The year I took Introduction to Theatre the class filled up and another section was added.
There were over 150 in the first section and only 12 or 15 at most in the section I took.
One of the first things that the instructor told us was that if we wanted to learn about Greek and Roman Theatre, lots of names and dates then we should take the other section; but if wanted to learn about Theatre then we should stay.
I stayed.
The class was more like an improv or acting class, along with other stray topics added from time to time.
The only required text was “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”.
Good book, not really about Theatre, but it was a good read.
It was a great class and the teacher cast us as extras in the play he was directing.
The play was an original work called “The Alley Between Our Two Houses”.
We were all extras in a bar that was part of the show.
It was a memory/sexual fantasy play with a live Rock band onstage in the bar.
It was odd and lots of fun and there is no way I could tell you the plot in the space that I have here.
One day in class we were doing a traditional acting exercise, the Trust game, where someone stands in the middle and just falls to one side, is caught, stood back up and then falls in an another direction.
Well the girl in the middle was facing me and fell toward me, and because I wanted to be a gentleman and not grab her ample chest, I tried to grab for her shoulders and almost dropped her.
Another day we had to tell each something that most people did not know about us.
When it was her turn, the same girl from the Trust game stood up and turned around and dropped her pants to show us a tattoo on her ass.
I think it was a butterfly.
Jumping ahead a few year I was walking through the Museum of Modern Art in NYC with a friend and we met this same girl coming up a stairway in the museum.
We talked briefly and as she went up the stairs the last thing I saw of course was her butt and broke into laughter.
After a minute I had to share with my friend what I found so funny.
Back in my Freshman year I took Stage Lighting I and remember one class demo that did not go as the teacher had planed.
He was talking about color and its use on the stage.
We looked at the primaries and how the mixed to white and some other combinations.
Then he began to talk about certain colors did not always work well on some skin tones.
Green of course is not a good choice in most cases.
The he said that amber (yellow) did not work well on the skin of Black actors.
We happened to have an African-American student in the class and he was asked if would stand in the light, which he did.
So an amber gel was put in a light and the student looked great, his color was just fine and everyone laughed.
I did learn an important lesson that day; do not assume anything, test things for yourself, and although there may be conventions, do not be afraid to experiment.
Senior year I took a special topics seminar course taught by two instructors including the Department Chair.
Not thinking clearly three of us had a few beers in the Rathskeller over in the student union before the late afternoon class.
Of course one by one we had to leave to go pee, at least once, and with about 12 of us all sitting at one big table it did not go unnoticed.
I took two art classes in a building a few blocks from campus.
They were in an old city old water pumping building with lots of pipes, big valves and others interesting things to draw, paint or photograph.
I was eager to take the classes but disappointed in how the Art Department treated non-majors taking their classes.
My biggest disappoint was when the drawing class was split and the non-majors sent to draw in the basement when they brought in the naked models, thankful we had lots of naked people back in the Theatre Department.
No comments:
Post a Comment