an actual update about my life
Dec. 6th, 2005 12:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaalaThe Phonetics mid-term on Thursday went okay. I studied some material unnecessarily and didn't bone up up quite enough on some fundamentals. Oh well. My primary concern for much of the exam was the miserably distracting circumstances under which I had to write it. I was placed in a tiny airless room, but I couldn't leave the door open because then I heard students talking in the hall. Once I'd finally given in and closed the door, of course, the music from a lab downstairs began. Regardless, I think I probably did acceptably, and even if I didn't my marks were good enough in the rest of the course to compensate for it.
The Ear Training test on Friday also went okay. Mostly, I'm just sick of the course. And I was annoyed that it started at the same time as the annual Sing-Along Messiah.
Following the test, I took a peek at the Messiah progress, decided against trying to join in an hour late, and went to see a presentation by Daniel MacIvor instead. I'm just that much more enlightened now that I've seen "Wake Up, Jerk Off"! Seriously, the presentation about his career and work was fascinating. Based on the clip of the movie adaptation, I now really want to see if I can make it to the upcoming remount of House. I spoke to him briefly afterwards, actually, just to do the "Uh... I'm not a drama or film student like everybody else in the room but... uh, I like your work," dork thing and ask which of his plays he thought would come across well just by reading them. (I've seen a fair bit of his acting and two screenplays but, oddly, no plays.) So I now await the earliest opportunity to read House and Here Lies Henry.
He's an entertaining and intriguing guy; I can see why he can hold an audience's attention so well in his one-man shows. He never stops moving or talking, always fidgeting, hemming and hawing or beginning sentences without finishing them. He tracked some mud into the room with him so he spent the next hour and a half kicking it around. Yet though behaviour like that would be annoying in most people it was mostly, as I say, entertaining; it wasn't that he was nervous, just too full of stuff to say.
He's honest too and willing to change his answers if he suddenly realizes he's bullshitting: "Do I do rehearsals for films? No, absolutely not. [Gives an explanation of why it's not necessary or desirable for the film medium.] Is it a good idea? Wellll... nn... yeah, sort of. Jeremy Podeswa rehearses. Okay: I can't afford it." Though it's confusing to follow, I do admire that quality. Another interesting that aspect that comes out when listening to him answer questions is that, despite his reputation as edgy and post-modern, there's all these noble and loving intents behind his work.
First to take photos and then because the Board was invited, I attended two run-throughs of Urinetown Friday and Sunday. And, boy, is it looking polished! It's incredibly funny too. I realize that some people do and/or will have objections to the "WTF?" moments and potty humour, but the sympathetic characters (Bobby, Hope, Little Sally, Josephine Strong, Officer Barrel even) are played with such earnestness that I think it does work. Danny especially is great at saying the absolutely ridiculous things that bothered me on the soundtrack and making them sound sincere. The acting is good enough that I do occasionally lament the show's inability to leave a touching moment alone without undermining it with a gag. But hey, that's it's nature, I guess, neo-Brechtian and all that.
When I saw Keren on Sunday, I made a point of congratulating her on her choreography. It adds so much to the show's energy and humour. Rob Kempson's vocal coaching has obviously been effective too. And, choral geek that I've become, I marvelled at the perfection of several final consonant cut-offs. The band was rather scattered during the run-throughs but I expect that will improv once they're no longer spread out in front of the stage.
The Ear Training test on Friday also went okay. Mostly, I'm just sick of the course. And I was annoyed that it started at the same time as the annual Sing-Along Messiah.
Following the test, I took a peek at the Messiah progress, decided against trying to join in an hour late, and went to see a presentation by Daniel MacIvor instead. I'm just that much more enlightened now that I've seen "Wake Up, Jerk Off"! Seriously, the presentation about his career and work was fascinating. Based on the clip of the movie adaptation, I now really want to see if I can make it to the upcoming remount of House. I spoke to him briefly afterwards, actually, just to do the "Uh... I'm not a drama or film student like everybody else in the room but... uh, I like your work," dork thing and ask which of his plays he thought would come across well just by reading them. (I've seen a fair bit of his acting and two screenplays but, oddly, no plays.) So I now await the earliest opportunity to read House and Here Lies Henry.
He's an entertaining and intriguing guy; I can see why he can hold an audience's attention so well in his one-man shows. He never stops moving or talking, always fidgeting, hemming and hawing or beginning sentences without finishing them. He tracked some mud into the room with him so he spent the next hour and a half kicking it around. Yet though behaviour like that would be annoying in most people it was mostly, as I say, entertaining; it wasn't that he was nervous, just too full of stuff to say.
He's honest too and willing to change his answers if he suddenly realizes he's bullshitting: "Do I do rehearsals for films? No, absolutely not. [Gives an explanation of why it's not necessary or desirable for the film medium.] Is it a good idea? Wellll... nn... yeah, sort of. Jeremy Podeswa rehearses. Okay: I can't afford it." Though it's confusing to follow, I do admire that quality. Another interesting that aspect that comes out when listening to him answer questions is that, despite his reputation as edgy and post-modern, there's all these noble and loving intents behind his work.
First to take photos and then because the Board was invited, I attended two run-throughs of Urinetown Friday and Sunday. And, boy, is it looking polished! It's incredibly funny too. I realize that some people do and/or will have objections to the "WTF?" moments and potty humour, but the sympathetic characters (Bobby, Hope, Little Sally, Josephine Strong, Officer Barrel even) are played with such earnestness that I think it does work. Danny especially is great at saying the absolutely ridiculous things that bothered me on the soundtrack and making them sound sincere. The acting is good enough that I do occasionally lament the show's inability to leave a touching moment alone without undermining it with a gag. But hey, that's it's nature, I guess, neo-Brechtian and all that.
When I saw Keren on Sunday, I made a point of congratulating her on her choreography. It adds so much to the show's energy and humour. Rob Kempson's vocal coaching has obviously been effective too. And, choral geek that I've become, I marvelled at the perfection of several final consonant cut-offs. The band was rather scattered during the run-throughs but I expect that will improv once they're no longer spread out in front of the stage.
