We're Gonna Party Like It's 1774!

Heather and Ken first officially met in Graduate School back in 2015. It is a little surprising it took that long, because in 2003-2004 they were both attending the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, both frequenting the same pizza place (R.I.P. Big Nick’s Pizza and Burger Joint), and both living not just in the same city or even in the same neighborhood, but for several months in the same building on W 70th St! But fate, if you believe in such things, knew they weren’t ready for each other yet. So after a decade of missed connections they were finally put face to face in room 306 at The University of Missouri, Kansas City. A couple months into their training they found themselves working on a little produced Shakespeare play called Timon of Athens. Modern audiences are mostly disappointed that it has nothing to do with an animated meerkat on vacation in Greece. One evening at rehearsal, neither Ken nor Heather were needed so Carla (their professor and director) sent the two of them off to brainstorm an opening of the show. They decided to head to the nearby Pizza 51 and to get that slice they never had the chance to share back in NYC. The first 15 minutes were about the assignment, but they quickly veered into talking about anything and everything but the show. This was the first time they had spent time alone together, and it seemed only natural to compare notes about life. They continued chatting and texting over the next several days, pretending like it was just a casual friendship. Of course, if you’re reading this, you know that wasn’t true. When you’re in theatre school, the work you do in class is not all papers and research. And working on a romantically charged scene can sometimes give a person the opportunity to express the otherwise unexpressed. The work of George Bernard Shaw is very good for that. Scott Stackhouse, their voice professor (who will also be officiated their wedding!) put Ken and Heather together for this particular project. On November Second (the Royals had won the world series the day before), during their lunch break, Heather and Ken decided to work on their scene from "Arms and the Man" in room 306, the room where they had met for the first time. That decision was definitely motivated by commitment to the work and not at all a desire to be alone together... The scene was going well, and the work was paying off, but eventually subtext became text. They kissed for the first time that day. Moments later, their friend and classmate Charlie walked into the room, causing them both to blush a lot and pretend nothing had happened. But something had happened, something neither one of them knew would lead us to this day. Since that November afternoon, just two months after finally crossing paths, Ken and Heather have been sharing triumphs and struggles together as a team. They survived Graduate School and a global pandemic. They’ve celebrated each other's personal and professional victories, helped get each other through the lean times, and even pushed through periods of great distance knowing the world will always bring them back together. And now they are delighted to take this next step with each other, and with all of you by their sides! Thank you for joining us on this amazing day as we start the next act of our incredible journey together!