My Brilliant Career

I'm horribly shy when meeting people for the first time, so I thought I'd try an acting class. It also fulfills a requirement, but quite frankly, I'd take the class without that. I'm just sick of being afraid of my own voice. So here's how it's gone,

First class: Improvs galore. Utter agony. Utterly excruciating. Three hours spent with my heart pounding, sweaty, and ready to jump out of my skin.

Second class: More of the same.

Third class: The overwhelming panic has settled down to resignation mixed with occasional bursts of dread. We had to do a cold reading of a monologue and I wasn't sure whether to go serious or funny, but I went for funny and this monologue went over very well, especially with the women. :)

Fourth class: We did cold readings of scenes and I cannot tell you how much I prefer any cold reading to any improv situation.

After cold scenes, we broke up into pairs, ran monologues past each other and had to summarize our partner's monologues for the class. I went with this one and it was deemed "creepy". What can I say? I like off-kilter.

I'm still looking around, trying to figure out if I really want to go with this for my midterm monologue and I took out this book from the library. This woman was one of the NEA Four and she's a fucking hoot! I think probably only she and her friends can perform these pieces, but her commentary is hilarious.

Strong Drink Is Not for Men Alone

Alex Witchel writes about being served weaker drinks than her male companions while out to dinner.

But when the tray of drinks arrived, I realized that two men at the table had ordered the same as I had, Maker’s Mark in a tall glass with soda. The waiter was male, and sure enough, the drink lightest in color was served to me.

I think I've posted this before, but it seems appropriate to include Nigella Lawson's article wondering if it's really so shocking when a woman enjoys drink and sex.

Drunk women are looked upon more harshly than are drunk men because femininity - as a construct - relies on, is defined by, inhibition. What is natural - sexual appetite, anger, body hair - is deemed unfeminine. Being drunk is worse: it's a brazen refusal to be quiet, well-behaved and ladylike.