(no subject)
so an update on life. Theatre Restaurant went pretty well. the first performance was definitely the best. the second one was for parents, so there was a lot less laughter from the audience (a lot of the jokes were either really dirty or else just Emmanuel inside jokes that the parents wouldn't get), and the third night was better, though still not as good as Thursday. one of the most interesting aspects of playing in the pit was that i was sitting next to Louisa, a violist who happens to be blind. sitting next to her meant that i had certain responsibilities, such as handing her her viola when she sat down in the middle of the first act (she was singing towards the beginning of the production, so she didn't join the band until half-way through the first act), letting her know what song was coming up next, counting her in, tapping her for cut-offs, and helping her get up and get back to her seat during intermissions. it was kind of an eye-opening (pardon the pun) experience to be helping and even talking to a blind person. she explained to me that most blind people still have some level of eyesight- such as light and dark perception. but she is 100% blind. she has perfect pitch, and is a very good violist and singer. i asked the tuba player to let her touch his tuba, since she'd never "seen" one, and wanted to know what it looked like. during one intermission, she asked me to describe what Tim (our conductor) was doing, and i explained how he held a baton and conducted us using hand motions, and that we have to look up from the music fairly often to make sure that we are in time with him. and every so often, she would ask me during the production what the audience was laughing at, and i would have to explain some of the more visible humor.
anyway, as with any production, the best part was the after-party the last night of the show. free beer and pizza = awesome. and then i ended up staying up until about 3am with some of the band people and their friends in the lounge of their wing. it was a lot of fun, especially since it was probably my first experience spending a significant amount of time hanging out with a bunch of Australians since i've been here. that's sad, i know.
on Wednesday night i hung out with Eddy in the city. that's the Scottish kid we hung out with when we were in Sydney. Emily and Katie couldn't come because they were both working on papers. so Eddy and i went to a bar near his hostel, then hung out at the Casino for a while (where he insisted on buying me a drink), and then went back to his hostel and hung out with some friends of his- a bunch of girls from England.
yesterday Lesley and i went to the markets at South Bank. it was a lot of fun wandering from stall to stall seeing all the cool crafty things they had. there was one place that had a dress i absolutely loved, but it was pretty expensive, so i didn't get it. i did, however, buy an opal necklace for my mom. my dad's been telling me that i have to get my mom opal jewelry from Australia. he likes to spoil her, i guess. after visiting the markets, we went over to the science museum for a little while. and then today i went to a multi-cultural festival in the city. had some good Indian food and watched traditional dance performances from different parts of the world. afterwards, i wandered over to South Bank for the second time in 2 days. i was sad to learn that the Art Gallery is closed until December for refurbishing. but i wandered around a little bit and saw the shops and cafes on Little Stanley St., the main street in South Bank. then i took the bus back and got off at the closest stop to my church so i could end the day with Mass.
anyway, as with any production, the best part was the after-party the last night of the show. free beer and pizza = awesome. and then i ended up staying up until about 3am with some of the band people and their friends in the lounge of their wing. it was a lot of fun, especially since it was probably my first experience spending a significant amount of time hanging out with a bunch of Australians since i've been here. that's sad, i know.
on Wednesday night i hung out with Eddy in the city. that's the Scottish kid we hung out with when we were in Sydney. Emily and Katie couldn't come because they were both working on papers. so Eddy and i went to a bar near his hostel, then hung out at the Casino for a while (where he insisted on buying me a drink), and then went back to his hostel and hung out with some friends of his- a bunch of girls from England.
yesterday Lesley and i went to the markets at South Bank. it was a lot of fun wandering from stall to stall seeing all the cool crafty things they had. there was one place that had a dress i absolutely loved, but it was pretty expensive, so i didn't get it. i did, however, buy an opal necklace for my mom. my dad's been telling me that i have to get my mom opal jewelry from Australia. he likes to spoil her, i guess. after visiting the markets, we went over to the science museum for a little while. and then today i went to a multi-cultural festival in the city. had some good Indian food and watched traditional dance performances from different parts of the world. afterwards, i wandered over to South Bank for the second time in 2 days. i was sad to learn that the Art Gallery is closed until December for refurbishing. but i wandered around a little bit and saw the shops and cafes on Little Stanley St., the main street in South Bank. then i took the bus back and got off at the closest stop to my church so i could end the day with Mass.