RISK/Reward

I have now been officially introduced to the world of professional theatre. I was recently hired as a sound intern for a company called New York Stage and Film, and I'll be spending 8 weeks of my summer at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY at NYSAF's Powerhouse Summer Theatre. I am so glad now that I took that trip to NYC to go to the A.R.T./New York internship fair. It feels so strange to be interacting with the outside world of theatre, since nearly all my theatre experience in college has been in the classroom or with student groups. I feel like I'm skipping a few steps in immersion in the real world, but I know that this was the next logical step. It's sort of strange that I feel almost pensive about the whole thing at times, because it signifies the beginning of the end of my youth. I see employment, moving, and financial woes moving closer and closer to me, while luckily I seem to be holding onto my highest dreams and desires. I am truly grateful to be privileged enough to study something that I love.

That being said, I'm extremely excited to be working for NYSAF. They were my top choice out of all 14 companies that I gave my resume to at the fair, and I was delighted that they contacted me before I could contact them in the days following the fair. The New York Times quote on their website seems to sum up their mission well:

“New York Stage and Film at Vassar College is not about the value of name dropping. It is about what the theater is supposed to be about: the process, the ensemble, the evolution of the work, the work itself. It is not about commerce; it is camaraderie and collaboration. And it is art.”

Not to fall into the habit of name dropping, but they mention name dropping because NYSAF carries a huge list of big names associated with the company's summer program. Last summer, they premiered a new musical written by one of my favorite playwrights, John Patrick Shanley (Doubt).

In other news, I'm trying Veganism for two weeks. If you want to know more about it, feel free to ask me, and I'll be happy to explain it to you.

Now, a poem. I was going to edit it, but after all this thought about the impending end of youth, I couldn't bring myself to change anything.

RISK

I ran, skipped along
The cold red brick edge,
Navigated my steps, careful not to
Fall into the abyss that was the sidewalk below.
Now, I step up from that abyss
Separating myself from memory
With fifteen years of textbooks and essays

I stand on the bricks gazing deep
Into the eyes of the traffic passing me
In the opposite direction
“Am I so different than the boy
Lost to memory?”

The answer never came to me
As the sun began to set
And I marched on against the current
Of the great steel beasts
Dismissing the boy in my mind
As no more than a cold chill
Brought about by time’s winter breeze

So I walked onward
Feeling confidence shrouding
Doubt within my soul