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.

Check It Out

I suppose the "educational" portion of the New York Arts Program has begun - for yesterday the Theatre & Drama students had their first seminar with Dana Tarantino (remember? The savvy the adviser...). We meet once a week to learn fun things about theatre and life and all that (hot) mess. For our first seminar, we basically just introduced ourselves and explained our internships, and then chatted for a little bit. Next week should be even better - Dana got us all free tickets to The 39 Steps, which comes complete with a post-show talkback. Should be fun times.

And now for the big story of the day - today I got my New York Public Library Card! I am officially experience life as it should be in New York City. Kelly and I explored the Mid-Manhattan branch of the library and found it to be treasure trove of wonderful literature and media. However, I found it particularly difficult to find a few items I desired - for none were on the shelf, as the catalog stated. Luckily, I was able to track down one book on a stray cart lingering far away from the book's Dewey Decimal placement. My first checkout from the NYPL: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.

So Much to Do in New York

So I was right - this weekend was fabulous. Lots of shows, lots of people, lots of fun times. It all started on Friday, with Race Music - okay, this show was actually pretty bad, but it was free so I'm not complaining. But the evening was topped off with a delicious late-night dinner in Chelsea, so it's all good.

Not too much happened on Saturday - except for 90 of the greatest minutes of my life. Sally, Kelly, and I got standing room tickets to God of Carnage and it was absolutely perfect. The cast came out to the stage door, and they were all so nice. Unfortunately, Jeff Daniels signed with such agility that we couldn't chat about Michigan. But Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden were incredibly kind. James Gandolfini didn't come out, but that's fine. The play was absolutely amazing, and the performances were flawless. And once again, the performance was followed up with some delicious Jamba Juice (we need to start practicing some self-control in that department...).

Sunday was incredibly eventful - the morning brought Broadway on Broadway to Times Square - the casts of all the Broadway shows came and performed for free! We were incredibly far away, but it was still cool. The highlight of the event: Seth Rudetsky made an appearance. Even better, we spotted Seth later in the day outside the Avenue Q theatre - we thought it best not to say anything, so I just took some creepy stalker pictures instead. But anywho, Broadway on Broadway was a wonderful experience, and came complete with a confetti-splashed finale.

Later in the day, we stopped by Radio City to see the red carpet action at the VMA's. We arrived at 5:30, and once we realized that nobody was actually arriving till 8:00, we promptly left. One fun thing came out of this though: my first subway ride of the season! Yeah, I think I might stick to walking - it's way cheaper and not that much more difficult.

Okay, I have just one more show to report - tonight Kelly and I saw Altar Boyz, which was absolutely hilarious.

So that's the weekend - lots and lots of shows for very little money. Now I'm back to work. If anyone is wondering about the internship scandal - I have sent in applications for some other internships and should hopefully have some news before the week is out. Hang tight, y'all.

Well, It's Been a Long Day...

So things have been a little shaky in the last few days - no worries though, we will rise above. Without giving too much away, I'll just say that there is less work than anticipated at my internship. I have talked to Dana (my savvy New York Arts adviser) and we're figuring out some new internship possibilities. That's all I can say for now - I'll keep you posted.

But other than that, things have been glorious. After all, I'm still in New York City. I'm proud to announce that Wednesday nights have been dubbed "Ice Gleem Social" night at the New York Arts Program. Yup, every Wednesday we will go to Baskin-Robbins and get $1 scoops of ice cream and watch the new episode of "Glee" at 9 p.m. The first one was a rousing success, and I can only hope for more of the same.

Also, Kelly and I saw The Toxic Avenger (yes, the musical) last night. This was my first Off-Broadway show, and a very exciting one at that. We got tickets for $20 twenty minutes before the show (thanks to the aptly-titled "20@20" promotion) and they were located...third row center. It makes me sad that more people don't go to Off-Broadway shows, but in the end I won't complain. The show had a hilarious book and a rockin' score, and was also a bit scary. Not to mention phenomenal performances from Broadway's Nancy Opel as Mayor Belgoody & Ma Ferd (including a side-splitting scene in which she played both simultaneously) and Demond Green as the aptly-named "Black Dude" (what's with all the aptness, Off-Broadway?). Oh yeah, and American Idol's Diana DeGarmo was in it as well. Anyway, it was a good time, and was followed up by some even better Jamba Juice.

Tonight, the whole program is seeing Race Music - my second Off-Broadway show! And what's better, we got our tickets in advance, not the day of the performance - what a concept! The weekend should be - nay, will be fabulous. Catch ya on the flip side!

Don't Rain On Our Parade

Good news: it didn't. But it was very cloudy the whole day. And it was actually a cruise, not a parade, but still. Anywho, today the whole darn New York Arts Program went on a cruise around Manhattan. This was slightly nostalgic for me, as it was the same cruise ship I went on circa five years ago when I first visited New York City. I am happy to inform everyone that the tour hasn't changed much in that time. Although the tour guide was insistent on bringing up tidbits about September 11, which in turn brought down the morale of the whole group. I still enjoyed the cruise very much, and took even more useless pictures of cityscapes than last time.

Today afforded the group some bonding time, which was real nice. In addition to the cruise, we had an enlightening, if somewhat brief, orientation and a delicious dinner. I got to experience the wonders of a multitude of fabulous people literally all day. This semester should be a wondrous experience. On that note, my internship starts tomorrow - at 10 am sharp. I'm excited to meet all my new colleagues and start doing some arts managing! I can't wait till tomorrow, when I discover what I am actually doing and can finally elaborate on that statement...

Ooh, My Feet! My Poor, Poor Feet!

I think the painful reality of living in a pedestrian city hit me today. After four days in the city, I am still yet to take a subway. Kelly and I decided a trip to Central Park was in order for this day of Labor. We speculated that we might even visit the zoo (on the stipulation that it be free - a detail it would have been handy to research before taking to the streets). So we traveled north 30 blocks till we reached the park.

Upon entering the park, we promptly found the zoo only to discover that it costs $10...nay nay, that I will not pay. Lost for words at this point, we decided that an excursion another 20 blocks north to visit the exterior of the MET was completely rational. Along the way, we encountered a myriad of eccentric folks, including a juggler with an inspirational message for the children, and an impoverished family lipsynching for money. Upon arriving at the MET, the harsh reality set in: we now have to walk back. And we did just that, arriving back at 305 a mere hour and a half later. The total distance: 7 miles. Yeah, I think I might do some stretches before embarking on another walk.

Supermarket Sweep

After days of fruitless searches, Kelly and I have finally found the fabled grocery store down the street. The excitement of finding the darn place wore off, however, once we got inside and realized we actually had to shop for food...and had no idea where to start. We had a haphazard grocery list with us, so we went with that. Our main purchases were fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, tortillas, yogurt - you know, things we are sure we'll use. So basically this week's meals will consist of PB & J/grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas. And that is just fine by me...In fact, for lunch today I had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a raspberry yogurt, which brings the meal's total to roughly $0.90. Beat that, Sandra Lee.

Later in the day, we went to NYU to visit Kelly's friend Michael. He took us to dinner at his cafeteria, which was a lovely experience, as I always prefer for other people to make me my food (and this stuff was delicious). We also got to meet some wonderful and kind people. Just being around NYU students makes me feel important - they're so fashionable and seem to have everything together. At least this is what I like to think.

Alright, so nothing too exciting has really happened thus far. Things should pick up in the next few days though. Don't bail on me now - the future looks bright.