What started as monthly classes at the Rochester Brainery, the occasional weekend performance by small comedy groups, and casual stage time at Johnny’s Irish Pub has yes-anded into a flourished improv community of esteemed talent. Theater-drawn members of the Rochester, New York municipality have been flocking to the Focus Theater, a small local theater that now offers numerous classes for the arts, primarily a birthplace to the new improv comedians of tomorrow.
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I’ve been living in New York City for about a year and a half now, as of this article. Since moving here soon after college, I’ve had the chance to have my own plays produced in various festivals, as well as the chance to go see plenty of shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and loads of indie productions throughout the city. Yet it hasn’t always felt easy, and when you get here, you realize that it’s not always as glamorous of a life, as it might sound.
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I remember a moment when I was a freshman in college, and I had my first one-on-one meeting with the technical director of the Theatre Department. Near the beginning of the meeting, I remember him asking me a simple question: “What are your ambitions?”
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In January, due to the protests of a group of students at Ithaca High School in Ithaca, NY over the casting of a white actress in the role of Esmerelda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", the school decided to cancel the production altogether.
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Broadway theatre is one of the biggest draws for tourism here in the Big Apple. All year round, but especially during the summer, it’s what people from across the world come here to see. However, what people outside of the city often don’t seem to realize is just how much brilliant new writing, and how many of the next potential Broadway performers, there are Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. When discussing these productions, the theatre festival scene is at the heart of much of this talent and creative energy.
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One of the most rewarding things about being a working actor and playwright in New York City or anywhere for that matter is when you get the chance to work on new shows and learn about what inspired the creative team. No matter how old you are, we all can agree that there is a certain magic to the New York theatre scene and how new work thrives here.
And now coming to the ring that we call the theatre world is "Manuel vs. The Statue of Liberty".
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A celebration of Leonard Bernstein's life and legacy is currently on display at the New York Public Library For the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center, and the details and artifacts great and small make it must see for anyone serious about music or theatre.
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There’s something happening in the New York theatre right now. Something so deliciously indulgent, so wonderfully hysterical, so ridiculous, so sexy, so generous to its audiences, such a joy on every visceral level, that I won’t even attempt to break it down in any meaningful manner.
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It’s hard to believe it has been years since I left you. A little part of me still remembers the last curtain call for the last show I ever did with you.
What’s even harder for me to believe is how far I’ve come, and how much I’ve done since then. I’ve graduated from college, where I got a degree in the same subject that you first got me into. I’ve slowly transitioned from acting to playwriting. Now, I’m living in New York City, in the hopes of following some of the very same dreams that you first made me think were possible.
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