. This has been going through my mind lately becuase I have lost a few items lately and I used these a learning lessons. We can and should learn someting from the past. 

When we are faced with a problem we react to what is given. This given is what we need to look at, we need to see how we handles a past event emotionally, physically, and mentally. These three things will help you learn.

What is so important about learn something from the past?

Simple, so it wont be repeated again! If we keep making the same problem or repeating the same past event then what is being learned? You are simply a fool.

We you do get a chance to look at your past, and try to learn form something - be it good or bad - then we can move forward at a faster rate and learn something about us as humans. 

We are all humans and we all make mistakes, we all error, we all have situations that, even bad, can be used to allow us to grow. 

I have been talking about this not only because I have lost items recently and learned that it is just an item that can be replaced, it is not anything big or anything to stress over. 

Byond this however, we can learn about who we are and how others see us, allowing us to have a self exploration time period and grow as humans.

This is a simple lesson I wanted to get off my chest today, don't have a specific reason why....just do

Daniel Sukup

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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1) Follow me on Instagram to find more photos from my Tour: 2oculars
2) Flickr: dpsukup
3) Facebook: dsukup
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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