Singin' Jewels

What has changed?

2010-10-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

So, I took a zenprov workshop this weekend. I feel like my life will never be the same. That sounds rather dramatic, but it is true. I got up early today to work on practicing some of the things that I learned. More to come on this later.

JOB!

2010-07-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

So, I found a new job. I am SO excited. I feel like this is the new page that I have been needing for MONTHS! No more crying. No more pity party. No more (or much less, haha) anger. I have been so angry... well... no reason to be now. I will be working at a job that gives me authority, sweet hours, the pay I deserve, vacation, (i think) benefits (will find out on friday), and a decent work week. I will be working with 3 REALLY old ladies (like 95, 87, and ?) that are mildly mentally retarded. I am so happy about everything. My friendships seem to be getting more stable, and I have, lately been able to handle more of them. My stomach pain is receding. I'm getting done with summer school, and in the 1 (of 2) class I care about, I am getting a really nice A. I am getting a B or C in the other one. I don't know because the teacher is NOT WITH THE PROGRAM. I don't really care either, as long as I pass. You know, Maybe I will post my essay... It is for my diversity class. I am a bit self conscious about it... it totally shows my hippie roots. :D Well, I just decided that I will not post it now. It is 10 pages after all... kinda long. I want to thank anybody and everybody who has dealt with my shit, helped me, or hugged me this year. It has been a rough one, and every single hug, open ear, and forgivness for my behavior has helped me get through it without destroying any relationships.
Another cool thing about the job is that I can get my eyebrow pierced again. :D
<3
Jewels

Jobs

2010-07-08T10:36:00.001-07:00

Does anybody know of any jobs that are open that I qualify for? I'm looking.

life.

2010-06-22T21:14:00.001-07:00

I seem to be living a life that is too full. I have no time to myself where I should not be doing something else. I am also having a great time, until I cry. So far, 25 has sucked. Well, to be fair it has been the entire year. F-you 2010. Don't get me wrong. I am seriously having so much fun. I laugh so often. But, I get easily discouraged. My hormones are going bonkers, but then, they have always been bonkers, so I don't know if they are now normal, or not. My aunt told me I needed to get laid today. I laughed and said, "I did." She said that I needed to get laid again. I am not sure that that is the most sound advice that she has ever given me. I feel like I am 19 again. I am having the same conflicting emotions, the same wild thoughts, I am in the same school. I have been lashing out randomly at people again. I know that that is not the way to maintain good relationships. Poor John, he puts up with so much of my crap. I am not as TERRIBLY depressed now as I was then, but I would like to think that I learned something the first time around. I am able to fight it off... I am so fortunate to have so many awesome people to admire and ask for advice if I need. I am not putting them on a pedestal, by the way. I know that those people are normal (ha) everyday people. I have 2 summer classes. 1 is great, 1 sucks. I need to make more money...
Well, my next big thing to look forward to is my rafting/float trip. I scheduled it, and it is a cheap weekend vacation. I am excited. I hope my boys can go. They need it, more then they know. Maybe it is a girl thing. I sometimes know when they need something, even when they are just figuring it out. It would be good for all of us to spend relaxed time together too.
Now, if I could just figure out what the hell is going on in my relationships. I don't mind if it is nothing, but I don't like being played with. I don't think it is unreasonable to know. Maybe it is. I don't have the most experience ever with relationships of the romantic variety. Maybe 4, or 5? I don't know exactly. Clearly they made a huge impact on my life...
I am tired of drama. Why don't people just love each other.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE.

I LOVE TO SING

2010-05-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

I never thought that I would say this, but I FORGOT how great it was to sing in a choir. I got music yesterday for a concert today, and it was lovely. One rehearsal, One concert. But I listened to the AMAZING Joyce Steeby sing and it reminded me how Beautiful it could be. I don't know how I forgot. Dale Shetler is retiring from KCKCC after 20 years and I sang in his alumni choir. We only sang 2 songs but during the second one, Dale STOPPED CONDUCTING to listen, because it was THAT lovely. I miss it. There is NOTHING like it. I am going to FIND a choir to be in next semester. OMG. I need it. I am so excited. I love to sing. Can't believe I forgot. Maybe that's what college does to you. Burns you out. Well, it has been 2 years since I sang in a choir and I am ready to do it again!

Olive Juice

2010-02-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

So we had Olive Juice's first improv show as a group on the 13th. It was in Improv Thunderdome. The experience was really good for me personally. When the show was over, I was extremely disappointed about it. Mostly about the final scene. It was horrid, and there was no way to escape from it. The edits were missed. The content was crass. There was no high point to edit on. The final edit, was the ONLY medium high point in the entire scene. To my mind. That scene had no redeeming qualities. As for the rest of it... I honestly don't think that it was that bad.
OJ did a doo-wop opening. It was great. We all had good stories relating to the suggestion which was 'Be Mine' from the candy hearts. When the opening was over, we went into scenes. The first few were okay... not amazing. We did a couple pretty good ones... Next- came the dirty. We covered everything from having sex with you own child, to being raped by toys, to Jesus Dildos, to child magazines smelling like sex, to racism. It was a little much. And by a little I mean a lot. And by a lot I mean that we were way over our head and COULD NOT figure out how to get out. In the middle of the smut, we had another doo-wop... it was great too. That, in hindsight, is funny because we were most worried about that.
Despite being Smut, the show wasn't bad. We had good emotional connections, Varying characters, good job raising the stakes and we stuck together. Dennis DuPont said that we made 'Bold Choices'. Tactful way of putting it. Dennis is nothing if not tactful. <3 .
Right after the show Trish and Nikki talked to us and told us that we did fine, we did make the audience uncomfortable.... I personally really appreciate the honest answer. They talked to us for a long time and I think that was quite generous. They were gentle with our egos. Which may or may not be fragile. I feel super grateful for the opportunity to be able to work with Trish, Nikki, and Megan. I also feel grateful to have Dennis to be honest (if tactful) with us. Moving on...

Things I will (hopefully) not do again:

Skip rehearsal to drink right before a show
Ask ahead of time if Shit and Fuck are okay to say... puts you in that mindset
Stop BEFORE elmo actually humps from behind
Edit if it is bad. Even if there is no high point. Cut my losses
Keep out of the gutter. It is okay to dip in, but not okay to set up residence
Keep up in my head during the Doo-Wop part. I must listen to the other's song

I'm sure there is more , but at this moment, can't think of anything else.

Things I will (hopefully) do again:

Make an emotional connection with my scene partners
Be playful
Continue to support my scene partners
Keep playing fun characters
Be myself during the monologue
Have fun

Again, I'm sure that there is more...

All in all. Good experience. I am working toward my goals for the year. I am performing in new locations. Soon, I will perform in Chicago, and hopefully I will get to play at the fishtank. Keep on Swimming, if you will forgive the pun.
~

Music

2010-01-08T14:55:00.001-08:00

Do you ever get a series of 3 or so songs stuck in your head All Day? No matter what? Nothing will get rid of them? Yeah, that was my day. :D

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Well, This year is going to be very interesting for sure... I categorize my life into three main sections. 'Home', Work, and School. I have separate goals for each of these things...

School: If there is ANY way that I can get into my keyboard class, I will take it and I will graduate in may. Clearly this is the most wanted of any other scenario. Keyboard kicks my butt, but I am READY (SO READY) to be done with school for awhile. I have one other class to take as well, but it is an independent study, and I just have to find someone that will sponsor me.

Work: Well, work is going fine. Until I am out of school and can be available the hours for the exact job that I want, I have to take what I can get. Although, at the end of January, I will have been at Goddard for a year and will ask for a raise... we will see how that goes. If I don't get it, and I get my degree, (assuming I get into the piano class) then I will ask again at the end of may. If I don't get it then, then I will be finding other employment, because I am worth way more than I am getting paid for.
I also am going to start working in the Roving Imp Coffee Shop. I will get paid on commission, so come and buy coffee from me. :D

'Home'- This sort of encompasses several aspects, even though I just clump it all together.

Family- I am going to make more time to spend with my brother Brian. I did not spend enough time with him this last year, and I am going to fix it.
Improv- my improv goals are extremely important to me. I am going to strive to play with different/more people and play it more spaces. I think that it will really help me to grow and become a better improviser. Also, I want to take several classes this year. I have now done improv for three years and I love it more every month. Not every year- it changes so much every month that there is no way that I can judge it by a yearly scale. I love it and can not imagine what my life would be without it and the people it has brought to my life. It makes life rich.
Home and Self- This is my big GOAL for the year: I will focus on HEALTH. That has so many meanings. Some of them: Eat better, try to exercise more, keep a cleaner house, shave at a decent interval, not to mention mental health... etc. All this will make me the healthier, happier person that I want to be.

Finally I want to remember the thing that I always say: If you don't laugh, you die. So you might as well laugh.
No matter how serious things seem, will they really be as bad in 5 years or 10? Laugh it away.

~Jewels

Improv Goals

2009-11-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

Goal 1
I continue to strive to GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!! Most of the time, I do fine, but anytime the scene gets 'derailed' or stopped by coach, I shoot back up into my head so fast. I find that when I am out of my head, I can sort of observe the scene from within without thinking about it. So my ULTIMATE goal is to be able to get back out of my head if I get thrown there.
Goal 2
I am having the hardest time finding a happy character that I can sustain. For some reason keeping that high energy character with a positive attitude going is 'into my head' inducing. I don't have this issue with positive children or anyone intense, depressed, or creepy. So my goal is to develop a sustainable energetic happy character.
Goal 3
So, I was thinking about class on Monday. My physicality was ON! I made choices to do things with my body, and I stuck with it. I had the scene where I was a child sitting alone on the floor eating fiberglass until I choked on it, and I had the two scenes where I was writhing onstage. Man that is So fun! Those were my favorite scenes. You never know what will happen. I am going to try to continue to do physical things. I think that it just MIGHT help my 'in my head' problem. Maybe I need to brainstorm ideas about different ways to move and postures to take. Also, finding different things to do with my hands/legs.

So to Recap- Improv Goals:
1. Get back out of my head once I am in there.
2. Develop a sustainable energetic happy character.
3. Develop more ideas about physical position and physicality onstage.

*Note I wrote these goals before the shows this weekend. I performed a happy, energetic character for an entire long form this weekend. She was a little evil... but hey, baby steps. :D

Listeining Journal 2 Response

2009-11-10T11:43:00.001-08:00

In his entry on the Hilliard Ensemble's Motets et Chansons, Vince did a fine job. Especially notable is how he begins by listing all of Josquin's acclaimed compositions. At the end of the first paragraph, Vince wrote, “ During Josquin’s lifetime, his compositions were known internationally and were considered musical perfections, even by Martin Luther, who hailed Josquin as “…master of notes.” This is a good quote and would have been more powerful at the beginning of the entire paper.

Josquin was a master of writing music, not only the motet and chanson, but the frottola. Vince mentions “El Grillo,” but he did not mention the other two frottola on the recording, “Scaramella va alla Guerra” and “In te Domine speravi.” Both are similar in style to “El Grillo;” they all are homophonic and mostly syllabic with bits of polyphony to help word paint or drive to the cadences. I was a little disappointed that Vince did not write about the double entendre that can be found in “El Grillo” as the song is about a singer that Josquin knew who could hold a note for quite a long time. He depicts this in both the words about how a ‘cricket’ can hold the notes for a long time, but also through his word painting. I enjoy Josquin’s frottola more than his motets or chansons on this recording. They are just so lighthearted and fun, it would be hard to not love them.

I agree completely with Vince that, “Josquin artfully blends his techniques so his music does not sound technical, but captures the listener through beautiful colors and varied textures.” Josquin’s amazing textures are built from some amazing imitation and polyphony woven together with word painting. I think that word painting is a completely different art form and that Josquin was one of the first composers to master it.

Vince said that he has not listened to much vocal music, a statement that saddens me as vocal music is my favorite type of music. The human voice is so versatile, and Josquin does a expert job of showing it off. I am glad that Josquin has had a positive impact on Vince, and that he now knows how awesome the voice can be. Great paper, Vince!

http://www.naxos.com/SharedFiles/Images/Composers/Pictures/22586-1.jpg

Listening Journal 2

2009-11-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

Not just a musician, Carlo Gesualdo (pictured) was a nobleman as well as a murderer. He married his cousin when he was in his early twenties, and that ‘love match’ only lasted two years before his wife began having an affair. She managed to keep it secret for two years, but Gesualdo soon began to suspect the truth. He set a trap where he pretended to leave only to return unannounced, find his wife and her lover in his bed, and promptly murder them in a wave of insanity. There were surprisingly little repercussions from this terrible crime, although Gesualdo did hide in the country for a short of time due to unhappy relatives. He entered into another unhappy marriage four years later, and his new wife spent most of the time on her brother’s estate.(Bianconi) Gesualdo, in short, had an extremely rough home life for his entire career, and it is reflected in his music, which is moody and perhaps even bi-polar.

I listened to the CD, Gesualdo: Fifth book of madrigals, and all the pieces reflect the tension and conflict that he felt. Since Gesualdo was an enigma of contrasts, I will highlight two of his works from this CD: "Languisce al fin," an extremely sad piece, and "Correte, amanti, a prova," a more upbeat one. Gesualdo is a master of using dissonance and chromatisicm in his music, and it is clear that he writes music to reflect the inner turmoil that he lives with.

"Languisce al fin" speaks of languishing toward the end of life, and suffering. This piece is typical of Gesualdo in that it is highly chromatic and uses lamenting to help emphasize the drama that he is feeling and wanting to convey. He uses imitative elements to help text paint, and he uses a beautiful exploration of space to help him in his efforts. The chromaticism used is revolutionary, and not seen again in such abundance until tonalities are set.

"Correte, amanti, a prova" is extremely upbeat for Gesualdo. The tempo is faster and the subject of love and beauty far more lighthearted. Gesualdo uses text painting to the extreme in this piece. The tempo is moving right along until we get to the words, "Vista dolce et acerba in cui si trova," which means, "sight both sweet and bitter which has such might." When he gets to that piece of text, Gesulado slows down to emphasize the sweet and bitter feel that the words suggest. When the text gets to ‘as it may befall’, Gesualdo uses a series of falling vocal lines. It is very interesting to me what Gesualdo decides to do with his text painting. Despite this piece being more upbeat, there is still an underlying melancholy that seems to be in all of Gesualdo’s music. It is as though he can never escape from the world that he lives in entirely.

Gesualdo suffered from depression toward the end of his life most likely caused by the guilt from the double murder.(Watkins) Gesualdo was an incredibly religious man and had himself beaten for penance daily. His life was tortured and dramatic and I think that that comes through in his music. His use of dissonance and chromaticism was unmatched for decades and I don’t think that any musician has reached his level of crazy. He was buried in the chapel of Saint Ignatius. (Pictured)

Bibliography:

Bianconi, Lorenzo. "Gesualdo, Carlo, Prince of Venosa, Count of Conza." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.mnl.umkc.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/10994 (accessed November 3, 2009).

Stevens, Denis. “Carlo Gesualdo.” The Musical Times, vol 131, no. 1770 (Aug., 1990): 410-411, Musical Times Publications Ltd.

Watkins, Glenn. Gesualdo: The Man and His Music. Clarendon Press. Oxford, 1991.

Impfest Workshops

2009-10-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

So, I took Jill Bernard's Fireball Theory workshop during Impfest. I took SO much away from it! I must say that I am now jonsing to take her other workshops!

Intellectually, I have known for quite some time that you have to have confidence and that you have to shut down the negative voice. (The one that tells you that you aren't good enough, smart enough, funny enough, shaped right, etc) I have applied the clamp on this negative voice of doom in my normal, everyday life. So, when Jill talked about out running the negative voice as though there is a fireball chasing, it made COMPLETE sense! I think I was letting the negative voice catch me. Sometimes, in normal class, I am able to stave it off, then John stops the scene and has me fix something. While I'm stopped, the damn voice catches up with me. (Not criticizing John! He is amazing and nurturing, the things he critiques are valid and he is definately NOT mean in ANY way when he fixes them.) So for that concept, I was like, 'AHHHH, YES!' Along with that, Jill said to 'Think you are awesome!" Makes sense, right? Then why don't we?

The next amazing NUGGET from Jill's workshop is the amazing anti-argument idea. It is all about LOVE, which I freaking LOVE ! It makes absolute sense, really. In order to get out of an argument, you LITERALLY put yourself beside the person you are arguing with. Then take on the blame, even apologize! "You stole my boyfriend!" -response- "I know, what was I thinking, I am so sorry!: or " I know. God, I am such an asshole!" You put yourself on there side. It is damn amazing!

My very favorite thig that Jill Bernard has ever said or written,
DON'T EAT THE FUN
OMG, I freaking love it!

We did the Mad, Sad, Glad, Afrad (afraid) exercise where someone comes in with a benign line and the person already onstage reacts completely off the hook. This is what I pulled from that exercise (this time)- Strong reaction impell more information, it prevents you from being vague.
Jill also said, "Everybody is secretly afraid that they are monsters." That was in relation to people holding back their emotions. I think that is true. People are afraid of what their emotions will do, so they mute them. I think that using emotions make you vulnerable, so you have to be careful of your scene partner's emotions. That also falls into the TRUST category, in my mind. If you don't TRUST your scene partners, then you will not emote with them the way you should!

Jill Bernard side-note quote of goodness-
"If you can't set aside your ego, it fells terrible to be the straight man."
WOW! how freaking true! Way to name it Jill!!!

Fireball Workshop End. Next, Fix it up shop with Jill Bernard.

Nifer and I were doing a scene in the Fit it up Shop. She was my spouse, and did not work, just stayed at home all day. We were arguing about her needing to get a job. Jill stopped us and asked, "which one of you is wrong?" Neither answered. She asked again and said, " Somebody is wrong." Nifer fessed up that she was wrong. ( rightly so- :D jk) and she played that way. Defending herself by saying that T.V. needed to be watched, etc. Long story short, conflict gone- scene great- and I was able to be magnanimous rather than angry and argumentative. So- One person in an argument is wrong, admit it to yourself, and play it that way.

Three things for/ about starting a scene:
1. Start with a predator/ prey mindset.
2. In the first two lines of a scene each person says something, regardless of the actual words, the first person says, "I'm proposing a game." The next person says, "I'm playing the game with you." OR " I think this game is stupid." Which one is more interesting? YEAH- NOT DENIAL! Don't make your fellow actors feel bad! Play their game.
3. The body segment thing-
head- intellect/or lack thereof
chest- love or superman type/ or lack thereof
loins- lust or sex/ or lack thereof
legs- worker or grounded/ or lack thereof.

Whew. That's a lot! Fit it up Shop over- next Trish Berrong's connections workshop.

The first and foremost thing that we talked about is listening like you have a crush on the scene. AKA Take in EVERY DETAIL. Remember specifics, but not necessarily EVERYTHING! Better to remember a few specifics than vague lots. :D

TRISH'S GOSPEL- Plot is Evil and will Kill you.- I think that is self explanitory.

So, Trish doesn't believe in sweep edits, or well, doesn't LIKE them. I am not sure I am on board with that thought. Her reason was that it gives imrovisers time to think of plot. I personally don't do that. When I sweep edit, I am thinking, " Edit, Edit, Edit, Edit." I know, deep of me, huh? I do agree with her when she says, " Edit by starting a new scene." There is nothing wrong and a great deal right about starting a scene from the edge of the stage. Keep ahead of the asshole voice, right? SoI get what she is saying, but I wouldn't get rid of sweep edits completely. Along with Jill's line of thinking, Trish says you should trust yourself to edit.

Finally, the last amazing nugget in Trish's workshop is about people. FOCUS on WHO someone is and NOT on WHAT they do!
I love that. Genius.

So, that is what I leared last weekend. No wonder I am tired now. :D
The end.

Impfest and Ramblings

2009-10-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

So, I read in Jill's tiny cute book of improv about the 'sine wave of suck'. I totally adhere to this theory. For about the past three or so months, I have seriously been on the bottom part of the sine wave of suck. About three or four weeks ago, I had a break through about what the hell my problem has been. I HAVE BEEN IN MY HEAD. Like 100%. Someone would say somthing in a scene, and I would say nothing but be thinking ' how do I respond to that?' So when I realized what was wrong, I began fixing it. Doing things to get me out of my head when I am in scenes. I feel like Impfest was like the test. I think I passed with flying colors. I had so very much fun playing, that I didn't even realize that I was sick when I was on stage- because my characters were not sick. Amazing.
Man I LOVE improv!~ and improv people!
The outpouring of support from the KC improv community was touching. I want NOTHING more than for my brother to succeed. So seeing other improvisers feeling the same way is just an indescribable feeling for me. At the end of Saturday night, I was so happy that all I could do was walk around saying how happy I was. I think the energy of our theater really lent to that. As opposed to the large theaters at Crown Center and Union Station, our theater let a bubble of energy be created and the cool thing, is that even though the bubble is around the stage, the energy can be translated to and from the audience. That really helps everything be more connected, and I think makes the shows just that much better.
The Brownies Don't Lie set was, to my mind, completely outstanding!!! They were able to created super memorable characters and form some of the most amazing and natural relationships that I have ever seen. The thing that actually shocked me about their set, is that there was NO conflict. There were obsticles, things that got in the way of complete happiness, but NO arguing. Trish spent a good 7- 10 minutes completely silent, and imrov-ing with NOTHING but her right arm. AND that was not borin- no sir- quite the opposite actually, the audience was leaning forward- desperate for her arm to do something else, every tiny movement cherished and loved. The amazing amout of TRUST that she must have had! The trust was one-sided in the least. Jill spent an entire scene as a raptor. She committed fully to being a raptor, trusting that Trish could carry the verbal part of the scene. Trish did a great job in that scene, adding to the scene while at the same time, seeing if Jill wanted to speak. When Jill didn't, the scene was set and it got even more playful! Their entire set was playful and trusting, and that translates to the audience and makes them comfortable but focused and eager to watch.
Something happened to me during the Coma set. I was about to have a scene with Nifer, then Jessica came on too, which is great. I quickly realized that I was not needed in the scene. I LITERALLY thought, ' I am not needed here. I am going to sit down and watch.' So when John scene painted a wives boxing match, I was simpley commenting on the scene when I said, "Zombie wife has nothing to lose." I don't normally play a very good 'number 3' character. That being said, I don't know at what level commenting on the scene from within the scene is okay. I realize that is is not okay to be an asshole and point out holes in the improv, but how much internal commenting is okay?
In conclusion:
Impfest was a success. The performers and the audiences were there physically and mentally, and it was fun! What more can you ask for?

If wishes were fishes...

2009-10-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

We'd walk on the sea.

I wish I were better than I am. At school, music, improv.... I keep trying.

Music History- Medieval Journals

2009-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Listening Journal 1

The CD that I chose is, Sumer is Icumen in: Medieval English Songs, by the Hilliard Ensemble. There are 21 pieces of music on the CD and they are moastly centered in the 13th and 14th centuries, but even dips in to the 12th century. Nearly all of the songs on the CD are shorter than 3minutes 30 seconds.
The first song on the CD and its namesake is the first song that I would like to highlight. Summer is icumen in is 2 minutes in length and it is all men’s voices. There are six parts! There is a round for 4 voices, and a 2 voice ostonoto/ drone. I feel that it is really up tempo. It is a rather impressive 6 part piece of music from such an early period.(1240)
This piece of music is an anomaly of the time. It is a secular piece, which we do not have many of from the time period, as well as the fact that the piece has specific performance notes. It is the only known 6part music before the 15th century.

The next group of song that I want to highlight are the three songs by St. Godric. The first one is Sainte Marie Viergene and it is 1:39 minutes long, the second one is Crist and Sainte Marie and it is 2:14 minutes long, and finally Sainte Nicolas and it is only :43 seconds long.
The first piece in the trio uses no instruments to muddle up the word of God. It is Plain Chant with one tenor voice. The performer put some slight dynamic differences into the piece that I think would have not been quite as pointed in the time period. The second piece, like the first, uses no instruments. This piece is more chant with1 tenor voice. The tenor used to sing this song must be an expert in falsetto. Over half of the song is sung in male falsetto. Using men in falsetto, rather than female voice fits in historically, no women were allowed in the church employ. The falsetto parts indicate the parts that the angels sang to St. Godric. The third piece uses the same chant as the first two. This piece, like the firs one uses no falsetto. Unlike the first two songs in this trio, this piece is super short.
All of these songs were given to St. Godric in visions. Sainte Marie Viergen was given by virgin Mary and St. Mary Magdalene. The second piece, Crist and Sainte Marie, was given to St. Godric by his (dead) sister and two angels. The third piece was thought to be given to St. Godric by St. Nicholas.
I think that it is interesting that he got these pieces of music from visions. He attributes the visions to God. Other cultures have had similar visions that just came out of dreams which is a persons own subconscious or from drugs, which has been said to weaken the wall between the conscious and subconscious. I have my doubts as to whether he actually saw his dead sister or any other apparitions. My oponion is that St. Godric fell asleep while praying and out of his subconscious floated this music that he felt was so beautiful that it MUST have been transcribed to him from something supernatural. He also could have been a little crazy. He spent 60 years of his life alone for awhile, then with his sister until she died. That is enough to make anyone a little crazy. Whether crazy, dreaming, or actually seeing saints, angels, and ghosts, St. Godric wrote some pretty awesome music.

Listening Journal 2
I read Lindsay Lozito’s paper on Guillaume De Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame and she opened her journal by writing, “Guillaume de Machaut, one of the leading composers of his time.” I agree with her statement, but I don't think it goes far enough. I would say that Machaut is AWESOME! One of the things that is great about him, is that we KNOW about him. The is one of the earliest composers that we have a lot of information about!The fourteenth century does not have an enormous number of famous composers, especially the late-medieval French composers. Guillaume de Machaut wrote this music in the town of Rheims in France where the ‘civilized’ world was looking to for music at the time.
Lindsay wrote that the mass was, “one of the first polyphonic masses written as a single unit.” The CD notes that came with the CD in the library stated that, “There is no proof that Machaut wrote the entire mass at one particular time, or that he always intended the movements to go together.” Whether he intended it at the time or not, however, the different movements did get put into a whole, and because of his composition style, they work well together. I liked that Lindsay pointed out how they were linked by tonal focus, a similar style, and other features.
One of the styles in the piece is the florid organum, and I agree with Lindsay that you can definitely hear the style, particularly in the "Agnus Dei," (quotations for Mass movements) although it is present in other movements as well. The Kyrie is very melismatic, but it begins like a monophonic chant. I was not a fan. Only as you progress further into the Kyrie does the organum blossom and the melismas become almost staccato in order to hear the parts properly. I liked that much better! The Gloria is mostly syllabic, and the words are clear which I appreciated. I found the Credo to be a nice mix of melismatic and syllabic, but it had extremely long phrases that always seemed to be stretching and I found myself losing interest.The Sanctus is melismatic, with the Hosanna being staccato melismas, thus giving the impression of speed. This was my favorite movement of the work. I already spoke about the Agnus Dei, and the Ite missa est was very melismatic with an extremely florid top.
Lindsay’s opinion of florid organum is, “Normally I tend to lose interest with the florid organum style because the meaning of the word is lost and sometimes the direction of the piece,” and I tend to agree, especially in the melismas of the Kyrie. I found myself easily distracted and not able to focus on the words. The Sanctus had the opposite effect on me, however. It made me excited to listen and intrigued to hear what would happen next.
I enjoyed this piece more than I thought I would. The only things that I think Lindsay could add to her assessment of the piece are some pictures. She could get them of the Rheims cathedral or of Guillaume de Machaut himself (as I have added here). Otherwise, wonderful work of art, and a really nice review of it.

LIfe Theory- your world

2009-09-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

So I have mentioned before, I believe, my 'thinking topics'. Well, I have one from awhile back that seems apt again recently. That theme is 'YOUR WORLD'.

The thought is this:
Everyone has their own world that they live in. In some realities, something is completely normal, where in others, the same thing is INSANE!
I shouldn't put my normal example on the internet, so I will use an alternate example. Right now in 'my world' it is normal to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. That which is normal in my reality is insane in someone elses. They may think, WHO stays up until 3 in the morning. That is not their reality. In their world, maybe they work at 6 in the morning. In 'My world', that would be insane.

This could be applied to ANYTHING. Everybody has their own world that they live in and react to things in, the question is how do you react in other people's realities?

I developed this 'thinking topic' before I started to do improv, but it is completely compatible. If someone is in a scene, and does something CRAZY... well, maybe it is not so crazy if that is the reality. If that is the world they live in, then it is normal.

For example: Somebody scene paints Georgia with a forked tongue. That doesn't mean that Alan has to comment on it. Maybe it is just normal in that reality.

Conversely, maybe Alan is clinging to a reality where that is NOT normal. If that is the case, rather than accepting the weirdness of the forked tongue, he points out how weird it is. How snakelike, and how much he hates snakes. (all the while forming emotional connections, meaningful relationships, not talking about stuff, raising the stakes, non-denial, yes-and.ing, and trying to find the game) :D

SO yeah... What is normal in YOUR WORLD but weird in MINE?

hmmm....

2009-09-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

I am currently focusing on two things...

Upping the stakes and adding information.

AND

Object work.

I have a problem that when I focus on something, I completely forget about something else.
Such as...
I was working on playing games and quick edits, and my scenework went to HELL. My characters were fine, even good, but there was nothing behind them. I was doing stuff prov.
How do you get over that?

Let me guess... practice... :D Well, of all things to practice, improv is the most fun!

Improv

2009-08-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

I just want to put out a little love into the world.

I love improv and improv people so much! Thank you to all of you that perform and view this amazing art. You are all extremely quality people.

X

Improv Goal of the week

2009-08-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so...
When I do a long form, I have a tendency to go on in the first scene or two... when I go off stage, I think about what I did and what it means. That means that I completely space off during the next scene. Sometimes... though still not good, it is okay that I do this. We are doing the longform plus ronde lately.... it is detrimental to my future scenes. Well, not always, but sometimes (like tonight) it is.
So there you have it.

My goal: Do not space off. Pay attention to the other scenes at the same time that I analyze my scenes.

Lag...

2009-08-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

Does it seem to anyone else that summer is a lag in improv. Fewer people, Fewer shows... even the people that come to rehearsals seem to have a lack of energy. Wonder why.

It seems to me though, and perhaps this is being a bit harsh, that if you are going to be a negative nelly at rehearsal, that it would behoove you and everyone else if you just stayed home.

As far as it is now getting toward the fall and school starting... It seems like improv is gearing up. The shows that were lacking, recently have been amazing-tastic. Improvisers are coming back, everyone seems to have more energy, and there are TWO improv festivals coming up in the KC area alone.

How much of this has to do with audiences too?

We all know about the energy that is transferred from the improvisers to the audience and back. During the summer months is the audience just a void... not returning any of the energy?

I don't think so.

I will be interested to see how this goes next year...

Oxy Moron

2009-07-21T00:08:00.003-07:00

.

Rules of War

define. then rationalize. i freaking dare you.

Who to Perform For?

2009-07-07T23:11:00.001-07:00

I was having a conversation with Carl this evening, and we got into a disagreement.

We were discussing who I perform for... (I as in any improv actor)
He said that I should perform for the audience, because they pay to see me perform. I argued that I should just perform how I want to perform- because I do it for me and the pleasure I take out of improv performance.

Maybe you have to take into account that they are there, and if (for example) there is a kid in the room at a family friendly show, you notice and therefore do not describe in detail some sexual acts... well, that is taking them into account, but not necessarily performing FOR the audience... more like- for myself with them in mind...

I don't know if this makes any sense.

Ode to Darlene

2009-06-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

You were:
An amazing woman
A superb cook
A mother of three
An adopted grandmother of four
A friend to hundreds
A story teller
An important person

You were my grandma when I did not have any grandma's left. You were the last grandma I had and even though you were not my 'real' grandma, it certainly felt as though you were to me. I could tell you ANYTHING and you would give me advice. I would write to you when I was little. I have seen you more in the last two years then I did for the previous 3. Even when you were sick and about to die in the hospital, after having 2 heart attacks, cancer surgery, a trechiotomy, and a diabetic coma in a five weeks... I STILL thought you were beautiful. I feel pride in visiting you in the hospital once a week while you were here. I feel pride that when I came to visit the third time and you were lucid and awake, that we were able to communicate and I made you laugh. You gave hugs that were so tight that I thought that maybe I wouldn't be able to breathe, but there was no way in the world that I would ever want you to hug less tight, or less long. I LOVED listening to your stories about how you and grandpa met and fell in love, and I know that you love telling them. I think that your nickname of Fuzzy was awesome. I think that you had three of the most diverse and amazing children that you possibly could have had. (Aunt) Bernie means so much to me that the thought of her sad sends me into waves of weeping. You are the person who taught me how to make pancakes. How to wait until the little bubbles on the edges didn't fill in when they popped. You never pressured me about getting a boyfriend, but you always asked. You took care of my doll Mavis when she was 'sick' when I was 5. You loved telling people about the cow at the fair. You would walk around with me at the fair and would go even if it was hot and you didn't want to. You would open your house to my entire family and you loved us so much. You would make everyone a different meal if my mom would have let you. You would make me kolaches because you knew that I loved them. You made me a blanket for the doll bed that grandpa made for me. You took the squares that Grandma Bozich made and put them into an Awesome blanket for me when I was 11. It made me cry because it was so thoughtful. You never treated me like I was a kid. When grandpa died, I made sure that you were not going to just follow him right away, and you made sure that I knew that you had no intention of doing that. You would always wear an old fashioned nightgown and slippers. You would always cook with cast iron skillets. You were never in a rush. Things would happen as they would happen.

In conclusion:
Darlene Bates, you were a beautiful person, inside and out. You will be missed.
LOVE, your Grand-daughter,
Julie

Miss you

2009-06-17T21:44:00.001-07:00

I recently ran into someone that I don't see anymore and I don't talk to anymore. Not for a lack of trying on my part. When we saw each other, we hugged, and she said, "I miss you!"
At first, this smacked to me of insincerity, since, if she did in fact miss me, she could call-email-facebook-visit. (we live in the age of communication for fucks sake) Then, I thought about it, and the numerous times that a similar situation has happened to me over the years... and well maybe it IS sincere, but just not accurate.
Maybe instead of missing ME per-se, she missed the good times that were had at the time when we were close. And there were so MANY good times. Much laughter, which there is with ALL of my friendships.
It is sad when people grow apart, but when you see someone that you used to be really good friends with, don't say 'miss you'. Say, 'Man, we had some good times!' It flavors the current relationship with a clear conscious. There are no regrets of 'miss you' which seems to me to say, 'wish we still hung out'.

Sincere or Fake?

2009-06-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me that 'regular' theater people are a bit over the top. I have noticed that while improvers can BE over the top, they are not when they are being themselves. I wonder if that is part of keeping it real, even in our own lives? The over the top- ness of stage actors comes off to me as being fake, but I find myself being the same way when surrounded by them.
It is a titch disconcerting.

Improv Question for the day...

2009-06-02T23:10:00.001-07:00

What do you do when your scene partner gives you nothing, and takes everything you give and puts it essentially in a void?
In relation to that, what techniques can you use when your scene partner throws so much random crap at you that there is NO possible way that you can rationalize it all?

Imp- hearsals of the past part 1

2009-05-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Roving Imp Rehearsal: (04-23-09)
The first half of rehearsal was with Omega Directive. I LOVE playing with those guys.(part of why I am sad about John's new structuring plan...) Each time I play with the Omega folks I can feel myself stretching and thinking of new things to do and different ways to play. In that rehearsal, I played the straight man in a world full of monsters. T played the principal monster. This was an amazing example of how when you come on with a physicality or character, that you don't (and in fact, shouldn't) change your character when it is named something you were not expecting. (like a principal in a high school) I tried to not make every scene about conflict, but found that difficult. I did not initiate the conflict most times, and I don't think that EVERY scene was about conflict.
The long form was fun and satisfying! The second half, Omega left and RI folks played the games. They were fun and all went okay, Understudy was exceptional. I used to really really dislike that game. It is still not my favorite, but I don't despise it any longer.
Mega Nugget from rehearsal:
- come in with a physicality or character and STICK WITH IT. Funny-ness ensues.

~jewels

Robot Parade Class

2009-05-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

So Robot Parade is an improv class that is taught at the Roving Imp Theater. Some of my reflections from this class will be posted on this blog.
Robot Parade (04/20/2009)
Nuggets taken from the class tonight:

No Laughing Onstage- it makes the audience not want to automatically, it is just a natural response that they have, so if you want to be funny- don't laugh.

Edit Quickly- It is better to edit early than late. If you edit to early, you can ALWAYS bring the scene back if you want to, if you edit late then the scene is most likely dieing and your improv audience and actors with it.

And finally, for me this is the most important one:

DON'T MAKE EVERY SCENE ABOUT CONFLICT- Make some happy scenes too. Conflict is easy, and it is a beginners move to ALWAYS have the scene about conflict... It can have a conflict without being ABOUT conflict.

So that's it. Not too bad for one class. Not too bad for the first 'actual' blog. :D

~

Actually Blogging... For Realz

2009-05-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to join the blogging world, and by doing thus hopefully will get feedback on some improv stuff that I have been thinking about... I am going to log most of my improv journal into this blog, so hopefully I will be telling what I think about things and questions I have.
I'm sure I will use this for personal reflections as well. :D