Tomorrow is going to be a long LONG day for me. And not long in an amusement park kind of way. I have to get a lot of my stuff written out so I can place it on a power point tomorrow for my Shakespeare class, and then I have to go see a musical performance at my college so I don't get 25% of my grade knocked down for my music class.
I learned today that this performance is more than likely going to make me cry tears, LITERAL TEARS. I am actually crying on the inside right now and am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that newly trained singers at the college are going to be singing some songs from The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. If you have no idea what Porgy and Bess is, it is an opera that first appeared on Broadway in 1935 and has been revised quite a few times. In 2011 it appeared again on Broadway starring Audra McDonald as Bess and one of my all time favorite Broadway stars, Norm Lewis, as Porgy. The production ended in September of this year and the production has won numerous awards for a good reason. I really wanted to see the production but unfortunately I live nowhere near New York. =(
But continuing on with my story, the college has untrained singers singing Porgy and Bess. I hate to say this but in no way, shape, or form, will this be good. Sure, I haven't see it yet but I know two of the singers who will be portraying both Porgy and Besssss. One is a white girl who is my age and is only in the class for a credit because advanced piano or whatever it's called was not offered this semester. Now I'm not being racist what so ever but for some reason I cannot see a white female portraying Bess, I simply cannot. In my opinion the entire musical makes a strong statement about the isolation and prejudice so deeply embedded in our culture still today. Yet it the show does it in a very subtle and very effective way, without hammering audiences over the head to get the point across. Porgy and Bess portrays something that is still seldomly acknowledged about life during that time period. However it is not for me to say what type of person will be portraying Bess, if the caucasian piano player can sing Summertime without damaging her vocal chords I can only say good luck. As for the guy who's going to be singing as Porgy, he is a nice guy but considering he has absolutely not commitment to either theatre or music (as he made clear with a previous theatre show I was in where he either didn't show up to rehearsals and when he did, he showed up about an hour late) he will not qualify as the next Norm Lewis. His voice is alright but needs some work. But that is not the biggest issue here and I do not want to turn this into a debate about racism or color blind casting for a singing performance. The biggest issue for me is exactly how the hell are amateurs going to pull this off? To sing any song from this musical and not make it not sound mediocre is going to be a problem. I'm sorry to say this but it is hard to imagine a college kid pulling this off without the musical experience.
I am being brutally honest with everything I am saying here because I absolutely do not want to see these songs get slaughtered. I love these songs immensely and to have them get screwed with may just put another dagger into my soul.
On Wednesday I had a chance to speak to my lovely criminal justice teacher that I took a class with about a year or so ago. He has to be one of the coolest guys that I have ever met. He asked if I still wanted to work in law enforcement and sadly I had to finally tell him that I technically never really wished to be in law enforcement but just took the class because I am incredibly interested in the field. He said that I was one of his better students that he has ever had but completely understood why I took the class. He recommended that I go to this little school assembly in my village today and listen to a police man talk about his experience on the job. If anything I could learn something from it so what the heck, I decided to go. I checked in to the school office and because the ladies there loved me they let me and a few other people attend. Most of the people checking in with the office were around my age so I could only assume my past law enforcement teacher was using this assembly as some type of extra credit. We all walked to the gym where the little cretins of our future were already packed together and we took our seats on a stair next to some crazy high school spirit kids who continued to give us questionable looks throughout this entire thing. A lot of the people with me started taking out their notebooks and a pen and awaited our guest speaker. Yep, they are totally doing this for extra credit. Mr. Police officer finally stepped into the gym and greeted us with a "HELLO STUDENTS!" Obviously people continued to speak and police officer man did not enjoy this. "You all are being disrespectful to this police veteran!" Veteran? Wait a minute, I thought you were just retired, but alrighty then. For the next 30 minutes this guy continues to spout off nonsense to these kids; "IF you smoke cigarettes at this age our police enforcement will lock you up and you will go to jail FOREVER!!!!" "IF you go to a cafe and the waiter puts a foamy heart in your drink then he is likely a criminal!"- This makes no bloody sense! Is the foamy heart poisonous? 9 times out of 10 it is not! "Handcuffs are comfy!"- Said this to a girl in a serious fashion. This girl was put into the handcuffs as an example and handcuffs are most certainly not comfortable! She got out of them. He did not appreciate her showing him up. "Police, firemen, ambulance drivers, and members of the FBI are not allowed to have caffeine!"- WHAT? If you work for the FBI I am almost positive some of those people survive off of caffeine considering some of them never sleep! "If a police car is behind you and NOT flashing his lights you still need to stop." "We always use our tasers on CRIMINALS." "Police always have the right of way when it comes to either us or an ambulance!" - I asked him a question regarding this, he chose to avoid me. I asked him again twice and he chose to avoid me. I finally had to scream out my question and have at least 20 other kids back me up so he could answer. No, he just told me to ask after the assembly was done. I told him that everything he has been spouting off was a lie and that he needs to stop lying to these kids who already have trust issues with law enforcement. He told me that I had no respect and that a high school girl like me should be grateful for learning these types of things so that I don't get locked up before I graduate. I wasn't going to let it go that easily but I was curious as to what lies he was going to tell us next. After the assembly I asked him wtf he was talking about like he instructed me to do and he just said "Have a nice day girl!" Alright that's it. I just emailed my past criminal justice instructor and asked him how the hell this guy got into the field. He emailed me back about an hour ago stating that "He was in the field for 12 days. Got fired after he hit another police car for going too slow on the highway and after drugs were found in his possession. I thought you would find the assembly informative of what NOT to do if nothing else." Okay, this makes a ton of sense! Thank you past criminal justice instructor. I think I might have to FIND YOU on Wednesday to discuss this imbecile of a person! I just found it sad that some of our police officers do not understand the very laws they have sworn to uphold. However I have a ton of respect for the ladies and gentlemen who go into this field and who abide by the laws and don't do silly things.
It is final exam week!!!! Or at least that is what is going to be happening on Monday and Wednesday, not to mention the theatre classes and whoever they invited will be sitting their butts down in the theatre seats so people can show off their monologues and students films on Thursday during this first annual theatre event.
I am getting incredibly worried about our film. On Wednesday we had to shoot a whole bunch of scenes considering we won't have much time next Wednesday because everything has to be put together and ready to go. Our 'director' aka Mr. pumpkin patch and the guy who is going to be editing this all together decided that it would be fun to leave all the actors inside the theatre completely clueless while they went to go film mr.pumpkin patch's segment. Not going to happen. I found them outside filming and my exact words were "What can we film while you guys are doing this?"
Mr. Pumpkin Patch "Well >other guy< if the official cameraman for this film so you all should wait for us to return.
We have 2 other Ipads to record on and this other guy is not the "official" cameraman. The camera has been going from hand to hand for weeks now. I am officially taking over before I have to throw you down the stairs you are recording on.
So I go back inside and tell everyone that we are going to be recording some others guys segment then moving on to the other girls.
"Hey didn't Mr.Pumpkin Patch want this character filmed INSIDE?!?!?" asks one of the guys who never talks unless he needs to.
Me: Yeah well we established that his character is a fan of the earth and recycling and is an official tree planter so I have no bloody idea why he wants it to be filmed inside. We're filming it over here in this grass area where some trees are.
So we record this guys part 3 times and finally get a great recording when Mr.Pumpkin Patch comes over to me and starts explaining why this needs to be filmed INSIDE. His only notable reason was because he wanted it that way. I told him too bad, it's recorded and we are using this.
After this was noted Mr. Pumpkin Patch pretty much told me that I was not to be trusted so he had me go be a 3rd eye for another one of his scenes which I had absolutely no problem with. The guy I recorded before was the cameraman this time and he actually did a wonderful job! While we were filming in the hallway some lady goes over to us and asks exactly what we are doing. "Filming for the theatre event that's happening Thursday."
Come to find out this nice lady has done some film recording for student films and worked a camera for the cancelled television show Detroit 1-8-7. So of course I asked her if she could give us some input on camera angles and how we could record this part better and what not. She gave us a lot of great advice and I learned a ton from her about recording in 10 minutes. Mr. Pumpkin Patch finally notices this lady after we had to shoot him 18 different times and asks who she was. She explains that she was just giving us some advice on camera work and stuff and Mr. Pumpkin Patch completely flips out.
"This is supposed to be a STUDENT FILM for >insert class name< YOU are not a student of this class so we really do not want your input."
Me: "Shut up she's helping!"
Him: "You're supposed to be the third eye, NOT HER!"
The lady leaves after wishing us luck for the film and me and the other girl in this class were the only ones to thank her. I am still at a loss as to how I haven't managed to punch this guys eye out yet. One day more, one day more to put up with him and not go to jail for assault.
Afterwards we finally get to my part and I learn that they have decided to cut out my lines because we didn't have enough time to include them. Normally I would be incredibly pissed about this but yes, we were running low on time and at this point I could have cared less. Someone painted my face and we managed to record my part in one take. I have no freaking idea how good it was but the official 'cameraman' was having ADD issues and freaking out on everyone so I just accepted it and moved on.
Now as always there will be one unreliable jerk when it comes to the acting world, no exception when it comes to a college acting class. One of our 'actors' shows up 45 minutes late and forgot his costume. This almost caused me to forgot my patience but instead we decided that he can be filmed rather quickly on Wednesday before class and if he shows up late he's getting recast and I will feel nothing if that happens.
Other than my theatre class though I also had an exam for music on Wednesday. I know that I did quite poorly. If I received something other than an F or D I shall buy myself some licorice. I asked my music teacher if students could go to the workshop on Wednesday for a grade. His response.
"Unless you are singing you do not get CREDIT!!!! However if you wish to see fantastic singers--"
Oh okay. No credit. Later.
Overall Wednesday was long but I got a lot of stuff done. It is now 12:31 am and I have yet to even start my idea for a power point that I have to present on Monday for Shakespeare. Time to start getting my priorities in order. Until I write again tomorrow, buh bye!!!
Today was an interesting day for me. I had to sing my horrible little solo song for a grade in front of my music class. I was already having a stressful day before that considering I just had a quiz in my Shakespeare class, but as soon as I stepped into the music classroom my confidence level, which I was trying hard to maintain before singing, was shot.
"You are getting a point marked off!" says my lovely music teacher. "Same goes for you >other girl<!!!"
"OK why are we getting marked down before we even perform?"
"Because you are wearing jeans and that is not suitable performance attire!!!!!"
What the hell? You think I don't know this? This isn't a dress rehearsal and we aren't performing for other people. This is basically a learning round so we don't suck when it comes to be that time. And I dressed pretty nicely today and had to pin my lacy black t-shirt jacket thing in the front over my pink tank top to make it look acceptable for THIS REASON. And I was wearing silver flats. I looked presentable for the occasion and I felt quite pretty without my makeup! Stupid man.
After this everyone had to wait outside to go into the practice room with our accompanist who is a really sweet lady but I cannot understand a damn word that she says when it comes to how to . "Sing in an A minor instead of an A flat. This is CDACB!" Umm what? I don't understand your terminology!!! I don't read much music either and I really have no intentions of learning how to do so. The Sound of Music and their learning musical process is all I need unless I start to take up an instrument, and even sometimes people play by ear.
But this accompanist spent around 1 minute or so with each of us (yeah that helped a lot!) and then we were told to go back into the classroom so we could be judged yet again on how goodly/poorly we sang! Each student had to pick a number 1 through 10 and lucky me, I got numero uno! I had to get it over with eventually though right? So mr. music teacher is lecturing everyone else about proper stage presence and who knows what else as I am standing there waiting to go sing. During this time I realize that the other girl in jeans is going to be recording everyone's performance on her cellular telephone. I am almost positive you have to get a consent form to do that and I most certainly did not give my permission for recording of any type. FINALLY my teacher sits down, I state my name and all that fun stuff, then the accompanist begins to play. Now I realize that I can't read music but I am 100% positive that she effed me over! While practicing with the music teacher and another lady not once have I had to hit a note all the way up HERE and I was also not too keen on her slowing down the tempo. Doing so screwed me over completely. Not to mention there is a lyric in this horrendous song that goes "You might as well be made of wood" and she played that melody 5 times and it made me sound like a broken record player. After the 3rd time I just stopped singing and did a little dance. The music teacher was NOT AMUSED and started writing down notes in a very angry fashion!!! I finished the song though and had to listen to everyone else (with the exception of 3 others) do great. I got the comments back from the students for the performance and all of them said that I did great! LIES. I did terribly! I fell flat on some notes and I couldn't get the pitch right thanks to the crazy piano lady! I would have rather people told me the truth and say I did poorly than have read a bunch of lying comments.
Then the piano lady comes up to me afterwards and is like YOU DIDN'T SING THIS PART IN THE RIGHT KEEEEEY. What are you rambling on about this time crazy piano lady? I was like the next Sarah Brightman today... from the depths of musical hell. =P
I am very curious. I was going to sign up for my 4 credit class today and behold! I cannot take one! Next semester French is a continuation of the first French class that is going on during this semester, ditto with Spanish which I had no desire to take anyway. The only classes available are beginning algebra which I have to take 3 other math classes to get into (that will NOT happen) and a few forms of science taught by one of the most asinine men I have ever met in my entire life. This guy literally takes pleasure in failing kids. Everyone who I've talked to had the same problem with him and had to withdraw. I swear that the only reason the college keeps him is for money purposes considering he is pretty much the only teacher who teaches a 4 credit class and 95% of his students fail so they have to retake him. It's quite clever when you think about it. Now what I do not understand about these 4 credit classes is why on earth do they all have to do with math or chemistry or a foreign language? I think that it is very possible to offer a 4 credit class in drama or English, sure it would be a lot of work but that is exactly why these classes are worth 4 credits. And why is it so complicated to get into these classes and why do they only offer 20 or so kids per class? I guess I am just not fully understanding. I have to take ONE 4 credit class and pass to get my degree and graduate but now because of these BS options I am going to have to take a semester off and get a part time job so I don't get thrown out of my house. Getting real tired of your stupidity community college!!! Edit: Tonight I found out that some person dropped out of accounting. Hooray! I signed up for that spot so quickly. The class is once a week but is 4 hours long. 0_0 I am praying that the teacher is cool and can explain things in a simple fashion and realizes that not everyone wishes to go into accounting. I can also only hope that I am not stuck in a class with a bunch of people who will look down on me for not being as smart as them at this subject. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Spring Semester 2013!!!
This year for reading I decided to do something that I have never done before. I decided to do a READING CHALLENGE. Now I have always been a bit hesitant to try reading challenges considering I never knew if I was going to be able to finish them or not and the thing with me and reading is that I have problems when it comes to not being able to finish a book, even when it completely sucks. The only books I have never been able to complete were The Grapes of Wrath and The Devil Wears Prada.
I decided to do something a bit different this year when it comes to my reading. I have been a HUGE Bronte fan ever since reading Jane Eyre during my junior year of high school, however it was a black and white movie called Wuthering Heights that I saw when I was 14 that first introduced me into the Bronte world. So this year I thought why not try and read everything that the Bronte's have written? It can't be that hard! Oh but it is. There have been so many things that Charlotte, Emily, and Anne have wrote besides their famous novels; poetry being one of those things. Not to mention their brother Branwell and father, Reverend Patrick Bronte. Unfortunately Maria, the eldest sister, and Elizabeth, the second eldest child, both of who died of tuberculosis, did not write many documents that the public is aware of and if they did they have yet to be found.
Because I have almost completed this challenge I have learned many different things from doing this about the three English authors and about myself as well. If nobody has ever done a reading challenge before then I say that you should at least try and attempt one, what can it hurt?
Copy&Paste Time! (Originally posted by Laura of Laura's Reviews here on blogger.)
Challenge Details
1. The All About the Brontes challenge will run from January 1st to June 30, 2010. You can post a review before this date if you wish.
It is 2012 but I am still doing the challenge because it makes my soul happy.
2. You can read a book, watch a movie, listen to an audiobook, anything Bronte related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Bronte related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed.
3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 3 to 6 (or beyond) anything Bronte items.
*= Read/Watched this year *= Read/Watched before the challenge
The Original Works
CHARLOTTE BRONTE
Jane Eyre
Villette- This book was pretty good although many of the characters besides Lucy I found quite irksome.
Shirley
The Professor- I just finished this book yesterday. Definitely not my favorite of Charlotte's but it was one of her first works so what can you expect? Emma Brown
There was once a little girl, c. 1826-8
Juvenilia by Charlotte Bronte
The History of the Year, 1829
"A Romantic Tale" (The Twelve Adventurers) and "An Adventure in Ireland", 1829
The Search After Happiness, 1829
Leisure Hours, a Tale, and two Fragments, July 6th, 1829.
The Adventures of Mon. Edoward de Crack, 1830
The Adventures of Ernest Alembert, 1830
An Interesting Passage in the Lives of Some Eminent Men of the Present Time, 1830
Persons of the Age, a Tale, June 10th, 1830.
The Poetaster: A Drama in Two Volumes, 1830
Tales of the Islanders, 1829-1830
Young Men's Magazine (including Blackwood's Young Men's Magazine), 1829-1830
Albion and Marina: A Tale, 1830
The African Queen's Lament, 1830?
Something About Arthur, 1833
The Foundling: A Tale of our own Times, 1833
The Secret and Lily Hart: Two Tales, 1833
A Leaf from an Unopened Volume, Or The Manuscript of An Unfortunate Author, 1834
High Life in Verdopolis, Or The Difficulties of Annexing a Suitable Title to a Work Practically Illustrated in Six Chapters, 1834
Corner Dishes, 1834
The Spell, An Extravaganza, 1834
My Angria and the Angrians, 1834
The Scrap Book. A Mingling of Many Things, 1835
Passing Events, 1836
Roe Head Journal (Fragments),1836-1837
Julia, 1837
**Tales of Angria (written 1838–1839 – a collection of childhood and young adult writings including five short novels) -Mina Laury -Stancliffe's Hotel -The Duke of Zamorna -Henry Hastings -Caroline Vernon
Willie Ellin
Origins of Angria
Caroline Vernon, 1839
Farewell to Angria, 1839
wo romantic tales in one volume; viz., The Twelve Adventurers and the Adventures in Ireland, April 2nd, 1829.
Marian vs. Zenobia
Mary
Elizabeth
The Young Men's Magazines, in Six Numbers, from August to December, the latter months' double number, completed December the 12th, 1829. General index to their contents:--
1. A True Story;
2. Causes of the War;
3. A Song;
4. Conversations;
5. A True Story continued;
6. The Spirit of Cawdor;
7. Interior of a Pot-house, a Poem;
8. The Glass Town, a Song;
9. The Silver Cup, a Tale;
10. The Table and Vase in the Desert, a Song;
11. Conversations; 12. Scene on the Great Bridge;
13. Song of the Ancient Britons;
14. Scene in my Tun, a Tale;
15. An American Tale;
16. Lines written on seeing the Garden of a Genius;
17. The Lay of the Glass Town;
18. The Swiss Artist, a Tale;
19. Lines on the transfer of this Magazine;
20. On the Same, by a different hand;
21. Chief Geni in Council;
22. Harvest in Spain;
23. The Swiss Artist continued;
24. Conversations.
A Book of Rhymes, finished December 17th, 1829; Contents:
1. The Beauty of Nature;
2. A Short Poem;
3. Meditations while Journeying in a Canadian Forest;
4. A Song of an Exile;
5. On Seeing the Ruins of the Tower of Babel;
6. A Thing of 14 lines;
7. Lines written on the Bank of a River one fine Summer Evening;
8. Spring, a Song;
9. Autumn, a Song.
Miscellaneous Poems, finished May 30th, 1830. Contents:--
1. The Churchyard;
2. Descriptions of the Duke of Wellington's Palace on the Pleasant Banks of the Lusiva; this article is a small prose tale or incident;
3. Pleasure; 4. Lines written on the Summit of a high Mountain of the North of England;
5. Winter;
6. Two Fragments, namely, 1st, The Vision; 2nd, A Short untitled Poem; The Evening Walk, a Poem, June 23rd, 1830.
Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights
Anne Bronte
Agnes Grey
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
All
Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell
Biographical Works/Literary Criticism
The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell*- Reading at the moment
Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life by Lyndall Gordon*
The Art of the Brontes by Christine Alexander and Jane Sellars
Selected Letters of Charlotte Bronte edited by Margaret Smith
Charlotte Bronte: A Writer's Life by Rebecca Fraser
Charlotte Bronte: Unquiet Soul by Margot Peters
Bronte by Glyn Hughes
The Three Brontes by May Sinclair
The Brontes by Juliet Barker
The Brontes: A Beginner's Guide by Steve Eddy*
The Oxford Companion to the Brontes by Christine Alexander
The Bronte Myth by Lucasta Miller
In the Footsteps of the Brontes by Ellis Chadwick Life and Letters by Clement Shorter- Maria Branwell's "The Advantages of Poverty. In Religious Concerns" can be found here.
Spin-offs/Modern Reworkings/Brontes as Fictional Characters/Etc.
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1992 - starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes)*
Wuthering Heights (Masterpiece Theatre 1998)
Wuthering Heights (2003 for MTV)
Wuthering Heights (Masterpiece Theatre 2009)*
Jane Eyre (1934)- This is the most hilarious thing that I have ever seen in my life! I swear nobody- the director, cast, or script writer, even read the book.
Jane Eyre (1944)*
Jane Eyre (BBC - 1970)
Jane Eyre (1983 miniseries starring Timothy Dalton)*********- In my opinion this version will always be the best.
Jane Eyre (1996)*- Loved Charlotte Gainsborg, Hurt was not good.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996 - Masterpiece Theatre starring Tara Fitzgerald and Toby Stephens)*
Villette (1970 BBC mini-series also adapted in 1999 as a BBC Radio production)- Whoever has seen this I would love to hear what it was like!
Devotion (1946 - highly fictionalized account of the Bronte sisters lives) The Brontes of Haworth
Total: 20. 19 if you do not want to include the one by Elizabeth Gaskell that I am reading right now. And now I would like to share this video that I found a few months ago while doing this challenge. ENJOY!!!!
Not a huge fan of the rhythm and lyrical changes. FOLLOW TO THE LETTER YOUR ITINERY! However I think Crowe will do an alright job, he has the characters personality down at least.
Jackman is getting a nominee, not doubts in my mind.24601!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Give her the Oscar. Right now. Anne is going to do spectacular in this!
As always Barks outshines everyone in my opinion. Best supporting actress nominee.
These two were meant for their roles. I take back every single thing that I said about not wanting Amanda Seyfried to be cast. Her and Redmayne are going to be spectacular. Eddie IS Marius, and he seems like he will do a great job. However I have always disliked Marius's character so it's hard for me to enjoy any portrayal of him no matter how good. Now I'm not saying he should have died at the barricade, I'm just saying that his life choices are not something I can agree with.
Amanda is also going to get a best supporting actress nominee which is going to make the fans take sides over who they like better; Eponine or Cosette. Well let me just say that we wouldn't have a story without either of them and both actresses seem to get along just fine so debating over who's better is worthless. Personally I like them both.
So who else is super excited to see this film besides myself?
