Reflection on Arts in Performance

The experience I will take away from Arts In Performance, is built on the wealth of new things I tried because of the course. Before the class I had never really listened to the Blues, or even heard of Buddy guy. Now I can say I am a fan. I have seen more performance this year in the last nineteen years of my life combined. There were great and not so great moments, but I don’t regret going to any of the shows.

I was surprised by the things I liked, I never expected to like the Blues. The Blues is the type of music my dad listens to and his music doesn’t always sit well in my ears. I was surprised by the range of shows we saw. I almost expected every one of them to be a musical or a comedy because that is what a councilor told me the class was like. Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders was a musical that was occasionally funny, but we didn’t get to the musical comedy until the end which was almost a save the best for last moment for me at least; Imaginary Invalid was my favorite show in the "cabinet".

I was challenged at by motifs or shows I didn’t agree with or understand. The Stupid Economy didn’t sit with me because I felt the information was common knowledge. I didn’t feel challenged by the message but by the lack of deeper thought that I needed to keep my attention. I found the group work aspect challenging. I have worked with groups in High School, but I was nowhere near as hard to get together with people. It felt at times that we would never have anything I felt comfortable turning in. Even on our presentation day I was still worried we hadn't spent enough time on it. The most challenging thing about class however was coming out of my comfort zone and acting silly, or dancing with a group of strangers. There were day...

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...s that of a teenager who had seen the same act three times in the space of two days. I liked Water by the Spoonful, but it was subdued. The subject matter was heavy and it needed a lot of digestion. I don’t know if I was prepared for what the show was asking me to do at that time. It took a few days to sink my teeth into parts of the show. The meanings behind the drugs and the ghost were parts I liked that we discussed because it helped to connect some of the jumbled thoughts I had on the show.

I really loved this class. It was exactly what I was looking for in regard to something new and fun. I have spent a lot of time working on general academia and it was nice to step into a more creative environment where I could move freely and see things I never would have checked out otherwise. If there was a second half to the class, I would definitely take it.