It is hard to imagine that I have been here in beautiful South Korea for 4 months.  I am heading home on Saturday and am spending this last week sight seeing and visiting  new places in Korea, including  Jeju Island.  
I have made so many new friends and   discoveries. The most exciting  discoveries I have made have actually been about myself.   I realize how much I depend on collaboration in the creative process of   putting together a play. I realized I have taken much for granted when  communicating with someone for whom the  National language is difficult for them to understand. I realize how much I " verbally process" explanations and need to stream line my train of thought in order to communicate  with  speed and thoroughness.  

 I have always been dependent on the kindness of strangers, and the kindness  I received through new friends in Korea has  been overwhelming.  The language barrier required that I always have a translator , but there were several time I just started speaking Korean, or at least I thought I was doing so until I saw the blank expressions. 
 However, I am amazed  by how much we are alike. There are more similarities than differences between people.   The work I did in Busan was based on getting actors to actor on the impulses and  feel their strength and understand the power of the human experience. Universal them retold  through new characters,    are what keep audiences coming to the  theatre. 
I was awestruck by the beauty of the Korean people;  Koreans are gorgeous in their hospitality and kindness as well as their  faces ( both natural and cosmetically enhanced) and their  fashion sensibilities. 

It's hard to believe that Children of Eden will open the end of next week. As we have been technically in rehearsals all semester, this is the longest period of time I have rehearsed a singular play in a very long time. 
 There is something to be said for allowing character development. I see the growth and in each rehearsal, some student finds something new.  We have time to clean and focus scenes. 
 But the length of down time between rehearsals causes  some cast members to forget notes, so there are cons as well as pros. And the  "Luxury of time"  concept is a falsehood- as we still do not have Act II completely blocked.  Because all cast members also pull double duty  as technicians and designers, we cannot rehearse during set construction, light hang and focus, and costume building.  So they are working 16 to 18 hour days to get all finished so that  everyone can be onstage for tech.
We are also slowed down by the language barrier, as every note , question and direction must be  translated. I have learned the value of an economic vocabulary and often use  hand gestures  to signify  " I got it- let's move on."
 Still I am very encouraged with the work ethic and talent pool that Dongseo has provided in these wonderful students. I am eager for them to share their hard work and this beautiful story with audiences.

 But not until we finish blocking!

 Informal photo call ( we all just happened to be wearing white!) with the cast of Children of Eden. 
These students are the seniors, for which this production serves as their Capstone experience. In addition to performing  major roles in the musical, these students also serve as designers, construction crew, box office staff, and  musical director and choreographer. They are all working so hard on the show. I know it will be a tremendous success.

Buddha's Birthday.  This week was an extended holiday weekend here in Korea. Last Thursday was Labor day. Monday was Children's Day and today, Tuesday, was Buddha's Birthday.  DSU was closed  since friday, as both yesterday and today were national holidays. The streets and temples of  Korea have been festooned with colorful lanterns for weeks in honor of today.  The weather was a perfect 72 degrees and sunny. After the terrible tragedy of the ferry disaster several weeks ago, it was obvious the Korean people needed a day of peace and celebration to  pay tribute to those who have passed and  honor   the spiritual leader of so many  people.

 The MAC theatre festival has been in full swing. Last week I saw L'Ouli des Anges, a dance drama presented by Au Theatre Laboratoire of Switzerland.  This afternoon I attended a multimedia fantasy L'Oiseau Bleu
 ( the blue bird)  presented by  Collectif  Quatre Ailes , a french company. Both were terrific  and used  movement vocabularies in completely different ways.  
We are in  final rehearsal week for Hwang Sang Sin Hwa, the Korean drama I am directing.  It closes the festival  on May 11 and 12.

Working with the Dongseo University students ha taught me  several lessons.  I am reminded of the R&H lyrics from "Getting to Know You."   When you become a teacher, by your students you are taught. 
  While there are  many similarities in higher education with what is consistent in the states, South Korea does offer some differences. This past weekend, I  was invited to participate in MT, or Membership Training. I was told   it is a weekend retreat  which is   a part of all college programs and that it  ( like almost all activities in Korea)  involves food and drink.    While I was skeptical as to the point of  such a retreat, I was pleasantly surprised by attending.    Yes, there was  alcohol, beer and soju, the  almost  constant beverages here in  Busan but the  focus was on togetherness and team building not drinking.  18 is the legal drinking age in Korea. Many college students are older due to  mandated military service of 2 years for the men.  So, nothing illegal was going on.  Dongseo is a Christian university so  there's a big difference with  religiously founded school's in the USA The administration does not   deny the use of alcohol by students.   
 When I arrived, with another Professor around 6 pm on Saturday night, the  retreat was in full swing.    About 40 students had gathered in a large hotel room efficiency. I was told the area and hotels are popular choices for MT training. The room was large, had a kitchen at one end and three bedrooms off the main room. So it was really a large apartment set up for  40 or 50 people to meet. small  folding tables were set up and  everyone was cooking and eating. We were ushered to the head table. Here's where the " Training" comes in; Freshman students serve and   follow the instructions of upper class men and women ( women, mostly!) and the Junior / senior students serve and wait on the faculty and guests.  The  food was delicious and each table had a portable  butane grill, where a student  grilled meats and veggies.  After dinner, the seniors  managed the freshmen in  cleaning of all dishes, folding and dismantling tables, sweeping floor, etc.. It was an army of freshmen, proving they were Team players and efficient workers. 
 Once the room was cleared, all gathered for games. The game programming was  coordinated by 2 freshmen guys. I was informed it is a great honor to be assigned this  task. The had a selection of games-including a version of charades, in English for my honor, and  some fun  party games I had never  seen.  We picked teams and team captains and  all laughed for about 3 hours of play.  Yes, there was a winning team and ultimately a winning player.  He was told that his grand prize was  a wonderful meal- which he had just eaten! Very cute.   Now  we left around 10 pm and the students stayed through the night, so  there were activities that I did not see.  But all in all a fun experience and a look into the respect for elders factor that influences all things Korean.