Rest In Peace Roger

Our dear friend, teacher, designer, and mentor, Roger Frith, passed away yesterday morning at 9:00 am. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Joyce, and daughter, Louise. Below is the last photo I took of Roger. I know your light will be shining down on all of us.



Roger and Jonathan on opening night of Radium Girls.

Lots of blogs and news posted below...

Well this will be the last blog from London. I have posted four blogs for your reading pleasure with tons of photos. This one covers a variety of things. The next is Thanksgiving in Britain. Then some sad news about Roger Frith. The final one is our private tour of the National Theatre that we took today. Eight of us leave for Dublin on Saturday. Tim and Mary leave at 4am for Paris and then Rome. Peter and Shannon take off for Paris, Germany, Austria, and Rome. Tommy is headed back to the states as is Amber and Michelle. The acting class also did some awesome scenes from the play, Us and Them about how the British see Americans and how the American view the British....very funny stuff. Tim, Michelle, Caitlin, and Ali did great British dialects. and Curtis, Dani, Bern, Peter, and Joe handled the New York dialects very well....

I had a great meal at The Ivy last week! I finally got there. Had dinner with Jonathan, his wife, Alise, and his mother Carol that many of you met this summer in Winona.

We have seen some awesome theatre this week. August: Osage County at the National. Noises Off and Edward Scissorhands, the ballet at the New Wimbleldon Theatre. We saw Marat/Sade tonight and on Tuesday, Bern, Ali, Jonathan and I went to see Sondheim's A Little Night Music which was directed by Trevor Nunn at the Chocolate Factory. Getting great reviews.

Bill went to Normandy and made it back on Sunday to have Thanksgiving dinner. Dani and Amber went to Rome.

Amber throwing a coin in the Treve Fountain...hoping for what Amber???

Dani, what's up with the sling?

The Pope....

I will be posting more blogs from Ireland....Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving in Britian

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated Thanksgiving last Sunday with a great dinner, Macy's Day Parade (from last year), and good company. Went shopping on Saturday and got two large frozen turkeys that we were praying would thaw out by Sunday afternoon. Everyone contributed something to the dinner. I prepared the turkeys and greek salad. Bern made a sweet apple based stuffing that was awesome! Curtis attempted to make jello. Put it in the freezer and finally by Wednesday it was ready to be eaten. Corn, gravy, savory stuffing, pecan pie, green bean hot dish (Ali), Michelle made a truffle dessert, hot rolls, cranberry sauce, cold pistashio salad that Caitlin made, and sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. Plus tons more. It was a good start to a busy week.




Two turkeys thawing in the bath tub.




Don't ask!!!



Sweet potatoes before they are baked with brandy and brown sugar.




Curtis' frozen jello...I never did get to taste it three days later.




Of course, Greek Salad

Taking Bern's stuffing out of the turkey.

Turkey out of the oven with the savory stuffing.

Joe provided us with the Macy's Day Parade from last year.

More parade!

Peter and Tommy set the table.

center pieces...and candles. We went all out!

Our Turkey Hand wall....

What we were thankful for....

the group

Enjoying the meal

The tables and chairs from Radium Girls came in handy...

Sad News about Roger Frith

We are saddened to hear that Roger Frith, our lighting designer in London, is in a coma and will not come out of it. Below I have attached an email from his wife, Joyce, explaining what happened after his 11 hour surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his mouth. All of our students have become close to Roger so I wanted everyone to get the same news. In tribute to Roger we all went to his favorite hang out, Wibbas Downs, the Weatherspoon's pub, in Wimbledon after we saw the ballet, Edward Scissorhands. We toasted Roger and thought of all the good times we had with him this semester. Tim and Shannon also worked with Roger on other shows he was working on. I will keep everyone informed as far as any further developments.

Here is Joyce's email:

Forgive me if I have already sent this information but I am getting rather muddled as to whom I have spoken and when.
I think most of you know that Rog came through an 11 hour operation for mouth cancer on Monday 17th Nov really well. Sadly, he had a massive relapse on Thursday 20th. He got a large blood clot in his throat which closed his airways. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped. They brought him round but at great cost. The brain was starved of oxygen for too long and he is now in a coma and has no brain function. My beautiful husband is lying in intensive care unable to respond to anything at all. All we are doing now is waiting. They have taken him off all life support machines and are keeping him as comfortable as possible. They are looking after him so well - they even gave him shave so he looked nice. I think they are intending to send him to the ward when they have a private room available so that we have privacy and dignity.
It is all too awful to talk about - I felt I had to tell you all to warn you of the inevitable consequences. Louise and I are surviving somehow or the other and everybody has been wonderful. Please do not send me any more flowers but do write if you wish. I can just about cope now with email and cards but I am not brilliant on the phone. If you feel you know somebody who is not on this list should be informed then please pass on the message for me.
My love to you all - Joycie x



At Weatherspoons...Roger's favorite hang out

Please keep Roger and Joyce in your prayers.

Backstage Tour of the National Theatre

We had a private tour of the backstage of the National Theatre. Tim Blazdell, a design associate, tooks us around. We got to go on the set of Oedipus and August: Osage County. This was a great way to end our time in London. The tour and Tim were amazing!



Banners at the back of the National Theatre.



All of us on the stage of August: Osage County, the production from Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. An amazing show and great set!






The Lyttelton Theatre taken from the stage of August: Osage County

Tim Blazdell giving us a tour of the paint shop.

On the set of Oedipus in the Olivier Theatre. It starred Ralph Fiennes.

Soldier costumes for War Horse.

One of the overworked horse puppets.

Taking a photo at the rear of Joey, the main character horse puppet. Why this end guys?

Joey's leg.

Joey...head up against the wall. Wish it was the other way around.

The goose puppet hanging upside down in storage.

Part of the set for The Walworth Farce in the Cottesloe Theatre. We didn't see the show at the National but will be seeing this production next week in Dublin. It is going on tour.

The group with Tim Blazdell in the Cottesloe Theatre

Part of the outdoor photo exhibit at the National.


After the tour we went to see Marat/Sade at the Pleasance Theatre performed by the Mountview Acting School. The picture below pretty much sums up how we are all feeling at the end of the semester and exam week.

The End!!!! A good time was had by all!!!!

The Many Faces of Shannon Welle

As many of us here in London know, Shannon Welle loves to steal people's cameras and take pictures of herself on these cameras. I would like to share some of her handiwork that I found on my camera during our Thanksgiving celebration! Enjoy!

For those who do not know Shannon here is what she really sort of looks like...

"God's Country" at Rose Bruford and Some Good Theatre This Week

Well tomorrow night I finally get to eat at The Ivy! Will write the review later...It has been a fun two days for seeing shows. Last night we saw an incredible production of Noises Off and tonight a production of War Horse at the National Theatre. This was a little different from last years production. Looking forward to speaking to those of you back at SMU that saw it last year.

Here are some photos from my class at Rose Bruford where the Rose Bruford students are rehearsing scenes from Steven Dietz's play, God's Country. Three different groups had three totally different interpretations and styles which led to some great discussion.



Group 3 directed by Gareth


Same without the atmosphere



Gareth trying to direct...




Dave M. No Comment

Hannah and Callum.....Group 2

Coran and Clare narrating

Callum playing the Pastor. Twelve Lost Tribes sermon.

Coran

Jodie, Clare, Anna

Hannah, Callum, Clare, Jodie, Anna

Group 1: Cemetery Scene Kelly, Maria, Laura, Laurence, and Erla

Listing of the White Supremist Groups

Erla, Jamie, Maria, Laurence: Lee Harvey Oswald scene

Jamie, Kelly

Getting names from gravestones.....The End.....

Next week we will continue our discussion on small town America and review the plays we have studied this semester: The Crucible, Our Town, The Laramie Project and God's Country. We will also watch the final acting project the SMU acting students are performing from the play, Us and Them by Tamsin Oglesby.

Caitlin and Tommy in Wales...

Hello! Tommy here. Caitlin and I went to the seaside town Aberystwyth in Wales. The window from our guest house had a wonderful view of Cardigan Bay. Our first destination was the ruin of an old castle just around the bend from where we stayed. Atop the castle, we could see the bay, the beautiful University of Wales, and some of the surrounding countryside. We ate at a restaurant that served us freshly caught cod and local lamb. At the far end of the town is the longest electric tramway in Britain, which was sadly closed. We did however, find a footpath up the mountain the tramway ascended. At the top was a disc golf course! We attempted to play a few holes, but the wind only allowed our discs to travel a few feet before spinning out of control. We finished our stay in Aberystwyth with a huge meal at "the best fish and chip place in town".




Aberystwyth....



Caitlin points to America!




Caitlin sinks the putt!




Tommy playing Disc Golf on top of a cliff....

Tommy at the ocean...

The Welsh Coas

Raising Cane in Scotland!!!!! AND MacBackpackers!!!!!!

Edinburgh Castle


Well we all "Raised Cain" in Scotland for five days! Below are blogs from students and the new Raising Cane III: Fore! video. We took the train from London's King's Cross Station (unfortunately not from the Harry Potter platform) to Edinburgh. Below are some photos of the train ride.


Tim and Mary. Tim is not bored!



Dani and Shannon doing what they do best.



Ali eating her fingers!




Amber creeping us out!



Curtis and Peter trying to do scary faces. We had to amuse ourselves for 5 and a half hours!



While in Edinburgh we stopped in the Edinburgh Fringe Shop, visited the Castle, went to the Children's museum and played, and, of course, shopped.


Fringe shop from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival




Video from the Children's Museum. Enjoy the show!



Some of the scary dolls (I think they come to life at night!)



A Sweeney Todd Nickelodeom Machine! Judy you would love it!



Peter practising for his future career.



No Comment!


Enjoy the student blogs and photos of Saint Andrew's and the tour of the Highlands!


Hey there friends and family! This is Peter, "Knocking Man" of the Raising Cane videos. Thank you so much for watching our videos. We hope you have enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed creating them. The latest installment takes place at St. Andrew's in Scotland, the home of golf! Many of the clips took place on the world's first golf course. Some of you golfers may recognize the famous club house and Roman bridge. Also, some movie buffs may recognize the beach from the movie, "Chariots of Fire."


Raising Cane III: Fore! A Scottish Experience






Gary, Curtis, Bill, and myself took a bus into St. Andrew's from Edinburgh on Friday morning. We had a great time exploring the town, shopping, eating, seeing the latest Bond movie, and of course creating the video.

Curtis, Bill, and I got up eary on Saturday morning, hired (rented) two set of clubs from our hostel, and headed to the St. Andrew's Links Club. We hit a couple buckets of balls and then headed for the Balgrove course. Curtis and I played a round of 18 with Bill as our caddy. Our game was a little rusty, but it was an amazing experience to play golf at the club where golf was invented.

The rest of the group took a tour of the Highlands and had a fantastic time! We heard a lots of great stories that they will share down below after the posted pictures of St. Andrew's. I hope all is well in the States. Cheers!




Ruins of the old Cathedral in St. Andrew's



Peter, Bill, Curtis exploring the Cathedral cemetery



Peter and Curtis in the Cemetery



Crying angel in the Cemetery

Bill and Curtis on the shore near the seal house (I told you Curtis they had seals in St. Andrews)

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Peter outside the private club house at the Old Course in St. Andrew's. There was no way he was getting in!

Curtis and Peter at the 18th hole of the Old Course

Moonlight shining on the water near the stone pier...

Hey readers! Bern and Caitlin here! A bunch of us went on the MacBackpackers tour of the Scottish Highlands this past weekend! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The three day tour included Loch Ness, Isle of Skye, Glencoe, Fairy Glens, mountain climbing and whisky distillery. The group went for a swim in Loch Ness; Tommy, Michelle and Danielle have bruises from Nessie. We stayed in a "wee house" in Skye with the other people on our tour (mostly French!) and had a great view of the highlands. We spent one night teaching some of the French how to play Spoons! They loved it!

The mountain we climbed was over 1,100 feet! It was a grueling journey through wind, sleet and rain...and a little sunshine. The view was gorgeous and well worth the effort. Some people decided to take the "long way" down with our kick-ass tour guide. Not only did it prove to be longer, but slightly more challenging as well. We had to charge down a sheer cliff face and eventually ended up just sliding down on our butts.

The mountain we hiked!

Michelle leading the way.

Ali a little wet. This is our tour guide!

The hike continues and continues and continues......

One of many great scenic views

Bern at one of the many magical rivers.

Mary and Bern getting ready to dip their faces in the magical waters to obtain eternal beauty!

Well did it work? Only time will tell....

Dani, Tim, and Mary contemplating whether to go swimming in the cold waters of Loch Ness.

Dani and Michelle go for it.

All of us dive in!!!!! Brrrrrr!!!!

We survived the Loch Ness monster and are really freezing here even though we are all smiling.

Tim as the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, with his french counterpart in the wee house.

After our hike, soaked and exhausted, we made friends with locals as we dried our clothes in a co-op/laundromat. Some of us stood there with pajama pants and towels wrapped around our bottoms as we waited for our pants to dry.

One evening we stopped at a Fairy Glen and were told stories of the "wee folk" that are said to reside there. There was definitely a postive energy from the land. One of our last stops was the monument to William Wallace (a.k.a. Braveheart). The scale of the monument shows the devotion to this Scottish national hero.

This trip was worth every penny! We had a great tour guide (ask for G!) and we are so grateful that we were able to experience the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland forever!

Imagine This.......

No this was not taken in London but in Paris!!!!


All the students had a great time travelling last weekend. Bill and Curtis went to Madrid, Spain and had Burger King for their first meal there! Why?????? Peter and Shannon actually played Lacrosse for a male and female team in Dublin. Neither one had ever played before. We need to see these pictures. Tim and Mary went to Galway. The others went to Paris. Some of their photos are below:



The Paris group.



Amber and Michelle trying to find their way back home to London.





Paris in the background.




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Dani waiting for her date to show up.




Meanwhile, back in London:


Big Ben

Big Ben and Parliment

Ryan Gostomski (son of alumni Michael Gostomski) and I at Witherspoons where they were featuring his PLUM beer from his brewery in Poland for their beer festival last week.

Bill, Bern and Tim outside the New London Theatre where a new musical, Imagine This...premiered.

Can you believe a musical about the Warsaw Ghetto and holocaust!!!! It was a combination Phantom of the Opera (music box opening the show), Les Miz (rotating stage and similar music), and Fiddler on the Roof... Reviews were mixed. Tim, Bill, Peter and I didn't really like it. Joe was so-so about it. Ali and Michelle loved it because it was sad and they cried!!! Bern....who knows! Wednesday night we went to the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond to see two short Vaclav Havel plays, Audience and Mountain Hotel. We all seemed to like them both. Should inspire some great discussion in class on Monday. We also saw on Monday night the new modern version of Six Characters in Search of an Author. WOW! Talk about messing with your mind....really cannot wait for the post discussion of this play! Unbelieveable.

Tonight a group of students went to see Woman in Black and had the bejesus scared out of them...Left them screaming!

We are going to Scotland next week...all of us are looking forward to that trip!

Raising Cane II at Blenheim Palace

Enjoy the latest installment.