I submitted the last assignment of the term today, and classes don't resume until January 17th or so. It's really bizarre to have all of this head space now where I'm not constantly reading about, thinking about or watching theatre. Don't get me wrong, my brain still ticks to the peformance clock, but now it's on Jess' terms for a month. Pretty cool. I'm going to update you now on some totally awesome things that I've done this week:
Last week, I met up with the couchsurfing.com Dublin chapter for dinner. Couchsurfing.com is a worldwide organization that provides networking for travellers. Don't have money for a hotel or hostel? Surf a couch instead. It's also an awesome way to learn about a culture from the inside out. I've haven't surfed anyone's couch yet, but my roommate in Palatine and I hosted on 3 or 4 occasions. So anyway, my housemate Quinn and I met up with 12 couchsurfing strangers for Indonesian food.
This is me and Quinn. She's from Vancouver.
And here's our group in a really cool restaurant in Dublin. It's called chameleon. You take off your shoes and sit on some lovely lavish couches. Most of these people live in Ireland, but only one was Irish (actually half Irish, half Dutch). Everyone else was from Russia, France, Poland, Brazil, Czech Republic, and London. I absolutely loved this event, and I can't wait for our next international dinner in January. We're getting Moroccan food :)
I'm going to switch gears into Queer Notions. The Queer Notions Festival was last week as well, and it totally changed the way I think about performance and theatre. Queer Notions isn't just 'gay' theatre, it encompasses that gray area of love and pain and relationships (both to self and to others). I went to a one-man show by the great Neil Watkins, and Irish performer. I had seen him perform once before and fell in love with his energy and performance style. I returned to see him again in his show The Year of Magical Wanking. Just as we were getting to the good stuff in his show, we had a massive power failure and we all had to evacuate the theatre.
This is a picture of all of us waiting to hear any kind of news outside of the theatre:
Another lovely highlight was the Leprechaun Museum. At first assumption, you would think the term "museum" connotes artifacts. Well, believe it or not, there were NO leprechaun artifacts, but there WERE pieces of over-sized furniture to make it look like YOU were a leprechaun. I would say it was worth the 7 euros just for the giant room. The rest was bollocks (crap).
Here's Moira looking leprechauny:
And here's me trying to get onto a giant kitchen chair next to the giant kitchen table: 
I finally made it up.
This first term has certainly been life-changing. It helped me find an academic passion for theatre I hadn't previously experienced, and I feel as though I will be watching theatre far more objectively for the rest of my life. That isn't to say, however, that I still won't be critical. I KNOW I'm critical, but the way in which I watch performances is through an ever-changing lens.
Alas, to no avail. If we wanted to see Neil perform again, we would have to come back the following day as he was only giving two performances. But in the spirit of an amazing entertainer, Neil came outside, stood on a platform and performed in the dark. He's amazing.
Another lovely highlight was the Leprechaun Museum. At first assumption, you would think the term "museum" connotes artifacts. Well, believe it or not, there were NO leprechaun artifacts, but there WERE pieces of over-sized furniture to make it look like YOU were a leprechaun. I would say it was worth the 7 euros just for the giant room. The rest was bollocks (crap).Here's Moira looking leprechauny:
And here's me trying to get onto a giant kitchen chair next to the giant kitchen table:
I finally made it up.
This first term has certainly been life-changing. It helped me find an academic passion for theatre I hadn't previously experienced, and I feel as though I will be watching theatre far more objectively for the rest of my life. That isn't to say, however, that I still won't be critical. I KNOW I'm critical, but the way in which I watch performances is through an ever-changing lens.I also have such a smaller worldview than I once had before. We are so interconnected on this little planet, and while I have experienced things I never could have fathomed, my world seems more at home because I had the opportunity. And if you, dear reader, have ever wanted to travel, please do so. It's life changing.
So, over the next month I will be co-writing a script for my classmates and I for a show that we will be producing and performing at the Samuel Beckett theatre on campus, finding a play to submit so that I may direct next term, and trying to narrow down a dissertation topic. And it feels really really good to be doing this.
It looks Christmasy in Dublin once again with a major snowfall, and I put up some decorations and Christmas lights in the kitchen. Jen Hogue, one of my best friends since Barat, is scheduled to fly in on the 24th to spend Christmas in Dublin. Hopefully Dublin airport will open back up by then! Until then, I wish you all a Happy Christmas (lots of people say Happy Christmas instead of Merry Christmas here).
Much Love and Peace,
Jessica
