Eli Diamond returns to New York for his second semester of theater school.
This semester has already brought more work than I could have possibly expected. One week in, and I have 4 scenes and 2 papers assigned to me. Honestly, I was not expecting this semester to get to me so quickly, but it’s strange. Ever since coming here, I’ve had a new sense of ambition. All the things that were weighing me down are starting to vanish. This may not sound like a big deal to you, you clever reader, but towards the end of last semester, this was a big problem for me. The moment this ambition really revealed itself to me was last Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, I had to perform a short monologue from The Bacchae (The first Pentheus monologue to be specific), and, in classic Eli tradition, slept til 15 minutes before my class started. Now, First Semester Eli would have seen the clock and be fast asleep again in no time at all. But this brand-new, classy Eli woke up and bolted to class. With sweat dripping down his face, he made it to his class, albeit 15 minutes late.
The rest of the work started piling up quickly, and being away from school taught me two things. One, the steps are always slightly engrained in me; and two, the actual application feels rusty. Everything, be it my repetition to my ‘as-if’ing feels incredibly rusty, as if I have not performed in… well six weeks. But I am slowly but surely feeling it coming back. Watching everybody go through the same troubles I am definitely helps with the sense of community and confidence that we are all going through as actors.
And that’s the thought I’m thinking of right now, as the blizzard continues to rage outside. As a Californian, I don’t know how to really deal with the cold. The few times it snowed in San Francisco, it might as well have been considered a joke. But, as an 18 year old experience the harsh winters for the first time, this is terrifying. I only recently discovered the joys of long underwear, and have been wearing the same heavy coat day after day, due to my inability to find a new one.
So basically, all in all, its the same New York I loved and left, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way.
San Francisco Theater Pub 