An Interview with our Favorite Canadian, Niki Cardoni

BB Ensemble Member Rachel Ritacco interviews Ensemble Member Nicole Cardoni about moving to NY, ensemble work, postcards, and snacks.
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Rachel: Recording… Nicole Cardoni! AKA, Niki.
Niki: Mhmm. Single K.
R: Single K. So, uh, tell us a little bit about yourself.
N: Oh, gawd!
R: Where are you from?
N: I’m originally from Toronto, Ontario Canada. Otherwise known as America’s more beautiful cousin… Uhh, that’s all I’ve got for you.
R: That’s totally cool. And where did you train in theatre prior to joining BrickaBrack?
N: I’ve got this one! So, originally I was in Toronto and had no theatre training. I was doing some work there and felt like I was a non-legit actor, so I looked up online where Diane Keaton had trained, and it brought me to the Neighborhood Playhouse, School of Meisner, and then I submitted – it was very last minute, since school was starting in two and a half weeks. I gave them a call, I got accepted, and hopped on the Greyhound bus with two suitcases and move to New York Citaaayy.
R: Woooahh! That’s crayzaaay. 
N: Yeah.

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Niki (center, in stripes) at BrickaBrack Auditions

R: I like that story, cool. And what were your first impressions of New York?
N: Well, I had come and visited here, but it was always with girlfriends that really wanted to party, so I’m embarrassed to say that all I really knew was, like, the meatpacking district. (They both chuckle.) So yeah… Let’s edit that part out.
R (and fellow Ensemble Member, DeLance, who is also sitting on the stoop outside the theatre with them): Heheh.
N: So when I moved here, I stayed on a friend’s couch in Williamsburg for two weeks and then found another place in Williamsburg, and I’ve been a Brooklynite ever since.
R (who is also a Brooklynite): Oh yeeeaahh.
DeLance (who is also a Brooklynite): Yeah, Brooklyn!

Viewpoints in Prospect Park with Niki, DeLance, Jamil, & Clinton

R: That’s right, we’ve got a Brooklyn crew right here! So, what first got you interested in working with BrickaBrack?
N: I really liked how I had never been part of an ensemble company before. Quite honestly, in the audition, when GG had asked “What is your experience with a ensemble work?” I didn’t even know what that meant. So I kind of just assumed that it would be – actually, exactly what this is! A group of artists getting together on a weekly basis to exchange creative ideas and impulses, and see what happens, and what develops from there, and just a safe place to work out new pieces. And when that, in fact, was what BrickaBrack was about, and has been for the last year for me, I feel like I’ve found the right home. And here’s Amy, ladies and gentleman!
R: Amy! Give it up, hey hey! She’s got nice pants.
(There is a pause while they greet Amy, BB Associate AD.)

DeLance, Rachel, Amy, Niki, & GG - E. German Dance Team Faces

R: Continuing on! What is the most memorable postcard you've ever sent to someone, or received?
N: Hmm, I think my favorite postcard that I’ve ever sent was… I did a lot of traveling right after college – well, Canadians would call it University – so I sent a BUNCH of them. So, my brother always wanted to do this big backpacking trip, and he had kind of planted that seed in my head. And then he got busy with life, and wasn’t able to do his backpacking trip.
R: Ah, LIFE.
N: So I just made sure I sent him a postcard from each country that I went to. And he kept them all, and I think there were about fifteen postcards in total. But the one that I knew he would like the most – and I’m not a very good gift giver – but it was a postcard that had a piece of the Berlin Wall on it. Yeah, I think that one meant the most to him. Which then, in turn, meant the most to me.

Niki with Garrett Gray in ON THE FLIP SIDE, January 2016 Workshop

R: That’s really sweet. And if you could send a postcard to anyone right now, to whom would you send it?
N: Hmm, that’s a good question.
R: Thanks, I wrote it myself.
N: Hahah, I don’t know! It’s so hard, because I want to send a postcard to somebody that I haven’t connected to in a long time, so that they would get it in the mail and be very surprised and excited to receive it. But I actually think, after doing this project (On the Flip Side), I want to start sending postcards on a regular basis to my grandparents. I just think people are excited when they get their mail – they get to see an image of something. And my grandparents get excited when I call them, so I wonder what they would feel if they were getting postcards on a regular basis.

Niki (center) in ON THE FLIP SIDE, January 2016 Workshop

R: Yeah, that’s true. It really gives you a little boost in your day when you get something in the mail. Hmm, should I ask a silly question?
N: Go for it.
R: Ok… Nicole Cardoni: what is your favorite snack…
N: Oh, gawd! Ok, when I’m really sad, I will eat a Snickers.
R: Ooh, mood snacks.
N: Mhmm. And when I need something… So I’m thinking, like, snacks that I would just get waiting for the subway that’s not coming.
I would get Lays Potato Chips, with a regular amount of salt.
R: Ok. No ridges?
N: No, no ridges. And then, I would get… pizza. Pizza’s always muh comfort food.
R: Comfort snacks. Very well said. Very New York of you.
N: Thanks.
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Come see Niki & Rachel in On the Flip Side at HERE, Sept 14-17!

Niki in BrickaBrack's The Hope Frieze, Pt. 1 Workshop - May 2016