Stories of...Brooklyn

I haven’t written a solid piece in over a month. I broke an oath to myself. I thought creativity would be a bit like inertia.  I thought the theatre would inspire me more. Creativity feeds creativity, right? 

But I’ve learned something. Imagine if creativity lived inside a cookie jar. You take a cookie from the cookie jar. If there’s a lid on it or left untouched, you’re desperate to eat all the cookies. But for the last month and a half, I’ve been eating a jar full of cookies every day and night in the rehearsal room and on the stage. All my cookies are going towards the play. And when I get home, I’m stuffed from cookies and I have no room left to make dinner. 


So, here are a few excerpts from my time here in Brooklyn. They are the crumbs at the bottom of the cookie jar, but sometimes the crumbs are tastiest part. 

1. 2/5/2022 Today is my first preview for English at the Atlantic Theater Co. I have an awful sore throat but nothing a little salt water and baking soda can’t fix. I always get sore throats before or during shows. It’s like a ritual. A bit of self sabotage to keep me on my toes. But that’s not what this is about. Today is about gratitude. I’ve woken up to multiple messages from my college professors, friends, and collaborators wishing me luck for today. I don’t even know how my teachers knew. One friend saw on Playbill… 
2. 2/14/2022 I’ve been seeing someone new. It’s really new. I keep telling myself “I’m just getting to know him” to slow myself down. Yesterday I had a crying fit. I started poking holes at the things that typically upset me. What if he doesn’t take initiative? What if he won’t put forth effort because I’m leaving in April? What if he gets too comfortable and ritual dissolves to routine. I forgot that’s what happens. Being in relationship to another person makes you remember your tender spots…it’s our duty to ourselves to manage our anxiety, take a breath, and not place past triggers onto the body of someone new. 
3. More to come later ;)