Breaking and Interning

Sorry for the long wait since last post. Been a busy beaver...or at least doing other things. I have categorized my most recent adventures. This post being about my internship.

24/09/09 18:00 Just left Tottenhan, from my internship. Today was kinda weird and cool. For the first "experiment", they are taking people, with a guide, one by one, through an abandoned and into an abandoned and dilapidated building that is hazardous to go into. They are doing this at night this Saturday. My job for that day was to make a safe passageway through the building, sweeping dirt and laying down old wooden planks on hazardous roots and holes, and pruning the leaves and plants that have been growing everywhere. The one thing that is weird though is that ALL OF THIS IS TRESPASSING! They have no permit, no legal right to be here. I would be worried about heath and law suits but they have National Health Care here. On our way out, after finishing the path, we saw a man also in the abandoned building. Quickly, we hid and ran the other way. But to our surprise, so did he. He had no more of a right to be here than we did, so we just decided to leave, walking right past him. He is still ducking in a corner of the bushes, and I can see his full face and him eyes looking at me, but he just doesn't move, thinking that he is invisible. Very odd. Who would have thought I would be cleaning abandoned buildings in North London?
I also had to build a flap in the fence to get into the abandoned lot, along with a hatch to lock it. The fence is made out of 3/4" plywood and the hole is a 2'x4' rectangle. I added hinges to the cut out piece, and a latch, to keep it shut, with some old screws and a twig that I found. While I am doing this, a man asks me, "Who are you? What are you doing?" I said I was fixing the wall, so no one could get in. He seemed contented with that answer. Weird stuff.

2/10/09 13:00 At my internship at Hornsey Town Hall. We are designing rooms in the Town Hall for 19:29's final production. The concept is based upon the building itself, the inter-war period in Britain, and four greek myths. The myths are Hades and Persephone, Orpheus and Eurydice, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Daedalus and Icarus. Yesterday, we went through each room and brainstormed ideas, then wrote them all down on a large wall covered in paper and blueprints. Today, we are designing rooms if we had limitless funds and no thinking about how to make such ideas into reality, which sometimes can be hard for a TD mind. The two rooms that I took on today were:
1. The Torture Room. A long room, originally used for committee meetings, with all original wood-paneled walls, and a green carpet. We can do little to change the room, because those in charge of the building do not want us to destroy the beauty of the room itself. All we can really do is put things inside of it. The idea I have for this room is to make it almost into a forrest, or the idea of a forrest. Taxidermy surround a centrally located chair. Lions, Tigers, Panthers are in the corners, On plinths, there is a bat, crow, vulture, and owl. In the corners of the room, behind the large animals are speakers to give motivated sound to the Forrest, make the audience member turn their head. Around this centrally located chair is four stands with a bare light bulb on top, similar to a 'ghost light.' There is more to it, but it has an idea of being interrogated in the forest.
2. The Icarus Room. A bright room on the top floor full of windows. Inside this room are three smaller rooms. My idea, without going into full detail is to make this room 'too close to the sun.' The walls covered in red, yellow, and orange paint, wet-blended together. Melted wax everywhere, and in two of the smaller room, thousands of feathers flying around from fans blowing. Right as you walk in, you see the skeleton of giant wings. No feathers, no wax, for they have fallen off. The floor is painted blue to show the sky below.

Now these ideas mean nothing without a script, which we do not get until tomorrow. So they could just be thrown out the window. But, It is very exciting that I will be able to design for this project. I have been given a lot of freedom so far as well as responsibility. For example, I was running the design session yesterday. And this week end sometime, I have to email my ideas for these rooms in a structured way, as well as alternate ideas if we DON'T have any money. We shall see what happens.

All's well that ends in Indian Food

21/9/09 12:00 Just had a tour of the backstage of the National Theater, and let me tell you, I was a kid in a candy store! They have three performance spaces along with countless backstage shops. A metal shop, an ARMORY, a carpentry shop larger that Tomlinson and the shop combined, all with jack lines put on tracks so you can lift anything from a tall flat to a heavy saw anywhere in the shop. They have the largest paint wall in Europe, where instead of the wall coming down, they go up on 3 separate scaffolding lifts able to hold 5 people at a time. A large props department, able to be sealed off if they are doing things of a chemical nature or preserving nature, and one of the most expansive costume departments in the world. In the props department, there was a large puppet horse run by 2 people (making up the 4 legs) that was used in "War Horse" which is playing at the London Theater in the West End presently. Also, they had the Governor's head from Caucasian Chalk Circle. Joe, if you are reading this, it was pretty damn realistic. Since the NT does about six shows at a time, they have tons of rotating storage space, around the theatres as well as in the fly gallery. They sometimes have sets hanging above the actors heads during performances just because there is no where else to put them. The smallest of the performance spaces is called "Cottesloe," which is a black box space, with many different options for seating plans. The second is the "Lyttelton Theater." It is a standard proscenium theater, with 76 fly rails. That is where we will see 'The Pitmen Painters' tomorrow night. The grand and largest theatre is the Olivier, which is a thrust with a crescent fly system, so 3-d sets can be flown such as large houses, chandeliers, or even just a tree that you want on an angle instead of horizontal from left to right. Also, with this type of fly system, it is very easy to fly actors as well, having right above the thrust. There is a rotating stage in the center that lowers to the shops, and where large set pieces and scenery can be raised during a show. The world really is your oyster as a designer in the Olivier Theater. It was named after Lawrence Olivier, who was the Artistic Director of the NT, and was one of the main contributers to the making of this warehouse of Theater.

Tonight, I am seeing a production of 'All's Well That Ends Well' by William Shakespeare in the Olivier space. This production is being filmed live throughout the UK on it's last performance, and then going to Cinemas throughout the world, including the States, so if you would like to see it, which I advise to you, check the website. I believe it is being played at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA and in PA, the Bryn Mahr Film Institute. This will give you a chance to see what I will tonight!

What I didn't write about before was a production of 'Troilus and Cressida' By William Shakespeare that I saw Sunday afternoon, at the Globe Theater. I went to church at Southwark Cathedral down the street, or rather alleyways, where there were SIX baptisms during the service. The play is one of the less well-known shows Shakespeare wrote, about the Trojan war, about seven year into the siege, when a young Troilus falls in love with a fair Cressida right before she is handed to the Greeks in exchange for a trojan soldier. It follows the story of Hector fighting Achillies, and showing the immortal warrior lose to him, only to ambush the great Hector, unarmed, and murder him. From there, he drags the body around the gates of Troy. A great performance, full of blood and swordplay! Lots of fun to watch, but you don't know really who to sympathize with, since at one time, everyone is at fault.
After the show, Ted and I went to the Imperial War Museum. It closed soon after we got there, but I must go back to finish seeing the WWII exhibit and the rest.

23:00 On the Tube back from the first row of the Olivier Theater in the NT after a performance of 'All's Well That Ends Well." Tis a DARL romantic comedy, and not full of jokes, but rather lessons. How wit and trickery can out stand young arrogance. And, of course, how love is all well when it endeth well. This production had a fairy tale theme to it, putting Helena in a Red Riding Hood as she treks into Florence. A great amount of spectacle to arouse the crowd who is looking for laughs and awe. But a grand production, with great performances, of a great classic.

23/09/09 20:45 About to leave for Brick Lane. Last night, Tuesday, I saw a truly moving show. 'The Pitmen Painters' is about a group of Pitmen (Miners) and a Dental Mechanic who live in Ashington and hire a professor from the University in Newcastle to teach them 'Art Appreciation.' They wanted to know 'what art means' and the only way for Lyon (the Professor) to describe this was to paint. It wasn't about form or technique. It was about what what it made them think about. What they experienced as the artists and what it meant to others to looked at it. The Pitmen were soon selling their work and put in prestigious art galleries throughout the UK. This show really explores what is art, and the fact that not everyone can paint, but a painter can be anyone. The plot thickens when George Brown, one of the Pitmen, is offered a stipend to quit his job in the mines and become a full-time artist. This brought out an identity crisis in between the artist, paid to paint, and being a pitman, working-class, where he belongs, and where people know him. The community in which they painted was the source of inspiration. This socialist community of the Miners, working around the rules of the common good. This experience held by the Pitmen was something beyond the night class. The GUARDIAN says about it, "The Play celebrates the very nation of community, and a working class sprit -- that now only flickers and splutters -- which understood that it had as much right to education and culture as those born in the middle and upper classes... This is a play about the importance not just of feeding your stomach and your brain, but about feeding your soul. And it does just that."  This show will be coming to Broadway soon enough, if you wish to see the production, in 2010. I bought the play after the show because i thought it was brilliant. It is also cool that all the stage direction and cast are the same of what I just saw. I could go on and on about this show and what conversations can be provoked. Ted and I had a rousing talk about the different class systems over a pint overlooking the Thames after the show. But ask me in person, for I would much rather talk than write about it.

14:25 Back on the Tube from Brick Lane. We took a tour around the area. Around Toynbee Hall, the old Jewish ghettos, the Jewish Soup kitchen. There was an old settlement house for women around the way from Toynbee and near Spitalfields Market. Mother, the picture of the church and missing organ you were asking about was Christ Church, Spitalfields. Talking to our guide, an FIE faculty member, he had heard about Ken Leech as being quoted in a book about Brick lane and the surrounding area. What I found most fascinating was the Great Mosque. The building has held the religion of the dominant culture of the time throughout the years. Every group of minority has occupied this area from Irish-Catholic to Jewish now to a prominent Bangladeshi neighborhood. For a while, Nationalist White Racists Skinheads were terrorizing the area, breaking store windows, and raising hell. But now, it has really settled down and is almost touristic. We had a delicious meal at a place called Naznul, near the old Truman brewery, which used to be a household name for over 300 years. Deliclous. I had Chicken Tikka Jalfrazie with rice and Nan. For dessert, a quarter of a frozen pineapple filled with pineapple ice cream. MMMMM. I have not been this full in months.

3 Shows and an Observatory

Sorry I have not posted since Wednesday, but I have not let the weekend just roll by. I have been busy exploring new places and seeing new shows. I have been working on the opening of a citywide "Open House" which explores old buildings and exhibitions throughout London. 19;29, the theater company I work for, is using this old town hall in the borough of Hornsey.

18/9/09 14:00 Leaving Hornsey Town Hall. We have set up completely for Open House tomorrow. It is a beautiful Art Deco building. And the First modern municipal building in London. In it, we put objects and props and actors to give the building the life of 1935, when the building was completed. Right up your alley, Dad. Yesterday and today, my personal project for this exhibit was to make signs out of MDF which read, "NUCLEAR FREE ZONE," "PLEASE QUEUE HERE," and "DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS"
I saw a run through of the tour, and finally understood what they were doing, and what I was working towards this past week.

First, Wednesday night, where we last left off. I saw a production of "Stockwell." An Interview-based play accounting the trial for the killing of a suspect, who was innocent, the day after the Underground bombings in 2005. A special armed task-force was sent to look up a suspect "on his way to work" and shot him in the head nine times because they thought he was going to detonate. The thing is, IF the had a suspected bomber on surveillance  from when he walked out of his flat, the police could have intercepted him multiple times before he even went underground. The play really showed this issue and all of the other odds and end of this terrible case, as well as the Q&A after the show with the actual lawyer of the prosecution. If you wish to read more about the case, click this link.

Last night I went to the Globe Theater. The production was "As You Like It" and it was the best production that I have ever seen, of most anything. I have never enjoyed a show as much as I did this show. Standing in the yard, right next to the stage, I could see the facial expressions and sweat on the actor's brow. Orlando wrestled his older brother right in front of me, not two feet away from my face did he grab his brother's head in between his thighs, whilst his brother is gasping for breath. I have seen two other productions of "As You Like It," both outside. One at a quad in a College in Oxford, one in Boston on the common. Neither compared to the Globe. Touchstone had perfect comic timing, Jaques was the most melancholy gentleman I have ever seen, making us laugh with his sadness. Rosalind was truly remarkable. At the end of the show, the entire cast does a big Dance, jig, ho down, to give a great ending to a great show. There were planes flying overhead throughout the show, but the actors used it. There was a reference to Jupiter, and plane flew over at the opportune time to use it as the example. For those of you who have seen Conan O'Brian's clip about 19th century baseball, I felt like screaming "What is that demonry!" If you haven't seen it, look it up on Hulu. Again, I have NEVER enjoyed a show that much. Seeing Shakespeare in his natural habitat really tells why he is so good, hearing all the jokes in the original sense. Simply Stunning.

19/9/09 19:37 Sitting in Hyde Park to catch up on my journaling. My black book came in the mail yesterday from Rochester, where I had left it at David Gutteridge's house. I am eternally grateful to David for sending it to London. I am in your debt, sir. So back to filling the pages which will be soon at this rate. Today, we went to Greenwich, the beginning of Time itself. To get there, we took a boat in the Thames from Embankment. Really fun seeing all the sights from the middle of the river. There are a few videos amidst my pictures if you wish to see more dimensions. Getting off at Greenwich, we walked  toward a Royal Palace that was never used as one. Originally on this spot stood a Tudor Palace that was the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. However, during the English Civil War, It became a cracker factory and fell into disrepair. Once Charles II was in power, He commissioned a palace of Sir Christopher Wren, of course. Sadly, he died before it's completion. William and Mary saw through the construction of it, but never lived there. They also had Sir James Thornhill paint a grand room, ceiling and all, for 3 pounds a square yard. It took 17 years to complete. Marvelous. In the middle of the palace stands the Queen's House, which was saved from the Tudor days. Anne, wife of Charles II wanted the house to have an unobstructed view of the Thames, so the new Palace was designed in such a way that it would be so.

Up the hill from the Palace stands the Observatory. The Observatory runs right through the Prime Meridian and is the source of all time pieces in the world. Every time zone is either + or - from Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT. EST or Eastern Standard Time is -5 hours from GMT. This was a giant resource for maritime navigation. Sailors would often get lost, because they could not determine their longitudinal position. Parliament actually put on a 20,000 pound prize to the person who couls solve this problem. The winner was John Harrison, a clock maker who developed a non-pendulum time piece, since pendulums were useless at sea. This clock was based on the time in Greenwich, and measuring where the sun was in the sky, they could deduce how many degrees they were from the Prime Meridian. Since each hour from Greenwich was 15 degrees from the meridian, sailors calculated and subtracted their time from GMT and found their longitudinal position. Quite brilliant actually. A cool thing at the Observatory was a giant ball on a pole. This ball can been seen from the docks. When this ball drops, the sailors know to set their clocks to 1PM, and make sure they are synched up to GMT. After the observatory, we walked down the hill to the market before walking under the Thames on a footpath made for dockworkers who live on the south bank. Good times.

Tour of Parliament

16/9/09 13:05 Just went on a tour of Parliament, and in the original sense of the word, it was awesome! We started the tour in Westminster Hall, which is the oldest part of the Palace. It was completed in 1099 and designed to "impress and overawe." Only this Hall and the Jewel Tower survived the fire in 1834, but everything else had to be rebuilt. In this Hall, many important events occurred. William Wallace, Guy Fawkes, and Charles I were all tried here, before being quartered to different parts of the Island, burned, or decapitated. Also, this is the public viewing to pay respects of the departed public figures such as Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother.  They are commemorated with brass plaques in the center of the hall.
Next was St. Stephen's Hall, where the House of Commons first met. Also, where Charles I entered the House of Commons, the only Sovereign to EVER enter, and attempted to arrest five MPs, which is when the Civil War started led by Oliver Cromwell in the mid-17th Century. Cromwell is a very controversial figure. He has a large statue outside Parliament and sometimes called a hero of England. But he also overthrew the Monarchy, which is now in 'power' again and sentenced Catholics only because they were catholic. There are always two sides to every story, but here, it seems both sides are equally portrayed.
Passing through where the Speaker's Chair used to stand, we entered the Central Lobby, which is the last place a person of the public can go. Right here, you can look through both chambers to the Throne and the Speaker's chair, which face each other. Throughout the Palace, there are three main colors; Gold, for the Crown, Red, for the House of Lords, and Green, for the House of Commons. In the House of Commons, the public benches, located on the balcony, are now separated by a pane of glass. A few years ago, some one threw a condom full of blue powder at Tony Blair during a session of Parliament, so glass had to be put up. I'm very excited to see when the PM has to answer every question thrown at him by the Commons. Lots of standing and sitting very quickly with loud yells and mean remarks. Then after the debate has concluded, the PM has to summarize everything that just happened, not a second after.
Across the way is the House of Lords with the Royal Throne. This is not a publicly elected position, it is hereditary, like the throne. They don't do much anymore other than double check the House of Commons. At every House of Lords meeting, there is a collection of Bishops and Arch Bishops present to help inform on a debate. The sovereign only comes to Parliament to open the present session in November, wearing the Crown Jewels. She address the Lords saying what her Government will accomplish this session, then out she goes. I can't full describe the intricacies of this amazing place, so I suggest you try the virtual tour online. The Lobby outside the House of Commons Chambers holds a statue of Winston Churchhill, David Lloyd George, and one that will haunt my dreams, Mrs. Thatcher.

Keep checking my photos, there are a lot of photos of the inside of Parliament that I took from their website there along with more and more from the traveling.

Also, if you are reading this, speak up! I'd love to hear your responses if you have more to say about the topic at hand, or if my facts are wrong, (WHICH CAN HAPPEN) or if wish for me to find more about a certain subject. I will take any and all advice of where to go and what to see. After all, I'm only over here for a short while...

Thames, Medway, and Tea!

Hey followers,
Sorry about the wait for the next post, but been doing so much, that I have not had time to publish on the blog. But, do not fret,  because, I still have kept my travels journalized. On Saturday, my room mates, Justin and Nick went to the 2009 Thames Festival on the south bank. It really was a great time. Jam pact crowds with people from all over the world selling their good and serving their food. Near the London Eye, there was a stage set up for a Parkour performance. If you don't know what that is, look it up on YouTube, it is one of a kind. Around 17:00, Jus, Nick and I found ourselves on the Southwark Bridge which had been closed to traffic for the Festival. There were tables and chairs set up up and down the bridge where people could sit and enjoy their food from the stands. I had a lamb burger and a coke, but Nick had a fantastic-looking bacon and onion sandwich. After eating with a view of the Tower Bridge on one side and Westminster on the other, we continued our walk past the Globe Theater and Tate Modern until we found ourselves back at the Westminster Tube stop.

14/9/09 09:55 I seem to have left my journal in Rochester yesterday. But we carry on! I have a spare journal in the back of my planner, which is a small red mole skin, similar to those Chairman Mao used in mainland China. Yesterday, I took the 9:03 train to Rochester in Kent to meet an old friend, David Gutteridge, for Eucharist. It was the feast of the Virgin Mary, and the choir sang Bruckner's Ave Maria. The cathedral is of Norman design by Bishop Gundolf, who also deisgned the Castle that sits on the other side of the road. It is he and John Fisher, a Bishop of Rochester, that stand on the wall outside the west wall. John Fisher was beheaded by Henry VIII because he opposed the divorce of Catharine and would not give up the Catholic Church.
This was the first Cathedral that I sang at during the 2003 St. Lukes Choir Tour of England and France. I  remembered the pedestrian part of town, the castle, and the school where we stayed for the better part of a week. After Eucharist, David and I went to a pub down the street, "Not 100 meters from my flat!" There, we had a traditional English Sunday mean, Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, with some hot pudding for dessert! It was a delicious meal. We walked off our stomachs around the river front of Rochester and found ourselves at the Bridge Guild Hall. There was a special exhibit on the construction and demolition of the Rochester bridge, from its original form until 1856, when they built an grand Victorian style, to then tear that one down to make a more practical modern one shortly after. This bridge is one of the only bridges that span across the Medway in Rochester and Chatham.
Evensong was at 15:15 in the choir stalls. The Boys and Men started with the introit, Locus Iste by Anton Bruckner. We sat behind the choir on the Cantus side. Throughout the service, I observed the choristers, how some would do things that a chorister shouldn't and the head boy disciplining but being very discreet about it. At the Eucharist, four boys recieved their serplices today. They seemed to be sworn into the service of the Cathedral. I'm very glad I was able to witness this. The older boys got to put the surplices on the younger ones. Brings back fond memories of what once was. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I miss my collar.

After Evensong, David and I took the back way around the cathedral, past the Monk carved out of a tree trunk. (A sight I remember as a boy.) At his flat, we had coffee and chocolate cake while discussing other places I need to journey whilst I am across the pond. A bit of interesting information, the Hospital, started by Bishop Gundolf, was a place for lepers and...jews. "Lepers who were dirty, and Jews who were 'naughty.'" Near the Hospital, the only Synagouge in the town gives a reminder of the harsh treatment of the Jews in Medieval England.
Took the 18:35 train back to London and on the train is where I discovered that I had left my little black book on the coffee table. David has graciously offered to ship it to London on Tuesday, after he is back from his old person's trip to Lewes today. A great day overall, relivied some great memories, especially some that contained Bruce Scavuzzo, my room mate during the Tour.

16:30 Sitting in front of Royal Albert Hall, on the steps of the golden monument, after just coming back from High Tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. It was quite exquisite. A three course light meal starting with cucumber sandwiches on poppysead bread with tea, scones with raisens, jam and butter and tea, and for dessert, Lemon cake and tea. Delicious. Scrumptious. really, a fantastic experience of high society here. They do tea right! In a grand white hall out-looking the Royal Kensington Gardens, each table with a small orange tree as a center piece. This was part of David Ingram's class, London Stories, to really show all aspects of London and English life. So far, it has been quite interesting. On Wednesday, we are having a tour of Parliament as well as going to a Q&A session with the laywer for the Stockwell case. If you don't know about it, The Stockwell case is about the bombings in 2005 of the London Underground, and the man who was shot point blank in the head because he was suspected of being a bomber, when he was actually an innocent Brazilian man. I am looking forward to it.

Apparently there is a postal strike happening right now, so all who are expecting post cards will have to wait a bit more until this who thing is settled. Also true if you are sending me anything, it might take a bit to reach me. I'll keep you 'posted'

8 years later, in another country

A little late in the day, but still the eighth year since 9/11 and I remember it here London. I have yet to get into the habit of reading the Guardian or other London papers, and the fact is that it is not all over everywhere. In America, I am sure it is hard to forget what happened in New York any minute of today. However, over here I have only just remembered what day it is today. At the Museum of London, there is a book that gives a biography of the 52 men and women who lost their lives during the Tube Bombings in London on July 7th, 2005.

10/9/09 3:30PM Took a trip over to East London. Arriving at the Aldgate Tube stop, I turned left twice and found myself on Brick Lane, full of Indian cuisine and culture. Brick Lane is a chinatown southwest of the Himalayas. I belieeve David Ingram is taking our class on a tour of this area so I didn't spend too much time there. Went a bit west to find Spitfalls Market. There you can find old war jackets, gas masks,  old record, knick-knacks, weird books, old political cartoons about Hitler and Mussolini. I might have to come back later for gifts.

4:45PM Sitting in the Choir stalls at St. Paul's Cathedral for evensong. Went to the White Chapel Bell Foundry today, birthplace of the Liberty Bell, bicentennial bell, and Big Ben. A small shop owned by a single family. Very quaint for such a grand history. Came by St. Paul's because I was in the area at the right time. After worship, off to Oxford Circus before the show to get some socks.

11/9/09 2:22 PM Went to see 39 Steps last night. Absolutely fantastic. Slapstick physical humor, 130 characters, 4 actors, brilliant. Some scenes had actors change into 2 or 3  characters within 2 or 3 seconds with a change of a hat, literally, and a change of an accent. Whenever they could, they added an Alfred Hitchcock reference, even to have the silhouette of him on a hill during a chase scene done with shadow puppets. A truly great performance.
Afterwards, I led 7 or 10 people to a pub in the City called "Ye olde Cheshire Cheese." An Historic pub. "Get smashed where Dickens got smashed!" said one guide book about this pub. It is located off an alley on Fleet St. I felt like a bit of a tour guide leading all these people from Picadilly Circus onto a bus through Trafalgar Square and into the City of London, but I feel like I am really getting to know the street map of central London, especially near St. Paul's. The Pub itself was great. Lots of old and dark rooms, and actually a few bars. We went down to the cellar bar. It was very similar to a scene from Inglorious Bastard, if you have seen it.

Presently I am at the Museum of London, which explores the history of the City of London to Londinium, to the Thames in 500,000 BC. Exhibits on the Great Fire of London, The Black Death, Medieval London, Roman Londinium, and the geologic change in the River Thames. For example, the Thames used to be large and vast. Probably  as wise as the city itself. Now it is only a shadow of it's former self, a tidal canal instead of a roaring river!

11:45PM Went to the BBC Proms tonight. Paid 5 pounds for standing room in the arena right next to the stage. It was Prom 74, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Don Quixote and the Brahms Symphony. Absolutely stunning. Later in the evening, Yo-Yo Ma performed, but I left before that, since you needed a new ticket for that. And might I add that this world-class performance was not five minutes away from my residence on Hyde Park Gate. It just blows my mind.

Tomorrow is the Thames Festival from noon to 10. Very excited to see what it has to offer. Stay tuned.

Oh allright...what?

First of all, Happy 09-09-09 to all across the World, since it does not make a difference if you put that day or the month first today! So Cheers to all!

Yesterday I went to my interview with the Artistic Director of nineteen; twenty nine and here is the Journal about it:

8/9/09 6:45PM Waiting for a production meeting for 19;29. The interview was a bit odd, and I am still not completely sure what is going on for this internship. I might be given a large role of leadership and creative roam in building a set for one of the 5 projects happening. Other that that, I have no idea what this thing or production is about. I hope to find out more at this designers meeting. 

8:30PM On the tube back to Kensington. OK. SOO there really isn't a script and barely a plan from what I have recollected, at least on the design side. There are five projects that accumulate to a larger production in November that runs 10 days. That takes place in an old art deco town hall in Tottenham. The building hasn't been used since the 30s and hasn't been touched since the 80s. My group meets on Thursdays and Fridays from 10-5 to work on...the projects... I seem to be the only set designer/carpenter of the lot, so I most likely will play a vital role in the design portion. I feel like it's a giant, free, creative designgasm. Something Philly knows quite well. What I have been told to do until we start is to look up Greek Mythology, focusing on the Underworld. Words they said were Labyrinth, River Styx, Hades etc... Maybe we can build a Labyrinth, that would be cool. It looks like I will get to design some sort of set piece in these different places in Tottenham. Hopefully, I get some tools, but since they said we have little to no budget, I think we are going to get creative. SO bit giant open project with lots of leadership and ideas needed. Should be fun. Interesting. Weird. But fun. and exciting...if i actually know what's going on.