Thus far the miles
“Thus far the miles are measured from thy friend.”
-Shakespeare, Sonnet 50
I KNOW I say this every week, but this week has actually been super crazy. We’re getting down to the wire for our finals, with just one week to go until our Combat, Movement, and Period Dance presentations, and another week after that before our Acting and Shakespeare finals. And our assessment for Voice is tomorrow!
Monday was busy and full of physical classes. Tuesday was a very active morning, putting scenes in Acting and Shakespeare on their feet. Since I had that afternoon off, I headed out to the London Transport Museum, which was way cooler than it sounds. It showed the history of public transportation in London from horse-and-carriage, to the first underground trains in the 1860s, to buses and the Tube system today. They had lots of interactive exhibits, like old models of trains or streetcars you could sit in, and the opportunity to drive a virtual underground train. I’m so glad I went, because I learned a lot of fascinating information I’d never really thought about before. That evening I continued an awesome day at the National Theatre, seeing As You Like It. I really enjoyed the performance, especially the design, which had some of the best sets and sound effects I’d ever seen.
We didn’t see a show as a class this week, so we were able to put lots of focus into our classes. We read Hedda Gabler and Krapp’s Last Tape in Space, Place, and Text, and discussed our thoughts on Measure for Measure in Dramatic Criticism. Friday in Acting class we continued work on my scene, which is coming along with lots of hard work. Then we finished blocking our abridged Twelfth Night in Shakespeare class, and I ran (literally, I ran) to the Tube to head off to St. Pancras train station.
I just barely made my train, but by 5pm I was off to Brussels for a weekend with Louisse, an exchange student who spent a year at my high school, and who I hadn’t seen since then, four years ago. When I saw her at the train station it was like no time had passed at all. To my surprise, as she led me through the station, we took a left and there was our other friend, Francesca! Lou had asked her to fly in from Italy as a surprise. We all had an amazing weekend, sightseeing in Brussels, spending an evening at a fun rock bar, and generally catching up. It was such a quick trip; we were up at 6:30 this morning and off to catch trains home, but I’m so glad we all got to get together even for just a couple of days.
Today I had about an hour to unpack before heading off to the theatre with my friend Lindsay to see Jane Eyre at the National Theatre. We were really excited, and it’s gotten really good reviews, but to be completely honest I thought it was total CRAP. I’m not saying it was a worthless experience; we had incredible (£50) seats for only £15, so we were able to see lots of detail, and I still think I learned from the production. But I’m very excited to go home and write a scathing review in my theatre journal.
Next blog post comes on my birthday!!