Getting to know you...

Things are getting better. It looks like I can't move in until the 9th. Kinda stinks, but I'm more at peace with knowing what the heck is going on.

I caught the opening of Othello last night at Houston Shakes. It seems as though a million UH people are part of it. I met my movement professor and a bunch of MFA alumni (quite a few are in the productions). It was a swift, fierce production. I've never seen Shakespeare outside, and it was fun (aside from the wailing banshee child. Thank goodness for the usher who asked the mother and kids to leave, it was egregiously disruptive). The crowd really bought the show. They booed Iago at the curtain call (played by the head of my program). The stage and park is beautiful (and the tickets are FREE). I'll see Taming of the Shrew tonight, which is promised to have this 80s twist. I've never seen Shrew before, so this should be a lot of fun. And if last night was any indication, it should be another great production.

Afterwards, a classmate and I went to the chair of the UH Theater Department's house for an opening night party. It was a little awkward because we were some of the first people to arrive and the chair's wife was letting in some other people and we bopped in. She was incredulous of who we were (and we weren't necessarily wearing opening night garb), but that was the only supremely awkward moment. More people showed up and it was all good. For whatever reason, we were some of the last people to leave the party.

It was a little weird schmoozing with people. I'm sure I was all bright-eyed and completely bewildered the whole time. It was most fun talking to undergrad students and then the recent graduates. There's this bristling energy about the undergrads, which was fun and then the wizened grads who have this little glimmer in their eye that just says "you're going to have so much fun and want to die at the same time."

Aside from the bits of self-consciousness, I I loved the aura of it all. I can't quite explain it, but there's a great sense of pride and enthusiasm for what's going on down here.

As for the rest of today. I slept in and have been working on sifting through a stack of plays to see if there's ANYTHING I can glean monologues from. I re-read Our Lady of 121st Street. I think I'll make tomorrow a Shakespeare day (snatching up Othello and Taming of the Shrew monologues especially).

Otherwise I just sit in this apartment, staying indoors and not spending any money. It's my calm before the storm.