BWW Blog: Meggie Cansler of Transcendence Theatre's 'Rhythm of Life' - I'm Changing

Meggie Cansler - I'm Changing

How is it late August already? Kids have already had their first day of school and we have closed our third concert, "Rhythm of Life"! That is BANANA BOATS! (Cansler speak for nuts!) The community here in Sonoma Valley went nuts for this show. It was a variety show that surprised you with every number. One minute you had a sexy fosse style number, then a lyrical dance to "Fields of Gold" (danced and choreographed by Amanda Lehmen and Dylan Smith and such by Leslie MacDonnel and Stephen Stubbins)...oh, and can we talk about the fact that I have always thought it was among the fields of BALI??? Barley makes so much more sense. Great job, Meggie! That got the ladies dressing room laughing... There were other stand out numbers packed with energy where there was no dancing at all. My brained was tried and tested with learning a Pointer Sisters duet called "Cloudburst". It has so many lyrics and we sing it at lightening speed. It was a quartet of fierce ladies and we practiced every free minute we got... to the point where if you didn't know we were rehearsing, we looked like we were talking to ourselves like crazy people. You know how people look when you don't realize they have a bluetooth in their ear?? Well, picture that and fast forward it 3x and that is what we looked like on any free moment in rehearsal to make sure we got these lyrics out of our mouths! The pay off was awesome! I felt so proud that we did. Seriously, download this song and see what I am talking about!

Songs that you probably already have downloaded were in the show too. The Beatles Medley was a crowd pleaser for sure (another admittance by me... I had never heard Eleanor Rigby learning that medley. How is this possible you are thinking (and I can feel the judgement people!) ? I was a musical theatre baby. Shameful but true. I drove around in my white Saturn belting out Aida, Footloose, Dames at Sea, Songs for a New World... a new world has opened up for me now! I think that is what I love about these Broadway Under the Stars concerts so much - you get songs from so many different genres and flavors. It keeps the performers on their toes and the audiences wondering what in the world will be next.
Two of my personal favorites was the Boy Band Medley and Uptown Funk (where they called out all of our favorite wineries that have been so kind to sponsor for us!)... the crowd was electric and full of cheers and laughter - for those numbers and for the rest of them that filled out this energy packed show. I am tired just remembering all of it!

I had the honor of singing at the San Francisco Giants Game on Aug 28th! Whhhaaaaattttt??? I had never been to the AT&T park before. The field was overlooking the water and I felt like we were floating in a sea of "the sports" as I lovingly call it. (Again, musical theatre lady here... but I do love a baseball game!) Being from Kansas, I was worried my dad, being a loyal Royals fan, would be concerned about my wearing black and orange! (Transcendence color is orange and it was orange Fridaya the park! That was a sign in itself that Transcendence was supposed to be there!) Back to Phil Cansler! He couldn't have been more proud! Whew! We arrived on the field around 6:00 pm for sound check. I sang the first four lines in a microphone into a speaker small speaker pointed at me and that was it! I was surprised! Fast and efficient! The waiting for the next hour was the hardest part! I was so excited! A sold out game on a Friday night! Wahoo! I walked onto the field at 7:02pm and two minutes later I was announced as "Meggie Cansler from the Transcendence Theatre Company who does the Broadway Under the Stars concerts up in Jack London State Park" and then I started. The echo was bizarre. It felt like the place was silent but so electric. People hooped and hollered at different points and then at the very end as they were cheering, I took a deep breath and looked around the stadium, taking in the fact that this is a bucket list moment, for me, for my dad, for Transcendence Theatre Company!
A monumental day in all of our lives. I couldn't be more grateful to have been a piece in all of this.

We stayed for the game and even found ourselves at a members only restaurant that opened 6 months ago- Gotham Club. The manager was kind enough to let us check the place out and have a glass of vino as we watched the game at eye level from the dark rustic windows of the restaurant.

It was a phenomenal evening. I still can't believe it all happened! Life is magical around here. Every day feels like a dream come true and new dreams are happening all of the time. I've seen so many lives change and people feeling empowered by what we do or what we get to be apart of. It feels incredible to know that we are with a company that is really using art to enrich and enliven the masses - be it their artist that they hire or the community that they inspire (that rhymed -- nice, Megs! Haha). That makes me think of a quote from the song "I am Changing" that Q Smith brought the house down with in "Rhythm of life". It speaks to me about all of us and what we are trying to do within Transcendence Theatre Company for the masses:

I am changing, I'll get my life together now.
I am changing, yes, I know how.
I'm gonna start again.
I'm gonna leave my past behind.
I'll change my life.
I'll make a vow.
Nothings gonna stop me now...

#boom #bestlifeever #transcendencetheatrecompnay
Love from wine country!