July 19, 2020- Day 8 out of 66 for new self love habit- reading on French theatre

Hello July,

yes, I haven’t reported the last couple of days… something nice and unexpected happened, but I will tell you tomorrow if you keep being so cool! Pause or not, I am going to be flexible and continue to count the days towards a habit change from the 15th of July:-)

Where am I regarding self-love habits? I woke up early, had a walk, read and wrote, and read about L’Aiglion, meaning the young eagle. This is another play written by Edmond Rostand, the author of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and performed in Paris by Sarah Bernard. My good friend Equinoxio21 (https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com) suggested it.

It is about the son of Napoleon, who died at the age of 21, a romantic hero. Interesting that the role was performed by the great act rice Sarah Bernhardt, and looking forward to learning more about it and the artistic “ambiance” at the time.

Looking forward to reading it!

 

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September 1st, 2019- Welcome September!

Dear September,

Welcome again! Schools, Universities, start in a while, and I feel ready to shake away the lethargic attitude which accompanied me in August, to sail in almost full speed!

I finish my novel, “The Capitaine Fracasse”, written by the talented and unique Théophile Gautier, and I am so delighted with his use of French language, and the lessons I can learn as an author from his style. The Theater as a form of art and Commedia del’Arte play an important part, as most of the characters are actors.

In the last chapter, there is catharsis and justice to the good people in the story, so I am looking forward to a restoration of the moral balance!

Apart from that, I am planning my week, as much as possible, because I am going on a trip on Tuesday… and I will tell you more very soon!

 

March 20- Singing -almost- in the rain

Of course I am not talking about you dear March,

today it was a half-eclipse half-sunny day. I mean that I was mistaken on the date of my ticket for the musical “Singing in the rain”, at the Châtelet theater in Paris. My friends just texted me: “where are you”? since the performance started half an hour ago.

Well, too bad I wasn’t careful! On the other hand, although tickets are sold out, I might try my luck tomorrow and get in the theater in case someone has changed plans, or got confused – I shouldn’t be the only one in the world.

Where was my mind? Was it the fault of the eclipse? I had been working on a fast rhythm the weeks. After I finished my March 13 challenge there were still things to be done in the next few days, so I decided to relax, go to the hairdresser and walk around the city.

I had been sleeping early in the morning for the last few days and it takes some time to get me back to the old style 🙂

So I am singing by myself as I finish this blog-post, hopping to see the performance tomorrow!

 

 

October 25- Rain at the Paris Opera

October hi,

Have you been at the Garnier Opera in Paris? Have you watched the wonderful Chagall ceiling? Isn’t it amazingly beautiful? It has been painted in 1960, and it is just an enchantment for the eyes… please, since you are not Parisian, buy an Opera ticket as high as you can, it should cost about 10 to 12 euros no matter what it is performed, just to admire it! Oh, I am sorry, as a month, you don’t need to bother with trivialities like tickets…

Wait a second April, you might say, is it for the ceiling that you went to the Opera or to watch a ballet?

Yes, but since I was at the fourth flour, I was closer to the ceiling than the scene. But for a ballet,this is not a problem of course, especially one where the architecture of the choreography is so impressive, as “Rain” of the choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Steven Reich’s music made me think rain was falling, but it was a festive, rain.

Despite the music that is so intense and the crazy rhythm of the dance, you get out with a lively, happy feeling. It is youth, it is love, it is movement 🙂

I was there with some friends and we got lucky not to have rain as we returned home, in this way we walked part of the distance and did again some Paris by night. The ponts illuminated, the people on the streets, talking, … we ended up at a small bar where we philosophised about life, relationships, wine…

I decided to leave them before the clock strikes 12 and my carriage is transformed into a pumpkin 🙂

https://www.operadeparis.fr/saison-2014-2015/ballet/rain-anne-teresa-de-keersmaeker

July 17 – my night with the San Francisco ballet

July dear,

did you see me running on the streets of Paris towards the Châtelet theater? I was late, the bus didn’t follow its usual trajectory, the metro took long, and it was hot, hot, hot.

I got in with the “retardataires” the latecomers, until the entr’acte.We could watch and listen to the music, but we were behind a sort of glass. The artists couldn’t listen our applause.

It was wonderful, short scenes that stimulated the imagination … I didn’t read the program, so I made the craziest associations: a scene on the metro, musicals of the 50s, african and brazilian dances, couples in love, nature…

During the entr’acte I got my seat and chatted with some friends who were present, on their future holiday plans. J, a Turkish friend living in Paris, wanted to buy a ticket for Barcelona, on a weekend of March 2015. He incited us to do the same because the price was low. The Italian present, told him he doesn’t even know if he is going to be alive on that date. So what is the rush to book a weekend in almost a whole year? I objected that things might change in their personal lives and that we might need to count with other people too.

I told him that I plan other type of events -artistic projects- but I want to be more flexible on holidays.

As for our Italian friend, I don’t know if he is a pessimist.

Maybe he wants to invite serendipity.

J considered our reaction strange, a sign that we don’t want to project ourselves into a long-term future.

For me, it is a question of time perception, related to culture but also relationships and life. This perception can form a filter in everyday communication.

It is as if we communicated trough the glass , in the way the latecomers were separated from the main theater hall. In order to meet, we need to get to the other side.

And change our perspective.

June 20- The King and I

Shall we dance June?

The title of one of the musical’s songs. Which one? “The King and I” of course, at the Châtelet theater in Paris. I went with some friends tonight, it was just wonderful. Fifty people on scene and fifty musicians. Magnificent! The main actor is French and not Thai, but his charm was persuasive to us, public. Oh, what a love, with all these cultural and power complications! Too bad he has to die in the end, it is the best solution to stay politically correct for a relationship in this type of musical.

Different love stories, between Anna and the King, the Burman princess that is offered to the king as a gift and her lover, the love of the first wife of the king for him. Still, so much love, many children, but not very good communication and happy couples.

Not to speak of colonialism, inter-cultural love, slavery, East and West, power relations, passion.

Too many themes for just one musical.

Love is difficult because people have egos, and communication scripts they refuse to overcome. That is one of the musical’s messages for me. And instead of making love, the king dances around with Anna.

Well, communication between men and women can be complex, I am not sure if it is more difficult in the case of different cultures. After all, you are more prepared for it.

When it comes to the day after of the performance, things look good, in the sense that there are possible collaborations for the future. I met with two Platform organizers and we decided to join our forces together.

 

 

June 11- Another dilemma

Hello June,

there was another dilemma to solve: I had booked a space for two representations of a theatrical group, the first tomorrow and the other next Thursday, but they told me they were unable to perform. I don’t want to get into the details, but let’s say that I learnt about it ten days ago.

My intention was to find an alternative scheme and not to have to cancel the reservation. It was a difficult decision considering the Platform’s wannabe boss who might be looking for an excuse to throw me out; if I canceled at the last minute, my credibility could be affected.

But I didn’t react as quickly and as effectively as I should have. And I didn’t find an alternative plan to replace the theatrical group. So, that left me with the obligation to cancel the events at the last minute. Ok, this can happen. An artist might get sick, etc, but deep down it didn’t look very responsible on my side. And I didn’t like that.

I procrastinated as much as I could. It is kind of hard to take responsibility and say you are sorry. At about 18.00 I was out for coffee trying to enjoy the sunshine. In reality I had to act! I called a friend to get some advice. Go ahead and email everybody! She told me.

I did. I was kind of worrying about lots of things: are people going to trust me again? How about the Platform bosses?

 

 

May 12- the “Odéon” theater in Paris

Hello dear May,

I just came back from Odéon, “Thêatre de l’Europe”, one of the 6 Parisian national theaters, where the director and some of the main artistic figures presented next year’s theatrical season. What I loved the most was the 88 year old Michel Piccoli who told us why he became an actor: as a young boy, he was chosen to perform for a school play. It was the first time the adults were stopping their continuous mumbling to pay attention to what he had to say. And he loved it.

Don’t we all need a stage to perform our play, choose the actors and attract the public’s attention? And if my blog is my stage, what do I have to say?

Am I capable to channel feelings, to touch those I like and love? Have my relationships become more profound? Do I know myself better? Have I taken more risks for true love?

I realize how important it is to me to channel feelings on a daily basis.

Have I become more confident in writing? Because you know, I had been discouraged by some people in my profession who criticized my writing style. And this kind of thing blocked me. It has taken away some of the pleasure. Some 🙂

In this respect I haven’t become more productive since I started bloging. Apart from my daily post, my daily chat with you, dear May.

No, I am not going to answer all these questions now. But I will reflect on them.

The difference is that writing a daily post has been a real source of pleasure!

Oh, and here is the theater lobby where we had a drink just after the event 🙂

http://www.theatre-odeon.eu/fr/les-lieux

May 6- Paris and relationships: past, present and future

Hello May,

what’s up? You were changing moods today: from rainy to sunny and windy. We didn’t know how to dress. I was almost running to get back home from my meeting with an old University classmate. She is currently living in Geneva, and came to Paris for a few days. It was nice to catch up. It has been three years since we last met; she had come with her husband. This time, we could have some girl-talk. I suggested the Rotonde, for a drink, a mythical restaurant of Montparnasse, the area were artists had taken their headquarters, at the beginning of 20th century.

She then asked me to take a look at another place she knew -a bar, ‘the Scott’- named after Scott Fitzgerald who used to hang around in this area, with Hemingway. It was as if we were going back to the Montparnasse of the 1920s and 30s; or as if we were entering Woody Allen’s film on Paris. She told me about an old fortune teller who had grasped her hand.

We looked from the window. I was almost relieved that the fortune teller was not there. I don’t know if I would have liked him to start mumbling something.

After a brief summary of my love life, as we were walking, my friend concluded that I am in love with love; that I prefer romantic fantasies to living with someone who will get on my nerves every day.

I guess everybody can get in our nerves at some point. But I believe there are people who are happy to be with each other, even if they fight from time to time. Was she judging based on her experience? Is she really happy with her husband?

I love being in love, but I don’t want to indulge into fantasies. It is like the Montparnasse of the past; it is ok to go there for a while, with a tourist friend, to spend an hour in this scenery. It is like watching a film. Paris has a past, but also a present and a future. Even when it comes to the architecture. Take the pyramid in front of the Louvre museum, as an example.

I love being in love with someone I can hold, and who holds me back. Imagination is here to spice our lives.

Oh, what did I do concerning work? I have advanced on the project proposal today, but worked from home. I will go to the Platform when I will feel strong enough.

The photo is coming from : http://www.itaste.com/list/restaurant/fr/paris-6eme/la-rotonde-montparnasse.html

 

 

May 4 – Coffee Parisien

Hello dear May,

here is a place – or scenery- I visited twice today: once for lunch, a burger, and four hours later, for a pancake. Yes, it is a small restaurant inspired by North-American cooking in a very central area, Odéon. Prices are reasonable compared to other restaurants around, and the quality is quite good. This is a reason why I pay my respects there quite often, especially on Sundays.

Why couldn’t I have the pancake just after the burger? Maybe because I wanted to chat again with the barman, a theatrical actor; or because I left to meet some friends in between. And this restaurant is not a convenient scenery for a friendly meeting and discussion; a bit noisy, though charming.

The scenery or stage is very important to perform adequately our roles. That is why certain places become our “headquarters”. The café of the meeting for example, was adequate for people who wanted to stay there at least two hours.

The scenery is important for event organizers. And not only for them. In the Coffee Parisien I went alone and tried to finish as soon as possible. In the café, we were three, and another three people joined us at different moments. At some point, we discussed dress up parties. A reason people like them, is the possibility to step into a new character. They represent a kind of holiday from our everyday identity and challenges.

Acting is another way to live other lives and realities. It can be liberating for those who perform and also for those who watch the performance.

I thought that if we want to change the play of our life, we’d better be careful in our choice of the stage and characters.

At the end of the day I had an idea on the leading actor for my event and emailed to invite him.