A Semester in London

Ireland: Part 1, Dublin, Gaiety School, Tours

2011-12-13T14:27:00.015Z

Here is Patrick Sutton welcoming us to Ireland! He looks great in Tina's Nessie hat doesn't he? Well, we arrived in Dublin on Saturday November 26th and checked into Barnacles Hostel in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. It is where all the action is! The students were here for two weeks studying at the Gaiety School of Acting. This is our 14th year at the Gaiety. Classes taken were: Irish Theatre Seminar with Denis O'Brien, Voice with Cathal Quinn, Acting with Patrick Sutton and Mark Lambert ( actor and director...has performed with Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Court Theatre). We saw many theatre productions: The Government Inspector at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's National Theatre, Little Women at The Gate Theatre, Iscariot at the Boys' School written by Patrick Sutton, the panto, Robinson Crusoe, and The Making of Tis a Pity She's a Whore at the Project Arts Center. This last production was very unique, intriging, and exciting. We all wanted to see it again!

There were also many cultural trips that were part of the program. On Monday there was a walking tour of Dublin with Marie. A trip to St. Michan's Church and Vaults where the students got to see mummies and rub the finger of one for good luck! We also went to the Yeats exhibit at the National Library of Ireland. Perhaps one of the best trips was to Glasnevin Cemetery on the outskirts of Dublin where we got a historical tour by a great tourguide. A lot of political figures and writers are buried there and we got a history of the different wars, revolts, etc of Ireland. Here are some pictures from the Glasnevin Tour. Shannon Ryan from the United States, a former student at the Gaiety was our hostess for the week and took us to the various venues and events. We took a bus to the Cemetery.

Shannon

O'Connell's tomb and tower.

Inside the tomb has been restored. The section on the left has not been restored so one can see the condition it was in before.

Looking up the tower. Spiral staircase is missing.

O'Connell family members also buried here.

Parnell was buried in a colera pit. Hundreds of people were buried in this circle.

Many celtic crosses in the cemetery with excellent stone carving.

Brendan Behan, the playwright's grave. In the hole in the tombstone was originally a bust that went missing. Many times one can find a pint of Guinness in the hole in the stone. When it evaporates, it is usually replaced. If you know Behan, this is very, very appropriate!

Michael Collins' grave, the most visited one in the cemetery.

It was a cold, bitter day!

We also celbrated Aaron's Birthday! Balloons in his room and a cupcake from Patrick. Then we all watched SMU's production of Playboy of the Western World in Patrick's new office! As some of you know, the Gaiety moved to a new building where the Smock Alley Theatre is located. They have many studios, a black box theatre, where we performed last year, only smaller, and the Smock Alley Theatre. So Patrick now has a big office! Congrats!

Patrick's office!

Hope you enjoyed Part 1, move on to Part 2 for more Irish adventures!

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!!!!

Ireland: Part 2, Galway, Panto, Smock Alley

2011-12-13T00:43:00.015Z

After class on Friday we took a bus to Galway. With the new highway and express bus it only took us 2 1/2 hours. Used to take at least 4. We checked into Barnacles Hostel and proceeded to eat fish and chips next door at McDonough's! Great! Spent the weekend shopping, eating, and taking in the night life. It was a good break from all of the memorization of scenes and monologues assigned the first week. Students loved going to the seashore.

Quay Street.

The Christmas Market in Galway.

Bad hair day Andrew?

Looks better than the hair!

We all had Kangaroo burgers and the next day I had Wild Boar and Aaron had antelope!

This is Occupied Galway! Tiny isn't it? Dublin's wasn't much bigger!

Andrew and Tina ride Skip. He survived!

The students finally got to experience a Panto. We saw Robinson Crusoe at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Pantos are strictly a UK phenomenon always done at Christmas time. I am going to see a Bollywood panto of Cinderella at Tara Theatre on the 15th. Should be interesting. They need to be experienced to understand what they are!!!!!

Gaiety Stage.

Safety curtain of the Gaiety Theatre at Interval.

Patrick gave us a tour of the new Smock Alley Theatre which is still under construction. It is one of the oldest theatres in Western Europe...1600's. It is going to be awesome when it is completed.

Thrust seating. Will seat 200.

The Stage.

Sam checking out the seating that will be covered in leather!

This tombstone is going to be part of the bar in the new theatre.

The students performed an hour showcase of all the scene and monologues from Synge, O'Casey, Friel, and Beckett. They did an incredible job! The two weeks of intense, hard work paid off!

The Boss!

Laura who is student teaching in Dublin came to the Showcase!

Tina owes Patrick $85....Why you ask? Ask Tina!

Grafton Street

With the financial problems shopkeepers are using different tactics to get customers into their stores.

Happy Thanksgiving from London

2011-11-24T01:22:00.006Z

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back in the States. We celebrated Thanksgiving here in London last Sunday because we need to be out of our flats by Friday and Saturday so the latter part of this week we need to be packing and cleaning. We celebrated at my flat. Everyone made a dish and we ate well. The 13 students, Katie's mom who arrived that day, and myself took part. Jonathan Kennedy and Tony James and their wives Alise and Anne were unable to attend this year. Sarah made all the decorations. Enjoy the photos.

Turkey centerpiece made from an apple.

placecards with names on them

Appetizers: Chris made homemade salsa, guacomole, homemade chips. Kalinn barb-b-que meatballs. Sam and Maggie did devilled eggs. Also had cheese and crackers

Some of us ate in the living room(the kids table) and the rest ate in the dining room.

Andrew making mashed potatoes Texas-style!

I made turkey and homemade stuffing(chestnuts, dried apricots, chorizio sausage, bread, onions, celery, and chicken stock). Brendan made sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar, and rum, Mary made green beans, I did parsnips, Andrew the mashed potatoes, Aaron fruit salad, Phil homemade cream puffs, Sarah candied carrots, Katie and I made Greek salad, plus much more!!!! Sam and Maggie made pies! We were stuffed and had plenty left over to get us through this final week.

If you remember the Canterbury blog, you will remember this picture of the place where it was decided to send the Mayflower over to the American Colonies...another British connection to Thanksgiving!

The group in Canterbury

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! ENJOY YOUR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!

Some Plays We Have Seen...

2011-11-17T18:09:00.022Z

Why are these girls happy? It is because we have seen some fantastic theatre this semester. I have already posted some of the shows we have seen in earlier blogs. Sarah and Rachel here are excited about the play Jerusalem. More on that in a bit. Here is a list of some of the plays we have seen that are not mentioned below: Chicago starring America Ferrera (Ugly Betty). She was a so-so singer but acted the role well. She played Roxy. Juno and the Paycock at the National Theatre. It is one of the plays that the students will be studying and performing scenes from in Dublin. Driving Miss Daisy which is starring Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. I saw an understudy performance which starred my friend, Jenny Lee, as Miss Daisy. It was awesome! I forgot what a great script that was. Inadmissable Evidence at The Donmar Warehouse starring Douglas Hodge who won the Tony and Olivier Award for La Cage aux Folles. We had an interesting discussion in class about this production. Some loved it and others didn't at all. Some of the students went to see Stomp and really enjoyed it. Mary and Andrew went to see Naked Boys Singing at the old Players Theatre. Here are some of the other shows we attended.

JERUSALEM

This was probably one of the best plays of the semester. Mark Rylance who won both an Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play was incredible. WOW! I had seen the show a couple of years ago when it opened at the Royal Court Theatre. The show has even gotten better!

JUMPY

We saw Jumpy at the Royal Court Theatre. An excellent comedy about a 50 year old woman going through mid-life crisis with her angsty teenage daughter. Wonderful acting all around.

The set.

RAGTIME

This musical with a cast of 20 was performed in the upstairs room of the Landor Pub. It is a small space. Everyone really enjoyed the production except for Jonathan who felt that everyone was too big for the small space. And too loud. Hahahah. It drove him nuts! This summer I saw Carousel
and last year we saw Closer Than Ever there

Andrew outside the Landor Pub

THE PITMAN PAINTERS

This was another one of our favorite plays that we saw for Page to Stage Class. Great script and story!

GHOST

This is the musical based on the film, Ghost. Some of the students attended this production and really liked it, especially the special effects. It is headed to Broadway!

MARAT/SADE

The Royal Shakespeare Company's production at Stratford-upon-Avon. Andrew, Rachel, Kalinn and I went to Straford to see one of my favorite plays that the RSC first did in the early 60's. They ruined it!!!! It was awful! Why mess with a good thing? They modernized it, made all the music mid-eastern, and related it all to the Arab Spring. No need. I think the audience is intelligent enough to make the connection without banging us over the head with it. Anyways, enjoy some of the photos of Stratford which by the way is such a tourist town!!!!! I remember why we do not go there for our day trips anymore.

No comment needed!

The new theatre which has been coverted to a thrust stage.

The cemetery outside the church Shakespeare is buried in.

Disappointment!

THE LION IN WINTER

Another one of my favorite plays starring Robert Lindsay and Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab fame. We loved it. Brendan, Andrew, and I also got to meet Joanna Lumley after the show and chatted for awhile then she asked us to walk her to get a cab. She was delightful and so down to earth. She just did a series for TV on travelling through Greece so when she found out I was Greek we clicked! Ha! For those who know the play, there was a new scene added between Alise and her brother King Philip.....interesting. Trevor Nunn, the director, found it among James Goldman's papers and his widow allowed him to use it and put it in the play. We also saw Trevor Nunn after the show!

Theatre Royal Haymarket

The set.

Andrew, Joanna Lumley, and myself.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Greater Tuna...Oct 18 - 22, 2011 Tara Theatre

2011-10-27T23:56:00.026+01:00

Greater Tuna was performed at Tara Theatre in Earlsfield on Oct. 18 - 22. We had a great audience every night. Enjoy the photos!

THE SET

FEATURING THE FOLLOWING ACTORS...

ANDREW RUSSELL AS

ARLES STRUVIE (right)

DIDI SNAVELY

STANLEY BUMILLER

REV. SPIKES

HANK BUMILLER

AARON PEPPLE AS...

THURSTON WHEELIS

VERA CARP

JODY BUMILLER

PHINAS BLYE

FROM THIS POINT ON THERE WILL BE BIG GAPS BETWEEN PHOTOS SO KEEP SCROLLING DOWN UNTIL YOU GET TO THE END....COMPUTER PROBLEMS AGAIN! SORRY.

PHIL SOULIDIS AS...

CHAD HARTFORD

LEONARD CHILDERS

SHERIFF GIVENS

R.R. SNAVELY

MARY DOCTOR AS...

BERTHA BUMILLER

RONNIE (AND YIPPY)

SARAH ANDERSON AS...

PETEY FISK

HAROLD DEAN

TINA GONZALEZ AS...

ELMER WATKINS (RIGHT)

CHARLENE BUMILLER

SAMANTHA GIBSON AS...

PEARL BURRAS

COACH

ALL THE PRAYERS!!!!

MORE SCENES FROM THE PLAY...

LIGHTI

OUR FANTASTIC CREW: CHRIS, KALINN, RACHEL, MAGGIE, KATIE, BRENDAN

THE END

London 2011: Week Four

2011-10-03T23:48:00.033+01:00

The students posted this picture of me on facebook. This sums up the first month of our semester in London. They have worn me out. I guess I am not as young and energetic as they are...enjoy all the adventures we did this past week!

OUR ENERGETIC AND ENTHUSIASTIC STUDENTS ENJOYING THEMSELVES! I AM GLAD THEY ARE YOUNG AND FULL OF VIM AND VIGOR!

THE NATIONAL THEATRE:

On Monday Evening we attended a production of THE KITCHEN at the National Theatre. The set was a full working restaurant kitchen. All the food was mimed. The play takes place in the late 50's and was a wonderful commentary of that time perio

Notice how the set is a giant pot on a stove!

View of the Thames River from the balcony of The National Theatre.

ROSE BRUFORD:

Two weeks ago I started teaching the ATA first year students at Rose Bruford. ATA is American Theatre Arts. We ran into the third year ATA's who studied at St. Mary's last year. The two groups that I am teaching just finished working on The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Global Issues class read Brian Friel's Translations and discussed Ireland and the troubles they are going through.

The Ata's (photo of 2nd group got deleted, sorry)

Tom (below) wrote and directed a play called Riot about a riot that occurred at the IKEA store in North London in 2005 when it first opened. It was performed at the Soho Theatre.

The program was made to look like an IKEA packing slip! Clever!

ART IN LONDON

Art in London class went to the Sir John Soane's Museum

REHEARSALS OF Greater Tuna at the Drill Hall.

Ronnie, Thurston, and Arles

Rachel with props

Vera and Rev. Spike

Vera and Aunt Pearl

Sheriff and Stanley

Petey Fisk and the duck

Jody and Bertha

Bertha and Charlene

Harold Dean, The Weatherman

VARIOUS VISITS:

OLD VIC

Some students went to go see Playboy of the Western World at the Old Vic Theatre which they enjoyed very much.

Kevin Spacey, the American actor, is the Artistic Director of the Old Vic.

TRICYCLE THEATRE:

The Tricycle Theatre just transferred their production of Arthur Miller's Broken Glass to the West End. Sarah went there to distribute flyers for our productions. The Tricycle has a theatre, cinema, cafe, and gallery.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

LATE NIGHT BOWLING ...50'S THEME. A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.

Rachel goes on tour at the BBC

BATH

THERE WILL BE BIG GAPS BETWEEN PHOTOS UNTIL THE END.

Bath's smallest pub where some of us had lunch. Fish and Chips!

Pulteney Bridge, one of two bridges that have stores on them. The other is in Florence, Italy.

The Bridge.

COVENT GARDEN

WHERE'S WALDO HEN PARTY.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! SORRY FOR THE MESS.