WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE THE CW14 STAR?

In less than 40 hours we kick off the voting of Round 2 to determine who stays in the CW14 Star search!  I am feeling excited and incredibly blessed to be in the competition still, surrounded by great people, and just experiencing the goodness of day-to-day life.

So, the question has come to me in multiple ways, but the hardest-hitting question is when it's asked: "Why do you want to be the CW spokesperson."  As opposed to questions "why are you right for the position" or "what do you like about the job", the question of what I want really hits home.

I want to get past cliche talk, but in so many ways it is a dream in the making.  To entertain, bring smiles to people's faces, it's something I guess I've always been able to do and enjoyed doing.  From earlier years of life, I suppose I saw this as something that would happen when I grew up.  As a kid you don't really think anything through in detail, but more importantly, as a kid you knew how to dream and dream nobly and dream big!

As this dream has taken shape, I've had the privilege of entertaining audiences on stage as comical and villainous leads.  In film I've been given the opportunity to act, but also to direct.  Whether creating a character or creating a world or a story, there is something extraordinary and supernatural about creating something.

To jump into television as the potential CW spokesperson is a different experience and consequently, a different challenge.  This is me, striving to be articulate, on the ball, and still me.  I noticed a change over the weekend, where this role on TV feels a lot more natural, and I hope it translates over the air waves well.  It is with sincere gratitude I thank the people I've been working with, who've made me feel comfortable and welcome at the studio and in the CW promotions.

So, back to that question of "Why do you want to be the CW spokesperson?", I can honestly say I think it's where I'm supposed to be.  Or as the head of Paul Mitchell-The School in Green Bay told me last Friday, "I started this up eight years and haven't worked a day since.  When you love what you do, you never work a day of your life".  An opportunity like this spokesperson job comes only once in a while. 

I can say in my lifetime, I've had a few of these great opportunities--most recently, working as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local YMCA.  So many days I've left work knowing I have the best job, best boss, best co-workers and patrons.  In the dead of winter, I spend my days in 80 degree temps while the rest of Wisconsin shovels out.  I am one of the few people who can wear shorts and sandals to work, soak in the hot tub, swim any time, drink coffee, chat with interesting people and listen to my favorite oldies music--all in a day's work. I have the satisfaction of knowing the small sacrifices I've made like staying up on CPR training and exercising daily can and has made a difference in the lives of those who need me.

To leave a job I enjoy and am passionate about and leave the people I care about could only come about at a time when I feel convicted that the moment is right to take the next step to where I'm supposed to be, in a career, in the dream and in the gift of self.

I hope I can use all these opportunities and blessings, and offer something good to the world with them.  

SOME EXCITING UPDATES

As we're gearing up for another round of voting to see who our Top 5 will be, I wanted to give you the quick heads up on some things to look forward to...

Our .60 studio recordings should start their run sometime this week on CW14, likely mornings and weekends.  Also, these recordings should also run on our site www.cw14online.com  Check them out and read up on the contest!  Also on the CW14 site you can watch the makeovers of the Top 10 in a new video uploaded recently.

New pictures are up from the day at the studio, thanks to Maria Parmigiani!  Those can be found at the CW14Star Facebook page.

Like them or hate them, the VOTE KURT YouTube videos, are coming back as well.  They are my gift to you, and a practical and hopefully fun way to remind you to vote daily.  I have about a day's turnover time from writing a short script, recording and editing, and uploading online, so I foresee a few more hitting the scene.

There is more to come!  Check back daily.


  

CONTESTANTS IN TV LAND

CW14 Star Contenders in Studio

(Photo Courtesy of CW14)

Ever wonder about the inner workings of your favorite local news and TV shows?  Especially after the long production hours that went into the 'Confessions of a Sailor' film, I'm now always curious about what goes in to creating that picture and sound on your home television, computer and phone screens.  

This morning I got the behind-the-scenes experience of the CW14 and WLUK FOX11 TV studios.  The CW14 Star Top 10 Contenders were invited to the TV studio to do two recordings in preparation for Round 2 of open voting.  The .60 second tapings will air on CW14 weekday mornings and weekends during this second round.

Today's events were a very helpful part of the whole decision-making process.  I felt very comfortable with the people, the setup of the studio, cameras and teleprompter, and also my delivery of a monologue.  Whether or not I translated well onto the TV screen is yet to be determined.  I defer that to your judgement and the station's.  I know for a fact it beats my original audition tape so I'd say its a win!

In the studio I got to see the sets of WLUK FOX11's Good Day Wisconsin, Living with Amy and Sports Edge.  We weren't there long before several special people dropped in for a surprise visit.  Good Day Wisconsin morning anchors Rachel Manek and Pete Petoniak and reporter Emily Deem came into the studio to meet and welcome us and wish us luck!

A NEW WEEK DAWNS!

Good morning, folks!  Wishing you a happy Sunday and an awesome start to a new week.  I can't speak on anyone's behalf but my own, and going beyond everything simply in this competition, I'd like to point out there's no telling the great potential that this next week has in store.

We are out six days from the Open Voting Craze of Round 2!  Wow!  

On Monday morning the Top 10 CW14 Star contenders will be dropping by the CW14 and WLUK FOX11 studios a few blocks away from Lambeau Field.  What sort of things are we cooking up there?  Wait and see!  Keep an eye for us and what's to come: Visit CW14 Website  

Please note that open voting begins online this Friday, March 1 at noon.  Voting will continue through Sunday, March 10 11:59pm.  Just like last time, you can vote once a day, each day with a valid email address.  Unlike the first round of voting, the voting totals will not be posted visibly.  We will not know how each contender is doing in comparison to the others.  

Voting will make up less than 49% of the factors determining who moves on to the Top 5.  Additional considerations will be our judges' panel, the station's input and grading on our creative assignments.  I'm looking forward to that, particularly the creative assignments.  

LOOKING AND FEELING LIKE A NEW MAN

Krauss and stylist Annie at Paul Mitchell-the School

(Photo Courtesy of CW14) 

Well ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't treated yourself to (or been treated to) a Paul Mitchell makeover yet, I hope you do.  After such an experience, it's my hope that every person at some point in their life can partake in the marvel that is a makeover--out with the old, bring on the new!

After braving the hazzardous conditions of Snowstorm Felicia, I arrived at Paul Mitchell-the School to be greeted warmly by their upbeat team and a generous cup of freshly brewed coffee.  They had me at hello!  As most of us staggered in from the storm, the CW crew took our 'before' pictures to compare with the 'after' pictures that would be taken in the afternoon.

My stylist's name was Annie, a very personable and talented student at Paul Mitchell.  Working mostly on her own, but under direction of her teachers, she discussed the possibilities with my hair, got a game-plan and went to work.  In this dry wintry weather, what bliss I discovered in three shampoos and rinses, including a Paul Mitchell minty shampoo that my scalp is still tingling about!

I told the group later that they were miracle-workers. Anyone who saw me this morning beforehand knows what I'm talking about. 

The coffee cup, though at times ran dry, never stayed empty for long.  The CW crew took care of that.  Also, when they were ordering in Jimmy Johns for lunch, they added a sub for me on the order, because I hadn't had lunch either.  Among their other notable heroics of the day, because the school itself closed with all of Green Bay due to bad weather, the Paul Mitchell team took on the elements so that they could be there just for us today.

So I say: Thank you Annie and the rest of the talented staff at Paul Mitchell-the School for making a guy feel like a million bucks on the inside and out!

So, what's my new look and style?  Stop by the CW14 Website at www.CW14online.com, check out CW14 Star's Facebook group or maybe catch a glimpse of the fun on FOX11 tonight at 5pm.  Stuff will be posted continuously this week in preparation for Round 2 of Voting!

RESOLUTIONS

So a month and half ago it was New Years, and like the rest of you, I had some things I wanted to see happen in this next year.  A week ago, Lent started, and again, I have this yearly marker--that shakeup time to stop, reflect and move forward.  Do we like who we're becoming?  How do we want to be and what's keeping us from being that?

This CW14 Star role is something I was hoping would pan out in 2013, and its cool to see that it's started to.  Beyond the external stuff that's seen in the competition such as key dates on what's hitting the airwaves, I (and I think I can speak on behalf of the others) and the other contenders are working on those other things to make us better at how we communicate when the big opportunities are there, especially anticipating our next recording dates.

Some resolutions are all a matter of the right intent and then making a strategy for success.  A resolution like "I will lose X amount of pounds by June" translates better into "I will exercise 20 mins a day, and take steps A, B and C to eat better".  For good and for bad, most folks only see the end result of our resolutions.  The bad is that most people won't understand your struggle or challenges in the midst of it.  The good is that if you hit the wall and are holding pieces of your broken resolution, you can still assemble it together as best you can, and reach your goal.

I guess in the end the key to any resolution, solid or broken, is just keep going with it, and you'll understand its worth in the end.    

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR CW14 CONTENDERS?

Voting resumes on March 1st where our Top 10 are narrowed down into the Top 5.

What's next for the Top 10 in the CW14 Star contenders?  Don't be jealous.  Makeovers.  We've officially stepped it up.  We've been chosen, perhaps as diamonds in the rough, and now its up to the talented folks at Paul Mitchell--the School in Green Bay to clean us up and make us look presentable to the TV world.  The way this week has been going, by the time I even get to the weekend, I'm pretty sure I'll need a sizable team just for me personally.

For us guys, yeah, I'm not sure what a makeover will consist of.  Any ideas?  I know the girls will be having a lot of fun here on Friday.  I'm looking forward to getting a haircut and to trying a new look if that's what the pros want.  What's the trick to getting the dark circles under my eyes to go away?

Also, I'd like to try some of the Paul Mitchell products because the chlorine at the pool has not been kind to this guy's hair.  The swim cap would've been a good call this year.

Look out, ladies!  I've seen the good things Paul Mitchell--the School has turned out.  Stylin'!

KRAUSS ANNOUNCED TO TOP 10 BY VOTE-IN!

Kurt Krauss named #10 Contender in CW14 Star race.

On Monday, Feb. 18th at noon CW14 announced underdog Kurt Krauss as the #10 CW14 Star Contender in the search for their new spokesperson for the Green Bay based TV station: See CW14 Announcement

What has been so special about this #10 placement is that it was decided on by your votes.  In mid-January CW14 held their open auditions, graciously hosted by sponsor Paul Mitchell School - Green Bay, in De Pere, WI.  Through an interview process and then an audition by :60 second memorized monologue, the judges chose their Top 9.  CW14 later announced their Top 9 on Friday, Jan. 31st, 2013.

The #10 spot was left to be decided by you.  For several weeks online voting was open on the CW14 website, and in a tight contest throughout the last day of Feb. 17th, when the bell tolled midnight and online voting closed, your votes and grassroots promotions spoke loud and clear!  This dream is becoming a reality.

So, I dedicate this blog (online journal, or whatever else you'd like to call it) to you.  I cannot thank you enough, so I will thank you often--don't be bashful.  I wish I could offer more.  This blog is for you to keep you up to date with the cool stuff happening in this contest, and give you some behind-the-scenes looks into the biz!

May you be blessed abundantly!

-Kurt