Yes, I'm back in my beloved Andalusia and many sunny days have elapsed
since last time I posted on this blog. Do you know what happened in the mean time?
ahem....Instagram...I told you, I got completely hooked to the point of nearly forgetting
about my blog. So far, Instagram is great to post pics of what inspires me, a door or
a graffiti in my village, a book or a movie....but...when I really want to write a longer
post with several pics then where else can I go than my darling little blog?
After this reasonably long hiatus I meant to post about an eating place I really enjoyed in Nice
but here I am freshly back from an intense theater workshop last weekend.
And it was so comical and interesting at the same time, that I wanted to share it with you.
My French girlfriend Pascale took part to a theater workshop in Granada last month,
led by drama teacher and director Dora Albardiaz. She told me how much she loved it
and that Dora would organize a theater workshop during a 3 day weekend. Please, join us,
she said and I thought why not and got reunited with 7 other persons in a very nice and
secluded place in the countryside.
Dora is a very dynamic and interesting woman whom I liked immediately.
The workshop started on Friday afternoon. That day I found the exercises quite amusing.
We did so many, I couldn't remember all but mainly, as we worked in pairs,
being my partner's shadow, and mirror and vice-versa. One exercise made me
laugh but left me dubious, chasing the others, wanting to grasp their ass but
refraining myself....mmmm...From the start, I thought...oh la la...there's a lot of
body contact in those exercises....lots of hugging after each exercise and then at
the end of the day...the shower : we make a circle, somebody stands in the center
with his/her eyes closed and the others caress him/her....Yes, I can hear you say,
mamma mia...what is this??? Naturally, it was quite pleasant but I reckon, this is
definitely not for everybody. Actually, I forgot what was the purpose of this.
The improvisation exercises were my favorite. We used the patio, shown in the
first picture as the stage. It made a lovely space and a green theater.
We also used the beautiful countryside around us. On the first day, there was
a good camaraderie vibe. We all brought food to share and sat down at
the table for dinner under the green grapes. Later on, during the night a storm broke
out which made us feel all giddy and happy. Some of us slept in the living room
and luckily I had a tiny room all by myself. Then in the morning, we all sat at the table
again for breakfast before starting the exercises in the wet grass. Relaxation, hugging,
breathing, singing, dancing, working in pairs again. One exercise in particular was
a bit embarrassing...being your partner's doll and vice versa. I was teaming up with
that handsome guy and found it quite difficult not to feel naughty!
In a way all those exercises made me feel conscious of my approach to other
people's body. I reckon it was very interesting even if I thought we did may be
too many body contact exercises. Another exercise was smelling and tasting
the others. I went really fast on that one....But, besides all that, the most interesting
thing for me was to observe how we interacted between each other. It would be too
long to describe and explain but slowly the initial good vibe turned sour because
some hostility got declared between some persons. And the owner of the place
who also took part to the workshop suddenly became a total control freak.
And me who usually laughs a lot, had quite a serious face on sunday morning.
What was supposed to be a relaxed theater workshop got transformed into
a heavy affair. And in my last improvisation with my partner, in which he was
protagonist and I, the antagonist, we fight over a ladder, he wanting to steal
all the grapes he could, saying that he couldn't care less and insulting explicitly
the owner of the place. No need to say, it didn't help to ease the ambiance.
Dora was still zen and serene but put an end to the workshop earlier than
what has been scheduled. So, on sunday after the last improvisation exercises,
we gave each other a hug but it was quite a feeble one. And instead of having
lunch together as planned, we all left home. The truth is I was so impatient
to be with Monchéri again and tell him about this very interesting, crazy, zany
and intense theater workshop.
I didn't find it appropriate to post pics of the whole group but here we are
Pascale and I, wearing as you can see romantic frocks...a bit of froufrou
in the dull ambiance....
