Shakespeare's Globe- LD6, September 8, 2015

One of my dreams came true today.

I was up really late last night organizing and untangling necklaces and reading for class, so getting up this morning was a struggle, to say the least. Instant coffee has been a blessing, this past week.

I had Shakespeare class again today, right at the start. I am finally figuring out what I love about Shakespeare, and it's making his work so much easier to tackle. The problem now is I would like to go and read the complete works all at once but I honestly don't have the time. I'll start bit by bit, I suppose. Our teacher, Russ, is excellent. He's very lively and definitely passionate, even if his tangents aren't always focused. They're always helpful tangents, actually, that make great points, but a tangent is a tangent. Either way, he helped me tremendously after class when I came to him with a monologue question.

I had a longer break for lunch today, since I only had two classes, so I spent that time working a bit on said monologue. To do so, I took a walk in Regents Park, had a cup of tea, and went off the trail a bit. It was a perfectly windy, cloudy day. This is what autumn is supposed to be like and I love it. It'll rain later this week for the first time and I'm actually a bit excited. Before heading back to BADA for the next class, I ran into Mike, from my group, and we read for a bit on a bench in the park. While we were there, I gave directions to a British couple on how to get to Baker Street, even though I'm American. I'm proud of that, since I'm a bit geographically challenged, to be honest.

Anyways, next was our very first stage combat classes. Reader, be warned- I now know how to push, throw, strangle, and slap you (without hurting you though). It was very physical, but very fun. I wish I was here long enough to learn sword and dagger work, but unfortunately, that's only for students here a year. Oh well.

Right after class, we all got cleaned up and there was a huge movement to the Underground Station in Camden. So today, I went on the Underground for the first time.

SO BLURRY. Sorry. Was walking.

Minding the gap is the least of your worries on the Tube. What station are you trying to get to? Which ticket do you buy and to which station? Where is the platform you're actually looking for? Do you fit on the train? Are you actually feeling motion sick or are you just excited? All questions that went through my head before we exited at London Bridge.

I haven't even begun to see London, and I think I forgot that until I stepped off the train.

We had gone under the Thames, and there was all-new gorgeous architecture, the river (of course), and more people and more shops and all types of sights and sounds to feast your senses on. It was all a lot to take in, so much so that it's hard to describe, but I'll try.

There are no skyscrapers in London, which is why it often feels more open than other big cities. The buildings are both new and old. Often, the lower levels you feel are very modern, while if you look up you may worry about the top falling over on you. But it's all beautifully structured, nonetheless. Several of these buildings are grand. They have tall, stone or white spires and pointed roofs that reach up higher than any other building in the skyline. I hope the point is to marvel at the grandeur and sophistication of the city because that is precisely what it inspired me to do. The Thames River looks like what you'd expect a river to look like- wide and wet. But the Thames is fast and tumultuous. It's comparable to the Seine River, but only in dimension. The water tumbles below you at terrifying but exhilarating speeds. I'm not sure how fast the boats were actually going but Part of me doesn't want to know.

But a picture's worth a thousand words

 The whole point of us going down into the city and under the River was to get to The Globe, the recreation of Shakespeare's famous theater wherein all his plays were produced and where he himself performed. It's deceiving, at first- you cross through a brick pre-building of sorts that is very modern before you exit outside again and see the real theater. It looks like all the pictures- round and white, with what could be a thatched roof, though it doesn't cover all of the area inside. It was a bit smaller than I expected, actually, but still very big. What I didn't expect was the grandeur of the decorations. The columns and paintings that adorned the seat boxes and the stage itself are the epitome of generic, Renaissance artwork, ever so slightly themed to fit the very basic settings of a stage. We, of course, didn't have seats, but were the groundlings right in front of the stage. It's all part of the experience, though our feet and backs are pretty sore by the end of the show.

The Facade to the Globe

As much as I could get, while rushing inside

And the beauty of the stage itself

 The play we saw was "Measure for Measure," a fairly political comedy that, were it not for the whore houses and fickle-hearted patrons of these establishments, would have only gotten that title from the fantastic weaving of storylines and actions that made the plot what it was. I highly enjoyed it, and all of the actors. Will get back to you on the story itself, but the point is that it was a pretty unforgettable and wonderful experience. And we did get to sit down for a spell, at intermission.

It's been a dream of mine to see a play at the Globe for a few years now. Not just any play- a Shakespeare play. Today, that came true. It's something bound to two things I love: theatre and history. The Globe and Shakespeare were both such fundamental parts of theatre history that they inspire a lot of reverence and respect. It's a bit of an actor's pilgrimage, in a way, much like someone wanting to go into art would be eager to see the original work of Michaelangelo or how someone fascinated with technology would marvel to see the first computers or learn how they work. It's important to me. It makes history that much more real. In this case, very real.

While at the theater, I met some other American students not from BADA! One was from a study abroad program through a school in Pennsylvania, another... I'm not sure where, but she was another acting student in a program through the Globe- studying and eventually performing there. I have to admit I'm quite jealous of the program at the Globe, but honestly, the program I'm in is what's best for me, right now, at this point of time. And it's only been two days but I do really love it.

The problem is we have a lot of work to do at home, and arriving back at the Landward so late tonight made that much more difficult. Since coming back, I've read an entire play that I have to for tomorrow. It would've been two, but we just got a message that my early class tomorrow is canceled due to the teacher being ill. It would have been Theatre History, but now it's some time to sleep in. It is 2am here, after all, and I'm already quite tired.

You know how in Tangled, Rapunzel and Flynn see the floating lights and then get to find a new dream? Well... The new dream for me may just be to perform in the Globe, onstage, one day. We'll see.

Fight on, friends.