magid

Sunday turned out to be a lot fuller than I'd anticipated

Queue taught me Odin's Ravens, a two-player game published by Rio Grande. The goal is to have your raven fly over the given path faster than the opponent, and points are given for how much more ground you cover. There are ways to change the territory, which I have yet to master as well as Queue, alas. I hope I'll get better at it! Easy to learn, fun to play.

I hadn't realized that the MIT Museum is free on third Sundays. I hadn't been in a long time; they've changed things around since I was last there. Well, of course, but the layout of the space felt different, too. Highlights: some lovely geometric art (both 2- and 3-D) near the entrance, cool holograms, the milk-drop (etc.) photos (by Harold Edgerton), and the sculptures by Arthur Ganson, some of which I recognized from when he was a guest at Arisia. Some were new to me, including the Brownian rice.

I should remember to check it out next month, the Sunday after Arisia.

I went to a matinee of ASP's Twelfth Night. There's a review in Bard_in_Boston that I pretty much agree with, and is much more eloquent than I can write, so why reinvent the wheel?

Though I have a couple of other things to mention as well.

I hadn't seen the room in the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center before; it's gorgeous, with a painted ceiling, beautiful railings, and so on. Now that I think of it, I'm reminded of the inside of the Arcade, in Coolidge Corner, with the stairway up to a walkway around the second level. There were lots of doors and stairs, which is always useful. (ASP continues to use spaces that don't have traditional stages and stage accoutrements.)

In an interesting twist, the twins were played by actors of similar build, coloring, and hair style, in addition to the traditional same clothing. It helped, actually.

Malvolio, as Xiphias mentioned, is hard to balance correctly between annoying and sympathetic. What also makes a difference to me is how his lock-up is handled. The first time I saw Twelfth Night, it came across as closer to torture than prankishness, and I'm always a bit nervous about how that will be handled, since that first production bothered me so much.

In an interesting twist, there was more than a hint of more than just friendship between Sebastian and Antonio, with hands touched and meaningful looks shared. I felt rather badly for Antonio at the end, abandoned for the rich heiress. While I could read what they played into current usage, I don't think it helps the play, in its light-heartedness. A small point, however.

The other small point that bothered me was the lights. Yet again (er, as at the last play, which I still haven't written about, lost in the headlong rush of the chagim), I ended up sitting somewhere where lights were shining in my face. This time it was less light, and less of a problem, but it was still noticeable. Partly my own fault, too, sitting in the row just behind the oft-used bench. I wonder how that might be done differently, if the lighting designer thought about it.

Oh, and while at the Center, I got to see a couple of exhibits that were up, one with the already-mentioned devil umbrellas, the other with photos of Israel with a lot of political commentary I didn't have enough time to read.

I'm glad I had plenty of leftovers available for dinner; there wouldn't've been time to cook.