Two weeks from tomorrow I'll be home for Christmas in Minneapolis.
(And a month from today, I'll be back at home in London.)
Monday, 3 December 2007
Friday, 30 November 2007
Righting the balance
And sometimes it just takes an evening in with friends, watching ridiculous 80s movies and eating homemade pizza, to make everything seem alright again.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
More than whelmed
Yesterday was one of those days where at one point I just had to let myself cry for awhile. I'm feeling overwhelmed by a lot of things these days. Learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is hard. Trying to determine my place in the school and in my life right now is hard. Feeling a little isolated is hard. Not getting enough alone-time is hard. Not having the time to really connect with my friends is hard. Working too much is hard. Having a crazy-long commute is hard. Not knowing what I want is hard...
*sigh*
The list goes on.
I am ok. I'm hanging in there. Sometimes things aren't easy, and that's ok. Let's just say that I'm really looking forward to coming home for Christmas.
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Quasiland
I left on Friday night, got back at 5:30 on Sunday, was in bed by 7pm, and slept. For fourteen hours straight.
It was an incredibly exhausting, stressful, challenging weekend. And I'm so tremendously glad I went.
It was an incredibly exhausting, stressful, challenging weekend. And I'm so tremendously glad I went.
Friday, 23 November 2007
The storyteller's right
Over the past couple of days, our class has been trying to determine which stories we want to tell for our final project of the term. The format is epic theatre, and the recommendation is to take a human story against a historical backdrop - a time of political upheaval, of war, of off-balance. We started out with about a dozen stories, and it looks as though we've narrowed it down to three themes for as many groups: the slave trade, a George Orwell story about the British occupation of Burma called Shooting an Elephant, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I chose to be in the last group, and I'm fucking terrified. We haven't chosen a story yet, but just that story, the theme of that conflict is so scary to me. I don't know that it's a story that I feel qualified to tell. It's so present and real and bloody and messy and complicated. In a way there's no objective distance from this theme, and in a way there's far too much. I'm terrified of messing it up. I'm terrified that sometime in the next five years I'll find myself in the West Bank (which could easily happen, based on this peacework investigation I've been doing of late) and feel like I told the wrong story or didn't do it right, or got it wrong. I'm terrified of preaching about something I know nothing about. I'm afraid of presenting in front of the two Israeli students in the morning group, and their reactions, whatever they may be.
And it's far too early in the process to freak out, in a way. But there is something in my gut that is very aware of how hard this will be, and how dangerous it is.
If we pull it off, if we're able to find a supremely human story to extricate from that ridiculous painful political mess, than it will be absolutely powerful and incredible and amazing theatre. If. But right now, when it's early enough that we haven't, I have misgivings galore.
I chose to be in the last group, and I'm fucking terrified. We haven't chosen a story yet, but just that story, the theme of that conflict is so scary to me. I don't know that it's a story that I feel qualified to tell. It's so present and real and bloody and messy and complicated. In a way there's no objective distance from this theme, and in a way there's far too much. I'm terrified of messing it up. I'm terrified that sometime in the next five years I'll find myself in the West Bank (which could easily happen, based on this peacework investigation I've been doing of late) and feel like I told the wrong story or didn't do it right, or got it wrong. I'm terrified of preaching about something I know nothing about. I'm afraid of presenting in front of the two Israeli students in the morning group, and their reactions, whatever they may be.
And it's far too early in the process to freak out, in a way. But there is something in my gut that is very aware of how hard this will be, and how dangerous it is.
If we pull it off, if we're able to find a supremely human story to extricate from that ridiculous painful political mess, than it will be absolutely powerful and incredible and amazing theatre. If. But right now, when it's early enough that we haven't, I have misgivings galore.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Some light reading
Here's the first draft of one of our assignments for Company Development. We are "forming a company", and were asked to answer these questions about ourselves. Here's what we came up with:
Company Development
Five Questions
Group: Baerbel, Natali, Agnese, Persefoni, Isabel
What do we do?
We create collaborative theatre that is deeply human and therefore deeply political. It is a theatre about what moves the world, what moves human beings, and what moves us. Our point of departure is twofold, as we take inspiration both from pre-existing canonical texts, and also from current events. Through the revisiting of old works in different countries and through the lens of different cultural contexts, we hope to reveal the underlying humanity and universal truths of the classics. However, we also have an emphasis on original devised work that is inspired by true, seemingly insignificant events: for example, we may devise a piece surrounding a newspaper article about a Siberian village population that has been displaced as a result of railroad development, or about a café owner in Baghdad who continually reopens his shop in the midst of war. Depending on the topic or theme, we look to incorporate and utilise theatrical forms or cultural traditions (including rituals, songs, dances, etc) that may support the theme or reveal a new meaning or deeper human truth. In this way we endeavour to draw from all cultures and styles, to challenge and inspire our audience, and to reflect upon our times and human condition: the joy as well as the sorrow, the beauty as well as the ugliness inherent in life.
Why do we do what we do?
We live in a world that is increasingly globalised, yet increasingly divided. In times such as these, it is more important than ever to seek to illuminate and understand what makes us human, and the ties that bind across cultures, language, and experience. We believe that theatre is a truly human form of communication, which enables a communion between performer and audience that is unmatched in any other medium. We believe in the right of the global community to have its stories told, as well as the right of the global community to hear those stories. We hope to open a door to a greater awareness of the world and the human condition as it is experienced elsewhere. We create theatre for the sake of presenting a new point of view, for the sake of education, for the sake of revealing a deeper humanity that may take us some small step closer to understanding the ties that bind over those conflicts that would tear us apart.
Why do we exist as a group?
As a group of theatre artists, we embody the type of theatre we would like to create: internationally diverse, artistically adventurous, intellectually curious, and socially concerned. With five members, we represent five nationalities and five different mother tongues, yet we speak the same theatrical language (thanks largely to our collective training at the London International School of Performing Arts.) Similarly, as we seek to find a deeper universal language in our work, we can seek within our group to discover that human essence that reaches beyond cultural experience and upbringing. More practically, our widespread geographical roots give us an inestimable advantage in networking, as well as opportunities to create theatre all over the world.
Who do we do it for?
Our theatre is accessible enough that it can be appreciated and enjoyed by people from all walks of life, all cultures and backgrounds. The specific audience will vary from project to project, depending on our location at the time and the community in which we find ourselves. The constant is that we do theatre for the community in which we exist.
Where do we do it?
Our theatre is a theatre in motion. We operate on the principle of a “floating base,” which means that our theatrical home would change every 2-5 years. Within that span of time, however, we would embark on projects of 3-12 months that would take place elsewhere in the world. For example: though we have a space that we return to regularly in (insert location here) (our “base”), we may spend 9 months living and working in a village in India re-envisioning Hamlet within their cultural context and collaborating with that immediate community before returning to our base to share that work with an international audience. Often the sharing of such a production with the audience and public found at our base and through international touring will provide the financial means to continue the work of the company, and to fund subsequent projects.
Company Development
Five Questions
Group: Baerbel, Natali, Agnese, Persefoni, Isabel
What do we do?
We create collaborative theatre that is deeply human and therefore deeply political. It is a theatre about what moves the world, what moves human beings, and what moves us. Our point of departure is twofold, as we take inspiration both from pre-existing canonical texts, and also from current events. Through the revisiting of old works in different countries and through the lens of different cultural contexts, we hope to reveal the underlying humanity and universal truths of the classics. However, we also have an emphasis on original devised work that is inspired by true, seemingly insignificant events: for example, we may devise a piece surrounding a newspaper article about a Siberian village population that has been displaced as a result of railroad development, or about a café owner in Baghdad who continually reopens his shop in the midst of war. Depending on the topic or theme, we look to incorporate and utilise theatrical forms or cultural traditions (including rituals, songs, dances, etc) that may support the theme or reveal a new meaning or deeper human truth. In this way we endeavour to draw from all cultures and styles, to challenge and inspire our audience, and to reflect upon our times and human condition: the joy as well as the sorrow, the beauty as well as the ugliness inherent in life.
Why do we do what we do?
We live in a world that is increasingly globalised, yet increasingly divided. In times such as these, it is more important than ever to seek to illuminate and understand what makes us human, and the ties that bind across cultures, language, and experience. We believe that theatre is a truly human form of communication, which enables a communion between performer and audience that is unmatched in any other medium. We believe in the right of the global community to have its stories told, as well as the right of the global community to hear those stories. We hope to open a door to a greater awareness of the world and the human condition as it is experienced elsewhere. We create theatre for the sake of presenting a new point of view, for the sake of education, for the sake of revealing a deeper humanity that may take us some small step closer to understanding the ties that bind over those conflicts that would tear us apart.
Why do we exist as a group?
As a group of theatre artists, we embody the type of theatre we would like to create: internationally diverse, artistically adventurous, intellectually curious, and socially concerned. With five members, we represent five nationalities and five different mother tongues, yet we speak the same theatrical language (thanks largely to our collective training at the London International School of Performing Arts.) Similarly, as we seek to find a deeper universal language in our work, we can seek within our group to discover that human essence that reaches beyond cultural experience and upbringing. More practically, our widespread geographical roots give us an inestimable advantage in networking, as well as opportunities to create theatre all over the world.
Who do we do it for?
Our theatre is accessible enough that it can be appreciated and enjoyed by people from all walks of life, all cultures and backgrounds. The specific audience will vary from project to project, depending on our location at the time and the community in which we find ourselves. The constant is that we do theatre for the community in which we exist.
Where do we do it?
Our theatre is a theatre in motion. We operate on the principle of a “floating base,” which means that our theatrical home would change every 2-5 years. Within that span of time, however, we would embark on projects of 3-12 months that would take place elsewhere in the world. For example: though we have a space that we return to regularly in (insert location here) (our “base”), we may spend 9 months living and working in a village in India re-envisioning Hamlet within their cultural context and collaborating with that immediate community before returning to our base to share that work with an international audience. Often the sharing of such a production with the audience and public found at our base and through international touring will provide the financial means to continue the work of the company, and to fund subsequent projects.
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Tipping the scales
Life feels schizophrenic these days.
Good things:
Good things:
- The Intro to Civilian Protection workshop on Sunday went well
- I started cycling again this past weekend
- Due to a series of events, I can now afford to do the residential simulation peacework course this weekend
- I'm proud of the commedia piece we presented yesterday, and I love my group
- I'm really excited about tackling epic theatre
- Classmates have found really interesting stories to try to translate to the stage
- I feel incredibly blessed to be at this school
Bad things:
- I'm exhausted, and I don't know how much longer I can maintain this schedule
Sometimes one or two bad things is all it takes to mitigate a bunch of good things. Not that life is terrible at the moment - far from it. It just makes me a little sad sometimes when I realise how much more I could appreciate the good things, if only I had the time and energy to do so.
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