Bucks County Interview

I had my interview with the Bucks County Playhouse today and I thought I'd tell everyone about it. It was kind of an ordeal, and turned into an all-day adventure. I took my camera... but left my memory card in my computer. >.< I took a few pics with my phone, though.

So I started out fine, got an early start. I left at 10:30AM, for a three-hour drive. I should have gotten there around 1:30PM, and had plenty of time to look around, fix myself up, maybe get something to eat.... Yeah, the best laid plans, etc. I got to the ramp onto 78 East and the road was closed... just... closed.... Apparently there was some kind of "incident". The only thing I can imagine that would cause them to close a major highway is a 750-car pile-up, or a nuclear waste spill. Well, it said there was a detour, but the only detour sign was right where the ramp was closed. There were no others to follow. What. the. hell. Well, my GPS kept looping me back around to 78E. After half an hour of driving in very big circles, I turned on the AM radio and it told me to get on highway 22. Ok. The problem with that is, they took allll the traffic from 78E and tried to funnel it through little towns with traffic lights. I sat in traffic for a solid hour. No. joke.

Well, by some miracle and by breaking many speed limits, I got to my 3PM interview at 3:05PM. They didn't seem to be annoyed, especially after I explained, so I'm hoping they didn't count my lack of punctuality against me. After I ran into the building and started talking to the wrong (very confused) receptionist, one of my interviewers came and got me. I talked to them for awhile, and they realized that I'm more qualified for a tech position than anything they were interviewing for. Sooooo, they called the TD and set up an interview for me at 5PM.

At this point it was only about 3:30PM, so I had plenty of time to wander around. I had to go to the bathroom like whoa, but the two gas stations in town had none. I finally found a coffee shop with a customers-only bathroom, so I bought a coffee so I could pee. After my $3 urination, I walked around Lambertville for awhile (where the BCP offices are), but it's pretty small so I headed over to New Hope, where the theatre is.

Here's where I finally got to chill and take some pictures. It was an awesome little town. I really hope this job works out, just so I can walk around New Hope every day.

The first interesting thing I came across was... this....



After some research, I've discovered its name is Boomer, and it is a "19 foot long bronze beast". Interesting.

While wandering, I noticed that there were ice sculptures sitting around everywhere.



They were a little melty since it was 50 degrees out. There was an awesome one over in Lambertville that was a wine bottle holder, but I saw it right after the first interview and I was all flustered and trying to find a bathroom, so I didn't get a pic. It was very cool, though. Take my word for it.

The whole area was gorgeous, mostly because of the river.



That's the bridge between Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA. The theatre is right on the river. It actually used to be a mill, and there's a little creek beside it, too, that powered the mill.



While walking around, I went into a little bookstore right beside the theatre - Farley's Bookshop. It was totally awesome. There were gazillions of books, and it was just very laid back and smelled like a used book store. You know what I mean. Everyone likes the way books smell. If you don't, get a Kindle. This store had the best book ever.



Also, the best cat.



As soon as I walked in, she started following me around and meowing until I petted her. She followed me all around the store and looked very sad when I finally left.

Once I finished wandering, I went back to my car and got my stuff. There was another person interviewing when I got there, so I took a seat in the tech office. I poked around a little and stuck my head in the theatre. Once we started talking, he seemed impressed with my resume and experience. I knew how to do everything he asked about, and he said they were thinking about getting an Ion lighting console like they had at Clemson. I'm all about the Ion. He's not sure how many people he's hiring, or what his budget is, so he'll make decisions on staffing once he knows all of that.

Coming home, there were no traffic issues, but I missed a turn and my GPS took me along every out-of-the-way road it could, before finally taking me right through the center of Easton. I think it was punishing me for not following its directions.

If I don't hear anything from the BCP by Feb. 11th, I'm going to go down to Busch Gardens in Virginia to interview. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for this job, though. I love the area, love the theatre, and could totally see myself there. I guess only time will tell!

Moving Up?

This will be a short post, and no, I'm not posting a recipe. I have a potential life-development that I want to mull over.

I have a phone interview tomorrow afternoon with a theatre in Wisconsin. It's the American Players Theatre. They're pretty legit, but it would only be for 5 months since it's a partially-outdoor theatre in Wisconsin... can't really act in 20 feet of snow. It's a great opportunity to get some experience, boost my resume, make some contacts, and have an adventure!

But. If I get the job, I'd be leaving at the end of April and would get done mid-October. My only reservations about it are all the things I would miss. My friends are having a baby that would come right in the middle of my being away. I would also miss out on my annual beach trip to the Outer Banks. (I'm more sad about missing OBX than missing the baby, honestly. Sorry, Josh. :-P) I wouldn't get to hang out with my mom, go on family trips, have pool parties with my friends....

I mean, if they offer me the job and I like the answers to all of my questions, I will more than likely take it. I'm pretty much just using this post as a diary entry. I want to see all of my feelings and apprehensions written down so I can deal with them. I think I've just gotten spoiled living at home, being a mama's boy, and only working a few hours a week. It's probably time to grow up, man up, and get some work done. In Wisconsin.

5 months of making new friends, immersing myself in technical theatre, and exploring a new state can't be all bad! Right?!

Plan?

So as most of you know, my internship is coming to an end soon. My lease is up at the end of July, so that's when I plan on moving... somewhere.... I've been trying to line up a job, but it doesn't appear to be working out. I've sent out about 30 applications in the past couple of months, and all I've gotten is one first-round interview and two rejection letters. A guy from New World Stages in NYC did call my boss for a reference the other day, but I never actually heard from him, so he either didn't like what he heard or found someone better. Today, I sent in my materials for a company manager job at the Olney Theatre in MD, and they e-mailed me back right away to say they couldn't open my cover letter. At least I know places are getting my stuff... most are just ignoring me, apparently. :-P

Well, if I can't line something up for after July, I'm seriously considering moving to Lancaster, PA. Random, I know, but there's logic behind this, I promise. Lancaster itself has 5 or 6 theatres in it. Sight & Sound Theatre (to which I've sent in about 5 applications) is right outside Lancaster. It's less than half an hour away from the Ren Faire and Mount Hope. It's an hour and a half from both Philly and Baltimore, 2 hours from my family, 3 hours from NYC, and an hour from Gettysburg. I would be surrounded by theatre opportunities, even if it's just volunteering at first and getting my name out there. I have friends in NYC, D.C., and Philly that I could stay with (whether they like it or not :-P) if I got short-term jobs any of those places. It just makes sense.

I think my mom is expecting me to move home if I don't get something lined up, but I really don't think I can go from having my own house to just having a room again. I know it's not like I would have a curfew or anything, but I've had a taste of my own place and I can't go back. I've found some nice-looking places with decent rent in Lancaster, and I have enough saved up that I could give myself at least two months after I move to find something, even if it's something crappy just to pay the rent and support my theatre career for awhile.

I considered other places, but bigger cities are too expensive to live in; Harrisburg actually has much less theatre; OBX has practically no theatre; and the Lewisburg/Milton/Newky area has no professional theatre. I think I'll give it until the end of June before I start looking for apartments in Lancaster, but I have 4 or 5 places already that I like, and I'm sure more will pop up. When I get closer to seriously looking, I'll send my parents to check some places out. I'm just excited about the prospect of being out of the south, and less than 12 hours away from everyone I know!