(no subject)
Today was amazing on so many levels. I have been cooped up in my room anxious and saghljk and UGH. Today everything changed. Today Emerson Summerstage started.
I will start with my one and only complaint; I liked having 14 people better then 24. Complaints over. The rest of today could not have gone any better.
After driving, waiting in line for 20 minutes at Alewife (stupid construction), a T-ride and then the best attempt at running I could manage I made it to the Little Building just in time. Everybody knew my name. It was a little bit creepy.
I went upstairs, grabbed a bagel and walked into the room to find Courtney right by the entrance. After a few wispered words (some bigwig Emerson lady was talking) I sat down next to her with the rest of the staff. Everyone probably thought I WAS on the staff. After a 10 minute speech in which no actual information was dispersed, the various Emerson Summer Programs split off. We (being Summerstage) went off to Tufte building's 6th floor, walked over to the Greene Theater door, and promptly discovered it was locked and nobody had the key. Suddenly, I knew I was home.
The group this year was definitely female dominated, as opposed to last years relatively even mix (Hey look Gabe, a bunch of attractive, nice girls with common interests. Maybe you should ask one of them out instead of people you consider family :D). And once again, there were no gay guys. All the guys were in the bathroom chatting (the best place to do it) and we determined that none of us are gay. What the hell kind of theater program is this? No gay people, geez.
Once a techie showed up with a key, we entered and took our seats. I was tentative, so I ended up sitting on the end of the second row. This worked out fine, since I ended up sitting next to Alwyn, who is as cool as his name (which is very cool). Courtney gave an informative speech containing actual information, all of which I already knew. Joe (the Monologues teacher) came in afterward, and we got down to busisness.
With a getting to know you game!
Everyone interviewed someone else with 4 questions, and then had to describe that person in ten words to everyone else. Not the most fun ever, but it did it's job. Afterward we all knew each other at least a little better. Then it was lunchtime.
The Emerson Cafeteria is not your ordinary cafeteria. The food is cooked in front of you, and actually tastes good. It is also all you can eat, and we had free passes. Much eating commenced.
I sat next to Alwyn, Kelly, and two other girls whom I remember very well but have sadly forgotten the name of. I talked a lot. Not too much, not too little. I just talked, I had fun; we laughed, talked about our schools, colleges, our backgrounds, jobs, whatever the hell we felt like. And I wasn't a tagalong or a shy person in the corner. I was active and out there and part of the group. I made jokes people laughed at, and people talked to me and I love this.
After lunch we played the best game of celebrity ever. We ended up with all the tall people taking on the short people, except for Sam who was short, but she was cool so she got to be on our team. Our team (the Vertically Advantaged) consisted of Myself, Adam (teacher), Alwyn, Mary Lee, Emma, Adam, Tim, Jane, Sammie and Israel (aka Izzy). I'm sure I got some of those names wrong. There must have been at least 40 freaking Brad pitts in the pot, and about 20 Johnny Depps. Our team kept getting the hard ones, while the opposing team (the Vertically Challenged) kept getting Brad Pitt. It really wasn't fair, but in round 2 we made a huge comeback, tying the score. I am convinced we will win tommorow.
After that we had our first real class, and I was amazed at how all these fun, loud happy people morphed into some very serious students. The class was on analyzation, and we literally sat for 15 minutes talking about a marker, and then another half an hour talking about a 4 page play we had just read. It was absolutely riveting. No sarcasm, the atmosphere was amazing. We all want to learn and it showed.
At the end of the day I stayed behind to give Courtney a hug and thank all the new teachers (Adam, Chelsea and Diane). I ended up leaving at the same time as Judy. I was thinking during the day that she was kind of obnoxious, but as we left we started talking and she mentioned she had NLD and pretty much the same stuff that I have, and I felt like an asshole for a minute. Here I was judging someone just like I always used to be judged. But things turned around quickly. She was on the younger end of the spectrum, and talking to her I felt like a mentor. we ended up just stopping on the street and talking for 20 minutes, largely about her difficulties with schoolwork. I felt like I gave her hope, like I made a difference in her life. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.
I will start with my one and only complaint; I liked having 14 people better then 24. Complaints over. The rest of today could not have gone any better.
After driving, waiting in line for 20 minutes at Alewife (stupid construction), a T-ride and then the best attempt at running I could manage I made it to the Little Building just in time. Everybody knew my name. It was a little bit creepy.
I went upstairs, grabbed a bagel and walked into the room to find Courtney right by the entrance. After a few wispered words (some bigwig Emerson lady was talking) I sat down next to her with the rest of the staff. Everyone probably thought I WAS on the staff. After a 10 minute speech in which no actual information was dispersed, the various Emerson Summer Programs split off. We (being Summerstage) went off to Tufte building's 6th floor, walked over to the Greene Theater door, and promptly discovered it was locked and nobody had the key. Suddenly, I knew I was home.
The group this year was definitely female dominated, as opposed to last years relatively even mix (Hey look Gabe, a bunch of attractive, nice girls with common interests. Maybe you should ask one of them out instead of people you consider family :D). And once again, there were no gay guys. All the guys were in the bathroom chatting (the best place to do it) and we determined that none of us are gay. What the hell kind of theater program is this? No gay people, geez.
Once a techie showed up with a key, we entered and took our seats. I was tentative, so I ended up sitting on the end of the second row. This worked out fine, since I ended up sitting next to Alwyn, who is as cool as his name (which is very cool). Courtney gave an informative speech containing actual information, all of which I already knew. Joe (the Monologues teacher) came in afterward, and we got down to busisness.
With a getting to know you game!
Everyone interviewed someone else with 4 questions, and then had to describe that person in ten words to everyone else. Not the most fun ever, but it did it's job. Afterward we all knew each other at least a little better. Then it was lunchtime.
The Emerson Cafeteria is not your ordinary cafeteria. The food is cooked in front of you, and actually tastes good. It is also all you can eat, and we had free passes. Much eating commenced.
I sat next to Alwyn, Kelly, and two other girls whom I remember very well but have sadly forgotten the name of. I talked a lot. Not too much, not too little. I just talked, I had fun; we laughed, talked about our schools, colleges, our backgrounds, jobs, whatever the hell we felt like. And I wasn't a tagalong or a shy person in the corner. I was active and out there and part of the group. I made jokes people laughed at, and people talked to me and I love this.
After lunch we played the best game of celebrity ever. We ended up with all the tall people taking on the short people, except for Sam who was short, but she was cool so she got to be on our team. Our team (the Vertically Advantaged) consisted of Myself, Adam (teacher), Alwyn, Mary Lee, Emma, Adam, Tim, Jane, Sammie and Israel (aka Izzy). I'm sure I got some of those names wrong. There must have been at least 40 freaking Brad pitts in the pot, and about 20 Johnny Depps. Our team kept getting the hard ones, while the opposing team (the Vertically Challenged) kept getting Brad Pitt. It really wasn't fair, but in round 2 we made a huge comeback, tying the score. I am convinced we will win tommorow.
After that we had our first real class, and I was amazed at how all these fun, loud happy people morphed into some very serious students. The class was on analyzation, and we literally sat for 15 minutes talking about a marker, and then another half an hour talking about a 4 page play we had just read. It was absolutely riveting. No sarcasm, the atmosphere was amazing. We all want to learn and it showed.
At the end of the day I stayed behind to give Courtney a hug and thank all the new teachers (Adam, Chelsea and Diane). I ended up leaving at the same time as Judy. I was thinking during the day that she was kind of obnoxious, but as we left we started talking and she mentioned she had NLD and pretty much the same stuff that I have, and I felt like an asshole for a minute. Here I was judging someone just like I always used to be judged. But things turned around quickly. She was on the younger end of the spectrum, and talking to her I felt like a mentor. we ended up just stopping on the street and talking for 20 minutes, largely about her difficulties with schoolwork. I felt like I gave her hope, like I made a difference in her life. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.