Travel plans

Haha, this picture is pretty sad, but I always think the posts look better with pictures, and I keep meaning to mention how excited I was that the girls who lived here before us left a ton of helpful things behind, including a few guidebooks.

I've just confirmed my plans for Vacances Toussaint, a break we have the last week of October. Thursday the 22nd, a bunch of us are taking a train to Paris for one night, then on to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest. A couple of people are going to Rome instead of Budapest, but I've done most of the sites there and never been to Eastern Europe at all, and since traveling far on the weekends is tough, this is the best time for me to go. Dad's going to be able to meet me in Budapest for two days on his way home from India, so I'm really excited about that.

Elyse and I are going to go to Brussels for a weekend in November also, and then we'll have several days in Paris with the V-i-F program. That's probably it for my traveling besides day trips around Provence, but I will have seen quite a few new places by the time I head home (December 12th).

Ballet Preljocaj

Last Wednesday, we went to see the Ballet Preljocaj perform Blanche Neige (Snow White) at the Grand Théâtre in Aix, and it was incredible. Here's a link to a website where you can see a short clip, since all of these pictures are so tiny, and dance needs to be seen anyway. This is the promotion poster.

Ballet Preljocaj (named after creator Angelin Preljocaj) is a contemporary ballet company that Aix takes great pride in, and rightly so. The production is touring and was only here for a few days this week, so I'm really glad we got to see it. Snow White and the Prince
The Queen and one her cats. We present French articles every Friday in Conversation class, and last week I did one about the ballet, so I found out that Preljocaj wanted to do a fairy tale because the narration of a story would present a challenge he hadn't dealt with in his previous works, and Snow White seemed the most "casse-gueule" (literally, "jaw-breaking," but my prof translated it as "dangerous"). He thought no one had ever done Snow White before, but he later found out it had been attempted in the 50's, and he guesses nobody's tried again because of the difficulty of the dwarves ("nains"). The production addressed that issue very well though--the dwarves rapelled onto the stage from nooks cut into the wall (no pictures of that, sorry, but they danced while suspended in the air) and then the chasteness of Snow White's relationship with the dwarves (because in the Grimm brother's time, dwarves were considered nonsexual beings) was communicated through dance. Their size didn't even matter at that point because it was so clear who they were and what they meant to her.

Here's the transformed Queen giving Snow White the apple. All of the props were simple and suggestive, not at all realistic. Same with the set (short platforms slid up and down the back walls to make thrones for Snow White and her father, and the forest was made of strips of fabric in tree form with bright green blob-like "moss-covered rocks"). Everything was perfect. The show opened with Snow White's pregnant mother shrouded in black--even her face was veiled. It was very dark and beautiful and sort of unsettling all at the same time. She danced across the stage while giving birth to the baby (a beige cloth doll) and died just as she reached the far edge of the apron. Despite how weird that may sound, it was actually wasn't at all, and it set the tone for the rest of the show. Preljocaj is also the first choreographer to depict pregnancy/childbirth onstage. He thinks it's a perfect subject for dance since it's such a "metamorphosis."
Perhaps the most memorable scene is the one when the Prince dances with the sleeping/dead Snow White, and she made it look so effortless, just gracefully floating around him as if he was doing all of the work, even though that was of course not the case. Also her eyes were closed.
Here's her wedding dress at the end. All of the costumes were designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, which explains why they were so awesome. The skirt of the dress just has fringe for each tier, so it was really cool when she danced.

Everyone who went absolutely loved it, and it was cool because there were all sorts of people in the audience. Apparently, Preljocaj really makes an effort to produce work that's accessible to all ages and classes. We may try to catch something else of his while in Aix if possible. I really hope we do.

Housemates

Since Renaud has become kind of a character in the blog, a few people have asked for a picture of him. Here he is on his way to the grocery. I snapped this one while leaning out my bedroom window. He doesn't know I took it, or he'd be furious.

And then here's a link to a video of his stunts. Disclaimer--the ending shot is a little gruesome.

The other night when Elyse and I had just gotten back from dinner, he came limping into our room, and at first we just thought he was being silly because he often acts pitiful and curls up on our extra bed to spill his love woes, but then Elyse noticed his face was swollen and bleeding. He was pretty banged up and is still limping but currently planning to participate in a show next weekend. We offered him much sympathy, and I gave him some hydrogen peroxide, which he'd never seen or used before. I told him at least his lip wasn't nearly as messed up as it is in that video, and that did cheer him up a bit.

Robert still isn't here! He had booked a flight for last Wednesday, hoping he'd get his visa in time, but he hasn't arrived. Maybe it will just always be the three of us in this five-person house.

We've seen a bit more of Kevin lately, mostly today, and he even came to our breakfast for dinner party tonight. He's actually really funny and nice when he is around. My favorite thing about him is that seriously 3 of the maybe 5 times he's been in the house, he's been playing "Praise You Like I Should." I don't know if that's the actual title of the song or not, but it should be.

Theatre stuff

The upper floors of this building are for the Institut d'Etudes Etrangeres, and then Ainsi de Suite, is in the basement. I really will try to get a picture of the theater itself at some point.

I haven't written that much about the play here, so I can't remember if I've really explained it all? Here's an excerpt from the website that explains the gist of it. Read if interested, if not, skip on down.

Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Sir Isaac Newton

April in 2009 will be the starting point of a world tour for the company Ainsi de Suite. Our company of actors and technicians from four different continents will journey to Palestine, Israel, Korea, Cyprus, Mexico, the United States and Berlin in order to present a play that has for its only decor the walls that separate, humiliate and crush the last chance of peace between peoples by playing a game of extremes.

Devised around notions of physical theatre and sound, this project, “Duo Pour Un Mur” envisions as part of its goal a few weeks before its performance to collaborate with local artists (dancers, musicians, actors, painters, photographers, and filmmakers...on both sides of the “wall”) in order to reach a public of all ages and persuasions without any problems of readability or understanding.

It is in this way that each stage of our meetings across the world will constitute the cutting stone for an ever-evolving performance until November 9, 2009 when we reach Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall : a memory that must not let us forget the depressing structures of the builders of the 21st century.

A film featuring how this project affects the understanding and vision of participating actors possibly along with a recorded performance will be presented and will serve as the point of departure for debate after November 28, 2009 in other countries around the world that, saved from these cement structures, are victims of another kind of construction : virtual walls more and more widespread and no less shameful.

Given that the objective of this project is above all to open up a dialogue on a subject rarely discussed (how many among us are capable of reciting the long list of these “Walls of Peace” ?), this project under no circumstances has to do with criticizing Israelis, Americans or creating controversy—but creating a genuine exchange of ideas, of understanding, of informing as well as being informed, of being changed as well as, on our small scale, creating change. In short, we anticipate creating a wall through a performance that, of necessity, must rise above in order to maybe shout and certainly to laugh...together.

So, what am I doing? The week before we went to Paris, I met with Pélopidas on Tuesday afternoon to help him and Vincent, the sound guy, with the some changes they're making to the "bande de son" for the show. Thus far, they've been to most of the countries listed, and they interview people in each place, so Tuesday, we were listening to the interviews and piecing them together into a reel that will play at one point during the play. It is very reminiscent of the sonnet montage in Tempest, minus the music. It was interesting, even though trying to follow commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in French was kind of exhausting.

I did that again with them yesterday for about 6 hours, although they always take a lunch break. Pélopidas loves this café next to the theater and claims it's the last real Marseillaise cafe, so we usually go there, where everyone knows his name, and they sometimes make him sandwiches even though they don't really serve them. He always jokingly offers me a whiskey. I usually just get coffee though.Pélopidas is so passionate about this project (and everything else), and whenever he gets an idea he jumps in the air and pumps his fist or slaps me on the back and says "That's going to kill! It'll kill them!" in French.

Thursday before last, I got to sit in on a rehearsal, which was really cool. There are two violinists (one of whom is also an actor), a keyboardist, two dancers, one dancer/actor, and then Pélopidas in the show. The music is really pretty, and there are some great dance sequences, and the whole process is so collaborative (also reminiscent of Tempest in that way too), so it is just really fun to be involved. All of the actors/musicians are really nice and joke around a lot, and Pélopidas asks my opinion sometimes. So far, the only actually helpful thing I've done is run the sound for them (starting and stopping a cd player) during part of one rehearsal, but Pélopidas is grateful even though he's really the one doing me a favor. He always apologizes for things being tedious and wants to make sure I'm not bored, but I really never am.

This Thursday, I went to part of their rehearsal in another theater. There will be a performance in Aix on November 10 at the city's biggest theater, and Pélopidas wrote me into it for about 10 seconds! ha. I walk onstage pantomiming talking on the phone and greet my friend. Someone else has been doing this, but they're always changing stuff, so he asked if I'd do it since I'll be there helping with the show anyway. I think I will just be run crew of sorts, even though I'm helping with sound in rehearsals when Vincent can't come.

ALSO, I had my first class with Pélopidas at the theater on Monday night. It's a workshop for French students and foreigners, but the ratio is about 2 to 1. There are two other American girls and one girl each from Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Korea. The Korean speaks very minimal French, and I am impressed that she signed up (and did just fine!) We did lots of improv exercises that were similar to things I've done in classes before, but slightly different. The two hours went by very quickly, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Oh, also, Pélopidas isn't charging me for the class, which is nice, even though I totally would have paid for it.

Theatre-wise, it would be better for me to be here in the Spring because then Pélopidas teaches a theater class at Vanderbilt, and the students in the class I'm currently taking have the option of putting on a show. I'm not considering staying for various reasons, but still it is kind of cool to think about. Besides the fact that I'm really enjoying everything I'm doing, it'll be awesome to have this stuff to put on my resume.

Sorry to write another long post, but I wanted to give specifics, since I have been remiss in doing that. so much catch-up to do!

Paris

So, last weekend, I went to Paris with friends Lindsay, Elyse, and Danielle. We caught a 10 o'clock overnight train on Friday, so we celebrated the first minutes of Elyse's 21st birthday on the staircase of our double-decker train with a gigantic brownie Dani had brought. The train was pretty packed, and we got scolded by a man in our car for whispering too loudly. We got to Paris around 7 or so the next morning, and it was freezing--at least, much colder than we had anticipated--but we walked around for a while until things opened, and we got some great pictures since the sun was just coming up.
View of the Seine
There were workers out putting up these awesome murals all along the riverbank and the sides of the bridges. Elyse recognized the artist (JR) and showed me some other pics of his work after we got back. He is worth checking out.
Here's a picture inside Shakespeare & Company, a really cool English bookstore, where there are upstairs reading rooms and a piano to play.
It's been there since the 50's and is known for being frequented by writers like Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Notre Dame, which I'd been to before of course, but it was cool to see again. There was a guy having a lesson on the organ there while people were visiting. Dani was super jealous.
We went up to the top of the Tour Montparnasse for a view of the city. Here's the Jardin de Luxembourg. I only remember going up the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe the first time I was in Paris, so it was fun to see the view from somewhere else.
Danielle, Lindsay, and Elyse
Sacré Coeur. Notre Dame is really pretty, but I actually think I like Sacré Coeur better. The architecture is more open, and there are beautiful stained glass windows in bright colors. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside. It's also on top of a hill, which makes for a really nice view--I should have posted a picture of that, whoops--
and the streets below have quaint restaurants and shops.
Our hostel was in a really great location, and it had an awesome courtyard.
Plus, our room came complete with sleeping nook, which Lindsay claimed
Moving on to what was probably the coolest part of the weekend...Saturday night was Nuit Blanche (white night), an annual event in Paris when many museums and other sites are open until 7 am, and everything's free! There are art expositions in parks and cathedrals too. There are Nuits Blanches all over Europe, but I assume the one in Paris is one of the biggest.

This picture is in a pavilion in the Jardin de Luxembourg. The wheels spun, making a really cool shadow show. We went back to Notre Dame, where there was a documentary about the cathedral playing, and also to the Musée Cluny, the museum of the Middle Ages. At about 2:30, Lindsay and Danielle decided to call it a night, but Elyse and I stayed out a little longer and hit a few more spots.
Over the lake in the Jardin de Luxembourg, there was a giant disco ball that had pieces chipped out of the mirrors, so the fragments of light cast on the water and the chateau were interesting shapes. It was so pretty. This picture doesn't do it justice at all. We were there for a while, just watching that.
The were all kinds of light displays too. This one was in a gazebo in the Jardin de Luxembourg, but there was something similar going on in almost all of the cathedrals we went to.
Cherub projection in St. Merri that fluttered up and down with a recording of a poem. You can't really tell here, but it's distorted so that it has the torso and arm of a man but the rest of the body is childlike. It was kind of creepy.
There are always candles to be lit, but they look even cooler in the nighttime. Also in St. Merri, I think. At about 4, things were really dying down, and closing down, even though they were supposed to be open for three more hours, so we decided to head back and get some sleep so we could take advantage of Sunday too.
Opera Garnier. Something was going on inside, so we didn't get to see past the lobby, but hopefully there'll be a chance to do that when the whole program goes to Paris over Thanksgiving.
Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum. I hadn't been here before either, and since it was the first Sunday of the month, entrance was free to all of the museums too! We inadvertently chose the best weekend to go to Paris. The museum is huge, and I didn't really even make a dent in it, but the first floor has a lot of video, including a couple of works by Marina Abramovic, a performance artist we studied in my contemporary theatre class last spring. Fortunately, they were her less violent pieces. I'm not sure I could have handled watching the ones we talked about in class.
After Pompidou, we whiled away the rest of the day in Jardin de Luxembourg since the weather was so nice and we were all pretty exhausted.
There is such a funny variety of trees in that park. We had a leisurely dinner before getting on our train back, which was not nearly full, so we each had two seats to ourselves. Everyone passed out immediately, and then we thought we had missed our stop the next morning, but we woke up in time. The Marseille train station is really confusing, and we could never figure out how to catch the bus back to Aix. There's a train that runs from Marseille to Aix also, but they wouldn't sell us tickets because the bus was cheaper, and we walked all around the station, being redirected by tons of people, and eventually we payed the extra ten euro each for a taxi so people could make it back in time for their early morning classes.

All in all, it was a very good trip. I got to see a lot of places we didn't visit the first time I went to Paris, and I feel like I have a much better sense of the city "flavor," if you will, (kind of like the campus flavor?). We tried to go to the Catacombs, but they were closed due to vandalism. That was a disappointment, but perhaps they'll be open when we go back. I don't think there's anything scheduled besides trips to the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, so there should be time for us to do things on our own too.

La cuisine

Sorry to have been MIA longer than intended...my classes have really picked up now, plus my internship started for real last week, so there hasn't been a lot of down time. I'm going to try to update chronologically...

The Sunday after St. Tropez, I decided to try to make brownies to take to our soirée. I couldn't find vanilla extract or baking powder, so I went without and ended up with a really good cake. (Chloe--it still rose!!) I have since learned from a friend's French roomie that baking powder is "la levure," so next time I can ask for it if the employees in Monoprix are ever not busy. We also don't have a measuring cup, so I was just eying and tasting everything. Some of the girls said they used shot glasses to measure ingredients for Patrick's birthday cake. That option didn't occur to me, which I guess is maybe a good thing.
Elyse made deviled eggs à la her mom's recipe, and they were a huge hit
Voila le gâteau.

As long as I'm on the subject of food--last week we had our first papers for Contemporary France. I chose to write about organic food (la nourriture biologique or bio), which is way more easily found in Aix than I would have at first guessed, and it's really not much more expensive either. I left the research and mandatory interviews until the last minute, so I was relieved when the guy working at the first shop I went into sat me down at a table covered with brochures and pamphlets and answered all of my questions while giving a commentary of his own. I had bought a nectarine and some carrotes rapées beforehand, but I think he would have been just as helpful if I hadn't. The paper was fine, probably, although I'm going to try to plan ahead for the next one so that I can enjoy writing it a little more.

Must blog

I'm way behind on updating, but this week has been crazy, and I have to leave in a few hours to catch our train to Paris for Elyse's birthday. If I make it through next Wednesday, I will have much to say, I promise