Conexión Creativa

Based on my blog content, one might assume that I actually live in a theater, with occasional trips to boliches and super swanky McDonald’s. But I actually spend a fair amount of my time in classrooms. You know, learning stuff and whatnot.

So I thought I’d do something new and spotlight one of my classes on el blog (I call this “el blog” when speaking in Spanish. With a Spanish "o". I take Spanglish very seriously).

I start my Mondays with Conexión Creativa (translation: – you guessed it – Creative Connection) at USal’s School of Dramatic Arts. I wasn’t originally enrolled in the class, but decided to give it a try during shopping period, and now it’s safe to say I’m in love.

I’ve been exposed to some pretty hippie-dippie stuff in my life. Progressive schools, organic food, folk music, etc. I know what WOOFing is and hope to give it a try some day. Gender-neutral bathrooms don’t faze me in the least. I went to Prometheus Camp in Finland where we skinny-dipped and made meditative sculptures that represented our personal idea of what “time” is, for Pete’s sake.

Hey, this is a fun list! I could keep going, but in the interest of your sanity, dear readers, I’ll stop and get to the point. Conexión Creativa is an extremely hippie-dippie, touchy-feely, find-your-spirit-animal-and-become-a-vegan kind of “class.” I say “class” entre comillas because it’s really more like having art therapy sessions once a week with a group of thirty of your peers. In fact, it is exactly that. And each time I go, the more convinced I am that every theater student – if not every artist/person ever – should have this as part of their training/life.

The professor is a small woman in her late 50s with a constant, genuine smile and a powerful, mellow voice. She says things like, “You are a flower with four petals. Beautiful energy emanates from your center, from the bellybutton.” (Except in Spanish, of course – I’m learning to speak hippie in Spanish, it’s nice!) She has a team of mostly silent, extremely chill people who come with her and make the magic happen. It's pretty ridiculous, but also wonderful.

I’m finding it hard to explain what happens in this class. We do a lot of different things. We chat. We listen to earthy music. We close our eyes. We move. We paint. We play like children. Last time we were each handed a lump of clay and were supposed to transfer our body heat to it, then march outside with it with our eyes half-closed to bask in the sun and sculpt.

I can imagine more than one person rolling their eyes at this. “This is your CLASS?” You ask with disbelief and mild to moderate distaste. “You’re getting CREDIT for this?”

I understand why you might feel that way, but I assure you, as pre-kindergarten as it may sound, Conexión Creativa is hard work. Somewhere between the tickling, the shouting, and the clay-pounding, this class really gets to people. It’s all about going deeper, accessing something we’re not allowed to access most of the time, discovering truths about yourself you had no idea existed. “Confronting the beast,” says the professor. So far, at least five or six people have cried each session – last week, I was the first! There’s nothing like tearing and snotting (that should be a word) in front of thirty people you hardly know. At the very least, now they know I'm human, and I think everyone speaks the universal language of unintelligible sobs equally well.

"Galopad aprisa..."

Believe it or not, I am here to do more than go to boliches and hang out with cats! This is the first week of classes, and so far it has been AMAZING.

I am participating in IFSA’s new theater concentration, which means that my schedule of classes is designed to give me an in-depth look at theater in Buenos Aires, and to help me continue my studies in acting and directing. I’ll be taking two classes at the School of Dramatic Arts at Universidad del Salvador, a small private university in the city; observing an USal class; attending a seminar; and participating in a workshop where I can put what I’m learning into practice. In addition, I’ll have Spanish class once a week at IFSA. A full program! There is only one other student, doing the concentration with me, which is actually ideal because it means I won’t be alone but I also won’t have tons of Americans in my classes, thus making it easier to get to know my Argentine classmates. Robyn is the other IFSA student, she’ll probably come up quite a bit in posts about classes as we venture forth together into the sea of Argentine drama kids.

Sitting outside of the School of Dramatic Arts, I could tell I was in the right place for me. Crowds of students with loud voices and colorful clothes stood around talking and laughing together, waiting for classes to begin. My people!

My first class was Voz y Canto (voice and song) with the third-year students (mostly 20- and 21-year-olds). Right away, I was taken aback by the tiny class size (I counted ten students) and the laid-back environment – lots of joking and chatting throughout class. When the professor explained what they would be working on this term, right away the students protested and suggested different options. The Vassar theater department is quite friendly, but this level of openness definitely gave me a culture shock.

I took my first theatrical risk of the semester by taking a turn at reading a monologue in front of the class. It was from Romeo and Juliet, so I knew the scene, but it was of course in Spanish – ye olde Spanish. Quite difficult! I stumbled quite a bit but the class applauded my efforts. I need to memorize it for next week! I am excited to see how I improve week to week over the course of the semester.

The people in the class were really nice. I ended up talking with a couple of the girls afterward, and they said that if I had any questions about drama stuff in the area I should feel free to ask them.

Yesterday, I attended Destreza y Malabares, which is a class on gymnastics and juggling for actors! It is taught at the oldest circus school in the country (the second oldest in all of the Americas) by a man whose family has been in the circus business since the 1800s. Wow! The students in this class are also from USal, and they have been in the class since March, thus being able to do all sorts of crazy circus stunts. It was quite a shock walking in and seeing them hula-hooping, juggling balls and rings, and doing flips in a seemingly anarchical manner. Once again, a very informal environment! I wasn’t wearing proper clothing, so Robyn and I just practiced juggling two balls for a while before she went off to learn other tricks and I was adopted into conversation by a group of students. I think I surprised them with both my relatively good Spanish and my lack of knowledge about NYC. They gave me some tips as to what boliches to go to (once again: NOT SAHARA!). They seem like a really fun group of people, I hope to get to know them better in the weeks to come.

This afternoon, I will attend my first academic class, about contemporary theater in Buenos Aires. The professor is supposed to be extremely good and knowledgeable. I’m excited! Going with the same theme, I’m going to see a professional production of All My Sons tonight, but in Spanish (Todos Eran Mis Hijos – “They All Were My Sons” - huh), sponsored by IFSA. It’ll be the first play I see here. I’ll write a review tomorrow!

Next week, I’ll take my camera to class with me. I didn’t want to be that freak exchange student taking pictures of chairs and stuff, but now they know me, so I think it’ll be okay.

Thanks for reading! Keep those comments coming, I miss you all more than you know.

Besos,

Isabella

Word of the day: el quilombo - n. A chaotic mess.