With Hoops of Steel

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!)