It is hard to believe that the musical Violet is actually opening this week! Wednesday the 7th through Sunday the 11th we will be putting on a show. Being the assistant stage manager has been an eye-opening experience. You never really know how much your backstage crew and managers do until you step into their shoes and try to fill them. I am doing my best to fill the massive pair of stage management shoes I have in front of me. Today is a big day for the play and for stage management. We are doing 10:00 to 10:00 today to add lights, sound, flys, and all of the other special affects the show has. It will be a lot of hurrying up and waiting but by the end of it, it will actually feel like a show. On Sunday we add the cast back into the element with new cues and possibly new spikes. And then the school week begins along with the struggle to balance a running show with the work of the week. If I can survive this weekend while also writing my essay on Robert Herrick—I think I can make it through the week. Wish me luck!! And come to the show!!!
Spring Break!
Spring Break is upon us, just one more week for studying and those pesky mid-terms. This semester has been wonderfully busy so far. While I write I have my major declaration forms in front of me ready to be filled out and turned in. I will officially be a double major in English with a concentration in creative writing, and history. I am looking forward to declaring my majors – knowing that it is official.
The musical Violet has already come so far! We are officially on the 8-foot rake! For those of you who aren’t theater savvy and don’t know, a rake is a gradual incline, like a drive way. So our rake at the very top is eight feet and then it steadily declines as you go down stage towards the audience. The stage is really amazing; it forces the actors to make interesting choices. There are several more surprises coming in the set alone. I am really excited for this week’s rehearsals because we will be running all of Act II for the first time. We have reached the point in the show that all of the bits and pieces of work are starting to come together and make sense.
I have also had fun acting this semester! Heidi’s thesis, “The Smell of the Kill,” is coming along great. While we are only able to rehearse on Saturdays, we have come very far in our rehearsals. Also, we are almost off book for the first half of the play — which is amazing considering we are not rehearsing every day. We have production meetings on Fridays and hearing how the other aspects of the show are growing and expanding makes me want to work even harder. Heidi has gathered an amazing and talented group of women around her. The heads of the publicity have also made a blog for “The Smell of the Kill.” When the blog is up and running I will share a link, so you all can follow our process!
While the theater has been slowly but surely claiming more of my days I have also had a very fun semester so far academically. This semester is expanding my horizons. On a small scale I have stepped out of my American History comfort zone and I am taking a class on the Ancient Greeks. I hope that I will eventually get all of the names straight; however, even with the confusing Greek names I am enjoying this new field of study. On a larger scale I am taking a science class this semester. I will say that while science is all Greek to me, I am having fun learning about the way women are differently affected in health issues. For instance did you know that heart diseases are the number one killer of women, and that detecting a heart attack is different for women than it is for men? I found this fact to be very interesting especially when I found out that for a long time the medical research was only being performed on white males. Now the research has been opened cross-race and gender, and scientists are finding out interesting and life saving facts about the differences between men and women.
Well, that should be enough procrastination for me. I should now get back to studying so this Thursday I can fly back home for break!
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February
It is unbelievable how fast this month has gone by. Spring semester is finally in full swing! It started off slow with several snow days, but we are finally underway. This semester is proving to be a busy but wonderful one. I feel honored to say that this semester I am helping my friend Heidi Hostetler with her two honor theses! She is a double major in film and theatre. For her film thesis she is making a 20-minute film and for her theatre thesis she is directing and producing a full length play. The play, Smell of the Kill by Michele Lowe, is a dark comedy about three women who are faced with the difficult decision of what to do with their awful husbands, when the men accidentally lock themselves in a meat locker. This wickedly smart play brings life and takes these three women who are seemingly stock characters and gives them depth. I am playing the character of Molly in this piece. Molly’s husband Danny is stalking her, obsessively having her call him every two hours. However much Danny shows Molly his “love”, he will not have sex with her, which complicates Molly’s dreams of having a houseful of children. The other two women, Nicky and Debra, have equally intriguing and complicated relationships with their husbands. So far rehearsals have been great. I am thrilled to be a part of Heidi’s process. Her film has also been an adventure. Eventually this semester I will also playing a small role in her film, however thus far I have been happy to help as her crew. The weekend before spring semester officially started we drove down to North Carolina to film the house sequences. It was a great weekend, even though we did get snowed in an extra day! I took lots of pictures for Heidi and so you all could enjoy the process as well!
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Berlin!
This January I was fortunate enough to travel with Professor Phillips for a class studying the history and culture of a city reunified: Berlin! This being my first time out of the country I was excited to see and try everything. This was a trip of several firsts, I saw my first opera, watched my first ballet, and saw ancient artifacts I thought I would never see in person.
Over the fourteen days I spent in Berlin I was able to do and see so many things I thought I would make a list of all of my favorite things:
1. Museum Island: The day we visited Museum Island stands out clearly as one of my favorite days. The first museum we visited, the Neues Museum, was four floors filled with amazing ancient artifacts. I loved the statues from ancient Greece, as well as the family portraits in sculpture form of ancient Egyptians. It was also fabulous to see real sarcophaguses. I was blown away by the intricate stone work and the fact that several of the sarcophaguses had written stories inside. The Neues Museum had artifacts going back even farther than the ancient Egyptians as the top floor was dedicated to ice age artifacts. The stone tools, arrows, and knives still looked functional after all of this time. However by far the high light of this museum was the bust of Nefertiti. Pictures do not do the bust justice. In person she looks so regal and life like, her mouth looks as if it is poised to smile or speak and her features are fierce. I was blown away by the majestic quality that has been maintained for more than 3,000 years. The next museum we visited was quiet the contrast to the Neues Museum; unlike the Neues Museum with its focus on smaller more personal artifacts the Pergamon Museum astounds its visitors with sheer size of its three main exhibits, the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Isthar Gate. These three massive structures dominate the museum’s features and made me realize just how powerful these ancient cultures were. However, as amazed these structures made me, I enjoyed the section in the Pergamon that focused on the statues and the pottery of the ancient Greeks. Looking at the statues was much like looking in the face of a person who lived thousands of years ago. This day at the museums exceeding any and all expectations I had for my trip to Berlin.
2. The East Side Gallery: On one of our free mornings Frau Hassel invited some of us to visit the East Side Gallery with her. This is the longest strip of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. Interestingly enough, the West Side of the wall with the original graffiti and art from the time when the wall was standing had all been painted over white. Meanwhile the East Side of the wall, which average citizens weren’t permitted to approach and let alone paint has been painted by artists from around the world. The artwork on the wall depicts freedom, acceptance, and renderings of historical events. I believe the artwork speaks for itself:
3. On a much sadder but necessary note, Track 17 and Sachsenhausen: The Germans have two words for memorials, Denkmal which commemorates something, and Mahnmal which warns and serves as a painful reminder. The Holocaust is classified as a Mahnmal. I cannot begin to explain the significance of the two days we visited these historical places. These days were difficult but necessary, and though I became overwhelmed by the emotions and personal ties in the situation I am thankful for the experience.
4. The Reichstag: The Reichstag is where the German parliament sits. The building has a glass dome on top to represent the transparency of the government. Walking up the glass dome and looking out at Berlin was an experience all in its own, but add in the center piece that looks similar to a mirrored sculpture of a tornado that shows glimpses of the seats of parliament and the audio guide with facts about Berlin and you have the full experience of the Reichstag. This was a perfect mix or structural beauty and information. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Berlin and was scheduled to meet with the German Parliament later the same day we were visiting the Reichstag. The coincidence was very neat, but unfortunately we were unable to stay to watch the meeting as it was closed to the public. However, it was also very neat to watch the Polizei prepare for the event; my friend Randi and I counted 7 Polizei on roofs around the Reichstag look for snipers.
5. Performances: I am bundling these together because I am unable to put one over the any other. The first performance we saw was the opera Tosca. Even though I did not understand the exact words they were singing, I was still able to feel for the characters and know the basics of the scene. The music of the opera was so powerful and moving. It was honestly such an amazing experience; I feel blessed that I was able to watch an opera in Germany. Another significant performance, that was also a personal first, was the ballet. The ballet used the music of Tarkovsky and the dancers dramatized scenes from Tarkovsky’s life. The ballet was so moving and absolutely enthralling. I know that this performance has giving me a life-long passion for ballets and a respect for the dancers. This was a phenomenal performance. Later on in the trip we were all lucky enough to go to a different kind of dance performance that was more modern. I loved this performance. My favorite dance was one with a musician on stage playing her cello while the two sets of dancers worked within the space that seemed to mock home life. I thought their movements were beautiful and that they were able to capture such truth in the movements of their bodies. The performances did not stop there! We were able to see some amazing musical performances at the Berlin Philharmonic. We watched the Ladies Orchestra perform their fun yet American music. I enjoyed the performance but it is not my favorite musical performance. Another performance was the chamber orchestra. This smaller orchestra featured some more classic works of well known composers and then in the middle of their performance they had a piece by a new composer that was something classified as “sound art”. This music was definitely an acquired taste but I did enjoy learning about this new style of music. Overall the performances added so much to my experience in Berlin. I learned so much about the culture of a Berlin audience (they will clap for 30 plus minutes if they believe the performers did a good job), and at the same time I was able to open my artistic horizons and enjoy some truly amazing performances.
6. The Jewish Museum: This museum was possibly one of my favorite museums. The building was both spectacular and meaningful. The sharp cuts and small windows, all leading to the Memory Voids, set a tone that paralleled the tremulous history of Jewish people in Germany. The museum was so full of information; the listening tour had over one hundred different sound clips full of information. However, even with this overwhelming amount of information the structure and set up of the museum made it possible to enjoy and learn. I thought this was a fabulous and interesting museum.
7. The Aquarium: Unfortunately because of the cold we were unable to tour the Berlin Zoo, which was one of the first zoos to give the animals habitats instead of cages. However, we were able to visit the aquarium which was fantastic! It was so much fun exploring and seeing all of the creatures of the deep. They had it set up so you could see on a map where you would find the species in each tank. Also in a very dark corner they had a tank set up like the pitch black deeper part of the ocean. In this tank they had fish that made their own, very dim, light and lived in this part of the ocean. It was frightening. Overall though the aquarium was a great experience, that I enjoyed thoroughly.
Though there is so much more that I was able to experience and that I enjoyed I will leave you there! I attached a PowerPoint on the link below that has pictures and excerpts from my journal. Also there are a few pictures below! Enjoy!
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It is hard to believe that fall semester has already come and gone. It has been a whirlwind of semester: from First Step and Tinker Day, to the fall play and the Ten Minute Play Festival, as well as classes and finally the stressful yet rewarded finals week. Fall semester showed me how wonderful Hollins can be.
First Step was a beautiful yet sad day, as I watched several of my close friends take their first step onto front quad and officially become the senior class. It was great to watch them triumphantly celebrate by spraying the grass and each other with their sparkling cider or champagne in their creatively decorated robes. Though the celebration was tremendous, there was a tinge of sadness that hung in the air beside the laughter and smiles as I realized that the seniors who last year filled Hollins with their great spirits and wisdom had now moved on and all too soon my friends would be following them at the end of this year. It is a sad thought that they will be moving on, leaving Hollins behind, but exciting all the same to see what they will accomplish. I know that these are great women with stupendous potential and that wherever they go they will carry with them the Hollins spirit and do great things.
I have had fun growing closer to these friends and others this past semester. Hollins is certainly a place that brings people together and can create friendships that I know will last a lifetime. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and at Hollins our pudding is Tinker Day. Tinker Day is a celebration of each other, the spirit of Hollins, and the great mountain Goddess of years passed. I was thrilled to climb the mountain for the second year in a row although I had forgotten how steep and long of a climb it actually is. But the difficult climb is definitely worth the reward at the top! As each class sang to each other, and then we continued upward to be served fried chicken and Tinker Cake by the amazing seniors, I was reminded of the sisterhood that Hollins really stands for. The traditions and the overall atmosphere at Hollins promotes the sisterhood that is a huge part of the Hollins experience. I am lucky to have a great support net here, built up of great, intelligent, hilarious, and strong women: my wonderful Hollins Sisters. Another instance of the sisterhood happened when I was quarantined this semester with the flu, not only was I well taken care of my Hollins Sisters, but I was included. I was unfortunate enough to be sick over another one of Hollins’ great traditions: Ring Night. I was especially disappointed because I was in line to be a helper for some of my close senior and junior friends. However, my friends were there to make sure I felt included, and some of the seniors made a demand for their junior sisters to perform a 5-minute musical version of Dead Man’s Cell Phone outside my window. It was wonderful, and I am so grateful that I was somehow able to be involved.
Aside from the fun traditions, fall semester was a busy one in and out of class. Out of class I was involved in the fall production of Dead Man’s Cell Phone, which was the play the first year students read over the summer. It was exciting bringing life to this off-beat comedy, as well as working with my fellow classmates and Professor Ernest Zulia, who is a fabulous director. I am looking forward to working with him again this spring semester for the musical, Violet, where I will be working as an assistant stage manager. I was also fortunate enough to act in the Ten Minute Play Festival, which was sponsored by APO (the theater honor society) and was the first time in several years that a show was put on completely by the students. Along with balancing theater I was also happy to be involved in STAND (the anti-genocide group on campus), Senate, and the start of the JSA (Jewish Students Alliance). It was a great semester and it promises to be and even better spring semester, with the spring musical and the growth and projects hosted by the other clubs I am involved in.
Most importantly perhaps was how wonderful this past semester was academically. I have not officially declared my majors yet, but I am looking at English with a concentration in Creative Writing and History. Much of my fall semester was spent working on my term paper for my Antebellum U.S. class. It was about how slaves were affected by the introduction of agricultural innovations, but before I could tackle that subject I had to prove that agricultural innovations were being used on the plantation at all. This was a hefty topic, and I had so much fun finding and using my primary and secondary resources. I was also lucky to have at my disposal copies of Debow’s Review in the Hollins archives. The archives at Hollins are full of so much information and there is so much at our disposal whether you are researching Hollins traditions and history or agricultural practices in the antebellum period. It was an exciting semester for me and I am thrilled with how everything turned out as well as looking forward to next semester.
Fall semester flew by, just as winter break did, and I am sure J-Term will. This J-term I am a part of the Berlin class. I am very excited to be traveling to Berlin for January, though nervous as well as I have never been out of the country before. However, I am sure it will be a great trip, and I am very eager to go and immerse myself in the German culture and learn more about Berlin.
Anyway, here are some photos from this semester. Enjoy!
This is Heidi giving Sandusky one of the infamous Tinker Scares
Eating and singing the morning of Tinker Day!
Kat and Susie celebrating Tinker Day in their outfits
President Gray making the official announcement that it is Tinker Day
The Sophomore Class!
The Seniors with the Spirit Stick
Here are some photos from the HOP (Hollins Outdoor Program) day hike to Mount Pleasant! This was a ton of fun and I love that Hollins has so many opportunities for its students to explore the Virginia wilderness.
On the Trail
Eating lunch at the top!
Tiffany taking in the view
Madeleine getting ready to help me down the boulder
Here are a few photos from getting ready to go to Fall Formal:
Emma curling Lianne's hair
Emma, me, and Lianne ready for our night on the dance floor!
And finally, I will leave you with a few photos from the Sandusky’s Bake Off. Sandusky is the community service house I live in; residents put in ten hours of community service and host events every semester such as this bake-off. For this event, students baked goods for a competition, the judges were some local fire fighters as well as one professor and the manager of our dining hall. The food not eaten was given to the local fire department as a token of appreciation. This was a ton of fun, and we might try to host another one either next semester or next year.
A few judges went back for seconds!
Roanoke Firefighters and judges with the Sandusky residents and a few of the students who entered food
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Kylie: Hollins Abroad-London student at Hollins University
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