Hustler

Time is flying. It's like a hang glider, soaring above my head at speeds well beyond my walking capabilities. Or it could be a flying squirrel, because I can sometimes catch up with it. I hate squirrels.

I'm not sure I ever mentioned the fact that I got a job in Finland for the summer. I also recently finalized a studio apartment, which I will have all to myself. Instead of heading back to the states on May 17 (or whatever day this horrid Nido bureaucracy kicks me out), I will fly to Helsinki. Jaba is also coming, in part to help me move and in part to have a little Finnish holiday. Then I start working with Ramblas Digital on Tuesday, May 20. (I asked to skip Monday the 19th because that's my birthday, and who wants to work on their birthday? Exactly.)

I am so excited for that.

In other news, I'm thrilled about the final project that I'm doing for my Reporting the Arts class. Though I hate the teacher, I came up with a project that I actually want to write. Our final essay was supposed to be something rather cliché: an interview, a feature or a really, really long review of something. I don't like doing any of those in 2,000 words because I tend to say everything in short and then run out of things to say. It's not a lot of words for a standard academic essay, but it's a lot for a newspaper writer who is used to writing stories that are usually from 600-1,000 words!

Last week, he casually mentioned that some of his previous students turned in "creative pieces" responding to themes in the class or a show that the class had seen. He said one had written a scene after seeing one play, and another rewrote an existing scene from another play. I decided that this type of thing would be far more fun for me than an interview or feature, stuff I do regularly. I suggested this:

I am going to see Pinter's The Lover & The Collection again and I will try to catalog all of the movement in the play. It's essentially a study of the physicality of a play. This is not dance or a musical, so exaggerated movement does not come into play. I want to see if, especially with this double-bill performance, the movement, posture, facial expressions and bodily communications of the actors effectively reveal what is going on in the play. I have already seen it, and I think their movements say it all. Now I have to see the play at least one more time so I can sit there in the dark theatre, furiously scribbling every little physical detail that I notice.

In the end, it would not have a thesis. It would not have an opinion. It would be merely a run through of every significant movement (or every significant non-movement) from pauses to stick-straight postures to a seductress crawling on the floor. This is certainly a challenge because I have to somehow make an eloquent and coherent presentation of 2,000 words out of a list of, essentially, verbs.

I also had the idea to talk to the director and some of the actors. If I ask them about their motives and ideas concerning their own movements, maybe it would give me some help. I was thinking of splicing their quotes almost inexplicably into my own description, especially if the quote centers on one particular scene or movement.

My teacher said he has the director's phone number, but remember how I said that he isn't very helpful? Well, he's not impressing me thus far. I might have to go stalk the actors after the show...

I know that important people like Gina McKee and Charlie Cox and the director probably have better things to do than talk to a student about their final project in a university class. I understand this. I went to talk to my boss for London Kicks about my project to see if he'd publish it on his website.

He loves the idea. Wants it. Lusts for it.

And now that I have the chance to get the piece published, this might be more incentive for the director and actors to give me serious consideration when I ask for an interview. Plus, it's not a review of their performance, so they know I won't say anything bad -- as long as they don't trip on stage.

I also mentioned my idea to my art teacher. My final project for my art class has to be a review of an art gallery or something, but she said she liked this idea so much that I could use this project and create a spin-off for my final project in her class as well. This is because I'm looking at the performance as an abstract art, as a physical being rather than a play. We'll see what I do there.

I am excited to write it! Now I just need to make sure I get on my teacher's ass about helping me with contacts!

What do you know? It's class time. I get to go see him right now.