(EDITOR'S NOTE: Cooper High School fine arts chairman Tim Haynes will make his New York theatrical debut as an actor and a playwright this weekend. He was accepted into a prestigious Horton Foote workshop at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. While in the Big Apple, he will be blogging about his experiences.)

Well, my adventure began with an hour delay out at the Abilene Airport so I sat and watched the sun come up----great view from there. It gave me some time to think about what was going on and I kept seeing the expression in my dog Hooch's eyes when I told him he couldn't go with me. He was so disappointed because he had a ball, a stick, and a partially stuffed animal all wrapped up in that stinky ole goat skin. I just left him standing in the middle of my road with dust clouding around his big toothy grin. See you later Hooch!!!

The delay caused me to miss my connection in Houston which cramped my schedule, but sometime things happen for a reason. I guess we can call it a serendiptious moment----I am sometime amazed at how many doors and windows are available to us if we just take the opportunity to experience them---and that is what I was able to do. My seat companions from Houston to New York were SFASU art professors. They began teaching there just about the time I left---SFA is my undergraduate alma mater. We had a great time visiting about the school, common friends, etc. It was a great flight and now I have some great friends. They are 3-D artists---mainly ceramics and they have just opened a show at the Tyler Museum. Tyler has a great museum and one that I enjoyed visiting when when I lived in East Texas. It's well worth the time.

Thursday was mainly a day for travel---the daylight hours anyway. I checked into my hotel, quickly unpacked and headed out for the subway and Manhatten. Rehearsal for TYCHO DE BRAHA began at 7 PM and we finally finished about 1 AM. I finally made it back to my hotel at 2---exhausted, but feeling like I was a working actor here.

I stood on the platform for the train last night and enjoyed the cooler weather. What a change. It really feels like fall here---not just the last days of summer like home.

This morning, I had to get up early and head into the city to secure a rehearsal space for my play DOMINO. I found a great studio for that and one that I can afford for 4 hours. Things are so different here. Just getting from one place to another requires more concentration on my part---not only because I'm not accustomed to the ins and outs of NYC, but it is necessary to carry everything you are going to need for the day---AND that is a big challenge for me. Rehearsal clothes, performance clothes, subway map, my Metro card, my money, my cell phone, and anything else you can think of. I felt like I was traveling to California with that GRAPES OF WRATH family---looked like it, too.

We had a final rehearsal to TYCHO at 1 PM up on the East Side---90th. The playwrites 23rd floor apartment---what a view of Central Park and Manhatten and what a price tag. He seemed delighted with the cost---I was flabbergasted.

I found a Starbucks after the rehearsal and tried to get a note off to you, but a woman sitting next to me was apparently listening in on a phone conversation---anyway, she said she was a playwrite and wanted to know more about what I did, etc. She was delightful----and said she wanted to bring a friend of hers to see my show--DOMINO. I was excited about that until she said her friend was a theatre critic---now that scares me to death. Whether she comes or not---it is still one of those open windows. I got her email address so we can stay in touch. More friends.

Toryn arrived this evening----great to see him. He got here just in time to see TYCHO. He will be playing Little Joe in DOMINO.

Well, I made my acting debut in NYC tonight---at least off broadway. The performance went great and it was a lot of fun. Very nice size crowd and very appreciative. I loved it.

Right now, I am sitting in Starbucks writing this and listening to Toryn and Anna (one of my past students and schoolmate with my kiddos.) They are talking nonstop and laughing a lot. I can't get a word in edgewise---just like the old days when they were in high school.

We are headed to some place called Rudy's---they say they have free hot dogs----surely there's a catch to that. I guess I will find out. The only thing in NYC that I have found that is free are those thousands of pamplets that people hand out on the street and they can keep those. I don't want them.

Tomorrow---another performance of TYCHO and then rehearsals for DOMINO tomorrow night. Very exciting.
More later.