Being a Newb…and liking it

Hey-o! Lauren here. The “newb” (a term some would deem the new person on the block). I’m interning with the Strand this summer. Yeah! It’s great. Besides the whole bone-chilling haunted aspect.

The rather spacious theater space used to be an old row home. Hence the welcoming feeling you get when you walk in, as well as the pervading sense of dignity and grandeur.

And, apparently, it’s still a home.

One night while locking up after one of the rehearsals for the Strand’s Friends and Neighbors Festival, I felt a cold chill on my back, and a rustling at my side. Thinking one of the actors was behind me, and not wanting to look like I already didn’t know what I was doing, I flipped the lights on.

“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed.

“You should be” a gravely voice answered. It appeared to come from a shadow that slowly moved out of my line of sight at the top of the old polished wooden stairs leading back into our lobby.

Inky and black, there and gone- it was unquestionably a something.
A something with gall!

And I guess this, if I could bring this full circle, would be a perfect metaphor for working with the Strand.

So let me break this down for you.
1. The mere existence of a Ghost (or as I like to refer to it as- “Bob”).
A theater which isn’t allowed to take chances, throwing wide its door to local professional playwrights and their visions.
2. “Bob” ‘s sassy response-“You should be”
A theater with a strong backbone- a company of players that know what they’re doing.
3. “Bob” ’s disappearance
The fact that such talent can be snatched up at any moment- so better come and check us out before we disappear!

So asides from creating lame metaphors that don’t do enough justice, I’ve really enjoyed working with the Strand. I’ve been able to get hands on experience keeping tabs on all the playwrights and directors of the Strand’s Friends and Neighbors Festival. I’ve been lucky enough to sit in the back row of the audience, peering in on rehearsals, watching the nuts and bolts unfold into something living, breathing- passionate. I’ve been up in the booth manning the lights, watching out over my perch down into the lighted world, hearing the whispers and directions from the surrounding darkness- the masters at their work.

I understand this last blib was florid and cliché, but regardless. It’s a fascinating prospect- the idea of the play, crafted and formulated in the playwrights head, written down, taken to a company, inspiring a director to a vision of what could be, and enacting that vision through people. Brilliant. And to think I get to view a different gem each week- each different and equally pleasing.

I’m having a lovely time. Go Strand!