Unofficial Offices: Gizzi's

First of all, we have no idea how to pronounce the name of this coffee shop. The mystery lies in that first elusive letter. Is it a G like in the word "guesture"? Is it a G like in the word "Guinness"? The Frat boy in me really hopes it's the first kind of G. And that's how the Flamingos pronounce it.

Gizzi's is the greatest coffee shop for a theatre company meeting ever. Trust us, we've tried most of them.
http://www.gizzisnyc.com/


Here's a list of why we love working/meeting/and spending time at good old Gizzi's.

* 's denote the bonuses that for whatever reason do NOT apply to Ross Evans.
-Free Wi-fi
-* Friendly service. They will even bring your food/coffee to you.
-They have a flat screen TV that played muted silent films and cartoons.
-Their "large" cup of coffee comes in a soup bowl with a handle. I don't joke about these things.
- They play a fantastic Fiona Apple-heavy mix.
-They have amazing chocolate croissants. * They heat them up for you for extra great-ness.
-Super location in the W. village. En route back to the subway station you have to pass the pet store on 6th avenue with the puppies in the window.

Unofficial Offices: The Marriott Marquis

We're starting this blog series off with a bang by sharing one of our FAVORITE PFTCo offices. The Marriott Marquis lobby is where it as AT, people. We've been meeting there since one of our favorite acting teachers in college told us about it in 2007.(Thanks Jen!) We're sharing our office space secret with you because we love you. In case you are considering an office relocation: here's the breakdown of the Marriott lobby. Just use discretion in who you tell: No one likes a crowded office.

PROS:
-Awesome glass elevator that whisks you up to the 8th floor.
-No pressure to buy anything to sit in the space.
-Comfy chairs.
-Tons of space with desks and outlets for your (or Ross's) dying laptop.
-Starbuck's downstairs that gives an Actors Equity discount.
-Clean, spacious bathrooms. Perfect for using as a pre-audition dressing room
-Location is a pretty good compromise for the Sunnyside, Williamsburg, Village, Crown Heights crowd. (us.)

Cons:
-Sometimes big companies will rent out the Marriott lobby for a conference or convention, leaving poor Flamingos frantic for a new location. And the McDonald's in Times Square is a serious downgrade.
-The Marquis people are big fans of playing saxophone covers of really bad pop songs from the 80's. Erin Austin is not.

Overall Evaluation:
The Marriott Marquis has the distinct ability to make you feel posh (ooh water fountains and people in business suits!) and homeless (let's face it, we're loitering squatters) all at the same time. However, any sort of identity crisis it provokes is assuaged by how much work we've gotten done in that lobby. We love you Marriott Marquis. We dread the day your elevators require room key activation.

Unofficial Offices

It's during FringeNYC 2010. I'm at a West Village bar with a good friend of mine. He's in the middle of directing and producing his play over at the Kraine Theatre. We're in the middle of downing some kind of Brooklyn beer on tap, when he throws his hands in the air. "All I want in life is an office."
I didn't know it until that moment, but then, oh then I did. "Me too." I reply with the slurred hop induced emphasis on the "Me" and "too".

Fact of the matter is here at PFTCo and with most indie NYC theatre companies, we are office-less. At least in the traditional sense. In the non traditional sense, we have some of the most interesting offices... well ever.

This post is a preview for the newest addition to the Plastic Flamingo Blog. Look forward to articles featuring the many offices we work from. From awesome apartments to park benches to coffee shops to lobbies- we've found some thrifty and very productive unconventional work spaces.

We're still hoping one Christmas Santa will give us a P Flam office on the 7th floor of some important building with big windows and cubicles and rolly chairs. Until then, look forward to a viral celebration and investigation of where we operate in the feature "Unofficial Offices" .

*I realize Unofficial Offices has got to be one of the most bland titles for a blog ever created. If you have a better title for this new section of the site please email suggestions to plasticflamingotheatre@gmail.com.
Subject Line: I am wittier than Erin Austin by a lot.

Stay tuned.