Julia, Drew, Annie, and I had the opportunity to visit Sienna a few Saturdays back. We

left the Accademia that morning at 7 am and headed to the bus station for the 8:00 bus

to Sienna. The train and bus system is very easy to use here in Arezzo, and you can

get almost anywhere in the area. We each spent 12 Euro round-trip at the ticket booth.

Arriving in Sienna, we headed to the main Duomo where we toured the spectacular inside architecture. We also climbed The Unfinished Wall next to the church. This wall was not finished being constructed due to a plague that hit the town in 1348 which led to major economic downturn. We learned that the result of this economic downturn was the beautiful preservation of the medieval city.

The impact of this tragedy in Sienna provided us artists with perspective on our

own work. In the creative process, we often hit “Unfinished Walls”, an artist’s block, if

you will. At this pivotal point in a piece of work, we can give up completely, or we can

evaluate the mess we have found ourselves in, work through that mess, and carve out the beautiful parts.

This week we have been working on our first Cabaret performance. The process

involves creating several short pieces that are interwoven together to create a full-length

show. Together, we found ways to “finish our wall” by connecting one piece to the next

using movement transitions, musical interludes, and comedic bits. I have personally

never been so involved in creating a show. We have all taken the roles of the director,

choreographer, composer, actor, dancer, and musician. This cabaret is our first shared

work of art, and together we have worked through our walls to find a beautiful flowing performance.