Thursday, November 13, 2008

The City That Never Sleeps. The End?

Once again, I am back on a plane. It’s no different than any other I’ve been on in the past 2 years, except for the size. It’s a small commuter jet with a row of blue leather seats on one the left side, and twin seats on the other. But for me, the airplane has come to represent one thing: change. Either I’m traveling home to get some rest and relaxation, or I’m traveling to another city to perform. There is change coming out of the air vent above my seat. I think this change smells like body odor. But I don’t mind it this time. Well, maybe I do. But all I know is that this small vessel is carrying me to something I’ve dreamed of for years: performing on Broadway.

Broadway is something of a modern-age performing Mecca of sorts. We all eventually make a pilgrimage to see what Broadway really is about. I’ve made the pilgrimage many times before. However, this time, my stay will be longer than a week, and I will be standing in the place where many of the greatest actors of the American Stage have performed. Incredible.

Who let this happen? Who let this former-computer-nerd-programmer who hated C++ arrive at the epicenter of American theater? Who knows? Well, there are a lot of people I know, but too many to thank. Just to be fair though, I want to thank my parents for sticking with me when I said I wanted to be an actor (they supported me no matter what I did), for understanding that I skipped out on fun activities to go perform (I think I have performed on my Birthday many times), and helping me in any way, shape, or form (thanks for sending me my mail and enduring a ‘internet-video-chat class’). I would never be here without you. Your constant reality checks and logical ways of handling problems have always pushed me to assess my strengths and weaknesses logically, and pushed me to always be the best I can be.

Meanwhile, today, I have my first rehearsal with the Broadway Company, and I will be reunited with tour veterans Miles and Eric G in the show, as well as all my New York pals. And yet, I leave Toronto with a heavy heart, as all my tour buddies will be going on to Denver and parts unknown without me. I send all my love and warmth to you, and all the best through these cold, winter months through very cold states. I know you, the audience, will take care of them for me.

So... the title of this blog is “Tour That”. And I think that for now, Tour That will be shutting down. I’ve blogged a lot this past year, and I hope I have filled your minds with what it’s like to live on the road. I have so many projects to start up, and you can follow my adventures there. For now, “Tour That” will go into retirement as I start my Broadway Career. But here’s a few links that you can watch if you want to stalk me, post “Tour That”:

You can catch me on Facebook and on Myspace.

Sometimes I blog about my thoughts at http://taylorishere.com/. It’s a bit tech and consumer heavy, but if you’re a nerd like me, maybe you’ll get something out of it.

I usually post art (sometimes personal) photos on my flickr feed at http://flickr.com/photos/taylorishere. I’m a photographer on the side, and I’ll probably set up a photography business in NYC in the meantime.

I am a twitterer. You can follow my professional announcements at twitter.com/taylorsternberg , or get a bit more personal at twitter.com/taylorishere

I’m starting up a few side internet projects which will launch in the next few months. I’m an avid videogamer (catch me on xbox live: taylorishere), and will do some videogame writing with some friends at buytryfail.com.

I also am fascinated by what people carry in their daily bags, so I’m starting a “What’s In Your Bag” blog at bagshare.com

Before I went on tour, I used to teach voice, so I’ll probably set up my vocal instruction business again after the first of the year. I don’t have a link yet, but watch out for that.

I aggregate all my content on friendfeed.com/taylorishere, so if you don’t want to look at all those different pages, you can see all my posts in the same place there.

Thank you ever so much for following me, reading what I have to say, and replying to me. I love hearing from you, and will always try to reply the best I can. I wouldn’t be here without you.

Anyway, I’ve got a life to live, so watch out New York: here I come. See you there.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Taylor. You so deserve it. CHANGE is the word du jour nowadays (see Brack Obama)and it has come into your life as well. Embrace it. Enjoy it. NY is not that far. We'll see you there.

--jbfan

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Taylor, from one SF fan who has enjoyed seeing you perform and definitely has enjoyed reading your adventures. Have a blast in NY!

Shelley

Anonymous said...

May you leave a good and strong impression. Hope to see you in something besides JB someday. I sometimes wonder if all you who've done it for such a long time want to do other things. It's nice to make a steady living but it must make you crave a new challenge. I'd love to see ya on TV or in the movies 'cause you do have an interesting face and good comedy skilz.

Anonymous said...

wish i could have gotten a chance to say goodbye!
congrats on making it to broadway though, maybe i'll see you out there one day :) - masooma

Anonymous said...

Dear Taylor,
Congratulations. I've been so lucky to see you as Hank Majewski twice (once in LA and once in Minneapolis). You are an amazing amazing performer. I wish you all the best in the Big Apple! I know you're going to be great!!!
Amanda

m@ said...

Love the nerddom! Great to see someone hook up all the great digital tools and weave a representation of themselves online.

Glad you got the emoji working as well. ;)

m@