the networking mystery---solved!!

For some reason, I've always imagined networking to be something that only happened in posh mansions in southern california. The only people who were ever known to "network" were very rich people who spent their evenings standing by a swimming pool with some kind of alcoholic beverage in hand, discussing how difficult it is to be rich and busy and important. Obviously I wasn't too clear on the whole "networking" concept, unless you count having a facebook page and posting inside jokes on the walls of my friends, which I don't. But this weekend- I think I might have ACTUALLY experienced it. And there wasn't a swimming pool or alcoholic beverage in sight!

I recently accepted a position with a small production company called Tiny Dynamite, whose claim to fame is the relatively new "a Play, a Pie, and a Pint." Basically, for $15, you get a beer, a slice of pizza, and a 40 minute one act play on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening in Society Hill. It's a pretty sweet deal. I will be their production intern, which means that I will help the stage manager find props, assist during tech rehearsals, and schmooze with audience members before the shows start. I won't be paid, but I WILL get free pizza, beer, and plays, and have the opportunity to meet some really great people. And I figure- the more things I can get on my resume that aren't paid, the closer I can get to actually BEING paid. It's all winning.

So this weekend, I hopped a train to Narbeth, Pennsylvania for our first production meeting. I was half expecting Narbeth to be some kind of scary suburb, as so many of them are, but this place was actually really nice. There was a quaint little main street, with specialty shops and a french bakery where I stopped for a cup of earl grey. And then I made my way to the nicest house on earth, full of the nicest stuff on earth, and some of the nicest people I've met in a while. And all of them were so wonderful and wanting to help me and were just-- GREAT. I had a wonderful time. And that's that- networking is no longer a mystery, and in fact, it was kind of fun! I'm looking forward to working with these people. And on the train back, I had this overwhelming feeling that everything is getting better all the time. Cue the Beatles. WOOHOO weekend!

:)