Happy New Year.
January 1, 2025
Does anyone else feel like 2024 was the end of an era or phase in their lives? It’s hard to pin down exactly what is ending or beginning, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve shed a few things that no longer served me, making way for something new, for growth. As 2024 has been coming to a close, I have been leaning into mindfulness, of rising to meet what is coming with grace and faith. One of my New Year’s intentions is to be more available to my community, friends and family, to reach out more. For those of you I’ve missed in the last year, here are the highlights of what I’ve been up to - professionally and personally.
Delivering the pre-show speech for a student audience during Apocalyptic Artists’ 2024 tour of Romeo and Juliet.
2024 began with a multitude of freelance and part time work - teaching artistry, teaching yoga, barista work, etc. At the same time, the company I co-founded in 2020, Apocalyptic Artists Ensemble, began rehearsals for its first live show! In collaboration with the Classical Theatre of Harlem, we mounted a school tour of Romeo and Juliet. The show performed for 8 schools in Spring of 2024 and was supported by over 80 in-school workshops taught by myself and fellow company members and resident teaching artists. The show was a huge success with students and adults, and we finished the tour with a sense of victory - a real live production after 4 years of making filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s work.
The four co-founders of Apocalyptic Artists Ensemble before a performance of our 2024 tour of Romeo and Juliet.
Over the summer, I was lucky enough to be invited to join a dear friend and Shakespeare mentor in Tuscany where she leases a villa with some friends every summer. This was my second year visiting her - it was a week of lounging under the Tuscan sun debating Shakespeare and wonderful outdoor meals overlooking the countryside. After visiting her, I set off to spend a week on my own. I spent a day exploring Rome’s ruins and museums, then took a train and rental car down to the Amalfi coast where I hiked the Path of the Gods, visited the Pompeii Archeological Site, Amalfi, Positano, and Capri. Lots of photos and videos of the trip on my Instagram page! I have since decided that I love traveling alone as much as I love sharing the experience with someone.
While hiking through the hills above Amalfi and Positano, I came to the resolution that it was time to press reset on my life as an artist in New York City. When I got home, I set a date to shoot new headshots with my talented friend and colleague Matthew Dunivan, redo my website, and take another shot at finding professional representation. I am so happy with my new shots (see them here) and I am glad to share that I am now represented by Todd Stein of Stein Entertainment!
A view from hiking the Amalfi coast in June 2024.
But what about my family, you ask? The newest member of household, our dog Norman, celebrated his 1 year adoptaversary in August! While he loves lounging at home, we have enjoyed taking him for nature adventures, whether it’s hiking upstate or finding a rental house with a snowy backyard for him over Christmas. His favorite things are new toys, treats, couch snuggles, and car rides with the windows down. He also has an affinity for soothing classical music, especially when he’s experiencing some separation anxiety when left alone at home. Nick and I are obsessed with him.
Nick has been busy this year as well. We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Mexico in February where I taught yoga in exchange for a week at the Dreams Sapphire Resort and Spa. In March of 2024, Nick began working as a bartender at Ilis, a fabulous fine dining restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. By the Fall, he had been promoted to head bartender! His travel this year centered around investing in his bartending work, visiting both Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and Portland Cocktail Week. The hardest part of our year came in September: due complications relating to a fall, Nick’s father, Jerry Shea, passed away at the age of 88. While saying goodbye was and continues to be difficult, we are thankful that Nick and his mother, Gail Raymaker, were able to be present in the hospital for Jerry’s final days. Jerry is one of the kindest people I have known, and he is greatly missed. Grief is strange and goes through its ups and downs - please keep us in your thoughts this year as we adjust to Jerry’s absence.
My loves enjoying the fall foliage at Rockefeller State Park.
I am excited for 2025. While I’ll admit that I am anxious about the political situation in the US and the world, I have things closer to home that I am very much looking forward to. I am excited to have joined a new vocal studio! It’s been years since I was able to fit formal singing lessons into my life, and it feels so so good to be back. Samantha Joy Pearlman is a vocal wizard and I can’t wait to absorb all she has to teach me.
I am continuing to teach and practice yoga around New York City. I’ve recently started a separate Instagram Account for my yoga work, which currently features more beautiful shots of me by Matthew Dunivan. My favorite studio for practice is the wonderful Yoga Agora in Astoria. I also am a follower of Katonah Yoga and have recently become a convert to Breathwork sessions led by my friend Cassie Ray Barbay of Practice Your Magic.
To support my personal practice as a teaching artist, I am excited to share that I will be pursuing a certification in The Alchemy Method with Alchemy Inc, an organization that uses the power of myth and storytelling to mentor young people, helping them to “develop a sense of personal purpose in life, while utilizing strategies to successfully thrive as members of a family, school, community and world-at-large.” I learned about the program from an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, “This Jungian Life.” You can listen to the episode “Can Mythology Really Save Our Kids?” with Alchemy Founder Kwame Scruggs here. If you have the time, I highly recommend checking out this documentary about Alchemy’s work.
Apocalyptic Artists is set up to grow quite a bit! We are currently awaiting our determination letter to become a fully registered tax exempt nonprofit. In Spring of 2025, we anticipate facilitating approximately 150 in school workshops and touring a co-production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Red Bull Theater - help us out by making a tax donation to the project here. In the fall, we will be premiering our filmed adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, our most ambitious production to date.
A still of me as Phebe in Apocalyptic’s upcoming filmed series adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Wow, writing it all down brings into focus how FULL life was in 2024. Here’s to an equally rich 2025; remember to breathe deep as often as possible, prioritize joy, and to avoid taking the small things for granted.
Wishing you a beautiful and joyful new year.
- Alice