Walking in a Winter Wonderland

They say that dreams come true. And this day in New York City has been a verification of that idiom. After weeks of weather reports promising no wintry precipitation whatsoever, the winds have changed. For an epic blizzard is currently sweeping through the city, covering everything in lovely white sheet of snow.

To christen this joyous occasion, Sally, Kelly, Amy, and I headed over to Bryant Park for some ice-skating on "The Pond". We strategically arrived just as the snow began to fall. We waited in a slightly length line, but were on the rink and skating to our hearts' delight within a half hour. The picture was truly perfect: we skated at a leisurely pace underneath the illuminated tree, framed by the light-falling snowflakes. And as much as I hate the song "Christmastime Is Here", I succumbed to its charm when it began to play mid-skate. We were just like the Peanuts gang in "A Charlie Brown Christmas". So yes, it was pretty much perfect. I was sad to leave the rink, but we had to move on. And besides, everyone loves a good Zamboni run. Me most of all...

It's Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love

Well, it's been fun. I had my last day at MTC today. It was a surreal affair, since I've gotten so used to working there - I don't think I really believed it would ever end. But unfortunately, this too must pass. The word on the street is that they are having quite a difficult time finding a replacement for me. But alas, I must go.

My last day was celebrated with a moderate amount of pomp and circumstance. It was also Andrew's last day, so Sunil and Caitlin pulled out all the stops. And by that, I mean they bought us pizza for lunch. The four of us split a medium buffalo chicken pizza and a large cheese pizza - and this is New York, so they here both HUGE. Impressively though, we managed to finish both. Other than an exciting lunch, I didn't do too much on my last day. I had to sadly turn in my key card, say my goodbyes, and walk out the door. Hopefully I can return someday...

My last day at Theater Mogul occurred prematurely. I finished work on Wednesday, and left thinking I would return on Friday and say my goodbyes. But I got an email on Thursday, explaining that I didn't need to come in on Friday since everyone was working from home: the office was robbed Wednesday night, and the computers are gone...wow. So they basically said their goodbyes then and there. But I won't stand for that - I'm for sure stopping by next week to wrap it all up. I'm also making a last stop at MTC to bid farewell to Debra.

So clearly I just can't stay away. Other last-week-happenings include dinner on Wednesday with fellow marketing intern Andrew and a joyous intern breakfast on Thursday morning. The semester has come and gone, and I loved it so.

Fabulous Fun with Friends and Food

These past few days have been filled with merriment, camaraderie, and a smörgåsbord of delicious food. I like each of these elements individually, but together they constitute a delightful time for all.

On Monday, the New York Arts Program had its annual festive holiday party! 'Twas a lavish catered affair, overflowing with joy and sweet treats. I chomped down on cupcakes, pizza, chips, cheese, crackers, et al. Most of the interns this semester showed up, along with all the advisers and even some interviewees. In fact, Michael Fentin of Albion College was in town for the occasion (interviewing for next semester), which was absolutely lovely. I got to mingle with fun folks and catch up with an old friend. To boot, a whole bunch of us gathered in the lounge afterward and watched a nice...um...Christmas movie: Mary Poppins. Christmas movie? I beg to differ...

And tonight was just as eventful...if not even more so! The day at MTC was capped off with a wonderful seminar with Lynne Meadow, the artistic director. She is a hilarious, fun, engaging woman, and I so enjoyed everything she had to say. After work, I headed over to the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) to see a play called Heaven Knows, because fellow NYAP interns Kevin and Sally are working on the show. Well, on the way out of MTC, I randomly asked Maddie (another MTC intern) what she was doing after work, and she said she was going to see a show at EST. Crazy - so was I! So we waltzed on over to the theatre together and waited for the show to begin.

The play was very strong and intense. I didn't love all the performances, but altogether the end result was cohesive and powerful. And of course, Sally rocked the wardrobe supervision, while Kevin assistant stage managed to perfection. After the show, we made a much-needed dinner stop at the Westway Diner. Our waiter was absolutely insane, and had quite possibly the most frightening smirky smile I have ever witnessed. Much to our delight, though, he managed to successfully split up our bills (see picture for our bewildered excitement). My Mexican chicken wrap was less than adequate, but we made up for it on the way home by stopping at Baskin-Robbins for some scrumptious ice cream - I got three scoops for the price of two! Food. Friends. Fun.

And finally, my semester has come completely full circle. You may recall that a couple of weeks into the semester, I went to a show entitled Race Music. Well, the one good actor in that play was a man named Chris Ceraso - who I subsequently have seen all around town - in subway stations and even at MTC. When I spotted him at EST tonight, I knew something was up. Well, it turns out that he is a teaching artist at MTC and the author of Heaven Knows. This man has been all over my life, and it has provided this semester with a bizarre connected thread. Thank you, Mr. Ceraso, for the memories.

The Reign Is Over

Today marked the end of a wonderful era at MTC: both of our current productions, The Royal Family and Nightingale, closed today. Being the sentimental person that I am, I could not resist attending the closing performance of The Royal Family. I brought Kelly and Amy along with me, and we had a rick-rollicking good time. We even crashed the patron lounge and took our fair share of coffee/water/m&m's/chocolate almonds.

As for the show, I had not fully appreciated just how brilliant it is until viewing it again...but it is seriously hysterical, perfectly paced, and deeply moving. Jan Maxwell is truly a comic genius (Kathie Lee said this on The Today Show, and she was right), and I am seriously going to miss watching her catastrophic meltdown at the end of Act Two. The cast of course got a rousing standing ovation, and Ms. Maxwell and Rosemary Harris were thrown more roses than they could possibly know what to do with. I am so proud to have worked at MTC during the run of this show. It had a great run (or should I say reign?).

This night, we were all discouraged about attending UCB, since it was raining so intensely. Fallon, Lisa, Amy, and Bryce braved it and waited outside for 2 hours to get front-row seats. Kelly and I finally decided to go, and headed out way later so we would only have to wait 45 minutes or so. Upon getting outside we were delighted to find that the rain was over (see what I did there? Refer to the title of this blog post for the pun). Well, we still got second row seats, directly behind the rest of our crew. There was nobody particularly famous this week, but the monologues and improv were simultaneously hilarious and bizarrely inappropriate.

So all in all, it's been a good reign. Rain? Reign.