Yesterday I taught a chorus workshop in the home of a professor here in Baltimore, to two faculty and four students. We worked on a passage from Judith Molina’s translation of Brecht’s adaptation of ANTIGONE. There was quiche. It was good. Things observed:

– Brecht completely rewriting choruses (Many are the wonders, but none more wonderful than man; Love undefeated in the fight) by simply changing the thesis statement (Many are the monsters, none more monstrous than man; Lust, not love…etc.)

– Why should the members of the chorus have the same point of view, or objective, even when they are all reciting a speech with a unified objective? They don’t have to. They can each have a different approach to it. Complexity = good.

– It is always worth it to get off book, no matter how long it takes, for the text exercises.

I then went to the Towson mall with one of my friends here, and bought a watch. Then I couldn’t use my eyes any more, so I got nothing done. And today I have to catch up on work. I’ve been sick a lot lately – five days of strep throat, several days of not being able to use one of my eyes.