First Days of Classes

So, the fall semester officially started on Thursday, Aug. 25. I also have all of my classes scheduled on Tuesdays & Thursdays, so Thursday was my first day of class. I find it problematic when professors don't tell you what the required books are until you get the syllabus the first day of class, then expect you to have two chapters read from a book by the next class meeting that you may or may not receive before 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Geesh! I ordered all of my books (5 of them for 2 classes) on Thursday when I got home. They will be here - in 3 different shipments thanks to Amazon - sometime this week. Most likely that will not be by Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. unless I get extremely lucky. Grrr! This semester has already started on a great note.

Lest you think I am lucky enough to have MWF's free, let me disabuse you of that notion. I TA in the ginormous Art Apprec class MWF at 3 p.m., and work at other times. Monday I have to be on campus by 9:15 a.m. W & F not until 12:15 p.m., which is not so bad. I do have time for meetings and whatever in my days. Maybe having class 2 days a week won't be so bad, except for the backache I'll get from carrying 5 books around all day. :(

At any rate, my schedule is what it is for now. I'm sure it will soon fill up with meetings for organizations I'm involved with, and all the other detritus that seems to accumulate during the semester. Then I'll be back to bemoaning my lack of time - LOL!

Concept Shakespeare

While I have no problems, per se, with concept Shakespeare, I do have standards. The trimmed down version of Taming of the Shrew I saw Thursday evening, was one such concept production. Trimming the script to a length suitable for those with short attention spans (the first half ran one hour and the second 45 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission), did not dilute from the basic story line, and in fact may have even helped to explicate it a bit more. My biggest problem with the show, which was conceived as a commedia dell'arte piece in modern dress, was that not all of the actors were fully committed to carrying off the concept.

The performance was in a black box space, so there were nine actors, plus a puppet, playing all of the parts. That worked fairly well. Modern dress is not an issue either. After all, Shakespeare's plays were originally performed in modern dress, albeit Elizabethan modern dress. So, why not? Yes, this is a comedy, and while it was witty, it was not cackle worthy funny. Someone sitting a row or two behind us, apparently disagreed. There was so much loud cackling I kept waiting for the witch scene from the Scottish play. (And speaking of the Scottish play, I'm sincerely sorry I missed the production in Kansas City. I read reviews and it sounded like a good time was had by all.)

Commedia is physical acting, and so is Shakespeare, most of the time. This production had only one actor who fully committed to the physicality of her two roles. She played Bianca and Petruchio's servant and was awesome. Petruchio wasn't too bad, but some of the other actors were either directed to be stereotypically crude (think frat boy humor), or took it there on their own. It did not work. The curtain speech before the show informed us that they extended the run because it had proved to be so wildly popular. I didn't get it, I really didn't. Perhaps concept Shakespeare really is beyond me.

Idiots Among Us

Here I am, sitting in Tampa, enjoying some down time. It's been raining, off and on, since I got here. However, this is nice, because I was beginning to forget what rain sounded, looked, and felt like. Now, if I only I could transfer some of this rain to Texas, I'd be golden. Driving across the bridge to St. Pete this morning was kind of scary. Low visibility, heavy rain, and idiot drivers make for a nerve wracking combo. And, other drivers - use your damn turn signals. I know you have them. You can't expect every other driver out there to be a mind reader. Do we somehow have the ability to determine when you are getting in the lane in front of us, almost causing an accident, when you are not using your turn signal? I think not. Also, learn how to drive for the prevailing weather conditions. Heavy downpour, low visibility does not equal Cali style freeway roulette and high rates of speed, with no headlights on. Grr! I am not ready to die because of your stupidity, thank you very much.

On the plus side, made it to St. Pete in once piece, and met a dear friend for breakfast at the Dome. Biscuits & gravy & bacon - yum! Had a lovely visit and by the time we were done and ready to go our separate ways the rain had lessened. Also went to the Holocaust Museum while there. I know, you were all thinking I got that out of my system last summer when I went to Krakow and Prague, and when I worked on my final project for my museum ed class, based on the traveling exhibit from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Not so much. One of the things I appreciated about this museum was the fact that they also keep people informed about genocide all over the world, including the current situations in Darfur and the Congo. I feel we should always be reminded abut this, and do our best to put a stop to it, in whatever way we can. There was also an exhibit of children's art from the Czech Republic dealing with the issue of genocide and the Holocaust. The art work came from schools in towns that surround Terezin. Since I was at Terezin last summer, this art work had particular significance for me, and had a huge emotional impact as well.

Tomorrow will be the aquarium, the art museum, and a production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Supposedly this is a modern dress, commedia influenced interpretation. The concept sounds intriguing. We'll see how the execution goes. Stay tuned!