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.