"Me, I like Guy...ON THE STAGE!"

A bit better today. I think I was mostly annoyed with myself yesterday because I hadn't learnt any text over the weekend like everyone else. But today I came better prepared. Still in a bit of a 'tunnel'. A mixture of aspiration, ambition, jealousy and fear going on in my head a bit. But as Philippe said today, this is okay. We fight ourselves but eventually ah! We discover something fantastic.

Exercise: Balance the Stage

A ball was placed in the centre of the room. An actor enters and stands in the centre behind the ball (this is the prime spot for any actor...centre stage. The stage is balanced. The first actor moves away from the centre to the side. The stage is now unbalanced. Another actor enters to balance the stage. The 2nd actor then is in major, and moves around the space - the 1st actor moving in order to maintain the balance of the stage. Eventually the 1st actor decides the 2nd actor is worthy of the space and stops moving, which causes the stage to then become unbalanced. Then a 3rd actor enters to balance the stage. The 2nd actor then stops to look at the 1st and 3rd actor, so decide which group he wants to join. Then eventually larger groups play together. IT WAS REALLY COMPLICATED!! BUT ESSENTIALLY - JUST BALANCE THE STAGE.

A little bit like the balance between good and evil in LOST...

When working in larger groups, the exercise became a chorus exercise. And a 'chorifer' would lead the group...somehow. It's still a bit of a mystery to me. Philippe says a chorifer is somebody the group is happy to move around. He said a good chorifer is likely to be a good director. The Chorifer is "somebody who has the talent to take on his shoulders the contradictions and problems of the group and do something beautiful with it." It's a mystery to me because I don't really know how to do it. From watching others though it seems that a good chorifer moves in a way that others can follow (and feel safe) - clear, confident, patient, a good aura. Yep. That sounds like a good director! I need to chill out about my chorifer skills. Typically, I want to be the hero and a wonderful chorifer, but it's not really happening right now. I can follow well though. I'm a bit like Phil Goff right now. I'd like to be a good leader but I don't really have the pinache for it yet.

• Philippe spoke about how choruses are very political. There is a fight for territory. Usually they are united, but sometimes they split (e.g one for Creon, one for Antigone). If some people decided, when a third member entered the stage, to leave their group and join another's, he guided them to look long and hard at the people in each chorus and then walk slowly when making the move. It is a big deal to leave your country for another's. But it is real - peoples do it all the time. My history is bad/non-existent, but the Soviet union kept on being referred to.

• Numbers of Greek tragedy choruses should always be an uneven number. e.g. 7 or 11. This is so they can't split easily I think.

• Balance of the stage is a core rule of theatre. Comedy. Greek Tragedy. All the same.

Exercise: Move as Colours

Kikorangi blue...

This could be a neutral mask exercise, but we didn't do it with masks. Philippe would say a colour, and we had to move like the colour, and then add text.

• Your text must have a different rhythm from the rhythm of your movement.

Me as Red (staccato and firey) - good movement but talked too fast. "A bit."

Me as Yellow (light, jumpy, happy) - "Me, I like Guy. ON THE STAGE"...

I was better in yellow because I was a bit silly and I had fun. Always key for me. Pleasure!

Langfords Are Shit At Animals

I let being bad get to me today. I started getting frustrated and a bit lost. When I think about it now, today was really no different from any other day, but suddenly I feel fed up. Just got to keep on going and forget about being good or bad. Remember that when it comes down to it everything in this course is just a game...so have fun...

Neutral Mask: Pretend to be a Reptile.

(A Crocodile, Lizard, Snake...)

Eventually masks taken off - text - then stand up but keep what you had on the floor (text, rhythm etc) and find a character.

I was awful. Twice. I got up in the first group and none of us got it. "You don't have to clean the floor with your body." The second time I thought I'd try and be a snake (as the first time I didn't really know what I was) but couldn't figure out how to do that without "cleaning the floor". I felt like an idiot. Stuck. And didn't have any fun with it. Wanting/trying to be good.

At 'loo-loo break' somebody asked about being constantly boring. Philippe said sometimes people are boring for 6 months before anything changes. "It's good to be in a tunnel. You fight with yourself...something moves." I'm not so keen on going through this process - although undoubtedly I'll have moments of it. A bit like today. (Philippe also said sometimes he deliberately steers people into a tunnel...uh oh...) Anyhow - I got up first again for the next exercise. Got to keep at it.

Neutral Mask: Pretend to be a Lion.

(Lion, Tiger, Panther...)

My lion was aggressive. "A pissed off cat". Not beautiful. A roar can be powerful and violent but it has to be beautiful.

Philippe talked about how imitating these animals (and elements/materials too I suppose) help us find qualities that can be good for characters. "Perhaps with a Lion I could find something good for Creon." i.e. A lion knows he is strong but doesn't need to push it. A king knows he is powerful. He also emphasised that it's me - pretending to be a lion - with text. I don't have to think about character or psychology whilst doing the exercise.

For fun: Pretend to be a Mouse.

Run out from the wings and say "hello. what a lovely day. it's very cold outside isn't it" etc, whilst moving about. I was too heavy on my feet (come on!). But some people were instantly great. High pitched voice. Fidgety restless rhythm. Fun.

I think, just as my Dad is horrible at drawing animals (even though he can draw everything else very well), I'm also horrible at playing animals. It must be a genetic thing.

Le Week-End De Froid

This is only the beginning...

Steel Versus Sand

Exercise: Imitate Steel.

No Dad. Not like a MaxFli Pin-High Chipping Wedge...

...More like a long sheet of steel that's heavy, vibrates and wobbles.

I was in the first group to try (I've decided that the benefits of going first outweigh going later - it's invaluable to try and discover something without any other reference...plus often you can go again if you go first!). My steel was pretty stiff and flat (my arms out wide) but I was a wobbler! We added text. I let my voice wobble with my movement, but didn't really find the 'steel' in my voice.

Eventually we were all told to follow Andre as our chorifeur, and to make a pack behind him. He moved in a way that we could follow (it was clear where he was going and when, and it almost felt like his movements pulled us!) and had a great metallic squeeeezed voice - strong and explosive, then small and fragile. As a chorus behind him we echoed some of his sounds and movements. We were all really with him and committed and it worked really well.

"It's good. Not a bit good...Totally good."

And it's tiring! At the end we were all puffing and sweating. It requires real tension. Like a 7. Consistently!

Exercise: Imitate sand on a beach.

Start with wet sand. Then the sun comes out, the sand dries, then wind comes and blows the sand around, then it rains and the sand goes back to being wet again.

It took a while for anyone to get this. In a sense, you're shifting from water, to earth, to air, and back to earth then water. In my group, Gaulier made us stay at the first stage (because we were the first group to successfully capture the essence of any of the stages) and we eventually became a chorus of wet sand following Anna. This element is more like a 2 or 3 on the scale of tensions. Then Gaulier got Andre to lead a chorus of Steel at one corner of the room facing us, the chorus of sand, at the other end. Really different rhythms and physicalities and energies.

I was never picked to be a corifeur which didn't really bother me, because I'm good at supporting and I enjoy it too, but there was a bit inside hoping to be picked. Gaulier said to Claire and I when she asked why and he said we weren't chosen "because people are happier to follow Andre, but you were good. Everybody was good." I guess we were happier to follow Andre because he was committed, clear, and confident, without having the air of 'wanting too much' which I may have had a bit of at times. Although I've made great strides in getting over that kind of thinking.



It's been getting cold this week. Really cold. Like, 0 degrees cold. And it's started snowing a bit out in Sceaux. And after school on the way to the train home a bunch of us had a snowball fight!

Neutral Mask Goes Hunting

Fantastic movement class with Lauradana today! All centred around silly dancing. We danced in pairs to surprise music. And we made little choreographed dances super quickly. Great!

Not really...

Exercise: Neutral Mask Goes Hunting.

He makes his way through the forest/jungle looking for an animal. When he finds it he prepares then pounces, fights, then kills the animal. He then accepts, and leaves. No weapons except a knife and bare hands.

• "Bring a game" (have an objective) and share it.

• The forest can't be an idea in your head - see it and let us see it too. Jump across rivers, hide behind bushes, wrap around trees etc. Keep it alive for us.

• You can do mime, but it has to happen to you. You have to be affected by what you do. How does the body change after each obstacle? When I push aside a branch, what happens to me? What changes in my body when I see/kill the animal?

• Some people did 'anecdotes' - e.g. stopping at a river to wash face with water, or sharpen a spear. These aren't useful because they don't let the action go forward, they are just little pit stops. The question: Is what I am doing bringing me towards my objective?

• Make the animal you kill a big one!

• Have a fixed point on the horizon/at a point (like the boat exercise).

• Keep impulses - don't block them.

• Use the space - have fun with your imagination.

• Remember 'balance/imbalance' and tension (at least 4.5, 7 for the kill!)

• You can move backwards, but we need to see your impulses go forward.

I went first. My animal was a butterfly...unintentionally!

The exercise is about SURVIVAL. This is key to how you use your body.

Went and saw Harry Potter et Les Reliques de le Mort 1er Partie tonight!

C'était fantastique!

"You Need To Have The Voice Of Somebody Who Saw Hell And Has Just Come Back"

• Enter in costume, speak text. If you are boring, the audience puts up their hands and you will be killed.

Another one of those seemingly simple exercises (just enter and be watchable, and then just speak and be listenable) which are in fact incredibly difficult! Most people were killed within the first moment of walking on stage. It's easy to see. We don't love them. They are holding something back, or trying too hard, or wanting it too much. Too small. Too pushed. And those that were able to hold our attention to the middle of the stage (those who walked with grace and power, mystery and seduction) all let us down when they spoke. It's so disappointing because we as an audience really want them to win, we want their voice to be fantastic, and we know what we want from the particular actor. So when we don't get it it's a let down!

"You need to have the voice of somebody who saw hell and has just come back...Someone who has seen something horrible...not a baby voice."

I had two goes entering in costume. The first people giggled and hands went up immediately. I imagine I look too serious and therefore a bit ridiculous in that costume. The second time a bit of the same. When Philippe banged his drum I roared into text to try and save myself. "SOOOOOO" in a loud and harsh voice. Hands went down. People were ready for what I was about to bring. "SPEEEAAAKKKING" louder and harsher again. Boom. "Too heavy."

Some people did get the walk however. "A bit...but we don't feel love from the actor for the spectator."

• Five friends sit at a café. One remembers it is the anniversary of the death of their dear friend Hektor. He makes a toast. And speaks the Greek Tragedy text in memory of him.

For this exercise we were to play 'pathetic' as opposed to 'tragic', in an almost melodramatic way. We also all got dressed up in nice clothes for it. Suits and dresses and scarves and gloves.

A lot of us were bad at this too! It required similar qualities to what Neutral Mask and Greek Tragedy require. Aura. Stillness. Time. A good voice. When I got up I got killed for being like a priest, not a friend. Ling and Anna did well. Really soaked in our gaze. Took their time, committed and played with the drama of it. Anna was playing in a really heightened 'emotional' state and it was enthralling!

Air and Earth

Starting to really come into myself now. Taking risks and committing to them (before I wasn't fully committing to them I think). I'm also more consistently performing in a more sensitive state whilst still filling my capacity. I'm learning how to trust the discovery process on stage, with an audience.

AIR

• You can be in between talking and singing
• Don't speak the same as the movement. We need something different.
• Take your time - don't move too much at the beginning.
• Gaulier often plays music in the background of exercises to help us. For air, he played classical orchestral music.

I played with a higher pitched whispy singing voice for my air - letting my voice flutter over the movement. Jaime, who has come to this course as an assistant to Gaulier in order to observe his teaching (Jaime was at the Character course I did last year) suggested that I should be killed for being bad when Gaulier asked for suggestions, but he said "Guy, he takes a risk with his voice...not so bad." I'm pretty sure it was bad but perhaps my risk taking offers something else that we as an audience like.

Gaulier chose Andre and Maria to stay on and move as air together on stage, and later, share the text. It was beautiful. They took a lot of time to listen to each other and find complicité together. They were gentle and responsive with each other. "Their complicité was not artificial. It's normal to take time. That's what the first act of a play is for...For actors to find complicité with their fellow actors and with the room."

EARTH

Pretend to be the earth of your country...

Me: "not so bad". I had slow strong movement, pleasure, fixed point and horizon line, I was quite free yet controlled, and had a big voice (I spoke with looooong syllables). And then, after a suggestion from Gaulier, held that same power but with whispering.

• Give A LOT...most people got killed instantly - "not enough"
• My hunch is that I'm good at this form because it requires giving a lot, and I can do that easily. Often my problem as an actor is that I give too much. But perhaps this particular form requires more giving than others. Although I actually think that my problem as an actor has been pushing too much, and there is a difference between pushing and giving. Subtle differences!
• "Take pleasure between earth, music, and text"

Three more people had a go in costume at the end of class. "Say the text with an element you were happy in. Sell yourself...You have to be tall...You have to be beautiful if you want to stay." If we loved somebody, Gaulier would beat his drum and the person on stage had to choose somebody in the audience to seduce from the stage. Rothio had a go at this, but had a little smile for her seduction, when really her stern serious look is more seductive and visceral.

Franck was also given a chance. Gaulier got him to growl like a lion (which made Franck smile and blush every time he did it) when he beat his drum. Franck was much more lovable when he growled than when he spoke text. "You can't be this serious actor Franck."

At a break in the middle of class Gaulier asked me where I trained. It was nice to have a little conversation with him. And nice that he could see that I had trained! I feel when I write this like I'm gushing like "my god actually spoke to me!". It's just nice to speak to him like a real person.

This evening I went to Théâtre de Complicité's Shunkin. 15€. In Japanese with French subtitles. Quite stunning. I'm loving seeing theatre shows here that really feel like 'magic'.

These sticks were used to create spaces. They were also 'sliding doors' which characters would enter and exit through.

Like music throughout.

Beautiful clear images.

Shunkin was represented by a small puppet, a larger one, then a woman with a plastic face who was moved like a puppet, and finally a real woman.

Oh, and finished Shantaram. Fantastic book!

"We Are Happy With Him"

Had a great day today! Starting to really get it. I took some risks and let myself go there and I feel great because I'm finally rising to the scale of actor I know I can be.

Movement:

Did the John Bolton favourite The Seven Stages of Tension.

1. Nothing
2. Struggle to move (like at the end of a long journey in a desert when you reach for a mirage)
3. Imbalanced (you have the strength to stand but not to stay upright)
4. Neutral Mask (focussed, efficient movement)
5. Melodrama/Tragedy (with arm extensions, reaching out with body to listen...)
6. Commedia Del'Arté (full body extensions, big shapes)
7. Extreme tension (can't move a muscle - like Noh Theatre)

- Always need a fixed point - a game - somewhere to look/get to.

- You can do the 7 stages exercise and add voice. Interesting what happens...what is required to fill the scale.

- You can do half steps too (Neutral Mask is really a 4.5)

- 1, 2 and 3 don't belong in the theatre (except in specific exceptions like a drunk man, which would be a 3). 4 is the minimum amount of energy required on stage.

Improvisation:

Today we showed our animals that we 'prepared' over the weekend. Most were bad, verging on ridiculous! According to Gaulier my emperor penguin had Parkinsons disease (they really do wag their heads like that!!!). A few were selected - including Anna's monkey and Andre's meer cat. Both were clear and light and had distinct rhythms. For the selected animals, he got them to do it again and then have their masks removed and try to find a character from the animal and speak some text or make some noise. Ling Tao's tortoise became a fun old man who spoke really fast but moved really slowly. Everybody else froze up and struggled with either having 'no ideas' or not letting go of their one idea when it didn't work.

Q: "Is it good or bad to have an idea?"

A: "Pretend to have several if you don't have any. Or have one, but if it's no good prepare to flop."

We then imitated FIRE and eventually had the masks removed and added text.

• Take your time to burn
• Fire is explosive and unpredictable
• Let the voice follow the impulses of the fire
• Don't speak like a washing machine - say a few words here and there
• You must give a lot - fire is relentless...physically demanding to imitate!

I really got this element, and gave in to the movement.

"I don't like to say nice things about Guy, but it was not bad..."

After my turn Gaulier started getting actors to stop moving, but contain the feel and rhythm of fire within them as they spoke. This looked harder! Some who were good as fire moving lost it when they added text with a still body.

At the end of class Gaulier asked for three guinea pigs to put on some Greek Tragedy costumes. I took the opportunity! They were big plain earth coloured cloaks that were quite heavy and wrapped around your body. Like the cloak below:

We had to walk around the space and 'warm up' as if we were tragedy storytellers preparing for the night's performance. We could say text, sing, laugh etc. Walking with what we have learned from Neutral mask - energised tall body - looking to the horizon. And we were to look just above the heads of our audience. To somehow include them.

The first time it was my turn I was really heavy. "No warmth". I tried my 'lets go to extremes' approach, but lacked the sensitivity I'm learning is so important in the theatre. All three of us were bad the first time...as would be expected! But due to Gaulier's 'Christian charity' we were given a second chance. This time I was lighter, more sensitive to the audience and the room, but I still committed - which felt great. I sung, spoke text without talking too much, laughed a big hearty laugh, and moved slowly and strong. I was quite relaxed yet still focussed. And I wasn't so much in my 'you might as well get it over and done with and kill me' state. Which is a super step for me. And I played! I explored gestures, and moving, volume, and when I lost the text towards the end I just made it up ending with me paraphrasing the final fight between Hektor and Achilieus by slamming my foot to the floor and my fists together. I rose to the scale of the form. But more so for me, I rose to the scale I know I can go to as a performer.

"Not too bad. He is warm with the audience. We are happy with him. "

Tak Tak Tak...

This Weekend I...

• Had a nice Skype catch up with Mum and Dad.

Dad displaying his mask skills...

• Went to Champs-Élysées with Lorenzo and Antonella.

At the bottom of the road there all these market stalls out for Noel (Christmas). There's a ferris wheel. And as of tomorrow all of the street is going to be lit up!

We all got this chilli which came in a corn-chip bowl. The mince came out of a massive tub. A bit grotty. But actually tasted pretty good! And really good to eat in the c-c-c-c-c-old!

• Watched The Princess Bride (because I felt like it). It's fantastico!

Inconceivable!

• I also discovered the joys of the Velib bike hire in Paris and so went for an hour bike ride all the way to Notre Dame from my house.

This is what I was wearing earlier today.

• Had a french lesson in which we learnt a whole bunch of phrases around getting directions...including the french equivalent of "yada yada yada", which is "tak tak tak".

• And watched March of the Penguins as preparation for the animal we have to bring to class tomorrow!

"Guy, Until Now You Are The Genius Of The Class"

I'm doing okay at this Neutral Mask stuff! I feel less nervous and more free. I also have good control of my body and a strong sense of rhythm and music - so it's coming fairly easily. Learning to be big - bigger than I really am - to have a large aura. I can do this with my body and movement, but not so much with text...yet. I can afford to risk more (a recurring theme?). I'm finding myself playing within a very small field - trying to get it right - when it seems that the field is potentially much bigger. So rather than taking small subtle steps, take larger ones, to get a sense of the playing field of this form.

Exercise:

• Move as if you are in the streets of a big city. Adjust to the different musics played through the stereo. Play with rhythm, pace, and space.

I got up in the first group. I decided to wait and let others go first today. But then nobody gets up. And it's really such a simple exercise so I think 'what the hell' and get up anyway. I was selected from my group: "Guy, Until now you are the genius of the class...shows the level of the group..."

"We have to see the mask. Everything is for the mask...The mask is the star."

So let the audience see the mask before you move. And when you move, move for the mask. Don't drag it behind you. Otherwise we just see a body moving about the space with their face covered.

"Remember in theatre it is never you. It is you through something. The mask, the character, the aura...Give something beautiful through your aura."

I liked how Gaulier said "we will see [the form] little by little". He trusts that over time, gradually, we will come to know (and experience) what is required to bring Neutral Mask and Greek Tragedy to life. A lot like making any work of art. Over time things become more and more clear. Requires a lot of trust and comfort in the uncomfortable. Great to have a teacher that knows this so well - and has worked with it for 40 years!

• Move as if you are a lake. (Gaulier stressed that unlike some psychotic schools, he does not want us to 'be' the lake, but rather just 'pretend' to be the lake!)

Steph from Canada was gentle, subtle and slow with her movement. She stood up with the rhythm and qualities of a lake - of still water - and spoke text. Very watchable.

I moved too much as a lake. I was more of a river! Philippe said my movement reminded him of "a mop cleaning up the vomit of the ten litres of beer and the bad chinese food with beef and pineapple pieces that everybody drinks and eats at the Munich beer festivals", to which I replied "...so there's still liquid?".

Just to reiterate. My movement was like the vomit of all of these men, after ten litres of beer each, and bad chinese food...I'm doing good!

Masterclass...

Had quite a frustrating day at school today! Not because of my acting, but more from the teaching. Today was the first day of improvisation with our new Movement teacher Pablo. And he teaches a bit differently from Gaulier and Thomas. Much more structured and technical. He's lovely, and very on to it, but I find the way he teaches quite slow and not that engaging for me. He helps us a lot - too much for my liking - and the class became a bit of a question and answer forum, and at times a master class in which each person got a chance to work with him one on one. Now some people really liked the class! But for me, when there is too much talking, or too much help, I switch off. I'd much prefer for everyone to be constantly killed than to be helped. At this school I find that I learn heaps from watching the mistakes and flippant successes of others. It leaves it up to me to figure it out. But when too much is said or demonstrated by the teacher then the figuring out is just in my head, and not in my body, and so not that affective. Anyway - the class was okay - but it raises questions for me about what kind of teaching I like and what kind of teacher I might like to be.

Neutral Mask Exercise: You turn and see a ship that is leaving the dock, you run to the edge of the wharf and wave goodbye to your good friend you will never see again, and then turn and walk away.

Things I learnt:

• lead from the hips - have forward energy
• follow impulses - don't stop the motion
• open the body - chest - face - and keep engaged but not tense
• keep eyes at horizon and on the fixed point (the ship in this case)
• have a good strong base - bend the knees like the tree with good roots
• "the fixed point is always moving"
• "don't be a prisoner of your game" - be relaxed and in control but still engaged
• don't keep secrets - give everything

Beautiful Violence

Starting to see the beautiful violence apparent in the form of Greek Tragedy. Fire. Pain. Hate. Fear. Death.

Movement: Did a cool exercise called 'Master & Slave' which involved one person walking (taking the game as Master) and then pointing to where the slave has to walk. Played with rhythms, pace, how high or low you point, whether you look at your slave or not etc. Great for major vs. minor, fixed point, and learning about character choices: i.e. if you point and then drop your hands it makes you come across quite blasé, or if you violently point in a rush it comes across as if you want to appear more powerful than you really are.

Improvisation: I can see after the end of the class that the voice needs to come from deep within - a kind of guttural sound - and shouting is okay. I held back a bit when I went (which was first) but can totally go there. The eyes need to be really engaged (pleasure helps), fixed point is really important, and the body needs to be engaged as well - with a strong base!

Neutral Mask Exercises:

• Grow as a tree - find your roots. Those that when pushed about didn't fall over, were 'selected'.
• The same as before - but the mask is removed once the tree is tall and you have to speak text as if the words are coming from the ground up the roots.
• Stand at the back of the room and walk forward saying a word of text every step. Two students hold down your feet to make the walking a real physical struggle.

Give: "You don't give enough. You keep it to yourself."

Don't worry about being stylistically correct - life is more important: "We don't see the style of something. Good style is less life...Good life - it's beautiful."

"A Body Bigger Than His Body!"

Movement: Pablo said something cool about imbalance today. Imbalance is the foundation of all theatre. When there is imbalance, there is conflict, therefore there is drama. But imbalance is also a performative tool. In melodrama you perform with a bit of physical imbalance. e.g. a slight lean forward for your lover. And in Commedia Del'Arte characters are physically imbalanced to bigger extremes. And clown is a form with surprises of imbalance. All theatre is the same. There are always the same ingredients, Just different recipes.

Improvisation: Feeling really good about Neutral Mask. I'm doing pretty well so far. It's funny cause as soon as I do well I don't care so much about doing well. It highlights my previous need for academic approval. As soon as I get it it's a bit like "so what?". Time to risk more now!

Neutral Mask Exercises:

• Walk forward as if there is a fog in front of you - then the fog suddenly disappears revealing an ocean. Reach down and grab a stone and throw it into the ocean. Turn and walk away.

I was in a group that were all "not too bad."

Regular comments: "Too sad." "Too artistic." "Too cold." "Too scared." "Too tense." "Too nice." "Be Taller." "Higher horizon line (lift your nose)."

The limits of the mask is very important. Too far up or down or left or right (i.e. when we can't see the face) and the mask dies. This is relevant for all types of masks.

"Actors have a beautiful aura. Not pharmacists...But actors."

You have to look from the chest and from the pelvis.

"Ah! A body bigger than his body!"

• The same but not the same...this time pause at the end of the stone throw. An assistant removes the mask. Then speak text/sing a song in a whisper as you turn and leave slowly.

I got told "you speak too much" and that "everyone in Wellington talks like their mouths are full of water" due to the rainy climate... I asked Philippe what he meant be "speak too much" and he said I was too "bla bla bla with no fun putting words over my movement". So I think it's a matter of enjoying creating and playing with opposing rhythms - text and movement.

• Walk on a plane to the first music (slow). And when the second music comes in (fast) you are in a jungle - so climb about and use the space!

This seemed to be an exercise that offered us the opportunity to enjoy differing rhythms (possibly that's a big lesson of this whole course)! I got a FIVE! Nearly died under the neutral mask though! I was puffing cause I really pushed myself physically and couldn't get enough air through that tight little plastic mask!

Neutral Mask Day One!!!

This morning Andre and I went and finally did the next step (there are many!) or getting our visas fully sorted. It's fucking ridiculous! Do a big thing in NZ to get your visa. But then you have to have it verified in France. And to do that you send all these documents away, which they stamp and send back to you. Then you take it to Cité Universitaire and line up for ever to simply have the stamped documents verified and a medical examination date given to you. Then a month later you go and have a medical check up. ...Couldn't this all have been done at the same time at one easy venue...hmmm... Anyway! The third major step is sorted.

We had a bit of spare time before class afterwards so we went to St Michel Notre Dame and had lunch and a coffee together (I've started having these little coffee shots - I don't know what they're called - espressos? - because they're cheaper - and they taste good with enough sugar!) outside the Notre Dame. Then we went to this awesome book store called Shakespeare & Company which is an English book store. Super cool! A real funky little jungle of beautiful books. And upstairs there is a little library where you can read, and a piano which you can play.

Andre turns out to be an AWESOME piano player, and totally made me melt when he started playing gospel and blues chords. What a star!

Then first day of Neutral Mask & Greek Tragedy!

Movement was a bit of a let down for me cause within the first 5 mins I cut my foot on a little shard of glass which was on the floor. Some glass was broken on Friday night at the Clown showing and it hadn't been cleaned up well enough. Oh well. After lots of prying about with tweezers I finally got them out! But we had a new teacher who will be with us for the rest of the year. Pablo from Spain. I liked how he talked about the stretches we did. "You don't need to be amazingly flexible. We are actors, not gymnasts. It's just good for us to know our bodies well."

There are a few new people (from Brazil, Greece, and Switzerland) which is cool. And the groups (morning and evening) have slightly changed so there'll be a nice little subtle dynamic change.

Philippe got up at the start of class and did a little stand-up routine and explained how neutral masks came to be: basically Jacques Copeau (I think it was him) got fed up with all of his actors having this permanent grimace on their faces, and he went home and complained about them to his wife. And she suggested covering up their faces, from which he got the idea to make a neutral mask, with no emotion on it, and had sex with her in the kitchen to celebrate the inspiration!

The Neutral Mask.

We did two exercises with the masks on.

1. Walk on a straight plane forwards and backwards.
2. Wake up to the sun, rise from the floor as it rises. Take it in. And follow it back down again as it sets. Go back to sleep.

It's amazing how much you read from an actor when you can't see their face. I still read character. Every single person is different when wearing the mask, because their body and the way that they move is so different.

It was very funny when some people walked, because you could clearly see peculiar traits - like walking like a cowboy. Philippe emphasised that the purpose of the neutral mask is not to fix you - not to neutralise you. But to highlight your imperfections - your differences. And then we should have fun with those!

I did alright today. "Not extremely bad." But really, all we had to do is walk in a straight line! But it does require balance and presence and body control. I really like the feeling of having the mask on. It's quite surreal. A bit like there's a wall between you and the audience. Like you can see them, but they can't see you...except they totally can!

Things I learned today that make neutral mask work, just from observing:

• Fixed point - especially with what you are looking at. Actors that kept their eyes on fixed point drew my attention.
• Body control
• Pace - Not "too fast"
• Keep your head up tall - to the horizon. When it goes too low we lose the life of the mask. Too high and it looks posh.

Exciting!!! I've never done anything like this before really! Awesome!!!

J'aimerais Bien De Someille

Friday night:

Second year clown showing

Saturday night:

Party at Ed and Charles' place (two guys from the other class of the first years from England)

A cool place in Saint Denis - gang central apparently :S

Just free-styling the flute!

Sunday:

A great Skype date. India is approaching! Yahoo! Plus a better French lesson with just Antonella, Anna, Andre (woah three A's in a row) and me. We did more of a kinesthetic learning thing. "Andre, j'aimerais bien trois fourchette, deux cuiller, une cuiller a cafe, et une verre, s'il te plais."

This made me chuckle throughout the week...

Take The Space & Sell Yourself

I've been feeling lately like I'm not 'turning it on' and committing to the exercises/improvisations/games as much as I could/should be. It's not that I'm consciously doing it. It's because it's scary and difficult. It's a courage thing, and it's a self-confidence thing. I watch someone like Anna get up on stage and she comes across as if she knows exactly what she's doing and she knows it's going to be fantastic, even when it might not be. But it usually turns out that it is, even if it's not - if you get what I mean! Whereas when I get on stage I'm in survival mode. I'm preparing for death. I'm timid, my body is a bit tense, and I'm kind of saying "I deserve to die so just get it over and done with". I'm not saying I'm awful, because I'm not. I'm trying and I'm progressing and I'm really proud of myself. But I can see where I want to go as a performer and I'm going to work towards getting there.

"You have to sell yourself. Sell your stupidity. Sell your beauty. Sell your pleasure. Sell your intelligence. Sell your dreams. Sell your imagination."

After watching the second year's do their Clown class (which is scarily straight forward: we either laugh or we don't), it occurred to me that there is a real taking of the space. A little fight for their time. A fight to be loved. So I'm gonna work on taking my space and trusting in myself and having the confidence to know that people want to watch me. That I have something worthy of being sold.

The last day of the Le Jeu workshop today. What a fantastic first month! Have nowhere near mastered Le Jeu. But have made some good steps and the learning will continue in my body for much longer I'm sure. Today both classes (group A and W) did the class together. And we all dressed up nice, in suits and dresses :)

Movement:

• Game of 'Sharks' (kind of tag/stuck in the mud)
• The usual pat down
• Moving as an ensemble from stillness to running to stillness again
• The same as above also with voices harmonising = listening exercises
• Sweaty hard stretches
• Walking around the room with eyes closed and hands up just feeling your way (scary)
• Singing together

Improvisation:

Imitating actors. Only a few of us got up. It was extra scary with the other half of the Le Jeu class there PLUS all of the second years. I decided not to get up - I told myself I'd already done it which was true - but it could have been good. There would have been something else to discover! Andre got up and did the "I drink your milkshake" speech from There Will Be Blood.



Philippe guided him to be much lighter, even with a really heavy character. "You can still limp, but softly." And every time he beat his drum Andre had to say "you have beautiful eyes" to a girl from second year who sat on a chair in front of him. This little game subtly made Andre a little lighter with his text, and enjoy himself a bit more too.

Dancing in partners. Only one couple got selected to do a little scene involving looking to the gods and then back at your partner and saying "you have beautiful eyes" - and that couple died before they could say any text! I got up a few times. Everyone said I should have been selected when I danced with Maria-Louisa but NO. haha!

Cabaret show. We set the room up so there was a ring of chairs surrounding the two screens (scary!). A presenter would come on and present the artist. And then the artist would enter and sing, or say a poem, or do something. If you did well - Philippe would order Champagne. If you were bad - Diet Coke. I got up and sang 'When You're Smiling' and tried to be simple and beautiful. But it was a bit funny, because I must have obviously looked quite nervous and singing about smiling was a bit ridiculous. I got a bit of confidence as I got through it however and that helped me loosen up and be more present and sing better. I got chosen for the bad cabaret that Rothio was the leader of. But "we can work with this". I should have played it sad and nervous deliberately from the start. Then the opposites of me and the lyrics of the song could have been really funny. But I feel held back when I think of stuff like that because I'm scared it will be called an 'idea'. But maybe I should flag this this type of thinking for a while. Because everything is really an idea. But it's how it's done that is important. I imagine that something that comes across as an 'idea' is something that seems rehearsed, rigid, and not responsive to the audience. I also tried out as a presenter. Was on for ages which Philippe hassled me about later. I think he just forgot to kill me like he did with the other presenters! But I played a lot - tried a different approaches all the time. My favourite (in a soft voice with still body): "Italy...Milano...Ciara". Anna did a fantastic rendition of 'Like a Virgin' in which she played very scared and fragile, perhaps a victim, and kept looking off stage as if somebody was forcing her to sing. She was light, and playful, and very funny/beautiful. A great fun exercise for the end of the workshop.

Core learning from Le Jeu:

• Pleasure - feel it, share it, move with it and speak over it.

• Complicité - look in the eyes of your partner, "Hello my little class mate. How are we going to play together?"

• It's just a game! - play and enjoy, and don't forget about it.

• Text - don't talk too much, find the pleasure of making sound.

• Fixed point! Control your body.

• Lightness. Listening. Timing.

• Keep it simple. One thing is enough to play with. "Don't play too much."

• Be beautiful. Stand tall. Show yourself, your humanity. Don't hide it.

• It's okay to be bad. Don't concern yourself with being good. Discover.

• It's difficult.

Guy Langford. Le Jeu. November, 2010.

"Don't Play Too Much"

"Don't play too much" was said a lot today. It's kind of a relief to hear actually. Because I find playing quite hard sometimes - I feel like I have to come up with new stuff all the time. But playing with something clear and simple is easier, and more effective.

New movement teacher today and for the next few weeks. Lauradita (I think?) from Italy. Great fun! Heaps of energy. A really cool class with endless dancing and lots of isolation stuff. Particularly liked the way she got us to do Downward Dogs and then dropping into the Cat Arch position: "Imagine you've just had a really good fuck in the morning - so you hold yourself on top of your partner and then roll down over them kissing their body up to their face." Also did a cool clapping complicité exercise at the end of the class, where you pass the clap around a circle, but you clap in pairs. So one pair claps together, then the person on the right turns and has a new partner. 'Clap'. It keeps being passed around. Faster and faster.

Exercises:

• Musical Chairs as Children - Play as 8 year olds. When you miss out on a chair, you can try to save yourself by saying a poem. Thomas (who took class today) was strict with us, like a Primary School teacher, and picked his favourites to remove chairs. I was going to say a poem I think is funny:

Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,

There's always Pooh and Me.

Whatever I do, he wants to do,

"Where are you going today?" says Pooh:

"Well that's very odd 'cos I was too.

"Let's go together," says Pooh, says he.

"Let's go together," says Pooh.

but I thought it could be a 'clever idea trap' for me. So ended up doing 'Tahora Nui' instead:

Tohora nui, tohora roa Tohora tino momona Tohora whiuwhiua, tohora piupiua E kau ana te moana

Big whale, long whale very fat whale fling (your tail) whale wave (your tail) whale swimming in the ocean

I had fun with it when I said it (I used to as a kid too!) but was too aggressive (in a ROAARRR kind of way) as a kid when I argued with the 'teacher' for getting in trouble. Those that were great were again, quite simple, had pleasure, and listened.

"Don't play too much."

"Find the spirit of the child - not a parody."

• Entrances - There's a table and chairs on stage. One person is on in major, and then when the second person enters they take major and the other shifts to minor. The person to enter must bring on some kind of offer, which the person already on stage must accept. There's a potential game of really surprising the person already on stage with your offer. It was also quick fire! "We must love you at the entrance or you die." Simple is good. Character isn't really necessary. Offers don't always have to be verbal.

"When you come in you have to be clear what your intention is. And it's good to play opposites." e.g. I was on stage with Maria-Louisa and she was talking on the phone trying to convince Clair how attractive I am. I was pointing to all the great features on my body and Maria-Louisa was then telling them to Clair. But it would have been funnier if when I'd pointed at my abs she'd said "he's a bit fat though isn't he?" Also play opposites with rhythms too.

Crazy moment of the day/week/course: When Anna came out completely butt naked for one of her entrances. "Oh sorry, wrong room." The next few scenes just didn't work for actors, or audience, because we were still getting over the shock!

It's Harder To Be Sensitive Than To Be Heavy

It's harder to be sensitive than to be heavy. It's much easier just to die once I'm up on stage. That's the easy route. I've mastered the courage to get up and try something now, but I haven't mastered the courage to risk through listening and following impulses. To try something new, to play, to discover.

I cant rush this process. I have to trust, to practice following my instincts. Not denying them, but not forcing them either. For me, 'ideas' are a way of trying to get it right - to win the audience wth tricks. But from what I learned today, the best trick is to have no tricks, and instead, show your vulnerability and humanity by discovering something with the audience.

Exercises today:

• Game with chairs - Five chairs, four that make a square and one in the middle of the square. The person in the middle has to try and sit on somebody else's chair. The people on the four chairs have to try and cross to another chair without the person in the middle getting there first. 2 points against the person in the middle every time two people cross chairs. 4 points if people cross diagonally through the square. When a person in the middle gets 10 points the game is over and they are selected for the play off of the class' biggest idiot. The loser of the play off was Anna (shaaaame!).

• The same...but not the same... - This time the person in the middle can speak text, improvised or Shakespeare or a poem. Use your voice over the pleasure of the game. I tried the prologue to Romeo and Juliet. For me, the pleasure of the game fell away as soon as I started speaking.

• Nightmare of the workshop - Start lying on the floor sleeping. Have a nightmare about the workshop (e.g. "Talk too much!", "Boring!", "No complicité") and bring it to life somehow for the audience. Philippe would assist with music sometimes. I tried first. Pushed, rushed, too many ideas.

Let ideas go: "Too many ideas. We don't see the actor...Horrible."

Take your time: "Too much in a rush, like a crab looking for pubic hair."

Gwen (from Scotland) really got it. She was light, she listened to us, she discovered the game slowly (taking her time), she was surprising, and she never gave up even when she neared a flop. She returned to what she knew worked (screaming 'GWEN!', trying to get Philippe to be able to pronounce her name correctly) and kept it simple. She also had pleasure, and good fixed points. We loved her for trying - for her courage. Even though she was performing, we saw less acting and more of her.

This starts to make sense of what Philippe talks about about the audience wanting to see us, our beauty, and our pleasure. And it makes sense of the casting process too. When we see somebody, or perhaps, their qualities, it's usually far more interesting than seeing a really technically strong actor but that lacks connection. It's often hard to articulate what this is, when we see a performer, we often put it down to that person "just having something special". It's a shedding of the actor's unnecessary 'sugar on top' and just showing the core of who they are. This is maybe why sometimes people that have never acted before in their lives are better than professional actors. They haven't learned any good tricks to hide themselves.

"You Have To Find The Thing That When You Are This Way, We Love You"

Missed Movement again today due to annoying Metros! I've decided from now on, that as soon as it looks like the Metro isn't coming to just move on and find another way, as opposed to waiting around and hoping it comes like everybody else seems to do. But it doesn't come!

Although sometimes amazingly unreliable....Still WAY better than Wellington buses!

We started the class with the usual Samuel Says and Mr. Hit today. I've always stuffed up in it ever since the very first class when I won! And I was doing well again today, and then stupid mistake. I've got to change my tactics. Because when the people who I've had the names of in my head get out, I accidentally spit their names out and then get out myself. Doh!

We did the chorus leader exercise again today. Still not really getting it. Although Rothio and David (both from Spain) got close. When they did it, they kept their movements simple and clear, and they had great intention in their faces. Good control and presence. A bit like when I danced with Ciara and had good complicité last week. Got to try that. Because what I'm doing as a leader is "like gay gymnastics". "Can it ever be so bad that it's good?" I asked. "Yes. Absolutely. But yours was just bad bad." In classic Mike style, he asked what it was that Philippe was looking for in the exercise. Usually Philippe says he's not looking for anything. But he said that he's trying to get us to discover how to move and speak for more than ourselves. To perform as something bigger than ourselves.

We then repeated the exercise where one person comes on stage (with table and chairs) and another comes in with a conflict (I want the salt / I'm in love with you), but this time we could imitate the actors who do the exercise first. Anna and Thomas got up and did it first. Anna was quite dramatic with pauses and looks left and right, and Thomas came out like a scary paedeophile. Andre had a go at imitating Thomas, which was prime for the mocking, and he mocked well, but it came out a bit nasty. I then took a risk (I was hesitating as I thought it could be bad, but decided just to get up and discover) and got up and impersonated Anna. I mocked her dramatic-ness, and how she plays with her jumper around her elbow. Then Zoe came on as Thomas and was full on "can I have some SALT???" I think I mocked in the right kind of place. It wasn't nasty - just cheeky. And people seemed to like me. But again I was a bit scared of the audience and never really looked at them. I kind of go into madly-hoping-I-survive mode. BUT at the end of our little scene Philippe said "I like him a bit like this. Kind of sophisticated." I enjoy mocking pretentious stuff (don't we all?), but it perhaps works for me because when I mock pretentious I also mock myself (what!?!).

At the end of the class Philippe also worked one on one with both Katie (USA) and Rob (UK). He sent Katie away to be dressed and made up like a punk. And he got us to turn Rob into a bouffon - an old lady with stubs for arms and legs and black all over her face. Through a few suggestions (Talk very loudly and angrily Katie / Talk like a overly camp hairdresser Rob, and scratch your balls with your elbow and smile when you do it) and conversation and provocations he helped them both discover how to play as these characters. We could see that as these characters they were far less boring than they are just as themselves. This is not to say that they really are boring people, but that when they play a certain way they come alive.

"You have to find the thing that when you are this way, we love you. You need to explore the way where we love you. It could be as a clown, character, bouffon...in vaudeville, burlesque..."

Give Life

I had a great day today! Took on what I'd been thinking about about being courageous not only in getting up, but once I'm up. And I made some good steps! Committing and risking. And had fun doing it (although I can have more fun if I trust myself more and relax into it).

To start with we played the game where there are two teams of ten sitting on chairs in a line facing one another. There is a person holding a ball at the end of the line, and they call out a number. "Number 3!" Then the two 3's run to get the ball. If the person with the ball gets it to their seat - 1 point. If they get it to their opponent's seat - 2 points. If their opponent touches them whilst they have the ball - the opponent gets 1 point. Good for pleasure, complicité and body control.

Then "the same game but not the same"... This time one of you is in major and has to speak with a good theatre voice, and you can't take the ball until Philippe beats his drum. I had a good voice today! I wasn't trying too hard (although I was trying) and I kind of 'rode the pleasure' with my voice. I had better complicité with my partner - so I didn't get gonged for 'talking too much' and I was actually able to talk fast and slow, high and low. Philippe talked to some people about sounding like washing machines. But not me. I think this is because I had 'tiny fixed points' in my speech, which he mentioned a few times as something important. I played with rhythm too. And didn't forget about the game. So felt great about this. A good shift in me. The fear is disappearing and the pleasure is increasing and I'm able to play and turn it on more now (i.e. give it life). Also interesting that when I do well Philippe says nothing. Whereas when people didn't - he kills them. But when I do well, nothing. This is because I already know. And it's not about getting it right. It's about what I discover. And I'm discovering what it feels like to speak with pleasure on top of a game, and to tease and play with my voice.


Then Philippe asked if anyone wants to have a go at impersonating an actor they've seen performing on stage recently (he has told us this Friday we are all to dress up nice in our party clothes when we will impersonate actors we've seen with all 50 of the first years). A few people went and it was pretty bad. I thought, what the hell, and got up and impersonated this fantastic clown-type african woman who played a man in the Théâtre du Soleil show I saw on Saturday. She had big movements with her body. Tall strides. Lots of arm actions. A scrunched up face. And a raspy Louis-Armstrong voice.

I really enjoyed her in the show - she was my favourite - so I gave her a go. When I went up on stage I hadn't prepared what I was going to do. I hadn't practised. But I had an idea of where I would play. I committed to it, and although I feared I might have been too 'heavy', it went really well. People laughed a bit. And I played a bit. And then I left the stage. "Not so bad. Surprising!" Felt really good because I'd sucked it up and gone there, for the first time. I felt a bit like I really thought I was going to get killed, and just kept going till I died, but things started going well and then I had to find my own ending. I could relax a whole lot more though. I wasn't really seeing or listening to the audience like I would like to be. It's trusting myself. And trying to be comfortable in the risk I think.

After me Andre got up and impersonated one of the lip-syncing actors from the show we went to. Philippe then got me to do my actor's voice for Andre. Had lots of fun! "We have to think ooh we have good fun with the mouth making sounds - Not like a primary school teacher!"

Then Zoe got up and I got a chance to do a voice for her. She was kind of doing operatic singing gestures - so I played with an opera singing voice! "Not bad. But you do it the same way as she. You have to play opposites." We were trying to find the fun of playing against what we see on stage. So Zoe looked like she would have a lovely singing voice - so can we give her a deep off key voice??

"What is a character? A meeting between an actor and a costume."

Lynn, who tried an actor impersonation earlier, got worked on by Philippe at the end of the class. He got her to dress like a fat old lady (with borrowed clothes) and put lip stick on. We put a table and chair by her. She was much more interesting like this than as herself. When she's ridiculous - when she speaks loudly and does old lady gestures, she has more pleasure and we like her. "With this costume we feel you are happy in your shoes. So you are fat in your head from now on."

"Sometimes you don't give enough life for your director/teacher/writer/audience to dream around you...For them to think you have something special for the stage."

I made a good step in 'giving life' today and it felt great.

Le Week-End Du Soleil

Friday night:

Dirty Dancing Themed Party!

Hotter than Patrick Swayze? I dunno...

Saturday day:

The theatre.

So Fiona and I got up at 8am after a late Friday night, and headed on the RER A out to where Théâtre du Soleil is. It was a bit of a mission - walked through a big park/forest for about half an hour - just to get out names on the waiting list for the night - but totally worth it!

Saturday night:

We came back with Andre, Anna, and Zoe at 5pm and waited around to see if we could get in. I went for a wander to see how it worked and found myself talking to none other than Ariane Mnouchkine at the door. She said we could go inside but had to come out again at 7.30pm to get our tickets.

Went and saw Théâtre du Soleil's 'Les Naufrages Du Fol' last night!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Inside was BEAUTIFUL! Tables everywhere, in a big warehouse space themed like the play, and the actors were serving dinner at the bar on the left. So we got dinner and some wine and sat together and marveled at the fantastic atmosphere before the show. What a great start to an evening at the theatre. Dinner with friends, served by actors, in a magical space. Full of ritual. Fantastic!

The dinner space.

Actors serving dinner.

It seems like a good warm up to me. All of these actors would have to have good complicité serving food together, have clear articulate voices and good listening skills to serve customers, and they'd be constantly moving!

In here you could see the actors preparing and putting on their makeup. Magic.

Sets came and went quickly and with ease.

We ended up getting tickets - and only 15€ at that. However we were sitting on the stairs... But that's fucking cool! We laughed because you could never do that in NZ or Australia due to safety hazards, but it was fine! The show was 3hrs and 45mins long. But sitting on stairs was absolutely fine.

The roof had a fake sun-roof effect. Andre reckons it was a TV Studio-style light ceiling above the roof. Fantastic! Makes the theatre look like day time.

The actual show was a masterpiece. I loved it. I'm not entirely sure what the details of what happened were, as the show was in french, but the staging and acting style made it very clear to follow. Les Naufrages Du Fol = The Castaways of Mad Hope by the way. Basically an old-fashioned silent film was being made by a company of actors, and the film was a massive journey across the world. So we see the director and his crew, and the actors, shoot all these scenes in different locations. When the actors speak, they lip-sync, and the words they are saying come up as sub-titles projected onto set pieces above them.

An actor in front of a painting, with fake snow being thrown on him.

There were awesome movie-effects created by the actors, right in front of our eyes.

• Clothes bustling in the wind = people shaking the actors coat, or tugging on a nylon string attached.
• A boat in a storm = a model of a boat in a little pool of green water on wheels, pushed around, and complemented with lightning lighting.

The floor (at this point) was just blankets covered in a giant sheet and fake snow bits.

There was also lots of simple theatre magic. Like having a curtain covering the stage at the start of the show so we don't know what the set is going to look like. And not in a flashy red-curtain kind of way. Just a simple sheet that gets pulled down when the show starts. Makes the evening that much more special, mysterious, and exciting.

The Queen of England in the far right.

I particularly liked the simple set (which I've drawn) of three sails that hung from above, and the bottom sail just dropped down which was then projected onto. So simple. So clear.

I have a feeling this is Maka from NZ. I haven't met him. But maybe? I'm totally stealing this staging for my Captain Cook show.

I really was blown away by the show. I loved the melodrama. The theatricality of it. All the mechanics were right in front of our eyes. Everybody worked together to create worlds. And these worlds were clear, exciting, and beautiful - and they required the audience's imagination also. Fun too! I could go on and on. Nearly four hours sitting on stairs and I did not get bored or tired of it once. Constant changes. Beautiful performances full of life. Physical. Silly. Dramatic. Ugh. Wonderful.

Six curtain calls. They earned it!

Sunday:

A lovely Skype date, then a french lesson with Professeur Antonella and some class mates at my place. Sleep now please.