Vocal Coach to the Stars Masterclass

For my second and final (free) Masterclass at the Royal Haymarket Theater, the host was Patsy Rodenburg.  What an amazing women she was.  She is a vocal and acting teacher with a varied and impressive resume and in a couple of hours, laid a ground plan for a year's worth of improvement in improving an actor's voice.  One of her basics was the three circles of energy: the 1st was the self conscious energy, the second was being present/aware, the find 3rd was over doing it energy. She mentioned people she worked with from people in jail to (unnamed) famous actors and directors.  She gave a number of examples of helpful and healthful exercises for the voice.  A wonderful experience for the last Friday.      

Stratford Bill

Today I can finally say I saw a show at the Globe Theater.  I wen to see the Shakespeare party hosted by the Footsbarn Theater which apparently was last in London in 1993.  The show was a fun mix of puppetry, acrobatics, and song used to tell snippets from various Shakespeare plays- The porter scene from the Scottish play, Pyrimus and Thisbe from Midsummer, and so on.  One of the songs was called "Stratford Bill" which was about his friends telling him to not write in iambic pentameter cause "nobody talks like that anymore." It was a pretty good fun, especially when the tightrope walker did her thing, while playing the violin at the same time!    

Chelsea Vs. Manchester United!!

Soccer isn't my forte, but everyone knew that the football championships were yesterday in Moscow, Russia. It said on the BBC's website that it is the first time two teams from the UK have competed against each other in the finals. So since it was Chelsea, which is a borough of London, vs Manchester United, which...is in Manchester, we decided to go down to a pub in Chelsea and became Chelsea fans for the night. It was one of my best experiences in London by far. We arrived 2 hours before the game and most people were drunk or just singing their Chelsea cheer songs badly, which made them sound drunk haha. Everyone had a few drinks and watched the game in this VERY crowded pub. Manchester United scored first, but before the half, Chelsea was able to score and tied it up. No one else would score in the game or in extra time(overtime for americans) so it went to penalty kicks. Each team missed one so it went to sudden death kicks. MU made theirs and then Chelsea missed so Chelsea lost : (. The pub cleared out very silently and bottles began to be broken so we got out of there. It was SO fun and I've never seen anything like this in my life for just sports. It was like nothing else in America.
An absolute ball though : )

Shakespeare's Home

We went up to Stratford-on-Avon Friday, and what a day it was.  Friday became the day of Shakespeare: where he was born, where he's buried, his museum about his life.  It was all great, but the best was definitely the play we saw. That was probably the best version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" I've ever seen onstage. Period.  The Royal Shakespeare Company certainly knows how to put on a show.  The actors were fantastic.  The stage effects, were incredible, the fairy king and queen both flew.  Of course they were were supported but they were so graceful, that the wires did not register with me.  The fairies were cool and so were the mechanicals who put on "Pyramus and Thisbe."  I'm sad that I'm going to be missing the summer shows such as "Hamlet" because they sound just as awesome.  But the RSC plays are certainly a reason to come back to Stratford. It just a question on the when and how.  

The Director's Blog

We are about half way through our program residency in London, and I have resisted adding any entries to the Fine Arts 2008 blog, feeling as I do that this site belongs to our students. They all are contributing their reactions, impressions, images, and assessments of life in London - and beyond - that will help any reader of these entries to understand something of the myriad ways in which this world city may be defined. I feel very privileged to be their director this year. As any educator knows one of the richest rewards of teaching is what one learns from one's students. And this group is richly rewarding me by sharing their discoveries, their opinions - of which they have many, naturally! - and their indefatigable curiosity about every aspect of the cultural life surrounding them. I hope all blogsters are enjoying reading these entries as much as I am.

Here is a shot of the group taken in the Dean's Yard by Westminster Abbey...

Paris, je t'aime

There seems to be a trend in these last few posts...

I spent 48 hours in Paris this past weekend and cannot even begin to describe the amazing time I had. The coach ride was rough- I don't sleep well upright and on the way back we were stuck in Calais waiting to get on a ferry for over 2 hours- but the travel was well worth it. The Eiffel Tower is more incredible than I expected; you go in thinking it won't be as great as everyone made it sound, but that view from the top is absolutely breathtaking! The view from Sacre-Couer over the city isn't so bad either. I had dinner up there on Sunday night listening to some French buskers sing La Bamba and Maroon 5. I went to mass at Notre Dame, saw the Moulin Rouge, went to the Louvre (the Mona Lisa is overrated...), Musee D'Orsay, Champs Elysees, Arch de Triumphe, the Bastille, Latin Quarter, Saint Sulpice, through 4 different gardens, through the hills of Montemartre... the list is so long. Having this access to all these beautiful and completely unique European cities is wonderful and I'm already planning trips back and haven't even left yet!

One tip: if you're going to Paris, go the first weekend in the month. So many tourist attractions are free on the first Sunday- the Louvre, Musee Picasso, Musee D'Orsay, Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle etc etc. The lines move fast since it's just a security check, not a ticket line, and obviously, free is always good!... especially in this economy!

The weekend coming up includes the group day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon and then I'm off to Paderborn, Germany to visit an exchange student that went to high school with me for a year. I can't wait to explore more of this continent...

The Cans Festival!

Over the weekend, a friend from home saw some information on an art festival that was one weekend only. The past weekend, The Cans Festival was in town on Leake street right by the London Eye. Some of the world's most famous graffiti artists came and filled this street tunnel with some really cool works. I went and checked it out, expecting that not many people knew about it, but I had to wait an hour and a half to get in! It was definitely worth it though. Here are a few of my favorite pieces I saw:

Globe Theater

This week was awesome, because seeing the Globe Theater was a trip highlight.  It may not be the original theater that Shakespeare wrote for, but still there is something extraordinary about the Globe replica.  The care and attention that was put into making it- as detailed in the exhibit section.  The thatched roof was made with reeds as the original had been.  During our tour, the box seats were being painted with scenes from mythology- one I could recognize was the death of Adonis. Our tour guide said it wasn't a touch up job, but the first time the artwork was being painted there.  As I was going through it, I kept thinking I must see a show here, I can't leave London without doing so.   

Rome!

Everyone else had a cool title, but sadly I mistook my flight for Rome for a later time and missed it. I had the flat to myself for a couple days and since I had already blown a bunch of money I just hung out here for a few days heh. Today in our art history class we went to the White Cube, which was a gallery off of one of the main roads. After having a few difficulties getting there, we managed to arrive and saw a bunch of works based after Edgar Allen Poe stories. There were some really cool pieces, but also some really odd and creepy ones. After the White Cube, the exhibition continued a block away in the decrepit basement of a town hall, which gave it an eerie feeling. Also across from the White Cube was an exhibit in the park of a forensics team that looked real, but turned out just to be manikins. It also had a creepy vibe heh. All in all things have been good. The weather was soooo nice over the weekend, but the week is full of rain. The temperature is starting to become perfect and make it lovely to go out in! And here is a video of an art exhibition at Tate Modern!

Beautiful Amsterdam

We just spent 4 glorious days in Amsterdam and wow! What a magnificent city. It's absolutely gorgeous, with canals and bridges and gardens everywhere. The architecture is quite incredible and I was very happy to see a Renzo Piano building (the NEMO) in person. Everybody in Amsterdam rides a bike-you gotta watch out for them or they'll run you over. I was more scared of the bikes than of the cars as we were crossing the streets. The shopping is ridiculous! The fashions are quite extravagant and there are so many tennis shoes and boots and purses and clothes. I got an amazing bag that cost way too much money but will be a good souvenir of my time in Europe. The food is great. Chocolate and waffles and shakes and pastries and pizzas-food everywhere! The Red Light District is a must see of course, but a night it can be a bit sketchy. It was such a fun time! Best so far!!!

Amsterdam!

So I thought that London was beautiful and amazing and fantastic, but then I went to Amsterdam! Wow. What a city! Built on a system of canals, the streets are lines with pretty cafes and houses and large trees. Biking is the mode du jour, and there are 20 million bikes in Amsterdam! And trust me, as a tourist there, you have to watch your back, or you will get run over by a bike... I think they try to kill tourists there! Seriously though, more cars then bikes. Incredible chocolate, cheese, night life... a very exciting city, and so romantic!

Time sure flies when you are having fun! We have been here for 3 weeks now and we all feel so comfortable in our new city!

I have gone to some great shows with the program and on my own with my flatmates. We have seen different types of shows, ranging from musicals, operas, and dramas. My personal favorite was Monty Python's Spamalot, which I went to see with my flatmates. It was such a great performance! The audience was roaring and the actors were loving their roles. I like it when the actors know something is funny and get so caught up in laughing they have to stop. That happened a few times and it made the play for me. We got to sit in the second row a discounted price because we were students. That is one thing that I really like about this city. They give good student discounts at a lot of stuff.

This weekend my flat went to Scotland. my favorite that we saw was Rosslyn chapel. It was so beautiful and had so much history. There were so many different carvings and statues all over the walls and surrounding areas that all have different meanings. Walking around the grounds made me feel a profound sense of awe for what people have made hundreds of years ago that still stands today. The work that the people of Scotland are putting into this structure to preserve it is amazing. They have had a tent covering it for over 10 years to restore the building from mold. Even with scaffolding around it, Rosslyn chapel is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen! We had some gorgeous weather for our visit as well. Instead of the forecasted rain all day, it only rained for a little bit in the morning and was sunny all afternoon!

Get out of London, see the rest of the UK

London is a city of millions of people squeezed into a couple of miles.  But because it is such a big, amazing city, that one can forget that there are other exiting places to see and take in in the United Kingdom.  I just went up to Edinburgh on a day trip with my roommates, and saw the Scottish port city in a day's worth of its glory.  The views were great and the food was new and great.  The Rosslyn Chapel (of Da Vinci Code fame) is a bus ride away from the center of the city.  It was cool to see the centuries old church, learn it's history, and how the moviemakers dealt with the painfully obvious scaffolding engulfing the whole  structure.  We later went to the Botanical Gardens. The glass greenhouses were great and seeing all those brilliantly looking and smelling flowers after winter was awesome.  We had heard about huge lily pads there, but then we found that they were still small this time of year.  Speaking of time of year, it sounded like if you ever are in the vicinity, come to Edinburgh in the summer.  The seasonal festivities and festivals sound like they make the trip worth every pence.     

 In the end, don't forget to see other forests for other trees.

I saw a really interesting show the other day at the Soho Theater called, Wedding Day at the Cro-Magnon's. It was the perfect blend of dark comedy, amazing writing, and splendid acting. I have never enjoyed myself so much in a play that I had to buy the script instantly after the show. It was so refreshing to see actors on stage doing so well what we are trained to do.

Theatre

So, I've found the greatest thing about London are the student discounts. Yes, the exchange rate is terrible and the U.K. is generally much more expensive than the U.S., but the help given to students over here is fantastic. I've seen 3 shows outside the group's theater adventures and for every one, the tickets have been more than 50% discounted! And it doesn't stop there either. Every museum store gives at least a 10% discount, as do many concerts and other events. Without being a student while spending all this time here, we'd all have a much more complicated time of finding things to do and enjoy at decent prices.

Today the entire group had a tour of the National Theatre. Seeing how they operate 3 theaters within the one building, including props, sets, and all the storage capability was really interesting. We got an insight to the inner-workings of a very esteemed performing space. Having the opportunity to see the background along with all the performances makes seeing the shows more valuable. Many of us realize all the hard work that goes into shows from having personal experience, but it's more vivid when you're standing next to the workers in the set room and the actors practicing on the stage. The speed in which they put together these shows, that we had a short glimpse of, makes it even more amazing.

It really feels like everyone's getting a strong feel of our surroundings at this point, which is really nice. I thought we wouldn't really know the city until right before we left, but after these couple of weeks it seems as though we're all getting familiar with the area. It certainly doesn't feel like this much time has gone by and I feel more pressured every day to make sure I don't miss any opportunities while I'm here... But then I have to remind myself, there's a TON of time left to accomplish it all. 

Early yesterday morning we got up, walked down to the Old Vic Theatre and bought standing tickets to see Speed the Plow. The Performance was amazing! Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum were absolutely a joy to watch (and listen to, considering our tickets had a limited view). The play itself (by David Mamet) was great--and the rapid fire dialogue from Spacey and Goldblum was hilarious. The production was world class on all levels. The set, sound, lights, costumes, everything was spectacular.
We've seen some amazing things since we've been here, but that was the first time we were able to watch acting that good on stage. It's really inspiring to see. We are considering going to see it again before it closes.

Class with Dolores Umbridge

It turns out, I've hit a small gold mine in the heart of London. had I not gone to the play "The Sea" last week, I would not have learned about the free "Masterclass" talk/workshop that was offered once a month at the theater. 

I went to the Royal Haymarket Theater, not knowing what to expect, beyond that Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter, Very Drake) was going to be directing the workshop.  It turned out to be a scene study class in which three (brave) actors worked on a scene from a play called "A Chorus of Disapproval" and Staunton was directing and critiquing them before an eager to learn audience of mostly acting students. Since the play was a comedy, the work involved was fun to watch and produced a lot of laughs for those in the theater. And after working on and improving the scene for over an hour, a Q&A wit Staunton was held. The members of audience asked her questions about acting on stage and film, had she ever considered directing as a new venture, and what was her favorite role (she went into detail about Vera Drake) For the most part, she gave good, useful, and straightforward advice and got a round of applause from her listeners. 

I don't know yet if there will be another celebrity led workshop while we are here in London, but I'm going to keep looking for when the next one will be and for similar workshops that are also as reasonably priced.  

London-great theatre!

I just saw the most beautiful piece of theatre I've ever seen in my life. It was called Molora and was an adaptation of The Oresteia by Yael Farber set in South Africa's apartheid. "Molora is an examination of the spirals of violence begat by vengeance, and the breaking of such cycles by the ordinary man" Complete with a choris of Xhosa tribeswomen singing and speaking in their native language. The most amazing stage actress I've ever seen, a deep sorrowful voice smears blood on her face. A daughter struck with grief at her father's death sobs at his grave. South Africa's relatively peaceful transition was an extraordinary exception in our vengeful world.

A message of piece to us all: Hiroshima,Baghdad, Palestine, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Bosnia, the concentration camps of Europe and modern-day Manhattan.

Beyond the Classroom

One of things that I like most about our trip so far is the fact that we're really using the city as our classroom. Two nights ago, we went to our first musical production- my first opera- and it was great! It was in a beautiful hall in the Barbican center, and I can't wait to go home and get the CD.

Last night, my flatmates and I fulfilled one of the requirements for our theater class by seeing a play outside of the syllabus, Spamalot. We managed to get a really good price and sat in the second row of the stage, perfect to see the actors expressions as they tried to hide their laughter about the play.

And today, we met one of teachers in the National Gallery and spent several hours there as we traced European art from the Proto-Renaissance up through Impressionism. Other art history classes look at books or slide shows to see this kind of art. Instead, we looked at Da Vinci's Virgin on the Rocks, and Monet's Water-Lilly Pond in person. It's been really nice using our classes as way to explore the city in addition to all of our individual trips around town.

Best day

At the risk of sounding repetitive... I can't believe we've done so much in just one week! There's still so much more to see too...

Last night the entire group went to see 'Ainadamar' by Osvaldo Golijov. It's a piece about Frederico Lorca and his muse Margarita Xirgu. It's the first opera I've seen that wasn't staged, it was more of a concert setting, but it really fit the piece. Overall, I loved it; Golijov's writing is really incredible to me.

Today was my favorite day in the city thus far. We went on the London Eye this afternoon- a giant ferris wheel of sorts that is almost 450 feet tall! We were in little pods that rotated around the wheel to give us a fantastic view of the city. Luckily, the rain ceased while we were on the wheel itself, despite sprinkling before and after our trip up. Afterwards, a couple of us headed towards Neal Street, a walking-only shopping street that is a tourist attraction according to our guide books. We ended up going through Covent Garden on the way there, which has since become my favorite place in London so far. It's like an outdoor mall with vendors and street performers and is so colorful. I can see myself spending a lot of time there in the weeks to come. Neal Street was also nice, but it certainly didn't live up to my opinion of the previous location. Palace Theater is right around the corner from Neal, so we headed over to buy tickets for Spamalot for that evening. I was prepared for nose-bleed seats, but the man at the booth gave us 2nd row seats at less than half the price! The show was great- an extended and musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was a little altered from the Broadway version I'd seen- using Heather Mills (McCartney's ex) as a joke and using many more British pop culture references. 

More to come...

Cheers!

-Meghan

London!

Well things have been interesting to say the least so far. I'm that guy in the group who got his luggage lost. Things in London are pretty great so far. I sleep a lot because I am adjusting slowly to the difference in time. I have went off on my own to kind of explore, I just really like going off randomly heh. I've seen the sights:


The blog cuts off photos and I don't know how to fix it, so there are just two. There are plenty more, but there are a few from my first little excursion. I brought my guitar, which the airport let me just take on board. I can stand to lose my clothes, but if they would have lost that, things would have been really bad heh. The flat's nice. I don't have any pictures. London is so expensive, but it's still really fun. It's rainy today, so a good opportunity to give a little update. We are gearing up for another exciting week.
Tonight: Ainadamar
Tomorrow: London Eye
Thursday: A tour of Handel's house
woooooooo

First Week in London

I am still getting over the fact that we are in London. There has been so much to do and the days here have been flying. Our first day here we went to the Tate Modern and saw amazing pieces of artwork. My favorite would have to be this ENORMOUS crack that goes along the entire first floor of the gallery. A few of the guys grabbed a burger and beer at Al's Bar and Grill and were reminded that we were not in America anymore when we got our bill. Adjusting to the money was not as difficult as I would have thought, you just really have to watch what you spend. We all agree that Al's burgers and beer was a "special occasion". The next day we had a tour of the entire city and I was astonished as to how much there is to see. You could spend a year here and still you would not see everything there is to see. We saw Trafalgar's square which is magnificent and gorgeous with it's giant lions and statues towering over us. We saw Prince Albert's memorial with it's elaborate shapely grandness that you just want to stare at it for hours. We also saw Westmister Abbey and will later have a tour in which I cannot wait because that building is absolutey breathtaking. The Tower of London was another place we went to and let me tell you that I want so badly to go inside and play all day because it is soooo cool. The tour was a great success. Later on in the week we had classes which will be really neat, I am excited to learn more about art and music. We will also be studying how space is utilized around London for our junior comp class which I will enjoy much more as opposed to a junior comp class in Athens. We also saw two shows this week, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other. I was not a fan of The Importance of Being Earnest, the acting was underwhelming and I felt really cramped in my seat. The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other was a delight. Actually a delight is an under statement. Let's just say this play changed my life. It had no dialogue, just forty something actors playing hundreds of different roles set in a non descript city. It was so great watching the behaviors of all these people and actually getting to see what we are trained to do, done correctly on stage. In short, London is spectacular. I really am not sure what I am going to do when I have to leave.

-Adam Jones

I'm falling for London's bridges

This city is an amazing place.  All the life, history, and wonderful things that can be found in these square miles (or kilometers.  On Monday, we had our bus tour and I felt a sensory overload with that.  I later thought that I should have been taking notes, but how can you take notes on what tour guide is saying while you are going past St. Paul's, Big Ben, Cleopatra's Needle, the Royal Albert Hall and so much more?!  It was incredible to see buildings that in my life, up to that point, only existed in books, movies, and Beatles' songs, that were set in London.  Now I have pictures of me in front of a place like the Tower of London, where Elizabeth I was imprisoned by her sister "Bloody Mary" centuries ago.  

Also, I'm amazed by how many celebrities could be found only a few days after arriving in London. My roommates and I walked on the South Bank of the Thames.  We found a carnival of sorts around the London Eye, the world's tallest "observation wheel," but since it looks like a giant Ferris wheel, it seemed to be in an appropriate setting.  Along the walkway, before we found the Globe  were Charlie Chaplin and, hold on is that Captain Jack?! You could get get your picture taken with them along with other characters along the Thames River.  They were impersonators of course, but believe me, they were very convincing in their part.  We also found out about London walking tours, including one on Jack the Ripper. We later found the Globe Theater, where we had been forewarned if we were going to see a play there to bring warm outer clothes due to the theater not having a roof.

Yesterday, I went to go see a play myself. I had heard of the tragicomedy "The Sea" before going to London and made it a goal of mine to see it if possible.  I had read good reviews of it and tried to get the group leaders to put it on the itinerary, but nothing ever came of it. So I went on my own, under the mistaken belief,  that it was nearly sold out. I got a front row seat for only $40 by getting the ticket an hour before the show. I was so close, I could see the freckles on Russell Tovey's (of The History Boys) face.  I got his autograph after the show, that was awesome. While at the theater, I discovered a possibly cool acting class which is supposedly free, which would be amazing in this expensive city.  

After being here for only a week, I understand the envy I and others received by going on this trip by those who came last year.  They wanted to come back, and I am already not wanting to leave.

First Week in London

Wow! What an amazing city. We've only been here for a week, and we've done so much!

The day after we arrived, we went for a 5 hour walk. When we came home we looked on the map and had covered the smallest little area-London is huge! At the British Library we saw some amazing documents like a Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta, Shakespeare's first Folio, an original Mozart Score, Buddhist sacred texts, and much more. We then found Oxford Street where there is some serious shopping.

We've also seen the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Modern. The Portrait Gallery was great. We got to see wonderful portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Henry VIII, the rest of the Tudors and so many other Historical Figures and celebrities. My favorite were Audrey Hepburn, JRR Tolkien and Ian Breakwell. In front of the NPG is Trafalgar Square. It is so beautiful there. I sat there by myself and had some lunch-it was very peaceful. The Tate Modern was fantastic! There was a great Surrealism and Beyond exhibit-we saw an amazing film "Meshes of the Afternoon". There was so much amazing art! It was helpful to read so much about surrealism because I am currently working on a show about Salvador Dali. I could have spent 4 more hours in there, but we had to head off to dinner and then to Shunt. Shunt is one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. It's a lounge/performance venue/underground art layer. There was music and pinball machines and talking sculptures and a bar and a really cool girl spitting green paint onto a long white runway. The most interesting thing about Shunt is that it's under the London Tunnel.

We've seen two shows already and will see 5 shows in as many days next week. Last night's show at the National was so exciting. 27 actors, 450 unnamed roles and not words. It was beautiful.

Today was so much fun. We went shopping in Portobella Market. It is huge! There are over 6 blocks of vegetables, fruits, cheeses, bread, purses, dresses, bags, shoes...anything you could possibly want to buy is at this market. The prices are very reasonable as well. It's easy to get a bargain at Portobella.

I can't wait to see what other exciting things we do next week.

The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other

While walking the busy streets of Portobello Rd I could not stop myself from imagining that I was a part of last nights show. The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other was a spectacular movement piece forcing the audience to reflect and evaluate the way they go about their daily lives. With no actual dialogue, the characters still carried out full conversations and encounters randomly throughout the play. The piece inspired me to write and ask questions, which were intersting to then read today...

Some of what I wrote: movement script! actors going through life timelines? that girls on drugs. sometimes see each other, most don't acknowledge, black and orange papers....look for later, creating a story for these peoples lives, what just happened? blind woman first to acknowledge us? Did she look? man with too many objects in pockets, reoccuring characters, man in yellow vests speaks rudely and unapologetically, audience laughs...is that how we wish to act? pace fast, why so fast? can everyone be late? lighting shift, post office! orange paper again, couples lust right after watching that man die, why no? what is that woman talking herself out of, does she change her mind? crisis and fear becoming comfort and togetherness, all wish to go the water but do not, one man is stopped, "this is weird" kid behind me says, woman walks with insanly large menu, guy rises from audience chair and jumps onstage, woman does the same, shoud I? what would they do?

The play was a great start to the many different types of theater we will see throughout the quarter. Can't wait for another!
Katie Skelton

getting acquainted with our new city!

This week has been one heck of a ride! It started off by getting here and having a guided bus tour of London with a fantastic tourguide. She showed us all of the sights and gave us some useful insider tips. We stopped at the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. These places were amazing! I cannot wait to go back and explore these places on my own again. We then had orientation at FSU. It was a long day full of much-needed information! The next day we met our art history teacher, Lisa, who has lived here for 17 years. She was very helpful, giving us information on how to get to our galleries and what our class would be like. She seems to really love art! She is going to be a fabulous teacher for this class! Afterwards, some of us went and explored the British Museum for a while. There is so much to see that we have to go back again! Good thing so many of the museums in London are free!

The next day we went to Trafalgar Square for our English class. I think it is going to be amazing to get to be on-site for our class topics instead of learning from pictures and slides. What an amazing way to learn about London! After that, I wandered around London with my flatmates. We went to St. James Park and along the Thames River. What a long day of walking that was, but it was well worth it!

Yesterday we went to our first play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I thought that this play was a great one to start off with. It was funny and had a good plot. This has been a great week, and I am excited to see what else is in store for us in London!

Overload!

What a day! This city is incredible so much to offer, so much to do. I think my feet might fall off from all the walking!

I went to the Tate Modern today, and spent a lot of time in the Surrealism exhibit, as it is very relevant to the show I am currently working on about Salavador Dali. Although his art was not a part of the exhibit, it was helpful to see his contemporaries and read about the political climate of the era.

We walked the Thames boardwalk, took pictures on the piers, ate grossly overpriced Thai food (everything here is so expensive), and walked some more. Did I mention the walking? There is a lot of that. It's funny, all we wanted for dinner was good ol' fashioned fish and chips, but pubs don't serve any food at 6pm! They are filled to the brim with people drinking and drinking their after work pints, but no food.

Tonight we went to an amazing place... SHUNT. It is a lounge/bar/performance space that is in the tunnels under the London bridge Tube station. I purchased a membership before coming to London, and tonight was my first time there. It was quite something. We walked under the station and own a long tunnel that was very dark. We came upon a mile of white paper that was lit very specifically and lined with green water bottles filled with green paint. One end of the paper was attached to the ceiling and a projector was projecting a video of a woman on it. At the same time, a woman wearing white underpants and a white shirt and a gas mask was walking the length of the paper and periodically throwing up green paint. It was quite something.
Deeper into the tunnel and lounge there was an installation of pinball machines- tons and tons of them, some playable, some not. There was a section of theatre seats where a group of 25 people were sitting blindfolded and listening to some kind of sound journey. I didn't get a chance to listen, but it was amazing to see.

There was more there, I can't even describe it all here.

London is fabulous. Having a grand ol' time!

-EM