When Kristen Renee Lucas first came to the New York City area three years ago she was staying on the couch of “a friend of a friend” that she had never met before in Brooklyn as she sought out her own digs on Craigslist.
“I was so unfamiliar with the boroughs,” said Lucas last week, laughing at the memory. “I didn’t know [where Weehawken was] so when the guy said there’s a bus to the city, I thought it must be some weird borough I didn’t know about.”
Though it may have been discovered by an unintentional case of kismet, Lucas said she couldn’t be happier with her new home.
“I love it,” said Lucas. “It’s so nice because it’s quiet and so safe; it feels more like a community. It’s that community you don’t often get when you’re in the city.”
Originally from Oklahoma, Lucas came east for an internship with Spike TV after graduating with an advertising major and theater minor from Northeastern State University.
An entertainer since age 3, Lucas has been performing on stages and in film since her arrival in the city, but she’s also been doing some work behind the scenes.
“Hopefully everything that I do can be giving back in some way.” – Kristen Renee Lucas
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‘Community’ theater
Lucas said it’s the warm feeling of community in New Jersey that’s leading her to stay on this side of the river with her play before heading back to the city to hopefully see it performed off-Broadway.
“Stuff kind of gets lost there,” she said, “whereas in New Jersey, you’re able to be feed and grow the show more.”
Lucas said the play is about being in love with the “idea” of someone, which a lot of people can relate to from firsthand experience.
“I think everyone’s been through it,” she said. “It’s kind of coming to terms with reality.”
Lucas said she’s hoping to partner with a non-profit to donate a portion of the proceeds from the shows performed in New Jersey to an organization related to the issues dealt with in the play, such as pregnancy.
She would also like to make contact with schools to give tickets to students from low-income families and others that normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see live theatre.
“Hopefully everything that I do can be giving back in some way,” said Lucas.
SNL dreams
In addition to her work on stage and in film, Lucas is also a big lover of improv and sketch comedy.
She’s been sketch writing for approximately a year and a half and is a member of the sketch comedy group Wild Caught Salmon.
Inspired by a mix of sketches she did years ago with her youth group and watching endless episodes of Saturday Night Live, Lucas is hoping to make her way from her sketch comedy group and performances at the Upright Citizens Brigade to Studio 8H.
“It’s a big [dream],” said Lucas. “But I definitely would love to be doing that.”
She’s also hoping to complete work on her own one-woman show soon.
Regardless of where she winds up, Lucas said that writing has given her the opportunity to open up her own destiny.
“You can act and it’s fulfilling,” she said. “But you are at the whim of casting directors and you are up against hundreds, literally. Whenever you’re able to write, then you have more control over your career.”
For now, Lucas spends her days at lots of “glamorous jobs” such as waitressing and temping.
And though it might not be what she wants to do for the rest of her life, Lucas said having jobs like that right now are not such a bad thing as she works towards her dreams.
“Whenever you are comfortable and you get into a cushion, you can settle,” she said. “Luckily I haven’t had a job that’s comfortable.”
For more information and upcoming show dates and locations, visit http://kristenreneelucas.weebly.com/ or http://aheartgivenisneverlost.weebly.com/.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.