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February 04, 2006
How 'Bout a Quickie?
Because I have LESSON PLANS to create! I'm now teaching three sections of Comm 101. I'm sorry it's come about in the way it has, an instructor is in the middle of a family health crisis and just can't give her focus to anything but that right now. I would rather get it because someone won the lottery or got an incredible gig somewhere else. I don't like gaining as a result of someone else's misfortune. And yet, at the same time, I'm thrilled to be teaching.
Originally, I was hired just to be on-call, in case she needed someone to cover her classes. So last week, along with all the other stuff I was doing, I watched 72 bag speeches. Which were fun. I came home from the first day and told Dave, "I want to be teaching those kids. I want to be the one who gets to watch them figure it out." And as of yesterday, I am.
Of course, this means I have three more crazy weeks ahead of me as I prep for Jazz Festival as well as teach (and next week also give four performances of Sight Unseen). Hopefully, though, they won't be as insane as this past week week was.
Here's a sample of my schedule last week:
Monday, Jan. 30
8am-4:15pm Work (With 15 minute lunch break)
4:30-5:30pm Dinner with Dave
6-10pm Rehearsal
Tuesday, Jan 31
8:30-10:20am Teach 2 sections Comm 101, grade speeches
(15-20 minute hike across campus to the office)
10:45am-2pm Work
(15-20 minute hike across campus to the classroom)
2:30-3:30pm Teach 1 section Comm 101, grade speeches
(15-20 minute hike across campus to the office)
3:45-4:30pm Work
4:45-5:30pm Dinner with Dave
6-10pm Rehearsal
Wednesday, Feb. 1
8:15am-4:30pm Work (with 15 minute lunch break)
5-6pm Dinner with Dave
6:30-10pm Rehearsal
Thursday, Feb. 2
8:30-10:20am Teach 2 sections Comm 101, grade speeches
10:45am-2pm Work
2:30-3:20pm Teach 1 section Comm 101, grade speeches
3:45-4:45pm Work
5-6pm Dinner with Dave
6:30pm Call
7:30pm Sight Unseen opens
late Thursday evening, my parents arrive in town
Thursday was by far the worst day in terms of way too much going on in my life. Thank goodness I don't run across many like it. Despite the exhaustion, I felt pretty good about my performance.
And last night? I am so stupid. Bad actor. Bad, bad actor. Last night I finally figured out why my character makes her most important decision.
I had been coming at it from an entirely different angle. I should have paid attention to the guy playing my husband. He's so good and he had been giving me so much, and I was so busy focusing on the brand new actor who got shoved into the lead role that I didn't really look Peter's way much. But when I started to pay attention to everything he was giving me, WOW.
Which is an interesting parallel to my character's situation. She's focusing on this guy who's not as good as she wants him to be, trying to make him her world, all the while resting on and trusting in the presence of her husband, without really thinking too much about him. He's there, he's solid, she knows she can depend on him and has come to without really realizing it. Patricia's arc in the play is one of discovering that she's actually in love with her husband. That the dream lover was never a real person, but a hopeful projection of her desires onto an unworthy man, and that the fantasy and memories she's held onto for so long are mist and lies; none of them reflect reality in the slightest. Yet in the end, her reality is a good place, a hopeful place.
Okay. Off to write Tuesday and Thursday's lesson plans.
Arboretum pictures tomorrow, though.
Posted by sally at February 4, 2006 10:03 AM
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