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Stratford-Upon-Avon
Last week, everyone in my semester program spent 3 days getting close to Shakespeare. We did have a short workshop I mentioned in my last post, but most of our time was spent being tourists, which included a lot of food 🙂 When we first got there, we went for lunch at Hobson’s Patisserie. The mac and cheese was calling my name, but I still indulged in a scone with clotted cream and jam. We only took the large ones, because if you take the giant scone, it is at least 10 inches high. The kind of thing you have when you’re not also having pasta. Next, we checked into…
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The Shortest Week Ever
This week we only had 2 days of classes, and a workshop, because we were spending a few days on an educational mini-vacation. Still, this doesn’t mean we didn’t get any work done. On Monday, we had our usual Voice, Acting and Stage Combat curriculum, learning all kinds of things, but my brave moment happened in Acting. You see, we had to become familiar with an Iago speech from Othello, which basically means knowing it off by heart, and then we did a few exercises with it. One of these exercises consisted of going into pairs and reciting the speech while your partner heckled you. I was with Molly, and…
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Oxford
Cold, but beautiful. That’s probably how I would describe this magical town that Sydney and I spent the day in last weekend. Although if I had visited on a warmer day, Perfect might have been used instead. I got there a little after 9, with plans to explore the Covered Market, but it only opens at 10 on Sundays, so I got a little breakfast and met up with Sydney. We were at the market right when it opened, and although it was really cool, and I could imagine spending hours there on a rainy day, we had places to be, and as much as we wanted to, it was…
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Meetups, lines and movies
I have some lines to memorize, some scene work to do and should probably be getting to bed to prepare for my early start tomorrow, but instead, I am writing this post to let you know what has been going on with me. Selfless determination or semi-productive procrastination, you be the judge. In acting/ text, we are working on points of concentration. For instance, we had to do simple tasks, but Debbie would come and whisper some kind of information to us. Sometimes it was environmental, like the time of day, the weather and general atmosphere of where you are. Other times, it was more emotional, like she would tell…
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Afternoon Tea at Brown's Hotel
The afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel not only looked spectacular during my research, it was also the one place that was consistently recommended to me, no matter who I talked to. Lucky for Molly and me, it did not disappoint 🙂 I got there early and was brought to our table to wait. I didn’t even have to ask for the comfy chairs by the fireplace, to warm my hands and bones until I could order my tea. I ordered the Brown’s Morning Blend, and it was delicious. At the end of the meal, we also got a little package each to take home 🙂 When the food trays arrived,…
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My fifth week at LAMDA :)
So maybe it wasn’t the best idea to sign up for a semester highly focused on Shakespeare when I have no idea what iambic pentameter is. In my defense, I have been very vocal about letting everyone know that I am completely at a loss when it comes to this concept. This week, I found out that everyone assumed I had learnt it and just didn’t really get it, as opposed to: I went to French school and we never learnt Shakespeare or Iambic Pentameter! Luckily George made it a learning exercise by having students explain to me, then the exercise for them to get a better understanding of it…
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Windsor: Teas, a Castle and Goals
Last weekend, I ventured from the city and off to Windsor with Molly. I knew this town was intricately linked to the royal family, and most of the blogs I read from people abroad in London raved about it, so I absolutely had to go. Molly and I got there at 9, when the admissions office was still closed, so we walked along the main street and found a little place to have some tea and breakfast! Once we were done, we headed straight to the castle. I had spent a lot of time trying to figure out when to go, since a lot of the areas are closed at…
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Adieu French King
I can’t believe today is the last day of January. I am already done my fourth week in London, which is crazy! On Monday, Debbie had us working on our monologues, and she saw me standing there with my arms crossed, so she told me to stand more open, and to take up more space. Harder said than done for someone who tries to take up the least amount of space and go unnoticed most of the time, but I was determined to try. In stage combat, after we spent most of the class practicing what we had learnt and adding more things to it, we were asked to do…
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Kensington Palace & Orangery
On Sunday, I decided to cross two items off of my list for London; the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and Afternoon Tea at the Orangery. Although I had excellent intentions to be at the Palace an hour before it started so I would get a prime spot, I found myself meandering to previously unvisited places in Hyde Park, as well as getting stopped to talk to a boy on a bench overlooking the pond with the swans. Luckily, people weren’t lining up to the side gates, only at the front ones, so I got a prime spot for all of the action. The whole thing at the…
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Greenwich
For my first excursion out of Central London (and school and Notting Hill) I opted for Greenwich, since it is but a tube ride away, and I had friends who were willing to come with me 🙂 We started off with the Painted Hall, which was actually pretty cool, and had displays, including a list of all of the movies that were filmed at the Royal Naval College. Next, we ventured to the Royal Observatory, which is at the top of the hill, to see the Meridian Line, and learn a lot about time. It was slightly underwhelming for one of the lines that divides the world in two, but…