Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Amazing people we meet along the way...
If you ask anyone who worked on Hannah Montana what I did on the show some would quickly say, "oh, he's the Production Coordinator." Others may say "He's missing his red Disney vest and riding crop...isn't he a tour guide??" You may think the latter would offend...quite the contrary. Some of my best memories I'll take with me from this show will be of the amazing kids and fans I met along the way. I met dozens of Hannah fans, but the best fans came from Make-A-Wish. I want to tell you about one very special one.
May 31, 2007....On the itinerary for today. Kennis, a Make-A-Wish kid suffering from Sarcoma is scheduled to visit the set and meet Hannah Montana (not before she gets the now famous Matty Devahl tour). At this point in the season I've shown dozens of MAW groups around and we've got the experience down to a science. I meet the family as the arrive in their limo, we tour the sets, try on wardrobe, meet the cast along the way, watch some of the taping and finish the evening hanging out with Miley (Hannah Montana) in her dressing room.
Kennis was extremely nervous and shy as she got out of the limo with her family, Kasha, Kenneth and Kassidy...all Ks, nice touch mom and dad. Kennis started to loosen up after I told her we had the run of the place. Anything she wanted, we could make it happen! That made her smile a bit. I quickly learned that Kennis knew more about the show and the cast than any of us that had been working there since the beginning. She really got a kick out of stumping us on every trivia question we threw at her.
This was gonna be a fun one! Great kid, great family... We made our way to Jason Earles' dressing room to pick him up on our way to take pictures all over the set. Jason and I pride ourselves in our MAW tour. We had Kennis smiling from ear to ear after getting shots in front of Ricos and in the Stewart's Great Room, trying on Emily's wardrobe, putting on the Hannah wig, and watching a lot of the show.
The night was coming to a close. Kennis' family was glowing, Kennis still smiling from ear to ear and from the other side of the stage Miley Cyrus was heading right at me. She whispered, "Do you think it would be alright if I gave Kennis one of my wigs?" Kennis had lost all of her hair from her illness and surgeries on her skull. My heart sank. I smiled at Miley and she ran to her dressing room to grab a wig for Kennis as we took pictures with Billy Ray and the rest of the cast. Below is the picture that was sent to me a few days after Kennis and family's visit. What an amazing moment!
Before the family left, Kennis gave both Jason and I a green bracelet with her name on it and the verse, "Thy faith hath made thee whole." We were so touched by their visit. Ive been wearing my bracelet ever since and Jason wore his bracelet in as many episodes of the show as possible. While the Nix family was so appreciative of all we did for their visit the impact they had on me was far more valuable. Two weeks after her visit to the set, Kennis passed away. Her father sent me the news amidst his many thank yous and appreciation for all of us who made one of Kennis' final memories a very special one.
This is one experience in my life that will never be forgotten, and Kennis Nix is one very special girl that will always be remembered.
**I finished this blog a few minutes ago and I thought I would check Kennis' website to see how the family is doing. I hadn't been to her page in awhile. I opened her page and started to cry. www.kennisnix.com There is a picture of Kennis' beautiful headstone. On the headstone is a picture of Kennis that was taken during her set visit...smiling ear to ear, just as she'll always be remembered.
May 31, 2007....On the itinerary for today. Kennis, a Make-A-Wish kid suffering from Sarcoma is scheduled to visit the set and meet Hannah Montana (not before she gets the now famous Matty Devahl tour). At this point in the season I've shown dozens of MAW groups around and we've got the experience down to a science. I meet the family as the arrive in their limo, we tour the sets, try on wardrobe, meet the cast along the way, watch some of the taping and finish the evening hanging out with Miley (Hannah Montana) in her dressing room.
Kennis was extremely nervous and shy as she got out of the limo with her family, Kasha, Kenneth and Kassidy...all Ks, nice touch mom and dad. Kennis started to loosen up after I told her we had the run of the place. Anything she wanted, we could make it happen! That made her smile a bit. I quickly learned that Kennis knew more about the show and the cast than any of us that had been working there since the beginning. She really got a kick out of stumping us on every trivia question we threw at her.
This was gonna be a fun one! Great kid, great family... We made our way to Jason Earles' dressing room to pick him up on our way to take pictures all over the set. Jason and I pride ourselves in our MAW tour. We had Kennis smiling from ear to ear after getting shots in front of Ricos and in the Stewart's Great Room, trying on Emily's wardrobe, putting on the Hannah wig, and watching a lot of the show.
The night was coming to a close. Kennis' family was glowing, Kennis still smiling from ear to ear and from the other side of the stage Miley Cyrus was heading right at me. She whispered, "Do you think it would be alright if I gave Kennis one of my wigs?" Kennis had lost all of her hair from her illness and surgeries on her skull. My heart sank. I smiled at Miley and she ran to her dressing room to grab a wig for Kennis as we took pictures with Billy Ray and the rest of the cast. Below is the picture that was sent to me a few days after Kennis and family's visit. What an amazing moment!
Before the family left, Kennis gave both Jason and I a green bracelet with her name on it and the verse, "Thy faith hath made thee whole." We were so touched by their visit. Ive been wearing my bracelet ever since and Jason wore his bracelet in as many episodes of the show as possible. While the Nix family was so appreciative of all we did for their visit the impact they had on me was far more valuable. Two weeks after her visit to the set, Kennis passed away. Her father sent me the news amidst his many thank yous and appreciation for all of us who made one of Kennis' final memories a very special one.
This is one experience in my life that will never be forgotten, and Kennis Nix is one very special girl that will always be remembered.
**I finished this blog a few minutes ago and I thought I would check Kennis' website to see how the family is doing. I hadn't been to her page in awhile. I opened her page and started to cry. www.kennisnix.com There is a picture of Kennis' beautiful headstone. On the headstone is a picture of Kennis that was taken during her set visit...smiling ear to ear, just as she'll always be remembered.
That's A Wrap ...Again
Season 2 of Hannah Montana has come to an end. It's only appropriate to add some pictures (some in black and white for emotional affect) to memorialize 2 seasons with a great staff, cast and crew.
Hannah sign in lights that hung proudly above our audience...
Office Staff and the Cast on our last day of shooting...
(from the left)
Lawrence Gan..........Production Assistant Extraordinaire
Jaime Carpenter......Assistant Production Coordinator
Mitchel Musso..........Cast, "Oliver Oken"
Miley Cyrus..............Cast, "Hannah Montana" and "Miley Stewart"
Me
Emily Osment..........Cast, "Lilly Truscott"
Moise Arias...............Cast, "Rico"
Jason Earles..............Cast, "Jackson Stewart"
Dave Grabarek.........Production Assistant Extraordinaire
Margaret Wall..........Audience Coordinator Extraordinaire
The best production team in town!!!!
The best audience team in town!!!!
Hannah sign in lights that hung proudly above our audience...
Office Staff and the Cast on our last day of shooting...
(from the left)
Lawrence Gan..........Production Assistant Extraordinaire
Jaime Carpenter......Assistant Production Coordinator
Mitchel Musso..........Cast, "Oliver Oken"
Miley Cyrus..............Cast, "Hannah Montana" and "Miley Stewart"
Me
Emily Osment..........Cast, "Lilly Truscott"
Moise Arias...............Cast, "Rico"
Jason Earles..............Cast, "Jackson Stewart"
Dave Grabarek.........Production Assistant Extraordinaire
Margaret Wall..........Audience Coordinator Extraordinaire
The best production team in town!!!!
The best audience team in town!!!!
Preface...
This is my first blog. No criticism from you fancy blogger people out there. So here goes...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
