This last week

This last week has been amazing. One week ago I started with my first day at the theatre for my Ethnography project, I was nervous and excited, and they made me feel like a welcome guest, showing me all of the little intricacies that make the theatre work, less than two minutes after I got there they were cracking jokes, offering me coffee and discussing where I was to go during the show. I left several hours later overwhelmed with excitement and as soon as I was in the street and had put a bit of distance between myself and the patrons of the theatre I did my little jumpy dance train wreck sort of thing, I got a few stares but didn't mind, I felt the need to share my emotions with the world an the jumpy dance is my preferred method.


On Sunday I spent time with friends. I went with one of my friends to visit with another who was on her lunch break at work. It was nice to just hangout and talk while walking around New York. This little adventure reconfirmed my belief that I don't get out of the FiDi often enough. I then spent several hours in meetings, not as much fun, but they made me feel productive.


I worked on a project all day Monday (and also did laundry, gotta love having clean clothes to start off your week), Tuesday was school and writing things for midterms, Wednesday saw me back at the theatre.


Wednesday was even more exciting and nerve wracking than Saturday. I was worried that they might all have gotten over their interests in myself and my project, that they would not be as interested in showing me things, or being interviewed, or that they simply would have forgotten I was coming and I would not be allowed in. 


All of these were wrong, I entered and was allowed to just go in without an escort, where I was quickly thrown into a group of people who were all waiting to be interviewed, and behind me I could here the others arguing about were I would go. Even more than the first time I visited, I felt like a new foreign toy that one of the kids had brought home, and subsequently every other kid was interested in. Most of the kids wanted time with the new toy, some just wanted to stare at it and ask others questions about it, and others still just wanted to prod it see what it was made of.  I did not mind being that toy. Wednesday involved much more for me, I felt as if I had been accepted in and it was decided I was worthy of truly seeing their lives. More people talked to me, asked questions or answered mine. I followed one of the SMs during part of the run and watched the set changes,  the prop set ups and all of the back stage magic, at intermission I was lucky to be privy to what seemed to be a rather selective and hilarious exchange with one of the actors. I then watched the rest of the show while sitting at the conductors side, here I was told stories, advice information, and all other sorts of things that are hard to categorize. Talking with the conductor really made me understand a whole lot about theatre, and the world in general. it was brilliant.


Thursday was all preparing for Friday, Friday was all preparing for Haunted House, and Saturday #2 was all about sleep. 


I learned and did a lot this week, and one of the things I learned is that the most passionate people often seem the most child like to others, yet they tend to hold great amounts of wisdom. 


I would rather be wise, passionate and child like, than old, frumpy, and foolish.