The British Invasion...

Rose Bruford Students Arriving at MSP Airport to study at Saint Mary's this year.


It is midnight in London and I am sitting in my flat getting ready for the arrival of the 11 Saint Mary's students who will be studying in London this semester. They will arrive around 12:15 at Heathrow Airport. Subscribe to this blog and I will keep you up to date on everything we are doing this semester. Meanwhile back at Saint Mary's 7 students from Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, England arrived in Winona on August 17th to spend the whole year studying theatre at SMU. I had the priviledge of teaching these students last fall at Rose Bruford. They are in a three year course which studies American Theatre. They spend their second year at an American university. The other half of their group is at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. After their arrival I had the opportunity to orient them to Winona and surrounding areas. Enjoy the photos below and share in some of the fun experiences we had. They went through new student orientation and have been cast in three of the four shows at Saint Mary's this fall and are throroughly enjoying themselves.




Waiting for Kelly to get out of customs!!! Don't ask!




Jen, Claire, me, and Laura-Leigh waiting for Kelly!


We spent Wednesday after their arrival on Don Nelson and Mary Kaye Perrin's boat on the Mississippi River. It started out with nice weather, then it rained, then hailed, and when we returned back to school, we had to go to a shelter because of tornado warnings! Welcome to the mid-West!



Jen, Kelly, Laura, Charlotte, and Claire on the top deck




Shereen, Kelly, and Laurence enjoying the view of the bluffs and the river.

Don, our Captain!

One of the many barges going down the Mississippi River

Stopping for lunch on a sand bar....then the rain began as we finished eating.

Laurence, Kelly, and Shereen braving the rain and hail. The rest of us were inside staying dry.

Laura holding the boat against the wall of the Lock and Dam before being able to pass through.

Our lives were also in Charlotte's hands!!!

Laurence doing what he does best waiting for the Lock to open so we can pass through

Mary Kaye, Jen, Charlotte

The British version of the Titanic!!!

We then spent Thursday in Lansboro, Minnesota, a small town with a professional theatre company. We spent the day shopping, eating dinner, and going to see Neil Simon's The Odd Couple at the Commonweal Theatre. We were joined by Judy Myers, Curtis Kempton, Tim Schmall, and Peter Snell. It was a pleasant day in a small town! Ah, rural America!

Curits and Laura in the lobby of the Commonweal Theatre

Shereen walking the streets of Lansboro....shopping!

Laura and Claire....more shopping!

The theatre.

The group after the talk back with the cast of the play.

The End!

Hope you all follow our adventures in London this semester! Tomorrow is move-in day and me trying to keep all the students awake until bedtime to get them on a London schedule!!!! Safe journey everyone!