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Friday, May 27, 2005
Why Shubert Alley?? (May 27, 2005)
Shubert Alley?
What is Shubert Alley and why is "Shubert Alley Shephard" part of my blog address?
I grew up in a claustrophobic, dull little town, and not for one moment did I feel "at home" there. There were no kindred spirits with whom I connected. But I eventually got out of there, and found people in the world with whom I share understanding, passion and camaraderie.
Shubert Alley is a real (and yet symbolic) place in the Theatre District in New York City.
In Broadway's halcyon decades, it was a wide alley-way bordering The Shubert Theatre where performers would come out between acts to escape the hot lights and lack of a/c, to talk and get some air, and maybe have an ice cream on a balmy New York Summer's day or eve.
Now, it's a meeting place for Theatre Geeks, a place where charities hold their theatre-related fund-raisers and a current snapshot of Broadway-at-a-glance. The side of the Shubert Theatre is lined with a poster for every musical on Broadway! For me, and many theatre-geeks alike, almost every trip to NYC has a moment in Shubert Alley.
An LA theatre-buddy coined the nick-name "Shubert Alley Shephard" because of my zealous pursuit of "what's new and what's coming" in musical theatre. It made me laugh outloud because it seemed to carry endearment and "You Geek!" at the same time.
I'm not a fan of name-shortening or nicknames really (people DO NOT call me "Shep" -- it sounds like a faithful dog... and I'm clearly a cat person). But after my friend said it, I took it to heart because it gave me an odd feeling of belonging... that I'm definitely not used to. And the more I thought about it, the more this alley came to represent a place where I have belonging and comfort and roots.
Now I certainly don't want or expect friends to call me that. What a mouthful, and I don't know any more about Broadway and Musicals than the usual devout theatre-geek. And truthfully, as you'll see, this blog is rarely ever about theatre. But it is a symbolic alley where I belong.
"I am what I am, and what I am needs no excuses."
And
~Shephard :)
Whatever it is you love doing, you should just keep doing it. Because eventually, someone's going to pay you for it... or they'll pay you to stop. Either way, you're going to get money out of it." -- Ellen DeGeneres
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