Going into the Alps!

day trip to Garmisch Partenkirchen tomorrow.  we'll TRY to post more. . .

How to add audio video using Hipcast

Log into the Hipcast website and click the AUDIO or VIDEO tabs and record your post. Don't forget the PUBLISH step at the very end. Could take a few minutes if you have a long file. SEE HELP section of website or click here to download instructions on recording audio and video to the blog using Hipcast website. You can also phone in a post (214) 615-6431 to your blog #1000. SEE Janet for PIN.

Almost half over!

By tonight our trip will be half over!  We've been so busy that there's been no time to

blog.  We have lots of pictures, but I'm the only one with computer access (small glitch!).

Wish we had a fancy phone to send in lots of stuff to the blog.  Anyhow, we are about to

go to the Gartnerplatz opera house to see "Der Mann im Mond" (The Man in the Moon).

These are tickets I'm paying for through calendar sales, so thanks to all who purchased

a lovely vintage U-M calendar from us (and thanks to Pete Shin who makes them).  We

are having a really great time.  The students are soaking up everything.  We had seen 4 plays

by Sunday night.  Kristin wins the stamina award.  She saw three art museums, went to a 

play and followed that up with a 4 hour opera on Sunday!  I'm having a little trouble posting

photos, but will try to figure out why if I ever get a chance.  We had a small side tour yesterday

about some of the architecture in the city and today after our opera, some are going to JYM

to hear a talk about Berlin.  This was an add-on to the schedule!

arrival/Ankunft

A good time

It's taken two days to get to a computer.  We all saw our first performance last night--

Verbrennungen.  The set was great, the acting, as well.  Today the group learned about

Munich from Hans-Peter Söder, director of the Jr. Year in Munich program, who treated

us to a great lunch at Augustiner Keller, after which we went our own ways for a few hours.

Several of us ate at Alter Simpl (YUM!), then went to the Schauburg Youth Theater where

we saw an excellent performance of Eine Odyssee, while others were hoping to get tickets

to their first show at the Kammerspiele:  Familie Schroffenstein.  Tomorrow, it's reduced

rate for entries to museums and we're all seeing Brecht's early play: Im Dickicht der Städte

at the Residenz Theater in the afternoon.  Then some people will go to the other, and some

will go to see "Hass" at the Kammerspiele.  

Today's the day

Drew and Ian have arrived! I heard from them this morning. They are probably sleeping by now. NOT! The rest of us leave today. Gute Reise!!!

Expectations for München!

I expect Munich: to be a lot of fun, to be full of German-speaking people, probably to involve rain, and to have lots of fascinating plays in German. I don't actually have a lot of expectations; I've never been to Germany before and haven't been able to/had time to imagine it very well. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I will be in Germany on Friday—which is tomorrow, a slightly unfortunate fact, seeing as Thursday is now today and I still haven't gone to bed.

But with all my homework now completed—and hopefully my dishes, too, before German Readings tomorrow—I will be able to leave Ann Arbor and school behind, get on the plane, and have a completely open, relaxed, and ridiculously excited mind for everything in Munich.

German food...specifically chocolate!

Well, I'm up after studying for an exam tomorrow, and visions of german sweets are dancing in my head....like Marzipan, Apfelstrudel, and Schokolade!

I'm looking forward to all of the food in Munich basically. Especially the weiss bratwurst mit semmel in the take-away delis, the sauerkraut, rotkohl, spaetzle, and pretty much anything on the menu at Andechs.

One of the many rewards of traveling with Janet, is that she knows the best places to eat in town and the best thing to order on each menu! :)

Brecht in Munich

While in Munich I plan on seeing two shows by Brecht: "Im Dickicht der Staedte" at the Residenz and "Der Gute Mensch von Sezuan" (not sure if I spelled that right) at Kleines Spiel. After working with some Lehrstuck text in DT class and seeing Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle" presented by the UM Musical Theater Department this past weekend, I am very anxious to compare and contrast how Brecht's works are interpreted and presented differently by various theater ensembles. Four plays by Brecht are being performed the week we are in Munich. I think this proves how great of an impact he had on german theater, and how he continues to impact theater audiences today in Germany and all over the world, including the University of Michigan campus.

München (I mog di!)

I believe it was the famous author (and famous Münchner, too!) Thomas Mann who once proclaimed "München hat mich." And I, for one, am taken with this fascinating Bavarian city. Once bitten by the "bug," you are infected for life. It was in the summer of 2005 that I first succumbed and I have yet to satisfy the itch generated that July. Munich is a magnificent and lively city - one with a rich culture and an even more remarkable history. I have surrendered myself to the city and have been infinitely rewarded by the aesthetic and civil beauty and grace inherent to Munich. I am thrilled and quite eager to return to an environment which I find inspiring and which, for me, only appreciates in value upon each subsequent visit. Munich has a hold of me - and I am glad that she does!

I have also been to Germany several times (the first time convincing me to learn German), but I am expecting this to be a much different experience. The only other time I was in Munich, I stayed for 2 days, both of which were spent wandering aimlessly through the streets and desperately trying to order food. I loved every minute of it, but I will understand everything much more now. It has only been in the last two semesters with Janet that I have been getting an appreciation for theater (not to mention a passing familiarity with the German language). I am very excited. Enough so that I believe I will be taking benadryl for the next few nights, because I can't afford this inability to sleep while I am trying to kick my cold.

Haß

One of our options at the Kammerspiele, Haß, is based on a film by that title. I'm trying to link to a scene from it on Youtube.

Löwen in München

Löwen bringen Glück.  More about this on the web at http://reisen-ciao.de/Odeon_Munchen_Test_2408752

Expectations

Although I have already been to München twice, this will be a completely new experience. The last time I was in Germany, I knew next to nothing about German theater, and even if I had seen a play, I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much as I will now. I am very excited to finally have the opportunity to see an approach to theater that is quite different to that in the United States. We have talked a lot about German theater, but actually seeing it performed is a completely different experience. I hope to be able to understand as much German as possible while I'm watching the plays and to learn useful or interesting phrases. I also hope to learn from the many actors I will watch, so that I can get new ideas and improve my own acting.

Mama Medea in Muenchen

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Wait, is that water covering the stage?

Alright, I admit I don't study theater, but I have seen a lot of plays, both in the states and in Munich, and I believe the shows here will open your eyes to a new level of possibilities in set design. Things can really get over the top, especially at the opera house. I went on this trip last year (and it was amazing), and when I saw plays and operas sometimes I accidentally stopped paying attention to the actors because the set was so interesting (and sometimes just plain weird. A wall of mirrors and a toilet as a set? Huh?).
There are traditional sets as well, of course, but the crazy ones really make my day.
So yes. Weird things! Awesome things!

Oh, and here's a picture from the inside of the opera house (where I guess you're not supposed to take pictures? Whoops):


I took this from my fifth-balcony nosebleed seat. But you know what? No matter where you sit in this place, you feel kinda fancy.

-Brianne (that girl who's in Munich right now)

expectations

We will be seeing a wide variety of theater/performances while we're in Germany. I hope to be able to start understand the German approach to bringing drama to the public and how they interpret texts. My understanding is that the first thought on how to perform a piece or the traditional performance are not necessarily the only possibilities. Thinking outside the box and manipulating certain elements can emphasize parts of a show that a viewer previously had not seen or otherwise may not have noticed. (if this was the first time seeing a particular show) I want to be able to bring back some of my observations and put them into practice too. Simply being in Germany will allow me to immerse myself in the environment in which the pieces were originally written and sometimes performed. Germany will hopefully provide a natural setting for the texts, as opposed to me reading it in my room, removed from everything.

was und wo ich gern esse

Fleischpflanzerl at Andechser am Dom, Spinatspätzle mit Rahmsoße at Weisses Bräuhaus, anything at Alter Simpl... more later...

Bowie does BAAL

Now you can compare Bowie's performance with the one in Munich.

welcome

This is a blog for our trip to Munich. We'll post our impressions of plays along with photos of the city here for our friends to see.