Making Her New York Debut Off Off Off Off Broadway

2019-01-18T18:11:00.003-05:00

For her first home in the city, an aspiring stage manager finds that the theatre district is a much better place to work than to live.

By Cherie B. Tay

Jan 18th, 2019

Cherie B. Tay's paperwork on a table under a loft bed at her first sublet. The room could barely fit her suitcase unopened on the floor.

Shortly after Production Assisting the Drama Desk Awards and Council Fashion Designers of America Awards in 2008, Cherie B. Tay decided that she didn’t want to take the bus from Philadelphia to New York City and live on friends’ couches to work in NYC.

She briefly considered staying in Philadelphia, where she was finishing her junior year of University, until she realized it would make for a three-leg commute to Manhattan — to, on, and from the Chinatown or Greyhound Bus.

“I wanted to be in New York City for the Showcase contract that I just signed! It’s a Tennessee Williams play with eleven actors who are Equity! How exciting!”, said Ms. Tay, 21. Specifically, she wanted easy access to lower Manhattan, where the play would rehearse in a six floor walk up loft / black box space with no AC and only two electrical outlets.

For her new home, her requirements included a place to sleep, a ceiling, a bathroom, and walls.

“I wanted to live with other people.” she said. “I was only making $300 for seven weeks of work."

Unlike some of her friends, she had no relatives to stay with, so she hunted while sleeping on friends’ couches in three different boroughs. In Summer, with a rental budget of $600, she found a Facebook friend’s posting for a sublet. 5th floor walk up on the Upper East Side on York Avenue.

“It’s exactly what she was looking for: a place to sleep, a ceiling, a bathroom, and walls.”, said Kevin Kor, the subletter who was going out of town for an acting opportunity.

Ms. Tay was ready to sign on. But “her parents wouldn’t let her,” Mr. Kor said, “because it was the only one she saw.”

She continued hunting on her own, unable to find anything suitable: Most places had more than she was looking for, but at a higher price. So she contacted Mr. Kor, this time with a budget of $550.

But her father still objected to the far East neighborhood, teaming with artists and young families.

He said, ‘If there is a health food store under your apartment building, you can’t afford to live there.”

She decided to take the apartment for seven weeks for a steal of $550. The five floor walk up was great exercise. The skinny two foot wide hallway improved her agility skills as she opened the door against the hallway wall and slid into the apartment. The ladder to the loft bed taught her balance.

To survive in the city, Ms. Tay bought ramen and a cheap loaf of bread and nutella from the bodega. One loaf would last for a week and a half. She also scoured Craigslist for jobs. Ms. Tay found herself at a doctor’s office as a test patient for allergies. After being pricked in the arm with 20 lancets of different potential allergies, she was given a crumpled $10 bill for her time.

A sharp Stonyfield Farm yogurt lid cut Ms. Tay's finger. She called the company to let them know and got coupons for free yogurt, which helped financially.

“It was my first NYC apartment, so it is a really big deal,” said Ms. Tay, 27th to oldest of 57 cousins. “I have been taking public transportation and been on my own since the 3rd grade. When I talked to the internet about my Showcase code problems, they gave me advice. Some great, and some terrible."

In addition to spotty advice, the Showcase code kept her awake all night, poking, and emailing, and trying to fraud a non AEA young actress out of pay, and it was and never will be a part of Ms. Tay’s life again.

A decade later, after touring and working in NYC, Ms. Tay now lives in Brooklyn with her partner. To find their two bedroom apartment just off the 2 train, Ms. Tay and her partner visited over 31 apartments in three boroughs of NYC. It took them over a month, as they did not want to spend over $1000 per month each, due to the lack of parental monetary support, and the lack of steady contracts and productions for Ms. Tay.

Now Ms. Tay is happily settled into the city and just worked at the Imperial Theatre, where a slice of pizza across from the stage door costs $5.50.

Ms. Tay's music wall in her current Brooklyn apartment, which she shares with 8 ukuleles, a guitar, a keyboard, foster dogs, and her partner.

Her schedule now includes stage managing Off Broadway — a long subway ride into the city — and she is seeking Broadway jobs. If stage managing doesn’t pan out, she plans to move to Japan and train to be a sushi chef.

As for her new quarters, “It all worked out,” she said. “I can’t imagine paying more than $1,000 a month for rent or what it’s like to get to midtown in under 55 minutes if and when the MTA is working."

In response to:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/realestate/making-her-new-york-debut-off-broadway.html

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Making Her New York Debut Off Off Off Off Broadway