#mckittrick

[scorchedthesnake]

March 7, 2011

I moved to New York City in August 2010. My life before New York was something I’d grown completely unsatisfied with: I had moved to Connecticut for graduate school in 2001, had weathered two recessions in the relative security of academe but could see the writing on the wall for the doom of that profession and so had, via my teaching assistants union, begun to work for our international union as a communications staffer. This had given me a way out of Connecticut, though escaping the cultish environment of the union would still take a few more years.

The person I was back then was very unlike the person I am now. I wasn’t very much fun those first nine months in the city because I was just so afraid of everything. Bars scared me; too many strangers. Clubs scared me; too dark and too many unknowns and unpredictable scenarios. I was happy to be in a new place but petrified by what that freedom actually meant, and I had yet to find any place to belong or feel at home in.

I worked on 7th Avenue back then, around 27th Street. I remember sitting in my dreary cubicle that Monday, when I got a message from my best friend Matt, asking me if I wanted to go to a show that evening. No, I said, I really just want to go home and hide from the world. It’s the show John (O’Malley) is working on, he said, and he got us comps. Well what kind of show is it, I asked? “We’re gonna, like, chase sexy dancers around a warehouse.” Oh god that sounds so stupid, do I have to? “Just come with me, if you hate it you can leave.” 

So around 7pm I walked over to 10th Avenue and the block was so dumpy back then – junkyards, warehouses, not much else. I saw a small line of people gathered at the address I’d been given, so I approached and was handed this card:

I don’t remember anything about checking in or what it was like seeing Manderley for the first time, though I do remember Maximilian being there, giving a short speech and then we were taken to the elevator. I remember getting off the elevator on 3, and taking far too long to explore an empty Macbeths bedroom before, I suppose, figuring out I should investigate the other floors.

I’ve told this story often, though: at some point I came across an extremely attractive man moving quickly, so I did what it seemed like many others were doing: I followed him. We were in the 2nd loop by now, and I had realized it was a loop; but my target soon was running down High Streeet and through a darkened door and it slammed in my face and, to my surprise, was locked.

Oh, there are secret things all over here, aren’t there?

So I picked up his trail again as soon as I could, and stuck as close as I could. Including when we stumbled down all the flights of stairs and I wondered, should I call for help? Is the performer injured? But I stuck to him like glue and when he again approached that darkened door I was close enough to get inside.

And so the highlight of my first show was seeing Luke Murphy in interrogation.

After the finale I reconnected with Matt. We had, of course, seen completely different shows. As we exited we saw John. “Did you get any one on ones,” he asked? One on whats? “Well, I had one where the man in the lobby took me into a room and started putting on makeup.”

No we hadn’t seen anything like that. We immediately set about buying tickets for later in the six-week run. And we wandered the streets for a couple hours after that, comparing notes, feverishly reconstructing what we had just experienced. 

Obviously I did not sleep that night.

So much of the time you don’t know when everything has changed. You realize it long after the fact and in retrospect. Not this, this I knew was a fundamental shift. I’d never felt my senses at full alert like that, my mind racing trying to make sense of something so visceral. The music rang in my ears for hours, days later, and I knew when I came back, I’d need a plan.

#sleep no more #sleepnomore #mckittrick hotel #sleepnomorenyc #sleep no more nyc #punchdrunk #mckittrick

[exitmurderer]

“If only there could be an invention,” I said impulsively, “that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.” --Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier

#mckittrick #sleep no more #sleepnomore #sleepnomorenyc #sleep-no-more

[isingonly4myangel]

If you’re a Sleep No More devotee, please can we be friends 🙏🏻

I have a handful of friends who’ve seen it but only because I’ve taken them, and I’d love to be able to talk about it with people who are as deep in as I am lol. My inbox and dms are both open ❤️💋

#sleep no more #snm #mckittrick #mckittrick hotel #sleep no more nyc #punchdrunk #nyc

[rottenwoodandwiltedsunflowers]

#149- Waffle

Very very very very long time no see. I suppose the imminent end is making me revisit this blog and my regret about not documenting more of my time with the show is pushing me to sit down and make the time among my very busy life.

I'm not sure this is going to be as long as some of my older posts but I do want to document some of my shows from yesterday (Jan 14 Early) for my own memory.

149-Jan. 14th Early

We are old and well, old now so we are buying Oz's tickets because when you are out of town and have limited shows left you want to maximize your time. I've never minded queueing up an hour early but the time now is getting ridiculous. Once again, old now. Not lining up 2 hours early in the cold. Walked in to Maderley to find Vivian Fairchild which was comforting. It's is ALWAYS nice to see other long term familiar faces in the building. Also found some old familiar friends in the white masks and it felt all the more like coming home.

Once I hit the inside of the show I quickly decided to follow Bret's boy witch. Objectively, I think Bret is among the strongest dancers in this newest class. I haven't followed a boy witch for a whole loop in years. I like Bret's performance. He is really fun when he gets to play with the audience. His duet with Jeff's porter was fantastic! He commanded the scene and bullied Porter around with ease. His hair is getting a bit longer and I didn't really realize at first that he pinned it up with bobby-pins. I was the only one to follow him up to 4 and I found myself smiling as I watched him pull the pins out 1 by 1 and toss them on the stairs as he ascended. I really enjoyed his pool table solo. He laid on the table almost seizing as his legs repetitively hit the table. You could see him loosing control. He took a nice lunge off the corner of the table at a white mask before Speakeasy stuffed him in the box. I also loved how Micheala sniffed around the corner of the room like an animal as if she could track him down with her nose.

Going into the rave (and it's something I noticed during the first ballroom) I was really appreciating this asian witch trio. Starting my love affair with the show over a decade ago, it was painfully obvious how white this show was in its casting. Back then there were only a handful of POC in the cast and not all at the same time. As the parent of a Korean daughter, I'm so glad that the representation in the cast has gotten more diverse and I think it was the first time I've seen a visibly asian witch trio. It was such a wonderful evolution of the show to witness. When he had the goat head on, Bret climbed/jumped on the pillar and hung there. Loved it! In his post rave scene, he seemed utterly drained. It was a monumental task to even dress himself. I helped him with his shirt at his request and God bless a boy witch who doesn't hand you pants to help with! As he finished up he suddenly took off into a full on sprint to the stairs. I watched the banquet from the mezzanine and noted Kritsen's nurse. Filed that away for later show reference.

I had totally forgotten the dance he does in the light after he moves trees. That was a total surprise. When we made it up to the lobby for witches 1, it was pretty packed. There was an audience member who was standing in the middle of the scene so that was obnoxious to watch. People are absolutely obtuse. You are not going to get something special by making the actors work around you during their scenes. By the time Macbeth arrived the crowd was so dense I couldn't see so I snuck off behind the end of the lobby desk and watched from the corner.

Bret’s lip sync was so spot on. Much like his shower scene, at the end he kind of shy down for a second. It’s like he needed a moment to reset before drifting back to the lobby desk. After retrieving the tissue from Porter, he had me wipe tears before returning the tissue to the Porter and with a final glance at him, we were off to the phone booth. I never follow boy witch so it’s only the second time I’ve had the 1:1. Objectively, it’s easily the most overrated and anticlimactic 1:1 in the show. Bret did great but I do stand by that statement. We headed back down to the ballroom and I watched him pin his hair back up to start the cycle again.

From there I followed Duncan for a bit. At the top of the show I watched Duncan trying to figure out who it was. I was still thoroughly confused up until the end when I left and checked the cast board. They seemed familiar but I couldn’t place them. After looking at the board, I realized it was Gino Grenek! His dances were A+. I love when Duncan is so engaging the even watching him uncover clocks is captivating. So many beautiful moves and backbends. You can see the drugs working their way into his system throughout the whole scene.

Ventured up to the 5th floor eventually (like I do...) to find Jess' Matron. It was one of the most interesting Matron watches I've had in awhile. Sometimes I just enjoy creeping on the Matron through the creeping hole. You know the one. After every 1:1, Jess sat in the chair and had a visible moment where she needed to pull herself back together. Once I watched her wipe her tears. I was wayyyyyyy too delighted by her cutting tiny mazes with tiny sewing scissors. It pleased me to no end. Like tiny, tiny 1"x2" little maze pages. Utterly delighted!!! She put one down on the windowsill and left it there for like 5 minutes. When she went to go do the chalking I absolutely swiped it. Fair game I think. It was only when I got home the next evening that I took a much closer look at it and realized it has the fucking Grandmother's Tale written in tiny, tiny pencil on it. She must have written the tale then cut the maze design and I will NEVER recover from this discovery.

She headed out and did the chalking and when I looked up for the nurse, I saw...Jenna? Where did Kristen go??? Watched their scene and was invited in for tea afterwards. I took a lap around some of my favorite 5th floor spaces. It's something I find myself doing as my shows wind down. I so desperately want to hold onto those spaces after the show is gone forever. Found Jenna's nurse and quickly realized the show must be coming to an end and it was the last mirror dance. Stayed with the nurse and matron until the finale. As we went down to the Macbeth's bedroom, I looked in and saw Kristen as Lady Macbeth. Guess that explains what happened with nurse.

Some honorable mentions from this show include Omri and Steph T tearing through the hotel lobby first loop on their way to the banquet. They created quite the ruckus as usual but Omri went over to the hotel lobby desk as Jeff was hiding in the phone booth and slammed down on the bell several times before yelling out a crazed "HELLO!" I really enjoyed that choice, it made me chuckle. Steph then grabbed his arm and yanked him to the stairwell. Also, perhaps the most important news from this show...RED LICORICE IS BACK!!! This is not a drill! I'm not talking that bigger red licorice that taste like wax or the one they had for awhile that had a white strip and tasted sweet like sugar but like gross sugar. I'm talking circa 2015 red licorice! Remember right after the shutdown. I, like plenty of others, was like- "it's probably good they don't have unwrapped candy anymore. Not super sanitary to be eating candy 400 other people have touched." I at like half that jar between my 2 shows and if I get covid...that's a risk I'm OK with. It was worth it and it tasted like McKittrick 2014. NO REGRETS! That's about it for show one of the day. Go enjoy some licorice if you are there (assuming they restocked it because I ate it all).

#sleep no more #mckittrick #mckittrick hotel #snm #sleepnomore

[upontheheathyoullfindme]

Sleep No More closing

Holy crap. Last show is January 28, 2024. I haven't been since before the pandemic, but this is a real bummer for me.

#sleep no more #snm #mckittrick #sleepnomore #mckittrick hotel

[theladyinredisnotyourfriend]

Well Im about leave the country for several months so I guess I’ve taken my last trip to the McKittrick.

Very sad about that.

#sleep no more #sleepnomorenyc #mckittrick #sleepnomore #the mckittrick hotel #mckittrick hotel #sleep no more nyc #punchdrunk

[nagler]

Sleep No More Is Closing

It feels like my 20s are actually over.

(Alex, you're married and 35)

LAST NIGHT I DREAMT I WENT TO MANDERLEY AGAIN

For years, Sleep No More was my go-to answer for What To Do for birthdays, Halloween, Christmas gifts, and out of town recommendations. I missed that first year, 2011, when everything was new and magical and things were not horribly expensive, but there was still plenty of wonder between 2012 and 2016. There wasn't just the show there were the Salons, the Follies, the parties, the roof, all the opportunities. I still do not remember everything that happened for Halloween of 2012, other than I lost a pair of glasses, was carried from the door to my bed by my sister's friends, and somehow rallied to attend the opera the following evening.

I stopped attending as much in 2016 for [reasons], but the New Years Eve of 2017 into 2018 opened me for possibility that wound up being manifested two weeks later when I met Hilary. I brought her to a dinner party that August, which wound up the first photo we posted together, when I knew I had something worth sharing. We celebrated together for a COVID-free New Years Eve of 2021 into 2022 where we looked at one another and said fuck it why aren't we engaged? Once again, two weeks later that manifested into a proposal (or a mutually agreed upon decision to propose), which turned into our wedding this past July.

There weren't really as many trips in between that dinner and now. I celebrated my birthday in 2019, which may have given Hilary a small anxiety attack as the hotel had never been her speed, but that was it until that New Years Eve. COVID obviously saw to nothing in 2020 and 2021, and it may have had the last laugh here as well with the closure of the hotel. I saw the soft reopen in February of 2022 along with the real reopening on Valentine's Day, but my knees, the cost of planning a wedding, and my persistent need to say "I'm Sleepy!" (thanks hun) kept me from becoming a regular returning customer. But I had my memories. And I had the Discord server, where I could hear all the new news of the hotel, the parties, and the joy of those discovering it for the first time.

I'm going on Sunday afternoon for a full visit and an after-show Salon, which no doubt will feature a good deal of commiserating. The raven himself will be hoarse. We will attempt tickets for the final show, where the nightingale will sing in Berkeley Square one last time.

#mckittrick #sleep no more #emursive #punchdrunk #manderley

[if-i-had-a-voice-i-would-sing]

TBC 30 day challenge

Day 1: What led you to the city?

In 2018 I took part in a series of workshops with Punchdrunk as part of my theatre A-levels course, culminating in us visiting Sleep No More in NY. The workshops at Fallow Cross were amazing, but that first trip into an actual PD show changed my life forever!

As soon as I got back to England I changed my university applications - having previously applied to study English Lit and/or Classics, I now knew that I needed to pursue theatre. For the 3 hours that I was in that space, I felt like I was home. For the first time in my life, I felt like I actually belonged somewhere.

I won’t go into it here, but that show came at a very painful and difficult time in my life, and it showed me that it was not only possible to be happy, but that I deserved to be happy! It gave me the confidence to begin my transition, to pursue my lifelong dream of making theatre, and although I couldn’t afford to visit NY to see it again, I became obsessed with Punchdrunk and started following their work religiously.

Flash forward to 2022, and I got an email about The Burnt City opening! I booked myself a ticket for early June, and fell in love all over again…

#sorry that this is so long & personal #it’s a very emotional topic to me #the burnt city #punchdrunk #immersive theatre #sleep no more #mckittrick #sleepnomorenyc #tbc 30 day challenge

[snmcastlist]

Update Finally!!

Hello Everyone!! (or...maybe I'm shouting into the void of SNM Tumblr??)

I've updated the cast list as of January 2023. Please let me know if there are any errors. Thank you to everyone who has sent info and helped to double check it!

I decided to transition to one big master list instead of the current and former sections. There are SO many wonderful people who are dropping for a short time from years gone by, and it was just impossible to keep track of who was in and who wasn't. (Hence the LONG hiatus.)

I hope the list is still a helpful resource. Enjoy your shows!! SNM is just as wonderful as ever!

#snm #snmnyc #nycsnm #sleep no more #sleep no more New York #mckittrick #mckittrick hotel

[mobyfitzwilliam]

"Back to Manderley? Why, I've never left." - A Story of the Ghostwriter

My Dear Reader,

Please forgive my long delay in correspondence. In writing my novel Ghostwriter, I have certainly lapsed in delivering unto you a timely update. However, please do not mistake this delay for a lack of fondness. Indeed, there is nothing I desire so much as to share my love of the McKittrick Hotel with you.

I have come to the conclusion that in the writing of my first days in staying at the McKittrick hotel I have been missing out on many things indeed I had thought that I would conclude the writing once I had checked out of the hotel and was safely on the train back to London and back to my normal world. Once I had boarded my train car, I would compile the madness of notes that I had created from my suite, and I would work them into something a bit more logical for a more extended release. For you see it was quite complicated staying up to date with all of the goings on within the hotel and indeed in the village of Gallow Green, while also staying on task and writing this novel.

Please, dear reader, do not fear. Ghostwriter is developing into something far more complicated and far grander than I ever could have imagined. I thank the guidance of my lady in red who during my initial stay at the McKittrick Hotel provided me with such enlightenment on my purpose here. So, what comes now? Well, it is a bit confusing how I went to leave the Mckitrick and boarded the train and yet as soon as I boarded the train and settled into my car, I was immediately getting out of it and re arriving at the McKittrick Hotel as if for the first time. More than once I have heard the phrase, "we can never go back to Manderley again," yet I continued going back to Manderley again and again and again as if it were the first time all over again.

And to this day I have never left.

Secrets lay further on at your own peril, dear reader.

When last I stood in the ballroom, it was just as the music was climbing and lights rising, and I found myself in the corner of the room, in the arms of The Boy.

He called out to me, and he spun me about, my cape swirling behind me. I felt his joy in that moment, but what's more, I felt complicit in what was to come.

Later that evening, I followed another witch through a secret passage that led out to the mortuary, and before the witches, I heeded the call of our Mistress. Hecate stood alone in her bar when I found it, when it revealed itself to me. You see, while the entrance is always in the same place, it is often concealed. She must call to you herself, as she called to me that first night, and nightly since.

She always stands in the same place, her arms outstretched toward the door, calling the ghosts to her. I arrive first, and I pay homage to her. Then, the witches follow. They writhe to the music she creates, Dionysian ecstasy taking over them.

They do not see me, shrouded in black, but she does. She smiles as we see the Boy turned on by his coven. They strip him as he calls out for help, struggling and attempting to refuse. He never remembers this part, though I have seen it many times. He vanishes behind the bar as the ill-fated man arrives.

It takes Macbeth the longest to find us, but he is instantly overcome by the power that lives within her bar. The two that appear as women to him quickly seduce him into the orgiastic rites. Hecate looks to me, winking as she summons the last one.

The Boy emerges in a new form, more creature than before. He is Black Phillip, his strong body covered in blood. She calls me to sit with her as Macbeth is brought in by him, just in time for the Bald witch to birth a monstrous baby, always stillborn. The final witch, she who is the most seductive of the three, she nurses the poor dead thing, for this is part of the ritual.

Finally, as Macbeth is brought into the fold by all three of the coven, and he rises above the heads of the ghosts, she creates the final prophecy. As he looks down to the three, the Boy is beast no more, and he holds up a tiny tree.

Burnam Wood will come.

To create this prophecy takes incredible strength, and it nearly drains her, but she is triumphant.

Macbeth leaves, and the witches scatter to the winds, blessed by Hecate.

Then arrives the girl Agnes, who searches for Hecate. She thinks that she is coming of her own volition to confront my mistress, but she has played into our hands. Soon she drinks Hecate's potion, and is quickly shedding a tear she tries so hard to resist. My Mistress is swift, and harvests her tear needed to begin the spell again.

Outside the bar, her familiar waits. He is the extension of her power, and, ironically enough, is how I first came to the service of my Mistress. He took me into a secret room, and told me that he knew what I was.

"You are like me," he said.

Alas, that is a tale for another day.

She feeds the tear to him, and he is off to fulfill his duty. Then, she turns to me, and it is my turn to aid her. She brings me into her inner sanctum, a warmly plush room of velvet drapes and cushioned seats.

She has a note for me to deliver.

"Can I trust you?" she asks. She always asks, for it is in the affirmation of her question that I pledge my service to her.

I leave through the underpass, beneath the very station that I first arrived at oh so long ago. How long, however, is a fact I cannot yet remember.

I enter the hotel alongside the ill-fated Lady Macduff. The poor woman, she is always so panicked. Would that I could reach out and comfort her, but she cannot see me. Or, she chooses not to.

The Porter and I have become quite well acquainted since that first day he checked me into the suite reserved for the Artist in Residence. Sometimes he remembers me, sometimes he does not, but I always remember where to find him.

He is in the luggage room, writing his letter. When I arrive, there is fear in his eyes. He does not fear me, but what I represent to him. We are both in her service, though he is far less willing than I am.

The words she wrote to him are always the same, but he is always terrified. I am his last chance at a reprieve, but that is not why I am here. I am here to take the boat he has made, and in the moment our eyes lock and he sails the boat into my hand, it is done.

And it all begins again.

It always begins again, just as she intends.

Yours,

Fitzwilliam, the Ghostwriter

#mckittrick hotel #sleepnomorenyc #sleep no more #sleep no more nyc #the woman in black #thewomaninblack #mckittrick #sleepnomore #edward gorey #the vampire's wife #lemony snicket #vfd

[pursuitofhappenstance]

At one of the McKittrick Halloween parties, my friend was groped by several men in such quick succession that she burst into tears. A friend that—in many years of friendship— l have never seen cry before. On top of that, the number of people who were so beyond drunk they could no longer stand was scary.

This was my first McKittrick function in a while, but I have been attending other parties since the pandemic, and I have never seen such out of control, unsafe behavior. Why? Because these parties explicitly give rules about sexual harassment, consent, and partying safely. They are both written and recited to every person that enters the space. And I know these are spaces performers frequent, so they are aware of what an amazing, safe party feels like. When the security is looking out for sexual misconduct. When bartenders aren’t overserving. I hope this past weekend is not indicative of the climate the McKittrick hopes to foster in the future. Do better. For your staff, for your patrons, for everyone

#sleep no more #punchdrunk #sleepnomore #mckittrick hotel #mckittrick #the mckittrick hotel

[scorchedthesnake]

May 14, 2011

We had already come back twice in the month of April (my best friend and I) and I had tracked down and experienced my first 1:1 – Banquo, and the key prop in that 1:1 had proven to be the first major collision point with my previous academic pursuits. But I still had not had nearly enough and I booked my first solo ticket.

That was a big deal for me – who would I talk to in line and at the bar? How would I bide all that time alone but surrounded by strangers? Somehow this already was less intimidating to me. As I stepped away from the check-in desk an entirely unfamiliar voice called out to me.

“You come here a lot, what’s your deal?” – this is how I met Jenny Weinbloom, then the marketing intern who had worked on the Gallow Green ARG, now one of the most formidable people in the entire immersive industry. I don’t even know what I answered! But we talked briefly about love for this show – she ditched school to work on it in Boston – and our mutual enthusiasms were complementary.

I had seen the Banquo 1:1 (and saw it a third time again that night) but was determined to discover others - first, Malcolm with Rob Najarian, which began a long love affair with that character that dominated my first year at the show; and then Fulton with Jeffery Lyon. I couldn’t describe the intense fever that built inside after all these discoveries.

But something strange was happening. I felt a slight tug at my back pocket – I couldn’t see who had done it, but I found a cryptic note had been put there. Some time later it happened again. Stooge that I am, I reported the peculiar behavior to the stewards, who said they’d check with the house manager. This isn’t part of the show, I swore, someone is messing with me.

Soon enough I was distracted by something else: I witnessed an absolutely horrifying scene, the murder of Lady Macduff. And as her bereft husband (Luke) placed her on the couch in the lobby and stormed off, most of the gathered crowd went with him, But I was transfixed, and when she came to she looked up at me and there was a profound moment of recognition. So I stayed with her through the rest of the loop, leading to her 1:1, which devastated me. I wept through the end of the performance.

I came out to Manderley and saw Matt there – he was the one leaving notes in my pocket. John had brought him in and the staff were in on the gag.

He left shortly thereafter but I stayed at the bar, feeling uncharacteristically calm and at home. And as the cast began to file in to the bar, as they regularly back in those days - a woman walked up to me. “You – you were great to work with,” she said – it was Alli Ross, who had played Lady Macduff. It struck me as odd to be addressed like I had also been performing – but, in a sense, I had.

“You had a great energy and I could tell you were really interested in my story and I knew the moment I saw you that I’d take you for the 1:1.”

I stayed very late that night. In the old days, there was no Sunday show, so the 11pm Saturday performance that ended at 2am rolled over into a bit of a staff party that cleared out around 4. I met a bunch of other cast members – starstruck as I was – and found my anxieties about strangers and bars were entirely gone. I began to realize, yes I was playing a role here – not the part of myself but as an active participant in the production, a necessary source of energy or a willing touchpoint to play off of. Recognizing this was the beginning of realizing that in every place we show up, we choose what role to play. If I could be this version of myself here, in the safety of a scripted performance; if I could be a version of me who flirts, who cruises, who does not shy away from eye contact, who is ready with a witty reply to Maximilian – why would I not choose to be that person, all of the time?

#sleep no more #sleepnomore #mckittrick hotel #punchdrunk #sleepnomorenyc #mckittrick #sleep no more nyc

[exitmurderer]

The first last weekend

We are in the final weeks or months, it seems. The rest is bullets…

It was a time to visit known favorite loops: Sienna Blaw's DGAF Bald Witch.

It was a time to see new favorite loops: Taylor Massa's DGAF Fate Witch.

Another known favorite, in their last turn as Lady Macbeth, Marija Obradovic. Leaving it all on the field, on the dance floor, as did…

Jenna Saccurato as Nurse and then Bald Witch, absolutely feral, all out, turned up to eleven, all the adjectives and adjectival phrases. I made a point of being in the ballroom 3rd loop and indeed Jenna got lifted and deserved every clap and cheer and whoop in the place, and there were many.

Also leaving and duly noted, Jeff Docimo as Macbeth and Porter, Andrew Pastides as Porter.

I totally missed Nate Carter as Taxidermist (and earlier, EAM). It wasn't for lack of looking, but I tried the shop and the Macduffs' and the cemetery, right place / wrong time I guess. This is partly a symptom of me taking the stairs in now, to try and get to the ballroom more quickly, so I don't even know who is working the elevator.

Wasn't trying for the PIB 1:1, just wanted water, but hey, if someone hands me a note that says "Follow Me" then that's what I'll do. At least, in the McKittrick.

Kind of a bummer to see a group of fans stage-dooring for autographs and photos, when all the exits are right there on 27th and most folks probably just want to get dinner on their break between shows. Eh.

Fun to watch Will Boyajian's show a couple times. Like watching a magician and trying to figure out how the trick works. Oh, here's where he's dissembling and stalling for time, pretending not to know something, etc.

How long has Porchlight been open late just around the corner, with food, at least on Fridays and Saturdays?

Related Extracurricular #1: Derrick Belcham videos at Williamsburg Biannual. Many familiar faces: Lily Ockwell, Emily Terndrup, Bobbi Jene Smith, and so on. I stayed for close to two hours, could've stayed all day.

Related Extracurricular #2: Kelly Todd's Endangered Species at 280 Gibney. Intense, strange, darkly funny, and by the end, moving. Lots of good folks onstage and in the audience.

The city that never sleeps sure does sleep a lot these days. I guess COVID-19 takes a lot of the blame. Anyway, walking out on a Sunday night into the cold drizzle looking for food, getting turned away at the aforementioned Porchlight, and not finding anything open for several crosstown blocks until a perfectly fine, perfectly generic IrishPubCo (which was almost empty and almost closed). Of course what mattered was the company (which was stellar), not the venue.

I shall return, maybe not for the last last but at least for some in-between.

#mckittrick #sleep no more #sleepnomore #sleepnomorenyc #sleep-no-more

[isingonly4myangel]

Shoutout to the person tonight wearing the button up printed with folding paper boats! So glad Porter noticed you for it ❤️

#i saw you get taken for the 1:1 and also saw you get his walkout cause i was right in front of you with mrs danvers #if you ever see this please dm me to talk about this show lol #sleep no more #snm #mckittrick #mckittrick hotel #punchdrunk #nyc

[rottenwoodandwiltedsunflowers]

1/27 Early- Waffle Recap

Here we go again!!! I'm really trying to make a huge effort to write down at least some thoughts from all my shows now. The end is looming and feels imminent. One of my biggest regrets around the show is not writing down my thoughts and shows and feelings more. I've forgotten so many tiny moments over the last decade that once brought me sparks of happiness. I know the days is coming we can never go back and I don't want to forget anything. This show and space is so ingrained in my life and I want to hold onto what I can for as long as I can.

From here on out it's all or broke (and we will be broke by the time this show finally closes). We lined up in Oz's list because we are way too old now and time is short so we are springing for the VIP tickets. After heading to the ballroom and trying to figure out who had my interest, I kind of wandered around. I took a stroll through the 4th floor attempting to find something that sparked my attention. I really was having a bit of an aimless start and the witches were approaching so I made the decision to head to the 5th floor. The space has always held an interest to me and I figured if nothing else, I could use the space to recalibrate my afternoon.

I went toward the office and visited the padded cell. I went over to my favorite piece in the building, laundry wolf and gave them a little pet pet. I continued on until I came across Marija's Nurse in the room with the tubs. This was where I decided easily to spend my first loop. Marija is an absolutely stunning dancer. I know her check-out was looming and I'm grateful I got another chance to silently follow one more loop. When I found her she was fretting over some water in a tub. She looked very unsettled and deep in thought. With no one else around I stepped to the side to watch. After a moment, she reached for a paper clipping that was sitting on the desk next to the tub. She wet the clipping and plastered it to the inside wall of the tub near the drain pull. After seeming satisfied that it would stay put, she made her way to her office to retrieve her bag. I enjoyed how she paused to look up at the web of paper that was draped over the space.

Down to 3 we went. Marija is nothing if not meticulous and precise when it comes to her duty. She collected a robe and tidied the bathtub. While I was watching her I noticed a dude pick up the Lady Macbeth letter that fell from the tub. He absolutely had that new guy vibe and was trying to read what was on the paper which was fine but I watched, as she dried the floor, and he eventually took the letter and stepped back with it hanging loosely in his hand. Nurse finished and began looking around. I realized she was looking for the letter...in unsuspecting dude's hand. She finally looked as if she was going to try to make shift a folded letter from the soggy copy on the floor when I leaned over and plucked the letter tossing it back onto the tub area. As she stood she caught it out of the corner of her eye and picked it up returning it to the tub after reading it. Sorry guy.

Down to the mezzanine we went. As I stand and watch the nurse now, I can't help but think of the 1:1 that was taken post covid. It was such a lovely extra bit of info that really explained the motivation of Nurse Shaw and added to the character. RIP. Partway through the banquet, I headed up the stairs because I wanted to take my time rather than chasing a crowd up 5 flights of stairs. These days I also like to find new ways to watch things I've seen many times. To see scenes in a new light from a new angle. I got to the landing between 4 and 5 and just hung over the railing looking down the stairs and waiting. Eventually I watched as Zina's Lady Macbeth headed up the stairs toward the ward. As she passed the 3rd floor, I moved up to the 5th floor and watched her assent. As she rounded the landing below me, I scurried down the hall and watched her enter the floor. I crept into the bathtub room and waited for the nurse to appear before watching the scene unfold. Marija guided her to the bath and I crept out behind her to head back down to the 3rd floor.

I thought about the bond between Lady Macbeth and Nurse Shaw as I watch the nurse carefully lay out her clothes in the window box. When we returned to the ward and made our way into the woods, Marija looked a little lost. She stumbled upon the Matron and helped her back to her hut. After being rocked and comforted, the air changed and Nurse Shaw fled the woods. She stopped about half way out and looked around almost debating with herself as to which way was the exit. By the time she emerged into the room with the tubs she seemed upset and frustrated. She returned to the bathtub I found her at when I picked up the loop and quickly swipped at the paper still stuck to the inside of the tub. In a rush on the way though the room she balled the paper up and sent it flying into a corner.

I really enjoyed seeing Marija dance both the possessed limb dance and the bed solo. She is such a strong dancer and soloist and I'm glad I got to appreciate her work in the hotel one last time. I was just finishing up her loop when she went to climb through the window and head to the mirror dance. I headed into the woods and there is where I found, no joke, the most shocking thing I've ever found in 10 years of McKittrick shows. I'm not really ready to share what I found and the subsequent events that threw my entire day of shows into the wildest tailspin I never expected. I'm defiantly going to write up the rest but it's going to stay a private post for now.

It was truly a wild show.

#sleep no more #sleepnomore #mckittrick #mckittrick hotel

[thatperilousstuff]

In the smoldering promise of the Fall of Troy, a mythical world of Gods and mortals rises from the ashes.

#theburntcity #punchdrunk #sleepnomore #sleep no more #mckittrick