Well.
Here I am again, finally updating this blog. Last update was October. 2010. It's now the end of May, 2011. Sigh.
The short version of stuff that has happened:
Spring semester went alright, except for some issues with bronchitis around Spring break...And then some other health issues which caused me to end up having a cardiac cath done about 10 days ago (Friday, the 20th). Things turned out okay cardiac-wise but there are still some questions about my kidney function, which was initially out of whack according to the hospital blood work. It's better now but I suspect it will always be something I need to be hawk-like about since I just have the one and all. Sigh. I see the cardiologist again this coming Friday and I expect that I will be "fully released"...which is not much different than right now, just paperwork (as I understand it...Protocols and all). Being ill did impact my grades some but from my calculations I'm still above the 2.5 that is the absolute bottom of acceptable.
I'm working on the Fall mainstage production as scenic designer. The production is a multi/mixed media event called The Messenger written and directed by our department chairperson Professor Mendelowitz. We had a filming day yesterday for some of the early scenes which will be a part of the "pre-show video". And it was very interesting to work the film side as opposed to stage. More filming should be happening both this Summer and also into the Fall. Then the live show portion (which will also be being filmed) happens in November. And then again in the Spring, a compiled version of the filmed and live filmed portions will be premiered here on campus. Definitely a unique sort of process. Some info on the entire season (including The Messenger) can be found at: http://theatreuaf.org/
Additionally I was nominated and accepted the position of TD for the Student Drama Association. Which basically means that I will be scenic designing the Winter Shorts workshop production(s) and also supervising that tech process. Just as with The Messenger I'm glad to have at least some of the Summer to spend working on stuff in advance. It does make life a bit easier.
Precluding any earthshaking events I will be here all through the Summer, which will be pretty darn cool, IMNSHO.
Well, stuff to still accomplish today so that's it for this update. With fortune (and some self reminding) hopefully it will not be nearly as long till my next update.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
An Interlude.....
This entry is less about school and much more about dealing with being here in Alaska while virtually my entire past is 3,800 (+/-) miles away.
A little background: I have been out and "on the road" for some while now. And as I had been living in company housing and did not own a personal vehicle the majority of my belongings had been boxed, crated, etc and in storage with family. From time to time during holiday visits, etc I would gather some additional items and bring them to wherever I was at that point. Living and working for one theatre between Jan 2006 and December 2008 made some of that easier, since I didn't have to worry about having to pack and move everything every three months (or less). Then, after I left that gig and was out of work for the whole year of 2009 (plus a bit) I got used to having simplified access to all the things I had acquired over the last 50 years.
Now, however, I am here. And all the things I didn't have the space/ability to pack in my luggage had to be left in Arkansas. My theatre texts. My art books. My DVD's and music CD's...Not to mention my science fiction library and various gaming items.
My brother will be, with any fortune, shipping me some additional Winter and "shop working clothing" (overalls, boots, etc) plus a majority of my carpentry tools in the near term. So that is something. But.....
Due to various reasons, my brother will (unless something miraculous occurs) be relocating from Arkansas to Virgina within the next week. Not what he or I had planned but the way of the world...Anyway, the thing that has me anxious (lacking any better word) is that, due to space constraints all of my stuff will be joining a significant portion of his stuff in a storage locker. Now, having all of my stuff in a locker somewhere is nothing new. The new thing is that it (my stuff) will be in Arkansas. And any family member who might be able to go and get stuff for me will be in either Virginia or Florida. Which, considering things practically, means that they will not be available at all.
The logical, reasonable portion of me accepts that I probably won't have access to my "stuff" till I go back down to the lower 48 for the Summer. IF I do that. Since it depends on if and/or where I can find Summer work that makes it rather variable. And that is, logically, okay. After all, there are some theatre texts, etc that I have not accessed for a minimum of several years. So why would I want them now?
That's the issue: why do I feel a bit "at sea" knowing that I won't have the security blanket of being able to have someone dig into a box and ship me
something? After all, the stuff is just stuff. Yes, some of it (family photos for example) is irreplaceable. That percentage is understandable. A little part of me says, at least when regarding the theatre texts, that they might prove handy to have available now that I am back in school. True...But the rest of it ? Sigh...
The reasoning portion of my mind says that it is a good lesson in "simplifying my life". And I am working on that......
A little background: I have been out and "on the road" for some while now. And as I had been living in company housing and did not own a personal vehicle the majority of my belongings had been boxed, crated, etc and in storage with family. From time to time during holiday visits, etc I would gather some additional items and bring them to wherever I was at that point. Living and working for one theatre between Jan 2006 and December 2008 made some of that easier, since I didn't have to worry about having to pack and move everything every three months (or less). Then, after I left that gig and was out of work for the whole year of 2009 (plus a bit) I got used to having simplified access to all the things I had acquired over the last 50 years.
Now, however, I am here. And all the things I didn't have the space/ability to pack in my luggage had to be left in Arkansas. My theatre texts. My art books. My DVD's and music CD's...Not to mention my science fiction library and various gaming items.
My brother will be, with any fortune, shipping me some additional Winter and "shop working clothing" (overalls, boots, etc) plus a majority of my carpentry tools in the near term. So that is something. But.....
Due to various reasons, my brother will (unless something miraculous occurs) be relocating from Arkansas to Virgina within the next week. Not what he or I had planned but the way of the world...Anyway, the thing that has me anxious (lacking any better word) is that, due to space constraints all of my stuff will be joining a significant portion of his stuff in a storage locker. Now, having all of my stuff in a locker somewhere is nothing new. The new thing is that it (my stuff) will be in Arkansas. And any family member who might be able to go and get stuff for me will be in either Virginia or Florida. Which, considering things practically, means that they will not be available at all.
The logical, reasonable portion of me accepts that I probably won't have access to my "stuff" till I go back down to the lower 48 for the Summer. IF I do that. Since it depends on if and/or where I can find Summer work that makes it rather variable. And that is, logically, okay. After all, there are some theatre texts, etc that I have not accessed for a minimum of several years. So why would I want them now?
That's the issue: why do I feel a bit "at sea" knowing that I won't have the security blanket of being able to have someone dig into a box and ship me
something? After all, the stuff is just stuff. Yes, some of it (family photos for example) is irreplaceable. That percentage is understandable. A little part of me says, at least when regarding the theatre texts, that they might prove handy to have available now that I am back in school. True...But the rest of it ? Sigh...
The reasoning portion of my mind says that it is a good lesson in "simplifying my life". And I am working on that......
Saturday, October 16, 2010
What's A Month, Here Or There?
Well, it's after midterms. Even though I didn't have any in any of my classes this semester. But that's okay...I really don't object. What I do object to is that I have let my adding entries onto this blog lapse a bit. So this entry may be a bit scattered and semi-random (as well as having some kvetching in it) since it will be a "catch up entry" for all that has happened during the last month or so. So be warned.
Let's start with Starvation Gulch. It's an annual event here at UAF that involves bonfires (plural). It was pretty interesting....And I took a bunch of pictures. In fact, there was a photo contest on the UAF Facebook page with some prizes for selected photos and one of my photos was selected as one of the winners. It got me a zip front hooded sweatshirt...and a couple of compliments from the folks at the media office on my images. Which made me feel pretty good.....
And, in the realm of things that made me feel good, I was offered the chance to be involved in designing the Fall mainstage show(s). It's three one acts as an evenings presentation so I am never sure if I should refer to it as singular or plural...But it was cool to think that I was going to get the chance to do a mainstage design gig my first semester here...as well as it being my first semester in school since 1983.
Of course, you may have noticed the "past tenses" in the prior sentences. That is due to the next major event so far this Fall: my spending several days (about a week) dealing with what was diagnosed as a probable kidney stone. I use the word probable because I never "caught it" nor did a stone show up when I finally got a CT done at the ER near the end of the whole situation. But based on all my symptoms, the student health center treated it as a stone: with antibiotics for what seemed signs of infection, pain meds, pushing fluids and with strong recommendations for going to the ER if the pain got beyond a certain point. Being stubborn I lived through most of the discomfort (with some help from the Hydrocodone). Then finally went to the ER. The implication was that I had passed whatever it was by the time of the CT. And I am feeling way better. However, with everything going on I felt that I was not doing a proper service to the production(s) and so I stepped down from the design slot. I am still, however, considered Assistant Scenic Designer and the design will, as far as I have been currently told, be building on what I had accomplished prior to having to deal with the illness. Frustrating. To say the least.
All that not withstanding I am also pleased to report that I was hired into the scene shop as a student worker. And I made a contact with the supervisor at a local off campus venue and was placed on the call list for gigs there. Thankfully my being sick has not (so far as I can determine) affected those positions. Yea! And I have been told that I have a chance for designing the Student Drama Association one acts that will be coming up in February. Which, if I am selected, will give me a thing or two for my portfolio from this academic year...
In other "good news": going by the online grade estimates that I have access to, my current academic progress is pretty good. I am pulling down mid level A and mid level B grades in all four classes. My anxiety about the grade I got for my first theatre history essay has pretty well passed. Since then I have been getting better results on the weekly essays. Significantly better in fact. Hurray!
I have to say that I am pleased by my current grades for a variety of reasons. One of them is that it gives me a bit of hope that a current "wild idea" that keeps going through my mind might not be an impossibility after all. The "wild idea?" Me going on to seek my MFA after graduation here. You might be thinking, Why? Why go for the advanced degree? Well, if I do end up attempting to teach it would be better to have an MFA than just a BA. And depending on what all I get to design while in school here having the chances for design slots that would be part of grad school could be a definite help finding design gigs in the "real world". I will say that, when I threw the idea out as a "passing comment" to my academic adviser his reaction seemed one of surprise. Still have to find out why....Sigh.
Well, I guess that just about covers all the major happenings over the last month. There might be a point or two I've missed but then that is what new entries are for, isn't it?
Let's start with Starvation Gulch. It's an annual event here at UAF that involves bonfires (plural). It was pretty interesting....And I took a bunch of pictures. In fact, there was a photo contest on the UAF Facebook page with some prizes for selected photos and one of my photos was selected as one of the winners. It got me a zip front hooded sweatshirt...and a couple of compliments from the folks at the media office on my images. Which made me feel pretty good.....
And, in the realm of things that made me feel good, I was offered the chance to be involved in designing the Fall mainstage show(s). It's three one acts as an evenings presentation so I am never sure if I should refer to it as singular or plural...But it was cool to think that I was going to get the chance to do a mainstage design gig my first semester here...as well as it being my first semester in school since 1983.
Of course, you may have noticed the "past tenses" in the prior sentences. That is due to the next major event so far this Fall: my spending several days (about a week) dealing with what was diagnosed as a probable kidney stone. I use the word probable because I never "caught it" nor did a stone show up when I finally got a CT done at the ER near the end of the whole situation. But based on all my symptoms, the student health center treated it as a stone: with antibiotics for what seemed signs of infection, pain meds, pushing fluids and with strong recommendations for going to the ER if the pain got beyond a certain point. Being stubborn I lived through most of the discomfort (with some help from the Hydrocodone). Then finally went to the ER. The implication was that I had passed whatever it was by the time of the CT. And I am feeling way better. However, with everything going on I felt that I was not doing a proper service to the production(s) and so I stepped down from the design slot. I am still, however, considered Assistant Scenic Designer and the design will, as far as I have been currently told, be building on what I had accomplished prior to having to deal with the illness. Frustrating. To say the least.
All that not withstanding I am also pleased to report that I was hired into the scene shop as a student worker. And I made a contact with the supervisor at a local off campus venue and was placed on the call list for gigs there. Thankfully my being sick has not (so far as I can determine) affected those positions. Yea! And I have been told that I have a chance for designing the Student Drama Association one acts that will be coming up in February. Which, if I am selected, will give me a thing or two for my portfolio from this academic year...
In other "good news": going by the online grade estimates that I have access to, my current academic progress is pretty good. I am pulling down mid level A and mid level B grades in all four classes. My anxiety about the grade I got for my first theatre history essay has pretty well passed. Since then I have been getting better results on the weekly essays. Significantly better in fact. Hurray!
I have to say that I am pleased by my current grades for a variety of reasons. One of them is that it gives me a bit of hope that a current "wild idea" that keeps going through my mind might not be an impossibility after all. The "wild idea?" Me going on to seek my MFA after graduation here. You might be thinking, Why? Why go for the advanced degree? Well, if I do end up attempting to teach it would be better to have an MFA than just a BA. And depending on what all I get to design while in school here having the chances for design slots that would be part of grad school could be a definite help finding design gigs in the "real world". I will say that, when I threw the idea out as a "passing comment" to my academic adviser his reaction seemed one of surprise. Still have to find out why....Sigh.
Well, I guess that just about covers all the major happenings over the last month. There might be a point or two I've missed but then that is what new entries are for, isn't it?
Friday, September 17, 2010
Week Two: Grade Anxiety ! (Amongst Other Stuff)
The second week here at UAF has, basically, come and gone at this point. And I sit here, gazing out at the amazing view and am working on smoothing out my adrenal function. Because I got back my first Theatre History essay today. And I could have done better. And I will. I am fairly certain that I am fully capable. But seeing the writing in red pen listing my score versus what was possible has me......anxious. I absolutely have to maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to continue my scholarship. As a result, every little falter and flub has me concerned. Add to that my still needing to locate additional income sources and various other issues and it's understandable that I currently have a tension headache.
With that kvetching out of the way, I do have to say that I think I have begun to gain the respect of my professors and, I hope, my fellow students. With fortune that will continue.
Auditions for the Fall mainstage production are tomorrow and I admit some curiosity about the actors in the department. While it is impossible to do (both as a practical matter and as a matter of respect for all involved) I admit that I would like to sneak a peek at the process....
Also tomorrow is the opening of an indoor "butterfly garden" at the UAF Museum Of The North. I may find myself there at some point, if only for the mental and spiritual recharge.
Still hammering out the visual imagery I want to present for the mainstage scenic design(s). Those are due near mid-day on Tuesday (09/21/10). And I need to complete some reading for Theatre History and write my next essay for that class. And possibly take it (my essay) to the writing center for their review and suggestions.
Plus an exercise on electricity for my Lighting Design class. And figuring out potential topics for my Dramatic Literature paper so I can have a meeting with that professor later in the week/next week. Not an awful list....but it will keep me occupied over this weekend.
That said I should get to work. More later.......
With that kvetching out of the way, I do have to say that I think I have begun to gain the respect of my professors and, I hope, my fellow students. With fortune that will continue.
Auditions for the Fall mainstage production are tomorrow and I admit some curiosity about the actors in the department. While it is impossible to do (both as a practical matter and as a matter of respect for all involved) I admit that I would like to sneak a peek at the process....
Also tomorrow is the opening of an indoor "butterfly garden" at the UAF Museum Of The North. I may find myself there at some point, if only for the mental and spiritual recharge.
Still hammering out the visual imagery I want to present for the mainstage scenic design(s). Those are due near mid-day on Tuesday (09/21/10). And I need to complete some reading for Theatre History and write my next essay for that class. And possibly take it (my essay) to the writing center for their review and suggestions.
Plus an exercise on electricity for my Lighting Design class. And figuring out potential topics for my Dramatic Literature paper so I can have a meeting with that professor later in the week/next week. Not an awful list....but it will keep me occupied over this weekend.
That said I should get to work. More later.......
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
BTW....
I've gone back and cleaned up some of the prior entries, most especially in regard to links to other webpages, etc....Enjoy !!
First Week (Part 2).......And A Little Beyond
Well, it has been just shy of eight days since I arrived here in Fairbanks. And I have to say that I need to start writing down what I think of writing in this blog when I think of such things...which, generally, occurs at points when I am nowhere near a computer or when I have classwork that takes precedence. Sigh. All that said, while I have a sure certainty that there will be items I am forgetting here goes this entry:
First, my classes seem to be going okay. There are moments when I have flashbacks to sessions at either College Of Lake County or University Of IL: Urbana-Champaign. Like the making of my "sewing sampler" in my Costume Design And Construction class. It echos work I did at UIUC during the costume shop section of Theatre 108. And some of my Theatre History class recalls Frank Harnish at CLC....tho' the text here is much less bulky then the Oscar G Brockett theatre history text we used there.
Anyway, the first week of classes went, I believe, well. No major faux pas so far as I can discern. Still getting used to the social dynamics of a college again. And such things as which Professors want to be called Professor or Mr (or gender appropriate term) and which want to be called by their first names....etc.
As previously mentioned, I had a meeting with my Dramatic Lit professor. It went well. Tho' he asked, as others have, "Why ?" Why come back to school now ? And why come back to school in Alaska ? I've described some of that here in other entries and will probably do an entire entry on the subject again at some point so I won't discuss it much now. But I have to say, it is a conversation starter....And maybe, in addition to everything else, it has something to do with emulating Cortes at Vera Cruz.....maybe.
On Saturday (09/11/10) I had the portfolio review session for Fall 2010.
It went okay...
Each student (there were/are about 8 of us total, including costume, lighting, scenic and film...) had about 1/2 of an 8 foot folding table to use, plus the space nearby for dress forms, etc and the walls for pinning stuff to....should they choose to. Plus the room has a computer, digital projector and screen built in so students could use that system for videos, larger scale imagery, etc. The evaluators/faculty went from location to location and we did a "presentation" on ourselves (I was the second one to go), much as I understand SETC and MidWest Regional Auditions function. The evaluators/faculty then gave a public review/critique of everything right then, as well as taking some notes on a form, which I suspect will be discussed later in one on one sessions...or that might just be for faculty uses. Not sure......
The evaluators/faculty had some issues with my resume (which I had figured they would and which I have been working on) and some tweaks regarding size and notation of the plates in my portfolio book and how I could "sell myself" more strongly....Plus they recommended that I have more than one portfolio (ie: 1 for design, 1 for carpentry, etc) and more process imagery if possible (for the carpentry especially).....My adviser (the Dept head) did say that I had a nice layout and he called the drafting style on the larger plates I had there "strong". And they seemed to like that I had something to say about each plate in my portfolio book (a reason it was there or some detail regarding the production, etc). So those were pluses.
Funny side story - near the end, during a lull, my Costume Design/Construction (and Theatre History as well) instructor says to me: "So...I've been needing some furniture for my office...." It made me smile. She was mostly joking but I admit it felt sort of good to know that my furniture building skills as displayed in my portfolio had been noted.
Speaking of Theatre History (see how I did that ? That is what is called in college writing a "transitional bridge"...or "segue"....of course, my pointing it out makes it less of a segue but.....shrug....anyway....)......Speaking of Theatre History, I had to write my first college style essay for a class in about 27 years last weekend. Yes, I have had to write essays for scholarships and such which were formatted much akin to college classwork would be but....sigh. So this essay was the first classwork one in a long while. And while I am still waiting on the grade for it I have to say that I feel I did some okay analysis on the subject.
One thing that is VERY different since I was last in school is that now most everything has some form of digital linkage. One professor (Dramatic Lit) wants our papers submitted electronically only. No hard copy. And we get a good percentage of our assignments via an online system called "Blackboard" where we can check our grades, enage in group discussions, bookmark webpages so that others can access those bookmarks, etc. The closest thing we had to that back at UIUC was the PLATO system. Which was awesome for it's day. Looking back at it today tho' it seems terribly....quaint. Here are a couple of webpages about it...Take a look...It's okay. I'll wait: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLATO_%28computer_system%29 and http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/plato-computer-system-/the-plato-online-community.html .....See what I mean ? Tho' I do sort of miss the monochromatic orange plasma displays. Lots of memories there. Of course, at the moment as I am writing this I am also listening to online radio. And while the station is a nearby local one, it could well be one from Urbana...Or Orlando....Or St Louis...Or Tokyo....And I am typing onto a portable computer system that probably has more data storage capacity than an entire PLATO "node". Let alone the broad spectrum color display and such. How things change.....
One other subjects: I had a meeting today regarding possible scenic design/assistant design assignments for the Fall mainstage production of three one act plays. There is another tech/design student who is also interested in working the shows and she and I sat down with the department chair (who is also the resident TD) and talked in general terms about which of the shows "spoke to us". And so we both will be meeting with the department chair again next week and showing him some thumbnail sketches and such of our design ideas, which we will then (potentially) be presenting to the director. The department chair was very specific in that he wasn't putting us in competition with each other. That said, I have to admit I really, really want to have my design be accepted. If that makes me seem petty well.......sigh and shrug.
Alright....speaking of classwork and such it's time to close this for the moment. More later.
First, my classes seem to be going okay. There are moments when I have flashbacks to sessions at either College Of Lake County or University Of IL: Urbana-Champaign. Like the making of my "sewing sampler" in my Costume Design And Construction class. It echos work I did at UIUC during the costume shop section of Theatre 108. And some of my Theatre History class recalls Frank Harnish at CLC....tho' the text here is much less bulky then the Oscar G Brockett theatre history text we used there.
Anyway, the first week of classes went, I believe, well. No major faux pas so far as I can discern. Still getting used to the social dynamics of a college again. And such things as which Professors want to be called Professor or Mr (or gender appropriate term) and which want to be called by their first names....etc.
As previously mentioned, I had a meeting with my Dramatic Lit professor. It went well. Tho' he asked, as others have, "Why ?" Why come back to school now ? And why come back to school in Alaska ? I've described some of that here in other entries and will probably do an entire entry on the subject again at some point so I won't discuss it much now. But I have to say, it is a conversation starter....And maybe, in addition to everything else, it has something to do with emulating Cortes at Vera Cruz.....maybe.
On Saturday (09/11/10) I had the portfolio review session for Fall 2010.
It went okay...
Each student (there were/are about 8 of us total, including costume, lighting, scenic and film...) had about 1/2 of an 8 foot folding table to use, plus the space nearby for dress forms, etc and the walls for pinning stuff to....should they choose to. Plus the room has a computer, digital projector and screen built in so students could use that system for videos, larger scale imagery, etc. The evaluators/faculty went from location to location and we did a "presentation" on ourselves (I was the second one to go), much as I understand SETC and MidWest Regional Auditions function. The evaluators/faculty then gave a public review/critique of everything right then, as well as taking some notes on a form, which I suspect will be discussed later in one on one sessions...or that might just be for faculty uses. Not sure......
The evaluators/faculty had some issues with my resume (which I had figured they would and which I have been working on) and some tweaks regarding size and notation of the plates in my portfolio book and how I could "sell myself" more strongly....Plus they recommended that I have more than one portfolio (ie: 1 for design, 1 for carpentry, etc) and more process imagery if possible (for the carpentry especially).....My adviser (the Dept head) did say that I had a nice layout and he called the drafting style on the larger plates I had there "strong". And they seemed to like that I had something to say about each plate in my portfolio book (a reason it was there or some detail regarding the production, etc). So those were pluses.
Funny side story - near the end, during a lull, my Costume Design/Construction (and Theatre History as well) instructor says to me: "So...I've been needing some furniture for my office...." It made me smile. She was mostly joking but I admit it felt sort of good to know that my furniture building skills as displayed in my portfolio had been noted.
Speaking of Theatre History (see how I did that ? That is what is called in college writing a "transitional bridge"...or "segue"....of course, my pointing it out makes it less of a segue but.....shrug....anyway....)......Speaking of Theatre History, I had to write my first college style essay for a class in about 27 years last weekend. Yes, I have had to write essays for scholarships and such which were formatted much akin to college classwork would be but....sigh. So this essay was the first classwork one in a long while. And while I am still waiting on the grade for it I have to say that I feel I did some okay analysis on the subject.
One thing that is VERY different since I was last in school is that now most everything has some form of digital linkage. One professor (Dramatic Lit) wants our papers submitted electronically only. No hard copy. And we get a good percentage of our assignments via an online system called "Blackboard" where we can check our grades, enage in group discussions, bookmark webpages so that others can access those bookmarks, etc. The closest thing we had to that back at UIUC was the PLATO system. Which was awesome for it's day. Looking back at it today tho' it seems terribly....quaint. Here are a couple of webpages about it...Take a look...It's okay. I'll wait: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLATO_%28computer_system%29 and http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/plato-computer-system-/the-plato-online-community.html .....See what I mean ? Tho' I do sort of miss the monochromatic orange plasma displays. Lots of memories there. Of course, at the moment as I am writing this I am also listening to online radio. And while the station is a nearby local one, it could well be one from Urbana...Or Orlando....Or St Louis...Or Tokyo....And I am typing onto a portable computer system that probably has more data storage capacity than an entire PLATO "node". Let alone the broad spectrum color display and such. How things change.....
One other subjects: I had a meeting today regarding possible scenic design/assistant design assignments for the Fall mainstage production of three one act plays. There is another tech/design student who is also interested in working the shows and she and I sat down with the department chair (who is also the resident TD) and talked in general terms about which of the shows "spoke to us". And so we both will be meeting with the department chair again next week and showing him some thumbnail sketches and such of our design ideas, which we will then (potentially) be presenting to the director. The department chair was very specific in that he wasn't putting us in competition with each other. That said, I have to admit I really, really want to have my design be accepted. If that makes me seem petty well.......sigh and shrug.
Alright....speaking of classwork and such it's time to close this for the moment. More later.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
First Week (Part 1)
Well, it has been some length of time since my last posting...."Real life" can make that happen at times I guess.....sigh. Which means that some of the various thoughts I might have logged at the time have now joined my memories, merged with other thoughts and, most likely, will not see much daylight anytime soon.....shrug. Tho' I do hope to eventually post a missive about my flight(s) up here and such. All that said.....
I have arrived in Fairbanks !
Well, I actually arrived on Monday evening. Then spent yesterday getting much of my life here in order (Student ID (aka "Polar Express") card, picking up the portfolio copy that got me my talent scholarship, etc). And I had my first college class since 1983 and a meeting with my academic adviser (tho' not in that order).
The meeting with my adviser went well (I think). The only real "downside" is that I found out that a design position I had craved has already been, basically, promised to another student. Which I understand, as she has been here awhile and I am a new and untested quantity. Fair enough. And I may (note disclaimer) be able to get a design slot for at least one of the three one act shows being done as a group for this Falls primary mainstage production. My adviser is, at the moment, slated to be the scenic designer for them. Which is also fair, I suppose, given that such decisions were made before I was in the mix, picture, equation, what-have-you. But in yesterdays meeting the possibility of my getting at least one design was mentioned. I suspect it would most likely be for the Beckett script "Play", as my adviser mentioned that one of the pieces was a "carpentry challenge" and the urns in that one do fit that description. He (my adviser) also mentioned a possible outside job lead for me at one of the venues here in town. That gives me two places locally that I need to submit resumes to for "on call/freelance" gigs. I just need to get my "telephone ducks in a row" before sending out resumes, as I am going to be getting a new cell up here. Have not done it yet but I expect to have the process complete by late Thursday or Friday of this week.
The first class session was okay. Obviously, as there are already some prior social dynamics in place it may take a bit before I stop feeling a little out of place. But at least I made one of the "coeds" in the class laugh with a bit of situational humor (The instructor had, previously, written the word "Mood" on the board and, as is apparently a habit of his, placed "eyes" into the open centers..Then he wrote the word "Visibility" on the board but was having issues with it's spelling (is there an A in it or not) and then he (or someone) commented "It's all I's". To which I offhandedly commented "Just like Mood." There was a beat and then the student in front of me (the coed in question) laughed and sort of looked over her shoulder smiling and said (as I recall it) "Good one." I think that she was the only one in class who caught my comment. But that's fine....)
Today I'll have a meeting with the instructor of my Dramatic Literature course, who is also the primary director for all of the mainstage productions here. So I'm hoping to make a decent impression on him for the sake of future production assignments.
Also today is a student employment job fair. I'll be visiting that at some point, as I need to find some income and the previously mentioned on call gigs are outside of the campus. If I could find an on campus gig too that would be excellent. BTW, as I don't believe I mentioned it yet: I did NOT get the "re-entry student grant/scholarship/tuition waiver" I had been hoping for. So I am freaking out (just the little-est bit) about finances at the moment. Anyone who might have any leads on available grants, scholarships, etc please let me know....Thanks.
And today I will have my first sessions of the other classes on my schedule.
Saturday is a "public" portfolio review session. All the tech students gather and show their stuff to the faculty and whoever else shows up. So I'll be tweaking and adding some stuff to my portfolio over the next couple of days. I just need to locate a reasonably good quality color printer (on campus preferably) to print things once they are ready.
I still need to do more exploring, both here on campus and into the wilds of Fairbanks. Went for a bus ride yesterday afternoon/evening. Found some of the local shopping venues for future reference (always good to know where the food is....etc). And since my ID from UAF gets me free bus rides on the local mass transit, why not take advantage of it and go nosing ? Need to walk the rest of campus soon. I don't want to get into the feeling that "Here is Wick (my dorm). Here is the Fine Arts Complex and library. Here is the student center....that's it. That is my world." I'm here to do more stretching than that.
Well, insomnia got me up some while ago. And I got some stuff done. And now that the sun is up (tho' slightly concealed by fog and drizzle) I really should get along with the day. More later.
I have arrived in Fairbanks !
Well, I actually arrived on Monday evening. Then spent yesterday getting much of my life here in order (Student ID (aka "Polar Express") card, picking up the portfolio copy that got me my talent scholarship, etc). And I had my first college class since 1983 and a meeting with my academic adviser (tho' not in that order).
The meeting with my adviser went well (I think). The only real "downside" is that I found out that a design position I had craved has already been, basically, promised to another student. Which I understand, as she has been here awhile and I am a new and untested quantity. Fair enough. And I may (note disclaimer) be able to get a design slot for at least one of the three one act shows being done as a group for this Falls primary mainstage production. My adviser is, at the moment, slated to be the scenic designer for them. Which is also fair, I suppose, given that such decisions were made before I was in the mix, picture, equation, what-have-you. But in yesterdays meeting the possibility of my getting at least one design was mentioned. I suspect it would most likely be for the Beckett script "Play", as my adviser mentioned that one of the pieces was a "carpentry challenge" and the urns in that one do fit that description. He (my adviser) also mentioned a possible outside job lead for me at one of the venues here in town. That gives me two places locally that I need to submit resumes to for "on call/freelance" gigs. I just need to get my "telephone ducks in a row" before sending out resumes, as I am going to be getting a new cell up here. Have not done it yet but I expect to have the process complete by late Thursday or Friday of this week.
The first class session was okay. Obviously, as there are already some prior social dynamics in place it may take a bit before I stop feeling a little out of place. But at least I made one of the "coeds" in the class laugh with a bit of situational humor (The instructor had, previously, written the word "Mood" on the board and, as is apparently a habit of his, placed "eyes" into the open centers..Then he wrote the word "Visibility" on the board but was having issues with it's spelling (is there an A in it or not) and then he (or someone) commented "It's all I's". To which I offhandedly commented "Just like Mood." There was a beat and then the student in front of me (the coed in question) laughed and sort of looked over her shoulder smiling and said (as I recall it) "Good one." I think that she was the only one in class who caught my comment. But that's fine....)
Today I'll have a meeting with the instructor of my Dramatic Literature course, who is also the primary director for all of the mainstage productions here. So I'm hoping to make a decent impression on him for the sake of future production assignments.
Also today is a student employment job fair. I'll be visiting that at some point, as I need to find some income and the previously mentioned on call gigs are outside of the campus. If I could find an on campus gig too that would be excellent. BTW, as I don't believe I mentioned it yet: I did NOT get the "re-entry student grant/scholarship/tuition waiver" I had been hoping for. So I am freaking out (just the little-est bit) about finances at the moment. Anyone who might have any leads on available grants, scholarships, etc please let me know....Thanks.
And today I will have my first sessions of the other classes on my schedule.
Saturday is a "public" portfolio review session. All the tech students gather and show their stuff to the faculty and whoever else shows up. So I'll be tweaking and adding some stuff to my portfolio over the next couple of days. I just need to locate a reasonably good quality color printer (on campus preferably) to print things once they are ready.
I still need to do more exploring, both here on campus and into the wilds of Fairbanks. Went for a bus ride yesterday afternoon/evening. Found some of the local shopping venues for future reference (always good to know where the food is....etc). And since my ID from UAF gets me free bus rides on the local mass transit, why not take advantage of it and go nosing ? Need to walk the rest of campus soon. I don't want to get into the feeling that "Here is Wick (my dorm). Here is the Fine Arts Complex and library. Here is the student center....that's it. That is my world." I'm here to do more stretching than that.
Well, insomnia got me up some while ago. And I got some stuff done. And now that the sun is up (tho' slightly concealed by fog and drizzle) I really should get along with the day. More later.
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