Happy Halloween!!!
Tonight we are having a Halloween party at the studio. I'm going to go as a hip hop dancer but it is very Christina/ Brittney in their rebellious phase. we were going to have the party originally in the dorm but on of the 2Nd years came down with swine full and are being quarantined as well as the comunal space. So they moved it to MXT. Hopefully it doesn't spread, their are only 4 cases in Moscow right now. I heard though that at Ithaca their are 150+ cases and half of the theater department was sick. I really hope I don't get sick.
In lighter events I went to the Bolshoi last night and saw Swan Lake... I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. The Prima who played the swan had the most beautiful back I have ever seen. It was really interesting because our ballet teacher was a prima at the Bolshoi and one of our dance numbers is from swan lake-obviously it is modified. I really can't describe how wonderful the experience was. The theater itself is beautiful painting on the cealing and a lavish chandelier. The dancers were all wonderful but eh prima was the best. She had such a power with her body, she was actually an actress and made me shed a few tears. The male lead was amazing his body was literally sculpted from marble. I really hope we get to go again I think some of us are going to try to get tickets.
I worked on my scene yesterday and despite the comedy of it my partner and I found some real depth to the characters which is what our teachers pushed us to find during our rehearsal. We have only done the first beat of the scene but we will continue to do more each rehearsal we are working on our scenes in class every 2-3 days depending on how far we get in class that day. I'mreally happy with my work and I hope I have the stamina to push me through the next 6weeks.
Miss you all
Kirsten
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
28/10
I'm not exactly sure what I have been doing for the past few days, they have flown by. I haven't had any shows but I've had a lot of work to do which makes my evening unbelivably short. We got our final scenes. I'm Agafia from Gogol's play Marraige. The play is about a girl- who is not really a girl any more she in her mid twenties finding the right man. the men whom she is given to choose from are beyond rediculous yet she can't make a decision. She ends up choosing the most normal of the bunch and his friend pushes them into getting married that day but instead the groom escapes through the window and the play ends. It is a comedy, which is quite different from Chevkov where most of the scenes are taken from. I'm excited about the character. Recently I have been working on some of Chekovs leading women and they have come fairly natural to me so it is nice to be given a challenge. My partner's name is Sam, he is really funny and we are also singing a duet together, we have a lot of fun.
Beside scenes classes have been fairly normal, movement, ballet, stage combat kick my butt. My Russian is slowly getting better and acting is aways pushing me farther. I accomplished a few things this week though, I finished my final paper for film history this weekend which is really nice because I domn't have to worry about the class anymore. we also started really combat moves both contact and noncontact- punching, kicking, blocking, headbutting ect.
For the next four days I have plays every night. Tomorrow I'm seeing the opening of Medea which I believe is a musical but I'm not sure. Friday I see Swan Lake at the Bolshoi which I've been waiting for since I got here. Satuday I see Richard III and then we have a Holloween party in which I think I will fall to old standby Christina Aguilera. And Saturday we see an original student production which is a comic musical and supposed to be very good. Everything I'm seeing this week I have been told is amazing.
I think that is about it. Time is flying I come home in a little under 2 months and it feels like I don't have enough time. I try to sleep and workout as much as I can. I have developed a new habit for cooking this week I have made: Belini's, a killer omlet, sauted vegitable, apple crisp, fancy pizza and ofcourse french toast.
I will try to do a better job of keeping you all updated
love
Kirsten
Beside scenes classes have been fairly normal, movement, ballet, stage combat kick my butt. My Russian is slowly getting better and acting is aways pushing me farther. I accomplished a few things this week though, I finished my final paper for film history this weekend which is really nice because I domn't have to worry about the class anymore. we also started really combat moves both contact and noncontact- punching, kicking, blocking, headbutting ect.
For the next four days I have plays every night. Tomorrow I'm seeing the opening of Medea which I believe is a musical but I'm not sure. Friday I see Swan Lake at the Bolshoi which I've been waiting for since I got here. Satuday I see Richard III and then we have a Holloween party in which I think I will fall to old standby Christina Aguilera. And Saturday we see an original student production which is a comic musical and supposed to be very good. Everything I'm seeing this week I have been told is amazing.
I think that is about it. Time is flying I come home in a little under 2 months and it feels like I don't have enough time. I try to sleep and workout as much as I can. I have developed a new habit for cooking this week I have made: Belini's, a killer omlet, sauted vegitable, apple crisp, fancy pizza and ofcourse french toast.
I will try to do a better job of keeping you all updated
love
Kirsten
Sunday, October 25, 2009
25/10
Yesterday was interesting... I have to admit that it wasn't nessesarily good on my part but I got through it. To start Firday night i was up really late because I had to read a play then perform a scene from it. I went to bed at 2:30 in the morning. Then ofcourse to my luck, our class started at 9:15 instead of 10 so I was up early as well. Our class was early because we need more time so Film was 4 hours long. To be honest I was drifting in and out of conciousness during the first film but the second film I was very interested in and am going to write my final paper on, which I'm going to do in just a few minutes. It was a silent film from the soviet era but the camera work was unbelivable especially for that time. They used framing and movement very effectively to set the mood of the piece. We then had a two hour break but one and half of those hours was spent working on a scene with my acting class inwhich in 3 days working on it I have yet to enter and do work- yeah! Ofcourse the work they are doing is interesting but I would like to do it instead of watch. We then all had etudes but me and my partner had planned to rehears during the break as well but we didn't have time so we improved based on what we had talked about. To be honest it wasn't very good and I broke charater laughing but for me personally I tried a distinctivly comic part which I haven't done before and Alex and Sasha said that it actually fit me pretty well and we would continue to work on comic characters which are traditionally of side of my type, which I am really excited about. I was a little disappointed because I could have done better.
In the evening we went to see my acting teacher, Sasha's show, which he prefaced by saying it wasn't very good. I personally didn't understand to much because it was a farce about actors and a lot of the actors on stage played their characters untruthfully BUT Sasha was amazing. You can see his why he works at MXT he was hilarious yet so truthfull in every outragous action. It was upsetting though because we were seated next to these two girls. These girls were clearly drunk and were continuing to drink at the show. They were loud talking at laughing they kept dropping there "Coke" bottles on the floor and they would roll forwards to the people in front of them. When they drank you could smell the alcohol. One of the girl kept snorting and dropped hre gum out of her mouth and started chewing on her necklace and then they started making fun of the "amerikanits" which was the final straw to move seats.
So after a clearly interesting day, I stayed at home and had 4 hours of theater conversation with some friends and had a sleepover in Hannah's room. I wooke up very late and had my traditional brunch, went grocery shopping for the week and now I'm going to try to get ahead in my classes because we have alot of shows including Swan Lake and the Bolshoy which I am so excited for I can't even express in words. The weeks are going fast and I'm trying to do as much as I can and have as much energy as possible so I take advantage of what little time remains. It suprises me how soon I will be seeing all of you.
Love
Kirsten
In the evening we went to see my acting teacher, Sasha's show, which he prefaced by saying it wasn't very good. I personally didn't understand to much because it was a farce about actors and a lot of the actors on stage played their characters untruthfully BUT Sasha was amazing. You can see his why he works at MXT he was hilarious yet so truthfull in every outragous action. It was upsetting though because we were seated next to these two girls. These girls were clearly drunk and were continuing to drink at the show. They were loud talking at laughing they kept dropping there "Coke" bottles on the floor and they would roll forwards to the people in front of them. When they drank you could smell the alcohol. One of the girl kept snorting and dropped hre gum out of her mouth and started chewing on her necklace and then they started making fun of the "amerikanits" which was the final straw to move seats.
So after a clearly interesting day, I stayed at home and had 4 hours of theater conversation with some friends and had a sleepover in Hannah's room. I wooke up very late and had my traditional brunch, went grocery shopping for the week and now I'm going to try to get ahead in my classes because we have alot of shows including Swan Lake and the Bolshoy which I am so excited for I can't even express in words. The weeks are going fast and I'm trying to do as much as I can and have as much energy as possible so I take advantage of what little time remains. It suprises me how soon I will be seeing all of you.
Love
Kirsten
Friday, October 23, 2009
23/10
Today I had a presentation for Tolya on why Ivanov commits sucide and despite some bumbs in the road, one of my partners was unable to make the presentation, it went really well. We had an interesting conversation about the nature of sucide and the selfishness and selflessness. I focused on his realtionship with his to be second wife and I found myself inpassioned with the story and his choice. After we presented we had a discussion in which evryone in the class was engaged. Thats what I love about this group of people, they truly care about this experince and why a single chararter in all of literature would commit suicide. There are not alot of places where this would be true besides here.
My comfort level in acting has sky-rocketed. Today my teacher told me that my etude today was moving which is huge because usually they are calling me out for not connecting and not being in the moment and being selfconsious. I'm sure that my performances won't all be brilliant but I am going to start trying different characters and taking larger risks. This was a huge step for me and now I'm on the next flight of stairs. I have found a temporary peace with in myslef. After all the termoil of being peeled like an onion I'm feeling comfortable in my own skin... for the moment.
In general the language barrier is still up all though its a little better and the culture shock has completely evaporated. My stomche is still having some problems but luckly it hasn't gotten in the way of my work. My shoulders are still bugging me but I feel the muscle building and I just need to keep working hard. I have started adding my own personal work out in addition to what we do in class and walking to try to increase my musle mass. I think that is all to tell. Tomorrow we have an earlier morning then usual but we are going to see one of my acting teachers in a show tomorrow night. I can't wait to see what he can really do.
Love
Kirsten
My comfort level in acting has sky-rocketed. Today my teacher told me that my etude today was moving which is huge because usually they are calling me out for not connecting and not being in the moment and being selfconsious. I'm sure that my performances won't all be brilliant but I am going to start trying different characters and taking larger risks. This was a huge step for me and now I'm on the next flight of stairs. I have found a temporary peace with in myslef. After all the termoil of being peeled like an onion I'm feeling comfortable in my own skin... for the moment.
In general the language barrier is still up all though its a little better and the culture shock has completely evaporated. My stomche is still having some problems but luckly it hasn't gotten in the way of my work. My shoulders are still bugging me but I feel the muscle building and I just need to keep working hard. I have started adding my own personal work out in addition to what we do in class and walking to try to increase my musle mass. I think that is all to tell. Tomorrow we have an earlier morning then usual but we are going to see one of my acting teachers in a show tomorrow night. I can't wait to see what he can really do.
Love
Kirsten
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
21/10
After a crazy week last week this week is much more relaxing although I can't believe it is thursday. Everything has been going pretty well here, I'm still strugging with my health a little but only in the evenings. I was really proud of myself today because the partner etude I did was a success. I have made it a goal to be less self concious while I'm on stage especially during etudes. Today I felt totally in the skin of this character which was great. Ofcourse I messed up but when we went back through and worked it I was able to get out of my head and do honest work. It was a big step for me and hopefully it will continue. Our group etude tomorrow is amazing. We are in a small group of 7, 3 girls and 4 guys, and we have set up a sirine etude. In which music body and acting are all involved it is going to be stunning. Also in singing my partner and I did our duet today with a very funny scene. Out song is called "Marraige Tango" from I love you, Your Perfect Now Change. Its about two parents who at the end of the day all they want to do is have sex. It is alot of fun; thats what Moscow is for me right now a lot of fun. Ofcourse I need to push myself to be more focused but the first step is having a good time.
Love
Kirsten
Love
Kirsten
Monday, October 19, 2009
19/10 continued...
To contiue my previous thought...
The Hamlet and Ophelia scene morphed in to the final scene, which traditionally it a sword fight between Hamlet adn Laertes, where all of the charaters even the dead were sitting around the dinner table. They did very styalized movements as Gertrude drank the poison then the focused shifted from to Hamlet and Cladio they went around the table and with there bare hand pushed each characters head down on the table to show their death. Each killed the people who he had a hand in their death. This final scene gave such a clear message of consequences and split the blame between Hamlet and Cladio. There was so much about this show that was wonderful but the most ispiring things was how they engaged your head and your heart. As I talked about it with my peers everyone had an intellectual take, did the director mean to make it seem that Hamlet was mad, how bad was Cladio, ect and everyone felt it in there gut. It was so moving and solitified my belief as acting as a tool for a better life. Consequence, guilt, responsiblity and love were all things that I took from this show.
On a completly opposite note, my health isn't doing very well. My stomache has been acting up and everything I eat makes me sick. My arms are also in pain, they are getting a lot stronger but it hurts. Finally because of my arms I popped my sholdered today and pulled a few muscles, it is starting to feel better but I was in a lot of pain for most of the day.
Classes are wonderful like usual. We have three etude's due tomorrow all based off of chekhov. My Ivnov project is due Friday and we get our final scenes tomorrow!!!!! I'm busy like usual but I trying to add additional working out to my routine although with how little sleep I get at night it is hard to want to do Pilates in the morning. Hope that everyone is well in the States.
Love,
Kirsten
The Hamlet and Ophelia scene morphed in to the final scene, which traditionally it a sword fight between Hamlet adn Laertes, where all of the charaters even the dead were sitting around the dinner table. They did very styalized movements as Gertrude drank the poison then the focused shifted from to Hamlet and Cladio they went around the table and with there bare hand pushed each characters head down on the table to show their death. Each killed the people who he had a hand in their death. This final scene gave such a clear message of consequences and split the blame between Hamlet and Cladio. There was so much about this show that was wonderful but the most ispiring things was how they engaged your head and your heart. As I talked about it with my peers everyone had an intellectual take, did the director mean to make it seem that Hamlet was mad, how bad was Cladio, ect and everyone felt it in there gut. It was so moving and solitified my belief as acting as a tool for a better life. Consequence, guilt, responsiblity and love were all things that I took from this show.
On a completly opposite note, my health isn't doing very well. My stomache has been acting up and everything I eat makes me sick. My arms are also in pain, they are getting a lot stronger but it hurts. Finally because of my arms I popped my sholdered today and pulled a few muscles, it is starting to feel better but I was in a lot of pain for most of the day.
Classes are wonderful like usual. We have three etude's due tomorrow all based off of chekhov. My Ivnov project is due Friday and we get our final scenes tomorrow!!!!! I'm busy like usual but I trying to add additional working out to my routine although with how little sleep I get at night it is hard to want to do Pilates in the morning. Hope that everyone is well in the States.
Love,
Kirsten
19/10
Last night I saw the most amazing production of Hamlet. It wasn't traditional by any means, Hamlet pick up the to be or not to be speech off the ground and threw it away. All of the charaters were fabulous Gertrude, Hamlets mom, was truely in love with Cladio, uncle, Polonious was played comical and Ophelia unfold from simple to deep and loving. The whole thing was enthrawling and while I couldn't follow what they were saying I could feel it in my soul.
The last two scenes were so moving. After the death of Ophelia right before the duel between Laertes and Hamlet, Ophelia comes back as a ghost and her and Hamlet have a beautiful converstation. You see that he truley does love her and her death plagues him. That is something that has always been lacking in productions for me the love between Hamlet and Ophelia. Ophelia herslef is such a weak charater but the love between her and Hamlet developed her so much more as a person and made him more human it was beautiful.
..... work to do To be continued...
The last two scenes were so moving. After the death of Ophelia right before the duel between Laertes and Hamlet, Ophelia comes back as a ghost and her and Hamlet have a beautiful converstation. You see that he truley does love her and her death plagues him. That is something that has always been lacking in productions for me the love between Hamlet and Ophelia. Ophelia herslef is such a weak charater but the love between her and Hamlet developed her so much more as a person and made him more human it was beautiful.
..... work to do To be continued...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
18/10
What a busy week. I headed out right now to unwind and get brunch with Hannah then back to the grindstone. I have a project due friday and we are going to see a show tonight.
Acting has started the transition to scene work. We did a scene study yesterday on The Seagull and I was amazed how much more was in that scene then I originally thought. It was easy to see with Alex and Sasha leading us through but I'm worried about doing it on my own. I have a tendency to pull things from how I feel about the character insead of basing it of off the text. It can be good sometimes because I make unique and personal charaters but ideally i would like to keep the intergrity of the play write. We also turned in suggestions for scenes that we wanted to do for or final preformance. I can't believe that I have been here almost a month their is so much more I want to do.
Last night we went to a club called Vino Grat. It was Canadian night, which was really funny because their weren't any Canadians, although I think it was focused on the hockey part of Canada. They had a hockey foosball table set up and while I didn't play it there were always shouts of excitement. They had great music so I just danced night away with a couple of close friends. We had in past nights been going out in large groups so the small group was a nice change.
This week should be fun and I'm hoping to do a little shopping on one of my free nights which a few and far between. I love you all so much
Kirsten
Acting has started the transition to scene work. We did a scene study yesterday on The Seagull and I was amazed how much more was in that scene then I originally thought. It was easy to see with Alex and Sasha leading us through but I'm worried about doing it on my own. I have a tendency to pull things from how I feel about the character insead of basing it of off the text. It can be good sometimes because I make unique and personal charaters but ideally i would like to keep the intergrity of the play write. We also turned in suggestions for scenes that we wanted to do for or final preformance. I can't believe that I have been here almost a month their is so much more I want to do.
Last night we went to a club called Vino Grat. It was Canadian night, which was really funny because their weren't any Canadians, although I think it was focused on the hockey part of Canada. They had a hockey foosball table set up and while I didn't play it there were always shouts of excitement. They had great music so I just danced night away with a couple of close friends. We had in past nights been going out in large groups so the small group was a nice change.
This week should be fun and I'm hoping to do a little shopping on one of my free nights which a few and far between. I love you all so much
Kirsten
Friday, October 16, 2009
16/10
"Hillary [Clinton] told me to tell you all Hi!"
Tolya Smeliamnski
Yes today Tolya told us that when he went to the Bolshoy with Hillary this weekend, he talked about us (NTI and NIU- 43) and she was amazed and wanted him to say hi to some of the americans who were actually studing and imersing themselves in Russian culture... another example of how blessed I am to be here. All the same...
TGIF
Despite my great love for the theater I'm a little on overlaod and ready for sunday. Kapustnik while fun to do and interesting to hear the Russian's views was a bit borning to watch. Inside jokes in Russian are really hard to understand. Our part of Kapustnik was quick and to the point which I think the Russian's enjoyed. Luckly like all shows we got back a little earlier yesterday and were able to spend some time on an etude and even some sleep.
Tonight on the other hand I wasted 3 hours of my life here in Mosocw in a production of Ivanov (which we found out was really Ivanov and Other short Works mixed in). It was unclear whether the show was supossed to be a parody or a play. If it was a parody than it wasn't funny and was dragged out to the point where you were praying for Ivanov's suicide- sorry for ruining the ending. If it was a play then it was so overacted that it read as a parody, either way niether is good. About half of our group left at intermition, which was a smart idea because it just got longer and more "dramatic" in the 3rd and 4th acts, but I had to stay because I have a presentation on Ivanov's suicide on friday and I thought it would be interesting to see how the actor set it up. I was wrong, it involved rollerbaldes...
We are beginning the process of picking our final scenes as well as moving in to scene study and anaylsis starting with the Seagull tomorrow. Like always each day I feel more at home in Moscow and MXT.
Love you all
Kirsten
Tolya Smeliamnski
Yes today Tolya told us that when he went to the Bolshoy with Hillary this weekend, he talked about us (NTI and NIU- 43) and she was amazed and wanted him to say hi to some of the americans who were actually studing and imersing themselves in Russian culture... another example of how blessed I am to be here. All the same...
TGIF
Despite my great love for the theater I'm a little on overlaod and ready for sunday. Kapustnik while fun to do and interesting to hear the Russian's views was a bit borning to watch. Inside jokes in Russian are really hard to understand. Our part of Kapustnik was quick and to the point which I think the Russian's enjoyed. Luckly like all shows we got back a little earlier yesterday and were able to spend some time on an etude and even some sleep.
Tonight on the other hand I wasted 3 hours of my life here in Mosocw in a production of Ivanov (which we found out was really Ivanov and Other short Works mixed in). It was unclear whether the show was supossed to be a parody or a play. If it was a parody than it wasn't funny and was dragged out to the point where you were praying for Ivanov's suicide- sorry for ruining the ending. If it was a play then it was so overacted that it read as a parody, either way niether is good. About half of our group left at intermition, which was a smart idea because it just got longer and more "dramatic" in the 3rd and 4th acts, but I had to stay because I have a presentation on Ivanov's suicide on friday and I thought it would be interesting to see how the actor set it up. I was wrong, it involved rollerbaldes...
We are beginning the process of picking our final scenes as well as moving in to scene study and anaylsis starting with the Seagull tomorrow. Like always each day I feel more at home in Moscow and MXT.
Love you all
Kirsten
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
14/10
Rehersal rehearsal rehearsal! Kaputsnik is tomorrow and We had rehearsal for 3 hours after classes. I did the choreography for the last number with a freind and it was fairly stressful teaching 35 people but I think it will look really good. It is really funny how important it is the the Russians; our acting teachers offered to cancel classes and the other two groups did cancel their class. I'm glad we still have it becuase everyday I grow. Today I did a partner edute about my sister (Hannah) getting an abortion. It was really hard but showed me where some of my weakness were as well as some true and beautiful moments. Tomorrow will be insane with classes and a show but when in Russia...
Love
Kirsten
Love
Kirsten
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
13/10
"We learn by failing"
My moto for the moment. We have even more rehearsal than usual right now because we have a show on thursday for the MXT students. It is only 6 minutes long but we have 43 people to invlove so natually its a pain in the butt. I'm exhausted, frustrated, in pain, confused but at the same time proud, happy and at peace. This all I have right now I will post more after the show is over.
Love
Kirsten
My moto for the moment. We have even more rehearsal than usual right now because we have a show on thursday for the MXT students. It is only 6 minutes long but we have 43 people to invlove so natually its a pain in the butt. I'm exhausted, frustrated, in pain, confused but at the same time proud, happy and at peace. This all I have right now I will post more after the show is over.
Love
Kirsten
Monday, October 12, 2009
12/10
A lot of this experience is about independance and today I had alittle adventure that enhanced this lesson.
This morning when I woke up it was cold and rainy so a lot of people were muttering about taking the metro instead of walking the 2.5 miles we usally do to school. My friends, Kenya and Hannah, and I decided to go with but we were one of the last ones out the door. I was pretty sure I knew how to do it- I knew what stop and what line- so despite my better jundgement we decided to try it.
In the Metro everything is in Russian and no one speaks english. The metro near our dorm is a hub into the main city so there are multiple lines. When we got there I located our stop and figured out it is two stops on the green line. So we go down the elevators and are trying to find the green line but the arrows don't make any sence and I can't find Trevskya (in Russian of course) So I ask in russian, "Isvenistia (excuse me), Ya ne gavru Parruski (I don't speak russian), Gtzy Trevskya (where?)." The women I first asked tried to explain where the green line was and wrote down somthing that ofcourse I wouldn't find out what it ment until in Russian class which we were trying to make on time. So we walk around a little and can't find the green line. A Second person I ask the same phrases because thats all I know. And he points to the track that we have been standing next to so we get on. I wasn't sure if it was right so using the map I pointed to where I thought the train was going to yet another person. He shook his head ang pointed to where we were headed... wrong train. So off we get and back on and back to the original metro. By now we have to be at class in 25 minutes and it take 30+ minutes to get to class from where we are so we decide to try one more time. We walk all around the station but for the life of us we can't find the green track so we say, "alright screw it, time to run."
Then Kenya had a brilliant idea, a gypsy cab. A gypsy cab is esentially that you stick your hand out and who ever is driving by and wants a little cash picks you up because there aren't really taxis. You haggle a price then they take you to your desitniation hopefully... So our only option is the hail a gypsy cab because we have to be in class in 15 minute. I stuck out my hand and up pulls a guy in an old car. "Telegraph" I said waving 160 rubbles at him and he nods. The cab took us 8 minutes to get across from school, all that was left was to run through the underpass and into MXT.
Despite the fact that we got to class on time it started out an dreary day that matched the weather. Its ok thought because tomorrow is another day. By the way the word that the women wrote on the paper was the name that Trevskya is called on the metro signs and our Russian teacher explained after we had recounted our tale to her. Oh well live and learn!
Love
Kirsten
This morning when I woke up it was cold and rainy so a lot of people were muttering about taking the metro instead of walking the 2.5 miles we usally do to school. My friends, Kenya and Hannah, and I decided to go with but we were one of the last ones out the door. I was pretty sure I knew how to do it- I knew what stop and what line- so despite my better jundgement we decided to try it.
In the Metro everything is in Russian and no one speaks english. The metro near our dorm is a hub into the main city so there are multiple lines. When we got there I located our stop and figured out it is two stops on the green line. So we go down the elevators and are trying to find the green line but the arrows don't make any sence and I can't find Trevskya (in Russian of course) So I ask in russian, "Isvenistia (excuse me), Ya ne gavru Parruski (I don't speak russian), Gtzy Trevskya (where?)." The women I first asked tried to explain where the green line was and wrote down somthing that ofcourse I wouldn't find out what it ment until in Russian class which we were trying to make on time. So we walk around a little and can't find the green line. A Second person I ask the same phrases because thats all I know. And he points to the track that we have been standing next to so we get on. I wasn't sure if it was right so using the map I pointed to where I thought the train was going to yet another person. He shook his head ang pointed to where we were headed... wrong train. So off we get and back on and back to the original metro. By now we have to be at class in 25 minutes and it take 30+ minutes to get to class from where we are so we decide to try one more time. We walk all around the station but for the life of us we can't find the green track so we say, "alright screw it, time to run."
Then Kenya had a brilliant idea, a gypsy cab. A gypsy cab is esentially that you stick your hand out and who ever is driving by and wants a little cash picks you up because there aren't really taxis. You haggle a price then they take you to your desitniation hopefully... So our only option is the hail a gypsy cab because we have to be in class in 15 minute. I stuck out my hand and up pulls a guy in an old car. "Telegraph" I said waving 160 rubbles at him and he nods. The cab took us 8 minutes to get across from school, all that was left was to run through the underpass and into MXT.
Despite the fact that we got to class on time it started out an dreary day that matched the weather. Its ok thought because tomorrow is another day. By the way the word that the women wrote on the paper was the name that Trevskya is called on the metro signs and our Russian teacher explained after we had recounted our tale to her. Oh well live and learn!
Love
Kirsten
Sunday, October 11, 2009
11/10
"Actions are the best tanslations of peoples thoughts."
"We are writing extrodanary moments of peoples lives."
"Stage is being emotionally stable naked."
"Acting is Reacting"
-Alex
I, and to some extent we as a group, have been struggling with these pricipals. As the layers of our innerworkings are being peeled back and we are being reveled to eachother and eventually an audience we are learning about ourselves. A true internal glance is so rare but eachday I'm being forced to look at myself as an individual person and to be truely honest it is confusing. It will be interesting to see the person I push myself to be. Right now my struggle is to take everything inside my head and push it out on stage which is invigoravting. To say simply that I am happy or sad or frustrated does not explain anything what I feel but know that I feel like I'm fulling my dreams if you pardon the cliche however difficult it may be.
Part of the difficulty for me is physical. My body itself is very strong from how hard I have worked this summer but my arms are so weak and each class is making things more painful but the muscle is starting to come back. Our movement class on friday was almost all arms which was a test for myself how hard I could work. Natasha asked me a few times to take it easy but I really pushed myself and payed for it later. I can feel though that my work is being rewarded.
Yesterday beside acting we had a tour of the MXT museum. Each time I find out more about the history of MXT i'm more in awe of what an honnor it is for me to be here. They have done some of the most important productions and movements in theater history in the very buildings that I walk in and out of so casually. It was so neat to see how important theater is in how they have preseved so much of it here. They have every sketch, diagram, mock up, costume, funiture prop and even dressing rooms and offices of famous productions and shows. I had a friend who took pictures of it all so when I get them from her I will try to poast a few. We always talked about theater history and all these places that important events have occured but never did I think that I would be studying in one of the most important, becoming a part of its history myself.
I love you all and miss you!!!!
Kirsten
"We are writing extrodanary moments of peoples lives."
"Stage is being emotionally stable naked."
"Acting is Reacting"
-Alex
I, and to some extent we as a group, have been struggling with these pricipals. As the layers of our innerworkings are being peeled back and we are being reveled to eachother and eventually an audience we are learning about ourselves. A true internal glance is so rare but eachday I'm being forced to look at myself as an individual person and to be truely honest it is confusing. It will be interesting to see the person I push myself to be. Right now my struggle is to take everything inside my head and push it out on stage which is invigoravting. To say simply that I am happy or sad or frustrated does not explain anything what I feel but know that I feel like I'm fulling my dreams if you pardon the cliche however difficult it may be.
Part of the difficulty for me is physical. My body itself is very strong from how hard I have worked this summer but my arms are so weak and each class is making things more painful but the muscle is starting to come back. Our movement class on friday was almost all arms which was a test for myself how hard I could work. Natasha asked me a few times to take it easy but I really pushed myself and payed for it later. I can feel though that my work is being rewarded.
Yesterday beside acting we had a tour of the MXT museum. Each time I find out more about the history of MXT i'm more in awe of what an honnor it is for me to be here. They have done some of the most important productions and movements in theater history in the very buildings that I walk in and out of so casually. It was so neat to see how important theater is in how they have preseved so much of it here. They have every sketch, diagram, mock up, costume, funiture prop and even dressing rooms and offices of famous productions and shows. I had a friend who took pictures of it all so when I get them from her I will try to poast a few. We always talked about theater history and all these places that important events have occured but never did I think that I would be studying in one of the most important, becoming a part of its history myself.
I love you all and miss you!!!!
Kirsten
Thursday, October 8, 2009
8/10
Today was one of those days where a change occurs; our group etude today brought a wierd sort of trust with in our group. Despite the fact that the idea was not serious and required immense emotional support; we were all on the same wave lengths. Our etude to day was the "behind the scenes" right before a wedding. the boys and girls were separated and each had our own problems. I, ofcourse, was the bride and I have to say that if my wedding went that way I would be in hystarics unless these people were there. Despite all of the back stories and back stabbing our realationships and support of our realtionships was so concrete that even though one of my bridesmaids was trying to sabbatoge me, I still felt supported. We have begun the process of becoming a true ensemble. The energy we created because of that was incredible. As Sasha said,"A director could not direct that kind of atmoshpere." What was so rewarding for me was a renewed excitement for acting and the formation of trust in both my group and teachers. I was lucky that we had a high energy etude because I'm running out of steam...TGIF!
IT has been a whorl wind of the past couple days. The shows have been wonderfull and we have had 2-3 scenes that we work on per night and I now have three song to have prepared in the comming week. On the 15th we have a "festivle" with the Russian MXT students where we have to put on a show so we have also had rehearsals and meetings for that. Despite this crazyness I have found a lot of interesting internal... I don't know how to explain it but I feel really good. It might change in the next few but for today I feel really good!
IT has been a whorl wind of the past couple days. The shows have been wonderfull and we have had 2-3 scenes that we work on per night and I now have three song to have prepared in the comming week. On the 15th we have a "festivle" with the Russian MXT students where we have to put on a show so we have also had rehearsals and meetings for that. Despite this crazyness I have found a lot of interesting internal... I don't know how to explain it but I feel really good. It might change in the next few but for today I feel really good!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
7/10
It has been a busy couple days. Tonight is the first night that we haven't had a show. While the shows have been amazing it has been really hard because on monday we got back at 11:30 and still had a group etude and a scene. Tonight although we don't have a show we have to learn/memorize a song, do a group etude, do a partner etude and a personal etude. They are busting our butts. I'm finding that all of my forarm problems affect my shouldres as well and I have started being in pain after classes. I have rehearsal now but I will write more later hopefully...
Monday, October 5, 2009
5/10
A quick update... the next few days are very busy for me I have been at shows at night and I have a scene and well as my group etude to do each day. The show,Three Penny Opera, we saw tonight was wonderful although it went for 4 hours so it was too long. I'll talk more about that another time. Acting is slowly getting better and my body is not dying from the movement classes anymore. We are very busy but I think of all of you often even if I can't contact you. I'm making really close friends here and Moscow has really started to grow on me. Details on Wednesday!
Love
Kirsten
Love
Kirsten
Saturday, October 3, 2009
2/10
Sometimes events, people and even ourselves don’t live up to expectations and despite the fact that this week as had moments of each there has been a lot of great aspects. The ballet unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations but then again we weren’t at the Bolshoi. We saw “The Seagull,” a Chekov play made into a ballet. It was really interesting; there was a mix of classical and modern dance symbolizing the different ideas of art. Both types were well danced but I didn’t agree with some of the choreography choices. For me I still feel like my acting is really weak but our professors have been really trying to emphasize that we are going to be frustrated and to just keep working. I keep thinking that I’m working hard enough but I’m not, I just have to keep pushing forward.
In movement yesterday Natasha kicked our butts. Squats, jumps, bridges, stretches, I was dripping with sweat. She also started us on some tricks. We did back bends which I did successfully with a spotter and the beginnings of wall walking, where you run and jump on the wall horizontally and try to step as many times as you can. Right now I can take two steps but the record for the school is 7 held by one of the 4th year MXT students; I don’t think I’ll get that many but I should have a few good tricks after this class.
My body has stopped hurting as much from the beating it has received but I’m exhausted inside. It has been a long week between all the movement, dance, stage fighting, acting, late night plays, later night etude rehearsals, and walking 3 miles each way to school. I have officially finished my first full week and I’m gearing up for Monday. Tomorrow we get to just hang out and rest. We will still have rehearsal and all of that but at least we get to sleep in!
Dobre Nochie (good night in phonetic Russian)
Love
Kirsten
In movement yesterday Natasha kicked our butts. Squats, jumps, bridges, stretches, I was dripping with sweat. She also started us on some tricks. We did back bends which I did successfully with a spotter and the beginnings of wall walking, where you run and jump on the wall horizontally and try to step as many times as you can. Right now I can take two steps but the record for the school is 7 held by one of the 4th year MXT students; I don’t think I’ll get that many but I should have a few good tricks after this class.
My body has stopped hurting as much from the beating it has received but I’m exhausted inside. It has been a long week between all the movement, dance, stage fighting, acting, late night plays, later night etude rehearsals, and walking 3 miles each way to school. I have officially finished my first full week and I’m gearing up for Monday. Tomorrow we get to just hang out and rest. We will still have rehearsal and all of that but at least we get to sleep in!
Dobre Nochie (good night in phonetic Russian)
Love
Kirsten
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The past few days
“Life is what happens when your busy doing something else.”
…and boy have I been busy. The past to days have both been show nights; last night we saw Uncle Vanya at the MXT. Maybe I was too tired, maybe it was the language, maybe I didn’t study the story enough or maybe Russians connect to their theater in a different way but I wasn’t enthralled. For a world class theater I was a little disappointed. I thought it would be so easy to read their bodies but they didn’t move them very much. The first act was so distant so detached, the second act was more physical but it didn’t move me. I think once I get the feel for the language the plays might come easier.
Acting the past two day has been interesting and productive. Our group etudes have really grown. Wednesday we did an old west saloon with a new player at a card game who cheated. I was a prostitute which was fun to play but as a group we have a great energy going with a lot action and playfulness with each other. Our teachers appreciated it; we had a few mistakes that we didn’t cover will. Today Alex said we made him cry; and despite my reluctance on how silly the topic could be it ended up as a beautiful movement piece. Our subject was sperm and egg but it became the creation of life. I portrayed part of the egg which we saw a women and each part of the egg played a different part of women; I was the maternal but we also had sexuality, fear, and beauty. The end was the “sperm” lifting us up then we all returned to the ground and melted away leaving a single human. My personal etudes aren’t going as well but I think I just have to work harder, I haven’t found my comfort zone yet with that “monologue” like scenario. I think this will be great for my auditioning skills but it is really frustrating while going through it.
One word can change you perspective, my voice teacher simply said “open you mouth” and the sound that came out of me was amazing- I think I almost fully mixed my voice I couldn’t believe it. She only spent 5 minutes with each of us today but I already feel a difference in the way I think. I think that the next three moths will really shape my voice.
Again my ballet teacher to day pushed me and I found flexibility which I can do myself with out her pushing my leg. It is funny hear none of the teachers speak much English but the simplicity of what they say with the passion behind it. For example my ballet teacher only yells a few things, “five posit” (fifth position), “Sit down” (plie), “Straighten leg” and “higher, higher” (if you can imagine them in a high think Russian accent). Yet it seems to work and every once in a while when we do something well she goes “mwuh mwuh mwuh” and makes an Italian kissing motion. Our voice teacher is similar it is “open” and “no meow, MEEEEOOOWWW” which actually seems to do the trick. My dance, singing, movement and slowly acting is changing each class.
We are seeing the ballet tomorrow so I probably won’t be able to write but I will fill you in on the ballet in a few days. I can’t wait to see it, my ballet teacher was a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi and if what little dance we have seen her so is any indication of their abilities it will me the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
I love you
Kirsten
…and boy have I been busy. The past to days have both been show nights; last night we saw Uncle Vanya at the MXT. Maybe I was too tired, maybe it was the language, maybe I didn’t study the story enough or maybe Russians connect to their theater in a different way but I wasn’t enthralled. For a world class theater I was a little disappointed. I thought it would be so easy to read their bodies but they didn’t move them very much. The first act was so distant so detached, the second act was more physical but it didn’t move me. I think once I get the feel for the language the plays might come easier.
Acting the past two day has been interesting and productive. Our group etudes have really grown. Wednesday we did an old west saloon with a new player at a card game who cheated. I was a prostitute which was fun to play but as a group we have a great energy going with a lot action and playfulness with each other. Our teachers appreciated it; we had a few mistakes that we didn’t cover will. Today Alex said we made him cry; and despite my reluctance on how silly the topic could be it ended up as a beautiful movement piece. Our subject was sperm and egg but it became the creation of life. I portrayed part of the egg which we saw a women and each part of the egg played a different part of women; I was the maternal but we also had sexuality, fear, and beauty. The end was the “sperm” lifting us up then we all returned to the ground and melted away leaving a single human. My personal etudes aren’t going as well but I think I just have to work harder, I haven’t found my comfort zone yet with that “monologue” like scenario. I think this will be great for my auditioning skills but it is really frustrating while going through it.
One word can change you perspective, my voice teacher simply said “open you mouth” and the sound that came out of me was amazing- I think I almost fully mixed my voice I couldn’t believe it. She only spent 5 minutes with each of us today but I already feel a difference in the way I think. I think that the next three moths will really shape my voice.
Again my ballet teacher to day pushed me and I found flexibility which I can do myself with out her pushing my leg. It is funny hear none of the teachers speak much English but the simplicity of what they say with the passion behind it. For example my ballet teacher only yells a few things, “five posit” (fifth position), “Sit down” (plie), “Straighten leg” and “higher, higher” (if you can imagine them in a high think Russian accent). Yet it seems to work and every once in a while when we do something well she goes “mwuh mwuh mwuh” and makes an Italian kissing motion. Our voice teacher is similar it is “open” and “no meow, MEEEEOOOWWW” which actually seems to do the trick. My dance, singing, movement and slowly acting is changing each class.
We are seeing the ballet tomorrow so I probably won’t be able to write but I will fill you in on the ballet in a few days. I can’t wait to see it, my ballet teacher was a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi and if what little dance we have seen her so is any indication of their abilities it will me the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
I love you
Kirsten
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