Shaking Things Up: Reflecting on “A Sketch of New York”
Cast photo <3
Back in July, I got cast in the comedy sketch show A Sketch of New York directed by Jo DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria. This sketch show is a bit of a rite of passage here in NYC and I was very excited to be a part of it, although, I almost didn’t even get to the audition in the first place!
The day I auditioned – I believe it was a Tuesday in the mid-afternoon – I left my apartment in time to arrive in the city half-an-hour before my scheduled audition time. I didn’t really check the train times because I knew at that time of day on a weekday, the F train ran about every 4-9 minutes. Big mistake. When I arrived on the platform, I saw way more people than normal waiting for the train. I knew this was odd, but I didn’t think much of it. The screen said the next train was coming in 5 minutes, so I waited. And waited. And waited. Cut to half-an-hour later and I start worrying. Now, I was running late.
I couldn’t afford a Lyft, but I was eventually able to shuffle enough money around between my accounts to cover the Lyft. But, lo and behold, there was traffic from Brooklyn into Manhattan. I was able to notify the audition team that I was running late, but that’s never a good look! And being late to auditions is one of those things that causes me incredible anxiety, because you could end up ruining your chances before you even step in front of the casting table, depending on the mood of the people running the audition.
Backstage as we waited to start the show
Thankfully, I arrived right on the dot, and was able to review the sides and do the audition.
I feel like it went meh at best, but I did the best that I could in the moment with the situations I had to deal with. And I guess it went well because, I got cast!
I feel like here I have to talk about Jo and Darien. They were probably the two most understanding and kind people I’ve ever worked with. They created such a great space for creativity and, when I had a panic attack on the subway right before one of the rehearsals (due to unrelated reasons) they were very understanding. Ultimately, I didn’t need any accommodations for it, but just their offer of it was amazing.
The rehearsal process for this sketch show was very fast - I think the turnaround was about two weeks. This was one of the fastest rehearsal periods that I had to do, and it was a wonderful challenge for me, in terms of both memorizing lines and the chance to loosen up and let my comedic chops show. You see, I’m used to a lot of dramatic acting, which can sometimes lead me to be a bit too serious when I need to loosen up. This chance was great for me to flex those muscles.
For performances, our group was scheduled to perform three nights in a row.
Selfie time :)
The first night was great! My cast members were on fire, we were connecting as scene partners, and even with the moments that were shaky, we were able to adjust easily and in a funny way. This night, through the psychological self-combat of opening night, we were really able to connect as an ensemble. We helped each other out in preparation for the show, and even started our own pre-show ritual on the fly.
The second night was great too, however, I was almost late to the show! I had walked in the Wears in Care Charity Fashion Show earlier that day and was supposed to finish that up with ample time to get to the show for our call time. Unfortunately, although the fashion show was a wonderful, new experience for me, it started late. I had to communicate with Jo and Darien and rush as fast as my feet could take me to the Producer’s Club where we were putting on the show. I had taken the F train uptown and had to get off at 42nd Street (The Producers club is just off the 44th Street entrance of the Times Square ACE Subway stop on 8th Ave. I hadn’t wanted to wait to connect with the ACE trains at an earlier stop because I didn’t know if they were delayed or how long they would take to arrive.) When I tell you I BOOKED it through the subway system (avoiding the crowds of Times Square above ground). To the point where I got through that whole labyrinth down there in record time. My cast mates were absolutely wonderful when I arrived, expressing concern for myself as I was a hot, sweaty mess, and getting me water and a place by the AC. I am proud to say that this incident did not affect my performance that I could tell. In fact, I think it gave me a kick of energy to start off the show!
The third show was a Sunday Matinee. That show didn’t have as many people as the previous two, but most of the crowd was friends or family of the cast, so the atmosphere was great! At the end of it all, some of us went to eat at Peachy Keen right down the road and celebrated a run well done.
Overall, I’m very thankful for my time with A Sketch of New York. I would be more than happy to do a similar project in the future. We’ll see what happens!
xx
Selma
Just a bunch of pals