My summer in the city

On the Upper West Side lives an apartment overlooking Central Park.

It’s a castle as far as New York City living spaces go. Three bedrooms, tall windows in the large living room, washing machine, kitchen and dining room turned art studio. From this studio comes the artwork that lives on every wall and hangs from every corner of the apartment.

Candles, plants, and musical instruments are scattered throughout this fourth floor masterpiece.

Here you can meet Roslyn Hart. She’s better known around New York as Dr. Alex Schiller, the author and personality of the highly praised book “Never Sleep Alone” and the mastermind behind the interactive theatrical wonder that goes by the same name.

A hilarious and downright real approach to dating and sex, the book is full of advice on how to better yourself and fall in love with who you are so fiercely that everyone else will do the same. With some “scientifically” proven tips and tricks thrown into the mix from Dr. Alex, you’ll be swimming in potential lovers left and right.

At Joe’s Pub, her show puts the principals of the book to work with a live audience and lucky participants. She serenades you and fascinates you from the very first moment, all under the tagline of the franchise, “In order to find The One, you must become The One.”

For the second half of my summer I lived and worked as a production intern and social media strategist for the amazing world and atmosphere created by Dr. Alex. On top of her work with “Never Sleep Alone” she runs GDGH Productions – a company that puts on wild and inventive social events and gathering all across the city that never sleeps.

There’s “Masquerade on the Town” – a masked, traveling party through the Lower East Side featuring secret locations, live music and artistic wonders at every turn. Or “Confidential” the interactive game set in a classic bar lounge built to make you talk and meet new people all night long in an effort to “find the spy” and win $100 and a bottle of champagne.

Behind the scenes, I helped with the build-up to each. Planning and plotting alongside Dr. Alex in the fourth floor castle on the Upper West Side, there were social media posts and Mailchimp campaigns aplenty. We created invites built to intrigue and threw out all the stops to push these fantastical events to the public.

My days were spent drinking coffee, running the hot summer New York streets to buy flowers, typing behind my computer, sorting through photos, planning social media posts, meeting actors and musicians, linking various accounts and organizing any and everything.

For each magical event, I dressed to impress. To blend in I needed to stand out. Dresses and makeup and masks helped enhance the intrigue of each evening. Working behind the scenes and helping to make sure things flowed smoothly, I could be found mingling, working the guest list, making sure candles were where they were supposed to be, ensuring photographers had all they needed, and running ahead in heels to the next location to finishing setting up.

I was able to hang with old friends who live in the city and meet so many new ones. In the short time I was there, I lived a whole new, fabulous, hardworking, subway-taking life.

I ate dinner with a peacock named Dexter. Watched a movie by the light of sky scrapers on the lawn of Bryant Park. Enjoyed tacos in the twists and turns of Chelsea Market. Got stuck in an elevator and waited with six other people for firefighters to pry us out. Took a stupid number of sunset skyline photos from any rooftop I could make my way to. Watched a friend perform sketch comedy at the People’s Improve Theatre. Assisted in a promotional photo shoot and modeled for a few shots. Ate wild food from around the globe and drank cocktails too expensive for their own good.

It was a summer for the books…well…Dr. Alex Schiller’s book.

 

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