This week we saw Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's novel, at the National in the Olivier Theatre  (same place where a couple of us saw Hamlet).  Unlike Shelley's work, the stage adaptation centered on the physical development of the creature (Benedict Cumberbatch).  The first ten minutes of the work were focused entirely on the birth and environmental acclimation of the creature, causing me to wonder if the piece was a dance instead of a play.  Throughout the play, the physicality of the creature was remarkable, extending to the development of his voice and supported by some of the set pieces (ie. there was a pole leaning against the side of the stage which the creature could climb up and slide down at various points, which accentuated that he was still inhuman...).  One could not help but admire the almost flawless concentration of Benedict Cumberbatch.  The rest of the production had its flaws: choppy script, false/screechy acting of the father and Elizabeth, overly elaborate set, lack of a cohesive conclusion...in any case, I thought that Benedict Cumberbatch carried the production admirably.  A surprising feature of the show was that Benedict Cumberbatch switches roles with Jonny Lee Miller, who plays Frankenstein, every night.  It would surely be an entirely different experience to watch the show with their roles switched.

                  Group C has a new High Comedy teacher, Annabel Leventon!  She is fantastic so far.  As we have delved deeper into our roles in William Congreve's Love for Love, she has offered pointed, constructive advice to each of us on our characters and our habits as actors.  I have two characters.  My smaller role, Jeremy, is a manservant to Valentine, a "spendthrift prodigal gallant".  Accordingly, he is graced with a pot-belly, aging, and begrudgingly subservient (in other words, quite a lot of fun to explore physically and vocally).  My primary role, Miss Prue, is a "silly, awkward, country girl."  Although she would probably be played with a Yorkshire accent in a professional theatre, Annabel suggested that we use American Southern accents to develop our characters in a location that we are more familiar with than the English country.  Although so far I am primarily struck by the lameness of my country drawl, I think the exercise will help me develop my range as an actress and be a lot of fun too!  Everyone else in the class seems to enjoy Annabel as well, which is very refreshing after the general wealth of negativity toward Eunice--I think we will be helpful to each other in learning as much as possible.  My only concern is that I have a lot to memorize!

                  Our end-of-semester plays are going to be Much Ado About Nothing and an adaptation of Jane Eyre!  I'm really excited!  My only frustration is that everyone is already pre-casting the show, in addition to worrying about audition pieces (which I find somewhat more understandable).  We have no idea what the directors' visions of the plays are and we only psych ourselves out by inevitably casting ourselves out of the plays...we all, of course, will be cast.  Of course I'd love to get a lovely, large role, but if I am cast in a small role, I hope to see that as an opportunity too, if not to delve more specifically into a character, then to have more time to explore what London has to offer.

                    We had our first master class this week, led by Henry Goodman.  Among other experiences, he trained at RADA and performed as Dromio in the RSC's production of Comedy of Errors.  All thirty-something BADA students were present.  For the majority of the class, Henry had all of us on our feet doing various games and exercises to increase our awareness and availability to the work and each other.  At first we were all in a circle patting the person on the right or the left three times, always in different spots, on his clap.  Then we were in a position of readiness, prepared to jump into a very specific seated squat instantaneously on his cue.  After this, we paired up three times with three different partners to do an awareness exercise that demonstrated the range of sensitivity required to interact with others.  What does it mean to just be open to someone else coming into your space?  We are always feeling something.  When do we think we're feeling something and really feel it and when do we think we're feeling something but truly only wish we're feeling it?  Henry wanted us to connect with the reality that within every actor there is a peacock, a person who thinks that he or she is fucking amazing and brilliant and absolutely watchable, and a real person who recognizes that he or she is lost and vulnerable.  Both are necessary aspects of the actor, but the real person is much more interesting to watch than the peacock.  We can all be peacocks, but very few of us can truly be vulnerable to others, especially to an audience of people we have never met before.

                  Acting in and of itself is founded on human connection.  This connection must be founded on a basis of truth or it is superficial, like most daily human interactions.  The "Hi. How are you?" that many of us say numerous times a day is generally answered with "ok" or "good" that touches only the surface of actual feeling.  My most sincere conversations are generally prefaced by several minutes of this "surface talk."  Acting does not allow for this luxury, but, thankfully, practice helps personal truth to surface more easily, because awareness increases facilitation.  Good acting is the interaction of different truths.  There is a basic trust that is required in this awareness, a trust that something will surprise you in what you discover every time you speak the truth.  And perhaps, if God is truth, then what I'm really searching for is a little bit of God in everyone.  I don't know.

                 More photos!  (From Tate Modern trip a couple weeks back...)

 (Upper Right: Henri Matisse, André Derain; Lower Right: Clyfford Still, 1953; Upper Left: Lee Krasner, Gothic Landscape 1953; Lower Left: Claude Monet, Water-Lilies)
             
                 

There is so much for me to learn here.  So many new people, new things to do and places to explore, new fashions, new traffic, new accents...new to me, old to the world. 

This week I went to the High Society collection, a museum exhibit on hallucinatory drugs.  A lot of the exhibit covered things I'd learned about before (the opium trade between England and India during the colonial era, the prohibition era)...but with eye-popping posters and lots of equipment (needles, pipes, etc.).  It was a very crowded exhibit and I had a momentary thought that perhaps some of the younger Camden folks present were picking up tips...  (Photos: Prohibition Era flasks disguised as cigars, Moral and Physical Thermometer for Liquids, Assorted...)

 

The full-year students, Group W, performed a show this week called Product by Mark Ravenhill.  It was really impressive.  The work was well chosen and the acting was truthful.  The humor was brought out well by the physicality of the actors.  I was particularly impressed by Zuri and Mariel, who seemed the most at home in the environment, their voices, and with the humor.  Having been written by a British playwright, I'm sure the humor would have struck them more or less at different points than the American students.  Marina and I returned the second night it was performed to usher and, although we were not able to see the show ourselves, we could hear the laughter outside and the full-years said that the laugh lines were totally different the second performance. 

We went to a jazz club on Friday night where a guy Leo met last weekend was the DJ.  The music was techno jazz...not really my style...but it was fun!  I mean, we're a bunch of American girls in London at a night club on a Friday night--how could that not be fun?

This week we see Frankenstein, adapted from Mary Shelley's novel.  We'll also see another performance on Thursday and have a master class on Friday!  Also, we will be told what shows we will be performing in in April!  So there will be a lot to write about next Sunday!

We saw Tiger Country all together at The Hampstead Theatre.  It was the best show we had seen so far in London as a group.  The play was about doctors working in a major hospital in London.  According to our dramatic criticism professor, the author had actually lived in a couple of hospitals for extended periods of time doing research.  Perhaps what was most striking about the play, therefore, was its predominant themes of death, since doctors and patients each come to the realization that every one of them must die no matter what his or her sacrifices have been.  Generally, the acting and the script were engaging.  The actors seemed to be genuinely invested in their roles and developed throughout the play.  The projections and design emphasized the focuses of the play.  In particular, the transition of the lead female from operating on actual bodies to operating on a dummy was effective in demonstrating her increasing apathy toward the patients.  The main critique of the play that we discussed in class was that there were too many principal characters in the play and thus too much material that we, as viewers, wanted to be developed...that there simply was not enough time to address within the span of two hours.

On Monday night, I went to Chekhov's Three Sisters performed by a Russian company visiting the Noel Coward theatre.  Having just read The Cherry Orchard for Thursday class, I was immediately struck by how much easier it is to understand Chekhov when it is performed than on the page.  This is also, of course, a credit to the acting.  My only critique is that some of the behaviors of the actors seemed more like dance choreography intended to create striking pictures than natural, Stanislavsky behavior that Chekhov intended.  (Thursday class was very informative about the strong relationship between Stanislavsky and Chekhov.)

On Friday night, I spent a little more than an hour talking to Lizzy and Victoria, which was delightful. :)  I do miss Columbia and New York in general.

Last night, we went to a bar called The Big Chill House.  The heat was alleviated by hordes of happy people (including most of the BADA students), cold beers and cider, and a DJ that played classics and new jams we all know and tolerate, if not love.  It was a relatively chill night compared to last Friday, but it was a good time all the same.

We start performing scenes for our Shakespeare class tomorrow and I must work on memorization and staging and such, so this post must come to a close.  I'm hoping to do a Beatrice/Benedick scene with Sean next---ooo I do want to watch that movie for the one thousandth time soon...

A weekend mistake, a sonnet fuck-up, a Wednesday party, an X-Box version of Julius Caesar, the "1984" version of Hamlet, a ditzy scene from "Love for Love," my first night out on the town in London, complete with sidecars paid for by a British gentleman that likes to dance.  Oooo, I do like it here. 

Performed Sonnet 29 in Shakespeare class.  Could have been better...a lot better...

We hosted a party on Wednesday in our flat, relaxed and spontaneous, kings and cider, some interesting flirtations to be sure.  My group is sort of like a flock of Canadian geese: we are extraordinarily loud in public places, wherever we go people stare at us like they've never heard or seen such a cacophonous mess before, and we mostly mesh together except sometimes there's that one of us (not always the same person) that's straggling behind out of laziness, exhaustion, or frustration.  I like it.

The X-Box version of Julius Caesar.  The first Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production that we saw was...a bit of a disappointment.  In the background of the production, an amalgamation of computer-generated images distracted from the acting.  Cassius, Portia, and Caldonia each primarily screeched or spoke in one tone.  The mesmerizing death of the most engaging character, Julius Caesar (played by Greg Hicks), should have ended the play.  With his demise, the play's momentum was lost.  Of course, there were decent points as well.  Brutus had moments of profundity.  Marc Antony's speech to win over the Romans was impressive.  That said, our Shakespeare professor, Ian, says that if he had been the director he would have been really pissed when the bows were miscalled.

Some interesting facts that Ian alerted us to about the RSC:  The actors have 2 year contracts and they perform many roles over that period with the same group of people.  The plays go in cycles, so history plays are performed together, tragedies together, and comedies together, etc. 

On Thursday night, Marina, Paul, Estelle, Sean, and I decided to voluntarily see The National's version of Hamlet.  Set recently in a totalitarian dictatorship, the design with its white lights capturing stunning tableaus during scene changes and stark scenery formed a delightful support for the story of the play.  Claudius and Gertrude were weak: screechy voices, too strong of an accent, lack of strong choices (except for one moment when Gertrude saw the Ghost but denied it and was simultaneously standing on a portrait of Claudius...)  Overall, I thought Hamlet (Rory Kinnear) himself was strong, but he did have moments where he seemed like a whiny teenager instead of a 40-year-old man.  In his address of Polonius, he constantly employed an amusing, but repetitive falsetto.  It was almost too easy to see through his madness.  Ophelia was rather weak--why are all the female actors we've seen so disappointing?!?

High Comedy is growing on me.  The teaching style of our professor, primarily an actress, forms a contrast to Ian's directorial training in Shakespeare class.  High Comedy is certainly a style of theatre that is not something that we address in the United States very much these days, but it is popular in West End theatres currently.  It's a new technique for me, a new approach to comedy.  Yesterday, Sean and I did a scene together that, in the words of Paul, our resident almost fop, was a romp.  (Definition of fop: The fop was a stock character in English literature and especially comic drama, as well as satirical prints. He is a "man of fashion" who overdresses, aspires to wit, and generally puts on airs, which may include aspiring to a higher social station than others think he has. He may be somewhat effeminate, although this rarely affects his pursuit of an heiress.)

Ran in Hyde Park today and listened to Lily Allen.  It's getting better all the time.

   

Words of wisdom from Acting Shakespeare:
1) If you're alone on stage in Shakespeare, you're talking to audience, stars, person, to self ONLY with single thought
2) It's interesting when actor knows that audience is there
3) Try to pick a monologue to perform that widens your range--can you play your opposite?
4) In Shakespeare, the stakes are life and death
5) In acting, the target is always moving/changing and you're trying to change the target--relationships are a constant negotiation
6) Time is the most frequently used word in Shakespeare
7) Time is the enemy
8) Relationships are built on humor--it's among women's top five traits to find in a man, always (I totally agree with this)
9) In Shakespeare, young people are adolescents (16/17 for us)--they are experiencing things for the first time and are going through an emotional, gutsy period (how true)
10) In Shakespeare, older people are in their 30s!  They aren't ancient!
11) Shakespeare characters are subjective one moment and objective the next--we have trouble doing this in real life

as a relation of witty bloggers, i am rather intimidated by the idea of starting my own blog.  however, i've decided to quell my apprehension, take the leap, and see what comes of it.

here's my BADA schedule:

monday:
9-11 shakespeare
11:15-12:45 voice
2-5 tutorials (these will only be a half hour each week for each of us...individual one-on-one     time)

8-11 performance?  (this is monday OR tuesday night...)

tuesday:
10:45-12:15 voice
12:30-3:15 stage fighting
3:45-5:45 high comedy
8-11 performance?  (this is monday OR tuesday night...)

wednesday:
10:00-11:00 movement
11:15-1:15 high comedy
1:45-3:45 shakespeare
4:00-5:45 modern physical

thursday:
9:00-11:00 dramatic criticism
12:30-1:30 movement
2:00-3:45 modern physical
4:15-6:15 theatre history I

friday:
9:00-11:00 shakespeare
11:15-1:15 high comedy
2:00-6:00: master classes probs every week except for 2

sunday:
2:00-6:00 master class at least 1 week

all of our classes are with the same group of 12 people: a nice, even, small number. :)  at the same time, it's frustrating that the 2 groups (there are only 24 new people all together) are totally separate for the most part.  we even have mostly different professors.  i know it's a small group when i already know everyone's names when we've only been here 2 days..  our only class altogether is dramatic criticism.  otherwise, we have no breaks together and we often start and end classes at different times of day, so we don't see each other walking to and from class either. 

shakespeare:  this class is 2 hours, 3 times a week (6 hours total/week).  ian, the head of bada, is our teacher.  so far, the class is awesome.  for the most part, ian approaches the class from a director's perspective.  this means that for the first couple of classes we have worked on memorization techniques (memorizing the first speech of the chorus in Romeo and Juliet outside of class then shouting it, whispering it, singing it opera style, singing it pop style...we did it as we walked around the room at our own paces and then we did it in groups of 4 as a chorus and once we did it altogether as a great large chorus. )  to ian, the most important elements of the work seem to be the rhythm of shakespeare and allowing oneself to take the work off of a pedestal, so it is accessible to us and to a modern audience.  according to ian, shakespeare is not commonly offered in british acting conservatories anymore, because it is considered out of date since the 1950s/60s.  in america, however, it's still a booming business.  perhaps europeans no longer find a world in which sex and money were issues with high social boundaries and meanings relevant to a world with birth control and high loans...or (and this is my opinion) this is only a phase and shakespeare will be back in fashion once we are past the lady gaga and rihanna craze. we are going to begin to work on scenes starting next week after we do some sonnet work.

high comedy: this class is 2 hours, 3 times a week (6 hours total/week).  our professor, eunice, is a woman in her 50s who seems like she would be a fantastic actor, but perhaps is not the most engaging teacher...  her rate of speech is perhaps a 20 on a metronome (out of 145) and she is intolerant of disinterest.  already, one of my classmates (a somewhat careless and nonchalant boy, Jon) has annoyed her with his apathy to the subjects of good posture, manners, and carefully plotted intrigue...  . of course, all of these topics are only tools to achieve sex and money!  however, at a very slow pace and right about lunch time, it is hard to remain focused.  we are reading and will be performing "love for love," a play from the 17th century whose characters (with names such as scandal--you can guess what he's all about) are trapped in financial and romantic straits.  the class is a bit tedious so far, but i'm hoping that the pace will pick up once we have read the play, discussed it in class, and have characters on whom to base actions.  i also appreciate the elegance of their postures and the language and believe it is probably healthy for me physically as well as intellectually!

movement: this class is 1 hour, 2 times a week (2 hours total/week).  so fun!  the first class was mostly discussion.  our professor, jackie, is a woman in her 40s (probably) who is plump, cheery, and has the british sense of...humor and discipline.  we are going to be doing some viewpoints and suzuki, but mostly eastern european techniques that i have not heard of very much.  it's really an improvisation and physical games class.  i love it!

modern physical: truly a comedy class.  perhaps even like a clown class.  our professor, mick, is an older man (in his 70s) who has the sense of humor and the comedic timing of a 20 year old.  we play lots of games that are super fun and also make you feel perfectly retarded all the time.  these are simple games that are like tongue twisters.  you can't help messing up no matter how hard you try.  it's interesting to realize what makes us laugh.  many times it is merely other people attempting to do something well and messing up.

theatre history and dramatic criticism: both are taught by christopher cook.  dramatic criticism reflects on whatever play we saw that week.  chris is great, a teacher who is a fount of wisdom and also doesn't make you afraid to speak up about what you think.  we saw "the flea in her ear" this week.  it was like a roller-coaster!   in theatre history, we read hedda gabler.  great play, awesome themes of greek drama...

we haven't had stage fighting or tutorials yet, so there will be more first impressions to come!

the british sense of discipline is different than what we american students are now accustomed to.  lateness is absolutely not tolerated and could merit discussion and expulsion (even if that just means that you're the last one in the classroom and still on time!), using the restroom in the middle of class (no matter how long it is) is severely frowned upon, and publicly expressing disinterest in front of a professor is a capital sin. 

the school seems to be very well established.  Many famous actors have taught there and even more famous people have led master classes.  Many of the teachers also are professors at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, which is the leading theatre conservatory in London, sort of like our Julliard, I think.  Of course, BADA does not have the same prestige and is only a mini training program, but i feel like I'm very lucky to be here all the same.

my roommates are cool.  we spend a lot of time together, since two of them are in my class and i hang out with them a lot outside of class too.

in the end, i'm having fun so far and it's only 4 months, so i know that no matter what, it's all going to work out somehow.  in any case, today i'm going to go for a run and exploring on my own to get some me time.  

i've been keeping in touch with friends through facebook chat and messages.  there's a london to new york thread that includes a bunch of columbia/barnard people studying abroad and on campus. 

there are some rough patches, but nothing like learning a new language, i guess...going through making friends again, having new roommates, figuring out a different currency, poor internet connection, no iphone handy-dandy features--like maps, and dealing with some different customs (white coffee is coffee with milk, everything closes at midnight or before, accents are hard to understand sometimes), the streets are winding and go in circles many times so getting lost is not only easy, it's inevitable...

there's a lot of good things i'm experiencing (and i think i will learn a lot), but i'm tired already!