little helena’s big adventure…

ok well over the weekend i went home and had some time to relax. on saturday morning i woke up to my mom waking me up and saying “you should wake and come and watch this documentary on the tv” i grumbled…but then i got up. it was a documentary about The Gates, an art installation that was put up in central park in 2005. i vaguely remember hearing something about it in the news awhile ago…but i dont in New York at the time- so i guess i didn’t pay too much attention to it. but it was so interesting…

The Gates were designed by Christo and Jeanne Claude. The Gates were displayed for 2 weeks all around central park. and by all around… i mean all around. From an ariel view they looked like dominoes. They are saffron-colored fabric panels that lined 23 miles of pedestrian paths. The artists said they have been working on the project for over 20 years. Christo thought of the idea in 1979 and has been working on it since. The Gates was financed entirely by the Christos, with not a penny of grants, city money, or donations- is budgeted at $20 million: 7,500 gates that will frame the pathways of Central Park.

(the quoted information following came from a New York Magazine article in 2005 by Adam Sterngergh)

Each of the gates were “sixteen feet high, secured to a heavy metal base and trailing a swath of bright saffron-colored fabric, all of which, together in the wind, will create a shimmering river of color. The official title of the work is The Gates: Central Park, New York, 1979–2005, and that 26-year span in the date is no typo.”

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About Christo and Jeanne-Claude: “Their sense of themselves as collaborators, though, is something closer to symbiosis. They were both born on June 13, 1935, he in Bulgaria, she in Casablanca, to a French military family. Jeanne-Claude is fond of combining their ages; she once told a reporter they’d just turned 120. They travel everywhere together, except on planes—they want to ensure, in the event of a crash, that the other one remains to finish any ongoing work.”

“To the public, the Christos are popularly known, much to their frustration, as ‘the wrapping artists’ or, even more colloquially, as ‘the guy who wraps things.’ This is mostly a result of their most widely publicized work to date, Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–1995, an installation that involved wrapping the entire German Parliament building in silvery fabric, so that it looked like an enormous wedding cake.But many of their other works, they point out, have nothing to do with wrapping. The Umbrellas, for instance, consisted of 3,100 umbrellas, planted across 30 miles of countryside in California and Japan. Or Running Fence, a 1976 work for which they erected a 241⁄2-mile, eighteen-foot-high fence of rippling white fabric that snaked across Sonoma and Marin counties in California, then disappeared into the ocean.”

“Jeanne-Claude seems to relish her reputation as an art-world Yoko Ono. ‘This is my best quality,’ she told Burt Chernow, their biographer. ‘It has protected Christo all these years. I think every artist needs a monster.’ Later, I asked her to elaborate on the sentiment. She laughed. ‘In the art world, they like to say, ‘Christo is so nice and gentle, and he always says yes to everybody.’ Then he sends me to say no.”

Many people tried to sway the artists opinions on such a big and expensive project. Many just didn’t like the location. Others “tried to sway the Christos toward less delicate locations: the Coney Island boardwalk or the Park Avenue mall. At a lecture at the Pratt Institute, a city official asked the artists why they wouldn’t consider Prospect Park as an alternative. Jeanne-Claude stood up brusquely from her chair. ‘I want to ask the gentleman a silly question,’ she said. ‘Did you marry the lady you wanted or did you marry an alternative woman?”

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After years of fighting and different grant proposals, the project finally went underway. The result was spectacular. I love that these two people are“performing the role of modern artists for people who don’t like modern art.” They were putting their artwork out there for each and every person to see. It wasn’t trapped inside a gallery- it available to the public. I love these people. They are such characters- and i love them even more for it. They are the epitome of thinking outside the box.

What i really loved about the documentary and the whole story, was everyones different response to the project. Some loved it and some hated it. People said comments relating to the fact that they were making central park ugly, and that the park itself is already a piece of art work….”would you paint something else over The Last Supper.” Others thought the project was beautiful and so important, and brought something new and fresh to the park, the city, and the art world.

projects like this really makes me love art…and people. art isn’t just about producing something, its about producing something to have an effect on people (whether they like it or not)

This is my description of the “must do” things in New York…

1) Bethesda Fountain, I went to the central park- saw the Dakota, Strawberry fields, and then sat by the Bethesda fountain for about an hour listening to music and sketching. I definitely needed this break from the hectic schedule. I had about 3 hours to do whatever I wanted. It was great wondering around by myself; I felt so accomplished and gratified to see that I could make my way by myself. I really loved Strawberry Fields; and I had my ipod and I made sure I was listening to Abbey Road to get the full effect. The Bethesda Fountain was also gorgeous. I loved seeing people coming and going. It is a great place to people watch. I also saw this adorable couple, that hugging and it was like a scene out of a movie…not creepy but I did take a picture of them, cause I thought it was a special moment.

2) New York Library for the Performing Arts: Steve, Talya and I went to Library before the performance of South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theatre; it was right next door. It was full of so many resources I couldn’t believe it. I loved just looked down the shelves and seeing what random and interesting books there were. I found a great book about beginning animation for Disney Movies, and also a book about the history of Burlesque theatre (which made me think of Gypsy)

3) Grand Central Station, Steve and I went on Wednesday March 5. The architecture of that building is so beautiful. I had seen the station so many times in movies and it was great to see exactly what it looked like. There was such a feeling of business; everyone was going somewhere and needed to be there right away. Steve and I also had fun with the whispering corner. First of all, we couldn’t find it, we had to ask a security guard; but then we saw people randomly standing in a corner. Once we finally stepped in, it was so weird! We must have looked crazy with our backs turned and our faces to the wall. It was amazing how clearly I could hear Steve’s voice.

4) Museum: Went to the MoMA on Sunday March 2, with a bunch of people. I loved it. I took so many pictures. It was great to have so much time to wander around the museum. So many different pieces and exhibitions grabbed me. I loved the architecture exhibit. Ever since I took Historic Preservation; I have had so much more respect for architects. What I really loved about this exhibit though, was that the blue prints and layouts were seen as art. There was such grace and specificity in the work.

I also had some geeked out with some works… like the Jackson Pollock paintings, the Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup cans, Van Gough’s Starry Night, Monet,  etc. I really felt artistically inspired and satisfied after our trip to the MoMA.

Layton and I also went to the Met on Saturday morning. Sadly, we had to rush things because we had a show to get to at 2pm. We finally got there, after walking through some heavy rain. We went through the Egyptian exhibit, a great exhibit on fashion (blog.mode) and also I made sure we saw the Gustave Courbet exhibit. I also had another moment when we stopped at some Monet and Georges Seurat paintings.

5) Drama Book Shop, I stopped at the book shop before Layton and I headed out to the Met. It was great to see such a great collection of work ranging in what we are all focused in. I felt like I could look around for a really long time, and basically fill up a shopping cart of plays I wanted to get. I restricted myself to buying things but I did find this one book and really intrigued me. It was a collection of playbills from the early 1900’s. It was just a small little book of postcard size playbills with fantastic drawings of flapper women and other fantastical drawings- I couldn’t resist.

6) Stage Door: I stood by the stage door for a number of shows. The first one was the The Seagull, when I was so excited to meet Alan Cumming and Diane Wiest. They were so courteous and its always great to see people who don’t let their fame get to them. We also met with Ryan O’nan, who played the lead role of Konstantin. He was just standing outside the theatre and we talked to him for awhile. He was so energetic and so different from his character.

Also waited outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and met with 2 of the actors from the show Grace: K.K. Moggie and Oscar Issac. The other stage door we waited at was outside November. Sadly it was horrible weather, but we stuck it out. We met Laurie Metcalf and Dylan Baker, and Nathan Lane for a brief moment before he rushed off into his car.

Well the big trip is over and we are back in Fredericksburg.  Looking back on the trip- it was definitely worth it.  The trip was filled with great shows, great times, a great city, and a hectic schedule.

The trip back was a whole other trip in it self.  First, David, Steve, Talya and dragged our ridiculously heavy bags through the crowded sidewalks to the bus stop. Then we got to the DC to NY bus and found out it wasn’t going to be there until 8, so we had to wait on the streets of New York for about an hour.  Thankfully, there was a starbucks next to the stop (no surprise really cause they literally on every corner in New York).  Then we finally loaded the bus and started the drive back.  We were about 2 hours on the road, and I had just finally fallen asleep and a huge “thud” resonated throughout the bus…. we blew a tire- great.

we then commenced to wait on the side of the highway for the next 2 and a half hours while the police came, and a new tire was put back on the bus.  I was kinda surprised we didn’t have to get off the bus for them to fix it.  But everyone on the bus kept in high spirits so it wasn’t too bad.  We had some great laughs and made a new best friend of the department: James. This guy sat right behind us on the bus and joined in the conversations and made the ride so much more enjoyable.

Then we finally arrived back in DC.  We then had to wait another half an hour for the coach bus to pick us up at dupont circle.  At this point it was about 3am.  everyone was really tired and cold, but we sang disney songs to keep warm.  everyone slept on the bus back, and we finally arrived back in good ole Fredericksburg, VA around 4am.

…today I went to the Met.  Layton and I had to go through yucky rain this morning, but we made it.  i really wish we could have stayed there much longer; we really only went to about 3 sections of the museum.  We went through the Egyptian section, which was absolutely mind blowing.  Everything was so beautiful (Layton and I were drolling over the intricate detail on the jewelery.)  One of the things that really interested me was the amount of work that goes in to categorizing the huge amount of artifacts; everything was done so specifically.  its amazing how they can piece together these findings.  There was a huge hallway with just jewelery and pottery pieces that they miraculously pieced together.

the other amazing section was the temple of Dendur.  The room is huge, and its strange to think that in this crazy busy city there is a place where an ancient Egyptian temple lies.  it had huge windows, and a reflecting pond (we called it a mote).  It was striking to think it was brought all the way from Egypt to NYC.  Personally, i think the most interesting part was so see graffiti on the temple…. graffiti from the 1800’s. In the stone people etched their names and year.  its amazing to see how much the world has changed.

the next section we went to was a fashion gallery- called blog.mode.  It was an amazing collection of fashion throughout the ages.  the clothes ranged from the 1800s to modern designs.  it was amazing to see such detail.  I really loved going with Layton to this collection.  we both were amazed by the work, but i could see the admiration and love for the work in Layton’s eyes and attitude while we went from outfit to outfit.  I looked more closely at the work because Layton was there, I felt like i was enjoying the work more because I was with her.

one of the exhibits that i actually researched and wanted to go to was the collection of artwork by Gustav Courbet. We only had about 10 minutes to look through whole exhibition, which made me sad, but it was better then not seeing it at all.  the collection was amazing to look at, i especially enjoyed the massive collection of his self portraits. the paintings had wonderful detail, and intense emotion, particularly in the sensitivity in the facial expressions.

we also stopped off in the paintings and drawings section of the museum and i got to see some of my favorite pieces.  i saw fabulous pieces by monet, van gouh, and seurat.  it was amazing becuase i got see a draft of the ’sunday in the park’ by seurat and then once we left we were heading to the theatre to see Sunday in the Park with George.  I thought it was so cool that I was seeing one of the real things that he did, and seeing part of his life, that included this painting, performed on stage.

I had been wanting to go to the Met for the whole trip, and even though I didn’t get to stay as long as I wanted- it was still worth the trek in the rain.  I felt like i could have stayed there for hours. I want to go back already.  Ill put pictures up soon enough.

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I got a new outlook on the world out of the interview I had yesterday. i have been talking a lot with actors on this trip. but i had an interview with Matt Britt yesterday and it was very different. He works as the Production Manager for Serino Coyne Inc. Serino Coyne is the, “largest full service advertising and marketing agency in the live entertainment industry.” i have to admit, i was nervous to go on the interview. this was my first interview by my self. I got to 1515 Broadway, and had to go through security, get a visitors pass, and go to the 36th floor… etc.- it was very different than any other interviews i had been on before on this trip. i had to sit in the lobby for awhile for Joanne, the secretary that helped me set up this interview, to come and get me. I was then sat down in one of the offices and met Matt Britt.

We talked about so many different things; things ranging from living in the city, the performing arts, advertising, internships, and justing being comfortable with who you are in a new place and new career. i learned a lot about their business, which started in the 1970s, and how much it has changed since they began. I learned so much about the process of the making the window cards, which is exactly what i wanted to know. It was amazing to hear about all the different work that goes into each poster. the number of people working on each poster can range from a few to very may and then even more depending on what the producers say or if specialists are brought in to work on them.

I also really loved talking to Matt because when he graduated from college he was a performance major. I felt like we had many things in common- especially in the fact that we both had a passion for theatre and art. This type of job seems to be the perfect blend of these two interests. There is also an element of stability thats tied into the career.

Matt and I got into a off shoot of the conversation when we started talking about that fact theatre is the only business (besides modeling) where it is based on appearance. Any other business… if you base employment on appearance you can be sued. But in theatre you can either be too tall, too skinny, too fat, your hairs too red, or anything about your appearance. Its a tough world in theatre; and you have to have tough skin. Its the nature of the business- no matter how talented you are, sometimes things are based on things that you have no control over. But one of the most important things to remember is that “if you have the fire- don’t let anyone put it out.” One of the things that seems to be a reoccurring piece of information is that - yes, of course there will be hard times, but pushing through them is what makes you who are. You can either deal with or walk away.

Being an illustrator is an amazing tool. everything usually starts with a pen and paper. but one of things about being an illustrator is today’s world is you have to have your voice or medium, but you need to be able to adapt to the world around you; essentially the technology and advancements in todays face paced soceity. You have to be connected with the world; you must stay relevant. Matt commended all of the work the illustrators do; that its essential to the whole process. But you need to be multiple talented, and be able to adapt and learn easily.

there is a creative responsibility to represent the production correctly and effectively. To capture the play in these works of art; and thats what they are…works of art. so many hours and diligent work has gone into each poster. i loved looking around the office and seeing all of the advertisements and beginning sketches hanging on the walls. it was like a gallery, and you could tell how proud all of the people were about their work.

i loved this meeting and i feel like i learned a lot. it reassured to me that there are so many options and things to do in world. i’m not necessarily saying i want to have this job, but in the back of my mind i feel like its an option; and having options is nice. i dont want to give up on anything that I have a passion for, but right now my passions seem to be scattered all over the place. i need to organize and gather all of them… and then i’ll see where i’m at, and go from there.

here are some of the recent posters done by Serino Coyne:

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Me and Steve at Times Square

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Alan Cumming!

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Sully….prepare yourself. Beautiful

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I was also lucky enough to have 2 coffee meetings today. one with John Miller and another one with Shannon Kear and her friend Emily.

the first meeting was with John. John was such an interesting guy. Steve, Mitch, Karen, and I sat down; and to be honest the conversation started off slowly, but John really seemed to get into get. He kept saying that he had been trying to think of stuff to tell us. It was fantastic to think they he was kinda nervous about our talk, just like we were.

John had some really great advice. He was fabulously blunt about the business. I would much rather I get a clear cut idea about what is ahead of me, rather than a sugar coated one. John said you really have to want it; everyone else out there wants it just as much as you…or more. People are jerks out there, and you need to protect yourself . Being a professional actor is lifestyle that never ends. it a lot about getting your self out there- self promotion. John even told us that some people pay people (agents, managers) to meet with them; to sit them down and make them listen to you.

John talked a lot about his film career; and also about the difference between LA and New York. He said LA is great, focused a lot on film, nice weather, but everything is spread out and you have to drive every where and there is horrible traffic haha. New York is its own world. Everything is so quick and hands on… new york is where its at. There is so much going on, and there always will be.

Our next coffee meeting (after eating Lunch at a great burger place called Paul’s- Da Burger Joint) was with Shannon and Emily. Latera, Emma, Steve and I had a grand adventure just getting to Gregory’s Coffee. Then we found these two gorgeous girls sitting by the window and we sat down. They were so personable and seemed really excited to talk with us. They really gave me a great perspective about living in the city. They both came from different areas; Shannon from the west coast (CA) and Emily was from Pennsylvania. Shannon even gave us great company for New York apartments. Both of the girls talked a lot about working with film/commercials, and also working with SAG. They had so many random stories to tell us, and that really made everything seem really comfortable; also that everyone makes mistakes and they learn through those mistakes.

today i got a great amount of information and….caffeine haha.

today was full of so many things. we started off this morning with a meeting at the Looking Glass Theatre. We met with the Rapscallion Theatre Collective. They were a great group of people. You could see just from talking to them the amount of passion they had for theatre. It was great to see an off-off broadway venue. We got to look around the theatre and see the conditions. It reminded me a lot of our black box. It seems like a great place to start off, to get your feet wet. We met with Lauren-Reinhard Tiongson, and also the rest of the board of Directors, which consisted Christophe Anderson, Reynold Malcom Hewitt, and also other members of the production team. There were in tech week, so they were bouncing around the theatre.

we started off with the introductory conversation: our names, what our focus is, etc. Really quickly the conversation got really fun. They asked a lot about our class, and they really loved our program. It was great to hear someone on the outside who really want to hear about our department. But of course, we were there to hear about their experience. So we talked a lot how they started their company, and what kept them going. We had a great converstion and it lasted for about an hour and half. It really didn’t feel like that long.

Some of the things that I remembered from the meeting vaired from really broad advice and really great stuff that I had never thought about. Lauren talked a lot about Off-Off Broadway and how that its driven by the passion. Laruen said its, “not about the money, causee there just isn’t any.” They actually seemed to enjoy Off-off Broadway more, because there was so much more creative expression involved. Lauren said that theatre is a responsibility. Essentially a responsibility to bring art and creation into the community, and also a responsibility to yourself, to satisfy your creative need.

I loved how they talked to us really realisitcally. They were pretty blunt about the business, and that it definitely a business. You must be realistic, and know your limits and know how far to push your self. They said don’t be afraid to audition for something you might not get. Who knows, the director may have an idea about a character…but you could change it…

One of the greatest things Christophe said was that, “New York is an island, dont burn your bridges.” The buissness is so fosuced on networking and working with people, and name dropping. You have to make your experiences really positive and strong. You have to stand out; be confident but not that cocky.

The one thing they kept pushing was to keep active. You must keep honing your craft; take classes, workshops, community theatre, etc. You have to constantly keep auditioning. You would much rather be waiting to hear back from 5 people rather than just one.

over all, I had a great time chatting with these people. They had such comradery, and it was great to hear that they went to the college and then came back to NY to start this theatre company. It made me really excited, maybe i could start a theatre company with friends- haha sounds great, crazy… but great.

today was a day full of adventures…. we started off with one idea, but had to change- cause we got lost.  i’m glad we got lost.  i would much rather get lost sooner than later, and have the looming feeling of the time that I get lost in the big city.  we (Later, Karen, Steve, myself, and Talya for part of the time) planned on going to the HB Studio to audit a class.  but alas, we missed it cause we were lost and couldn’t seem to find bank st.  We wandered around and stopped by the New School info desk, Parsons info desk, and then eventually got our bearings and found HB.  we were so happy when we found it- it was so gratifying. we took pictures outside the building to capture our achievement. we eventually went inside, and they were so nice about everything, and we got the class schedule and planned to come back and sit in on a class.

then we wandered a block and got to the New School of Drama.  we went inside and met with a cheerful woman for admissions, she answered our questions very graciously and full of information.   from the building we could see water, so the next obvious choice was to go to it.  we took beautiful pictures of the scenery and board walk.  it was such a beautiful day and it was great to be outside, and in New York.

we grabbed a smoothie and then Latera, Karen and I got to Battery Park… wandered around, saw an acrobat jump over 4 volunteers, saw lady liberty from a distance, and then decided to take the Statton Island Ferry.  We saw lady lib up closer and got pretty chilly while standing on the deck.  We walked around the area- the best part was seeing all of these kids getting out of school. we heard so many different dramatic conversations in a bout a 15 minute span- hilarious.  ( i dont miss high school) haha.

we eventually ended up back Mid town, and had a second to run back and upload my pictures cause my camera was full- eek. and then headed off again… this time to T. Schreiber Studio.  Karen and i went to their Information Session, and got to speak to the whole faculty.  The people who work there are full of so much energy.  I love it, the environment they have created is so warm and exciting.  One of the things that Karen and I were most exciting about the beginning classes for film.  I’ve always wanted to try film, i’ve never really had the opportunity to try.   This beginning course is so flexible, and the people there really now how to work with people with many different ranges of experience.

we rushed back towards the theatre where we going to see Gypsy  with Patti Lupone.  it was a great experience, It was great to see a Broadway legend, that so many people respected on stage.  There may have been some trips and mistakes in the show, but in some ways thats something I liked.  It made the show more relateable- we all make mistakes…sometimes the curtain doesn’t close- so what, you find a way to close it.

today was full of so many things….so many people, so many steps, so many subway stops, and so much fun.