thoughts-in-violet:

Dancing in the backyard:
Kool-aid moustache and butterfly wings,
Hearing Andrea McArdle sing
From the hi-fi in the den.
I’ve been waiting my whole life
To find a way back to then.

I aimed for the sky - 
A nine-year-old can see so far.
“I’ll conquer the world and be a star.
I’ll do it all by the time I’m ten.”
I would know that confidence
If I knew a way back to then.

So I bailed on my hometown
And became a college theatre dork.
I was eastbound and down,
Moving to New York.
So I crammed my life in a U-Haul
To find my part of it all.

But the mundane sets in;
We play by the rules
And plough through the days.
The years take us miles away
From the time we wondered when
We’d find a way back to then.

And when you least expect,
Opportunity walks through the door.
You suddenly connect
With the thing that you forgot
That you were looking for.

And there you are,
Right in the middle of what you love
With the craziest of company.
You’re having a kick-ass time,
And being who you wanted to be in this world.

You’re that little girl,
With her wings unfurled
Flying again,
Back in your backyard dancing.
I found a way back to then.

This is one of those songs you swear was written about yourself (even though you know better…). Sigh.

Singing “A Way Back to Then” is a very surreal experience for me. Even though I nowhere near Heidi’s age, or range of experience (or even vocal range for that matter), singing that song - actually telling the story - rings the truest for me than any other song I’ve ever song. 
Now it’s very easy for me to go into “performance mode” for that song. Meaning, standing up in singers position, and “performing”, but when I actually take it down to it’s words and tell the story she’s telling, it’s a very real thing for me. I feel the emotions, I understand the journey, I’m there, and I am a little girl playing in the backyard again - it just clicks. 
I’m not Heidi Blickenstaff, but speaking from me - Kimberlee Stone - I get the journey, and I’m going through that journey right now. I’m not that naive little girl playing “actress” anymore, and although I haven’t “made it” yet, I’ve gone through a lot in this craft. Sometimes forget how much I love acting, and the stage. This song, and play (for that matter), reminds me of that love though. It reminds me that just playing and the craft itself are the most beautiful things I have in this world, and above all else it reminds me how lucky I am to be doing what I love (even though sometimes it threatens to kill me and my mental stability from time to time). And I want nothing more than to just rock this song, tell my story (through Heidi), and have that kick ass time. 

A Way Back To Then (Cover-Karaoke) - [title of show]

Hey! I sing sometimes, and this is an example of that. Listen, or don’t (it’s a free country really).  Enjoy! 

Song: A Way Back to Then
Artist: [title of show] Original Cast
Album: [title of show] (Soundtrack from the Musical)
Played: 561 times

A Way Back to Then | [title of show] | Heidi Blickenstaff 

And there you are
Right in the middle of what you love
With the craziest of company
You’re having a kick ass time
And being who you wanted to be in this world

You’re that little girl
With her wings unfurled
Flying again
Back in the backyard dancing
I’ve found a way back to then