VoWoD

Today:

"I bet you might be interested in speaking with a duck if you were to meet one who could talk."

~Jason

Giant Emerald

My interest in the thief archetype peaked yesterday as this story popped up on Channel 2 news. Further brief Internet searching came up with this article from CNN.com. Apparently this is the biggest emerald ever, weighing in at 850 pounds! Not carats, pounds!

The whole thing just sounds shady, as it was apparently stolen from a warehouse in LA, and subsequently showed up in a warehouse in Vegas, and on e-Bay. E-Bay?? Who would actually buy a giant gem for 75 mil on e-Bay? This emerald was appraised at almost 450 mil. Wow. Not your typical cat burglar fare. I feel like writing a new Sherlock Holmes story about it. ~Jenn

Getting Psyched

Look at the link below for pre-research on the upcoming Summer 2009 Advanced Stage Combat Class: Jedi Camp (Lightsaber technique). This website is a folkloric/comparative literature site I always use in my DU classes for many reasons--the author has done her homework and has some really cool Joseph Campbell-esque folkloric traces through film and literature. This page off the website is specific to the lore, inspiration, and symbolism of the lightsaber. Enjoy, and get psyched up for the summer! Details on Jedi Camp to follow closer to summer.

http://www.moongadget.com/origins/lightsabers.html

Thanks to this site for the Master Replicas Force FX lightsaber image.

The Place to Go on Friday

This Friday the 2nd of the new year is Testing Night at the Boulder Quest Center. This event used to be on Wednesday nights but now is set up as one of the coolest Friday night shows to catch in Boulder. Highlights of this Friday night will be: Jenn n Jeff in another Demo Team sword showing, also Jenn will receive Instructor level To Shin Do teaching rank, and, well, some no doubt fun belt tests as well. Be there for the show and stay for the potluck. Oh, and enter the free raffle to win a DVD of To Shin Do technique.

Jan. 2nd, 2009: BQC Testing Nite!
Adults/Youth/Demos begin at 6pm

Potluck after!

image from last month's BQC Test Nite.

Stage Combat Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards are awards given to people who, well, do really stupid things to get themselves killed, or nearly so. I assume the Darwin name refers to his concept of natural selection. Obviously those who receive Darwin Awards should not be part of "survival of the fittest."

The Unbeatable Bonzuko Team would like to institute an annual Stage Combat version of the Darwin Awards, and we want you lurkers' input on what the name of these awards should be. Jenn has made the poll in the left margin with what we think are the best choices for the name, but certainly if you have a better idea let us know here. The name with the most votes (or any suggested name we deem better than these) will win, and we'll begin nominations for the awards as soon as may be.


Also let us know if you think non-theatrical martial arts stupidity should be included in these awards.

It's Christmas tiiiiiime in the city

Or it was, anyway. Not sure how long we'll keep our sparkly tree up, but Jenn being the magpie she is, the sparklies will be up as long as isn't ridiculous. Maybe they'll be down by St. Patty's day.

And maybe this post belongs on TWS's blog instead, but heck. What do cookies have to do with the movement arts? Well, a lot if you count calories. Anyway, here's the collection of Christmas cookies from Grandma. We don't have a picture of Mom's because, well, they're all gone.

Happy Holidays once again, readers!

Happy Holidays!

It's Christmas Eve, and this evening Team Bonzuko is going to Jenn's 'rents' place for to eat, drink, and be merry. Apparently brother Jesse is in charge of eats, so it should be a feast worthy of the holiday. I hope Dad makes his infamous egg nog.




All you blog lurkers out there, have a happy Christmahannukwanzaakah, solstice, wassail.....

(Thanks to http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/Portals/0/601/christmas%20tree.jpg for image)

YouTube ninja

Before I recommend enjoying this insane Borat/Candid Camera meets ninja-movie parody, I must entreat you all, readers, to NOT try this at home (or anywhere else, for that matter). Though amusing to watch in this video, doing this sort of thing could get you in a fight, or arrested. PunchRobert.com did this so you don't have to. Enjoy! ~Jenn

Urban Ninja II

Stage Combat Final Exams

The MSCD Stage Combat class (THE 421C) performed their final scenes back on Dec. 9th to a small audience of fellow students and the one who was grading them--me! We had an even number of students this semester, so they all were in pairs, and all did really well showing their accumulated skills in staff, unarmed, and rapier. I posted one picture already from the event, but wanted to wait on the details until grades were in. Here's the rundown on the scenes:

• Andreas & Noah: cranky teacher and rebellious student (hm...): loved seeing my textbook being used as a shield. Noah takes air (of course) and two nicely gory moments involving white tic tacs and blood on the white board.
• Kris & Paul B.: Waiting for Godot: As a fight scene. With late knaps. 'Nuff said.
• Rezal & Brady: Taming of the Shrew: Kate is infuriated with Petruchio's excellent avoids. some lovely status work, and combat waltzing.
• Matthew & Chris: two well-spoken hobos fight over a nickel: Matthew also has some mad tumbling skills. Very good stage speed and escalated tension.
• Mandy & Coco: "Lipstick and Love": two cute housewives go at it over a stained shirt. Really good staff work and some great hair acting. A comedic moment with a toy lightsaber. Line highlight: "Again? I'll get the tarp."
• Jordan & Scott: archaeologists have an intellectual spat: the script had me rolling. Blue glitter is no doubt still everywhere in ARTS 271. Wonderful work with both holding the staff, also 2-rapiers vs. staff. A gruesome bite. Mummies and Treasure Quarterly.
• Nate & Jason: "Brutally Honest": a period piece set at a reunion. Good throws and lifts, as well as an interesting way of using a duffle bag in defense. Much blood. See Nate's picture below.
• Nick & Paul S.: "Ninja Monopoly": old-school kung fu movie line dubbed in by fellow actors. Excellent stage speed. Game board vs. staff. Bruce-Lee-esque blocks. Ground fighting.

All in all, I was extremely happy with everyone's work. Students can pick up their graded write-ups and detailed critique within the first two weeks of next semester. Good job, everyone,and I'll see you in January!
~Jenn

Images: Jordan & Scott on the cover of Mummies & Treasure Quarterly; Rezal & Brady doing Shakespeare; Noah & Andreas choking, flying, and punching. Taken 12/9/08.

Self Defense Video

Saturday the 13th I helped out with the BQC's Women's Self-Defense seminar. Both the Daily Camera and Channel 7 news came by to film the proceedings. View the Daily Camera link here, or click on the title of this post. And stay safe, boys and girls! ~Jenn

My Book

I just realized what an idiot I am--how long have I had this blog, and I haven't actually put up links to my book so you all can buy a million copies! What am I thinking?

Here's the Allworth Press site.

And the Amazon.com entry.

And how you can get it at Barnes & Noble.

Get many and enjoy! ~Jenn

Just like the game!

I've been playing my favorite game, Thief (when I haven't been grading finals, that is), and came across this news blip from comcast. This is weirdly cool--just like that one level in the game, with the spooky ghost that makes you find stuff in the abandoned insane asylum, and the nightmare music is playing, and you get trapped... I wonder what was going on with this guy. Maybe it's the adrenaline of burgling. Maybe it has something to do with the brightest full moon in 15 years. ~Jenn

Odd News - Malaysia burglar stuck for 3 days in haunted house

Sharp Knife Debacle #3

Check out this story MSCD colleague Christy found and sent along to me:

VIENNA, Austria — An actor's suicide scene became a little too real for comfort when he accidentally stabbed himself in the neck during a performance after a stage prop was replaced with a sharp knife at an Austrian theater.Daniel Hoevels of the Thalia Theater company from Hamburg, Germany, was supposed to be using a knife blunted for use onstage, but the knife had been switched with a sharp one for the show Saturday night.Vienna police said Thursday they were investigating "bodily injury caused by negligence."The theater company said the original prop knife was damaged and that instructions to blunt the replacement had been "carelessly" disregarded. It did not specify who it thought might be responsible.Hoevels received stitches for his injury at a hospital and was back on stage at Vienna's prestigious Burgtheater the next day. He was playing the role of Mortimer in Friedrich Schiller's "Mary Stuart."Hoevels declined to be interviewed about the incident.

:sigh: Hey, let's hear your ideas of what the Stage Combat Darwin Awards should be called. I'd like to start reviewing candidates like the above.
~Jenn

Random Movement Pic

Another random drawing from the Unbeatable Bonzuko movement image archives. Drumroll please:

Ah! Another aerial picture from Jenn's past. This is me rehearsing for Theatre of the Vampires (I think--it might be just a class, but I see one of the death-skull masks from one of the dance pieces on the floor behind me). Year: probably 1997. The low-flying trapeze is one of my favorite movement arts I've ever been involved with. It takes a lot of strength but also centeredness and flexibility, especially to be able to smoothly travel from floor to feet to air to ropes and back again, which is really the magic of the low-flying trapeze. I danced with these folks for almost four years, and then got into grad school and had to drop it. Jas also danced with them for a little while. Cynthia probably took this picture, so thanks to her!

This is How I Looked After my Final Exam

Nate after his performance on 12/9/08. We put the "fun" in "Fundamentals of Stage Combat." :) ~Jenn

More T-shirt glory

Haven't you always wanted your own theme music? Well ThinkGeek.com, the other most awesome geek-themed T-shirt mecca besides J!inx.com, has finally made one! Check out their blog post about it here. Ain't technology so much fun?

Theatre Review

This past semester, a group of 12 MSCD students took a class called Performance Ensemble. Their sole task in said class was to put together a play called "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast" under the guidance of Dr. Marilyn "Cookie" Hetzel, professor extraordinaire and head of MSCD's Theatre Department.

The result of their semester of hard work was a lovely example of my favorite kind of theatre: what I call "coffee house" theatre or "storytelling" theatre. With only variously colored T-shirts, scarves, and a couple blocks and ladders, this group of talented young actors created the world of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I went to see them on Saturday and was wholly impressed. So much so, it made me jones for the Seuss show again...:)

Highlights from Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast:

• The use of scarves: totally going to steal that idea
• 9 actors forming the Caterpillar, 1 forming the hookah; all breathing and bubbling together
• Kris (with Brian's arms) as Humpty Dumpty; the whole wall tilts as he extends his hand to Alice ("It is most provoking...")
• Amazing transitions between scenes; actors forming not only all the characters but the backdrops with their bodies. Stage Movement students, take note!
• Bonzuko's own Jas as the Hero, peering around the "tulgey wood" as behind him, 10 students swirl and form into a giant Jabberwock, which he then defeats with a "snicker-snack." Melissa as its head dies with much Jurassic-Park-esque screaming. The children (and Loren beside me) in the audience are in awe
• Brilliant tea party scene with Melissa doing a Disney-like dormouse hilariously; Erica as a cross-eyed paranoid Mad Hatter; and the brilliant Brian as the March Hare. Brian's use of his scarf to form ears, which then express what's happening in the scene, was stellar
• Talking about falls? The Red and White Knights both had some fabulous falls, as well as a hilarious fight scene. Their "horses" are precious. Jas as the White Knight does more break falling than anyone ever should on that hard stage floor. "Plenty of practice..."
• Jas finds the perfect balance of being a narrator on stage: not upstaging the action, but making his voice clearly heard, also tackling the complex Carrollian language very well
• Kudos to Brian, who, in the midst of personal loss, put on a great performance using his immense physical comedy talents

Really good job, kids. Know that that group of five little boys in the audience were not only mesmerized, but were reproducing the Tweedledum/Tweedledee dances in the hallway afterwards. You have done your work well. :) ~Jenn

Stage Combat Finals Reminder

See November 22nd's post for details and a map to the "funnest final exam on campus!" to see the flyer details, click on the image. ~Jenn

Theatre Review

The 2008 Directing Projects at MSCD always astonish with the array and high caliber of talent that students can possess. I attended one of the two-night event, and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed. I'm not just saying that to be nice and supportive of my current and former students (and my husband). I mean it--I laughed. Really!

Highlights of the 2008 MSCD Directing Projects Part One of Two (The "Director's Dozen"):

• Packed audience with much joyful loving energy--the ideal audience for a theatre actor
• "Getting it Back"--big red bags symbolizing love hauled onstage
• Lovely tango dancing between two of my former movement students
• "Downtown"--Jose, Katie O., and Brady were brilliant as snooty literati with a twist ending so fantastically orchestrated I can't write about it in this blog
• Some great naturalistic comedy by former student Rob and another student named Dan whom I was very impressed by: it's hard to not finish sentences when you're acting. It's also hard to really listen
• "18 Holes"--current student Andreas directed, current student Scott and Bonzuko's own Jas acted in a 10-minute play that went through 18 holes of golf. Great freeze-frames and fantastic physical comedy timing as well as tender moments

Good job, guys! ~Jenn

Stage Combat Club: November, December

December 2nd was our last MSCD Stage Combat club meeting of the semester, so anyone who is or wants to be a member, stop by this blog for news etc. about its doings and future plans until we meet again in the Spring.

The November meetings mainly have consisted of Nate and Jason Braddock rehearsing for their final fight for the class (see a couple posts below for that event's details), and Ken had some fun "adjudicating" them. We also had some more discussion about the Algorithm March and upcoming RMTA event in February. Jenn (and MSCD colleague Jay Louden) will be teaching two Stage Combat classes at the RMTA this year on Friday Feb 6th, so keep your ears peeled about that. The RMTA is up in Durango this year, and should be a pretty fun trip!

So we'll see you in January, everyone! Check your school schedules and look at Tuesday afternoon possibilities for meetings.

The MSCD Stage Combat club were: Jason Braddock, Nate, Nick B., Ken, and we welcomed new member Nick W. of UCD into our fun. BTW, I found out that it's totally kosher to include any students from all three schools on Auraria campus into our club, Metro-sanctioned though it is. We look forward to Spring semester. Happy break!

~Jenn

P.S. Special shout-out to Ken for manning the last-minute RMTA application wrangle. You rock!