Reflections on Female Plumbing

The Vagina Monologues.

This is probably the first book that I've had to stop and wait a week before finishing the second half because I had to take in what I had read. This book was very intense. But I loved it.

Reasons why I adored this book:

1) The brutal in your face truth. I consider myself to be pretty in touch with things like sexuality and my inner workings, so when I read about women who hadn't been "down there" for years, I thought it was not really relevant. However, as I continued reading, I realized that I was quite in the dark myself. In fact, I believe that this book gives us a 360-degree experience you couldn't get any other way. Maybe I was in touch with myself and the way I handle being a woman, but i was totally blinded to how the rest of the world sees it. Lesbians, geriatrics, women who go through menopause-- they all have their own perspective. Even from hearing the different names for this one organ made me realize my "in touch" perpective related only to me. This books awakens you to the vast mystery it really is to the world as a whole. Vaginas were a private experience that was full of code words and no-go zones until Eve Ensler finally rounded up a selection of the women in the world and began to set the record straight.

2) The reality of the novel. In popular culture, vagina is a word that when used, is used in relation to very few topics. We hardly think of a vagina as a victim of warfare, or as an unexplored land, or as something one might wish for at Christmas. For me the sections that stood out the most were the ones where their relationship with their vagina was unconventional-- lesbians, transgenders, and victims of sexual warfare. I never thought about taking my vagina for granted until I read a peculiar story about a girl born without one. I'd never imagined the feeling that i was destined to have a different gender-- it was incredible to read the story of those who felt that they always should have had a vagina, even from childhood as a boy. I honestly don't think that Even Ensler put these stories in for the "shock factor". I think that she wanted a truly diverse perspective. It felt like a novel of memoirs from a war-- everyone seeing the battleground as a different tale to tell. It felt so real-- never made up.

3) The do-gooder component. This book does plenty on its own as a revitalizing movement of feminism, but it made me so much happier that this play goes beyond that and has become a movement to help others. I especially loved the ten year addition because it went into further detail as to how the movement has developed.

NOW, a note on the play from a theatrical perspective (now that I have all of my mushy feelings out of the way):
I would be extremely interested to see how the staging of this play played out, as the vignettes are so polar in scenarios. To switch from one character to another (especially if done as a performance piece, or in a confined space) could be really challenging. This is going on my list of plays to see for sure. 

MUSICAL THEATRE-GASM

Hey there, one person who reads this blog. How are you?

So recently, Neil Patrick Harris hosted the 2011 Tony Awards. I love the Tonys for many reasons, the primary one being that it turns me on to so many great new shows. I've previously expressed my love for Legally Blonde the Musical, in which Laura Bell Bundy takes Elle to a new level (such a shame that MTV exploited it and turned it into a sinking ship), but now I want to showcase some of my other recent addictions. 

The first show is In the Heights from the 2010 Tony's, winning several awards including Best Musical. The best things about this show are 1) the director, star, and writer are all the same guy (Lin-Manuel Miranda). WOW 2) The music is fresh and is a total departure from what you would expect to hear on Broadway with its Latin vibe 3) The choreography is different too, mixing classic Broadway styles with club dancing and Latin dance. The plot is basically about a struggling town in NYC called Washington Heights. It doesn't necessarily have a happy ending but the plot is resolved and the songs are great. Not many Broadway shows that embrace minority cultures get off the ground, and this is truly the first of its kind on the great White Way (always wondered if that was a racial reference). Both Corbin Bleu (that guy with the 'fro from Disney Channel and High School Musical) and Jordin Sparks (American Idol winner) have played the lead characters at points in their careers. In the Original Broadway Cast is Robin de Jesus, who I personally ADORE from his work in the La Cage aux Folles 2010 revival and the movie Camp (I definitely recommend it, has eerie similarities to Camp Rock, but its rated "R").

In the video, check the amazing applause Lin-Manuel gets. I love how he goes right from his director hat with Whoopi to being a performer. Love that idea.

Show #2 is Anything Goes. This madcap comedy (well, it seems that way from what I read) takes from one of my favorite eras, especially clothing wise. It's not ultra-conservative, but it is still so glamorous and not a bit trashy. If I could be a costume designer, I would want to design for a show like this. The clip I saw from the Tony awards caught my eye for a couple reasons: First of all, it's one of the "cleaner" shows that were up on the stage. Good old fashioned fun with no twists of AIDS or pregnancy or crime, just a little bit of mob boss humor, but nothing extreme. Secondly, Sutton Foster demanded attention as the lead of Reno Sweeney in this particular titular number. This talented young lady also played Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical's original Broadway Cast, and picked up her first Tony as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie (her second Tony being for Anything Goes). This role was also portrayed by greats such as Patti LuPone, so I think Sutton Foster filled in the big shoes very well. Finally, one thing that was paramount in my liking of this show is the dancing. There is some magnetic quality about tap dancing, and this number used it to the max. On the note of costuming, I really appreciated how the shoes were made for the outfit and then tap equipment was fitted to them, instead of their gorgeous outfits being ruined by bulky black, conventional tap shows. And kudos to the dancers for tapping in whatever stilettos they were given to work with. The general feel of this show is just extremely fun and also appears to be pretty feasible at the high school level.

Third stop on the musical theatre train is in honor of Mr. Potter-- Daniel Radcliffe, that is. I already have a soft spot for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying because my brother was in the Jr. version in middle school, but Mr. Radcliffe just made me fall in love all over again. I was thoroughly impressed by his American accent, especially since I was so used to associating that face with a little Oliver Twist-esque voice. I was also really astounded by his singing and dancing capabilities. I guess it always pleases me to see when an actor pegged as a "one role man" turns out to have a lot more in the treasure chest than anyone suspected. Watch out, Harry's not done with us yet :)

Oh and PS he's really short, I had no idea.

This next entry is not actually a show, but is what I considered to be one of the better musical number of the evening. Neil Patrick Harris designed a gut busting opening number for his host-man-ship of the Tony Awards this past year, "Boradway's Not Just For Gays Anymore". I was ROFL'ing for sure. Despite how hilarious it was, it was actually a sad reality as to how depserate Broadway is for tickets to be sold. With teens toting cameras into shows and posting it scene by scene on Youtube (rumor has it Spring Awakening is easy to find, I refuse of course), Broadway is dying quickly. Producers of shows know its only smart to expect a two year run if even that. The truth of the matter is, nothing beats live performance; but when those brilliant minds behind 3D TVs and Pay-Per-View and Hulu and yes-- Glee get together, they can slowly convince America and the world that you can get that experience at home in Iowa for cheaper, faster, and better. You can wear your PJs and eat messy food and still hear someone with a great voice (or so your TV has led you to believe). It's truly heartbreaking. If I were closer, I would be spending all of my babysitting money to get one glimpse of any of these shows. It's horrifying to think that there are people who LIVE IN NEW YORK and still won't get up off their butts to go witness magic much greater than anything you can watch from your couch. 

Neil Patrick Harris does a "rap-up" at the end of the awards (written during the last few minutes of the show by the ever talented Lin-Manuel Miranda), and the last line sums it all up perfectly:

"And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak

This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week

Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’

Had to make miracles happen

For a chance to see you clappin’

And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?

Anything goes. Now go see a mother f***in' Broadway show."

The opening number and rap are both below:

This next entry is a little smaller: I just wanted to give a shout out to the crazy, insane, awesome people who designed the costumes for Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It's a jukebox musical from Australia where most of the characters are lip-syncing drag queens, but the costumes catapult it from flamboyant musical to transsexual FANTASY. For the Tony's, even though they weren't nominated in the major category, they invited the ORGINAL Weathergirl Martha Wash to sing "It's Raining Men" while the drag queens paraded around. The costumes just blew it out of the water.WOW

Okay, my FINAL entry is probably the hardest to explain as to why I am hopelessly in love. Written by the creators of South Park in unison with the creator of Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably the raunchiest, most offensive piece of musical theatre to hit Broadway in a while. But I'm apparently not the only one who didn't mind. Picking up the Best Musical trophy at five different Theatre ceremonies (including the Tony's and the Drama Desk awards), this play parodies Mormonism as it follows two young missionaries on their journey to war-torn Uganda, where they attempt to convert the downtrodden people. Filled with amazing talent, this show just pops with a flavor of teenage hijinks and unadulterated fun. Both of the lead actors are fairly new to the Broadway arena, which is exciting as they can only grow and succeed from here. It never paints the Mormons as bad people, just hopelessly naive as they dive headlong into a faith that they may have never stopped to actually consider themselves. I have listened to the entire soundtrack of this musical, and my personal favorite is still this one I saw as part of the Tony performance (although "Hasa Diga Ebowai" comes in close second), called "I Believe". I will be singing this a LOT.

Well, I think that's enough for tonight. I apologize if reading this post becomes a multi-day endeavor.

I love everyone who read this through <3

KEEP BROADWAY ALIVE!

A step towards something theatrical

My boss at my summer job was telling about how in the area he lives in just north of Dongdaemun has tons of little theatres with cheap tickets and starving artists. I'm highly considering finding out about it, picking a show and dragging a little translator along with me :)

Also, totally loving The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Not only do we share a namesake, but we also share a love of the zany sense of humor. The play makes me double take every other line to be sure I read it right. I found myself doubled over in laughter sometimes or just wanting to read it aloud to the closest stranger so they could also laugh (in order to follow societal norms however, I refrained from such activity.) This play is just one of the ones that you read and can picture it onstage almost immediately. I feel as though those can be some of the best kind because if you can already imagine it onstage traditionally, half the work is done. Then you can spend even more time imagine all of the varieties and spins that could be done with that play onstage.

Finishing up the Vagina Monologues. There shall be a LENGTHY response :)

Theatrical Summer FAIL

Yeah, so when we were told to have a theatrical summer, I had big hopes, really. I packed up my playbooks and ran out the door towards Texas. Unfortunately, its all been a major disappointment because I have failed to be theatrical at all (outside of what my family calls being a drama queen on a daily basis). I have almost finished two plays, read one book and seen only one show (which wasn't even theatre, it was a concert by a top 40 cover band in small town Texas). 

I think that it is interesting to point out that whenever I lose the theatre in my life on stage, the drama takes over in my actual, personal life. Obviously not as fun, because you don't get to take off the clothes and the makeup and suddenly be problem free (sigh, if only...). People ask why I live and breathe theatre whenever I can, and that is basically the reason why. I'll be too busy to have problems of my own :)

I miss Korea, the excellent transportation, the inspiring culture, and the liveliness of a city

I miss my peers, with their ideas that continue to blow my mind at every twist and turn

I miss my other classes, because I got to think and talk about theatre during them

I miss my director, her office=my haven, constant enthusiasm and her amazszing husband who feeds me

I miss the community the campus... yes this crazy girl misses school. 

I'm going to try as hard as I can to make the remainder of this summer theatrical... I crave it. I need it. I WILL GET IT BACK.

Reflections on professionalism and keeping the "drama" out of theatre

No one can deny that any theatre piece is a team effort. There is, however, some argument on the dynamics of the team. Some say that the components of a team are like cogs in a wheel. The different pieces must fit together, with ones strengths filling anothers weaknesses and vice versa. Some even go as far as to say that in order for productions to be truly cohesive, those who work closely should be settled or friendly outside the workplace, since all too frequently in life we do not check our social baggage at the door. This perspective I think applies not only to technical workers but also the actors. As I witnessed first hand in Our Town, a cast that doesn't love working and working together can still create a substantial work but will lack the magic that could have been portrayed to the audience through the love of each other and the story.

On the other hand...
There is the idea some have that people don't necessarily need to like each other, they just need to be able to do their job properly. While in some positions the "like factor" isn't necessary, I think that if you enjoy the presence of another the lines of communication are further opened and a better relationship is formed. However, once these lines are opened the relationship tracked beyond work an gets into tricky territory. If the relationship goes awry, then the work relationship is compromised and and then the entire performance can be hindered.

I realize in high school keeping that amount of professionalism can be almost impossible, as so many aspects of life cross over with those same people. But does the difficulty of keeping the drama out of theatre easen up in a bigger pool of people? Or in a community theatre production? While I used to be all for the personal relationship backstage and behind the scenes, I worry that having your heart too deep into the production can make it a bloody mess for all involved.