I’ve just returned from a theatre games workshop- yet again,
the first time I’ve done one since last year. It was being run by a bunch of
ex-students of the University of Melbourne and there was even someone who was
in Neighbours there! (A squee, I do
confess, a squee.) It was billed to me as an improvisation workshop, but apart
from ole reliable Spacejump (“it’s like a Russian doll”, “a one person activity
that isn’t that”- theatre introductions are identical the world over, it would
seem), there were actually very few games involving theatrical improvisation.
They were more the kind of games that are employed by enthusiastic
teens whilst they take care of disinterested youths- but fun, nonetheless. I
will be returning next week, assuming I am told the time- the world really is
geared towards those with Facebook. It was nice to hang with folks my own age
who aren’t the rec room 2 crew and I got a free sociolinguistics textbook out
of it- I even met some ex-exchangers, and got a glimpse of what life may be
like post-uni for those of us who have flown so close to the sun that is living
abroad.
Today also marks the first time I felt I got the full value
of my day ticket- I went from Fairfield, to Melbourne central, to Brunswick,
back to Melbourne Central and eventually to Clifton Hill. It was in use for
nigh on six hours!
I would also like to relate a small incident I had in trying
to reach this workshop- as with everything worth doing, there were several
minor inconveniences. First off it was, raining, Edinburgh-style. Mini-rivers,
with tides and ox-bows, the whole shebang, sprang up like cupcake shops in an
affluent cycle. But the real inconvenience was finding the place.
The workshop took place at ‘Broken Mirror Productions’-
which I really expected to leave Google blank- but no, it was one of their
first suggestions. I noted down the directions from Google maps dutifully, and they
got me absolutely nowhere. Unless ‘left’ and ‘right’ have changed meaning in
the past few days and I wasn’t informed- it was probably put on Facebook- I was
lead to the middle of an alley, between two carpet shops, and the directions
were proudly telling me that this was an avant garde arts space.
I then tried using Google navigator on my phone, and was
there in minutes. Why they can’t share information between the two, I have no
idea, but they’re obviously run by different people, and I gotta say maps,
navigator are kicking your ass. You have two weeks to turn it around.
P.S. I guess I have no sense of direction in Australia, either. Alack.
