LAISSEZ FAIRE WITH A BEAR.
Such an exhilarating week, I feel so conflicted which part of the excitement to relay and reminisce about…and I have just realised that my sarcasm will be immediately misunderstood because I am communicating through a keyboard and not able to convey my theatrical and over exaggerated facial expressions. No one said a dramaturg’s life was all candy floss and unicorns, its hard work along with balanced with several other jobs. Why is this because food is fucking expensive and as humans you need it every fucking day, god damn it has science not caught up to my ridiculous need of less food more energy to survive. I don’t ask for much.
Which brings me onto my dramaturgical discoveries for the week, this isn’t an awkward transition, this is a Poushpom-ism. Keep in mind there is a writer some of you may know as James Joyce developed a whole career inserting awkward transitions in his writing, I mean third person narrative.
Time for some DD’s, in terms of dramaturgy not the bra size.
Videos, videos, videslos.
Videos will be arriving next week to internet land! Everything I kept saying years ago enplaining anxiously that it would happen next week is actually happening next week! You see, I’m not a liar just forward thinking, really forward thinking. Dramaturg-ing this work involves well everything about being a dramaturg with a few additional skills. Like a dramaturg but with a Batman belt, but instead of a Batman belt it’s editting software. And instead of a cool side kick like Robin, I have a needy medically demanding dog called Bear who will not rest until he eats food measured to his body weight.
The minute the paper touches the ground he literally leaps onto it to sleep on it. Now I know why people won’t sit beside me in meetings when I take out my notes.
Within this project the main things Ive been concentrating on are clarity and continuity throughout the videos. That all my findings and ideas are conveyed coherently. That there is total harmony within the narrative of the stories and research that I am discussing in each video. More so, that I can translate the workings of my brain to a familiar linguist, and less like a mad verbal patchwork. It’s not my fault its society’s fault for not being able to understand the idiosyncrasies at which my brain operates.
Now I understand what he is talking about.
RESEARCH
I’ve probably mentioned this a few million times, as a dramaturg you do a lot of research. While trying to do my online work I decided this would be a great time to teach myself French so I could broaden my translation skills as a dramaturg, not just become a random translator.
Now I didn’t just begin to learn French because I like adding more things to complete to my ridiculous workload but from a project a did about a year ago when I was researching French theatre from the 17th century. I came across a lot of French words (obviously!) some I knew and some I didn’t know, and when I would look up some of the words, they didn’t exactly have the same meaning as the content to the rest of the sentence.
While I was researching French theatre I came across some French words, no surprise there. Flicking through my incredibly basic secondary school english-french dictionary, the more I translated the less I knew about the subject. It was like successfully finishing a sudoku on a easy level and then suddenly being handed a hard level of sudoku that I had to complete with my eyes closed while reciting a futuristic poem.
For example, there is a style of theatre called comedie larmoyante , which according the Oxford English dictionary is a mix between comedy and tragedy. But when I researched more into the genre it is actually a style onto itself and is more notably called sentimental theatre. AND comedie doesn’t mean it is necessarily a comedy but also means play acting or to put on an act, I found this with the help of books because internet land was too busy trying to sell me some black shit that cleans your face. The meaning of the word changes due to the syntax. It taught me an incredibly valuable lesson about being a dramaturg and working with languages that I’m never going to truly understand it to its fullest and truest meaning unless I have a broad grasp of the language otherwise my ignorant brain will be telling future clients working with French theatre about sentimental comedy. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because his inner child felt the need to recall nostalgic memories about his fellow chickens that did not cross the road.
So now Im learning French.
My aim is to look as smug as Jean while chewing on some straw in some random barn.
All rights reserved to Katie Poushpom, k.e.poushpom
The Madwoman in the Theatre. 