Saturday in the Park

Is anything better than a gorgeous, sunny day in the city? I venured north to my favorite park in Manhattan, Ft. Tryon park. Upon entering, one is offered a stroll through the magnificent Heather Gardens, a kind of community/neighborhood run garden with hundreds of plants, trees, perennials, annuals. As I lost myself among the winding paths, I was able to also enjoy a breathtaking view of the George Washington Bridge (otherwise known as "my bridge"):



I sunbathed for a bit, listened to my slowly dying iPod and read my new book, The Fourth Hand by John Irving. Then, I purchased a New York City hotdog and walked around some more towards the medieval museum, The Cloisters:




This week has been a tough one, but not a bad one by any stretch of the imagination. I've been putting in a lot of hours at Transcripts, cranking out tapes left and right and I began rehearsals for Esther, Queen of Persia as well. Last night, I got together with cutie patootie Melody, our Peggy Sawyer from 42nd Street, Jeffery Williams, our Andy Lee and Kevin Field and Kristin Ewing, also from 42nd Street at a little bar in midtown called "disiac". There, we were looking out the front window and saw Jeff Suzda, our reed player from first year staring at a tree right outside. What a small world! Apparently, he was looking at the scene of an incident where a tenant had put up barbed wire and a passer-by had gotten cut on it. Ah, New York, you gotta love it.

I love you Fresh Direct!

The neighborhood I'm living in does not have the best grocery stores around. There are many delis, take-out joints and bodegas, but not much in the way of fresh produce and organic food. I don't have a car, obviously, so some of the better groceries located downtown are difficult to utilize since I have to then schlep my purchases uptown via subway. So, I opted to try the Fresh Direct approach. Since everything in Manhattan is delivered or at least deliverable, it was the obvious choice for my dilemma. So many options..and so easy to shop on their website. And I found that using this service encouraged me to make healthier decisions and so I did. Last night, the deliveryman brought three boxes and a bag to my front door, I unpacked and immediately made myself a delicious cucumber/strawberry/walnut salad. See what I mean? Healthy! Of course I did have to get a bottle of Vinho Verde as well, but it was the perfect compliment to my summer dinner chez moi!

Esther, Queen of Persia

I have successfully booked my first gig in the city since my summer at Forestburgh. I had two auditions today and about an hour after I got home from the second one, they called and offered me, what seems to be, a great role. It's an original show and will be performed in a Showcase setting in Greenwich Village for four days at the end of August/beginning of September. I don't know much else about the show except that they are loosely basing it on the book of Esther from the Bible and that I will most likely be stretching my vocal range with this role. I also had to bring in my violin for the audition. And after 12 years of neglect, it sounded alright. I didn't play any masterpieces, but I assume that if they want me to use it for the show, it won't be too difficult and most likely a lot of improvisation. I'm just happy to have booked something that will allow me to be seen in the city and hopefully, allow me to embark on a great project that has the possibility to become a success. There's always the hurry after playing a great role for so long (like Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street) to quickly book more jobs and ride the wave of success. If more shows and more roles do not follow, it's almost like that time was a fluke. Stressful, yes...but in this profession, there's no resting on the laurels. It's audition, audition, audition!

My new printer/scanner/copier!!!

I journeyed out to Target today in the Bronx to get my much dreamed-about printer/scanner/copier combo. What a treat this is! I desperately needed it to print resumes, cover letters, etc. But this also scans photos, scans music, such a great thing to have! It was relatively cheap...just under $100, so I'm not cringing from this investment. And God knows how much money I'm saving by not having to go to Kinko's for every audition and submission I want to do! Hooray!

The lovely Brooklyn Bridge in my beloved Manhattan.

Here we go! I have tried blogging on Broadwayworld.com and myspace.com, but I truly think that this may be the site for me! I love reading my friends Beth and John's page and love what they can do with it. So I'm going to give this a try!

Ahh...New York. I can't believe I'm back here. After moving into a terribly dirty apartment in Washington Heights and scrubbing it clean on my hands and knees, I feel like I'm starting to settle in here. I've begun a job at a transcript place where I listen to interviews from various media shows and write down every single thing the person says. Yes, every "uh," "um" and "you know." Right now, it's a bit overwhelming, but I'm still in training mode which can last as long as a month. I will be getting paid for every page I type, but for now, the rate will most likely be low until I can get my speed up. It will be the perfect job, however, because the hours are so flexible. I can go sign up for an audition, come in, type a few tapes and go back and sing my little heart out. Ideal for a non 9-to-5er like me!

I've been to a few auditions already. The first one was at the Equity building which was such a thrill for me because it was my first unionized audition! They don't let people even into the lounge with the bathrooms unless you're a union member, so I felt very special. They had an actual dressing room with make-up lights...very chi chi. My friend Edward was one of the producers for the project I was auditioning for, so I felt very comfortable. They even called me back! But, alas, I didn't make the final cut. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

I am nursing a head cold right now...so I most likely will stay in this weekend. I hate being sick in this city! There's absolutely no time to be sick! Well, at least I'm within walking distance to New York Presbyterian Hospital if things go awry.