ICEBEEEEEEERG! and other whimsies

It feels so good to be back at school. So, so good. As tired and rushed (and a teensy bit hungover) as I was coming into class yesterday, school made it all better. Our first class was with Ilan, which was hands-down the best possible way to start the year. There was a lot of lying down, and quieting down, and then four-person spooning cuddle sessions. So amazing. I love my school.
And then Thomas, which was great fun. We're investigating creating big spaces and epic, action-packed stories while utilising only a very small physical space. For example: for the next two weeks, our creation project is to take a pre-existing movie that occupies a grand scale, and recreate it with six or seven people on a SIX FOOT BY TWO FOOT PLATFORM. All six/seven performers must be on the platform at all times. So how do you occupy a literally cramped space but make it seem as though your someplace enormous, palatial, immensely spacious?

Yesterday we played with different ways of opening different spaces, and how to change between them. What can you do with the transposition of sound? What does the rhythm of each character or space imply? What happens when you have different rhythms on the platform at the same time? There was a lot of experimentation and trying and failing and a lot of laughter. It was such a warm, calm, adventurous space, that room.

I'm also really looking forward to creation this week, simply because my group has decided to do the film Titanic. Yes, the one with Leo and Kate and the terrible, terrible dialogue and the big ship and the bigger iceberg. On a 2x6 platform. Man, are we gonna have fun. (Editorial note: some of you may recall that I don't particularly like the film Titanic. But I'm loving that the ridiculousness of the movie is going to become, in many ways, even more ridiculous by virtue of the fact that we're squeezing it all into a few minutes on a tiny little platform. Awesome.)

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to this year. Monday was pretty overwhelming, what with all the new first years and the new information and the overwhelming-ness of it all, and after our meet-n-greet and info session that day I pretty much fled the scene to wander around quiet corners of central London with Simon for a couple of hours, but now that class has started, it feels like it's exactly what I should be doing. I'm also really pumped about the way they've altered the overall schedule for this year. Last year Commedia was in the second term, they didn't do Great Speeches, and they only had three weeks of clown. This year we do commedia starting next week, we get to do Great Speeches, and best of all, we get a full term of clown. A FULL TERM OF CLOWN. I was so thrilled and overwhelmed when they made that announcement. I seriously think my eyes were the size of small planets. Be still my heart. I'll try to not to get ahead of myself, though - we still have two terms before that!

So now it seems, my dear friends and readers, that we're entering into yet another blogging phase where all you'll hear about is school. The good news is that I get the sense that the work this year is far less esoteric, far more theatrical, which hopefully will mean it's more easily translated into normal-person-speak (as opposed to theatre-talk). Regardless, I'll try and be better about blogging this year than last, though we'll see what happens. The best laid plans...

A few more normal-life anecdotes, though, before I'm forever and gloriously lost in the black hole of the black box:

Last Saturday I ended up working for the nightclub after the comedy club until 2am and made bank. As a result, I'm trying to treat myself to a weekend-long course in Peacework/Working in Conflict. I've sent in my application, and hopefully I'll hear from them on Friday, Monday at the latest.

Also on Saturday, the nice man at the bike shop who keeps giving me discounts serviced my bike for free and has promised to replace my bottom bracket, also for free, on Saturday. I'm still not going out for a drink with him, though.

My debit card mysteriously stopped working yesterday, despite a healthy bank account balance. Apparently the bank decided to issue me a new and improved one weeks ago and didn't tell me about it. Now I have to make my way to Portobello Road on my OLD side of town to pick it up. Grumble, grumble.

When I woke up this morning, my lungs hurt. Out of nowhere, I seem to have developed a nasty cough. I'm tossing back orange juice and water in an attempt to counteract the plague.

Simon is well on his way to being an honourary LISPAn. He's met nearly all my classmates now, and some of them even ask after him these days. I'm spreading the gospel of the fantabulousness of Simon, and it is good.

Purple is the new purple.

That is all.