Su Fu and So Forth...

Right now we are in Sioux Falls, SD. Our lovely fall weather has passed and we have officially hit winter. Today started off at 45 degrees and by the end had fallen to 23 degrees. Needless to say, I'm glad I had my mom bring my winter coat when she came.

Tonight I went with my host mom and roommate (Nathalie from Sweden) to the Ahn Trio concert. The Ahn Trio consists of three sisters - one cellist, one pianist, and one violinist. All are Juilliard trained and they play chamber music by contemporary composers. That was probably the most interesting part, the fact that the oldest composer represented by their pieces was Richard Rogers. Their performance was dynamic and passionate and they were all very talented. The theatre we were in, the Washington Pavilion, had some of the most amazing acoustics I've ever heard. Every pluck of the strings could be heard from the top of the balcony (or so I assume... We were in the 8th row Orchestra). Each note resonated and you could feel it in your chest. It was almost like the music became the air and you were just breathing in the harmonies. I enjoyed it immensely.

One of the basic concepts of improv theatre is pattern recognition. What is funny in a scene is when a specific action or theme returns and is played out in a parallel fashion. This is a skill improvisors must work to develop with the understanding that the more they are able to perceive what is unusual or funny about a scene, the better they are able to portray it to the audience. Those improvisors who are seen has being very perceptive, sharp, and funny are the ones who see the patterns easily and are able to play them. Why, you may ask, do I bring this up? I was thinking about it this evening when I got to the concert. This is my second tour with UWP. In my first tour, I only went to one concert... The 5 Browns. Five brothers and sisters, all Juilliard trained, who traveled together and performed. I'm just wondering what the third beat of this pattern is going to be, because I'm sure we're all aware of the comic rule of three.

We have our show in Sioux Falls tomorrow afternoon. We've already sold out the floor (2,000 seats) so it will be a nice big audience. We leave Monday for North Platte, NE and then the following Monday head to the Philippines. It's a wild ride and I'm hanging on tight.

~Molly