What we May Be
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.
