alainap99 – The Arts in New York City (Fall 2017)

Play Reading

Going into the city on a week night was not something I was looking forward to at first. The night seemed to just keep going wrong between my dad’s car getting a flat tire and of course, the classic case of NYC traffic. Things got better once I arrived to the Macaulay building. Having an interest in writing definitely made the night worthwhile to me. Seeing somebody’s work in a kind of “in between” stage was amazing. Though there was no set or costumes, the actors were able to immerse their viewers fully into the story. I think what I liked most about not having a given set or costumes, was that I could imagine what they dressed like and how the given location looked where the characters were. It lets the viewer see things how he or she would like to. Which to me, makes the story even more special, especially if you have an imaginative and creative mind.

Talking to the writers and actors was really great, though it was brief. Listening about how they were originally going to kill of a character was kind of relatable. When I write and sometimes kill off certain characters, I am often asked the question, “Why?” There is not definitive answer I can give besides, “I needed to for the story.” So it was interesting to hear the same kind of problem behind writing and killing off characters for the writers of the play. Now I have even thought of some questions that I would like to ask them myself. The experience Tuesday night is up on the list of my favorite Macaulay activities thus far.

Garth Fagan Dance

The dance last Sunday was not exactly something that I would have gone to see on my own. Being an English major, I try to find the meaning behind everything. I guess it is because of my investigative personality. However, I was getting aggravated because I could not draw a conclusion as to what the meaning of the dance was. The dance numbers themselves were very entertaining to watch and I was eager to see what the next move was. I give the dancers a lot of credit for what they do because, I certainly can not spin around really fast multiple times and not get dizzy. My favorite dance number was the last one where all the dancers came out in colorful costumes. My favorite part of the show would have to be the second half. The music was more upbeat and some songs even had lyrics, which made the dance in a sense easier to follow. All in all the Garth Fagan dance was very interesting and unique.

Punk Artist and Poet~ Rich Stremme

Last Friday, we had a very special guest speaker come into class, Rich Stremme. As an English nerd and music lover, I was incredibly excited to get to listen to a poet and musician speak. I think the most thing about hearing him speak was that you could see how passionate he was about music. Being a fan of punk music myself, it was awesome to hear about the roots it. When he spoke about creating his magazine at school it made me smile, because that is something I would probably do. In school I wrote little stories/poems and my peers and teachers would read them.

Since I am and English major, I am constantly thinking about a path for becoming a writer or a poet. When I asked who his favorite poet was and his/her influence on him, I was elated to hear that he loved E.E. Cummings. I have a collection of the poems of E.E Cummings, so I was really excited. Hearing Rich Stremme talk about his writing was inspiring. Knowing that his favorite poets influenced and inspire him, made me feel that maybe one day I will be able to write poetry for people to read and not just in a journal.

All in all, I loved having him speak to us. He was really passionate about his work and his music. The pins, books, and albums were a sweet touch, and it was really nice for him to give those to us. One of the poetry books is on my shelf as a type this!

Moonstruck by La Bohème

The night at the opera was absolutely one of the most amazing times I have ever experienced. As I was sitting there in those red velvet seats, all dressed up, I felt like a million bucks. I was sitting in Lincoln Center watching an opera, and not just any opera, La Bohème! I may have seen calm, cool, and collected, but on the inside I was completely over the moon with happiness. The orchestra gave me goosebumps and the singing brought tears to my eyes. Walking down the carpeted stairs of Lincoln Center, I found myself reflecting on what I had just watched. It was, as Cher said in Moonstruck, “awful, beautiful, and sad.”

The love story between Mimi and Rodolpho was beautiful and heart wrenching all at once. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire opera, just because I was so enamored with the music and the story itself. Being a fan of opera and beautiful orchestrations themselves, I was extremely happy that I was able to experience a real opera for the first time. The venue was beautiful. The dimly lit crystal chandeliers gave an ambiance of complete romance. The fountain was absolutely stunning.

Once I got home, I could not stop talking about my time at the opera. I even told my boyfriend that we should go to one, because he needs to experience it. I wish I could go back and relive that night. La Bohème is probably my favorite Macaulay experience so far.

So About Avenue Q…

My experience at Avenue Q was interesting to say the least. I am more of your classic Phantom of the Opera kind of girl, so Avenue Q was certainly not something I would have seen on my own. During the show I was most likely making some interesting faces because of just how raunchy the show was. I was definitely a bit disturbed and incredibly confused.

The beginning of the show, when Princeton asked what he would do with a BA in English was a bit disheartening as an English major myself. There is a lot you can do with the major a writer, professor, editor, journalist, etc. I guess to an English major, the whole, “Have fun not finding a job” joke is a bit overplayed. Besides the whole show’s theme of finding one’s purpose could have been solved when Kate Monster finally got her school. A new school needs teachers, yet Princeton did not get a job in the end.

I had an equal number of likes and dislikes. I loved Christmas Eve. Her character was the most realistic to me. The song about wanting to kill your significant other shows that you love him, cracked me up. I think every couple has their fair share of those moments. The actors were absolutely amazing and I give them a lot of credit for what they do. The way they need to change their voice if they were operating two puppets is actually incredible. As far as dislikes, the raunchiest scene of the show made me highly uncomfortable. Puppet sex is not exactly something that I was expecting nor is it something I would have ever wanted to witness. I felt the need to go to confession afterwards. It was quite awkward and I felt bad for the puppeteers. The Bad Idea Bears certainly showed the bad side that people can have. I mean Kate Monster was obviously intoxicated and Princeton listened to them and took her home because she was wasted. Let’s just say Avenue Q addressed things that no other shows do. I did not particularly care for that. Things did get a bit better when they said everything is temporary like Donald Trump. That made me laugh and in a way was almost comforting. In conclusion, Avenue Q was unexpected and unique.

Alicia Keys ~ Keeping it Simple

One presentation that really stood out to me was on Alicia Keys. I listen to her music a lot, but never really knew her story until now. I absolutely love that she keeps everything simple, and is not over the top like other female artists today. I think that says a lot about her character, and that she doesn’t need bright lights and revealing clothing to be a strong female artist. Not only is Keys a natural beauty, but I love her message of female empowerment. When Jackie brought up how Alicia Keys sang, “These Girls are on Fire” at the Women’s March, it made me really happy inside. When I got home, I looked up the clip and it warmed my heart. I think women need a female artist who is genuine and natural more than ever these days. Someone who is very “what you see is what you get”. That is precisely who Alicia Keys is, a genuine artist and catalyst of female empowerment. All in all I absolutely loved Jackie’s presentation! Job well done!!!

My first time at MoMA

Last Saturday my brother Raymond took me to the Museum of Modern Art. The museum was not at all what I had expected it to be. I thought it would be a lot bigger. Walking in, the museum was packed like a can of sardines. My brother and w walked throughout the museum and he pointed and told me to turn around. I must admit I had quite a starstruck moment seeing van Gogh’s Starry Night right before my eyes. Since I was a little girl I tried to mimic every line and swirl of that painting, so seeing it in person made that all the more meaningful to me.

A few pieces really stood out to me. The most memorable was Andy Warhol’s Orange Car Crash Fourteen Times. I looked at it and thought to myself, “Why use something so tragic and make it a piece of artwork?” It made me sad to look at it, while other people came over and thought it was something so cool. After spending more time in front of the painting and getting angry with the people who were excited looking at, I believed I reached that A-ha moment. Perhaps Warhol did this to prove a point. Maybe he was trying to say that the world is so used to seeing tragic things, so it does not evoke any feeling out of them. This to me rang true for all of the current events happening in the country and around the world. People have become so desensitized over a period of time, where they do not see anything wrong.

After being troubled by Warhol’s work, or rather the reactions to it, I decided to move on and hopefully find something to make me feel better. However, it seemed that it was not exactly my day when I looked down to the center of the first floor to see a gigantic spider. I was so disturbed looking at a giant rusty spider covering a cage, that I could not bring myself to go down there and get a closer look. Looking at the walls surrounding there were even more spiders. I do not like spiders, so lets just say going down to the first floor to exit was a sight to see, especially considering that my brother thought it was the coolest thing ever and wanted to check it out.

At this point of my day I really needed something to cheer me up, and finally I came across a painting of a little girl reading. In that moment i thanked Henri Matisse for making something so beautiful and not at all terrifying. The painting was colorful and vibrant and to me relatable. I love reading so seeing a little girl reading looking as happy as I do when I read, made me feel a lot better. The painting is called Interior with a Young Girl. Matisse actually made this painting depicting his daughter Marguerite, which I thought was beautiful. One could almost feel the love that it was painted with. All in all it was a pretty emotional day at MoMA, surely one I will never forget.

Brooklyn Museum

My first Macaulay event of freshman year, was indeed interesting. This was my first trip to the Brooklyn Museum, and I was very excited to be sharing it with my fellow Macaulay classmates. The museum was filled with beautiful artwork, and it was in a sense overwhelming to me. Being someone who is in love with ancient Greek and Roman sculpture, the exhibit of Egyptian art was definitely a sight I was not accustomed to seeing. I found myself struggling to comprehend every line and crease. Perhaps my knowledge of Greek/Roman mythology is what made looking at their particular sculptures so simple to me. I was perplexed, looking for answers to the question, “Why?” I felt challenged which to me was both motivating and disheartening all at once. I was determined to find something to understand and make me feel better after the confusion.

Walking around the next exhibit I saw the American flag in black and white, which touched my heart. I am an incredibly patriotic person, so seeing that made me proud to live in this country. It made me reflect on all the beautiful things that I am offered as an American. It made me think of my grandfather, a Navy veteran, and all that he fought for just to make sure that my family had a good life. As I continued walking I looked behind me to see a black and white portrait of former President Barack Obama by Robert Longo, and within an instant, I ran over to it. I smiled and thought back on all he did for the country, missing his administration more and more with each memory. I thought about how much has changed over this past year, hoping that something good will happen and things will change for the better.

The next stop for me was the Sergei Eisenstein exhibit. This was the most impressive thing I saw that night. Walking into the dark room, a feeling of sadness swept over me. I looked straight ahead to see a woman from the 1920s crying, I looked to the left of her and saw a war. I walked around the entire exhibit, putting the story together piece by piece and frame by frame. It was then to my surprise that these were all different films by the same director. The idea that the different films were slowed down and told one unified story was absolutely exquisite. All in all the trip to the Brooklyn Museum was one I will never forget.

NAWA Exhibit

Last Saturday was an eventful day in the city. We got lost, took many trains, and finally arrived at the correct destination. As strange as it sounds, walking around Manhattan was different that day. I was exposed to a whole new city that I had never gotten a chance to see before. Walking downtown, passing Shakespeare in the Park, I realized that I live in a city that offers me endless enriching experiences. Upon arriving to this little hole in the wall exhibit, I came to the conclusion that this was just another one of Manhattan’s many gems.

The exhibit though small, was rich in beauty and meaning. I stumbled upon abstract art, 1940s memorabilia, cartoon cats, and even an eye made from buttons. One drawing that I fell in love with was of a girl sitting among red flowers. She was black and white, and the only color in her was red for her intricately drawn heart. Another piece of art, which I mentioned above was the eye. The eye was made of buttons. I really started to think about it and asked myself, “Why buttons?” It was not until after the fact that something dawned on me. The holes in the buttons are called eyelets. My inner nerd came out and was excited about the play on words. I laughed to myself, and wondered if that was pun intended or if I was just being silly. Either way though, that piece made me think.

The trip to the NAWA was certainly an adventure. It was inspirational to see art from all women, at an exhibit run by women. It touched my heart to see that these women do what they love and get the recognition that they truly deserve. This trip further instilled the notion that anyone could accomplish anything that he or she puts his or her mind to. This exhibit encouraged me to go and see more exhibits that maybe are not as well known. It is those little places that hold true treasures and stories that no other can match.