I arrived at Central this morning to find a sea of happy faces. There is a certain atmosphere in the air on the first day of term, it’s an electric mix of trepidation and sheer joy at seeing familiar faces once more. I’d say that the first day is made up of approximately 70% hugging people, this however could just be an affliction of the drama school luvvvie syndrome.
After the usual term briefing featuring all of the enthusiasm that can be found in an average fistful of dust it was time for the terms first lighting seminar. It was the usual mish-mash of the useful, intriguing and irrational. Today’s session at least for me awoke me from my holiday slumber…I feel like I’m doing something right within my practice. We spent much of the session discussing what the job of a lighting designer is and how our work is perceived by the adverage audience member. The conversation raised lots of interesting points and has sparked me off on some extra research I’d actually LIKE to undertake not only for my degree but for my interest!
The afternoon was to provide ample opportunity to tick off an item or two on our research visit checklist for our upcoming Immersive project inspired by Tom Waits and Robert Wilson’s Black Rider. Postman’s Park is a small open space in The City of London, which is the location of a memorial to heroic self sacrifice. It was striking the number of children that were honoured in the memorial. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes taking in the surroundings and contemplating the bravery of these souls.
Plaques in Postman’s Park.
After a short walk across the river we ended up in the Tate Modern, naturally we gravitated to the large cavernous turbine hall and laid down in the middle of the sleeping giant staring at the ceiling. We pondered over using such a space for a site specific work..meanwhile tourists took pictures of us, we can only assume they though it was the next big thing in modern art.
The Turbine Hall’s Roof.
And to top off a pretty fab day it was off to a meal out to celebrate catch up with friends old and new.
My only worry is that of impending financial ruin….not much then?
J
22.04.13
