Twelfth Week of Classes (Last Week of RADA!)

My last week of RADA was certainly bittersweet. We put the finishing touches on our production of All's Well that Ends Well. We had two very successful shows and many of our friends and teachers came to see it. They were all very impressed. I'm so glad that they enjoyed it, because it was through their hard work and teaching that we were able to put on such a solid performance. The week had such forward momentum that by the time our final performance on Friday rolled around I couldn't believe that it was our last day.

The opening tableaux from All's Well that Ends Well:
Abby Brosh as Helena, Emily Schuman as Helena, Stacy Shirk as Reynalda,
Myself as the Countess, Justice Nnanna as Bertram, and Jason Cohen as Lavatch.

We did our performance, one of the best we'd ever done, and immediately afterward trooped upstairs to meet with our teachers for feedback. It was mostly positive, with of course recommendations of things I should continue to work on. Once I'd met with all the teachers, I was overcome with emotion. It was a sense of regret. Regret that I would not have any more chances to work with these wise, knowledgeable professors and the realization that even though I'd learned so much in these past three months there was still so much left to learn. It was at that moment that I truly realized an actor's work is never done. There is always more to explore. It is a comforting and a frightening thought at the same time. I am so grateful to all my wonderful professors at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art who helped my explore my physicality, my voice, and the verse of Shakespeare itself in order to gain more depth as an actor. I feel stronger as an artist, not just as one performing Shakespeare, but in general. I have grown so much in these past few months and I will never forget my experiences here.

My farewell to RADA, emulating a famous scene from Hamlet

After the show and feedback session, we had lunch at the RADA refectory for the last time. We said goodbye to Darren, the head chef, who always has a funny comment and an amusing disposition. Then Stacy, Abby and I took our last pictures in front of the statues we had come to know so well. That night, most of us met at the Marlborough bar to celebrate and commemorate our last day. It was a joyous affair, remembering all the fun times we had and looking back on our performances with pride. We also noted that this was not the end of the relationships we'd made, as we will see each other in our academic classes in the coming weeks. It was with relief and happiness that we realized that we will always have the strong bonds of friendship to tie us together, and the knowledge imparted unto us by our teachers to hold onto, now that our time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art has ended.

Eleventh Week of Classes

If I thought last week was hectic, it was nothing compared to this one. Well, hectic might not be the right word for it. It was simply jam-packed. We NYU students at RADA were busy little bees starting rehearsal for our final production of All's Well That Ends Well. It has been a whirlwind rehearsal process: memorized by our first rehearsal, blocked by our third, with lots of acting work in between. Brigid Panet, our intrepid and wonderful director, has been outstanding in her efficiency, effectiveness, and enthusiasm. She keeps us chugging along without being harsh or overbearing. She is simply a kind, generous person. That's why we were more than happy to help her celebrate her birthday on Wednesday. Her daughter and grandson brought in a cake and the RADA Bar provided some lovely refreshments. We had a relaxing break talking with Brigid and enjoying our treats.

Happy Birthday, Brigid!

It was amazing how quickly the show came together considering we only had five rehearsals this week. By the time Saturday rolled around, we had our blocking pretty much set, our memorization ship-shape, and our characters needing only a little more polish. We looked forward to the last few days of rehearsal the following week when it would all come together before our performances Thursday night and Friday morning. But we also remembered sadly that Friday would be our last time performing at RADA after a long, busy, and enlightening semester.

I was able to sprinkle in some time for myself throughout the week so I wouldn't go too crazy rehearsing day-in and day-out. On Tuesday night I went to see Pulp Fiction at the Prince Charles Cinema, an art house that routinely shows classic films. I couldn't pass up seeing a movie by my favorite director on the big screen. On Friday night I went to see The Cabin in the Woods with my friends Abby and Stacy. We laughed and screamed with equal measure. It was one of the most imaginative and intelligent horror films I've seen in a long time. On Saturday night I stayed up late so I could skype with a whole bunch of my friends in New York City at once: they were having a party and I was invited (at least to the beginning; I would have been up all night if I stayed the whole way through!) And on Sunday night, I went to a movie night at my dormitory, where we watched, to my absolute delight, Inglourious Basterds, another Tarantino film! I was certainly glad that despite the rigorous work schedule, I was still able to find time to relax.

Next week I'll tell you all about our final rehearsals and our two performances!

Tenth Week of Classes

Today was a bit of a hectic week; our two groups were hurriedly putting the final touches on our second play project. Therefore, I didn't have the chance to do much; this will actually be the first post of mine with no pictures! Sorry!

Because of the busy rehearsal schedule, our weekly theatre trip for our Theatre in London class was cancelled, but that didn't stop me from seeking out some theatre on my own. My friend Jason and I went to the Pleasance Theatre to see the musical Assassins, which focuses on assassinations or attempted assassinations of United States presidents. Jason and I were very interested in how British actors would handle this extremely American material. Well, the accents were impeccable, the costumes and set design gave exactly the right feel, and for the most part the acting was spot on. However, I was disappointed with the overall feel of the production. Assassins is an incendiary piece of theatre, covering an explosive topic and introducing radical ideas. Therefore, I was shocked to see how relatively safe the production was. I felt that not enough risks were taken. It was a completely adequate, acceptable production, with no one element out of place. But in a show like Assassins, I want to feel nervous and scared. Instead, I found myself calmly watching the action unfold and simply observing what choices the director had made. I wanted things to be shaken up a bit more.

We did our group performances on Thursday afternoon. They both went very well and both groups were impressed with the other's work. Our group put on our study of women in Shakespeare and beyond and their silence or outspokenness. We used pieces from Hamlet, Gertrude by Howard Barker, a poem called "This is the Woman Who" by Claudia Jessop, Titus Andronicus, Oleanna, Measure for Measure, another poem called "Lot's Wife" by Wislawa Szymborska, and the song "Oh My Man". It all came together beautifully. The other group did a piece entitled "O Ruined Piece of Nature: King Lear - The natural world's indifference to human kind and our trivial attempt to control nature and its repercussions". That pretty much says it all. It was stunning and moving. Their performance was much more of an ensemble piece, blending their texts together and moving as one, while ours was more of a series of vignettes that supported our theme.  We were all proud of how far we've come and all that we've learned.

We didn't have school on Friday due to the Jewish and Christian holidays. A while ago I bought tickets to the Alien Quadrilogy (all four Alien films (directed by Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, respectively) shown at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square). As a film fanatic, I always appreciate the opportunity to see classic films on the big screen, as they were first showcased when they were originally released. This cinema even showed them in their original format of 35mm. I appreciated the grainy quality of the film; it did not bother me in the least. I had a wonderful time despite the fact that I couldn't convince any of my friends to sit through eight hours of movies. I made a friend in the theatre however, a British film school graduate who came alone as well. Her name was Jenny, and she knew all about the films. We had fun exchanging little known trivia about the movies. We swapped numbers when she left after the third film (I stayed on until the end) and plan to see some more movies together. It was a wonderful experience, and even though I've seen each film multiple times, I couldn't help feeling a little bit scared seeing them on the big screen. It was a true experience.

On my way home in the early hours of the morning, I had another experience. The taxi driver who picked me up turned out to be the last male true Londoner. A true Londoner is defined as someone who was born within hearing distance of the church bells of St. Mary Le Bow in Cheapside. My taxi driver was born on March 12, 1947 and the bells were replaced on March 15. They were much smaller bells and couldn't be heard as far away, especially with the advent of more motor traffic. There were two girls born after him and before the bells were replaced, so he isn't the last true Cockney, but he is the last male. He told me his mother was even given a plaque by the City of London to commemorate the historical importance of his birth. He also told me it was his last day on the job. I congratulated him on his retirement and we had a nice chat while he drove me back to my dormitory.

My last bit of news is that our final play project, All's Well that Ends Well, has been cast. I am the Countess, Bertram's mother. I am excited for this role, hoping to expand it and not simply play into the dignified, stiff, matronly figure that she is so often portrayed as. I hope to give her a little life and humor. My classmates are excited to put on the play, and even more excited to be able to invite friends and family to the performances on April 19th and 20th. After that, our time at RADA will have come to an end. I can't believe it has gone by so fast!

Ninth Week of Classes

I went to the theatre an extra time this week because I found out that Sweeney Todd was selling £25 tickets. So I went on Monday, bought my tickets, sat way in the back but had a great time nonetheless. Especially because the phrase "sitting in the nosebleeds" isn't used in England; here they say "we're with the gods", which is much more palatable. Imelda Staunton was brilliant as Mrs. Lovett; her acting was fierce and always engaged. Michael Ball's singing was breathtaking and the song "Epiphany" was intense and moving. His Sweeney Todd was full of dangerous rage. I would have liked a bit more anguish and hurt, which is where his anger stems from, but that's just my opinion. Anthony and Joanna were perfectly cast and I loved the interpretation of the role of Beadle Bard. Most of all, it was a wonderful opportunity to see the show, as I have never seen it performed before.

My regular weekly theatre visit was to the Hampstead Theatre to see Farewell to the Theatre, a show which told the story of the playwright and director Harvey Granville Barker. It was set during his trip to New England, and the set showcased that perfectly. Unfortunately, the acting was inconsistent and the play itself was a bit poorly written in places. However, there was always at least one individual performance to enjoy in each scene, so I was happy.

The big event of this week for me was my trip to Prudhoe (pronounced "pruh-duh") near Newcastle for my HOST visit. The HOST program is a wonderful opportunity for students studying abroad like me to see more of England by staying the weekend with a host family. I was staying with Graeme and Gillian Davies who lived in this small Northeastern town just a half hour away from Scotland. Graeme and Gillian were wonderful hosts. They treated me like family and took me on amazing trips to see the sights.  Here is a picture of them with their "great, daft, galumphing dog" Jack (Graeme's words). He was a sweetheart, but definitely very bouncy.

Graeme, Gill, and Jack

The view from my host family's window.
It was so nice to get out of the city for a few days.

I got to Prudhoe rather late on Friday night, so we didn't start the sightseeing until Saturday. Graeme and Gill took me on a tour of all the wonderful castles near Newcastle. We saw four in all. The first one was not in use and the outer wall was mostly ruins. The main building was intact, however, although you can see the decay on the top. Here it is:

Castle #1

We moved on to the next castle, which was by the sea. In the car on the way there, Gill told me that there is a tradition in England of having whoever sees the water first sing a little song. She taught it to me so that when the ocean finally came into view, I sang out, "I see the sea. The sea see I. Seen was the sea that was seen by I!" I felt silly, but it was fun to learn more about British culture. The only similar thing I could think of to teach them about America was our tradition of seeing a Volkswagen Bug and getting to punch the person next to you and say, "Punch Buggy!"

It was quite a walk to get to the second castle, but it was worth it. Jack had a great time bounding in the grass, and we had the sea next to us and gorse bushes that smelled like coconut to make the walk pleasant. The castle loomed ahead of us, impressive even though it was very much in ruins. There was still a tower intact, and Gill and I climbed to the top of it to get these pictures.

View of the sea from the tower.
You can see sheep in the field to the right.

At the top of the tower.
I'm bundled up: it was very windy!

Before we continued on to the next castle, we stopped in a charming oceanside town called Seahouses to get some authentic fish and chips. I mean no disrespect to London when I say these were the best fish and chips I have ever had. They were battered and fried, not breaded, and they were steaming hot when we got them. The fish was tender and succulent, and I don't think I'll be able to eat any other fish and chips again.

The third castle we went to was actually in use. Lords and Ladies still live there. Therefore, parts that had begun to fall into disrepair had been fixed and new parts had been added. However, the original state rooms had been preserved and turned into a museum of sorts. Here are two pictures, one of the outside of the castle, and the other of the interior of one of the state rooms:

As you can see, this castle is in much better condition than the last two.

The state rooms were strangely cozy, despite being surrounded in stone.

By the time we got to the last castle, it was too late to go inside it onto the grounds. This was unfortunate, as the flying lesson scene from the first Harry Potter movie had been filmed there. (For those of you who don't know, I am a Harry Potter fanatic). I was content to gaze at the castle from outside, because I could recognize the towers from the movie. I didn't have to go inside to know that it had been used in the film. This was another castle that is still in use by established British citizens.

Castle #4, surrounded by the beautiful countryside.

On the way home, we passed by a pub which is famous for showcasing a collection of extremely old bottles in its window. The bottles are hundreds of years old, and they are quarantined inside the window because the last person to touch them all those years ago died. They have not been touched since, and instead remain behind the windows of the pub called Dirty Bottles.

You can barely see the infamous bottles behind the glass.

We got home in time to have a light dinner, in which I tried many different British foods. All were delicious, if very new to my taste buds. After dinner we enjoyed some entertainment: who would have thought British families love the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Family Guy? It was a quiet, relaxing end to an exciting and busy day.

Because we didn't have as much time on Sunday before my train, Graeme and Gill only took me two places: to the Roman wall that was built hundreds of years ago and which, at one time, spanned all of England from the West to the East coasts. Parts of it still remain, and we went to a spot where it stretched on for miles. We hiked along it until we decided to turn back, at one point climbing up a very steep hill. It was quite an adventure.

It was like a much smaller version of the Great Wall of China:
There were even guard towers every mile or so, where torches could be lit to warn of intruders.

Lastly, we went to a town called Hexham where there was a beautiful abbey. It was huge, with tall stained glass windows and stone artifacts on display that had been unearthed near the church. We even got to visit a crypt beneath the main room where pilgrims and monks used to come and pray. Outside the abbey, we strolled around the charming town, stopping by the old gaol. Here is a picture of Graeme in the stocks, Jack standing by him faithfully.

The only thing he's guilty of is being a great host!

We went home for lunch. I cooked the only thing I'm good at making: a four-cheese baked fusilli with tomato sauce. Gill made a salad to go with it, and we had a nice last meal together. Then we spent the rest of the time before I had to leave searching for the annual April Fool's article in the local paper. We didn't find it, but had fun guessing which one it could be (there were some that we couldn't believe weren't a joke!) Then Graeme and Gill drove me to the train station in Newcastle and we said goodbye. I am so grateful to have had such kind people take me in for a few days and show me around. I was able to relax away from the city and see more of England. I am so glad to have had this experience. Thank you Graeme and Gill!