Meme: 5 questions
Oct. 23rd, 2007 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwendolyngraceLast week, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
here_be_dragons asked me to answer 5 questions.
1. What is the ultimate stage role you would like to perform?
And right away, it's impossible. There are SO MANY roles I would love to play, male and female:
Marian Paroo, The Music Man
Carrie Snow (or Julie Jordan-Bigelow), Carousel
Aldonza, Man of La Mancha
Edwin Drood, Mystery of Edwin Drood
Cervantes/Quixote, Man of La Mancha
Baroness (or Maria), The Sound of Music
Anna Leonowens, The King and I
Lucille Frank, Parade
Mother, Ragtime
Snoopy, Snoopy (I'd love to do a production of both Snoopy and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with the cast playing the same characters (when applicable) in both shows)
Velma Kelly, Chicago
Peter Pan, Peter Pan
Charity Barnum, Barnum
Rutledge, 1776
Cat in the Hat, Seussical
the Entertainer, Pippin
Percy, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Belle, Beauty and the Beast
and straight shows, too....
Valmont, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Henry Drummond, Inherit the Wind
Viola, Twelfth Night
Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac (I actually have done this, but scenes only. I'd love to do the full production)
Tracy Lord, The Philadelphia Story
Well, you get the picture. Most of them I'll probably never be cast in. Sigh.
But for an *ultimate* role? Probably Cervantes/Quixote, Percy Blakeney, or Mother.
2. You've landed that ultimate role. You get to cast the rest of the show (no limitations here; you can choose anyone you like). Who will be onstage with you?
Hee. You know my secret plot, right? If I ever win the lottery or suddenly come into a lot of money? I'd produce a Broadway production, picking out a star vehicle for myself, and screw the union. So fast it'd make your head spin.
I'm still hemming over the show (see above), and that would determine the casting quite a bit. Depends on when this happens. Before I'm 40? Which show?
It's hard. I've had an easier time picking my out my Cabinet for my various "I'll run for President" schemes.
With no limitations, it gets easier, because I'd bring back some people. But then they'd probably start decomposing, so ew.
Among living performers, well.... Ack. This sounds awful but I think I'd have to hold auditions. Since this is a vanity thing, there would be spots for actor-friends, of course. ;^D
Nope, I'd have to decide on the show first. And then figure out who's good enough to be great in the role, but not so great as to overshadow me. :D
After my triumphant success, of course, I'd go on to do shows with my heroes, like Barbara Cook, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, George Hearn, Ian McKellen, etc.
3. What is your very favorite childhood memory?
I don't have many childhood memories. I've blocked most of them out. In middle school my friends Melissa, Courtney, and Gretchen and I had these incredibly fun overnight parties, where we'd watch movies and play Atari and quote Monty Python. And late in Junior High I had a friend with this amazing black room in her basement, and she always used to give the best Halloween parties down there. After midnight, we'd sneak out of the house and wander around the neighbourhood in our costumes, then come back and read tarot cards and hold seances. That was pretty fun.
4. You can go back in time and stay there for one week, with no consequences of any kind (you can't be harmed, and you can't change history). Where and when would you go (and, of course, why)?
Damn, woman, you ask probing questions. Hm. I think I'd like to go all the way back, to see for myself how things started. Barring that, I'd go back to the week immediately preceding the first performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream to watch the Bard during an Elizabethan tech week.
5. What was the first piece of fiction you ever wrote?
Oh, yikes. Technically, it was probably some god-awful story I drew pictures for back in nursery school. (My mother has a box of this stuff that I intend to burn as soon as I can pry it away from her.)
But I would say that the first things I consider true writing probably came about when I was between 8 and 12. I made friends with a girl down the street - Disa - and we discovered role-playing and fanfiction together, before either of us ever knew what those terms were. We used to "play" on the phone for hours...which meant that we were spinning out Mary-Sue derivative role-playing scenarios based on Star Blazers and Robotech and early D&D and fairy tales and so on. I had blank books that I used, not for journaling, but for writing down these fantasies we would create together.
Yeah, that was a whole lot of embarrassing information that most of you probably didn't want to know. LJ Comments still seem to be finding their way more often to my Junk file than not, but if you comment, I'll try to come up with questions at least as pithy as Wendy's.
here_be_dragons asked me to answer 5 questions. 1. What is the ultimate stage role you would like to perform?
And right away, it's impossible. There are SO MANY roles I would love to play, male and female:
Marian Paroo, The Music Man
Carrie Snow (or Julie Jordan-Bigelow), Carousel
Aldonza, Man of La Mancha
Edwin Drood, Mystery of Edwin Drood
Cervantes/Quixote, Man of La Mancha
Baroness (or Maria), The Sound of Music
Anna Leonowens, The King and I
Lucille Frank, Parade
Mother, Ragtime
Snoopy, Snoopy (I'd love to do a production of both Snoopy and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with the cast playing the same characters (when applicable) in both shows)
Velma Kelly, Chicago
Peter Pan, Peter Pan
Charity Barnum, Barnum
Rutledge, 1776
Cat in the Hat, Seussical
the Entertainer, Pippin
Percy, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Belle, Beauty and the Beast
and straight shows, too....
Valmont, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Henry Drummond, Inherit the Wind
Viola, Twelfth Night
Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac (I actually have done this, but scenes only. I'd love to do the full production)
Tracy Lord, The Philadelphia Story
Well, you get the picture. Most of them I'll probably never be cast in. Sigh.
But for an *ultimate* role? Probably Cervantes/Quixote, Percy Blakeney, or Mother.
2. You've landed that ultimate role. You get to cast the rest of the show (no limitations here; you can choose anyone you like). Who will be onstage with you?
Hee. You know my secret plot, right? If I ever win the lottery or suddenly come into a lot of money? I'd produce a Broadway production, picking out a star vehicle for myself, and screw the union. So fast it'd make your head spin.
I'm still hemming over the show (see above), and that would determine the casting quite a bit. Depends on when this happens. Before I'm 40? Which show?
It's hard. I've had an easier time picking my out my Cabinet for my various "I'll run for President" schemes.
With no limitations, it gets easier, because I'd bring back some people. But then they'd probably start decomposing, so ew.
Among living performers, well.... Ack. This sounds awful but I think I'd have to hold auditions. Since this is a vanity thing, there would be spots for actor-friends, of course. ;^D
Nope, I'd have to decide on the show first. And then figure out who's good enough to be great in the role, but not so great as to overshadow me. :D
After my triumphant success, of course, I'd go on to do shows with my heroes, like Barbara Cook, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, George Hearn, Ian McKellen, etc.
3. What is your very favorite childhood memory?
I don't have many childhood memories. I've blocked most of them out. In middle school my friends Melissa, Courtney, and Gretchen and I had these incredibly fun overnight parties, where we'd watch movies and play Atari and quote Monty Python. And late in Junior High I had a friend with this amazing black room in her basement, and she always used to give the best Halloween parties down there. After midnight, we'd sneak out of the house and wander around the neighbourhood in our costumes, then come back and read tarot cards and hold seances. That was pretty fun.
4. You can go back in time and stay there for one week, with no consequences of any kind (you can't be harmed, and you can't change history). Where and when would you go (and, of course, why)?
Damn, woman, you ask probing questions. Hm. I think I'd like to go all the way back, to see for myself how things started. Barring that, I'd go back to the week immediately preceding the first performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream to watch the Bard during an Elizabethan tech week.
5. What was the first piece of fiction you ever wrote?
Oh, yikes. Technically, it was probably some god-awful story I drew pictures for back in nursery school. (My mother has a box of this stuff that I intend to burn as soon as I can pry it away from her.)
But I would say that the first things I consider true writing probably came about when I was between 8 and 12. I made friends with a girl down the street - Disa - and we discovered role-playing and fanfiction together, before either of us ever knew what those terms were. We used to "play" on the phone for hours...which meant that we were spinning out Mary-Sue derivative role-playing scenarios based on Star Blazers and Robotech and early D&D and fairy tales and so on. I had blank books that I used, not for journaling, but for writing down these fantasies we would create together.
Yeah, that was a whole lot of embarrassing information that most of you probably didn't want to know. LJ Comments still seem to be finding their way more often to my Junk file than not, but if you comment, I'll try to come up with questions at least as pithy as Wendy's.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-10-24 05:12 am (UTC)I'd probably spend a lot less time online, since I'd say about 75% of the time I spend online I spend on various HP projects. I'd probably linger a bit more on the Disney and martial arts boards I lurk on, maybe spend some time doing online crosswords. I'd definitely be spending time perfecting my Roller Coaster Tycoon and Sims games.
2. Who are three students you've had who've had a profound impact on the way you teach?
These first two taught me what NOT to do when teaching. The first one (and I can't remember her name, it's been a while) was when I was student teaching. After each and every test, I would circulate around the room to be available in case any of the students had questions about their results. This girl would argue with me about each and every wrong answer, about why she thought it should be right. After spending about 15 minutes with just her (out of 38 students), I finally asked her to come back during lunch. She never would do that.
The second one, was just after I started in my current job, and I shared a letter (http://bekkio.livejournal.com/245853.html) with y'all a couple of years ago after she was dropped from the program. I inherited her from the previous teacher, who had just retired. The parents were okay the first time I met them, but after the first meeting, the student just completely flaked out. I'd call her mother, and the mother would think it's no big deal, and wouldn't follow up with anything at home. By the 3rd week, the mom was barely talking to me, but my boss wanted me to keep working with the family. I called a meeting, and the mom lectured me about how I was too tough to expect her daughter to work, and that I should "be nice" and "make friends" with the students before I expected them to work. *snort* I worked way too hard with that set of parents, and that letter was my reward.
This last one means a lot to me, and my interaction with her really has shaped my overall teaching style. She was the second student I ever received in my current position, and she graduated last year, after 3 years in my program. Sweet kid, very talented, learning disabled, tended to run away from school when it got tough. I just kept chasing after her until she finished what she needed to do. I noticed that she had a wonderful eye for graphics and photography, and I suggested that she take some additional classes in those subjects. She did, and excelled at them. I really am sad that I never got a chance to congratulate her and wish her luck, she came into my office when I was at a meeting and left a card on my desk. She thanked me for telling her that she was good at something, it was something that she had rarely heard before. I cried when I read that card, and everytime I feel like I can't help one of my students, I pull it out to reread, to remind myself that I can make a difference, even if it's only a small one, in one of my kids' lives.
3. What's the best comeback one-liner you've ever been able to deliver *at the precise time* you needed it?
Damn, I really wish I could answer this question! This has NEVER happened to me before. A few times with my students, something really snappish and mean has come to my head in reaction to something they've said, but unfortunately, I have to really hold back. Like my student who got tackled by the security guys at the mall because he was shoplifting stuff - he was mad that he got charged with assault when he punched the cop tackling him. *shakes head*
4. If you had no need to work, what would you do?
I think I would want to do the same job I'm doing now, maybe just part time instead. I really, really love my job, and I feel like it was made just for me. No boredom (except for grading, *stabs pile*), great interaction with an age job I love, what more could I ask?
no subject
Date: 2007-10-24 05:12 am (UTC)5. What's your favourite piece for cello?
Part of me really wants to say Pachabel's Canon because I'm not a cellist, hee. (Gratitious linkage to Pachelbel Rant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM)) I'm quite fond of Saint-Sans' Concerto for Cello, and I just love the Bach Cello Suites. The Cello Suites were transcribed for viola, and I especially enjoyed playing the Suite in G.