I want to be a part of it: New York, New York!
After weeks of anticipation, it was time for the ITO to take on New York! I'm a big Sinatra fan, so of course I listened to the Theme from New York, New York on the airplane to NYC. I love the feeling of large cities: everyone moving with purpose, ready to take on all the opportunities that life gives them. Every time I visit, my passions are invigorated.
One of our ITO liaisons, Staples, is from Georgia so we ended up on the same flight! It was great to catch up with her and prepare for the crazy weekend ahead. I had already been anticipating the weekend because I missed the other ITO so bad. I couldn't wait to reunite with them. Once we arrived to the hotel, I gave Swils, Shaila, Tyler, Elam, and Estee the biggest hugs! It was unreal to see (almost) all of us in the same room! Soon after, the lovely Diane Carr arrived and made us all swell with joy. We just had to wait for Ashli!
The adults gave the suggestion of going to the Drama Book Shop while we waited, and all of us were eager to go. I love the Drama Book Shop! Can you guess why? Yes, because of the various amounts of scripts they have... but most of all because of the dog they have sitting on the cashier's table, Chester. (pictured is me fangirling over Chester) Additional to petting the dog, I purchased some Sarah Ruhl scripts because I thoroughly enjoyed her play, Eurydice, at ITF. It was so cool to see the other ITO get hyped about their favorite playwright's shows being on the shelf!
Soon after, Ashli Funches met up with us! It was so great to see her. We all headed to the American Theatre Wing for our first meeting. The incredible
Megan Kolb and Rachel Schwartz told us stories of how the Wing started and how it has affected them as individuals. We learned what the Tony's stand for, and then actually held some of the awards! (Don't know what it stands for? Learn more at www.americantheatrewing.org) It was such a sweet time to learn about how the ATW is more than just the Tony's.
Then we headed straight to the Playbill Office, which was a huge highlight of my weekend. I read Playbill's online magazine like a politician reads CNN, and my school's publicity department is a frequent user of PLAYBILLder. We actually got to meet the incredible woman behind PLAYBILLder, Sarah Jane Arnegger! She told us all about what Playbill does and how their educational department is working to make the college search easier for arts students through
www.playbilledu.com. When she was touring us around the offices, I saw a familiar face: Felicia Fitzpatrick! She is a social media influencer with Playbill, and I had seen her on Playbill's Instagram/Snapchat stories interviewing actors on the Red Carpets for their opening nights! It was wild to meet her in real life and thank her for the work she has done to make theatre accessible for geeks like me who live far from NYC. We got to meet the other half of the social media influencers, Tyler Mount, and it was so lovely to hear about all the unique ways he interviews Broadway actors! I now am a subscriber of his vlogs. We left Playbill, eager to see Come From Away that night!
Come From Away was nothing short of magical. The power of storytelling is remarkable. I shed tears because of my heartache and also due to amazement of Jenn Colella's voice. After the show, we were incredibly lucky to receive a backstage tour from Chad Kimball and Q. Smith! Jenn passed by quickly and we stopped her to say thanks for the incredible performance, and found out it was her birthday!
The next day, we planned out our trips and leadership workshops at the beautiful Theatrical Rights Worldwide office! Thank you, TRW, for providing such a nice space. It was so exciting to plan the eventful year ahead of us. I cannot wait to meet Thespians from all around the country! It was wonderful to hear all of the other ITO's workshop plans, and the meeting got me even more pumped for what this position has in store.
The following night, we saw 1984. I was quite excited... I saw on an article that Jennifer Lawrence threw up because of it. So, obviously, this wasn't going to be like Come From Away. I was just as thrilled, though! Elam convinced us all to see it because it's one of his favorite books/plays, and I am so glad he did. This show made me go nuts. I was screaming during it. It was such a outstanding piece of theatre, and I am still processing it all now.
After the night of barely sleeping, thanks to 1984 nightmares, we woke up bright and early for the Broadway Flea Market. The New York STO's arrived, so we gave them big hugs and got to know each other more. Later, the New Jersey STO's arrived! I made so many new friends and learned a lot from them. We couldn't have done the event without their assistance and kindness! We were in such a cool location: in front of Juniors, where the autograph table was set up. Tyler and I were approached by the man interviewing people over the loud microphone. He asked us about ITO, and Tyler gave him a wonderful summary, then he had me sing a song from my favorite musical, Waitress! It was insane: I was singing to Betsy Wolfe and Drew Gehling because they were at the autograph table! Most of all, I loved meeting Thespian alum at the event, bonding over funny theatre stories.
To tie up the weekend, we went to 54 Below for the Broadway Back to School Event. So many Broadway stars came together to celebrate the impact of Theatre Education. We cried, laughed, and were speechless at all of the performances of the night. It was the perfect way to end the trip: celebrating the thing that brings us all together in the same room. Theatre is the most powerful art: it has brought me to the other ITO, my best friends. I would have never met them if it weren't for theatre. I cannot wait to see it impact even more students at each state festival I get the opportunity to attend.
Feel free to keep up with our journeys on @internationalthespianofficers Instagram, @ITOOfficial on Snapchat, and The International Thespian Officers on Facebook. Also, follow my twitter @ITOCarolineC and contact me at ccaden@schooltheatre.org! I am ecstatic to be a part of something so wonderful.