You're wiser than I re the cellphone, Justin.
I should probably get one for the car. Was waiting for a call out only version. VA sister says they're available. Now I only have my stubbornness as an excuse. There are so many cell phones out there that I'm sure some good Samaritan would stop and let me call AAA if I needed it. Before the days of cell phones I always had tremendous luck with strangers stopping to change tires for me or otherwise assist me. Even had a Jersey State Trooper change a tire for me after he threatened to ticket me for the lack of rubber on it and then have me towed. <ggg> Helps to be a girl.
Theatre: (I still use the pretentious spelling)... mostly box office with a little bit of publicity in the beginning. Last gig of many was at Manhattan Theatre Club. I started out in ticket services at MTC taking abuse from subscribers over the phone... one of the reasons I hate the instruments... use mine so little at home that I usually know who is calling without having caller ID.
Graduated to liaison between our offices downtown and our performing spaces at City Center. Supervised their union box office and got to be abused by subscribers face to face in my office. Also ran between management and the casts though I usually deferred to the company manager for that duty. Backstage charm wears thin after you've been doing it for a while plus which you have to be very careful that you do not say or do anything that will rattle a cast member before the show... You want them to give a good performance.
Same thing in dealing with the audience. I was very good at diffusing angry people... I use my smile as a defense mechanism... still do. All it takes is one or two pissed off people sitting in the audience to spread poison that will kill audience reaction and have a negative impact on the show.
We had (still have) two small spaces in the basement of City Center on 54th St between 6th and 7th Avenues (I lived on 56th off 8th Avenue... made the walk home easy). Stage I sat 299 and Stage II had a 150 seat general admission capacity. I loved Stage II. We were considered an Off Broadway house. Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway are determined by the size of the house not the quality of the productions.
We had a lot of famous people in our casts... many of whom got their start with us... Callista Flockhart in Mad Forest one of many... Christine Baranski and Nathan Lane both started with us in their early days... Holly Hunter... Julie Andrews first time on a NY Stage in 25 years when she did a Sondheim review for us called Putting it Together... she wanted to see if she could do 8 shows a week before they mounted Victor, Victoria... took one of the cast member with her... Rachel York who played the Leslie Ann(e) Warren role. Julie Andrews is the consummate professional. Very sad that she lost her voice.
That being said... most actors are not too bright, narcissistic twits who should be banned from public speaking unless they are following a script... <ggg>
We also had famous playwrights. Many of our audience members were famous too... When Julie Andrews was there it was celeb du jour time... we had Amy Irving, Liza Minnelli (spelling), and Barbara (spelling?) Streisand in the house on the same night. They hid Ms. Streisand in my office at intermission... She is tiny... I got a timid smile and a hi from her as they rushed her in there. I stood guard... didn't recognize Amy Irving when she came to see her... think I intimidated her a bit when I smiled and asked who was calling. <ggg> She looks better on film. Liza flounced out the street with a smile and wave at intermission... needed a cigarette.
Name dropping sorry. If you want to hear more, I can PM you... think this crowd is pretty sick of these stories.
New York... by the time I left, it was time to leave. I feel like I've been released from prison... not going back though there are times watching the opening sequence of Law & Order that I want to be back wandering the canyons of midtown in the light of night... then I remember why I left and got over it.
One extreme or the other.
Birds just woke up and started singing. Running late. Please forgive any typos or dropped words TGIF. Have a good one.
country.ksquared.girl
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
