A Thing: I just finished teaching the first half of the history of Western Theatre to 360 non-theatre students in under an hour and fifteen minutes. Given the historical period of 500 B.C. to 1642 A.D., this charts to about 28.6 years per minute. As someone who possesses a doctoral degree in Theatre History, I feel a little dirty. This would be like a Colts fan summarizing the 2006 season by saying, "We won the Super Bowl." That said, I think I managed to get a few big ideas across without boring people to death. Tips:
- French Renaissance? Spanish Golden Age? Who needs 'em. Skip em.
- Keep coming back to First Pillar of Entertainment: Sex! Dionysus was the Greek god of sex (well, fertility, but whatever)! Satyr plays involved big leather phalluses! Lots of sex onstage in ancient Rome! Elizabethan England: prostitutes! In the theatre! Right there, upstairs!
- And to the Second Pillar of Entertainment: Violence! Greek tragedy is gory! Children are killed, baked into a pie, and fed to an unknowing father! The Romans killed people onstage! Christopher Marlowe was stabbed! In the head!
- Don't be afraid to go of on semi-relevant but interesting tangents, like, for instance, how the English Renaissance produced tons of literary art but little remarkable visual art, and the Italian Renaissance was just the opposite.
- Drink a lot of water while talking. Two bottles should get you through.
- Use the wireless lapel mic. Yes, you are a theatre person and yes, you are capable of speaking audibly to the room unamplified, but you'll kill your voice.
- Any chance you get to talk about football is good. To wit, my example of how (according to legend) the first actor, Thespis, stepped from the Greek chorus to speak his own, individual dialog, as reenacted onstage by myself and five semi-willing volunteers. I played Thespis, naturally:
Chorus (in unison, including Thespis):
We are a Greek chorus.
We tell the audience tales of things that have happened.
For instance, Notre Dame and Michigan both lost again this week.
Thespis (stepping out on his own):
I am Thespis, the first actor.
I have stepped from the chorus.
Oh Chorus, is it true that Notre Dame and Michigan both lost again this week?
Chorus:
Yes, they are both zero and two. Isn't that hilarious?
Thespis:
Indeed. What news of the Chicago Bears?
Chorus:
We don't want to talk about it.
Another Thing: Ummm, can we talk for just a minute about how the Colts just whipped up on 'dem Saints? Holding the #1 scoring team in 2006 to three offensive points is kind of a BIG FREAKING DEAL and it has me VERY PSYCHED for the season. Sorry. No more all caps. You get the point. Things I liked: Pretty much everything, especially Freddy "I am the Monster that Gilbert Gardner Wasn't" Key Ah Ho. Things I didn't like: Kick coverage still terrifies me, but that's just how it goes with us. I will say that the Patriots (Pats: 38, Jets: 14) are also scary, but right now it feels like two title contenders trading blows in the early rounds. There is so much yet to come. Oh, and the Chargers are none too shabby, either. So, Week Two, Chargers/Pats will be one to watch, no doubt. That is all for now. More NFL thoughts as the season progresses.
