As the weather heats up, I find it very easy to sit on the couch and do nothing -- in between naps, of course. This time will be short lived since I start with Winters Shakespeare Workshop (WSW) next Sunday and then start teaching Hip Hop the following week.
The only thing on my calendar yesterday was to get a massage. Nice, huh? It was a good one and really worked out all of the stress in my back. During the massage I had images of Atlanta and also thought about writing an update email to my contacts. When I got home I called Jennifer Denning and had a great conversation that ended with talk of a possible trip in mid-September to her baby shower and ideas of what I would write in my email letter.
For the most part I didn't think anyone would care, but I got a few very nice responses and both Souper Jenny and Synchronicity Advisory Board member, Sharon Robinson said they would like to come out and watch my thesis performance. I didn't quite cry, but I was very moved.
For Sara Pia's Acting for Film class we had to show a scene of acting importance from a film or TV show. I brought in the Christmas Dinner scene from The Color Purple. It truly showed the ranges of Whoopie Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. I decided to watch the entire movie on my laptop while I sat on the couch. I cried within the first 5 minutes. The DVD had errors and didn't let me watch past the 32 minute mark, so I walked to Blockbuster to switch it out. I grabbed Into the Wild since Chris mentioned it a ton when I took that Core Fitness class in Fall quarter. When I walked home I had a hankering for frozen yogurt and ran into Kristin Orlando and her mom eating -- you guessed it -- frozen yogurt. I mentioned the movie and they said "oh how sad." I really didn't know anything about the movie.
For those of you who do not know it's about an Emory grad who goes cross country on an adventure. I'm not going to give it away, but I did continue my crying from The Color Purple. I also got nostalgic for Atlanta and mirroring the protagonist, a little lonely.
Yes, this lead to more crying and insomnia. It's good that I'm doing my thesis on comedy for the past few days my inability to sleep has brought me to more comedy videos on youtube.
Here's the email I wrote to a select distribution list. I failed to mention the appointment of DRA 141. That's special for you blog readers.
Hey all-
It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since I picked up and packed up and moved across the country to get my MFA in Dramatic Art here at the University of California, Davis. Quite a few of you have wanted updates, so forgive the mass email. I'm halfway done with the program and cannot wait to see what year 2 has in store.
Highlights from Year 1 include:
-- advising undergrads in the Theatre and Dance department on the THIRDeYE play festival
-- working with Pulitzer prize nominated playwright/composer/director/performer, Rinde Eckert on his new devised work, Fate & Spinoza
-- teaching three quarters of a beginning acting class to undergraduate non-majors
-- working with London-based director, Irina Brown on a updated version of Nest by Bathsheba Doran. The play will be published by Samuel French later this year.
-- doing an independent study with Barbara Sellers-Young on Fundamentals of Movement for actors and dancers
-- tons and tons of collaborative projects with my fellow MFAs
This summer I will remain in Davis and will teach both Hip Hop and Jazz dance for the University. I am also heading to the next town over, Winters, to work with a bunch of teens on Shakespeare. The Winters Shakespeare Workshop is doing The Tempest and somehow adding Hawaiian dance. I am curious to see how that will intersect. My official title is Production Manager, but I will be leading daily workshops for the teens and apparently will take on quite a few other job titles along the way for this community driven event.
I will also use the summer to prepare for my second and final year. My thesis is a solo exploration on Physical Comedy and the Role of Women in Comedy. I have been watching a lot of French & Saunders and Victoria Wood and will soon switch to American Comediennes. I am also finally doing my Dada project which just received funding by the Theatre & Dance Department as a Three Penny Project. I am super excited about this since it's completely interdisciplinary and I am collaborating with at least 6 other departments on campus (art, music, french, german, history, and design). Most of my Fall quarter will be focused on these 2 projects so I can work with choreographer John Jaspers on a new text/movement piece in the Winter quarter. Both my thesis and the Dada project will perform next spring.
I am still up in the air about what I want to do when I graduate this time next year. I may hang in the Bay Area and perform for a while, but I will certainly keep my eyes open for both university faculty positions and non-profit arts jobs. With such a demanding and exciting year ahead, I prefer to enjoy the present rather than freak out about the future.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Have a fun and cool summer. And please stay in touch.
Take care-
Hope
No comments:
Post a Comment