i never seemed to be able to focus in elementary school history class. events went over my head because i hadn't lived long enough to care. my attention instead all diverted to producing... eraser puddy. i made them viciously during dry runs in class, during long droughts of ramblings of some war in history and its death tolls. it was then that my fingers became most fixated on creating an abundance of shavings from my hi-polymer eraser.
but there was one exception to my interest in history. it was a touring theatre group. they came once a year, one year teaching about the gold rush, another year teaching about the pilgrims, acting out various figures in time.
during these two hour sessions, i learned all i could these points in time. what didn't click in class time clicked when they breathed life to characters and asked us to do the same.
in high school, my high school had one theater production a year. one year the wizard of oz played. i watched it four times that year.
during college, i discovered our incredible theater program. i had not expected a school so forefront in computer science... to also have one of the best theater programs in the US. unfortunately due to covid and my gap year, I didn't get to take full advantage of the shows until my senior year.
but this senior year, i didn't restrain myself at all. i watched over 30 live productions (school, local theater, discounted touring broadway, and rush tickets).1 it really fulfilled my childhood dreams.
here’s the running list…
there's something about theater that permeates in everything else. the way we walk, the way we talk, the way we dress, it all tells a story. there's something beautiful about seeing a human laugh or cry on a stage, knowing they do that again for each run. that characters reincarnate with each actor that takes on the role, performing the same lines, possibly written hundreds of years ago, continuing to live on again in a different body each time. language and words can shift with time but emotions will always stay the same. we will always feel anger, sadness, love, joy, fear, etc. there's something so human about theater that is so refreshing in this increasingly cold computer-ai world. there's something beautiful about knowing that our humanity is there, and theater is here to stay.
we live to experience stories to tell. that will never go away. our jobs may change, the world may burn, but the stories live on as long as we are here to tell them.
what i've been up to
i just got back from my east coast tour!!!! i finally went to montreal, quebec city, toronto, niagara falls, and rochester and it was absolutely beautiful and so refreshing. i had thought that going to montreal and quebec city would be a cop-out for going to europe but it actually really felt so much more european than i expected. i would like to return again someday!
i accidentally booked my bus to rochester on the US side instead of canada... but then i discovered i could take a 15 minute walk across the border at friendship bridge so i decided to make an experience out of it. at the bridge i deposited 4 quarters to activate a turnstile. the U.S. ever so kindly greeted me with its barbed wire-lined gates. borders are such a wild concept.
i will be back in the bay area for a few weeks before my lease in phoenix starts, hmu if you are around!
i watched inside out 2 in the 4dx thing which means the seats move and it was surprisingly effective and was a fun experience. the japanese really got these haptic things down
i have been feeling like my mind's a lot clearer recently, it was rough for a while because so many of my friends post-grad would just tell me how unhappy they were at their jobs each time we caught up and it would just make me feel horrible. for the longest time i've been feeling like it's my duty to somehow carry the weight of the world on my shoulders but i realized in transit that it's really not my duty to solve other people's unhappiness. the most i can do is listen and help but it's not my fault if people are not happy.
most of these are heavily discounted or free as a student so it didn't really break the bank nearly as much as only watching broadway
where's the picture of the building at?