So I have not updated a lot lately. It has been a crazy week. We painted all of the props with UV Reflective paint so that they could be seen under black light. You can look at the pictures! HERE: https://picasaweb.google.com/114689853843773272255/FunWithBlackLight?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2T68CtnfWzowE# (copy and paste it in...apparently my last link did not work or something, so I'll figure that out later Cara, I'm sorry.)
I have made friends with some of the opera singers who are missing teeth, continued work on the giant buttons, and found a random telephone booth. I thought that they had gone extinct, but NOT SO IN NARVIK! It is right next to the AMFI shopping center. HURRAH FOR TELEPHONE BOOTHS! I have continued to discover that people are the same everywhere. There is a little girl named Martina who is a handful in this production. She wants to be an actress desperately, but she puts up fits about how she cannot eat cheese although the day before she ate ALL of the cheese and was not supposed to, and how she does not like a scene at all that the director wrote in for her. She is only the second 10-year-old in the world that I have met like her. That, and she will only listen to me if I speak in broken Norwegian. Very silly.
Pavel's designs look saweet and work really well for the story of the opera. Things pop out of doors hidden into the walls of the set and tables come out of nowhere. It is very nice. Pavel also keeps lobbying for Hannah and I to be able to go back to our rooms and rest. It is nice, and I think that it echoes what all of our professors try to get into us: work is good, but you have to know when to take a break and have a personal life as well...keeping a balance.
The European Volunteer Service volunteers also invited Hannah and I to their house, which was fantastic. We watched the SUPERMOOOON. I may have written about this in my last blog, but that was so long ago that I cannot remember.
The last exciting thing is that Hannah and I are for sure going to Frederickstan (I don't know if that is how you spell it.) in order to take a workshop on scenography, which is very exciting. We have to cut it off early, but that is better than nothing I think. I'm excited to be able to explore a new city for a day or two next week and to see Frederickstan for the week and a half that we will be there.
Until next time. Ha det bra. Du kan spiser ostet vis du liker!
Seth
torsdag 24. mars 2011
onsdag 16. mars 2011
Time Moves SOOO FAST!
We have continued work on Teskjekjerringa. It was awesome because today I met someone named Ida who worked on the Lion King in London. She was repairing the Timon puppet, and she USED THE SAME SEWING MACHINE THAT WE HAVE BEEN USING FOR ALL OF OUR COSTUMES! I also touched the headpiece. IT WAS SAWEET! Then, we took the set down last night because a puppet show that is really well known as a children's show named Albert Aberg is coming tonight. We got free tickets, and I am going. YAY! I'm very excited. I got to see the puppets backstage. They are very simple, but they will be fun to watch I think.
We are getting more done every day. That is awesome. We have made two giant buttons, and today we covered them in fabric. We hope to paint one of them tomorrow. It should be good. Elin also gave Hannah and I some coffee and chocolate one night because we worked late. HURRAH! It was a fun day today. I think that Hannah ended up doing more work than I did because she finished drafting the light plot. It is difficult for more than one person to work on it. I got her some waffles that she likes because I feel bad that I did not get to help her more. I will try to find something else that I am good at sewing-wise or whatnot so that I can make up for that. At least I can hang and focus lights well. That I can do.
That is all for now. I have more photos on picassa. I will try to do what Cara told me and use HTML to link <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114689853843773272255/MoreDuringWork#">here</a> to photos. HAPPY DAY! There is another album somewhere, but I seem to have lost it. I think if you look at my other albums you will find that I have updated one of the old ones accidentally.
We are getting more done every day. That is awesome. We have made two giant buttons, and today we covered them in fabric. We hope to paint one of them tomorrow. It should be good. Elin also gave Hannah and I some coffee and chocolate one night because we worked late. HURRAH! It was a fun day today. I think that Hannah ended up doing more work than I did because she finished drafting the light plot. It is difficult for more than one person to work on it. I got her some waffles that she likes because I feel bad that I did not get to help her more. I will try to find something else that I am good at sewing-wise or whatnot so that I can make up for that. At least I can hang and focus lights well. That I can do.
That is all for now. I have more photos on picassa. I will try to do what Cara told me and use HTML to link <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114689853843773272255/MoreDuringWork#">here</a> to photos. HAPPY DAY! There is another album somewhere, but I seem to have lost it. I think if you look at my other albums you will find that I have updated one of the old ones accidentally.
lørdag 12. mars 2011
The First Full Week Is Done!
This first week has been incredible so far. We have finished up the details of the costumes, and today we helped with the paint selection for the colors under the blacklights for the mice. They are going to look very good. Silia, Hannah, and I may also do another short show after the first show just so that we can put up a show beside this one. That way we can all have fun collaborating on another show with us. We will see if we have time for that or not. It would be very fun to do. Silia is very interested in physical theatre just like I am, so we have similar interests. It is GREAT!
Tonight we had an interview with a woman from the Narvik newspaper...I cannot recall the name of it right now, but it is the word for forward in Norwegian. It went well overall. I think that we will help the publicity for the show, and we mentioned how we are "pioneers", as she put it, to start an exchange program of students going back and forth between the countries to learn design and theatrical studies.
The interview lasted about two hours because we kept talking about traveling and learning about how other people live and behave as well as how the more you travel the more everyone seems the same. It was a good conversation.
After that, we went to Kafferetiet, which is a bar and night club. We had dinner paid for by the company there. Tomorrow we also get both lunch and dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street from the hostel that we are staying it. Tomorrow will be excellent. I am going to explore for a bit in the morning and grab a cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast. Then, I am going to come back to the hostel and do drawings for Pavel and continue my paper on puppetry. It will be extremely relaxing as a day off.
The evening itself was wonderful tonight. We ate dinner together. Hannah and one of the opera singers and I had conversations about different opera productions and musicals, the opera we are working on, and we were trying to identify good cultural things that came from the 80's (crickets...) we came up with a few. HA HA! Got you there!
Then, Hannah, Helge, Holdis, and I talked for quite a while about what theatre was like when they were in the United States. I found out that Helge not only worked on sculptures for the Guggenheim museum, but he also toured to the US with a rock group. He also worked in LA with Holdis for the LA Theatre Center, which does not exist any longer. Apparently, they received some money from the city of LA as well as received private support. I love both of them because they spent a lot of time tonight talking about who they worked with and what they had done. It was fantastic to here stories about their theatrical exploits. Holdis also talked about how when she studied in the US on a Fulbright Scholarship, the Civil Rights movement was happening. She particularly described how she had African friends that her host family would not allow to go into the house...IN WASHINGTON STATE! WHAT?! That seems so insane to me. Anyhow. I got a few more good photos of the small town of Narvik as well as the kulturhus where we are working. I'm sure that in my exploration tomorrow I will find more. Enjoy them!
Tonight we had an interview with a woman from the Narvik newspaper...I cannot recall the name of it right now, but it is the word for forward in Norwegian. It went well overall. I think that we will help the publicity for the show, and we mentioned how we are "pioneers", as she put it, to start an exchange program of students going back and forth between the countries to learn design and theatrical studies.
The interview lasted about two hours because we kept talking about traveling and learning about how other people live and behave as well as how the more you travel the more everyone seems the same. It was a good conversation.
After that, we went to Kafferetiet, which is a bar and night club. We had dinner paid for by the company there. Tomorrow we also get both lunch and dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street from the hostel that we are staying it. Tomorrow will be excellent. I am going to explore for a bit in the morning and grab a cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast. Then, I am going to come back to the hostel and do drawings for Pavel and continue my paper on puppetry. It will be extremely relaxing as a day off.
The evening itself was wonderful tonight. We ate dinner together. Hannah and one of the opera singers and I had conversations about different opera productions and musicals, the opera we are working on, and we were trying to identify good cultural things that came from the 80's (crickets...) we came up with a few. HA HA! Got you there!
Then, Hannah, Helge, Holdis, and I talked for quite a while about what theatre was like when they were in the United States. I found out that Helge not only worked on sculptures for the Guggenheim museum, but he also toured to the US with a rock group. He also worked in LA with Holdis for the LA Theatre Center, which does not exist any longer. Apparently, they received some money from the city of LA as well as received private support. I love both of them because they spent a lot of time tonight talking about who they worked with and what they had done. It was fantastic to here stories about their theatrical exploits. Holdis also talked about how when she studied in the US on a Fulbright Scholarship, the Civil Rights movement was happening. She particularly described how she had African friends that her host family would not allow to go into the house...IN WASHINGTON STATE! WHAT?! That seems so insane to me. Anyhow. I got a few more good photos of the small town of Narvik as well as the kulturhus where we are working. I'm sure that in my exploration tomorrow I will find more. Enjoy them!
tirsdag 8. mars 2011
Travelling to Norway and First Days of Teskjekjerringa
Hurrah! So, it has been a few days, and they have been great. I have some highlights of the past few days on the picasa site. So, woot for that. Look on there if you are interested. I have never had a blog before. Anyhow. If you are interested, read. If not, oh well!
First highlight was talking to a kindergarten teacher pumping up and saying how wonderful Norway is as a country.
Hannah and I are the interns here now, but there is a very cool volunteer exchange program that takes place throughout Europe where you can volunteer in another country, and the European Union will pay all of your expenses for nine months. We have two volunteers from that helping with the opera as well. They are both from Germany, and they seem very nice.
Hannah is from Idaho, and she is cool. We spend a lot of time talking on the bus and plane rides to Narvik from Oslo, which was BEAUTIFUL, and I included photos of this on the picasa site as well. That is the beautiful scenery.
I should include the bit in Oslo since there are also photos of the Skiing Championship party there. THAT WAS AWESOME! There were lots of sculptures and food and people singing music in the streets and fires in the middle of the streets, and just general jubilation. I got caught up in it for about 3 hours. I was only expecting to see a bunch of buildings, but got WAYYY MORE...including hot chocolate...varm skjokolate.
Back to the opera. The people we are working with are fun. The names that I can remember well are Elen, who is essentially the costume foreman. Hannah and I are working under her a lot. Hannah was sick today, so it was slightly sad. However, we went shopping for props and some small costume pieces. It was fun. Pavel came along, and I suddenly had a glimpse into his mind. I think that everything he thinks becomes an extended metaphor. He had this really long metaphor that lasted an hour and a half about how the people of Narvik were playing pingpong with us because we could not find a thrift shop. It was funny. The thrift stores here are AMAZING! They are super nice. Everything here is super nice. This is a tiny town, yet they can afford to have two theatres that do regular live shows as well as a cinema. HUMUNAH WAH?!
Other people we are working with are Helge, who is the tech director for the show. Katharina, who is the production manager...I think...she seems to be doing that work. Klara, who is the stage manager. Everyone is very nice. Then, there are two singers that have been talking to me a bit...named Trond and Pieter. Pieter is a student, and he talks about his studies a lot. Trond is a dad, and we had a good conversation about having kids. They are quite fun. I am slowly picking up the language, but because they speak a dialect that even the Southern Norwegians cannot always understand, I am having some difficulties. That...and Pieter is from Sweden, and he is the most helpful with teaching words and phrases...but they have a Swedish accent with them so it makes it unintelligible to the ears of everyone else. Then, I say something, and people respond in English, so it is difficult to continue to speak in Norwegian. While shopping, I listened constantly to pick up new words. I picked up skoliser and sko...shoelace and shoe...also vis...if...and a few others.
Finally, the food is very good. We have our food paid for. HURRAH! It is good. We had fish last night with potatoes and vegetables. Tonight we had stew with mashed potatoes and fruit. That was for Middag. Which is actually at 5ish. Then, Lunch at noon is sandwhiches...I think, though, that that is breakfast because everyone keeps eating late at night as well. It is good! HURRA! Ok that is all for now. I will post more later when I have time.
Here is the link to picasa...I don't have time to link it properly, but later I will figure it out.
https://picasaweb.google.com/114689853843773272255/TravellingToNorwayAndFirstDaysOfWork?authkey=Gv1sRgCJa-qaCK7oqYUg#
First highlight was talking to a kindergarten teacher pumping up and saying how wonderful Norway is as a country.
Hannah and I are the interns here now, but there is a very cool volunteer exchange program that takes place throughout Europe where you can volunteer in another country, and the European Union will pay all of your expenses for nine months. We have two volunteers from that helping with the opera as well. They are both from Germany, and they seem very nice.
Hannah is from Idaho, and she is cool. We spend a lot of time talking on the bus and plane rides to Narvik from Oslo, which was BEAUTIFUL, and I included photos of this on the picasa site as well. That is the beautiful scenery.
I should include the bit in Oslo since there are also photos of the Skiing Championship party there. THAT WAS AWESOME! There were lots of sculptures and food and people singing music in the streets and fires in the middle of the streets, and just general jubilation. I got caught up in it for about 3 hours. I was only expecting to see a bunch of buildings, but got WAYYY MORE...including hot chocolate...varm skjokolate.
Back to the opera. The people we are working with are fun. The names that I can remember well are Elen, who is essentially the costume foreman. Hannah and I are working under her a lot. Hannah was sick today, so it was slightly sad. However, we went shopping for props and some small costume pieces. It was fun. Pavel came along, and I suddenly had a glimpse into his mind. I think that everything he thinks becomes an extended metaphor. He had this really long metaphor that lasted an hour and a half about how the people of Narvik were playing pingpong with us because we could not find a thrift shop. It was funny. The thrift stores here are AMAZING! They are super nice. Everything here is super nice. This is a tiny town, yet they can afford to have two theatres that do regular live shows as well as a cinema. HUMUNAH WAH?!
Other people we are working with are Helge, who is the tech director for the show. Katharina, who is the production manager...I think...she seems to be doing that work. Klara, who is the stage manager. Everyone is very nice. Then, there are two singers that have been talking to me a bit...named Trond and Pieter. Pieter is a student, and he talks about his studies a lot. Trond is a dad, and we had a good conversation about having kids. They are quite fun. I am slowly picking up the language, but because they speak a dialect that even the Southern Norwegians cannot always understand, I am having some difficulties. That...and Pieter is from Sweden, and he is the most helpful with teaching words and phrases...but they have a Swedish accent with them so it makes it unintelligible to the ears of everyone else. Then, I say something, and people respond in English, so it is difficult to continue to speak in Norwegian. While shopping, I listened constantly to pick up new words. I picked up skoliser and sko...shoelace and shoe...also vis...if...and a few others.
Finally, the food is very good. We have our food paid for. HURRAH! It is good. We had fish last night with potatoes and vegetables. Tonight we had stew with mashed potatoes and fruit. That was for Middag. Which is actually at 5ish. Then, Lunch at noon is sandwhiches...I think, though, that that is breakfast because everyone keeps eating late at night as well. It is good! HURRA! Ok that is all for now. I will post more later when I have time.
Here is the link to picasa...I don't have time to link it properly, but later I will figure it out.
https://picasaweb.google.com/114689853843773272255/TravellingToNorwayAndFirstDaysOfWork?authkey=Gv1sRgCJa-qaCK7oqYUg#
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