BWW Blog: Casey Hebbel and Meggie Cansler of Transcendence Theatre's 'Broadway Under the Stars'

Hello BroadwayWorld San Francisco!

We here at Transcendence Theatre Company are thrilled to be back for our FIFTH season of Broadway Under the Stars concerts in beautiful Wine Country!

This season we have invited two of our Transcendence Artists to share what is happening behind the scenes with all of our friends here on the BroadwayWorld.com Blog. These talented and extraordinary ladies will be giving you the latest scoop all summer.

We hope you enjoy this inside look at Broadway Under the Stars!

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Hello blog readers, and welcome to the first installment of our Transcendence BroadwayWorld Blog! My name is Casey Hebbel, and along with Meggie Cansler, we will be sharing each week a bit of an inside scoop on our transcendent summer here in Sonoma. Since you will be hearing from me all summer, why don't I tell you a little about myself?

I have been very blessed to be a part of Transcendence for the past four seasons, making this my fifth year in this beautiful town! Back in 2012 I joined Transcendence for their "What a Wonderful World" concert. Then, for the next 3 years, I came back to perform in "Fantastical Family Night" and worked at the Transcendence Kids Camp as a teacher, then the associate director of education, then last year as the director of education.

It was because of these experiences with Kids Camp that I really found my passion for theatre education! This has led me to begin graduate studies in Nashville, TN in addition to working with young performers and educators at Nashville Children's Theatre (the oldest Equity children's theatre in the country!) and The Theater Bug.

This year with Transcendence, I am a member of the Summer Resident Team. I could not be more thrilled! In addition to performing, I am also the Education Coordinator; and this year that encompases more than ever!

We have been working since January to kick off our very first intern program; we have 13 amazing college and high school students working side by side our amazing staff across all departments. They are one week in and already killing it! We also have Kids Camp coming up in July, which is always a blast! And we are working on several amazing community outreach partnerships and projects, which we will tell you more about as the summer goes on!

The community is abuzz with that transcendent energy that comes sweeping into town with the arrival of the first cast. There are some familiar faces but also many new ones! We are not even a week into rehearsals, but I can already tell you that you will not want to miss this show! It is exploding with energy and joy and the audience (hopefully including all you readers out there) is going to take that energy and joy to a whole nother level!!

I can't wait to be back in the Field of Dreams (as we lovingly call Jack London State Historic Park) and to chat with all the wonderful patrons, reconnect with friends from years past, and experience some serious heart explosions! It's going to be an amazing season as we celebrate the CALL OF THE WILD and rejoice in the beautiful life that is all around us!

Now that I've talked your ear off (...or written your eyes off? Ha!) Anyway, let me conclude by saying how excited the whole Transcendence team is to be kicking off the season! Opening night will be here before we know it!!

If you come to a show, you can find me at the merchandise tent before the show, so come say hello and get ready to have the BEST SUMMER EVER!

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Hi there! Meggie Cansler here. Back again this summer to give you the scoop of what in the world we are up to at Transcendence Theatre Company. You know that place? The one that keeps stealing all of your Broadway performers from New York with the promise of singing in wine country in one of the most beautiful venues in the United States??? Yup, that's them!

I never went back to New York City after last season. I fell in love with Sonoma (or Son-HOME-a as I have coined it!) and couldn't be happier to be a part of such an incredible team of people. The energy here is electric. (I also met the love of my life this year and feel like I am Alice in Wonderland who fell down the rabbit hole. Could all of this be real?? This place, this company, this LIFE?? Indeed it is.)

Transcendence has kept me busy all year long singing at different wineries and events. I can't express how much I love singing surrounded by lush vineyards and seeing the people enjoying this beautiful place with their wine in hand! It has been a glorious year. And now another season begins!

Our 2016 season theme is CALL OF THE WILD, inspired by Jack London! It makes sense that he is our inspiration since we sing in Jack London State Historic Park and in the ruins of his old winery!

To get revved up for this, our company orientation went a little something like this:

We were taken to a surprise location and went ziplining through the Redwoods!! (WHAT COMPANY DOES THAT??) Over 250 feet in the air we flew from tree to tree for two and half hours. This was considered a WORK DAY. Wowza!! We transcended all fear and did it together as a team! It was incredible!

Everyone had different moments of fear, reservations, and then complete freedom. It felt invigorating. And my core was SORE after hours in the cannonball position...Leisurely activity it was not! I certainly "called to the wild" a few times... (insert embarrassed emoji).

ENTER: The cast of THIS MAGIC MOMENT! Some stars of last season: Leslie McDonel, Q Smith, Courtney Marowitz, Tony Gonzalez, Danny Calvert... and then add some NEW rockstars??? This show is going to kill it! Director Roy Lightner has his hands full featuring so many incredibly talented folks! Get ready folks. THIS MAGIC MOMENT will blow you away.

I can't wait to keep you updated as we make our way through this magnificent summer. #BestLifeEver #wellliveddays #herewego

Transcendence Theatre Company's Broadway Under the Stars 2016 Season runs from June through September in Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, CA only 45 miles north of San Francisco in Wine Country. More information and tickets available online at TTCsonoma.org or call 877-424-1414, Ext 1.

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