"It's Great to be Back, Back in my City"

So I'm home and settled back in New York. As happy as I am to be back, I'm already in need of a break. 20 minutes after I got home I got a message from my boss asking me to find companies to donate for our benefit gift bags, So I did that for the better part of the afternoon. I'm interested to see what companies actually get back to me. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's polite to respond to a person if they e-mail or leave a message, regardless of if you're actually going to donate anything. It's just common courtesy. On top of that I have memorize and perform a Shakespearian monologue this week, write two papers and keep up with my normal corse load. I know I'm not going to have time to do any homework this weekend, so I'm giving up my social life in place of hours of homework every night. If I'm MIA for a few days, that's why.

But all of this work will make the weekend just that much better! In addition to my roommates birthday celebration, one of my good friends from high school is coming to visit on Sunday. She wants to see Hair, so I'm going to take her to lunch and then a manatee!

I've also done a bit of shopping in the past few days! I bought two new pairs of shoes and a blouse. I got a pair of black slouchy boots, which are super comfortable and perfect for every occasion. I also got a pair of moccasins that are super cute, and made for walking. I'm going to wear them to the rally on the 11th! I also got a super cute white button down from J. Crew!

Gift Bags!

Hey Everyone! I need your help.

The company I work for, Broadway Speaks Out, is doing a benefit concert this November. We are looking to put together gift bags for donators to take home. I'm looking for companies to donate samples of their products for the gift bags. We would need about 45 to 50 and the company would be recognized in our program. If you know of any companies that would be interested in donating please let me know!

Your help would be seriously appreciated!

All the Leaves Are Brown

This is the first weekend that it officially feels like fall! At least where I am. Fall is defiantly in the air in Pittsburgh, and according to my roommates, in New York as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't anticipating this fall like weather, and left all of my sweaters in New York. I'm heading back to New York tomorrow morning, though, so I'll have my sweaters soon enough. I've also been listening to a lot of music that reminds me of fall. What kind of music do you guys listen to in the fall? Is there any bands or songs that remind you of fall?

For the start of the Halloween season I'm going to Connecticut on Friday night to go to a Haunted Graveyard with a bunch of my friends. I've never been to haunted house, other then the ride in Disney World, so I'm pretty excited. It's supposed to be terrifying, but hopefully I won't freak out to much.

In addition to going to the Haunted House, my friends and I have started planning out Halloween. Normally we go to Greenwich Village for the parade, but this year 3 of my good friends, including my roommate have a show that night. So we're going to do something more relaxed and probably just go to a party. We've also started to discuss costume ideas. Right now we're leaning towards 7 deadly sins. I'm trying to figure out which one I want to be!

Exhibit Equality!

Sorry it's been a few days, I've been outside enjoying this beautiful weather. On friday my best friend and I decided to go to Time Square and get pizza and sit on the red steps. Normally I hate Time Square; there are too many tourists and people stopping in the middle of the sidewalk taking pictures while I'm trying to get somewhere. But on Friday it was actually really nice. I haven't just sat and looked at it in a long time.

Saturday I spent the entire day in the park with friends. We had a picnic by the pond and laid out in the field.

The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to relax. Central Park is one of my favorite places in the city, and it was great to spend the whole day just hanging out.

Sunday I did a little bit of shopping at American Apparel! I only allowed myself to get one shirt though, because I really need to start saving money. (Oh the life of a college student/actor.) I really like it though. I'm going to wear it to the rally on the 11th! You can buy them online here!

I spend some time Sunday afternoon in Central Park doing homework. I left the park and started to walk down 8th ave. and ran into a street fair! At least 10 blocks of 8th ave. were blocked off and there were tents and carts set up all down the street. There were people selling jewelry, clothes, sunglasses, purses, art and food! I spent about half an hour there and ended up buying some bracelets and rings. After that I took the subway (The 1 wasn't running between 34th and South Ferry this weekend=major pain in the ass!) down to Tribeca. Sunday night was Exhibit Equality, one of the events I talked about in my last post. It took place at Space on White; a really cool art gallery like space. There were different artists works all over the space, and all of the artists were there too to talk about their work. There was also a performance piece that took place 3 times throughout the event. 3 AMAZING people sang while 3 people danced. The choreography was done by Billy Griffin and it was FIERCE!

I met so many fantastically talented Broadway actors, and so many cool people. Everyone was so incredibly nice and loving. It was so inspiring to be in a place where everyone has love for everyone and they're all working towards one goal. The main point of this event was to promote the rally in D.C. that's happening in 2 weeks! Read this for more information if you want to go to the rally or get involved.

Tomorrow I'm flying to Pittsburgh for a few days. I'm working at the G20 and catching up with some friends. I'll probably catch up on my commenting while I'm there and blog more consistently. I feel like mainly right now I just write about things that I've been doing, and while my life is completely fabulous I feel like there is more I can talk about. So what do you guys want me to write about? Give me some suggestions and I'll do a post on it!

Events!

Recently I've been talking a lot about the upcoming Equality Rally in Washington D.C. For those of you interested in going I have big news! Round trip bus tickets from NYC to Washington D.C. are now FREE! Thanks to Broadway Impact you can now get a free ticket to the rally. The buses leaving NYC at 6:00 am on October 11th and return later that night either at 8:00 pm, 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 or 4:00 am. You can order tickets at Vlada Lounge from 6:00 pm to midnight every night or you can order them online.

For those of you interested in donating you can sponsor a bus. A contribution of $2,400 supplements the cost of a round trip ticket for an entire chartered bus! AND it's tax-deductible.

For those of you in NYC this weekend, there is a fantastic event taking place on Sunday night. Exhibit Equality is a mixed media fundraiser and it's the place to be this weekend. It's at Space on White (81 White St. New York, NY 10013) beginning at 6:00 pm. Click here for more information!

There is another upcoming event on Saturday, October 3nd that YOU HAVE TO go to if you're in the city. Lady Gaga is hosting a fundraiser! You can buy $15 advance tickets here.

It's a Beautiful Day

I hope all of you in the New York area are enjoying this beautiful weather! I know I am. Yesterday I woke up super early and went to Time Square with some friends to see Broadway on Broadway. We got there around 9:30 so we could get a spot close to the stage. It was PACKED! The crowed was at least 2 blocks back. During the finale they shot confetti all over Time Square. It was awesome. After I went to lunch at a delicious Middle Eastern restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. I love just walking around that area and finding new cafes. I’ve never found a restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen that I didn’t like. If you’re going to be in the city, it’s the place to go for good food!

After that we walked to the Upper West Side to get Pinkberry, or Crackberry as my friends lovingly call it. I seriously will go through phases where I crave it every day. The good thing is it’s really healthy for you! (Only 150 calories per cup!) For those of you who don’t know what it is, Pinkberry is, it’s frozen yogurt and you can get different types for fruit on top. I always get original with strawberries. After we got our Pinkberry we walked over to one of my favorite places in the city, Central Park. We walked by Strawberry Fields and ended up at the fountain. We just sat for a while and people watched. It was such a beautiful afternoon!

On our way home we walked past Radio City Music Hall. The VMA’s hadn’t started yet, but it was cool to see everything! Did anyone watch the VMA’s last night? What did you think? I have my own opinions, which I’ll share later, when I don’t have a crazy amount of work I should be doing instead of blogging, but I want to know what you think!

Have a great Monday and enjoy this beautiful weather!

BROADWAY on BROADWAY

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been so spacey lately on updating my blog and commenting. I promise as soon as things die down a little bit I'll be back to it! Lots of exciting things have been going on in my life since getting back to New York. Unfortunately I can't share the details of any of it yet, all I can say is some pretty exciting performance opportunities are coming up for me! Tomorrow I have a 5 hour long dance audition, so I'm just posting this super quickly before I go to bed.

If any of you are going to be in the city this Sunday you should defiantly check out BROADWAY on BROADWAY. It's a FREE outdoor concert in Time Square featuring stars from current and upcoming Broadway shows. Each show usually performs a song or two. It's a great way to see some really great theater for free. It's also a good way to get an idea of what the shows are like, and which ones you do and don't want to see before you invest in an $100 theater ticket. It starts at 11:30 am in Time Square. (You might want to get there a little early if you want a spot close to the stage, it tends to get pretty crowded.)

Just wanted to let you all know about this event, and give you a brief update. I swear I'll be more present in the next week!

Have a great weekend!

What others believe

In my last post I told you about a pretty cool assignment, and asked what you believed. I also told my friends about this assignment, and it sort of turned into a game. I thought some of their "beliefs" were pretty funny/interesting, so I decided to share them with you. (Note: some of these were conceived while under influences, and I do not necessarily agree with all of them.)

1. War is wrong

2. Women should have control over their own bodies

3. The spirit of Christmas

4. O.J. Simpson is innocent

5. Miley Cyrus is a boy

6. In President Obama

7. In second chances

8. Children are our future

9. Guardian angels

10. I believe in Love

11. Luck

12. Michael Jackson is alive

13. The death penalty is wrong

14. Democracy

15. Equality

16. Dreaming

17. Human rights

18. Absolutely anything is possible

19. Love at first sight

20. The bible is not divinly inspired

ALSO! The season premiere of Glee was on tonight! If you didn't catch it, defiantly watch it online sometime this week. It's hilarious! The writing is funny, and the cast is lead by the incredibly talented Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele. Everyone I've spoken to so far has absolutely loved it.

What do YOU believe?

I’ve successfully completed my first week of classes! I think I’m really going to like most of them. A few seem like they’re going to be a little boring, but not to challenging if I do the work. I’m taking 7 classes this semester, so I’m going to be super busy, but I’m also really excited. I already have a bunch of homework! For my acting class we were asked to make a list of 10 things we believe in and 10 things we don’t believe in. The direct assignment is:

“Write out as succinctly as possible ten ideas that you believe to be true. This might be easy for you, but if you’re struggling, try thinking about ideas of justice and what is fair. This should help you get started. Write a list of ten ideas you passionately disagree with; this can include political, social, or religious beliefs.”

I don’t know about you, but I think this is a really cool assignment. It really made me think, and I thought it would be something fun to share with all of you. Try making a list. It was hard for me, but also really fun. So go ahead and share your list!

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend!

Gym Gym Gym!

One of my favorite things about being in college is being able to use the gym on campus any time I want. And it’s free! They have a bunch of treadmills, elliptical machines and bikes and well as an indoor track, weight room, and basketball courts. They also have studios where they offer free classes. These classes are super diverse ranging from 60 minute abs to yoga and Pilates. Since being back I’ve been taking serious advantage of my gym, going with friends every day. Yesterday while I was working out my friend and I had a discussion about our “gym playlist” on our iPods, so I figured I’d share mine with all of you. I love listening to trashy pump up music. Basically anything with a good beat, that’s peppy and happy I’ll run to. My most recent mix has been completely influenced by the early 2000’s, including some A*Teens and S club 7. Don’t judge me, I usually have MUCH better taste in music.

 

1.     Don’t Stop Believin’ (Glee Cast)

2.     I Do Not Hook Up (Kelly Clarkson)

3.     Just Dance (Lady GaGa)

4.     Love Drunk (Boys Like Girls)

5.     Move Move Shake Shake (Pitbull)

6.     My Life Would Suck Without You (Kelly Clarkson)

7.     My Own Worst Enemy (Lit)

8.     Oh My God (Ida Maria)

9.     Positive (Legally Blonde the Musical)

10. Revolution (The Veronicas)

11. Right Round (Flo Rida)

12. Shake It (Metro Station)

13. Shine Like The Sun (9 to 5 the Musical)

14. That’s What Girls Do (No Secrets)

15. Untouched (The Veronicas)

16. Upsidedown (A*Teens)

17. Waking Up in Vegas (Katy Perry)

18. 1-2-3 (Nikki Cleary)

19. 4ever (The Veronicas)

20. Beautiful Dirty Rich (Lady GaGa)

21. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)

22. If You Seek Amy (Britney Spears)

23. BoysBoysBoys (Lady GaGa)

24. Womanizer (Britney Spears)

25. Single Ladies (Beyonce)

 

What’s on your gym playlist?

I <3 NY

Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. lately. I’m back in New York now! I’m all moved in and settled. I’ve just been getting settled and catching up with friends. I’m living with 4 of my friends this year and it’s been a blast to be with them all the time. This weekend we went shopping to decorate the apartment and went out to a few parties. It’s been really fun.

 Here’s a picture of my bedroom. My side is on the right. (It’s not completely decorated yet!)

I start classes tomorrow, and I’m also working on getting a job and an internship. These next few weeks are going to be crazy, but I couldn’t be happier to be back in New York.

9 to 5 the musical is closing on Sunday! I’m going to try to see it sometime this week. I saw it in previews last spring, and it’s fantastic. The cast is amazing, and the music is pretty great too. It’s all written by Dolly Parton, and at first I was a little skeptical, but I was blown away by how good it is. If you’re in NYC defiantly try to see this show before it closes.

Did any of you get a chance to go to the meeting in Central Park on Friday? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!

Have a great afternoon!