Blog Post 15 Theatre Rehearsal
Blog Post 15
Theatre Rehearsal
April 29, 2018
Gentle Reader,
Today is Sunday, a day off from working at Kara Tepe. My original plan was to travel to a small fishing village just north of Kara Tepe, but I was told many of the shops and restaurants might be closed due to it being Sunday. So, I will save that excursion for a weeknight when I am not completely exhausted. The heat, combined with long hours on my feet, as well as hauling boxes from the warehouse to The Shop, tend to create a very tired me by the end of the workday. The work is exhausting, but it is ultimately good work.
In my stumbling around at Myteline Port today, I eventually needed to find a restroom. This poses some difficulty, as the shop where I had lunch was just a small, narrow storefront, with no public restrooms. I walked around the port, looking for a public toilet. I discovered the doors to the theatre were open, and found my way to the WC. Here's a happy me after discovering the facilities:
I then wandered into the rehearsal stage, following the sounds. I discovered that my roommate Ben was among the performers at the rehearsal. I have really no idea what the show is about, but it seems very conceptual. The singing was beautiful...
This gentleman was entertaining the children, riding around on a scooter, while the rest of the cast was rehearsing.
Some facts about theatre...
The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. The theatre is a spiritual and social X-ray of its time.
I love thinking about the theatre as a "seeing place... where people come to see the truth about life." Dr Arthur Athanason, a proud Greek, was one of my most influential professors during my studies at Michigan State University. Arthur and I became very good friends, with him being my mentor until he died of pancreatic cancer about ten years ago. Arthur and I would meet for coffee or lunch, discussing opening discussion questions for new works I would introduce in classes at East Lansing High School. He viewed the classroom as a theatre of sorts; walking to class with him, he would signal for quiet in our conversation, saying, "An actor prepares" as he walked to his theatre classroom.
I would like to dedicate this blog to Arthur Athanason, a professor who, in his syllabus, always said, "No voyeurs allowed." He wanted engagement, active discussion, thinking, challenging, an openness to learning, a willingness to be vulnerable in the grappling with any text. Arthur was especially fond of plays, and many of his favorites became favorites of mine to teach, too: Zoo Story by Edward Albee; Equus by Peter Shaffer; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee; Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht.
Thank you, Arthur, for continuing to inspire me. Your mentoring of me for so many years had the ripple effect of touching approximately 4800 students over my 32 years of teaching. Thank you.
May your day be filled with sweet and lasting inspiration from the people you admire, from the people who challenge you to be your very best self...
Namaste,
Marianne
Theatre Rehearsal
April 29, 2018
Gentle Reader,
Today is Sunday, a day off from working at Kara Tepe. My original plan was to travel to a small fishing village just north of Kara Tepe, but I was told many of the shops and restaurants might be closed due to it being Sunday. So, I will save that excursion for a weeknight when I am not completely exhausted. The heat, combined with long hours on my feet, as well as hauling boxes from the warehouse to The Shop, tend to create a very tired me by the end of the workday. The work is exhausting, but it is ultimately good work.
In my stumbling around at Myteline Port today, I eventually needed to find a restroom. This poses some difficulty, as the shop where I had lunch was just a small, narrow storefront, with no public restrooms. I walked around the port, looking for a public toilet. I discovered the doors to the theatre were open, and found my way to the WC. Here's a happy me after discovering the facilities:
I then wandered into the rehearsal stage, following the sounds. I discovered that my roommate Ben was among the performers at the rehearsal. I have really no idea what the show is about, but it seems very conceptual. The singing was beautiful...
This gentleman was entertaining the children, riding around on a scooter, while the rest of the cast was rehearsing.
Some facts about theatre...
The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. The theatre is a spiritual and social X-ray of its time.
I love thinking about the theatre as a "seeing place... where people come to see the truth about life." Dr Arthur Athanason, a proud Greek, was one of my most influential professors during my studies at Michigan State University. Arthur and I became very good friends, with him being my mentor until he died of pancreatic cancer about ten years ago. Arthur and I would meet for coffee or lunch, discussing opening discussion questions for new works I would introduce in classes at East Lansing High School. He viewed the classroom as a theatre of sorts; walking to class with him, he would signal for quiet in our conversation, saying, "An actor prepares" as he walked to his theatre classroom.
I would like to dedicate this blog to Arthur Athanason, a professor who, in his syllabus, always said, "No voyeurs allowed." He wanted engagement, active discussion, thinking, challenging, an openness to learning, a willingness to be vulnerable in the grappling with any text. Arthur was especially fond of plays, and many of his favorites became favorites of mine to teach, too: Zoo Story by Edward Albee; Equus by Peter Shaffer; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee; Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht.
Thank you, Arthur, for continuing to inspire me. Your mentoring of me for so many years had the ripple effect of touching approximately 4800 students over my 32 years of teaching. Thank you.
May your day be filled with sweet and lasting inspiration from the people you admire, from the people who challenge you to be your very best self...
Namaste,
Marianne
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