Getting off the plane at Laguardia, I was immediately reminded of one of the miracles of New York City: a lot of people do life in a very small space at a very fast pace. Many people who don't live here complain about the tight spaces and mass of people, but I'm not one of them. I'm always looking for signs of life that are bigger than most of us tend to want to make it. New York City certainly offers you those signs, as well as plenty else.
I'm staying in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn (my first experience with Air BnB, so far, so good), and being here reminds me of how great the neighborhoods are in this city. In the midst of 8 million other people, folks here take care of their small lawns and gardens, talk to their neighbors, have sidewalk sales (the next door neighbors are setting one up right now). Life. Together. What a concept.
Before meeting my travel mates for dinner, I had some time to wander around the West Village and Soho on Manhattan's lower east side. This is such a vibrant, diverse part of the city, very energizing. Dinner at Siggy's was excellent.
We did the opening performance of "Princess Cut" last night at the Lynn Redgrave Theater, our home for the week. If you're not aware, I'm in NYC with the cast and crew of "Princess Cut" for the Fringe Theater Festival. "Princess" was picked out of some 2,000 submissions as one of the 185 plays to be performed during the festival. The play is based on the true story of a Knoxville-area sex trafficking survivor, and is produced by Yellow Rose Productions (check them out at their Facebook page, as well as yellowroseproductions.org). My connection to the play is that since it's premiere last year in Knoxville, the Yellow Rose team has asked me to lead a discussion panel on the subject of trafficking following each performance. We've done several of these shows in Greater Knoxville and Nashville, and now for the next week we're literally one block off Broadway.
One of the things I appreciate about the cast and producers of the play is that they continue to work on the production, and every performance I notice subtle changes, each time for the better. This is a powerful story, unsettling for those who see it, whether it's their first time or tenth time. Last night's performance was unique in that the normal set that would be used for the play couldn't be used due to how quickly one play finishes and another one has to get set up for the next company to perform. This led to the "Princess" cast working with a very bare-bones stage. I know they were concerned about how this would effect the production.
I think they all came away from last night's show knowing they didn't have to worry about impact. The stripped down stage accentuated the power of the story, making it even more raw and personal. You could tell the audience was engaged and effected. I heard some groans and sniffles during the show, and saw tears afterwards. Of course, the action taken after the groans, sniffles, and tears is what matters most.
The after party was a celebration and time to express relief that the first show was done. Even though I'm 2-3 decades older than everyone in the cast and crew, they are great about including me in these celebratory times. Last night's party was made all the better by the fact that many friends and family of the cast and crew were here, including a surprise appearance by some family who came all the way from Iowa for the premiere. It's always a gift to witness golden moments like those.
Day 1 of my New York story was indeed full. The word that keeps resonating in me as a result of the day is community. I both witnessed and participated in it in various forms. Big city. Big life.
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