Ah, drunken unicycling. Is there a nobler use of time on a Friday night? I think not. Tonight I rode to The Lawn here at UVA, and hung out with some law students perched upon the stairs of The Jefferson Rotunda. I believe at one point, when I informed one of the gentlemen there that I was inebriated, and he asked me if I could even define what inebriation was, I called him the "David Hume of Natty Lite." But on to the meat of this post:

Really? One more day here? How bizarre. Only yesterday, it seems, I was just arriving, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for some theatre. I now leave, feeling much more experienced and a tad older to boot. I credit much of both feelings to my discovering why exactly it is that I don't seem to mesh with my program quite as well as I'd like to: It's a BFA program.

In theatre, you have BA programs in which students learn how to do everything. They act, work electrics, build sets and prop shows. In BFA programs, a concentration is chosen and pursued exclusively. I find that this method of teaching theatre is fundamentally flawed. This summer alone, I can easily count off at least 6 or 7 of my coworkers who were not working in a department that they either had trained or were training at school for. Technical theatre and even acting are not professions one can afford to specialize too harshly in, because frankly, one can end up doing just about anything. Even if I knew, definitely, that I wanted to be a scenic designer, I should act, and I should props a show, and I should help build a set. Our areas of concentration are not so far that one can afford to not know how their actions will directly affect those they are working with. Simply put, those that have had those experiences will more than likely be leagues above those that have specialized in both technical knowledge and ease to work with.

Yet my program is not without room to stretch my legs. I've propped a show already, and despite the fact that it was more or less a disaster that was my fault, I'm ready to brush myself off and do it again this semester, and am glad that the department has trusted me again. There are also practicum hours, in which I'll be able to run shows as a dresser, properties handler, or technician. It warms my heart to hear that the incoming freshmen will be allowed practicum, and dearly hope that they do not view it with the disdain that so many others in my department to.

Tomorrow I think I'll post a bit about why I love run crew positions, and how, if I were to only run shows for years once I move to Chicago, I would be pleased as a bird with a french fry.

To lighten things up, here is a long-exposure photograph of J.P., one of the actors in our production of Red, White and Tuna. He is a truly remarkable individual who juggles, unicycles, and uses a bullwhip. A few hours ago he demonstrated his proficiency with a bullwhip that was on fire; truly a spectacle I will not soon forget.