In February of 2023, two lives were changed forever, though it was not obvious at first.

William and Anna had both decided to audition for a play at Starlight Community Theater in Phoenix, Arizona -- Loving Lives was a play set in the 1940s depicting the drama that occurred behind the scenes of a failing radio show. Anna had always loved the stage, and was looking for a way to meet friends after moving from Virginia. William had been continuing to build community in the Valley where he was born and raised, in an effort to develop his artistic career.

They met at callbacks and would continue to see each other at rehearsals, however sparsely, their characters not interacting often. William was the show announcer, who wound up in a medicated coma in the middle of the show. Anna was a veteran actress with no time to loiter in the studio, even to check on snoring bodies on the floor. With such conflicting schedules, how would they learn more about each other?

By Divine Intervention, under the guise of car trouble! William sent out a group e-mail to the cast, requesting a ride back home from rehearsal. Anna offered her services, and the evening of April 11th started to change things a bit more clearly.

During the fateful ride, the two passed the time with conversation, naturally: discussion of respective families, past theater experience, relationship status (a subtle check that both were single...), and personal Lenten practices. It was not until after she had arrived home that she realized William had not asked any clarifying questions on the last of this heart-to-heart list, which in turn allowed her to draw the conclusion that he was Catholic, or at least Christian. With that exciting discovery, she decided to try to get to know him even more.

Of course, social awkwardness is very much a thing, and her attempts at approach mostly involved lingering near him backstage, hoping to insert herself into any further conversations smoothly.

A fair amount later, both building up courage, the second week of the show’s run came along.

As Anna was giving herself crows feet and frown lines for her old-lady make-up, still lingering by William, hoping for something, he turned around in his seat towards her (nervous as ****).

“Hey, do you like movies?”

“Yes?”

“Do you like Guardians of the Galaxy?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to see the third with me?”

“Sure.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

He turned back in his seat, mind blown at the success of the moment, and Anna went back to her make-up, heavily increasing her smile lines.

Their first date was May 17th, 2023, watching Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol III and going to Olive Garden afterwards for some more conversation. The night ended with a hug on the Badley porch. And, it would not be long before they met again. Because William is so ambitious, immediately after Loving Lives, he started a new project: directing Matt and Cory for his own theater group, Showcase. Auditions were the next day, via video calls. Anna had already admitted to him during the date that she planned to audition, if only because she wanted him to notice her, and she was gonna try to muster up the courage to ask him out sometime during the process if she got cast. Even though that part was no longer necessary, she still auditioned, and was cast!

Before brand new rehearsals would actually start, though, there was a test Anna had to pass. Memorial Day Lord of the Rings Marathon! William knew she was great beforehand, but the fact that she was willing to spend 11 hours and 47 minutes with him and one his favorite film adventures, spontaneously and adding on one at a time as the day went on, meant a lot to him and solidified much else in his mind.

The next couple months would be focused on the show, though, with William directing and Anna playing the ex-girlfriend of one of the titular characters. Progression relationship-wise seemed stagnant, due to an “unwarranted nervous attitude about people’s professional opinions of their relationship.” The biggest thing that had happened was an adorable birthday card from William, with hopeful indications about the future.

But, when the show ended…!

On July 2nd, the final day of Matt and Cory’s runtime, the two celebrated with another date -- dinner and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny! William asked if they could be officially boyfriend/girlfriend (he wanted to introduce her to his siblings and friends as ‘his girlfriend,’ and not just ‘the girl he’s dating.’); Anna gratefully agreed, sharing that her sisters had also wondered when he was going to make things official!

And, now, the rest is history, as they say (you know, they!): they have happily, eagerly, readily moved along through dating and engagement, soon to be wed, giving each other the best possible life sentence, together! The Leys of Thespis!

If you wish to hear our proposal story, hit us up at the reception afterwards!

Ceremony @ 2PM: 14818 W Deer Valley Dr, Sun City West

Reception @ 5:30PM: 17100 W Clearview Blvd, Surprise