New York City, center of the universe...

Even though NYC was a couple of weeks ago, I feel like I have to write about it before I can move on to anything else... The night before we left I didn't go to sleep so that I could finish all of my work. I wanted the week to be responsibility-free, something I haven't felt for a long time. I mean, of course I had obligations and worries-- we went to the city to perform a showcase after all, and I wanted to do my best. I also am in some amount of financial trouble, so I didn't want to go crazy with activities or shopping. But I wanted this to be kind of like a vacation, a reward for all the seniors to just have fun together after graduation and before we had to focus on real life.

We arrived at our sketchy hostel. I've stayed in a good number of hostels in my days, and I do believe that this is the second most sketchy hostel I've experienced. Just imagine, if you will, ten girls staying in one room which barely holds five bunk beds. These girls, at least for the first few days, are all on the exact same schedule and want to look their very best for the showcase. There are three bathrooms for the entire floor, and when I say bathrooms, there are not several stalls in each bathroom, they are singular bathrooms. Three bathrooms wasn't enough for just our room. It was kind of crazy. We are so lucky that we all liked each other because if there had been any drama, it would have been awful. But I do believe there may have been bedbugs. Um, that makes me queasy to think about. I'm glad I didn't realize it while I was there. Which is silly, but a blessing.



I think the showcase went well, I think we all did our best and both shows we had a full audience. That wasn't incredibly hard to accomplish because it was a tiny theater, but what more can you ask for? I was proud of how I performed, how I even schmoozed a wee bit after the shows, and by how I felt fine about not having anyone interested in me. Now schmoozing is something I detest. There are a few people in the showcase who are Great at it, and I am not. And I don't want to be, I feel degraded by it. But it's a necessary evil in showbiz, so I attempted it.

And after showcase was over, we frolicked. I was out in the morning and didn't return to the hostel until midnight or later. Something that I really enjoyed about this trip is that I was with so many people! Usually when I'm in NYC I'm by myself for the most part. But when you're in a group, other people have ideas and preferences about what they want to do, so it gave me the opportunity to go places I never would have chosen for myself. On monday we went to the top of the Rockefeller building. I would never have just gone if I wasn't with others, and I'm glad I did. Almost every major city I've been to, I've climbed to a high point to overlook the city. I think that's weird. And awesome. It's not something that I consciously think about doing. I'm not like "now that I'm in Dublin, I need to find a tall building so I can overlook the city." It just happens. And I like that it's an unintentional tradition. London: St. Paul's. Florence: Duomo. Venice: that tower in St. Mark's. Oxford: some high clock tower. Paris: Eiffel Tower. Edinburgh: Arthur's Seat (my favorite because it wasn't a building, it's a huge hill/mountainy thing in Edinburgh, I felt like the wind was literally going to blow me off of it). San Francisco: Coit Tower. New York City: Rockefeller Tower.



The shows I saw:

Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill. Transferred from the Old Vic. Starring Kevin Spacey and Eve Best (I saw her as Hedda in Hedda Gabler in London, she is Incredible.) Front row center. Such a good show. There were a few choices by Spacey that I didn't love, but I cannot deny his talent. I can deny that he should have asked for $60,000 a week for this show, that's just a wee bit outrageous. What happened to the days when he asked for $2,000 so that the seats could be more affordable? Nevertheless, 60 seats are reserved every day to be sold at student price, and I celebrate that. This is the only show that did that and I applaud. Great set. Not a weak link in the cast. Great play.

Talk Radio by Eric Bogosian. Starring Liev Shreiber. Third row center. I love Liev Schreiber. I didn't Love the play, but Liev was Amazing and I am so glad I could see him perform in person. Sexy beast. But how did he look so wasted right from the top?

Coram Boy, adapted by Helen Edmundson. Transferred from the National. Rear Mezzanine center (I was so disappointed, but it was ok, that theater is built so well that all the seats in the house have a good view of the stage.) The play started, by jaw dropped, and stayed there. It was SO creative. Visually astounding. Favorite part: when they find all the dead baby skeletons in all these trap doors in the floor. Brilliant use of brilliant music: Handel's Messiah. The best thing I've seen in a Long time. Those brits, I love them so much. Seriously, I just don't feel like we get this kind of theatre that often in the states, why is that? I've seen several things in England for the few months that I've been there which fall along the same lines of creativity and collaborative storytelling. I wish everyone could see this. Loved it with all my heart. I wished I could see it again because I know I've already forgotten things.

Grey Gardens. Front row center. Those two ladies are pretty spectacular. Seriously, how they nailed those two documentary ladies is beyond me. It's like they ARE those ladies. They must have watched the documentary 50 times. Great. I'm so glad this kind of work is going on instead of just Legally Blonde: the musical (which everyone else in my group thought was absolutely Fabulous. I didn't see it, am not one to judge.)



Some favorite activities:
-Going to Alice's Tea Cup with Catherine and Erin
-Spending hours in Central Park. I can't tell you how gorgeous the weather was-- perfect for people watching, strolling, reading, anything really. It was my default location. An hour to spare? Go to Central Park.
-Thrilling exhibit at the Met about Modernity and Architecture in Barcelona. It was about these artists who were working in Barcelona at the same time as all the impressionists in Paris. They hung out at a cafe called the Four Cats or something which looked awesome. I looooved their work and am surprised I have never heard of them before. They worked a lot with Picasso. Such a pleasure, I have to research them some more. The exhibit went on to describe how their work contributed to the architecture in Barcelona at the time. Again, jaw dropped and I really believe I had a pretty silly expression on my face as walked from picture to example to picture of the architecture. I need to go to Barcelona now. I haven't been so thrilled by an exhibit since the Hopper exhibit I saw at the Tate Modern a few years ago.
-Spending a sadly small amount of time at the Cloisters. Why did no one else want to go with me? What could be more cool than a monastary in Manhattan? The park around it was beautiful. I miss the trees of the East Coast.
-Spending the most money I ever have on one meal at a fancy restaurant. I'll try anything once, and I've never been to a fancy restaurant before. Again, something I never would have done without someone else to encourage it.
-Staten Island Ferry
-Buying Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger at the Strand bookstore, then reading it. Loved it. Weird how relevant it is to my life right at this very moment.
-Just spending a whole week in the city. It made me feel very comfortable with it. I'm glad that I'm no longer intimidated by the big apple.