Divergent

Anthony went to see the movie based on the book, "Divergent".  I know a lot of you read and enjoyed the book (as did Anthony and I).  He was pretty disappointed in the movie.  It left out a lot of the stuff that he thought was good.  Does it ruin the experience to have read the book first?  I never want to see a movie based on a book I love.  I remember the first time Anthony had this experience -- he was little and loved the book, The Indian in the Cupboard.  Then he saw the movie and was horribly disappointed because they had changed things without any apparent reason.

I saw "American Hustle" (I know -- it's old -- my friend and I were the only people in the theatre!  It felt like we were in Hollywood and somebody like Bradley Cooper had called us up and asked us to his private studio theatre to watch his movie.)  Anyway, I really enjoyed it.  All the actors were great.  Christian Bale certainly didn't bring "Batman" to mind.  (Apparently Robert de Niro didn't even recognize him when they met on the set -- I certainly didn't recognize him.  Although I don't really think it's necessary to gain a whole bunch of weight or shave your head to create a character.  It reminds me of that great story about Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier on the set of "Marathon Man".  Dustin Hoffman arrives on the set and they're going to film the dentist scene in which Laurence Olivier is supposed to be torturing him and asking him over and over "is it safe?"  Olivier says that he looks dreadful and Dustin Hoffman says he's stayed up all night so he can get into character for the scene, and Olivier says, "my dear boy, have you ever tried acting?")  I found myself chortling with enjoyment throughout the whole movie.  You've got to love a good heist.

Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. (The Iliad)

The boys and I watched "Troy" last night.  Yes, the one with Brad Pitt.  It was pretty awful, but you could see why Brad Pitt, or any other big star, would want to do it.  Who wouldn't want to play Achilles?  The brave, sulky Achilles.  He's disgusted by all the fame sucks around him, but he's a fame suck himself.  He was given the choice between a happy, fulfilling life with a wife and children and peace and contentment, or death at an early age (along with eternal fame) and he chose the latter.  If he had been old and wily, like Odysseus, he would have taken the former, I'm sure.  Of course, Odysseus is there as well, so perhaps I'm wrong.

The great Peter O'Toole played Priam, not his best performance.  I was shocked that they left out Hecuba and Cassandra who are actually two of the best characters.  Of course, it was focused on the battle scenes, so I guess they chose with that in mind.

It is a great story and so many great Greek plays use Homer, just like modern literature makes use of the Bible.  William kept asking if it was true.  They did find a city they think was Troy that was burned at around the time that they think the Iliad was supposed to take place, but whether or not there was an Achilles or a Paris and Helen or Hector, I guess we'll never know.

It's funny how different things affect you in different stages of your life.  I always found Cassandra the most interesting character but now that I have two sons, I identify more with Andromache.  I didn't use to like Samuel Beckett, but now I agree that it is heroic just to keep going and trying no matter how absurd it all seems.  I guess that's what some of the Greeks thought, too.  The gods always seemed to be out to get them -- especially in the Trojan War when everything seemed to infuriate one of the gods, even when you were trying to do honour to another one -- but they soldiered on, making speeches and beautiful sculptures and writing magnificent plays.

Taceant colloquia. Effugiat risus.

We visited the Vancouver Police Museum today.  It is a very interesting place with crime scenes to decipher, confiscated weapons and drugs on display and all sorts of items from the history of policing in Vancouver.  Today they had a couple of officers who use police dogs there to talk about what that's like, and also the police dog, Justice, who was very anxious to get out of the museum and back to work "catching bad guys".  We had a good visit and it has given me all sorts of things to think about.  Anthony is considering the idea of becoming a police officer (I'm not enthusiastic) and he was pleased to discover that in the entire history of the Vancouver Police Force, only 16 officers have been killed in the line of duty.  Of course, that doesn't include the officers who have suffered from depression and anxiety because of what they have had to do and what they have seen.  A police officer I know said it is difficult to see the suffering of the people they have to deal with -- families in chaos, little kids neglected and abandoned, innocent people who are the victims of crime, hapless people who commit crimes because of mental illness and drug addiction.  Sometimes the other police officers can make it difficult for you as well.  Think about the officers who were responsible for the death of Robert Dziekansky at the Vancouver Airport eight years ago.

The Latin quote is from the entrance way to the morgue -- the full quote is "Let idle talk be silenced.  Let laughter be banished.  This is the place where death rejoices to teach those who live."  It is a standard inscription in autopsy facilities throughout the Western world.  It was quite amazing to see all the different organs that had been taken from dead bodies and how the person who did the autopsy figured out what had killed the dead person.

It all sounds rather ghoulish, but it is a bright lively place and the boys and I all found it really fascinating.  It's not expensive ($8.00 for students) and something to think about doing over the spring break.  It's on Cordova Street next to the Firehall Theatre and a couple of blocks from Chinatown, so you could go and then have a nice bite to eat afterwards and then see a show!  "Chelsea Hotel" is on at the Firehall -- it is based on the music of Leonard Cohen.  Coincidentally, there was a program on the radio about Leonard Cohen as we drove home from the museum.  Obviously, some of his songs are terrific ("Dance Me to the End of Love" and "Hallelujah") but he doesn't have a great singing voice and the boys were both slagging him mercilessly.  It's like what Neil Young said to David Foster when he said, so delicately, "I think you're a bit flat, Neil."

Neil Young looked up in a haze of whatever and said, in his characteristic nasal voice, "that's my sound, man."

Let's go to a show!

RIP! A Winkle in Time Conceived and written by KC Brown with the Rip! Creative Collective Directed by Wayne Specht & Kathryn Bracht Featuring Annette Devick Stefano Giulianetti Tara Travis Simon Webb

Ever feel as though you blinked for a moment and the world completely changed? Imagine the plight of Randall Irving Parson (Rip) whose mysterious encounter with a ghostly crew leads him to fall asleep – and stay frozen for over a century.  With global warming afoot, Rip finally thaws and finds himself in a world that staggers the imagination.  As Rip tries to catch up to the pace of change today, there are plenty of people trying to catch him too – all in the knockabout physical theatre style that Axis is famous for.

RIP! A Winkle in Time, is Axis’ first solo, adult mainstage creation in over 10 years and launches a new initiative to create adult mainstage productions for Axis’ touring repertoire.  Having officially retired the THE NUMBER 14 after 20 years this World Premiere will also mark the final big adventure for retiring Artistic Director Wayne Specht.  His body of work has encompassed the creation of over 55 original works, 16 Jessie Richardson Awards and has led Axis Theatre Company to be recognized as one of the most innovative physical theatre companies in the Canadian arts community for the past 38 years.

Preview:  Wednesday April 30th @ 8pm

Opens:  May 1st - May 17th @ 8pm (No shows on Mondays)
Matinees Saturday and Sundays on May 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 @ 2pm

At The Waterfront Theatre
Granville Island, 1412 Cartwright Street

Grade 11 and 12's:  Lots of you said that one thing you'd like this year was to go to a play and I've always thought of doing it but you know what a whirl it is at school -- hard to work everything in.  Anyway, this sounds good -- it is suitable for adults and young adults (or older kids, like most of you) and there are matinees for schools on May 7 and 14 (and one on May 1, but we'll be doing "The Wars of 1812" then.)

I'm sure some of you have seen "The Number 14" which was about the Hastings Street bus.  What a terrific show that was!  Anyway, I'd be interested in feedback about the show if any of you have any thoughts.  It would be $15 per ticket and then we would have to pay for our transportation down to Granville Island.

somebody who's bored is asleep, and somebody who's asleep will not say no

Enjoy your spring break.  Two whole weeks with nothing in them yet, and you can make them any way you like.  Of course, you can't decide to suddenly fly off to Peru, if you don't have the air fare or if your family has other plans or obligations, but you could learn about Peru, or you could be a tourist in your own city.  One thing I think I'll do is go to the Vancouver Police Museum.  I've read about it and it sounds like it would be really interesting.
 
I got up at my usual 5:25 a.m. to walk Daisy this morning, because William had a soccer game in Surrey at 9 (be there at 8!!)  It was cold and wet and they lost 5-0, so it wasn't a glorious start to the break, but then we were outside and anticipating the next 14 days, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Cast members of the play:  good work yesterday in plunging through the whole thing.  Those of you who didn't come -- I know some of you were off on holidays, but some of you didn't tell Rachel or Karina that you couldn't make it, so that causes some stress for the rest of us.  It is a bit of a slam when I've made every effort to give you all a chance to perform and some of you aren't taking advantage of that chance.  Make sure you try to clear April, so we can choreograph some of the group scenes. And I hope when we return to school on the 31st, you all know your lines!

I saw "My Dinner with Andre" last night.  It is a movie in which Wallace Shawn, a New York playwright and actor, has dinner with his old friend, mentor and theatre director, Andre Gregory.  Most of the movie is their dinner conversation.  No explosions, so some of you would say nothing happens, but for me, it's great because the conversation is really interesting and Wally and Andre are so different.  I love the music (Satie) and the wild experiences of Andre and Wally's description of his relishing of the mundane things in his life.  The title quote I've used is from the movie.  What do you think?

And the moral of the story is . . .

Grade 8 journal:  Which Aesop lesson would be a good lesson for you to learn?  Explain why.

Remember to bring your script to class every day.  Think of something good to use for your show and tell presentation which we will do shortly after we return from holidays.

Grade 9 journal:  What event in your own life would make a good play?  What genre would you use for it?  Write a scene from the play you would create.

 Example:

Ms. Kosar:  (entering the theatre)  Why won't the lights go on in the theatre?  Something must have happened over spring break!

( A scream in the darkness.)

Ms. Kosar:  Oh, no!  What was that?  Hello?  Hello?  Is anyone there?

Voice:  Yes, Ms. Kosar.  We're all here !  We're playing hide-and-seek. . . in the dark!

Ms. Kosar:   Noooooooooo!  (etc.)

Senior drama:  What was the significance of the alarm clock in the original Honeymooners scene?  Write about one of the things you used in your second rendition of the scene.  What did it signify?

Theatre production:  Which was the best Honeymooners scene?  Why?  Which was the best second version?  Why?

Grade 9's, 10's, 11's, and 12's:  Practice your monologues if you like.  Think about how you will stage them.  Think about what makes your character tick.

Seabiscuit

I saw the movie "Seabiscuit" last night.  Another horse movie.  It was good, I thought.  Jeff Bridges is a great actor and Chris Cooper and Tobey McGuire were also good.  I liked how they described the Depression and cut photographs from the period into the story.  Of course, the horse races are terrifically exciting.  But the greatest horse race on film in my opinion is the one from "The Black Stallion" directed by Caroll Ballard.  It is so beautiful and expresses the relationship between the boy and the horse so movingly.  It's a great movie.  The book is pretty good, too.  It is the first book that really caught Anthony's interest.

I also saw "Middle of the Night" which is a Paddy Chayevsky screenplay.  He liked to write about regular people and I was quite impressed with how modern and open the movie was, even though it was made in 1959.  It stars Frederick March and Kim Novak.  March was great as the old man obsessed with the young beautiful woman in his office.  Kim Novak was really awful.  She is so beautiful, but her performances are always so jerky and mannered.  She's trying to play a kind of mixed up, shy short of person and her way of doing that is to jerk her head around wildly which is really distracting.  I didn't like the ending, which was a kind of happy one, because I couldn't believe that it would be.

The Pen is Mightier than the Mouth!

Lots of you talk a great game, but you need to write as well.  I believe interim report cards are due next week on March 12 and you don't want to receive a report that says, "Hiram/Harlene does not do her/his written work in Drama" just in time for spring break.

Journal (Grade 8)  Write about your "Creation" play.  How did your group work together?  Was anyone a leader?  Was anyone a hindrance to the work of the group?  What are your comments about the final performance?  What went well?  What could be improved?

(Grade 9):  Write about the work your group is doing to prepare your heritage performances.  With what are you happy at this point?  What still needs work?  Which character do you like to play?  Why?  Which character is most challenging for you to play?  Why?

(Senior Drama):  What is funny about the blabbermouth scene?  How are you going to play your character?  Describe him/her.  What qualities will you emphasize in order to create a funny character?  What is your relationship with the other characters in the scene?  How will you show that?

Theatre Production:  What does the set say about the Kramdens?  What costumes have you chosen for the characters?  What do they say about each person?

Blabbermouth!

Senior Drama:  We will see your "Blabbermouth" scenes from "The Honeymooners" on Monday.  You need to know your lines and plan out your scenes so that they will be seamless and funny!  How can you make your scene the funniest?  Use your imagintion.

Grade 8's:  "The Creation of the World" went well in A Block this morning.  I am looking forward to seeing the D Block performances this afternoon.

Grade 9's:  We continue our work on the heritage plays which we will see next week before we all go off on Spring Break!  I am looking for convincing performances, a knowledge of the time period in which the stories take place, and seamless transitions through the framework and the stories.  Think of what you want the audience to get out of your performances.

Make sure you've written all your journals!  It's easy -- look in the bin and look on the blog!

Warhorse

Have you seen the movie "Warhorse" about a horse in World War I?  I saw it today.  It was great, in my opinion.  Of course, movies about animals are always tear-jerkers and this is about animals serving in war, and World War I was notoriously horrible and bloody and wasteful in so many awful ways, especially since they were all at it again in twenty years. 

I have never had anything to do with a horse and I'm a little afraid of them, because they are very big and strong and they could really hurt you, I think.  But they are so strikingly beautiful and it is quite remarkable how trainers can get horses and other animals to perform, to "act", although I don't think they really could understand what is going on as far as pretending or anything.

It seems shocking that the armies of Europe used horses in cavalry charges in World War I.  Horses running into machine gun fire.  But apparently that is what happened.  It really expresses the horrific waste of that war and the incomprehensibility of using war to settle international disputes.  One would hope in the 21st century that we could figure out something else.  We haven't yet, but we have to hope.

Hope you all had a great long weekend.  See you tomorrow.