I'm always amazed at how much can happen in just a few days. Take that as a warning: you may want to get comfortable, because this is bound to be a long post.
The rest of Spooky Town was an adventure, to say the least. Somehow we managed to get everything done, but it wasn't easy. Our last two stories happened differently than the first one: the script for our second story was developed through improvisations and belonged completely to the group, and the third story was narrated by Laurie and pantomimed by the kids. Although developing a script was certainly ambitious (I think this camp would have benefitted from being two weeks long), I was really glad it was a part of the process. It gave the kids a real feeling of ownership over the process and allowed for a lot of silliness and fun in exploring an otherwise creepy story.
I've mentioned a few times on this blog that I've been struggling with the idea of theatre training for young people, as opposed to the process-based creative drama I'm used to. I think Spooky Town did a good job of focusing on the process while still ending in a pretty fantastic performance. It's interesting being in a room with kids who have signed up for a theatre camp - there's very little hesitation to jump in and take risks, and it's possible to have an extremely high level of individual exposure almost immediately, because these kids are already excited about performing. I'm sure this also had a lot to do with the room's ethos, which was immediately set up as very supportive and welcoming. Though I'm by no means a total convert to theatre training over creative drama, I was excited to witness the two come together in the way they did this week, and it was fun to be able to just jump in, without having to build up to it.
Outside of the CTC basement, I've been having some incredible adventures. They started on Thursday, with a trip to French Meadow Bakery and Cafe, the country's first ever certified organic bakery. I had the Ahi tuna sandwich special with goat cheese and arugula. And yes, it was as incredible as it sounds. I also had the chance of picking at my friend's rosemary potato flatbread pizza, which didn't disappoint either. I followed that with the cappuccino torte, which was so beautiful and decadent I couldn't finish it all, and if you know me, you know that almost never happens with dessert. I wish I had thought to take pictures, but I was too excited about the food to remember.
We then made our way over to the Guthrie for their production of The Sunshine Boys, the only hiccup in my otherwise perfect weekend. I've never been a Neil Simon fan, and this show did nothing to convert me. It was an incredibly high quality production of a horrible, dated script. I really struggle with the idea of producing theatre like this for the sake of pleasing subscribers, but of course, the house was packed on a Thursday night. It's worth noting, though, that almost no one in the audience was under fifty, and looking around before the show, I could count the number of non-white audience members on one hand. This script in particular was Neil Simon at his most offensive. I know a lot of it comes from the conventions of the 1970s, but the sexism and racism that pervaded nearly every minute of the play made me wonder why anyone would consider this play worth producing in 2012.
Friday night, my friend Ilana and I made our way over to Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown, famous for their incredible macaroni and cheese pizza. I had tried the mac and cheese pizza a few weeks ago, so this time I decided to try their Avocado Delight pizza: black beans, avocados, tomatoes, and feta cheese. Again, a complete success, and this time I remembered to take a picture!
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I think it's safe to say that Saturday was my favorite Minneapolis day so far. My friend Lizzy, a fellow CTC intern, told me about a vintage store she heard about called Mighty Swell. It's only open every once in a while (I think one weekend a month but I'm not sure) and it's located in an obscure residential neighborhood in south Minneapolis - so obscure, in fact, that Ilana and I got lost on our way there and ended up taking a cab. We pushed through that little setback and I couldn't be happier that we did. The store is long and narrow, and lined with clothing racks packed with reasonably priced, beautiful vintage clothing. We spent an hour and a half just looking, and I walked out with two new belts, a couple new rompers, a shirt, a wrap skirt, and - my favorite purchase - a $3 apron from the 1950s. I figured with all the cooking I've been doing, I deserved it. The store also sold a literary magazine called C.L.A.P. (Creative Ladies are Powerful), and the gender studies major in me couldn't resist that title.
Once we had been through everything at Mighty Swell a few times, we headed to Uptown for lunch at Ecopolitan, a vegan, gluten-free, raw food restaurant located in a holistic health center. It reminded me of a more polished version of the juice bar and restaurant where I worked in high school, and I was thrilled to be eating raw food, probably my favorite type of "cooking" (nothing actually gets cooked above 104°F). The menu looked so delicious I couldn't decide what to get, so luckily there was the option of a surprise entree - if you can't decide, the chef decides for you! I took a chance and ended up with an imitation tuna (made with walnuts) maki roll to accompany my "Greenway" smoothie: coconut water, banana, pear, spinach, blueberries, and vanilla. Lizzy tried the "rawvioli" and Ilana tried the mac and cheese (zucchini noodles and cashew cheese). I tried a bit of everything, and it was all so fresh tasting and delicious. We finished the meal with a berry ice cream (made with almond milk) parfait.
Lizzy had to go babysit, so Ilana and I made our way to the Lagoon movie theater to see Beasts of the Southern Wild. I can't possibly talk about this movie without doing it a huge injustice; I think it suffices to say that I have only had this visceral of a reaction to a piece of art twice before in my life (and never before to a movie). I openly wept all the way through the end of the credits, and I felt so weak that I could barely get up to leave the theatre. If you haven't seen it yet, go as soon as you possibly can.
The rest of the night consisted of dinner at the Bryant Lake Bowl, a bowling alley/theatre space/restaurant in Uptown. We thought about going bowling but decided against it, and instead I had a delicious flatbread pizza (made with manchego, my favorite cheese in the entire world!) while we decompressed after the movie.
I know I've said before that Uptown is overrated - when I called my mom yesterday while walking around, she was surprised to hear that I was enjoying myself there - but I think I need to retract that statement. Until this Saturday, I had never explored Lyndale, a street in Uptown packed with cool coffee shops and more places like Ecopolitan (French Meadows Cafe is also on Lyndale). Once you get away from the more commercial, yuppie Hennepin Avenue, Uptown is pretty great, though I still have a soft spot for Seward.
I made my usual weekend trip to the Seward Cafe this morning to keep pushing my way through William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, a beautiful piece of Beat literature that I've been meaning to read for years and have finally found the stamina for. His writing is haunting and often really hard to stomach, but it's so breathtaking that it's worth every minute. All that said, though, I still only managed to get through 35 pages in the two hours I spent there.
Yoga class today was another pleasant surprise. I had never taken class with this instructor before, and even though it was an intermediate class, it was really challenging. There's a fitness center above my yoga studio that's completely unaffiliated, and at the end of class today (just before we started to meditate) an aerobics class, complete with Lady Gaga, started right above our classroom. I was really amazed with how the instructor was able to keep us focused through that - he told us to notice the sounds around us, and then to turn our listening to the silence within ourselves. He spoke about a monk he recently heard speak who, beginning in March, is taking a five year vow of silence to communicate the idea that silence is one of the few things that every person has in common; it crosses language and cultural barriers like nothing else can. I usually don't like when yoga instructors attempt to impart wisdom like this on the class because it often breaks my focus, but since class this afternoon I've been thinking a lot about the idea of listening to the silence within and finding peace that way. I think it'll come in handy next week, since I'm moving on to my first week with the little ones.
I'll be with four- and five-year-olds in the mornings and with K-3rd grade in the afternoons. My morning camp is called Around the World in Fairytales and my afternoon camp is School for Sorcerers. If I'm being completely honest, I'm terrified for these camps - I've probably said this before, but I've never worked with kids this young. I'm much more comfortable with older kids; even 4th-6th grade was a stretch for me. I'm excited to try it out, but it's going to be a challenging week. Being able to recognize the chaos around me without letting it affect my inner silence is going to be tough, but I think it's doable.
Here's to yet another Monday! Thanks for bearing with me through this long post - I'll try to keep next week's posts shorter.
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| I once again was too excited to take pictures, so the credit for this one goes to Ilana. |
Lizzy had to go babysit, so Ilana and I made our way to the Lagoon movie theater to see Beasts of the Southern Wild. I can't possibly talk about this movie without doing it a huge injustice; I think it suffices to say that I have only had this visceral of a reaction to a piece of art twice before in my life (and never before to a movie). I openly wept all the way through the end of the credits, and I felt so weak that I could barely get up to leave the theatre. If you haven't seen it yet, go as soon as you possibly can.
The rest of the night consisted of dinner at the Bryant Lake Bowl, a bowling alley/theatre space/restaurant in Uptown. We thought about going bowling but decided against it, and instead I had a delicious flatbread pizza (made with manchego, my favorite cheese in the entire world!) while we decompressed after the movie.
I know I've said before that Uptown is overrated - when I called my mom yesterday while walking around, she was surprised to hear that I was enjoying myself there - but I think I need to retract that statement. Until this Saturday, I had never explored Lyndale, a street in Uptown packed with cool coffee shops and more places like Ecopolitan (French Meadows Cafe is also on Lyndale). Once you get away from the more commercial, yuppie Hennepin Avenue, Uptown is pretty great, though I still have a soft spot for Seward.
I made my usual weekend trip to the Seward Cafe this morning to keep pushing my way through William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, a beautiful piece of Beat literature that I've been meaning to read for years and have finally found the stamina for. His writing is haunting and often really hard to stomach, but it's so breathtaking that it's worth every minute. All that said, though, I still only managed to get through 35 pages in the two hours I spent there.
Yoga class today was another pleasant surprise. I had never taken class with this instructor before, and even though it was an intermediate class, it was really challenging. There's a fitness center above my yoga studio that's completely unaffiliated, and at the end of class today (just before we started to meditate) an aerobics class, complete with Lady Gaga, started right above our classroom. I was really amazed with how the instructor was able to keep us focused through that - he told us to notice the sounds around us, and then to turn our listening to the silence within ourselves. He spoke about a monk he recently heard speak who, beginning in March, is taking a five year vow of silence to communicate the idea that silence is one of the few things that every person has in common; it crosses language and cultural barriers like nothing else can. I usually don't like when yoga instructors attempt to impart wisdom like this on the class because it often breaks my focus, but since class this afternoon I've been thinking a lot about the idea of listening to the silence within and finding peace that way. I think it'll come in handy next week, since I'm moving on to my first week with the little ones.
I'll be with four- and five-year-olds in the mornings and with K-3rd grade in the afternoons. My morning camp is called Around the World in Fairytales and my afternoon camp is School for Sorcerers. If I'm being completely honest, I'm terrified for these camps - I've probably said this before, but I've never worked with kids this young. I'm much more comfortable with older kids; even 4th-6th grade was a stretch for me. I'm excited to try it out, but it's going to be a challenging week. Being able to recognize the chaos around me without letting it affect my inner silence is going to be tough, but I think it's doable.
Here's to yet another Monday! Thanks for bearing with me through this long post - I'll try to keep next week's posts shorter.
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