Kim's year-long Blog Improvement Project at Sophisticated Dorkiness encouraged us to "look for blogging inspiration somewhere new.
There’s no real way to do this. If you’ve got a laptop, take it out of the house and write up a post somewhere different. If you don’t have a laptop, grab a pen and paper and do some brainstorming outside the house.
Go to the park, a local coffee shop, the library, a friend’s house, your backyard, wherever you feel like it. Just get away from where you usually blog to see what inspiration you might get from a change of scene."
I did this in a movie theatre while I was waiting for Gamer to start.
It wasn't hard to see that I was immediately drawing on sense memory for this exercise.
Many of you already know that one of my favorite places in the world - and favorite moment in life - is taking my place in a theatre seat, waiting for the show to begin.
It can be any kind of theatre, any kind of performance.
It can be a spot snagged among an outdoor crowd for the Busker Festival.
It can be a hardy sports stadium seat built to withstand drunken disappointment in a game, but serving me as a seat at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo.
The hockey arena can be tucked out of sight so I can sit in surging anticipation for Lenny Kravitz and an amazing night of music.
It can be a no-frills wooden chair on homemade risers, awaiting a Fringe Festival performance.
It can be a seen-better-days upholstered seat scavenged from a renovated theatre as I sit just feet away from Michael Mahonen (Road to Avonlea's Gus) as he shows his acting chops in Salt Water Moon, a play by Newfoundland-born David French.
But there are two types of theatre seats that thrill me more than any other.
The basic cinema seat - where I have willingly whiled away countless sunny days in a darkened theatre. No matter how far technology takes us, no matter that I can watch films in an increasingly sophisticated home setting, I will always cherish viewing films as they are meant to be screened - in a theatre surrounded by other film lovers.
And the other one?
Why, a seat at the ballet, of course.
Where the orchestra tunes up as the lights go down to a quarter...
Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says The best part is often the anticipation of the delight to come. :)
Claudia says I love live theater - of any kind. We grew up watching it from an early age.
Michelle Johnson says Yes, a change of scenery can inspire one to write something fresh.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Through the Opera Glasses - 29 - Anticipation
Posted by Julia Phillips Smith at 8:08 PM
Labels: 2009 Blog Improvement Project, Ballet, blogging in a different space, Busker Festival, Fringe Festival, Lenny Kravitz, Michael Mahonen, Sophisticated Dorkiness, Theatre seat, Through the Opera Glasses
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5 comments:
As delightful as a performance can be, the best part is often the anticipation of the delight to come. :) Inspiration can be found in so many places.
I love live theater - of any kind. We grew up watching it from an early age. Opera, however, is not my favorite. Are you going to the ballet this season?
Good Morning Julia~ Yes, a change of scenery can inspire one write something fresh.
I too love the theatre: the smells, curtains, seats, lighting and most of all the performances. I used to go to an outdoor theatre growing up. It was an excellent experience everytime. I'd love to see a good ballet. Hope all is well. Have a great day.
Very cool; I love this and your updating old posts. Dividing up those genres in the side bar must have taken forever!
I'm a big fan of movie theater seats that have arm rests that go up in the middle. I like being able to hold hands without having to bend my arms all over the place. I also love watching previews when I go to movies -- I get so excited about what I might go see in the future :)
The ballet season is underway here in the pacific northwest. It began with Romeo & Juliet, but we missed that performance. There are many shows left though, so we're determined to go at least once.
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