Cheers: All We Can Do is Keep Breathing

Hi!

Sorry I didn't update last week. As usual, I'm getting to the end of every week and going "well, that was exhausting." This program really pushes you to your limits, and it's exhausting and wonderful all at the same time. Anyway, I'll try to be better about that.

Some exciting news: I officially booked my tickets last night for spring break! I'll be spending half of our week off in Barcelona and then heading up to Madrid to meet with Margaret (my roommate). It's less than a month away and I could not be more excited. Because we're going to be flying there in an airplane the size of a smart car, I will be living out of my backpack for that week. So that should be interesting. Check back for updates!

Theatre-wise, I've seen some amazing productions the last couple of weeks. The week before last, we had no theatre trip planned, but a small group of us were able to see "One Man, Two Guv'nors" at the National for 5 pounds. I was a little skeptical mostly because I heard so many wonderful things about the Tony-Award winning production that came to Broadway for a while, so I was wondering if this would hold up. I don't think I have laughed so hard for so long in my life. I don't want to give too much away, but there was a lot of audience interaction and breaking character and all the things you're not supposed to do in the theatre and it was hilarious and fantastic (and it was 5 pounds!!). So glad I was able to see it.

This past week, I saw two productions. The first was a Harold Pinter play called "Old Times" starring Kristen Scott Thomas (Academy Award winner for "The English Patient" for those of you who care). I could see how this would not be some people's thing, as it was very strange and pretty much nobody knew what was going on, but thanks to a shot of caffeine before hand (I guess that's my thing now) it was something that I thought anyone who wanted to be an actor should see. Just incredible. Harold Pinter plays have a ton of awkward silent pauses in them and all three actors worked those pauses.

The other production I saw was called "The Effect" about how a clinical trial for anti-depressants makes two strangers fall in love. Absolutely fantastic and absolutely broke my heart. This past week was an especially good week for theatre (particularly English theater) and you always need those moments that inspire you to be an actor.

Some fun/interesting things I've done these past couple of weeks.

Shop on Oxford St. There's this massive store called Primark that is basically like a high-end Walmart. It's basically like Black Friday there everyday (which makes me not want to think about what it's like on Black Friday). Lines that are 50 people long for the dressing rooms. 10 pound shoes. People just everywhere. It's an experience.

Went to Oxford. Yesterday, I took a day trip to Oxford (which is where they filmed a lot of the Hogwarts scenes for Harry Potter). I got to be all English and have a croissant and tea for breakfast before spending the day wandering around and looking at buildings that were literally almost a thousand years old. And then being super touristy and hitting up the shops and what not. Overall, a great day and I definitely want to come back.

Crashed a faculty viewing of a production. Sooo, the kids who are at BADA for the year-long program put on a production this past week. All of the single-semester kids saw on Thursday, and then they had another show on Friday evening. Well, my roomie's roomie back at 'SC knew someone in the cast and was going to see the show and she didn't want to be alone. So we decided to go with her, thinking it wasn't going to be a problem. Well, as we came up the steps, our dean stared us down through his glasses and after a moment said "What are you doing here?" Apparently they don't do things spur of the moment here. We caused a little problem as there was a brief panic that there would not be enough chairs. Whoops. Don't worry, we saw the show, and then at the reception afterwards, after standing awkwardly in the corner, one of the women who worked at the office said "Have you had any wine yet??" and shoved a couple of wine glasses into our hands. So then we wined and dined with the faculty. Totally worth it.

Maybe not interesting or fun, but here was my Super Bowl experience. The game started at 11pm. I was desperately craving all of the crappy food I usually eat on Super Bowl Sunday, but had to settle for a block of cheese. And...Beyonce. was. un. real. UNREAL. It is now my life goal to just be her someday. Think I can do it? And then it was 1:30am and I just couldn't make it the rest of the game. Ah well.

Alright. Guess that's it for now. Sorry for the long post. Hope things are popping in America.

Till next time!

Rookie Mistake #11 - The whole party/production crashing thing which turned out to be a win, so...Rookie Solution #1?

Rookie Mistake #12 - So apparently sitting in a place that seemingly looks like a coffee shop that is equivalent to Starbucks and using their free wi-fi will cause you to get a mean-mug stare and huffy reply from the waitress after you tell her you don't want anything. Left a 2.50 pound tip on the table. For free wifi. Ugh.

Rookie Mistake #13 - Thinking that I've mastered understanding the British accent. When I got on the bus yesterday, the bus driver said something to me and I was 100% sure he asked for my name. After I gave it to me, he gave me the strangest look to which I replied, flustered "Sorry, what did you say?" To which he replied with complete deadpan "...morning." 0_0

Rookie Mistake Counter: 13

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