CHEESE!

Number of steps: 9957 (3.14 mi)

This morning was a bit of a slow morning, since class begins at 11:30, so it was nice to be a little leisurely in my morning routine today before another amazing, mind melting theatre history lecture from Anatoly Smeliansky.  Such an awesome lecturer!  We love him!

Lunch was, as usual, full of buckwheat and veggies – though there was a little too much in the onion and brussel sprouts realm for me today, so I went a little light.  Then it was time for acting, and a much more successful etude today about people waiting in line to buy concert tickets.  We played one of my favorite games ever: “I am a samurai and this is my revenge!”  If one of my acting students happens to be reading – this is the one we knew as “I am the Highlander, there can be only one!”  Because I am that nerdy.  Oh you bet I am.  We also played one of my least favorite games – a variation on freeze tag.  It went okay, but it really is one of my all-time least favorite improv experiences.  Still, we got some useful lessons out of it, and that's what really matters.

Next, it was time for people etudes.  I actually changed my mind before class and decided to be my grandmother instead of my niece… a totally different end of the Goff spectrum.  It ended up being a very interesting etude.   I allowed myself to really take the time it takes to move around with a walker (or rather, a café chair that I used as a walker), and I really ended up being affected by the given circumstances I gave myself.  I felt like I really learned from what I did today.  And from what I saw today!  Human observation etudes are so interesting – seeing the details that people use to clue them into the character – whether it’s a liquor bottle that won’t open or gum that you’re snapping or a tin of cookies or a purse and some jewelry…it was those little tiny details that made the people bloom into living color, and it was so much fun to watch!  I can’t wait for another day of it!

After class we had another potluck… with another pie by the very ambitious Justin.  It turns out that these two pies here in Russia are the first two pies ever attempted by this young man…who is clearly some sort of crazy person. 

Seriously... I've been telling these undergrad girls that the first one of them to wake up and snag the pieman will be a lucky gal!

At the beginning of the potluck I had to dip into the tough love portion of the den mother repertoire, as we have had people leaving dishes in the sink like crazy… and someone ate my damn cheese!  Yesterday I cut up a brand new block of cheese and put it in a Tupperware container.  It was so full I had to take a couple of pieces out.  But when I came back today it was half empty…and the piece on top had a GIANT BITE MARK!  As my facebook status will tell you, I will put up with a lot of things from a lot of people, but if you eat my cheese, we’re going to have words.  I have no idea who did it, but I hope I put the fear of God (or perhaps just Cheezus…sorry) into my little dairy gnome.  Because man… if someone takes me cheese again… Jen SMASH!