Flyering sucks, but at least I get free cookies

There are many different kinds of promotions. Sometimes you are leading a party or a game at a school event. Other times you're handing out free samples of something as fast as you can until they're all gone. Others you're demonstrating something, talking about it, then again usually handing out some sort of sample or a coupon for the product.

Other times, the best times, you're handing out something for free that people would usually be glad to buy on their own, but getting it free makes it even more wonderful. The people love you; they're happy you're there, they thank you heartily, and it's like a bonus that you're actually getting paid, because you feel so appreciated by the masses for doing what you're doing.

Yesterday was one of those times. I started promoting for Insomnia Cookies, located on the NYU campus in the East Village. (50 W 8th Street, for those of you who'd like to pay the actual store a visit) Insomnia Cookies is a brilliant venture...they deliver warm, fresh-baked cookies to you (generally they're marketing to students, but if you're in their delivery range, you can be anyone. read: why don't I live in the East Village? read: because I'd gain 30 lbs.) until 3AM. Perfect for exams, post-drinking, post-other recreational, er, activities, etc. (In case you're wondering, they're no Breadsticks and Scones, but I bet they could make a killing if they were, what with all the headshops surrounding the place.)

We were one of the donor-vendors at the NYU New Student Block Party. The job was simple: pass out free cookies (there were 8 flavors available, the people could even pick which one they wanted), make sure they took a flyer and some coupons too so they could order from us in the future. Everyone loved it, I got to sample a few flavors myself, and I even got paid in cash right out of the register at the end of the easy 4-hour shift.

Side note: During the block party yesterday, Bruce Springsteen walked out of the lobby of the bookstore behind where we were stationed...I couldn't say a word, paralyzed by my #2 Greatest Celebrity Love (#1 was Glen Hansard, who only a couple of weeks ago walked by me in easy attack-hugging distance but I couldn't even bear to make eye contact...why did you have to start with the big dogs, NYC? You could've stared slightly smaller, say Adrien Brody, even Jason Schwartzman, I might've been able to mutter a broken "he-hey...I love your work." But Springsteen? SPRINGSTEEN?!? Really?)

I should've at least given him a cookie. He's had the best that life and gourmet have to offer, and a true-blue New Jersey bred American man might wave off something so ridiculous sounding as a Snickerdoodle, but he could totally bring home some of the incredible M&M brownies to Patty and his kids.


I mean look at him. He's been through a lot of pain. Chocolate chips meet a lot of emotional needs, even if you're loathe to admit it at first.

Today was a totally different story. I was stationed in Washington Square Park, "anywhere I wanted to be," to pass out flyers. Just flyers. Not even coupons at first. And in Washington Square Park today, it was a madhouse of flyering people with whom no one wanted to interact. Nondenominational Church Kids Group #1 were nice because they'd hand you a Quaker Chewy granola bar, then sneak in the flyer that invited you to join multiple cultures and Jesus on Sunday mornings. The Communists were obnoxious, slamming a flyer in your face, and as you sped away, yelling at you to come talk to them and find out why "the Revolution is NOW!" The other Nondemominational Church Kids claimed if you filled out a "spiritual survey," you could win a free Ipod. If you live in NYC or you've been here, especially in the Times Square area, you are familiar with this bottom-feeder job. People usually shove flyers in your face without any intelligible language at all, not to mention hard-selling energetic English, which is always the goal, at least when you're hired by reputable companies. Flyering pays the least of any promotional job, and you are hated. HATED.

Being a promotions person myself, I often say "no thank you" and smile at the flyer people, because I feel so badly for them. Most people will walk by you, avoid eye contact, often even put their hand up to you as if you're asking them for money, and you get responses like "Goddamnit, don't give me anything!" "Just STOP!" "F--- you." Yep. Seriously. I think the rejection rate with flyering is even worse than auditions. Even then, I can handle it--I sing my song, I learn your choreography, I read your sides, I'm not what you're looking for, fine. Maybe it's just that I'm redheaded and you wanted a blonde. Maybe I'm not skinny enough. Maybe I'm too short. That's how casting works. But you, NYU student who seems to be wandering in no hurry, bored even, can't even listen for two seconds as you walk by that I'm offering you free, delicious, warm cookies? It's not fun.

Luckily, the manager at the store drew out a map of where the NYU dorms were, and once I relocated, the crowds were friendly and loving again. "Oh, these are amazing!" "Thank you, I've ordered from them twice already this week!" "This is AWESOME, thanks, dude!"

Finally after two tough hours, I was done. They always offer me anything I want from the menu when I'm done. Sometimes a girl can really use a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich after all that rejection. I guess that's why they sell the little cookies at Ripley-Grier (Audition Studios), too.

NYC, I give you fair warning...

You all know how I am about brevity...but here goes. My attempt to keep this short but to make up for lost blogging time.

Everyone wants to know "How's NYC? Do you have a job? Have you been auditioning? How's Louis? What exciting things have you seen?"

NYC is WONDERFUL! I love my apartment, love my roommates, love all the fun stuff Josh and I have gotten to do so far.

I DO have a job, I have several:
1) I'm admin assistant for Josh's dad's psychology firm in California, The Family Institutes of Richmond and Pinole. It's basically the best job I could have, it's all online, all on my own time, and they're giving me plenty of work now, so it's paying the rent!

2) I'm doing lots and lots and lots of promotions. So far I've promoted: Vitamin Water and Burger King (giving free Vitamin Water out in Spanish Harlem=a little scary. Why they sent me and my roommate Jon, the two whitest kids in the room up there when many other ethnicities were represented among the other promoters, I'll never know), Time Warner Cable at the Bryant Park Film Festival, L'Oreal Cosmetics at Sears, The Bloomberg Foundation at the Central Park Film Festival, NYC's Dept of Transportation-sponsored "Summer Streets" which encouraged residents to walk, run and bike in the streets that are usually clogged by traffic (I had a hot pink shirt, a neon orange vest, and had to stop traffic with my arms in the air), and Harrah's Casino at Mets games.

Soon, I'll be demonstrating new espresso machines made by Nestle in Sur La Table, Bloomingdales, and Williams-Sonoma, sampling the new champagne-beer Kasteel Cru at Whole Foods, handing out free cookies and coupons from Insomnia Cookies at NYU, handing out postcards for the new car-sharing service (competing with Zipcar) called Mint, and probably promoting American Honey Wild Turkey (hey, the best hourly wage is ALWAYS in the liquor promos).

I'm also trying to get the word out that there's a new dog walker in the neighborhood, but it's tough to market yourself when there are a billion other people doing the same thing and there's always some 12-year-old willing to walk a dog for $5.00. At least the Broadway Animal Hospital in Astoria let me leave some business cards there.

I HAVE been auditioning....these are the things I've auditioned for so far: The Fantasticks at Cincy Playhouse (got the job!), White Christmas at Cape Fear Regional Theatre, the new musical Lost and Found for the NYMF, Aldonza and the soprano role whose name I can't remember in Man of LaMancha for a company in New Jersey, the workshop of a new musical Zuly in the Last Place on Earth (got the job!), a commercial for Dove deodorant, an infomercial for some vitamin (totally sketchy, they "filmed" my interview on a camera phone, thank you for not calling me back, weirdos!), the national tour of Annie (got several callbacks, they kept me there over 5 hours, it was a long day but good to be liked!), and a touring show that goes to schools called Halfway There.

I was called in for a Shakespeare showcase but I got there and realized the performances are when I'm in DC visiting Erica, so I didn't even read for them.

Coming up, auditions I've received appointments for include a Columbia showcase of Chekov's Platonov, the Beauty and the Beast tour, a tour of Fiddler on the Roof, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in Yorktown, NY (#1 dream role ever, I wonder if I should say I come with my own Toto?), and ensemble/supporting roles in Anything Goes in Virginia Beach.

Louis is doing GREAT. He loves Astoria, walking around and meeting new dog and human friends...just like every other place we've lived, he always thinks everyone is here to see him, but he sure is happy when Matthew, Jon, or I come in the door. He knows where he is now, he's even ridden the subway with great success, and the next step is tackling the NYC dog parks.

Things I've seen in no particular order (except the first which was definitely the best and it will be hard to top): GLEN HANSARD in Chelsea...totally walked past him on the street. Josh told him he loved his work; I simply froze...a homelessman peeing in the subway on Day #2 of my living here, so many plainclothes drag queens I've been truly surprised, my fair share of the good and the bad subway musicians (those full-out Mariachi bands make you smile whether you're ready for them or not, and the sweet old man playing the saw really beautifully got $2.00 from my wallet), a few friends I haven't seen at a long time at auditions and the odd planned rendezvous when I've had time, and Josh and I saw both the amazing Spike Lee-directed film version of Passing Strange, and the groundbreaking, modernized Off-Bway production of Our Town at Barrow St. Theatre.

There's been tons of good food already...Pinkberry and black and white cookies are way too easy to come by, Blackbird's Cafe right around the corner from us offers an incredible Sunday brunch with three different food stations and four drinks all for $14.95, ridiculous bakeries are plentiful close to home and it's really easy to buy italian cookies for less than $1.00 each, Josh and I had a gorgeous dinner at Peasant in SoHo (though his all-green pesto pasta dish wasn't nearly as good as my mussels in wine sauce over linguini), Rich introduced me to Better Burger in Hell's Kitchen after I got the Fantasticks job, and the karma ketchup over their not-fried fries is not to be missed, cheap Mexican is becoming a tried and true meet-up-somewhere-random-for-a-dinner-date favorite of ours, obviously pizza slices are around every corner, I tried a Grey's Papaya hotdog on the way home from my Annie callback and it was no Yum-Yums, but it was good, we're always looking for some good, cheap Indian and finding a little success with it so far, and I'm so happy to have my own kitchen again where I can cook dinners full of real vegetables and other healthy things on the nights when I'm actually home at a decent hour.

Annnnnnnnnnnd guess what? that wasn't brief at all, but it should catch you up on a good deal of my life here.

I'll do my best, Lauren and Alan, to update more often now. :)

Shots from 80 Days, and almost packing time...

As promised, several pictures from our photo call for Around the World in 80 Days.

This is my Newspaperman character. We often just refer to him as "Grandpa." Dan, our amazing crew guy who sits in what is basically a little wooden canoe behind the stage and pulls the revolve manually on a rope pulley system, demands that I do some old-man-dancing before each show or he can't possibly do his job. What better outfit for old-man-dancing than fantastic plaid flannel golf pants?






Below, we have the Young Parsi telling Kiouni our elephant (obviously), to "Be easy," Josh continuing his Man With Pipe Type with Andrew Stuart, and Aouda looking skeptical at Mr. Fix, as usual.













Below, we see the sledge, Aouda and Mr. Fix waiting on the plains for Mr. Fogg's return (the furs are real, I have real allergies to them if they touch my skin. Eww.), Mr. Fix on the job with the British Consul in India, Passepartout's return from the incident with the Apache, and Aouda proving that a girl can hold her own in a gunfight (one of my favorite moments of the show; I hope some 7-year old girl sees the show and is inspired...except that she chooses a different method than guns to exhibit her girl power.) Here, you also see what Josh and I have been referring to as our "holiday card moment" in the gunfight. Merry and bright, no matter whether you're celebrating the birth of your savior or a lamp that burned a lot longer than it was supposed to. Enjoy! :)

80 Days Review and Onto the Next Step...

As official as reviews get of the shows up here at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, this is our review for Around the World in 80 Days. Sadly, the man mangles my name (doesn't he have a program sitting in front of him? Sigh. He wins points for originality, this is the first time I've seen Margaret-Allen Jeffries in print). It's a great review though, certainly something we can all be proud of, especially after it felt like we spent a straight 48 hours in the theatre the two days leading up to opening (and the first real meal break we got was immediately before the opening performance). The audiences are laughing heartily, which is always so nice to hear, and I'm having a blast getting to play a stuffy English servant, what has become (thanks, grey wig and moustache) a wily old Newspaperman, and the Indian princess who turns out to be nothing of the damsel in distress that everyone expected. Pictures soon to follow.

http://www.caughtintheactnh.blogspot.com/

In other news, I officially have a New York address, and am getting very excited about some things falling into place for work in the city!

30-94 43rd St
Astoria, NY 11103

Jon moves in on the 1st, Matthew and I are flying from NYC on the 4th, spending a day and a couple of nights in Cincy packing up a U-Haul, and we'll be moved in somewhere between the 6th and the 7th. Now that you've got the address, send me a letter there. I'm planning on joining a local organic produce delivery service, and I'd love nothing better than to read a note from you while eating a nectarine that came right to my doorstep.

I'm starting some remote secretarial work for Josh's dad as a part-time day job (it's actually really fun, and no one will fire me for having a second tab open with facebook on my browser), I'm signing up with several promotional companies and emailing tons of Craigslist "event gig" posts daily, I have a couple of temp company contacts, our Passepartout from 80 Days is owed a favor by a friend who runs a dog-walking service so she's got my info for me to join her team, and a friend who's relocated to LA has sent my contact info to the families she babysat in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, upon my friend Jackie's suggestion, I'm planning to continue in the work-from-home (or on the road!) vein and get into social networking for local establishments. But any ideas or contacts for other jobs...I'll take 'em.

I'm excited about a couple of work-study opportunities, too...I'm going to be work-studying for a yoga studio in SoHo a couple of days a week in return for unlimited classes at the studio, and I'm planning on auditioning for a musical theatre performer work study at the dance studio my friend Marcia attends. I want to take as many classes as I can, and if there's some way to avoid money coming out of my pocket for it, all the better.

And then there are the auditions...already been searching the upcoming casting calls, looks like there are regional productions of 80 Days and Marvelous Wonderettes that are having calls soon, and our lighting designer from the Winni Playhouse has already submitted me for a NYMF show. I'm just hoping to hit the ground running as soon as I get to the city and not stop until...well, the thing about NYC is that you don't ever really stop. Scary AND exciting.

The mystery of Zumba

I'm sure I could make this really creative and informational, but I'm gonna keep it short.

This was worth reporting.

I went to a class at the gym tonight called Zumba. Apparently it's a big trend sweeping the nation's gyms...and I've actually been to lots of classes that have the same setup, they just weren't officially Zumba. Also called Cardio Dance, Ballet Aerobics, Latin/Hip Hop/Dance Aerobics, basically it's a cross between a high-impact (well, medium to high, MAYBE, if you get technical with the old-school definitions of aerobics that basically if you're ever totally on one foot or there's any hopping involved it's "high impact") aerobics class, and a pretty simple jazz/movement combination at a community theatre musical audition.

The followers of Zumba at The Fitness Edge in Meredith, NH range from 13-year old girls in matching little spandex shorts and tshirts from their middle school drama productions, to 16-year-old girls obviously on the high school dance team and potentially enrolled in the competition class at the dance studio, to the still-fairly-young women (I include myself in this category) who probably danced at one time in their life, want to go to a class, but can't quite bring themselves to go to Step, of course to the young moms, the older moms, that one lady who's 5'9, short spiky black hair, obviously like 50 but you know can tear it up on the salsa floor b/c when it comes time for the Latin-esque moves, this lady MOVES those hips, and there's even this INCREDIBLE 76-year-old lady named Dell who was the Feature Member at the Fitness Edge recently--check out her story here. Finally, there's the one man. The lone dude. Clearly not a ballerina in this lifetime, I get the idea he probably shows up under the guise of "ah, come on, man, who wouldn't like to be in the middle of a group of dancing ladies?," but he secretly enjoys breaking it down a bit himself. He had a pretty mean paddle turn going during "Jai-Ho" tonight; he was definitely singing along, and I think his eyes were even closed a couple of times during the song. I think he was imagining himself on that subway platform with Jamal and Latika.

Just a side note that I discovered as I was searching the gym's website for Dell's story: The Fitness Edge has an Old Fart's Club, a self-described "group of men over the age of 50 who are eager to learn about new ways to stay young and be active." Too adorable for words. They meet the first Wednesday of every month at 7AM. I just missed them this morning, we got there at 9, shoot! That would explain the Dunkin Donuts coffee in the lobby, though.










You show 'em, old man. Ain't no arthritis gonna hold you back.

Since I promised to start this up again in NH for Lauren...

No promises on how long (or especially how clever) this post will be, it's mostly an attempt to make a small start at regular blogs again and follow through on my promise to keep in touch and keep people up to date on where I am and what I'm doing on all my travels and my most exciting adventure ever thusfar...moving to New York.

But for now, I'm in Meredith, New Hampshire, working at The Winnipesaukee Playhouse.

A few key points, for those of you who don't know this already, or those of you who would enjoy the reminder:

1) While I'm up here, I am playing Lenny in Crimes of the Heart and Aouda, James Forrster, and Newspaperman in Mark Brown's Around the World in 80 Days.

2) Josh is working here too; it's his second season with the Winni, he's playing Allan (the Woody Allen role, go figure) in Play it Again, Sam (see the current Winni newsletter for his huge hair and Napoleon Dynamite glasses), Barnette Lloyd in Crimes, and Detective Fix et al in 80 Days.

3) We are living together in an adorable apartment-of-sorts in the basement of our artistic directors' huge house in Meredith. The perks of living here during the contract include being located only 2 miles from the rehearsal space, a big bedroom (with enough space for me to do yoga @ approximately 7:30 in the morning without waking Josh up), our own washer and dryer, internet, and a private kitchen and bathroom. The fact that the kitchen and bathroom are one room is actually not a drawback. The toilet is in a separate enclosed little room, the shower curtain is great so we really don't get shower runoff onto the floor in front of the fridge, and I personally love that the sink in which we wash our dishes is also the bathroom sink, so bathroom grossness like toothpaste doesn't collect in it.

4) We rehearse each show for approximately 10 days to 2 weeks, then one opens and we start rehearsing the next one the following morning. Crazy pace, lots of necessary homework at night, but it's a great experience.

5) You may notice that both of these shows are straight plays. That's right, no singing and no dancing for Musical Theatre Girl. This actually makes Musical Theatre Girl very happy. Good to shake things up, and only having to worry about navigating a unit set with a kitchen and big kitchen table is a far cry from the knee-abusing tap of Dames at Sea.

There's really no news to share here, nothing terribly crazy or exciting like the Bearcreek days, (the only time I ever long for those days is when I feel like I have no fun news to share in my blog) but I can tell you I'm tired from the fast-paced rehearsals, I'm exhilarated when I realize how much progress can be made in such little time on a scene, a character, and frankly how fast I seem capable of cramming lines (please note this is NOT a self-pat on the back, I really should've learned this stuff way before I got here), and I'm grateful every day that I get to come home for meals and after the long days, and Josh is right there with me.

Currently I have my evenings off, because they're still performing Play it Again, Sam, and everyone in the current company except for me is in it. This means I get to go to the (totally free and totally great) gym (how can I explain to you just how fabulous treadmills and ellipticals with built-in TVs are? You'd be surprised how fast four miles go by when you're watching Top Chef) at night, cook dinner for us both, make my lunch for the next day, run my lines while J is in his show, and I have enough time to wind down and get to bed at a decent hour. This will change in a week or so, once we're working just on Crimes day and night, and especially once Crimes opens and we're rehearsing crazy crazy 80 Days during the 10-5 slot. Knowing the amount of exercise it seems I require in order to keep my anxiety in check, I wouldn't be surprised if I start attending the 5:45 AM yoga class at the gym, or running on dinner break and just coming to the show a big sweat ball. My character in Crimes is supposed to be dowdy and unattractive anyway, so I figure the worse my hair looks, the better.

In other news, I miss Louis to pieces (he's in Cincy with Lauren, Matthew, and Y until I come back to get him and put all my and Matthew's stuff in the moving truck for the one-way trip to NYC), and same goes for my friends in Cincinnati, North Carolina, DC, and all the other places far and near. The odd thing is that even with Josh here, at least right now, I'm still spending a lot of time by myself, and it gets lonely sometimes. I need to send out a batch of letters, that always makes the distance between friends easier for me. :)

A COUPLE of funny/interesting things from my time here so far, just for those of you who only read this to hear the odd stories:

1) The Halperins (Artistic Directors, whose house we live in) have a hairless cat. Seriously. Dr. Evil style. Its name is Semi...we wonder if it's called that because it's only half a cat without the hair. It is truly terrifying, and if its mere physical appearance weren't upsetting enough, it has the loudest meow I've ever heard. Ever.
2) There's a woman who comes to seemingly all of the yoga classes at the gym and in every single one, she feels free to let her natural gases flow. I've been to three so far. Every.Time. "...aaannnd, lift your right leg to meet the left, into the full expression of the posture, completing your Shoulder Stan---*pppppfffffffffffftttttttt!* Seriously.
3) Overheard (also at the gym) the other night: "Yeah, I spent all afternoon blowing up balloons for my grandson's birthday party this weekend while the rest of the world mourned a child molester." Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. Josh and I have been listening to Jackson Five before rehearsals, remembering the less notorious days of the poor man's life.

Life on the Outside

There is a harsh truth to face. No way I'm gonna make it on the outside. All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole. Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Jason Robert Brown.

I told him I was going back to my home state for my next job, and I'd be working for a real theatre again, doing a real show, so he couldn't mock me like he had been doing for some time now.

But now, friends, I must admit I don't quite know how to handle this life.

I'm starting a new show @ Temple Theatre, yes, in my home state of North Carolina, located in a small town called Sanford. The show is a 1960s-themed Christmas show, four girls singing in harmony, think Plaid Tidings with girls...called The Winter Wonderettes. The theatre isn't a full-on Equity house, but they usually have a couple of guest artist contracts per show...we only have one since there are only four of us in the show, but we live under all Equity rules.

We take rehearsal breaks at regular intervals. We don't have to ask to use the restroom. There is a stage manager, a set designer, a costume designer, and the dressing rooms are climate-controlled.

The water IS potable. Right out of the kitchen sink.

I took a shower this morning in the house where we live....it was hot, the shower was clean, and the shampoo rinsed clean out of my hair. I was actually cleaner when I got out of the shower than I was when I got into it.
The housing is not only insulated and also climate-controlled, but it's this enormous old Southern house where we each have our own huge bedroom with cable TV and wireless internet. I have a double bed...one big mattress, with box springs under the mattress, not just a big block of solid wood.

Board members brought over food for us to our house last night after we moved in. Just-baked lasagna, french bread, apples, cookies....where are the mashed potatoes? The fried chicken? The vegetables with nutrients replaced with fat from butter and gravy?

We were released from rehearsal because we'd been working so hard today in music rehearsals. Wasn't there laundry to be done? Didn't anyone need me to call Elvis Bingo somewhere? Should I go run club with the big awkward guy who stares at me? I would've just wandered the streets looking for cows and Amish if I wasn't already carpooling with one of the other girls in the cast.

I don't know who I am anymore. The orange is disappearing from under my nails. The bloating from the Homestead food is going away. I walked with Louis for an hour today and the air didn't smell of sulphur OR sewage. My voice feels relaxed and healthy; I'm singing in my real range, and we are asked to be safe and careful instead of running things that we're getting right 30 times. I think we'll be paid before we've been here for about five weeks. The stage manager mentioned driving me to the astronomically-discounted gym in the mornings.

I'm gonna crawl into my giant bed now and pull the covers over my and Louis's heads. They were all right of the dryer waiting for me when I got here yesterday. I don't have rehearsal until noon tomorrow, I was going to get up in the morning and do yoga, but it's gonna be way too weird to actually have the space to do it on the floor of my bedroom, and I won't be surrounded by dustbunnies and dead insects.

Help!
Love,
ME