ARRIVAL:
Ahnika was the first to arrive! She and Dan came a week early and explored London. Students met me at Pret a Manger, and I took them to the flats to unpack and settle in. Needless to say I pumped a lot of coffee into me waiting there all day!!!!
Corey and Jen arrive!
Nick and Amanda arrived early Friday morning and waited for Arielle and Marlee at the airport and eventually made it to Hammersmith Road.
At 3:30 we had an Orientation session with Anglo-America on safety, the flats, and London in general.
I also made students stay up until bedtime to help get over jet lag. Some of them got phones after the meeting.
After getting phones and shopping for essentials, we went to Wetherspoons (William Morris Pub) for dinner.
Saturday we moved things from storage into my flat. The students then had a free day. Most went to see the musical, 9 to 5 or Waitress.
WALKING TOUR:
On Sunday I took the students on a walking tour of Central London. We took the tube to Westminster.
The London Eye.
Our first group photo.
Big Ben is under construction and is covered in scaffolding! Not a pretty sight!
We walked along the South Bank past the Aquarium, The Shrek Exhibit, The London Dungeon, and the London Eye to the National Theatre. On the way we stopped at the skateboard area near the National.
We did some book buying at the National Theatre Bookstore, and I was also able to purchase tickets for us all to see Peter Brook who wrote our textbook The Empty Space on October 22 at the National Theatre. We then crossed the Thames River and went to Embankment and Saint Martin of the Fields Church and Crypt.
In the Crypt we stopped at the cafe where I bought everyone tea, coffee, or a soft drink to revive us so we could continue our tour.
CLASSES:
Our classes are being held at The St. Paul Center in Hammersmith. Here students are taking a quiz on As You Like It and The Night of the Iguana for Page to Stage class.
Gus even took the quiz!
Here is Corey and Billy trying to copy Gus' answers!
Gus and John did a presentation on The Globe Theatre for the Theatre in London class.
Anna and Arielle did their presentation and analysis on As You Like It for Page to Stage class.
Nick and Ahnika presented their analysis of The Night of the Iguana for Page to Stage.
Some of the students began taking dance classes at Pineapple Dance Studio in Covent Gardens! They loved it!
REHEARSALS:
On Tuesday after class we had a read-through of Salvation Road by D.W. Gregory that we will be performing October 16 -19 at the Studio at the New Wimbledon Theatre. On Wednesday we went to The Cockpit Studio where we will be rehearsing on Wednesday mornings and Sunday afternoons. On Tuesday and Thursdays we will be at Diorama Studios. We did table work mostly discussing cults!
John who is the dramaturg presented his research and relayed a conversation he had with D.W. the playwright, who, by the way, will be attending the play!!!!
Oh, Gus, as the second assistant director, took notes.
ART IN LONDON CLASS:
After rehearsal we went to the Tate Modern Museum where students met with Becky Hurst, the Art in London professor.
The Globe Theatre and Tate Modern.
The Shard! I have eaten in the restaurant on the top of the Shard twice! Great view of London.
Before meeting Becky, we stopped for lunch on the Southbank.
The Tate Modern. Students attended a special Olafur Eliasson exhibit.
Becky meeting students before setting them free to explore the Tate.
I did some touring of my own. In the gift shop there were shirts and other sayings from the Jenny Holzer exhibit.
Many years ago my friend, Paul Dutro, and I made a special trip to Venice, Italy to buy this shirt from Jenny's exhibit in Venice. We arrived, bought the shirts, had pasta for lunch and left! Since then I have lost the shirt. I think I used it in a production. I wanted to buy this one to replace it, but it cost 30 pounds! Yikes! Love the saying. So fitting for today!
Some of the things in the Tate. Degas!
Monet.
Could be a fun set design.
The Eliasson exhibit that the students loved. Very interactive.
Photo of students in a mirror on the ceiling.
THE GLOBE THEATRE:
After the Tate the students met me next door at the Globe. We lined up a 5 pm for a 7:30 performance so we could be first in line and rush the stage so we could lean on it during the performance. You see we had standing room tickets as Groundlings in the pit!
Leaning makes it bearable.
Across from the Tate and Globe is the Millennial Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral.
The Globe
The Groundling Gate. We waited outside this gate to line up. All the images in the gate are animals Shakespeare mentions in his plays.
Waiting in line. Eating, reading, and good conversation.
Gus makes his debut on the Globe stage!!!!
As many of you may know the original Globe burnt down when a cannon went off and the thatched roof caught on fire. In the new Globe they put in a sprinkler system!!!!
Tonight, Thursday, we went to see The Night of the Iguana starring Cliff Owen and Anna Gunn (she played Skylar White in Breaking Bad). Very good production. Awesome set, lighting, sound, and rain!!!!!
Tomorrow morning we go to Cambridge for the day to learn about the British Educational system! Stay tuned for the next blog!
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!
