Last Week in London

As I said in my last post, I am so lucky to have my grandmother with me during my last week in London, otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't have been nearly so active in last-minute sightseeing. Therefore, we filled our last three days in London with fun. On Wednesday, we went out to lunch with my friend Abby and her mother. This was especially nice because I will not be seeing Abby until next Spring due to the fact that she lives across the country from me in the summer and was accepted into the NYU in Florence program for the Fall semester. So it was great to have a chance to talk and say goodbye. That night, Granna and I went to see Noises Off at the Novello. It was absolutely hilarious. The second act, which is largely free of dialogue, had me in stitches. It was my favorite show that we saw during the week.

The beautiful Safety Curtain at the Novello Theatre

The next day I took my grandmother to the Theatre and Performance exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum. There were some new arrivals to the collection, as well as an extended stage design section, that had been added since I visited there with my Theatre in London class a few months ago. Granna enjoyed seeing the exquisite costumes for plays like The Seagull and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as the clips from stage plays that we were able to watch and listen to with headphones. I simply had to take my favorite former-actress to this beautiful and detailed collection of theatre artifacts.

This is actually the set design for a show I saw: A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Lyric!

After the V&A Museum, we took a short bus ride to Harrod's where we had Afternoon Tea with all the trimmings: sandwiches, scones, and petite desserts. In honor of the occasion and despite the fact that I do not like tea, I ordered a Blackcurrant and Hibiscus fruit tea. Everything was absolutely delicious (even the tea!) and we had a perfectly lovely afternoon in the tea salon of the most famous department store in London.

Afternoon Tea at Harrod's

That night, I took my grandmother to see Billy Elliot, a musical I'd already seen in New York, but was confident that my grandmother would enjoy. She loves the film and I knew she'd think the dancing was amazing and the songs were beautiful. She did enjoy the musical and especially loved how the interspersed what was happening in the mining community with Billy's story. And of course, the dancing was magical.

Friday was our last full day in London. I went to my dorm to pack, which took me a surprisingly quick time. Then I headed over to Bedford Square to say my final goodbyes at the NYU End of the Semester Barbeque. The food was delicious and the park was a beautiful place to talk and reminisce about the months we'd spent in London. Two hours was not enough time to say farewell to all the great friends I'd made in London. Thank goodness I will see most of them at NYU in the Fall.

A few of the amazing people I met abroad. 

That night, Granna and I went to see our last show: The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the world. This performance was their 24,787th! Despite the fact that we were way up in the nosebleeds (or as the Brits say, "with the gods"), we enjoyed the show. The acting was all spot-on and it was a delicious mystery. I was a little disappointed to have guessed who the murderer was and also concluded  how other various characters were related to the crime, but I still had a great time. At the end, we were sworn to secrecy by the actors in their tradition. So don't ask me whodunnit, cause I can't tell you!

A sign in the lobby told us how many performances had been done. 

Well, that's all she wrote, folks. My blog of my experience in London is done. It's been an amazing semester and I am so grateful for all the opportunities it offered me. I loved traveling to Paris, Rome, and Scotland. I was so thankful to NYU for organizing trips to Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge, and Brighton, giving me the chance to see England thoroughly. I would also like to express my gratitude to NYU and the HOST Program who allowed me to travel to Prudhoe, near Newcastle, and see what traditional British life was like with my wonderful Host family, the Davies. I am grateful to my academic teachers Ellis and Mandie for supplementing my acting training with informative knowledge about theatre and Shakespeare. And I would like to sincerely thank Mary Jane, Brooke, Geoff, Sally and all my teachers at RADA for giving me an unbelievably transformative studio experience this year. I feel like I've grown so much as an actress and also as a person based on the teaching I received at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. I come out of this experience stronger, more confident, and also simply happier with myself as an actress. I can't wait to return to NYU and apply my new skills at Stonestreet in the Fall. Thank you for reading my blog. I hope it was interesting and entertaining. Cheers!

Last Week of Classes!

This past week was my last week of classes. We actors helped out the screenwriting students by participating in the reading of their final screenplays. The variety of scripts was amazing; drama, comedy, romantic comedy, action, animated; each screenplay was unique and very interesting. It was so much fun to read my classmate's stories out loud, give them life, and watch the audience's reaction. Most of the time, I wanted to hear the end and more than anything, I wanted to see these screenplays given life on the big screen. I hope I will see more than one in the cinema.

Kiran, Abby, Stacy, Emily, Dana and Leanne getting ready to read Suzanne's screenplay: Uniform

After the screenplay readings, I met with Geoff Bullen, the director of the NYU program at RADA. He shared my final evaluations with me. We talked about what I had learned and how I had grown during my time in London. It was then that I realized that the majority of my growth had not been as an actress of Shakespeare, but as an actress in general. Of course I learned all about verse and iambic pentameter and line endings, but the true transformation occurred in my learning about myself as an actress. The discovery of movement, and how important it is in a character was one of the biggest revelations I had during my time here, and indeed, during my time in college overall. I had several breakthroughs over the course of the semester, and I'm sure I will have many more if I keep exploring acting through movement. Geoff's final instruction to me was to let go more, to loosen up, lighten up, and be free. To put it simply, Geoff wanted me to have more fun with my acting. And that is something I will be happy to do in the future.

That same day, my grandmother arrived from the United States to spend my final week in London with me. My grandmother was an actress and it was she who inspired me to act when I was just eleven years old. Therefore, our plan was to see as much theatre as possible. Friday night we saw Hay Fever at the Noel Coward Theatre. Granna enjoyed it immensely, as did I. Noel Coward is very tricky to direct, but this director was spot on. The play was acted with precision, and every moment was detailed. It was a great first night out at the theatre, seeing a quintessentially British play. The next day, I took Granna on a bus tour of London. I wanted her to be able to see the main attractions of London without having to walk too much. Our bus tour was perfect. We saw all the sights without having to walk for hours. Granna thought the buildings were beautiful and she especially admired Tower Bridge. These are some of the landmarks we saw on our tour (sorry if some of the pictures are blurry; we were on a moving bus):

The art at Trafalgar Square had been changed from a ship in a bottle to this boy on a rocking horse

The beautiful facade of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London

Parliament

Westminster Abbey

Later that evening, we saw One Man, Two Guvnors. I had seen the play earlier in the year with my Theatre in London class, but it was one of my favorites so I was happy to see it again. I wanted to be sure my grandmother saw it because she herself had acted in The Servant of Two Masters, a much older play on which One Man, Two Guvnors is based. She appreciated this modern adaptation and laughed the whole way through, as did I. We sat right up front, so we didn't miss a trick. It was especially interesting seeing a new cast's interpretation of the script, and I appreciated the various ways the second cast made the play their own.

The next day was Mother's Day, and I my mother gave me strict instructions to make sure Granna had a wonderful day. So first I took her to Fortnum & Mason for tea. We had a great time just walking around the store inside, looking at all the beautiful confections for sale. When it was time for tea, we took the lift upstairs to the Parlour. We had a seat by the window and ordered our tea. Here are some pictures from our lovely day.

The beautiful facade of Fortnum & Mason.
Our seat at tea looked out of the bottom left window.

Our table in The Parlour.

I ordered hot chocolate and hazelnut cake.
The cake was absolutely heavenly.

Granna ordered iced tea and apple strudel.
She said both were delicious.

I hate to admit it, but the second half of my Mother's Day plans was a bit of a failure. I took Granna to Richmond to see a touring theatre production that I am embarrassed even to name, for fear you will look it up and marvel at how I could ever have thought it would be a good show. Suffice it to say, Granna had a good time laughing at how ridiculous the production was while I sat in shock in my seat, wondering if it could get worse. The second act proved that it could. Granna made me feel better by saying, this is something we will look back and laugh at for a long time. At least I gave her the gift of laughter on Mother's Day and at least we have four more shows to wash the bad taste of that last one out of our mouths.

On Monday, Granna and I took a tour of the Globe theatre. My grandmother was trained in Shakespeare, but she didn't have much chance to perform it once she started working. So it was a treat for her to see the reconstructed Globe and hear all about it from our knowledgeable tour guide. My grandmother is hard to impress, but I actually saw her eyes alight with wonder at the sight of the stage. That night we saw A Long Day's Journey into Night at the Apollo Theatre. The three British actors did an excellent job with their American accents and all four actors were very impressive. Each role is a complex and a difficult one, but all were acted to perfection. It was a successful day that made up for the disastrous Mother's Day show.

The stage at the Globe.

Granna and I in front of the stage. 

Today is lazy day. We had a nice brunch at Le Pain Quotidien and then went souvenir shopping so Granna could buy some gifts for her friends back in the States. Now we're spending our time reading and napping and getting ready for another three days of sightseeing and watching shows. I plan to take her to see Noises Off tomorrow, the Performance exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod's, and Billy Elliot on Thursday, and the Mousetrap on Friday. Friday will also be dedicated to packing for home because we are both leaving on Saturday. I'm so glad I have my grandmother here to celebrate my last week in London and to travel home with me on Saturday.

Fourteenth Week of Classes

This past week marked the end of my Theatre in London class and our last theatre visit. In class we discussed the play we saw the week before and played a fun trivia game that centered on topics we'd covered and plays we'd seen. It was a fun way to end the semester. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to take a class that not only exposes me to many different kinds of theatre but also allows me to witness art in a different culture. I want to thank Ellis Jones, our professor, for taking us on a fun, informed journey through contemporary theatre in England.

Our last weekly theatre visit was at the Globe. We were going to see Julius Caesar in Italian as part of the Globe's "37 Plays in 37 Languages" event. Since the Globe is close to the Tate Modern, my friend Leanne and I decided to spend the afternoon there before we went to the show. On the way there, we passed by St. Paul's Cathedral and walked across Millennium Bridge, which were of course both worth stopping for photos:

My coat blends in, but that's me standing in front of the massive cathedral.

Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's dome in the background.

When we got to the Tate, we spent our time exploring the main artwork, but skipped the exhibitions, as they were rather expensive. There was certainly enough to see, however, and even though I am, at times, skeptical of the whole idea of "modern art", I found many works of art that I found beautiful and relatable. Even if I didn't like the presentation of a piece of artwork, I could still appreciate the idea behind it, and sometimes this even made me like it more. Here is a picture of one of my favorite pieces:

Red, thin fabric was used to create this suspended staircase.

 When the museum closed at 5:00, we grabbed some dinner at a nearby restaurant and waited for Julius Caesar to start. Unfortunately, the production was not my cup of tea. I am rather traditional when it comes to Shakespeare, and the Italian company had hacked apart the script, filled the production with odd movement work, removed over half the characters, and even changed some plot elements. It was a bit too much for me to appreciate. Some of their choices were very interesting, especially the extreme movement work and the use of three doors on wheels as props, but the cutting of characters, lines, and plot elements made it difficult for me to respect the work. Perhaps if they called it "Cesare" instead of Julius Caesar, I would have been more accepting. I did, however, find an interesting Spanish translation of Hamlet in the lobby. Here is the iconic "to be or not to be" speech in Spanish:

"Existir, o no existir: esta es la question"

The biggest even of my week by far was my weekend trip to Scotland! When the end of the semester began to approach, I realized how little I'd explored other countries. While I went to Paris and Rome on my spring break, I'd already been to Paris and I felt I was wasting an opportunity to explore Europe while I have the chance. So I booked a tour throughout Scotland and went on a three day excursion from Edinburgh all the way up to the Isle of Skye. I am so glad I did. It is the first trip I've taken alone, and it was unspeakably rewarding. I met so many people, saw so many amazing sights, and definitely felt more worldly by the end of it. The first thing I saw when I got off my overnight bus in Edinburgh was the castle:

Edinburgh's castle: unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to explore it.

I went straight to the Haggis Adventures tour bus office and waited for the bright yellow bus to pick me up. There I met a few of my fellow explorers. They came from all over. There were people from Australia, New Zealand, America, England, Ireland and Brazil. We were a diverse group and we started making friends right away. Then we met our driver, Keith and our beyond amazing tour guide Harriet. She was super peppy and enthusiastic and her passion for Scotland was evident from the start. She wore a women's kilt and a Highland Cow hat for most of our hikes.

Harriet in her kilt and Cow hat in front of our bright yellow "Wild & Sexy Scotland" bus.

The first day Harriet took us to the Highlands of Scotland, telling us all about the Campbell Massacre, William Wallace, and the inaccuracies of Braveheart. She had so many wonderful stories to tell and details to share. These are the places we explored the first day:

The William Wallace memorial. 

Hamish, the "Heilan Coo" (Scottish for Highland Cow).
He was HUGE, but also adorable and very friendly, especially if you had some food for him!

We went hiking through the Highlands. Huge mountains surrounded us on all sides,
and the steep climb was worth the view (and this epic picture).

That night we stayed at our first hostel, Saucy Mary's. It was named for a woman who charged a high fee to let boats pass under her bridge, but in order to make it worth it, she would lift up her skirt for them. Ah, the little details you learn about Scotland's residents. There wasn't time to do much exploring that night, just time to hang out in the pub, order some fish n chips and listen to the surprisingly good live music.

We woke up the next morning and started exploring the Isle of Skye. It is absolutely beautiful, surrounded by the sea on all sides, with waterfalls running through its green hills. There is a lot of mysticism, myths, and legends surrounding the isle. Harriet told us tales of fairies and giants that were funny and sometimes a bit gory. Here is a picture of one of the gorgeous waterfalls on the Isle of Skye:

That slightly lighter dot on the far right of the hill is a sheep!
They live life on the edge in Scotland!

After our morning and afternoon of exploring the Isle of Skye, we headed back to the mainland to take a guided tour of Eliean Donan Castle. It was restored by the McRae family after it was destroyed in battle. It actually houses the present day McRae family during gatherings. This is the view from the Castle:

Directly bellow is the well, and beyond that, the ramparts, and beyond those, the walkway up to the castle.

We got back on the bus and continued on to Fort Augustus, where we'd be spending Saturday night. Our hostel was called Morag's Lodge and it was a five minute walk away from Loch Ness! After we'd gotten settled, we heard about a cruise of the famous Loch, so we signed up and went down to do some sightseeing before getting on the boat.

My friends Marni, Bailey, and Mauve exploring the stunning banks of Loch Ness.

We hopped on the boat and set off. The wind was crisp, but it was a bright day and the wind whipping my face made me feel exhilarated. To be sailing on a body of water so legendary was truly exciting, even if there was nothing but trout in its depths. Our tour guide believed otherwise, and he regaled us with tales of his Nessie sightings, and all the evidence that sonar and infrared scans of the loch have revealed. He even said he had a picture of the monster, but even though NASA told him it was the best piece of evidence they'd ever seen, they advised him to keep it a secret because otherwise people would come to hunt Nessie. He also mentioned that there isn't just one Loch Ness monster, but about twelve of them in the world- a species that has lasted for centuries and gone relatively unnoticed. I don't know if I fully believed him, but I don't deny the possibility of such a creature's existence.

Decals on the boat's windows made sure everyone had a chance to spot Nessie!

That night, Morag's Lodge cooked us a delicious meal of homemade lasagna and garlic bread- better than a lot of lasagna I've had in America, to be honest. Then we all gathered in the bar for a Pub Quiz- but one unlike any pub quiz I'd ever taken. Marni, Bailey, Mauve (three American students studying abroad in Ireland) and I made up our small but strong team. There were the standard questions, each worth a point, of course, but in between there were challenges. One member of our team had to stand on her chair and dance every time a TV theme song played; another member had to do a seductive dance every time a Disney song played. There was a competition for delivery of the best pick-up line; our team won major points by using an extremely dirty one that I shan't repeat here. Let's just say my acting skills were put to good use, and the man giving the quiz said he had rarely been as flustered. At the start of the quiz, one member from each team was given a full glass of water and instructed to hold it high above their head for as long as they could. The person who held out the longest would receive a ton of points. Well, I was elected to hold the water and at first I just didn't want to be the first one to give up. But before I knew it, everyone had dropped out but myself a rugby player from New Zealand. Well, I couldn't give up then! Eleven years of gymnastics training, my family's keen tradition of trash-talking, and singing along to songs to take my mind off the pain in my shoulder and the numbness in my fingers led me to victory! I held the glass above my head for forty-five excruciating minutes, and won my team eight points. The grand finale of the event was a competition to dress up one member of our team in traditional Scottish clothing scavenged from around the hostel and have a catwalk competition. Bailey competed for us and we dressed her up in a make-shift kilt, a tartan toga, a modified sporran (little bag that sits in front of a kilt), a belt, her clan scarf around her head and finally, a bottle of Scottish beer. Bailey strutted her stuff on the runway and made it to the semifinals. She had to do a dance-off with another team; the winner would take first place. Bailey gave it her all, employing a variety of dance moves to wondrous effect. The crowd cheered loudest for us and we were deemed the winners. It was the best night I had in Scotland. We were on a victorious high the rest of the night.

Bailey in her Scottish outfit, about to rock out on the runway. 

The next day we made our way back to Edinburgh, stopping many times along the way to visit historical sights of just admire the scenery. First we visited the Culloden battlefield, the sight where the British massacred the Scottish in their fight for independence from England. It was a beautiful field, with a tower as a monument where people still leave flowers for their ancestors. It was a gorgeous day, but it was sad to walk the paths and remember what had happened here so long ago.

The beautiful field. And a lone cottage that withstood the fighting.

Next, we went to visit some standing stones. There were formations of stones in three separate rings, and within these rings a large round circle filled with stones, hollow in the middle with just enough space for about ten people. Historians think these formations were used in rituals, perhaps sacrifices to the gods. Harriet told us that her fellow tour guide swears he felt one of the rocks vibrating when he stood with his back to it and felt it with his hands. So we all tried that, but to no avail. The only one to feel something was Keeley, but that might have been because Alex was pounding on the other side of the rock.

Trying to feel the mystical vibrations and failing. 

We stopped for lunch in a quiet town and I had the opportunity to try Haggis; there was no way I was leaving Scotland without doing it! So I ordered fried haggis and chips and had Mauve document the occasion by taking a picture of my first bite. It's all the way in my mouth, so you can't accuse me of staging it! For those of you who don't know, haggis is chopped up pig intestines that are then stuffed into a skin and sometimes fried (that's how I had it). Yes, it's absolutely disgusting in description and pretty repulsive in appearance, but if you forget all that and simply taste it, it's not half bad. It tasted a bit like sausage but with some spices involved I have definitely not experienced before. I was proud of myself for biting the bullet (or in this case, pig intestines) for the sake of adventure! PROOF:

My personal haggis adventure.

Our last stop before reaching Edinburgh was the Dunken Cathedral, a beautiful church located in a quiet town that apparently won an award for best public toilets. The cathedral was much more impressive than the bathrooms, and I spent some time sitting in the peaceful interior, admiring the stained glass windows and reflecting on my trip. Then I ventured outside and explored the derelict bell tower and walked through the grass to the river. I sat by the river with Bailey and Alex and we admired the beauty of the day and our awe at what a great three days it had been. Then we boarded the bus again and made it back to Edinburgh.

Dunkeld Cathedral

On our way into the city, our tour guide mentioned how J. K. Rowling had lived in Edinburgh while she wrote the first Harry Potter book. She casually mentioned a café called the Elephant House and noted that Rowling spent every day there, bought one cup of tea to last her the afternoon and scribbled ideas for The Sorcerer's Stone down on napkins. After hearing about this, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have dinner at the very café where the idea for Harry Potter was born. I hunted it down and sat by the window, drinking hot chocolate and eating one of the best caesar salads of my life, possibly because I felt so happy. It was a beautiful café, quiet and warm, the perfect place to lose yourself for an afternoon reading a book. I took my time eating and drinking, reading Mrs. Dalloway, and imagining J.K. Rowling sitting next to me, dreaming up the boy wizard. A trip to the bathroom was a great idea, it turned out, as hundreds of Potterphiles had written messages on the walls: quotations from the books, sentiments of gratitude to Rowling for her wonderful books, drawings of favorite characters. It was a Potter lover's dream bathroom. I could have stayed in there all day reading the messages on the wall.

A perfect end to my Scottish adventure.

Before I caught my bus home at 10:30, I had time to buy a kilt (a women's mini-kilt; I didn't think the full-length ones would be flattering) and meet up with some of my tour friends to go to a pub. We chose a really great one: it had seven rooms, three of which were actually chambers that are part of the underground Edinburgh Vaults, or South Bridge Vaults, located underneath the city. Two had been modeled into bars, and the other was made into a cinema that sat about fifty people and played horror films. Watching Silence of the Lambs in an eerie, stone, dank underground chamber was about as scarily awesome as possible. I was so happy to have a taste of Edinburgh history before I left the city that night.

I'm sorry this post was so long, but I wanted to share with you all my amazing experiences in Scotland. It was truly one of the most rewarding trips I've taken while in the UK. I'm so glad I got the chance to see more of this beautiful area of the world.

Thirteenth Week of Classes

This past week was very busy. I had the privilege of going on many outings and adventures, most of them provided by NYU London. The first thing to mention, however, is that we had our last Studies in Shakespeare class with our wonderful professor Mandie Wright. It was a fun day - we shared our favorite Shakespeare quotations and the artwork we had brought to accompany them. I chose "We are such stuff as dreams are made on" and made a collage of nature, human beings, and the universe. My friend Abby made "Out damned spot" cupcakes - white cupcake, white frosting, with red jelly in the middle. We all enjoyed her presentation. Then we spent the rest of the time playing Shakespeare trivia games. It was a lovely way to end the term. We are all very grateful to our knowledgeable professor Mandie Wright who instilled in us a passion for Shakespeare through her own clear enthusiasm for the playwright. It was a joy to learn from her every Monday. We'll miss you, Mandie!

Our weekly theatre visits (reinstalled after our play project is through) was to see Neighborhood Watch, a new Alan Ayckbourn play, at the Tricycle Theatre. Ayckbourn's wit was sharp as ever, with many hilarious lines, but I'm sorry to say the acting was not quite up to snuff. While the main actors held their own, some of the smaller roles did not feel very committed and unfortunately the play suffered because of it. It was still an enjoyable night out, with many funny moments, but because we've been spoiled by seeing so many amazing productions, Ayckbourn's new play didn't stand up to them.

Watch out, folks, 'cause it's about to get super nerdy up in here: One of the biggest events of my week was seeing the Harry Potter Studio Tour. My friend Leanne and I, along with a bus load of other NYU students traveled a little over an hour to the studios and spent a few magical hours exploring the sets, props, costumes, concept art, and models from the eight Harry Potter movies. For a Potterphile such as myself, this was a dream come true, and I will not hide the fact that I got a little teary at times. It was just so amazing to see what effort the crew had put into making these movies to ensure that die-hard fans of the books could be satisfied with what they saw on screen. The tour filled me with nostalgia and regret that the series had come to an end. It also gave me a sense of closure. You may feel that I am being over-dramatic, but I don't think so. These are books and films that grew up with me from age ten to twenty-one. To say goodbye to them is to finally, in a sense, grow up. Here are some pictures from my fantastic adventure at the Harry Potter Studios.

Outside the studios

Hermione, Harry, Victor Krum and Cho Chang's Yule Ball costumes

Potion's classroom set

Triwizard Cup and golden egg props

The Chamber of Secrets portal

The Mirror of Erised: I saw myself at the Harry Potter Studio Tour
(How did it know?!)

A smaller scale model of Hogwarts used for aerial shots

As if my weekend couldn't get any more amazing, the next day I went on a trip to Brighton. NYU sponsored a trip to the beach and eight of us took advantage of the opportunity to see the sea. We took the hour train ride from London Bridge and arrived at around 11:00. We had about five hours to explore at our own leisure, so my friends Nick and Abby and I set off. We strolled past the Lanes, a shopping area full of quaint shops. There was even one dedicated entirely to Alice and Wonderland paraphernalia! I resisted buying mugs that said "Drink Me". We then stumbled upon Henry VIII's summer palace. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Surrounded by beautiful gardens is the summer home of Henry VIII

Then we decided we really wanted to see the ocean, so we made out way to Brighton Pier. We strolled along the rocky beach, collecting interesting stones. Then we made our way up onto the pier and walked through the various rides and amusements (very much like Coney Island). The rides were rather expensive, so we only chose one to go on - a roller coaster called The Crazy Mouse that fortuitously gave us an amazing view of the water. We had a good time laughing at the picture taken of us during the ride in which Nick's hair is standing straight up, Abby's face is ridiculously contorted, and my mouth is open so wide you can count all my teeth. We thought £12.50 was a little steep for a photo, so we neglected to buy it.

A silly photo-op on the pier

The ocean on that overcast yet beautiful day

We still had some time after we vacated the pier so we grabbed some lunch (fish and chips, of course) at a restaurant by the water. Then we strolled along the water towards the Marina. On the way, we saw a mini-golf course and couldn't resist stopping to play a round, despite the drizzly weather. The woman who ran the course said they were closing in a half hour so if we wanted to play it would have to be quick. So we played a speed round of golf that was a lot of fun. Abby won the game and I got the only hole-in-one. By that time, we had to head back to the train station. It had been a lovely day in Brighton.

Nick and I playing our speed round of mini-golf

The last event in my fun-filled weekend was a day at Sundance London. This is the first year that the Sundance film festival has come to London after its opening in the United States. Not all of the films were brought to London, mostly ones that had won awards and done well. So I got to see the cream of the crop! I bought tickets to three films: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, a highly artistic film about a man who analyzes and picks apart his feelings about his unrequited love for a woman; For Ellen, a film about an out-of-control musician trying to win custody over his daughter (Paul Dano gave a stunningly raw performance); and Nobody Walks, a film about a young artist who is taken in by a family and whose presence brings turmoil to the household. All films were impressive in their own right and I couldn't have been happier being MIA at the cinema for a day.

SUNDANCE! (Obviously I couldn't take photos of any of the films)

This past weekend really made me realize how lucky I am to be able to explore another country so fully. I am so grateful to be offered these opportunities to broaden my view of the world. NYU London has been spectacular at providing ways for its students to expand their knowledge of other cultures. I wish to sincerely thank them for everything they've done for me while I've been abroad.

This coming week is my last Theatre in London class, but afterward we are seeing Julius Caesar in Italian at the Globe as part of its 37 plays in 37 languages event. Then on Thursday night I am going to Scotland for the weekend! I signed up for a tour that will take me to Edinburgh, Glencoe, the Isle of Skye, and Loch Ness. I am beyond excited. I will let you know all about it next week.

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.