July 1, 2007

An unbelievable weekend
Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Our group decided earlier in the week that we wanted to explore some of the other islands. Members of our company who had been on this trip before advised us to visit Poros on the weekend. Through them we learned that the island was much bigger and had a lot of historical landmarks. We agreed that the Devils Hoff Print would be our final destination.

Saturday morning a group of 13 of us took a two-hour boat to Poros. Finally, after two boats and a taxi ride, we found ourselves at the Tower of Diatechisma, which I later found out was inhabited since Neolithic times at least. Talk about world history!  

After walking a little while longer we finally found a spot to put all of our stuff and began hiking up and down a river. In the two hours that we hiked we saw three waterfalls and beautiful butterflies and dragonflies every where. It was nature in it purest form. I am a bad swimmer, so I was scared the whole time we were moving from rock to rope to tree to water. What was most amazing was when we all located ourselves at the lowest point of the river and overhead we could see the Devil’s Hoff Print.  It was simply breathtaking. When we finally returned to our starting point, we all felt like we accomplished the impossible.  Back down the mountains we were able to walk around the Island and eat at a great restaurant before taking a boat back to Spetses.  

 After all that physical activity you would think we would be too tired to do anything else. However, this was not the case!  An hour and a half after returning we all decided that it was time to explore the other side of Spetses. Old Harbor, we were warned, was where all of the hottest clubs on the island were.  After taking a quick carriage ride we found ourselves swarmed by hundreds of people by 2 a.m. The other side of the island was packed with natives visiting for the weekend, Americans, and nationalities of every kind. Not knowing how hard these people could party, we found ourselves leaving at 4ish while people were still pouring in.  It was ridiculous.  
            
After stopping for a late-night chat, my friend Katie and I realized that the sun was going to come up any minute, so we decided to stay up to watch it rise.  Within an hour, the sun raised past the mountains. The whole day was unbelievable, moment to moment.  

June 19, 2007

Beautiful Greece!
We have been here for 5 days now, and it is more beautiful than I could have
ever imagined.
Within minutes of my arrival I got to meet members of the company. Our
company of 30 is diverse in many ways; there is a wide range in age and
nationalities.
For the first two days we stayed in Athens to tour the Acropolis, the Temple
of Hephaistos and other historic sights. We also got the chance to visit the
Temple of Dionysos (the god of theater).
The food so far is amazing, the best seafood I have ever tasted, and I live
in Miami. One thing that I found very amusing is that after every meal we
are given watermelon to keep our potassium high due to the heat.
After those two days we took a ferry to Spetses. On the boat ride to this
little island we also got a chance to see other smaller islands near Athens
such as Crete. Now that we are situated in our dorms we can being to mingle
with the beautiful people of the community. I must say, Greek men are
beautiful!

Sun and stage
After five-hour class days many of the company members and I find ourselves
lying in the sun, shopping, swimming our just taking a walk around this
beautiful island and conversing with the natives and other travelers. It
feels as if time has slowed down, and we have all the time in the world to
take in the experience.
Lastly, we started rehearsal Monday and I'm extremely excited to see how the
musical, dance, and theatrical elements are all going to add up in three
weeks' time. We've started to learn the music and blocking so far. The
director has also taken the time to enlighten us on the Greek Mythology that
inspires and supports the work we're doing.

June 13, 2007

I just completed my second year in the SMU theater program. This past fall I was cast in Fabulation by Lynn Nottage and directed by Stan Wojewodski. I am originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. My family moved to in Miami, Florida, when I was 6 years old.  I've been interested in theater since I was 10.

Anyways, on to a more exciting subject: GREECE!! I auditioned for a Classical Acting Program under the University of Detroit Mercy in the fall. The university, along with the Athens Center, host the program yearly. The program is a month full of intensive acting, voice, dance and theater history classes.  Luckily I was one of the chosen 30 to be apart of this program in GREECE!!!  

I leave June 14 and will return on the July 15.  While there we will also be touring, climbing and rehearsing for a performance of Lysistrata by Aristophanes, a classical Greek play about women, men, war, sex and peace (in short).  This play will then be performed on the very stage where theater originated.  I am so excited!!!