If you were starting to wonder what the hardest part of studying in London was, I finally have an answer for you:
Getting enough sleep. It is so hard to get enough sleep.
On the one hand, there's the typical drudgery of being a student and having homework to do every night after classes that go up until 6:15pm (not including the 40 minute commute back to your flat). Just because I'm an acting student doesn't mean I don't have work. Tonight, for instance, I'm supposed to be memorizing a monologue from Midsummer Night's Dream, practicing and refining the character and thoughts for previously mentioned monologue, looking for a new scene to work on in Shakespeare class, figuring out what I want to do for my next tutorial, looking over my new scene for High Comedy, reading a play called Volpone, and updating my theatre journal with information and my opinions on the show I just saw (more on that in a bit).
Then, there's the simple fact that I am an American in London. There is no time to waste. I keep having anxiety dreams that I'm back from London already and it's all over and I didn't get to do anything and I wasted my time. Every weekend is full, and if it's not yet it soon will be. Down time is a thing of the past, or it's spent doing some of the lighter homework, or it's spent doing something "British," like being in Hyde or Regents Park or going to a pub. There is way too much to do and see and so, so precious little time to get to it all. And I still haven't seen Buckingham Palace yet.
In between homework and exploring, there's additional books and plays that spark my curiosity. For example, I would love to read all of Shakespeare's History plays and the book on Playing Shakespeare by John Barton and everything else written by Noel Coward and the books I brought from home and the book that inspired the play I just saw (again, more on that in a bit). Then there's new friends that I can hang out with, British things on television, general care and keeping of our flat and of myself (making sure I eat every day, etc.), journaling, making plans... it really depends on the day.
Maybe I can just decide that sleep is a social construct and choose to ignore it. If humans didn't need sleep to survive, life would be much easier for me. Unfortunately, I've been suffering from the lack of this unfortunate necessity of my existence for the past few days.
After the weekend in Stratford and then at the Globe, going into Monday didn't really feel like the weekend. On top of that, when I get too tired, my self esteem plummets, which makes acting really, really hard unless I can find a way to use it. Monday, I had to do my monologue from Hamlet for Shakespeare class, and I was already having trouble with it before my tired-brain mess. Luckily, it worked out well and turned into a piece I'm fairly proud of. Monday was also the day that I laughed so hard that I cried during Movement. At the very end of class, we all made a huge chain across the ground, with everyone having their head on another person's stomach. You could feel it every time they laughed, which was the point of the exercise- everyone giving a certain amount of "ha"'s and going up the chain. However, being able to feel the person under you laughing, and to know that the next person could feel you, and hearing the people before you laugh, and the absurdity of the "ha" sound people made, was downright hilarious. I highly recommend this activity to any large group of people who don't mind laying on the ground and needing a stress reliever.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was a great day as normal. Shakespeare class, again, went well- I got to put a new spin on Romeo which was really fun. And then there was Stage Combat with Philip. I really enjoy Philip. I also really enjoy Stage Combat. Maybe in an alternate reality, I would be a boxer, but I also like the idea of choking and kicking people without actually hurting them. After class that evening, the boys came down for tea again, which is always a joy and pleasure.
Today is the long day- Wednesday. And today was when the tiredness really, really caught up to me.
Today, I fought very heavy, droopy eyes; over-caffinated shakiness (the coffee at BADA is VERY strong); weak, post-coffee crashed still-shaky Modern Physical class; and feeling completely out-of-it for voice class until we, once again, got to lay on the floor.
Laying on the floor is a very common activity here in theatre school, and has become one of my favorite pasttimes. Actors and floors are the best of friends.
After class, somehow I mustered up energy from my brief encounter with the floor, because Olivia and I finally went to see a play we bought tickets for a few weeks ago: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."
Holy. Freaking. Crap.
The play is brilliant- absolutely bloody brilliant. The writing and the themes and ideas are profound and meaningful and true. You could write essays on essays on essays about all the ideas and themes and situations presented in the play.
The set and the design and the technical aspects of the play were nothing short of spectacular. They utilized projections often, and very well. It was very theatrical, and sometimes overwhelming, but it was always theatrical and overwhelming in the exact right moments where the story needed to show you how Christopher's (the main character) mind was feeling overwhelmed, or when a particular action couldn't be done without it being theatrical. It was magic. It was brilliant.
The acting was, for the most part, so incredibly specific and high-energy. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and there were only a few characters I felt lack-luster about as far as their performances went. The leads were not included in that category. They did wonderfully, especially given the material and the complexity of their roles.
For those unfamiliar (as I was before I saw it), "Curious Incident" is about a 15 year old boy with Asperger's named Christopher. One night, he is out in the garden and finds his neighbor's dog dead- killed with a gardening fork. And that's where the action starts.
Highly recommend. Bloody brilliant. 10/10. Go see it if you ever possibly have the chance, either here in London or New York or wherever. However, maybe only see it if you're 13+, or at least at an age where you know what the f-word is and you're not shell-shocked every time you hear it. There are some adult themes and language.
But that's my pitch. And that's what I need to put in my theatre journal.
Sorry if that's not interesting, but I am legitimately still blown away by it. Olivia and I left the theatre exasperated and gushing about it to each other all the way to the Tube stop. Oh, but we stopped by the stage door first, simply because it was so good and we figured why not and plus we'd get to tell the actors how much we loved it. As actors, that's always fun to hear, especially if it's a compliment about the show as a whole and how it affected you. Lucky for us, we met the two actors that played Christopher and Christopher's dad. The man playing a 15 year old boy is actually 26 and taller than me. But man, he was amazing. He also looked very tired, but that's understandable.
And now, we're back at the flat. My monologue is not fully memorized, I have no idea what to do for my next tutorial, and I don't even want to read Volpone. I've read it before and I can't stand it. I'm a little homesick, I still adore the city, but overall I'm tired. Very tired. It's already late here, but I'm going to try to fix that problem tonight.
Fight on, friends.
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