Maafa

WEll, were to start I have to say MAAFA was an inspirational experience. I enjoyed the way they set up the theme in the church.But when i first walked into the church i felt a little frightened. The reason why was because i heard kids screaming from the auditorium, i had no idea what to think whatsoever. But then i realized it was all part of the play i thought that it was very creative. They made the play seem so real as if we had been sent back to the past of slavery.I was also very interested in the dancing the actors and actresses were doing it made the play lively and very entertaining.Towards the end of the play i felt very good because i had never experienced such an inspirational feeling like i did that night. The church was definitely a pleasure because i felt a sense of comfort like there was positive vibes throughout the church. All though the play was very longi still enjoyed it. By the time we arrived at moravian it was around 1:30 way to long for me. But i was pleased with the performance i had a chance to watch because it was definitely a healing experience! 

MAAFA: A Long, Inspiring Night

Not that I don't enjoy staying up late, but getting back from the city at 1:30 am was not what I had in mind. We attended the 6:00 pm showing of the MAAFA Suite and did not get back to school until late at night, or early the next morning I should say. Although, we were there all night trying to stay awake, it was a well done performance. I loved how the actor's led us through the halls into the big church room. They truly put their hearts into the performance. They tried to give their audience a feeling that you were truly experiencing the pain with them, for example, the kids SCREAMING at you as you walked through the door! Or when the actors gave you despising looks, which unfortunately was my experience. Overall, the performance was excellent and inspiring. There were a few technical errors, but the show was incredible. The only problem was the 3 hour long first act, but other than that, I would recommend the MAAFA Suite to anyone looking for a great performance!

Lower east Side Tenement Museum

The September 10th trip to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum has been my favorite first year seminar trip so far. I enjoyed that it wasn't the "average" museum. Instead, it was an authentic, untouched building with so much history to offer. Every item in the museum was what was left from the last tenents in the 1930's. Nothing was roped off and everything was in reach. All 22 layers of original wallpaper was still visible and air conditioning had never been installed. I was able to physically feel the environment the Tenement's residents lived in. The setup was brilliant and personally, I felt as though I learned more from this experience than from any other museum we've been to. Since the structure hadn't been modernized, I actually felt like I'd stepped back in time. An experience that power is hard to come by in a world where few people would prefer to maintain an old building over tearing it down and building something new. The Tenement Museum stands as a rarity and a mark in history. There's only so much to learn from documents and photographs. Experiences tend to thrive in peoples' memories while a reading is forgotten in time. The trip to the Tenement Museum is an experience I'm not likely to forget.

Grey Hounds in NYC Museums

My first year seminar class, which is for freshman at Moravian College to take that focuses on a topic that relates to the student's course of study. My class is all about exploring the Museums of New York. We have embarked on two trips to visit four museums in total (so far) including the Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and the national Museum of the American Indian.

A favorite trip of mine was when we visited MoMA. This museum includes many types of drawings and paintings that I love. For instance, I saw a well known piece from one of my favorite artists, Andrew Wyeth. This painting is called "Christina's World."

It is a tempera painting on a gessoed panel from 1948. The subject matter includes a woman (assumed to be Christina) laying in a barren landscape in from of two lonely buildings.

I really appreciate the distance or depth that Wyeth created between Christina and the background. Christina's body lies in the foreground, facing away from the viewer - towards the house that is palced all the way out on the horizon. The depth isenhanced with scale. The size of the house in comparison with Christina is miniscule.
With some research I read that Christina, whose full name is Christina Olsen, was a neighbor of Andrew Wyeth's and she had polio which left her lower body paralyzed.

I believe that a majority of my peers in my class enjoyed the Museum of Modern Art due to the collection's variety and quantity. Not only did I find various pieces of art that I was familiar with and obsessed over but, I found new artists and their work.

I found an etching entiteld "Large Head." It was created by Lucian Freud in 1993. The subject matter of this image is precisely the same as the title. A picture of a large man's head takes up most of the center of the composition. The first thing I notice with this painting is a large head but one that seems to have "too much on top" as in the head does not look proportioned correctly (basically it looks like a defective egg.)

Then, I see details on the man's face that appear carved due to the artist's use of contour and cross contour lines. There is a mole on the man's left cheek, a scar that runs from his forehead down across his left eye, and he has very bulky and masculine features. The "thing" about the etching and the point I want to make about it is the model's contrary pose. He is most likely sitting and looking down or his eyes are closed which makes him look as though he's reflectingor pondering. It is a peaceful, non-aggressive expression that does not mimic the artist's almost brutal depiction of the man.

So far I love being able to experience new York's greatest Museums. I feel so fortuante to see different kinds of art whether it's paintings, etchings, or three dimensional. It is exciting and rewarding to see the masterpieces that I spend hours looking at in books and then get the chance to see the work in full size (and touching distance.)

MaAfA rEfLecTioN

Though The MAAFA Suite seemed to last forevvverrrr, I am glad that I was able to experience it all the same. Yes, the twisted faces of the actors were unbearable to look at; the pain of their ancestors was clearly evident. I felt heated embarrassment every time they looked at me. I felt as though being white myself meant that I too held the blame for the hatred and cruelty that infested the slave trade. Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile show. I not only felt that I better understood the history and impacts of slavery, but African culture as well.
During the show, I was most impressed with the dances. Dance always seems to captivate me, despite my lack in talent. I was engaged and emotionally intrigued when the performers danced on the stage. I was dazzled by the number of people that could move so exactly, that they did not collide with one another. The dances were energetic: colorful clothing set the upbeat mood, left feet danced around right feet, toes kicked high up into the air.
Watching the twenty or so teenagers dance in unison ignited a longing in me to be a part of it. I wanted to be part of a culture like that -where traditions and dances centuries old were still practiced. But I am not African. Not to mention super white. So joining The MAAFA Suite 2012 was obviously not an option. I decided to dig into my own roots this weekend and go to Celtic Fest.
Of course the first thing I wanted to see was the dancers. I saw The Lord of the Dance when I was younger and absolutely loved it. Every time somebody came to the house to visit I showed them my moves. The dance company that was performing at the festival consisted of several national champions; four of them were nine years old. It was somewhat disappointing to see modern outfits rather than traditional ones, but culture shined through in their dancing.
Being surrounded by the men and kilts and girls with heads full of ringlets was what I had been searching for since we watched MAAFA Suite. Like the Performance in a local Baptist church, the Celtic festival in downtown Bethlehem was an attempt to keep traditions alive. In the show, stories such as that of the Djembe were passed down through generations so that the history of the drum and how it was made would not be lost in the folds of slavery. Likewise, the Irish told old wives tales at the festival in hope that it would rejuvenate a branch of the culture that has been slowly fading.
If I had not seen The MAAFA Suite and the pride of the actors who revitalized a long history of culture, I do not think I would have discovered my longing to understand my own history and culture.

Everything So Far

Oh boy! What's up bloggggggger and my fellow seminar students! This is my first post. Super exciting! So, where do I start? Well, I missed the first weekend in the city. So when everybody saw Follies, I wasn't there. However, I was there the following weekend to see Hair, and Traces. They were really great shows. I preferred Traces. But, Hair, was really good too.

I was also not there for the production of MAAFA. From what I heard, it was ridiculous. People said how it was just absurd and sort of uncomfortable and a little offensive. For example, I heard that when the actors were speaking about white babies dying, people were cheering. From what I heard, I would've absolutely hated MAAFA.

The MAAFA Suite

Visiting Brooklyn to see The MAAFA Suite was like nothing I had ever done before. The church and the atmosphere alone was extraordinarily important in creating our thoughts and opinions about our first impressions of the show.

As it started out as a regular African American worship service, many of us were exposed to a new and different cultural and religious way of worshiping.

The way that the church inside was set up to go along with the set of the actual performance was interesting to see, because I am sure that St. Paul's isn't always set up like this. I wonder what the "St. Paul regulars" think of that and whether or not the opinion differs due to age difference.

I was extremely impressed to see the number of young and talented performers in the show. The congregation as a whole seemed to be mainly middle aged with not very many children.

The show itself, based on slavery and freedom, was incredibly moving. It was very easy to get into the emotions of the characters because they really felt hatred towards what used to go on. You could tell this by the way the congregation reacted to certain vicious acts.

The amazing dancing, singing, and acting was performed by strong, trained actors and actresses who you could tell worked very hard to do what they were doing on stage, and you could also tell that the other people in the audience were also impressed.

Overall, even though I was a bit under the weather and we didn't get back until very late (causing me to miss classes), I don't think I would have been happy with myself if I missed this performance. It was very different than what we have seen as a group so far, and I feel like the diversity offers a whole new outlet of performance to be seen.

Maafa: An Intense History Lesson

Our journey began, thankfully, at around 3pm which was a nice change from the usual 6am wake-up call. We spent the nearly three hour bus ride into Brooklyn chatting and eating. One of the leaders on the trip brought along tons of sub sandwiches, pasta and potato salad, cookies, drinks, etc. It was amazing. By the time we finally arrived at our destination, we were completely stuffed.

The performance began the second we walked in the door. We walked through a winding labyrinth of people and hallways among pictures and displays of the slave ships which crossed the Atlantic and the horrid conditions that were a fact of life for thousands of people. As we continued on our path, the nightmarish screams of children began to fill the air. At first I thought that there was a CD playing over an intercom. It wasn't until we turned the final corner that I discovered that the source was of the screaming was not an intercom but rather real children. A group of children, mostly under the age of ten, were huddled together. Some stood, while others were lying on the ground. As we continued into the sanctuary of the church, the screams and cries grew louder and louder. A second group of slightly older children were up on a platform, reaching their hands between the bars of the banister and calling out for help. On the ground beside them were two teenage boys, chained to the banister and reaching out for help. Amidst the confusing mess of people and corridors, it was difficult not to accidentally step on some helpless being on the floor. Finally we found our reserved seats and were able to take in the entire atmosphere. We were still plenty close enough to hear the cries of the children. I closed my eyes and was practically transported onto the slave ships. When I opened my eyes I noticed two teenage guys walking around. Like the others, these two were dressed in rags. One glared and pointed at us, his accusation clearly written in his actions. The other simply looked at us silently. His eyes were filled with sadness, hopelessness, and anger. It wasn't until later that I realized these two youths were picking us out of the crowd because we were, for the most part, the only white group in attendance. Eventually, the screams and cries died away as they began to prepare for the performance.

The performance itself was a whomping five hours long. It began with a religious celebration and communion before launching into the history of the African American people, beginning with the conflicts between African kings. The story, which begins with celebration and joyous music, continues as the people of the kingdoms are captured and sold into slavery. The story that was told was intense and brought controversial issues onto the main stage. Many of us have spent year after year reading about and discussing the horror that was slavery in America. However, there is a major difference between talking or reading about an issue and seeing it brought to life. As a history buff, I found the experience of Maafa to be quiet interesting. It truly brought history to life in an intense way and was completely worth the five hours.

The MAAFA: A Cultural Experience

From a purely technical stand point the Maafa suite had major problems, microphones didn't go on at the right times, crew members were often seen running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and the gaps between scenes seemed to last a life time. I do however give my complements to the cast for the ability to dance for four hours straight and be as lively at the ends as at the beginning. I love the reasons behind shows like Maafa, but feel that this particular proformance was slightly over the top. From a historical prospective the show was good, not necessarily completely accurate, but it most have taken an amazing amount of research needed for the show, my favorite being the African folk lore and drums! Unfortunately the show was ruined for me due to the extreme length of the show and at points during the show the cast and audience were condoning the slaughter of children because of the color of their skins.Isn't that what they were trying to condem the white people for? Now they themselves are saying its OK.

Maafa

This past Sunday we traveled to New York to see Maafa Suite. This show was primarily to help bring about some more African American pride. It took place in Brooklyn at a Baptist church (St. Paul's). It started off with a high-energy pace, different (but good!) music, and a group of talented people. This is a yearly production that church puts on and it is never the same twice.
We entered the church (yes, a church and it was the same ol' set up any church would have), and were sat in the back right hand corner. As we walked in we witnessed screaming and begging of younger characters within the show. It was a unique experience and set the mood for the beginning of the production. The opening scenes were quite amusing but the show eventually got more dull... Not that they didn't provide a lot of relevant, good information I feel like they could've compacted it more and still gotten the same point across.
Overall, it was a long tiring night... But! It was worth it to catch a glimpse into another culture's view on history. :)

The Maafa Suite - A Celebration

Traveling to Brooklyn to attend the Maafa suite was our first trip that we did not have to awake at the crack of dawn for, so I was ready to go! After a very long bus ride with a very nice packed dinner we arrived at our destination. The first difference was the fact that we were checked in and given wristbands and programs on the bus instead of how they are normally distributed in the venue. As we made our way inside the building it was nothing how I expected; it was just a normal church, nothing extremely large or grand, the only unusual part was its thorough decoration to set the mood for the performance. As we started to get accustomed to our surroundings it was hard not to notice that we were part of a minority that night. In addition to that we had also missed the “wear all white” memo so I felt slightly out of place and uncomfortable.

After we took our seats, the show started with a calm introduction and then picked up into a very spirited, high-energy performance. There was everything; singing, dancing, acting, praying and celebrating the past, all wrapped up into one. You could tell everyone was very proud of the show and loved what they were doing. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the first hour and a half but after a while I became restless and uncomfortable. It was a wonderful display of African American history and pride, but it stretched on a little too long for my liking.

The Maafa Suite - A Great Performance

For our third NYC adventure, we traveled to St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn to see a production of The Maafa Suite. When we arrived and went inside to find our seats there were actors everywhere, such as the Southern slave owner characters greeting us at the door as well as the slave characters crying and wailing as we walked through the hallway. Although the screams did startle me right at first, I thought it was a great way to start off the night and to get the audience involved with the show before it even began. First there was a short church service, which was certainly a very different experience from what I've seen before. After the service, it was time to start the show!

The Maafa Suite started out in Africa and showed the story of two young lovers who couldn't be together because of their tribes' feud. Then the story moved into the Africans' capture and life in slavery in America. It was very heart wrenching, and you could really feel the emotion from the actors. And although we, in this day and age, have thankfully never had to experience a time where slavery or racism was acceptable, from this show you could definitely see what slaves had to endure and all of the physical and mental pain they went through.

What I really liked about this show, aside from all of the emotion the actors brought to the stage, was the choreography and interaction with the audience. The dances were beautiful, especially the lovers' breathtaking dance in Act 1. And the large group dances were very well done, considering there had to be over 100 actors of many different ages! Another thing I really liked was the audience interaction. Many times the actors went out into the aisles to dance and sing, and during one scene, the slaves ran out and hid behind the seats and pillars to avoid the slave catchers. I noticed during the show that audience interaction worked both ways - the audience would react vocally to whatever was happening onstage, something that's usually looked down upon on Broadway. When one character announced that he would kill his enemy, the audience gasped loudly. When a young slave rebelled and made a djembe drum, the audience was cheering him on. I really enjoyed hearing the audience react to what was going on in the play, because it made you feel like you were experiencing the show, not just watching it.

My only complaints about the show have to do with the technical aspects of the production. The mic system didn't work very well and frequently cut out while actors were speaking. The scene changes were slow, and it was sometimes evident that not everything was running smoothly between scenes, which added to the show's already lengthy running time. But even though there were some technical flaws, the show was still great, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to see it. This is a production I will never forget!

Since I missed out again...

Managing softball, and going to New York on the weekends is very tough. But because of previous commitments to the team I often find myself missing out being in NYC with you guys :( While you were all off having a late night in Brooklyn I was in the suite reading Death of a Salesman. Although I don't like reading I found that book kind of interesting. The problems that the Loman's have in their everyday lives are a lot like the problems many Americans are facing today. The struggle to find and keep a successful job! Willie is a struggling dictionary salesman, if someone today was to go door to door selling dictionaries I don't think that they would fare out to well. With the tough economic times then just like they are now Willie found himself struggling to make ends meet and that got him very depressed thinking he wasn't supplying for his family like he was supposed to. Biff Loman's problem isn't struggling at his job, his problem is finding a job. Today it is very hard to find a job, believe me I've tried... so i feel Biff's pain. Anyway I really enjoyed Death of a Salesman because I felt due to the times we live in today I could relate to some of the events that occured in the book !.... I hope you guys had a good time in Brooklyn, I'm pretty sure I'll be on the next trip into the city <3

A Healing Journey

The day was September 18th, 2011...And we were on our way to Brooklyn.

That's right, there's no show on Broadway this time, but a humble performance in the sanctuary of the St. Paul Community Baptist Church. The drive into the city was smooth, and we all enjoyed a free dinner on the bus. The performance was set for the evening, we were seated into the pews by 7pm. "The Maafa Suite, A Healing Journey" is the church's production this year, and it focuses on the history of African Americans. The show followed a brief church service and communion which is a little experience in and of itself because I've never been to a Baptist church before.

The show starts, and we are pulled into the tribal world of Africa. I loved the opening for many reasons. The costumes were vibrant, for one. The dancing was energetic, wild, and passionate--you almost want to join right in the celebration. Lastly, the tribal drums, which thankfully remained the focus of the music throughout the play, were on-point and as emotional as the actors themselves.

The transition from the African Motherland to the capture and voyage to America was heart wrenching. The physical abuse and emotional devastation were well portrayed.

Towards the end of the first Act, the play seemed to drag a little. There were multiple stories that were being played out; but some of the transitions could have used a little work. The technical errors were also distracting and frequent enough that I feel like some important lines were missed.

The stories were written pretty well and were certainly eye-opening and moving. Pride radiated from the cast. For part of the Finale, the entire cast (must have been 100+ people) were clothed in white. They filled all of the isles and the stage and were dancing and singing, it was beautiful.

Overall, the show was a pretty nice experience. For next time I think it could be a little more condensed (4 hours sitting in the back can be a little tough) but we made it through and learned quite a history lesson!

A night to remember in Brooklyn

When we first entered the Maafa Suite in Brooklyn, there were already actors dressed up in their costumes ready to great us. I noticed a few caucassion people had on elegant dresses and nice, old fashioned attire. When we entered the church, on one side there was a group of young African American children tied up to posts screaming in terror, and on the other side, older African Americans dressed in white thanking us for attending. Showing different sybollisms of peace and terror. When me and my fellow companion Lexis tried to sit down in our seats, a young man kept following us to our seats and glaring at us as he did so, we were frightened already. After everyone was seated, a small service took place, where we ate matza symbolizing the body of christ and grape juice for the blood. Then the show started, first as a forbidden love story, then captured by the white men and sold into slavery. From then on the next 4 hours were about how the slaves were beaten, raped, sold, killed, in horrible, malitious ways. This performance was grotesque, horrifying, informative, and yet filled with a few needed comedic reliefs, and beautiful and cultural dancing. It was definately a night I will never forget!

MAAFA SUITE: An African American Celebration!

MAAFA Suite was an overwhelming, over-the-top experience! My FYS class went into Brooklyn, NYC into a church where this performance was being held. The performance was about the African American culture from pre-slavery all through the hardships of slavery and the celebration of honoring their ancestors.

Personally, I thought this production was extremely long, had political influence that could be offensive, had slow scene changes, a poor sound system (microphones didn't work), and the acting was weak. People in the audience constantly got up during the performance to use the bathroom and it was disrupting the flow of the show. The singing numbers were the powerhouse of the production. The voices were not the best I have heard, but the emotion was present in every note.

What I loved about this show was the dancing and the costuming. The choreography was strong and every dancer had their own interpretation and feel to the movements-- not everything was identical, but as the person felt it and beautiful moments happened. The costumes, especially in the beginning tribal scenes, were vibrant and loud, and the colors were exuberant. Even though this was not my favorite production I have been to, I understand the message they were trying to get across and what they were honoring. It had some special moments, but the overall production needs details to be worked out, such as talent, staging, the script etc., to take it to the next level. I was surprised these details weren't worked out too, because the staff and directors biography's showed so much experience and knowledge-- it was surprising that there professional experience didn't radiate through the show as much as I would have liked it to.

The Guggenheim and MOMA

Before this trip I had never been to either of the museums. I really the the architecture of the Guggenheim. It was really interesting and I liked how the whole museum flowed. I actually was more focused on the architecture rather than the actual art inside. I was confused by a lot of Lee Ufan's art. Although, I did enjoy having a tour guide.I would have been completely lost without one. On the hand, my experience at the MOMA was completely different. When walking down the street to the MOMA the building looked like any other building in New York. It was very crowded, but I really did enjoy the artwork. I thought it was very captivating and I liked the diversity. We didn't have a tour guide for this museum. I feel like I didn't get to see as much and kind of just stayed on one floor rather than seeing the entire museum. Overall I really enjoyed both museums for different reasons and had a great day in New York.

New York, take 2!

Our second trip to the city was sort of like a marathon; we left Bethlehem at 7:00 am and returned somewhere around 12:30 am. We managed to visit the East Side Tenement Museum, see both a production of Hair and Traces, visit the Strand bookstore and go out to eat not once, but twice! Out of all those exciting events Traces was by far my favorite. Although Traces did not have a very good plot line, it was extremely hypnotizing. There were seven cast members, one of them being a small woman, with amazing strength. The acrobatic feats they executed were breathtaking. I sat there the entire show, awestruck, with my eyes glued to the stage. The performers were extremely talented and amusing. There was so much tension and emotion in every move they made in every single number. You could just feel their adrenaline pumping as well as the crowd’s excitement. The performers must be such a closely knit “family” because of the amount of trust they put in each other every second of the performance. Usually I can’t stand plays without plot, but what it lacked in storyline it made up for in pure entertainment. When the show came to a close I was left wanting more. I joined my classmates outside to wait for autographs, which is not a normally thing for me. I’m not very easily impressed but this show really got me. It was a performance I could watch over and over again!

Although it was long and exhausting it was an exciting, albeit packed, day and I enjoyed it very much!

Time Travel, Suspense and Hippies: Another Day in the Life of a Broadway and Beyond Student

Our latest trip into New York City was yet another adventure. Once more we woke up ridiculously early in the morning in order to catch a bus into the Big Apple. Thankfully, this time it wasn't too late because our day was packed. We began by taking a tour of the Lower East Side Tenement Museums, continued with lunch in Little Italy, a trip to an epic bookstore, and a performance of Traces, and we finished up the day with the closing night performance of Hair. All in all it was a fairly long, yet intensely awesome day.

(Sitting outside the visitors center)

Let me begin with the Lower East Side Tenement Museums. Now, one may wonder why the Broadway and Beyond class would be interested in such an museum. Well the answer is simple: the tour was part of the "beyond" aspect of the class. Also, one may not realize this, but the tour itself shared several similarities with more traditional theater. There were characters, a story, setting, and even music. We learned about the Moore family, an immigrant Irish family who had moved into one of the rooms of the Lower East Side Tenements. As a history major, I found the tour completely fascinating. Not only did the tour give us the chance to learn about life for immigrants in New York City through artifacts and stories, but the unique thing about the Lower East Side Tenement Museums is that it literally brings you inside the building where the families lived. It allowed for me to not only learn about the Moore family, but to truly step back in time and enter their world for just a moment.

After our visit to the past, we took a short trip to Italy...or rather, Little Italy. After we had finished our tours at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, it was time for lunch and we were all hungry. From the second we step foot in the area of Manhattan known as Little Italy our mouths were watering. Restaurants were setting up for the day, the street was crowded with people, and from everywhere the sweet smell of wonderful Italian food wafted through the air. A group of us had decided that instead of giving into the wonderful smells around us, we were simply going to skip the pasta and eat the bagged lunches which had been prepared for us instead. There is one complaint that I have about Little Italy: unless you're going to eat at a restaurant, there is no where for one to simply sit down. In order to find a place for us to sit and eat, we had to walk several blocks until we were out of Little Italy and into Chinatown where we found a wonderful park in which to have lunch.

Upon the completion of our little Chinatown picnic, we walked back up the six blocks or so to the pre-arranged meeting spot where we waited for everyone else. At one point, Lexis and I were determined to flip over a couch we found on the street curb in order to have some place to sit, but it didn't have any cushions so we didn't bother.

That's about when it started to rain. Normally I would be thankful that it didn't rain while we were having lunch, but as we had to walk from Little Italy to I believe Union Square in the pouring rain, I wasn't a happy camper. Thankfully, the rain decided to clear up about half-way through our walk, but as the

rain left, the heat came back. We were on our way to go and see Traces, an off-Broadway Cirque de Soile like show which none of us really knew much about. On the way, however, we stopped at a three story tall used book store. I was like a kid in a candy shop. They had everything from paper-back Harry Potter books to original copies of some of Edgar Allen Poe's poems. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. But all too soon we were being rushed out of the store and away to Traces.

Now, when we first sat down in the theater, none of us knew what to expect. The show that we saw, however, was beyond anything we ever could have expected. Traces does not tell a story in a traditional sense, but rather it tells the story about the performers themselves and asks the audience how they will leave their own traces behind. The show itself was a series of intense acrobatics mixed with par core and dance. Each performer had a sort of solo routine, unique to that individual in style and emotion. There were also routines where all of the performers would complete incredible acts (such as jumping through hoops fifteen feet off the ground or jumping backwards from one twenty foot pole to the next). Almost all of these routines were done to the backdrop of everyday activities such as basketball and skateboarding. We were all incredibly impressed to say the least. The show left us on the literal edge of our seats.

(The Stage)

Once Traces was over (and we had met the performers) we were off to our next adventure: more walking. Lets just say that we walked a lot (all the way to Times Square) and by the time we arrived at the theater district we were all hungry and ready to find somewhere to sit and eat. A group of four of us decided to head to Friday's for a bite to eat as soon as we regrouped (Lexis and I, aside from being the only two crazy enough to try and flip over a thrown out couch, are also both pretty experienced city walkers). After dinner we still had a few hours to kill so we began to explore Times Square. We stopped in a few stores here and there but by far the best stop was the Disney Store. As soon as we stepped foot in there we were no longer a group of college students. Instead, we were six years old and began to go around the entire store looking at everything and pushing every "Try Me" button. Personally it had been a bit of a rough day, but the Disney Store definitely made me feel loads better. Once we left Disney behind (regretfully), we were out of time and had to meet back up with the whole group outside of Hair.

Now, I had seen Hair two years prior and so knew what to expect for the sixties rock musical. I had even come dressed up (though many would argue that I dress as a hippie normally). But others in our group were not as experienced and I watched in amusement as their jaws hit the floor during the final scene of Act One in which the entire cast in nude on stage. As I had anticipated, I loved Hair. I loved almost everything about it from the sets to the lighting to the costumes to the music to the characters to the lyrics and lines dripping with social commentary. While some may argue that Hair is a show with no coherent story, this is by far the case. Hair tells the story of a hippie tribe during the social turmoil of the late 1960s. It was during this time that terrified young men were receiving draft cards to go fight in a war for a cause in which they didn't believe. The social atmosphere was tense and protests were everywhere. Hair come to Broadway with the intent of not only bringing to light many of the major issues of the day, but also of awakening the public to the social injustice that was occurring during that time. Today, the show remains the same, but the messages received from it are very different. Times have changed. The Vietnam war is over and the hippies are a thing of the past. But Hair still holds relevance for even this day and age. We are still at war and there are still plenty of scared, questioning, and angry youth and young adults who are unsure of what to do and feel that they are not being heard. To say that Hair has lost its meaning would be to say that it had no meaning to begin with. The stories of Claude and the other tribe members are the untold stories of youth and young adults in both the 1960s and today.

Wandering New York CIty

A week ago when the class went to NYC again after we visited both the Tenement Museum and the Museum of the American Indian we had about 3 and a half hours to be on our own up in TImes Square. Since I like walking I walked down from Times Square (7th avenue) over to Grand Central Terminal on Lexington about maybe 7 blocks over. Then I worked my way back west. Stopping at the Public Library which is one of my favorite places, and it was really nice having a choir from England and Scotland singing outside to show their remembrance of 9/11/2001. Eventually I kept walking as far West as I could go, I ended up at the end of pier 84, right next to the Intrepid. It was nice to have the freedom to walk around the city that i grew up outside of I ended up finding things that I did not know where they were or did not even know they existed. It was a great 3 hours for me .

Walking 2.5 Miles to get to NYC

So two weeks ago was the first trip to NYC, I overslept. Instead of thinking oh well ill just make it up later in the semester, i decided to walk the 2.5 miles to the Trans Bridge Bus station to buy my own bus ticket to meet the class in the city. YAY it worked. I missed half the trip but i did get to see my favorite work of art by Jackson Pollack at the Museum of Modern Art. Instead of making my day boring and uneventful I worked at it and made it quiet successful.

Trip number two :)

Saturday’s trip to the city provided a more exciting experience than the previous one. We saw two shows this time: both were similar in the fact that they faced a lot of risks with what they were doing. Another feature of this week’s trip was the touring of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. That was the first event of the day, and it was a tour of an apartment-type building where some families lived. They crammed anywhere from 6 to 8 people in these 3 room apartments, an upgrade for most families. From there, they faced many new difficulties. Our guide for the trip was quite a character and kept us entertained with the stories of the families that lived in the tenement. It was a neat experience, definitely a must-see.
After the tenement museum we went to Traces, a soaring extravaganza. Within the short (about an hour and a half) show, we saw tons of acrobatics choreographed to attempt show that every individual makes their impact on Earth while they’re living here. It was highly entertaining… they did crazy stunts to urbanized music. Although it was not too easy to analyze the meanings of each scene it was worth it to go see the talent that these people have. The last show that we saw was Hair, a show set in the late 60s. A group of younger friends are protesting war, a typical thing during that time period. I found the show interesting but I couldn’t quite connect on a personal level with it.
This week’s trip was more exciting than last time and more exhausting. We walked a lot, learned a lot, and still had a lot of spare time. The shows were quite a contrast but had the similarity of the message that each person has an impact on where they live.

Traces

Both Traces and Hair are highly unique performances. In a way both shows have the same base premise, but execute the point in different ways. Traces highlight “Trace” we each leave on the world. Chalk is used almost immediately to show that every time you so much as move part of you are left behind on something or even some one. Through the use of personal stories and stunning acrobatics the cast connects with the audience in a way that I have never seen in a show before. The story is not told not only by words, but through the use of movements and facial expressions. As the show

progresses the emotions portrayed by the cast are easy to not only see but feel. Slowly the audience becomes part of the tale as the seven friends highlight their mark on the world. The seven artists breathtakingly use dance, acrobatics, drawing, song, instruments, and even sports to captivate the audience. Throughout the video I was privileged to take the sounds of awe and excitement is heard as the cast successfully stuns the viewer. I found my eyes constantly shifting as they tried to follow the movements of the cast as they drew with chalk on the stage floor.Technically the show was amazingly handled, the lighting perfectly complemented the movements on the stage and as a sound tech and stage hand it is incredibly hard to get the timing right when anything comes from the ceiling, wither it is a microphone or a women on ropes! Traces is my favorite show so far!

Walking Circles around the Big Apple!

Second venture into the city! The weather started out perfect for tons of walking. After everybody had gotten their mornign coffee, we walked our feet to the bone, to arrive at the Tenement Museum! Filled with facts, culture, and loads of history, in just a tiny flat. After the tour we walked for what seemed like forever! Finally we saw what seemed to be a radiant light shooting down from the sky, pointing to a a building labeled Traces! I was so excited to see what this show would bring towards its audience. The cast consisted of afew people from all over the world, thriving with talent, flipping around the stage, it was superb. After the laughs, nervous jitters, and non-stop gawking amazment came to an end, we ran outside for autographs. The actors were very nice and relaxed after an hour of actrobatics! I was impressed. Then we walked to the biggest book store I have ever seen, heard of, and been in. Floors and floors of all sorts of various books filled the building, and there was not one aisle in the place not filled with people. After leaving the book store, we finally got to Hair! I personally have already seen it, however it was its last performance, and I could not pass it up! The show was just as ridiculously incredable as the first time I saw it. The catchy music and diverse characters were sublime! The show went out with a bang, and left not one person sitting in their seat!

Making our Traces to Hair.

Traces and Hair were the excitements on this weekends trip to NYC!

Traces was an entertaining and exhilarating performance where we personally got to know seven people who were trained in circus acts. They shared personal information and showed off their talents in a show that would not easily be forgotten. I have pictures of the incredible acts that took place, live on stage. It is amazing what the human body can do. Traces is a true representation of pushing the human body to the ultimate degree, physically and emotionally.

Hair was another energized, spontaneous performance that was filled with an emotional atmosphere because it was the closing, final performance. At the end of the show, the audience flooded the stage and the actors were crying while the standing ovation and speeches were given. It was a special moment to participate in and see, one that I will remember for a long time. I still have my daisy in my dorm room that the actors passed out to us when they came into the audience!

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Dr. Shosh took us to this amazing bookstore that was 3 stories high and filled with all the books you could imagine at wonderfully low prices. I bought two books for under $20.00!!

The pictures I have are from Traces and the entire cast and audience on stage from Hair.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum & Some Other Craziness

It is hard to think of words to describe the amazing performances we saw on

Saturday, let alone our tours of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

The Tenement Museum was phenomenal.

Our wonderful tour guide, Daryl, led us through one of the

untouched tenement apartments made by the Germans centuries ago.

I love history and learning more about immigrants from Europe was absolutely interesting. The museum visit is so much more valuable than reading a textbook about the tenements. Being inside the original walls of someone’s home and seeing where they struggled with life changes, the deaths of loved ones, and unsanitary living conditions was simply moving. The tour really made me thing about my ancestors and how much I know about them. The museum was very successful in helping me realize what people went through long ago and I think it really serves the purpose that it was intended to serve in the best way possible.There was a sign outside of the museum that gave some background on the

history of the museum. It had a website listed on the bottom and once we got back I visited it. I highly recommend going to the museum. For those who cannot go, the website is extremely

informative and has some great photos and resources included.

The most powerful moment in the museum was when we entered the living room of the apartment. Seeing the wallpaper and all of the damage that had occurred over the years really took me to a different place and made me think hard about exactly what went on there. I loved the museum and I hope to go back someday soon.

The 7 Fingers Circus did a fantastic job in their show Traces. It was every bit of what I expected and more. Seeing the performers do their acts and reading their biographies in the play bill really made me realize how much work it takes to be those people. Using their skills and talents, the actors followed a storyline which is not typical of circus type performances. It really was performance art at its finest.

The set above was designed to look like the inside of an apartment or wherever they were living together. This helped the viewers better understand some of the actions that different actors performed between characters. Off-Broadway, this performance was very much different than that of Hair. The set was not traditional and neither were the performances.

Hair was like nothing I have ever seen. After missing the only song I know from the production, I really had no idea what to expect when I took my seat. The ideas about war, violence, drugs, sex and many other subjects are still viewed by people today in the same way they were back then. It is ironic that the show is ending even though the themes and morals involved in the storyline are without a doubt present in today’s world. Perhaps this is why the show started up again in 2009.