Monday, May 31, 2010

"Stevie Womder ripped off the Miracle of Theophile"" (Day 7)

Today we had kind of a backwards day. We got up early and drove to Mirepiox, where we went to a market. They had a lot of fruit and meat for sale, along with little souvenirs. I really enjoyed getting to see the town and just watching the people walk by. It was interesting to see things that we would normally only buy in a supermarket, like meat, being sold in the street. After this, we went to the Church at Vals. This was completely nothing like I’d expected. The church was built in the tenth century in the side of the mountains. We saw the frescoes above the alter. The one I remember the most was the one of the midwives verifying the birth of Jesus Christ. We also say frescoes of the four gospel writers and the animals that are represented by them. I never knew that this correlation existed, so this was very interesting.

When we got back, we had duck and lentils for lunch. We had chocolate pudding for dessert. After lunch, we rehearsed our play, Miracle of Theophile. We

read through it and then volunteered for parts. This play was written 1262. It is a miracle play, as opposed to a mystery play, because it was about a saint. It was the first play to incorporate the Virgin Mary, and it was performed on the steps of the Notre Dame. The Virgin Mary is placed on the right and the Devil on the left, because the left is traditionally viewed as evil. With all the people watching the play when it was originally performed, this placement and the repe

tition allowed the people even in the back to be able to follow the story. I got the play the devil! I figured that

because I’m trying all these new foods and new activities, I might as well try this too. It was fun to put on the costume and the makeup and to do something different, and I’m glad I was given the chance. I really liked getting to perform the play instead of just reading it, because it makes it much more real and current, even though it happened so so long ago. We had soup and endives wrapped in ham and topped with a strong cheese for dinner with rice pudding for dessert.

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