Ars Nova

Wow ok, I have been putting off a photo blog for way too long.

Probably because I was distracted with the whole lot of absolutely nothing I've been doing these long summer nights sitting in my apartment in the small ass town of Fairfield Connecticut. You know the nights where I lay at home, take multiple pictures of myself on my MacBook, sing showtunes, and cook tofu in various different flavors WISHING I was in New York City or even back home in San Francisco. (side note, I sound like a whiney bitch- let me mention that from 8-6 I have the most kickass day job as a photography intern under the wildly talented Peter Baker of Third Rail Studios. Most educational summer of my life so far.)

Well I did get a fair glorious moment this past Sunday (18/07/10) to get myself into the city.

I was so graciously offered a press pass into Ars Nova's John Gallagher Jr. after party to shoot the event, this was after requesting one for the show its self but because everyone wanted a piece of JGALLS (ahaha stupid online fangirls thats my fave besides JGROFF and RPATTZ) the show sold out rather quickly so I was not able to get into the show, but the after party is a pretty damn good compromise, don't you think?

SO upon arriving at the venue my first impression was, well actually my first impression was seeing the Ars Nova sign paying my cab driver stepping out of the car and immediately eating it outside the venue due to my foot, in 4 inch heels, meeting with a pothole. BUT AS SOON AS I GOT IN, I hear the sound of angels- no I'm kidding it was just JGALLS singing and playing guitar, close enough. I meet with the staff members who are all so precious and they take me up stairs to a very low key modern dim lit room where I am introduced to the rest of the equally as precious staff. 

Now I have had very VERY bad experiences with venue staff before, it includes gimp me after surgery and a rude staff member shoving me into a glass wall, but thats a story for another day. But as I met the Ars Nova staff they were extremely laid back, easy to talk to, professional, and they weren't trying to shove me into any walls.

So this night at Ars was my first press pass and my first time being at any sort of party / after party that didn't include kids trying to look cool smoking cigarettes outside while their parents were asleep upstairs. So needless to say I had no idea what to expect. Well first Theo Stockman shows up in the room, not to be a stuck up "I'm dating Lea Michele look at me" broadway star but to dj.

& he showed up with a decent play list, A+ for you, Theo.

More of the American Idiot cast showed up to the party that night, including: Chase Peacock & Brian Charles Johnson (they performed in their band Fran Sancisco, which I wasn't fortunate enough to witness but I heard from party goers that they were magic. Seeing them this up coming sunday & I'll have a review and pictures from that too.) & Gerard Canonico (seriously, the biggest personality I think I've ever met & conversed with in my life, I was on the verge of being overwhelmed but was too entertained & fascinated to remember to be overwhelmed.) oh and in the top picture, thats guy in the middle, thats Royce- the most fabulous person in the room that night.This blog is obnoxiously long already & I haven't even discussed JGALLS yet but I have to say that these were some of the nicest people I've ever met. I have to say though that Brian C. Johnson was probably my favorite person I talked to all night. He and I talked about music and it was just a very comfortable situation, he was funny and had a perpetual smile on his face the whole time.I could write pages about Brian & the rest of the lovely cast I met that night but I have to talk about JGALLS.

Here he is. John Gallagher Jr. JGALLS, Moritz, guy everyone came to see, the guy rocking the 1970's (or perhaps 19760's) throwback look of near paisley print and corduroy blazer. 

My time with JGALLS was short but sweet, he was really grateful to myself and my friend Anna for being there, tried to articulate how people call San Francisco the city, but that we also call New York the city... and Orlando, whatever. He posed for pictures with us and, obviously, by himself (^) signed a few fliers, and when asked "How did you get to this point?" was very modest about his disposition "Sometimes I feel, like it just happened to me." he ends with a smile. He was shortly swiped away by the rest of his adoring fans and that was that. An impression I will hold with me for the rest of my life.

Well this blog is entirely too long.

I just want to quickly sum things up with this:

If you haven't heard of Ars Nova go on their site, purchase an extremely well priced ticket and see a show, or perhaps just make a donation- they are a non-profit organization dedicated to up and coming talent, and totally deserving of all of your money. Dammit.

If you haven't seen American Idiot on broadway, go see it because it will blow your mind.

AND A HUGE HUGE HUGE THANKS TO THE ARS NOVA STAFF FOR HAVING ME AND ALLOWING ME TO PHOTOGRAPH.

LINKS:

AIBROADWAY:  http://americanidiotonbroadway.com/

ARS NOVA: http://arsnovanyc.com/

ALL OF MY PICTURES FROM THAT NIGHT: http://trhfoto.carbonmade.com/

PICS OF ANNA & I FROM THE PARTY (/my personal blog!): http://wastestranded.blogspot.com/

Download the pictures from the night @http://gallery.me.com/taylerhengemihle !