Living in New York City has been quite a ride. But after enduring six years, most of them promising ones, it is a ride we can no longer navigate. The maze of economic hardship, so familiar to many young and not so young artists, has taken its toll. The irony is that we are leaving the Big Apple for the same reason we arrived here…to pursue a dream.

Daniel Sarnelli                      Laura Jean Kirk

My then fiancée Laura Kirk and I came to New York City in the summer of '98. I had had a share of success in Connecticut as an actor and acting instructor, with the bulk of my work coming from non-union and semi-union productions. Laura's experience was very similar to mine. Still, we knew there was more out there. It was time that we moved forward. What better way to start than by getting engaged and moving to New York?

Well, fate would have it that at first it seemed as though we, well I, had struck gold. The production of "Wit" that I had just finished at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre was on its way to New York with the original cast intact. Rehearsals were scheduled to start just two weeks after our lease for our Astoria apartment would commence!

I was offered my Equity card. Amazingly enough, the show became a story unto itself, attracting enough press for me to lure and sign with an agency. It also ran long enough for me, as an in-cast understudy, to step in and play the more demanding part of Dr. Jason Posner for a week. Moreover, I accumulated enough days off for us to take time aside and get married. Around this time Laura had yet to find much acting work. Still, she was savvy enough to score administrative work with "Wit" co-producers, the Manhattan Class Company.

After a succession of great reviews and awards, including the 1999 Pulitzer Prize, the "Wit" tour commenced. I was offered the part of Dr. Jason Posner and Laura, who had originally auditioned for the play back in CT., was offered the role of the student/technician. Judith Light, who replaced Kathleen Chalfant, took on the lead role of Vivian Bearing. For Laura and me the tour proved to be a second - albeit working honeymoon. Then, after six successful months, the show ended.

We returned home to New York and looked for work. Filing for unemployment for the first and only time in our lives felt strange. Still, it bought us some time to take classes and audition. We found regional work together in Minnesota. Laura did some voice-over work and a Food Network commercial. I later did regional work in CT, an under-five for ALL MY CHILDREN and a contract role for LAW AND ORDER. Of course, amidst all this came September 11th.

One week after the terrorist attacks I suffered a seizure. Whether or not it was related to the event, I'll never know. Luckily, I had health insurance, but even that was about to evaporate.

In order to maintain eligibility for Equity Health Insurance, actors had to have 12 weeks of work within a calendar year. Then, abruptly, the prerequisite working time was raised to 20 weeks. The prospect of finding that much work became more and more hopeless as film productions and tourists shied away from New York City.

I took on work as a bookseller for Barnes and Noble Bookstores. The pay was little but the flexibility allowed me to continue to seek meaningful work. Their health insurance benefits proved to be a big plus. Laura found work with BLUE MAN GROUP as an assistant box office manager. Her pay was a bit better but the position allowed her little flexibility. Once again, as was for me, health insurance benefits proved to be a huge factor. These jobs, which seemed so temporary at the time, felt very different four years later.

Our next production was our daughter Livia, who arrived on March 6th, 2003. With this wonderful and ongoing gift came a change in lifestyle we were ready to embrace with or without the blessing of New York City. Most regional work was now out of the question. My agent was in somewhat of a bind. With at least $400.00 a week having to go in our absence to a babysitter, only a salary of $1000.00 a week would suffice. Unless you're a star, that eliminates a good 90% of regional work. This financial constraint, coupled with our own unwillingness to leave a growing child in early development for very long, left us limited to working in New York City where jobs were growing evermore scarce.

I soon took on a second job doing set construction for retail trade shows. I was probably the least knowledgeable member of the crew, but I didn't let that stop me. The money was too good. The job, however, was always short-lived, a seasonal gig (twice a year) at best. Eventually, the economy also took its toll on the retail business, and each stint grew shorter and shorter. This job also required hiring a babysitter, which ate through my potential for profit. Rent, transportation, and living expenses in general were all on the rise. Our bills were barely getting paid. Laura and I had little time to spend with each other trying to juggle two fulltime work schedules. Our only day with the three of us together was Friday. And then we were often compromised by last minute engagements like doctor's appointments, meetings, auditions, etc. As always, the joy of watching Livia grow sustained us, but we were quickly losing steam.

Laura and I discussed moving back to Connecticut. The more we talked, the more attractive it all sounded. First of all, with both our families there, babysitting wouldn't be such a problem. Secondly, I still had my agent in New York so all would not be lost on the acting end. And finally, I had been thinking about finishing my degree and possibly teaching again. Since the market for theatre instruction in New York was flooded, it made more sense for me to target Connecticut. Affluent schools in CT. still have budgets large enough to allow for "guest artists." All of these reasons, coupled with better public school options for Livia, seemed to make for a better future for us all.

And so here we are, back here in Connecticut. We have found an affordable apartment, and now we're researching a new necessity . . . cars. I've already landed some teaching workshops, Laura has scheduled job interviews, and my college credits from over ten years ago are still usable. We're back on our way toward realizing our dreams.