"This is NOT a safe place to fail..."

Alright guys. It's been a little while! Time to catch you all up on the adventures I've been having the past couple days since my last blog.

Saturday: Cara, Nicole, and I wandered around the city and the village just looking at the incredible architecture and enjoying the neighborhood. We got asked for directions THREE times. I guess we look pretty legit! After, we wound up in a bookstore called The Strand, which sells a bunch of plays and books really cheap, so I bought a couple hoping to find a directing scene for the fall. We ate at a really cool place called Spice for lunch, which was a GREAT Thai place. But that doesn't trump dinner. WE MET UP WITH VICTORIA TEAGUE! Woooooo. It was really nice to finally see a face a recognized and just hug her. Yeah. I see what that philosopher was saying about the need for human touch! Anyway, I met Bethany whom Victoria has been telling me about for a little while, and I'm hoping to get to know her better soon. We all met up at this place called Empanada Mamma's, which was HOPPING. I'm pretty sure I was sitting on the purse of the girl at the table directly next to us. Oh well. It was probably from Canal St. anyway. #notreallybrand After dinner, I SAW MY FIRST BROADWAY SHOW, Nice Work If You Can Get It with Matthew Broderick, Kelli O'Hara, and Judy Kaye in great seats at a student rush price. Blew my mind. And then we went to stage door and got their autographs. Yes, I met Ferris Bueller in person. My Saturday night beats yours. What's better, the actress who won the Tony for best featured actress in a musical, Judy Kaye, was kind enough to talk to us for a good couple of minutes and said she had heard of CAP21. People are so cool here. Other highlights include Times Square at both day and night....so many lights....and my first NYC Subway Ride. To end the night, the three of us sat in Times Square eating frozen yogurt and vowed that in 6 weeks we would do the same thing and see how much better we are because of CAP. I can't wait.

Sunday: I'm starting to understand the streets and directions of this city, even if the ALICO Building or the mountains aren't there to help me. I've even gotten pretty confident with the Subway! Just don't trust the 6., and take the N, Q, or R. I get it. I had my first Book of Mormon lottery experience, and the guy was HILARIOUS. Most entertaining wait for tickets that I didn't get in my life. However, I did get aisle orchestra seats for Chicago at a student rush price. Score. Ensemble was phenomenal, but the female stars were only alright. This show though....let's just say I'm going to be working out more often. And I'm already working out as much as possible...but I'll find a way. So, Cara and I stopped by Crumbs cupcakes...to grieve. And the Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake that I had was worth every bite....at the moment. Further in the NY news, Grace made it safely! Finally, another friendly face I can call and ask to grab dinner of sit in a coffee shop or something! WOOO. The last part of the night was kind of scary, because I decided that for the placement auditions the following day, I would use a monologue that I found from one of the plays I bought at The Strand. I'll have to memorize it and figure out how i want to act it, but it's SO GOOD. I'll have to risk it.

Monday: PLACEMENT DAY. Up early and with a healthy breakfast, it's pouring outside. Well that should be a good sign. We get to CAP about an hour early and start to meet people. There's a short orientation, where the founder of CAP21 spoke to us. He said something really interesting, talking about how fast the program goes. Most people have "lightbulb moments" around the 4th or 5th week, and that is the week of tears and joy. Then he said, "This is NOT a safe place to fail. This is a safe place to succeed. You are going to be put through all kinds of impossible challenges in this program, and you are going to fail, but the point is that here, you get back up. You go harder. You succeed." He was hilarious, but really made me hungry to be the best performer I can be. I'm fired up, let's go. Then we get right into dance placement. Without exaggeration, we danced around 4 hours. Are you kidding? Yeah, this program better keep me in shape. I learned two things with the dance audition. I can kick my legs higher than I thought and I'm not alone when I say that ballet is not my strongest suit, THANKFULLY. 30 minutes later I auditioned my monologue and two songs for a couple of faculty members, which went REALLY well. Taking the risk of that monologue was worth it. Also, there are so many names. THE AUSTRALIANS ARE SO COOL. I want to be them a little bit. If anything, I really want to be friends with them. But not only them, EVERYONE seems to be pretty incredible. So many talented people I'm trying to remember and learn from. They're strangers right now, but once class starts this is going to get interesting! I went, though, to the Drama Book Store to meet someone who is not a stranger to me. Grace Riehl! We grabbed a bite to eat, I showed her my place, and we hung out and caught up. It sure is nice knowing people in a city full of strangers. CAP people won't be strangers for long, but there are alot of names to remember. But you know me, I'm determined to have everyone's name down ASAP. Challenge accepted.

Tuesday: First day of class! I woke up early to print of some necessary things for CAP, but got there and got my class assignments. Is this a mistake? Dance levels are 1-4, and they put me in Ballet and Jazz 2 and Tap 3. This should be interesting. Meredith would be so proud. The rest of my classes are with the same group of about 15 people, which I really like. I'll get to know them well. Now for the name game, and the embarrassment of when you say "...you're Pauline right?" when in reality her name is Phoebe. Rough. It's okay. I'll get it, and there's 50 people in this program...so it'll come. I had Tap, Vocal Technique, Vocal Performance, and Acting today. PHEW. 10-6 was incredible. I loved every minute of it. For the first time, I wasn't nervous to sing in an intimate setting in front of complete strangers. Maybe I'm already improving! Let me just say though, I am in the presence of some REALLY talented people. Holy waffles Batman. Everyone is bringing it, and I'm going to learn so much, even by watching other people. Many different voice types, many different dance levels, many different people. One goal though, to be the best performers we can be. And I'm hungry for it. I already have assignments to learn two songs i've never heard of and keep a journal. Does this count? I think I'm taking in enough to NOT forget a single thing. As for now, I'm off for my first NYC run! I've seen too many people doing it on the streets to resist.