Eric, what was it like seeing your vision come to life on stage in front of a sold out audience on your first show? Seeing my vision come to life was amazing. It was unexplainable. If felt like I was grabbing a handful of rocks throwing them at a window hoping that all of them hit. But instead of one of them hitting, all of them hit. I had worked very hard in a short amount of time…but I didn’t expect that outcome. That was next level for me.
Was it a different experience for you than the videos and how? It was definitely a different experience from the videos. With the videos I just had a camera pointed at people and I told them what to do. But with the actual stage play, we didn’t have four or five takes. It was all or nothing on the stage. Plus, it was more detailed so it went into the back story of Maggie, Kristen, her parents and her life and how she contracted [HIV]. It was definitely different.
Was the lead role of Maggie a hard decision to make since the entire story revolved around her? The lead role was a hard decision. I had so many people that were qualified. At the end of the day, I’m extremely ecstatic about who I chose for that role. She made it her own as far as ticket sales and dedication to the project. She made it her own project. At some points during practices and rehearsals I had to ask myself was it my stage play or her stage play because she went so hard for it. Carmen played the role of Maggie and I’m glad I chose her for that. I think that was God putting her in that role.
