Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, 24 February
Did good work today. Got very helpful notes and some specific coaching. Really pumped to do my final presentation. No script, ready body, all out. Yeehaw!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Weekend, 21/22 February
Trying to piece together the shards of last night. Failing. Started at Eric's playing Settlers of Catan, expanded board... six players now instead of four... plus Barefoot Pinot Grigio. Monochrome party for which I was accidentally dressed... Eric told me I'm always in monochrome. This makes my slightly brown-green soul slightly greyer. But it's all within reasonable shade range. Drank Keystone Light from a keg, danced like a lunatic, and got into a long discussion about gender with Eric and Megan. Megan informs me she's rather embarrassed as of this morning because she got worked up... Eric and I were just sort of stringing her along, which is perhaps a cruel practice for relatively sober people in the presence of the relatively drunk. Boogied around one or one thirty for home. Wintertime people showed up, not many, but BART(!!!) was a prominent feature of this there "social gathering." Allison made sure to rub it in my face that he showed up because I was a big ol' nay-sayer. I was glad to be wrong about it. We drank and drank and drank (not Bart), and Bart and I had a few cigarettes. At about that point... well... nope, it's gone. Chris says he left around 5. I have absolutely no memory of such events. I think I remember Bart going. That's about it.
Working back to Friday... Friday... what happened Friday? Ah yes! Hilary's birthday party! Quite a good time. Intoxicated Hilary is A+ on all counts... fun, funny, and fally. I hear tell she faceplanted her couch, which is much better than, say, faceplanting a tile floor or a concrete sidewalk. Bag-o' and tequila were the order of the night--that vile taskmaster Tim brought the Jose Cuervo, and the debauchery set in full-swing. Luckily, I have a true distaste for tequila, so I refused to wrap my lips around even a drop. I stuck to the cheap blush (alcoholic fruit juice, as it is perhaps better known). Also had a few beers. A few cigarettes. A few pouts. --Billie Jean informs me that I am not a very happy person when I drink. She is, of course, rather correct. Except sometimes. Like last night. But let that be an aside.-- I was just in a particularly bad mood all of Friday, woke up sad and went to sleep mad, and drinking certainly wasn't going to help it at all. Which it didn't. So there you have it. Don't drink on a bad mood. (I think this is already common wisdom.)
I am ashamed to say that I haven't gotten any work done, BUT!... today and tomorrow I am going to do some serious work. Hi-ho Silver, away!!!
Working back to Friday... Friday... what happened Friday? Ah yes! Hilary's birthday party! Quite a good time. Intoxicated Hilary is A+ on all counts... fun, funny, and fally. I hear tell she faceplanted her couch, which is much better than, say, faceplanting a tile floor or a concrete sidewalk. Bag-o' and tequila were the order of the night--that vile taskmaster Tim brought the Jose Cuervo, and the debauchery set in full-swing. Luckily, I have a true distaste for tequila, so I refused to wrap my lips around even a drop. I stuck to the cheap blush (alcoholic fruit juice, as it is perhaps better known). Also had a few beers. A few cigarettes. A few pouts. --Billie Jean informs me that I am not a very happy person when I drink. She is, of course, rather correct. Except sometimes. Like last night. But let that be an aside.-- I was just in a particularly bad mood all of Friday, woke up sad and went to sleep mad, and drinking certainly wasn't going to help it at all. Which it didn't. So there you have it. Don't drink on a bad mood. (I think this is already common wisdom.)
I am ashamed to say that I haven't gotten any work done, BUT!... today and tomorrow I am going to do some serious work. Hi-ho Silver, away!!!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, 19 February
Good class. Loud and expressive. Quite enjoyed doing my piece in Baker (love Baker), and the notes were incredibly helpful. Excited to work toward a more varied, finished piece. And then Shakespeare! Yowza!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, 17 February
Bad class today. My body wanted to fall apart into several pieces, goaded by the aches and pains of variously wise (rock-climbing) and poor (drinking) decisions yesterday. Tally 1 in the "responsibility" and "irresponsibility" columns, respectively. My voice also didn't want to keep step or strength, which was a problem considering the work we did. (Though I suppose I made some progress, realized how many O's this guy has, which makes sense.) I was incredibly appreciative of the warm-up, I'll say that... I wish it could have lasted longer. I admit to being secretly happy (not-so-secretly, now) that I was left until Thursday. I suppose that means I should be even better, given the extra two days as well as the chance to recuperate. Curses, curses! We shall see...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Weekend, 14/15 February
Wintertime cast party Friday night. Numerous confusions over inane sign. Talked to Kashi. Ducked out early for homebrew party further down East Morton. Classy and genial, delicious beer.
Sat at Bistro for a while on Saturday. Played a game of Catan later at Eric's. Went to Eric's biological father's wedding reception. Bunch of cool ex-hippies, lots of singing, a trained Brazilian opera singer, yummy food, free booze. Didn't get very drunk, either Friday or Saturday. I consider this a step in the right direction.
This morning, quick breakfast at Bistro. Saw Wintertime. Quite fun, spectacle play is something we don't get much of here, enjoyed myself. Light afternoon. Returned home for shower, then went to Blackbox to do some monologue work. Started with breathing exercises, which ended up lasting an hour... think I laid on the floor for about a half hour, but I lost all track of time... when I came to my senses, I was able to feel my breath scraping my throat and my chest and release all that sneaky tension... and suddenly air was just tearing down into my abdomen with utter freedom. It felt rather incredible, and the best part was that it was effortless. That's the idea, I suppose. Conscious effort just gets in the way, impedes the path of the breathing... this was rather incredible. So I got up and decided to read through the monologue and found a deeper, stranger voice than I've ever known or suspected could come out of me... I focused on the feeling instead of the sound, trying not to fear this big booming presence inside me, and I realized that I didn't feel much of anything... it felt so natural and easy, and it wasn't getting caught up anywhere. So I went read through the monologue, took a momentary drink break, and then decided to give it my all. It was powerful, it made my body shake, and when I finished I was completely fucking exhausted. But that voice... I wish Kashi could have heard it. I will have to do an extra, individual warm-up before Tuesday to see if I can get back to it. I suspect it requires deep and total relaxation of the breathing apparatus to allow clear passage. Otherwise things get unwittingly caught up in my chest and throat. Ah well, progress is progress... and I call that quite good progress. I was too tired to continue, but I consider such fatigue to be a worthwhile investment.
Sat at Bistro for a while on Saturday. Played a game of Catan later at Eric's. Went to Eric's biological father's wedding reception. Bunch of cool ex-hippies, lots of singing, a trained Brazilian opera singer, yummy food, free booze. Didn't get very drunk, either Friday or Saturday. I consider this a step in the right direction.
This morning, quick breakfast at Bistro. Saw Wintertime. Quite fun, spectacle play is something we don't get much of here, enjoyed myself. Light afternoon. Returned home for shower, then went to Blackbox to do some monologue work. Started with breathing exercises, which ended up lasting an hour... think I laid on the floor for about a half hour, but I lost all track of time... when I came to my senses, I was able to feel my breath scraping my throat and my chest and release all that sneaky tension... and suddenly air was just tearing down into my abdomen with utter freedom. It felt rather incredible, and the best part was that it was effortless. That's the idea, I suppose. Conscious effort just gets in the way, impedes the path of the breathing... this was rather incredible. So I got up and decided to read through the monologue and found a deeper, stranger voice than I've ever known or suspected could come out of me... I focused on the feeling instead of the sound, trying not to fear this big booming presence inside me, and I realized that I didn't feel much of anything... it felt so natural and easy, and it wasn't getting caught up anywhere. So I went read through the monologue, took a momentary drink break, and then decided to give it my all. It was powerful, it made my body shake, and when I finished I was completely fucking exhausted. But that voice... I wish Kashi could have heard it. I will have to do an extra, individual warm-up before Tuesday to see if I can get back to it. I suspect it requires deep and total relaxation of the breathing apparatus to allow clear passage. Otherwise things get unwittingly caught up in my chest and throat. Ah well, progress is progress... and I call that quite good progress. I was too tired to continue, but I consider such fatigue to be a worthwhile investment.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, 12 February
Forgot to post. Posting now.
Quite impressed by everybody's work. I judge art (especially theater) by its chill factor... how many chills do I get?... I got lots yesterday.
Fun doing a messenger speech. I have this vague sense that the messengers in Greek theater are a bit under-appreciated. I love this middle-aged dude! He's what I would technically term "way sweet." The speech itself is brilliant, it's fun painting a picture and reliving the glory and joy and terror and sadness of the event. Sophocles and the translator have done a wonderful job of presenting a very simple and clear image, one that can touch the heart. Often flowery language from the mouth impedes emotion because it is so outrageous, bombastic... in expressing something immense, we often resort to the simplest words we know, the words of our childhoods... childhood is where the great vistas of dreams live, and when we have to get at something that makes us feel small, we revert to our small selves. Pure description, with a vivid tangibility and an open-eyed accuracy, devoid of prejudgments or the blind spots they present. Momentary reflections of honest emotion. Near speechlessness. It's all quite lovely.
Quite impressed by everybody's work. I judge art (especially theater) by its chill factor... how many chills do I get?... I got lots yesterday.
Fun doing a messenger speech. I have this vague sense that the messengers in Greek theater are a bit under-appreciated. I love this middle-aged dude! He's what I would technically term "way sweet." The speech itself is brilliant, it's fun painting a picture and reliving the glory and joy and terror and sadness of the event. Sophocles and the translator have done a wonderful job of presenting a very simple and clear image, one that can touch the heart. Often flowery language from the mouth impedes emotion because it is so outrageous, bombastic... in expressing something immense, we often resort to the simplest words we know, the words of our childhoods... childhood is where the great vistas of dreams live, and when we have to get at something that makes us feel small, we revert to our small selves. Pure description, with a vivid tangibility and an open-eyed accuracy, devoid of prejudgments or the blind spots they present. Momentary reflections of honest emotion. Near speechlessness. It's all quite lovely.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Tuesday, 10 February
Good class today. Warmup helped get me in the right place. My breathing was centered and strong, calm. My upper body felt buoyant and easy to hold, my legs were not burdened. Skeleton working as it should be. Didn't quite articulate facial relaxation, but that learned me for later. Found a better way to convey ideas later in the day, so now I can keep them in my catalog or my arsenal or what-have-you. Posture is improving. Hooray hooray.
Things got a bit bizarre when left to our own devices. Some infighting, or more appropriately inbickering. Ah well. I suppose that's the way seven minds might work together, even when they trust each other. Nothing to worry one's soul over. The stage came together in the end, and then we had an impromptu gathering-of-the-energies. When Kashi returned, I think we were quite ready.
The rest of the class was fun. This translation is nice, poetic but still touchable, tangible, meaningful. Makes the Sophocles a lot better than JD Robb or whatever his stupid name is. Budd maybe? Can you trust someone named Budd to handle delicate material? My bias says no. Movement and speaking both enjoyable, freeing, enlightening. I like being a booming presence trapped in a mortal body. Looking forward to more work. Haven't checked email yet, so still don't know my partner(s). Will leave that for another day.
Things got a bit bizarre when left to our own devices. Some infighting, or more appropriately inbickering. Ah well. I suppose that's the way seven minds might work together, even when they trust each other. Nothing to worry one's soul over. The stage came together in the end, and then we had an impromptu gathering-of-the-energies. When Kashi returned, I think we were quite ready.
The rest of the class was fun. This translation is nice, poetic but still touchable, tangible, meaningful. Makes the Sophocles a lot better than JD Robb or whatever his stupid name is. Budd maybe? Can you trust someone named Budd to handle delicate material? My bias says no. Movement and speaking both enjoyable, freeing, enlightening. I like being a booming presence trapped in a mortal body. Looking forward to more work. Haven't checked email yet, so still don't know my partner(s). Will leave that for another day.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Weekend, 7/8 February
Hanging out at the computing center. Have been made a mess of two nights running at Tim's. Playreading went well on Thursday. Then bar. Also made a mess of there. Friend bought Settlers of Catan yesterday and we proceeded to play three games in a row. Wonderful wonderful fun. I won the second.
Other than that, relatively uneventful. Kept Jean company for a while today at the Bistro. Studying lines a bit. Will commit some hours to that later tonight, hope to finish at least the first act for the two-person scenes, perhaps finish what we've so far rehearsed. Need to go to scenography tomorrow and do some thesis work, then spend some time at the DMS processing raw footage. Boooring. Well, sacrifices for art.
Getting a bit behind on senior study with Kashi. Must play catch-up sometime soon. Tuesday night, perhaps. Also considering a master cleanse to help me with my substance problems... kicking coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol concurrently would be rather a relief. Alcohol is a bad bad drug and I kind of wish it was illegal so it would be harder to get. Ah well. Will-power first, self-improvement after. Something New Agey like that...
This is an infinite improvement on the original.
Other than that, relatively uneventful. Kept Jean company for a while today at the Bistro. Studying lines a bit. Will commit some hours to that later tonight, hope to finish at least the first act for the two-person scenes, perhaps finish what we've so far rehearsed. Need to go to scenography tomorrow and do some thesis work, then spend some time at the DMS processing raw footage. Boooring. Well, sacrifices for art.
Getting a bit behind on senior study with Kashi. Must play catch-up sometime soon. Tuesday night, perhaps. Also considering a master cleanse to help me with my substance problems... kicking coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol concurrently would be rather a relief. Alcohol is a bad bad drug and I kind of wish it was illegal so it would be harder to get. Ah well. Will-power first, self-improvement after. Something New Agey like that...
This is an infinite improvement on the original.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thursday, 2/5
A bit out of it today. Came in somewhat unparticipatory... was glad we did table work, because that's not so hard to get into. I wanted to talk and talk and talk about Dionysus because I know lots about him and totally dig him... I'm especially fascinated by the influence his cult had on the Jesus figure. The roots of Christianity represent a deep and largely secret passion for me. If I could wish myself into anything without all of the training involved, I would be a scholar of ancient (mostly gnostic) Christianity, especially as it relates to Greek and ancient near-Eastern myth. I'd ruin my eyes at it, no doubt... and have no reward except in my heart and my mind... and I'd probably be totally fulfilled. I'd write overwrought poetry and long poetic essays about contemporary spirituality and myth as it relates to the development of Christianity and the millenarian mass-psyche... God, it'd be so fantastic. But for pipe dreams, where would I be?
Mostly just enjoyed walking around trying to get all Greeky. The goddess/god roleplaying wasn't bad, but didn't last long enough. Can't wait for next week and starting the text. Want to make my voice soar. I'm so fascinated by the idea of chanting and floating the voice over the tree-tops like a mythic mask, not so much a person. I really grabbed onto the short note in the packet about... "simplified and magnified." This, to me, is almost the essence of theater (and perhaps art in general). I'm getting pretty sick of psychological realism, I've gotta put it out there. I believe characters are masks which are worn by actors... no matter how "realistic" the characters, they are still artistic constructs (Hamlet, perhaps, the exception...). Ultimately, only the actor is onstage... the character is a filter through which the actor's energy reaches the audience. If the actor embodies the mask, then the mask itself will project across the space and into the audience. But again, no character has come to life. A mask has been worn and treated as an object of power, fear, veneration, and holiness. Theater is and as ritual. The Greeks understood this. Their characters were mythological in size and prowess. They were not humans but legends, huge and booming, representing and enacting the great epic arcs and sweeps of masses and generations, cities and worlds. In Oedipus is all the humankind that struggles for nobility, struggles to fulfill purpose and duty, struggles for answers beyond, struggles on in the face of blinding adversity... I'm excited to take on that kind of burden and understand through it what theater can really be... huge, strident, earth-shattering...
Mostly just enjoyed walking around trying to get all Greeky. The goddess/god roleplaying wasn't bad, but didn't last long enough. Can't wait for next week and starting the text. Want to make my voice soar. I'm so fascinated by the idea of chanting and floating the voice over the tree-tops like a mythic mask, not so much a person. I really grabbed onto the short note in the packet about... "simplified and magnified." This, to me, is almost the essence of theater (and perhaps art in general). I'm getting pretty sick of psychological realism, I've gotta put it out there. I believe characters are masks which are worn by actors... no matter how "realistic" the characters, they are still artistic constructs (Hamlet, perhaps, the exception...). Ultimately, only the actor is onstage... the character is a filter through which the actor's energy reaches the audience. If the actor embodies the mask, then the mask itself will project across the space and into the audience. But again, no character has come to life. A mask has been worn and treated as an object of power, fear, veneration, and holiness. Theater is and as ritual. The Greeks understood this. Their characters were mythological in size and prowess. They were not humans but legends, huge and booming, representing and enacting the great epic arcs and sweeps of masses and generations, cities and worlds. In Oedipus is all the humankind that struggles for nobility, struggles to fulfill purpose and duty, struggles for answers beyond, struggles on in the face of blinding adversity... I'm excited to take on that kind of burden and understand through it what theater can really be... huge, strident, earth-shattering...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tuesday, 2/3
No class today. KPerr made sure to remind me in her (very kind) voicemail that I am "not like normal people" because I don't keep my phone on when I sleep. Went to the Bistro and skimmed the Vladimir/Estragon portions of Godot to brush up for R&G class today. Napped on the table. Jean took a mildly embarrassing but entirely candid photo of my face smooshed against my arm. C'est la vie.
Anticipating Electra on Thursday. Will we get scenes? Who can say? (Kashi can.) Guess we'll find out. Kinda wish it was Euripides instead of Sophocles, Euripides is less enamoured of Electra and Orestes and their act--not so clear cut, with more possibility of heart-wrenching psychological scenes--but I am not the teacher, so I don't presume to preempt the curriculum.
New idea for thesis filming. Going to go document it on other blog. Click, click, and away!
P.S. Here is a fantastic video. The other 13 episodes are pretty great too. Gogo Patrick Stewart!
Anticipating Electra on Thursday. Will we get scenes? Who can say? (Kashi can.) Guess we'll find out. Kinda wish it was Euripides instead of Sophocles, Euripides is less enamoured of Electra and Orestes and their act--not so clear cut, with more possibility of heart-wrenching psychological scenes--but I am not the teacher, so I don't presume to preempt the curriculum.
New idea for thesis filming. Going to go document it on other blog. Click, click, and away!
P.S. Here is a fantastic video. The other 13 episodes are pretty great too. Gogo Patrick Stewart!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Saturday + Sunday, 1/31 + 2/1
Well, the title is a lie. I'll start with Friday night. Went to Joe's with Tim, got drunk on bad beer and jello shots and hot cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps. Relatively uneventful.
Woke up late Saturday and went to the Bistro. Ate and chatted with Jeanie, read Electra (by Euripides... it turns out I am *very* bad at reading the syllabus, and also that I didn't have it when I was at the library printing). Ended up at Amy's with she and Geoff drinking beer and eating pizza and wings. Went to a party around 11, got drunk on punch and beer. Went home around 3.
Woke up late today and wasted time for a few hours before Katie picked me up for our Starter's Superbowl. Watched an episode of NCIS in the meantime and finished Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll." Not bad, not bad--thought it dragged a bit toward the end. Realistic political theater is not his strong suit. Superbowl at Starter's was fun. Drank a few pitchers between the lot of us, Chris and I ordered the Very Manly American Dream 4-BBQ platter... an overwhelming amount of saucy smoked meat... all Very Manly, if I didn't mention that before. Arizona came excitingly close to winning--since I wasn't rooting for anyone, that was a nice turn in the game. It was pretty boring before that. No post-game partying, I guess because we're a bunch of old people--kinda sad really, here it is, 10.51 on a Sunday and I'm sitting around writing this instead of getting trashy at a bar! ...But I'm supposed to go to a 9 o'clock class tomorrow, so perhaps for the best. I'm sorta sleepy.
Anyhoos, I suppose I'll read the right version of Electra tomorrow. Also, I start rehearsal tomorrow. I'm very excited. And excited to start Electra. All sorts of acty stuff going on. Wooh!
Woke up late Saturday and went to the Bistro. Ate and chatted with Jeanie, read Electra (by Euripides... it turns out I am *very* bad at reading the syllabus, and also that I didn't have it when I was at the library printing). Ended up at Amy's with she and Geoff drinking beer and eating pizza and wings. Went to a party around 11, got drunk on punch and beer. Went home around 3.
Woke up late today and wasted time for a few hours before Katie picked me up for our Starter's Superbowl. Watched an episode of NCIS in the meantime and finished Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll." Not bad, not bad--thought it dragged a bit toward the end. Realistic political theater is not his strong suit. Superbowl at Starter's was fun. Drank a few pitchers between the lot of us, Chris and I ordered the Very Manly American Dream 4-BBQ platter... an overwhelming amount of saucy smoked meat... all Very Manly, if I didn't mention that before. Arizona came excitingly close to winning--since I wasn't rooting for anyone, that was a nice turn in the game. It was pretty boring before that. No post-game partying, I guess because we're a bunch of old people--kinda sad really, here it is, 10.51 on a Sunday and I'm sitting around writing this instead of getting trashy at a bar! ...But I'm supposed to go to a 9 o'clock class tomorrow, so perhaps for the best. I'm sorta sleepy.
Anyhoos, I suppose I'll read the right version of Electra tomorrow. Also, I start rehearsal tomorrow. I'm very excited. And excited to start Electra. All sorts of acty stuff going on. Wooh!
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