The Story Comes Alive

Hi there! My name is Tyler and welcome to my blog! (I can’t believe I’m actually saying that....)

I’m not totally sure what form this blog is going to take, or how often I will post...but I’m here for the ride!

Writing a blog has been something that I’ve dreamed about for a very long time. Longer than you would probably think, actually. What sort of started out as a series of long posts on my Facebook turned into something that I never thought I would find catharsis in...writing. But here we are!

At the start of 2019, I made a promise to myself: this was going to be the year that I started doing instead of just “talking about doing.” But before we get too far into that, I guess that I should just take a moment to introduce myself...

My name is Tyler Daddario and I am 24 years old. I’m what I think most people would call an optimist. But I like to think of myself as an optimistic realist. I’m a dreamer and a doer. I try to keep my head in the clouds and my feet planted firmly on the ground at all times. I’m a passionate person - I love the people, the things, and the places that I love wholeheartedly. Most of the time, I’m over-caffeinated thanks to my best friend, Starbucks. I’m a total foodie - I love delicious food, but more so, I love the conversations and company that happen around food.

My main passion in life is musical theatre. I’ve been obsessed with theatre since I was literally 4 years old. There’s something so incredibly magical, transformative, and intimate about what musical theatre provides. I see theatre as one of the greatest gifts in the world; a shared experience between the artists and the audience, live in real time, utilizing the universal languages of music and dance. There is simply nothing more human, more beautiful, and more inspirational.

I think that’s enough about me for now. We have to save some things to talk about later!

So, why a blog?

This is a bit of a complicated answer. For as extroverted as a I can be, when I’m not around other people, I spend a lot of time thinking. Some of this time is spent over-analyzing my day (sometimes on a microscopic level) and some of this time is spent being creative. However, a majority of the time I use for thinking is spent musing and reflecting. These thoughts could be on just about any subject. I have shared some of these thoughts with other people (what have since been called “Tyler-isms”) but more often than not, these thoughts enter my mind and then leave before I have the chance to share them with anyone. It seemed to me that a blog was the perfect place to share these thoughts before they disappeared!

Some of these posts may not mean anything. But it’s my hope that, if nothing else, I can offer a slightly different perspective or a unique view on the daily happenings and the shared experiences we collectively have as humans living life.

So, what’s up with the title of the blog?

A year ago (actually, exactly to the day), I kicked off the adventure of a lifetime.

A year ago today, I went into the first rehearsal for the all-kids production that I was going to direct - Disney’s My Son Pinocchio, Jr. At that first rehearsal, I read the kids this passage from my favorite Disney fireworks show “Happily Ever After” (the same show that the title of this blog comes from):

Each of us has a dream, a heart’s desire. It calls to us. And when we’re brave enough to listen, and bold enough to pursue, that dream will lead us on a journey to discover who we’re meant to be. All we have to do is look inside our hearts and unlock the magic within.

Little did they know, there is a continuation to this passage that I had kept from them. So, 3 months and one amazing rehearsal process later, I was in a green room full of crying kids and production staff members at the closing night performance of Disney’s My Son Pinocchio, Jr., our little labor of love. That afternoon, I shared the end of that speech with them:

And so, our journey comes to an end. But yours continues on. Grab a hold of your dreams and make them come true. For you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go. Let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your happily ever after.

It was then, upon some reflection, that I realized something: I wasn’t taking the advice that I was giving to other people. I realized that I needed to begin ACTIVELY pursuing my own “happily ever after.” From that moment on, everything changed. As Sara Bareilles says in the musical Waitress, “my heart’s at the wheel now.” I’ve since learned that your dreams require work, they require love, they require understanding, and they require patience - but, if you actively reach for them, they can come true. This thought-process has changed my life and everything about it.

And that’s exactly why I’m writing this blog. Life is too short to make passive wishes. Wishes should be active, dreams should be big, and your heart should always be in the lead.

There’s no knowing where my future is going to take me. But I do know one thing, it’s just beginning...

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a note:

I listen to A LOT of music. Music literally keeps me going at all times throughout the day. Whether in my car, at work, in my room, or taking a shower...there’s music going. We all have that new song that we just can’t get enough of. We listen to it on repeat and no matter how many times we have listened to that song we still cry, or get pumped up, or scream the lyrics at the top of our lungs (or all three of those things.) So, I thought it would be fun if I include, what I'm going to call, my “Jam of the Moment” at the bottom of every blog post.

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Jam of the Moment

"I Can't Go Back" from Pretty Woman the Musical

Okay....this song is the definition of what the kids would call a bop. While the lyrics and content are quite problematic in 2019, the melody and driving rock chorus in this song are so incredibly contagious. I can't help but to crank the volume up to 100% when this comes on in my car. Samantha Barks's tone and riffing throughout the song are both unreal. I'm a total sucker for belting, but throw in a slow verse launching into a key change with a back-up choir screlting harmonies and it's surely going to be a favorite song of mine.

Plus, the chorus' lyrics fit in perfectly with what we're talking about in the blog post above. "I've seen a different world and I can't go back." Give it a listen! You won't regret it!

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