The Curious Case of Ryan Joseph Gedrich (My Autobiography)

    SMACK! Was that Chris Brown beating up Rihanna again? Well, yes, it probably was, but that was also the sound of the doctor hitting my little baby butt after I came out of the womb on December 20, 1993. My mother wasn't a novice at this whole ordeal, for my sister had been born exactly 656 days prior. I wished for a cool name like Maximus Gavin Gedrich, but was instead saddled with Ryan Joseph Gedrich being written on my certificate of birth. Throughout my first year of life, according to my parents, I was an adorable little bundle of... non-stop screaming. Nothing could get my little trap to shut up. Night and day, if you came near my house, all you would hear would have been the screeching siren known as my crying. All I could do was grow out of it, so my parents were subjugated to the noise for an entire year. I miss being a baby.

    Even when I grew older, I still had trouble sleeping. Around the age of four, I discovered that instead of cuddling up at night to a teddy bear or blanket, I wanted nothing more than a few washcloths. The strange child I was, for some unknown reason, wouldn't fall asleep without having his two waffle washcloths with him. "Buddies", as they were called, became the only way I could fall asleep. In fact, they are most likely at the bottom of a drawer in my room, waiting for a time to emerge out to help someone sleep again.

    Walking is the essential mode of transportation for all humans, and it is always a parents thrill to scream "Oh my God!! He/She is walking on their own!". So it was to my parents disappointment when, instead of walking on my own, I picked up a baseball bat. Yes, I used a baseball as a walking stick to learn how to walk. Ironic considering most sports are now the bane of my existence, but that is beside the point. My parents even once quoted me as saying "I'm never going to walk anywhere without my bat!" Thankfully I lied about that, or else high school would be a very awkward experience.

    Speaking of sports, there have been many unsuccessful endeavors at sports made by myself throughout my life. For three years in elementary school, I attempted to play soccer. I was on the same team for all three years, and, to put it in plain english, sucked. I always played defense, and my team was apparently "so good" that the ball never came near me. I spent most of my time bent down, counting blades of grass. Needless to say the soccer really did not work out, so in fifth grade I tried basketball. My team was the Spurs, and we as a whole weren't that bad. We came in 3rd place out of all the teams in BMAC for that year, and it was quite fun! Naturally, I myself wasn't very good, but my team mates, including one Ryan Cavallo, were, so they helped up through. Basketball was fun, but the work you had to put into it wasn't worth it for me, so I did not return the next year.

    For a time, I also had a hobby of collecting Beanie Babies. I used to pretend that they were alive, and create little lives for them. Every week I would try to get a new one to add to the "family". Sometimes, I would make a little fort in the living room and pretend to be part of their family. Call it imaginative, call it strange, blame it one my "actor creativity", but I used to think they were so fun. Of course I grew out of it, but I still have bins upon bins of them in my basement, waiting for another young child to grab them up.

    Another thing I used to love when I was little was Sesame Place. Sesame Place is a Sesame Street theme park in Pennsylvania, ten or twenty minutes outside of Philadelphia. My parents used to take us there all the time when we were little. It is basically a little children's Six Flags, with water slides, pools, roller coasters, and shows to see. My favorite thing to do there was Elmo's World Adventure, where all the little kids would "act" in these scenes on a green screen, and then you could buy the VHS tape with the background filled in and watch your adventure with Elmo. It was so fun! I even got a giant stuff animal Elmo! We do not go there anymore, but it is always so fun to go back and watch those Elmo's World Adventure tapes, re-living what it was like at that age.

    My illustrious school career began at the ripe old age of three. My first class ever was preschool with Mrs. O'Connor at St. Paul's Christian School. We always used to have such a fun time playing around, doing arts and crafts, and just being little kids. The next year at Saint Paul's, I moved up to Pre-K with Mrs. Lowe. I remember having so much fun playing house with my friends during playtime, and making paint footprints in arts and crafts. One time we took a trip to a pumpkin patch and chose our own pumpkins, with a hayride to and from the patch. My time at St. Paul's was fun, but nothing could beat when I was in kindergarten at the PLC with Mrs. Popp.

    My next rung climbed on the education ladder was kindergarten at the Primary Learning Center. It was such a great time, and many friends I made there I still know today. We learned the alphabet through "The Letter People", a motley crew of little creatures who each came with their own name, story, and song. Although a little creepy at times, they were so much fun, and really help the kids to remember the alphabet. In gym we also had "Scooterville", our own little kindergarten community on scooters. Everyone had their own license, and their own unique job you rotated every week. Everyone would travel around on their scooter, performing their job like being the postman, or running the "car" wash. Little things like that made kindergarten really fun when I was a kid.

    Going to first grade at Lanes Mill Elementary School was a real thrill for me. It made me feel like I was finally at school with the "big kids". My teacher, Mrs. Kodan, was very musical and had us play our kazoos we kept inside of our desks every morning. Although she was old and very strict, she was a great teacher. From then on, I had a great time in elementary school. From being in chorus to recess, the whole experience was a blast. In fourth grade I attended the Young Author's Conference in Jackson, where we had writing workshops and discussions with actual authors. Elementary school was a great time in my life, and when my school bus left that parking lot for the last time, I didn't think I would ever find a better school.

    But of course, I was wrong. After my first day in sixth grade at Veterans Memorial Middle School, I could not have been happier. I had a great time in all of my classes, and met some great new people. The same went for seventh grade and eighth, and everything was great! I became involved with the morning announcements for the school, VMTV, and always had somewhere to go every morning. Also, every year, we had a trip to NBC studios in New York City. We took a tour of the studios where they shoot shows including SNL and Conan, and then went for lunch in a new restaurant each time. The adviser, Mrs. Quaglia, made it very exciting, and also introduced me to what is now my main focus (and obsession) in life.

    Acting has become my passion in life. I have always loved performing, ever since I was a little boy. I have been dancing at Wendi Sue Porter School of Dance since I was two years old, and I have loved every minute. But it was not until recently, when I was in seventh grade and was Jesus in Godspell Jr., that I became immersed in acting as well. After Godspell, I tried to perform in anything I could, and soon after ended up with the Brick Children's Community Theatre, or BCCT. I've since performed in five of their shows, and have had a great time with each. One of my most recent shows was "Fools", a comedy by Neil Simon, and also my first role in a straight play. Being in "Fools" was such a wonderful and thrilling experience, especially being a freshman cast in a lead role. It really allowed me to expand as an actor, and I am so thankful for the opportunity.

    But not only is acting my passion, it has also led to my favorite hobby. The history of musical theatre is something that really interests me, and I always love to hear more. It just fascinates me how much work goes into one production, without the certainty of success and almost more of a chance of failure. The gamble, and how the actors AND producers put their lives out on the line enthralls me to no end. Or even if there is a success, how many problems can still go wrong. For example, in the original production of Sweet Charity at the Palace Theatre on Broadway, one night, during "If My Friends Could See Me Now", Gwen Verdon's lighting was completely messed up, and no one could see her. When the stage manager went up to the lighting booth to see what was wrong, he found the lighting operators tied up and gagged. It had been payday at the theatre, and they had been mugged. I just find little facts like that so engrossing.

    

    Going to see a show on broadway is the epitome of theatre. As you can tell, I am not like most other fifteen year-old boys, and this will only solidify that. Whenever I can, I go to New York to see a show. Whether it is front row center or the back of the theatre, I just love being there. In fact, I just love being in the city, being a part of it all. Because being in the city allows anyone, no matter who they are, to have a chance to do what they love. And, like I always used to say when I was a kid, "I'm just Ryan", and being just Ryan still lets me have so many possibilities in the future to come. So keep checking in, because although I'm here in Brick for now, just wait. Soon you'll be seeing me in bigger and better things, and although it may be hard, I will get there, just wait. To quote my favorite musical "Sunday in the Park with George", "White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite. So many possibilities."