A Review on - In The Chamber 2010: Last Men

Imagine you’re all set to see a play. You’re excited to see the actors interact in front of you as the plot unwinds and you can’t wait to get lost in the show. Well, I have some bad news. If this is the experience you want, you will immediately dislike In The Chamber 2010: Last Men, playing at the Rachel Brown Theatre.

That was me. I was expecting to see a huge production and everything that comes with it like an elaborate set, an expensive lighting display, and more than one actor on stage at a time. What I got, however, was a bare set, a few spot lights, and one man speaking.

Initially, I was unimpressed. I was bored. I was disturbed. If you had asked me immediately after the show what I’d thought I would have said it was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to sit through in my life. My opinion has since changed.

You see, I didn’t know what I was about to watch. My unreal expectations were not met because they were just that, unrealistic. The play I witnessed was really two separate monologues preformed by two separate actors. Each was a speech about a big issue presented in a way that made you think, really think, about it.

Some people during the performance laughed, me not being one of them. I simply didn’t see the humour, but others clearly did. Some people were disgusted with the subject matter, and some were even angry they were watching. The thing is, I’m pretty sure every single person left thinking about the issues raised, and with an emotion ready to erupt.

Watching a monologue for 115 minutes is not my thing, but it was quite a thing to have experienced. How talented the actors must have been to cleverly evoke such diverse emotions within their viewers.

On Stress

Believe it or not, I'm way happier when I'm busy and stressed than when I'm not. I think this is because when I have the time to actually stop and think, I realize how much I have to do and what I'm not doing at that particular second. I like how focused you can be when there is too much to do at once, even though I would like a few extra hours in a day.

I've recently discovered, as you may have guessed, that I like stress. The thing is, however, that I have to be in the middle of it to thrive. If I stop, even for an hour, I realize that I'm stressed and that is when the negative repercussions happen like worrying, cleaning the same space multiple times, and eating chocolate.

I think stress can be a very healthy feeling as long as you're preoccupied with it.

Road Trip

During the holidays, I went on a road-trip out west.
On the first day, Monday, December 28, we drove
from Winnipeg to Calgary. I would tell a story from this day, but I'm pretty sure you'd find a story about me sitting in a car all day quite dull, so I'll try to fast-forward to the fun stuff.

On Tuesday, we drove out to Banff. Wow. I've only seen mountains once before, so I was amazed. The scenery around there was astounding. If you've never seen a sight like this one, I strongly recommend you go here, even just to see the beautiful Rockies.

The next day, Wednesday, we stumbled upon Bridal Falls. Nestled in the mountains was a secluded paradise of moss covered trees, freshly fallen snow, and a waterfall that looks like a bride's veil. The site was closed for the winter, but a server from a small dinner up the road said we could make to the top on foot. We had the falls all to ourselves.



And then, we went to Seattle. Which, by the way, is where I'm going to end up living one day. I spent the past weekend exploring the down-town of Seattle. Everything was amazing there. From seeing the original Starbucks location, standing on the top level of the space needle, watching men through fish around Pike Place Market for a crowd of camera-clad tourists, the architecturally-praised new public library, to simply seeing the view from my 24th-floor hotel room.


The main thing I learned from this trip was that I have not seen enough of the world around me. Even within Canada, there is so much that I have not yet seen. So far, however, Seattle is my favourite.

One down, three more to go!

Guys, can you believe we just finished one quarter of the program? It feels amazing to look back at how much work we've all just done. It's also a bit embarrassing to look at an early assignment compared to ones we can pull off now.

Here's an inspiring thought for all of us, it's only going to get more crazy! And the busier we get, the more stressed we'll get, but also, the more fun we'll have.

So let's all take a few weeks to re-group, rest, and give our creativity time to refill. Here's to a great term, and another one to come, Cheers!!!

The Barber of Seville Review

Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is an opera that is set in Seville during the 17th century. It is sung in Italian with English translations that appear above the stage on an electrical banner. The story is about Count Almaviva falling in love with the beautiful Rosina. She is under the care of her aging guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who keeps her locked away. Almaviva enlists the help of the town barber, Figaro, to sneak into the house where Rosina lives in order to win her heart. Dr. Bartolo discovers their love and threatens to keep them apart forever because he plans on marrying her himself.

If you think that sounds like the serious, tragic and dramatic stereotypical opera, you are wrong. This opera is damn hilarious.

We are first introduced to Figaro, played by James Westman, when he is not a part of the scene at all. While Almaviva serenades Rosina from the town square, just below her bared balcony, Figaro sporadically appears in openings within the huge, three sided revolving set that is rich in colour and detail. Figaro must be in the limelight at all times.

When Figaro finally has the stage to himself, which appears to be the way he likes it as he frolics from one end to the other, he sings a familiar melody about how if he didn’t exist, half the women in the town wouldn’t be able to get husbands, or so he believes. Westman sings beautifully while making fun of his own song. He makes an exasperated expression while bobbing his head from side to side during one of the many long, multi-note runs, which are typical in opera.

At the end of the first act, after Figaro had snuck Almaviva into Dr. Bartolo’s house, a perfectly choreographed and hilarious slow-motion fight scene broke out. At one end of the stage, Rosina, played by Nikki Einfeld, is fighting off two soldiers by elbowing them in the gut as they fly backward from the force. In the middle, Figaro is flamboyantly dodging swards, fists, and guns.

Another stand-out hilarious scene was after Figaro snuck Almaviva, played by Victor Ryan
Robertson, into the house for a second time disguised as a priest. Somehow, a ridiculous sequence of events starting with Rosina singing beautifully to Dr. Bartolo, played by Peter Strummer, ends with Figaro and Dr. Bartolo kissing. The audience, myself included, erupted with laughter.

The hilarity continued when Almaviva and Rosina finally confessed their love to each other. They sang a beautiful duet with powerful musical phrases, and amazing high notes. I was taken aback as I heard them sing together. However, during this time they were trying to escape, along with Figaro, from Dr. Bartolo. They kept getting lost in each other’s eyes, frozen in love’s spell. Figaro tried his hardest to speed them up, at which point we saw their escape route taken away in the background. The lovebirds didn’t notice. The audience, again, howled with laughter.

The Barber of Seville is an opera that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It will leave you satisfied by both the comedy as well as the caliber of performance. If you ever have the chance to see this hilarious opera, do it!

On Twitter

As of today, I am on Twitter. I just had a crash course on how to use it. The most important thing I've noticed so far is that if you want to know what people are talking about, just go to Twitter and look at the most talked about topics. It's actually quite amazing, Twitter has accomplished making a list of the top ten topics that the public is most interested in at any particular moment. This list in continually updated, so you can literally watch as the top topics change, and gain or lose popularity.

I can't believe I'm only just now being exposed to this! My twitter account is @ErikaAndersen5

Who wants to teach me how to socialize?

Ok, so I know how to socialize. But when I'm put into a room full of people I don't know, I tend to get a little nervous. What makes this even more difficult is when you walk into that room and people have already formed conversation circles; how do you break into those?

I wonder if the talent of "working a room" is natural or learned.

The people who are talented in this area, seem to do it naturally. They appear to be in their element as they pass from conversation circle to conversation circle, joining each with ease.

Sometimes though, I think that watching someone work the room, is like watching someone act. They play a character, adjusting their mannerisms and speaking style as they go along. Does that mean they are less than genuine? Or do they just bring out different aspects of themselves depending on their audience?

Personally, I'm hoping that you can learn this talent. Maybe, just like so many other things in life, it just takes practice.