Day Eight: The Final Presentation
Today was the day of our showing and our final time getting to work/collaborate with the Chilean students while in their country. We started the day off by having a rehearsal before the performance to tweak some moments and even add some in. Personally, for me I knew that I wanted to feel like I did the best work I could possibly do in this showing so I came into this rehearsal with an open mind and trying to hold back from always giving my input. I think that's something that we all learned on this trip, when working in a large group of talented and opinionated collaborators you have to be aware of when you want to give you opinion otherwise it turns into a group of people arguing very fast. But I could tell that the vibe in the room, that morning, that everyone was ready to work especially because we had experienced so many beautiful things while working together the past week and we all wanted to share that with other people; because at the end of the day theatre and art is meant to be shared to others so they can be affected.
During our rehearsal we did a warm up to get us into our bodies and connected to each other as an ensemble. This included eye contact and breathing together all while doing intense physical movement. After that we sat in a group and wrote out step by step the piece that we were going to show. This was very interesting because for some reason we did not need as much translation between the group as we usually did. Maybe that is because we had named each section of the piece something different and everyone was on the same page with he names but either way it was incredible to see that. Then we got up and did a walk through of our piece, the reason we didn't do the full piece full out was due to certain elements that needed to happen in the moment in order for them to work. For example, a section where we teach each other slang words in our own language. That can not be planned otherwise it is boring to watch and to do. After going through everything we talked about the piece and how it is named “The Encounter.” That is what our whole week was small encounters within the group and in Chile. Our piece ended up being about the week and how it started off each individual isolated and nervous of how this was going to go, unsure. And then by the end we are one ensemble delivering a monologue in both english and spanish, standing side by side showing our work. There were tears at the end from both the audience and actors. It was a mix of emotions including relief that we actually had a piece that worked, sadness because the week was coming to an end and excitement for what will come in September when we get to work as a group again.
Something that our professor (Debbie Saivetz) said earlier in the week was that we have to enjoy and experience the ride rather than worrying about the destination, meaning we need to use the time we have together rather than just worrying about our final product. That is why I was so happy when we got to spend the day going on a trip to Isla Negra after our showing with the Chilean students. We got to experience exploring their country with them. We visited Pablo Neruda’s house which was absolutely stunning and inspiring to see where such a profound artist spent his life and all the things he collected. We spent time together by the ocean sitting on rocks and eating empanadas just enjoying the gorgeous weather.
Later that night the Universidad Major held a dinner for us at the school that exceeded our expectations. They had a long table set up with white tablecloths, wine glasses and horderves including cold tomato soup and sliced cucumber salad. They even had two waiters serving us the food and drinks. Then they brought out the main courses which was a buffet style and included eggplant Parmesan, roasted potatoes, bread with a spread, and tons of roasted veggies and salad. Everything was so delicious. And then for desert they had two different kinds of cakes and fruit. The dean of the school was there and we got to talk to him a little bit. Everything was so lovely and truly a beautiful way to end our last night together.
