21 Sep Musicals, Legit Theatre, TV, Oh My!

I moved to NYC in less than two months after graduating college. Initially, I wanted to be on Broadway and solely act. I imagined myself on TV, but moving to LA seemed like an unrealistic daydream. Family and friends were all east coast. I wanted to make it work here.

My NYC years were filled with open calls where I waited from 6 am until 4 or 5 pm to sing for 30 seconds or do a one-minute monologue. I took voice classes weekly and served tables in Times Square on the weekends. I went to seminars and acting classes, but it felt like nothing I did was getting me where I wanted to be. Even performing in three Off-Broadway shows and joining Actors Equity did not seem to give me an edge. I played a principal role in a web series that was created with friends I made at that whacky restaurant in Times Square, and being part of that inspired me to create a series of my own.

I got together with two amazing women, and close friends, and created our own ten-episode comedic web series called, “Tri-State.” It is a super unique web series about roommates learning to coexist in NYC. It’s never been done before. By anyone. Ever.

“Tri-State” took us to several festivals and won awards. I won an award for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy” at LA Webfest which put a pep in my two-step! I still love “Tri-State” because it is not only our baby, but because it showed me how much value there is in the entertainment business. In theatre, I was either acting or I wasn’t working. In TV and film, I realized that I could wear all of these different hats and build out a full career. So easy, right?

“Tri-State” was accepted to Catalyst Festival (formerly called ITVFest) for Network Notes. I was so excited to hear that I would sit down with someone actively working in the industry to discuss our show. I packed up every dress I had (not even slightly joking) and made my way to Vermont with my friend, Amber, and that was when everything changed.