I cooked my pasta and made garlic bread for my Intensive 4s, and there was much munching. I was surprised to see Hymen in attendance; a different girl buggered out, which makes me wonder whether she might've been the one to zap me on the eval form. Her stated reason for being absent today was completely different from the reason she'd given me yesterday: she told classmates (via text message today) that she had to visit her relatives again, whereas yesterday she had told me that she was involved in another group project, and that was why she wouldn't be able to make it to English class and our drama rehearsal.
Yes, drama. The skit.
Somehow, we pulled it off. I'd like to add "without a hitch," but we had two major line flubs: our Evil Queen forgot a line toward the beginning of the play (I had to be le souffleur,* the person who "breathed" the lines to her), then our narrator/Fairy Godmother jumped in to start Scene 6 before Scene 5 had ended. Ah, well... such things happen, and when they happen on stage, I tend not to worry so much (unless I'm the one flubbing). What gets me riled is the crap that happens during a rehearsal-- lack of concentration, lack of punctuality, etc.
Today's final dress rehearsal, which occurred just before the end-of-term ceremony began, was everything that yesterday's rehearsal should have been: people knew their cues and hit their lines; costumes were in order; the play had a flow to it that was lacking yesterday, and we finally-- finally-- got the running time down under twenty minutes. The only thing the rehearsal lacked was loudness, so that's what I told the cast: be twice as loud during the actual performance.
The audience reacted well to the Queen's mugging; some teachers and I agreed that the student in that role-- short, squat, and wearing a crown almost half as tall as she was-- was a natural, as were the girls playing Cinderella and the Prince. During the performance, the cast members did a very good job of enunciating their lines with understandable intonation and pronunciation; I was impressed.
When the play was over, I about collapsed with relief. Yesterday's lackadaisical rehearsal had bothered me deeply. Many pictures were taken today, but I doubt they'll find their way to my email box.
But there's no time to rest on me laurels. I still have test rating and extra duties to perform before I call it quits today; looks like I'll be in the office until rather late this evening.
More later as the mood strikes.
*Strangely enough, I don't know the English term for this.
UPDATE: Jeff writes in with the terms "Line Director" and the more colloquial "Prompter." Thanks, man. Check out Jeff's post about one of my favorite Korean Zen temples, Haeinsa.
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