me and my mom with Elmo and Cookie

Me with my cousins Missy and Jason

Saturday I got a visit from my mother, kim and Cheryl. My nephew Tyler was also able to make it to Grand Rapids thanks to his father David. I was very grateful David took the time to bring Tyler down. We had a great time visiting. And as usual Kim, Cheryl my mother and myself had quite the time at dinner. If anyone out there has been out to dinner with the four of us you know what I'm talking about. We chose to dine at Bennigans and the potatoe soup was excellent! Beyond that it wasnt the best experience in the world but did the trick and the four of us have fun eating anywhere! During this visit Kim introduced me to a new skin care product from Arbonne. Um...normally i dont get into this stuff but seriously, I used it once and the next day i got compliments on my skin! I am now a believer! Kim is overnighting me some stuff I ran out of already. It's all natural and it makes your skin look and feel amazing. So go check it out http://KimSosnoski.myarbonne.com
Thanks for coming to visit! I miss you all a ton!

Grand Rapids, MI

My visit to Grand Rapids, MI was a great time! I havent been home for the holidays the last couple years so it was great to see some family. As I had mentioned before I got to see my mother , father, sister, nephew, Cheryl and Aunt Selma earlier in the week during a quick visit to Essexville. Then Friday evening I was very fortunate to have cousins Ron and Gloria and their family come see the show. They have always been so supportive of me and it was so nice of them to come out to the show. Also that evening my Aunt Char, Uncle Rodger, cousin Missy, cousin Jason, cousin Jennifer, and other cousin Jason came out to the show! Jenny and Jason arrived late...I think they did it on purpose so they could miss the meet and greet and get their OWN picture on the blog. Hahaha! It was so wonderful to see everyone! Afterwards some of us enjoyed some drinks and wings at BW3's near by, delicious! Later in the evening Missy , Jason and myself took a midnight trip to Meijers. I miss Meijer so freakin' much!! Wal Mart and Target got nothin on it, AND Kelly Clarkson's face was everywhere in the store. Loves it! Thanks to everyone for coming out and seeing the show-it meant a lot!

Couple pictures from opening night of Sesame Street Live's "Elmo's Coloring Book" 05-06 tour 8/19/05

Rachel McAdams VS. Kate Hudson

So I went and saw "Red Eye" tonight and I saw "Skeleton Key" last week. While I liked them both I will say go to the theatre to see Red Eye and if you cant afford it for whatever reason, take Skeleton Key in on a rainy night at home. Both the leading ladies were excellent. However, as I have mentioned before, I'm in love with Rachel. Not to mention Red Eye was also done by Wes Craven. I dont fully understand how he can come out with such good movies and at times come out with such crappy movies with no redeeming qualities what so ever. I am on the edge of saying that Red Eye is almost a "must see". Kate Hudson was fun to watch in Skeleton Key as she got all Nancy Drew on us but something about it didnt sit right with me. I think I was dissapointed, but at the same time found some form of entertainment in it. You be the judge.

A visit to mother's house...

I arrived in Grand Rapids, MI on Monday afternoon and my mother picked me up and took me to stay at her brand new condo in Essexville, MI. It was a wonderful Visit. After I arrived in Essexville I borrowed moms car to head to my hometown Saginaw. I was going to visit my friends Andy and Deena. I got the extra bonus of also seeing my friends Samantha and Natalie. I also checked out my friends coffee shop "Dawn of a new day". It was a great space! The next night I made dinner for my sister Sunshine, My nephew Tyler, Cheryl, Mom, Dad, and my aunt Selma. I made crispy ranch chicken, my special mashed potatoes and some veggies. I love it when i get to have a kitchen for a night, it was delicious. Later I recieved visits by Gloria, Ron, and Paul came over later as well. Today my dad drove me back to Grand Rapids. Back to work tomorrow! It was so wonderful to see everyone! And my moms condo is awesome, she deserves it!

tour dates

Check out the tour date's for "Elmo's Coloring Book" at www.sesamestreetlive.com or www.vee.com

On the road again...

Alright so here we go! We are on our first bus trip as of tonight, and it's an over nighter. So...the whole cast and crew is checked out and ready to go with nothing to do until 2:00a.m. I myself will be busy at 1:00a.m. as I have been chosen to load luggage this week. That is an awesome bonus, it sucks, but everyone has to pay $1 a bag and i split with another person. I 'm hoping to make a good $30, we shall see.
To pass the time me and some friends went to the movies. This weeks choice was "the 40 year old virgin". Um...all I have to say is-see it. You know by the title if this is your kind of movie or not.
Hope everyone is well. Grand Rapids here I come!

Opening Night!

Hello All!
After 3 weeks of production in this town called Rochester I am happy to say that Sesame Street Live's "Elmo's Coloring Book" is up and running! We played to a very full house at both the morning and evening shows yesterday. We were all so excited to finally have some people in the seats.
Afterwards we all celebrated at the fabulous Kahler Hotel. Which made it a rather difficult show for some of us this morning-damn drink tickets! Our company manager Morgan threw an awesome bash along with assistant party planners Casey and Rebecca. It was excellent!
So...two more days left here and then off to Grand Rapids, MI. Ahhh....gotta love those over nighters on the bus. Cant wait to see my family in Michigan!

Brian and Kat

These are my friends Brian and Kat Gausman. They were married just this last May. Unfortunatly i was unable to attend the wedding due to my tour schedule. Fortunatly, my production for this years tour is in Rochester, MN and they live in Minneapolis. Yesterday I had the day off so Brian and Kat came and picked me up Sunday night and I got to spend just a little over 24 hours with them as I had to be back in Rochester for rehearsal. While the visit was short it was so wonderful to see these two. I adore both of them and I am so happy for them! Not to mention I have a blast everytime I get to see them! I met Brian at Trollwood performing arts school in Fargo, ND the summer of 1997 and we have remained friends since. He is one of the greatest guys I have ever known and I know I can always count on him. I met Kat a few years ago and we hit it off immediatly. Kat and I have a good time picking on Brian together. Congratulations on the marriage! I'm excited for the long and happy life they will have together and wish them the best!!

bottoms up!

Company manager Morgan Dentch with assistant Casey Gray. Just how i like my company managers....with a tray full of shots ready to serve!

SSL-Elmo's Coloring Book

Here we are! The Company of Sesame Street Live's 2005-2006 "Elmo's Coloring Book" Tour.

For the love of beer!

As many of you may or may not know...I LOVE BEER! And not just any beer, no. Well, actually i love all kinds of beer but sometimes I can be very picky. Those of you that really know me and my specific beer taste know that my favorite time of the year is between April-Septemberish. Bell's brewery of Kalamazoo,MI makes the best beer in the world. All of their beer is delicious but the most delicious of all is Bell's Oberon Ale Avaliable only April-Septemberish. After September you are on a "while supplies last" alert for this guy. Seriously, how can I describe it? it's....it's.....Its " SUMMER IN A BOTTLE!" Unless of course you are lucky enough to find it on tap then its "Summer in a glass". So I had an eye appointment today here in Rochester,MN and I had to wear my contacts for a while and then come back to tell the doctor what I thought. While I had some time to kill and the liquor store was across the street I thought I would check and see if they carried this special brew. See, the other thing is you can only get it in the midwest. I walked in and found a large selection of beer from Bell's Brewery. I was very impressed. I thought "YES! There is some hope in Rochester yet-they will have MY beer!". But no Oberon. When I asked about it the guy said "Oh no-thats a fall beer". I didnt really know what to say so i said "No dude...it's my favorite beer..seriously, get on top of it. We have it in Chicago AND Michigan. how can you have all of these beers from Bell's and no Oberon!!!" He looked at me funny, as did the alcoholic with the pint of gin clenched in his hand. So...I just took a deep breath and walked out, still dissapointed with Rochester,MN. www.bellsbeer.com

Charlie and the chocolate factory...

Okay...I have to be honest, I was never a fan of the original. For that reason I have been hesitant about seeing this one. However, I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan (really, who isnt?) so that got me to check it out. It was excellent from start to finish! Freddie Highmore was so great as Charlie. You may remember him from "Finding Neverland" also with Mr. Depp. And of course, Johnny was brilliant as usual. I found Gene Wilder to be really creepy and boring in the original. Johnny was disturbing in the character (as the character is meant to be) but extremly funny as well. And unlike the original-I actually cared about the characters in this one. When Charlie found the last golden ticket, I thought i was gonna have to bust out a tissue. Go see it!

Check out my friend Alicia with her new band Lillix in the September issue of Teen People out in stores now!! (page 161)
www.lillix.com www.lillix.net www.aliciawarrington.com

Wedding Crashers

Hey Everyone!
I checked out the movie "Wedding Crashers" last week and thought it was great. I often walk into comedies not expecting much these days, and I didnt with this one. I thought it was hilarious! I wasnt a very big Owen Wilson fan but this movie changed my mind a bit. I've always liked Vince Vaughn and thought he was great in this. Vince seriously cracked me up a ton. Then there was Rachel McAdams who I am slowly but surely falling in love with. You all may remember her as "Mean Girls" queen Regina George or from "The Notebook" (which I still havent seen). She was beautiful and flawless in every way, I adore her. I can't wait for Wes Cravens "Red Eye" to come out (August 19th). Rachel will be in that too. Check out "Wedding Crashers"!

Sesame Street in Japan!

Just wanted to give a special "hello!" to my friends over in Japan touring with Sesame Street Live's "Everyone Makes Music". Dawn Difranco, Valerie Whitehead, Casey Daigle, Jessa Miller, Christa Alter, Mike Dreese, Stephanie Oaks, and Chris Harper all took the long flight there last Friday. Safe travels and have a great run guys!

Tour Dates

Check out my tour dates at www.sesamestreetlive.com or www.vee.com

Rehearsals....

So rehearsals have been moving along very well. The new cast members have picked everything up with no hesitation what so ever. Not only have they picked it up but they have retained the information and keep moving forward which is awesome. Our last day in the studio was on Sunday. Moving into the arena on Monday the new cast members were faced with the challenge of transefering everything they had learned onto the actual stage. Once again they pulled it off without a hitch. Performace director Rebecca Shubart has been amazing through the entire process. Watching these performers in action has been a wonderful experience. Finally I am starting to get back into the swing of things as I am slowly being put back into the show as both Oscar the Grouch and Professor Art. We open in just a little over a week and the cast and crew are kicking a*s! I have no doubt we will be ready. And then its farewell Rochester,MN!!!!

Dawn D. and Bitty Puppy
My friend Dawn from Sesame Street Live came to visit Chicago this summer on her break. The lucky lady also got the chance to see me as Bitty Puppy in American Girl Theatre's Bitty Bears Matinee-The Family Tree. Everyone has been asking to see me as the pup so i figured I would post a pic here. Happy people? If you look closely you can see that Dawn is trying to keep from falling over from laughter. More photos from "Bitty Bear" can be seen at:
http://www.americangirlplace.com/agp_chi_photo_bbm_thumb.php

Check out my tour dates for "Elmo's Coloring Book"
at www.sesamestreetlive.com or www.vee.com

My room mate this year is Taylor Morgan and he kicks ass!
He is a damn fine dancer too! So if I happen to mention the name Taylor you know who I'm speaking of now.

Alicia Warrington


Me, Alicia, Nicole & Cookie Monster
Sesame Street Live
June 2005
Long Beach, Ca

Hi!
Well my girl Alicia has made a new career move. She has joined the Canadian pop-rock band LILLIX (Maverick/Warner Bros) I'm really excited for her!! Check out www.aliciawarrington.com or www.lillix.net or www.lillix.com for updated info. You may know the band from "the band who did the theme song for MTV's Rich Girl's" TV show, the acuvue contact lens commercial or the theme song from the WB's "What I like about you". Look for a new album to be released early next year.

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to post this photo of my friend Charles. Many of you have heard me speak of him since I met him in february in Oklahoma City. Theres no getting around it, I adore the guy. This is him on his trip to Greece that he took this summer with his friend. I am very proud of him. He now lives in Washington D.C. and is doing an internship with the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. He's only been there a couple months and is already up for a position! I know he will get the job, he's just good like that. I miss him a ton and I cant wait to see him again.

Back on the road...

Hey everyone
Well, things are going well. After about 4 weeks off I am back to work. Very happy to be back to work!!! I am currently in Rochester, MN for production for the east coast leg of the "Sesame Street Live - Elmo's Coloring Book" tour. I am a returning cast member along with Les Bowen, Antwaun Steele, Fred Mursch, and Keith Oliver. Also returning are asst. company manager Casey Gray, performance director Rebecca Shubart and crew members Markus Lutrell, Tim Hnat, and Matt "Doc" Brashear. While it is great to see some familiar faces it is also wonderful making some new friends.
The cast got into town last Sunday and we started rehearsing on Monday. Rebecca is whipping the show out and the new cast members are picking everything up quickly. The show was learned in 4 days. Very impressive.
As for me I am kinda bored. Rochester doesnt offer much and I already know the show. I have spent my week hitting "play" on the CD player-and I get paid for it! In any event it is still great to be back.
The month of July found me back in Chicago at the American Girl Theatre back in the role of "Bitty Puppy" in Bitty Bears Matinee-A Family Tree. It was awesome to get to come back for a little bit.
Beyond that I spent time just hanging out with friends and enjoying my break. It was freakin' HOT! I didnt go out much for that simple reason. My mother, cheryl, sister Sunshine and nephew Tyler came for a visit and we had a nice time at the science and industry museum and just relaxing.
My friend Dawn Difranco also gave a visit to Chi-Town. She came and saw my show at American Girl and we tried this new place called "cereality". Its a cereal Cafe. It originally started out at University but Chicago is the first one to open one up off a campus. check it out www.cereality.com . It was definatly something different and fun! Dawn and I bought spoons that double as a straw-who could ask for more!?!?!
Also back in Chicago in July I auditioned for The American Musical and Dramatic Academy of NYC. And I was pleased to find out i got accepted with a scholarship! I plan on enrolling for fall of 2006. Yes ladies and Gents Dusty is heading back to school.
However, in the near future I am simply heading to Grand Rapids. My show will play there August 25th-28th at the Delatplex. Looking forward to seeing everyone! Thanks for checking in on this new blog. This will be my new way of lettin' anyone who is interested know whats up. No longer will you have to delete an e-mail and feel bad for not reading it. Check back in only if you wish to do so. Ill probably put a new entry in every week or so. You can still contact me at duste@hotmail.com . Would love to hear from everyone!!!!
Dusty