Hello again! This will be my last blog
entry for a little while. Tomorrow is the last day of classes. After that, we
have two days called reading days set aside for studying. Then, finals begin.
After finals, I’ll be staying at my friend Sully’s house for a couple days
before we road-trip back home to California for winter break. Next semester, I’m
going to be studying abroad in Australia, and although I may fill you in on how
the semester’s going about halfway through, I won’t be posting regularly.
I have two in-class written finals as well
as the final presentation of my acting scene. I also have to edit and turn in
my final portfolio for my fiction writing class. Besides that, I’m basically
done. It feels like my workload was weighted more towards the three-quarter
mark in the semester than at the end. My finals schedule doesn’t look bad at
all, especially when you consider that I’m going to be studying for my
Shakespeare final exam by doing a marathon of all the films of the plays we
read.
Speaking of Shakespeare, Sully, my
roommate Sara, and I all went downtown last Sunday to see Coriolanus. It was a screening of National Theatre Live’s
production starring Tom Hiddleston. Alfred Enoch was in it too, and Mark
Gatiss. It was a truly incredible experience. In terms of visual setting, the
performance struck this weird balance between minimalism and spectacle. The
stage was very bare, except for a tall ladder leading up a graffitied wall. But
the movement on that minimal stage involved stage combat, throwing chairs, water,
pyrotechnics, and lots of fake blood. The acting was great, except for one of
Coriolanus’ final monologues, which felt a little flat to me. But overall, the
actors made me experience the characters in a totally new and unprecedented
way. The man who played Brutus was really good in that he was completely horrible.
I thoroughly enjoyed hating that character. I didn’t realize how much I cared
about this play just reading it for class. I may have analyzed the characters
in my papers and in class discussions, but I didn’t truly know them until I saw
them depicted like this. I’m so glad I got to see this performance. It complements
what I do in class as well as being entertaining and wonderful in its own
right. The best part is that it counted as studying for finals! It should help
me remember the plot and characters for my Shakespeare exam.
Here's a photo I took on the walk to the theatre where we watched the screening. I'm on a bridge over the Willamette River.
And here's another photo of Sully and Sara at the sushi restaurant we went to beforehand!
I could talk about that show for ages, but
I’d better swing back to my on-campus activities now. Last weekend, I went to
see Dance Extravaganza, which was really cool. Commonly called Dance X, it is a
series of dances choreographed and performed by LC students. I signed up to be
an usher for the performance, so I got a free ticket. Tonight, I’m going to the performance of
a play I wrote, which I’m really stoked for. It’s the final project for my
theatre and society class. I also have my last shift working at the Writing
Center. Finally, I’m excited for Watzek Recess. During the reading days, there
are snacks, coffee, massages, therapy dogs, coloring books, Disney movies and
more in the library. It’s always worth stopping by.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope
everyone has a good holiday season!
Best,
Jess