the aftermath.

So much food. So so much food. It was all delicious, and we have so much left. Funny to think that at one point, we were worried that there wouldn't be enough, but we've crammed 2+ refrigerators full of leftovers, and I'm currently two helpings in. So stuffed. So good.

Last night was a lot of fun. Pretty sloppy. (Somehow, lots of wine ended up on the floor. I have no idea who could have done that.) But most of our professors showed up and ate and drank with us and came to appreciate the marvelousness that is an American Thanksgiving. Anatoly Smelianksy, head of the school and director of the MXAT company, gave a toast about halfway through the night. He saluted our class and said that he thinks of us as colleagues, not as students. And that warmed my thankful Thanksgiving heart, to hear that he respects us that much.

We all stumbled upstairs, leftovers in hand. I passed out by 1... the night began young.

We had Russian language and Movement today.

Yelena cancelled class and we hung out at Starbucks with her.

We were terrified that Vlad would give us a difficult class. But he was there last night. And he saw our sloppy selves. So today was mostly stretching, with a little bit of balancing.

So other than being an extraordinary sort of hungover, the day was a success.

Acting: Scene work! We've been doing scene work for the past week or so, and it's been quite an adventure. For example, today Darren and I worked extensively on our scene for about an hour and a half. Time management is not exactly Sasha and Oleg's strong point.

We got a lot done. But there's a lot more left to do. A ton more.

The scene gets more and more complicated each time we play it.

The miniature beats and the work that Sarah has to do to win over Ivanov.

He tells her that he's stopped loving her, and she continues to work to keep him home.

There's no "You don't love me?" It's "I understand."

She wants to fix him, help him.

But there's nothing to be done because he can't articulate what he's feeling.

I don't mean to make it sound so epic, but it's such a remarkable character realization... How could you still want to help? Unless you were really and truly lovesick? And how to be lovesick but still happy and encouraging, because you want to keep him home?

One thing I will say to Fordham students: one of the most useful things you will learn at school is to say "I" instead of your character's name when speaking about your scene. Not: "So what should Sarah do in this moment? Does she think that he's going to walk away again or that he'll stay?" Always, always: "So what should I do in this moment? Do I think that he's going to walk away again, or that he'll stay?" You want to create a person to put on the stage, not a character. By speaking in the third person, you're distancing yourself from that objective. You're analyzing a character at that point, not a person. And text on a page can't tell you what Sarah should do, because you have to create that choice. That's why, here, I talk about Sarah in the third person, because I'm talking about her text. But when I'm making choices, it's always "I".

Tangent over.

Show! Saw another Uncle Vanya, this time on the MXAT stage. Not a real fan. If you read a Chekhov play and are the kind of person who thinks: "Jesus. Nothing happens." (which most people think, upon first reading), then this production is for you. It was, simply put... beige. The entirety of the set was beige, the costumes were variations on white and ivory, and the play was boring. It wasn't bad, I just didn't care about it. I would rather it be bad. Nothing worse that to not care about what you just saw.

Well. Going down to the movement studio.

Miss you all.

Hope Thanksgiving went well on that side of the international divide!

love

M