mauxmaux – Armagh Project 2014

Dublin Snapshots

mauxmaux — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:29:39 +0000

There was more than enough to see in Dublin. I tried my best to capture the moments I could.

Rosie From Lughnasa

mauxmaux — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:24:07 +0000

Of all the sisters in Dancing at Lughnasa, Rose was the most interesting to me. Though she is discribed as being ”simple”, it doesn’t draw away from her depth. She is pure and natural in all of her intentions. She is honest and does not have the desire, or will, to be duplicitous. Even her name is simple and natural. Her sisters are often frustrated with what she says and does. They see her choices as naïve even though she is the most forthright of all of them. I appreciated what she represents in the play and what she shows the audience.

If I Must Choose…

mauxmaux — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:19:24 +0000

If I had to say which play I liked the most, I’d say it would be Dancing at Lughnasa. I really enjoyed Lughnasa for many reasons including its use of strong Irish archetypes, the texture of the time period, and the subtle subtext behind the small conversations we see. Freil’s character work drew me in over and over again. Maybe because I had the chance to see Aristocrats, it gave me better feel for his work… This play has a great emphasis on interpersonal familial relationships, which is very emotionally appealing to me. It’s so character driven and eveyone in it is fascinating.

Crows Tweet

mauxmaux — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:48:51 +0000

Tír na Scéalta centers around a young storyteller who has finally arrived at his Mecca only to have things run afoul due to some devious crows.

Dublin, Here I Am

mauxmaux — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 23:11:04 +0000

I’m enjoying Dublin so far, but my view got off to a rough start. Lack of sleep can make the beginning of anyone’s day a bit rough. In my less than perfect (read: groggy) mindset walking around for several hours probably wasn’t the first thing I wanted to do. As I was given time to ease into the town, I began to soften to my surroundings. Dublin reminds me in a lot of ways to the bigger cities I’ve visited on the the US. Vibrant with life and activity from people all around the world. One things that caught my ear was hearing people speaking different languages with a bit of an Irish twinge to them. It seems obvious that anyone would pick up an accent in the place they’ve been for years, but I just found it interesting to hear. There seem to be a million places to go get food. I’m not one for buying souvenirs all that much, but enjoying a good meal is very important to me. There is so much to experience here and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

The Village Mood

mauxmaux — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:08:46 +0000

I think this image of a quaint Irish village with an over cast sky is a great representation of the mood I’m trying to set for my play. The idea of conflicting signals has always fascinated me. Being somewhere that looks safe, but feel dangerous. That feeling in your gut that says “run, now”. Ignoring your deeper instincts in order to fit in or appear strong. Being in a sweet little town that looks inviting, but is concealing a dark secret. I think that the town my play is set in will reveal itself its character as the story unfolds.

Local Identity

mauxmaux — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 23:32:38 +0000

I think that a lot of smaller communities are currently suffering culturally from globalization all around the world. I see it all the time in the towns I visit in the United States. People are losing their sense of community, local identity, and the aspects that make them unique. It could be seen as a positive that these communities are being connected through the advent of web-based technologies and easier access to the outside world. A negative result of this is standardization running amok and slowly destroy many aspects of local culture. I don’t hear this subject discussed enough in normal conversation or through the news. I’m always glad to see this subject addressed.

Patterns In the Window

mauxmaux — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 23:08:18 +0000

When I first got to explore Armagh, I immediately noticed a couple pieces of clothing in a shop window of Lila’s Clothing. They reminded me of clothing you would see in a slightly different environment. The dresses, hats, and white tennis shoes reminded me of the fashions I would see in sunny beach towns like Sanibel, Florida or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. They didn’t seem to quite go with the often cloudy and cool climate of Armagh. May they’re there for when someone wants to visit a place filled with sunshine, or at least dream of being somewhere else.

Nearby Texture

mauxmaux — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 07:21:06 +0000

I loved is bridge wall. These plants could grow anywhere but they chose this wall. It’s craggy and harsh and mean looking, yet it can sustain life. It reminded me of how farmers would grow things on the rocky coasts of Ireland. They just put seaweed on rocks and somehow that’s enough. Either this land is that incredibly fertile or the plants aren’t that picky.

Weighty Concepts

mauxmaux — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 06:59:13 +0000

Focusing on single ideas today. Trying to choose just one thought out of the maelstrom has been difficult. Ireland has always seemed so evocative to me while I was at home, now that I’m here, I feel like the idea of choosing just one subject to explore might be difficult.

Navan Fort was glorious. I was astounded by the raw beauty there. Hearing about the things that were found there, such as the sacrifices of animals and objects, really fascinated me. Especially the Barbary Ape. The fact that the ancient people who lived there were well connected enough with the outside trading world bring an animal from that far away is mind-boggling. I also wanted to think about how the myths we heard reverberate though Irish culture even now. I was so glad that we all got to lay on that ancient mound. I wanted to try and absorb whatever mystical energies may still remain inside.

Another topic that I often think about is identity. It’s interesting how people need to justify identity. Sometimes in an explanatory way and sometimes in an accusatory way. We discussed how many people of Irish heritage long to return back to their familial land, while many others could care less. I often hear people talk about how they can drink like a fish because of their Irish heritage, but I feel like that is a misrepresentation of the culture perpetuated through stereotypes. I feel like most of the people I know who are clearly of Irish decent are those who are wistful, brooding, and have a interesting sense of humor.

The idea of sacrifice. The history of sacrifice in Ireland. This felt like a subject that could be very dark and deep. The relationship Ireland has with sacrifice relates back to the the previous two subjects in many ways. Ireland has a heritage of loss. Many societies depended on sacrifices long ago, but in someways Ireland has had trouble letting go of it.

How Americans deal with death compared with the Irish. I was thinking about this more in relation to ghost stories. The seen and the unseen.

I’ll be exploring all of these ideas in the next few days.