CorrinaLondon

Week Update...Not As Exciting As You Think!

2009-08-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well, my dear readers, it has come to this: an update of almost a week crammed into one post. In my defense, I did not spend much time near a computer this week, as my cousin Catherine was sick with potential swine flu and the pros of visiting her house did not outweigh the cons of being quarantined before leaving the UK. :)

Rather than breaking down my week by days, I'll just give an overall synopsis of some of my activities:

Visited Gibside, an estate which was formerly owned by a woman known as the Unfortunate Countess, who was wed to an abusive husband who essentially imprisoned her on the grounds. (She escaped and later divorced him.) The manor is in ruins, and is literally a shell of a building...very sad, considering it's vast size and my romantic notions of how it must have looked. The grounds also include working stables, a walled garden, and a chapel which is still in use (the countess is buried beneath it).

Visited Wallington, an estate with a gorgeous garden, with my aunt and uncle. The rooms in the manor included the usual displays, but also contained an incredible display of doll houses, including a Victorian house with running water and electricity. Between that and the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh, I may have had my fix of doll houses.

I am currently spending time in the Lake District again with my Auntie Brenda and Uncle Tom. I took the train over from Newcastle yesterday, and I will head back sometime tomorrow. Brenda and I spent part of the morning in town shopping before attending the local livestock fair (which felt a bit like my warm-up for the State Fair back home)...most of the time was spent mooching around the craft tent, but I enjoyed seeing the animals. Jersey cows are beautiful. :) We also went to another craft fair near Penrith, which was a bit more extensive but still relatively small. We also went to church in town, which was my first real mass since London.

No promises regarding future posts...it all depends upon my ability to be near a computer. After I return East, I will have another full day in town before heading to London. I am spending most of Tuesday in transit, then hopping over to Cardiff all day Wednesday (which should yield an interesting post, even if it is written upon my return to the States).

Edinburgh, Antiques, and Plans

2009-07-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday was another quiet day, consisting of time with Grandma and a trip in to downtown Newcastle for some shopping. (I needed a guide to Edinburgh, although my Auntie Denise printed out maps and information for me as well.) In addition to visiting Waterstone's, Catherine and I wandered around Primark and Fenwick's for a good chunk of the afternoon. We had dinner at her house with Adrian and Denise, which was fun, although I arrived back at Grandma's house later than I had planned.

On Friday, I spent the day out by myself in Edinburgh. I had gone there at least once as a child, but I only remember bits of it. I took the 6:25 train out of Newcastle, so I was there a little after 8:00 AM, giving me plenty of time to wander before any of the sights opened. I began my visit by walking to Calton Hill, which is an open park area with several monuments and memorials. The air was cold and rain was inevitable, but the views from the top of the hill were incredible, and I was glad that I stumbled upon that area. (And, because the city was still asleep, it felt very peaceful.) As the clock inched toward 9:00, I made my way back up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. (As I found out, the castle actually opens at 9:30 rather than 9:00, but I waited and was relieved to be toward the head of the queue...yeah, I said "queue"...more British by the moment...) I spent about two hours wandering the castle with the audio guide. My favorite part was St. Margaret's Chapel, which is actually the oldest building in Edinburgh...it was small and simple, but I thought that the simplicity made it more beautiful. I had tea in the cafe before heading out, and my next stop was at the tartan weaving mill next door to the castle...the machines used for weaving the tartans are huge and noisy, so I was only there briefly. (Which reminds me: I saw more men in kilts in one day that I think I ever have before, including the Scottish regiment at Trooping the Colour.) I spent the next bit of time at the Camera Obscura, which I remembered slightly from a childhood visit. Essentially, the building has a series of lenses and mirrors which can project the activity on the street below onto a small white table on the top floor. When I was little, I thought it was magic, plain and simple, and even though I know how it works now, I still thought it was magical (so those of you who thought that my cynicism was out of control can see that I am still able to be enraptured and humbled by simple things like lenses and mirrors). My favorite part involves the use of cards to pick up cars and people on the road below (I remember being little and wondering what was happening to the real cars below while we were playing upstairs). The rest of the museum is pretty cool as well, with displays on holograms and optical illusions (including a hologram of a telescope that you can actually look through). As I was finishing up on the last floor, the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. I had planned to wait and see what was going on, but when a firetruck arrived, I thought that I should probably make my way along rather than wasting time. My next stop was the Museum of Scotland, where I only checked out a few choice exhibits. (I wanted to see the cast of the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, since I had already seen the original at Westminster Cathedral in London.) I particularly enjoyed an exhibit about Scotland Today which featured interviews about what it means to be Scottish. On my way back to the Royal Mile, I checked out the memorial to Greyfriars Bobby and stopped for tea and shortbread at The Elephant House (the cafe where JK Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books...thanks Amelia and Drew for the recommendation!). I ducked into St Giles' Cathedral just as the rain started thundering down, which was a beautiful and peaceful space. I also stopped by Canongate Kirk, which was much more modern, but still a beautiful house of worship. As I continued down the Royal Mile, I visited the Museum of Childhood, which was charming. My favorite exhibit was a collection of doll houses, which were so intricately detailed and gorgeous. Just as I was preparing to leave, the heavens broke again, so I loitered in the gift shop a bit longer before biting the bullet and going out into the rain. I made my way to Holyrood Palace (for which I had allotted time in the afternoon) only to discover that it was closed due to a visiting official. Instead, I went into the Scottish Parliament building (I was searched on the way in, but did not find much of personal interest) then back to the Queen's Gallery to see the exhibit of conversation portraits (which had an excellent audio guide). I stayed there until they closed, at which time I still had about an hour and a half before my train was due. I visited a small cafe for dinner (leek and potato soup...can't get much more Scottish than that if you don't fancy haggis) before making my way back to the train station. The ride home was easy, although it started pouring outside again as soon as I reached the Metro station closest to home. (It was fine though...I stayed under shelter for five minutes with three local guys and we chatted about lousy Newcastle weather.)

Yesterday was another quiet day: time with Grandma, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I went out for dinner with Adrian, Denise and Catherine at a restaurant that is part of an inn in the country, which was lovely. The views along the way were beautiful, especially as we were coming back with the sunset. (And I have now discovered the joy of panna cotta and fudge ice cream!) Today was similarly quiet. I went over to Grandma's for Holy Communion (one of the ladies from the local church brings it to her and they have a lovely little ceremony in her room, which I attended, as well as one of Grandma's neighbors), then went to an antique sale with Denise and Catherine. We spent a fair amount of time picking over a heap of silver jewelry that was being sold by weight (I found three lovely rings), and I bought a beautiful vintage silver dress with exquisite beading (the ladies I bought it from had purchased it at an estate sale in North Yorkshire)...that definitely wins the prize for the best five pounds I have ever spent. :)

This evening, I finally planned out my return south: I will leave Newcastle on Tuesday (August 4) for London, spend all of Wednesday in Cardiff (finally getting to Wales! And for only £10 on the bus!), and fly out on Thursday morning. Catherine is coming with me, so I will have some company in my final days. In the mean time, I'm soaking up Newcastle sights and heading over to Auntie Brenda's for my final weekend. :)

Rapid-Fire Update

2009-07-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

The lack of internet access in Newcastle will probably result in posts such as this one for the rest of the trip: general and brief. (Although questions will certainly be welcome at a later time!) Here's the running list of events since my last post:

Spent the last full day in the Lake District shopping downtown before going out to a free concert in a cafe in the evening with my cousin Catherine. We later went to a pub nearby and listened to bad karaoke (as opposed to good karaoke?) before heading back home. The next morning, we all went to the Sheep and Wool Centre (mainly to buy tea towels and postcards...exciting stuff, I know) before our trek back home...the two hour journey took almost four hours due to a traffic accident and the windy country paths. Amelia and Drew flew out the next morning.

In between family dinners and visits to Grandma, my parents, Catherine, and I managed a day trip to Raby Castle and Barnard Castle, both sights which we had not visited before. The grounds at Raby Castle were beautiful, and I have never seen so many deer in person...we walked along the path to get as close to them as possible, and it was amazing to watch them running together and protecting the babies. Barnard Castle is in ruins, but still contains amazing sections, including an original staircase leading to an upper level. A great day out (even though I wanted to fall into a curry coma as a means of recovering from the previous night's dinner...).

Yesterday was my last day with Mom and Dad here, so we visited Grandma and went to the Metrocentre to do some shopping. Mom found a new Illusion ring, and I just enjoyed spending some time with her here at the end. I've cried a lot over the last 24 hours, usually in short bursts, and I probably will for a few more days, but I still have so much to do while I'm here and I know that I will be home sooner than I can believe.

I spent most of today with Grandma and Catherine. My Auntie Brenda came over this morning to help Grandma with some things (as she does weekly), and it was nice to not be completely alone. Catherine and I (after several hours with Grandma) visited Bill Quay farm (which included some beautiful piglets!) and walked in the woods nearby before coming back to her house. Most of the evening has been spent planning the rest of my time here and trying to book trains, etc...I'm going to Edinburgh on Friday, but beyond that, anything could happen. :)

First Few Days in the Lake District

2009-07-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, I am finally back in the Lake District, staying with my Auntie Brenda and Uncle Tom. The house and surrounding countryside is just as beautiful as I remembered, and it is such a peaceful change from the city.

After my last entry, I left the library and met up with my cousin Catherine for some quick shopping (just taking advantage of being downtown), then went back to my grandma's house for tea. Once the rest of the family returned, we piled into the car and went to visit my great-Auntie Hilda in her flat. I had been warned that she was getting pretty frail and that the dimentia was really setting in, but she was as much of a spitfire as always, and incredibly excited to see us. (She took a liking to Drew in particular, and kept saying how much she loves boys...check back in about 70 years, and you will probably find me in a similar state!) We also stopped by to see my Grandma on the way home (who was having tea with her friends, so we just had a quick visit). We stopped by again the next morning (again, catching her having morning tea) to say adieu before heading over to Brenda's house. We took our time with the journey across, stopping at a walled garden that we stumbled upon, one of the forts along Hadrian's wall, and the site of the ancient temple of Mithras (which, of course, brought back memories of reading "The Crystal Cave" several years ago). The countryside grew more and more lush as we traveled along, and I am still enthralled by the sheep and cows in the fields (such a city girl, I know...). We spent the evening settling in at Brenda's, but did a bit of exploring the next day in town.

On our second day over here, after a brief spin through downtown Cockermouth (including a trip to the auctions to check out the wares), I went to Whitehaven with my parents to see the coast. The wind was pretty wild while we were there, but the sun was shining, and the view down into the town itself from the hills was quite stunning. (We actually saw a few boys jumping off the pier into the water, which was reportedly freezing!) As we were making our way through town early in the day, we met a delightful sight: a newborn calf with wobbly legs (whose mother, standing nearby, was complete with hanging afterbirth). The city dweller strikes again! In the evening, I opted to go back into Cockermouth (the nearest town) for a theatre event, since it seemed like one of my best opportunities to see a show while I'm up north. The two one-acts ("Unholy Congregation" and "All About Adrian") were by a local playwright, Michael Spencer, and produced using local artists and actors. To be honest, my expectations were exceeded (although they had not been incredibly high), particularly in terms of the writing itself. The venue (Kirkgate Theatre) reminded me a bit of BAC, which was comforting.

Today, I went with my parents over to Carlisle (a little less than an hour from Brenda's) to see the castle and pick up Amelia and Drew from the train station (they spent the last few days in Edinburgh). The castle had some interesting history of which I had not been aware (only the second place that I have heard referred to as "the key to England"...the other was Dover), and there were some pretty rustic places to explore, including the storage cellar that was converted into a dungeon (definite haunting potential!). This evening, we had dinner at the pub down the lane...we'll see what adventures tomorrow brings!

Malabar, Gateshead, and the Library

2009-07-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

After much searching, I finally found a way to gain Internet access in Newcastle (no, the city is not that backward, just seriously lacking in internet cafes): the public library. Given, I had to wait about 45 minutes after reserving a computer time, but I read about half of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's new book, so the wait was not in vain.

When I last updated, I was over at Adrian and Denise's house getting ready for dinner/a night out with Catherine. We went to South Shields at about 9:30 for the finale of Saturday's festivities for the Mouth of Tyne Festival: a parade and performance by a group called Malabar, which depicted the birth of the sun. The parade was really spectacular: performers in colorful costumes on stilts with a huge praying mantis and copious amounts of pyrotechnics. Sign me up! :) The performance itself was Cirque du Soleil-esque...lots of movement segments to tell the overall story. There were also a fair number of acrobatic sequences, using supports which were suspended from the praying mantis's head (musicians played on it's back), and the performance concluded with the most incredible fireworks display I have ever seen...I knew that something would make up for my missing Independence Day this year! (Although, truth be told, this put "Freedom Blast '08" to shame...the entire show felt like Indy's grand finale!) :)

Yesterday, we piled into the car and explored some of the local history near Gateshead, including the ruins of the ancient monastery at St. Paul's (where there has been continual Christian worship for 1300 years, not to mention the pagan worship that most likely took place there before the conquest) and the pedestrian tunnel at Jarrow which crosses under the Tyne. (Very chilly in the tunnel, and a very slow-moving wooden escalator.) Later in the day, we met up with my Uncle Simon, Auntie Ann, and my cousin Sarah (my other cousin Christopher was on a school trip in the Lake District) and went to see the Angel of the North, a huge statue that has become a cultural icon of Northern England. I do not remember seeing it up close on our last visit, but it is absolutely massive. (My uncle asked me if people outside of the UK actually know about it...I seriously doubted that many of them even know that England contains more than London, but my American readers are welcome to comment away!) The eight of us went out for a pub dinner afterwards (always a fun place to spend the evening), and on our way back, my group stopped by to visit my Grandma. (She was already in bed at that point, since her carer helps her get ready, but she was wide awake and seemed really glad to see us and hear about our day.) We are planning to try to see her again this afternoon, as well as visit with my great-Auntie Hilda (who I recall as being a little spitfire...that's where I get it!). Tomorrow, we are heading west to the Lake District to spend a few days with my Auntie Brenda and Uncle Tom, with plans to stop along the way at some of the sights that we have not yet visited. Prepare for fascinating historical updates (or, at least, prepare to be jealous of me for spending time in a cottage in the Lakes with an aunt who is an excellent cook...all of the weight I lost on the "Budget-Minding College Student Walking Around London Diet" should be back by Saturday...).

The Northern Migration

2009-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

My loyal readers must be wondering what happened to me by now...three days without blogging! She must have dropped off the face of the earth! I'm still here and kicking, obviously, but I've relocated to the North (gasp!). Here is my brief update of the last few days...no promises as to when the next post will be, as we're still trying to find an Internet cafe up here (hence the lack of posts recently), but I will continue to keep you updated as I can.

My last day at BAC was lovely...just a few quick tasks throughout the day, mainly involving striking the Grotowsky exhibition...taking down the cinema set-up was just as fun as putting it together. :) We had a brief rehearsal prior to the YPT performance, which included teamwork exercises. Four-square in a theatre with lighting equipment is a dangerous activity, and I find it ironic that this was the only "sporting event" I attended in the UK. The show was perfect...I could not believe how wonderfully it went, and the director and producer were equally amazed. The sand effect was wonderful, and the audience (all 15 of them) really enjoyed it. We all deserved a performance like that after the rehearsal process, and I could not have been happier with it.

After the show, I quickly put away some of the props from the building, said my goodbyes, and hopped on the bus/tube to catch the 10:00 train to Newcastle. I have to go back to London...I missed my coworkers within ten minutes of leaving them. :) Amelia and Drew met Mom and me at King's Cross, and we spent the next four hours or so en route to Newcastle. It would have been much more interesting had it not been dark outside, but the trip was not too bad. By the time we arrived at my grandma's house, I felt ready to drop...I am staying in my Uncle Paul's old room, which is characterized by the yellowed walls and a phantom tobacco scent from years of being inhabited by a smoker...perfect for me after two months in London. I slept more soundly than I had in quite a while...it was weird being in the house without my grandma or Uncle Paul there (Grandma moved into assisted living a few months ago, so this is the first time I have ever been in the house without her there), but the house still has so many fond memories and it is nice to be in an actual home after my two months of temporary housing.

Thursday was spent just getting reacquainted with the North. I visited Grandma, which was great...I was able to go on my own, and her flat is really nice and cozy. She seems really happy, and it was almost surreal to actually see her after such a long time. I took Amelia and Drew back over there later, to find her in the common area at the end of the hall with her friends having tea. I think this was the first time I've ever seen her interact with non-family members, and it was obvious that everyone there adores her. By the time she came back to her room, her carer had come to help her get ready for bed, so we opted to head out with plans for a visit later. The three of us went into town with plans of hitting up a Boots and a bookstore (medicine for Amelia, who had been feeling ill, and a book for me), but everything was closed by that time of night, so we ended up wandering the bankside for a while before returning home.

Yesterday was a day out, beginning with Alnwick Castle (about an hour and a half from my grandma's house). The castle is ancient, currently housed by the Percy Family, and famous to the modern audience for being the location for several films and television series (most notably Kevin Costner's Robin Hood and the first two Harry Potter films). It also contains amazing gardens, including one made up entirely of roses, and one of poisonous plants (which requires a tour guided to visit, as it is behind locked gates), as well as a gigantic tree house. We spent the majority of the day at the Castle and Gardens (I went on tours of both the castle grounds and the filming locations), before continuing our journey along the coast. We also went by Bamburgh Castle (stopping to visit one of the local churches which contains the post that St Alban leaned against as he was dying as well as the grave of Grace Darling, a heroine of the area who saved several survivors of a shipwreck and became a national celebrity), continued along to Warkworth Castle (which was closed, although we walked around the perimeter), and St. Mary's Island. We also stopped at Seahouses for fish and chips (amazing!) and walked along the shore for a while.

Today was another random day...visit with Grandma, trip to Tesco, and an evening with my Auntie Denise and Uncle Adrian and my cousin Catherine. Evening out with Catherine impending...there's a festival going on at the bankside today and tomorrow, and we're headed to a parade tonight. More stories to come...:)

"Time Was": Corrina's London Premiere

2009-07-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a long couple of days, but now I can officially say that I have successfully opened my first London show. Many more to come, I'm sure. :)

After working for a bit on Sunday, I retreated back to the hostel and spent most of the remainder of the evening reading (either on the balcony off the kitchen or atop one of the bunk beds by the window in my room). I met my roommate for the night (just the two of us on Sunday, but two other girls joined us last night), who is another student, but from France. We actually ended up having breakfast together this morning: me with my tea and toast, him with his coffee and cigarette. (Add one beret and we would have the most stereotypical Frenchman ever!) Considering that this is my first hostel experience, I'm really enjoying it...the place is simple but it has everything I need, and I feel really comfortable.

Yesterday was a mess...I spent a good chunk of the morning acquiring 90 kilograms of sand for the hourglasses. After my bus and taxi adventures with these six huge bags of sand, I discovered that the play sand I was sent to buy would not work (it is moist because it is intended for sculpting purposes, so it would not run through the hourglass). I bought new sand this morning (fortunately, someone was going to the paint shop next to the hardware store and they drove me), but the question still remains of when the play sand will be returned. I also discovered yesterday that in regards to the hourglasses, "I'll take care of it" means "I'll buy the plastic and Corrina will take care of it"...not exactly what I wanted to hear at that point. I can think outside the box if necessary, but not with a ticking clock and a looming dress rehearsal. I constructed the cones, but still seriously doubted that they would contain the weight...they held up fine, but that was when we realized that we had the wrong type of sand. Rehearsal last night was a nightmare...the kids would not focus and we did not even make our way through the entire show (which, considering it's short length, was pretty ridiculous). To add to our fun, the roof began leaking just as we were about to begin, which meant that we could not use any of the lights for fear of it leaking onto the grid. The canes that I painstakingly painted did not show up (which meant that I spent several hours today covering them in white paper which would show up under blacklight), and and the cones were not in the air for the final sequence. Needless to say, I had a large list prepared for today, all of which I managed to accomplish...with one slight hiccup. Josh, my technician, asked me to copy another technician's prototype and prepare the cones for rigging. At this point, I was already in panic mode about my to-do list, and I simply did not feel that it would be safe for me to prepare a bag of sand to be suspended in the air above the heads of children. I also felt like he was not listening to me and just being generally condescending, which was not the best way to spend my day with all of the preexisting stress. It worked out in the end...two of the other technicians took care of the cones and I could focus on my work (which was fortunate because I barely had enough time for everything as it was). The dress rehearsal went fairly smoothly, and the performance was very well received. I took care of props and did all of the fly effects, while Josh oped. And the hourglass effect at the end did not work. It worked in dress rehearsal, but Josh changed the mechanism and it did not work during the performance. It was out of my hands at that point, which was exactly where it should have been, so I'm not mourning the effect at all...just something to do tomorrow. As stressful as the last two days were, I'm really glad that I had this experience, and I felt great after the show. (The fact that Luke bought me a Stowford Press didn't hurt, either...just what I needed at that point in time!)

In non-BAC news, I finally got to see some of my family last night...though not the relatives you might be expecting to hear about during my England trip. My mom took the train down and met me right after the dress rehearsal (perfect timing, as I was ready to hack my head off at that point), and after much searching, we found Amelia and Drew at their hotel. The four of us went out for dinner, and it was nice to be back with family again. I suppose that the end of the night stood out the most, when we all went our separate ways home...since I've always lived either at home or in the dorms, it was odd not to be either going home with Mom or dropped off by her. I think the realization that I'm basically an adult is slowly sinking in with this experience...

Hootananny Hostel, Hamlet, and Sunday at BAC

2009-07-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

Since my days at Nido are over and the Hootananny Hostel does not have an internet cafe, my posts will now be slightly more retrospective...but I'll still try to keep them just as informative and fun as always. :)

I made my escape yesterday morning...I didn't think that I had acquired quite as much stuff as I had, so moving everything out was a challenge. Honestly, the only thing Nido really had going for it was the location, and I'm glad to be somewhere else that does not claim to be any better than it is. The trip on public transportation was interesting, to say the least. Imagine, if you will, a small American woman with a day bag slung over one shoulder, two grocery bags filled with household items clutched in one hand, and a rolling suitcase grasped in the other. Add a sweaty brow from the humidity outside and nearly teary eyes from when she inevitably took a wrong turn, and you have me yesterday around noon. I'm not sure whether my arms and shoulders ache from carrying all of my stuff or from sleeping in awkward positions. I will say, though, that once again I was able to depend upon the kindness of strangers...I found a pub in my wanderings, where they directed me to my hostel, gave me a glass of water, and made sure I had the pub's phone number before I left just in case I got lost again. (Later in the day, the memory of that moment actually moved me to tears. People can be much kinder than we give them credit for, especially when they can tell that you need help.) Finally, after one last bus ride (which, inevitably, left from the very place where I began), I made my way to the Hootananny Hostel, situated above a pub in Brixton. It is a pretty cool place, and after one night there, I suppose that I would recommend it. I am staying in a four person room (last night I was the only woman), which seemed like a better bet than a twelve person room. I slept decently last night...the guy on the bunk above me was snoring like a banshee, and there was noise from the pub when I was first falling asleep, but after the long day, I could probably have slept anywhere.

After I checked in at the hostel, I went to BAC for our YPT1 rehearsal. The kids were not as focused as last time, but it wasn't awful. We worked on some of the transitions between scenes and then attempted a stumble-through. We made it a little more than halfway through, but we should be fine for tech tomorrow. I'm actually back at BAC at the moment (yay for computer access) since I needed to do some prep for tomorrow, and Josh (our technician) is working on hanging all of the masking/fly stuff so that we can focus on lights tomorrow. The building is really quiet right now...I think that one group is rehearsing upstairs, but other than the duty manager, Josh is the only other person I've seen so far.

When YPT1 rehearsal ended last night, I scurried across town (relishing in my last day of my unlimited Tube pass) to Leicester Square to see "Hamlet" at Wyndham's Theatre. I loved it, and not just because of the star power. Jude Law was fantastic, pretty face aside. To be honest, I was surprised by his performance...there's always the possibility of casting just for the name, but he was very powerful and worked well with the ensemble as a whole. Penelope Wilton, as Gertrude, was wonderful...and she is a very sweet lady as well. I met her after the show as she was leaving, but she was willing to sign my program and seemed touched that I wished her well with the remainer of the run. Kevin McNally was Claudius, and for the first time, I did not feel as though that character was seething with guilt from the very beginning. Honestly, up until the confession scene, I would have assumed that the murderous plot was just the figment of Hamlet's imagination. I told Mr. McNally that after the show, and he said "I agree. He's a fine fellow until he confesses." So now I will never watch any of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga again without thinking of Shakespearian villains. The production as a whole intrigued me because Hamlet's descent into madness did not really have a clear breaking point...in fact, the opening sequence showed him alone on the stage with almost etherial lighting focused only on him and ghostly whispers as sound effects, almost alluding that he was either mad to begin with or that his father's ghost was only something he saw because he wanted to see it. (I have my theories about how I would approach this subject in general, but I won't bore you with them now.) It was an excellent production, especially considering that I had never seen "Hamlet" live before. (Nor have I seen quite that many screaming fans in a compact space either...Midwestern girl that I am, I did not shove my way to the front of the crowd to have my progam signed by Jude Law, but I did snap some photos of his lovely face before he disappeared inside again.) And apparently, Ken Branagh was there last night as well, although I did not see him...that may have sent me into Shakespearian overload. :)

One more fun thing: I met a Spaniard last night who spoke limited English, and I was able to use my minor again. According to this man, I speak Spanish very well (which makes me think that he was just surprised that I could speak it at all), but either way, it was nice to be able to make someone happy with my language skills. (We talked about how crazy Jude Law's fans were and how I was going to wait by the stage door after they left in case he came back...he didn't, but at least I tried.)

Today I slept in (although, technically, I don't think that I got any more sleep than usual because I went to bed late and woke up so many times in the night), then showered and had breakfast at the hostel. I had planned to go straight into BAC, but as I was on the bus, I passed St. Mary's Church in Clapham and decided that I should just go ahead and go to Mass at noon (it was about 11:30 at this point). I'm really glad that I did now...it was the golden anniversary for one of their priests, and I really enjoyed his homily and his overall attitude...very kind and welcoming. Of course, this led to me crying a bit again on the bus when I considered all of the kindness I have been shown here. Cynical as I am, I'm finding so much human kindness here, and the thought of leaving this place that has become another home to me is very difficult to swallow. I still have several days, though, and a lot to do before I head up North, so I am going to try to focus on the present rather than my impending departure. :)

Random Sights, Waterstones, and Leicester Square

2009-07-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Today was my last Friday in London for a while...I know that I will be back at some point, but it will be really difficult to leave. I'm not sad about leaving Nido, though...bring on the hostel! :) We had our final Professional Development Seminar, discussing Global Trends and Analysis. The Cine Lumiere was incredibly warm, and the number of bodies crowding it did not help, so they shortened the session slightly to keep us from all becoming ill. I wandered around a bit in the early afternoon, catching up on some things that I had planned to do eventually since this was one of my last chances. I started by going to Westminster Cathedral to see the view from the tower...once again, I was struck with how close everything actually is. Since I ride the Tube everywhere, the city seems huge, but from my view, it is all actually pretty compact. And the view was stunning...not to mention the cool wind that can be felt from that height! Today is the feast day of St. John Southworth, whose body is enshrined at Westminster Cathedral, so when I arrived, they were just finishing the midday Mass and his body was on display...definitely not an experience that I am used to!

Next, I went to the National Theatre to buy a copy of the script for "England People Very Nice." I had planned to see it again with my mom this week, but it turns out that this is their dark week...bummer. Ah well, now I have the script to relive the experience. Since I was on the southbank, I wandered along to Borough Market for lunch...it's definitely an experience. I passed on the ostrich and venison in favor of a boring chicken and veggie pasty (something that I still had not tried, despite being here for almost two months). After my picnic came the highlight of my day: I went to Waterstones, snuggled up in an armchair, and read for two hours. And it was wonderful. :)

In the evening, I went to Leicester Square (always fun on a Friday night!) to see "A Guide to Sexual Misery" in the basement theatre. It didn't really fulfill my expectations...either the reviewers all went on a really good night or they have a far different sense of humor from me. (From what I had read, I expected to be rolling in the aisles...the only chuckles I had were from audience antics.) However, when it ended, I was able to slip into the upstairs theatre (shhh!) to catch the end of Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlys (who, honestly, I should have just come to see rather than this show). The part of the show that I saw was fantastic, as always, and it really made me wish that we had a similar venue at home. (Anyone interested in opening a comedy/burlesque club with me?)

Painting and 24 Pesos

2009-07-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Based on EUSA's set dates for the program, my internship officially ended today. Very sad. Based on reality, however, I still have rehearsals on Saturday and Monday, as well as next week's performances before I really have to say goodbye. It's a bit hard to swallow right now...I may have found another home in London and at BAC, so leaving will be much more difficult than I foresaw. I have learned so much, though, and I am so glad to have had this experience and met all of the wonderful people that I encountered.

I started my day with YPT tasks: sent out my rehearsal report from last night, then went out to the courtyard to paint the canes for one of the sequences. It was warm out, but the shade felt lovely. The cafe staff was all in a rush because of an event in the Grand Hall. I did not get all of the details, but it was some sort of government gig, and the Prime Minister was there (I, however, was hidden away). Because of this, the building was much busier than usual, which was not aided by the heat. After lunch, I did some random set-up for YPT2 (projector, screen, microphones, etc)...if they had not been moved to a room with blazing sunlight coming through the windows, it would have been much more pleasant (and easier for the projector to actually project!). During set-up, though, I discovered a room of random furniture, some of which I hope to use during the YPT1 show next week...hopefully this will all work out as I foresee now.

Tonight was the last cultural excursion for EUSA (I skipped the farewell banquet last night in favor of rehearsal), so I opted to go to the Scoop again for a concert. The opening act was Tom Hickox (of whose name I took note because, drawn as I am to cute piano playing men, he seemed like someone on whom I might have a crush by the end of his set). I enjoyed his style, shallowness aside...his voice definitely grew on me (somewhat Steve Rothkopf-esque in the sense that you can tell that behind the attempt at pop music there lies classical training), and I forgave him some of the cheesier lyrics. :) The main act was a quartet called 24 Pesos, and they were awesome. They varied between soulful blues and upbeat swing, and I loved it. It was the type of music that is made to be danced to, although the pace of the dancing might vary. Plus, the band was obviously having a really fun time, which made them even more enjoyable to watch. My one complaint (as always) was the audience...if I had young children, I don't think that I would let them run around a concrete amphitheater crowded with strangers. And if I had friends with me, I would not talk through every single song, particularly those of the opening act (it can't be easy to attempt a soulful ballad with a keyboard with screaming children running in front of you). That's just one person's opinion, though...and a quiet, seated person at that!

YPT Day

2009-07-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

YPT day, so I was in for my adjusted schedule. I still left Nido relatively early (slept about an hour and a half more than usual, but wanted to get out because my roommate was still around...apparently, her boss said that she is not needed for this last week, so I will probably not get any of my much-needed "Corrina alone time" for a while...). My first task was picking up glow paint from Flint's Hire and Supply, which is near Elephant and Castle. It was obnoxiously hot when I walked to and fro from the bus stop, but I thoroughly enjoy theatrical supply shops, so the trip was worth it. I'll start painting tomorrow...

When I arrived at work, I did some YPT prep (still hunting for some random prop items), then killed my time before YPT by doing some cable labeling (now we're adding BAC labels to some of them to prevent accidental thievery...). Sam arrived a little after 4:00, and we had a brief production meeting to discuss next week's schedule and the remaining to-do list with Josh. I should have a relatively eventful day tomorrow as I prepare. We have one last casual rehearsal on Saturday afternoon (which means that Saturday will be a crazy day in terms of running around for me), then get-in on Monday morning, tech on Monday night, final dress on Tuesday afternoon, and opening on Tuesday night. I'm excited...it's going to be a pretty tech-heavy show, especially for YPT standards. We may have some flying as well, so I will potentially be backstage rather than up in the booth (I have found that most ops are self-sufficient here, so Josh will probably just handle all of the lights and sound and I will keep backstage sorted). Rehearsal tonight went surprisingly well...I'll admit, one or two of the kids could use a good smack now and then, but the focus tonight was so much better than usual. The kids blamed the heat...Sam suggested that we bring in heaters next rehearsal. :)

Flyer, Monkey's Fist, and Pint Discussions

2009-06-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

Work today was...interesting...to say the least. Surprisingly uneventful, but interesting none the less (we bring the fun wherever we go!). The morning was pretty quiet, although there were several groups in today. The group in the General Office reported power issues backstage, so Greg and I went back there to take the lighting unit apart and check the wiring (which was all fine). He thought that we had tripped a circuit somewhere else in the system, but the only way to check was through the Intake Room, which is down in the Crypt and requires a key...so we took a short break while Front of House was scouring the building trying to find the key, and when we returned backstage to check things out again, we discovered that it was just a double-switch issue: two switches control the same lighting system, and they can cancel each other out if they are not put in the right combination. Easy fix. :) I also spent part of the morning transferring the photos from our adventure yesterday onto the computer, which Ed later used to produce a wonderful little flyer with instructions for taping down, removing, and coiling cable correctly. (Hopefully, the video will be online at some point...it was taken with a different camera than mine, so I'm not really in control of that...)

The afternoon was just an assortment of random activities...Ed made the flyer and we took down some stuff from the Grand Hall after the Tea Dance was finished. The mirror ball was especially fun to take down, because it involved a climb up to the roof. The view is pretty amazing from up there, but the attic was ridiculously hot. We also spent a good chunk of time trying to figure out how to tie a monkey's fist knot...I know how, and I've done it successfully in Stagecraft, but the rope I had was really crappy and I wasn't able to do it. When Ed, Greg, and I were all simultaneously attempting it with an online guide and different pieces of rope, someone compared us to the monkeys with typewriters who after an infinite amount of time are supposed to create the works of Shakespeare. :)

At the end of the day, we all had a pint out in the courtyard, which was lovely and shady after the hot day. (The walk to the cafe for lunch was not very pleasant in this heat, and it's only a block away!) I may have come closer to discovering why I enjoy my coworkers so much: subjects such as quantum physics and perception rates for humans versus pigeons were just some of the fun subjects that we discussed over our drinks...find me a crew in the US that is that nerdy and wonderful, and I will be a happy stage manager. :)

Grand Hall and Cable Video

2009-06-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Work today was relatively quiet again, but I still had an absolute blast. Most of my day was spent in the Grand Hall prepping for a Tea Dance that is taking place there tomorrow. It was pretty basic stuff...just rearranging some of the lighting and clearing the space (fortunately, Front of House took care of all of the tables and chairs that needed to be struck and reset...with my whole lower half still aching from Dover, that was not a job that I wanted to do!). Most of my work involved moving ladders, cutting gels, and manning the lighting desk. I also did some general work for YPT, since tech is a week from today...I'll have to do some paint shopping later this week. Fun times. The really exciting part of the day was actually toward the end (I stayed around until about 8:00 because of this): Ed and Rob were making a video on proper cabling procedures, so I was their camera-person and did voice overs at the beginning (with a cameo at the end). It was pretty hilarious, and, to be honest, I'm amazed that none of us cracked up on camera. After a lengthy process of rehearsing, taking process photos, and taping the three-part sequence, we went back to the greenroom for the premier...which would have been much more exciting had we been able to figure out how to hook the camera up to the TV. (But hey, I can't really complain: I spent several extra hours with the most lovely people I have met since I arrived here, and I had an after-work round with them. Although cider on an empty stomach may not have been the best idea, and I sense that I will be in bed early tonight...) Main note from today: I love my coworkers. And I find it remarkably unfair that I finally feel as though I belong and will potentially never see some of them again after this next week ends. They are kind, warm, intelligent, hard-working people, and they truly embody the spirit of theatre that I love....and I am grateful to them for welcoming me so willingly into their group.

Petticoat Lane, Waterstones Hunt, and a Quiet Evening

2009-06-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty relaxed at times...although I spent more time walking than I would have liked. I decided to do some shopping since this was potentially my last Sunday in the city (or, at least, my last Sunday living at King's Cross), so I headed to Petticoat Lane first. My prize item was a pair of boots (£5) which will be stealthily tucked away until autumn...despite the chaos of the market scene and the rude people at times, I really like the atmosphere there: people arguing over prices, trying on clothing articles over whatever they were already wearing, music playing loudly (needless to say, there were several Michael Jackson tributes). The guy who sold me the boots actually asked me about Gary, Indiana when I told him where I was from...I think he was expecting a charming small town, and he seemed pretty disappointed by my description. (He did tell me that I was a very nice girl and wished me well with school, and another vendor said "Such a beautiful smile" as I was walking through...so I suppose that the trip to the market satisfied both the urge to shop and the urge to have complements thrown at me.) :)

After I had scoured the rows of stalls, I had planned to spend the afternoon at Waterstones. Unfortunately, as I left Nido in the morning, I realized that I forgot to double-check which stop I needed to go to in order to visit the bookstore, and it seemed silly to go back upstairs just to check that. I asked someone in Information at one of the tube stations, and she gave me information that I think was correct (sending me to Tottenham Court Road), but it was a different location from the central one, and thus, I could not find it from memory. I also went to Euston in search of the branch there, but I was unsuccessful again. By this point, I was running out of time (they close at 6:00 on Sundays) and my feet and legs were killing me. The hill-climbing yesterday definitely took its toll, and wandering the city in search of the bookstore just made me feel exhausted, which was ironic since I just wanted to curl up with a book and a cup of tea. I passed several branches of WH Smith and a Borders, but I just wanted the Waterstones atmosphere! Eventually, I gave up my search and returned to Nido, did a google search to find out where I should have gone, and checked Mass times at St. Aloysius. That part of the evening actually worked out pretty perfectly: I took a short nap (after which my legs and hips were stiffer than a Brit's upper lip) and set out an hour before Mass, both to compensate for my potentially slow walking and to stop at the WH Smith at King's Cross/St Pancras to pick up a new book (I figured that I could just make tea back at Nido and have a makeshift version of my previously planned afternoon). They had the next book in the Tudor Series (my name is Corrina and I am a Philippa Gregory addict), so I bought it (as well as groceries from the Marks and Spencer next door), then headed to Mass. During the evening at Nido, I did laundry, had dinner and read...this is really thrilling, I know, and I hope that you will still read tomorrow after my relatively quiet post today. :) I did have one moment of excitement, though: I went to the cafe to read and drink my tea while my laundry was in the dryer (which did not break this time!), and I spent part of the time watching a group of guys watching whatever game was on at the time. I was sitting around the corner, so I could see all of their reactions, but not the game itself: the perfect view, in my opinion. Every now and then, I would just hear a synchronized gasp of horror and know that something exciting was happening...it almost reminded me of high school football games and my (still, to this day) ignorance of the rules of the game, but still enjoying the excitement of the game itself. :)

Day Trip to Dover

2009-06-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today, I experienced what may be the best part of living in one of the greatest cities in the world: leaving the city for the day and experiencing some classic history and culture. I got up early today and took the 9:00 bus to Dover. I opted for the bus rather than the train for two reasons: the chance to see more of the country during transit and the cheaper fare. To be honest, I dozed for part of the outward journey and read for the return, but it was nice to see some of the countryside anyway. Dover, as a city is pretty quiet, at least the corner of it which I saw (the coach station is really close to the castle, so I did pretty minimal exploring...of the town at least...read on...). When I arrived though, there was a church fairy event going on at the base of the path leading up to the castle, so there were plenty of happy children to be seen. :) Now on to the first climb of the day: the walk from the bus station to the castle is approximately one mile,, from what I had read. It's also uphill most of the way. I made it, but I'm sure that my calves will be in a sorry state tomorrow morning (I was actually really surprised that I could walk again after the three hour ride back to London tonight). The staff at the castle were really accommodating and helpful, which was lovely after my hike, and I made my way into the grounds with ample information. As I was entering, Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon ere preparing for post-coronation events, which I, of course, had to watch. (And it was because of the historical significance and my interest in the time period...and not because Henry was still young, handsome, manly Henry rather than massive, vengeful, scary Henry...nope, not at all...) The two royals and their companion were all on horseback (Katherine was riding sidesaddle, which was very impressive given the weight of her costume) and the two men did some typical tournament activities (a jousting-style exercise involving hitting a swinging target with a lance, and another involving cutting a cabbage in half while running past it). At one point, the companion was doing a better job than Henry, so I wondered if his execution was on the schedule for today as well. (Come to think of it, he wasn't theree anymore when I returned to the green after the tunnel tour...) After the long ride into Dover, I decided that lunch would be a good idea before my tour of the Secret Tunnels of WWII. Maybe I should set a goal to drink tea in all of England's major castles...

I ventured on next to the tunnel tour, which, considering my limited interest in military history, was pretty interesting (and a bit chilly underground!). The beginning of the tour uses dramatized audio clips as you walk through the hospital section, which added to the ambiance much better than an ordinary tour guide might have (particularly in the surgery room...I was expecting blood and gore, but this was much better, especially when the power failed mid-operation). To be honest, I found the medieval tunnels on the other side of the grounds more interesting, if a bit spooky. (Note to parents: when you are exploring dark, ancient tunnels, do not let your children run around screaming. It does not make other visitors happy.) The grounds were just as hilly as the rest of the area, so I got quite a workout just wandering from building to building. Eventually, when I felt as though I had seen as much of the castle grounds as possible, I decided to check out my real reason for visiting Dover: the White Cliffs. (Consider this my shout-out to AP English.) And no, I did not want to visit them for suicidal purposes, so do not consider my King Lear pilgrimage a cry for help. :) I did, however, understand their potential for offing oneself after my mess of a hike trying to find my way to the cliffs themselves. (I could see them from the castle grounds, but the paths were very unclear.) Due to some odd directions, I ended up back down the hill near the coach station, and the climb up again was worse after wandering the castle grounds for several hours. At one point, I actually had to make my way through a section of uncleared woods (all the while wondering what wild beasts might live in Dover) to a narrow road, which was just as curvy as it was hilly. I dodged traffic for about 20 minutes while I climbed, and by the time I reached the car park for the other visitors to the cliffs, I was ready to drop off them! The cliffs were oddly rejuvenating, however. It was perfect weather for the trek as well...warm sunshine on your skin simultaneously being cooled by the sea breeze. At every turn, there was a new smell of wildflowers and wind, which was such a clean contrast to the polluted air of London. I wandered down the path for about fifteen minutes, then found a spot to perch and watch the sea. I stayed there for quite a while, and it was incredibly peaceful. I looked back at the castle and could tell that I had come a long way, but it just made me feel stronger for not giving up during the long walk. And with the cliffs looming and the sea below me, I suddenly felt very small...which was good for me, I think. I felt relaxed and at peace, and it was almost as if the stress that I typically harbor had been carried away by the wind. It did not matter that I had no idea what I would do tomorrow or that I haven't done anything related to "God's Ear" since I left...if I were at home, that would have driven me crazy, but when I was surrounded by the sound of the sea and the wind, everything just felt okay. I find it pretty ironic that a place with militaristic and suicidal connotations could turn out to be a place of enlightenment for me, and I feel as though I will be back again in the future. :)

I eventually pulled myself out of my reverie and made my way back down the hill into town. (Surprisingly, the downhill journey is not much easier...it's so steep that you want to run, but you know that if you do you will be unable to stop.) I still had a while before the bus was due, so I had dinner at a pub. It was no match for The Famous Cock (I'm such a loyal customer!), but the bartender was very polite and asked me where I was from and how I was enjoying the UK. I read for almost the entire return journey (although I did take some time to watch the sunset), so I foresee another Waterstone's trip in my near future...but I won't worry about that right now. I expect that I will sleep very soundly after today, with a few less worries and aching feet. :)

Workplace Creativity, Tea, and The Woman in Black (could be my biography...)

2009-06-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

My Friday began as usual: Professional Development. I was thoroughly pleased today, though, because attendance was taken at the beginning and the end of the session...I was really getting irritated by the number of people who were not returning after the break but still receiving credit. (Plus, although I would rather be somewhere else, the guy who leads it actually is doing a really great job and tries to keep things as interesting as possible. He deserves more respect than that.) The topic was "Creativity in the Workplace," which was interesting at times...we did some fun brain-teasers (including one where I was the only one to speak up with the correct answer...go me!) and an assessment of our thinking styles. I'm a right-brained limbic thinker...hmmm...emotions, intuition, and interpersonal communication? Never! :)

Since I was already in South Kensington for the seminar, I went over to the Victoria and Albert museum (for the second time) to check out some more of the exhibits. (The last time I went, I stayed right up until closing.) My main goal was to see the exhibit on England during the Renaissance (particularly since I am currently hooked on Philippa Gregory's series about the Tudors). I also stumbled upon a room filled with larger-scale pieces, including casts of several tombs of royals past. I was particularly excited to see King John (I'm such a Shakespeare nerd...) and Eleanor of Castille. (Did you know that Elephant and Castle station is named because of a misunderstanding of that queen's name?) While I was at the museum, I had afternoon tea in one of the cafes (I lead such a sophisticated life, don't I?) and considered my plans for the rest of the afternoon. Again, my inner dork rears it's adorable head, because I decided to visit the Twinings tea shop near Covent Garden (besides, I had already had three cups of tea by this point in the day, so it seemed fitting...). The aroma was incredible and the small exhibit at the back of the shop was interesting. Since I was so close to Covent Garden, I also opted to visit the Tea House (about a block from the station) in search of a teapot. No luck with my search, but the shop is beautiful and I really enjoyed just looking around.

This evening, I went to see "The Woman in Black" at the Fortune Theatre. All of the publicity alluded to the fact that the show was full of scary moments, but I honestly did not expect quite as many jumps. I can understand why the show has been running for so long, though. The design was simple (it is meant to take place in the theatre itself), but you could tell from the shabbiness of the curtains that something eerie was going to happen. And nothing is more eerie than backlighting a scrim to reveal the inside of the previously locked room, whose door just opened on it's own (except for amplified, echoing shrill screams...). They used a lot of shadows and dim lighting to build the suspense, and I have never felt silence utilized more effectively in creating the unsettling atmosphere. :) I really enjoyed the performance, as creepy as it was. My only bone to pick was with the audience...I sat behind the rudest couple, who seemed to think that because they were whispering loudly to one another in German, that rendered us unable to hear them. The woman also left her seat and returned several times throughout the show, climbing over her friend to reach the aisle. Also, I do not understand why every "jump" moment must be followed by everyone in the audience talking about how scary it was while the actors are continuing with the story...not to mention the fact that the silences were often broken by people adjusting their seats or unwrapping candy. Had a phone gone off, I might have screamed out of frustration. However, I feel that it is a credit to the actors and the designers that I was still enraptured by the production despite all of the distractions...perhaps they even kept me from being wound up so tightly that the first jumpy moment would have made me scream. :)

Dimmer Rack, Unexpected Opera, and Celebrity Death Scandals

2009-06-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Work today was another assortment of random tasks. I find it almost funny that I seem to be consistently busy just as I am ready to make my way home. Today, my end of the day activity (after a morning of random fetching and sorting) involved helping Ed construct a dimmer rack for the Rec Room. The dimmers lead up to the attic, so needless to say, we were pretty gross by the time it was done. It was actually pretty toasty outside today, so I can only imagine how you are all feeling back home. Before I left, I also ran into Josh, who has been appointed as our technical guru for YPT, so we had a brief chat about the effects. He is going to handle the hourglass effect. I'm pretty stoked about that. :)

We had a choice of cultural excursions tonight, and I opted to go to The Unexpected Opera Company's performance of "The Barber of Savile Row," a version of the original opera set in 1950's London...a pretty clever twist if you ask me. Figaro's hair itself deserved a round of applause...I have never seen something more magnificently awful in real life, only on the covers of Harlequin romance novels (Megan, I'm talking to you!). Had I known the breaking news at the time, I might have not mentally compared it to that of Farrah Fawcett. The show was delightful, and a different experience from what I had expected. It was performed in The Scoop, a small outdoor amphitheatre on the southbank (right next to the government offices)...if a show can keep an audience entertained for three hours while sitting on concrete steps, it's a success. :) One character in particular, the head of police (from the Royal No-Cockup Metropolitan Police Force), was absolutely hilarious and made the opera feel like a stand-up act whenever he was onstage. (One particularly fun moment was when he announced the audience participation bit: "We'll be doing Wagner's 'Ring Cycle'...you half can be Vikings, and you lot can get raped and pillaged!" He also referred to his nightstick as a "Hackney Lie Detector.") The villain showed his evil colors by condemning the modern music in favor of Gilbert and Sullivan (just as he was about to start singing "Modern Major General," the head of police marched in with the troops shouting "Don't you bloody dare!") Also, being the good Catholic girl that I am, I found the sequences involving men in drag as nuns hilarious. :)

Speaking of drama, Nido is in an uproar right now over the "Michael Jackson: Dead or Alive" scandal. (And yes, I am aware that making that joke just secured another few bricks in the pathway to purgatory...) According to the BBC website, his concert has been postponed...I'm not really sure how that will work...:)

Hostels and YPT Day

2009-06-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ah Wednesday...my day to get some rest before work. :) I headed out of Nido just before noon so that I would have plenty of time to prepare for YPT today. Almost as soon as I arrived, the duty manager for today (Alex, who is an absolutely delightful man) came down to the technical wing to find a technician for a repair job in the general office. He knew it was lighting related and thought that a fuse had been blown, and I was the only technician in the building (and believe me, I use the word "technician" very loosely when referring to myself!). Fortunately, when I went to the space, it was just a blown lamp (the bulb itself), so it was just a matter of taking the blown lamp to storage and finding a new one that was similar. I'm really good at matching things. :) But it was one of those weird managerial issues...had there been a dire problem that wasn't just easily solved by a trip to the lighting storage, there is not much that I could have done. Either way, they were fine in the end and Luke carried around a radio for the rest of the afternoon in case anyone needed help.

The cute place that I found in Battersea where I had hoped to say is now unavailable, so I did a bit more searching for accommodations during tech and performances. I eventually found a hostel situated above a live music pub in Brixton, which is about a half hour from BAC on the bus. I booked it, and I'm actually pretty excited about being there for a few days.

YPT was interesting...more technical issues to work around than usual. Sam requested a mini-disc player (is it just me, or did that technology never reach the US?), and the first two that I brought to the space were not functioning properly. The third was a charm, although we then discovered that the track she needed was not even on this particular disc. Since the sound system only had one external hook-up for equipment, I kept juggling cords back and forth between the mini-disc player and the CD player. I will have no problem setting up equipment next week. :) The kids were wild as always...funnily enough, I could envision how a twelve-year-old Corrina would have felt as part of this group (pretty miserable, to be honest...). I wish that they knew what they were missing, though...Sam is awesome, and she has so much to offer as an instructor, and they are wasting their limited time with her. Also (and this may be my anxious teacher gene coming through), there are some kids who are obviously not trouble-makers, but they retaliate or try to fit in with the other kids and get in trouble while the other brats go unnoticed. Just an observation...there's not much I can do until tech except try to support Sam as much as possible. The performances are rapidly approaching, so hopefully, they will start behaving...although I'm not really holding my breath. :)

Draping, Hostel-Hunting, and My Favorite Pub

2009-06-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Work today was split pretty equally between running-around and sitting at a desk...not a bad combination for a tired girl like me. :) When I first went in (after my morning cuppa), I did some random fetching for the show in the Council Chamber (an elementary school's Shakespeare review), which included a lovely trip to the chair store (where we were building last week). I have determined that the chair store is the second-creepiest place in the building, the first, of course, being the crypt under the main stairs. I also worked with Ed as we attempted to turn the Member's Bar (from which the bar was removed a few weeks ago) into a cinema-like atmosphere for a film component of an exhibition on Jerzy Grotowski (the original set for "Akropolis" is in one of the upstairs rooms as well). The project was begun by Rob yesterday, so we finished putting up scaffolding and draped off the room, conveniently covering the paint job that was done last week. :) It was actually pretty tiring, climbing a ladder and hanging the heavy curtains.

Eventually, Luke called down to the technical wing to tell me that BAC would not be able to put me up in housing during tech for "Time Was," but they will take care of my expenses if I stay elsewhere. Thus, I spent a good chunk of the afternoon sifting through the various websites devoted to the hostel/hotel/guest house scene of Merry Olde London Towne. :) The most fun ones included beautiful descriptions, but personal ratings with warnings of giant rats and unsanitary communal bathrooms. I eventually found a guest house that is really close to BAC and reasonably inexpensive...hopefully, I'll be able to snatch up a room before they are all gone. :)

I topped off my evening by visiting my old haunt, The Famous Cock. No noteworthy, Earth-shattering news to report, but I just like to mention when I visit obscenely-named pubs because I miss making my friends laugh. :)

Quiet Monday and Grasses of a Thousand Colours

2009-06-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Work was relatively quiet today...a few groups were setting up in various spaces, but it was pretty low-key nonetheless. I spent most of the day working on YPT stuff, which was not too exciting. I also recoiled some cable that had gaffa tape stuck to it which was disgustingly sticky...the type which has obviously been overheated and is now just a clothy mess of goo. Toward the end of the day, I helped Stuart with some lighting set-up in the Council Chamber, which was a nice change of scenery...I would have gladly stayed and finished it up, but I had to run back to Nido for food before my theatre experience tonight.

I went to the Royal Court Theatre (for the second time) to see "Grasses of a Thousand Colours" by Wallace Shawn. I was particularly excited because he is in this production, along with Miranda Richardson and Jennifer Tilly. The show was...interesting...let's just say that I'm glad that the program is also a copy of the text so that I can reexamine it later after I've let it soak in. And few things are quite as awkwardly hilarious as seeing a man that you recall from childhood for his delivery of "Inconceivable!" as he rambles a monologue about his relationship with his nether regions. I laughed like the love-child of MO'Hara and Prendy, and it was glorious! The space was lovely as well...a small studio theatre, with unassigned seating. I sat in the center of the second row, so I was never more than ten feet from the actors. The show also utilized some pretty cool projection work, which was an interesting contrast with the simple set (just a rug, large white sofa, lamp, and podium). Miranda Richardson was clearly the strongest of the three women for most of the performance (the weakest being Emily McDonnell, the only one in the show that I did not recognize), although Jennifer Tilly had her surprising moments. After the show ended, I went outside to the stage door to be a raving fan...come on, how many times will I get to meet these people? Apparently, Miranda Richardson went out another way (grumble), but I did get to take a photo of Wallace Shawn as he left and he signed my program/script. Jennifer Tilly (criticize her acting as you will...and I know you will, you heartless beasts!) is a sweet, sweet lady. Not only did she offer to take a picture with me, but she also asked me my name so that she could personalize her autograph to me. So once again, my heart is warmed by the kindness of someone unexpected. :)

The Globe (and other Tudor Playhouses!)

2009-06-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I continued my random acts of nerdiness by visiting Shakespeare's Globe and feeling like a kid in a candy store. :) I knew that sometimes photos are not allowed within the theatre itself due to rehearsals, so I planned to arrive for the first tour in order to beat the actors...unfortunately, I managed to get off the Tube at the wrong stop (I was sure it was "Tower Hill" but it was actually "London Bridge") after taking a long ride around due to closures. It actually turned out to be a great mistake, because I was able to walk along the bankside in the cool morning with very few other people around. Oddly enough, one of the big things I noticed was that I could actually smell the sea-like air, which is usually covered by the smell of tobacco...but since I was the only one out, I did not have to worry about that. It was so peaceful and quiet, with just a few early joggers out and about...the city is still asleep at 10:00 on Sundays. I made my way to the Globe with about fifteen minutes until the next tour, so I strolled through the exhibition while I waited. The tour contained primarily information that I already knew, but it was still enjoyable. The space itself is so beautiful, and I had such a wonderful time at "The Comedy of Errors" a few weeks ago, so it definitely has a warm, happy aura about it. The exhibition itself focused equally on establishing the world of Shakespeare's era as well as elements specific to this particular theatre. The south bank was constantly described in detail as an area of ill repute right up to the point in which the Puritans shut things down. The last part of the exhibition was particularly interesting, in which they described Sam Wanamaker's efforts to have the Globe rebuilt. Following my exploration of the displays, I went on the other tour (much less popular: there were only three of us total on this one!) to the site of the original Globe as well as two other theatres in the area: The Swan and The Rose. The Globe site is actually rather sad; right now, it is an open courtyard which is partially covered by an apartment building (which was made with concrete foundations, rendering excavation impossible). According to our tour guide, most of the people who are really interested in preserving a space such as this would not be able to anyway, as they cannot afford to live in the area. Similarly, the site of The Swan (best known as a bear-baiting arena) is now a large building, but is gradually being converted into a rehearsal space for the actors at The Globe. A building now surrounds the excavation site of The Rose, which is under water currently. Now that The Globe is fully constructed, The Rose is the next large project, and they are attempting to continue excavation and eventually build a glass stage atop the original site (making the archeological site visible beneath the stage). It was pretty incredible to see how close these three theatres actually were...they literally all fall within one city block of each other (which also explains the extreme rivalry between them..."A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is actually a sarcastic comment meant for the other playhouse and it's proximity to the open sewer, and yet we consider it one of the most romantic quotations ever written!).

After I had tea and visited the giftshop (the whole time attempting to resist buying an "Out Damned Spot" tea towel...I know, I'm a dork...), I decided to walk back the way I came. The bankside was not incredibly busy, but still starkly different from the peaceful walk I took on my way to the Globe. It was also much hotter outside...it had been an overcast morning, but the afternoon was bright and sunny. I walked back past the Tower of London (where it became pretty crowded with tourists), then thought that I would cross Tower Bridge back to the southbank again and see what was around on the other side off the beaten path. I walked for a while, eventually stumbling upon a church with a large courtyard that was shaded and smelled heavily of roses...I might have to stumble back that way another day. As inconvenient as my becoming lost can be at times, I have seen so much of the city just by wandering in the wrong direction, and today, for the first time, I opted to just keep walking...so I suppose that the roses were my reward for being curious. :)

England People Very Nice

2009-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today, I had my second experience at the National Theatre for the matinee of "England People Very Nice." The show was just the right combination of laugh-out-loud comedy and serious social commentary...and I loved every minute of it. For the first few minutes of the show, I actually felt consciously aware of the smile on my face, and it was not about to leave. The script dealt with the topic of immigration to England over the last several centuries, specifically highlighting the French Protestants, Irish, Jews, and finally Pakistani/Bangladeshi immigrants. The first act set the stage for the necessity to laugh at some of the circumstances and pulled quite well from stereotypes (ie an Irishwoman throwing her two fighting friends from the house out into the street because "I'm giving birth in here!"), while the second act eventually gave way to the conflicts between Muslim immigrants and their first-generation children in England (including reactions of the Muslim community to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Tube bombings, which were incredibly moving). It was incredibly poignant at times, which made the comedy all the more delightful since it felt like a surprise (in the midst of anti-Islamic persecution, our hero still manages to invent Chicken Tikka Masala!). From a technical standpoint, this show was my personal stage management dream. The set consisted simply of a tall wall with doors built in, sections of which could be pushed downstage to change the space. Furniture was used to differentiate locations, several of which were revisited during different scenes in different time periods, including a bar in which the barkeeper always starts with the phrase "Fecking (insert cultural title here)" and one of the regulars always has one living upstairs from him..my favorite one was "Fecking Americans...where are they? They'll come in right at the end, I'll bet" during the WWII segment. :) Sight lines did not really apply, and all of the costumes were visible on racks upstage. The reason why I would love to work on a show like this was the use of projections...it was incredible! At times, there were Monty Python-esque animated segments, some of which included the specific characters onstage at the time. However, the really incredible effect was the combination of animated effects with the live action: doors appearing as projections on the wall, then the actual door opening, or a man being hanged in the animation on the back walls, just before a dummy with a noose falls from a trap above the stage. I loved it...the last time I saw projections really interacting with the story was in Spamalot (hence the Monty Python reference earlier), and I thought that this was such a clever way to deliver the messages. Throughout the different time periods, an interracial couple (played by the same two actors) always formed, further emphasizing their overall message of the human race as the only race that matters. I had a wonderful time because I had the chance to laugh out loud and truly feel entertained while still feeling moved by the message. The only shame, I suppose, is that I would only really be able to work on this specific production here...many of the jokes mocked English culture as a whole, which would not translate to a US audience.

After the show, I had tea in one of the theatre's cafes and finished my book ("The Boleyn Inheritance"), so after Mass, I stopped by a bookshop to pick up more reading material. I find it particularly interesting to read these books about Tudor England while I'm here...when I read a passage from Katherine Howard's perspective as she was led through the Tower of London, I could visualize the route since I visited last week...that was certainly exciting! And I'm recognizing several of the palaces (of course, Hampton Court appears frequently) as well, even specific rooms that are mentioned. What I would give to have a library card right now! As I have said before, I have to make time to read when school starts again...that is so much more important that many of the time-drains in my life, and I have a to-read list in the works right now...

Hunterian Museum and Waiting for Godot

2009-06-19T16:07:00.001-07:00

Once again, today was a very good day. Professional Development was not nearly as boring as usual...I'm starting to sense a pattern: the first half is a snooze-fest, but if you show up again after the break, you are rewarded with interesting info. (More than half of the people did not show up again after the break, so I had some grumbling to do, of course...) One of the activities was a values survey to help us gage the type of organization that would best suit us, which was pretty enlightening. Maybe I'll take it again in six months and see what has changed...

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. It was really interesting and a bit gross at times. The collection is one of the oldest medical collections in the world (many specimens were collected in the 1700s), and the preservation is amazing. (There were actually some bone structures that were preserved through tanning, similar to leather...) Some of the specimens on display reminded me of the Body Worlds/Body Works exhibits that have been touring (I've seen two such exhibits, one in Indy and one in Chicago), but there were so many different animal examples as well. As usual, the most fascinating yet sad specimens to see (in my opinion, at least) were fetuses. I was particularly taken by a set of quintuplets that were preserved soon after birth (two were stillborn and the other three died soon after birth...they were so tiny!) in the mid 1700s. One of the museum volunteers (a retired ear, nose, and throat doctor) led a brief talk involving some of the specimens, entitled "An Evening with Venus; A Lifetime with Mercury" which dealt primarily with the effects of syphilis. I certainly felt my midwestern pride since Indianapolis was the Syphilis Capital of the United States in the mid-nineties! :) The particular specimens that we examined were mainly skulls which had been eaten away, which was pretty disgusting...and the treatments were not much better. (When you cannot tell if the madness is caused by the disease or the mercury used to treat it, I would consider that a serious problem...) And, while we're on the subject of Georgian nether-regions, I must mention one of my other favorite artifacts: a condom from the 1750s made of sheep gut, designed to be washed and reused. Just another day of culture in London! :)

The utter highlight of my day (for which I expect many a comment after this is posted) was my evening at the theatre. I went to the Theatre Royal Haymarket to see "Waiting for Godot." Let me preface this by saying that I'm not the biggest Becket fan...just throwing that out there. I have to be in the mood for him, which strikes pretty rarely. That being said, the show was incredible...but then again, when your leading men are Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, it's pretty hard to go wrong, right? The set was so stark and grey, and yet so incredibly detailed that you could imagine what else might be lurking behind the wings in this desolate wasteland. And I have never seen such beautiful use of gobos for lighting texture before...I was actually glad to be in the upper balcony so that I could fully appreciate the effects (textured gobos in intels are amazing!). The cast also featured Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup, as well as a child actor who is far cooler at the age of 11 than most of us will ever aspire to be. (Where do you go at the age of 11 after working with this cast? Seriously, you have to keep climbing...) The cast was so energetic and full of life, and I could feel all of that energy from my spot up in the cheap seats. The two people next to me actually left at intermission, which I cannot understand...even if you don't understand the show, when will you get to see a cast like this again? After seeing "Catastrophe," it was pretty exciting to notice some of the various "Becketisms" within the text, as well. (I purposefully avoid reading shows that I plan to see, this one included.) After the show, the excitement continued. I ran around the block to the back door of the theatre, where there were about fifteen other people waiting for the cast as well. I probably waited for an hour total (but hey, after watching a segment of eternity spent waiting for Godot, I could deal with an hour of waiting for the cast), but it was completely worth it because my program is now signed by all of the cast sans Patrick Stewart. I also hugged Sir Ian McKellen, then practically danced back to the Tube station (all the while thinking "Oh my God, I just hugged Macbeth and Gandalf...oh God!" and other such incoherent thoughts...nerds, consider ye warned, for I am now your Queen!). :) Sir Ian is such a gracious, kind man, and was cordial and warm to everyone who was waiting for autographs. Tonight felt like another reminder that I'm doing the right thing by choosing to spend my life in this industry. I've had several moments like that since I arrived here, and that is definitely an affirmation that we all need every now and then.

Work, Wellcome Collection, and Swine Flu

2009-06-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

Work today was pretty slow at times. St. Mary's College was loading in another show, and they are really self-sufficient, so I only had to do some basic fetching for them (the bin labeled "Working Birdies" is a liar...) and other housekeeping stuff...setting up safety railing on the seating, finding a narrower table for the lighting/sound equipment so that the operators could actually sit behind it, etc. I did some work on YPT stuff as well, which was not too exciting...I'm ready to shop for props, though, so I just need to get petty cash from Finance and I'll be ready to go. I will tackle that task next week...

For our cultural excursion tonight, we had a choice of visiting the National Portrait Gallery, the British Film Institute, or the Wellcome Collection. Since I had already seen most of the National Portrait Gallery (but still plan to go back for the contemporary exhibit) and could see the British Film Institute another time, I opted for the Wellcome Collection...well, that and the publicity info made it seem too tempting to pass up. Their tagline is "For the Incurably Curious"...that would be me. :) The museum itself is pretty small (I made my way through in under two hours), but really enjoyable if you like obscure culture. My favorite part was the "Medicine Man" exhibit, which featured a fairly random collection of items from diverse parts of the world. Some of my favorites included Darwin's walking stick (topped with a tiny skull...just a bit creepy!), anatomical models from the 1700s (most of them were half the size of a Barbie doll and contained removable parts...there was also an obstetrics teaching tool, which was eerily similar to a model I remember seeing at the hospital with my mom during a comfort measures class), and a Peruvian mummy (which was pretty gruesome). Some of the more disturbing items included a steel corset and a pair of shoes to be worn post-foot binding. They also have an exhibit called "Medicine Now" which featured interesting sections on genetics, obesity, and malaria. The choice of the two diseases seemed odd until I read about the intent: one occurs primarily in developing nations while the other occurs primarily in developed nations. It was a really fascinating contrast, and the exhibit consisted mainly of artistic interpretations of the diseases along with displays of commonly related items (diet books, weight-loss pills, malaria medications, mosquito netting) with audio clips available. The whole exhibit was a museum/art gallery hybrid, and it was brilliantly presented. One section, which stressed individuality, featured some interesting installation work: one was a video of children from Essex who were filmed for 15 seconds doing whatever they wanted to express themselves, side by side with a new video taken of them 10 years later. The idea was brilliant...of course, I've seen people show photos of themselves as children, but this was so much more engaging because both "versions" of the same person were interacting with the viewer simultaneously. I loved it! I also took part in another installation, which is an ongoing experiment in facial features attempting to determine the "average face." It began with the computer taking a digital photo of you, which it then blends with the other photos of other participants. They also asked you questions about your lifestyle so that they could research further into facial differences between various groups (smokers and nonsmokers, drinkers and nondrinkers, people over and under 40, London residents vs other UK residents vs non-UK residents, etc).

My day was topped off when I returned to Nido and checked my email: apparently, there's a confirmed case of the N1H1 virus at Nido. However, they did not do the best job of informing us: we have one email with the subject "N1H1 Virus at Nido," another with the subject "H1N1 Virus at Nido," and a third saying "Recall: N1H1 Virus at Nido"...riddle me this: how long will it take for the halls to be overcome with panic. I know, I'm getting more cynical by the day, negative swine that I am (pun intended)...well, I guess I'll just keep washing my hands like it's my job. :)

YPT and Stockholm

2009-06-17T14:44:00.001-07:00

Odd schedule today...I will never understand why I feel so exhausted by Wednesday night even though I get to sleep longer that morning. I went in to BAC at about 12:30 (I seem to arrive earlier and earlier on Wednesdays, just because there really isn't anywhere that I would rather be) and started by doing some research online regarding our set pieces for YPT1. You can only look at so many oversized (but not quite oversized enough) digital clocks before you're desperate for another task. I did a few minor fetching/inventory related tasks (compelling stuff, I know), and during the process discovered that the Council Chamber is a pretty terrifying place when the lights are all out and you can't locate the switch. (Almost as creepy as the room full of puppets that Greg and I stumbled upon yesterday...)

YPT itself went really well. The kids were at their usual level of rascally-ness (I'm sure that term will catch on eventually), but we made some really solid progress with a new movement piece. Sam and I had some more chats about the show's needs, and she's looking into the location of the set pieces for the hourglass effect from the last time it was done (and the digital clock will probably be a projection...yay!). The only thing that has really annoyed me about the kids is that they will not just shut their mouths and listen to Sam...she'll start to explain the activity, and then they'll shout out guesses of how they think it will work, then ask the same questions twelve times because they don't listen to each other, either. However, the sessions are relatively short (2 hours), and they sometimes manage to pleasantly surprise me with their work once they actually start listening.

After YPT, I opted to stick around and see the show that we set up yesterday. The group (as I finally found out) was from St. Mary's University, and the show was "Stockholm" by Bryony Lavery. Actually, I decided that I should see the show only after I found out who the playwright was: I am familiar with "Frozen" (and by that I mean "I have seen a handfull of monologues and scenes performed to death at Cathedral from 'Frozen'"), so I wanted to see what Lavery's other works were like. I really enjoyed the show, and I felt as though the Rec Room was a pretty perfect venue. The show is gripping to the point that you feel like a voyeur, and the seating was set up in the round with gaps for various set pieces to fit. In that way, you as the audience feel as though you are part of their house, but you still feel uncomfortable because the only people who should witness a relationship falling apart like this are the couple in the relationship. There was no fourth wall, not even during the dialogue between the two actors, adding to the discomfort that I relished in as I watched...not only should I not be seeing this, but they know that I know that I should not be seeing this. (That's the whole point, though...and I sat in the front row while most other people squeezed into the safety of the second row...sort of my challenge for the actors to "bring on the discomfort!") It's the kind of show that you cannot effectively perform on a proscenium stage, and that is the type of work in which I prefer to be involved. Add to that the fact that the actors were incredibly well-trained, which was a breath of fresh air after the last student show I endured. I did not feel as though I was watching students, apart from the relatively young age of the performers. I'm certainly glad that I stayed for this tonight, and I'm a bit sad that I will not be able to work with some of these artists again. The design/production team were all lovely people, and I think that their kind and gracious attitudes may have also contributed to my enjoyment of this production. I'm definitely guilty of letting personal opinions of artists impair my ability to appreciate their work...I'm not proud of that, but it's the truth. If you're rude to me when I help you load in your equipment, I will not consider your design remotely beautiful...but this group was lovely all around.

Tool Box, Pint, and Midsummer Night's Pantomime

2009-06-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

This was a great day...I say that with confidence and a smile on my face. I went in to BAC at the usual time and helped the Rec Room group with a few minor things (moving ladders, footing the ladder in order to help prevent Ed from plummeting to his death, fetching lanterns and torches...and by that, I mean desk lamps and flashlights...I know, it sounded so dramatic before that clarification!). Most of the rest of the day consisted of general tidying up, including several hours sorting stuff in the Tool Box with Greg, with my hands getting more and more gritty and the piles of stuff getting more and more organized. The work can be dull at times, but I couldn't ask for better company. I also did some odd jobs with Ed (including carrying a heavy dance-floor downstairs...can't escape them, I guess...) before taking a break to wish well to our coworker Maureen, who is leaving this week for her wedding in Jamaica. She's a sweetheart, and really made me feel welcome during my first few days at work. Our final task, which I stayed later than planned to assist with, was rigging up a track for a curtain in between the Heavy Store and Tech Playspace. It was a feat, and might be a safety hazard, but it's in the air, at least. Once again, I managed to grow a pair and deal with the often rickety ladder...although, since I got the ladder and Ed stood on a rickety stack of platforms, I can't complain too much. :)

I planned to see a show tonight at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which is not far from BAC, so I opted to stick around until closer to show time rather than dashing to King's Cross and back, and I'm really glad that I did. The building has a different atmosphere after 5:00, and I was able to just hang out with Greg and Ed in the courtyard. And Greg bought me my first pint (cider...after a few moments of confusion and slight mockery at my not having ever really had alcohol before...), and I could not have asked for a better pair to enjoy it with me. I haven't felt like "part of the group" in any setting for a while now, so the hour or so of conversation in the courtyard was just what I needed. So, for those of you who were placing bets on how long it would take Corrina to become fully integrated, in the last two days I have been asked directions to an obscure street in Vauxhall, ordered a sandwich with "to-mah-to," and had a pint with my coworkers. Time to pay up. :)

The show tonight was pure entertainment...no deep meanings here, but sometimes it's nice to just be amused. It was "A Midsummer Night's Pantomime," performed on a tiny stage in a gay bar in south London (Royal Vauxhall Tavern). And it was awesome...switching between original text and modern comments, filled with more innuendo than even Shakespeare intended. They actually compared the RVT to the Globe in its heyday in terms of its purpose as a center for artistic expression and bawdy behavior. :) Hermia was played by the tallest drag queen I have ever seen (self-proclaimed as "six foot eight in heels"), and who can argue with a Puck with a red mohawk, tutu, and combat boots? Oh, and the lovers were rearranged again at the last minute by Puck...apparently, Athens has pretty liberal views on same-sex marriage! Oberon/Theseus was played by Dusty Limits (for those regular readers who recall my night at the burlesque show), who was charming as always. I really wish that Indy had a venue similar to some of these smaller theatres that I have visited...maybe that's my calling. :)

Assorted Tasks and "Aunt Dan and Lemon" (With A Sentimental Surprise!)

2009-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today was both busy and low-key at work, depending on the moment. I'm starting to think that Production Stage Management might be on my horizons...especially if I were lucky enough to find another venue similar to BAC that I loved just as much. We had another college group start working (somehow, I never actually learned which school it was), and although they had a fairly tech-heavy show to load in, they also had a really competent crew at work. Several of them also seemed genuinely kind, and were incredibly appreciative of Ed's and my help...always nice to be around a professionally-behaving group that is considerate! :) I spent the first few hours at work helping them out and getting the space in order. They are in the Rec Room, which is about 3/4 Strother size (I love how all of my room descriptions are measured in "Strothers"), so there was just enough room for our small group to work efficiently...they also had a full day devoted to set-up, so it won't be quite as chaotic as our last group was, with load-in, tech, and performances all in one day. I also realized that I am actually gaining some upper body strength, because Ed and I had to carry five scissor-platforms downstairs to heavy storage. I don't want to know how much they actually weigh, but let it suffice to say that on my first day of work, I could barely move two platforms from storage down the hall to the Grand Hall. (Not that the five platforms were easy to move, but we worked out a pretty good system and I did not feel as though my arms would fall off this time...) At noon, I had a meeting with Luke to discuss YPT and my prop/scenery hunt. The meeting ended with me emailing the director a list of questions about her desired effects (which, in turn, led to me emailing some of my lovely techie friends at home about a piece of scenery that makes me nervous...). I'm going to start prop hunting (in a "purchasing" sense) soon. After lunch (during which I ordered my sandwich with tomato, pronounced "to-mah-to"...yeah, someone's blending in...I wasn't even thinking about it either; the word just kind-of came out that way and I sort-of had a double-take at myself...), we went back up to the Rec Room (where most of the lights and scenery were set up without problems) and solved a minor conflict involving painting the doors to the room (there are four total, one in each corner, and two needed touching up with paint while one, painted bright red, just needed to be painted over completely). Eventually, I was sent to the paint shop (about fifteen minutes walking) to get more supplies, and everyone was happy. :) When I left, some of the technical staff were starting to work on building a shelving unit in the lumber storage area to hold long planks of wood (funnily enough, the storage is called the "chair store" although there were only a small stack of chairs down there, which we promptly moved to begin construction).

I would have stayed and helped with construction (since I actually know how to use some of that equipment!), but I had to dash back to Nido and drop off my bag and eat, because I had tickets to "Aunt Dan and Lemon" at the Royal Court Theatre. It is part of the "Shawn Season"...as in Wallace Shawn, who I have heard described (to my agreement) as "the US's most profound and most overlooked playwright." I'm holding my breath waiting for someone to say "Inconceivable!" (Yes, he's that guy...) The show was wonderful, and I really enjoyed myself. I felt so comfortable, almost as though I was just listening to him telling me his story (even through the perspective of the protagonist, a woman), which I attribute to a combination of the simple, homey scenery (set originally in her flat, switching to various locales as seen with the table, chair, bed, rug, etc) and the simple language that still managed to convey a powerful message. The scenes shifted seamlessly, and it was almost startling to watch the furniture serve it's multiple purposes for various locations (Lemon's childhood bed, for example, changed into Aunt Dan's deathbed and the bed on which Aunt Dan's friend has a brief seduction prior to murder). I felt moved, and as I was watching actors onstage, I was glad that the program was also a copy of the text so that I could read some of the passages again. The message turned surprisingly political toward the end, which I knew was a feature of Shawn's work, but did not really foresee throughout the production as a whole. The most profound piece of the message, which really stuck with me throughout the production, is the idea that our lives are not made up of the things "I did" or "I saw" or "I said." Life is really made up of the other people who influenced us, who taught us, and who made us into what we came to be. That poignant thought, which is so simple but so true, really made me think of the people waiting for me at home. I am so happy here in London, by myself for the most part, worrying only about the day at hand (although, controlling as I am, I try to plan out all of my time and often change my mind at the last minute). But more than that, I am so touched that you, my readers, take the time to read up about my day. Maybe that is why, although I am alone, I haven't really felt lonely while I have been here. I have the city, and I have all of you thinking of me, and I am truly grateful for that, so thank you, and I send my love from here to wherever you are as you read this. :)

Nerdy Museum Day

2009-06-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Another day of culture in old London town. :) I spent most of my day at the Science Museum, which I had planned to visit a few weeks ago but rescheduled in favor of something else. I'm really glad that I went today, though, because I had a great time. The headlining exhibit right now is "Wallace and Gromit Present A World of Cracking Ideas," which is all about inventions. It was an adorable layout, designed like Wallace's house, with a lot of kid-friendly, interactive areas. It also contained some of the original set pieces from the claymation, which was pretty exciting for me. My favorite section contained ideas that never really caught on, some of which made me laugh audibly (my favorite was the chocolate teapot, followed by instant water...just add water!). I also checked out an exhibit called "Who Am I?" which was a fascinating study of the human body and what makes it individual. It contained information about blood types and DNA and the like, which was to be expected, but it also followed several volunteers who had all of this information recorded and presented. After seeing their blood types and face casts, it was interesting to hear everyday information about them as well. The exhibit also discussed some psychological elements, including phobias, and an introduction to evolutionary information as traced through DNA. Another exhibit that I particularly enjoyed was a visual history of medicine, presented largely through models and recreations of rooms. The displays ranged from a small model prehistoric surgical procedure (using a rock to puncture a hole in the skull in order to release demons) to a full-scale recreation of an operating room during open heart surgery in the 1980s. I think that I enjoyed this exhibit so much because it was presenting information that I already knew in a different way...the models were so incredibly detailed, and they had such a broad range of time periods and procedures.

When I had seen the exhibits that particularly interested me, I went down to the cafe for afternoon tea, then walked next door to the Natural History Museum. When I visited it a few weeks ago, I had not checked out the Evolution or Primate exhibits, and since closing time was looming, I opted to have a quick stroll through them. Both exhibits were small, lining the upper balcony that overlooks the main atrium, but they were interesting nonetheless. The primate exhibit did not contain as many specimens as some of the other specific exhibits, but it had quite a bit of video footage and sought mainly to compare various other species' social behavior with that of humans, so both exhibits really sought to put humans in their place in the grand scheme of evolution.

Although Sundays are great days for museum outings, everything tends to close fairly early, leaving me with an open evening and not much to do. Ah well...it's time to prepare for the busy work week ahead and plan out my free time. As of right now, I am seeing four shows between tomorrow and Saturday afternoon (not including whatever productions are in progress at BAC), so I should probably conserve my energy for now!

Trooping the Colour and Waterstone's

2009-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

This morning was far more exciting than the average Saturday for me and my fellow Londoners: the Queen's Birthday was celebrated with the Trooping the Colour parade. I left Nido early in the hopes of not being at the back of the crowds, and I surprisingly managed to get a spot fairly close to the front along the parade route. I arrived as the early festivities were going on and watched several groups of soldiers march by before the bands (which were the size of a small army), and finally the members of the royal family. As the carriages were leaving the palace, I was surprised by their speed...I barely managed to snap a photo of Prince William, Prince Harry, and Camilla before they were gone, and I didn't really recognize Charles until someone pointed him out. The Queen was lovely (her carriage moved slightly slower), and it was thrilling just to see her in person. Once the royal family passed, most of the crowd dissolved, but I stayed where I was since I knew that they would return by the same route. Thus, I got a spot right up front for the return trip (where I didn't have to worry about a giant in front of me again), so I was able to take a few more photos. The bands were fantastic (particularly the band mounted on horseback...playing drums while on a horse is a pretty impressive skill), and I loved seeing all of the pomp and pageantry associated with the festivities. One of the guards passed out, though (we saw some others carrying him on a stretcher to the first aid station)...the beautiful weather would certainly have overheated anyone in those heavy uniforms. (He wasn't a bagpiper, though, so I could not make any references to having "a piper down!") When the soldiers on horseback paraded through, I realized just how terrifying a battle must have been back in the day...it was intimidating to me, and they didn't even have weapons drawn! (Speaking of which, the soldiers calling out orders to the soldiers lining the pathway had a sword, which I think should be my prop of choice when delegating tasks on a show...I was all ears, and I could not even understand him, but I was ready to serve and protect should the man with the sword need any assistance!) It was an exciting day to be in the city...so many happy people and so much national pride. Saint James's Park was full of families and couples having picnics and people reading in the shade, and it felt like the perfect morning. :)

Since my mood was already in the clouds (and since I finished reading my current book while waiting for the parade to begin...the main reason why I did not just stake out a shady spot in the park), I opted to treat myself this afternoon and go to Waterstone's Bookstore...I may have literally salivated as I approached the building. I haven't been in a Border's for such a long time, and this place is essentially Border's Cubed. I could have stayed there all day quite comfortably, just looking at all of the lovely books...I definitely need to start making more time to read for pleasure when school starts...that would definitely be beneficial to my mental and emotional health. :) When I made my purchase ("The Boleyn Inheritance," the sequel to "The Other Boleyn Girl"), I walked back to the Tube station and stopped for lunch at a cafe. In the evening, I went to Mass at Saint Aloysius's Parish (about a fifteen-minute walk from Nido), which made a very relaxing end to an excellent day. (Although, of course, Nido brought be back to Earth when all of the dryers mysteriously stopped working while my entire wardrobe was in the wash...but ah well...I saw the Queen and visited a glorious bookshop today, so I an certainly deal with having my clothing strewn across my dorm room as it dries!)

Intercultural Skills, The Tower of London, and Phedre

2009-06-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Professional Development today was actually not a snooze-fest! Miracles happen! (Has anyone else noticed that my entries are becoming more and more sarcastic as the weeks go on...?) Seriously, through, the topic was Intercultural Skills, which I find interesting anyway. We discussed differences between various cultures relating directly to the business world as well as differences among age groups (Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y). The hand-out also had a pretty detailed chart of differences between Generation X and Generation Y, which was surprisingly enlightening.

After Professional Development, I headed over to the Tower of London for the afternoon. When I arrived, I had just missed one of the Beefeater Tours, so I checked out the nearest tower (which contained replicas of rooms in a medieval castle, including Edward the Confessor's bedroom) before making my way back to the main gate to catch the next tour. Our guide, as all the Beefeaters are, was delightful and hilarious, and I had a blast. I remembered a couple of the stories from my last trip here, but since I am now ten years more worldly, I think I appreciated them with a new light. :) After the tour, I went straight for the Jewel Tower, passing the time in line with my copy of "The Other Boleyn Girl"...ironic, eh? The Crown Jewels were just as impressive as I remembered (my favorite was Queen Victoria's small diamond crown). I went to the special exhibit about Henry VIII afterwards (with my opinion of him slightly tarnished by my book), which was interesting...he was certainly an insecure man at heart, as represented in his armor by a codpiece to match his ego. Enough said. As closing time quickly approached, I managed to make my way into the Bloody Tower and around to some of the other smaller exhibits. I was there for three hours, but I still felt like I could have been happy just wandering the paths.

Even if the Tower had remained open, I had little time between my sightseeing and my evening plans...just enough time to run back to Nido, change clothes, and devour a makeshift dinner while standing in the kitchen before hopping on the Tube to Covent Garden. Tonight, I saw Helen Mirren in Phedre at The National Theatre, and the production was breathtaking. The set was simply beautiful, and designed like the edge of a Mediterranean beach. The lighting, likewise, was entirely void of spectacle, but so effective in tracing the various positions of the sun over the course of the day. Helen Mirren, of course, was incredible, and although I was in the third to last row of the theatre, I felt every word she said. And yes, I cried this time. I was unfamiliar with the story prior to reading the program, but I am familiar enough with the style of the Greek tragedy to know the outcome as soon as the characters first appeared. However, this fact did not draw from my connection to the characters whatsoever. I felt tears welling up because Phedre struck a chord with me, and I am not even sure what that chord was. Although this was Ted Hughes's version, rather than an original Greek text, I was glad to be able to watch the action unfold, knowing the ending without specific details. (I loved this version...within five lines of the first scene, I thought, "I have to read this again later...") I never had the luxury of seeing Oedipus before I had read it or been told the outcome by someone else, and I have often wished that I could have had the opportunity to truly experience a production and discover the truth with the protagonist rather than knowing his fate the entire time. Thus, I felt refreshed by the opportunity to watch the action of this similar story unfold, knowing the end but not knowing which path we would take to arrive there.

Council Chamber Prep, Jack the Ripper, and Public Transportation

2009-06-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Based on my present calculation, I spent around six hours on public transportation today as the result of the Tube Strike. Unfortunately, not all of those hours were spent reading, as I was still attempting to navigate the bus routes. My two hours to BAC were expected and I left Nido early this morning to compensate. However, the two hours from work to Tower Hill for our cultural excursion, as well as the two hours from Liverpool Street back to Nido seemed a bit excessive...

Today, we prepped the Council Chamber for a student group that will perform this weekend. Most of the morning was spent hanging lights (with me pushing Stuart around the space on the lift and attaching lighting instruments to a cord for him to reel up)...it was refreshing to do a familiar task, and Stuart is a fun workmate. He and Luke actually gave me a rundown of the variety of culture within their home county of Essex, which was enlightening. :) After our lunch break, we had the lovely task of laying down a dance floor...oh joy! :) I'm still kind-of sore from taking down the black curtains in the General Office earlier this week, and I know that I will be achy tomorrow after taping down the dance floor. We also set up microphones, chairs, and a projector and screen, so I really watched the room transform over the course of the day. I also spent a little time working on the prop hunt online, but I felt like my service was better needed upstairs...and you can only look at so many giant, but not quite giant enough, digital clocks before you need something else to do. :)

In the evening, we had our Jack the Ripper Walking Tour, which was enjoyable apart from the irritating people in our group. (Can't win them all...) Our guide, Richard, was very sweet, though, and the walk took us all over London's east end, which was an interesting glimpse of the socioeconomic diversity of modern London as well as a gruesome history lesson. By the end of the tour, most of the group had wandered off to the pubs, but Richard was very gracious and even helped us look up the bus routes to get back to King's Cross...and, after the very long bus ride as well as all of the running around at work today, I know that I will sleep well tonight! (I was awoken at 3:00 this morning by drunk hooligans yelling in our hall...ah, the joys of student living! They had American accents, too...my countrymen have really failed to impress me as ambassadors!)

YPT1 and Bus Routes

2009-06-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Since I had YPT1 rehearsal tonight, I went into work later in the day. Fortunately, I overestimated my travel time, because it actually took me around two hours to get from door to door. Given, a good portion of that time was spent waiting for the buses to arrive at their stops (every 5-10 minutes...such a lie!), but still, I was pretty weary by the time I arrived at BAC. It took about the same amount of time to get back to Nido as well. When I first arrived at BAC, Ed was the only one in, (Greg came in later and Rob is doing a cycling race in France this week), and he was missing in action when I searched the building, so I just did some more cable labeling and cleaned up the greenroom for my first hour before my production meeting. When he returned to the greenroom, I chatted with Ed about ways to make the storage areas easier to navigate (mainly because they have so many temporary staff members come through BAC and equipment tends to disappear and reappear in strange places...). My suggestions may lead to more labeling on my part, which is fine by me...as I have been known to say, I enjoy making order out of chaos. :)

The meeting itself was really productive. We filled out the production agreement, which is a piece of paperwork that serves as the technical reference sheet with all necessary technical elements, equipment needed, important dates, etc. Since we do not really have a specific design team (one of the technicians will do the lighting design during tech), I will be in charge of acquiring props and scenic pieces, some of which will be very challenging. (We are ending with an hourglass effect which will involve sand running from giant cones attached to the grid...and I get to figure out how we will make this work...hmmm...) When I was preparing to set up, Luke actually told me that I'm doing a really great job, which meant a lot.

Rehearsal itself went well. They began with a shorter warm-up than last week's (we're getting pretty stretched for time) and choreographed a possible movement piece based on the Riddle of the Sphynx. They also continued the changing scene, which became a bit congested toward the end...some of the kids were angels, but the majority of them just would not stop talking and trying to draw attention to themselves by just being silly, which was incredibly irritating. I was pretty popular at one point, though: One of the students asked me where in the States I'm from, and I gave my usual response "Indianapolis...in Indiana...near Chicago?" which made him incredibly excited since he's visited Chicago. Then one of his friends asked me if I voted for Obama, and they thought that I was pretty cool because I did. Take that, cynics...I'm considered cool by some 13 year olds because I voted for Obama. :)

Tidying Up and Bus Rides

2009-06-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Considering that today was spent still tidying up the lower storage area of BAC, I actually had a really good day. :) I went in at the usual time and, after my cup of tea, started out by labeling cables by length (the next set of cables after yesterday's section was completed). It was only slightly awkward when the other intern started working on it as well...she does not have much initiative and is not very friendly. (Fortunately, I was able to find the website for the radio station we listened to yesterday and thus block out the awkward silence...) By the time the massive pile of cables was sorted out, Greg and Ed were in for the afternoon, so there were a few more ideas regarding which projects needed to be completed. At one point, the other intern and I were sent to the General Office (small black box space, which used to be the general office when the building was the Battersea Town Hall...most of the spaces are now named for their original purpose, hence the General Office, Council Chamber, and Members Only Bar). She was leading the way, so I just thought I would see where she led us...which turned out to confidently be right to the copy room. Slight misunderstanding (although why she thought we should go to the copy room to check lighting inventory and take down black curtains is beyond me...). She checked the inventory (although she did not seem overly confident in what everything was), while I used a ladder to take down the curtains...it would have been nice to have someone footing me, but I was fine on my own. By the time I had untied everything, she had disappeared, so I folded everything (very awkward job by yourself) and lugged it to heavy storage. Needless to say, I was knackered by the end of it (yes, I'm blatantly using British slang because it was the most appropriate word to use for that instance), so I took my lunch break, which was once again awkward by the other intern's silent presence. (Not to brag, but I'm definitely the one with the personality, it seems...) You could tell that some of my coworkers didn't really know what to do with her either, because she's an acting major with incredibly limited technical skills...not that I'm a technical goddess, but I've really improved over the last few weeks from just doing the tasks (please reference my relationship with ladders from my first day until now). After lunch, I continued labeling and sorting cables, which gradually evolved from lighting to Audio/Visual stuff...at one point, I was sorting the cables based solely on appearance, since I still have no idea what most of them actually do. :)

The Tube Strike began today and will last until Thursday night. Although I left work before the lines were officially closing, I opted to take the bus so that I could be sure of the route and get a rough estimation of the time (and because I was not really in any hurry to get back to Nido). Since Battersea is a little out of the way, I will have to take three different buses total, but I actually enjoyed the route quite a bit...the first bus on the way to Battersea crosses the Thames at Blackfriar Bridge (I live on the north side of the river and work on the south side....ay, the controversy!), so I have a great view of the hub and bub of downtown (which will be particularly interesting at 8:30 AM). The whole journey by bus is about an hour and a half, whereas the Tube is 45-55 minutes, but I spend my entire commute reading, so time is not really an issue. I think that this is one of my greatest sources of happiness in the city: the fact that I am guaranteed at least two hours of reading time every day on my way to and from work. :)

Cleaning, Cables, and Famous...Pubs :)

2009-06-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Work today was incredibly laid-back. I arrived at 10:00, but no one else was there until closer to 10:30, and even then, I spent most of the morning planning out everything that needed to be done with Rob. (As well as helping Fergus Dick move the last of the South Thames College's stuff out of the Council Chamber...fun times to be had by all!) Ed and Greg arrived at 12:00, so we were able to actually get some work done at that point...and by that, I mean that I watched them do some electrical work and fetched cables/tested headsets. Since the show schedule is so much lighter this week, our time is basically dedicated to tidying up the work/performance spaces, which can be a bit dull at times. I eventually set to work labeling cables and sorting them, which was actually not too bad a job...it's repetitive, but I do well with tasks like that (in the same way that I enjoy making paperwork...). The time went much quicker since we turned on some music, and since I was in a central location, I was able to chat with the other technicians as they made their way in and out of the greenroom and drink tea while I worked. Ed and I had a fun chat about British and American slang (I believe that I will be fully immersed in the culture when I feel the urge to call someone a wanker). I am also now a recognized figure at the cafe across the street...and I found out why the owner always laughs at me: he thinks my pronunciation of "tomato" is amusing (and my frequent apologies when I do not understand his accent, I would imagine!). :)

When I arrived back at Nido, I headed out with two friends to The Famous Cock for dinner...because I'm immature like that (hey, there's a reason why I included the full name of the South Thames College drama instructor earlier in this post...). And we also went, giggling aside, because the dinner I had there last Monday was delicious (as it was tonight). We took the Tube this time rather than the long walking route (even the Tube ride is lengthy considering that it is only one stop away). This may become our Monday pattern... :)

Kensington Palace, Apsley House, and Parks Galore

2009-06-07T13:17:00.001-07:00

I spent most of my Sunday at Kensington Palace, along with a short visit to the Apsley House and a lengthy walk through Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. The Palace was beautiful, especially considering it's simple exterior. I had expected more hype regarding Princess Diana since this was her residence and she is heavily featured in all of their publicity, but I was still not disappointed. The state apartments themselves were lovely (I saw the one of Queen Victoria's beds), although it is obvious that Kensington is the red-headed stepchild of the various palaces. They had a special exhibit about the Debutantes, which I found incredibly interesting. (And not just because of the gorgeous gowns...) I actually sat in the final room, which featured filmed interviews with Debutantes from the last year that the season took place (1958, maybe?) for quite a while. I was more interested in their personal stories than the artifacts, particularly the variety of opinions on the whole event (for some, this was obviously the highlight of their lives, but others laughed at how ridiculous it all was in retrospect) and the differences in lifestyles among the debutantes. (I particularly enjoyed hearing the story of one girl who was set to go to Oxford after her coming out...she was one of only four that year who were going to university, so they were the "freaks" of the group.)

When I had toured the palace and gazed at the Sunken Garden, I consulted my guide book to see what else would be of interest in the area (it was still relatively early and the palace was the only site I had planned to see) and opted to visit Apsley House, the home of the dukes of Wellington since Arthur Wellesley. The museum itself is small but beautiful, and the audioguide contained several fun anecdotes from the current Duke of Wellington (specifically his sliding down the bannister of the main staircase as a child). Highlights, of course, included the giant statue of a nude Napoleon clad in a fig leaf (which apparently came off during a bombing during WWII and was the first repair job to be executed afterwards) and the sword that the first Duke of Wellington carried at Waterloo. And, yes, they do have a pair of wellington boots on display, but they are in a display case in the basement (which is not part of the audio tour).

In between the two homes/museums, I wandered through Kensington Garden in the hope of just walking to Apsley House. Of course, my avid readers will guess what happened: Corrina wandered throughout the parks until she eventually found a tube station and made her way Underground. I still do not know exactly where Kensington Garden ends and Hyde Park begins, but I made a valiant effort. In my defense, the road I traveled along was not shown on the maps of the parks...maybe I should just blame fairies and gnomes so that I can feel better about myself and my navigational skills? :)

The Winter's Tale

2009-06-06T13:33:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, I went to see "The Winter's Tale" at The Old Vic Theatre...after the burlesque show last night, I think I may be balanced again. :) Of course, I managed to get lost on my way there (I actually went to the wrong Tube station...fortunately, I started my journey ridiculously early to allow time for becoming lost), but I collected my ticket, purchased my program, and made my way to my seat without any issues. I, being the frugal college student, purchased the cheapest possible ticket online (£20) and was thus seated in the second from last row of the uppermost balcony. There were only two other people in my row and no one was in the row in front of me, which meant that I actually had a great view of the stage (and I could see the stage manager). The theatre itself is lovely and much more spacious than it seems from the outside, which is probably due to its height. The production was both simple and visually stunning: the perfect balance of natural beauty. It was directed by Sam Mendes (who directed American Beauty, during which he became friends with Kevin Spacey, who is the Artistic Director of the Old Vic...you learn something new every day!), and I could definitely sense hints of American Beauty in some of the design elements...mainly the music that played over several of the scenes. The cast included both American and British actors, many of whom Sam Mendes has directed previously either in film or theatrical works (including Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack, Richard Easton, Rebecca Hall, Josh Hamilton)...the one with whom I was most familiar (maybe because I watched Reality Bites shortly before leaving home) was Ethan Hawke, who essentially stole the second act. I loved the play itself (which is my typical reaction to Shakespearean works when I am first exposed to them), although the plot had more climaxes than The Dark Knight (yeah, I said it!). The production design was in a Renaissance-esque time frame, although the time period was not strictly maintained (the costumes were the only indication of a specific time, and they varied...my favorite was a light green toga worn by Perdita during the beginning of the second act...oh, and I got the reference with the name "Perdita"...it means "lost" and she is "lost" as an infant...the Spanish minor randomly helps me once again!), and this production featured some of the most beautiful lighting effects I have ever seen onstage: The first few scenes featured artificial candles that were flown in to different levels far upstage, as well as several rails of actual lit candles, which were extinguished by the actors during a scene change. There were also some dramatic shifts from natural lighting to a deep blue wash with a white followspot during soliloquies, which I had never seen used as a way to justify the soliloquy...very effective, in my opinion. Most of the scene changes utilized actors, as it was a minimalistic set (mainly chairs and tables), but the shifts were choreographed as beautifully as the few dance moments. At the end (the statue scene, for those who know it), I could feel the tears forming, although I managed to maintain my composure this time. The play was very moving, though, and the acting was superb. It was an afternoon well spent, I think!

Cathedrals, Museums, and Burlesque Shows

2009-06-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today was busy, with some moments that were far more exciting than others. Nevertheless, I will sleep very soundly tonight!

We started with Professional Development, with the topic of "Business Communication." Who knew that speaking and listening were equally important, or that meetings should have agendas? (Gasps of horror!) Ah well...

After the seminar, I went to Saint Paul's Cathedral, which was even more incredible than I remembered. There were moments when I was sitting beneath the dome in which I felt like I was looking at a photo or a painting: there was no way that something actually in front of my eyes could be that exquisite. I climbed to the Whispering Gallery (a beautiful view, but slightly anticlimatic when you don't have a friend to whisper with you), then up to the Stone Gallery. I actually managed to get some fairly nice one-handed photos of myself with the skyline behind me. I particularly enjoyed the Crypt (I know, I'm grim...), especially Christopher Wren's tomb itself. When I had wandered sufficiently, I went to the Crypt Cafe for tea and gingerbread so that I could decide how to spend the rest of the afternoon (as I had a theatre ticket for tonight). Since the Museum of London had been closed yesterday, I opted to go today, and on my way, I passed three other churches designed by Christopher Wren: Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, Saint Anne/Saint Agnes, and Saint Mary-le-Bow. Saint Vedast-alias-Foster was particularly captivating...I almost felt drawn to check it out as I was walking by, and when I approached it to find out what it was, I saw that they keep their doors open all day for personal meditation. They also have a charming little courtyard, which was very peaceful, particularly since it was sunny at that point in the day. I stopped there long enough to look around the sanctuary and sit in the courtyard for a few minutes, and it was lovely to be able to take a breath of fresh air after rushing around the city. I made my way to the Museum of London with only an hour to explore. The museum is fairly small by comparison to others, but it had some interesting and unique items (the death mask of Oliver Cromwell, for example). They also had a very reverent memorial area to those who were killed in the Tube bombings, and they are currently working on updating the modern exhibits in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

After the museum, a stop at Nido for dinner, and an attempt at a catnap, I went to Leicester Square Theatre for tonight's cabaret/burlesque show. Yes, I went to see a burlesque. And it was fantastic! The headlining act was Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlys (Polly was absent, unfortunately, as she is competing for Miss Exotic World in Las Vegas), and Dusty Limits was the emcee. It was hilarious! Dusty highly encouraged the purchase of drinks so that the bar staff could play the famous Leicester Square game of "rohyphnol lottery." (He explained it as "You pass out, you wake up, and you realize that I've redecorated your flat...and shagged your brother.") He also sang (among his many tunes) a very dirty version of "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera," after which he asked us not to think of it as a song, so much as "a cheque to cash." The other acts were Frank Sanazi (yes, he was dressed like Hitler, and yes, he referenced his band, the Iraq Pack) and Frisky and Mannish, a duet that had me rolling in the aisles when they turned classic love songs into stalker anthems. And, of course, the Hurly Burly Girlys were fabulous. One of their pieces actually made me realize the divine purpose of my stage managing the dance show: so that when I saw a burlesque parody of "Danse des petits cygnes," I would laugh harder than I have since the techie version of The Full Monty at the Theatre Banquet! :)

Busy Day

2009-06-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

Today, I watched a show go through the most rapid-fire tech process imaginable: plotting (cuing) at 10:00, dress rehearsal at 1:45, show at 3:30. Had it been an effective show, it would have been a dream. :) Unfortunately, "Whodunnit in the Community Centre" will not be winning any Tonys this year...or ever. Basically, take a poorly constructed murder mystery and throw in random interludes with songs from Chicago, and you have the show. (And let me tell you, "All I Care About Is Love" sounds really creepy when it's being sung by an 18-year-old boy from east London...Billy Flynn was not Cockney in any way...) There were a few divas (and fairly incompetent ones at that...) but the group was overall much more respectful than the other South Thames College group earlier in the week (same director, though...who's name, Fergus Dick, just makes him sound like a creeper). Also, Fergus brought his young daughter, who ran around the stage during plotting, warm-ups, and intermission. (Again, it brought me back to my memories of The Children's Museum.)

Despite the subject matter, the experience was actually pretty cool. Ed, my technician coworker who designed the show and ran lights, is delightful, funny, and kind, and I had a great time working with him. During the actual show, I was the sound op so that he could focus on lights, so we made quite a few remarks about the show from the safety of the booth. :)

In the evening, I went to our scheduled cultural excursion at the Museum of London only to find that the museum was closed (it actually closes at the time we were told to be there) and the sign-in person had already left (yes, I was ten minutes late, but it had taken me over an hour to get there from Battersea on a bus and multiple Tube lines). Pretty frustrating, but I will hopefully get to state my case tomorrow during Professional Development (with about 50 comrades who were in the same situation).

Herbs, Surgeries, and Rascally Young Performers

2009-06-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Since tonight was my first rehearsal with the YPT1 kids, I did not have to go in to BAC until 3:00. I celebrated by sleeping until my roommate left for work, then took my time getting ready. Of course, I had forgotten about the fire drills that have been scheduled for Wednesday mornings, so I had to pick up the dressing pace toward the end. :)

On my way to Battersea, I stopped at London Bridge to visit the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. It was the perfect combination of interesting and creepy, largely because it is in the attic of an old church, requiring a walk up a wooden spiral staircase before you even reach the front desk. The herb garret smelled oddly comforting...just the right mix of familiar smells, like cinnamon, lavender, and a lot of dust. (The attic was actually sealed off for almost 100 years until it was reopened in the mid-20th century...some dried opium poppies were found still attached to the rafters when it was rediscovered.) That section also included display cases of Victorian surgical tools, which were pretty scary. (As much as some people dread surgery now, we have come such a long way in the last 100 years...) The Operating Theatre looked like any normal lecture hall, with standing-room risers built into the building (3/4 arena style), with a chalk board and an operating table in the center. It is referred to as a theatre in accordance with the origins of the word, a "seeing place," as this room was a space for medical students to witness surgeries in Victorian London...however, pretty grimly, the medical practice also used the space to gain profit, selling tickets to the Victorian crowds and allowing them to watch as well on the weekends. This room was also only for women's surgeries (a men's surgery was in another building nearby, which was destroyed). I read that the floor of the operating theatre is actually a false floor...underneath the floorboards is another layer of solid wood to keep blood from seeping through the floor into the church below. Since I chose to visit this and the Imperial War Museum in the same week, I must be punishing myself for sleeping well...:)

I made my way to Battersea as usual, stopping by Waterstone's for reading material on my way. (I love public transportation so much right now, because I am guaranteed an hour and a half of reading time every work day!) I did random jobs for the first hour (sorting gels, assisting Steve, one of the technicians, with rearranging the lighting storage) before my meeting with Luke to discuss YPT (Young People's Theatre). The director of YPT1 (12-14 year olds) was supposed to be there, but she was stuck on the train, so we'll have our production meeting next week. He talked me through the paperwork and his expectations of me as their stage manager (rehearsal reports, basically...I'll be fine!). We also realized that the performances are actually in the middle of the week after my internship technically ends, which we are trying to work around now (I may be living in the guest artist housing at BAC for four days before heading up North, which is fine with me).

I went to the rehearsal for YPT1, which reminded me at times of my work with Nancy Eddy when I was younger. The director, Sam Butler, is awesome, and was thrilled to have me on board. They began with some basic warm-ups and team-building games, then started an object work exercise: They had a scene set up with an arrangement of objects, and they had to enter, use the object and leave...then we started layering the scenes. It will continue to be built over the next few weeks. The kids were pretty rascally at times, which was a shame, but hopefully they will calm down over the next few weeks. I'm really excited about working with the group, though, especially since I will have a London show on my resume by the end of the summer.

I also forgot to mention this yesterday, but I met a guy from Evansville at work. He's another technician, and he graduated from Butler a couple of years ago. It's a small world, I suppose, and he seemed just as thrilled to meet someone from home as I was. :) (Up until this point, I've been tickled pink just to meet someone who knows where Indiana is, let alone someone who has lived in Indy!)

Tidying Up and Gel Cutting (Exciting, I Know...)

2009-06-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today at work, I felt more productive than I have for the last week...which is ironic, because I have the least amount of information to report. I went in early, drank a cup of tea and read my book while I waited for the other technicians to arrive, and cleaned out one of the weird spaces where a party had supposedly taken place last week (picking up streamers, etc). The space is actually a room under the main stairwell, which I have heard referred to as "the crypt" and which, if I were in a cheesy horror novel, I would assume is the room in which the undead villain lives. :) As it turns out, today was set to be a general "tidying up day," so I helped Ed, one of the technicians, clean out the light booth (I think he referred to it as the "control booth") in the Council Chamber and the upstairs lighting closet (storage)...many teacups were returned to the cafe. During one moment of down time, I actually washed all of the dishes in the greenroom (we have a small kitchen space with a sink, mini-fridge, and microwave), because that seemed like something an intern might do. :) Then we started sorting and reorganizing the greenroom and electrics storage. (The plan is to clean all of the spaces, starting with the center of the building and moving out, hence the beginning in the greenroom.) I spent most of the afternoon cutting gel sheets down to reasonable sizes so that they could be more readily stored...lots, and lots, of gel sheets. :) I finished the pile right before I left, though, so I was able to walk to the bus stop with a great sense of accomplishment. Plus, I don't really mind tasks like that where I'm semi-independent if I know what I'm doing...it was nice not having to ask someone for my next project every twenty minutes. The gel storage area looks glorious now, by the way. :) And since we didn't have to stress about preparing a performance space, everyone was in a really upbeat and chipper mood, so the day flew by. (My coworkers have the perfect combination of youthful energy and blatant sarcasm...I feel as though they threw my best friends in a blender with my British uncles. Where else could you hear the phrase "Dew rag? Sounds a bit like douche bag..."?)

Bratty Teens, Meetings, and The Best Pub Name Ever

2009-06-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

Another exciting day at BAC. I spent the entire day working in the Council Chamber (a performance space the size of 1 and 1/2 Strothers, about half of which is taken up by seating that looks like bleachers, but is stationary). The South Thames College group came in today, and I think I was reminded why I would never want to teach high schoolers (if teaching below the college level were to enter my horizons, of course). It was total bedlam when they arrived, and the director had absolutely no control over them. Technically speaking, we were fine. I helped lug some equipment upstairs to that we could assemble booms and then worked as a gopher once we were set up for the most part...cutting gels, moving the lift during focus, working the lighting desk (light board) during focus, etc. I definitely felt a sense of ownership when I saw everything set up, though, because the room had been completely empty when I arrived. I also sat in on the plotting (programming) for the show (which opened tonight and which I did not attend), which really was a technical rehearsal from hell in terms of focus from the performers. I left right around the time the dress rehearsal was set to begin.

As my end time drew near, I was finally able to talk with Luke, my supervisor (the production manager) about my work. I voiced my concern about working primarily in the technical end of things, since production is really what I want to do...not that I detest mucking in with the techies, but I really don't want to leave without having experience in the Production/Administration end of things (add to that the fact that I hope people understand that I am more competent that I seem...I'm much better at finding someone to solve the technical problems than solving them myself). Funnily enough, he offered some suggestions before I really voiced the concerns, saying that I will have a more regular schedule now that Burst is over and telling me that he wants me to start attending meetings with him. I'm going to attend a meeting with him regarding the Young People's Theatre on Wednesday, and I will have my first rehearsal with YPT1 that night if all goes well. :) That group is made up of 12-14 year olds, and I've been told that the director is really awesome, so I'm really excited. Also, they rehearse during the evening on Wednesdays, which will keep me out and about later and give me some free time earlier in the day (I'm a bit bummed out by the fact that all of the sights are closed when I leave work, meaning that I can't do much in the evenings...now I'll have Wednesday mornings at least!). And, if all goes as planned, YPT will be my primary focus, and any additional hours that I have available during the week will go toward the technical work that I have been doing so far and being a "personal intern" for Luke. I knew that things would be more fitting with my tastes after Burst ended, which is why I waited until this week to voice my concerns. I'm glad that I was finally able to track Luke down (he's kind of John Sadler-esque in terms of disappearing), and we'll see how the rest of the week fares now.

One more thing, just as a fun capper to the day. I had planned to eat a microwavable lasagna this evening for my boring dinner, but two of my friends came by to see if I wanted to join them instead. We ended up walking quite a ways in search of an interesting place, when we found the mecca of inappropriately named pubs: The Famous Cock. Yes, we had dinner there, and yes, it was delicious, and yes, we're going back sometime in the near future (I sense a photo opportunity!). Where else but Merry Olde Englande could this not be considered incredibly inappropriate? :)

Two Museums, Both Alike in Dignity...

2009-05-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

I spent my time today in two starkly contrasting museums: The Natural History Museum and the Imperial War Museum. Yes, I'm a dork. :) To be honest, my expectations were not that high for the latter, but I was completely blown away by some of the exhibits.

The Natural History Museum was fairly busy today...lots of families enjoying their Sunday with some educational entertainment. I started with the dinosaur exhibit (prompted by the large assembled skeleton in the main lobby), which featured a lot of hands-on information about excavation and preservation of fossils, as well as animatronic replications of the beasts. The grand finish is the T-rex that you have to wait in line to see...fun times and photo opportunities for all! I checked out the mammal exhibit next, and was pleased to see placards regarding the faded color quality of some of the stuffed animals (they were from the older collections, as the museum does not want to encourage killing endangered species even for research and educational purposes). The whole exhibit made me nostalgic for my visits to the zoo as a child (especially the elephants!). :) I zipped through the reptile exhibit, which was fortunately little more than a hallway leading back to the main atrium (like Indiana Jones, I don't like snakes). Finally, I checked out the human biology exhibit, which was awesome! Given, I already knew all of the information (yes, I've already had the talk about "where babies come from", thank you!), but there were so many hands-on aspects and the exhibit as a whole was well designed and colorful. One area that I found particularly cool was a low-lit chamber (with a giant, Matrix-esque fetus...ok, I wasn't crazy about that part of it) with inter-uterine audio playing. That will definitely calm you down after the rush of the city! :)

After I had seen all that I wanted to at the Natural History Museum, I hopped on the Tube over to the Imperial War Museum. As I said, I wasn't expecting to be particularly impacted by this museum (except for the Holocaust exhibit...my expectations were actually really high for that specific area), but I was definitely proven wrong. I started off in an exhibit called "The Children's War," which was about WWII through the perspectives of children, with some specific emphasis on the children who were shipped away from the cities for the duration of the war. It was heart-wrenching (of maybe I'm just overly sensitive from being away from home), and I felt tears welling up within the first hallway of the exhibit. I didn't actually cry until I read a letter to a little girl from her father, which he instructed to be given to her in the event of his death in service...she loaned it to the exhibit as an adult, so you can guess what happened to him. It was all about his hopes for her for the future, and it was one of the only really legible letters on display. Even from a non-sentimental perspective, the exhibit was great...in the very center, they had constructed a house that the visitors could wander through, complete with an indoor shelter in the kitchen. Another moment that made the tears well up a bit was a quote on the wall from a now-adult who was one of the children sent away from the city. When he returned, his neighborhood had been bombed, and he had no way of even telling where his family's house had been. He described his feelings that even now, as an adult, he still feels like he's waiting to go home.

Once I was thoroughly moved by the children's stories, I went upstairs to the WWI and WWII exhibits for the Trench and Blitz experiences. The Trench experience was particularly disturbing, although I was prepared for worse in terms of the smell (not that it was pleasant, mind you, but my friends who had visited before had warned me a bit more than necessary). As soon as I walked in, I felt uncomfortable and wanted to get out, and I didn't even have to worry about actual bombs! :) I actually followed closely behind a family that was visiting so that I would not be the first person to come across any surprises and shriek (as I am known to do...). The Blitz experience was interesting as well...you begin in an air-raid shelter, which is dark and crowded (featuring benches that shake violently when the bomb hits!), then go out into the destroyed street. The audio playing reveals that someone outside was wounded and there are fires to be put out, and the fact that only twenty visitors are let in at one time definitely makes it a moving experience.

Speaking of moving experiences, I hit up the Holocaust Exhibition last (both because it was on the top floor and because I predicted that I would be ready to leave by the time I finished digesting all of the information and images). It was incredibly thorough, beginning with post-WWI conditions in Germany and their influence upon Hitler's rise to power, to the origins of anti-Semitic tendencies from a variety of cultures. Throughout the exhibit, there were a variety of video clips from several interviews with different survivors, all of whom were very young during the war. I was alright until I got to the display case right before the actual ghetto/concentration camp sections, when the discussion of sterilization and murder of those deemed mentally or physically "unproductive" began to take place. Then I started to get angry...and I was on an emotional roller-coaster for most of the rest of the exhibit. The stories of the children particularly hit me (I knew that being in "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" would emotionally scar all of us...), as well as one specific story of a family that hid in the sewers to avoid being sent to the concentration camps (one of the women was pregnant, gave birth in the sewer, and smothered the baby so that it would not cry and give them away...I was trying not to cry again at that point). And, of course, I felt angry again at the end when I saw the display which revealed the fates of those in charge (Hitler was the last one, of course), as well as the final video clips of the survivors, all of whom have suffered even after being liberated because of the physical and psychological strains. It was difficult to describe...I had so much disappointment in my heart with no real outlet (although I sense a good cry sometime in the near future just to get all of that negative energy out of my system). The exhibition was incredibly respectful, however, and I felt as though it was tailored to those like me who would have strong emotional reactions. A great deal of emphasis was placed upon not forgetting these events and preventing this from ever happening again.

Galleries and Westminster Cathedral

2009-05-30T16:08:00.001-07:00

I spent most of today in Trafalgar Square. My first stop was the National Gallery, which is enormous...I was there for almost three hours before I hit all of the highlights that I wanted to see. I was particularly excited when I started to identify historical subject matters in works before reading the descriptions (one image of Lady Jane Grey's execution was particularly moving). At times, it felt like a mythology course review, and I spent some time listening to one of the gallery talks about "The Rape of Europa." Some of my personal favorite images were in the Peter Paul Rubens collection, which is to be expected since I enjoyed the Banqueting House ceiling so much. (I was once asked if I have any Italian heritage after posing for an art class, and after seeing some of the works today, I suppose I can understand why one might assume that...I do kind-of have that "Renaissance Figure"...)

I had planned to visit St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, although I was not really able to do the self-guided tour as there was an orchestra concert inside when I arrived. I did peek around the church from my standing position at the entrance, and it is a beautiful building and has lovely acoustics.

I was in a bit of an awkward time crunch when I left St. Martin-in-the-Fields...I had a little over two hours before I wanted to be at Westminster Cathedral for Mass, so I had a picnic lunch in Trafalgar Square and spent a little time at the National Portrait Gallery. I made my way through the entire second floor (where the bulk of the galleries seemed to be), which included the Tudors through Victorians. I ran out of time for the more contemporary galleries, so I plan to go back again at some point soon (the whole gallery is open late on Fridays, making it the perfect spot to visit at the end of my work week).

At the end of the afternoon, I made my way over to Westminster Cathedral to attend Mass. I was surprised by how many tourists were there for the service (identified mainly by their bulky backpacks and cameras). The service was primarily sung, which was lovely, and the space is so beautiful. Also, since I arrived early, I heard the evening prayer being sung for the half-hour leading up to the actual Mass, which was nice and calming after my day in the city. (Fortunately, the galleries had fewer small children running around than the Tate Modern had yesterday, but the day out was still tiring, and I relished in just being able to sit still for a while in the Cathedral.)

Morning Boredom, Steamrolled Silver, and Ancient Prompt Books

2009-05-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today was our second Professional Development Seminar, and the theme was teamwork. Unfortunately, I did not really hear anything that I have not been exposed to before, which made it a rather long morning.

After the seminar ended, I hopped on the Tube and headed to London Bridge so that I could do Rick Steves's Bankside Walk. I began at the bridge (which I crossed to see the monument to the Great Fire before returning to the south bank), first coming across Southwark Cathedral, which I visited. The self-tour pamphlet was a bit lackluster, but the Shakespeare memorial was certainly worth seeing (I particularly enjoyed the nods to his characters in the stained-glass window above the statue...can't argue with a stained-glass skull). Shortly after the Cathedral, I spotted the Golden Hinde replica, which seemed oddly crowded (apparently it was Pirate Fun day!). Then I continued down the bankside until I made my way to the Globe again. I had planned to do the tour today, but since the actors were in rehearsal, photos would have been prohibited, so I will go on another day. Finally, I ended my walk at the Tate Modern, which I wandered for a while. My favorite piece was a large-scale installation called "Thirty Pieces of Silver" by Cornelia Parker. She collected random silver objects at thrift shops and boot sales (or yard sales, depending on where you're reading this), had them run over with a steamroller, and hung them in thirty circular clusters from long wires attached to the ceiling, almost like a mobile. (One section was particularly mobile after a small child knocked over the cord separating the spectators from the piece and the cord snapped in toward it...) I was also surprised by the number of people who brought small children to the Tate Modern, especially those who were running around and yelling. (And by "surprised," I mean "disgruntled," of course...)

After I made my way back along the bankside and took the Tube home (I needed to stop by the local grocery store before it closed tonight), I went into town again to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a sight to behold! I wandered around the exhibits for three hours and still felt like there was so much more to see. I started with the classical exhibits (China, Japan, Renaissance Europe, India, Iran, Classical Sculpture), then visited the current exhibit on Fashion, which was really fun. My favorite pieces included a Victorian wedding dress and a modern twist on the "little black dress" made of a petticoat and eighteen bras. (Yes, I took pictures...it's better seen than described...) They also have a new exhibit about Theatre and Performance, which was like a picnic for me! It featured so many different objects on display, ranging from a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio to one of Pete Townshead's destroyed guitars to a full-scale exact replica of Kylie Minogue's dressing room. (By the way, I never realized how short Mick Jagger is...judging by his costume on display, we are about the same height...and Elton John isn't exactly a giant either.) Because I am a dork, I was most excited by a prompt book from the 1700s. The story is much better with exact dates and whatnot, but I really don't want to run up to my room and check my notes, so just know that I will add more details regarding the prompt book later...my favorite detail, though, was a note about having a stone ready to drop in a pool of water backstage, since one character drowned herself during a scene. There was also a Victorian prompt book in a primitive three-ring binder with page-marking tabs sticking out from various scenes. (Copious amounts of mockery from my friends and colleagues for considering this the highlight of my museum experience...GO!)

Giant Glasses and the Globe

2009-05-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day at BAC. One of the shows that we were loading in was a musical concert, so one would think that it would be fairly simple and straightforward: risers, two basic lighting colors...think again. The leader was both demanding and indecisive (one of those "I want it this way, but if you think of another way, that's okay, too" sorts of people), and they did not provide us with very detailed instructions. The first couple of hours were spent hanging and focusing lights (which was especially fun when we ran out of the particular gel we needed), and then the challenge began: the group had five pairs of giant glasses (made of painted plywood which was far from flameproof) which whey wanted to have suspended from the ceiling. Did I mention that this particular theatre space, while larger than some of the other studios, is still a studio theatre with a stationary grid? Fortunately, I did not have to use the rickety ladder or scary lift (basically just another ladder with a basket on top and a more stable base), but the first attempt to hang one of the pairs of glasses seemed like YouTube material...we eventually figured out the best strategy after quite a bit of trial and error. The first one took an hour to hang, after which the leader complained that the straps that attached them to the grid were too conspicuous...given the choice of being conspicuous or having my tombstone read "Here Lies Corrina, who was crushed by a giant pair of glasses that some smart band leader thought would be fun to hang with tie line instead of industrial-strength straps," I'll take the conspicuous road any day (willing suspension of disbelief, people...)! The one great part of this ridiculous project was the sheer number of puns that resulted (ex. "How's everything going in the Council Chamber?" "It's spectacular!") I spent a good chunk of the day behind the light board (which I actually knew how to operate! Yay for me! Or, should I say, yay for ETC Express light boards!) We were all in a much better state to revisit that room after lunch, and things were going smoothly by the time I left. One of the technicians kept reminding us that this was probably the most ridiculous project he has been involved with at BAC. (Fun facts: In the UK, a light board is referred to as a lighting desk, and a plot is a plan.)

After work, I had a picnic dinner by the River Thames and went to see my first show at the Globe (I say first because I know that I will be back). It was "A Comedy of Errors," which I had not seen before but thoroughly enjoyed. Since this was one of the outings that EUSA arranged for us, we were all in the groundling section. Half of the interns left before the end (wimps, I say), but I honestly think that standing through a Shakespearian play at the Globe should be an experience on every theatre practitioner's To Do List. The show involved a considerable amount of doubling, so I wondered how the revelation of the two sets of twins would work at the end, although I could tell with anxious anticipation that it would be great (and so it was...two words: cardboard cutouts!). The doubling also proved incredibly entertaining in the scenes in which both characters appeared (ex. the Duke and the Goldsmith). The production was classical in style and incorporated quite a bit of music and dance during interludes between scenes, which was both comical and fluid. I actually lost count of the number of times the company reentered the stage due to the overwhelming curtain call. As I was walking back to the Tube station, I saw a little boy walking with his mother and recognized them from the audience. The boy was absolutely beaming, and I asked him if he enjoyed the show and who his favorite character was (he loved it, and he thought that Dromio was really funny). I was smiling just as much as him as I walked on, because I felt inspired by his joy at what he had just seen. I want to make that happen...that's just one reason of many for my choice of work, and I know that many of you who are reading this feel the same way. :)

Westminster Cathedral, Electrical Work, and Shows

2009-05-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

During scheduling yesterday, Maddie suggested that I come in later so that I could stick around and see some of the evening's shows, so I had the morning free. I visited Westminster Cathedral (not Abbey), which is the mother church for the Catholic community of the UK. It is gorgeous. The architecture is described as neo-Byzantine, and the sanctuary itself was awe-inspiring. Since there were no services going on when I arrived, I was able to stroll through the sanctuary and view the smaller chapels that line the edges of the building. When I was there, the tower was not open, so I hope to go back and see the view from the top...I'm also planning to attend a service there at some point.

After my short pilgrimage, I headed down to Battersea for another exciting day of work. I spent most of the afternoon working with Greg, one of the technical staff doing basic gophering. There were so many different spaces in use tonight, so we spent a lot of our time running between different spaces and tech storage. He talked me through installing a video/sound system, though, so I'm gaining skills by the minute. :) Also, after running around all day, I'm much more familiar with the building, which is always a plus.

In the evening, I saw two short shows: one very good and one very disappointing. The first, entitled "Post Show Party Show" had so much promise, but very lackluster results. The one-hour play, performed by the playwright and his father (with some brief appearances by his mother), told the story of his parents meeting during the after-show party for a production of "The Sound of Music" in which they had both performed. I actually traded in my ticket for another show in order to see this one, and I was sorely disappointed. The writing was repetitive to the point of redundancy, and the delivery was weak: I felt like they were talking in my general direction, but they did not make any connection with the audience. Add to that the fact that all the details of the actual meeting could have been summed up in about a minute, and there were random lip-syncing and dance moments to the soundtrack of "The Sound of Music." As I said, my hopes were high when I read the publicity information, but if the show were running another night, I would advise my peers to run away from it.

The second show, Laughing Matters by an artist named Angela de Castro, was the most delightful ten minutes I have spent in quite a while. Yes, I said "ten minutes.' Essentially, the audience (of which there were about 20 people) sat in two rows in a small alley-style theatre (approximately Cave sized). Interestingly enough, this was the same theatre where "Post Show Party Show" had been, and they did the turn-around in a little less than an hour. The lights go down, they come back up, and a short, plump woman with rolled-up jeans, a sweater vest, and large black glasses is standing in the alley laughing hysterically. Over time, the laughter built from shy giggles in the audience to full out cackling...my cheeks were burning from smiling so much. My favorite part included Angela "grabbing" the laugh from her mouth (making a grabbing motion and being silent), then tossing the laugh back into her mouth...this eventually led to her passing the laugh to other people in the room, who played along surprisingly well. At the very end, she pulled out a ukelele and started strumming a song, which I quickly recognized as the Beatles "All You Need is Love." It quickly turned into "All You Need is Laugh (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha)" and the entire audience sang along. The experience was amazing...I will admit that I thought she seemed crazy at the beginning, but by the end she had my complete respect (I would have been terrified to try to set an idea like that in motion). Her production is still a work in progress, and she asked for our feedback on a form afterwards. According to the written introduction, the idea was spawned from a Laughter Yoga class that she took in India a few years ago, and her questions included subjects such as the contagious nature of laughter and our honest opinion of the show (I believe the question was "Do you think I am crazy for doing this?" to which I answered "Absolutely, but in the best possible way."). It was a delightfully inspiring experience, and I'm still smiling as I write about it.

First Day of Work

2009-05-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of work as an intern at the Battersea Arts Centre, and it was fabulous. I went in at 11:00 (after having tea at the cafe across the street because I arrived in the neighborhood obnoxiously early) and met up with Luke, my supervisor, who gave me another, more detailed tour of the building. Of course, I managed to get lost in the building several times over the course of the day, but since I mastered the Tube and bus systems by getting lost on them, I know that I will be fine. I spent most of the morning in the Grand Hall, which is the largest traditional performance space, featuring a proscenium stage, huge open seating area (we set up risers and chairs for this show), and a balcony which serves mainly as a post for the board ops. The show is called Trilogy, and ran tonight only. Since they are in the middle of the Burst festival, the turnaround in most of the spaces is really quick, and there were different teams of people working in a variety of spaces throughout the day. Most of the work in the Grand Hall was related to lighting, apart from loading in the platforms for the risers (ridiculously heavy!). I learned how to change the lamp in a Par can...ah, resume builders. :)

After my lunch break, I went to one of the upper level studio spaces to help with the tear-down of electrical equipment...basically, we stripped the entire studio. (It was probably about half the size of Strother, with a much lower grid.) I was originally working with one of the regular BAC employees, but he had to run and solve a crisis (one of the festival's shows was moved out of the rehearsal space, when it was supposed to remain there for another day, and all of their paperwork and props were missing), so I finished pulling everything from the grid space (yes, I climbed a ladder without Joe Bright's emotional support!), coiled a lot of cable, and made a pretty sizable ball of discarded electrical tape. By the time I was ready to take everything back down to storage (except the ball of electrical tape, of course), the guy returned with another worker, so it only took a few trips to get all of the equipment downstairs.

Finally, at the end of the day, I had a quick meeting with Maddie, one of my other supervisors, who is the interim technical manager for the duration of the festival (until the end of next week, basically). She was awesome (reminded me a lot of Maggie Ward), has a background in stage management, and was genuinely interested in hearing what I wanted to get out of this experience. Apparently, a theatre group from the South Thames College is doing a workshop/performance series at BAC next week, and since Maddie assumes that they do not have their own stage manager, I may get to work with them. It would certainly be nice to work with other college students, and if this works out like I'm hoping, I might also get to call their show.

Hampton Court, Abbey Road, and Americans

2009-05-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a Bank Holiday, so I opted to spend my free day at Hampton Court. I took the train out at around 10:30 and was in the palace by 11:30. Despite the crowds, I do not think I had experienced so much peace and quite since I arrived. The Palace is beautiful and vast...I will openly admit that I had to consult my map quite a few times as I attempted to see everything that interested me. As the day went on, the grounds became more crowded, but I still had a great time wandering the Palace and Gardens. I was particularly taken with the Chapel Royal (where Jane Seymour's heart is supposedly buried under the alter) and the exhibit about Henry's Women. Also, there were actors in costume portraying King Henry VIII, Kateryn Parr, and numerous courtiers, which was fun to see. I also really enjoyed the outdoor maze. It reminded me of the meditative labyrinths that I had previously read about, and I really felt at peace while I wandered through it (even with squealing children running around me in the narrow walkways).

On my way back to Nido, I didn't really want to hurry, since I knew that I would not go out again tonight, so I took a slight detour to Abbey Road for my Beatles pilgrimage. Yes, I got a picture, and no, it's not very good (it's from a slight distance and there are other people crossing...Photoshop to the rescue!).

A slightly off-topic note: I have encountered several other Americans since I arrived, and I must say, the Midwesterners stick out like a very polite, gracious sore thumb. Yesterday, I met a couple at Speakers' Corner that currently resides in South Carolina, who berated me for voting for Barack Obama (to which I responded "I'm in college" and smiled, like the sweet Midwestern girl that I am). While I was having tea at Hampton Court today (yes, I had tea, and the most dense slice of chocolate cake I have ever experienced), a Texan businessman sat across from me, quickly downed his espresso (he is only here for a week, and was just visiting the Palace to kill time and keep himself awake), and joked that I was just slacking off for the summer (to which I responded, sweetly again, that I have spent the last two summers working a cafe job to support this trip, and that I will be working while I am here). Finally, on the train back into the city this afternoon, I sat in front of an American couple that seemed to be around my parents' age. As soon as I asked where they were from, I noticed the man's Colts t-shirt. :) Steve and Sarah, the Purdue grads who live in Indianapolis, were the kindest, most gracious and polite other Americans I have met in my week here. They seemed genuinely interested in my internship (they're here as a vacation to celebrate Steve's birthday), and we swapped stories of our plans. Before we went our separate ways at the train station, he patted me on the shoulder and told me with genuine concern to be careful while I'm here. In a nutshell, this is my shout-out to my Midwestern friends back home. We're definitely the most effective ambassadors. :) (And we certainly need ambassadors now...one of the workers at an exhibit at Hampton Court asked where I was from, and when I told him "Indiana...it's near Chicago" thinking that Chicago would be a good point of reference, he replied "Oh, near Michigan. Flint, in particular." I inquired as to whether he is a Michael Moore fan, and my suspicions were correct. He told me that his only real representation of American comes from Michael Moore's films, apart from his knowledge of our involvement in war. I just hope that he thinks slightly higher of us after meeting me...)

Crowds

2009-05-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

I spent my day caught in two very different crowds. Around noon, I went to the Petticoat Lane Market, since I had read that it really flourishes on Sundays. It was a bargain shopper's paradise. :) I walked all the way down the lane, checking out the various stalls along the route. There were so many people of various ethnicities, and the market was noisy with music playing and people haggling. It was a bit difficult to navigate through the crowds at times, but I just tried to keep moving as much as possible rather than holding everyone up. (A few people actually managed to work their way through the narrow lane with children in strollers, which I did not imagine would be possible.) I found it rather ironic that I found Harrods so overwhelming, yet I was completely comfortable in this busy market. Maybe this is a living statement about class distinctions...:)

After I wandered up and down the market, I headed over to Hyde Park to visit Speakers' Corner. As an American, I am almost ashamed to say that this felt like my first real taste of democracy. I wandered from soapbox to soapbox (actually stepladder to stepladder) and listened to the various speakers trying to convey whatever they considered to be true, which ranged from Jesus as the Messiah to the problems with the political power structure in Britain to the lack of true freedom of the press. The best part was watching people argue with them (one speaker in particular became very angry and shouted back the best insult he could concoct at the moment: "Your mother died of syphilis!"). One speaker who was particularly captivating was dressed in a tie-dye t-shirt with a Union Jack wrapped around his shoulders like a cape and a hat with devil horns. He had some interesting points regarding the distinction between love and fear in reference to abuse and persecution (particularly given the current scandal in the papers regarding a young child who was beaten to death by his mother), despite the potential turn-off of his reference to himself as "Satan" multiple times throughout the talk. He actually had a resident brown-noser who kept agreeing with everything he said...I think it takes all the fun out of Speakers' Corner if you just accept everything that is offered. :) I also found it rather amusing that between the Christian Evangelists and the group challenging the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a group stood giving out Free Hugs. (I took part, of course...in the middle of all of the arguments, who could pass up a hug?) I had a wonderful time, and I hope to go back again in the next few weeks (schedule permitting, of course).

Markets, Harrods, and Dead Victorians

2009-05-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

I slept in a bit today (which was very much deserved, in my humble opinion), then started my day by visiting the Portobello Road Market. The Tube was incredibly crowded on the way (some sporting event was also going on, so there were a lot of crazy fans), and the market was likewise full of people. I suppose I window-shopped (I'm not really sure of the equivalent term for "window-shopping" when speaking about an open-air market...) for most of the time, and also checked out a few vintage places that were not too crowded.

On the way back, I decided to swing by Harrods and see how the other half lives. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming, and I spent a good amount of time just looking for an escape route. I did, however, find the art displays somewhat interesting...if I ever need to drop several thousand pounds on a painting by Bob Dylan, I know where to go now. I also saw the Princess Diana memorial on my way out, along with an anti-fur protest outside (lovely pamphlets included...I wonder if the "help stop violence" guy at Ball State would be interested...).

I went out for dinner with two other Ball Staters at an Italian place near our neighborhood, then headed down to BAC for another free concert. Tonight, the performers were The Dead Victorians...the name alone makes them worthwhile. The show was hilarious, combining humorous songs (my personal favorite was entitled "Syphilis, My Dear?") with short stories...did I mention that top hats and coat-tails were involved as well? I had a great time, particularly since audience participation was highly encouraged...they even handed out sing-along song sheets before the show started. :)

Seminar, Westminster Abbey, and Bunty Looping

2009-05-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our first Professional Development Seminar. The topic du jour was Personal Leadership, and the lecture was actually pretty interesting. It reminded me of Baby Stage Management a bit. (And yes, Jen, I kept all of the hand-out materials to pass on to you...)

After the lecture finished, I hopped on the Tube over to the theatre district to take care of some business regarding an online booking of a ticket. (Of course, this was preceded by about twelve heart attacks as I imagined missing Waiting for Godot because my ticket was being shipped to Indianapolis...) All is well, though, and I will be seeing Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen on June 19. :)

Then I headed over to Westminster, and walked down the bankside on my way to Westminster Abbey. There was performance art everywhere...they were definitely straddling the line between innovative and touristy. :) When I arrived at the Abbey, the lines were relatively short, so I decided to go ahead and view it today. The highlights for me were the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary as well as Poet's Corner. (Interestingly enough, my audio guide died in Poet's Corner...I went back through the crowds to the front entrance to replace it, only to have the second guide die as soon as I made my way back to Poet's Corner. The third one lasted me through to the end, fortunately.)

After Westminster Abbey, I looked around the Jewel Tower (information about Parliament, mainly) before going back to Nido and grabbing dinner and a nap...the constant walking and general rush of the city had worn me out, and I wanted to recharge my batteries for the evening.

This evening, I went to BAC because I knew that there was a free concert in the cafe. Since I start working on Tuesday, I figured that the best way to become better oriented was to check out the festival itself (right now they're in the midst of Burst, which is their biggest festival of the year). The artist is named Bunty, and her style was the broadest melting-pot of musical styles that I have ever witnessed. (If anyone has seen Adam Crawley improvise music for the dance department, it was a bit similar.) Basically, she would start off with a simple beat, then layer other rhythmic sounds over it using a microphone and some sort of sound looping equipment to keep the sounds going. If you threw beat-boxing, rap, middle eastern folk music, German folk music, drum circles, and slam poetry in a blender (with a pinch of Regina Spektor), you would have tonight's concert. One of my favorites was a song during which she told us to "Imagine that you are a middle-aged woman at a Moroccan wedding." That particular song had the moments that I love so much in traditional music from that area, where you just have to close your eyes and feel the music reverberating in your chest. :) The concert was awesome, and Bunty was obviously having a blast...she even had an audience participation song. Definitely a night well spent.

Westminster Walk

2009-05-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Another glorious day of culture in London. :) I had planned to visit Westminster Abbey, but when I arrived at 10:30, I discovered that they did not open until 2:00. Since I was supposed to be at St. James's Park at 2:00 for the Blue Badge Tour and I did not want to rush through the greatest church in the English-speaking world, I opted to do the Westminster Walk as outlined in my guide to London by Rick Steves. I started on Westminster Bridge and made my way up Parliament Street, finally ending up at Trafalgar Square. (Incidentally, it was in Trafalgar Square, rather than at home in Indianapolis, where I was able to test my Spanish skills by chatting with another tourist. Hooray for foreign language skills! Although I wished I knew French yesterday so that I would be able to intimidate the bratty French children running amuck in the British Museum...) Some of the personal highlights of my walking trip were standing under the statue of Boadicea (gotta love a strong female role model!) and seeing the relatively new memorial to the women who fought and died in WWII. On my way, I also stopped by the Banqueting House, which is beautiful (classical architecture of Inigo Jones and a ceiling featuring nine large-scale paintings by Peter Paul Rubens)...I enjoyed the irony that this building is an artistic celebration of the divine right of kings as well as the place where King Charles was put to death under Cromwell. :) I also found it interesting that Charles appreciated the arts to the point that he did not allow any masques to take place in the Banqueting Hall after the paintings were installed on the ceiling, as the smoke from the torches would damage the artwork. Hooray for art patronage! :)

After I took the audio tour at the Banqueting House, I walked up the street a few blocks to Trafalgar Square, had a picnic lunch by the fountain, then took the Tube to St. James's Park for the tour. Rather ironically, the first part of the tour followed essentially the same route that I had taken earlier in the day. :) I got quite a bit of additional historical information, though, and we wandered further than my little tour had, eventually hopping on a bus over to Saint Paul's Cathedral and finishing by crossing the Millennium Bridge on foot. Our guide was really sassy and had the great dry humor that I appreciate, which was such a great change from most of the interpersonal interactions that I have had over the last week. (She is a Battersea girl as well, so she knew all about my internship site.)

This evening, we had the EUSA welcome reception at The Big Chill (the pub down the street from Nido). It was probably the most overrated event I've experienced in a while...ah well. Most of the other participants who are still underage in the states seemed more excited about the free drink vouchers we received than our internship placements (both of my vouchers were spent on Diet Coke, because I'm awesome like that...although one of my goals for this trip is to order a Pimm's in a rough, working-man's pub), and by the end of the two hours, it was too cold and smoky to really enjoy the surroundings anymore. My experiences with some of the other EUSA participants has helped me start the mental list of universities that I will not allow my future children to attend, at least. And the small group of Midwesterners can easily be identified: we're the ones saying "Please," "Thank you," and "No, after you...". (I'm starting to think that the Midwest might be better known as "Little Canada"...)

Tomorrow is our first Professional Development Seminar. I'm not really sure what to expect...I hope that there will be some information that I have not heard before, but my hopes are not too high (no offense to the program, but I've just had really great professional preparation through my department so far). I'm staying open to the possibilities, though, and fortunately it will be over by 1:00, so I will still have the afternoon to go museum-hopping. :)

Museums, Museums, Museums!

2009-05-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have accomplished a new record: three museums in one day. Today was our first scheduled cultural excursion with EUSA, and since I did not just want to hang around until our scheduled meeting at 4:00 at the British Museum, so I spent the late morning/early afternoon at the British Library and Sir John Sloane's Museum.

The British Library is huge, so I stayed within the Treasures of the British Library exhibit, and there was plenty to see! Some of the particularly noteworthy items for me were one of Oscar Wilde's original manuscripts, various versions of Shakespeare's works (including a Romeo and Juliet that was re-written so that Romeo takes the poison, Juliet finds him, he explains to her what he has done, he dies, and she faints atop him...then somehow is revived so that she can still stab herself), and original Beatles compositions (with revisions). You can see my interests...

Sir John Sloane's Museum is a cool little place...it's kind-of tucked away, and of course I became slightly lost while looking for it, but it was interesting once I found it. :) Sloane was an architect (sorry Doug, not landscape, but this was the closest I could find!) who designed his house, arranged his collected arts and antiquities within it, and requested that it be left as a museum after he died (particularly that it remain in the same condition). The house is beautiful, and the highlight was definitely the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus in the lower level.

I arrived at the British Museum an hour earlier than requested (after eating a picnic lunch in the park near Leicester Square, next to a memorial statue of Charlie Chaplin), since I knew that I would not be able to see nearly everything I wanted to see in just an hour. I managed to walk through the exhibits on Ancient Egypt, Japan, General Europe, Rome, Greece, Britain (Roman-Victorian), and the Enlightenment exhibit (some of which was part of King George IV's private collection). Not too shabby for just two and a half hours!

Needless to say, my feet are hurting...:)

Interview Day!

2009-05-19T12:01:00.001-07:00

Today was my interview at the Battersea Arts Centre. Making my way to Battersea was a bit of a challenge, but now that I have figured out a route, I doubt that I will have any real problems. (I've decided that the best way to learn about a city is to get lost in it for a while, and since I ended up on the furthest end of Putney, I have certainly accomplished that.)

At BAC, I met Luke Girling, the production manager, who conducted the interview. (He is another former actor who found that his heart was actually in Stage Management.) I felt at home as soon as I walked in the door...the building is gorgeous (it was originally the Battersea Town Hall when it opened in 1893) and there are so many different performance spaces. I was actually told that every room in the building has the potential to be a performance space, hence the astronomical number of performances every year. (Abby and Joe, I thought of you when I saw a tiny blackbox theatre that is actually set up just as a playing space for lighting designers to test out new equipment or see how a specific idea would look in reality.) The interview went really well, and was extremely casual...it actually took place in the cafe within the building, and as soon as Luke introduced himself, he offered me tea. (All of my nerves were immediately calmed when he returned with a mug with a pig on it...it's definitely a casual atmosphere, and I felt incredibly comfortable.) After the interview, I had a brief tour of some of the performance spaces, backstage storage, offices, etc, but I will have a more detailed tour next week.

I'm set to start working next Tuesday (Monday is a Bank Holiday), when I will become better oriented to the building and develop a more set schedule. Right now, they're working on Burst, which is one of the festivals that they host every year, so I have been warned that my first week or so will be a bit crazy (just like home!). I believe that at least two shows are doing load-in on Tuesday, so I'll be able to jump right into the festival. Also, I was warned that one of the shows includes a great deal of nudity...I knew that The Full Monty was just a gateway show! :) I'm really excited to start working, and I definitely think that this is a great fit for me.

Also, I found out that there Battersea hosts a program called YPT (Young People's Theatre) which develops original productions with different groups ranging in age from 12 to 25. If everything works out, I will be stage managing one of the three groups in addition to my other work. Very exciting news for me! :)

Fun fact: Across the road that runs along the side of Battersea is a vacant lot and a relatively new housing development. Apparently, a theatre specializing in Shakespeare stood there until it was destroyed in the bombings during WWII. However, it's legacy remains in the street name: Theatre Street. A rather ironic location for BAC to end up, in my opinion.

So Much to Do...

2009-05-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today was a long, but really productive day. I got up early for orientation, and had a small adventure at King's Cross when the station entrance became gated just before I entered. The guard kept telling us to wait just a moment, and that the station was crowded and we would be let in soon...after a half hour of waiting, the station closed entirely, meaning that I had to walk 10 minutes to the next station and try to figure out how to get from one line to another, all while slowly inching toward tardiness. I arrived 40 minutes late, and I was not the last one there (did I mention that I arrived at the station at 9:00 in order to get to the 10:00 orientation?). I found out this afternoon that a woman went into labor and someone pulled the emergency alarm, so I'm a bit more sympathetic. :) (Although I will bet you anything that the ticked-off British businessmen ahead of me in line have very little sympathy for her...)

Orientation basically consisted of information that we already had as well as preparation for the interviews this week (it was oddly reminiscent of Advanced Stage Management at that point...the interview prep, not the stuff that we already knew...). My interview is tomorrow morning. :)

After orientation ended, we split into groups for the Bringing London to Life Scavenger Hunt. My group opted to get lunch first, during which we figured out how many of the clues led to similar areas...very efficient, I know. We spent most of the afternoon in Hyde Park, then went over to Chinatown (near Leicester Square) before making our way to the final clue by the set time (which turned out to be the pub down the street from our housing). We were all sent to the open balcony to hang out, and since it was cold and windy, I headed out after a short time. I did some shopping for basic things that I needed in the room (I specifically recall being told that we would have kitchen supplies here...lies, all lies!)...there is a Boots and a Marks and Spencer just down the street from Nido, which is very convenient.

Now that I have my social calendar from EUSA, I am free to plan out my excursions during my free days...three guesses as to Corrina's evening activities? If you guessed "Planning the sights she will see on every Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday during the orientation time" you would be almost correct...I left the last weekend open for some wiggle-room. I feel like there should be some witty comment to sum this up: "You can take the stage manager out of the office, but you can't take the office out of the stage manager," perhaps?

I'm Here!

2009-05-17T03:11:00.001-07:00

It's been a long, long day...and by London time, it's not even noon yet. The flights between Indy and JFK, then JFK to London were fine logistically, but the turbulence was definitely different from what I recall of previous flights. Either way, we landed without any problems, made my way through immigration, and am now sitting in the cafe at Nido, the student living community where I will be staying for the next seven weeks. We have a tour of Nido and the surrounding neighborhood scheduled for tonight, and I might try to scope out the nearest Sainsbury's/Tesco while I'm out (this, of course, depends entirely upon when I get my much-needed shower and nap...). The real orientation begins tomorrow, and then interviews start on Tuesday. :)

Pre-Departure Update

2009-05-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

The day is upon me...in less than 11 hours, I will be on my way to the internship in London. I opted to keep you all in the loop by updating here periodically...let's see how well I keep this going. :)

More exciting news is to come soon...sorry for the lame first entry, but packing/laundry/last minute shopping are not really activities that require lengthy descriptions. I promise that more exciting news is on its way! :)