Hi there! Thanks for checking in with me and my adventure to New York City! I’ve decided to keep this blog as a means to keeping my family & friends in touch with what I’m up to on the opposite side of the country. As most of you probably know, it’s been a long held dream of mine to live in New York City and take part in its vibrant theatre community. I have finally put aside my reservations and resolved to leave Seattle on Friday, February 28th to pursue my next chapter. I hesitate to call my leaving for New York a “move” since I plan on straddling the two coasts as much as humanly (and financially) possible. So I’m just going to call it an “Adventure”, because I really see it as just that. Don’t think I’m abandoning you, Seattle! You will always have my heart and be my home. I’ll be back again for a bit sooner than you know it.
My hope is that New York will be the fresh start I’m looking for to help me grow as an artist and become my own person during this uneasy period of my post-collegiate life. Though Seattle has been so good to me, I feel that for me personally to figure out myself and what my future will look like, I need to let go of the comfort of my home and the obligations I hold to my past. I also need to extend a huge thanks to all the people who have encouraged me and have prodded me to realize that this Adventure is something I really want for myself.
So what is my plan once I get to the Big Apple, you might ask? Thanks to Dr. Kari Ragan, my beyond-incredible voice teacher for the past 2 years, I have made contact with a New York voice teacher who specializes in the oeuvre of professional Musical Theatre voice training. I cannot wait to begin working with the renowned David Sabella-Mills as soon as I get there. My hope is that with his guidance I can hit the ground running with auditioning and begin building my professional network. As my other artist friends well know, it is a bit of an abstract jigsaw puzzle figuring out one’s path as a potentially professional artist.
Another thing I DO know about my Adventure is once I get to the city I have been graciously offered a place to stay by my mom’s cousin (I just call him “uncle”) Siggy. Not only will I have a roof over my head, I will also have family who I adore and have always wanted to spend more time with. I can’t wait for Uncle Siggy, his wife Maya, and their children Matsuri, Tayo, Lulu, and Shota to be my home away from home, at least until I find another place to crash for a bit. Here’s me vowing to NOT abuse my offer to stay there.
For my own sake, I hope that this blog will keep me honest and accountable in my pursuits. I have to admit that the scariest part of my leaving home is that I could lose myself. With necessary focus and the helping hands of those I love though, I hope that in losing my current self I can discover new aspects of myself that ultimately allow me become the kind of person I wish to one day be.
Thank you all for reading and for any words of wisdom you wish to share with me.
All my love,
Erin
