Reading Week and Halloween
As predicted in the previous post, I was up all night on Sunday (until 6 am, in fact), crying on the inside while working on my essays. I also discovered I’m incapable of pulling all nighters. I can consume all the caffeine and junk food possible, surround myself with my notes, and somehow, right when I feel like I’m at the peak of my mental abilities, I fall asleep. And waking up with highlighter marks all over one’s face is quite a sight.
Oh well. The essay was coherent enough to be turned in on time. One down, 5 more to go. And that’s just for this week. Fun.
Last week, I went to the final lecture in a series for Black History month, given by a visiting professor from the University of Edinburgh, David Howard. The topic was “From Leith to Jamaica: Scottish Migration in the West Indies” and it talked about Scotland’s role in the slave trade. I was surprised to learn that one-third of the population in Jamaica in 1774 was of Scottish descent. Although the Emancipation Act passed in 1834, affecting all places within the British empire (and some 30 odd years before it was passed in the US), the scepter of slavery wasn’t going to disappear overnight. Dr. Howard talked about the Morat Bay Rebellion in 1865. It took one hundred years after this incident for Jamaica to nominate seven national heroes, one being George William Gordon, the son of a black slave and a wealthy Scottish plantation owner. Apparently, there are still debates about Jamaica’s national heroes. Some people believe Bob Marley should also be recognized. Overall, interesting talk about Scotland’s hand in the slave trade, focusing on Jamaica.
As a Dartmouth group, we went to see a production of the Beggar’s Opera. I have to read the 1715 John Gay version for class, so I was interested in seeing this rendition. Unfortunately, it was a big let down. As with most of the productions we’ve seen here, they made it contemporary, setting it in the near future. The set, which was incredible, created the atmosphere of living underground, in the sewers, essentially. Here, all the corruption took place as people would travel to the wealthier “upperworld” and steal from the rich. I thought the whole “underworld” doom and gloom was a bit overkill. Also, the play culminated in some orgiastic love-fest, which was a bit bizarre. The acting was sub-par. They tried to breach the metaphorical “4th wall” a few times by speaking directly to the audience, which I enjoyed. However, at the end, they added another scene where the actors discuss how the ending should be different and there’s a short discourse between a news reporter and the main character about reality and truth and media. The one redeeming part of the show was the live rock band (as opposed to an orchestra in a regular opera). They were fantastic and even interacted with the actors in a few scenes. I thought that was a nice touch. I wouldn’t recommend the production, though.
I’ve been trying to expose myself to as much theater as possible, especially since it’s a week or so until my production of Family Affair. My cast and crew have been fantastic, but it’s becoming stressful now between coordinating rehearsals, figuring out tech things (things I didn’t have to think about as an actress, ugh), wondering how to create an atmosphere that will highlight certain ideas to the audience, but not to the point where it becomes banal….. As an absurd/farcical play, I run the risk of the play becoming a 20 minute waste of time. Theater, which should be entertaining, should also be thought provoking and I’m concerned that the jokes will get across (with any luck), but the undertones will get lost in the “empty” or cyclical language of the play. We’ll see. I guess if people laugh at it (or with it), then that’s worth something.
Friday, I went to a drop in session for basketball. Of the 35 or so people who showed up, I was the only woman. It was a little intimidating at first–I worried if anyone would ever pass me the ball–but eventually, it worked out just fine. My teammates trusted me (enough to let me dribble, which tall, awkward people should not do) and I had a few good plays. Some of the guys wouldn’t play defense against me, for whatever reason (didn’t want to push me around, i had bad b.o., thought i wasn’t a threat), and it left me with a few wide open shots. I also met some awesome people from the Hellenic society. I don’t speak a word of Greek–the best I can do is transliterate. However, they were really friendly and it was great to hang out with them on and off the basketball court.
Saturday was Halloween. Earlier in the day, I went to the Britannia Panopticon to watch a Haunted Halloween show, in which Robin and Chris had a part. The Panopticon was an old theater that was used in the late 1800s to provide entertainment for those who couldn’t afford the opera. It used to house everything from a zoo to a “freak show” to singing quartets. It closed down in 1934 due to lack of patronage. Now, they hold small shows there, trying to raise awareness (and donation money) to preserve the space in hope of one day renovating it and using it regularly as a performing space again.
As I mentioned on Facebook, I was going as a cat (I found ears and a tail for 5 pounds). Ben, Hillary, Frosty and I went to a club downtown. We saw some really interesting costumes. My favorite of the night was Barbie. Ben has a picture of this and it’s great. Not only was she a Barbie doll complete with a pink outfit and bright blonde hair, but she was in the packaging as well. It must have been a nuisance to carry around a box all night, but it looked fantastic.
Last night, I went to Sammy’s open mic, where Chris was the feature poet. He performed one of my favorite slam poem of all time, “Poetry’s Lamb”, which I’ll upload to Facebook as soon as I get a chance. The overall talent at Sammy’s was really good. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the names of most of the poets, though I saw a couple of familiar faces. The restaurant/bar itself, although in the middle of nowhere, was also nice. I liked the stage area: an intimate setting in the back of the bar..the whole low lighting, wooden framed type of place. All you needed was some jazz music in the background and it would be the perfect poetry setting you see in the movies.
Food adventures:
I tried Weetabix. It said it was high in fiber on the box and it seemed really British (though I learned it was originally an Australian product), so I figured “How bad could it be?” (Famous last words). I’m adding this to the list on inedible products they sell at supermarkets. It was horrid. Like eating cardboard. Flaky cardboard. I put a picture below, just so you can see how disappointing it looks. Now, imagine how bad it tastes.
However, I found the most delicious condiment. I bought a few cans of tuna and wanted some sweet relish to go with it. Unfortunately, the only relish on the shelf was Heinz Tomato and Pepper Relish. My previous post explains my sentiments about peppers, but it was my only chance to have relish. I’ve never seen this product in the US (if you have, please let me know!), which is a shame because now I have to use one of my suitcases to transport as many bottles of this relish as possible. It was delicious. I ate it right out of the jar. Such good stuff.
In the photo collage: Halloween pictures. There’s Chris in his Frankenstein costume for the Halloween show at the Panopticon. The Teletubbies, although cute, were very naughty. Details available upon request. Ben went as himself (boring!) and Hillary created a fairy costume, leaving a bit of glitter on everything she touched. I squeezed in a picture with Susan Boyle. Didn’t get him to sing for me, however. The guys in orange are from a Scottish cartoon which I was unfamiliar with. However, the shorter guy did propose to me. Although flattered, I turned him down (wearing a cat costume should not be enough reason to want to marry someone), but I really should have taken him up on his offer so I could become a British citizen. Hindsight…always 20/20
