I'm sitting in the Villa and the sun has just set. The doors are rattling and banging from the howling winds outside. A storm is imminent. It's a good night.
I just got back from Firenze and a wine tasting in downtown Arezzo. A few of us meandered through the streets at dusk to find some food and rest. We found a quaint hole in the wall, something common in the cobble stoned Tuscan streets, and enjoyed a Tuscan meal. That was today, but I suppose I have some catching up to do.
The program is just as intense, confusing, and rewarding. Last weekend I traveled to Venice with a few film students, a couple of dancers, and my roommate. We booked an amazing hostel in central Venice, or at least it felt central. It was an old Renaissance building, and one of the floors was converted into a hostel. We met all kinds of people from all kinds of places. Venice was thrilling. St. Marks Square was breathtaking, the cathedral was beautiful. We all went to Lido, a beach not far from St. Marks, and experienced our first European "nudity optional" beach. Some liked it more than others... Our second day there we went to the Guggenheim museum and I actually got to see Calder! There were a lot of amazing paintings and sculptures but for some reason I remember Calder's "The Mobile." I still can't believe I saw it... But my favorite piece was a Dali painting. It was a little untitled one, but precious to me nonetheless.
This weekend, I'll allow, I went to Firenze which is apparently Florence (yea...). But before I discuss that I must interject that I had my first Italian ghost party Thursday night. Ghost parties take place in remote locations (in this case an abandoned villa) and go on until the wee morning hours. This one was complete with a bar, some sick lighting effects, insanely awesome music, and interesting individuals. It was something to behold for sure, and the Accademia kids had a blast. But back to Florence. I saw statues of Galileo and Machiavelli, and saw the Medici palaces. I went to the Boboli gardens and saw the clothes the ancient Medicis wore. I saw endless sculptures and paintings from all kinds of artists. I even saw another Dali, which was awesome. I saw the copy of the David, and I definitely plan to see the real thing next weekend. Florence and no David makes no sense.
So, personal recap: I'm exhausted, and getting broke, but I'm having a good time. The festival fastly approaches, as does the medieval joust that the Aretians take part in every summer. My last week here will be spent entertaining the people of Italy and volunteering in the Festival. I'll get to meet and work with artists all over the world who will be staying in the villa with us. It's a wonderful experience to be had. I miss my family and my friends....and I miss Matt, but one such as me travels Europe rarely so I try not to get too homesick. On a personal note: the next country I visit, I WILL have learned the language beforehand. Et, Je pense...c'est tout!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
what comes after the foundation..
So I guess I'll try to talk a little bit about what I do here, that is if I can put it in words...
I can't get over waking up and opening the shutters to see a Tuscan countryside. There is no central air and yet the villa stays cool, warm even. The villa feels as ancient as Italy, and my mind boggles to consider that its older than the established United States of America.
My instructors are brilliant. Every morning the students wake up around 8am for breakfast and warm-ups. Warm ups are lead by the dance instructor who, through a series of stretches and movements, shows us how to lengthen our spine, strengthen our core, and "air-out" our hip sockets. After warm-ups we split up into our respective concentrations: the theatre students go to the Teatrino, the dancers go to the Sala Danza, and the film students occupy a Godiola studio.
As soon as we enter the Teatrino in the morning we turn to face the three open windows that look out over the hills of Tuscany and the town of Arezzo, and our instructor Daniel leads us in our four sun salutations. Yep. It's amazing.
After two hours of working tirelessly to conceptualize the intricacies of theatrical art, we break for lunch. And after lunch we are at it again for another two hours. To sum up, we are reworking our vocabulary to change how we view the craft of theatre. We are sensing, articulating, experimenting, sharing, watching, seeing, viewing, repeating, and exploring. Daniel best explained it in the words of Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an art it is a habit." And so we are creating habit....it's very exhausting.
After dinner we perform in the studio for two hours to rehearse and practice what we did in class, then we socialize in the common rooms, and most of us go to bed. Susannah and I usually stay up to talk a little bit and marvel at our fluctuating emotions and frustrations. Sometimes we have interesting moments....this morning we woke up to find two spiders situated over our beds and Susannah swore they were our good luck signs. I thought it was a remarkable mundanity.
...I'm noticing more and more with this work that my eyes are opening to the world around me and I'm seeing a lot of things for the first time.
I can't get over waking up and opening the shutters to see a Tuscan countryside. There is no central air and yet the villa stays cool, warm even. The villa feels as ancient as Italy, and my mind boggles to consider that its older than the established United States of America.
My instructors are brilliant. Every morning the students wake up around 8am for breakfast and warm-ups. Warm ups are lead by the dance instructor who, through a series of stretches and movements, shows us how to lengthen our spine, strengthen our core, and "air-out" our hip sockets. After warm-ups we split up into our respective concentrations: the theatre students go to the Teatrino, the dancers go to the Sala Danza, and the film students occupy a Godiola studio.
As soon as we enter the Teatrino in the morning we turn to face the three open windows that look out over the hills of Tuscany and the town of Arezzo, and our instructor Daniel leads us in our four sun salutations. Yep. It's amazing.
After two hours of working tirelessly to conceptualize the intricacies of theatrical art, we break for lunch. And after lunch we are at it again for another two hours. To sum up, we are reworking our vocabulary to change how we view the craft of theatre. We are sensing, articulating, experimenting, sharing, watching, seeing, viewing, repeating, and exploring. Daniel best explained it in the words of Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an art it is a habit." And so we are creating habit....it's very exhausting.
After dinner we perform in the studio for two hours to rehearse and practice what we did in class, then we socialize in the common rooms, and most of us go to bed. Susannah and I usually stay up to talk a little bit and marvel at our fluctuating emotions and frustrations. Sometimes we have interesting moments....this morning we woke up to find two spiders situated over our beds and Susannah swore they were our good luck signs. I thought it was a remarkable mundanity.
...I'm noticing more and more with this work that my eyes are opening to the world around me and I'm seeing a lot of things for the first time.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
ADA - part II
Arrival.
Once I arrived at the Villa my day technically began. After I got settled into my room I ran to the shower to wash the discomfort, frustration, and travel dirt from my aura and greeted the space I was allowed to occupy for the next five weeks. As soon as I made it to my destination I wanted to go home. I was amazed at how strongly I felt about it.
I met everyone and was surprised at how quickly we all became acquainted. I can't believe I knew everyone's name before day two. That first night was crazy; we all went down to Arezzo to drown out the day. A few of us stayed out until 4am, despite the pressing need we all felt to sleep, the rest of us went back to the Villa to sleep in preparation for the next day. Orientation.
The next day brought tours and information sessions. We toured the Villa and saw the spaces each of us would be working in. We walked Arezzo under the guidance of our resident Aretian, Monica. We saw the Duomo, Arezzo's cathedral and learned about Arezzo's history. It's a beautiful place. Unfortunately, I was too busy staring at all the locals and stucco houses and restaurants to hear most of what Monica was saying, but I did pay attention in certain places. The cathedral, for example, is home to a series of paintings by Piero Della Francesca. The series depicts Emperor Constantine's dream of the cross before his great battle; it was glorious. We also toured the park and I was thrilled to find a statue of Petrarch, who was supposedly from Arezzo. You just can't beat that. At the close of the trip I slumped into a chair at a local cafe with a fellow student and chatted with a few of the instructors who were sitting down to drinks. It was blissful exhaustion.
These people are amazing and I have so much to learn, and so much I've learned already. The first day of classes was intense, but presented me with more opportunity than I thought possible...
Once I arrived at the Villa my day technically began. After I got settled into my room I ran to the shower to wash the discomfort, frustration, and travel dirt from my aura and greeted the space I was allowed to occupy for the next five weeks. As soon as I made it to my destination I wanted to go home. I was amazed at how strongly I felt about it.
I met everyone and was surprised at how quickly we all became acquainted. I can't believe I knew everyone's name before day two. That first night was crazy; we all went down to Arezzo to drown out the day. A few of us stayed out until 4am, despite the pressing need we all felt to sleep, the rest of us went back to the Villa to sleep in preparation for the next day. Orientation.
The next day brought tours and information sessions. We toured the Villa and saw the spaces each of us would be working in. We walked Arezzo under the guidance of our resident Aretian, Monica. We saw the Duomo, Arezzo's cathedral and learned about Arezzo's history. It's a beautiful place. Unfortunately, I was too busy staring at all the locals and stucco houses and restaurants to hear most of what Monica was saying, but I did pay attention in certain places. The cathedral, for example, is home to a series of paintings by Piero Della Francesca. The series depicts Emperor Constantine's dream of the cross before his great battle; it was glorious. We also toured the park and I was thrilled to find a statue of Petrarch, who was supposedly from Arezzo. You just can't beat that. At the close of the trip I slumped into a chair at a local cafe with a fellow student and chatted with a few of the instructors who were sitting down to drinks. It was blissful exhaustion.
These people are amazing and I have so much to learn, and so much I've learned already. The first day of classes was intense, but presented me with more opportunity than I thought possible...
Monday, May 18, 2009
ADA - part I
Intensity.
The Accademia dell'arte is a 14th century villa atop the town of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. Yep...it is bellisimo, but traveling to it was probably the most grueling and adventurous activity I've ever engaged in. I guess I'll start from the beggining.
Traveling to Italy checked off a lot of firsts for me: first flight, first train ride, first taxi ride, first foreign excursion, first time being completely alone and cut off from the world that I know. I left my parents outside of security in Charlotte Douglas International and snaked my way to my flight to Washington Dulles. On the plane I sat next to an Indian man dressed in a business suit who I fancied was terrified of the window because he got up to let me sit next to it; I was glad for it though. I couldn't help feeling sick as I stared out of the window of the plane as it climbed thousands of feet into the sky. From the bird's eye, everything looks so insignificant.
From Washington I found my flight to Rome and waited for a couple of hours for it to board.
Funnily enough I sat in between two Italian women: an elderly one and a young one. I talked with them until our sections were called. I had a middle seat in the economy cabin, which is a simple way of saying I didn't sleep at all over the 8 hour flight.
The most interesting adventure occurred after I cleared customs and scrambled through passport control and baggage claim. On my way to the train I met an American guy that I recognized from my flight and figured I'd ask him where he was headed because traveling alone was getting old. He thought that my inability to relax and wheel my luggage skillfully was hilarious but he helped me find where I needed to go and we shared a train to Roma Termini. Roma Termini, on the other hand, was lonely, big, and miserable. I attempted to find my connecting train to Arezzo which proved to be a bust. I walked hopelessly up and down the wrong railway for hours, asking Italians if they spoke English and having mini panic attacks along the way. By this point I was exhausted and just wanted to get to the Villa so I decided to use Sheryl's phone she gave me and call one of ADA's emergency numbers. Somehow, some way I ended up finding the train I needed to take....
I remember standing between two platforms trying to decide whether of not I wanted to accept that this was indeed the magical train that would lead me to a bed, when a railway worker approached me and asked me something in Italian. We then proceeded to try to communicate with one another over whether or not this was indeed my train. I finally decided it was and went to sit in a compartment 2 hours before its scheduled leaving time, staring blankly out the window. The Italian man walked up, saw me sitting there alone and looking disgruntled, stared back and motioned for me to come outside so I stood up, exasperated, and figured I might as well wait outside. I'd seen him smoking earlier and decided I was going to bum a cigarette if it was the last thing I ever did. So I sat down and smoked as he asked for my name in broken English.
Once I got on the train I felt a little better, but for two hours I doubted whether or not my train was going to Arezzo after all. Eventually it did and I bounded out of it after an Italian couple (mostly because I couldn't figure how to work the train's door by myself). I lugged my suitcase and carry-ons up three flights of stairs out to exit the train station, praying that the taxi the ADA called was there, which it was. The driver threw my luggage in the back, I got in, and he drove me to the villa like a mad man, weaving through traffic seamlessly. He dropped me off outside of the yellow stucco building and I thought my heart would fail on the spot. I can't remember a time when I felt so much relief.
That would be part of day one...the journey took almost two days, but the end of it marks the beginning of villa life.
The Accademia dell'arte is a 14th century villa atop the town of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. Yep...it is bellisimo, but traveling to it was probably the most grueling and adventurous activity I've ever engaged in. I guess I'll start from the beggining.
Traveling to Italy checked off a lot of firsts for me: first flight, first train ride, first taxi ride, first foreign excursion, first time being completely alone and cut off from the world that I know. I left my parents outside of security in Charlotte Douglas International and snaked my way to my flight to Washington Dulles. On the plane I sat next to an Indian man dressed in a business suit who I fancied was terrified of the window because he got up to let me sit next to it; I was glad for it though. I couldn't help feeling sick as I stared out of the window of the plane as it climbed thousands of feet into the sky. From the bird's eye, everything looks so insignificant.
From Washington I found my flight to Rome and waited for a couple of hours for it to board.
Funnily enough I sat in between two Italian women: an elderly one and a young one. I talked with them until our sections were called. I had a middle seat in the economy cabin, which is a simple way of saying I didn't sleep at all over the 8 hour flight.
The most interesting adventure occurred after I cleared customs and scrambled through passport control and baggage claim. On my way to the train I met an American guy that I recognized from my flight and figured I'd ask him where he was headed because traveling alone was getting old. He thought that my inability to relax and wheel my luggage skillfully was hilarious but he helped me find where I needed to go and we shared a train to Roma Termini. Roma Termini, on the other hand, was lonely, big, and miserable. I attempted to find my connecting train to Arezzo which proved to be a bust. I walked hopelessly up and down the wrong railway for hours, asking Italians if they spoke English and having mini panic attacks along the way. By this point I was exhausted and just wanted to get to the Villa so I decided to use Sheryl's phone she gave me and call one of ADA's emergency numbers. Somehow, some way I ended up finding the train I needed to take....
I remember standing between two platforms trying to decide whether of not I wanted to accept that this was indeed the magical train that would lead me to a bed, when a railway worker approached me and asked me something in Italian. We then proceeded to try to communicate with one another over whether or not this was indeed my train. I finally decided it was and went to sit in a compartment 2 hours before its scheduled leaving time, staring blankly out the window. The Italian man walked up, saw me sitting there alone and looking disgruntled, stared back and motioned for me to come outside so I stood up, exasperated, and figured I might as well wait outside. I'd seen him smoking earlier and decided I was going to bum a cigarette if it was the last thing I ever did. So I sat down and smoked as he asked for my name in broken English.
Once I got on the train I felt a little better, but for two hours I doubted whether or not my train was going to Arezzo after all. Eventually it did and I bounded out of it after an Italian couple (mostly because I couldn't figure how to work the train's door by myself). I lugged my suitcase and carry-ons up three flights of stairs out to exit the train station, praying that the taxi the ADA called was there, which it was. The driver threw my luggage in the back, I got in, and he drove me to the villa like a mad man, weaving through traffic seamlessly. He dropped me off outside of the yellow stucco building and I thought my heart would fail on the spot. I can't remember a time when I felt so much relief.
That would be part of day one...the journey took almost two days, but the end of it marks the beginning of villa life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
