Let Me Just Tell You How Rad My Classes Are

Because they’re all FANTASTIC. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I am taking “American Theatre from the Black Perspective,” “Defining the Performing Artist,” and “American Musical Theatre History.” On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am taking “Theatre To Go” and “Critical Perspectives in Performance A.” Tuesdays I also have vocal lessons, and Thursdays I also Peer Educate LEAD Seminar. I’m also technically taking “Production Workshop” on Wednesdays but it’s in order to get credit for being the Assistant Stage Manager for Welcome to Claradise a year ago, so I don’t actually have to show up to that class. Like ever. Shall I explain all these awesome classes? I think I shall.

“I don’t actually have to show up to that class. Like ever.”

Thank You

To my dear bullet journal. I am well aware you are an inanimate object completely created by me. But I would like to thank whoever invented the bullet journal, but I cannot imagine my life functioning well at all without it. My creative juices are worked to make the journals, all my thoughts are in there, all my calendars are there (yes I have more than one calendar because I have a very complicated life), and all my to do lists and habit trackers and notes and ideas are spread through this magic book as well. I also want to thank the people who invented the table of contents and the built-in bookmark strings for bound books. I would be forever lost without them. Thank you whoever and whatever you are. Y’all are great.

Now Let Me Explain to You Why They’re so Rad

American Theatre from the Black Perspective

Aldo created this class because he knew it was important. And it is. Allia Griffin is teaching the class, a former Black Perspective student of Aldo’s when she was a student at SCU. This is a theatre, English, and ethics class and we simply read plays by black playwrights, watch documentaries, and talk about it all in class.

Defining the Performing Artist

A class created by the wonderful Kristin Kusanovich, taught by the one and only Kristin Kusanovich herself. Our class is “Ensemble 14” if that gives you a taste of what it’s all about. This is a class that pretty much does what the title says. We learn who we want to be as an artist, and how we want to market ourselves to the creative work sector. At the end of the class we’ll have a professional resume, headshot, cover letter, an artist’s statement, and have a professional website with all of this as well as a portfolio of our work thus far.

American Musical Theatre History

It explains itself. This is a class on how society effects theatre, and how theatre effects society throughout U.S. history. I will be watching a LOT of musicals this quarter. At least once or twice a week.

Theatre To Go

Now, this is the class that completely caught me by surprise. I was told that if I signed up for this class, I would be signing up to be a small part in a traveling show. I thought, “that’s cool. I think I’ll do that.” Well, when I got there on the first day of class, it turned out that I signed up to be an acting intern at Palo Alto’s equity house, TheatreWorks, and get cast in the ensemble in a show called The Circuit to get hands-on experience working with equity actors, designers, and director Jeffery Lo. And because this is equity (AEA), I’m getting paid $500 as an intern. So the other half of this class is that when I’m not in rehearsals for The Circuit, I will be a part of a show called Mr. Grump and the Clown here at SCU for a 4-7-year-old audience. Little did I know, I was pre-cast as the lead, The Clown. Go figure. Raise a glass to a quarter full of pratfalls and stage combat.

Critical Perspectives in Performance A

If you haven’t figured it out by now, there’s a second part to this course I’ll be taking Spring Quarter that’s called, “Critical Perspectives in Performance B.” Shocker. Part A is pretty much the same concept as American Theatre from the Black Perspective, except Critical Perspectives is a class looking at theatre from all over the world, and it’s not from a black … perspective. Instead, we are deeply studying the performance of faith, the staging of power, and the dramatization of identity. This class is literally just us students sitting around a conference table in the (very very cold) Theatre Library discussing plays and wrestling with the questions they pose. It’s going to be a wild time. Also! This class is taught by the legend, Fr. Michael Zampelli. If you want to know how Jesuit this man really is, when he dropped his expo marker on his pants, instead of swearing a normal, “sh*t,” Fr. Zampelli yelled out, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Fr. Zampelli is the funniest and most engaging professor I have ever met, and we are all getting to know him this quarter as he has just come back from his year and a half long sabbatical!

Vocal Lesson

I get taught how to sing.

LEAD Seminar

Just like last quarter. I team teach first-generation students how to be a successful college student because apparently, I am a successful college student? What does that even mean?

In Other News

Aldo Billingslea has left for his year-long sabbatical (January 2018 – December 2018) but I think I text him and he calls me more often than when he was on campus. So nothing has changed there. The exciting news is that over winter break Kristin K. emailed me saying she may have a perfect role for me to audition for, and the Monday I got back to campus was that audition! I auditioned for Kristin’s husband, Mark Larson, artistic director of A Local Theatre, a company in Willow Glen. I didn’t know what I was auditioning for but after performing my monologue and talking theatre for an hour in what I believe was supposed to be an interview, I was offered by Mark Larson, on the spot, the lead role of Willie in Tennessee Williams’ This Property Is Condemned. If you know the movie, it’s literally nothing like it, and Tennessee Williams hated the movie himself. So, if you want to know the real play, let me know. I’ll send it to you.