Our assessment for the end of our second module was a production that we had to put together ourselves. Our prompt was to answer the question "What is too important to ignore?"
It took us two weeks to put together a fourty five minute production and I heard that we received high marks for it.
I think that it's safe to say that we each had our own answer to the question and therefore had to act as ourselves in this production.
Several of us had monologues that we wrote ourselves (one was mine and another was told in British Sign Language).
The production covered sexism, mental illnesses, money, college life, homesickness, communication, and the legal system (not in that order).
Everyone else took very lovely pictures of it, but alas I did not.
The University is doing a production of Sweeney Todd and I offered to help out with wardrobe backstage. I was called in over the weekend and I expected to have a tech run. Instead it was set building. I do have some experience in both wardrobe crew and set building. I had to do both for the production of the first part of Tony Kushner's Angels in America two years ago, which was everything but forgettable.
I mean a play about a closeted gay republican Mormon lawyer who works for Roy Cohn and is married to a valium addicted wife and his lover's ex-lover is dying of AIDS isn't exactly something I'd consider forgettable.
Sweeney Todd was different. I agreed to help paint the set and once the red paint came out, I was pleaded guilty for killing Mufasa.
Alas I do not have a picture of the set.
I think I helped more in building the set than working backstage. The job description for me was basically "Follow Luke around and do what ever he tells you", which was mostly opening and closing the oven door. At some point, there was a scene where realistic plastic body parts being thrown around on stage and I damn near got hit by a leg.
All in all, I've heard good things about the performance. I had the privilege of hearing the songs and seeing some scenes on the higher part of the stage.
An American friend named Allison and I decided to visit the Elizabethan Gardens over the weekend. I knew they were around, but I didn't know exactly where they were. It didn't really help that in order to get to them would require going through a narrow street way where you wouldn't expect to find a historic garden.
It consisted of four gardens that were apparently constructed on the ruins of backland cottages. However, it's early March and most of the plants aren't in bloom yet. I'll probably come back after the break in April.
A while back I introduced myself to Sherlock and I think it's safe to say that the family and I are quite hooked.
A little while later, I got introduced to Broadchurch.
Since then, I've become a sucker for murder mysteries. One thing that really upped my experience is when I found a book called Treachery by S.J. Parris, which is a murder mystery I found at Drake Circus.
It is a book about Sir Francais Drake (who was a real person)
who is sailing the Elizabeth Bonadventure to Spain (which was a real ship)
but there was a murder in his crew, so an Italian (and Catholic) scholar named Giordano Bruno is going to find out who did it (Giordano Bruno was also a real person)
Did I mention that it takes place IN Plymouth? It's nice to read something that has a familiar setting. I just need to imagine Plymouth in 1585 (which in retrospect is not that hard to do). So now it's a fun little project to read the book, write down any locations in Plymouth that are mentioned, and then go looking for them.
One of them was extremely simple, which was Drake's Island.
"'And what is that island?' I ask, pointing to a mound of rock at the summit, a stone tower peeps above the treeline. 'St Nicholas Island,' Knolly says, shading his eyes, 'though the locals call it Drake's Island. (S. J. Parris, Treachery, page 33)'"
I'm starting to make a climb on the W chart and I think that I'm taking the adjustment pretty well. I have a steady schedule going (despite the new module) which consists of beer/cider on Saturday
3£ ciders are the best ciders
As well as a movie night on Sunday. Right now we're on the Harry Potter movies, but since the Oscars were going on last week, we watched Catch Me if You Can in honor of Leo.
Flat life is quite interesting. I get a nice little room to myself and I share a kitchen and bathroom with five lovely flatmates, but living in a flat can come with first world problems.
