One of the most striking aspects of the painting was its enormous size. It was at least twice my size in height and quite wide as well. The painting was so large you had to step back in order to take it all in at once. After having accustomed to its dimensions, I found the figures themselves to be striking. In middle school, I had studied Pablo Picasso's work and thus noticed the painting's qualities that followed Cubism. The shapes that made up the women were very geometrical and sharp. Hence, the bodies of such women were less curvaceous then conventional ideals.

 After arriving at the theater, I realized the place in itself was a real beauty. It looked a bit run down but in a classy, timeless way rather than dirty and unkempt. As the performance began I noticed that there were five actors which contrasts the traditional two actors that play four roles. Additionally, the fifth actor played a fifth role which was not seen in the original script. His exact purpose still remains fuzzy to me, but he seemed to be the ice breaker, the comedian, the entertainer.

 This past friday I went to visit the Museum of the City of New York. I learned about the history of public safety in New York as well as viewed photographs of different New York locations, focusing on nature in particular. One fact that I learned was in that 1904, there was a huge fire on a ship in which only 110 of 1331 people survived. This was due to the lack of crew being prepared for the event of a fire. Moreover, the lifejackets and life boats that were on board were so old, they could not properly do their function.

 Of the first woman's readings, I found the "bitten nipple" poem the most interesting. This was probably a result of it having such a violently unexpected plot. During the question and answer session, the artist explained that she got the idea to write such poem after having heard the experience from a peer. The story goes that a woman was gang raped by her boyfriend and friends and yet after such a traumatic experience, she continued to be with him. Shocked by this, the artist wrote a poem in which she poses questions on the values a woman stands by.

 So if I told you that it did not take me absolutely forever to read this document, I would be lying. But truth is, now that I have read and understood the text, I have a better feel for what exactly the context of the "Quartet" is. Or maybe it is better to say what the "Quartet" is not. To begin, it is not a typical theater performance for we have two actors representing four different roles. Moreover, they even switch roles with each other, to the extent of playing opposing genders.