Came up with something

The pavement is covered in a thin layer of yellow powder, spruce pollen, I think. A very cool, gritty, pale, sulfur yellow. I went to grab breakfast from a food truck, because even though I woke myself up before 4 am with a coughing fit, I didn't actually bother to get out of bed until after 7...I always hope I'll manage to fall back asleep, but I'm never actually tired again until right before I absolutely have to get up. Reread a little of David Copperfield, trying to get back into the story before it's due again. It's too bulky to want to carry around now.

There was one gull curled up on the brick platform, possibly trying to warm up, possibly sick. It didn't seem disturbed by people coming close to it, and gulls are wary, though perhaps just too tired or cold to care.  It's chilly out.  I'm feeling slightly bleh myself from eating a piece of spam (the food option was a Hawaiian-style food truck.)

I finally came up with a task last night.  I just have to make it important enough, it is to me, but I feel like I have to really put a back story to it, which I'm working on (or rather, why only this one particular task, and not more.) I've come up with a couple other ones; we have to have about five for the remainder of the quarter. We did this exercise last class where we had to find our partner in the room with our eyes shut, and with no vocal sound. We had massaged our partner's shoulders (while eyes were shut) and then we were separated (one of us was moved.)  It seemed like it would be an impossible task (even though I've done similar exercises before, in a much smaller space), or that it would take a long time: it's a big room. Right after walking into a wall I thought, "I'm never going to find her," and immediately found her. I only touched a couple other people, both men, I think; both only on a wrist. I mean, you can hear footsteps, and breathing, and a couple people laughed when they walked into each other, but it's interesting that it's possible. I think Robin said it was maybe 10 minutes for the everyone to find their partner (there are fourteen of us in class.) I wish I had known I could open my eyes once found, I would've liked to have seen the recognition/relief that I felt, in other people. We get new partners after the task tonight. (There are three people I haven't worked with outside of class yet.  Mostly due to scheduling.)

Admittedly, there is a little fun in the challenge of coming up with a task (my fear is always that my ideas are lame.) I am creative, just not always when I need to be, or in ways that seem easy for other people. (Or maybe I lean more toward "adventurous" than "artistically" creative; it comes out in problem solving or synthesis or cooking...hmm. Maybe.) I am dreading it less than the straight chair exercises...that might be progress. I know it's a step at a time, and that's the point of this year, but when I read the books, I just get overwhelmed by how much work finding yourself in the character is. Or I fear my own laziness will get in the way of doing the work.

11:20 getting home from class

Apologies for ranting previously. Just got home from class, fell asleep a bit in the last scene...really need more than 5 hours a night of sleep for days on end (been waking up at 4 am lately.) Really need to rehearse soon as scene partner is gone for our next class. On the bright side, had a good talk with instructor (which is why it's after 11 pm now) and we got dialogue added on both ends of the script, which adds context and more for my character to work with. Maybe my pet crow will inspire a haiku. Finding the most uncomfortable place inside is in reference to doing personal clown work, which is also a way of getting deeper into a character (and physical comedy.) And I am taking a clown intensive this summer.  And that's the class that scares me.