Fifth Week of Classes

This week was mostly just a time to decompress after the chaos that comprised last week's preparation for the Arts of Shakespeare performance. I took time this week to go to my weekly pick-up soccer game. The men all greeted me and we got right to playing. Unfortunately, I let in three goals in the first ten minutes. I was not on the top of my game and our defense was a little unorganized. But I redeemed myself by not letting in any more goals and my team came back to tie it up! So I'm still invited back. I have a slight fear that as soon as my team loses, they won't invite me back. Here's hoping we keep winning!

For our weekly theatre visit, my classmates and I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Lyric. This was a extremely abridged version of the play that took many liberties in the name of humor. Oberon wore a bright blue lycra unitard with a big "O" on the front, a cape, and a fanny pack and took to jumping about the stage like a boy pretending to be a superhero. Puck was dressed like a member of the stage crew, his magic being his ability to manipulate the set and actors. Much of the original text was cut, and movement and songs filled in the gaps. Occasionally, modern language found its way in there. It was not the most profound interpretation of Shakesepeare's works I've ever seen, but it was one of the most original and innovative. I certainly enjoyed myself.

It is an exciting time for those of us in the RADA program. After finishing up our first performance, we have been split into two groups to perform either Twelfth Night of The Rape of Lucrece (an epic poem written by Shakespeare in 1594). I was put into the Rape of Lucrece group and after the first day, the verse was split between us (the two men playing Tarquin and the five girls jointly playing Lucrece). It will be a challenge to dramatize this poem, but it should also be very fun and interesting. This past week we just did readings, but we have to be memorized by this week so we should be getting on our feet and really shaping the action of the performance. I'll keep you updated on our progress. It will be a rapid process because we are putting it up just two weeks from now!

The culmination of my week was a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon with my Studies in Shakespeare class. We took a train from Marylebone Station to the lovely little town and met our tour guide when we disembarked. He was a friendly man who knew all about the town and clearly loved giving tours. He was enthusiastic and open to any questions we had. The first place he took us was to the house Shakespeare was born in:

Outside of the house where Shakespeare was born.
He was born in the upper left-hand window!
(Note the coat of arms with a quill!)

Next, we were lead to the church were Shakespeare went to grammar school. They still have a school room there, but we weren't allowed to go to it. We were led into the church, however, and our guide told us that the Catholic murals on the walls had to be whitewashed over whenever a Protestant ruler was reigning and uncovered again when a Catholic came back into power. This is the outside of the church:

The school was just around to the right.

On the way out of the school, we saw a couple dressed in period costume. I have no idea why, but I figured I'd share it with you!

Just a typical day in Stratford-Upon-Avon...

Next we went to the beautiful church where Shakespeare was buried. Apparently, he invested a lot of the money he made in the town so he had a lot of sway there so that when he died he could request to be buried in the church and to never have his grave disturbed (the custom at the time was to dig people up again to add another body to a grave). They also occasionally dug everyone's bones up and burned them to make room for others (this is where the word "bonfire" comes from, a "bonefire" is a fire so hot and big that bones can be burned). Apparently, Shakespeare was very serious about his plot not being disturbed as you can note from the inscription:

I felt bad for the people buried on either side of him:
they must be so overshadowed by him!

Our trip ended at The Swan theatre where we saw a brilliant production of Measure for Measure. It's not my favorite play of Shakespeare's, but the Royal Shakespeare Company are so talented that I quite enjoyed it. It was a lovely end to a lovely day.

The Swan, right next to the River Avon.

Fourth Week of Classes

This week was a little stressful, because we students in the RADA program were getting ready for our performance of the Arts of Shakespeare on Friday the 17th. So at the beginning of the week, I played some football at Coram's Fields to work off the anxiety. It was a good thing that I did! I jumped into a pick-up game with men who play every Tuesday at 5pm. I played keeper for one side, and all the guys were very nice and encouraging, especially one man who was 61 years old and still playing really well. He played defense with focus and calm determination. He kept checking up on me, saying, "You all right, love?" He made me feel so welcome. Our team won: 3-2. They were so happy that they invited me back to play next week. The other team said, "Yeah, but this time we get her on our team" to which my team replied, "No way, we claimed her." Quite the ego boost, to say the least. 

Later that night, my friends and I went out to see a movie for Valentine's Day. There was an 8:30 showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's (my favorite movie!) at the cinema near us, so Leanne, Emily, and I brought a bottle of wine and some chocolates and had ourselves a Valentine's Day date. It was lovely. There was a huge screen, everyone was wearing nice clothes and drinking champagne, and I got to see Audrey Hepburn on the big screen! Timeless, priceless, and an amazing Valentine's Day night with my friends.

There's nothing better than a Valentine's Day that includes Audrey and George!
(Except one that also includes friends, wine and chocolate).

The following night, it was time for our weekly theatre visit. We were back at the National Theatre watching Juno and the Paycock, a Sean O'Casey play set during the Irish Civil War that tells the story of a family struggling to make ends meet. The acting was phenomenal. It was the most universally talented ensemble I've seen in London. Sinead Cusack was breathtaking. And even more of a treat: her husband, Jeremy Irons was in the audience two rows ahead of us! It was so touching to see him clap so proudly for his wife at the curtain call. 

Friday was our Arts of Shakespeare performance at RADA. We all sang a madrigal, danced an elizabethan jig, showed off our armed combat skills, did a clown scene, and performed a sonnet. We'd been working on these skills in our classes for the past four weeks. It was a short amount of time to learn so much, but our teachers were extremely helpful in preparing us for our final performance. Thank you so much to Andrew, Darren, Brett and Roger, Jeremy, and Tim. Also a big thank you to Brigid for directing the entire production. It went very well and I think we were all pleased with how far we've come in such a short time. 

Tired but happy after our big day!

On Satuday, Brigid took us for an outing to the National Portrait Gallery to see the paintings of the Tudors we've been learning about in our Timelines class at RADA. We saw paintings of Queen Elizabeth, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scotts, and many other famous rulers. But I was on the lookout for one painting in particular:

The reason I'm here in London!
(Sorry it's fuzzy; no flash allowed)

The main event of my week was our day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. I woke up early this morning to get on a bus that first took us to Stonehenge, two hours away. It was a bright, crisp day and the sun illuminated the beautiful, lush green fields that surrounded the site. As we ascended the walkway, I caught a glimpse of the huge stones. They are like the Grand Canyon in the sense that a simple postcard does not do them justice. Even from far away they are impressive, the bluish stones seeming incredibly heavy but also strangely weightless at the same time; the ones placed on top appear to rest there as lightly as feathers. The site holds mystery and mysticism, and while a tiny part of me says to myself, "It's just a pile of big rocks", my overwhelming sentiment of awe comes from the fact that people, thousands of years ago and without any of the technology we have today, moved these "big rocks" all the way from Wales to this site for what must have been an extremely important or significant reason. The magic lies in the accomplishment that this task was for these people and the fact that even thousands of years later, we can still appreciate and marvel at that feat even if we don't know why it was done.

Leanne, Me, and Abbey at Stonehenge.

I figured you'd want a view of Stonehenge without my friends and me obscuring it.

A view of the magnificent countryside
we saw out the window on our way to Bath.

The bus took us to Bath next, a city that was settled by the Romans two thousand years ago. The Romans knew how to relax and built the Baths using the natural hot springs that run underneath the city. These are what the city is best known for (and where it got its name). When we first got off the bus, we took a tour from a woman who has lived in the city for forty years and knew it well. She showed us to many beautiful features of the city and also pointed out tiny details that those who were foreign to the city would never notice, such as the last "hanging loo" before indoor plumbing was incorporated, the fact that windows were covered with stone to avoid the "window tax" (taxing based on how many windows were in one's home) they had at one time, and the discrepancy between the front and back of a few buildings due to the fact that each was designed by a different architect. These tidbits made the tour completely worthwhile. 

The Circus: where the rich and famous stayed during their trips to Bath.
(You might have noticed it in the movie The Duchess).

Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon

After our tour, we had time to stop in a pub to have something to eat. Then we found a candy shop using only our noses; the smell of the homemade fudge led us straight there. We bought fudge and caramel apples for dessert. Finally, it was time for our visit to the Baths. They were not only impressive, but gorgeous as well. The architecture has held up over the many years, and the site has been expertly modeled to show off each room and its features. The centerpiece was the great bath in the center with a terrace overlooking it complete with Roman statues. After viewing all the sights the Roman Baths had to offer, I even got to have a taste of the treated spring water. It might be chock full of minerals and supposedly really good for you, but in my mind it was three things: warm, fragrant, and tasting slightly of sulfur. But if it keeps me healthy this semester, I'll never say another word against it! After our trip to the Baths, my friend Dani and I had just enough time to check out the interior of Bath Abbey, built in the 15th century and called the "Lantern of the West" for its huge stained glass window depicting fifty-six scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. 

The Roman Baths

Me having my first (and last) taste of Bath's spring water.

Bath Abbey. If you look very closely at the sides of the building
you can see angels ascending the ladders into heaven (one is actually descending headfirst!)

Inside Bath Abbey. The stained glass window you see is why they call it
the "Lantern of the West". 

Today I could feel my perspective of the world shift and expand. It continues to amaze me that I am in a country with so much history: thousands of years as opposed to only hundreds of years. I am so thankful to be able to see so much of England and the truly impressive heritage it possesses. I look forward to seeing more of this beautiful country and its unique history. 

Third Week of Classes

I started my week off right by watching an English Premier League football game at a pub. My new friend Chris took me to The Rocket where we watched the first half of Liverpool vs. Tottenham and he filled me in on the top EPL teams and which ones I shouldn't like based on the fact that they are owned by ridiculously rich men who can buy whatever players they want (like the Yankees (boooo!)) We were joined by two rather inebriated gentlemen and that occurrence paired with the fact that they were playing loud music instead of the commentary lead us to move to The Euston to watch the second half. The commentary was loud, our bar mates were football enthusiasts and we snagged a comfy couch where we could watch in peace. By the end of the night, Chris had turned me into a Tottenham fan (due in part to their Shakespearean team name: The Hotspurs) and I had a healthy hatred for Liverpool based on their dirty tactics (Skrtel kicked the keeper!) I was so happy to become more immersed in British culture and I look forward to buying my own Tottenham scarf.

A flag would do, too. My walls are rather bare...

Wednesday night, my Theatre in London class saw another play, a new one written just this past year called One Man, Two Guv'nors. It is based on the Commedia dell'Arte play The Servant of Two Masters. It was hilarious. It is the funniest thing I've seen since Book of Mormon. I laughed throughout the entire first act. My stomach hurt. I was crying. I was helplessly mirthful. And Americans: good news! The production is coming to America later this year: look out for it! Buy your tickets now! It is with the original cast and they are all amazing. What a wonderful night at the theatre.

My friends Leanne and Abby outside of the Adelphi Theatre.

On Friday at RADA we met our buddies. These are students who are in the three-year official RADA program. I met one of my two buddies. Her name is Heather and she was really friendly. We talked about what teachers we had and discussed our favorite classes. Then Heather invited me to a bar called the Marlborough after class- apparently it is a big RADA student hangout. So my friends and I went that night and mingled with the British students and got to know them a bit better. When the bar closed at 11 we went to The Bar at TCR (Tottenham Court Road) which was open later and played fun dance music. There were more RADA kids there and I met some new people whom I hadn't had a chance to talk with earlier that day. We danced and talked and had a great time. I'm so glad that we are becoming friends with our fellow British classmates. It's nice to know that there are people to say "Hi" to in the hallways.

Earlier that day (Friday) we had a class in Costumes. We learned about the evolution of fashion in Shakespeare's time (Tudor to Elizabethan). Then, as a treat, the Costume director brought in Elizabethan dresses and outfits for us to try on! We all had fun not breathing in corsets, drowning in voluminous dresses and wearing ridiculous ruffs. Here is a picture of all of us in our garb:

From left to right: Top row: Jason, Kate, Stacy, Will, Leanne, Abby, Me, Emily, Justice
Bottom row: Ellen, Dana, Jill, and Kiran. All looking gorgeous!

Today, Leanne and I went on a program to the Tower of London. I took the Tube for the first time (this semester; when my family was in London last summer we took it all the time). Still, it felt like a momentous occasion and so I took a photo for you folks who are passionately curious about the difference between the subway/trolley and the tube:

Note the plush seats! Ooh, fancy!

The Tower of London was quite an adventure. Leanne and I had a great time navigating the fortress, exploring all the towers, and walking along the cobbled streets that haven't changed much since they were first placed there in 1066. The history of the Tower of London is very dark; from torture to public beheadings. We walked all over and saw all there was to see: the Armoury in the White Tower, the Crown Jewels, and the battlements. I think our pictures will tell the story better:

Outside the Tower

The White Tower

A Yeoman!

A monument to all those publicly killed at the Tower, but especially Anne Boleyn, the first one ever executed.

A picture of a postcard of the Crown Jewels, because they wouldn't let us take photographs of the real thing.

Next week I can look forward to seeing Juno and the Paycock at the National Theatre, visiting the National Portrait Gallery, and taking a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge! Until next week, my fellow Americans.

Second Week of Classes

I've decided to title these posts based on what week of classes I'm on, for lack of a more imaginative way to describe them. I'm settling into my classes at RADA. We're starting to memorize scenes for Clowning and Armed Combat (we're doing the end of the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet) and we've each been assigned a sonnet that we'll perform as a group, one right after the other, to create a story. Mine is Sonnet #149, if you care to look it up. I like it, even though it is sad.

This week I finally got my wish to play soccer with the Brits! I went to Coram's Fields, which is just two blocks away from my dorm, and jumped into a "kick-about" (pick-up) game. I played "keeper" (goalie) and was picked fourth when we picked teams (sorry, I had to brag). Everyone was very nice to me, if a little over-caring, always asking if I was all right after I went down for a rough save. We lost 4-2, but in our defense, we were down a man. I still had fun and it was a great game. I look forward to playing with them again next Tuesday. Here is a picture of the astro-turf "pitch" (field) where I played.

There are three fields: two with large goals and one with smaller goals. The fields are well lit and the astro-turf is soft, not like the kind with little black rubber pellets mixed in that we have.

Wednesday night my Theatre in London class went to see another show at the National Theatre: Traveling Light, starring the famous South African actor Antony Sher. It told the story of a small Jewish village in Eastern Europe that discovers cinema through the work of a young boy who unearths his father's Cinématographe. The play's narrative goes back and forth between the young boy's story of the village coming together to make a film and the boy as an old man after a long career making films in Hollywood. Antony Sher was impressive and the ensemble was cohesive and told their story well. The stage was beautiful and every aspect of the production was highly professional. I am so happy to be in a class that allows me to see such exciting works of theatre every week!

On Friday night I went to London's hottest night club, Fabric. From the moment we stepped inside, my friends and I could tell that this was one of the more upscale clubs. For one thing, there was so much space. In other clubs we had been to, you barely had room to move, but here we could dance freely. The people there were very classy and everyone was having a good time. There were three rooms to dance in: the place was huge! Staircases took you underground, so it didn't get too hot. There was a stage that you could climb on and dance while taking in the main room of the club. There were light shows going on that gave the club a retro feel. And there was a nice courtyard where one could step outside to take a break from dancing. The music was nonstop, and my friends and I danced until dawn having the time of our lives. I would definitely recommend Fabric to anyone in London: the high cover fee is worth it!

The main event of my week was my trip to Oxford this morning. I had to get up bright and early to catch the bus and once we got there it was a slippery trek around the city in the snow that had fallen last night, but it was worth it. Oxford is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. I discovered this when I was in England last summer with my family, but with an intimate guided tour by a woman who had lived in Oxford for fifty years and clearly loved the city, I came to appreciate it even more. She took us to all the famous places in Oxford and even shared a few of the cities' secrets: she showed us a door with two gilded wooden satyrs on either side of it and told us that that was where C. S. Lewis got his idea for Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She pointed out a tree where a Dean's cat liked to sit, giving Lewis Carroll the idea for the Cheshire Cat. It was details like this that made the Oxford experience unforgettable for me. Here is a picture of my friends and me under the famous Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs because of its resemblance to the bridge of the same name in Venice.

Our guided walking tour ended at the Beer Gardens, so we decided to look no farther for a place to eat and went into the nearby Turf Tavern to have lunch. My friends and I were joined by three new friends, Jane, Anna, and Katrina and we all ate in a big group at a large table by a window. Since I'd already tried Fish and Chips and Shepherd's Pie, I did not feel guilty getting a Cheeseburger (with mayonnaise, not ketchup!) to satisfy my yearning for American food. We then finished off our meal by sharing a Dark Chocolate Brownie with Walnuts and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, and when we found out the waiter had never tried it, we let him have a bite too!

The cozy Tavern where Katie, Stacy, Emily and I had lunch. We had a lovely view of the garden through the windows behind us. And you have a delicious view of the food in front of us!

We still had an hour of free time left before the buses were to take us home, so we decided to go to the Ashmolean museum and take in some of the artifacts and paintings there. Stacy loves the pre-Raphaelites, so we headed there first, taking in some Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pissarro paintings along the way. The pre-Raphaelites were breathtaking, and I found one I particularly liked representing the scene from The Taming of the Shrew where Petruchio first meets Katherine. It was very funny! Then we set out to see some of the famous artifacts that the museum boasted. We saw the robes that T. E. Lawrence was given upon his arrival in Arabia. We also saw the lantern that Guy Fawkes carried with him on his mission to blow up Parliament. I was only sad that we did not have more time to explore the museum in depth, as I'm sure it would have revealed even more treasures.

The Ashmolean Museum

I know I promised you news about my experience with the Superbowl in London, but the fact is, it is now 10:30 PM and it hasn't even started yet! I'm about to go to the University of London Union (ULU) where they are showing it for students, so I will have to tell you all about it next week. I fear I will be too exhausted to write when I stumble home at 4:00 AM. This is one day where I envy my friends back in America who get to go to bed at a semi-reasonable hour after watching the most exciting game of the year. I know I shouldn't be biased but: GO PATRIOTS! I'm a Bostonian at heart after all.

 Look forward to my post next week when I write about seeing One Man, Two Guv'nors at the Adelphi Theatre, a performance of The Maids at RADA, and my trip to the Tower of London!