4:00 PM
Holy moly the morning came early today. I was on the Globe stage for rehearsal at 7:00 this morning. So early, but it was such a cool experience. Our director, Jo had us exploring the space, doing different things with single words and speaking them with movement throughout the space and then using different lines. It’s strange how the theatre looks so much bigger than I expected from the seats, but on stage it looks so small. We realized how small it really is when the next rehearsal group showed up a little early for their session and were watching us from the edge of the stage. It’s a very intimate and somewhat intimidating space.
After our hour on the stage, we were able to grab some breakfast and then headed back over to the other rehearsal space at 9:00. There, we worked for two hours on the text and really tried to grasp what was being said and done and to whom. This time was really helpful for someone like me who hasn’t done a lot of acting and still finds some of Shakespeare’s work challenging. It seems that there could be so many different ways to interpret some of the lines that it really helps to discuss our ideas and decide what the words really mean.
At 11:30 we had our second movement session with Glynn who had us working on movement with our first lines for our scenes. We needed to have identified whether the character stood in an up or down position, was wide or narrow, and leaning back or forward. Subtle changes in these positions completely change the way one’s character is perceived and how one delivers lines. We also worked on the four elements or Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Each element has a different position and is good for centering and loosening up. She also showed is “the arrow” which is used for direction and focus. Really cool stuff.
After movement, we met with Chris who has been working with us on the education practice part of the program (along with Yolanda) and we had a chance to reflect on the past week and all we’ve done and seen in this academy. There have been so many valuable experiences so far and our instructors are of such high caliber that we have all been really impressed with the program.
After our reflection, we were visited by Gwilym Jones. He gave us our Shakespeare Rally packets for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are being sent all around London in search of the Bard. We need to find up to nine different representations of THE MAN and be prepared to debate how realistic we think they are.
And now Tip, Christina, and I are sitting near the snack area and I’m blogging the day while I let Christina plan the map for tomorrow’s Shakespeare pilgrimage. We have one more session tonight called “Designing Imagined Worlds” with Jenny Tiramani, a theatre designer. I’m really looking forward to that. Afterward, I REALLY need to learn my lines because I want to stop stressing about them. I also need to attempt the laundry again.
----Later the same day (sort of)----
1:00 AM - Saturday morn
I really enjoyed seeing the costumes and set designs Jenny Tiramani. She has done some amazing things with PAPER costumes! I couldn’t believe the costumes in the pictures were made of paper, tape, and foil. Kind of gives me hope that costumes really CAN be done on the cheap!
So my plans for laundry and an early bedtime went COMPLETELY out the window tonight. It’s actually 1:00 AM Saturday morning now, and I just got in from dinner out with some great people that I get to call my colleagues and friends… even if they left me at Picadilly Circus… but I digress. (Don’t freak out Mom. I made it back in one piece. The Underground is really easy to travel and I actually made it back to Bankside before the rest of the crew! HAHA!) We had dinner at Shakespeare’s Head Pub, which is one of the stops on our Shakespeare Rally for Saturday so we killed two birds with one stone. The bust of Shakespeare peaking out the window was a little on the creepy side as he had a white face and dark hair. He kind of looked like I imagine he would look NOW, you know… if he were a zombie.
Dinner at the pub was great though. I had a steak and ale pie and chips.
So, now I’ve tried two of the three traditional English foods that I wanted to try, while here: Fish and Chips, and a meat pie. I still need to try Bangers and Mash.
The washing machine has about 15 minutes left. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I’ll be out most of the day tomorrow searching for Shakespeare and then a few of us are off to Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor Castle and Le Cock (one of the places Harry Potter was filmed, I think that’s how it’s spelled) on Sunday. What will you be doing?
And here's what the mall looks like! WHAT?!?!
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