The “Hair” at IUB – Backstage Perspective

Monday, May 16, 2005 / Posted by Rahul Jain / comments (0)

Imported from the old Mercator Blog (Original Author: Jenny)

Don’t ask me how was the musical. I was too much involved therefore I loved it. For me it was just great. Everybody did his or her best – that’s the way to do it and it’s amazing! Of course it was far from perfect, but so what? It was a musical staged by students and it rocked!
Another reason why I can’t say how it was is that I never saw it from the audience perspective. I was always standing at the curtain. That gives you an interesting angle and a weird sound.
At the first performance everybody was very nervous (me included). The goddamn curtain mechanism was broken and repaired already twice during previous rehearsals and we could only pray that it holds this time. The fact that in last part of the show I knew only theoretically when I’m supposed to close and open the curtain (coz it never survived the whole rehearsal) was far from encouraging. Besides, there were so many other things to worry about. But there was Ravi, standing right next to me, and Anna, and Karol, and Raluca, and everybody else was there to help. As soon as the curtain was closed the “backstage team” would break into a run. Being fast and quiet simultaneously is kind of difficult, especially if you have to turn the Central Park into a party in a house. Yes, we were far from perfect, but it worked. And then there was a standing ovation, and the second show and “Let the Sunshine In” with everybody on the stage, and the party (if you ever get a chance to dance rock-n-roll barefoot – do it!) and endless conversations at meals in the canteen going over small details and laughing about bumps and mistakes. And something else, that is difficult to put into words. Something that still lingers in the air. Something that makes me smile every time someone “from the Hair” passes by. Now we all have something to share, something that unites us. We had a good team and we had a good time. I am happy and proud that I was part of the “Hair” project, even though only a small part. Thank you, guys and girls, you’re the best!

Survival Tip 2 - MSN Messenger

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 / Posted by Rahul Jain / comments (0)

Imported from the old Mercator Blog (Original Author: Jenny)

Get on MSN! Most of IUB students use it. Once you get it and you have some of your best friends on the list you’ll know why it is so important. It’s the main means of communication and, actually, much more. It might turn to be an important way of knowing what’s happening with your friends. As for friends – see survival tip one ;). So, get on MSN and pay attention to the nicks.

Survival Tip 1 - Friends

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 / Posted by Rahul Jain / comments (0)

Imported from the old Mercator Blog (Original Author: Jenny)

The question of how do I survive here when all come to worse can be answered with one word only – friends. There are lots of friends for fun: for parties, for nice chats in the canteen, for sharing club activities, for shopping trips downtown. It’s enough to just look around – there are so many smiling faces. People here are really great and interesting to talk to. You make lots of friends. But… This is not the whole story. There is also another type of friendship. A friend who is there for you in your darkest hour, who notices that you’re in pain – no matter how hard you try to hide it. If there is at least one such person around – you have a treasure.