Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Sprinkle of pixie dust

"Where do you live?"
"Second to the right and straight on till morning."


 Living in New York without being involved in the show biz is like going to a buffet and only picking the veggies to eat. Not only are there numerous heart gripping Broadway shows taking you back to the century, into the fairytales or stating the reality, connecting your heart and somehow make you shed a tear without you understanding how it happened, there are also many professionals opportunities for you to get involved in with the stars and set your foot in the industry.

  Luckily, i did my video audition back when i was still in my hometown in December and got my news update 1.5 months later that i was accepted in a top musical theatre camp/organization in the city. The second i received the news i think i lost my emotion and did not know how to scream. It was too much.

   I'm not going to focus on all the details about the camp which i studied from the Tony Award winners , NYC's performers, casting directors or coaches. I'm going to share a special encounter with you. Let's begin, shall we? (bows dramatically and drags you behind the curtain)

    It was Day 2 of the camp. In our intensive schedule to prepare for the individual final showcase, we were given multiple classes from the professionals in different areas. One of them i had on the day was a dance lesson with Jacob. He is a dancer features in Peter Pan Live! on NBC as well as some stage credits in NY which i can't recall at the moment. We first studied a short dance routine from him, illustrating the story of Peter landing on the island with our body movements. After that, we were a given an except of the Peter Pan script to work on in pairs. I was given the role of Peter and i had to find my Wendy to complete the scene. Well, there were like the mum, Peter and Wendy, a total of three characters for us to play so there were like 3-4 Peter and 3-4 Wendy. As we were sitting in a horizontal line in front of the mirror, my first instinct was to look around me to see who's got the Wendy role.  In no time, i made a mutual agreement with a girl to play the scene together.

    Cierra, was the girl's name. She has blue eyes and straight blonde hair long enough to reach just below her shoulders. To be honest, she looked so much like a Wendy. We ran though our script together and she sewn back my shadow. We made a quick bond with each other before we realized it. After several practices, we played our scene to the class and got our lovely feedback.



  The class ended in no time.  And it was one of our favorite moment next, Lunch! We have catered lunch in a buffet style including sandwiches, salads, cookies, fruits and lemonades just around the corridor. As usual, we hurried to our bags, got changed and get ready for lunch. Did i mention the faster you get to the table, the more food choices you are about to have as we are food bugs. While I was changing and packing, Cierra walked next to me, 'Are you going to get lunch?"  "Yes." "Cool, I'll see you there.' said she as she turned and walked away with a smile. Just seconds later, She turned back and said, 'actually, i will wait for you.'

    There you have it, i was so happy she said something so sweet and would actually like to wait for me. It was the time i felt like i have found a friend who would like to be around me in this camp. And there as i finished packing, I swear we were heading towards Neverland.

    If we all show a little love and care to each other, we don't need any pixie dust to fly to be happy.


















Until next time xx


Sunday, August 9, 2015

Hey i remember you ,Sweetie !


   I haven't really watched any movies in the theater out of my own hometown once. Well, simply because even you are travelling to a new country, all you want to do is to explore around the streets and not wanting to watch a movie which you can also watch anywhere but during your trip. I mean, the movies won't change right. That also happened when i was travelling in London like probably 6 years ago, i was passing by a famous movie theater where the premieres are held. Of course i didn't go in as that you read earlier was what i was thinking.

    Gossip Girl was a huge part of my "tv life" when i was around 12-14. I know it is a TV series and has nothing to do with movies ahem. Yet , in April, when the snow has finally stopped but it's also a little chilly that you still have to carry a coat around town. A movie, The Age of Adaline ,  starring the GG star Blake Lively was up and i was quite intrigued by the film for its plot surrounding the time period from the 1920s to the time we are living now. I believe that was also the time that one of the courses i took, stagecraft, was in the session of costume designs. With the two fabulous reason plus kind of wanting to go in a movie theater in New York (because i'm not travelling but staying over in the town this time) prompted me to spare a day to go to town and watch the movie, having the thought of maybe i'd learn a little more about the costumes in different periods which fabulously go together with my lessons and just chill.

 
   It seems like everything was planned for me. I was notified my acting class at school is cancelled on Monday as the teacher had to attend a meeting or whatsoever. As i finished my 8:30 am class, i hurried back to my room to get changed and packed everything and hop on the 11:20 train.

 
    As i usually have my vocal classes on Mondays in the Upper West side in the evening, i picked a movie theater which is the closest so i don't have to run for my live to be on time for that. So i walked out of the 79st, Broadway subway station where i was always greeted by the imposing Roman Revival style church lying gracefully somewhere between Amsterdam and Columbus and of course the open and special air of the Upper West Side in the gloomy day. I walked my way to the movie theater on the 84st. As i pushed open the door, all i saw was only an old man who had seem to be just bought a ticket and a lady working behind the ticket counter. It shouldn't be a surprise as it is Monday and most of the people are either at school or at work. That also made me realize how blessed i was to sneak into the city, well, not exactly, it's not like i sneaked out of school... I walked towards the lady, who appears in her twenties/thirties, black, with a very friendly face wearing the AMC uniform. She greeted me and i did too. And then she asked what movies i was going to watch. I told her it was the Age of Adaline, She then said something like: 'Oooh! that is a good one.'  I replied, 'have you watched it?" , kind of hoping to know what she thinks about it, 'Oh no, i haven't. But i really want to, it looks so good. I saw the trailer.' said the lady.   'Yeah, you should! ' And there we finished the transaction and the trivial conversation about whether i could get student discount as the ticket was  like $17 and i didn't expect that. It turned out all the prices were the same.. so i just accepted the reality and headed out for a quick lunch.

 
      At first i wanted to get Chipotle down the street but it turned out it wasn't opened and the paper sign they stuck on the door was ' unprocessable'. I forgot what was written there but it wasn't like it's closed or under reconstruction, it was more like , hey we are going out for a tea, sorry. It wasn't just me who wanted to go in there but was confused by the sign. Two man, walking behind me wanted to go there too and was equally confused by it. Anyways, it isn't important. So i walked a few more streets down and got myself a cozy Italian Wedding soup, which i wasn't sure what that was but it sounds wonderful and an avocado tomato Mozzarella sandwich at Hale & Hearty. After i finished my lunch, i headed back to the theater.

 
    There were groups of teenagers in the theater and the lady who was working behind the counter seemed to have switched her position to check the tickets and her original post was substituted by another staff. It was a huge difference comparing what i saw when i first walked in half hours ago. The teens were getting in line to have their tickets checked and i was waiting in their line too. When it was my turn, i was fumbling around my bag for the ticket. And just like magic, i swear i spent my time from the 1920s- 1940s and still couldn't find it yet.( It wasn't that long, probably 5 secs.) The lady looked at me and her face suddenly lighted up, 'Hey, i remember you, you came in just earlier.. don't worry about it. (padding my arm) Enjoy , sweetie.' And there, without checking my ticket, she let me in.

   I know it's a bit silly to say she has been a very nice person for she was just remembering me for i have bought the ticket. To me, it wasn't just that. It was the feeling she gave to me that we have know each other forever and for just being so nice and casually talking to me when i was buying the ticket made me smile from my heart and i really liked going to the theater because of that,

    It all made sense of the price of the ticket after i sit in the theater . Huge space, comfy sofa/bed sort of chairs and reclining seating you can actually sleep on with your legs laying cozily on the chair in the sky.  It felt almost like a private home movie theater where you can cuddle with your favorite blankets and have a cup of hot tea and snacks. And here is the second story of the angels i met in New York.  Remember:


   If we give a little love maybe we can change the world.


Until next time xx

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thank you for reading my blogpost honestly i don't know how you all find me but it means a lot. comments are welcomed . i hope some posts wouldn't bore you out as some of them really were like documenting my routine more than the encounter of the angels but i think i just want to write it in a complete way :D

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Be Safe

  It was cold that night. Probably around 10 o'clock in the station of Stony Brook, Long Island NY. 10 o'clock is of a different feeling depending on where you lives. In Manhattan, 10 pm just feels like 7pm . the road is bustling with people, hurrying or taking a tiny break from their work of their own dreams, cabs that always look so busy and expensive to ride in and all those neon lights on the buildings giving you so much to look at... but in Long Island or anywhere not in Manhattan but in the NY zone, 10 pm is the kind of moment where everyone is gone, back to their cozy beds either cuddling with their families, enjoying a hot bowl of soup or are on their way to sleep and get ready to go in the next morning. It is the feeling where you are left alone in the dark. It will leave people wonder why you are still out. And there i was , 10 pm stepping out the train on my own. Not many people were leaving the stations with me, even there were like 8 people of the entire train, they were all putting on their hats and gloves and kept their head down in their coats trying to get as much warmth as they can in the freezing snow. And there they went,  back to their homes, which, is of the opposite direction of where i was heading. As i was pacing my way through the slush, i gingerly made my way to the tickets booth a few steps below the platform. 2 cars were parked next to the ticket booth, i walked towards the ticket machines, trying to buy the monthly pass with my credit card as i thought it would make my life so much easier. As i tried, for like 3 times already, the screen just kept popping with the message of error/invalid. Being frustrated of the idea of not being able to purchase the tickets, i was worried if my credit card was not working which was a vital thing for me to go around as i didn't carry much cash with me and the idea of arriving at the station the other day to purchase a single ticket really was like a hit by the snow, leaving me helpless on the floor.Well , that was a bit exaggerated. The sound of a car pulling by caught my attention. As you may be aware, being a girl in the cold dark night alone with no sign of human around is not a good idea. I turned to look at the direction of the sound, two white headlights of the car is making its way in as it was parked beside the ticket booth. An old lady was making her way to the machine trying to buy tickets. Somehow, the heat detecting screen seems to be not working well. She tried several times and then a few minutes later, a man, probably in his twenties/thirties, black, quite strongly built but not as a terrifying figure stepped out of the black car. well, maybe it was blue, i couldn't tell, it was pitch dark around. He was walking towards the machine or better say, walking towards the lady, trying to buy the tickets on the same machine the lady was using. But it doesn't seem to work well, so they just try another. And there click, a ticket dropped to the box. Great news to the lady, she got a ticket now. While i am still here with no ticket. I asked if they knew why i could not purchase the ticket and when the booth will be opened so an actual human can finish the transaction for me. The man was not sure and said maybe 10am ?  I thanked him and decided to stay around the machines a little bit longer thinking maybe it would work sometime later. As they were leaving back to their car, the man said, ' is anyone picking you up?' i looked at him and answered, ' oh, i live here, just across the street.'  he replied, ' oh .there, okay be careful and be safe to home.'









I just feel like the huge amount of space was needed from what he said. A space for you to sink in the care of others. I instantly felt a huge ball of warmth passing into my body. No one needed to say that to me but he did. it just made everything better, i couldn't decide if it was the pressure of not being able to buy the tickets or the cold. but it was just so warm. I agreed and thanked him as he walked back to his car. And here it was the first story of the kindness of humans of New York as i encountered.

And now i wish you safe and happiness too.

Until next time xx.