Resource Guide: The World of the Play
Glossary:
- Tesco honey
- Tesco is a British value supermarket. They recently moved away from the blue and white “prison stripe” because customers saw the branding as cheap. Tesco honey could run as low as £1.45.
- Wiltshire
- A county in South West England. While mostly rural, Wiltshire has a large manufacturing sector in the north.
- Tower Hamlets
- A borough of London, located in the city’s center. Host to the world headquarters of many global financial institutions, as well as one of the most diverse populations in the city (largely comprised of Bangladeshi and Somali). The neighborhood is becoming increasingly gentrified and popular.
- Theoretical early universe cosmology
- As one cosmologist put it, the job entails “studying the birth and fate of the universe.” Cosmologists study many types of data, including radiation and cosmic background radiation—the heat leftover from the Big Bang.
- Quantum cosmology
- In theoretical physics, the attempt to develop a theory that applies to the first phases of the universe. Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity fails to explain material on the quantum level.
- String Theory
- A theory which supposes that particles are replaced by strings, and explains how those strings manifest themselves through space to create material.
- Multiverse
- A theory which posits that the Big Bang caused space-time to expand at different rates in different places, creating bubble universes that operate differently than our own.
- Brighton
- A coastal town in East Sussex, about 15 minutes from the University.
- Budgens
- A chain of convenience stores in London that prides itself on stocking local fresh goods.
- Crouch End
- A neighborhood of the Haringey borough in north-central London, known for its village-like feel and creative scene. Crouch End does indeed house a Budgens (see image to the right).
- XMM Cluster Theory
- A collaboration of U.K researchers using data from the XMM-Newton satellite to find galaxy clusters which will hopefully reveal information about the evolution of the universe.
- Heather Moors
- Most likely a reference to North York Moors, a National Park about 2 hours north of England featuring wild Heather.
- DVLA
- The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, equivalent to the DMV in America.
- Ted Hopper
- British bee keeper and author of Bees & Honey, a standard text recommended by the British Beekeeper’s Association as part of the course syllabus to become a beekeeper.
- Brain tumor frontal lobe
- The frontal lobe encompasses the front part of the brain, and is responsible for the ability to predict future consequences, as well as storing long-term memory.
- Gliblastoma multiforme
- Among the most common and most aggressive malignant brain tumors. Treatment can include surgery or chemotherapy, but about 50% of patients die within one year, while 90% within three years.
- Garrote
- To strangle someone, typically with a wire or cord.
- “Euthanasia abar mix with water”
- A “barbiturate,” a class of drugs that act as central nervous system inhibitors, and commonly as anesthetics in euthanasia to reduce pain and stress in the patient.
MAPS of Tower Hamlets
Closer look at Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames
The Lost Art of Offline Dating
By Ashley Strickland, CNN, February 12, 2013
It's as simple as making eye contact and flashing a smile or knowing when to back off and stop talking so much. Social cues. Body language. Basic conversation. They make up the toolkit for meeting new people. But for those whose romantic realm is constructed entirely through social media and online dating, these intuitions might be eroding away.
"People have an easier time picking out an emoticon to display the emotion they are feeling rather than actually showing it on their face," Blake Eastman, body language expert and founder of The Nonverbal Group, said.
"Unfortunately, for the past 10 years, people have been really confident behind the computer keyboard, but then you see them in person and things are very different."
Dating coach and author Adam LoDolce has a simple solution: meet people organically. But the paralyzing fear of rejection often can make us long for the distance technology offers.
To help people overcome the anxiety of approaching someone new, LoDolce made a 45-minute film including his advice: "Go Talk to Her." Like Eastman, he believes that people are killing off social skills by hiding behind a glowing screen of information that offers no chemistry.
"People want to go back to the day where you're sitting at a coffee shop, make eye contact and there is this mysterious moment where you don't know each other," LoDolce said. "Online dating is one tool in the tool kit, but I think we as a society are seeing that there is still a real way to meet people."
Anti-social media
Users mistake social media for being social. It isn't, Eastman said. Instead it creates a group of people that are highly connected online but feel socially isolated.
"We feel that we don't need to look people in the eyes to communicate anymore -- a keystroke has replaced that look," Eastman said. "But at the end of the day, we're designed for human contact, not a computer screen."
Online daters and social media users easily fall into a new way of communicating. Instead of the rules and social norms used in face-to-face meeting, they create ones for digital interfacing. But the rules are looser and harder to enforce, Patricia Wallace, psychologist and author of "The Psychology of the Internet," said.
Psychologists highlight pitfalls of online dating
"When you're in front of a computer or an iPad, you're not interacting with a human face," Wallace said. "All of the millennia of evolution that helped us learn how to read all of the nuances to do that choreography of conversation aren't there."
Social media also allows "loose ties" with acquaintances and low-risk ways of communicating. The fear of rejection when someone doesn't answer a Facebook message lacks the impact of an ignored phone call, according to Wallace. But a general lack of satisfaction is perhaps the most noticeable effect of online dating.
"Online dating is like a buffet," Marni Battista, founder and CEO of Dating with Dignity, said. "People are ruling out more than they're ruling in. After a date, they go home, get online and look for someone else. We're in this digital instant gratification age, and there is no patience for the dating process."
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More about Constellations:
Reviews of "Constellations"
"In the hands of such capable actors, the play dances through its complex premise with energy and purpose. For a play based on theoretical physics, Constellations twinkles with romance. ...
Dana Green's Inspiration for Marianne in "Constellations"
Becoming a theoretical physicist can be a daunting task. Here's a look at some of the resources Dana Green is using to prepare for her role in Constellations.
Constellations Team Visits an Apiary
The cast and members of the Constellations creative team took advantage of some summer weather to take a research field trip to a local apiary and learned about beekeeping from Tim Wessels of Bridgetown Bees.
Post Show Talkback with Beekeeper + Physicist
Hear from two experts that advised the Constellations cast and creative team. Sunday June 4th following the matinee.
Resource Guide: Language of the Play
Explore the accents and languages used onstage in Constellations.
"Constellations" Cast and Creative Team
Learn about Silas Weir Mitchell (Monroe in Grimm) and Dana Green (last seen at The Armory in Great Expectations) along with the out-of-this-world crew behind Constellations.
Cosmic Love
For millennia, storytellers the world over have riffed on the idea that true love might be “written in the stars.” Literary Manager, Benjamin Fainstein on love in the cosmic world.
Current & Upcoming
Piano Bar with Courtney Freed and David Saffert
Join us for this monthly event with local songstress Courtney Freed and Portland-based pianist David Saffert as they host a good old-fashioned PIANO BAR.
NASSIM
From Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (creator of the Off-Broadway smash hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit) comes an audacious new theatrical experiment, presented in collaboration with Boom Arts. Each night, a new, unrehearsed local performer joins the playwright on stage, while the script waits, unseen, in a sealed box... Touchingly autobiographical yet powerfully universal, NASSIM is a striking theatrical demonstration of how language can both divide and unite us.
Coriolanus
Shakespeare’s tragedy about the war hero Coriolanus and the fight between the elite and the deprived masses will be fueled by a dynamic female and non-binary ensemble with a muscular, movement-focused staging.
First Annual 503 Day
Portland's first annual 503 Day. Discounts on tickets, drink specials, and more!
Pre-Show Music with Chera Chera
As part of BIPOC Affinity Night for Nassim, join us for a pre-show music performance featuring Chera Chera, blending Iranian music and Farsi lyrics for the matinee crowds.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
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