My 15 Minutes of Fame

Hello, I'm back again! I realized that my last post was a little too negative, and I'm sorry about that. I'm happy to report that this one will be positive. There are so many things to share, and I'm glad that a lot of good things have happened to me recently. I have so much to say, that I decided to section everything off into its own headline so it's easier to organize my thoughts!

Broadway at the Barn: Caissie Levy - Shoutout and Meet & Greet

Last month, I saw the incredible Caissie Levy in concert at Holmdel Theatre Company. I saw her on Broadway in Frozen and Caroline or Change, and have never seen her in concert before. I decided to bring my mom last minute, and she actually enjoyed the concert. She even got to meet Colleen for the first time. Caissie is so beautiful and talented, and sang so many amazing songs! Before the show, Colleen always makes a speech before the performer comes out. This time, Colleen gave ME a shoutout because I interviewed her when the pandemic hit and asked about her dream guest. She said her dream guest was Caissie, so I guess now it's a joke between the two of us. No one in the audience really knew who I was, so I kind of remained anonymous. However, I was really grateful for the attention because I was feeling shitty about myself and it really boosted my self-esteem. I got a little emotional, and almost cried. I was so glad to have my mom there to witness this special moment in my life. My mom thanked Colleen, and I ended up emailing her after the show to tell her how much the shoutout meant to me. I'm not someone who likes attention that much, but to be recognized in that way is something I won't forget.

Since I wasn't able to interview Caissie, Colleen set up a meet and greet after the show. I was so excited, but nervous at the same time. I met two other journalists from NJ who I had only talked to online. They were both really nice and I'm happy we finally met in person! One of them congratulated me on the shoutout, which was an honor coming from someone like her. She even messaged me on Instagram after the show to congratulate me again and say that it was nice to meet me. Here I was in the same room as two other girls who did this for a living and got paid for it, feeling like a rookie. But it was me - the scrappy self-starter from BroadwayWorld - who does this for no pay and got the shoutout. Life can be crazy sometimes! Caissie came out to meet us, and she was extremely nice and so gorgeous in person. She thanked all of us for writing about theater, and hugged us. (we all had masks on!) Then, we all took individual photos with her in front of a step-and-repeat. It felt so nice to feel like a VIP after so many years of scrambling through Broadway stage doors and feeling like just another basic fan. I'm also glad it was a small group meet and greet because I am NOT good at one-on-one celebrity encounters. My heart is full and it was definitely a night I will remember forever.

Job Search Update

My life continued to be chaotic because for the first time in (I think) 3 years, I had three potential job offers at once. One interview was for a Copywriter position at a theater advertising company. I had an interview with HR, then did an assignment that was related to the job. The company sadly rejected me so I didn't make it to the second interview, but I'll rise above it. I had another interview for a Junior Copywriter position at an advertising company. I did an initial phone interview, then a second interview through video chat. I didn't get that job either, but I didn't want it anyway and my heart just wasn't in it. I went for a third job as a Content Creator for a pop culture website. I did a video interview first and never heard back, so I'm not sure what's going on with the next steps. Tomorrow, I have another phone interview for a job at a theater website. I'm trying not to be too emotionally attached, so we'll have to see where that goes. I've been so busy with other things that it doesn't really phase me.

Kate Baldwin TheaterMania Interview

The biggest news that I've been hiding forever is that I wrote my first article for TheaterMania! I was already covering a local production of The Bridges of Madison County for BroadwayWorld, but my editor said that another writer was going to do an interview/preview article. I still wanted to do an interview for this show because it was highly-anticipated and had a lot of great people associated with it. The Managing Editor of TheaterMania tweeted that he was looking for freelancers to provide regional coverage, so I took advantage of the opportunity. I was able to interview Broadway star Kate Baldwin, who was in the show. I was anxious all week about the article being posted because I knew it would cause drama with Marina, and it did. She thought I wasn't going to be doing the review for BWW anymore, but that wasn't true. I could've ditched her and jumped ship because TheaterMania pays and BWW doesn't, but I don't go back on my word or flake on people like that. She was the one who denied me an interview, so I went and did it somewhere else. I don't know what else is in store for me at TheaterMania, but when an idea comes to me I'll figure it out.

The Bridges of Madison County BroadwayWorld Review

I saw The Bridges of Madison County last weekend, and it was AMAZING. I won't go into too much detail because I wrote a review, but it was such a special production. I don't know if it's because there were so many Broadway stars involved, or because of all the buzz it was getting. A lot of people from the theater community came all the way from NYC to this small theatre in the middle-of-nowhere, NJ. I've been covering this theatre for 3 years, and I'm still not used to all of the new attention it's getting because of this show. When it's all over, I'll be kind of sad. My review got a lot of acclaim, and it feel like there was more praise than usual. It seems like I post about it everyday, which people probably get annoyed about. I keep seeing posts related to it, so why not brag about it? I deserve it, especially because I've worked my ass off for 3 years!

So, what's. next for me? The high from The Bridges of Madison County still hasn't calmed down, so I'm still riding on that wave. Marina sent me an email about a play that will premiere at a small theatre in my town. I pass by it all the time and was always curious about the shows there, so I guess that was a sign! I'm excited to write my first ever review about a play, and to represent my hometown for BroadwayWorld. I have my sister's birthday coming up and I'm going on another cruise, but the rest is to be determined.