Showing posts with label Arezzo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arezzo. Show all posts
22 June 2008
Italy re-post
As part of the new getting-to-know-your-new-blog exercise, I'm going to repost and re-organize my Italy posts here. I'm going to time-stamp them more appropriately as well. Scroll down for fun Italian adventures!
18 June 2008
Italy 08: Day 7, part 4
6.47pm, EST
I'm back in the states now, having just landed from Rome. I bought some food at duty-free, so when I was filling out my customs form, I indicated that I was bringing food into the country. Of course, that then started a whole host of special attention. I got scanned at customs and again as I passed into the domestic terminals. I've got about 45 minutes before my plane to Minneapolis boards, so I'm grabbing some dinner. I've already talked to Sarah and have texted with Denise. Whee!
I'm back in the states now, having just landed from Rome. I bought some food at duty-free, so when I was filling out my customs form, I indicated that I was bringing food into the country. Of course, that then started a whole host of special attention. I got scanned at customs and again as I passed into the domestic terminals. I've got about 45 minutes before my plane to Minneapolis boards, so I'm grabbing some dinner. I've already talked to Sarah and have texted with Denise. Whee!
Italy 08: Day 7, part 3
Somewhere over the Atlantic...
All told, I've had a tremendous time this week. I went into this project with some big questions. Can we assemble a show with three days of rehearsal? Can we do it with the vast majority of our performers being foreign to us? Can we teach those performers clown technique sufficiently enough that the play can be performed in nose? Can I create a design that quickly? Can I perform it by myself? Can I still maintain significant levels of improvisation and spontaneity when performing the design? Did the preparation and programming I did in CA pay off in the end? All of the answers to these questions are, more or less, 'yes.' We used this project to conduct some very interesting theatrical experiments, and we're already talking about the next stage of these experiments.
In addition, I had a great time hanging with the UCI folk and meeting the international folk. The bulk of our clown troupe came from Trinity College of Dublin, and we were blessed to have such a strong group of well-trained and cohesive folk to work with. The fact that they had spent so much time training together meant that they already worked well as a team, and they were able to use that to help keep the entire troupe working as one organism. And, as you might imagine, they are a tremendously friendly and wonderful bunch of people and they know how to spend time at the bar (it's their fault that I only got two hours of sleep last night). So, cheers to them, our Italian, Hungarian, and American clowns, the staff & crew at the Festival & the Academie, and everyone else who put in the long hours to create such an incredible experience!
All told, I've had a tremendous time this week. I went into this project with some big questions. Can we assemble a show with three days of rehearsal? Can we do it with the vast majority of our performers being foreign to us? Can we teach those performers clown technique sufficiently enough that the play can be performed in nose? Can I create a design that quickly? Can I perform it by myself? Can I still maintain significant levels of improvisation and spontaneity when performing the design? Did the preparation and programming I did in CA pay off in the end? All of the answers to these questions are, more or less, 'yes.' We used this project to conduct some very interesting theatrical experiments, and we're already talking about the next stage of these experiments.
In addition, I had a great time hanging with the UCI folk and meeting the international folk. The bulk of our clown troupe came from Trinity College of Dublin, and we were blessed to have such a strong group of well-trained and cohesive folk to work with. The fact that they had spent so much time training together meant that they already worked well as a team, and they were able to use that to help keep the entire troupe working as one organism. And, as you might imagine, they are a tremendously friendly and wonderful bunch of people and they know how to spend time at the bar (it's their fault that I only got two hours of sleep last night). So, cheers to them, our Italian, Hungarian, and American clowns, the staff & crew at the Festival & the Academie, and everyone else who put in the long hours to create such an incredible experience!
Italy 08: Day 7, part 2
HEADING HOME
First, here are some shots from the morning of 17 June, our performance day, just so you can get some perspective of what our show sort of looked like in the morning and afternoon:
Here's Giusi, whose role was sort of amorphous but who basically served as a festival production manager. She's holding Michael's Bill doll, who is, appropriately, in nose:
Rehearsal onstage:
Rehearsing the don't-push-the-button sequence from the show:
Notes after the run:
Where my set-up was, relative to the stage:
Here's Jaymi, writing cues during our lunch break. I'm still not sure how she did it in sunlight:
Shortly after I blogged yesterday, the rain started coming down. We had taken many precautions with the equipment (canopy, rain shields, plastic paint coverings), so I wasn't worried about the equipment getting damaged. I was, however, worried about the show. If it was raining, we certainly could not perform outside.
I spent the afternoon at the antifeatro, babysitting my gear from both the elements and thieves (you never know). Cambria, Benny, and I amused ourselves by playing Scopa. At 5.30, one of the festival directors came over to talk about whether we should cancel or not. Eli wasn't around, so we decided to reconvene at 7pm to discuss our 9pm show. The director came back a few minutes later with an alternate plan: the weather report said that the rain would let up by 8pm, so we would reconvene at 8.00 to figure out whether we could do the show in the antifeatro. If we chose to abandon the antifeatro, we would have access to the academie to perform. They had a small rehearsal hall that we could use. We'd have to restage a bit and perform without Jaymi's lighting design, but we would at least be able to perform.
Over the next hour, we watched the rain come down. We thought that we'd see breaks in the clouds, only to have the rain redouble its efforts at squashing our show. The group from Berlin that was scheduled to perform at 11pm had already cancelled their show, as they could not rehearse due to rain. Since we didn't have to finish in time to let the Berliners start, we decided that we could also delay the curtain to let the rain let up.
By 8.15, the rain was more intense and the sky was getting dark. Jaymi and I talked to Eli, who was helping the clowns get into whiteface, and we decided to move the show to the academie. Michael, Jaymi, and I immediately started breaking down our equipment, and a teacher at the academie started shuttling our 20-ish clowns to the academie from the antifeatro (a 7-minute drive or a 30-minute walk). Contrary to popular belief, you can not fit 20 clowns in one car, no matter how small.
When we got to the academie, the staff and students were already prepping our room for us. It was very live, so I asked students to bring in racks of costumes to absorb sound. They set up chairs, cleaned the floor, and tidied up a storage closet for a greenroom. Jaymi and Fiona taped down speaker cable:
I set up my gear. Michael and Holly were prepping softgoods and costume pieces. The last-minute rain-out and change of venue created a tremendous energy in the room. Here's our company moments before the house opens:
We opened the 'house' at about 9.40pm. It filled up in about 5 minutes, which was great considering that so many people had driven from Arezzo to the academie to see the show. Jaymi, instead of creating a beautiful and nuanced design, was in charge of the light switches. Eli filmed. I did what I do.
And it was incredible. From the very beginning of the show, when Benny and I forgot our interplay and improvised his awkward strip tease, to the birth of the clowns, to their death, resurrection, exodus, and landing on earth, the show was moving. It was funny, sad, weird, and immensely enjoyable. I was blown away by the experience of it, and everyone afterwards had great things to say.
Here's Fiona & Cambria after the show. Look at that excitement!
After the show, we packed up and zipped back to Arezzo. We had dinner at Mr. Bloom's, a local bar, which was packed with our people and Italians celebrating the soccer win. Here are two shots from the bar:
Dinner turned into some drinking and celebrating, and the short and the long is that Jaymi and I ended up getting about two hours sleep. We got home at 3.45am and got up at 5.45am. We caught the 7.14 express to Rome, had some breakfast, wandered town for a while, and then I caught the train to the airport. I'm sitting in the airport now as I write, waiting for my flight to JFK. From there, I'll get a flight to Minneapolis to see Sarah and friends!
First, here are some shots from the morning of 17 June, our performance day, just so you can get some perspective of what our show sort of looked like in the morning and afternoon:
Here's Giusi, whose role was sort of amorphous but who basically served as a festival production manager. She's holding Michael's Bill doll, who is, appropriately, in nose:
Rehearsal onstage:
Rehearsing the don't-push-the-button sequence from the show:
Notes after the run:
Where my set-up was, relative to the stage:
Here's Jaymi, writing cues during our lunch break. I'm still not sure how she did it in sunlight:
Shortly after I blogged yesterday, the rain started coming down. We had taken many precautions with the equipment (canopy, rain shields, plastic paint coverings), so I wasn't worried about the equipment getting damaged. I was, however, worried about the show. If it was raining, we certainly could not perform outside.
I spent the afternoon at the antifeatro, babysitting my gear from both the elements and thieves (you never know). Cambria, Benny, and I amused ourselves by playing Scopa. At 5.30, one of the festival directors came over to talk about whether we should cancel or not. Eli wasn't around, so we decided to reconvene at 7pm to discuss our 9pm show. The director came back a few minutes later with an alternate plan: the weather report said that the rain would let up by 8pm, so we would reconvene at 8.00 to figure out whether we could do the show in the antifeatro. If we chose to abandon the antifeatro, we would have access to the academie to perform. They had a small rehearsal hall that we could use. We'd have to restage a bit and perform without Jaymi's lighting design, but we would at least be able to perform.
Over the next hour, we watched the rain come down. We thought that we'd see breaks in the clouds, only to have the rain redouble its efforts at squashing our show. The group from Berlin that was scheduled to perform at 11pm had already cancelled their show, as they could not rehearse due to rain. Since we didn't have to finish in time to let the Berliners start, we decided that we could also delay the curtain to let the rain let up.
By 8.15, the rain was more intense and the sky was getting dark. Jaymi and I talked to Eli, who was helping the clowns get into whiteface, and we decided to move the show to the academie. Michael, Jaymi, and I immediately started breaking down our equipment, and a teacher at the academie started shuttling our 20-ish clowns to the academie from the antifeatro (a 7-minute drive or a 30-minute walk). Contrary to popular belief, you can not fit 20 clowns in one car, no matter how small.
When we got to the academie, the staff and students were already prepping our room for us. It was very live, so I asked students to bring in racks of costumes to absorb sound. They set up chairs, cleaned the floor, and tidied up a storage closet for a greenroom. Jaymi and Fiona taped down speaker cable:
I set up my gear. Michael and Holly were prepping softgoods and costume pieces. The last-minute rain-out and change of venue created a tremendous energy in the room. Here's our company moments before the house opens:
We opened the 'house' at about 9.40pm. It filled up in about 5 minutes, which was great considering that so many people had driven from Arezzo to the academie to see the show. Jaymi, instead of creating a beautiful and nuanced design, was in charge of the light switches. Eli filmed. I did what I do.
And it was incredible. From the very beginning of the show, when Benny and I forgot our interplay and improvised his awkward strip tease, to the birth of the clowns, to their death, resurrection, exodus, and landing on earth, the show was moving. It was funny, sad, weird, and immensely enjoyable. I was blown away by the experience of it, and everyone afterwards had great things to say.
Here's Fiona & Cambria after the show. Look at that excitement!
After the show, we packed up and zipped back to Arezzo. We had dinner at Mr. Bloom's, a local bar, which was packed with our people and Italians celebrating the soccer win. Here are two shots from the bar:
Dinner turned into some drinking and celebrating, and the short and the long is that Jaymi and I ended up getting about two hours sleep. We got home at 3.45am and got up at 5.45am. We caught the 7.14 express to Rome, had some breakfast, wandered town for a while, and then I caught the train to the airport. I'm sitting in the airport now as I write, waiting for my flight to JFK. From there, I'll get a flight to Minneapolis to see Sarah and friends!
Italy 08: Day 7
I have to run to catch the train, so I'll make this a brief, Arezzo Festival Haiku:
Rain, incessant rain.
Tried to ruin our clown show,
but we persevered.
It was spectacular. More later.
Rain, incessant rain.
Tried to ruin our clown show,
but we persevered.
It was spectacular. More later.
17 June 2008
Italy 08: Day 6
Again with the no sleep. Judging by my record and the fact that tonight is both our last night here and our only night of performance, I don't imagine I'll get much sleep tonight either. It's alright - I have a two hour train ride, followed by a 9-hour plane ride, followed by a 3-hour plane ride. I suppose I can get some sleep then.
Michael came by with the car at 9.20 this morning to load up the gear that Jaymi and I needed to bring to the antifeatro. When we got here, it took a while to set up. I needed an extra table and some covering at the FOH position. When I finally got set up, we had a spacing rehearsal, followed by a lunch break. The house techs here are all agog over the JazzMutant Lemur that I brought. On lunch, I stayed with the gear and did some more work.
This afternoon, we had a run-through. It went well, and after a few notes, Eli released the cast to get some rest in anticipation of tonight's show. All of my gear is set up in the space, where security is lax, so I'm staying around to make sure nothing walks away. Some of the other Californians are going to relieve me in a bit, so that I can do a little packing and maybe grab some dinner. It's 4pm now, and the show isn't until 9pm.
Oh, and the wind has blown clouds through. Now, the covering that was protecting my gear from the sun this morning is protecting my gear from the possible rain now. Michael has hung plastic sheets around my area of the canopy in case the rain comes. So far, so good. Knocking on wood.
Michael came by with the car at 9.20 this morning to load up the gear that Jaymi and I needed to bring to the antifeatro. When we got here, it took a while to set up. I needed an extra table and some covering at the FOH position. When I finally got set up, we had a spacing rehearsal, followed by a lunch break. The house techs here are all agog over the JazzMutant Lemur that I brought. On lunch, I stayed with the gear and did some more work.
This afternoon, we had a run-through. It went well, and after a few notes, Eli released the cast to get some rest in anticipation of tonight's show. All of my gear is set up in the space, where security is lax, so I'm staying around to make sure nothing walks away. Some of the other Californians are going to relieve me in a bit, so that I can do a little packing and maybe grab some dinner. It's 4pm now, and the show isn't until 9pm.
Oh, and the wind has blown clouds through. Now, the covering that was protecting my gear from the sun this morning is protecting my gear from the possible rain now. Michael has hung plastic sheets around my area of the canopy in case the rain comes. So far, so good. Knocking on wood.
Italy 08: Day 5, part 2
Last night was not as productive as I would have liked, on many levels. There was too much wind and traffic to get a good recording of the bells. The first show we saw at 6pm was a very well-done commedia piece in French, but as I'm not a commedia scholar and I don't speak French, I was bored. Jaymi and I went for dinner after, and we ended up missing the highlight of the evening, which was a Hungarian student dressed as a cowboy doing an impersonation of Elvis singing 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.' After that, we saw another American group perform, but it was pretty disappointing and offensive. At midnight, we began load-in for our show but since the other group loading in had a first-time lighting designer, we ended up getting nothing done. I left early to go back to my room to edit our preshow cues, finally crawling into bed at about 3am.
Today is our long day. It's 9 now. We have rehearsal from 10-5, and then a performance at 9. Wheee!
Today is our long day. It's 9 now. We have rehearsal from 10-5, and then a performance at 9. Wheee!
16 June 2008
Italy 08: Day 5
DAY 3 OF REHEARSAL
This morning came a little too early again (must stop trying to keep pace with 19-year old Irish students), but again, we were back in the hall for our last day of rehearsal with them. We added to the show some more and it's becoming quite interesting. We've got 30 minutes of useful material, which is saying something, considering that most of our clowns have never clowned before and we've only had about 11 hours of rehearsal with them.
Here are some photos from today's rehearsal.
We ran through the show a few times and then broke our rehearsal space down for the last time. After rehearsal, Eli, Jaymi, Holly, Michael, and I went for a late lunch. The restaurants were all closed (the Italian siesta), but we found one that would serve us. While we were eating, some of the Irish students joined us. Here's Holly's lovely Arugala & Gorgonzola pizza:
Now we're back at the B&B and taking a little downtime before the first of three shows tonight. I had to fix a couple of notes, but now I'm about to go out and record the bells in town. Then, off to the show, then dinner, then another show, then lighting focus! Will post more tonight, if I'm awake.
This morning came a little too early again (must stop trying to keep pace with 19-year old Irish students), but again, we were back in the hall for our last day of rehearsal with them. We added to the show some more and it's becoming quite interesting. We've got 30 minutes of useful material, which is saying something, considering that most of our clowns have never clowned before and we've only had about 11 hours of rehearsal with them.
Here are some photos from today's rehearsal.
We ran through the show a few times and then broke our rehearsal space down for the last time. After rehearsal, Eli, Jaymi, Holly, Michael, and I went for a late lunch. The restaurants were all closed (the Italian siesta), but we found one that would serve us. While we were eating, some of the Irish students joined us. Here's Holly's lovely Arugala & Gorgonzola pizza:
Now we're back at the B&B and taking a little downtime before the first of three shows tonight. I had to fix a couple of notes, but now I'm about to go out and record the bells in town. Then, off to the show, then dinner, then another show, then lighting focus! Will post more tonight, if I'm awake.
Italy 08: Day 4, part 2
Well, I set my alarm for 6.30, but apparently my body needed a rest. I woke up at 8.10 and missed meeting up with everyone else for dinner before the 9pm show. The 9pm show was great - it was a Swiss group, who did an entire piece about being a spectator at a play. It was done without voices, but with a lot of music (that the performers played). Also, they were great dancers. Truly an amazing piece of theatre.
The 11pm piece was also good, but in a different way. This was the group from Ireland, who did an ensemble piece about a Irish myth. The performances were good, but I got a little tired of the story after a while. Alas.
After the second show, we went with the Irish folk back to the bar. It's 3.15am, and we're just now getting to bed. Fortunately, I both had a nap today and don't have to be at the rehearsal hall at 8.15 tomorrow morning. Phew.
The 11pm piece was also good, but in a different way. This was the group from Ireland, who did an ensemble piece about a Irish myth. The performances were good, but I got a little tired of the story after a while. Alas.
After the second show, we went with the Irish folk back to the bar. It's 3.15am, and we're just now getting to bed. Fortunately, I both had a nap today and don't have to be at the rehearsal hall at 8.15 tomorrow morning. Phew.
15 June 2008
Italy 08: Day 4
DAY 2 OF REHEARSAL
The 7.15 alarm came too early this morning. Jaymi and I struggled to get ready after our night of revelry with the Irish. We were at the rehearsal hall by 8.15, ready to get set up for rehearsal. Rehearsal started at 9am, with a few more instances of the clown training that we did yesterday:
At 9.45, the Californians convened for a quick re-assessment of our casting. At 10am, the clowns came, and we divided them into specialty clowns, who would have a small role in the show but would also handle preshow work, elder clowns, who would be featured in the show, and those clowns that we could not fit into the show. We quickly got to work staging the show.
Here's our company:
The staging turned out surprisingly well. We explained the rough structure to the clowns, and then we went through the piece, element by element. Most of them were quick to pick up the idea, and they were both interesting to watch and responsive to my work. We had a great time, and by the end of rehearsal, we were able to do a rough run of the whole show. I was particularly surprised to see that many of the clowns that we elected to not use in the show stayed to watch our rehearsal.
After rehearsal, we grabbed lunch (pizza with sausage, artichoke, mushroom, and ham on different quarters) and then adjourned to a bar/gelateria called GREEDY BAR for a glass of limoncello and gelato (I had the pine nut). Mmmm. Here's Benny at lunch, talking with Lucy, an American student at the Academie and one of our company members:
As I write this, I'm taking a siesta before meeting the Californians for dinner at 7.30. We have shows to see at 9 and 11pm. Then, probably a drink or two before bed.
The 7.15 alarm came too early this morning. Jaymi and I struggled to get ready after our night of revelry with the Irish. We were at the rehearsal hall by 8.15, ready to get set up for rehearsal. Rehearsal started at 9am, with a few more instances of the clown training that we did yesterday:
At 9.45, the Californians convened for a quick re-assessment of our casting. At 10am, the clowns came, and we divided them into specialty clowns, who would have a small role in the show but would also handle preshow work, elder clowns, who would be featured in the show, and those clowns that we could not fit into the show. We quickly got to work staging the show.
Here's our company:
The staging turned out surprisingly well. We explained the rough structure to the clowns, and then we went through the piece, element by element. Most of them were quick to pick up the idea, and they were both interesting to watch and responsive to my work. We had a great time, and by the end of rehearsal, we were able to do a rough run of the whole show. I was particularly surprised to see that many of the clowns that we elected to not use in the show stayed to watch our rehearsal.
After rehearsal, we grabbed lunch (pizza with sausage, artichoke, mushroom, and ham on different quarters) and then adjourned to a bar/gelateria called GREEDY BAR for a glass of limoncello and gelato (I had the pine nut). Mmmm. Here's Benny at lunch, talking with Lucy, an American student at the Academie and one of our company members:
As I write this, I'm taking a siesta before meeting the Californians for dinner at 7.30. We have shows to see at 9 and 11pm. Then, probably a drink or two before bed.
Italy 08: Day 3
DAY 1 OF REHEARSAL
Last night, I finally slept well. I woke once, but immediately feel back asleep. When my alarm finally did go off (after almost eight glorious hours), I was in the middle of dreaming that I was on the phone with my sister. When my alarm went off, I said 'Denise, I have to go now. My alarm is going off, and it's time for me to get up.' We said a quick goodbye and I woke up. Thanks, Denise, for being so understanding.
Between when Jaymi and I walked up the hill last evening and when we got back last night, the other two rooms in the B&B had been filled. This morning, I ran into one English speaker (Irish? British?) in the bathroom and three eastern Europeans (Hungarians?) in the kitchen nook. All very pleasant, but we didn't talk much. The Hungarians and I don't share a language, and the English-speaking woman was scrambling to get out the door to an appointment.
Michael picked Jaymi and I up at 9.30am to take us to the rehearsal space. The hall was packed with artists - Holly, Michael, Jaymi, Cambria, Benny, Eli, me, and about 35 would-be clowns. Eli did an amazing job getting the actors to discover their inner clowns, and I played a big part in helping that happen. We worked with about 25 clowns in this fashion: Cambrian would call their name, and Benny would give them a pep talk while he helped them into nose. When they first emerged for the audience, Eli would give them some initial direction while I did a quick read of who they were. In about 45 or 60 seconds, I usually had a good enough idea to start throwing sound at them. 90% of the time, I was pretty dead on with the music or sound I used. Sometimes I'd use music pulled from CDs, sometimes I'd use my mic and voice, and sometimes I'd use the step sequencer that I built. We had an amazing afternoon, and I'm impressed at what Eli was able to pull out of them. Here are some shots of that the session:
An Irish clown:
An Italian clown:
Another Irish Clown:
Two more Italian clowns:
The class:
One of our favorite clowns of the day:
Me working:
After rehearsal, we scoped out the ampifeatro, which is a 1st century amphitheater in town. We'll be performing there next week. The space was smaller than I expected, but the sound gear is better. Phew. Here are the 1st century walls:
And Here is the stage:
Then, we went to lunch, where we more or less cast the show, had some good food, and played Scopa!
After lunch, Eli led Cambria, Benny, Jaymi and I through town...
...and the valley...
...and past an ancient Roman aquaduct...
...to the Academie, where he and Holly are staying. The Academie is an arts school loosely associated with the Festival. It's a 20 minute walk from downtown (here's the Arezzo church as seen from the Academie:
), and it's deep in the heart of Tuscany. Eli napped while the four of us hung out, and then we all caught a ride back with a Festival staffer.
Back in town, Jaymi and I chilled at the B&B with a bottle of wine while waiting for a meet up with Holly & Michael. Michael and Holly thought the meet-up time was different than we did, so we ended up not meeting with them. Instead, we met up with Cambria, Benny, and Eli at the ampifeatro. Along with the Californians, we meet up with the Irish folk, and we all went for dinner at a great Italian (natch) place. I had the tagliolini con tartufo nero, which was basically pasta with black mushrooms. Mmmmm.
Jaymi and I were invited to hang with the Irish students after dinner, so we decided to prove that we weren't stodgy by obliging them. Here's Irish student Fiona at the bar:
We stayed for a beer, but when the Irish students got up to leave the bar, we joined them. All in all, it was a great day, but now there's less than five hours before I have to be up tomorrow morning. Oops.
Last night, I finally slept well. I woke once, but immediately feel back asleep. When my alarm finally did go off (after almost eight glorious hours), I was in the middle of dreaming that I was on the phone with my sister. When my alarm went off, I said 'Denise, I have to go now. My alarm is going off, and it's time for me to get up.' We said a quick goodbye and I woke up. Thanks, Denise, for being so understanding.
Between when Jaymi and I walked up the hill last evening and when we got back last night, the other two rooms in the B&B had been filled. This morning, I ran into one English speaker (Irish? British?) in the bathroom and three eastern Europeans (Hungarians?) in the kitchen nook. All very pleasant, but we didn't talk much. The Hungarians and I don't share a language, and the English-speaking woman was scrambling to get out the door to an appointment.
Michael picked Jaymi and I up at 9.30am to take us to the rehearsal space. The hall was packed with artists - Holly, Michael, Jaymi, Cambria, Benny, Eli, me, and about 35 would-be clowns. Eli did an amazing job getting the actors to discover their inner clowns, and I played a big part in helping that happen. We worked with about 25 clowns in this fashion: Cambrian would call their name, and Benny would give them a pep talk while he helped them into nose. When they first emerged for the audience, Eli would give them some initial direction while I did a quick read of who they were. In about 45 or 60 seconds, I usually had a good enough idea to start throwing sound at them. 90% of the time, I was pretty dead on with the music or sound I used. Sometimes I'd use music pulled from CDs, sometimes I'd use my mic and voice, and sometimes I'd use the step sequencer that I built. We had an amazing afternoon, and I'm impressed at what Eli was able to pull out of them. Here are some shots of that the session:
An Irish clown:
An Italian clown:
Another Irish Clown:
Two more Italian clowns:
The class:
One of our favorite clowns of the day:
Me working:
After rehearsal, we scoped out the ampifeatro, which is a 1st century amphitheater in town. We'll be performing there next week. The space was smaller than I expected, but the sound gear is better. Phew. Here are the 1st century walls:
And Here is the stage:
Then, we went to lunch, where we more or less cast the show, had some good food, and played Scopa!
After lunch, Eli led Cambria, Benny, Jaymi and I through town...
...and the valley...
...and past an ancient Roman aquaduct...
...to the Academie, where he and Holly are staying. The Academie is an arts school loosely associated with the Festival. It's a 20 minute walk from downtown (here's the Arezzo church as seen from the Academie:
), and it's deep in the heart of Tuscany. Eli napped while the four of us hung out, and then we all caught a ride back with a Festival staffer.
Back in town, Jaymi and I chilled at the B&B with a bottle of wine while waiting for a meet up with Holly & Michael. Michael and Holly thought the meet-up time was different than we did, so we ended up not meeting with them. Instead, we met up with Cambria, Benny, and Eli at the ampifeatro. Along with the Californians, we meet up with the Irish folk, and we all went for dinner at a great Italian (natch) place. I had the tagliolini con tartufo nero, which was basically pasta with black mushrooms. Mmmmm.
Jaymi and I were invited to hang with the Irish students after dinner, so we decided to prove that we weren't stodgy by obliging them. Here's Irish student Fiona at the bar:
We stayed for a beer, but when the Irish students got up to leave the bar, we joined them. All in all, it was a great day, but now there's less than five hours before I have to be up tomorrow morning. Oops.
13 June 2008
Italy 08: Day 2
ROME & AREZZO
So, this morning I was up at 4.30am. I couldn't sleep, so by 6.30, I decided to forgo trying and just greet the day. I was up on the sunny & delightful rooftop deck by 7.30, working on some UCI stuff. At 8.30, Eli & Jaymi met me. We ate a great breakfast, and then checked out of our hotel and taxied to the train station, where we met up with Benny & Cambria. After buying our ticket, we discovered that our train was a running late, so we killed time by learning the rules of Scopa and talking to Eli's camera. Here's Benny & Jaymi examining the departures board for an updated departure time:
Once we got on our train, we snagged the only completely empty couchette car. With all of our bags and everything, we just squeezed all in. I'm not sure if we were technically supposed to have a couchette car, but since the conductor never came by, there was no one to tell us no. On the train, Eli decided that his clown needed to come out, and that mean that his teeth needed to go in:
The beautiful sunny day in Rome gave way to clouds as we moved into Tuscany, and by the time we finally got to Arezzo (just two hours by train), this is what greeted us:
Lots and lots of rain. Coming down in buckets. With big cracks of thunder and lighting. Cold rain. The kind that gets you wet. We met up with Holly & Michael at the train station, along with some other folks from the festival. An attempt to wait out the rain resulted in 45 minutes spent standing in front of the train station arguing about when the rain would let up. 'Never' was apparently the correct answer.
We finally got going to our respective housing units. Eli, Holly, & Michael got an apartment, but they were all supposed to sleep in the same room. They have since moved. Cambria & Benny are sharing a hotel room (with separate beds, natch). Jaymi & I seem to have gotten the sweetest deal. We're in two rooms of a four-room B&B. The rooms are fine, but we do have to share bathrooms. Our kitchen has a balcony, and our balcony has this view:
Jaymi & I grabbed lunch (a slice of pizza, small sandwich, and four glasses of wine ran us 9 euros – these ain't Rome prices) and then unpacked. She set up some of the glowing orbs she brought while I made sure that the gear I brought had survived the trip (it had, fortunately).
At 6.30, we were supposed to meet the rest of the participants up at the top of the town hill for a dinner. We got there early, so we wandered around. Here is the church where part of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL was filmed:
And here's me in front of a lovely Tuscan valley.
Even in the rain, it's pretty stunning.
We found the rest of our clan before dinner, and they all posed for a quick snap:
That would be Jaymi, Holly, Cambria, Eli's head emerging from Michael's shoulder, Michael, & Benny. Dinner was incredible. Fresh meats, cheeses, salumi, zucchini eggplant, peppers, roasted fennel, wine, juice, tomatoes. Delicious. There were probably 125 of us all dining in a little piazza, and from one of the windows facing the piazza, a woman in a red sweater was staring at us. From a distance, the contrast of her sweater to the yellow wall was beautiful enough to merit a photograph, but if you look closely at her, she doesn't seem to be enjoying herself.
Poor her.
After dinner, we waited while the organizers tried to set up a video projector. I snapped this photo just as the sun was finally setting. Love those colors.
While we were waiting, outside in the main piazza, some people were re-enacting the blessing of lances in the church in anticipation of a jousting match. There were large drums and horns in the church, and it sounded amazing. Very reverberant. I didn't take any photos because my hands were busy making an audio recording of part of the sermon.
When the video projector was finally set up, we watched some short films that each group had made about their project. They were all pretty lame. Unfortunately, we weren't able to sneak out without drawing attention to ourselves, so we had to endure the whole event. It's now 12.20, and I'm hoping that I can get some significant sleep tonight. I won't be able to post this right away (no internet) but hopefully soon…
So, this morning I was up at 4.30am. I couldn't sleep, so by 6.30, I decided to forgo trying and just greet the day. I was up on the sunny & delightful rooftop deck by 7.30, working on some UCI stuff. At 8.30, Eli & Jaymi met me. We ate a great breakfast, and then checked out of our hotel and taxied to the train station, where we met up with Benny & Cambria. After buying our ticket, we discovered that our train was a running late, so we killed time by learning the rules of Scopa and talking to Eli's camera. Here's Benny & Jaymi examining the departures board for an updated departure time:
Once we got on our train, we snagged the only completely empty couchette car. With all of our bags and everything, we just squeezed all in. I'm not sure if we were technically supposed to have a couchette car, but since the conductor never came by, there was no one to tell us no. On the train, Eli decided that his clown needed to come out, and that mean that his teeth needed to go in:
The beautiful sunny day in Rome gave way to clouds as we moved into Tuscany, and by the time we finally got to Arezzo (just two hours by train), this is what greeted us:
Lots and lots of rain. Coming down in buckets. With big cracks of thunder and lighting. Cold rain. The kind that gets you wet. We met up with Holly & Michael at the train station, along with some other folks from the festival. An attempt to wait out the rain resulted in 45 minutes spent standing in front of the train station arguing about when the rain would let up. 'Never' was apparently the correct answer.
We finally got going to our respective housing units. Eli, Holly, & Michael got an apartment, but they were all supposed to sleep in the same room. They have since moved. Cambria & Benny are sharing a hotel room (with separate beds, natch). Jaymi & I seem to have gotten the sweetest deal. We're in two rooms of a four-room B&B. The rooms are fine, but we do have to share bathrooms. Our kitchen has a balcony, and our balcony has this view:
Jaymi & I grabbed lunch (a slice of pizza, small sandwich, and four glasses of wine ran us 9 euros – these ain't Rome prices) and then unpacked. She set up some of the glowing orbs she brought while I made sure that the gear I brought had survived the trip (it had, fortunately).
At 6.30, we were supposed to meet the rest of the participants up at the top of the town hill for a dinner. We got there early, so we wandered around. Here is the church where part of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL was filmed:
And here's me in front of a lovely Tuscan valley.
Even in the rain, it's pretty stunning.
We found the rest of our clan before dinner, and they all posed for a quick snap:
That would be Jaymi, Holly, Cambria, Eli's head emerging from Michael's shoulder, Michael, & Benny. Dinner was incredible. Fresh meats, cheeses, salumi, zucchini eggplant, peppers, roasted fennel, wine, juice, tomatoes. Delicious. There were probably 125 of us all dining in a little piazza, and from one of the windows facing the piazza, a woman in a red sweater was staring at us. From a distance, the contrast of her sweater to the yellow wall was beautiful enough to merit a photograph, but if you look closely at her, she doesn't seem to be enjoying herself.
Poor her.
After dinner, we waited while the organizers tried to set up a video projector. I snapped this photo just as the sun was finally setting. Love those colors.
While we were waiting, outside in the main piazza, some people were re-enacting the blessing of lances in the church in anticipation of a jousting match. There were large drums and horns in the church, and it sounded amazing. Very reverberant. I didn't take any photos because my hands were busy making an audio recording of part of the sermon.
When the video projector was finally set up, we watched some short films that each group had made about their project. They were all pretty lame. Unfortunately, we weren't able to sneak out without drawing attention to ourselves, so we had to endure the whole event. It's now 12.20, and I'm hoping that I can get some significant sleep tonight. I won't be able to post this right away (no internet) but hopefully soon…
Italy 08: Day 1, part 2
A wonderful day wandering the city. After my shower and change of clothes, I left our hotel:
and wandered around town for a while. First, I headed towards The Pantheon,
which is stunning with its open occulus and magical light. I made a couple of field recordings there, but soon left for other sites, including The Trevi Fountain:
and Piazza Navona:
It's all real purty. After an afternoon of wandering the city, I started to get a little punchy, and I couldn't help channeling my inner Eddie Izzard for the first photos from a larger set I like to call 'Ciao':
Hey look! In Italy, they know how to spell my name right!
Once the rest of the clan got here, I met up with them for more traipsing. First, I found Eli:
And then, we found Jaymi:
Jaymi's lighter was, apparently, 85% childproof...
...or maybe 85% of children's heads are the same size as padlocks. I'm not sure.
Eli, Jaymi and I wandered around Piazza Navona for a while, peeking in the shops and looking for a place to get some pizza. Once we met up with Benny & Cambria,
we were all met, and we tried to eat some pizza. Initially, we failed. The place Eli wanted to take us to was closed, so we had a beer while we waited for them to open. After they opened, they told us that they were closed for a private party. Undaunted, we found another place that was just as good, if not better. We ordered a number of pizzas, but the one that was the most amazing was called the Pizza Stregata (Bewitched Pizza):
In case you're looking, that's peppers, salami, sausage, cheese, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, zuchinni, and yes, one egg, over hard. Mmmm. After dinner, we went for gelato and headed back to Trevi to see it at night. Cambria & Benny took off, and when we got back to the hotel, Jaymi and I stayed up for a nightcap. In addition to my great photos, I also made some good (I think) field recordings!
Tomorrow we meet at the train station at 9.30 to travel to Arezzo! Hopefully the network there will be better than it is here - it's very spotty. It took me a long time to get these photos uploaded and blogged (and that is why I didn't rotate the two photos that are sideways...) (EDIT: it's 5.30am here in Italy on Friday morning. I woke up about an hour ago and can't get back to sleep. Instead of laying awake in bed, I re-oriented those photos.).
and wandered around town for a while. First, I headed towards The Pantheon,
which is stunning with its open occulus and magical light. I made a couple of field recordings there, but soon left for other sites, including The Trevi Fountain:
and Piazza Navona:
It's all real purty. After an afternoon of wandering the city, I started to get a little punchy, and I couldn't help channeling my inner Eddie Izzard for the first photos from a larger set I like to call 'Ciao':
Hey look! In Italy, they know how to spell my name right!
Once the rest of the clan got here, I met up with them for more traipsing. First, I found Eli:
And then, we found Jaymi:
Jaymi's lighter was, apparently, 85% childproof...
...or maybe 85% of children's heads are the same size as padlocks. I'm not sure.
Eli, Jaymi and I wandered around Piazza Navona for a while, peeking in the shops and looking for a place to get some pizza. Once we met up with Benny & Cambria,
we were all met, and we tried to eat some pizza. Initially, we failed. The place Eli wanted to take us to was closed, so we had a beer while we waited for them to open. After they opened, they told us that they were closed for a private party. Undaunted, we found another place that was just as good, if not better. We ordered a number of pizzas, but the one that was the most amazing was called the Pizza Stregata (Bewitched Pizza):
In case you're looking, that's peppers, salami, sausage, cheese, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, zuchinni, and yes, one egg, over hard. Mmmm. After dinner, we went for gelato and headed back to Trevi to see it at night. Cambria & Benny took off, and when we got back to the hotel, Jaymi and I stayed up for a nightcap. In addition to my great photos, I also made some good (I think) field recordings!
Tomorrow we meet at the train station at 9.30 to travel to Arezzo! Hopefully the network there will be better than it is here - it's very spotty. It took me a long time to get these photos uploaded and blogged (and that is why I didn't rotate the two photos that are sideways...) (EDIT: it's 5.30am here in Italy on Friday morning. I woke up about an hour ago and can't get back to sleep. Instead of laying awake in bed, I re-oriented those photos.).
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