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!

Eighth Week: Back to Work!

The first week back at school was a taxing one. In fact, I have only just finished writing a 2000-word essay on my directorial interpretation of King Lear. In case you're wondering, I'm setting it in a hospital in modern-day America to highlight our society's mistreatment of the elderly and their resulting decline into such diseases as dementia. See, it's not all fun and games over here in London. We have our academic work just like my friends back at NYU.

I started off this past week by traveling to Richmond-Upon-Thames to see a production of the Taming of the Shrew at the Richmond Theatre. The Taming of the Shrew is my favorite Shakespeare play so I take the opportunity to see it performed whenever I can. I was very impressed with the Royal Shakespeare Company's interpretation of the character of Katherina. She was played as so abhorrent and crude that the audience wanted her to be tamed, and her famous speech at the end is delivered with genuine regret for how hideously she had behaved. This production also included the character of Christopher Sly, cut out of most productions for the sake of keeping the running time down. So in many ways, this performance was a treat!

The Richmond Theatre, in all its illuminated glory.

I feel obligated to keep you updated on my football games at Coram's Fields and therefore quickly mention that my team came back from losing 4-2 to win the game at 6-5. It was a brilliant game!

Our weekly theatre visit was to see The Master and Margarita at the Barbican. I have to tell you, I am not in any way exaggerating when I say this was the most moving piece of theatre I have ever seen. The play concerned the devil coming to earth to create mischief, Pontius Pilate's condemning of Jesus to death, a modern-day writer attempting to convey Pilate's story with humanity and pathos, and the woman he loves, Margarita, who will make a deal with the devil to be with him forever. Theatre Complicité, the group who put on the production, were the most talented group of actors I've ever seen and the lighting effects and projections transported me to another world. I have never been more impressed, thrilled, or engaged with a performance before. I only wish my friends in America could see this brilliant work of theatre.

One of the benefits of living in London was getting to see The Hunger Games six hours ahead of America! So I went Thursday night at 10pm with my friend Hari and thoroughly enjoyed Gary Ross' adaptation of Suzanne Collins' novel. I have a hunch all the people in the theatre were American, as the novel is a bit more popular in America. I loved the film so much, I went to see it again Friday night with my friends Adriana and Stacy. We went to dinner beforehand and made a nice outing of it. I found I was able to enjoy the film more the second night because I was not constantly analyzing it and comparing it to the novel. I knew that I loved it and I could just sit back and let myself be drawn in. On the way back home, I saw this woman dressed up as a chicken on the tube. It made me miss New York, as there are far more people dressed up in crazy costumes there. People are more dignified and reserved here in London and most wouldn't be caught dead in such a getup.

The Chicken Lady!

Now that we finished our first play project, upon my return to RADA we got started right away on our next one. My group's director, Melanie Jessop, wanted to do a piece in which we explore the character of Queen Gertrude from Hamlet, who notoriously does not get a chance to explain herself or tell her story. We are combining the text of Hamlet with a Howard Baker play called Gertrude, in which Gertrude tells her story (newly imagined by Baker) of how she killed her husband because she was in love with his brother Claudius so deeply. We are also bringing in other texts where women are either allowed or not allowed to speak their minds. The result should be a study on Shakespeare's allowance or disallowance of women to have their say. I'm very excited to see how it will turn out!

Next week I'll be able to tell you about seeing Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in Sweeney Todd, my weekly theatre visit to see Farewell to the Theatre, and, most exciting of all, my trip to Newcastle to stay with a HOST family for a weekend. That should be a revealing glimpse into the life of a typical British family, not to mention a chance to see the English countryside instead of the city. I can't wait!

Seventh Week: Spring Break!

I'm back in the UK and ready to tell you all about the amazing week I had in Paris and Rome! This post will mainly consist of pictures, because most of the sights I saw are best shared with you that way. Words can only go so far.

Steve and I woke up bright and early Sunday morning to catch our flight to Paris. We got into the city at around eleven in the morning and had lunch. We checked into our hotel and then headed over to the Catacombs. Sunday afternoon was the only time they were open during the time we were in Paris, so it was then or never! We got into the long line and waited quite some time, but it was worth it.

Bones from within the Catacombs

From the Catacombs, we trekked over to Notre Dame. The cathedral was impressive in its size and beauty and the inside was even more intricate. When we stepped outside, the sun was just setting and the light hit the stone and made it glow.

Notre Dame just before sunset

We walked around until we found somewhere nice to eat- a quiet restaurant with a pet cat who sat in my lap while I waited for my food. Our food was delicious and I was able to fulfill a requirement of the trip by having Creme Brulée, my favorite dessert, at the end of our meal.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to get to the Louvre. We wanted at least three hours there to see all we could (we knew we would still miss a lot). Here are some of the highlights:

Outside the Louvre by the Pyramid

Venus de Milo

My personal favorite, Winged Victory

Cupid and Psyche

We also saw the Mona Lisa, the Lacemaker and Napoleon's Apartments. By noon, we had had enough of being indoors and wanted some fresh air. So we took the Metro up to Montmartre and walked around the charming district. We had some gelato, watched a mime (yes, a mime) perform, and strolled around a local artist's fair. We ended our wanderings with a trip to Sacre Coeur.

Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Cathedral in Montmartre

Full from our gelato in Montmartre, we skipped dinner and headed over to the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to make sure we got our tickets, as it was fairly late already. The sun had already set by the time we were in line for the first elevator, so we were able to see the Tower all lit up and look out over Paris and see the city illuminated. It was a lovely way to end our short trip to Paris.

Le Tour Eiffel

Paris Illuminated

The next day, we were able to have a leisurely breakfast at a café near our hotel and then catch a shuttle to the airport to fly to Rome. I was beyond excited for this trip, as I am Italian and have always identified with my Italian grandmother. We arrived too late to do anything the first day, so we walked around the neighborhood near our hotel and found a quiet place to have our own personal pizzas outdoors. They were absolutely mouthwatering.

The next day was a busy one! We went to the Vittoriano, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. The Roman Forum is huge! We spent the majority of our day there.

Steve and I at the Roman Forum

The Colosseum!

We woke up early again the next morning to go to Vatican City. We saw Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Stanze) in the morning. Unfortunately, pictures of the Sistine Chapel weren't allowed, but here is one of the inside of St. Peter's:

There was much more to see inside than just this section
 and it was all just as magnificent.

After some lunch, Steve and I went to the Castel Sant'Angelo, a castle just sitting in the north of Rome. We walked along the dreary, dark passageways and beheld the breathtaking views from the turrets.

The bridge up to the Castle

The view from one of the upper windows.

We had just enough time to see the Piazza di Spagni and the Spanish Steps that evening before catching a bus home. I took a picture of the Spanish Steps, but there were so many people sitting on them you can hardly see the actual architecture!

Our last day in Rome, we fit in a surprising amount. We first went to the Piazza Navona and saw the artists and street vendors there. There were some pretty funny characters including a man dressed all in green leaves, an "invisible man" with a costume that gave the illusion of a missing head, and three people dressed as various ghosts and ghouls. We took the side streets to reach the Pantheon and explored it inside and out. And finally, we went to the Trevi Fountian to throw a coin over our shoulder (right hand over left shoulder) to ensure that we would come back to Italy some day. I hope that wish comes true. I had the time of my life in just three short days.

The impressive Pantheon

The Trevi Fountain, a lovely way to end our whistle-stop tour of Italy.

Seventh Week of Classes

It has been one whirlwind of a week! Thank goodness I had a busy day of sightseeing today. Otherwise, I wouldn't have much to share with you. The reason I've been so busy is because my group's performance of The Rape of Lucrece was on Friday, so the whole week was dedicated to preparing for that. We even had practice sessions where the cast got together outside of studio on Monday and Tuesday night to run lines and rehearse. Our dedication paid off, however. The performance was a success! Our director was proud and our classmates all agreed we did a great job. Our classmates performed an abridged version of Twelfth Night and it was very funny! I wish that we could have seen the whole thing. Everyone's characters were fully realized and the humor was fully brought out. It was a satisfying day for everyone and a great way to head into spring break!

Our weekly theatre visit this week was to see Purge, a play based on Sofi Oksanen's novel. The set was amazing, completely blending into the stone floor of the small theatre. It felt like we were in the rustic home of the main character, Aliide. The story was intricate and the plot twists were genuinely surprising. Overall, the acting was very impressive, especially the woman playing Young Aliide and the man playing Hans. The authentic feel is what made this performance truly unique. I loved the venue (the Arcola Theatre) and hope to go back there to see more shows (they are only £12!)

After such a long week, it was wonderful to have my boyfriend come and visit me for spring break. He was waiting for me outside RADA after my performance with yellow roses (that apparently, he had to walk all over London to find. I guess they're not big on flowers here...) That night we went out to dinner and then went out to the Marlborough to hang out with my classmates and unwind after such a stressful week.

Today was our big sightseeing day. I drew up a full schedule for us, because we only have two full days in London. So today we went to see Buckingham Palace, walking through Green Park to get there. It was a beautiful day: not too cold, with a crisp breeze and lots of light. After seeing the Palace we walked to the Serpentine Boating Lake and rented a paddleboat. We spent a half hour paddling around the lake, enjoying the weather.

The view from our paddleboat.

After that, we stopped by St. James' Tavern to have some lunch. Steve, insistent on trying British food got the Sausages and Mash (I don't know why it was called Bangers and Mash). He had Fish n' Chips yesterday, on my recommendation. Then we trekked over to the British Museum. We only had an hour and a half there, but here are some of the (many) things we got to see during that time.

The lobby itself is highly impressive.

The world-famous Rosetta Stone

The horsemen on the Parthenon frieze

An Aztec two-headed serpent

From the David Collection: porcelain vases from the Yuan Dynasty

The Head of Augustus

The famous Lewis chess pieces

It was a full and fun day. Right now we are about to have some dinner at home, pack for Paris and Rome (which I will update you on next week) and then I'm going to surprise Steve by taking him to a Stand-Up Comedy night. He loves stand-up and I'm sure he'd be interested to see how British humor differs from American. Be prepared for a lot of pictures and stories next week! Adieu and ciao!

Sixth Week of Classes

This week started off with a visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum to check out the Theatre and Performance Collection. We were able to look at artifacts from famous performances and artists. They had sections on theatre, music, set design, costume, and dance. We spent the day marveling at the priceless items from classic performances and shows. It was a lovely outing where we were able to see some truly historic pieces of history. Here are just a few of the relics we saw that day:

Valkyrie costume from The Producers

Sex Pistols t-shirt created after Sid Vicious' homicide and suicide

Black Swan costume from Swan Lake.

I wandered into a few other exhibits and saw this gorgeous vase.

Our weekly theatre visit was to see Cheek by Jowl's performance of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, the Jacobean tragedy that created an uproar when it was written in the 1600's based on its themes of murder and incest. We saw quite a graphic version of it, and yet it never felt out of control or overly dramatic. The theatre company handled the text extremely well and the majority of the acting was very impressive. They moved as one and set the play in such a clearly defined world that no directing choices felt out of place. One wouldn't expect any less from Cheek by Jowl.

Our RADA schedules have been becoming a bit more hectic this week, as we continue to rehearse for Twelfth Night and The Rape of Lucrece. My group, performing the latter, has our text memorized and finished with the blocking last Thursday in time to do a stumble-through on Friday. It's slowly coming together and I can see the finished product in my mind. I am excited to be a part of something so inventive and I am loving how each of us are shaping the production and giving our own individual flair to the text. I know we have a lot to do in the three days we have left, but I'm sure we can pull something together that is truly impressive. I wish I could invite my friends and family to come see the show, but unfortunately it is only shown to students and teachers of RADA. I will let you know how it goes in my next post!

Friday night I went to the RADA Open Mic Night. This is an event organized by the full-time RADA students and held in the RADA Bar. A stage was set up on risers, complete with mic and piano if needed, and whoever wanted to (and was brave enough) to get up and perform was allowed. Everyone sang, but some sang a capella, with a guitar, with the piano, even with a ukulele! My favorite act was by two girls, Patsy and Eliza (they called themselves Patsiza) and did their own renditions of You Send Me and a very entertaining cover of Rolling in the Deep. Eliza's voice was jazzy and upbeat, while Patsy accompanied on the ukulele and sang with a rich, smoky tone. The two voices sounded beautiful together and was one of the most unique performances of the night. Even I found the guts to get up there and sing an a capella version of Can't Help Lovin' That Man. If you'd like to see it, I put the video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDRAJCuVGls&list=UUaC2QRLsun3gh9xJ1sRt6Cw&index=1&feature=plcp

I am very tired as I write this entry, because today was the Zambia Benefit Football Tournament at Coram's Fields. NYUL generously paid the entry fee that goes to benefit people in Zambia so that myself and eight other NYU students could participate. Unfortunately, that classic London weather decided to make a pronounced appearance in the form of a downpour, winds, and low temperatures so that we were all soaked and freezing by the end of the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately, we were one place away from making the semi-finals, finishing fifth out of eight teams. I'd say we played very well considering we were all new to each other's styles and the teams we were up against obviously were very comfortable with each other. Nonetheless, we had fun and it was an exhausting but satisfying day.

Armaan, Aman, Joe, Vijay, Patrick
Andre, Joe, Me, and Emanuel, our captain:
Members of the NYUL Football Club!

That's all for now. Next week I'll tell you all about my theatre visit to see Purge by Sofie Oksanen, my performance of The Rape of Lucrece, and my first two days in London with my boyfriend, Steve, who is coming to visit me for my spring break.