The Tempest

It looks like you kids are all as busy as I've been, but I'm finding that blogging can be entirely necessary in the valiant preservation of sanity, so I'm going to keep trying to move ahead with it.

All week, I've been trying to come up with a word to accurately describe Steppenwolf's production of The Tempest. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't one. A word has yet to be introduced into the vast English language that will appropriately describe this production. I'm thinking of making one up, for this very purpose. But I don't know if Merriam Webster is that into suggestions. But please understand before I go on that this word, whatever it is, would be positive, not negative.

I saw the show on Tuesday night, the one night a week I don't have class. And I find that if I go on a Tuesday, I'll have an easier time getting student tickets - boy, did I. I was in center orchestra row D, for $15. The folks sitting next to me probably paid at least $60. Would have been worth $60 though.

...Even as I'm sitting here typing, I'm having a difficult time reviewing this play. It's extraordinary, first of all. It commands your attention literally within the first second (it also may well be the loudest play I've ever seen - the woman beside me jumped a foot when it began). There should be a warning - this play is not for the weak of heart. It's certainly the most exciting production of a Shakespeare play I've even seen. And easily the most daring. The way it's done, it's almost a musical. A hip musical. There's a dance sequence in the second act that you really and truly need to see to believe. Even as I was watching it, I had to blink and remind myself that I wasn't experiencing some kind of tremendously entertaining acid trip.

If you're in Chicago, see this. That's about the best I can do. I recommend it, highly, though I'm having no luck at all conveying it. Just see it.

The song of forgetting

I still exist, I promise. I've just been trying to get through this semester. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's becoming increasingly frustrating that it's taking me so long to get there.

I changed my major, which was an extremely monumental step for me. I never thought I would want to do anything other than screenwriting, but after I lot of soul-searching, deep thought, and a long string of conversations with people I trust and admire, I have changed my major to Theater, with a concentration in Directing. And it feels more right than anything I've done in a long, long time. I'm disenchanted with film, and theater is a thrill that never goes away. I want that. And also, I feel like it just makes sense, because I'm in the perfect place to do this - not only am I in Chicago, but I'm at Columbia, which an extraordinary school for theater. My directing role model, Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro, graduated from this school. I consider that to be a very good omen. And like I said, it feels right. How often does that happen really?

Beyond that, I've been going to shows constantly, escaping, spending money I don't have. Met some fantastic people. I'm planning to go see The Tempest at Steppenwolf sometime this week. Possibly tomorrow. I'm excited for that. And I'm still having a consummate love affair with Chicago. I can't believe I'll be leaving it in less than a month only to be stuck at home in Philadelphia for three. Fortunately, Philly is where my best friends are. But still...Chicago...