Stratford and Warwick

We left for Stratford about 10ish on the 11th of June. I, being stupid, didn't realize what time it was, and Greta had to come and knock on my door to get me so we could leave. We got to the train station and still had plenty of time, so it was ok. The train ride was long, but nice, and I slept a bit. When we got to Stratford we walked to our Bed and Breakfast. At the B & B, we found out that the boys were staying in another B & B down the road from us. So, we said goodbye to the boys and went to unpack. I was in a room with Mal and Nobe on the top floor-but it was only two little flights of stairs. The first thing we did was lay on the beds and sigh. Then we met the other girls and talked out plans, and decided to take naps. Then we met the boys for dinner. After our early dinner at a pub called the Lamplighter, we split into two groups and walked around Stratford. Mal bought a charm, we took some pictures with the Swans, and we went to see Shakespeare's grave. Then we sat by the river and went to see the show. The show we saw tonight was The Taming of the Shrew. I had never seen it, but I remembered Emily and Kurt doing a scene from it in class. I thought it was very good. They took a drunk man (Petrucio) and dressed him up at the beginning, and they stripped him at the end, leaving him in just his underwear. When we went outside after the show it was raining, and we walked staight back to the B & B's.

The next morning we woke up and had real food for breakfast! Soooo good! Then we got ready and met up with the boys for our day of touring Shakespeare's houses. The first house we went to was Anne Hathaway's, then we went to Mary Arden's, and then we went back into town for lunch. We went to two different pubs for lunch. One group went back to the Lamplighter, and one group went to a different one. After lunch we met up, and Em and Nobe decided to go back to the B & B, and do some other things. The rest of us went to two more houses, then back to the B & B's to freshen up before the show. The show tonight was A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is my favourite Shakespeare play, but this production was not my favourite my any means. Altogether it was a good show. I liked the way the moon moved across the 'sky', and I liked the fact that Titania's bower went up into the air, but the fairies had creepy dolls, and I thought it detracted from the overall production. After the show we went to a pub called 'The Dirty Duck' which is a pub that all the actors go to. I got a Pimm's and lemonade, which is an amazing drink. I don't think they have it in the States though. :-( We met some other American students and went into the "actor's side" of the bar. After that we went to a karaoke bar called Ripple's, and I talked with an actress who played one of the fairies. Then we went to the B & B's and just slept!

We had real breakfast again waiting for us when we got downstairs again! Then we packed our bags and left for Wawick Castle. It was beautiful! We wandered the grounds, saw a giant trebuchet(catapult) being shot, and went through the castle. We also went through a tower that was supposedly haunted. The guy who lived there was killed, and then the guy who killed him felt so guilty that he killed himself. They had the story set up as a haunted house type thing. It was basically really cool, but really short. After that we climbed a really tall tower, saw a bird show, went through the peacock gardens, and met up to go home. On the train ride home, Rachel got a text from Jess saying that Schiller was refunding us for half of our meal plan. That definitely made our day!

Midterms, Harper Regan, and Sports Cafe

We had midterms on 10 June and we were supposed to write two essays for Stacie. Our presentations that morning, however, took so long that we only had to write one. Yay! We still had to write the second one, just not that day. After that we did our acting one for Valerie. The ass ears that I made for Jared were crazy, but they worked. Then we ran down to dinner and we were off to see Harper Regan at The National. It's a new show about a woman who is trying to get time off from work so she can go see her sick dad, but they won't give it to her. She ends up just running off to see him, but she doesn't get there in time. So then she goes to a bar, ends up stabbing a guy with a bar glass, and then she spends the night in a hotel with another guy. Then she goes home, and the story comes out that her family had to move because her husband had been accused and pled guilty to child pornography. She forgave him, and the story ends happily. It was different, but I liked it. After the show we went to Sports Cafe! Fun Times! Jared and I drank a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea, then I had some out of the pitcher Preston bought because he kept pouring it into my glass. I also had two vodka & cranberries. Savannah couldn't figure out how I wasn't drunk by this time. Then I went home and packed for Stratford.

Walking across London and Into the Hoods

Ok-so the whole posting on my blog thing...not so great at it. Anyway, the day after my last post I spent the day touring London with Preston. We walked all over! We first went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is about £8 to get into. We didn't go in, but we're supposed to for Sharon, so I guess another day. On our way there we got awesome Italian milkshakes, and we visited Fleet Street-and Preston took a picture of a barber pole. Ironic, anyone? After St. Paul's we walked along the Thames and took pictures at the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and the Towere of London. Then we went into the Tower. It was very cool. Some of the best medieval architecture I've seen. After that we went to find the British Museum, and when we got there, it was closed. Preston then went to the British Library, and I went to see Into the Hoods. It was a pretty cool musical-although more dancing than musical. It is a hip-hop musical with canned(CD) music that follows the story of Into the Woods. I think Stacy Janusz would like it a lot. My seat was amazing as well-K10-for only £15!

Tell Me It's Not True...Say It's Just A Story

Yesterday after classes were over I went to see The Lion King with Preston, Greta, Jessica and Rachel. The costumes were PHENOMENAL!!!! At the beginning when the animals come through the audience, it took my breath away! There was a downside to the show being amazing-we were surrounded by groups of school children. They were middle or early high school age, and they broke so many rules of theatre etiquette it was crazy! One of the boys in the group was blatantly taking pictures, and the ushers were getting really angry. Rightly so, since it is against the law and coyright and stuff. They also wouldn't stop talking, and Rachel and Greta eventually said something to the girls in front of us. We all were going to say something to the teachers, but we didn't because it got better, then it got worse before they talked to the girls. Then we came back and I read and talked with Savannah and Victoria before bed. They went to Paris today.

Today my alarm woke me up at 8:15 because I forgot to turn it off, but then I fell asleep again. I woke up to a couple of maintenance men knocking on my door at around 10:30. I answered the door, and they looked at my room and said-"Sorry, Wrong room." I could have screamed-but since I was up anyway, I decided to finish my book. Then I got dressed, had lunch, and went out. I walked around Covent Garden, and just around all over looking at places. I found an amazing piece of baby pink leather which I wanted to buy soooo badly. I might go back and get it-I have to ask some people first. Then tonight I went to see Blood Brothers. It was awesome! It is one of my favorite musicals and they did it very well. I saw the understudies for both Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons, and they were quite good. The woman who played Mrs. J is normally Mrs. Lyons, so it was cool to know that and then see her play the opposite role. After that I came back to Schiller and went to Burger King with Preston.

The Good Soul of Szechuan

Today we had class from 9-5:30, first with Stacie, and then with Valerie. For lunch I ran across to Waterloo and got some Burger King...super expensive. Then we talked about Marlowe a lot in Stacie's class. It was a good class. In Valerie's class, we worked some more on the scenes, and blocked them out almost fully. After class we all went to dinner in the cafeteria, and it was completely awful! I had some chips(fries) and that's about it. Then Kurt and I went to see The Good Soul of Szechuan at The Young Vic. It was a very good show, and it was definitely very Brechtian. We walked across the stage to get to our seats, and while we were sitting there the cast started to come onstage. They were still showing people to their seats, and they were walking through the actors. It was interesting to watch people's reactions to this.

It Sucks to Be Me...But Not For Long

After we came home from Cambridge the other night I still wasn't ready to relax. I got on the tube after dinner and went to the West End. I was running a bit late-or at least I thought I was- and I didn't think I could make it to any of the farther theatres on time, so I bought a ticket to see Avenue Q again. Then I looked at my ticket, and saw the show didn't start until 8:30... Oh well, I saw the understudy for Christmas Eve the first noght I saw it and I figured that I would see the regular Christmas Eve. While standing outside the theatre, this girl's boyfriend came out with a pamphlet for some other show. She looked at it and screamed,"She's doing my part!" I asked her if she was an actress, and she said she was. She introduced herself-her name is Alexa-and we got to talking. I told her I want to become a dialect coach, and she told me she needed help with an American accent. She asked if I could help her, and we made plans to meet for dinner in SOHO at a restaurant. I called my mom and she told me to be careful, but I told her that's why we were meeting at a busy restaurant. After the show the cast was having a party because two of their castmates were leaving. I had been asked by another girl I met at the stage door that if the two actors she knew-who were the ones leaving- came out could I give them a message. Well, no one came out, so I went around to the front of the building. I went in and the security guard said I could go up and tell them, but then he changed his mind and had me write a note instead. I was sooo close to going to a party on the West End with the cast of Avenue Q!!!!

Sunday night I met Alexa and we went to dinner. We talked and I coached her for about 3 and 1/2 hours! It was amazing and a lot of fun!!! We first walked around SOHO and she showed me the bars where the actors go after shows for drinks...so maybe we can meet some of the West End actors and have a drink with them. Who knows? Then we made plans to try and meet up again before we(NU Students) leave for home...if we can.

Today we had acting class, and then I went to see Spamalot. It was amazing! I thought that The Lady of the Lake was exceptional, and the knight I liked best was Galahad. I also love, love, loved the costuming! Some of the costume changes were so fast, and in the end the blue dress The Lady of the Lake was wearing turned into her wedding dress, which was brilliantly done. I want a dress that flips between two at once! Then, when I was walking back to the tube station, I ran into Daniel Boys, who was the actor who played Princeton/Rod in Avenue Q! I talked with him for a bit, then I came back to Schiller.

Two Days of Adventures!

Friday-We went to Stonehenge and Bath. The bus ride was long, but I managed to rest a little, which was good. We went to Stonehenge first, where we had about 45 minutes. The stones are so huge! We had to keep in this large ring around the space where the stones were, because you're not allowed to go up to them. For another £30 we could have gone on the private tour that night and touched them, but it wouldn't have been worth it. After Stonehenge, we rode for another hour and 20 minutes because of road blockage, but we made it to Bath. When we got there the first thing we did was go through the Roman baths. We lost Victoria because she went to get an ice-cream cone, so she didn't go through with us. Near the central bath they had an actor and an actress creating the characters from the children's audio tour guide (you were right Greta, so much better than the other one) and they were very good. After we left the baths we walked around a bit, and while Savannah and I were looking in a store for a gift for the baby, Dan found Victoria! We were going to go to Jane Austin's house after that, so we walked up one of the side roads. We stopped to look at one of the market stalls along the road, and the guy there was Scottish. His accent was amazing! It was awesome to just listen to him talk and hear the accent. After we talked to him for a little while, Dan, Victoria, and Savannah stopped at a Subway for some food. I wasn't hungry so I decided to go to this little store across the road called Cancer Research UK. They're a thrift store and their proceeds go towards breast cancer research. I bought a really cool red jacket, a hat, and some books. Then Savannah wanted to go in after she was done eating, and I found some mugs-I had been looking for a mug for tea and all the other ones I'd seen were too expensive-for £3, with saucers! Then we had to run back to catch the bus. On the way back, we realized the lady sitting next to us was from Canada. We talked to her for a bit, and she asked us how we liked England, and how long we would be here, and where we were staying. When we told here she said, "Right in the middle of the city!" When we got home, we walked around a bit, then had dinner at KFC, and then we came back to Schiller. I was very tired so I went to sleep, but the other three stayed up and played cards and talked.

Saturday-Today we went to Cambridge. We drove for a while, and then we stopped tight outside of Cambridge at the American memorial cemetary there. The guide said it was beautiful and a nice place to walk around, but didn't realize what an impact this place would have on the Americans on the bus. It was incredible, yet a little sad at the same time. Seeing how many Americans have given their lives for our freedom-and that wasn't all of them. There was a wall there that had the names of soldiers who had died in battle, but were buried in unmarked graves somewhere, and it stretched forever. After we left there, we went into Cambridge. We had an hour long walking tour, and then the rest of the day to ourselves. We saw Trinity College, King's College, and Trinity Church on the walking tour, and then we went to the market. There was a crafts market, and the crafts were all so beautiful. There was a man who made jewelery out of forks and spoons, and I wanted to buy a ring, but none of them fit. I have baby hands... I bought some faeries made out of pewter, and I really liked the tiaras at this other stall. They were so delicate and beautiful, but they were sooooo expensive, and better suited to a wedding than anything else. Then we walked around some more and saw the gorgeous country side in Cambridge, and then we walked up 123 steps on a tiny winding staircase to the top of St. Mary's Church, from where we could see the whole of Cambridge. It was a wonderful view, but the steps were interesting and a little scary. After that, Victoria, Dan and Savannah wanted to go on a punt ride. A punt is a little flat bottomed boat where someone with a long pole takes you around the river. They paid about £8 per person, but they went. While they were on their ride, Carrie, Rachel, Jess, and I sat on the stone wall by the River Cam and just relaxed. After that we met the tour guide and came home.