Week 5
May 31 – June 6
MONDAY was class. We had to turn in a take-home midterm for theater history. We're more than half way done.
Then, back to the National for False Servant. The set was spectacular! It was made of clear Plexiglas so that the three rooms of the house could be seen simultaneously. The story is about a woman who dresses as a man to befriend the man she is supposed to marry. She finds out his motives are false and tries to help the other woman he wanted to woo to get away from him. In that action, she gets drunk with power and makes the other woman fall in love with her. In the end, she exposes herself to the man and woman, shaming the man and breaking the heart of the woman. It was really sad to see the second women so broken down.
Just before the show we went to the Thames just outside the National and beach combed. Emily found a bone that seemed to be human. Caitlin found pottery pieces that could be quite old. An art installment in the Tate Modern was a collection of things found on the beach and dated. Some pottery dated back to the 17th century. I only found a snail shell. We plan to go back soon to make some art of our own.
TUESDAY It only rains when we go to the Globe. It was a strange misty rain most of the day and got heavier as the show progressed. I was close, under the roof of the stage, so I didn't get very wet. The show was Much Ado About Nothing with an all female cast. It was wonderful. The acting was superb and the communal nature of the ensemble was heightened with the same-sex cast. Everyone should see an all-female cast.
Our afternoon was passed wandering around Southwark getting tickets for shows we want to see beyond the program. We saw Americana Absurdum at a remodeled chocolate factory. The show, with an American cast from NY, quickly shot out lines examining and often condemning American value of money. We met a cast member before and he invited us to stay after and talk. He invited us to see their new show in Edinburgh called Fat Boy. Emily and I plan to go in early August. We only stayed out till 11:30 so we could make it back to our flat before the tube closed. Then we had to finish homework, so it was a long night.
WEDNESDAY we decided to eat out at Wagamamas after class. It’s a Japanese restaurant with quick service and cafeteria style seating. Rather than making everyone wait for each other’s meals to be done, they bring out each plate when it is finished. It was great and filled me up for the rest of the night. I only snacked for dinner. Caitlin made cookies.
We made it back to the Young Vic to see two one-acts. The first, "Interior," was about a man deliberating over how to tell a family, that the audience could see up stage on the set, who was happy and carefree that their daughter was just found drowned in the river. It was a very quiet, captivating piece. The second, "Winners," is about young lovers getting married because they are pregnant and who are eventually found drowned in a river together without explanation. I had done a monologue from this piece, so I was especially interested. The energy was really high and the couple communicated well.
THURSDAY Emily and I got student work VISAs through a company called BUNAC. Thursday, we had to go down to the office to attend an orientation, but we got lost. We decided to call it a dry run and plan to go again tomorrow. When I got home, I felt sick and took a nap. I think I was a little sleep deprived and dehydrated.
I woke up feeling refreshed, so we went down to the White Bear Theater, which is a 30 seat venue behind a pub. We saw Simpatico by Sam Shepherd. One of the actors was definitely American and the others did a bang up job at American accents. Some of the vowels were a bit off, but it wasn’t distracting. By the end of the show we were sort of wondering what we had just seen, as it seems most Shepherd plays leave you. It’s really intense to be in such a small venue.
FRIDAY, we went to BUNAC again and made it with plenty of time. The orientation was packed. We learned a great deal about jobs, accommodation and laws. We need to get a National Insurance number that will automatically take 10% of our wages to support the medical system. We also need a UK bank account through NatWest so our employers can direct deposit into our accounts. Now that the orientation is over, we can officially search for jobs. Since I am only in London for three weeks between programs, I am just going to temp, but Emily might find something meatier.
When we got home, we went to the launderette. We washed all our clothes in one washer to save money. Something in the wash gave off some red dye, we still can’t figure out what since we had washed everything in that load before, and a few things came out pink.
We went back to Southwark to another little theater called the Southwark Playhouse. There we saw Three by Beckett, a series of very short one-acts. The acting was some of the best we’ve seen here.
SATURDAY, for the morning, we shopped in Camden Town which is a huge connection of markets known for young people’s hang outs. You can find most clothes, shoes, food and marijuana paraphernalia there. The prices are the cheapest around. Camden Town is in zone two, which means we would need to pay extra to travel there and back if we took the tube from where we live in zone one, but now we know the bus system well enough to take the tube to the farthest zone one station and take the bus the rest of the way. With a zone one bus pass the busses are free no matter what zone you are in.
We then walked to Regent’s park to see Henry IV by Shakespeare in the outdoor theater. Some of the younger actors were way over the top, too much energy with not enough emotion, by the production made me want to read and see more history plays. We then spent about an hour in Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. There are so many gorgeous roses. The pictures I took don’t do them justice. One the way home, we decided to walk the six miles home just for fun. The walk was long, but not bad for how far it was. When I got home, I crashed. We just rested for the rest of the night.
SUNDAY was church. Emily was sick so I went home early to be sure she was okay. It was another late night talking with the roomies.
MONDAY was class. We had to turn in a take-home midterm for theater history. We're more than half way done.
Then, back to the National for False Servant. The set was spectacular! It was made of clear Plexiglas so that the three rooms of the house could be seen simultaneously. The story is about a woman who dresses as a man to befriend the man she is supposed to marry. She finds out his motives are false and tries to help the other woman he wanted to woo to get away from him. In that action, she gets drunk with power and makes the other woman fall in love with her. In the end, she exposes herself to the man and woman, shaming the man and breaking the heart of the woman. It was really sad to see the second women so broken down.
Just before the show we went to the Thames just outside the National and beach combed. Emily found a bone that seemed to be human. Caitlin found pottery pieces that could be quite old. An art installment in the Tate Modern was a collection of things found on the beach and dated. Some pottery dated back to the 17th century. I only found a snail shell. We plan to go back soon to make some art of our own.
TUESDAY It only rains when we go to the Globe. It was a strange misty rain most of the day and got heavier as the show progressed. I was close, under the roof of the stage, so I didn't get very wet. The show was Much Ado About Nothing with an all female cast. It was wonderful. The acting was superb and the communal nature of the ensemble was heightened with the same-sex cast. Everyone should see an all-female cast.
Our afternoon was passed wandering around Southwark getting tickets for shows we want to see beyond the program. We saw Americana Absurdum at a remodeled chocolate factory. The show, with an American cast from NY, quickly shot out lines examining and often condemning American value of money. We met a cast member before and he invited us to stay after and talk. He invited us to see their new show in Edinburgh called Fat Boy. Emily and I plan to go in early August. We only stayed out till 11:30 so we could make it back to our flat before the tube closed. Then we had to finish homework, so it was a long night.
WEDNESDAY we decided to eat out at Wagamamas after class. It’s a Japanese restaurant with quick service and cafeteria style seating. Rather than making everyone wait for each other’s meals to be done, they bring out each plate when it is finished. It was great and filled me up for the rest of the night. I only snacked for dinner. Caitlin made cookies.
We made it back to the Young Vic to see two one-acts. The first, "Interior," was about a man deliberating over how to tell a family, that the audience could see up stage on the set, who was happy and carefree that their daughter was just found drowned in the river. It was a very quiet, captivating piece. The second, "Winners," is about young lovers getting married because they are pregnant and who are eventually found drowned in a river together without explanation. I had done a monologue from this piece, so I was especially interested. The energy was really high and the couple communicated well.
THURSDAY Emily and I got student work VISAs through a company called BUNAC. Thursday, we had to go down to the office to attend an orientation, but we got lost. We decided to call it a dry run and plan to go again tomorrow. When I got home, I felt sick and took a nap. I think I was a little sleep deprived and dehydrated.
I woke up feeling refreshed, so we went down to the White Bear Theater, which is a 30 seat venue behind a pub. We saw Simpatico by Sam Shepherd. One of the actors was definitely American and the others did a bang up job at American accents. Some of the vowels were a bit off, but it wasn’t distracting. By the end of the show we were sort of wondering what we had just seen, as it seems most Shepherd plays leave you. It’s really intense to be in such a small venue.
FRIDAY, we went to BUNAC again and made it with plenty of time. The orientation was packed. We learned a great deal about jobs, accommodation and laws. We need to get a National Insurance number that will automatically take 10% of our wages to support the medical system. We also need a UK bank account through NatWest so our employers can direct deposit into our accounts. Now that the orientation is over, we can officially search for jobs. Since I am only in London for three weeks between programs, I am just going to temp, but Emily might find something meatier.
When we got home, we went to the launderette. We washed all our clothes in one washer to save money. Something in the wash gave off some red dye, we still can’t figure out what since we had washed everything in that load before, and a few things came out pink.
We went back to Southwark to another little theater called the Southwark Playhouse. There we saw Three by Beckett, a series of very short one-acts. The acting was some of the best we’ve seen here.
SATURDAY, for the morning, we shopped in Camden Town which is a huge connection of markets known for young people’s hang outs. You can find most clothes, shoes, food and marijuana paraphernalia there. The prices are the cheapest around. Camden Town is in zone two, which means we would need to pay extra to travel there and back if we took the tube from where we live in zone one, but now we know the bus system well enough to take the tube to the farthest zone one station and take the bus the rest of the way. With a zone one bus pass the busses are free no matter what zone you are in.
We then walked to Regent’s park to see Henry IV by Shakespeare in the outdoor theater. Some of the younger actors were way over the top, too much energy with not enough emotion, by the production made me want to read and see more history plays. We then spent about an hour in Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. There are so many gorgeous roses. The pictures I took don’t do them justice. One the way home, we decided to walk the six miles home just for fun. The walk was long, but not bad for how far it was. When I got home, I crashed. We just rested for the rest of the night.
SUNDAY was church. Emily was sick so I went home early to be sure she was okay. It was another late night talking with the roomies.
posted by Sylvia at 3:59 PM
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