It hurts now, of course, but I don't care. I'm sick and tired of this, and I'm ready to move on. Healthily. Safely. Slowly. But ready to move on nonetheless.
Anyway, I've stalled long enough. Here's more of the Gainesville saga:
To recap: I left Columbia as a 1st semester sophomore & entered the University of Florida as a senior. I was 150 lbs, and forced into becoming an English major but for the two math & science credits I still had to make up. I had a by-default friend, since we had been close in high school, but other than that, I was pretty much on my own.
On the second day of classes, I was walking back from my "Math for Idiots Liberal Arts Majors" lecture when I ran into my friend Bradley, who had been in drama with me in high school. Though I was done with classes for the day, he hooked his arm into mine and literally dragged me with him to his Theatre-Majors-Only class, Dramaturgy, on the assertion that I absolutely had to be taking this class, and that, if any class had ever been meant for me, it was this one.
Turns out, he was right. The professor, Dr. Ralf, might be one of the coolest profs I've ever had (alongside the incomparable Prof Mass at Columbia!), and it turns out that Dramaturgy was not only right up my alley, it was exactly what I wanted to do with theatre.
For the uninitiated, and depending on who you ask, dramaturgy is something like curation for the stage. Whether you're working on a historical piece as a consultant for the director or on a new play as a guide for the playwright, a dramaturg's job is to, essentially, be an advocate for the text. Dramaturgs have a radar when it comes to plot, and they are on hand to keep the delicate threads of the story from unraveling, tangling, or fraying.
I loved that class with all of my heart--and when I found out that our final projects would be comprised of a casebook based on actual dramaturgy for an actual play actually occurring on campus, I was ecstatic. Even more exciting was the opportunity that Dr. Ralf presented to our class to work on the Spring season's Mainstage production, The Man of Mode. Dr. Ralf made sure to position it as an incredibly work-intensive commitment, since the play was written in the 1660s and the director was going to be doing some major script surgery as well as resetting the play in 1700 (which doesn't sound like much of a move, but the time change actually leapt the gap between two entirely different generations). So I, being the work-loving masochist that I am, volunteered.
Working on The Man of Mode gave me a sense of purpose. After waking up early to go for my run, going to math or one of my English classes, and then coming home to my hellish apartment, I would spend hours reading and rereading the script, highlighting changes, making a historical reference guide for the actors, and chuckling to myself at jokes that haven't been funny since before the Revolutionary War.
And then I would go to rehearsal.
I loved the UF School of Theatre and Dance. Even though I wasn't a BA or BFA in Theatre, everyone accepted me. And even better, they became my friends.
I can still remember the very first read-through, when I had to stand up in front of a group of actors, designers, and the director, Dr. Pinkney, and give a brief introduction to the dramaturgy of Restoration theatre and offer myself as a resource. I was scared to death & nervous as hell, because my focus has always been Tudor-Stuart drama ( & my experience with the Restoration was limited to a Shakespeare class I took during my second semester at Columbia in which we read Restoration rewrites of Shakespeare).
It went so well.
And then the next night, during the very first rehearsal, I was seated next to a tall, skinny kid who spent the entire rehearsal laughing at jokes that haven't been funny since the Revolutionary War.
I felt like I was home.
To be continued.
Turns out, he was right. The professor, Dr. Ralf, might be one of the coolest profs I've ever had (alongside the incomparable Prof Mass at Columbia!), and it turns out that Dramaturgy was not only right up my alley, it was exactly what I wanted to do with theatre.
For the uninitiated, and depending on who you ask, dramaturgy is something like curation for the stage. Whether you're working on a historical piece as a consultant for the director or on a new play as a guide for the playwright, a dramaturg's job is to, essentially, be an advocate for the text. Dramaturgs have a radar when it comes to plot, and they are on hand to keep the delicate threads of the story from unraveling, tangling, or fraying.
I loved that class with all of my heart--and when I found out that our final projects would be comprised of a casebook based on actual dramaturgy for an actual play actually occurring on campus, I was ecstatic. Even more exciting was the opportunity that Dr. Ralf presented to our class to work on the Spring season's Mainstage production, The Man of Mode. Dr. Ralf made sure to position it as an incredibly work-intensive commitment, since the play was written in the 1660s and the director was going to be doing some major script surgery as well as resetting the play in 1700 (which doesn't sound like much of a move, but the time change actually leapt the gap between two entirely different generations). So I, being the work-loving masochist that I am, volunteered.
 |
| The Man of Mode...and Dr. Pinkney |
Working on The Man of Mode gave me a sense of purpose. After waking up early to go for my run, going to math or one of my English classes, and then coming home to my hellish apartment, I would spend hours reading and rereading the script, highlighting changes, making a historical reference guide for the actors, and chuckling to myself at jokes that haven't been funny since before the Revolutionary War.
And then I would go to rehearsal.
I loved the UF School of Theatre and Dance. Even though I wasn't a BA or BFA in Theatre, everyone accepted me. And even better, they became my friends.
 |
| A director who threw himself into the job...and the wig. |
It went so well.
And then the next night, during the very first rehearsal, I was seated next to a tall, skinny kid who spent the entire rehearsal laughing at jokes that haven't been funny since the Revolutionary War.
 |
| And this is why rehearsal was my favorite time of day. |
I felt like I was home.
To be continued.
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