As much as I hate moving, I will be doing it again soon. As of August 1, I will be a resident of Baldwinsville, NY - a quaint village between Syracuse and the corn-strewn countryside what raised me.
I am not necessarily retiring from acting (I'd actually love to reform the godawful local commercial scene, so anyone with any connections: talk to me), I am just moving on. I'm unattached, I lost my beloved apartment of 15 years, and despite much effort, my career is going backwards. And then of course the city is changing. I won't bore you with my take on the whole New York Then v. Now debate, but I do know I fell in love with the city when it was different. We were both different. So, I humbly step aside to make room.
I look forward to owning a couch and a bed, to walking barefoot on the grass more often, and to cheering at my niece and nephew's sporting events. And sure, maybe I'll hate it and rush back all like, "OMG you guys, if I had to eat at Chili's one more time I was gonna burn it down," but for now I'd like to try this. So wish me luck.
Know that I will miss you (and I'm not that far away).
Susan Atwood
Some highlights from my 17 years acting in NYC (not in perfect order).
Good to know:
▪ I moved to Boston four months after college graduation. Upon arriving, one of my roommates greeted me at the door with: "Princess Diana died!!!" And so I will have officially lived away from home for just one month shy of 19 years. ▪ Impress Your Friends or Maybe Win Bar Trivia: I grew up on the Onondaga side of the Onondaga/Cayuga County line. Named after one of the Iriquois Nations, Onoda'gega, Syracuse is its county seat. Syracuse was also known as The Salt City, due to its salt industry supported by the briny marshes around Onondaga Lake (which is actually highly polluted, but finally being cleaned up [if there is a way clean up mercury... I don't know]). Anyway, for more info, I recommend the book Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky. And I always, always recommend salt potatoes.
