Ask My Friends - Living in NYC

Today we meet yet another fellow Nixian, Jessica Palmer. Jessica and I not only went to the same high school but we also both went to Webster University. She is such a sweet person and her talent and passion make her rise above many others. I asked Jessica to talk about living in NYC and what its like when you are just getting started.

“A few things I have learned since moving to NYC (2 years ago).
Time is of the essence, it reveals itself to you as an enemy or a best friend. Through prosperous and difficult times in the city I have learned that for myself I have to create my own every day STRUCTURE. Structure may come from a day job, a writing group you participate in, or a yoga class you take a few nights a week.You must create a life for yourself in the city in which you feel connected to the community that includes not only the theatre community but also communities such as those bozo yuppie types perusing used bookstores on the Upper West Side. There's plenty of room for you and your 5 roommates to join their book clubs!
Someone once spoke to my college acting class and said, "Be a TONKA truck." I interpreted that as "Do not limit yourself and your talent to any 'agreements.' “Yes, you have to absorb what you've read in college theatre textbooks, in books you've read about getting agents and so forth. However, absorb it, then stuff that information in the back of your closet with your poncho and break the rules, run people over. Who says you have to work "there" before working "here"?
Meet new people (then record their contact information in a database!), read lots of plays by getting a FREE library card, and go ahead... splurge on an AC unit for your apt. Augusts in NYC are brutal!
You may go through times where you lose a sense of your purpose, forget why you moved to the city in the first place. You have to put yourself first and take the time to regain your passion and ravenous need to be in the theatre. It's a holy place. But, it does not need tender loving care. It needs to have the door busted open by some hungry, crazed artist demanding to take it to the heavy side layer."