I left Northern CA in late 2000, going from my undergrad campus of Chico State to the cement urban sprawl of my graduate campus in the West Village. I went to the Actors Studio, the very one from which Bravo's interview show Inside the Actors Studio was spawned, and yes, host James Lipton is just as...well, he's just like is on TV, in person. It was he and a few others I auditioned for in LA before getting my letter of acceptance. The show was (and probably still is) filmed every other Monday, and attendance was mandatory. How could something so interesting, so wonderful, so revealing be made mandatory, you may ask. Well, despite the (usually terrific) guests, filming began at 7:30pm. We students had had Alvin Ailey dance in the morning, rushed sweaty and smelly to Joe Jr's on West 12th for lunch before going into History of Theater, Voice, and Basic Tech (our acting class). We were usually left with at least two hours to kill before seating began in the auditorium to watch the interviews. We were BEAT. Hence, mandatory attendance. Most of us wanted to go home and shower, and sleep, all of which were an easy 45min away on the train- if you were lucky enough to live that close. And the one hour show that Bravo watchers were treated to was edited to that 60 minutes which aired. Those Monday evening filmings usually ended with us leaving the auditorium at 10pm.
Since beginning living in NYC, I have spent a total of 11 years here. My time here has been interspersed with a year back in Pinole, six months here, five months there, always recharging my battery back in NoCal. I got my Masters, I've acted onstage since- though I began to get more work once I left my 20's behind. They finally had an idea where to put me. And then I began writing my own material- which has done very well. More on that next time.