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Peter Brusikiewicz Blog May 6th

Peter Brusikiewicz Blog May 6th

Peter moves to Brooklyn and talks about his experiences in NYC

It has been quite sometime since I’ve written as it has been hectic. School has been intense as we have been finishing off the first semester. The past week was our first and only break, during which I was moving to my new apartment. I no longer live in the crappy furnished apartment that I once lived in, in Manhattan. I now live in Brooklyn. Through out all of April, I have been looking for a new apartment, because I have told my old landlord that April will be my final month. I would meet with real estate agents, but the majority of them did not want to deal with someone without an income, or they would not even show up to our meeting. So I finally went out looking for an apartment on my own, and I found a great apartment in a three-floor building where only five apartments are to be accommodated. It is cheaper then my old location, closer to the subway, closer to school, in a great peaceful neighbourhood…kind of…. two blocks south, and I am in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, and two blocks north, and I am in a great neighbourhood full of artists, hippies and sorts that even like to go tree planting for fun (seriously, they invited my roommate and me to go tree planting over the weekend).

So I am in the middle of nothing, but in the middle of everything. The apartment is fully renovated with brand new hard wood flooring, kitchen, and bathroom. And best of all I do not have to pay a broker fee because I found it on my own. I needed furniture however, because the old apartment was furnished, so this whole week, my roommate and me, went on journeys to pick up furniture from friends of family, and to go to Ikea, and to go night shopping (the process of going garbage picking in affluent neighbourhoods, in hopes to find some usable furniture). By the way, they have only one Ikea here, and it is in New Jersey. There is a free shuttle bus on weekends that takes you from New York to the Ikea in New Jersey. All New Yorkers are wild about Ikea. They have nothing but good words to say about it. That it is low prices and fabulous furniture. While in Toronto we have about ten of them and all we do is complain about how cheap their furniture is.

It was a much-needed break from school. Acting has been getting quite intense. I feel like I am losing myself. I came to New York, mainly, to find myself through the process of acting. But instead I have been breaking myself down to bits and pieces. Dissecting all of my emotions. And now, I hope that in the second semester, I will be able to put all of these pieces together. I have been also thinking about film in general. I

have been an editor and aspiring director before deciding to move down here for acting. I have learned then, that editing is a great tool to teach you about directing. But then so is acting. Acting is also a great tool to teach you about writing, but then so is editing. Each element of film teaches you about another aspect of film. And now I see why and how. All these creative elements, such as directing, acting, editing, writing, cinematography, serve one very important purpose…to bring the story to life. The story to be told is the most essential and important aspect of filmmaking. An actor must put his/her ego down to serve the story. It goes for the writer, editor, and director as well. But you learn so much about writing through acting. As an actor, you learn about what objectives you have, what obstacles you must overcome, and what risks are involved, if you know these clearly, then you may apply them to your writing and it will be a helpful tool. It is also important for directing to know your acting and to know the role of each character within the film and what it is that they need to do to push the story forward. I have worked on a few films, in which, some of the scenes I would not understand to the fullest, I would go to the director and ask the simple question of “what is my objective when saying this?”

For now I don’t want to think about acting, I already feel so much better in my new apartment. I feel that I will be able to put much more work into my acting here at my new home, then my old one. This one, for some reason, feels much more inspirational. I have signed a one-year contract with the landlord, meaning that I will be here for at least a year, if not longer. Truthfully I do not even know where life will take me a year from now. Like my teacher has told me “I am on quite the journey”. She got it dead on. I could not have worded my purpose here in New York any better, I am here on a journey and I imagine that I have come a long way but I have much more ahead of me.

I have also been learning that my roommate, our new apartment, and me are all part of a city project. We live on the border of Williamsburg and Bushwick. We went for Chinese food just a few blocks from our new apartment. While waiting for our Chinese food, a Puerto Rican came into the restaurant drinking a forty. Since we were the only two white people in the neighbourhood, he began to ask us questions as to how much we are paying for rent, etc. According to him, they are renovating a lot of the buildings here and hiking up the price, which pushes the low-income families away, and brings in the more financially stable individuals, which according to him are primarily white.

It is very difficult to find yourself here in New York. It is difficult to figure out your values and priorities because you have so many different people from so many different walks of life that influence you in such different ways. I am learning that New York is indeed, a very lonely place. But I love it, nonetheless.

Until Next time.
PeterB

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