Shuffle off to Buffalo...

I’ve had a milk chocolate Tenba Pro Digital messenger bag for the last seven years. I carry it with me almost everywhere I go. It baffles my friends as to why.

“Where you going?”

“Got plans for later?”

“What do you need a bag for?”

Well, you see, it all started when I was a little boy...

My parents picked the perfect house. At the end of the block was a candy store, a dairy and a bar. Two blocks from there was a park. At the other end of the block was an elementary school. Two blocks up from that was the hospital and a block away from the hospital was the fire station. And just passed the fire station was the grocery store.

Everything was convenient.

When I started school I went to the one up the block, which was named after the street that I lived on. At five I was allowed to walk there myself. You have to understand this was a different time. All the families on the block were friends, and their extended families were friends. I couldn’t go more than two feet without two eyes on me.

Granted the school was across the street, but there was always a crossing guard posted there. And she safely guided the children. At lunch time we were allowed to go home, eat lunch and come back. All thanks to the crossing guard.

If we ever forgot or needed something, my mom could walk up the street and drop it off. For two years life was simple.

Then someone in the city government decided that it would be better for the children (and the budget) to close all the neighborhood schools and open one giant elementary school in the middle of the city. Which they did.

Our idyllic close knit neighborhood was on the south side of town. The new school was built about fifteen blocks from the grocery store, and that was four blocks from our house. There was no more walking to school.

The school itself was state of the art, even equipped with an Olympic sized swimming pool. The third grade was when physical education switched from playing outside on one of the five brand new playgrounds, to formal structured lessons.

In one semester we would have gym twice a week and swimming once a week. The next semester the classes would flip and we’d have swimming twice and gym once. Every class we had to be prepared with the appropriate uniform. For gym that was sneakers, sweat socks, a t-shirt, shorts and a towel for showering. For swimming it was a towel and a bathing suit... sometimes (we were required at times to not wear a bathing suit for swimming. But that’s another story). This new school didn’t have lockers, so we had to bring everything with us from home every day. No more mom walking over to drop something off.

Being the ever so thoughtful mom that she was, she bought each of her children a bag to carry our things in. It was called our “gym bag”. Every morning my brothers and sisters and I packed our gym bag full of the stuff needed for that day. We would sling it over our shoulders, pile in the car. Every morning we’d be driven to school. And once we were there, we stayed there.

The bag ritual continued on for my entire elementary, junior high, and high school career. The only difference was that for junior high and high school I was once again allowed to walk to school. The city government had decided to keep separate junior high and high schools. So I was back in the neighborhood. Although we were still not allowed to go home for lunch, until senior year.

In University the “gym bag” switched to a “dance bag”. In it I carried my rehearsal clothes, dance clothes and shoes. The only books I carried in it were the ones I didn’t have time to go back to my dorm room to get before class. In sophomore year our day started at 8 am and went right through until 7pm. There was only a half hour break for lunch at 4pm. Thank god for my dance bag.

When I first came to NYC, I stayed with a friend. His apartment was practically in the Bronx. There were no metro cards back then. Every time you got on the subway you had to pay. I was on scholarship at a dance studio. My budget could not afford any frivolous expense. So whenever I left the apartment, I left for the entire day, just like school. And just like school I carried a bag with me.

I still called it my dance bag, because most of the stuff I carried in it was dance related. I also carried a datebook and a bunch of seemingly random other things. After officially moving to the City I kept the tradition of carrying a bag with me. Although now it was called a man bag, or a “murse” (man-purse).

Auditions can pop up at any time, especially if you have an agent who is pushing hard for you. Getting to the Bronx from midtown, pick up your things, and get back to 520 Eighth Avenue in 45 minutes can be done. But it would take no less than an act of God.

In order to be prepared and appear professional and on top of things, I learned quickly what I needed to carry with me. At times I felt like Mary Poppins. I would reach into my bag and pull out whatever was needed: stapler, scissors, chap stick, you name it.

Today the contents of my bag have changed slightly. The change is mainly due to technological advances and the fact that rehearsal studios now have things like staplers and scissors. At any rate, I’ve conceived a list of things an artist needs to have with him or her, to survive and thrive in a city like New York.

At the top of the list, of course, is a sturdy bag to carry your day to day things. My choice was my chocolate Tenba. Packed inside it:

A smart phone (with unlimited data)

Sheet music for a song (that I can sing on your death bed)

An Mp3 of that song

An mp3 player (with a standard earphone jack)

Earphones

I think the MP3, MP3 player, sheet music and earphones are be self-explanatory. They’re really only need if you’re in Musical Theatre. But all actors need: 

A copy of a monologue (that you can recite on your death bed)

A pen/pencil

A date book

A lot of regional theatres ask that you fill out an information card for their files. With upwards of 200, 300 people (especially when there are women involved with an audition) one of them is bound to be sick or getting sick. Why chance your good health on using some random writing utensil that Typhoid Mary has touched? Just bring your own.

Some of these things listed can be combined. Smart phones play music. They have apps that can be used to store sheet music and monologues. There are also apps that mimic a piano or a pitch pipe. Apps that allow you to take notes. Your phone can also be used in place of a paper date book. And most phones have an external head phone jack.

But what happens if all of that is on your phone and your phone dies or gets a virus or simply runs out of juice? Not everywhere you go in NYC has a free outlet to charge your phone (free as in available and you don’t have to make a purchase). Only recently is NYC getting a few outdoor charging stations. A dead phone takes a lot of power to start up again. Then even more juice to open a bunch of apps. So add to the list:

A portable charger (that is fully charged)

One of the most important things I was taught, was to always carry:

Pictures

Resumes

with you wherever you go. Be creative on how you do it, but do it. You can never know where you’ll end up and who will be there. Anyone you meet could have a connection to a project, a new show, or a theatre. It’s better to whip out a picture and resume then to ask for someone’s email to send them a copy. Chances are that person will have forgotten you by the time you get back to your apartment, in the Bronx, to send that email.

Sure you could give them a business card. That card needs to have your picture on it as a visual reminder of who you are. Most people have two, maybe three, different headshots with different looks. Printing up business cards with each of these looks is expensive. Besides, there’s already a ton of stuff to be carried without the extra weight of several different business cards.

I do however carry a business card as well. I also have:

GPS

Water

I have no sense of direction(although it’s gotten better by playing World of Warcraft). So that’s another app on my smartphone. And I drink so much water it gets expensive. A couple of other important things include:

A folding umbrella

Mints/gum

The weather is unpredictable. It can be bright and sunny when you get on the subway in the Bronx and by the time you come out from underground in midtown, a torrential down pour. Nothing wreaks havoc with your preparation or ruins your state of mind like walking into an audition literally dripping wet. Trust me I know. I've done it.

Do I really have to say why you should carry mints and or gum?

There are other must haves for a performer. Things not necessarily carried around:

A computer

Membership to audition sites

A printer

In today’s market, an actor cannot begin to work without being hyper electronically connected. From audition sites to find auditions, to printing sides and music, it’s imperative to have 24/7 access to these essential tools.  A laptop is the best option for a computer because of mobility. I’m told that schools sometimes provide them.

One other electronic device that isn’t essential, but is gaining popularity fast:

A reader

is a portable electronic device (like a Kindle for example) that can store scripts and sheet music. It’s big enough for a pianist, or any instrumentalist, to comfortably read from and turn pages. You can also use it to read sides or even whole scripts for the myriad of table reads and staged readings that you’ll be lucky enough to be cast in. It cuts down on the amount of paper and ink used. So it saves money in the long run. Not to mention a reader cuts down on the amount of bulk an actor carries on a day to day basis.

When you start auditioning you’ll need:

One nice audition outfit (including shoes that are not character shoes)

Your book of music

Your book of monologues

Pictures and resumes

and if you dance:

Sweat pants/tights

T shirt/leotard

Dance shoes (tap, jazz, ballet)

Towel

Then once you’re cast in a show, you’ll need:

An opening night outfit (including shoes that are not character shoes)

On opening night there may be press there. There may be a party. In any case there will always be pictures taken. An actor should look cleaned and pressed, ready to go viral for all the right reasons. The opening night outfit can be the same as your audition outfit. No one will be the wiser. Very few people from behind the table actually remember what an actor wore at his or her audition.

All these things to get cast in a show and most of which you carry around with you in a bag on a day to day basis.

My milk chocolate brown Tenba Pro Digital messenger bag was the best bag I had ever purchased. My mom would have been proud of that bag.  It, however, has carried its last load of stuff on its last cross city, all day journey, yesterday.

After seven long years the metal D-ring, which is used to attach the shoulder strap to the bag, had worn through the metal clip to the shoulder strap. While I was at the accountant’s office picking up my prepared taxes, it snapped. Unfortunately the bag is no longer in production. I have to find a new type of bag to use.

Carrying a bag is essential to my survival and sanity. Having the list of things I provided is essential for yours. So before we both set out on the adventure of finding work in the Theatre in New York City, I’ll need to find another bag and you’ll need to...

"...go get your these and thoses and away we’ll go".