Translations

I just got back from seeing Translations, the Brian Friel play about Ireland that's currently on bway. It's a thickly intellectual play, but once you get past all of the latin and greek and the thick accents, it's really quite good.

It really makes you think, though. The british completely devastated Ireland. One of my favorite things was the part at the end, where Hugh, the teacher, starts quoting that passage about the Punic Wars, because it really is so true. I also found it shocking how the Irish were so much more educated than the British, and yet the British ran everything because they had money and power.

It was hard to understand, and my mind was racing the entire time, trying to keep up and understand it. I do like intellectual plays, though, and it was really very interesting.

One of my favorite things was watching the confusion between the people speaking English and the people who were supposed to be speaking Gaelic. It was both funny and true to the communication gap.

The set was gorgeous. It was a dirt floor, with a rickety old staircase and some stools and a giant door. What was really amazing was how they did the rain. It was real water and heard and looked exactly like rain. It was also great how the people came in soaking, just like they would be if they had just come in from the rain.

Overall, it was a very interesting play, and if you are in the mood for a deeply intellectual experience, you should definitely go see it.

2006 year in review

this year has been kind of strange. The second semester of 8th grade was living hell. Everyone hated each other, kudera killed me, things just sucked. But, like Lily said, I think of things in terms of grades. I don't know...ninth grade has been okay so far, but it's not over yet.

This year I went to...
Barcelona- It was fun. I love Europe. It was ruined slightly by the fact that I was sick and that my mom's wallet got stolen. Overall, it was good, though.
Philidelphia- visited cousins. no big deal.
DPF 4-H camp- my best year there so far, I think. I stayed for three weeks. I made new friends, I became better friends with others. I became a nature nerd. I played with hermit crabs. I ran through Big Ben. I discovered a new love for swimming really far underwater and looking at crabs and stuff. I left my Declaration of Independence at home, but remembered my periodic table. I told too many school stories. I slept out in the arboretum. I took a picnic out to the cliffhouse and played never have i ever with counselors. I won honor cabin. I sang Sondheim in the bathroom, the girls unit, and, of course, the woods.
Cooperstown, NY- A really cute little town. I hated the baseball hall of fame, but I loved that museum that I forget the name of. The buildings were cute and it was fun.
Seneca Falls, NY- I loved Seneca falls. I stayed at a really nice B&B. I saw the women's rights museum.
Niagara Falls- This place is overrated. The town is disgusting and hokey. The falls are cool, but it has too much hype.
Geneva On the Lake & Cleveland, Ohio (family reunion)- The family reunion was a lot of fun. I hung out with cousins I never see, and ones I see often. I saw the place where my grandfather grew up. I swam in Lake Erie.
Block Island- I love Block Island. I go there every year. I got held up by the remnants of a hurricane and stayed an extra day. It was fun.
Sanibel Island, FL- I love thanksgiving. It's yummy.
Louisville, KY- It's sad that my great-great-Uncle Herman died, but he did live to 95, and he had a great life. It was great seeing a bunch of relatives I never see. It was sad and sweet at the same time.


This year I saw... [theatre,opera, dance, etc]
Little Shop of Horrors- It was great. It's not the best musical, but Hunter did it well.
Brick '06- This was amazing. I loved Dizzy and Vinyleater especially. The whole thing was brilliant. I love Brick.
The Government Inspector- This was a ton of fun, especially since I knew everyone in it. It was a funny, bizarre play, and it was a good production, especially considering it's 7-9.
Merchant of Venice- This was AMAZING. I'm still absolutely blown away by it. It was soooooooooo good. The cast was amazing, the interpretation was amazing. I like it so much better than the movie version. The acting was perfect, the set worked, the blocking was great, everything was amazing.
The Skin of Our Teeth- The production was good. The play is the most bizarre I've ever seen. It was really surreal.
Ragtime- La Guardia blows me away. It was amazing. The whole thing was so professional, and the people who played Coalhouse, Mother, and Sarah were really amazing. The whole thing was great. The set was wonderful.
Company- It was good. The musical itself is amazing. The production was pretty good but I had a lot of problems with it. It was good, though.
A Chorus Line- A Chorus Line was great. The people weren't great singers, but they could really dance. It was a lot of fun.
La Traviatta- I liked it. I don't remember that much about it, since it was almost a year ago, but the set was great. It was good.
Manon- This was a really weird ballet. I couldn't really figure out what was going on a lot of the time, but the guy who played the male lead was great. It was really good.


Meh...I'm sure I saw some other theatre but i can't remember it . That's all I feel like doing for now.