Return of the Lonelies

Yeah, I didn't think lonelies was a word and Blogger just confirmed it by placing a nice red line under the word. It basically says WRONG in big letters. But I don't care. Here's a raspberry to you Blogger! Many of my friends have skipped town so I am back to quiet of last summer. Spending most days by myself in the comfort (or not so comfort) of my warm apartment. After the craziness of spring quarter, I thought I would welcome the solitude. However, it just makes me feel more alone.

With graduation upon us there has been much celebration outside my little cottage. Loud music and sounds of drunken co-eds. I see that idea form in your head... No, I am not about to make friends.

With a nice breeze coming through my window I have spent much of the day reading about the origins of hip hop. I am not sure how I can incorporate into the class quite yet, but I think I will do a similar assignment to what I do in DRA 10. Five minute history presentations in pairs. I will probably do them the second week of class to allow the dropping and adding to cease. Get a little movement in there and then add some academics.

Today was supposed to be all about hip hop, but I did throw some Dada in there. I found some great books at the campus library and look forward to cracking them open. I also checked out 39 Microlectures by Matthew Goulish based on a recommendation by Peter. I think I need a rested brain to tackle that one. It's a little "out there" right now. Read what Amazon has to say if you're curious.

I think I need to get out of the house and take a walk. That ought to give me temporary relief.

but i like being lazy

my thursdays and fridays are pretty light so i need to be better about sharing the wealth - making sure i stay productive on my easier days to keep the really heavy days from being completely hellish. yesterday i did plan to catch up on my reading and finish one of the dance numbers for Measure for Measure. However, I woke early to finish some reading for Barbara and got an email from Christine inviting me to a Shakespeare for teachers workshop at the mondavi center. so, i decided to go. it was a small group of local elementary teachers and some UCD students. an actress/practitioner from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre lead the workshop and we learned some great warm up games and exercises to get students interested in shakespeare. i think i will use some of the exercises in my DRA 10 class on monday.

After the workshop, i stopped by the department to make a copy of the Nest script and was wrangled into a short presentation on how to use the A/V equipment in one of the classrooms. I bowed out early and headed home. while i had so much to do, i couldn't think of anything better (and more needed) than a nap! on my bike ride home, i craved my super soft couch by the open window. a little slumber with a kitty on my belly as the breeze blew. however, when i arrived home, animal control was there and my next door neighbor, gian was freaking out. apparently the girls in one of the front apartments called animal control. i believe he was slightly intoxicated so his freaking out bordered on beligerent. he asked me if i would vouch for him. gosh, i was a little torn. his dog is flea ridden and he continuously loses one of his cats. he loves his animals, he's just not a good owner. anyway, the officer eventually made her way back to talk to him and the conversation took place right in front of my apartment. you know the one with the open window? with the little breeze? so i wound up getting back into bed and slept for about 3 hours. before getting up and heading to the wyatt to see the student production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.

this morning, i just want to stay in bed. we have our first Nest rehearsal today and it's from (catch this!) noon to 10PM. we have an hour break in there, but for the love of pearl. it's going to be intense. better yet, i found out from my friend kristin, who's stage managing that the playwright will be with us for the first week. let's just RAISE the stakes a bit.

now when the heck am i going to get to Measure for Measure rehearsals?!!?

I'm a Liar

So I know I said that I would be writing every day and I just realized that I let yesterday slip. I could say that I had 2 posts on Sunday, so does that make up? Or I could just say I'm not a liar, I am an illusionist!

I start another round of teaching DRA 10 on Monday and I am a little tired of teaching A Streetcar Named Desire and The Shape of Things. Or more truthfully, I was not very successful teaching Streetcar. Maybe I'll pull it out again if I teach DRA 21 -- the intermediate acting class for majors. Hmmm, Well see. Anyway, I brought 2 Humana Festival anthologies with me on my voyage to LA and read a great play called Orange Lemon Egg Canary. I just finished it this morning. Rachel, Michele and I went to Humana that year and shared 2 professional passes. We had to take turns and each sit out for one play. That was mine. It wasn't until the second year that we realized that we could buy discounted tickets for other shows. So, I worked on Michele's lap top in the upper lounge of Actor's Theatre of Louisville while Michele and Rachel saw the show.

It's a play about a magician named Great and this new woman he meets. All of a sudden his old assistant comes into the picture and things get interesting. It's all about lies, deceit, illusion and MAGIC. There are magic tricks and stunts scattered throughout the play which I totally love. While I totally dig this play, it's a bit sexual, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for beginners to handle without laughing.

Since we don't move on to scripted plays until half-way through the course, I am not rushing this. I'll keep reading and figure it out later.

I am having a nice leisurely time in LA thus far. Tony and I pulled into town Monday night and I've been hanging with Erin and Steve. I had lunch yesterday with Jessie and Nathan Mobley and then dinner with Christine Suarez and her beau Mark. She is a choreographer in the MFA program at UCLA. And she told me last night that she's pregnant. It's super cool.

Today is kinda up in the air and tomorrow I'm supposed to see my old camp buddy, Jason Robert Brown. We leave for Mexico tomorrow night.

Yippeee!

Out and About

Yesterday was the last day of my section of DRA 10 -- the acting class for non-major undergrads that I teach. After last quarter and all of the sarcastic sassy-pants in my class, I was fortunate to get a really good group. In fact many of them are now good friends and they hang out regularly. How cool is that?

I used A Streetcar Named Desire and The Shape of Things for their final scenes. I ask them if they have a preference and then I cast them with the best role and partner for them. I accidentally put two slackers together and needless to say, their scene was the weakest of the bunch.

For some odd reason my class is mostly guys so it made scene selection very difficult. The first flirty scene in The Shape of Things -- in the museum -- we did with 2 men. One of them was uncomfortable with the homosexuality so as they cut down their own scene they took most of that out. I do have to say it was probably the strongest scene of the day.

I saw The Shape of Things a few years ago at Emory. A group of alums and students produced it themselves. They did it outside at various locations around campus. The audience had a guide that let us from location to location. And the actors for the most part had to run around us or run ahead to get to the next location before we did. It was wild. I mentioned this to my class LAST quarter and it was one of the only times they got excited. So I decided that we would do the Streetcar scenes in our classroom with props and costumes and the Shape scenes outside. We did the same this quarter.

The first scene in the museum was done outside Mrak Hall. They used the egghead "Eye on Mrak" as the sculpture Evelyn (or in this case Alex) defaces. From there we went into the Arboretum and then did two scenes between some classroom buildings.

It was interesting to see the people around us who sometimes stopped to watch and who sometimes did not even look up from their studies.  Melanie came by to watch the scenes and we spoke after the presentation.  Since we studied these plays for 2 quarters now I am thinking it's time to change things up.  I am currently reading Boy Gets Girl, but I am not digging it.  I have a lot of reading on my plate, but I think I will take the next week or so to keep reading plays.  Ah, I have not done THAT in a while.

And now for the grading...

Holiday spirited

Today I spent most of the day in my pajamas on the couch grading papers from DRA 10 and getting those grades into the system. I took a break to do this elf thing and also to do the dishes from Tuesday night's Latke Fest and run to the laundromat and library before I head out of town.

I am proud to say that I am officially done. Fingers crossed that none of my students contest their grades and that I do come in with solid As.

If you want a good laugh watch the dancing elves and then create one for yourself!

Dear Students of DRA 10,

Thank you so much for your kind words and appreciation.  I know that many of you hated all things "sun salutation" but grew to love my aerobic warm-ups and crazy vocal exercises.  I also know that many of you are more confident and comfortable speaking in public now. Others of you have a better understanding of what an actor does. I bow my head humbly at the commendation of my "guidance, critiques, and a very positive attitude."

I truly didn't know that I make such a difference. Honestly and simply. Now, since I'm in the process of calculating your grades, I certainly hope these final journal assignments are truthful and not just a final game of "Suck Up." So while I've got your attention and the love is flowing, let me remind you of a few things.

Life is hard, classes are hard. There is a reason assignments have a due date and you must be present and on-time to class. Are you late for work? Probably not. Is money or the risk of being fired more important than learning or grades -- or respect for the ensemble comprised of your classmates?

You must READ THE DIRECTIONS! If you are in a chemistry class, one wrong ingredient into the test tube may cause not only you but also your lab partner to LOSE AN EYE! A critique on Noises Off is NOT enough. You needed to observe ONE character fully, do your take-home quiz on the play from which YOUR final scene is taken and actually look in the Lab Book to see how to properly start scene analysis.

Lastly, you must fully understand your power of communicating -- through words or your actions or your lack of action. Read your papers out loud, write your argument and SUPPORT it and lastly, do a freakin' spell check before turning in all papers. Don't waste or squander that power communication -- ever.

Peace out.