Sunrises

It has been clear, crisp and cold in the mornings and at night here in Melbourne. Admittedly, I have become acclimatized. 6 degrees does feel "freezing", and I am wearing a toque most mornings.
When the wintery weather is not grey and gloomy, there are moments of beauty, particularly at the beginning of the day and as the work day winds down.

Last week, as I was waiting for the train one morning, the sun rose and coloured the sky over Victoria Park.

Thank you, Lindt Chocolate

...for making Dark Chocolate with a Touch of Sea Salt. It feeds my soul!

And thank you also to Woolworth's, where this particular bar was on special this week for $1.89!

Comfort

Things that nourished and comforted me this rather wintery weekend:

• Going to yoga class and aching satisfyingly for days afterwards. Forward Bends and Twists.
• Baking a batch of Gingersnap cookies. They are the quintessential winter cookie.
• Hot soaks with Epsom Salts in the bath.
• Dreaming a theatre project.
• Folding clean, warm laundry out of the dryer. (no, not really earth friendly...)
• Meeting a dear friend for a coffee.
• Making Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup, cracking open a bottle of red wine, grilling Parmesan cheese over a thick slice of crusty country bread, and curling up to watch a DVD under a warm blanket.

Written Assessments

I've just finished marking some written work from my Drama 8 students: 120 written reflections on recent Performance Assessments. Wow.

On the worst days, when I think of the time I spend negotiating and managing just the basic social aspects of my drama classrooms... I sometimes imagine taking a step in one of two directions:

1. Self-destruction: Chug tequila straight out of the bottle, (no lime, no salt), until my senses are numb and my brain is obliterated.

2. Self-protection: Curl up in a fetal position in a corner, humming and rocking my body until my senses are numb and my brain is obliterated.

Never actually have to though! In the end, it's too much fun, and somehow there's always something beautiful, inspired or surprising to laugh about and enjoy. These written assessments? Golden.

It was pretty rewarding to listen to them as they worked together and individually to complete the written task in class.

Students were telling each other how they "...appreciated your use of space in that scene", and some congratulated each other on their "collaborative approach to workshopping the script." Reading the finished work was even better! I had some laugh-out-loud moments. These are some of my favorites:

In response to: Identify 3 things you would improve in your own performance.

Student W: Act Better.

In response to: Describe 5 things you did to change your physical body in your performance.

Student X: I had to dress differently, as I always pictured bears to be really neat dressers.

Student Y: Playing a villain challenged me as I was not used to portraying such a negative character. I tried to embrace my inner villain and this helped me to hunch my back, make my hands like claws and curl my body in on itself.