<div>I am a storyteller, strategist, and lifelong lover of live music and small-town truths. With a background in media, communications, and business, I have spent years helping others find and share their stories — from political campaigns to public relations, from pressrooms to boardrooms.
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<div>But at heart, I've always been drawn to the kinds of stories that unfold under string lights in backyards, over beers in dive bars, and between friends who know too much about each other to pretend. Those Days is my first work for the stage — a labor of love rooted in 2000s nostalgia, broken dreams, and the healing power of music.
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<div>Sample the <a href="https://mkaley.com/those-days-rock-musical/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Promotional Music here</a> .
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<div>The inspiration to put pen to paper: my then 10 year old daughter and her love for theater from starting with a supporting role in Seussical Jr. to playing Ariel in Little Mermaid or Fiona in Shrek, Jr. Maybe one day she will star in a production of this new creative work.
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<div>This work began not as a play, but as a dream of a rock musical — a story told through power chords, raw confessions, and the pulse of a generation. Those Days was originally conceived as a full-scale musical infused with the swagger, emotional grit, and reflective underpinnings of classic 2000s rock. While its heartbeat was always theatrical, its soul was music.
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<div>Unfortunately, before a show can become a musical, it must first clear a mountain of rights, representation, and resources — and that's where a book version was born.
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<div>Available on Amazon is dramatic version of Those Days — a complete and emotionally intact story that stands proudly even without the live music and anthems that inspired it. It’s a story about the kind of friends you never really outgrow, the towns you try to leave behind, and the ache of wondering whether going home is even possible. At its core, it’s about grief, nostalgia, broken dreams, and the wild, fleeting magic of youth.
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<div>The characters and plot you’ll meet were originally written to unfold between songs — not just to lead into them, but to crash against them, bleed into them, and transform through them. So while the music may be absent for now, the rhythm remains. You may even hear it, somewhere between the lines.
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<div>If this story moves you — if you see yourself in Jack, Emma, Ryan, Sophie, or Nate — and if you believe in the power of live theater to shake something loose inside of us, I invite you to help me take the next step.
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<div>We are currently raising funds to stage a live production, secure the necessary music rights, and cover the costs of legal counsel, demo recordings, venue rental, and staging among other expenses. This grassroots effort isn’t just about putting on a show — it’s about proving that stories like this matter, and that art fueled by heart, memory, and a good guitar riff deserves a spotlight.
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<div>If you’d like to support that journey, please donate here
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<div>Every contribution — whether financial, social, or simply sharing this link or a copy of the book — brings us one step closer to turning this story into the rock musical it was always meant to be.
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<div>Thank you for reading. And remember…<strong>If you’ve ever looked at an old photo and whispered, I miss those days — this is for you</strong>.
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<div><strong>LEARN MORE </strong><a href="https://mkaley.com/those-days-rock-musical/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>HERE</strong></a>
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</div><img class="text-editor_textEditorImage__43_GE" alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/93286553_1757702567643392_r." width="100%" />
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Bringing Those Days to Life on Stage

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