Phase TWO

If you've been keeping track of me, you will know that my London dialogue program is now over. We had our last class today, and tomorrow we say goodbye to our friends who are departing and heading back to Boston.
Tori and I, however, are moving onto London Phase Two: Hostel Life.
We are staying until the 14th in a little hostel just down the road from where we spent the past month and we are going to see ALL THE SHOWS and maybe some more London sights.
It'll be weird saying goodbye to the people we have spent everyday of the past month with...but I'm just glad that I don't have to go home yet.
Can I stay here forever?

On another note, yesterday I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It's still in previews. The theatre was PACKED with tiny little munchkin kids. Our seats were ALL THE WAY at the top of the massive theatre in the balcony and we had to climb eight hundred bajillion stairs to get there. But the show was the cutest thing I've probably ever seen. It was such a spectacle, and I'm pretty sure if I was one of the little kids in the audience I would have never wanted to leave.
It's even possible that I may have shed a tear or two when Charlie and Willy Wonka were up in space in the glass elevator singing Pure Imagination...it's possible (yeah, it happened).
It was pretty magical and majestic. Also, Douglas Hodge was Willy Wonka...he's pretty famous. The kid who played Mike Teevee messed up his lines pretty much every time he spoke. But he made up for it by being ADORABLE during the curtain call and high fiving the little boy playing Charlie. These kids were around 9 to 11 years old. So much talent. Incredible.
It was definitely an enjoyable time.

So I have no idea what the wifi situation is like in the hostel...not a clue. This could be the last time you hear from me. I know, I know...you're probably devastated.

On to phase two we go!

ARRY POTTAH and more

SO MANY THINGS to write about from the past few days and so little time. So this will be very brief but, obviously, extremely insightful.



First of all Sunday morning a bunch of us went to Madame Tussaud's...which is the wax museum here in London.
This meant that I got to mingle with the stars for a couple of hours...including ONE DIRECTION and other less important people.

Then WE WENT TO THE HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR!

I don't claim myself to be the biggest, most intense Harry Potter fan out there - in fact, some of my flatmates probably deserve that title. However, it was really amazing to see some of the actual sets and props used in the movies and to realize how much artistry really goes into a movie set.
Also, it was animal actors week over there...so I mingled with Hedwig and others. Pretty cool.



Yesterday (which was Monday) Tori, Hanne, and I went to see Phaedra's Love done at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...the place where I am taking classes over here).
So Tori and I had both worked with scenes from this play in Acting I with Antonio so we basically knew what we were getting ourselves into. Let's just say...it was graphic. And I would go into detail here, but I'll just say this instead...masturbating, two blow jobs, rape, castration, disembowelment, and multiple deaths. So yeah, it was graphic. And incredibly intimate. So intimate in fact, that when Theseus slits his own throat his blood bag spurted some blood onto an audience member...so that was awkward.
Basically the three of us were traumatized and hyperventilating at the end, but I, demented as I am, truly found it fascinating and really well done. That's enough about that.

Tonight I saw the best show I have seen so far in London, and quite possibly one of the best shows I have seen period. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.
In case you aren't aware, this was a book...an amazing book that I read quite a few years ago, and then proceeded to wonder HOW IN THE WORLD could this possibly be translated into a play?
I am now aware of how it can be translated into a play. It was magical. Absolutely fascinating.
So if you haven't read the book, I suggest it. To put it very simply, it's about a teenager with Aspergers attempting to solve the case of a dog murder, as well as put together some pieces about his family...
The play was basically the inside of Christopher's (the kid with Aspergers) head. The physicality, the lighting, the staging, everything was remarkable. Not to mention the acting...incredible.
Suggestion: hop on a plane, go to London, see this show.
I have no idea if it will ever end up in the states...it's very UK/London oriented, so who knows if it will make it. But I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see it over here. Favorite show to date.

The countdown continues: 4 days of the program left, 9 days left in London.

Shakespeare, Shakespeare...and more Shakespeare

I am now back from a trip to Stratford Upon Avon, the homestead of William Shakespeare.
This whole trip has been Shakespeare-ful.
We took a train to Stratford on Thursday and had a two hour walking tour of the town. It was raining, naturally. This is the UK afterall. But we saw lots of things, like where Shakespeare was born, his school, where he lived as an adult, and the church that he is buried in.

The graveyard was the prettiest graveyard I've ever seen. The whole town was absolutely gorgeous and just adorable. It was actually relatively cheap too...for the UK. So that was an added bonus.

One of the bathroom there also had a nice plaque displaying the fact that it was the loo of the year...ok then, UK, whatever you say. Just keep doing what you're doing I guess.

ANYWAY after that we had a master class taught by some guy named Eamon from the RSC (that's the Royal Shakespeare Company in case you were wondering). He was Scottish I think, so he pronounced his named like EEEEMON. That was entertaining. He is a voice coach, and works on RSC shows as well as Matilda over here on the West End. He had us doing a bunch of vocal warmups and activities he would have any professional actor do. That was awesome...he was awesome. And Scottish.

At night we went to see Titus Andronicus at the RSC. This is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy. We were so prepared for blood, because everyone warned us of how graphic Titus can be, and how people sometimes pass out and stuff. Let's just say I was EXCITED. However, I think a lot of us were disappointed because it could have been way, way more bloody. It definitely wasn't pass out worthy.
It's also not Shakespeare at his best...there really isn't much to it. I found some of the acting to be phenomenal, and I definitely found myself often more interested in the technical aspects like where they were hiding blood bags and things like that rather than paying attention to the actual story. This was my third Shakespeare play since coming to London/UK and I can definitely appreciate the guy more than I did when I was forced to read the plays in english classes throughout grade school...

Friday we walked around Stratford a lot because it was FINALLY a gorgeous day and we weren't leaving until 5. We got some tea, shopped a bit, took a ferry ride across the river, and then we headed back to the train station and back to our humble abode in London.

I only have 5 more days of classes here, 7 more days left on this program, and 13 days left in London. TIME FLIES!