“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts.”

– Shakespeare, As You Like It

Wow! It has been a ~wild~ first week of classes, and sitting here on a Sunday evening thinking back on it, I am so excited to see what the rest of the semester brings!

First off, they’re going to be keeping us quite busy! Mondays we have Period Dance, Movement for Theatre, Voice and Diction, and Stage Combat (I think the goal here is to get us as sore as possible for the rest of the week). Tuesdays I just have Acting and Acting for Shakespeare in the mornings, so I think I’m going to set the afternoons aside as my grocery day. Wednesdays we’ll do Speech and Dialects, Physical Theatre, and Space, Place, and Text. Thursdays are usually some type of workshop or extra class, and then I have individual sessions for Audition and Alexander Technique before we all join back up for Dramatic Criticism. Fridays we have more Acting and Acting for Shakespeare, and sometimes a walking lecture somewhere in London. And of course, weekend day trips, evening theatre visits, and endless hours memorizing once we really get into the swing of things.

The highlight of this week for me was absolutely our visit to the Globe Theatre on Wednesday night. We got to see As You Like It in (a reproduction of) the space it would have been performed in during Shakespeare’s time. The theatre is open-air, and it rained pretty heavily on-and-off the whole time, which was annoying but also in a way only made the experience more powerful. The actors acknowledged the rain, incorporating the space into their performance and connecting the world of the characters to the world of the audience. I was honestly awed by the fact that hundreds of people made the choice to gather and stand getting rained on for three hours all to see a piece of theatre. I will definitely be returning to the Globe before the semester is over.

Friday was another interesting experience. We had our first walking lecture to the site of the Rose, another theatre of Shakespeare’s time. Today the Rose serves as a small, functioning theatre space, set on a balcony that overlooks the excavation site. It was found in the 1980’s, photographed and catalogued, but they had to basically rebury it to keep it preserved. When they have the funding, they plan to re-excavate. Currently it sits under a layer of basically dirt, with water on top to keep the environment moist, and LED lights outline the footprint of the walls and the stage, to give visitors an idea of the space it used to be. After that, we visited the site of the original Globe (down the street from the reconstructed Globe of today), Southwark Cathedral (the church that Shakespeare and lots of other famous English writers went to), and the ruins of Winchester Palace. We also stopped by St. Paul’s Cathedral, for more tourist photo ops.

Last night a group of us went out to see The Bakkhai at the Almeida Theatre, not through school but just for fun on our own. It was… well, it was a Greek tragedy. The production value and the performances were great, and like any show, I think it’s easy to learn about acting and theatre from watching it. But as far as entertainment value goes, I was mostly invested for two reasons: one, the Greeks are such an important part of our history as actors, so you basically have to appreciate them even if the plots and themes aren’t always easily accessible to contemporary values and sensibilities; and two, it was so gory and uncomfortable that it was hard to look away. Naturally, we all went out to the pub after.

Now onto a very full week of shows and our first weekend day trip. Cheers!

“And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,

To seek new friends and stranger companies.”

-Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

What a busy week! I think I’m coming to accept that while I’m here, I’m just going to be constantly tired. . . but I’m loving every second of it, so it seems like a pretty good deal.

Classes this week were great. Highlights include finding out our casting for scenes from La Ronde in acting class, feeling like a sword fighting pro now that I can sort of successfully carry out four different attacks and five parries, and having class in our corsets for the fist time in period dance. It’s hard to believe we’ve only had two weeks of classes, but so exciting to think of how much more is still to come.

Like I said, this week was extraordinarily busy. Wednesday after class we headed out to see Song from Far Away at the Young Vic, a one-man show about mourning and isolation (with plenty of full-frontal nudity just for fun). Thursday was the same, except classes got out much later, so we had an hour to commute to Sadler’s Wells in rush hour tube traffic, plus eating anything we had time to scrounge up for dinner. We saw Lest We Forget, a compilation of three dance pieces in tribute to World War I.

Friday we had classes in the morning and a walking lecture in the afternoon. We started out back at the Globe Theatre, learning all about the theatre’s history and beginning to talk about the transition from Elizabethan staging to later proscenium theaters. Then we walked across Millennium Bridge (yeah, the one that gets destroyed by Death Eaters in Half Blood Prince – luckily our trip across was very uneventful) up towards St. Paul’s for a lot of architecture history. We finished up with the site of the Blackfriars Theatre (roughly the same time period as the Globe) and Fleet Street.

Saturday came bright and early as we all trekked out to London Bridge Station to catch our train to Brighton. Once there we got a tour of the Royal Pavilion, a pleasure-palace built by George IV when it first became fashionable for Londoners to spend time at the seaside. We learned lots more about Regency architecture and had a guided walk down to the beach before being set free to explore. We spent a little time at an outdoor cinema event on the beach and some people went to pubs or thrift shopping, but I caught the first train home. I was so exhausted that by the time I was back in the flat and had cooked myself dinner, I was too tired to eat it.

Today has been another lazy Sunday for blogging, homework, and fighting with the terrible Wifi signal in our flats. We went out for a little while, to a garden party hosted by a Fordham alum. She lives in posh Kensington now, so we all got to get dressed up and pretend we’re the kind of people who regularly go to garden parties.

Cheers until next week!

(this Sunday blog post brought to you on a Tuesday, courtesy of poor internet connection and website errors)

“Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.”

-Shakespeare, Cymbeline

Well, here we are, another Sunday after another busy week! It’s been a particularly good one, too – lots of work but lots of time for fun too, and some great theatre along the way!

Classes are still great. This week we said a temporary goodbye to our program director Kathryn Pogson, who’s off to the States for four weeks to perform in Antigone. We also welcomed back our Drama Crit teacher Christopher from a week in hospital, and guided ourselves through a Movement class because our teacher Hannah was sick… let’s just say it’s been an eventful week. This week’s highlight for me has been all the detailed text work we’ve been doing in Acting for Shakespeare. Having never taken a formal Shakespeare class, I’m really enjoying learning all these different tools to analyse text and get it on its feet.

Our show of the week was The Beaux’ Stratagem at the National Theatre. It’s a Restoration comedy all about love, marriage, and deception, complicated by a band of thieving highwaymen. The whole production was just really clean and well done, and the overall impression was of a very cohesive piece. My favorite parts were the musicians, who played very well and frequently interacted with characters onstage, and the beautifully and creatively designed set.

Friday we had another walking lecture, this one to Middle Temple and the Inns of Court. We learned about English law, the Knights Templar, lots of architecture, and plenty of theatre history thrown in. We saw the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane, the oldest continuously operated theatre site in London. Finally we went to Covent Garden and saw St. Paul’s church (known as the Actors’ Church, and where Eliza Doolittle sells her flowers).

We spent Friday night in bars watching England beat Fiji in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup. Saturday we headed out to see Bend it Like Beckham the Musical, which was amazing. I expected a fun and feel-good theatre experience, but it surpassed that. There were lots of cool effects to show characters interacting with soccer balls, gorgeously designed and coordinated costumes, and some surprisingly emotional songs. It’s getting great reviews, and it deserves them! I’m so happy we decided to try to get tickets.

As usual, today has been all about catching up on homework, cleaning, and trying to get the wifi to let me blog. I have a bit of a sore throat, so I’m hoping a restful day will have me ready to face another week!

See you next Sunday!

“If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.”

– Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Hello friends back home!

Here we are at the end of another busy week, and an exciting one for a very special reason – as of yesterday, we’ve been here for a month! It’s hard not to think ahead and worry about knowing my adventure here has to come to an end eventually, but for now I’m just trying to absorb and enjoy.

I started off the week pretty sick and miserable, but luckily that didn’t last long. We’re getting to the point where classes are starting to get really busy, so there’s no time to be sick! This week we’ve started working on monologues in Shakespeare class, doing some intense text work for Acting, and moved into the eighteenth century for Period Dance. We also had a film workshop this week! The guest teachers filmed us while we did our scenes, and everyone who wasn’t performing got to watch the actors on the screen. I’d never done anything on camera before, so it was a fun and useful new experience.

Our walking lecture this week was on Wednesday, in Kensington Gardens. We learned all about Queen Victoria’s life, her husband Albert, and what they did for arts and sciences in Britain. That evening a group of us went to a reception at the home of a Fordham alum. We got to talk to lots of other students from the business and liberal arts programs, as well as some professors that attended. There was also so much art to look at, from three original Matisse paintings to ancient Greek and Roman pottery. It’s been really interesting meeting these alumni and learning about how Fordham and the London Centre fit into their stories and journeys to success.

Thursday I saw Tipping the Velvet, an adaptation of one of my favorite books! I had no idea there was going to be a play version until I saw the posters on the tube, and it just happened to be playing in the Lyric Hammersmith, which is a ten minute walk from our flats. The production was very entertaining, though not without flaws (mostly the length). It’s only in previews this week, so I’ve been wondering if anything will change before they officially open. I think I might go back then, since it could be a really interesting insight into the process of creating a new work.

Friday after class we all gathered in one of our flats for theatre games and a fun evening unwinding from the week. Then we headed out to the clubs! It’s been great getting to know everyone and being part of such a tight-knit group that works hard together and then goes out and has fun together too. Saturday England lost to Wales in rugby, which was less fun.

Today a big group of us went to the London Zoo as part of an assignment for acting class. It was quite the trek to get there, with some of the train lines closed, packed buses, and a lot of time wasted getting lost. But once we got there we were definitely impressed! We especially enjoyed the meerkats, the “In With the Lemur” exhibit, and watching an okapi eat some leaves. Tonight we’re back in the student lounge at school, finishing up work and getting ready for the week!

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em. Thy Fates open their hands. Let thy blood and spirit embrace them.”

-Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

What a week! It seems like every time I post, life is just getting better and better. I had lots of cool adventures this week all over London and beyond. Sometimes it feels like I spend all my time (and all my money) on the Tube.

 

Tuesday I finished with school at one after an intense monologue workshop session in Shakespeare class. I spent the afternoon at the Hunterian Museum. Housed by the Royal College of Surgeons, it has over 3500 preserved specimens from John Hunter’s collection (dating back to the 1700s). It also has exhibits on the evolution of surgery throughout time.  Despite being pretty disgusting, it was also really interesting, and very different from anything else I’ve done while I’ve been here. I thought the coolest (and ickiest) parts were human fetuses at all stages of development, bones that showed extreme deterioration from syphilis, and the skeleton of a man who was seven feet, seven inches tall!

Wednesday we left straight from class to go to the English National Opera. One of our teachers, Christopher, was hosting a pre-performance talk with some of the production staff, so we got a little history and some insider info about the production before the show. After a break for dinner, we settled into our seats (and I mean really settled in – it was three hours long) for The Barber of Seville. The opera was performed in English (instead of the original Italian), which I didn’t expect, and I’m not really sure I liked. Overall I think opera is something I can appreciate, but don’t necessarily enjoy. I’m still glad we went, though, and I love that our program includes opportunities to see all different kinds of performing arts.

The highlight of classes this week was a workshop on Theatre of the Oppressed. Thursday morning we met with Emma, our interim director, to learn all about Augusto Boal and the techniques he developed for using theatre as direct action in social justice. We played games and explored some of these techniques, just scratching the surface of what Boal created. I’d written a paper about Boal and read a lot about his work, but this workshop was really exciting for me because it was my first opportunity to see and participate in this style of theatre.

Friday evening a group of us from school went out to see the new film version of Macbeth. I didn’t particularly like it as a whole, but Marion Cotillard as Lady M made the whole thing worth it. Then Saturday I had a big, exciting adventure at Thorpe Park! I’d been looking into the park since before I left the States and I could hardly believe I was actually there. We had an awesome day riding coasters and thrill rides, and I left with my coaster count up to 32!

Last night England’s rugby team lost to Australia, which means they’re officially out of the running for the world cup. But other than that it’s seriously been the best week I could have imagined. I love fall and Halloween, so October is a great month, and this week has gotten it off to a great start.

“Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.”

– Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

This blog post brought to you from PARIS! Fall break has begun, and I’m spending the next week here playing tourist with my awesome uncles!

It’s been another exciting week leading up to the break. Monday we found out our scene partners for Stage Combat class and started putting together the fight choreography we’ll be working on for the rest of the semester. We also did mask work in Physical Theatre, a screenwriting workshop, and finished up work on our monologues in Shakespeare class. When we get back from the break it’ll be on to scenes from Twelfth Night, learning the polka in Period Dance, and choreographing our own final pieces for Movement.

Wednesday we went to another show at the National Theatre, Three Days in the Country. I was most impressed by the set design and the acting, though I found the script pretty dated and sexist. Still, it takes a really talented actor to keep me engaged and sympathetic to her character, even when I’m rolling my eyes at the actual words she’s saying.

After our last two days of classes, most of the other LDA kids were gone by Friday afternoon. Since I didn’t leave until this morning, I got the chance to meet up with some Loyola students who are studying at the JFRC this semester and traveled to London for the weekend. We headed to South Bank for drinks, and then went to see Nell Gwynn at the Globe. I’d never really thought about seeing a non-Shakespeare play there, but I’m so glad we went. As one of the first women to act onstage, Nell Gwynn has a really interesting story, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw played her flawlessly (with plenty of brilliant comedic performances from the rest of the cast, too). After the show we went out for late-night breakfast.

This morning I headed off to St. Pancras to catch my train to Paris. My uncles met me at the station and brought me back to our apartment for the week. It’s in Montmartre, and as I type this, I can see the Sacre Coeur all lit up from my window! We spent the afternoon out sightseeing inside the Basilica and around Montmartre, including the Moulin Rouge and the cafe where Amelie was filmed. We’ll be here until next Sunday, so expect plenty of Paris adventures in my next post!

“We the globe can compass soon,

Swifter than the wandering moon”

-Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

What a week in Paris! I’m a day late on this blog update because it’s been a whirlwind coming home, unpacking, and getting back into the swing of classes. It was such a wonderful opportunity to spend a whole week exploring a new city, and so good to spend time with my Uncle Jeff and Uncle Brent. We definitely kept busy!

Monday we set out for the Parc Des Buttes-chaumont for some exploring and some great views. We walked all over, took pictures, and watched a woman feed birds right next to a “don’t feed the birds sign.” The leaves aren’t really turning in London yet, but Paris was full of lovely fall colors! After that we found our way to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, Shakespeare’s Bookstore, and a great falafel place for lunch. Then we spent the afternoon at Luxembourg gardens enjoying the views and the statues. Tuesday we spent most of the day at Versailles, mostly inside because it was freezing! In the evening, we came back into the city and watched the sun set from the roof of Printemps, a department store.

Wednesday was our busiest and definitely my favorite day. We spent the morning at the Garnier Opera House. I expected the beautiful architecture, lavish ballrooms, and even the giant, colorful Chagall painting on the ceiling of the auditorium, but I did not expect them to have costumes on display! They had dance and opera costumes from Sleeping Beauty, The Marriage of Figaro, and Balanchine’s Jewels, among others, and I was so excited to see such beautiful pieces on display and to be able to appreciate them up close in a way that an audience never would during a performance. That afternoon we went to the Louvre, which was honestly a blur of incredible art from all around the world and throughout history. My favorite piece was the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a recently restored ancient Greek statue. I was completely struck by its size, the detail in the sculpting, and the sense of movement and power the artist managed to convey through marble.

We spent most of our day Thursday shopping! We also went into Notre Dame, which was super beautiful as it was starting to get dark outside. Friday we saw more amazing art at the Musee d’Orsay, including some works by Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, and Monet (their Impressionist collection was huge). They also had a temporary exhibit on the beginnings of women’s presence in photography, which was obviously great and right up my alley.

Saturday we went to another Gothic church, St. Denis. My uncles had never been there before, and we studied it in Honors seminar my freshman year, so it was an interesting experience all around. Most of the French kings from the 10th to the 18th centuries are buried there. It is also considered the first Gothic church, so it’s definitely exciting architecturally, too! That afternoon we shopped and went to some sites from the movie Amelie, and then finished off a great week with a delicious dinner at my uncles’ favorite restaurant, Chez Toinette.

Sunday I packed up and my uncles took me to the train station. It was a quick journey back to London, and I was surprised how much the subway and bus ride back to my flat felt like coming home. I can’t believe this adventure is halfway over!!

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.

-Shakespeare, Hamlet

OKAY, I’m going to try to make this quick because I have been doing homework all. evening. and technically it’s already Monday. Let’s get going!

I had a great first week back from break, but a very stressful one. We’re putting our scenes in Acting class on their feet, starting read-throughs for Twelfth Night in Shakespeare class, and writing reviews for Dramatic Criticism. We’re also getting into more in-depth neutral mask work in Physical Theatre and adding onto our fight choreography for Stage Combat. I feel like I do homework from the time we get out of class to the time I go to bed . . . good thing it’s all such fun work!

After two solid evenings of homework, it was exciting to get to go to the theatre on Wednesday. We saw Farinelli and the King at the Duke of York’s, and it was my favorite piece of theatre we’ve seen as a class. I loved everything about it: the acting, the script, the music, the scenic and costume design. All of the elements came together in a way that was unlike everything else we’ve seen. The play created a cohesive, immersive world that brought the audience into the space – literally: there were box seats on the set itself. All of the relationships between the characters were complex and alive. It was a privilege to see Mark Rylance work, along with the rest of the stunning cast.

Thursday evening, after another tough day of classes and homework, my flatmate Ashley hosted a little dinner. She made chicken parmesan and we all relaxed and talked about our fall breaks in various parts of Europe. We listened to music and ended up talking until midnight and going to bed full. It was a great, relaxing evening!

Friday we had a fun evening to celebrate making it through a very hard week! We all got together in one of the girls’ flats, a few people baked cookies, and we watched I Married an Axe Murderer, which was absolutely terrible but perfect for getting in the Halloween spirit in the goofiest of ways. Then a group of us went out dancing! Saturday was a very lazy day, and today’s been all about the homework . . . except for a couple hours this evening, watching Gogglebox (a great British reality show).

 

Now I really need to go to sleep. Got to be ready for a busy week!

(More pictures to come when the internet is a little faster!)

Conceal me what I am, and be my aid

For such disguise as haply shall become

The form of my intent.

-Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

This week’s quote is brought to you by Twelfth Night for a multitude of reasons. First, it’s Shakespeare’s best play (in my opinion, I mean, but I’m totally right) and everyone could use a little more Twelfth Night in their lives. Second, we’re working on it in my Shakespeare class and have been doing lots of really in-depth text work on it this week, so it’s been at the forefront of my mind (not to mention the paper I’m supposed to be writing on it for one of my other classes). Also, I got to see an all-female production of it at the Rose Theatre this week. And of course, yesterday was Halloween, so I spent the whole weekend happily disguised. And it was awesome.

This week, as always, was busy and stressful and exciting. We got our scenes for Stage Combat class: mine is from “Swetnam the Woman-Hater Arraigned by Women,” and I get to defeat a character literally named Misogynos. Basically, it’s right up my ally. Our acting teacher Gabby was gone this week, so we had a little extra time during the day, but we were also having extra Shakespeare classes because Yolanda is going to be gone next week (the timetable has been so crazy). Oh, and Yolanda gave out our parts for Twelfth Night. I’m sharing the role of Olivia with my friend Lindsay. I’m excited, of course, but honestly every female role in that play is completely badass for different reasons, so I would have been thrilled regardless of casting. Have I mentioned it’s my favorite play?

Speaking of Twelfth Night, the production we saw at the Rose Theatre was amazing. In one of my first blog posts, I talked about visiting the theatre: a small playing space set on a balcony that overlooks the excavation site of the original Rose. It was cool to return to the space and actually see how they used it – and they used it incredibly well, with some scenes set all the way back on the other side of the preserved site (like when Viola washes up on shore, or when Malvolio is in the dungeon). The ugly concrete wall behind them became basically a cyc, meaning that they could wash the whole space in colorful lights. Also, it was an all-female production of an already pretty gender-screwy play, which was super exciting for me. And it was honestly just impressive that they managed to do Twelfth Night with only six actors.

Wednesday we saw Medea at the Almeida Theatre as a whole class. They don’t really give out programs before shows here; typically you have to pay for them and who wants to do that??? So I was surprised and completely star-struck when the lights came up and I saw Kate Fleetwood standing centerstage! (If you haven’t seen the Patrick Stewart version of Macbeth, please watch it. She’s an amazing Lady M.) The play was a contemporary adaptation that, for the most part, I really enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy Medea, I guess). It was elegantly designed and almost painfully tense. The script got a little repetitive, with lots of shouting matches between Medea and her ex-husband, but Kate Fleetwood’s performance felt like it was constantly moving forwards and building towards the inevitable ending. It was such a privilege to get to see her onstage.

Thursday morning, we had a workshop with an agent who came to talk to us about what it means to be represented and give us some tips about how to get an agent in the future. Then I had a really good Alexander Technique lesson where we reflected on my progress throughout the semester so far, and a fun Audition Technique session working on Phebe’s speech from As You Like It. Friday I didn’t have class until 1pm, but I came in a little early to finish up a paper and to help set up for a party! Our Shakespeare teacher, Yolanda, has a birthday this coming week, but since she’s going to be out of town we celebrated on Friday. All of LDA and some of our other teachers came to surprise her, and we had decorations and cake and everything. It was a really fun end to our week!

 

After class on Friday, I spent a few more hours frantically doing homework so I could be ready for the weekend! That evening we all got together in the flats and hung out in our costumes before heading out. We went to a giant club with lots of spooky decorations and everybody in awesome costumes. Saturday I was super lazy. I watched Young Frankenstein, read a little bit for class, and then watched New Zealand pummel Australia in the Rugby World Cup final. Of course we got back into our costumes and went out again last night!

Today I slept in and did homework again. I’m all finished with just about everything now, except I need to go work on my Movement piece. After that I’ll be free for the night to get rested up for the coming week!