Hello hello and welcome back! I've returned to the land of the living to say that my first gala as an events staffer is DONE! Congrats, Second Stage on 40 years! It was such a joy, honor and privilege to be there for your special night. The amount of work, love and dedication that went into this night is unmatched - 2ST really knows how to throw a party!
I thought I would share with you all some details of the event, how I contributed and how you can be involved with Second Stage in the future!
For those of you that aren't familiar with Second Stage, we are a not-for-profit theater operating on and off-broadway at our various locations in Manhattan. If you want to read more about our mission, staff and history, feel free to check us out here.
At Second Stage, I am the Development Operations Associates in Events. Here, I work on a three-person events team in order to plan and execute some of the most important events on and off-broadway in NYC. This year, our annual gala was a special one, as we celebrated forty years of new American theater on our stages by honoring 40 actor honorees who have performed with Second Stage at least TWICE in the past 40 years. Our, appropriately dubbed, "second stagers".
This year our honorees included:
​Brooke Adams, Kevin Bacon, David Aaron Baker, David Wilson Barnes, Annette Bening, Emily Bergl, Reed Birney, Stephanie J. Block, Liza Colón-Zayas, Maria Dizzia, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Frankie R. Faison, Halley Feiffer, Daniel Gerroll, John Glover, Daniel Eric Gold, Tony Goldwyn, Robyn Goodman, Ari Graynor, Judith Ivey, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Brian Kerwin, Christine Lahti, Kristolyn Lloyd, Marsha Mason, Lindsay Mendez, Kathy Najimy, Manu Narayan, Rory O'Malley, Kellie Overbey, Annie Parisse, Susan Pourfar, Katherine Powell, Maria Elena Ramirez, Armando Riesco, Thomas Sadoski, Sherie Rene Scott, Thom Sesma, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Julie White, Betsy Wolfe and Charlayne Woodard. 
​All of these crazy talented artists make Second Stage the special place that it is - it was such an honor to work on this celebration for them! I spent my time prepping for the Gala doing a little bit of everything, but some highlights were designing (and barely obtaining) a sash for our headliner - Miss Kristin Chenoweth, making sure we had personalized 2ST Corn Hole Boards for cocktail hour, and creating the honoree gifts and getting to choose the gift wrapping color, design, etc. However, I spent the most time working on our journal and honoree portions of the night, pulling photos, videos, quotes and stories from honorees spanning our entire 40 year history. I learned so much through this project and it was SO satisfying to watch each honoree be honored for the hard work and talent I have witnessed in preparation for the gala over the past several months. 
Long story short, thanks Second Stage for a great night, a great party and a great career. I am over the moon and I can't wait to share more of my 2ST adventures with you all. See below for some photos from the special night and until next time!

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​S

Welcome, welcome back to my blog! I've been away for a few months working hard to finish up my undergraduate degree as well as complete my move to NYC! I am here and permanently residing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (aka the happiest place on earth). A lot has happened in these past months and I couldn't be more thankful for where I am! If you are interested in following the intricacies of my daily, personal life, I would check out my YouTube channel or Instagram page - as this blog will likely be career oriented. You can find me on every social platform at Sabrina Furches! Today's post will be relatively short, as it is mainly an update and return post. However, I do have very exciting news to share on this post - I was accepted to New York University's Steinhardt School of Performing Arts Administration to continue my education! I am still making some lifestyle/financial decisions that will affect whether or not I accept their enrollment offer, however I am so thrilled to have been extended the opportunity and just couldn't wait to share the news with you all! Here's to new beginnings, new cities, new jobs and new degrees! Happy Tuesday, my friends!

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​Sabrina

It doesn't feel real - my time as the Programs Intern for the American Theatre Wing has come to a close! I spent two wonderful months working for my dream organization in my dream position - I am so thankful and grateful for all that has happened! As a brief recap - if you haven't been following my blogs - I was able to attend and work the Obie Awards, plan, program and execute the Springboard NYC program, see MANY wonderful pieces of theatre, attend the 72nd annual Tony Awards and even found myself at the 10th annual Jimmy Awards! To say that this summer has been a wonderful, crazy whirlwind is an understatement, but I am so amazed when I look back on all that I accomplished and experienced!

Many thanks to all of you who supported me in this endeavor - both financially and emotionally - I couldn't have done all of this without all of you. I am especially grateful for my co-workers at The Wing who worked diligently to make this internship a wonderful learning experience for me! I thank them endlessly for taking a chance on a girl from North Carolina - I couldn't be more grateful.

I'll be in NYC for two more weeks - just relaxing and enjoying my favorite city on earth for the last time before I move here permanently following my graduation from Appalachian State in December 2018! This all still feels so surreal - I need some time to take it all in. Thanks for everything, readers! You guys are the best!

​S

 It's been a while! Sorry for my absence, to say my life has been an whirlwind is an understatement. They're not kidding at ATW when they say Tony season is WILD. I've spent the last several weeks working nearly 90 hours a week in preparation and execution of SpringboardNYC. We had the BEST bunch of students come from all over the United States to work on their craft. They are all so uniquely beautiful and talented - I feel so lucky to have shared my first SBNYC experience with them. Working on SBNYC gave me so many wonderful opportunities! I was able to meet so many wonderful people - James Monroe Iglehart, Lindsay Mendez, Kenny Leon, my queen, Patti LuPone and so many more. I am still reeling from the massively-successful Springboard experience shared by ATW staff and SBNYC participants alike. 

Now to the topic I know you're all waiting to hear about - The Tony Awards! I spent ALL DAY in Radio City the day of the Tonys. At 9am I went inside the venue and took my seat in the orchestra pit where I sat to watch the rehearsal of the telecast! I got to chat with hosts Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles - I even got to help Sara adjust her gown! The rehearsal was incredible - we heard Josh and Sara sing "You Matter to Me" from Waitress - a piece of the show that was for the rehearsal only! After grabbing a quick bite for lunch, we began the mad rush to get ready for the telecast. I arrived at Radio City for the show at 4pm and took my seat in the 5th row around 6:30pm. I sat behind Tom Hollander (of Broadway's Travesties), next to Joe Mantello (Broadway director - most recently of Three Tall Women), and directly in front of Jordan Roth (President of Jujamcyn Theaters). This was an absolutely incredible experience and I had so much fun watching my now-colleagues receive national recognition for their work this year. Check out the photo gallery below to see photos of me on the big night!

Financially, it's been tough affording the city with no cash flow! I am struggling to make ends meet throughout the last several weeks of my internship! I will include the link to my GoFundMe page below, in case you have some spare pocket change you'd like to send my way! I appreciate your support! 

Thanks so much for reading this, friends! I hope to get back to more regular blog posts in the coming weeks. 

All my best,

S

Hi, friends! Yesterday was OBIE DAY and it was a truly incredible experience. I'm not quite sure I can sum up everything that I did or experienced into one blog post, but I'm going to try! At the bottom of this post, there will be a photo gallery and a video! The video is a small little vlog I made on snapchat covering the events of the day. Make sure to check these out!

So, where do I begin? Yesterday I went into the office around 9:30 for a normal day of work. We have our SpringboardNYC program quickly approaching and we dedicated the morning to working on that. Once it became time for us to head over to the Obie's venue, we suited up, called a car and headed that way! It was my job to make sure that the physical Obie Awards were assembled, packed and transported to the venue. The awards arrived with me and then left with the award recipients!

Once we got to the venue, I went on headset and we trained volunteers on how to make the operation run as smoothly as possible. Before the show, my job was to escort winners, presenters, celebrities and press into the building through the Premium line. During the show, I was stationed in the VIP lounge with the presenters and celebrities and I helped keep eyes on various people of importance throughout the night. We made sure that the presenters got on stage when they were needed and they knew which teleprompter to look at etc.

At the end of the night, we were responsible for getting important guests home, so I was responsible for one of our lovely guests, who I won't name here, who's town car broke down outside the venue. I had to order her an Uber on my phone and see that she made it in and en route safely. We had a lovely chat about our Tony Award predictions while we were waiting on the Uber, I will never forget this story!

Overall, the day was beautiful and wonderful and overwhelming. I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life. Now I'm even MORE excited for the Tonys!!!

Hey there, reader!

It's been a pretty gloomy Saturday. Lots of rain and clouds here today, my least favorite kind of NYC weather. I started the day off with some errands. I needed to grab a few essentials before the Obie Awards on Monday. I ran to the GIANT TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Bed Bath & Beyond on 19th and 6th and picked up some shoes to match my dress, some nail polish and some other beauty items I'll need to look my best for this event! Afterwards, I ran to Panera Bread to use my gift card for lunch (Thanks, Mom!) and headed on back to the loft to eat my soup inside and out of the rain. 

I got showered and dressed and then headed off with my friend and professor Martha Marking to go see Peace for Mary France at Signature Theatre off of 42nd Street. It was a great show, thanks to The New Group for supplying me with comp tickets, we loved it! The show just opened last week, so go give it a try if you're in town! The relatable plot is about aging, family and death - it really gave me a lot to think about! 





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After the show, Martha and I went down to a new bar called Flats Fix on 23rd really close to the loft. The food was great, service was fast and the atmosphere was pretty fun! I definitely will head back there if I'm looking for a a cheap Mexican bar food fix. Then I decided to head out for a walk around the neighborhood and check out what's new in town since I've been here last.

I picked up some dessert and headed home to sit around and watch some trash TV (KUWTK anyone?) while I worked on my manicure and pedicure and ate some vegan cookie dough. It's been a good Saturday, I just wish the rain would hold off! NYC in the rain is the WORST. There are puddles everywhere, and since walking is so vital to transportation here, it's really hard to avoid getting wet. Hopefully the rain will subside by Monday for the Obie Awards! 

I plan on hitting the gym sometime tomorrow. I have had such a weird schedule this week, I've only had time for about 3 workouts. However, I managed to have the best workout of my life last night at Barry's Bootcamp. Thanks to ClassPass, I got to try the class for free and WOW - it was incredible! Barry's workout included high powered sprints and resistance training mixed together to create the hardest 50 minutes of my life.  I hope I can find new and unique ways to train while I'm here in the city. I love pushing myself physically and it's a great way to use my down time while I'm here in the city.

I hope you all had a great Saturday and enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding if you got around to it! Once again, thanks for all your love, vibes and support - they mean the world to me! Get ready for an Obie Awards blog post, coming at you sometime this week!

​Reader,

Happy Friday! It's been a VERY busy first week here in NYC. Let me take you through a brief recap of some of the amazing things I've experienced since my last post. Be sure to check out the photo gallery at the end of the post for a couple pictures from this week!

Tuesday - On my second day at ATW, I worked diligently on creating the handouts and program materials for SpringboardNYC (mentioned in my last blog post). I also spent a lot of time getting my bearings about me in the office. Right after work on Tuesday, I ran down to Lincoln Center to catch Misty Copeland and Herman Cornejo in Giselle with the American Ballet Theatre. It was truly incredible!

Wednesday - I spent a half day at work on Wednesday, but I completed a final draft of some materials before I left! I left early so that I could catch the matinee of Carousel on Broadway. It was truly incredible. Stunning performances from everyone, especially Joshua Henry (Billy) and Jessie Mueller (Julie). Following that performance, I ran down to the Drama Bookshop on 40th and 8th to grab some research materials for the musical I am directing in the fall at Appalachian. Then, another walk down to Lincoln Center to chat with an enchanting App State alum who now works in an arts management position for the Mellon Foundation. Following our awesome conversation, I caught Robbins' Centennial  at the New York City Ballet. They performed Goldberg Variations and Les Noches. I had a very busy but rewarding Wednesday!

Thursday - What a whirlwind at work Thursday! We were busy all day solidifying details of our SpringboardNYC program that begins in only 8 business days! I even got to create some Obie Awards that the recipients will receive at the awards show on Monday, May 21st. While it was a day full of hard work, I didn't seem to notice or mind. Doing this kind of work is everything I could've ever dreamed of and more; I thoroughly enjoy my time at my desk and the work that I do. After work, I ran down to The Joyce Theatre to catch Parsons Dance Company. This was TRULY the best dance concert I have ever attended. The choreography, costumes, lighting, dancers, EVERYTHING was at the highest level of quality. I couldn't have enjoyed myself more and it was an awesome way to round out an incredible day. 

So now it's Friday morning. I'm getting ready to get up and get ready for work. I have plans of hitting up Barry's Bootcamp tonight (a fitness class here in the City) and maybe having a nice night in after that. I look forward to sharing more of my adventures with you all and hope that I can do so in a more timely manner next week. Thanks for taking the time to read my entries. I appreciate your support and well wishes as I embark on this journey into my career!
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