Long Distance: Chelsea Marcantel-Polaski
By Benjamin Leger
Published Jul 31, 2012 || Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Writer and consultant Chelsea Marcantel-Polaski enjoys outdoors in Baton Rouge when she returns to visit.
Here: LSU student
There: Playwright and new media consultant, Abingdon, Va.
When did you leave Baton Rouge and why?
I left B.R. in 2006 when I finished graduate school at LSU. I moved to Chicago because I wanted to pursue a career in professional theatre, and Chicago was—and still is—my favorite theatre city in America.
What do you miss most about the city?
Some of my best friends still live in B.R., and my family is close. I miss being able to see them whenever I want. I also miss the food, the casual excitement of the culture and walking around the LSU lakes on a sunny morning.
What don’t you miss about it?
Every time I’m in Baton Rouge now, [the traffic] seems like it gets worse. And I don’t miss the summertime heat. I get heat rage very easily.
When was the last time you visited the Red Stick?
I came into town for Easter, and I had a play in a theatre festival in Lafayette at the end of June [that] I came back for. I missed Christmas last year, so I absolutely will be back in December for that.
What is essential for you to do when you come back to visit?
I almost always eat at The Chimes or Parrain’s or Izzo’s when I’m back, immediately. And I get some Community Coffee—some to drink, and a bag to bring home. I feel like I end up spending a lot of time eating and being outside in Baton Rouge, which is a pretty perfect vacation as far as I’m concerned.
Compare the cities’ cultural and theatre scenes.
There was a lot going on in the LSU Theatre Department and also a lot of non-professional work going on outside LSU at the time. I was a founding member of a theatre company that was very successful. I got a lot of experience self-producing that came in handy in Chicago—a much different, more expensive city to make plays in. Of course the audience base and the competition are both much larger. The professionalism is greater, because a lot more money is invested. But I find that the optimistic self-starter mentality of Baton Rouge is a version of the same theatre culture that exists in the Chicago storefront scene. In Virginia, where I am now, the theatre is entirely professional and full-time; there isn’t a storefront scene at all, and I really miss that.
What does your current city have that Baton Rouge lacks?
Mountains. Mild summers. But I’d kill for Baton Rouge’s food and shopping.
