Easter

My apologies for the sparsity of my posts lately.  One of the reasons is that I'm not receiving as many emails from family and friends to which to respond more generally with a blog post, so get those emails coming in!

I've seen a few shows since I last wrote.  First was The Tempest, performed by the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble.  They did a few things well (Caliban was impressive), but there just didn't seem to be much material to do anything with: it seems there's just not enough depth to The Tempest.

Next was Pride and Prejudice, by Theatre at First.  It was a faithful adaptation, and well presented.  I thought Caroline Bingley was particularly strong, as was Mr Collins.  I was always listening for the best lines from the book (there are some really funny one-liners, especially from Mr Bennet), and there were many although not as many as the book.  I did feel that at times the inevitable pace that results from squashing a novel into a <3 hour play detracted slightly.

Finally, I watched Harvard G&S' Princess Ida, which was absolutely wonderful.  It was set in space, which was done very effectively in a way that really added to the original.  The performers were very solid: the harmony was particularly strong, and the only weakness was some lack of vocal clarity from the women, especially in the lower to middle part of their range.  The set and costuming were striking and worked really well to give the impression that the director wanted.

I've also joined the Catholic volleyball and physics softball teams.  We haven't managed to win any games yet, but it's been fun playing, especially volleyball.

Easter was a busy time.  For the first time since I've been here I was able to go to all the services on campus, and they were lovely.  I was tired by the end (more accurately, start) of Easter Sunday Mass - I realised later that I was coming down with a cold, but really valued the celebrations.