Dear RunGirl~
Thanks for coming here and saying a little about yourself. Teaching drama, English, history and Japanese is quite a portfolio.
I taught computing for many years and that was hard enough - the saving grace from my point of view was there was always mathematically correct answer. I'm not sure of the equivalent in drama. I did a couple of semester drama an awful long time ago and found I appreciated the intellectual side of it but could not act for nuts :)
I don't know much about Japanese, or Japanese drama eihter, except perhaps where is spills over into the popular West, such things as Seven Samurai. This of course from my point of view was an introduction to the samurai/ninja genre, the earliest I remember being Akikusa Shintaro.
With drama, you mentioned in passing absurdism. I think earlier in this thread there is talk about a favorite of mine, Waiting for Godot.
Without having an artistic bone I don't manage to draw or paint, but I'd expect there are others here that do.
Thanks
Croix