The Big Apple

Well! I got back home this morning after a whirlwind trip through NYC in three full days and viewing four shows! It was a BLAST! (as was expected) And everyone who went had an awesome, AMAZING time!

We left for the city on Monday night and got there at around one o'clock or so on Tuesday. We were able to go into our hotel, The Edison, right away and freshen up from our trip up. Some of the group then split up and went ahead to do their various activities around the city while the rest of teh group and I went to Rockefeller Center for sight-seeing and lunch. I re-visited St. Patricks Cathedral on 5th Avenue. It is really a breath-taking sight to see. The flying butresses, the stained glass windows, the statues of saints, and even just the grand scale of everything there... It is an impressionable feeling. But the fact of the gift shop in the place always bothers me a little. I feel like they're "selling Jesus." But I don't know. SO! After leaving the cathedral I browsed through some of the 5th Avenue shops: Banna Republic, Mexx, and H&M before going to the concourse at under the G.E. Building for lunch. There I ate two hefty slices of NYC, brick oven pizza over a bottle of San Pelligrino while watching the people out in the restaurant area (which serves as the ice rink in the winter) through the large glass windows. God I love New York! SO! At a set time I met with the rest of the group in front of the G.E. Building to head back to the hotel. There was a lady with NBC there handing out tickets to a taping of Last Call with Carson Daily. Some of the group went to that and said they had a blast. They saw the cast of the new Comedy Central show Stella and watched a performance by rap star Fat Joe. Ayway, I went back to the hotel with the rest of the group so I would have time to get ready for the show and enjoy Times Square. That night we all saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Imperial Theatre. I believe everyone truly enjoyed this show. And Norbert Leo-Butz's performance is one to be remembered by all! So after seeing this amazing show (my favorite) we retired to our hotel two blocks up and had a nice sleep considering the bus ride the night before.
The next morning I woke up and met the group in lobby at 9 a.m. to see everyone off to their daily plans. Since I had tickets to The Pillowman later that day, which I got myself, I decided to head down to the TriBeCa and Buisiness District areas. Since I was not as farmiliar with that area, it would give me a chance to explore and discover, even though I had stayed there before when I went on the chorus trip; we never saw the area in daylight so there was no exploration time. Anyway, my friend Meghan Kennedy - from Tennessee High School - decided to accompany me and hang out with me for the day, since I have her the other ticket that I had to The Pillowman. I originally got it for my friend Meghan Groves, but she was burned before the trip and ended up not being able to go with us. So I gave her Pillowman ticket to Meghan from THS. And we headed downtown on the red 1 train. We got off and ate breakfast at a cafe called Pecan where I had a cucumber and egg bagel with a grape juice. Yum. Then we walked around on Lafayette Street, going into Loftworks and Century 21. Good discount stores in the business district! At around 1:15 we took the train back to 42nd Street, had lunch at The Olive Garden, and then walked up to the Booth Theatre to see The Pillowman, which I did truly enjoy. Many people don't like it, for various reasons. I can see their reasons and agree, but at the same time, I really liked it. A very radical show. Dark. But it makes you laugh, even in the most greusome of circumstances. BUT after the show Meghan and I waited at the stage door, got ALL of the leads autographs AND had our pictures taken with Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Life Aquatic...). Very cool. Later that night we met back with the rest of the group in the hotel lobby to make sure we were all there before heading out before seeing the show that night. Some more people from the group joined Meghan and I and we all headed uptown to Caprice Cafe on Columbus Avenue for dinner. They have really good food there, sort of a French/Deli infusion. I remembered it from having eaten there when I went up for my college auditions in the winter. However, we went up there kind of late and had to really hurry so that we could get back down to The Palace theatre before the show started. So after we finished our meal we bolted out the door and ran back to the subway station at Lincoln Center then ran to the theatre. We were only five or so minutes late, which didn't matter at all! We saw All Shook Up that night. It's fun and has good music. But that's all. I had seen it before with the chorus on that trip, but I wasn't worried about missing the first bit or so. After the show we had a meet and greet with the cast where we got to meet and ask questions. We spoke with Cheyenne Jackson, Jen Gambatesse and some other from the cast. Very fun and enjoyable. Then we all left for the hotel, but some of us decided to go out for a while. We went down to Greenwhich village and hung out at a cafe called French Roast until about 2 a.m. mainly because our service was so slow. But we finally got back to the hotel and slept in preparation for another day in NYC.
On Thursday, we all awoke kind of sad as we put our luggage into the holding room and left for our last day in the city. A buch of us went to Chinatown for the day where we bought fake stuff and laughed at bargaining with the Chinese people. We ate lunch at some cafe in Little Italy which was fun. Authentic Italian food I guess. But if that's so, I think I like the stereo-type Italian food better. Then around 12:30 Ryan Cury, Karen Hartshorn, and I took the subway uptown. Ryan and I had a meeting with Evalyn Baron and Karn was heading to the Metropolitain Museum of Art where we would meet her later. So Ryan and I left her at 42nd Street/ Grand Central Station where she continued uptown. We shuttled over to 42nd and Broadway then took the subway back down to 18th street. From there we walked three blocks or so and met Evalyn at 18 18th Street where CAP 21 is located, a place where she teaches theatre classes and serves on the board. Once we were all met and had taken a tour of the facilities, we went next door to the Cupcake Cafe and had the best cupcakes in the world! They make them all from scratch there: frosting and all, and they're all sooooooooo good. Each one adorned with a little flower on top. Then we all sat and talked of things theatre while we "cupcaked." It was an hour of very theraputic discussion. Evalyn is such a sweet, sweet, intelligent lady. Very much a mentor figure to me, someone I can look up to and be able to stay focused on my career by doing so. Her and her husband Peter have been doing very well since their return to their home in NYC. Evalyn has been doing many commercials and voice-overs and recently finished a reading workshop of a new play: Kiki, Baby which is broudway-bound. Peter just finished a performance of South Pacific at Carnegie Hall with Reba McIntyre and Brian Stokes Mitchell and is really getting into the NYC scene! AWESOME! Such nice people, I'm very privelleged to know them. So anyway, after our cupcake soiree Ryan and I said our goodbye's to Evalyn and headed back to the Met to meet Karen. Once there we explored for a bit. They currently have a really interesting exhibit on Coco Channel. Then we met Karen and went back to Rokefeller Plaza where she had to return something to J Crew. They had some problem with the subway so we ended up waiting 20 minutes or more on a train we never thought would come. BUt it did and we headed off. When we were leaving the subway station we noticed it was raining, so we ran into J Crew where Karen returned the item and then we had dinner at Manchu Wok in the concourse. By the time we left teh G.E. Building it had quit raining. I'm glad that we only had 30 minutes or so of rain the entire trip. It's always better when it's nice and sunny. We all walked to the hotel where we met the group and walked to the Shubert Theatre to see the SOLD OUT Spamalot starring Tim Curry, Sara Ramirez, and David Hyde-Peirce. Very awesome, very "big" right now. So after a thoroughly enjoying performance of watching rude frenchmen throwing cows, knights that say "ni!," and manservants beating coconuts together we walked back to the hotel to get our bags and head out on the bus.

The trip was so much fun and everyone had the best time ever! I'm glad I got to end my senior year having a blast in the greatest city on earth with my favorite people on it! It couldn't have been better and I thank all those who went and helped make it what it was. I'm a very lucky person.

NOTE TO EMILY SWAN: Don't bother leaving a message on here in your arrogance and jealousy. I didn't get mugged and we had an awesome time you stupid pig. I'm getting tired of deleting your rude, little, malicious, ignorant comments.

nyc05

Well in about thirty minutes or so I will head on over to the Abingdon High School parking lot where I will board a bus and embark on a three day adventure in New York City. very exciting stuff and I have some of my best friends going to share the experience-which makes it all worthwhile.
Shows I will be viewing:
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
All Shook Up (again)
Monty Python's Spamalot
The Pillowman

It should be very exciting. And although the meet and greet didn't work out with Scoundrels I was able to get one last minute with the cast of All Shook Up. Not as popular as Scoundrels, but it will do. I've already seen the show before. It's fun, light, bouncy. Fluff, but Elvis so it deserves a little credit. The set is neat though, and there are some truly enjoyable moments. For a $20 ticket, I think it's well worth the price! You can't even get into Barter Theatre for that during the Virginia Highlands Festival! $40 for Singin' in the Rain!!! Not worth it by the way....

So I cannot wait! I still have some last minute things to do before I go: drop a letter in the mail. get some batteries for my digi cam...so I'd better get to it. Talk to everyone when I return! And do expect a lengthy, detailed post of my experience!

nyc05

Affirmation

One thing that I hate is people who try to bring you down to their level or lower so that they can further themselves. Something that is, sadly, way too present in the artistic fields. Sure there are many, many great people out there, and I am not talking about them. However there are a few who are very crafty in the ways of seeking their successes. And I don't like it at all. Happily though, they usually don't succeed and maybe I won't have to put up with them for much longer if all goes according to plan.
Right now I am trying to distance myself from these people. I'm trying to distance myself from a lot of things. For instance: anyone who thinks that because they had the lead in a high school musical they are God. Or: anyone who is in a show at a professional theatre (without any lines, mind you) only becaues their mother is on the BOARD OF DIRECTORS and donates money to them! These are people I don't want to associate with. They will bring you down and are only in theatre for the means of socialization. They're not in it for the art. They like to be seen and talk about themselves. They are extremely VAIN and SUPERFICIAL people. Maybe they will go one to higher things, maybe they won't. Time will tell. But I, for one, do not believe theatre should be a social thing, for those true artists who keep it alive. Sure there is an "artistic community" and sure actors do hang out with other actors. BUT there is a difference in doing it TO socialize with those other actors and doing it because you LOVE IT. Those who do it because they love it are the true actors and will hopefully be the ones who succeede. You'll see them attending shows by themselves to see the show. Not to be seen seeing the show. The learn from all aspects. From working throughout the theatre and not just in the sole position of actor onstage. They know about technical details, business end stuff, and how a theatre breathes. This is the heart of a true actor. Someone who loves teh stage and fights to keep it going. The "social actor" does none of this. They're there for one thing only: to be seen. Sure they may have some talent sometimes, but that still doesn't cover up their superficial stench. It's so obvious who they are.
Sure the theatre requires you to work well with other people and form friendships; networking is what it's all about. BUT you need to get along with the other true actors out there. These social flakes will eventually die off. They'll either die in a drunken car crash or from lung cancer due to smoking starting at 15 years of age. I cannot nor will I ever be able to get along with these social idiots who you mainly find at community theatres (although not all of them are like this) and at every theatre function even when they're not invited and are awkwardly out of place. I know that they'll always be in the theatre. We'll never get rid of them. But hopefully they'll thin out in number as I progress and I'll meet true pros. I will no longer brag about another audition or show nor will I namedrop or gush over something theatrical that I'm doing. I am further more doing it solely for me and to further the arts in humantiy. That is my over all goal. Corny? Maybe. But I don't care. It's the grotto of a serious actor which is something I must become more of if I am to forever separate myself from these socialistic wannabe's and make something out of my carreer.
I do have friends, many friends whom I will keep. These friends I do not have to cut out because they're not like this. They either don't like theatre or have no aspirations there or are dead-set, hardcore, not-in-it-for-the-socialization actors, the kind of people I need to surround myself with. I will always love to talk about theatre. It's who I am. But I won't be doing it anymore to brag. That's just ridiculous. OH! And anyone who posts how much they'll be getting via paycheck for being a dancer really needs to realize how rude and arrogant that is. Maybe learn ettiquite?
So there you have it. If anyone was offended by this post: GET OVER IT. I'm being serious and honest here. I didn't mention names so I wouldn't hurt anyone. But you know who you are and what I think of you now. I could be wrong. But this is my opinion and guide henceforth. Thank you for making me realize it.

Anticipation

Well well well. One full week until I make my pilgrimage to that mecca of theatre that we call New York City. The obvious seat of theatrical royalty, where all successes or failures are finitely detirmined. Such a rush to be going up there again this year, and to see such great theatre! Exciting stuff! So that's only one thing for me to anticipate in the coming weeks. The next is my annual Tony Awards party which I will be hosting this Sunday. So many of my theatre friends will gather with me and we'll have a great time doing what we love: being involved with theatre!

The Tony Awards should be exciting this year. I will be rooting for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Monty Python's Spamalot, and The Pillowman which are all shows I'll be seeing in the big apple when I go this time. I'm also seeing All Shook Up which was undoubtedly snubbed by the American Theatre Wing for nominations this year. But I don't blame them. Such a loose story line and plot, it's really non-existant. And some of the lines are almost worse than the script for Brooklyn the Musical. Pathetic excuse for a Broadway show...

Anyway, The Light in the Piazza got quite a few nominations as well, the equivalent of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels actually. I bougt the CD for Piazza at B&N the other day. It's not bad at all. A little too operatic for me though, although some people love that stuff. So more power to them. I do like the unconnected feel of the lyrics and music though. It makes for more real theatre which I always do love. The show seems to be very stylized too, in that lush Italian sense, or so I guess from the Broadway.com video. My friend Evalyn fell in love with it when she saw it. And a message to her: I think you would be perfect in the mother role, after hearing it on the CD. Evalyn said that it brought back her feelings on West Side Story. I can see why. They're very similar in many aspects. I would guess that the writers did draw much inspiration from West Side Story.

I think I shall go now though and finish some more of the finalizing details on the NYC trip. I really can't wait! A week with my friends in the theatre district of the world! Heaven on Earth!