Baby Take a Bow

So much fun today did I have, but it started somewhat trippingly...

I was asked to be a judge of a local foreign language students’ theater festival.  Of course I was excited for this opportunity!  A little too excited as it turns out.  Rushing to the metro, I fell down the marble stairs.  Ok, that’s not such a big deal.  It’s happened before and may well happen again.  But then, hopping onto the metro, I actually fell in between the car and platform!  My badonk-a-donk saved me from falling all the way to the tracks, but for a moment I was struggling like a person in quicksand.  A strong young man had to pull me out, and then I had to comfort a babushka who practically had a heart attack from watching the incident.  I actually didn’t realize how terrifying it all was until I got over my embarrassment.  To quote Clueless, “Now all night long, I’m gonna be known as the girl who fell on her butt.”  On the plus side, that gap is only a couple inches wide, so at least I’m skinny enough to have faced into this peril.

Anyway, after the most awkward metro ride of my life, I arrived at the Ural Technical University.  This was the first time they’d put on such a festival, and it was a great success.  In the preceding days, there had been performances in German, Spanish, French and Chinese.  Today was English day.  Groups from three local universities (including some of my own students) prepared English-language performances with simultaneous Russian translation.  Get your tissue Mom, “the kids worked really hard on this.”  First two kids did a short William Saroyan piece called “Hello Out There.”  Next, a group from the host university presented an only slightly abridged The Importance of Being Earnest.  Finally, my own pedagogical students presented an original play in which Snow White meets Cinderella.  Fantastic!

My personal attachments aside, Earnest was one of the most incredible productions I’ve ever seen.  Here’s why: these kids had me cracking up with their performances.  Then, the live translation had the Russian audience cracking up with Wilde’s words.  It was really something to experience.  I had only seen this play once, and it was a Cleveland Play House production from which I remember only a feeling of boredom.  But in these hands of these Russian students of a technical university, it really came alive.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that in the past two days, the same kids had given equally moving performances in French and Chinese.  In fact, their production of Yasmina Reza’s Art won them a trip to France.  Way to go kids!

 It was also pretty cool to be part of the jury.  For the first two performances, there was a British man with me.  Unfortunately, he had to leave early, so I had to make the final call myself.  Choosing those other kids over my own students I’m sure will be a huge scandal, but they don’t pay me enough for me to be unfair.  Along with my judging responsibilities, I got a free gross cafeteria dinner and a big bouquet of flowers.  In this country you often see women walking around with such arrangements and I always wondered if they feel as uncomfortable as they look.  Now I know they do.  On the other hand, they’re probably more used to this phenomenon than I am.  They also probably don’t come home and put the flowers in an empty water bottle.

After the performances, I took a long walk with some students who were in the audience.  We had an ice cream and enjoyed the beautiful warm weather.  And when I got back to the metro, I was as careful as if I were carrying a dozen Faberge eggs.