Breaking the Fast

My parents and fairy godmother came to town and I spent the last four days of break running around town with them, doing things that I would never have done on my own. We watched the end of session speeches at Parliament and they were these amazing, cutting pieces of rhetoric whose sole purpose, it sometimes seemed, was to make the other members laugh derisively.

We saw castles and cottages, plays and markets and generally had a good time eating and visiting and looking. Now I'm back in school and we're winding up for the big fourth quarter and end of first year. I'm already planning my final acrobatics presentation and am worrying my way through the rest of the projects. Today I had a good meeting with the folks at CPT about 'My Body,' but it raised more questions about the show than it answered.

Now I must be off to work on the script some more. Ta.

All the Little Horses

--are starting to come together.

My Body Lies Over the Ocean (Seattle) at On the Boards, June 5-7

My Body Lies Over the Ocean (London) at Camden People's Theatre, June 20-21

Finding a space for The Importance of Being Earnest in Seattle, August 19-21 (allllmoooostheeeereeee)

New York run of The Importance of Being Earnest with double bill partner, Faith Helma, August 28-September 8

Your generosity. We couldn't do it with out you, really. It's a hard global climate to ask for support but your $10, $25, $50, $100 gift means the world to us. We're working from the heart and working our butts off to give you heavy hitting excitement.

We hope to see you at the show!

Love, Rachel (and Mike)

Togetherness

My roommate and I are dressing to go to the theatre in our separate rooms across the hall from one another. We emerge and meet, only to discover we are both wearing ties for belts!


Nobody changed. But dude, I didn't know she even owned one.

I'm on a Boat

Dreamed I was on a boat, out on the sea. Sunny days, sparkling water, floating, floating, floating.

Last night I saw the Tiger Lillies for the first time and I was not impressed. I had a really girly moment of being GROSSED OUT when the drummer, pretending to choke on fruitcake, spit chewed up crumbs all over me and my date in the front row.

Oh, Oh, Oh

Just got up from a nap and a dream that even I can't interpret. It involved an extra bed that I had left, neatly made behind a public building (library or school, I think) and sometimes came to sleep in (like when I gave up my regular bed for guests). It had my nice down comforter and a feather bed on it, all in shades of green with gold pillows.

I was going back to the library to collect the bed because my time (for something) was almost up and I knew I had to deal with this extra bed. When I got there, I discovered these construction guys were doing construction on the back of the library and were getting rid of the bed! I begged them to stop. I realized that the bed frame and mattress were old and crappy, I didn't really have room for them anyhow and could afford to lose them, but I really wanted to get my nice bedding. I pushed past them, and struggled through some cardboard boxes. When I emerged, the entire back lot of the library had become a construction zone and my bed was on the opposite side at the top of this enormous hillside of gravel. I am, of course, on the bottom of the other side.

To my left, steaming hot Old Faithful-esque geysers of molten liquid. To my right, enormous, insurmountable hill of loose gravel. The construction men are starting to build a pathway with neon pink plastic barriers.

I've got to save my nice bedding. I start to struggle up the side of the hill, the construction foreman is yelling at me, being mean, but I continue to try and get to the path that the construction men are building.

I only remember getting as far as the path and resting, exhausted, knowing that I would be able to get the rest of the way but I also remember saving the feather bed and comforter and that seemed to be all I needed.

I'm not sure what it all means but, I do love the image of this tidily made, queen size bed with gold sheets and green duvet, pushed up against the red brick wall with the trees for a canopy.

Dreamtrayal

Someone clued me in on the flying dream a while ago and I've been hoping for one ever since. Last night I had it, flying everywhere, even up above the clouds and then plunging back down through the layers. I remembering feeling the fluffiness and the moisture of the clouds in my dream. Later on, the person who was flying with me accidentally revealed that when he told me I won six million in the lottery, it was actually seven million, which meant that he had lied and kept a million for himself. I woke up feeling betrayed.

What a way to ruin a flying dream. Thanks, brain.

Arbitrary Rules

Yesterday I rode nine miles to Epping Forest. At the time, I told Bunch and Mock that I would only consider the day a success if I urinated in the woods, otherwise, "nothing will have happened." Sometimes we have to give ourselves these arbitrary measures.

This pillar used to be located in Greenwich at 0 degrees, the Prime Meridian. Its job was to point in the direction of True North. Now it sits in the middle of this little forest on the edge of London. I wonder if it thinks about how it used to be the center of the world.

After riding the nine miles home (oh, my ass) I made lentil burgers and amazing black bean brownies. This concoction looks like brownies, feels like brownies, walk and talk and act like brownies in every regard, but with no sugar. You take a bite and feel all the familiar feelings and then it just stops short. It's a little bit odd.

Between the nature, the cooking and an incredibly productive day for Helsinki Syndrome, I already consider this break a success.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Middle of the night rehearsals with Mike, King and Fink. Practice Skyping at 2am, from my bed, tired, watching the guys work and have fun at Otb, fresh at 6pm.

Lots going on: plane tickets, goodbyes, tech questions, worry, already wishing I hadn't lent certain CD's, the pouring of cups, breaking my diet after 6 weeks of goodness to eat Turkish food in Dalston.

The good thing is that it can all go in the show.

Past, Present, Future

Medieval Church

Modern Asshole

Lists

Writing:

• letters
• poetry
• journal entries
  

Buying

• plane tickets
• underwear

Creating

• scripts
  
• possibilities and inspirations

Renting

• My room in London for summer 2009 (inquire within)
  

Third Biscuit

Third quarter is over!

Highlights:

• Final project, The Brawl: A huge pie fight, I end up with an enormous pie made of shaving cream in my face, hurrah!
• Final animal project: The gorilla. Coulda shoulda woulda done much better
• Final acro project: Resturant staff goes wild. Fun!
• Final moment: Going to a random cabaret in E5 that included a cross-dressing, sad-singing cowgirl/boy, a woman pretending to be a drunk cabaret singer doing nothing more than grunting and screeching into the mic (fucking amazing) and three guys with carrying cases, in pin stripes and wearing huge full-head masks where the features were made of out food. They alternately sang I Can See Clearly Now and "threw up" large amounts of liquid out of their mask mouths. It was really special.

Today I'm at work, but after that, a wonderful, wonderful break where I will do nothing other than get a haircut and ride to Epping Forest.

Croco

Croco - The best video clips are here

How Much Is Enough?

In Space Lab we are studying THE PASSIONS. We are going to be building portable structures that we will move through space. Ideally, these structures will push the space dramatically, in the movement of our chosen passion. It's pretty cool.

Space Lab falls at the end of the day on Fridays. After a full week it should be a tough class to get through but, like dessert, there's always room for Space Lab.

I drew versions of several passions: lust, rage, grief and love. Every time my teacher got to one particular passion's picture he'd pause, "ah, now you've got something here."

So that's the one I'll spend the next six weeks with.