Day 3

A fine start to the day. Using Google Maps I found the subway to New York University. Kate's first day at school!

I am quite exhausted as Shosh and I aren't going to bed till late and my jetlag hasn't had time t recover. Boo-hoo I hear you say (Jess?!) Anyway, I rocked up to NYU security and said 'Blah, blah, I'm a New Zealander' he wasn't impressed, asked me a question about Australia and let me through.

Beautiful buildings at NYU. On the 6th floor I was welcomed by Patty Yang and Noel Rodriguez. Two uber cool administrators. I was shown the lecture room... I was like this is it? I thought I'd be hidden up the back of a giant lecture hall but these were intimate digs and in the class only about 10 students. Fascinating. Well, once I got used to the quick chattering of Americans. They talk SO fast here!

Here's some of my scrawlings from VERBAL ART AS PERFORMANCE with Kay Turner. Very interesting to me and my research. But they possibly don't make a lot of sense in the context of my blog. 

"Man is a self reflective animal. In performing he reveals himself to himself."

Social Drama: Crisis. Redress of action. Reintergration of social group. Social drama is breaches of regular regulations.

If a performance is reinacted over time, social behavior and events are given new meaning. 9/11- Breach - Drama - What it means to be a NYer - redressive actions start to happen and close gaps  - War in Afghanistan. 

Social drama is a series of experiences. Meaning comes after the fact of the force of the social drama. So how is new meaning created out of social drama? Audiences make the meaning? Because of their relationship to the event. They don't process meaning because they/we are part of the event.

Verbal Art as performance is about modes of communication. Tied to a language, a way of speaking. The art is through competance and levels of judgement. In certain cultural groups, stories, songs get passed down. Oral procession. But it is an organic process because each player puts their own flavour on it, making it their own and yet for everyone. Links to Playback theatre.

Then I missioned back to the Apartment, laden with bagels and Vitamin C (as everyone here seems to have Strep throat!) 

A quick gussie up and met Tim in Union Square with the intention of going to the Blue Man Group. Gosh I was SOOOO tired. It was freezing, despite infinite layers of clothing! We walked around charming Greenwich village for hours, Tim wanted to show me the squirrels in this dark little snowing park, but as we ventured in, the squirrels seemed to be asleep - as it was nightime and so cold - and there was a couple  of gangs  in there - one homeless gang - faffing around. So I was like thanks for that Timothy and we moved Due to an unfortunate incident, we missed the Blueman group and instead went onto Cleopatra's Needle as Tim and I share love of Jazz. It was divine. I convinced Tim after a Big Apple Martini to get up and sing. The video should be attached. Just gold.

I got home late. Fell into bed. And have woken up so hazy. Ah well, off to another lecture!