Drama Class Update

Instead of a final for my drama class, I have to work with a classmate to put on a ten-minute scene. Here's the one I'm working on, it's called "Crash" and I play Julie.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/pdwilson/Crash.htm

I'm enjoying myself and will be really sorry when the class is over. I wish there was some way to continue on with it. I don't want to do community theater, but I wish I knew some people who were up for messing around and doing readings.

Stupid Progressives

I'm done with reading the Blue Mass Group blog. Elvis has not only left the building, but is dead as a doornail and lying face-down in his own vomit.

Immediately after the ConCon, they had a number of blog entries hand-wringing over how terrible it was that the anti-marriage amendment was killed procedurally. A certain segment of their contributers wants everything to be open and transparent instead of being back-room dealings. They don't care that even Mr. Smith learned how to pull off a filibuster and procedural dealings have been around since America was born.

Second, there was an entire argument that it was a bad thing because there was a health care amendment in line to be voted on that got killed as well, because it was next in line to be voted on.

These discussions became very divisive and had the nasty side-effect of making the gay marriage people and the health care amendment people hate each other and want to poke each others' eyes out with little sticks.

I was willing to put all this down to temporary insanity, but I just visited the Blue Mass Group and they had a post from a right-winger in libertarian clothing who had a post, "10 Things I Hate About Liberals".

Right. Why should I bother reading a progressive blog that peddles the same trash you can hear on right-wing talk radio? Why should I bother reading a progressive blog that seems to want to set its natural audience at each other's throats?

Latest Acting Class - Stage Combat

I couldn't believe he burned my books. What an asshole. So I got in his face and started yelling and that's when he slapped me. And that's when I punched him back. Hard.

Yup, we had a stage combat class the other night. We first learned the techniques ("learned" is a very rough description here, for the most part our punches, kicks and hits wouldn't have fooled a blind person) and then did improv scenes.

I never realized how much fun it was to pretend to punch people in the face and stomach, drag them around by the hair and kick them to the ground. And get punched, dragged and kicked in return. :)

My favorite things.

This is what a bead studio should look like.

Mine does not look like this, alas.

I'm working on my monologue from Burn This, a play by Lanford Wilson. And in the interest of knowing the context of the monologue, I got the play out of the library.

Had I read the play beforehand, I wouldn't have picked this monologue. My character is a drip. I think Lanford Wilson meant to create a modern romantic drama for our time.

Instead, I think he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Why do beautiful and talented hags end up romantically involved with men who are either nonentities or Neanderthals?"

And that sub-text is just all over everything, like bad mayo on a sandwich.

Whale Watch Pictures

I think this one is a dolphin...

And this splash too. Dolphins are fast little buggers.

A humpback,

Another shot of a humpback, I'm very pleased with this one.

Last but not least, a humpback's tail,

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.