“If it be true that good wine needs no bush, ’tis true that a good play needs no epilogue. Yet to good wine they do use good bushes, and good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues.”

-Shakespeare, As You Like It

This (last) post is coming at you from my own bed in Kansas City. I got in about 24 hours ago, and so far I’ve slept, mostly unpacked, gone to an audition (and gotten a callback!), and somewhat gotten back on central standard time. It’s 8:30 and I’m exhausted, though, so that last one maybe not so much.

After I finished my blog last Monday morning, I headed out to do some souvenir shopping. I spent a while doing that, including stops at the National Theatre bookstore and the Globe shop. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Tate Modern. I was honestly surprised at how much I loved it! Usually I prefer more classical art, but the Tate was super cool, especially the “Energy and Process” and “Citizens and States” collections, and a video exhibit on the restoration of a vandalized Mark Rothko painting.

Tuesday was a really exciting day. In the morning I went to the National Portrait Gallery, something I’d been wanting to do all semester. I spent a long time there, looking at portraits from the 1500s all the way up to present day. I thought the coolest part was a temporary exhibit, “Face of Britain,” with five different galleries scattered around the museum, each focusing on a theme of Power, Love, Fame, Self, or People. I also really liked the Victorian section, and of course, the portrait of Shakespeare. That afternoon I got to go to the National Theatre Archive, where they keep records on past productions. I’m doing an independent study project on the play “Greenland,” which premiered there in 2011. I got to look at the technical scripts, the costume bible, the programme, and even watch a DVD of the show! It was such a great experience to get such firsthand information for a paper, and to get a peek behind the scenes of a theatre we’ve seen so many shows at this semester. Then that night we went to see an honestly terrible production of “Macbeth” at the Young Vic, which I really don’t want to talk about…

Wednesday I had a slow morning trying to convince myself to brave a third museum in three days, but I’m so glad I ended up going to the Victoria and Albert. It’s a massive museum that I barely got a taste of, but it was so worth it. I spent most of my time in the historical fashion exhibit, where they had extant garments from as early as the 1700s. After that I had a little time left over to explore the Theatre and Performance section before rushing back to have a quick dinner before a very exciting evening. We saw the Book of Mormon! It was great! I’d seen it before in Chicago, but it was an interesting experience seeing it in London. The audience seemed less scandalized by some of the language, some of the ad-libbed references were different . . . the actors did a pretty good job with the American accents, though!

Thursday I went back to the Natural History Museum to see everything I missed last time . . . and even then, I couldn’t do it. In the end, we had time to do Dinosaurs, Mammals, Human Biology, “Creepy Crawlies,” and Ecology, which felt like a pretty thorough afternoon. I liked the dinosaurs and mammals a lot . . . the centipedes and scorpions, not so much. We kept busy in the museum until closing time, and then we headed out for ice skating just outside the museum! It was really fun and pretty with all the lights, and we were proud that we didn’t fall throughout the whole session!

I spent Friday packing up all the stuff I’d managed to scatter throughout the week, and trying not to be too emotional about having to leave. We watched Bill Murray’s Christmas special (I’d recommend it) and went out to the food market in St. Katharine’s Docks (basically right downstairs from their flat). That night we went to a really cool bar called The Alchemist, where they do science-themed cocktails! I had a color-changing one where they gave me two tiny mixed drinks in little Erlenmyer flasks, one yellow and one bright blue, and when I poured them both into my glass, it turned pink (complete with dry ice to make it bubble)! After that I had one last pint at the Dickens Inn, a pub I went to several times over the semester, and went to stock up on British cookies and candy to bring home.

Saturday morning came too soon, and we were off to the airport by 7:45. I think I was awake for something like 20 hours by the time I finally made it to bed last night. I don’t think I’m completely back on KC time yet, but I’m getting there.

So, to sum up: I took 11 challenging classes, saw 21 plays, made 19 great new LDA friends, spent probably around $500 and countless hours on the Tube, rode 6 roller coasters, wrote 4 papers, learned 4 new monologues, went to eight museums (by a loose, exhausted count), took hundreds of pictures, and fell in love with one great city. Don’t worry, London. I’ll be back.

“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”

-Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Wednesday we had our Acting performances! We rehearsed in the morning, had a rushed and stressful lunch, and then sat to watch the other group perform scenes from Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.” It was cool to see the results of all of their efforts after just hearing them talk and vent about the process all term. Then we set up the classroom for our scenes from “La Ronde.” The performance went really well! We’d never performed for an audience, so we’d never had laughter or any kind of response during. It was amazing how, even in an “open rehearsal” in a classroom, we could feed off the audience’s energy. I’ve learned so much about acting from Gabby’s class, and I feel like she gave us so many tools to take with us for future performances.

That night all the students and faculty went out for a fancy dinner, and Kathy gave us our diplomas for completing the program. After that, since we didn’t have anything to do on Friday, we finally made it to a club in Picadilly we’ve been meaning to go to since the first week! It was weird to be out on a Thursday, but we were all glad to have one last night out together!

We spent Friday packing, returning books to the library, and saying goodbye to Kathy and Lesley and Sophia in the office. That evening we all piled our leftover food together to share it so it wouldn’t go to waste. We stayed up all night talking and packing, not wanting it to end.

Saturday morning we had to be out by ten, so we were up early to finish cleaning the flats. Lots of people headed to the airport, but I got on the Tube to East London, where I’m staying this week with people I met while I’ve been here. After dropping my things off, we headed out for some exploring – and we didn’t have to go very far. We spent the whole day enjoying the Tower of London – just half a mile away from their flat. Then we went to an “American BBQ” restaurant, which was pretty good, but it’s hard to impress a KC girl with BBQ from anywhere else.

Sunday we did absolutely nothing, which was AWESOME. Today I’m off for exploring and souvenir shopping!

“Like as the waves make to the pebbl’d shore,

So do our minutes hasten to their end.”

-Shakespeare, Sonnet 60

We’re getting close to the end, folks. Most of our finals are done now, so we’re just in rehearsals for our last two performances and trying to get in all of the last-minute sightseeing we’ve put off until now.

Monday we had our Movement assessment, where everybody performed our own pieces, self-choreographed alone or in groups of two or three. It was probably one of the most challenging assignments I’ve ever had, to come up with four full minutes of choreography that showcased a character and told a story through movement. Some people’s were comedic, some were dramatic, and a few were even political. It was incredible to watch everyone’s pieces and see all the talent and huge creative variety that went into the work. (Then that night was awesome because I had one last really special birthday celebration at the restaurant where they film First Dates. A+.)

Tuesday was full of more assessments (okay, just two, but it felt like a reeealllly long day). After a brush-up rehearsal, we all did our Period Dance final, and then another brush-up rehearsal for Stage Combat. Since then it’s been back-to-back rehearsals for Shakespeare and Acting. Those final performances (technically “open rehearsals”) are coming up this week! Add that to our final papers for Dramatic Criticism and Space, Place, and Text . . . we may only still be attending two classes, but we’re keeping busy anyway!

Wednesday night was amazing – we went to Lates at the Science Museum, which is when they keep it open late for adults only, and they have bars and special events throughout the museum. They even had a silent disco, a roped off dancing area where you wear headphones, so only the people dancing can hear the music. It was such a fun way to celebrate being done with our first round of finals!

Thursday we had a half-day and immediately headed home to start cooking for Thanksgiving! I made dip for before dinner, and chocolate cupcakes, and my flatmate made the chickens so I got to be a witness to that whole process too. We ate around six and then spent the whole night talking and digesting for hours. I’ve never been away from home on Thanksgiving before, but it was actually a really good day. Of course it’s not the same, but it sort of still felt like I was with family.

I’ve been trying to pack activities into my last few weekends here, and this one was no exception. Friday night was Lates at the Natural History Museum, which was even more fun than the Science Museum (though no silent disco here). I really hope I have a chance to come back to this museum after classes end, because it’s huge and there’s so much to explore. Saturday morning I got up early for Borough Market, which was just a bunch of really good food and fancy produce. We spent that evening in our flats hanging out and playing theatre games. Then Sunday was Camden Market, probably my favorite market I’ve been to. After that, even though it was raining, we went to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace (finally!) and walked all the way to South Bank for the Rekorderlig Cider Lodge (basically a winter festival with a bunch of bars and different fruit ciders). Then back to school for some last-minute work on our Shakespeare performance.

As of this very late blog post, we have one more day of class, two days of finals, and then I get a little over a week to explore before I head back. I’m going to be very busy, because I have a lot more of London to see!

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”

Shakespeare, Hamlet

Birthday blog post!

This week has been another exciting one, even though I have been sick for most of it and busy with homework for all of it. We are officially done with classes that aren’t Acting or Shakespeare. We had our Voice final assessment and presentations of our speeches from Audition class, plus an awesome character/relationship workshop with Kathy. We’ve also been getting ready for our final presentations in Period Dance, Stage Combat, and Movement.

On Tuesday we went on our last group theatre visit! We saw Waste at the National Theatre, which was pretty much another bust. It dealt with themes of corruption, hypocrisy, and sexual scandal. The 1920s costumes were sleek and stylish, on top of a surprisingly minimalist set with some stunning (and obviously high-budget) scene changes. I was surprised and a little star-struck to see Olivia Williams (who I loved in Dollhouse) in the role of Amy O’Connell, a woman who gets pregnant from an affair with a politician. Despite a long script with some fairly tedious and esoteric discussions of early twentieth century British politics, I definitely appreciated that the actors were giving, collectively, a great performance. When all else failed, I could sit back and enjoy their voice and dialect work, which was really impressive.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a tickle in my throat which kept getting worse over the week. Luckily we didn’t have any big plans, so I was able to spend the evenings working on my Movement piece and trying to rest at home (I have watched a LOT of That Mitchell and Webb Look this week). On Thursday I was in bed by 10pm! The goal was to be all rested up and better by Friday. I definitely wasn’t. . . but I was not letting that stop me from having a fun birthday.

Since we knew we would all be studying today, we decided to go out and celebrate on Friday night instead. We had breakfast for dinner in our flats, then headed out to a fun karaoke bar called the Spread Eagle. The bar was super tiny, but we still managed to squeeze in most of LDA. Our original plan was to go clubbing afterwards, but since most of us are sick, we didn’t make it. . . still, it was a super fun night and we sang our hearts out impressively for a bunch of people who can barely talk.

I had a really quiet Saturday watching tv and trying to get some rest. Today I was up bright and early and off to Shoreditch market. There were tons of art shops, designer and handmade foods, and all kinds of food. On the way back (well, actually, out of my way, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do) I stopped off to Chipotle and then got off the train at South Kensington on special birthday orders from my mom. Guys, I am so thankful for my family today. They found a bakery in London in order to make my birthday special from 4,000 miles away.

Tonight we’re all at school working on our Period Dance and Movement pieces. I’m still sick, and honestly it’s really hard to keep my eyes open, but it’s been the best birthday weekend a girl could ask for. I’m in an amazing city, doing what I love, with people I feel so lucky to have met. London, you sure know how to make a girl feel special.

“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!!

Come, sit down, every mother’s son, and rehearse your parts.

– Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Well, you can tell I’ve had a crazy week, because I took very few pictures!

The big source of stress this week has been our Movement final, which is a four to five minute solo (or small group) piece we have to choreograph ourselves. Four minutes of choreography is a lot, but I’m really enjoying the challenge. I’m up to three and a half minutes as of this morning, so I’m feeling pretty good about it! Other class adventures include “Hot Seat” in-character improvised interviews in Acting, putting together our scenes in Stage Combat, and a very heated discussion about Medea in Dramatic Criticism. We also turned in our second paper on Friday, so this weekend has felt like a big sigh of relief.

Honestly, I’m going to kind of skim over the week, because we had a massive weekend. Most of my evenings were full of homework anyway, except for Thursday, when we saw Measure for Measure at the Young Vic. I had never seen the play before (and read it for the first time last week, in preparation for going to see it), but I absolutely loved the production. It was done in a contemporary setting, which I thought worked really well with the themes of sexual corruption and, on the other extreme, sexual puritanism; they also used video projections of the actors throughout, which was a cool way to illustrate how, when we are surrounded by media, our private lives tend to become everyone’s business. (The only downside – apart from some questionable acting choices from Isabella – was that that night was Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Day, so we missed out on the opportunity to experience a very English holiday)

After turning in our papers and enjoying a relaxing, class-free afternoon on Friday, we were up early Saturday morning to get on the bus for Stratford-upon-Avon. It’s about a two-hour drive from London, and it’s the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and his grave. I hoped to have time to visit the grave, but a group of us made the decision to use our free time to go to the Museum of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which cost five pounds and was worth about that (but super silly and fun, so still a good time). Then we all met at the Swan Theatre for the RSC’s performance of Love for Love.

I didn’t really like the performance, to be honest, but it might have just been due to personal taste. The costume design was probably my favorite part, so I mostly paid attention to that when the play was . . . less than completely engaging. After a dinner break, we went to see another show, Relatively Speaking at the Bear Pit Theatre. We didn’t realize until we got there that it was a community theatre production, which basically sums it up. It was interesting to see some community theatre here, because we’ve been seeing such high-budget shows, but I think I’ll keep spending my money on those rather than returning to the Bear Pit.

Our bus got us back to our flats close to midnight, so we went to bed pretty much right away. Sunday morning I got up early to head in to school and work on my Movement piece. Then, once all my homework was done, I hung out with friends. We spent the afternoon in Picadilly Circus, exploring the big fancy department stores and looking at the Christmas decorations.

This post is late, I know, but it’s currently Monday morning and I have class in about twenty minutes. Ready for another crazy week!

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!

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!)

“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!!

“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!