Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Stint Ends Oversees For Performer

Following the dream to perform has led one Nevada County resident across the big pond.

April Westmoreland ventured to Europe, primarily Austria, about seven months ago with Heartbeat Productions of Memphis, Tenn.

She had worked with the company before and couldn't turn down the chance to work in Vienna, Austria.

Westmoreland and four others from Arkansas were part of a show at Safari Abenteurpark, just outside Vienna. This park, she said, combines a drive-through safari tour with lions, tigers, monkeys, giraffes and other animals, with a family-theme park with a petting zoo.

The park also has other activities, including the live singing/dancing/gymnastic/high dive show. Westmoreland was part of a cost of 14 who came from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, Colombia and Venezuela, to put on "Fiesta Aculpulco", a show celebrating the park's 25th anniversary.

She and other cast members from the state filled the roles of singers and dancers, performing such numbers as "Cuban Pete" from the movie, "The Mask", "Land of 1,000 Dances", a 50's/60's dance medley and a "Celebration" medley finale.

The other cast members performed gymnastic routines, trampoline tricks, a comedy incorporating diving, diving sets, both in combination with the singers and separately.

She said in the "Celebration" finale, a diver would plunge from a 75-foot tower into a small pool of water, while the crowds gasped in awe.

Westmoreland said the songs were sang in English, though the native language in Austria is German. Most people, she said, recognize and enjoy American music. However, she added, the commentary for the show was provided by an Austrian emcee in German.

Coming from Arkansas and not speaking German, Westmoreland did have her problems. However, she did learn some of the language through conversation and listening to others around her. She was also able to practice the Spanish she learned at Prescott High School and studied in college because of the Spanish-speaking members of the cast.

"It was amazing that at practically any given time," Westmoreland said, "you could hear conversations in at least three different languages taking place. One of the neatest things about being there was looking around and realizing that I now have friends from so many different countries, and we all share this common experience."

A typical day at the park, she said, went something like this: get to work around noon, perform three shows a day (four on weekends and holidays) and finish around 6:30 p.m.

Between shows, members of the cast were free to do as they pleased, and on sunny days, most could be found sunbathing by the pool. "Who could ask for a better job?" she said. "I essentially got paid to do what I love to do -- sing, dance and get a tan."

One day a week a diver and one of the other performers had a day off, an every six weeks, Westmoreland was able to take a three-day holiday.

Most of her single days off were spent exploring Vienna, which she calls "an incredible city." She took in all the major sites, including Stephansdom, or ST. Stephen's Cathedral, Schonbrunn Palace, where the Hapsburg rulers of Austria lives, Prater amusement park, many art and history museums and treasuries and attended an opera.

Other times, she would simply go to the Volksgarten park to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery.

"Even after traveling to some of the greatest cities in the world," she said, "Vienna still remained one of my favorites. I was so lucky to be able to call it 'home' for six months."

For her three-day vacations, Westmoreland took in more of Europe. This included trips to Salzburg, Austria; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Banska Batricska, Slovakia; Lignano, Italy; and London, England.

Picking a favorite, she said, would be nearly impossible because each was beautiful and special to her in its own way

While visiting Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart and where the movie "The Sound of Music" was filmed, she said it was one of the most geographically beautiful places she visited. This, she said, is because of the snow-capped mountains sitting on huge freshwater lakes.

Westmoreland's time in Paris was spent with a fellow American, a friend from the University of Arkansas, who was working at Disneyland there.

She said seeing the Eiffel Tower up close was a "breathtaking experience", as were most of the sites in Paris.

Rome was the first trip she took alone, but was far from lonely. Westmoreland said she loved exploring ancient Rome on her own, and because the Italians were the "friendliest Europeans of all", she met friends easily, who showed her the insider's view of their city.

While in Rome, Westmoreland saw the Colosseum, the Parthenon, many ancient ruins and toured the famed St. Peter's Basilica, the largest cathedral in the world.

And, being a big fan of the beach, she took the opportunity to visit Lignano, where she sunned and had fun on the Italian beach.

Her last holiday before returning home was in London, England. This trip, she said, was especially meaningful because she was there only two weeks after Princess Diana's death.

Westmoreland was initially surprised at the amount of flowers and memorials still at Kensington Palace, as she had not really heard any news. This is because the news broadcasts were all in German.

"I spent a whole afternoon walking around Buckingham Palace, amazed at the outpouring of love people had given in Diana's memory," she said. "I found myself with tears in my eyes, and was so moved I had to write a message and lay it there myself."

She also signed a condolence book at Kensington Palace, where the princess had lived.

But, London wasn't all maudlin for Westmoreland. She also visited St. Paul's Cathedral, where the Prince and Princess of Wales had been married, and attended a communion service at Westminster Abbey, where Di's funeral had been held just weeks earlier.

"London just had an air about it that I immediately loved," she said. "But it also had a feeling of sadness still, and everywhere you went were reminders of the los they, and the world, suffered."

Westmoreland took a day trip to Windsor and visited Windsor Castle, the summer home of the Royal Family and Eton College, where Prince William attends school.

Interestingly, her visit to the Tower of London brought Westmoreland a little closer to home. While there, one of the tour guides, who was also a royal guard, overheard her telling another tourist she was from Arkansas. He then told Westmoreland he comes to Hot Springs every year to go to Oaklawn, and has friends in Dierks and Nashville.

"He even knew where Prescott was," she said. "As the cliche goes, it really is a small world."

One of her favorite things about London was the theatre, where she attended performances of the musicals "Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon".

As it happens, all good