Carol Queen

I was at an NCSF (National Coalition for Sexual Freedom) fundraiser and got to hear Carol Queen speak. She continues to be a source of inspiration. I love San Francisco! I miss being an active volunteer and member of the community, but I will be back soon.

For those who don't know about Carol Queen, you can check her out on a number of sites:
to "meet" her
to see her blog (and her sexy, studious look)
to learn about the Center for Sex and Culture (co-founded with Robert Lawrence)
to see the Good Vibrations site (or the Wikipedia entry)

Hooray for the sex-positive individuals and industry!

HereAfterHere

I had the great privilege of working with Tandy Beal while I attended UC Santa Cruz. She is one of the most generous and vibrant individuals I have ever met. She has a particular gift for creating community. Her latest project is a piece entitled HereAfterHere. You can add your story or comments on her webpage and it may be used in the piece.

One of my favorite Tandy performances was a piece about mental illness she performed in class at the end of the term. Tandy is a tall, graceful and striking woman (she was the movement model for The Nightmare Before Christmas). There was a moment when she put her hands in her pockets and flipped her skirt to reveal that her pockets were hand-puppets. The fluidity of her movements, the unexpected in her choreography, and the vulnerability in hiding herself to express through the puppets combined into an incredibly moving moment.

For those who are interested, HereAfterHere will premier at UC Santa Cruz in Autumn 2007. I hope to see you there!

Ariela Morgenstern

For those who have not had the pleasure, I hope you do. Ariela mezzo-soprano who will be relocating to New York in 2007. With a strong is a vibrant and scintillatingrepertoire of Kurt Weill songs, she does not shy away from the personalisation, the pain or the pleasure in a song. Her performances are not showy or arrogant, but a wonderful integration of ability and performativity. She is a presence and a force. I hope you get the opportunity to see and hear her in action.

The Mandarin Playboy

From the company that brought us Oedipus Loves You, there now comes a production of J.M. Synge's legendary Playboy of the Western World set in the outskirts of Beijing. The production is in Mandarin with English supertitles and a Chinese cast. It already performed in China and caused some scandal because the women's skirts were so short. It was the first production of this play that I have ever seen, although I have read it multiple times. They captured some of the iconic moments while being overtly presentational at times. This seemingly blatant self-reflexive staging (not to mention the mirrors along the back side of the set which meant the audience was visible on-stage) allowed for an almost campy postmodern commentary and counterpoint to the moments of charged and sincere emotion. There was an oscillation throughout the performance that worked for me, perhaps because it is a text that is well known. As with most genre pieces, it's not about what will happen but HOW. And that is what was so fun about this production: how they made it work so well.

You can see stills from the production of Playboy on the Pan Pan webpage and hear songs (written by Dublin-based band Gordon Is a Mime) from Oedipus Loves You.

Holiday hurrahs and farewells

It is really difficult to get any work done because there are so many parties and good-byes. Gabry leaves tomorrow morning for Italy; Mary leaves on Thursday; Barra is going back to London next week. Everyone is in this flurry of shopping and general madness downtown. There were enormous queues over the weekend, especially at the ATMs. Much as I enjoy the spirit of goodwill and whatnot, I don't like being trapped in the throngs of aimless wanderers, especially when there are a enough manic shoppers trying to push through the crowds.

It's enough to make me stay inside all day. It is definitely cold enough to make me consider the option...

Potential for awkwardness

I finally sent a postcard to the bakery where I used to work. I've been meaning to send that for more than two months and finally did it last week. I included personal hellos to a couple of the employees, but didn't include a third person's name because I don't know if she still works there. So in an attempt to not make it awkward, I may have succeeded inadvertently by omitting her name. I may need to do a bit of recon so I can let Claire know that I didn't forget her; I just started thinking too much about potential awkwardness of calling attention to staff that was no longer there and then decided to just finish the message and deal with it later.

I did select a postcard of the thoroughly-busty Molly Maguire statue because I thought it would make Michael laugh.

Adding Color to the department

Gabry has decided that, not only do we need to enliven the discussions within the department and support student work, but we need to add more color. In an attempt to realise this goal, she purchased sweatshirts for herself, Mary, and me. Ostensibly they are Christmas gifts.

There was a bit of hilarity as we all stripped off our layers of clothing to try on different sweatshirt sizes and colors. Ultimately, we all opted for light blue Trinity sweatshirts which we will all wear to the first postgraduate seminar of 2007. In Gabry's mind we will resemble a cheerleading section. And we probably will. Or a giggle section. Either way, it will enliven the 10 a.m. meeting.

CAKE

As if I needed further confirmation, I have affirmed my love for Cake. Walking around Trinity College Dublin in my iPod-induced bubble I can rock out whenever I want. Again and again, I have been turning to Cake. Perhaps it's because they inspire a sense of home; perhaps the simply concretise emotions I wanted to feel. Whatever the reason, I love their music more each time I listen to it.

I spent an absurd amount of time on YouTube the other night cruising for videos. I believe the 'I Will Survive' video was filmed in San Francisco. I mean, that's the DPT logo in San Francisco and some of the streets look quite familiar...

They only have a New Year's gig listed. And they have delayed the release of their next album. Thankfully their latest (Pressure Chief) will keep me busy for a while longer. Someday I will write something about how amazing I find their music. Not today. Today I will simply express my appreciation without much substantiation.

Beginning Undergraduate Directors

Trinity College Dublin has an interesting curriculum for undergraduates. Those interested in directing must take a course that culminates in a ten-minute piece. If all goes well, the student advances to a course that culminates in a twenty-minute piece. If that goes well, the student gets to do one of the hour-long pieces I have been seeing in the past two weeks. It's a nice continuity and encourages students to develop a vision.

There is also a course on devising that culminates in a five minute performance. All term the students keep log books and devise a performance together. Not much theory, mostly practice. I saw a powerful piece that was movement to music (no dialogue) with four dancers featuring our man Barra and a gal who was going to volunteer at the conference but got ill. (Elizabeth is very sweet, too!)

I have been impressed with the work I have seen, particularly with the students who are clearly wrestling with a vision larger than staging a text. One student, Chris (who played Alan in Equus), did a beautiful piece (Wolfgang and Leah: you would've loved it!). He told me about it one evening and so I went to support him. It was great to be there, to validate the work they are doing. Gabry mentioned that more faculty should be going to the student performances; guess every theatre department wrestles with that issue.

Goodbye Michelmas term!

Had my last class last night and the M.Phil.s all went to dinner together before we part ways for a couple weeks. (Excellent idea, Nick!) After our CITIC seminar, in which we always have lively conversation and go over the one-hour allotted time, we hurried to the restaurant for our reservation. We had a very nice meal and laughed lots. Then we adjourned to a pub for another couple hours.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, these women as amazing! The guys are lovely as well, don't get me wrong. But there is nothing like being in the presence of four women who are all in sync, if only for a moment. I'm very glad that we all get on well; it will be much easier to jump into Hilary term with these bonds forming.

Threepenny Opera

Another student show! There was some concern about it being under-rehearsed, but the show and the concept with which the group was working left lots of space for rough theatre. (Thank you Peter Brook.) It was the Brecht-Weill version and it was an enjoyable hour. It was ambitious and it succeeded in some ways. They did try to play up a love between Tiger Brown and Macheath; it was successful when it remained subtext. They tried to make it overt and then it fell apart. As usual, the women had stronger voices than the men. Overall, it was a nice time and a show that accommodated their under-rehearsed moments with relative ease.

Challenging Integrity and Ability

I realise that graduate school is about independent research, but, for those who don't know this, I will reveal a detail of the limitations of this independence. The research must, on some level, be pitched for the evaluators in order to have success. This is no revelation to most individuals, no matter in what field s/he works, but it is often overlooked in academics.

In preparing my presentation on Doubt in Ireland, I gathered a multitude of information that was interesting (thanks Karen!!), but couldn't be included in the final presentation because of space/time constraints and content restrictions (i.e. I needed to emphasise the contemporary Irish context because that was the course for which I was doing the work and the context in which my worked would be evaluated).

Now I am continuing my research into Tom Murphy's The Blue Macushla (thanks to Nora and my Dad for the ideas!), but am realising that I need to focus my efforts into what will fit the course requirements. If I choose to focus on theory, I must pick a theory covered in my course and ensure that enough of the paper is devoted to that theory; if I focus on theatre in Ireland, I must ensure that most of the paper is historically relevant within that context (a more vague and subjective context for assessment).

I figure it's like trying to get into a book or a conference: I must make sure the work I create meets the 'commissioning agency' interests. And, hopefully, it will also meet my interests. That is my challenge: to fulfill the course requirements while fulfilling my goals.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

'Tis the season for decorations of tinsel and pine, of shiny glass and twinkling lights. When I was walking down D'Olier Street yesterday, I was enjoying the crisp, cool air as I watched some men unloading a tree from the roof of their van. There were three of them to manage a tree of 8-10 feet (I haven't gone metric yet, sorry!). I watched them cut the ropes and then the two men on the roof tossed the tree towards the man on the ground. It hit the sidewalk a few feet from me as I was walking past. The men apologised for almost landing the tree on me and we laughed that I would've been a sacrifice to the holiday spirit.

My presentation on Doubt

I did my presentation on John Patrick Shanley's play Doubt this evening for one of my courses. It was at least my fourth version of the presentation. I had created some graphs on his use of exclamation points and question marks, but cut the graphs out of my presentation last night because it was tangental to the contemporary Irish context I had to use as the thrust of my argument. I ended up talking about his stage directions which was interesting, but not as cool to look at or to discuss. But, after my presentation, there was a period of silence in what was supposed to be a question-and-answer period so I showed the graphs until someone asked a question. The playwriting students were particularly thrilled that I took the time to do that.

I don't know my mark yet, but the feedback has been good. Now I need to write my presentation as a paper and then I am done for the moment. I had a wonderful time. The second play in Shanley's trilogy on American hierarchy is Defiance and it will be at the Pasadena Playhouse next season. It already played in New York. I am very excited to read it and to continue my relationship with Shanley's nuanced and personal work.

Out of Harm's Way

This is the second piece in the repertory dance performance at the Project Arts Center. Everyone raves about the choreographer of this one (as opposed to the other choreographer who was a guest choreographer). It was great! The space was a partial room completely covered in this damask rose pattern. The walls, the door, the armoire, the window sills, the window shades, the lamp shades, the couch. There were a couple hidden doors in the walls. A guy entered from over the top of the flats. There was a mime in a suit with large spots, some of which fell off during the performance. (That dancer reminded me of Cason.) It was all the same dancers from the other piece, but this choreography really showed off what they could do.

There was this point in which a woman was kinda sleep walking on chairs that three of the men kept rearranging as she stepped and then they put her on the wall and she walked perpendicularly along the wall while two men supported her over their heads. She walked across two of the walls which meant turning a corner. And then she sat on the top of the armoire for the next five or ten minutes.

Lots of hetero sexuality in this piece, like the other one.

There were multi-lingual parts (one dancer is Spanish, one is Italian, one is German, and I think the rest are Irish). There were lots of amazing choreographed fights that weren't about making contact, but they clearly were moving in response to each other.

I'm very glad I saw this one after the other one because I would've been devastated if I had seen them in the other order.

Ah children...

I was having breakfast this morning and chose a table in the corner for myself. Across from me was a family: the parents still finishing their food, the children screeching giddy peals of laughter as they played some hugging-tickling-smooching game. There is something amazing about the decibel level that is acceptable in when it's children's laughter. (Contrast this with less than ten minute later when the focus of self-entertainment shifted to something with the occasional outburst that was more forced, less a by-product of fun at which point Mum said to quiet down.)

Then, as I returned to the Reading Room, I passed a family presumably finished viewing the Book of Kells. One little boy was animating a toy through the air while singing the phrase, 'Fish for sale' repeatedly. He seemed very happy about this little lyric and was performing it, but also could tell that the attention towards him had waned even though he was still enjoying it.

This is part of why I am hesitant to have children. I appreciate these moments so much, I fear I will get caught up in quotidian concerns and forget to appreciate the magic and wonderment of the moment.

It's December

On my ride home this evening, some rowdy gents ushered in December with a chorus of Christmas carols. I got to hear 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', 'White Christmas', 'Away in a Manger', 'Last Christmas' (which is quite popular here), and a few other tunes that I forget. Not that I forget the songs, mind, just the titles. I was giggling away, though, because they were so loud and off-key and jolly in their drunken/belligerent state.

I also got to hear the 'no smoking' message on the bus for the first time. Yes, they were smoking, too, those multi-tasking Dubliners!

And, yes, they do also sing the 'like Monopoly' line in 'Rudolph'.