Those of you who follow me on instagram and twitter probably already know that I spend a great deal of my time in New York City. Last week I was in the city for a bit of a “work-cation” and I had an incredible time despite the freezing cold. The highlights of my trip were definitely seeing Pippin, spending time behind the scenes at Good Morning America, getting a chance to hear Seth Meyers run through his monologue, and finally getting a chance to visit Huffington Post Live in person. The absolute highlight of my trip was meeting Norman Reedus at Huffington Post Live but I will share more on that tomorrow.
If you find yourself in the city anytime soon, I definitely recommend seeing Pippin. It’s everything a Broadway show should be. The music and dancing were amazing and I found myself actually holding my breath during the stunts. I was extra happy to be able to see one of my former neighbors perform (all that noise he made doing flips upstairs really paid off)!
Late Night with Seth Meyers was looking for audiences to run his monologue by, which was a unique and awesome opportunity. We happened to be in the NBC Experience store looking for a Stefon shirt when we were approached by some of the interns who work for the show. Every day they give out a certain number of tickets so that people can come watch Seth live as he tests out his monologue jokes. It’s fun, free, and a great way to see some of the building now that the studio tour isn’t running. In fact, we were able to meet the writers of the show and Bobby Moynihan while we were there.
Being on the set of Good Morning America was such an amazing experience and one that I will never forget. GMA doesn’t exactly have what you would call a studio audience. Instead, they have a small group of people who can watch the show while it is being filmed on an invite only basis. There isn’t anywhere to sit and they use every inch of the studio so you get shuffled around during commercial breaks, which only added to the excitement for me. I happen to know somebody who knows somebody, which sounds like something that people say in movies but is literally how I was able to attend the live show. There were only six of us in the studio that day that didn’t work on the show and four of those six were with me. I was most surprised to find how relaxed everyone is before the show starts, how low George Stephanopoulos speaks, and how much gum he chews while working (he blew a bubble during a commercial break)! Also, Liam Neeson (the guest that day) is way taller than I could have ever imagined.
I managed to do a few work related photo shoots while I was there even though my hands were freezing but I definitely shot less personal work than I usually do around the city. My hands were simply too cold to constantly have my camera in my hand and, to be honest, I worried if my camera could take some of those temperatures at night. All in all, I think I got a good amount of work to add to both my personal and professional portfolios but I am definitely looking forward to being back soon, when a little more of that snow has melted away.
