Tech time

Quite a lot has happened since my last post. And its only been a few days. We are now heading in to the final countdown. Two days until the first performance of our devised piece, five until David gets here, eight until I fly back to the States and a few more after that to finish up my Christmas shopping. Lots to do. Also somewhere in there I need to write this paper.

We have been steadily progressing with the show. Everything is blocked now, and we began teching everything on Friday. Saturday we didn't have any of the tech crew there, but we did have a chance to fine tune some of the scenes and add more to others. We also ran the show from beginning to end. This was a big morale booster. I think it reminded everyone just how much work we have done in the last week. It did also remind us just how much work we need to do in the next two days, but hey you take every victory you can get. The running time is fine so we will not have to cut any more material, which I think everyone is relieved about. Reminders for myself for the upcoming week: Stay focused, stay positive, don't borrow trouble/worry.

Last night my cousin took me out to a fabulous dinner, and then a wonderful evening of chamber music. We went and saw Handel's Messiah, performed by a chamber orchestra in full period garb. It was rather fun. A little silly if you ask me, but fun. We also had seats that were basically on the stage, behind the chorus. So we couldn't really watch the soloists at all, but we did get to watch the conductor which was fun. It was nice to spend some time away from school, listen to some music not in our show, chat with other awesome people. Relax a bit. I am kind of ready for a break.

Its really interesting, when I was living on my own in Seattle I really missed being on a college campus. I missed having everyone there all the time. Now I am back in that environment, true not living on a campus but our intensive schedule produces the same effect. Its a little overwhelming to be honest. I really love the other students in our group. I enjoy working with them and I enjoy socializing with them. But I miss having other social groups too. You can tell that we are all currently a bit burnt out and stressed about our show. But since we hang out with each other all the time we don't ever get away from that stress. Ah well, it will all pass in a few days.


Really looking forward to spending time with David next weekend. To be honest I am also starting to worry about the weekend. I have a tendency to over plan, and I always want things to be perfect. However many of my great ideas for our time have fallen through. I really wanted to take him to see some theatre while he was here. It has so far proven to be impossible to get any tickets that are a) for the shows we wanted to see b) together c) within our price range or d) any of the above. I think the plans we have a made are going to be really great. We'll see some sights, check out some Christmas markets, and I am taking David to his very first Ballet, which will be lots of fun. I cant help wishing that we had more time, but I cant let that overwhelm my enjoyment of the time we do have. See what I mean about borrowing trouble?!

Today was not nearly as productive as I had hoped. Did get a little bit of reading done for my paper, but I didn't start my first draft like I told myself I would. Well that's just one more thing I can throw on the pile to worry about later. Right now my mental and physical well being trumps the paper. Plus its not due until after New Years. No problem!

The Clock is Ticking

Oh my goodness. I am exhausted. It has been a busy week. We finally finished blocking the show today, and we started tech as well. We are slowly making progress. Slowly. I think in the end we will be fine. Not that we can chill out in the next couple of days, but we don't need to panic.We have 4 days left, well 3 days of rehearsals until we open our devised piece.

We have spent a lot of time in the last few days just putting down the basics for each scene and moving forward. So we have a lot of detail work to do over the weekend. And then we will finish tech on Monday. We have cut the show down quite a bit, but I think we may have to do a little more trimming. Hopefully though as we clean up transitions and each scene gets tighter we will take off a lot of time. We do need to keep thinking about what can be cut though, as we have an extra performance next Friday that has to be 20 minutes shorter. That is going to be interesting.

We are all pretty exhausted at the moment. I am looking forward to having a day off on Monday. This will be the first weekend I have had to myself in a while. I love traveling and having everyone visit, but I need a day to myself. I plan on shutting myself in my room and cracking down on the paper I am supposed to write over the break. That and do exciting things like laundry and grocery shopping. I cant wait. And then next weekend starts the break.

David will be here a week from tonight. I cant wait. I am looking forward to showing him the city and all of my regular haunts. I've been brainstorming all sorts of fun places to take him. And then after that its back to the states for a real break, which I am also really looking forward to.

However I have to get through the next 10 days first. So on that note, I am going to retire early this evening and hope that a full nights sleep will help me stay calm and collected through tomorrows rehearsal.

Looking ahead

Music music and more music. Can you guess what we worked on today. Blocking, no wait, you were right. Music. I know we needed it, and do still need to go and work on some of the music, but I am getting antsy about staging this thing.

We have a week until we present this piece, and we wont be having rehearsals at least one of those days. If we do end up having Saturday rehearsal (which I am all in favor of) we will be missing several people as they cannot get off work. This would be fine if we made up for it by having later rehearsals all week, which had been discussed earlier, but it is looking like we wont be staying late. I am a bit puzzled by this. Well we shall see how the week progresses, panic always does wonders for peoples motivation!

Tomorrow we start buckling down on the staging. And at the end of every day we will do a run through of the material. I believe that's when we will start cutting stuff as well. Right now we have a 2 hour and 20 minute show. That's an hour longer than our time slot. So quite a lot is going to have to go. Everyone is getting quite nervous about this. No one wants to get attached to a piece to find out that it wont go in the show. And we are all understandably worried about getting our fair share of attention. I hope that with a more impartial eye than our own the cuts will be equitable. There are many reasons in favor of keeping and cutting material, some of which may not be known to us currently. And who knows if things are weighted in one direction now they may shift the other way when we get to the showcase or the contemporary show. We really have no way of knowing. I just have to force myself to trust the decisions being made and not let myself get stressed by any of this. Really the important thing is that I am doing the work for myself. As long as I am continually working and improving then I am getting my monies worth, and shouldn't get upset about casting. Easier said than believed, but I have to keep trying.

We are starting to think ahead for the next unit. After Christmas we come back to work on our performance research projects. I have been approached by two fabulous ladies to join them in their project, which is terribly exciting. I think the three of us will work quite well together. Topics are no where near being decided on, but there are some neat ideas floating around. Starting to get excited. I do need to buckle down and work on my own paper first. I want to have a solid draft written before I arrive home at Christmas so I can spend my time with my family and not panicking about writing. That may mean that most of the paper is written on the plane ride home, but hey that's 8 solid hours where I cant wander off and procrastinate! This evening I am going to focus on reading some of the research I have gathered in hopes that it will do me some good. Goal for this weekend, start writing!!!

Some thoughts to think! Here is an exercise for all of you. What is a good musical for a group of 14 women and 8 men? Preferably something ensemble based, or at least with considerable stuff for an ensemble to do. A range of contemporary and classical voices, movers rather than dancers for the most part. An accidentally forwarded e-mail conversation has gotten everyone here thinking and arguing. Yet another thing for us to worry about. I rather enjoy playing this game as long as no one gets too invested in any one choice (because you know it will never be that one). Send some ideas my way and I'll share some of the ones we've been tossing around!

Divisive Devising

We started a new unit a few weeks ago, let me tell you about it. We are devising, as a class, a new piece entitled 'A Brief History of Everything'. That's right, all 22 of us plus 3 teachers are devising a theatre piece together. If you think that's too many cooks in the kitchen you would be correct!

We started with a title and an interesting brainstorming tool. Everyone was supposed to come in with an idea of something they wanted to go in our brief history. We got a range of ideas, everything from MGM movie musicals, to modern England, to backwards movement, to courtship through the ages. We then spent the day breaking into groups to discuss these ideas. Over the course of the next week we decided that we would use the seven ages of man speech by Shakespeare. You know the one 'All the worlds a stage...' etc. We would have sections for each of the ages.

To start off we came up with a list of possible songs to use to fit these original ideas, then our instructors brought in music for us to work on in small groups. We were a bit confused by some of the choices they brought in. Very few of their list had anything to do with the list we had all come up with together. From there we all brought in scenes and some folks got started writing new material to go into the show.

As the piece has progressed tensions have run quite high. Everyone is stressing about this piece. People were worried because we didn't have a structure, or they were unhappy with the music choices, or we weren't sure which pieces we were using and which were being cut. All valid concerns, but most of the tension came from the fact we didn't have instant results. No one was willing to trust the process, which is slow, but will eventually come together.

Add to that the lack of communication between the different instructors and you get a big mess. I think our main problem throughout this whole process has been a lack of communication. There is a rather big disconnect and stuff gets lost or twisted in the shuffle. Everyone has a very different idea the kind of piece we are working on. To be honest it has been really frustrating. Both the disorganization and the stress. Everyone needs to chill out, but also people have got to work on their communication skills.

I think however that things are finally coming together. We have a basic running order of the program, and now we just clean and fine tune. There is still quite a lot that is up in the air. We have more material than we can use at the moment so we will have to cut a bit of that. We also need to start blocking everything and working on how we transition from one piece to the next. I think this is where it is going to start to get interesting though. The movement/staging stuff is all being handled by one of our teachers and I think he has some really great ideas. I think we are going to have some really neat things in this show if we get our act together.

I really just want everyone to take a deep breath as we move into this next week (myself included) and really buckle down and get some work done. We have over a week until we perform, which is quite a lot of time if we use our rehearsals well. So key words for this next week are calm and focused.

On a totally side note we finally got our evaluations from last term. I am quite pleased with some of the comments. My favorites were from my acting teacher: Katie is getting better and better every time I see her. She can be quite bold if pushed. And  from the assistant course leader: There is sophisticated work ahead that one can look forward to from Kate. Add to that the fact that I got a 1st, and overall I am quite pleased. There are still things I need to work on. I spent a lot of the term working on my lower range and belt, which has come quite a long way, but it means I haven't brought in as much music for my higher register. I want to remind them that I am actually a high soprano. I know I also need to start working on some more 'serious' acting. I tend to gravitate towards the comedic, and even when I bring in a serious piece the teachers have me play the comedic side to it. So I just need to find a balance to all of this. I don't want to get pigeonholed in any one 'type'. I feel my first term at grad school went pretty well considering.

Today is going to be interesting

Just had to cross a picket line to get to classes this morning.

I appreciate that times are hard and everyone is struggling. And I support workers protesting having their pensions cut. However I am going into considerable debt to be here this year, and I want to get as much as I can out of my education. So while I support your right to picket, I still need to get to class.

Sorry!

On a similar note, immediately afterwards I fell up the stairs while carrying heavy pots and pans, bruising my knees and elbows. Karma?

Its Show Time

I have had the amazing good luck to have seen three very different shows in the past two weeks. While I was in Barcelona Rebecca and I saw a rather mediocre amateur production of Private Eyes by Stephen Dietz. The show was too confusing to be straightforward and not confusing enough to be really interesting. The actors were all sort of half hearted, the set was boring and the show was miss represented through its advertising. All in all it was a total disappointment. Enough of that.

Back in London a bunch of us went out for a friends birthday with the aim of seeing a West End Musical. After comparing ticket prices and peoples preferences we settled on .... wait for it... Ghost, the Musical. Yes, Ghost, pottery wheel and all. Interesting. Now I must admit I have never actually seen the movie, and to be honest I don't feel a pressing urge to go out and watch it even now.  The show itself was interesting. The scenography was incredible. I mean, really really cool design. A lot of fantastic stage effects. People walking through walls, disappearing, things flying through the air. All done flawlessly. Beautiful. The scenery was all big video screens. And there were a lot of neon colors and video clips playing simultaneously with the onstage action. Fascinating and compelling, but totally overwhelming. The poor ensemble. Any time they would come on for a number the screens would go crazy and no one would pay attention to the people.  The show itself is not great. The music is generic and totally forgettable. The actors were so over amplified that you couldn't understand them. And the story line is trite. So if you are interested in the design (which is worth seeing) go see the show. If you want to see a good show, don't go see Ghost.

Then this past weekend a few of us got together to see the West End production of Crazy For You. This was absolutely lovely. They didn't do anything crazy with it.  The choreography and dancing were wonderful. The ensemble were distinctive and fun to watch. The whole thing was just perfect. The show itself is a bit dated, and it was interesting to see such an American show played here. There were several bits and jokes that didn't work simply because the audience was primarily English. For example the whole song about being English (Chin up, carry on old chum etc etc) really didn't work at all. But on the whole it was simple, and lovely. The kind of show that you cant help but feel great after watching. I wasn't hugely fond of the leading lady, but not to the point where it detracted from the overall experience.

One of the interesting things I noticed about the west end shows was the quality of everyone's American accents. Basically, atrocious. Especially in Ghost. Everyone was going for the sort of New York/New Jersey cop awfulness. It was not pretty. The two leads were fine, although I have yet to check their bios to see if they are actually American. That was the case with Crazy For You, the lead guy (who was wonderful by the way) had a bio that featured mostly work in New York. The girl, who's southern accent was lacking, was not. This I find this quite encouraging, as I do have an actual American accent. Hopefully it will work in my favor!

Spain Time

Right, so I've fallen quite a bit behind. So I am going to try and break this up in to several smaller posts, as quite a lot has happened. Where should I begin. Well we started a new unit at Central, but as that is ongoing I am going to leave that one for last. Also I really need to collect my thoughts about that one. So I'll start with Spain!

To put it simply Spain was pretty incredible. It was rather a whirlwind trip, and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had a blast. My best friend (or HLM) Rebecca is currently living in Barcelona. She is there for the fall working on some cool top secret project involving 3D printers. So I figured what better excuse to get some jet-setting in to my schedule. Mainly though it was a chance to get to spend some quality time with her. After living together for 2 years after college I've been going though severe Rebecca withdrawal since she moved to Pittsburgh last fall. Amazing that we should reconnect on the other side of the ocean!!

One of the first things we did when I arrived last Friday was to visit the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's famous unfinished Basilica. This is perhaps Barcelona's most easily spotted landmark as it towers above all of the surrounding architecture. It is also absolutely incredible. I mean holy cow, this building is amazing. And it isn't even close to being finished. At the moment the target finish date is 2030. There were models inside chronicling the progress of the building. It is impressive both what they have completed and what is still left to do. I think it is going to end up being nearly half again as tall as it is now, if not more. It will be truly massive.

Even aside from the scale of the building the Sagrada Familia is awe inspiring. The carvings above both the front and back entrances are absolutely gorgeous. And the stained glass windows are incredible. The inside of the basilica is stunning. I don't know whether this is part of the design, or just a side effect of the current construction but there is only stained glass in one half of the basilica, the side with the altar. So as you walk from the back of the room towards the altar the light goes from this austere white light, to this stunning pattern of color. It is an amazing effect. I could go on about this building for ages, it was incredible. Basically Rebecca and I walked in after admiring the facade for a while and our brains turned into puddles of goo due to the awesomeness of this building.

During the rest of my trip we saw quite a bit more of Gaudi's architecture. It is all pretty incredible. We visited Park Guell, although we got lost on the way and arrived after it had gotten dark. This had the unexpected bonus of turning the trip into a sort of spelunking trip. Ok not really, but we felt like we were in really interesting caves, while we explored the archways in the dark. It was fun! We also stumbled across several other buildings designed by Gaudi while we were walking around Barcelona. Including one that looks like a dragon. Basically I think I need to live there!

Lets see other highlights of the trip... Well I discovered what Iberian Ham is, and its pretty gross. Basically wherever you go, including sketchy shops in the middle of the metro, they sell whole pig legs. Not terribly pleasant to pass all the time! We went to a flea market where you could buy everything including the kitchen sink. I learned what a 3D printer is, and its awesome. I learned how to play Settlers of Catan in Spanish. Ok the game was in Spanish, I just learned what each of the little pictures meant. And most importantly I got to catch up with Rebecca. Yay! I am still lobbying to get her up here before she heads back to the states. That way the two of us can go to the Doctor Who Experience together!

Stay tuned for another exciting installment tomorrow. Coming up we have West End musicals, a Flash Mob in St Pancras station, American Thanksgiving abroad and the Devised Unit!

Behind the Lines

Friday we had our first performance of the term.

Behind the Lines. Rememberance day, 11/11/11. Our performance was devised around the words of soldiers. Throughout the previous weeks we had all brought in material we had found. Speeches, letters, poems and songs, all by soldiers and others who had been affected by war. We had pieces spanning several different wars, different countries and different languages. Everyone brought something different to the table.

The process was quite interesting. I really loved the range of material everyone found. In the end though, I think the focus ended up being to much on collecting material. We didnt start putting the piece together as a whole until the last week or so. Everyone had done individual work on their pieces, and we had all learned several choral numbers, but we didnt really touch on the structure of the piece until quite late in the process. Everything did pull together. I think in the end we did have quite an interesting production, and a lot of the audience found it quite moving. I think though had we focused more on the overall picture we could have gone even further with it. There were moments where interest flagged, where pauses felt arbitrary and things got a little too meaningful. On the whole though I think we were 'absolutely not bad'.

We were reminded several times throughout the process that it was highly unusual for us to have a performance this early into the course. For that I think we should be proud of ourselves that we stepped up to that challenge. However I think we can do so even more. I am eager to move on to the next project, to push ourselves further.

Its Too Darn Hot

All right, after a rather rough couple of days I am back at school and back on my feet. I need to remind  myself to take a few deep breaths every once in a while, collect myself and refocus. Everyone hits bumps at some point along their way and the important thing is to get back on track. So here I go.

We all sang again in performance workshop this morning. We are starting a new unit next week, our devised piece. The music director has been sitting in on these classes to familiarize himself with us and our voices to help us choose material to put in the piece. We have been encouraged to bring in pieces to show off different parts of our range, and since last week I went for contemporary belting this week I went for something different. I sang My White Night, from the Music Man, a show that I  have always loved. This week is all about stepping away from what I have done most of the term. I got some good feedback on the piece, a few things that need work as well as some things that went well. It was mentioned however that I seem to have spent to much time in the UK, and everyones accents are rubbing off on me. Gasp. I have been so hoping that being an American will help me stand out, having an actual American accent in an area where most people have to adopt one. Right, so I need to consciously hang on to that. I think perhaps getting back into some American TV is on the agenda for this weekend. (Part of me wants to get back into watching House just for the irony of Hugh Laurie).

Also had someone comment on how much they enjoy when I perform because of my music choices. I bring in music they don't know, either from shows they don't know very well, of ones that they have never heard of. And actually one of the teachers made the same comment earlier in the term as well. That makes me feel really educated and informed!

This afternoon we had an absolutely superb dance class. A new teacher, which was much needed. He basically ran the class as if it were a dance audition for a show. It was fabulous. We spent the class learning a combination from Kiss Me Kate, and then he broke us into groups of three. He got all of us working too, not just those who have no dance experience. This is what we have needed from day one! I hope we continue to have classes with him. I think everyone is a bit frustrated that we haven't been doing this all term, but we are all glad to be doing it now. Now I should start finding more classes like this in my own time. Once a week is really not often enough to get back into shape.

For the rest of this week we will have rehearsals in the evening. We have our first performance of the term on Friday, it sort of snuck up on us. I am looking forward to seeing how it all comes together this week. However tonight we have an early evening. I'm sticking around to work with my scene partner for class tomorrow, then its home and then early to bed I think.

Non-Constructive Criticism

Well, got a nice little blow to my ego this evening. And about my voice too, which was where I thought I'd been making the most progress too. Sometimes I wish people would just grow up a little bit.

This week has been a tense one. I know I have already mentioned it, but it continued today. We spent over an hour this morning in class just talking about things that students were frustrated with. And I believe its all well and good to get things off your chest, but it devolved into kind of a bitch fest. I think that everyone has just hit the point in the term where they want hard results, and to be working on bigger projects, and we aren't quite there yet. Plus we have just come back from a break, which is always tough.

Moving on from there though we actually had some very productive rehearsal time today. Then after class and band a few of us decided to head to the pub. Wednesdays are long days and everyone generally needs it. I like that it has become a tradition most weeks, as we don't always get time to just sit around and chat with each other.

Inevitably talk turned to our course. And at some point someone started talking about our voice teacher. Now, most of us love Maria. I feel like I have been getting quite a lot out of her lessons. I know I have more stamina than when I started the term, and I am much stronger through most of my range. We have also been working on my mix, and just recently my belt.

I don't want to go into things too much, but in the course of complaining about our voice teacher this guy mentioned that he thought that she wasn't helping anyone and in fact there were certain people on the course he thought were damaging their voices. This guy often talks a big game, so to call his bluff we asked him to elaborate (stupid). He of course then said that really the only person he meant was ME......... Right. And then he went on at some length to tell me exactly what he thinks of my progress.

I am actually quite angry about this. I think it was inappropriate of him on several levels. First of all we are all still learning. And the song he specifically mentioned (Pulled, you know that one I was so proud of yesterday) is one that is new to me, I hadn't worked on with the Maria yet, AND I am still developing my belt. I think it is unfair of him to make that judgement, none of us are finished products and all of us are here to get better. But I also think it was cruel of him to say it to my face.

Ok enough venting.

I just want to have our evaluations soon. I need some solid feedback.

Once I sailed away

I had an absolutely lovely time in Copenhagen! David and I spent most of out time wandering around the city enjoying the beautiful weather. We made plans to do several different things, see some theatre, visit museums, tour the Carlsburg brewery. Yet somehow they all fell through. My roommate Lucile said that it was a sign from the cosmos! We just decided that it meant I had to come back and visit again. I guess I can make that happen. The lack of planned activities meant that we really got to take time and catch up. As much as technology is wonderful, and I love that we get to see each other so often on Skype, it was simply wonderful to get to just spend time together. I have missed him.

I did get a chance to see David's school, meet his friends and really experience his life in Copenhagen. I sat in on several classes at the Commedia school. I even got to join in their acrobatics class. We all spent several hours standing on our heads, tumbling and climbing on top of each other. I never quite mastered any of these things, but I think I held my own. My shoulders however did not thank me for the abuse I put through!

It was interesting experiencing a training program so different from the one I am in. I did love getting to see everything David was working on, but a lot of it made me really appreciate the classes I am taking. The styles were very different. For instance Centrals program is much more focused on helping us join the theatre scenes of big cities, such as London or New York. Much of what we are taught has to do with auditioning for existing companies, agents and larger shows. Whereas the Commedia school is much more geared towards students who plan on creating their own work once they finish. Both styles are completely valid, I don't think that one is necessarily better than the other, it is just that their dynamic is so different. In observing the classes at the Commedia school my decision to be at Central was really reinforced. I think I flourish in a much more structured and regimented environment, whereas the students in Copenhagen clearly relished the freedom to experiment. It was a nice reminder of why I am where I am, as well as of the many interesting forms of theatre there are in the world.

Mostly though it was just wonderful to see David. It is hard not having him here in London with me. But I am thankful that he is close enough that I can visit over a long weekend. It is also helpful to know that we are both working towards goals we are very passionate about, which made it extra fun to see what he has been working on. He'll be coming to visit me in December and I cant wait. I have started thinking about all of the things I want to show him in London. Unfortunately it is a rather quick visit before we both head off for the Holidays, but I think we should be able to see some sights. I am going to start looking into theatre tickets now. I think with all of his physical training and his love of puppetry I may need to take him to go see warhorse! I cant wait!

The rest of my reading week was not nearly as eventful but still enjoyable. I spent some time on campus working on new music. Went out with some friends Friday evening. Stayed in and baked cookies on Saturday. And on Sunday went to the cinema to see a screening of the 25th anniversary concert of the Phantom of the Opera. A lot of stuff to cram into a week if I do say so myself. I did get some time to relax even with all of that, although I could always use another morning to sleep in. Now we are back at the grindstone, and I am reminded of how often you really need another vacation directly after your vacation.

Everyone has been a little bit cranky at school this week, and I am beginning to resent it. I am not quite sure what is going on. Some of the complaints are quite valid, and I agree with them. For example there are days when the classes are scheduled with no lunch break, so that there is one group that has to leave class early to prep for their next session. I always seems to be in the group that has to rush, and miss part of their class, which is rather frustrating. I think it is unfair that we should have to miss class time to go to our next class. We are paying quite a bit of money for this course so we should be able to experience the whole thing. And that is only one of the frustrations. I don't fault people for being frustrated, I am myself, but I don't like that the frustration is preventing us from getting work done. Fault lies on both sides of these arguments, students aren't as well prepared as they should be, but then the teachers aren't well organized either. But mostly I want us to get past all this and just get work done. I am not here to complain I am here to bust my butt and learn things. Hopefully the week will sort itself out tomorrow.

On a brighter note I did have an absolutely fabulous voice lesson today! I feel like I have made quite a bit of progress, and was also validated in the direction I am going. We have to choose repertoire for our performance workshop class, and I have been trying to branch out and find new stuff to work on. Recently I stumbled across the Addams Family (the musical), and while the show isn't great I really enjoy all of Wednesday's music. So I brought in one of her songs for class yesterday. I have been working on my mid range quite a bit this term, and this is the biggest belt piece I have worked on. I still have mostly a mix not a true belt, but I am getting closer. Now today in my voice lesson I pulled out some of the music I had been working on and my voice teacher commented on my song choice. She said she had just been thinking about this part as a good role for me! (score #1) She described it as being quite cheeky. We then spent some time working on it, and she said for this piece I really couldn't use a mix, it had to be belt. Oh boy, we'll see how this works. So I gave it a shot, and there were actually a couple of places where it came through. We continued to work on the technique and right before we ended I asked if I could have another try at the piece. And what do you know? I belted that sucker out of the park! (score number 2) The accompanist even commented. So not only am I choosing new material that my teachers approve of, my voice is definitely changing and improving. Woohoo!

And on that note I think I have earned an early night, so even though it is not even 7:30 I am going to curl up in bed with my book (Margaret thank you for all of the suggestions, I have just started A Discovery of Witches, an appropriately halloweeny themed book) and go to bed early!

Navel Gazing time

We were asked to do some self analysis over our reading week, and I thought I would share my thoughts with you. Be warned that it is quite long, and is mostly focused on the things I want to improve. Also please remember that this is a safe place, no judging! It was good for me to really think through some of this stuff, to clarify for myself what I really need to work on. Ok enough preface, here goes.

 ....

Looking back at this term I think that self discipline has been both one of my successes and one of my challenges. I have made a point of arriving at Central an hour early to each morning so that I can warm up and work on music rep while the practice rooms are empty. This also allows me to collect myself and get my head in the game before class. I have pushed myself to check out new CDs every week, and have photocopied more music than I can actually work on. I have not been as good about reading new plays, which is actually rather disappointing. Before this year I was working at a theatre that focused on contemporary plays, so I had ready access to tons of new material. I would always read what was being considered for the next season, as well as become intimately familiar with the shows we were actually producing. Most of the shows in consideration were very new, several of them were world premiers. Without that impetus I have found it harder to branch out on my own. I no longer have constant suggestions of exciting new plays to read, and revert to what I already know.

Where I feel like I have failed in self discipline is the ability to push past what is required. I put in a ton of effort finding music, working on my rep, practicing for my voice lessons. However once I have brought a piece in to class I immediately focus on the next project, rather than continuing with that one. I should try to expand and improve on the pieces I already have in my repertoire, but I get so caught up in working on new pieces that I neglect that side of things. I also find that I do this physically, although I am working on it. I know that I need to get back into peak physical shape, especially for my dancing. It has been quite some time since I have taken dance classes regularly. But so far (in my career in general) I have been able to get by without them. I still have all of the training, I learn choreography quickly, and my body remembers how to do all of the steps, but I have nowhere near the stamina and control that I used to have. I have just relied on the fact that I am already a good dancer, and have known my competition rather than trying to further myself. I know that where I am now I couldn't compete with the dancers in New York, and I would like to get to the point where I can. I have not found any dance classes here yet, but I have started going to the gym which is at least a step in the right direction. So, dance classes are another goal

One of the things that I have always found difficult is self perception. I mean this in a couple of ways. First of all I have a hard time gauging what I am actually putting forward in my work, what I think I am showing vs what the audience actually sees. I love the work that we have been doing in performance workshop, and I hope we continue to work like that, but I have a hard time bringing that to my outside practice. I don't really know if the level of my work has shifted throughout the course, or if I am still acting at the same level as when I arrived. And this is one of the things I most want to change. I feel like of the skills required for Musical Theatre acting is certainly my weakest quality. This self perception is part of the reason for that. I have a hard time gauging my actual work. I don't feel as lost with either my vocal or physical work, I find it much easier to track my progress and notice the differences in my practice. So I really want to work on my acting, both the quality of the work I am bringing in, and my self doubt brought on by my inability to critique myself.

This self doubt also ties in to choosing repertoire, although I think this is a universal dilemma. I have been bringing in pieces that I want to work on, that I think are good matches for me, but I am never sure about a roles suitability. I am interested to hear some outside input into the songs and roles that I should work on, because I often feel like peoples perception of me is different than my own. I have been trying to branch out my knowledge of shows and songs, but inevitably I come back to the ones I already know and love. This is one of the things I am currently working on, broadening my knowledge of existing music. On Monday I am actually bringing in a song that I had absolutely no knowledge of before this term, which is a first, and I am quite excited about it. I would like to do more of this!

As for music rep, I have not brought in a single song that I had worked on before this term, every single one of them was new. Most of them, however were from shows that I knew quite well, I only started branching out into shows that were new to me just recently, so I would like to improve that. I have tried to branch out the styles of songs that I have brought in. My goal was to bring in songs that were different, either in style or tone, or both, from the ones I had brought in earlier. I want to continue working on this. I think I could go even farther, pushing my range. I don't think I ever truly stepped completely out of my comfort zone with the music I was working on. I know that I should work on more high soprano rep, but at the beginning of the term one of the things that I wanted to work on was my belt range. I think that I did work on some of that. Again, I know I can go farther, but I am starting to feel like belting isn't out of my range. Mostly, what I want is to avoid getting pigeonholed.

I have noticed a lot of progress in my voice. I feel much stronger in my singing, and I know that my range is much steadier than it was. I believe I have a much more consistent sound through my entire range, rather than having patches that are stronger or weaker than others. I am much more supported physically, and more relaxed in my vocal chords (although I am still working on that one). I can never quite achieve the extreme results from my time with Maria outside of the lessons, but I continue to push myself. And even just knowing that I can get that range and sound out of my voice has helped me let go of my tension. I am feeling really great about the work we have been doing on my voice.

I know that I am more physically fit than I was at the beginning of the term, even without taking extra dance classes. And I think I am making progress in my mental fitness as well. One of my goals throughout this whole term has been to think quicker on my feet, and while I am nowhere near where I want to be, I think I am getting better. The expectations Gary has of us in classes has really helped with that. He doesn't let us get away with falling back on generalities, and is clear and straightforward about when we are doing just that. Do it 5 times differently is something that I need to start forcing myself to do outside of class! I get far to in my head, over thinking most things and bogging myself down. I want to get more comfortable with making snap decisions and faster choices.

Goals for the rest of this term (and beyond). Continue expanding both my knowledge of musicals and my repertoire. Step more outside of my comfort zone in the pieces that I am working on- vocal range and style, character choices, and previous knowledge of the material. Get back into reading more plays, especially contemporary playwrights. I want to be better about following up the work that I am doing. To return to pieces I have already brought in and take them further. I want to think faster on my feet. I want to find a dance studio. I also want to host more combination classes for everyone else. The ones I have done I have really enjoyed, and I get quite a lot out of them as well. I want to have a clearer idea of what my abilities actually are, especially when it comes to my acting skills. Be able to gauge what I am actually doing verses what I think I am doing.

Thanks for sticking with my through this long e-mail, I hope it is clear. I am looking forward to evaluations, although I do wish we could continue this term and the intensive technique work.

....

Phew.

Right, enough of that. Thanks for sticking with me through that whole ramble. Now I am off to go see Phantom with a fellow North American (my Canadian classmate Esther). I'll write more about my reading week and the rest of my Copenhagen trip soon.

Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen: Land of 1000 bicycles

Part of my goal for this year is to become a trendy jetsetter. The first step in this process was moving to London. Check! Second step, start exploring the rest of Europe. Check again! Early, far too early Friday morning I hopped on a plane and flew to Denmark to visit my wonderful boyfriend. David is spending the next two years studying theatre at The Commedia School in Copenhagen Denmark.

He was there to meet me at the airport Friday morning with a big smile. We spent Friday at all of his usual haunts. David has obtained an extra bike for me, because apparently bicycling is THE way to get about town, and has been showing me the town. I have actually been really inspired to get myself a bicycle when I get back to London. You can cover so much more ground in so much less time. After settling in we spent the evening with David's good friend Imre, another student at The Commedia School, from Hungary. We ended up in this cozy bar (cozy is big in Denmark) with another friend of theirs. I must admit at some point in the evening it began to feel like we were in some sort of russian spy novel, or something. Or maybe in a scene from Les Mis. All of us sitting around a table in a dimly lit bar, exposed brick walls, everyone around us speaking different languages. It felt like we should have been plotting the demise of some awful dictator. It was very atmospheric!

We slept in Saturday, which was much needed, and then spent the rest of the day in a similarly leisurely fashion. We had planned to go to a couple of museums, but they closed much earlier in the day than expected, so that ended up not working out. Instead we spent our time outside in the gorgeous fall day! We bought crepes from a street vendor and went in search of street performers, window shopped and people watched. It was really wonderful. A much needed respite from my busy schedule, and some really nice quality time with David.

Right now I am sitting in Cafe Munk, the cozy cafe where David works. Tonight we are going to try and find a show to watch. The challenge will be finding something either in English, or clear enough that we'll be able to follow the plot even if its in Danish. Should be an adventure.

The Veil

Taking a break from writing my paper about how social media is affecting theatre ...to be distracted by social media. Damn the irony! Right now I am suffering from the fact that I have finally found a topic that interests me, a fair amount of information, but I only have a page to write it all in. The longer papers will come later. This is supposed to be a warm up for the paper that is supposed to be a warm up for our dissertation (too many layers). I am not sure how they expect us to fit an introduction, lit review, coherent argument with support and a conclusion all into one page double spaced. So I'm going to step away from that for a moment to talk about The Veil.

On Saturday Sarah and I managed to get discount tickets to see the new production going on at the National Theatre, Conor McPherson's new play The Veil. I was quite excited to see the show as I had gotten a sneak peek of one of their tech rehearsals during a back stage tour. After Sarah and I took our seats the curtain rose to reveal an absolutely breathtaking set. I mean gorgeous. What had once been a beautiful and wealthy estate had slowly fallen into ruin and disrepair. Please if you get a chance look through the production stills! You could see the garden through the windows at the back of the set, and there were even trees overhanging the tops of the walls. These would gently sway with the eerie wind that would sound behind the windows. Amazing! The sound, lighting and costume design were all equally lovely! Really the design was the star of the show.

Really I felt that the week part of the production was the script itself. The show really didn't quite know what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a thriller? A ghost story? A character drama? Or something else. What ended up happening was that it was a little of all of these, but none of them completely. Often an interesting idea would be introduced only to be left without being developed. Which, when done consistently for 2 and 1/2 hours, becomes extremely unsatisfying. At times the play seemed both too long and too short. We would have endless dialogue scenes in which quite a lot of character backstory was revealed, and no one really knew why. Or there would be a lot of exposition explaining something that should have been left to action, or had already been shown to the audience. On the other hand whenever the plot would move forward the script would move quickly past the event without commenting or even fully realizing the moment.

The cast as a whole was perfectly amenable. At times they would belabor their weighty emotions, but this was not helped by the script. On at least one occasion a character described something as 'their own personal hell'. However I really liked both the actress playing the Lady of the household, Fenella Woolgar, and the actor playing her groundskeeper, Peter McDonald. I would have like to have seen more of them throughout the show. There was one moment in particular which I think should have been expanded. It is hard to describe the moment, as I would have to explain the events of the preceding scene, and its really not worth it. Anyway, there was a split second as he is departing, he says her name and they make eye contact. I could feel the audience around me sit up and think 'oh, this scene is going to be good'. Right then another character walks in and ruins the whole thing. He departs, leaving the audience and the actress upset and frustrated (ok I am just assuming about the actresses feelings, but she sure looked that way)!

On the whole not the most amazing theatre going experience, but definitely worth the price of admission! I look forward to filling more of my time with new and interesting theatre experiences. Not sure what is next up, but hopefully it will be soon.

Sister Time

Sarah and I spent a thoroughly satisfying day yesterday traipsing around London.  We started off with a trip across the river to procure theatre tickets. After that we back tracked up to Baker Street, the home of that famous detective.

After that we continued along to Oxford Street. Now, Oxford street is apparently one of the biggest shopping areas in the world. I believe it. Frankly its a little bit intimidating! Too many stores, too many people. I had attempted some shopping last weekend as well, and gave up pretty quickly. Yesterday I had hoped for more success because I had a shopping partner. I was on a mission for jeans, because my only pair of jeans here is dieing, and a pair of brogues, or lace up oxford style shoes, because they are cute. We started off at Selfridges, a store that is huge and very very expensive. A friend of mine works there and we wanted to say hi. Well, supposedly he works there. When we finally found the department he works for (which took a little searching) we were told he was at some sort of meeting and would be back in about a half hour. So we wandered around looking at the designer shoes, and exploring the makeup counter for a while. When we came back half an hour later he was still no where to be found. Curious! So since we didnt actually want to buy an expensive suit we decided it was not worth sticking around and fled the scene. Not a moment too soon I believe, the store is a little frightening in its scale and designer-ness.

After that we stuck to stores more in our price range. We found Sarah a cute coin purse, I resisted buying some leather gloves. We tried on comfy sweaters, and winter coats. You would think from all of the merchandise that it was freezing cold outside. In reality it was gorgeous and sunny, and neither of us actually needed a coat. We spent most of our shopping time in a fruitless effort to find the giant Primark (I had seen some great shoes in their window while waiting for a bus one evening) but all in vain. Looking back at Google maps now it seems we went in the wrong direction in the first place, but I blame that on faulty directions at the outset. So after a full afternoon of shopping, even with a shopping buddy, I ended up buying neither of the things I was looking for.

Our walk along Oxford street took us to the vicinity of the British Museum (that was clever planning on my part if I do say so myself!), so after a coffee break to get our second wind we wandered inside. Needless to say we had a lovely time at the museum.

After the museum we had a delicious dinner at a nearby pub. Sarah confessed that since coming to the UK she had not experienced fish and chips, so both last night and the night before we found pubs where that could be remedied. Delicious! It was wonderful to sit around and catch up.

I have many thoughts about the theatre last night. But I think I will save them for a later post. Right now I am off to enjoy the rest of the day with my sister, and then hack away at the copious amounts of homework that I need to do!

Friday thoughts

My sister is coming up to visit this weekend! I am really looking forward to getting to spend some time with her. Trying to think of where I should take her while she is here. Right now I am thinking maybe the British Museum, try and see The Veil at the National, some shopping along Oxford Street. To increase the amount of time this weekend I am here at school trying to get some work done. Instead I seem to be sitting here surfing the internet. Well at least I can recap the week. We are being very strongly encouraged to keep a journal of our classes and experiences, so here goes.

Last update was Wednesday, so what happened yesterday. Right yesterday started with Performance Workshop. We have this twice a week, Mondays with Paul and Thursdays with Zach. The schedule has not gotten so wonky that instead of performing once a week, switching teachers each week, we don't perform at all one week and perform twice the next. Also Zach has been hosting extra sessions on Fridays. So in the past week I have sung 3 times. Friday I sang I'll Show Him, from Plain and Fancy. Monday I sang On the Steps of the Palace, from Into the Woods. And yesterday I sang In Short from Edges. I have been trying to make the most of these classes. Every song that I have brought in has been new to my repertoire, and I try to bring in a variety of range, style and character. However, this week both of the songs I have sung in Zach's class recently have been from the viewpoint of women who have recently been snubbed by men. In Short essentially is a song listing all of the horrible things that she wants to happen to her Ex. This led to the comment (from a fellow student) that I seem a little sadistic in my song choices... Hmmm I think I need to fix that. However Zach started talking about my comedic tendencies. That was actually some great feedback. He even referred back to Will He Like Me from She Loves Me, which is not a comedic song. Saying that I was able to bring lighthearted moments to what could turn into a soporific song. The comment really got me thinking about my 'type' yesterday. Actually I did a lot of thinking about my overall progress and goals for this year yesterday. More on that later.

In the afternoon we had physical theatre. We played this really interesting game. There were several objects strewn across the floor of the rehearsal space. One person was sent outside while the class decided three actions that they needed to perform using the objects. The student outside then returned and tried to figure out what they were supposed to do judging by the audience's (the rest of the class) reactions. Clapping when they did something right, and eventually giving them a standing ovation when they finished their tasks. This is much harder than you would think. And actually got quite a bit frustrating, mostly for the person performing, but also some for the audience. Really it was an exercise all about listening to your audience. Also about how audiences, and casting directors etc, WANT you to be good. We were all sitting there willing each person to find the correct object and figure it all out. It was also about thinking quickly. This was what I found the hardest. I had a difficult time thinking outside of the box, and bogged myself down in thinking about it rather than just trying things. When I finally got around to just trying random things I actually figured it out fairly quickly. I just psyched myself out so much before that that I made everything much more difficult for myself.

Also in that class our teacher asked us what we really wanted out of the course. That combined with the work that morning got me really thinking. After class I went out for coffee with my friend Tom and we rehashed a lot of class and talked this stuff out. We talked about trying to figure out what kind of performers we are. What roles we are suited for, which often differs from the roles we really want to be playing. How we have been approaching the classes, the things we stumble on. I have been realizing that I spend far too much time analyzing everything, being in my head. I need to work on the speed of my imagination. When we are in our acting classes Gary asks us to do things 5 times in a row, each time differently. This is rather difficult. I need to get better at it. Mostly that involves more practice. I need to continue to push myself in that direction.

I have been pushing myself in a lot of ways. I arrive at school at least an hour early each day to work on music and I usually stay an hour or two after classes end to get work done with classmates. I have been building my repertoire quite a bit, and in several different directions. I joined a gym this week and have made a good start there, I went both yesterday and this morning. I have been walking everywhere and trying to eat healthier. I have been pushing myself to make new friends and have a social life. All good things, all things I need to be doing. However I feel like I am not doing enough. I need to be more focused in the work I am doing. I feel like I get a lot done in class, but the work I do outside of class, without the teachers there to push me is not as productive as it could be. Each week gets better though. I think its just that working like that is a skill that has to be learned and mastered just like every other.

Right enough of that. I need to start doing some research. Back to work!

Not What I Expected

Well, I spent quite a bit of this weekend stressing about Tuesday, and Tuesday came and went without a fuss. Made it through my voice class just fine. Still not sure I nailed that South Korean accent but I gave it my best try, and was able to sound reasonably informed whilst talking about the differences in our speech patterns.

After spending all day Sunday traipsing to various book stores, scouring the library and the internet my scene partner and I decided on a scene from Vincent in Brixton. I had read the play previously and Vassoula took it home to read Monday evening. We ran through the scene several times on Monday and then during lunch on Tuesday, and were actually feeling ok about what we were bringing in to class. Our teacher has discouraged us from blocking the scenes out so that we can really play with them in class. So basically we just needed to be comfortable with lines, and clear on what was going on in the scene. Done! Well, when class time rolls around our course leader comes round and informs us that our acting teacher is stuck on a train in Brighton. So class was postponed. So after all that and we have another week to work on our scenes. Ah well.

Then Tuesday evening my amazing photographer roommate took some pictures for me. I had booked a session for the following Monday just in case these pictures didnt work out. But if there was even a chance that I wouldnt have to lay down 200 quid for new photos I was going to take it. So, not including set up time, we spent maybe an hour all told on pictures. And you know what, I think they actually turned out pretty great. I was really pleased. My roommates and I narrowed them down to 4 finalists and I took them in to class this morning. I was a little nervous about showing them to my course leader, because he dismissed my other photos out of hand. He had good reasoning behind why they wouldnt work, but he made up his mind very quickly. But he ok'd them (I decided to omit the fact that my roommate took them in our living room the evening before). They passed muster with friends, family and teachers alike. I was sold. However... and heres the catch. When I got home this evening my roommate informed me that he had made a mistake. He was working with his new camera, and he had the camera set on a lower resolution setting. So I am not sure the pictures are going to be of high enough quality. I am hoping he will find some way to fix this, or that it is not as bad as he made it out to seem, because I really liked these photos. I think he is willing to take more if need be, but it is still a bummer. Also I cancelled my session with the fancy professional photographer because everything looked good. Crossing my fingers that things will be ok. We have until November to get everything settled, so theres time.

Wednesdays are getting a bit better. In rehearsal things are actually starting to shape up. We are preparing a piece for veterans day, based around the words and voices of soldiers. We are each presenting some sort of monologue or story from past soldiers, and there will be a few actual soldiers who come and join the production as well. Up until now we have spent all of our time collecting material. Today was the first time we solidified who was doing which piece and put them in a semblance of a structure. We have quite a bit of work to do to make sure the show stays interesting the whole way through, but today was the first time it felt like a cohesive piece.

Wednesdays have become a class social night. We are halfway through the week, and Wednesdays are often tough for a variety of reasons. So it is really nice to have a bit of time just hanging out with my course mates. Tonight we actually banned talk about Theatre, otherwise we would have spent the whole evening talking about class. It was nice. I hope we keep it up.

MAMT go to the Gym

What a wonderful way to start the week. I think I have figured out what my problem over the weekend was. We spend all week busting our butts, physically, vocally, mentally and emotionally. Then we get to Saturday and Sunday. The school building is closed, everyone is off at their jobs, doing their homework, living their lives. And I often end up sitting around the house. I just need more structure. As tempting as sitting around and watching endless episodes of British television is I fell terrible after a day like that. So my resolution for next weekend is to not be a bum! Done. And to help me accomplish this I have joined a gym. 

This is what happens when Musical Theatre students discover an outdoor gym after a long day of classes. We did join the actual gym as well, but this was more fun! Overall though today was great. I got to sing in performance workshop first thing in the morning. In fitness this afternoon I got to share/show off my knowledge of recent Broadway productions. Especially those that started in Seattle. I am going to miss having that insight into what is going to head to New York soon.

Mostly though I was reminded what a great group of people are in this course with me. We are all in this together. And should we need it there is a great support system right there, our classmates know exactly what we are going through. Also they are just plain silly people, and silly people are often the best ones to have around!

Invasion of the Classroom Snatchers

I've hit a wall. This week it seems that a lot of things have come to a head. Nothing catastrophic mind you, just a week of mild to medium frustration. I am frustrated with my homework, with my living situation, with my work ethic. Gah. Or maybe its just this evening.

Today has been spent in a fruitless search to find a scene to present in my acting class. The teacher has asked us to bring in contemporary scenes for Tuesday. Contemporary, meaning written in the past 10 years. So I start out well on Tuesday: I get a partner, I go to the library, I find suggestions on good scenes with two women, I check out several plays. Later that evening I realize that all of the contemporary plays I selected were actually written in the 80's. Back to the drawing board. On Wednesday another girl in our class approaches my partner and me and asks to join our group. Now back to the library. A little bit stumped for 3 woman scenes until I see a classmate carrying around August Osage County. Wonderful! However when I go to the library it seems that they only have one copy of the script. So I talk to the person who has the book, turns out her partner has the book and wont be back until Monday. No problem I'll just go to the bookstore and buy a copy. Then on Friday night another classmate reveals that she doesnt have a partner, so we reshuffle the groups so we are all in pairs. Now here is where I made my big mistake, I took Saturday as a personal, lay around the house day, figuring that I would go to the bookstore on Sunday, pick up one of any number of good contemporary plays that I know and we'll be set to work on Monday. However when I go to not one but 3 different bookstores I find that they seem to only carry Shakespeare and Pinter, neither of whom have done much writing recently. I then spent the rest of the evening scouring the internet to find digital copies of any decent play, nothing. So tomorrow its back to the school library, where they should have one or two titles on hold for me. And hopefully everything will resolve itself. The really frustrating part of this is that I know I have copies of most of the plays I am looking for, they are just located on another continent. Well, these are all lessons that will help me the next time around.

Then on the other hand I have to learn a South Korean dialect for class on Tuesday as well (for some reason all of my scary homework is due Tuesday). That isnt going so well either. I have one recording of my partner reading some text, and thats about it. I was hoping to meet with her again on Friday to get some more work done. However when I showed up for our meeting she said she needed to work on some music instead. So I am hoping that Monday after class I can grab both her and my scene partner for some extra work!

The other big frustration this week was my bank account. It took a full week for my check to clear into my account. I have been waiting for this check to clear so that I can buy plane tickets to visit David over our reading week. I had to sit and watch ticket prices climb day after day until I finally bought my tickets on Friday. However I did buy my tickets, so in less than two weeks I will be winging my way East to Copenhagen! So I do get to check that stress off of my list.

Enough of that rant. The week did contain a lot of great stuff as well. Went and saw the Lion King in 3D with my classmates and one of my roommates on Friday. We all had a fun time reliving our childhoods. It is starting to feel like fall here, which I love. Its amazing how quickly it went from shorts and tank top weather last weekend, to sweaters and boots this weekend. The leaves are starting to crunch on my walk to school. I am really loving my acting class, even as frustrated as I am about finding this scene. We presented scenes from Musicals this past week. I am learning so much from that class. Our teacher is relentless, but wonderfully encouraging. I think I am also progressing quite a bit in my voice lessons.

Now, the Classroom Snatchers. I new it was going to happen eventually, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. All of the other students start on Monday. It was so nice having the whole building to ourselves. All of the practice rooms, whenever we needed them. Dance studios free all the time. No more. Now they have even shoved our Monday morning class off campus. We are having performance workshop in a church somewhere. I am not really sure where! We'll see how this week goes. I have been coming early and staying late each day to get work done, I may have to extend those hours even further to get a chance to use the practice rooms. Hopefully we will all survive this transition! I'll let you know.

Try to remember the kind of September

The journey continues. This week was action packed full of many different adventures.

Monday kicked off the week with a flash mob. Ok, so its a flash mob in progress. Later this term one of our performances will be a flash mob. Best assignment ever? I think so. On Monday our class met for the first time with the guy who is composing/choreographing this event to discuss ideas. We broke into three different groups to workshop three different concepts. It was a lot of fun. We spent the morning looking for hats, having brief encounter moments from across train stations and losing signal on our cell phones. Eventually we decided on a theme, I wont tell you which one so that you can experience it first hand. It will be the next big youtube sensation I assure you!

The week continued on from there. All of our classes are pushing us to the extreme in one way or another. We had running again in fitness. I still hate running, that hasn't changed. However my breathing was better this time, so I didn't collapse from lack of oxygen. And believe me that is a big improvement. In voice we have been paired together with other students to learn their accents. I think that it will be really interesting to hear what people come back to class with. I think my partner, who is from South Korea, is a little shy about hers. We haven't met yet, and I am starting to get a little bit nervous about it. Hopefully we'll get some good work done when we meet on Monday. In acting we are paired up and looking for scenes for next week. My partner, this amazing Irish guy, and I are going to do one from Sunday in the Park with George. Should be a blast. In class we are working on playing the action, instead of playing the conflict or condition. Harder than you might think. One of our assignments is to come up with a list of 50 transitive verbs, things we can do to someone else to get what we want. Any suggestions would be helpful! We all have things like attack, seduce, coerce etc, its once you get beyond those basic ones that I've gotten a little stuck.

Wednesday.... Wednesday was frustrating. That is the day we have our one solely academic class. Really it is just prep for our dissertation. Its weird though because we are spending all of this time gearing up for a big essay, but we're not actually doing much. I think it would almost be better if they were just assigning us smaller research papers every week. Instead it is just their weird practice exercises. Go to the library and show that you can find some books, look on line and show that you can find an online source. Its hard to explain why this class is getting to me. However, I was not the only one who walked out of that class feeling out of sorts. Hopefully it will get better as we get further into the class.

Wednesday night began the social calendar for the week. After that class we all needed to unwind so we traipsed across the street to Ye Olde Swiss Cottage Pub (or as is been affectionately nicknamed Ye Olde Man Pub). I think we have now all settled in enough that we really want to start getting to know each other properly. After this week we are all well on our way. We had a very full social calendar this week. It was great. On Thursday we had an amazing home cooked Rosh Hashanah meal. Friday we all traipsed over to my neck of the woods (several other students in my course live quite close to my apartment, which is awesome) and found a much cooler pub for dinner. Yesterday afternoon we spent in the park enjoying the amazing sun that has been happening all week. Last night was a house warming party for another classmate. And this afternoon I am hanging out with my cousin. So no more moping around an empty apartment for me!

The other big thing about this week was dealing with finances. I have finally, finally gotten my financial aide check from the school. It has taken them over a month to get it to me, and it has been a rather frustrating time. I have been bugging the finance office for several weeks. Sorry the person who has your check has left for the weekend. Oh we thought we gave you your check when you came in last week. We seem to have misplaced your check. We'll have your check on Wednesday. Oh actually it hasn't been signed yet. Goodness gracious! I'm already accruing interest, and I would like to buy some groceries. How hard can this be! And once I finally did get the check the bank tells me it will be another week before it actually clears into my account. Gah! I am so sick of money, I just want it all to go away. However I am making progress so I'm going to stop complaining about it and move on.

Overall though it has been a great week. I am really glad that people have started taking the initiative to hang out. Once the term officially starts for everyone else my roommates and I plan on having our own house warming party. I also really want to host a Thanksgiving dinner too. I have mentioned this idea to a few of my classmates, and once I have explained what Thanksgiving is people seem really excited about it. However, its not for another two months so I have some time to plan. There are lots of other things that need to happen before we reach Thanksgiving.

Inspiration and Intimidation

I was introduced to the National Theatre through their NT Live series. They record their productions and then air them in cities around the world. I only got to see two productions through NT Live but they were two of the most exciting and interesting pieces of theatre I have seen recently. Ever since then I have been incredibly excited to come to London and get the chance to see shows at the National actually live. This morning I got the chance, not only to step through those doors into the National, but to step behind the scenes.

My roommate and I took one of the guided tours of the National earlier today. It was kind of amazing. Along with seeing two of their three performance spaces we got to step into their carpentry shop, rehearsal room, hear about their amazing turntable lift and handle some props, all things that you might generally find on a tour of a big theatre. However the most incredible part of this tour was completely unexpected. Right now they are in tech for their new production The Veil. We actually got to sneak in the back of the theatre and watch a bit of their tech rehearsal. Now tech rehearsals contain hours of standing around while they correct light and sound cues and can often be quite tedious. We got lucky though and got to watch them actually working a scene. I could have stayed there all afternoon. It was really incredible.

Seeing that rehearsal, at walking through those spaces reinforced everything I love about theatre. It also reminded be about all the things I loved about working at ACT. Getting to be part of the process of new and exciting shows. Things that people hadnt seen before, or shows that get people talking, make you think. I love musicals and always will, but there is something incredible about the work that comes out of theatres like those.

The tour inspired me to start looking for a front of house staff job. Sadly the National just hired several people so they are no longer looking. And it seems that many theatres may be in the same position. I am going to spend some time polishing up my resume this week and spend next weekend pounding the pavement and hopefully end up with a job.

The job is something that needs to happen soon. I have been so wrapped up with keeping on top of course work and getting settled that it has taken a back seat so far. Also the idea of having to go back to a retail job is not one that I am enjoying. So hopefully something will turn up at a theatre. Plus I really miss being in a producing theatre day in and day out. It is amazing that I am getting to do so much work on my own craft, and really that is why I am here, but I miss the other side of things to.

It is a little intimidating to try and work my way into the theatre scene here. I was quite lucky to be where I was in Seattle, and it is hard to start over here without those connections. Well everyone has to start somewhere, so here I go.

Margaret, thanks for the tip about the tour, and for introducing me to The National in the first place. Our theatre outings were something that I always looked forward to in Seattle. Thank you for everything. Now we just have to coordinate seeing shows from across the pond. I believe One Man, Two Guvnors is the next NT Live show. I've missed it at the National but it moves to the West End in Nov, I can try and catch it there. What do you think?

Learning our Strength

Well, its only Tuesday and I am already shattered. Goodness this course is going to run us all into the ground. Either that or I'll be as fit as superwoman by the time Christmas rolls around. I got home last night and my roommates sent me to bed because they thought I was going to fall asleep at the dinner table.

Mondays consist of choir first thing in the morning, followed by performance practice and then fitness in the afternoon. And our fitness teacher is hard core! She currently is involved with the west end production of the Lion King, I think basically beating the cast into shape. And this is what she is doing for us too. Dont get me wrong it is amazing, and I feel great when I leave class. Its when we get to the morning after when all of the muscles in my legs are sore.... Actually I am less sore this week than last which is a good sign. I just need to get better at doing all of this outside of class. I think there is a gym near the school, it might be a good investment to join, especially as I am a student now. Gotta love those student discounts.

Tuesday on the surface seem less rigorous. Voice in the morning, singing lesson and then acting. Ah but that would be deceiving. We spent a large part of voice today running and hopping around the room while humming. Much harder than you would thing. Try it. Oh wait I forgot to tell you you can only breathe when you get back to your home base. Very difficult. My singing teacher also inflicted similar exercises on me. They are really hammering home just how much you use your whole body for all of this stuff.

Now the real exertion today came in my acting class. Right now we are working a Helena/Demetrius scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream. You know the one 'get you gone and follow me no more', 'I am your spaniel' etc etc. Its a fun scene. My partner is this amazing Greek guy. If you look back at the class picture he is the one with the umbrella. (Notice the highly muscled arms, they come into play later). He is a really sweet guy, great at working on impulse. We had gotten together on Monday to work the scene, lots of running around, me grabbing onto his feet to prevent him from going etc. We had a lot of fun stuff to work with today in class. Now when we get to class our teacher is having us focus on action and need. For example Helena's need is to get Demetrius. To achieve this she can try several actions: Coerce, seduce and so on. And Demetrius's need could be to escape from Helena, or to try and get her to leave. Now my partner is a very strong guy. And when he tried to get me to leave, well things got a little out of control. Its a little frightening when a very strong guy grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you. I was a little rattled. However we stopped, and got things back on track. And actually after that moment I thin I sort of came into my own a bit. Our teacher actually said one of my choices was brilliant! (his word not mine) The rest of the scene went well, but looking back I spent a lot of that class falling to the floor. I think I will try and make sure that doesn't happen quite so much in the future. Well at least they cant say that I'm not giving the class my all.

Tomorrow should be a little bit of a break physically. Our afternoon class is basically a lecture class prepping us for writing our dissertation, which doesn't require any running around or full contact improv. I think now though what I need is a cup of tea and a bath!

Back in Business

Well after my little physical setback I was able to get back in the game. Week two, and really our first full week of classes. It went quite well. I was worried at the beginning of the week that my back injury would either make it impossible for me to participate, or that I would push myself too far to fast and hurt myself even more. Neither of those things happened, thank goodness.

Monday did start off with a big dose of adrenalin though. This was the first week of Performance Practices, a class we have twice a week, with our two course leaders. In this class we will be mostly working on repertoire. This meant that half of us had to get up to work songs in front of the class on Monday morning. You would think that after all of us performing for each other the week before this would not be so scary. Well, you would be wrong. I think it may have been harder to get up and sing this week than it was last. But sing I did, nerves or not. It went rather well I think, got some good feedback and I did some good work. Now I need to find another piece to sing next week. Still working on that one, but I'll be ok.

The week continued with the rest of our classes. Had my first voice lesson here, which was great. I think a lot of this term will be spent working on vocal range. Also I am getting the feeling that this term is going to be incredibly physical. We have fitness, and physical theatre, and our acting class is quite physical (more on that later), student led yoga and dance, and I have a rather long walk too and from school. I was rather exhausted when I got to this morning. And when I am done here I am going to go do my homework for fitness, which involves more dance. Phew! It is great. For all that I am absolutely exhausted, I am feeling really good. I do want to go in search of more structured dance classes, but at the moment I am struggling get all my course work done, and acclimate myself to a new city. There are other important things on my to do list that come first.

One of the most important things on my to do list right now is my social life. Let me tell you how to make friends in grad school. After class sit in the hallways at school and curse at each other. No, I'm not kidding. Ok, so we were working on memorizing a scene for class, but still. Quite fun. Since then, as a group we have also beaten each other into a bloody pulp (yep that same scene). That was an interesting class. The teacher shouting directions at us like 'gouge his eyes out,' 'kill him' and other endearing sentiments like that. It was fun. I am pretty sure that because of that scene we have all very quickly gotten quite comfortable around each other. We have a really good group of people in our class. I am looking forward to getting to know all of them better. This evening the student union is hosting a mixer for the few courses that have already started, so we will get to know some of the other MAs at the school. Hopefully it will be a fun evening.

Frightening Adulthood

Like everyone, I have my good days and my bad days. Yesterday was a bad day. It really drove home the fact that I am on my own in a foreign country. Yesterday morning as I was preparing to force myself to go running I did something to my back. I don't know what. One moment I thought 2oh, there's a twinge in my back, I'll have to be careful of that" and the next I was on the floor in agony. Needless to say the day ended up not being as productive as I would have liked.

I had a few terrifying moments where I realized that I had no idea what to do in a crisis. I don't have the kind of support system here that I have had in the past. My roommates are both out of town, and my boyfriend is in another country. So there was no one around to help me get myself around or fetch and carry things. I was able to deposit myself on the couch with an ice pack, some ibuprofen and episodes of Greys Anatomy for the rest of the day, and am feeling considerably better (although not fully recovered) today. Now I need to get cracking on finding a doctor, just so when this sort of thing happens in the future I don't feel helpless.

It was a very clear signal from my body that I need to pace myself. Not a message that I like hearing, but a necessary one. This year is going to throw a lot of things my way and I need to be careful. Tomorrow I have one of my most physically intensive classes, which is both a good and a bad thing. Bad because I probably wont be able to participate fully. But good because this teacher knows a lot about injuries and how to deal with them. So hopefully she can help me out.

There are a lot of things right now that are really scary. Most of the time I can keep myself busy so I dont dwell on them. But I have to remember that they are there. I know that the longer I am here the less scary it will be. I will make friends, and learn where the hospitals are. I will get used to the area and how the banks work. It will take time, but in the long run I'll be ok. Deep breaths, here I go.

Running Start

Day: 17

Location: Swiss Cottage

Well, it has begun. This year of change, of growth, and of a whole lot of hard work. Monday marked the first day of grad school. Walking into that building Monday I was overwhelmed with a number of conflicting feelings. The excitement of beginning something new, but the fears as well. Joining me in the lobby that morning were 20 odd other students, all with different experiences and backgrounds, all going through the same thing. However, all of us being theatre students, instead of a room of silent nervous students we had a talkative group of potential friends. All of us trying to find our balance, make sure that we belong.

After all of the paperwork and technicalities were finished they put us right to work. None of this easing us into classes, we started right away. Every teacher this week has made it clear that this is going to be an intensive course. We are no longer undergrads, we are all here to work. And work we shall. We had running and yoga in fitness, high stakes dodgeball in acting, and detail work in physical theater. We of course had the obligatory name games, the talks about expectations, about projects and curricula. But beyond that we worked. This week we were stretched, prodded and pushed. And this is exactly why I am here.

I may be sore and tired right now, but I am also very excited. I am nervous about the coming year. There are worries about the workload to come, about living up to expectations both external and internal. Fears of not changing, not improving, or of not improving fast enough. Fears of not being good enough, or of not being able to get what I need out of the course. But, there is also the certainty that this is what I want to be doing, what I have to do. The thrill of embarking on a life changing journey. The excitement of gaining knowledge from both my teachers and my peers. The amazing fact that I will be collaborating with this group of talented individuals, each of whom brings something different to the table.

Yesterday morning we watched each other perform for the first time. Ultimately this was for all of our professors to remind themselves who we are, and begin to assess our skills for the work ahead. However, this was also for us. Although we had begun to get to know each other none of us really had any idea what the others could do. And WOW, its amazing what they can do. There are I believe 21 of us in our course, and every single person was different. Ok, of course we are all different that is a given, but even so. It was incredible to see the range of style and talent, voice and physicality. The students for whom English is their second language were encouraged to sing something in their mother tongue. That was amazing. We heard a South Korean folk song, Greek Orthodox chant, The Little Mermaid in Greek and a Chinese pop song. We have students from all over the UK, with an amazing range of dialects to match. We have songwriters who can write hilarious songs about facebook stalking, and beautiful ballads on bass ukelele and piano. We heard pieces from shows spanning the whole of musical theatre. From Iolanthe to Spring Awakening, from the King and I to Les Mis, from Cabaret to the Last 5 Years and more. Every person who stood up to sing reminded me just how much I love this. I cant wait to work with all of them.

This year is going to be incredible.