The Orestia Saga

So, we had to read "The Orestia" in theatre history and do a 5 minute presentation on an aspect of the plays we would teach to upper level undergrads. 'The Orestia" for those of you not familiar with the plays is Aeschylus' version of the mythology surrounding the House of Atreus - go look it up, it's fascinating. After much in class discussion and some further reading of scholarly articles relating to Greek history, tragedy, etc., we were sent off to put our presentations together. Apparently only one of us, or maybe two, heard that the presentations needed to incorporate the readings we did. Oops! When the prof said to the second presenter in class that he hadn't incorporated anything from the articles we read you could see everyone's faces, except for the one or two who actually heard him say that, fall. Oh well, what can you do? I soldiered on and gave a 5 minite presentation on how Aeschylus uses religion in "The Orestia." It went well, I think, I hope! We'll find out when he gives us grades. The good news is, we only have to do this twice more during the semester.

Playwriting is still boring, and still so not what I want to do, but it is what it is. I did have a talk with the prof and he thinks I can make my "germinal image" (that is his favorite phrase, I believe), fit into the Smiley scenario. I still have my doubts, but we'll see. If it doesn't work, I'll come up with a plan B or C or D or whatever. Structure is overrated sometimes. While I know it is important for playwrights to "know the rules" I also think if you do know the rules you should be entitled to experiment once in a while. If you're a baby playwright, yeah, you should learn this stuff. If you're not, then you need to be allowed to expand your work.

On a happier note - I played hooky from homework last night and went to see the touring show of "The Pajama Game." They were giving free tickets away to students last week on campus, so I figured what the heck. I don't have to be on campus till noon today, so I could sleep in. The show was all right - the lighting and sound had some issues - but overall not a bad way to spend a couple of hours and the price was right. Some of the grad students went together and had dinner before, so it was a good time. Now we can all dissect it when we see each other again - LOL! Oh, those theatre people!

Shoot me now!

Playwriting will be the death of me - I just know it! Not the actual work of playwriting, the class. Today we talked all about a scenario (classic dramaturgy) and Sam Smiley's method. Claudia should be smiling somewhere. I don't have a problem with Smiley's book or his methods, except when trying to apply them to myself. I am not that kind of writer. I don't plan or outline or do any of that stuff that we are going to have to do in order to get a decent grade in this class. Grrr! I really don't know if I can actually do it - I mean, I know I will because I need to pass the course - but I don't know if I can come up with anything resembling a performable piece of theatre by doing this. Well, we don't have to write the play, just the scenario. My fear is I'll get to the next class and he'll make us use the scenario we created in this class to write a full-length play. We're writing one-acts in this class. And if that happens, I don't know what I'll do. In addition to feeling like I'm in remedial playwriting, I also feel very constrained right now. I don't know how I'm going to come up with something by the end of the semester and waiting until the last minute I know is not a good idea. Where is a germinal image when I need one, huh?

Manna in Lubbock

Friday evening the newbies got together with some of the people who've been here a while and went to dinner. Manna is the restaurant we went to and it was fabulous! It's in an out of the way place, surrounded by interesting little shops, which some of us will go back to explore, and the food was the best I've had for a while. It wasn't too pricey, great atmosphere and excellent service. Definitely a must go to again! After dinner, to continue the evening, we went to Murphy's pub. Murphy's is non-smoking, but that didn't seem to deter the crowd. Lots of fun and I've discovered it's close to my apartment - hmmm!

For the newbies, including the visiting theatre prof, who came up with this idea in the first place, the evening was quite informative. Ah, the politics of academia! Oh, the personalities involved! It was nice to be clued in on some of the departmental stuff - forewarned is forearmed. As I have conversations with other students in the department I learn more and more. So, I've decided to observe, learn all I can, taking into account that some people may have biases due to their experiences, and then make my own judgments. I usually try to be extremely cautious in a new situation anyway, you never know when something you may have said, even if it was innocent, will come back to bite you in the butt! There's nothing wrong with treading very softly for a while. I hate politics, but they're everywhere, dang it!

Questioning my sanity

Today's session in theatre history was intense - very intense. I left class wondering if I knew what I was doing, or if I really was insane. We got our first written assignment. We're reading Aeschylus' "The Oresteia," which is not a problem. It's the written assignment that is giving me pause. We have to plan and deliver a lecture on the plays, as if we were teaching an upper level undergrad course. Our lecture notes, in whatever form, as long as they're typed, are to be handed in, and our lectures will be given to our classmates and prof. Talk about intimidating! The prof has a doctorate in theatre history and I feel like my classmates are so far ahead of me. I know I'm freaking myself out, and probably for no good reason, but what if I'm not? What if I screw up? I'm worried that I'm going to fall flat on my face and that I shouldn't even be here. AHH! Why do I always do this to myself - look for reasons why I will fail? The good news is that we have a couple of weeks to prepare, and maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will be. It's just that I want to do well and yes, I want an A, damn it! Anal-retentive perfectionist tendencies are very annoying at times - LOL!

Box Office Blues

One of my assignments as a GPTI is working in the box office, which is not really a bad gig. Compared to working in the scene or costume shop, it's a breeze! This is a big time operation though - cash, credit card machine, printing the tickets as they're purchased, etc. I'm used to a more primitive method so it's going to take a while before I feel comfortable with what I'm doing. Did I mention I have a math phobia and this position involves numbers? Lots of numbers? Today was my second shift in the box office, my first long shift. I'm glad I had a co-worker who was experienced because we had a lot of phone orders this morning and they were all paid by credit card. When you don't have the credit card there to swipe it makes the process take forever - there are about ten steps - well maybe not ten, but a lot! I sure hope I didn't enter anyone's number wrong. I almost did once because I couldn't read my co-worker's writing. After a few cancellations and do-overs I got it right. Whew! I get to do this again on Saturday for 3 and a half hours - woo hoo! By the end of the semester I should be a pro. A girl can dream, can't she?

Boring with a capital B!

I'm not sure I can make it through a semester of playwriting. I am bored, literally, to tears. It's not that I don't like the prof, I'm sure he's a very nice person. He appears to be at any rate. It's just that this is a review for me of everything I have already studied at Spalding, hence the boredom. At least we get to go to the museum on Friday and the class only lasts 50 miunutes, so it could be worse. I keep wishing for Charlie or Sheila, anything to liven things up! I'm hoping that it will get better as the semester goes on and my mind won't wander so much when I am supposed to be paying attention. I hope it looks like I'm paying attention - LOL! Oh well,when this semester is over I will be so full of "traditional dramaturgy and structure" I may puke. Charlie will be so proud of me - HA!

What did I get myself into?!

Yesterday I had my other two classes for the first time, got trained for box office duty and as one of the assistant house supervisors (part of my GPTI duties). When I finally got home I felt like my head was going to explode - information overload!

Survey of Theatre History is going to be awesome, in spite of Oscar G. Brockett (he wrote the definitive theatre history text that many of us have suffered through in other classes). We have a visiting prof, which is pretty cool. I hear the regular prof is tough. He teaches at Carnegie Mellon and just finished his doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh. His focus area is South African theater, and we'll get to learn about that, and African theater in general. Since I know next to nothing about that area of theater, I'm really looking forward to learning more.

The Theatre Management class will be the toughest. I'm looking forward to the challenge and hope I can make it through the semester with my sanity intact and a decent grade. Our final project is to put together a plan for a new theater company. Did I mention there's reading, lots of reading? Three books for this class, plus we have to have a subscription to the local paper and read that every day, as well as the campus paper. My eyes might fall out - LOL!

On the plus side, I've been welcomed with open arms by everyone I've met in the department, I know where I'm going on campus (for the most part), and I finally figured out the bus system - hooray for me!

The First Day of School

The "first day of school" - a phrase which strikes terror, anxiety, excitement, anticipation into many hearts each new semester. In my case, it was all of the above. I haven't been in a traditional classroom for a while, so the closer it got to class time, the more nervous I got. I arrived, early as usual, and took a seat. Some of the other students, who all knew each other, were discussing how one of them had not passed the class previously and was repeating it. That didn't bother me too much, these things happen. However, what did cause me some alarm was when he said he had dissed the prof's play and that's why he didn't pass. So, did this mean we weren't allowed to express an opinion contrary to the professor's in class? Are we to automatically enbrace as gospel every word that comes from the professor's mouth? I found this to be troubling, to say the least. I am reserving judgment until I have been in the class longer, after all, it was only the first day, and I get to know the prof better. Maybe that wasn't really the reason the student failed. It has been my experience that the best teachers foster open discussion and that they don't expect their students to always agree with them. We'll see which one this prof turns out to be.

Bus Adventures

So, yesterday I was supposed to be on campus by 9:00 a.m. for a meeting. I thought I had a plan, and it would have worked if it hadn't been for the weather. Sometime in the early morning it rained - freezing rain - which means the roads got icy, really icy. Being from Kansas I'm used to this kind of stuff, so that didn't bother me too much. I know how to be careful. However, it did bother the drivers of Lubbock. I will give them this, most of the drivers I saw while waiting for the bus were taking it slowly and being cautious. The bus, unfortunately, was behind schedule - way behind. It was an exciting ride for those of us who braved the cold and ice because we had places to go. There were a few times I thought we might slide on through an intersection or crash into something or someone, but we made it! Of course, I was an hour late for the meeting, but not to worry, everyone else was late too and apparently I didn't miss anything exciting. That was my first day of being on campus for official student stuff. Oh well, I did manage to get my student ID card and buy my books, so guess that means it's a done deal. I am now officially a grad student at Texas Tech - woo hoo!