Sunshine: Avant-Garde Awareness

Picture 15 college students meeting weekly to discuss life, political issues, and personal stories with the goal of creating art. This is Avant-Garde Awareness, a Brown Scholar project created with the curiosity of seeing what performance and art that students can create together over the course of a year.

The first meeting began in August, where students discussed the thought provoking (and slightly morbid) question, "What would you do if you had one day left to live?" The next week, students brought in their creations including poems, paintings, songs, and monologues.

This past week, the question was, "What ten things would you want people to know about you in 100 years?" I took this question to be my personal advice from the beyond, and would like to share them now:

1. It is very possible to be happy all the time…learn to let go of bad days or mean people or stresses and take in the wonderful things in life.
2. During my life I wondered, “if I was not told what is good or bad, ugly or beautiful and if I was not exposed to prejudice and ignorance, would it be possible for me to love everyone and everything?”
3. It is ok to never act your age. In fact, I think that it is an admirable quality to have the energy of a 5 year old and mind of a 60 year old.
4. My friends get me through everything.
5. Genuineness is the one thing I truly strived for.
6. Adding alcohol to some events is like adding an exclamation point to the day. But do not overuse this to an inappropriate level.
7. Anyone can be a morning person like me, just tell yourself that you have to get up and that it is going to be a wonderful day!
8. I always ate what made me happy and tried not to care too much about my body…just keep it in control.
9. Be aware of making fun of others…if they are not laughing back then it is not fun and you are just hurting them.
10. There is nothing wrong with looking at the past- all I ever wanted was for someone to ask me to “go steady.”

How would you answer this question?

Rainbows: Improv Everywhere!

The comedy troupe "Improv Everywhere" creates fun for all. Through flash mobs, sudden performances, and random activities they create wonderful memories for all.

Their website states that, "We get satisfaction from coming up with an awesome idea and making it come to life. In the process we bring excitement to otherwise unexciting locales and give strangers a story they can tell for the rest of their lives. We’re out to prove that a prank doesn’t have to involve humiliation or embarrassment; it can simply be about making someone laugh, smile, or stop to notice the world around them."

I can get on YouTube and spend hours watching videos back to back because they are filled with joy.

Here are some of my favorites:

Surprise Wedding Reception:


Food Court Musical:



No Pants Subway Ride:

Sunshine: May I Express Myself in Song?

When watching to the most recent episode of "Glee", I began to wonder why people to not break out into song more regularly. I love to watch the show and hear the characters say, "I can't say what I need to, so I am going to sing it." Then proceeds a spectacle of music, singing and dancing.

I believe that everyone should feel more comfortable singing rather than speaking. This would break up the monotony of every day conversations and brighten up days. It is my dream that one day I can participate in an improved musical number in a public place. Bringing stage musicals to life in order to create a day unlike any other.

Why not order a sandwich from the cafeteria as an opera, or answer a question in class as a rap?

This movement is not going very well. For now, it is only me who is willing to sing make up and perform songs for no reason about normal, daily activities.

For now, I will settle for being like Marshall from "How I Met Your Mother":

Rainbows: Theatre at its...

I will preface this review by stating that when I went to see this production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, I had a free ticket and two of my best friends were acting in the play.

In spite of both those factors, it was still one of the worst theatrical experiences of my life (and I have seen a lot of high school theatre). This play was not the real Laramie Project, which is an excellent and moving show about the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. Rather, it is another set of interviews and stories from ten years after this crime.

The play began awkwardly, with blue lights coming up and weird beeping noises playing for a minute before anyone enters. I began to feel like I was about to watch an IMAX film about oceans.

Once the acting started, I realized that this play is like having the newspaper read out loud for two hours. The 16 actors play multiple characters, interview each other, and speak direct quotes from citizens of Laramie. The actors stand in place with little movement just quoting interviews from the past. Even the character of the narrator (played by Jackie Harper, my roommate) was unnecessary. She was forced to introduce each character by name before they entered. It seemed strange since this was a live action play and not some form of staged reading.


I do not know who is to blame for this production- the director, the writers, or the actors. All I know is that this is two hours I wish I had back in my life. 




If you are at all interested in seeing this production, or want to give away $20, it will be running for another two weeks. Here is the website: http://www.nxnwtheatre.org/

Rainbows: Where's the poop?

"How I Met Your Mother" is generally awesome, and this week was another funny and smart take on the lives of twenty-somethings in New York City.

At the end of season four, Robin ended a relationship with Don. This was a big moment for Robin because she was finally fully committing to an adult relationship with someone she really cared about.Unfortunately, Don took a broadcasting job in Chicago leaving Robin to be forced to watch his news show every night. Robin admits to her friends that she has been making threatening phone calls to Don. With this information, Lily demands that Robin delete his number.

This is where the conflict arises. Robin pretends to delete his number, but Lily knows when Robin has called Don. She compares this sense to her childhood dog, who had a shameful "where's the poop" face every time he did his business inside the house. Every time that Robin calls Don, Lily asks her "Where's the poop?"

I imagine that it must look like this:

Though this episode did not solve the mystery of Ted's wife, it resolved the relationship between Robin and Don. It was another humorous look into the characters I love to watch, and another expression to use with my friends. Next time I suspect that they are up to no good, I will ask, "Where's the poop?"

If you haven't seen the episode yet, do not worry because it is online!

Rainbows: Keepin' it classic

 

If I could envision a perfect evening, these men would be on my invite list. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Frank Sinatra were some of the classiest men in existence. Their personalities, performances, and music give me a feeling like I could be Rita Hayworth in Gilda:

I feel like swing dancing, drinking scotch, smoking long cigarettes, and wearing red lipstick. The instant one of these songs come on, I feel transported into a different era (one that I believe I would have fit perfectly in):

-My all time favorite Memories Are Made of This

-With more sauciness Mambo Italiano
-One of the best Sinatra's I've Got You Under My Skin
-If I was ever going to cry during a song, it would be Moon River
-I could be best friends with Sammy Davis, Jr. For this reason The Candy Man

Sunshine: 6th Street

Being the first of my friends to turn 21 has its perks and its downfalls. The perks are that I can buy alcohol and get in anywhere. The downfall is that nobody can join me.
Last night by older sister and my brother-on-law drove all the way from Houston to take me Downtown for a true 21st birthday celebration.
Since I had never been Downtown before, everything was new and exciting. I saw females wearing ridiculously high heels. I saw men puking in the gutter. There were bachelorette parties and birthday parties. The streets were lined with Philly cheese-steak and hot dog stands. Glamor and disgust combined for a whirlwind of fascination.
As for me, I was constantly encouraged to do ridiculous things because it was the one night I could get away with anything.

At the Dizzy Rooster I was forced to get on the bar for a free birthday shot. Then my sister thought it would be funny to tell the shirtless, sweaty, overweight DJ that it was my birthday and that we should dance together. I was not amused.
At another bar I learned how to Dougie with a stranger, and also learned that clapping your hands while dancing is not hip or cool.
This "Downtown experience" was educational and interesting. However, what I still do not understand it why women would wear heels that high in such a dark place.

Why?