Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Show Update

Plays/Musicals:
Altar Boyz 6/20/08
A Chorus Line 6/27/08
Passing Strange (x2) 7/9/08, 7/19/08
Mary Poppins 7/9/08
[title of show] 7/21/08
August: Osage County 7/23/08

Monday, July 21, 2008

Oops...

So I didn't realize how much time had passed since the last time I posted.

I am still alive, just in case there was speculation about that. (Although I doubt there was.)

Anyway, a lot has happened since I last wrote. Kind of. My internships have still basically been the same routine (film tracking, organizing closets and discs, running errands at TFF, selling tickets, setting sets up and taking them down, and eating lots of smarties at OHT.), but I've made some friends and seen a few shows and whatnot.

My best friend from home came to NY a few weeks ago, so on the 9th I asked for the day off and spent it hanging out with her. We got tickets to see Passing Strange (amazing show, I talked about it in one of my earlier posts), ate at a restaurant where the servers randomly broke into song (kind of like how Ed Debevics used to be but not as fun...and our server's name was "Flip" which cracked me up...) spent some time going to the Empire State Building before the show, saw the show, then finished off the day seeing Mary Poppins (amazing set. Fricken' Disney.). We were planning on going to the bar in Times Square that I really like after the show, but I had work the next morning and Rachel felt bad for keeping her cousin's awake since she had no key or anything and it was late. Then on Friday of that week (the 11th) we went to the Statue of Liberty. We took a bunch of pictures that were pretty ridiculous, but all in all it was a good time. We also found this AMAZING mediterranean restaurant near the World Trade Center site. We wanted to get food at the Statue of Liberty but it was super expensive and the lines were ridiculously long, so we went back to Manhattan to try and find something. We wandered around for awhile, noticing a lot of stuff was closed or didn't have anyplace to sit, when finally we saw a resturant next to a cafe (the cafe was closed) and decided to eat there. The food made us feel like we were back in Israel because it was so delicious. I want a falafal ball maker. Slash I want to learn how to make falafals and also hummus. Which are both made from the same things.

Anyway. My show tally for this trip goes a little something like this:
Altar Boyz, A Chorus Line, Passing Strange (twice this trip...SUCKS that it closed yesterday), and Mary Poppins.
Movie count: Wall-E, Hancock, Wanted, Dark Knight, and Mamma Mia (I've seen all of these in the past two weeks, I think).

I made some friends at the OHT, so we've been hanging out a lot. The one I've been hanging out with most is Rachel. She's really cool, and she's introduced me to some of her friends, so I've spent most of my time with her.

Kelsey comes to NY sometime this week, and Erik comes tomorrow, so maybe I'll get to hang out with either of them.

Kate and Laura are finally going out with Kaitlyn and me to lunch on Wednesday, and Laura is organizing a meeting with Craig on Thursday, so I'll get to meet him in my second to last week. Finally. I met Jon a few weeks ago, but I don't think he remembers me. I've seen him around a few times and he never looks like he knows who I am, but it happens. I told Kate this and she told me that he barely knows who she is, so I feel a little better.

I'm staying at Daniel's now while he's in Israel, so that's cool. His ceiling leaks. I thought they fixed that last time I stayed there, but apparently the problem is back, but this time in almost full force. The light showered the floor this morning. (I slept on the couch because...I didn't feel like moving...)

I'm really sore from yesterday's strike. My body is literally hurting. Kind of ridiculous, but whatever.

Who's reading this? I have three subscribers.

Ok, that's all for now. Maybe I'll update more often? Maybe?

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Movies, Parties, Sandals...

Nothing really all that new to report. Still lots of organizing and ticket selling at the internships. Movie watching, too. Bart Got a Room = good movie. I recommend it. We also watched I'm Reed Fish (which has Alexis Bledel), but that one...it's weird. It's not bad, just weird.

Friday I saw my first Broadway show since being here! Yay to that. Jeremy came to visit me (I haven't seen him in probably 5 or 6 years) and we went to see A Chorus Line (with MARIO LOPEZ). Oh my gosh, his arms. I was in the balcony and I could see every move he made. He's a ham though, that's for sure. The show was good overall though. Audition truth, perhaps? Then we found a good Irish Pub and made friends with Dublin Dave, the bartender. Definitely going back there at some point. He gave us a free shot. Niiice.

McKinley's bday party was Saturday which was...a party. Ha. It was fun. But then I had to leave for work and it was raining ridiculously hard and I got soaked. Which was kind of ok because when we turned the fan on it actually cooled me down instead of just blowing hot air in my face.

My head hurts. As does my neck and my back and my everything. I need a massage. And to pull my throat out. It hurts.

Had dinner with Tema tonight, which was quite fun. I haven't seen her in aaaages. Then after dinner I wandered around union square for a little bit, then headed back home because my tylenol wore off and I started feeling awful.

Also, what is it about sandals that make them cut into your feet regardless of how many times you wear them? Old Navy, I'm talking to you. No matter how many times I wear my black sandals I can't wear them in and they cut my feet. So I have these big ugly red blisters in one part on both of my feet, making all other shoes I wear look ugly on my stupid blistery feet. Ridiculous.

Ok, I think I'm going to take a tylenol PM and go to sleep. 'Night.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Close Encounters

I was thisclose to meeting my cousin Craig today. THISCLOSE. I was sent on an errand to deliver a book to his home before he leaves for the airport. I'm in the cab on the way there, when I get a phone call from K, Craig's assistant and one of the girls I'm interning for.

K: "So...are you going to say hi to Craig?"

Me: "I was planning on it."

K: "Ok good. Just say 'hi, I'm your cousin,' simple as pie."

Me: "Oh, I was going to more along the lines of 'Hi, I'm Esther,' and then wait for the blank stare."

K: "That works too. He's leaving for the airport pretty soon, so he'll probably be out of sorts."

Me: "I kind of figured."

K: "Ok, call me when you're done. Bye!"

Click.

Five minutes later, I'm standing outside of the Dakota, his GINORMOUS home, and K calls again.

K: "Hey, since Craig is running off to the airport he just wants you to leave the book with his doorman. So just drop it off."

Awesome. So, I've yet to meet Craig, my cousin, who I've been interning for for almost a month now. Cool.

On the upside, I did meet Jon, my other cousin last night. So that was exciting.

The end.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Mmm...cappucino.

I can't believe that it's only 3:30. Today feels like it has been going by SO slowly, it's bordering on ridiculous. Anyway, I guess I should recap last week so I (and you) can remember (and know) what I've been up to.

Tuesday was spent doing a whole lot of nothing as usual. Nothing to do at the theatre either, so I went a-wandering around, then ended up at home.

Wednesday the interns (Kaitlyn, Lexi, Harrison, and I) went out to get drinks with David, one of the guys from the other building who actually works at Tribeca. It was a pretty fun night. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Thursday Helsinki Syndrome had their second show, which went well. I didn't get to see the show that night though, so I'll save that for later. Lots of cleanup that went pretty quickly though, so that was nice.

Friday Janya came to visit me all the way from Washington DC! It was definitely awesome having her here. We explored Times Square and the surrounding area, even somewhat checking out the Fashion District. Somewhat. We sort of couldn't find it sometimes, so we'd loop around and end up somewhere that we weren't expecting. Meh. We went to hang out at the Playwright Tavern in Times Square for a bit, where we drank cider and watched the soccer game for a bit, then had dinner at Friday's. Very unimpressive. Anyway, then we went to see Altar Boyz!! First show I've seen in NY this trip that wasn't where I worked. Very cool. The show itself was hilarious, the Boyz had great energy, and the voices were amazing. Michael Kadin Craig, who played Matthew, JUST graduated from college last year. Incredible. And Neil Haskell from So You Think You Can Dance was in the show too. Everyone did such a good job, I'm glad it was my first show.

Saturday I slept in (ah, the gloriousness of sleep), then headed down to the East Village to wander around a bit. Went to the theatre, hung out in the nice cool air conditioning, then got to watch the show! It was very interesting. I'm not quite sure I know what was going on, but it was definitely an experience. And it was funny! Polar bears + snowstorms + fake blood + glitter = amazing. And the company members were all really awesome. After the show I went out to the Telephone Bar (which is mentioned in Passing Strange!) with the company plus Brendan (the stage manager for the night). Then Brendan accompanied me home (we both take the 6 train to get home, how exciting! ha.), and I went home and went to bed.

Sunday was strike for Helsinki Syndrome, so I was there from 10-12, then hung out with the interns for a bit, then headed home for a quick nap before watching Gone Baby Gone with Daniel and his friends. Interesting movie.

Yesterday involved a lot of organizing at the office, then going to the theatre and actually building a set! Exciting.

Today we watched I'm Reed Fish. Then later there's an intern mixer. And then I get to go to a rehearsal. How overwhelming.

Sad. Lexi just showed me how they do the sawing a person in half trick. I feel so disillusioned. I guess on that note I'll go back to....doing nothing. Slash making coffee.


P.S. Sorry these posts are so long with very little entertainment value. Ha. If you want entertainment though, go to Craigslist. Those posts are CRAZY. No joke.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Boring Time Max

Dear James Franco,
You're very pretty, but please, don't ever write another movie. Unless you get some serious help.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Esther

Yesterday, because there was almost nothing to do, the interns and I decided to watch a movie. We picked "Good Time Max" because it looked interesting, had James Franco as the writer/director/star...and because they didn't have Charlie Bartlett.

We piled into the conference room, turned on the movie...and seven hours later came out thinking "I want my life back." Ok, seven hours is exaggerating just a tad. The movie's run time is actually only about an hour and a half, but it is SO dragged out that it made me feel like I wasted my entire day watching it. Nice try James Franco. Granted, it must be difficult to write, direct, and star in a movie all at once, but really? Get help next time.

Thankfully, later we made up for it by watching the Italy/France soccer game. With snacks. And beverages. Woo.

There's a new show at the Ontological, too. It's called Helsinki Syndrome, and this is their first time performing in NY. It opens tonight, and I haven't seen any rehearsals, but it seems like it will be one hell of an experience. Somehow a show that has flashlights and blood and snowflakes seems like a recipe for perfection.

That's about it for now. Peace out, homeskillets.

Monday, June 09, 2008

A la TFF

Nothing really new to report as of yet. Still keeping semi-busy at TFF. I ran a few errands last week. Helped Kate and Laura organize Craig's books and put them in a closet. Organized the submissions from '07.
Thursday night I got to watch the show at Ontological. Very interesting. As I told Dan (the director?), it's not as peppy as Wicked but not as depressing as Spring Awakening. He liked that comparison. Sweet.

Friday I woke up to some sad news. One of my friends that I've known since nursery school (maybe even before that) took her life Thursday night. It really sucks. The last time I talked to her she told me she was doing ok, but that was back in December. I'm just glad she's out of pain now, even though it sucks. That's all I can say right now.

Friday night I went to Daniel's friend Dan's sister's place for Shabbat dinner. It was really cool, the room we were in had a great view of the city. After dinner I went home and had a mellow night. I wasn't really in the mood to go out and party or anything.

Saturday I had work at Ontological again, so I headed over there around 3. They had me vacuum the carpet (confetti was getting all over the place!), fill the water bottles/beer bottle, and sweep the stage, and then I had a break until Dan got there. I cut the pieces of cake for the actors (good cake too - marshmallow and chocolate...yum...), then had a break again until 7:15, where we opened the box office. The other two interns got to watch the show, and I stayed outside and tallied the sales totals. Woo. Fun times.

After the show I met up with Josh (from the cruise) at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. We got there while Dave was on his break, so we caught up for a little bit until Dave got there. Then Dave went over to play the piano and Josh and I moved from the bar to sit closer to the piano. It was a good night, I think. This woman went up to sit next to Dave on his piano bench and was sitting really close to him and being all awkward, saying things like "you play piano just like my husband", and then I think she went and asked some random guy to dance. She was drinking his water and everything. Super awkward. Ha. After Dave finished playing I went home and went to bed. It was really good to see Josh and to hear Dave again, but we definitely missed the rest of the crew!

Sunday I sort of hung around the house. It was really hot outside! There were talks of a heat wave, and as I am not a huge fan of sweltering heat, I stayed in my air conditioned room. I talked to Geoff around 10. It was good to talk to him, but sad at the same time. He said he might come to NY soon, so that would be cool.

We haven't been given any projects yet today, so Lexi, Kaitlyn and I watched "My Marlon and Brando," a submission from the festival. It was interesting. And sad. I hope we watch a happy movie next. Ooh, and Wednesday I think Lexi, Kaitlyn and I are going to go see Passing Strange! I'm excited about that, it was ridiculously good when I saw it last time. Woot.

I think it's just about time to do the mail, so peace out homeskillets.