A New Beginning

Will start today,
A chance to change and learn
And know a better way.

I have a new internship! The Manhattan Theatre Club called me today and offered me a Marketing Internship. I am incredibly excited about this opportunity - MTC produces shows both on and off Broadway. Their shows this season will include some people you may have heard of - Ana Gasteyer, Lynn Redgrave, Rosemary Harris, Laura Linney, Alicia Silverstone. Anyone?

The internship is pretty darn legit, too. I get to learn all about the wonders of marketing. I get my own desk, computer, phone, and e-mail account. I get to attend full-staff meetings. I get to attend weekly seminars. I get a mentor from outside the Marketing department so I can get a fuller experience. I may get to go to opening night performances. I will apparently be offered lots and lots of free tickets. Not too shabby, eh?

I was also in the process of doing a final interview for Nederlander Worldwide. Yes, the Nederlander - of Broadway producing fame. Unfortunately, I had to call and tell them I was no longer interested. I was scared that this would mean that I would never be hired in the theatre industry again - who do I think I am to turn down Nederlander?! But luckily, they were incredibly understanding and supportive. Amanda, the secretary I talked to, was even quoted as saying "I'm just sorry that we couldn't snatch you up first." I guess I am just in demand.

Well, the great work begins on Monday. This internship is only part-time, so I may still get to work at Theater Mogul a few hours a week. I am super-excited, and you should be, too.

Let the Sun Shine In (Finally!)

The streak has been broken! I am a Hair lottery winner! Yup, tonight I finally got to see Hair. And it exceeded my wildest expectations. But more on that in a minute...

So remember a minute ago when I said I won the lottery? Yeah, that was a lie. Here's the real story: I decided to go for the Hair lottery tonight. Kelly had rehearsal so she couldn't go to the lottery (this brings our odds down significantly...). Luckily, as I was about to leave, I told Amanda (a fellow NY Arts student - read her blog!: go<3yourowncity) that I was going to the lottery, and she offered to put in her name as well to increase our chances. Well, thank gawd she did. Her name was called! (And not mine - ergo, I am still not a winner). Amanda so kindly let Kelly and I have the tickets. We seriously owe her big time.

So now for the show...wow. Our seats were in the back of the stage-left boxes, so we really couldn't see too much onstage. But no matter - we could hear, I could see a fair portion of the stage, and Kelly (who could see basically none of the stage) got her hair tousled by at least 5 tribe members. The show was directed flawlessly and moved so darn quickly that it pretty much flew by. The band was phenomenal, and the music direction was absolutely top-notch. Let's be honest, I even sang along a little bit. The cast was absolutely perfect - incredibly well-defined characters, even in the tribe. And yes, we did indeed go onstage during the curtain call and dance around. It was pretty surreal, absolutely amazing, and scorching hot.

The stage door was lovely as well. Everyone in the tribe is just so nice, and we got a few beautiful pictures. If you're wondering what in the world is with Gavin Creel...well, after the show, some of the cast members were going bowling dressed as Goth Hippies. We literally had to wait 30 minutes for him while he put on eyeliner, nail polish, and that wig. So worth it, though.

And if any are you are worried about the fate of the Failed Hair Lottery list (I'm sure someone out there is concerned...), fear not. I plan on seeing Hair a minimum of 3 more times, so I will surely lose the lottery a few more times before this semester is over. Yay?

Let the sun shine in, y'all.

Peace.

Hilarity and Riot

Fun developments in the internship department...well, soon-to-be developments I suppose. Today I set up two additional interviews with another to be set for next week. These agencies are pretty much begging me to work for them. Hopefully I'll know something by early next week.

But now for the real fun news...Today, the New York Arts theatre kids had the best seminar ever - a free performance of The 39 Steps! I have ne'er seen the Alfred Hitchcock film of old, but it mattered not. The play takes the movie's plot and turns it into a farce of sorts, with four actors playing all the parts. Hilarity ensues. The script was hysterical, but the real highlights were the physical and visual gags: two actors swapping hats every second to switch between 5 characters, a silhouette depiction of a police chase, etc. The lights were awe-inspiring, the direction was precise, the acting was great. How could this get any better, you ask? Well, add on a post-show talk back! And that is just what we got - this crazy comedian woman moderated and the actors talked about how much fun doing the show is. I am jealous. And for the grand finale...the actors posed for a picture with us outside the theatre! What a wondrous seminar experience.

A Weekend in the City

Buckle your seat belts, folks - this is gonna be a long one. This weekend was just a bucket of fun, so there's lots to report.

First off, you may have noticed a brand new addition to my blog - The Failed Hair Lottery list. Kelly and I have thus far attempted to see Hair four times (once in May, and thrice this semester), and none have worked out. I can only assume that this will happen several more times, so feel free to check the list frequently for fun new updates!

Going all the way back to Thursday...after losing the Hair lottery once again, we decided to head to the TKTS Booth for some happy people-watching. On the way we passed Jamba Juice, where I experienced a true test of character. Kelly wanted a delicious smoothie, but I decided that I did not need it - so for the first time in my life, I resisted the temptation of a Jamba Juice! But the story doesn't end here...no more than 15 minutes later, while walking down the street, I could no longer resist. So I turned around, went back to Jamba Juice, and shamefully purchased myself a smoothie. The overwhelming pride I had gained now diminished as quickly as it arrived. I guess I simply cannot resist a delicious, nutricious Jamba. But who can, really?

With Saturday came my first early-morning ticket line of the season. Kelly and I arrived at the Gerald Schonfeld Theatre at roughly 7:45 in the morning to get tickets for A Steady Rain, starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig (yes, Wolverine and James Bond). Sally joined us around 8:30 or so, and we gleefully purchased our tickets at 10:00 a.m. Seriously, shows are the only thing I will wake up early for. I'm excited for the next outing.

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of either Hugh Jackman or Daniel Craig, and I was only mildly excited to see this show. But they both did a phenomenal job, and the show was very well-written and directed. We were particularly nervous about the accents - an Australian and a Brit doing Chicago accents could be pretty bad, but they both pulled it off very well.

What was even more exciting than the show itself was the stage door scene - we were some of the first people outside, and there were already a good 50 people waiting. These were people who did not see the show, but just wanted to see the stars. Not cool. Even less cool were these two ladies who trotted on over from the theatre next door, where they had just gotten out of God of Carnage. They decided it would be fun to squeeze into the chaos of people. But once they got into the crowd, they would not stop complaining about how little room they had, and how one of them had just undergone physical therapy and it wasn't safe for her to be here - this literally went on for 20 minutes. But Hugh and Daniel were both very nice and signed everyone's Playbills - even better, Diane Sawyer made an appearance. All in all, 'twas a wondrous Saturday afternoon.

And a wondrous Saturday evening. Unfortunately, the New York Arts Program is full of indecisive individuals, so it took us roughly 3 hours to figure out what to do for the night. We finally decided to head down to SoHo and dine at a cute little restaurant called La Esquina (The Corner, if you don't happen to speak Spanish - or have simply forgotten what the word means, like me). I enjoyed some scrumptious and exquisite bistec tacos, and a grand time was had by all. Sure, we may have stiffed the waitress on the tip a little, but what the hey.

Sunday may well have been the best day of all - Kelly, Fallon, Amy, Jessica, and I ventured down to Coney Island, the home of lots of world-famous things: the boardwalk, Nathan's Hot Dogs, the Cyclone rollercoaster, etc. First things first: we rode the wondrous Wonder Wheel. Now this isn't your average everyday Ferris wheel - the gondola was on a track and rolled frenetically back and forth...I would explain more, but I will just let this video do the talking:

........................................

We also visited the boardwalk and the beach before stopping by Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs for some lunch. We went to the original location for our meal - or so we thought...we would later discover that the actual original is located just down the road - but we can pretend, right? Anyway, the hot dog was absolutely delicious - as were the fries, which came with these precious miniature pitchforks for ease of handling.

And finally, we of course stopped by the historic Cyclone for a ride. I have been wanting to ride this rollercoaster for roughly 10 years, so this was an absolutely amazing experience. The Cyclone was built in 1927 and is still running - it's crazy old and crazy fun. Thank you, Cyclone, for making one of my childhood dreams come true.

So that's the weekend - back to work in the morning. I have an interview or two this week, so new things will hopefully be developing.

And one final note: there is a distinct lack of comments on this blog. If you have gotten to this point in the note, you clearly are dedicated and probably have something to say. Hit me up!

Peace and love.