what I forgot to tell you all about from this Spring/early Summer was the course I took at the Globe. On the one hand, it was really cool (I mean, I was studying Shakespeare at the Globe theatre in London, for goodness sake), but on the other, it was disappointing. I was actually one of only three people out of 18-20 who had *any* theater experience, and I probably had the most. The class was thus pretty academic, which was highly frustrating: I wanted to learn how to do the techniques we were talking about, not just... talk about them. Also, and this is entirely me just being a snob, but the class was made up of American study abroad students (it's intended just for us), from a lot of different universities, and the discussions were... anything but stimulating. Some of the comments were so banal, they drove me a little batty. but, judge not lest ye be judged and all that. And for all the academic tone of the lectures, the other students whined from beginning to end about how we had to act (heaven forbid! in a theater class! oh noes!) in scenes from Romeo and Juliet, the play then on at the Globe, and hence, what we were studying (the attentive reader will note that this meant I was working with that play for roughly six months). I on the other hand loved working on those scenes. We were divided into small groups and worked with a professional actor to prepare for a performance-just for ourselves-at the end of the course. It was the first acting I'd done in years, and reminded me why I love it. I
also learned for the first time how to find the stresses in Shakespeare, which makes it make infinitely more sense, and sound more natural.
We went as a group to see Romeo and Juliet, twice, once from the gallery, once from the yard. The yard is much to be prefered: tickets are cheaper, and if you don't mind queuing up and then being a bit forceful to get a good spot, you can end up leaning against the stage, sometimes having to lean back not to get stepped on by the actors. This is much more interactive than regular theater, and there's no danger of dozing off, even for the most weary audience-member. I also got to experience the yard in the rain, which was less ideal, but still preferable to the hard (albeit dry) benches in the gallery. Meagan and I went to see The Frontline, a contemporary play set in one of the grittier parts of south London, written for the Globe. It was interesting to see how they used the space, and how the structure of the play mirrored that of a Shakespeare. The subject matter was dark though (drugs, sex and drug related murders), and all the excellent choreography and witty dialogue couldn't make it truly enjoyable in the lightest sense of the word. Also, the sky poured absolute buckets of water on all of us for the first act, at which point we were all so thoroughly soaked that it didn't matter that it stopped for the second.
Anyways, after all that excitement, I came home to Michigan. I only had a week to unpack, before we were off to the family vacation in Georgian Bay. Kate joined us for the whole week this year (hurrah!), and brought up her new little boat, the Minnow. The week started out a little
gloomy, with rain and cold not discouraging the small rodent-sized mosquitoes that swarmed if we so much as put a toe outdoors, and not much wind. But the wind picked up, so we got in a fair bit of fine sailing (almost made it out to open water, which is always my goal). On the last day it was *too* windy, though, and it was all I could do to wrestle the Wildcat across the bay. Mary and Kate in the Minnow actually capsized, and were resued by some kind people in a motor boat. No injuries or losses except Kate's waterbottle and Mary's pump, which filled with water and sloshed in ways it wasn't supposed to. However, the pump company came to the rescue, and had a new one to her within 24 hours, delivering it to us on Saturday evening, July 4th. We were impressed.
Shortly after our return to Michigan, I moved into my new apartment in Chicago. It's great! Long and narrow, like most apartments in Hyde Park, it occupies half of the second floor of the building. Previous tenants painted the whole place in various attractive shades (the hall is sage green, my room is a dusty blue), except the living room, which was a dark fuschia. yuck! So Toby (one of my three flat mates) spent part of her summer repainting it with great care: two coats of primer, two of a golden yellow, and now it's a warm, light room, not claustrophobic with dark walls. She and I bought a TV table, so we can use the pre-existing dining table for eating! We also got a nice table for our porch, and got rid of the detritus littering the flat and porch a like, and now everything is neat and usable. In my free time, I scrubbed the kitchen surfaces, which were sticky with the grime of generations of students, and reorganized the cupboards so that things could be found (to quote Kailin, one of my other flat mates, 'It all makes sense now! what a concept!'). We have a built in glass fronted side board in the living room, and that's where I'm keeping the lovely set of china that Kate gave me for my birthday. We all think it makes us look like real people. I also reorganized the pantry, so we each have a shelf, and there's a communal shelf, and no food on the floor, and you can walk in, and find everything, and it's great. Kailin pointed out that the cockroach frequency has been deminishing ever since I started my cleaning rampage. hurrah!
Most excitingly, we have our own dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer!!! no more saving quarters for me, or not wanting to spend $3 to run a separate cold delicates load! there is much rejoicing.
My room is small, but I've gotten everything to fit nicely, and the size is much recompensed by my having my own full bathroom. this does much, I think, for my sanity, and probably the peace of the apartment. :) Anyways, the apartment is very comfortable, and Kailin, Toby, and I get along really well. We haven't met the fourth person yet, but here's to hoping she fits in.
I came back to Michigan for the Ionia Free Fair in July. That's the county fair that my family has been participating in for ages. I took some cookies, cakes and pies, an oil painting, and my dad and I (with some help from my mum and sister) built a floral display. That is something I've only seen at the Ionia fair: participants are given a plot of grass, about 3ft square, and have to create a display. We've always done the 'Storybook' class, which gives us a clear story to depict. In the past we've done Peter Rabbit, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, and other such winners. This year we did The Secret Garden. We always make almost all of the props, and build, if I do say so myself, a pretty convincing scene from the story. In this case, my dad and I made a brick wall, with a neat marigold bordered path and vegetable garden on one side, and a rose filled 'wild garden' on the other. I made a door, and a wheel chair for the doll playing Colin, and we had dolls playing Dickon and Mary as well. Altogether great, to my mind, with creative use of flowers, but we lost to Duck on a Bike, apparently a thin paperback released by Scholastic, with little or no literary value. The display reflected this: there was a stuffed duck, on a bike, surrounded by potted plants that had no relevance to the display. bitter much? a bit, yes, considering the effort we put into ours. The woman who runs the floral display said that the judge is a florist, who likes 'big things'. like ducks on bikes, apparently. However, my dad and I cleaned up in the baking, taking several prizes each.
Then it was back to Chicago, and my job at the librarary, not worth dwelling on. I shelve books. nuff said.
And now, I am preparing to go live at the Michigan Renaissance Festival to work with the jousters there. This is my first year working this particular job, or living out there, but I have worked at MRF for six or seven years, not counting the many years I went as a child while my parents danced with the Scottish Country dancing team. I'm super excited. I found a big tent on craigslist, so no living in a Eureka four-man for six weeks! I also bought a camp cot to sleep on. luxuries galore! During the week, I will be getting to ride every day, and on the weekend, I will tack up the horses, pick up weapons, and generally be your architypal squire. I'm getting payed to play with horses and wear awesome clothes! score! Anyways, I'm sure I'll have lots to tell, and lots of pictures. Also there are unposted pics from England and this summer, but that'll have to wait til I get back to Chicago.
Until then!