Last night there were two music events scheduled at Hiram. First, in the Frohring Music hall, were Tina Bergmann and Bryan Thomas, a hammer dulcimer player and and bassist, respectively. My colloquium professor encouraged us to attend and write a one page review of the concert for class. The music was amazing, and I was surprised by how much variety the two musicians could muster with their instruments! I filmed two of their songs:
After the Hammer Dulcimer concert, I ran over to the Kennedy Center Lounge, where another concert was underway. KCPB managed to get Jason Reeves, an up-and-coming musician most known for singing with Colbie Caillat, to have a little concert here at Hiram! His music is amazing and I got three videos of him. I also picked up a CD after the show.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Playing
We have been making great progress in African Drum Circle! We have learned each of our rhythms and a dance to go with the last one. At the end of the semester we will be performing in a concert to show off what we've learned. Now we are going through all the acts to make sure we know how it'll go along. I can't wait until class tonight, to see how it's looking so far.
Immediately after African Ensemble tonight I have to go to play practice for W;t. We are moving through pretty quickly, I think. By now I have all of my lines pretty much memorized and most of my actions as well. The equity actress hired to play the lead role arrived recently so we've only recently been able to rehearse with someone actually playing the lead role. On Thursday we had a rough run-through of the entire play, trying to recite without our scripts as much as possible. As the days count down towards the opening night, our rehearsals will get more intense. I hope that we will not have rehearsal during trick-or-treating night, but I'm suspecting that we will, which is unfortunate because I wanted to hand out candy and have a costume planned out already.
Immediately after African Ensemble tonight I have to go to play practice for W;t. We are moving through pretty quickly, I think. By now I have all of my lines pretty much memorized and most of my actions as well. The equity actress hired to play the lead role arrived recently so we've only recently been able to rehearse with someone actually playing the lead role. On Thursday we had a rough run-through of the entire play, trying to recite without our scripts as much as possible. As the days count down towards the opening night, our rehearsals will get more intense. I hope that we will not have rehearsal during trick-or-treating night, but I'm suspecting that we will, which is unfortunate because I wanted to hand out candy and have a costume planned out already.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Fall Break
This weekend was our Fall Break. We had class from Monday through Wednesday, and Thursday through Sunday we had off. It's a nice little break from college right around the time when stress just begins to pile up on the average college student.
My last class on Wednesday ended around 11:00, so I left about an hour later. I worked for half a day at my summer office job in Cleveland. On Thursday I visited my High School, NDCL, which is in Chardon. That is such a strange experience! It feels so surreal to be walking around the halls of my alma mater like so many alums before me have done, feeling rather superior in my non-uniform clothing despite myself. (Ah, the feeling of Jeans and a t-shirt is so much more sweet when surrounded by others in oxford shirts, dress slacks and skirts!) I was able to see all my favorite teachers and no-longer-underclassmen. I ran into five of my old classmates which was a nice surprise, and I picked up my yearbook. Also, I borrowed one of the English textbooks I used last year -- it would be very helpful this semester in my Intro to Literature class!
I worked in Cleveland all day Friday (yay, Christmas shopping money!). On Saturday I caught up with my homework and went shopping for Halloween supplies. On Halloween (or a few days earlier, this year) all the children from the village come to the dorms for Trick-or-Treating, so students like to decorate their doors and dorms a bit for Halloween. About $20 at the Card Factory Outlet fetched some great supplies for decorating! And I also stocked up on a lot of candy to give to all the little ghouls and goblins. I returned to Hiram Saturday night, and put up some of the decorations.
Today I finished what little homework I had left and spent most of the day so far doing all the laundry I left accumulating over the past two weeks.
My last class on Wednesday ended around 11:00, so I left about an hour later. I worked for half a day at my summer office job in Cleveland. On Thursday I visited my High School, NDCL, which is in Chardon. That is such a strange experience! It feels so surreal to be walking around the halls of my alma mater like so many alums before me have done, feeling rather superior in my non-uniform clothing despite myself. (Ah, the feeling of Jeans and a t-shirt is so much more sweet when surrounded by others in oxford shirts, dress slacks and skirts!) I was able to see all my favorite teachers and no-longer-underclassmen. I ran into five of my old classmates which was a nice surprise, and I picked up my yearbook. Also, I borrowed one of the English textbooks I used last year -- it would be very helpful this semester in my Intro to Literature class!
I worked in Cleveland all day Friday (yay, Christmas shopping money!). On Saturday I caught up with my homework and went shopping for Halloween supplies. On Halloween (or a few days earlier, this year) all the children from the village come to the dorms for Trick-or-Treating, so students like to decorate their doors and dorms a bit for Halloween. About $20 at the Card Factory Outlet fetched some great supplies for decorating! And I also stocked up on a lot of candy to give to all the little ghouls and goblins. I returned to Hiram Saturday night, and put up some of the decorations.
Today I finished what little homework I had left and spent most of the day so far doing all the laundry I left accumulating over the past two weeks.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Sarah's Daughters
Last Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday there was a play called Sarah's Daughter's. It is about a woman whose grandmother and mother died from breast cancer. Later she learns that she has the BRCA gene and is diagnosed with breast cancer as well. She worries that her two daughters will get breast cancer as well.
The play is a one-woman show, with senior Kelly Hanahan as Joanne, and another student, Emma Strong, played the cello throughout the performance. (The play is Kelly's "Senior Capstone Experience"). The show was very good, and the ending is simply amazing. I can't imagine memorizing almost 90 minutes' worth of lines!
I saw the opening and closing night performances. On closing night, the Canadian playwright, Jeff Nisker, was there, and we got the opportunity to talk with him and ask him questions afterward, which was very interesting. Also, this was actually the American Premier of Sarah's Daughters! A US premier, here at Hiram!
Sarah's Daughters is part of a series that Hiram is putting on this year called "Cancer and the Arts." So far we've had the play Sarah's Daughters and a discussion with the creators of a musical called Unbeatable, A Musical Journey. The next play will be W;t by Margaret Edson (I'm playing one of the lab technicians in the hospital, an English student, and a rehearsal assistant). Also, the artist of the local comic strip Funky Winkerbean will be visiting campus as part of the "Cancer and the Arts" series (Linda, a character in the strip, dies of cancer -- today, I believe).
The play is a one-woman show, with senior Kelly Hanahan as Joanne, and another student, Emma Strong, played the cello throughout the performance. (The play is Kelly's "Senior Capstone Experience"). The show was very good, and the ending is simply amazing. I can't imagine memorizing almost 90 minutes' worth of lines!
I saw the opening and closing night performances. On closing night, the Canadian playwright, Jeff Nisker, was there, and we got the opportunity to talk with him and ask him questions afterward, which was very interesting. Also, this was actually the American Premier of Sarah's Daughters! A US premier, here at Hiram!
Sarah's Daughters is part of a series that Hiram is putting on this year called "Cancer and the Arts." So far we've had the play Sarah's Daughters and a discussion with the creators of a musical called Unbeatable, A Musical Journey. The next play will be W;t by Margaret Edson (I'm playing one of the lab technicians in the hospital, an English student, and a rehearsal assistant). Also, the artist of the local comic strip Funky Winkerbean will be visiting campus as part of the "Cancer and the Arts" series (Linda, a character in the strip, dies of cancer -- today, I believe).
Friday, September 28, 2007
Bowling, Twister, Campus Day Blisters
This Wednesday was Campus Day, a yearly event where all classes are canceled and all the students are encouraged to volunteer in some community service projects. I signed up for the Habitat for Humanity group. My volunteer time was scheduled for noon to 5:00, so I enjoyed a nice sleep-in and a few hours of relaxation.
At noon we went to the HFH's storehouse of donated furniture, the ReStore. Half the group stayed to help them while the others and I went to a nearby church and dug post holes for a handicap-accessible ramp that was going to be built. Talking to each other made the work go faster, which was relatively rigorous because the soil was so rich in clay. We had to stop an hour early when the rain became too heavy for us to continue. So we returned to the ReStore to help the rest of the group finish building a wall.
We finished pretty much on time and returned to campus. Dinner was served at the KC, and it was spectacular! It was a welcome break from the regular dining hall food. They served plenty of salad, pastas, potatoes, rolls, roast beef....
After dinner I took a shower and went with some friends to the giant Twister tournament at the KC. KCPB spread out several mats on the floor and the action went in rounds. Generally two people faced each other on a single mat, and once one fell, the other got to go to the next round. As the numbers dwindled, the play became more difficult, with four players to a mat. Finally it was down to the last two players: Nick Michalenko (another Freshman) and myself.
Now, I hadn't played Twister since about the fifth grade, but I was doing very well that night. I never realized how flexible I am. I'll have to take up yoga... But anyway, Nick and I had a veritable battle of the wills on that Twister mat. It was hard work staying up on feet and palms, stretching from spot to spot. Everyone was astounded with our endurance. Neither of us would give up, and the whole ordeal of the final round lasted about half an hour! Several times there some rather... awkward positions we had to contort to, to get to the only available spots. Sammy, the man on staff who captures pictures of everything on campus, was sure to get all of it, and was kind enough to let me post them here.
After a while I came to a point where my leg just couldn't possibly reach the called spot, whether it went over or under my arms. Even if balance were not an issue I couldn't move my leg there, and I toppled. I was exhilarated, and second place didn't seem bad at all after a show like that!
Here are some pictures of the whole tournament...
After Twister, a bunch of us went to Garrettsville to play cosmic bowling (it was college night at Skylanes). With me were Aimee and Heather (my neighbors on 4th Whit), Karen, and Claire. Phil and Nanda took the lane next to us, so Karen didn't get any pictures of them. But here's another snazzy little slideshow of us goofing off at the bowling alley:
See, Hiram's not boring. There's always something to do. Just look for it.
At noon we went to the HFH's storehouse of donated furniture, the ReStore. Half the group stayed to help them while the others and I went to a nearby church and dug post holes for a handicap-accessible ramp that was going to be built. Talking to each other made the work go faster, which was relatively rigorous because the soil was so rich in clay. We had to stop an hour early when the rain became too heavy for us to continue. So we returned to the ReStore to help the rest of the group finish building a wall.
We finished pretty much on time and returned to campus. Dinner was served at the KC, and it was spectacular! It was a welcome break from the regular dining hall food. They served plenty of salad, pastas, potatoes, rolls, roast beef....
After dinner I took a shower and went with some friends to the giant Twister tournament at the KC. KCPB spread out several mats on the floor and the action went in rounds. Generally two people faced each other on a single mat, and once one fell, the other got to go to the next round. As the numbers dwindled, the play became more difficult, with four players to a mat. Finally it was down to the last two players: Nick Michalenko (another Freshman) and myself.
Now, I hadn't played Twister since about the fifth grade, but I was doing very well that night. I never realized how flexible I am. I'll have to take up yoga... But anyway, Nick and I had a veritable battle of the wills on that Twister mat. It was hard work staying up on feet and palms, stretching from spot to spot. Everyone was astounded with our endurance. Neither of us would give up, and the whole ordeal of the final round lasted about half an hour! Several times there some rather... awkward positions we had to contort to, to get to the only available spots. Sammy, the man on staff who captures pictures of everything on campus, was sure to get all of it, and was kind enough to let me post them here.
After a while I came to a point where my leg just couldn't possibly reach the called spot, whether it went over or under my arms. Even if balance were not an issue I couldn't move my leg there, and I toppled. I was exhilarated, and second place didn't seem bad at all after a show like that!
Here are some pictures of the whole tournament...
After Twister, a bunch of us went to Garrettsville to play cosmic bowling (it was college night at Skylanes). With me were Aimee and Heather (my neighbors on 4th Whit), Karen, and Claire. Phil and Nanda took the lane next to us, so Karen didn't get any pictures of them. But here's another snazzy little slideshow of us goofing off at the bowling alley:
See, Hiram's not boring. There's always something to do. Just look for it.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Is Hiram Boring?
Our AV club, Terrier Productions, likes to go around campus sometimes and interview the students about certain issues. The latest "Your Take" episode posed the question "Is Hiram Boring?" You can view the video here:
Personally, I don't think Hiram is all that boring. Like some of the students said, you just have to know how to find fun. The weekends in particular at Hiram sometimes seem so... empty. I think the reason for this is that everyone returns home for the weekend. So many people return home because they think the weekends are boring. I think if more people stayed they would not have to look so hard to have fun.
But the nice thing is that it kind of encourages you to get out and find people, find something to do because it won't always come find you. For instance, my Friday night: After classes the campus starts to empty. I went to dinner, alone, and found a few friends to sit with and talk. We decided to go to the KC lounge. We played air hockey, table tennis, and pool. We had some food between games, listening to songs played by the DJ's for Hiram's radio station and chatting with each other. We got to meet new people. Then, around midnight, we moved to the lounge of Miller and some watched tv, others played more ping pong, and I taught Rachel a song on the piano. I left a little after one.
It was a fun night. I believe there was also a movie night and a bonfire last night. You can always find something to do here; you just have to look sometimes.
----------------
Now playing: Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
via FoxyTunes
Personally, I don't think Hiram is all that boring. Like some of the students said, you just have to know how to find fun. The weekends in particular at Hiram sometimes seem so... empty. I think the reason for this is that everyone returns home for the weekend. So many people return home because they think the weekends are boring. I think if more people stayed they would not have to look so hard to have fun.
But the nice thing is that it kind of encourages you to get out and find people, find something to do because it won't always come find you. For instance, my Friday night: After classes the campus starts to empty. I went to dinner, alone, and found a few friends to sit with and talk. We decided to go to the KC lounge. We played air hockey, table tennis, and pool. We had some food between games, listening to songs played by the DJ's for Hiram's radio station and chatting with each other. We got to meet new people. Then, around midnight, we moved to the lounge of Miller and some watched tv, others played more ping pong, and I taught Rachel a song on the piano. I left a little after one.
It was a fun night. I believe there was also a movie night and a bonfire last night. You can always find something to do here; you just have to look sometimes.
----------------
Now playing: Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
via FoxyTunes
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Toga!
It seems to be a law that every college in the country have at least one toga party every year. I have no idea why the Greek clubs and fraternities host them because the Greeks never actually wore togas. But either way toga parties are just one of those things that every college student must experience, so a bunch of friends and I got very excited and toga'ed it up!
Fourth Whit gets ready for the party; Becky helps Heather with her toga.
We arrived a little late to find about 8 people there on the dance floor. We thought, "Wow, another crazy night at Hiram!"
But after a while everyone else showed up and the party started!
Haha, a lovely group photo of Becky, Heather, Aimee, Claire and I.
Yeah, I used to have large biceps and a six pack, but then my free trial for Photoshop expired...
Leslie and I. "Should we get somebody to the picture for us?" ... "Nah, take it Facebook style!"
The toga party was interrupted around midnight by a fire alarm. That was a sight, a ton of people in togas, evacuating a building during the cold cold night. My friends and I decided to leave the party early and just hang out because we didn't know how long it would take for the party to start up again.
Fourth Whit gets ready for the party; Becky helps Heather with her toga.
We arrived a little late to find about 8 people there on the dance floor. We thought, "Wow, another crazy night at Hiram!"
But after a while everyone else showed up and the party started!
Haha, a lovely group photo of Becky, Heather, Aimee, Claire and I.
Yeah, I used to have large biceps and a six pack, but then my free trial for Photoshop expired...
Leslie and I. "Should we get somebody to the picture for us?" ... "Nah, take it Facebook style!"
The toga party was interrupted around midnight by a fire alarm. That was a sight, a ton of people in togas, evacuating a building during the cold cold night. My friends and I decided to leave the party early and just hang out because we didn't know how long it would take for the party to start up again.
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