Former Fayette folk find new life in Big Apple

By JOHN THOMPSON
Staff Writer

Amid the strains of car horns bleating, theater stars singing and traffic cops yelling, a Fayetteville home girl is surviving quite nicely in the concrete canyons of Manhattan.

Former Fayette County High School drama teacher Sherry Bishop has settled into the rhythm of the New York life-style and could not imagine living anywhere else.

Just two years ago, Bishop decided to leave her home of Fayetteville for the urban grind of New York living. Why would somebody leave the serenity of Fayetteville for the fast-paced pitch of the streets of New York?

“I came up here in high school and just loved it. I always said I was going to live here,” she said.

Before she made her trek north, Bishop taught at Fayette County High School from 1988 to 1997 and regularly visited New York at least once a year. Finally, during the summer of 1997, she made the bold move and has been settling into her new urban experience.

Sitting in a small coffee shop in her neighborhood at West 48th Street and Ninth Avenue, Bishop explains that surviving the mean streets requires more than one job.

“Last Friday, I worked five different jobs,” she said.

Bishop works at Julliard doing productions and regularly does temporary jobs, along with helping a friend starting a catering business. Additionally, she is also writing plays and will be directing an Equity theater project later this winter.

But like many people who make their way to Broadway, Bishop's first love is the theater.

“I had done some writing and staging in Atlanta, but decided I wanted to live somewhere where there were opportunities to do this every day,” she said.

Working for a temp agency allows Bishop some freedom for writing and she's amazed at the difference in attitudes at agencies in Atlanta and New York.

“Up here, everybody temps and asks you what you really do. In Atlanta, it's more of a way to land a permanent job,” she said.

Bishop recently won first place accolades at the Deep South Conference in LaFayette, La. for one of her recent plays and hopes to see some of her works produced in New York.

In writing her plays, Bishop draws upon her Southern roots and actually incorporates local names into her writing.

“One play has characters named Woody Shellnutt and Dink Masters,” she said with a grin.

Down the road, Bishop would like to dabble at acting, but right now she enjoys the creative energies of writing and directing.

“This city just offers so many creative opportunities,” she said.

Although she's surrounded by concrete, Bishop said the city is basically a series of neighborhoods and her Midtown neighborhood definitely has a small town feel.

“I went to the video store the other day and they gave me the wrong movies. The next day, the woman apologized and made sure I got the right movies,” she said.

Bishop is one of several Fayette residents who have left behind the trees and quiet for the urban grit of the city.

One of her good friends is Steve Friday, who has his own band, and just recently left on a nine-month cross-country tour with “Buddy,” which tells the story of Buddy Holly.

“He really helped me get adjusted to the city,” she said.

At least once a week, Bishop has “a New York moment,” which explains why she continues to live in the city.

“I jog through Central Park a lot and I just look at the backdrop the buildings provide against the trees and water and realize this could only happen in this city,” she said.

While loving her new life, Bishop does miss a few things about the South.

“I miss my students and having them call me `Miss Bishop.' I also really miss Chick-fil-A and Tab,” she said.

But in the end she's leading the life she always wanted and wouldn't trade it in for a case of Tab or a bucket of waffle fries.