No flash photography in Miller, pls

The latest Fro-Sci extra credit assignment was a quite cultural one; diligent yet jaded Fro-Sci pupil Dylan Cooper tells of his Sunday afternoon with his Fro-Sci class at Miller Theater. 

The Trials of Galileo. Sounds riveting, right? Well…what if the chair of Frontiers of Science urges all Fro-Sci students to attend the Special Event, which “has been arranged specifically for students of Frontiers of Science and Contemporary Civilization at no cost.” Still no? What about after watching this Oscar-deserving promo video? Still not feeling it? Okay, how about if your Fro-Sci professor spins the event into an extra credit opportunity?

Seated amongst a spotty crowd in Miller Theatre, I realized that the hype about Columbia students being super-cultured is a bit overblown, or maybe we’re just not that into 90-minute monologues. After all, it was a one-man show – Tim Hardy, a Shakespearean actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, plays Galileo Galilei in the midst of his infamous trials against 17^th century European Christian clergy. While there was just one man dancing and shouting about the stage, the crowd was a simmering melting pot of extra-credit hopefuls, snarky Shakespearean actors, theatre arts majors people actually interested in the event, and Nicholas Christie-Blick. Despite all this, I think it’s safe to assume that the performance was as boring as anticipated spectators’ expectations were indubitably met. For a one-man-show, it really wasn’t too bad.

At the end of the day, I don’t know who deserved a Bravo more – Tim Hardy for memorizing 90 minute’s worth of lines or the student-dominated audience for sticking it through the whole event. But what is clear is that the Fro-Sci and CC departments could still use a little bit more fun to create that glimmer of sunshine on cloudy days. As fun as an hour-and-a-half-long monologue sounds, Fro-Sci and CC committees need to step up their game. Seriously.

Galileo in the flesh courtesy of Dylan