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.