Hi there! Sorry I haven’t updated in a while. Been a crazy couple of months but I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Therese Schwenkler, creator of the blog TheUnlost.com. I’ve been reading it for a while and it gives a lot of insight to life as a twenty-something and figuring it all out.Therese is awesome and her blog is well worth checking out!!

When and why did you start your blog “The Unlost?”

“… In my past life, I’d walked the “expected path”— college, reliable corporate job, social gatherings with friends, a relationship that I thought would lead to marriage — and yet questions kept whispering in my ear. Questions like ‘What the hell do I really want to DO with my life?!’ ‘Why do I feel so alone deep down?’ ‘Why is this world so FAKE?’ ‘Who the EFF am I?!!’ ‘What the heck is missing?’

I searched everywhere outside of myself for the answers. I searched in sale racks at Nordstrom and in the bottoms of glasses of vodka, in relationships and jobs and in things, but each search invariably left me empty.

I’d turn the TV on to find re-runs of Jersey Shore, or go to the grocery store and see some magazine’s latest sexed-up headline at the checkout. Everywhere around me, all I saw was delusion

‘No wonder our generation is so lost,’ I said to myself.

Our sources of guidance are sucky. The stuff of popular culture is delusional, and I decided to take it upon myself to change that. I wanted to share truth in a way that wasn’t totally sucky or lame or boring, in a voice that would appeal to my generation. So each night, I came home from my desk job and I wrote, I blogged, and before I knew it, The Unlost was born.”

Can you explain a bit about your background and “The Unlost’s” mission?

See above— I think that explains a bit about my background! You can also check out my “Life Resume” for more details :). The Unlost’s mission, at its core, is about providing a truer source of guidance, particularly for young people in their teens and twenties. I believe that the truest source of guidance lies within oneself. The Unlost was born out of three core beliefs:

Today’s interview is with Joey Madia, Artistic Director of “Seven Stories Theater Company” formally known as “New Mystics Theater Company” in West Virginia.  Joey is also a playwright, director, actor, and novelist. He has been a huge mentor for me for years and has written some incredible plays about social issues and other genres and a fantasy novel as well as other books. I am very excited that he agreed to do this interview and hope you enjoy! :)

Krystle: Can you describe your background? (Where you went to school/ the training you’ve had) and the type of theater you do.

Joey: I have literally been in theatre for the bulk of my life. Did my first play in 3rd grade and never stopped, so by the time I hit high school I knew I wanted to be in theatre for my career. I also have a huge love of writing, so I enrolled at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA near Philly and double majored in English and theatre. Although I produce, write, direct and act in all types of theatre (musical, drama, comedy) I am best known for my work in Theatre for Young Audiences with my participatory plays for kids 3-5 and my social justice plays for high school students.

Krystle: Great, What inspired you to write for Theater for Young Audiences and social justice plays?

Joey: TYA plays happened kind of by a serendipity. I was touring with Youth Stages in Princeton, NJ as an actor and the managing director asked me if I wanted to try writing a play. That play, Two Marys, Five Jacks, and One Very Big Shoe has been touring nonstop for 8 years and has had performances all over the country. It was picked up by Dramatic Publishing a few years ago from a smaller publisher. I wrote 4 more plays for Youth Stages since and have been Resident Playwright there since 2008.

Social justice plays was kind of the same thing. I was managing director at a theatre in Scottsdale Arizona and was asked to write a play about teen pregnancy. It debuted in 1998 in Phoenix. It won 3 big awards and toured the southwest for many years before we brought it to NJ as the starting play for New Mystics Theatre Company in 2005. I have since written half a dozen other social justice plays about drug and alcohol abuse, civil rights, teen suicide, and physical and psychological violence.

Krystle: How has the reaction been towards the social justice plays? (From students, teachers, etc…) Has it motivated you to keep going in this mission?

Joey: It has been overwhelmingly positive! We have now reached over 27,000 school-aged kids with the plays and with our interactive bullying education and prevention workshops and have received numerous grants to continue the work. The plays are as true to life as possible, and have all been brainstormed and workshopped in very specific ways with theatre company members the same age as our target audiences. I am highly motivated to keep improving what we do, staying current with the big issues and giving young actors the opportunity to not only train at a high level but become more caring citizens and activists.

Krystle: That’s awesome! How has your family reacted to all of this? Have they been supportive and are they involved with your projects?

Joey: My wife, Tonya has been at times President of our non-profit theatre company and at others Executive Director and she and two of our three children have acted in the plays and participated in the workshops, so it has been wonderful for all of us in that way!

Krystle: That’s great! What inspires/motivates you as a writer and director? For instance, have there been any productions/tv shows/movies  you’ve seen that excite you and keep you wanting to move forward in this field?

Joey: Wow… lots. But in theatre my inspirations are Harold Clurman (directing), David Mamet (playwrighting), and Sanford Meisner (acting Technique) although it all begins and ends with Stanislavsky. I am just finishing reading “Stanislavsky’s Legacy” and I was trained specifically in his technique in college. In TV I love Mad Men, Sopranos, Deadwood, Supernatural, and Criminal Minds. All incredible writing and the top people in the field as far as character development and storytelling. In movies I love the work of Chris Nolan, Wes Anderson, Charlie Kaufman and Jim Jarmusch and the actors they usually work with.

Krystle: Those are all great things to be inspired by. Have there been any setbacks with the theater company? How did you deal with it and keep moving forward?

Joey: There were some setbacks at the very beginning, as we tried to figure out the right size for the Company. We wanted to give as many opportunities as possible to students who were studying with us, so we started with 30, but work shopping and rehearsing new material with that many while we were still figuring out just what our process should be was hard, so we scaled way back about 8 months in to 8 actors—of whom you were one!!— that we worked with for a few years to really solidify things. At its height the company then grew to almost 40 members in NJ and when we started the second Company in WV in 2008 we have kept it anywhere from 8 to 12 high school and college actors. The work has always been the most important thing. As long as we never stop following the mission, we land on our feet and things work out.

Krystle: Yeah, I had some amazing times with New Mystics and credit a lot of my theater training  to you and the company. I’m glad things have worked out!  Besides theater, what other projects are you involved in? Do you write for things besides theater?

Joey: We miss having you as a daily part of the Company. It’s now called Seven Stories Theatre Company, as of just last month. It is a confused and fearful time in human evolution and having “Mystics” in your name, although we meant it in a more creative/imaginative/spiritual way than a religious way, caused some problems. Ironic, give the social justice and acceptance work we do…

I have a novel called Jester-Knight and many dozens of short stories, essays and poems published. I am also Founding Editor of www.newmys​tics.com, a literary and visual art site. We are celebrating 10 years in September! I also mentor playwrights and writers all over America and teach creative writing courses for the continuing education program at the local community college.

Krystle: I’m sure that’s a great learning process for them and you. Do you have any advice for someone who is considering a career in the theater arts or to be a writer in general?

Joey: The best advice is a two-fold path: 1. If you want to do it, find ways to be constantly doing it. Write every day, act any place you can—all experience is valuable experience. 2. Diversify, especially if you want to control your own destiny. As an actor, playwright, director, teacher and producer I can have multiple income streams and doing all makes me better at each because I understand the mechanics of each piece of the puzzle.

Krystle: Thank you so much for being a part of this blog series! I truly appreciate it.

Joey: Thanks so much for this opportunity!

I created this blog to bring recognition to people who don’t always receive it but in my opinion, really should. Today’s interview is with Emily Weaver, a United States Naval Academy graduate who is currently in school to be a Naval Flight Officer. Emily is extremely hard working, intelligent and an awesome girl who is fighting for our country’s freedom.

        (Emily with her college roommates. She’s in the pink striped tank top.)

Krystle: Hi Emily! Can you describe your occupation and what you are currently studying?

Emily: Right now I’m basically a paid student.  I’m training to be a Naval Flight Officer which is the person in the airplane that does the navigation and the communications and stuff.  Basically, we do everything except actually fly the plane.  I like to think of it as the stage manager of the aviation world.  Right now school is just teaching us how to plan flights for optimal fuel use and how to navigate using navigation aids and what not.  Its fun! But its also very tedious!

Krystle: That’s awesome! When did you decide that this was the field you want to go into?

Emily: Haha, honestly about 3 minutes before we put in our final preferences at school last December.  My mom likes to call me “the reluctant sailor” because I’ve really been fighting this Navy thing all the way.  I almost left the Academy, and decided to stay mostly because I had no idea what I would do if I wasn’t there.  So when senior year rolled around, and it was time to enter our preferences I was between about NFO or SWO-Intel which is basically where you work on a ship for 2 years or so until you get fully qualified and then you can transfer to Intelligence.  And really I was between those two because they had the shortest commitment associated with them. I basically flipped a coin and landed on NFO.  I was the only person in my company that actually wanted to be an NFO,everyone else that wanted aviation wanted pilot.  I liked the idea of going against the grain a little bit haha.  I’m always looking to be different haha.  But now that I’m here, it was honestly a great choice for me, and I’m glad I picked it.

Krystle: That’s really cool. How did your family react when you decided to join the Navy?

Emily: I decided pretty young. I think I was 13, my parents were really excited (and only partly because it meant a free college education) and I’m not sure if Mike(brother) and Leigh (sister) really thought it would happen at that point haha. Once I got closer to it, and it became more real I think they were excited for me. I’m not sure they understood why I was doing it, but really, I don’t even understand why I did it, so it worked out. They were all super supportive though.

Krystle: That’s great! I’m sure they’re all extremely proud too. Was it hard adjusting to the lifestyle at first.. like when you went away to school?

Emily: Oh yea. I only got 9 days off between graduating High School and reporting for Plebe Summer at the Academy.  I think I’m still recovering from the rollercoaster of emotions that was my last week home heh.  Culture shock doesn’t even begin to describe the change from civilian life to plebe life.  I went from high school, where I basically owned the place, and could get away with murder to college where I was the lowest of the low and no matter what I did or how well I did it, it was wrong. And the whole time I knew my friends were at the beach and enjoying themselves while I was getting up at 0530 everyday to go work out and kill myself.  The sunrises were beautiful though.

Once the school year started it got a little better, not too much, mind you. Plebe year is awful, its meant to be.  You’re not allowed “media” so no music, or tv or movies, you have a bedtime, theres a lot of yelling involved hah. Its definitely tough. And I had never worked so hard for such mediocre grades in my life. I had to study for the first time in my life, and I realized I had no idea how to do it correctly, and it took me a long time to get my grades where I wanted them to be.  In conclusion, yea it was pretty hard to adapt haha.  I don’t think I really settled in until Junior year.

Krystle: Wow. That sounds rough. I really commend you for that. What did you do in that time of adjustment? Did you have any outlets, hobbies…etc.

Emily: Thanks! Freshman year I was in the Drum and Bugle Corps but it wasn’t as much fun as I’d hoped.  My best outlet was working on the musicals. We did ‘Guys and Dolls’ plebe year, and it was great to finally be doing something that I was good at.  As you can imagine, its hard to bring a military environment into a theater environment so everything was much more relaxed.  I used to spend as much time as I possibly could in the theater partly because I’m a perfectionist haha but mostly because of the escape.  Hammering things was a nice stress release too. Starting soph year I also started working on our Halloween Concert (its an organ concert we hold in our chapel, there’s all kinds of lights and effects and stuff, its really cool). I was in charge of the dome and all that happened up there, so I got to see the show from 87 feet in the air, which in my opinion is the best seat in the house!  We always had to pull lots of long hours for that one, but it was worth it!

Krystle: That’s amazing! Did you sleep at all? Haha.

Emily: Ha not during shows.  There’s actually a picture of me during Hairspray last year camped out in a sleeping bag on the stage.  In fact this time last year I was just finishing up a weekend that included a 60 hour workday.  We were super behind on the set and we started working Saturday morning and only stopped for food occasionally until monday Night. It was intense. And by the end we were so tired and giddy it was hilarious haha.

Krystle: That’s fantastic. I’m sure those were great times with everyone that was involved. Do you see yourself being involved with theater after you retire?

Emily: I would love to! Its really the only thing I’ve ever done outside of the navy, so its hard to picture anything else haha.  Its probably not terribly realistic given that I don’t have much time to even work on community shows right now but I’m hoping that once I finish school I’ll have a little more time and I’ll be able to get back into it again. For all the stress and lack of sleep I get from it, I really do enjoy it an awful lot haha. My tech friends from school and I used to joke about how we were going to build the perfect theater when we all got out and then work in it.

Krystle: That’s a definite possibility! And you’ll be pretty young still when you retire, right?

Emily: Yea I don’t have any plans at this point to actually do my full twenty in the military, so more than likely I’ll be out in about 7 years, another year until I get my wings (finish school) and then the 6 that I owe the Navy.

Krystle: Gotcha. Well you know you always have a job if my theater plans come to fruition by then.

Emily: Haha. I’m counting on that.

Krystle: Awesome . I think that pretty much concludes our interview.. do you have any advice for anyone who’s considering the naval academy or entering the navy in general?

Emily: I’d say just make sure you do your research haha.  As with anything, the military can be really great but you have to be doing a job that you enjoy. You can’t really know what you’re getting yourself into until you’re there haha but it is a great life, and I don’t think I’d do anything different if I was given the chance.

Krystle: Thanks so much Emily! For your service, time and being a part of this blog series. I really appreciate it.

Emily: Thanks for asking! I’m honored.

I started this blog to introduce people that are making an impact in any way they can, whether it be through their writing, music, or any other projects that they’re working on. I think they’re pretty incredible, hopefully you will too.