RADA Week 6

RADA Week 6

Week 6 started with the culmination of several of our technique classes (Alexander and Linklader mostly) in addition to some pretty intense preparation for our mid-week showings. We were in classes all day and rehearsals all night, squeezing every last drop of discovery and intention out of the pieces we had been working on for weeks. And I was glad we were given that opportunity, because there was absolutely more to be explored in those final days. We had our stage combat showing on Tuesday and the rest of our final showings on Wednesday, followed by a day of individual feedback on Thursday, and our first rehearsals for The Two Noble Kinsmen on Friday and Saturday, leaving Sunday for lots and lots of line learning! 

Stage Combat Showing

As I think I've mentioned in previous posts, each group worked on a different version of the opening "Do you bite your thumb, sir?" scene from Romeo and Juliet. We each had different situations based on variations of the famous opposing families, the Montagues and Capulets. One group did a very abstract yin-yang/black-white conflict, another group did Westboro Baptist Protesters vs. Pride Festival attendees and my group did flight attendants vs. (rude and obnoxious) passengers. They were all quite comical and the best part was, we hardly noticed the fight choreography. I didn't pay attention to it because it didn't make me question, even for a moment, whether or not the fighting was real. And that's virtually the entire point of the work we did in this class, so I suppose we were somewhat successful! 

Scenes Showing

My scene partner Erica and I made lots of interesting discoveries the day before the showing. This meant that we were very much still in process on the day that we performed for the faculty, still exploring, still finding new things, and still playing with opposites and extremes. For both of us, this felt like the perfect place to be in. We were on our toes, not settled into any particular choices yet, but were totally comfortable with the text so that we could just listen to one another and respond as we felt appropriate in the moment. The showing was an absolute blast and although there were some moments that might have carried more specificity had we had more time to rehearse, I was very happy with the way we were able to let go and play. 

Song Showing

After our scene showings and a break for lunch, we performed our two madrigals for the faculty, one before the monologue showing, and one as the final piece of the presentation. This, of course, was the least nerve racking bit for most of us because we were working as a group. We were able to do both songs a cappella and stay completely in tune which, for a group of many none-singers and some singers, was very impressive.

Monologues Showing

I felt really great about my group's monologues presentation as a whole. We had been working on these pieces since week one, digging into the language and the imagery, looking at punctuation, line endings, etc. The amount of growth that occurred within my class altogether was astounding to me and every class period became that much more powerful because I could see the work they'd put in the night before. That's very much how I felt on the day of the showing. I was so incredibly proud of the work my beautiful friends were doing, and I felt good about my own work, too, even after the performance, which is rare for me. The way the presentation was structured helped us flow from one piece to the next seamlessly, allowing us to be 100% present for the entire 45 minutes. The moment was created right before each actor's eyes and all they had to do was step into it and respond with the only words they could possibly think to say. They didn't feel like monologues anymore, and that was pretty magical. 

Feedback Day

We had an entire day of individual feedback with the faculty on Thursday before beginning our respective rehearsal processes for Kinsmen and Henry V. I met with the two Alexander teachers separately (Katya and Dewi), our Linklader voice teacher Adrienne, my monologues teacher Lois, and my scenes teacher Alison - five sessions that covered both showing-specific and more general development/class work feedback that I could then carry into the way I approached our final performance.  

Days One and Two of Rehearsal for The Two Noble Kinsmen

The other group working on Henry V had gotten their scripts and casting about a week earlier, but my group received the cut script and all of our roles on the first day of rehearsal. This was sort of terrifying, simply because it meant that we had very little time to get off-book and to do all of the necessary text work. However, it was more exhilarating than anything else, and we knew we would need to completely immerse ourselves in this play until we performed ten days later. How incredibly lucky are we to eat, sleep, and breathe this awesome piece for ten days straight? 

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The weekend following week 6 was really only a Sunday, which most of us spent having a picnic and learning our lines. On Thursday after feedback, though, I went to The Serpentine Gallery with Erica to see Marina Abramovic's performance art piece. I wish I could explain the two-hours I spent in three rooms with white walls wearing noise-cancelling headphones and relying on all of the senses I'm not accustomed to relying on. But, I have no words that could possible capture the experience, so I'll just say this: if you ever have the chance to see one of Ms. Abramovic's pieces, please do. You will not regret it. 

I'm in full-on rehearsal mode at this point, so my next update will be a combined 7/8 post written from the airplane on my way home. Until then, London has so much more to give, and I'm trying to take as much as I possibly can! 

RADA Weeks 4/5

RADA Weeks 4/5

Voice

Last week in voice, we continued to find our natural breath rhythms through exercises that helped us identify tension areas and work to relieve those newfound tensions. I've learned that the key to finding a deeper connection to my breath is thinking about Alexander while doing the Linklader work. This week, we also looked at the movement of our articulators, working to relieve as much tension in those areas (jaw and tongue for most students) as possible. We looked at our mouths in tiny compact mirrors and went through a series of movements and massage techniques until any tension that had been present prior to class was no longer getting our way. The difference those tiny muscular tensions make in terms of your breath and your physical and emotional availability is truly astounding. 

Voice into Text

We didn't have room in our schedule for this class in Week 5, but last week, we explored the way our voices color words by taking advantage of the specific vowel and consonant sounds each word provides us with. We looked at how certain sounds make us feel and consequently, what messages are sent to our brain when we hear certain combinations of sounds. Finally, we looked at a piece of text and found out how we can paint a picture with our voices by really using the sounds we're given. Trusting the text is the most important lesson I've learned since I've been here, in terms of every playwright. However, it is especially important not to waste your words when working on Shakespeare. 

Character into Text

Last week, we accidentally spent the entire class discussing Macbeth. Ordinarily, I might have been bummed that we didn't get to discuss the character I've been studying, but with Hilary, I'm thrilled to listen to whatever she wants to talk about. It's also an incredibly valuable play to look at because, as Hilary said, all of the women will forever be looking for an opportunity to play Lady M and all of men to play Macbeth. It's undoubtedly one of the greats, and we could have spent months analyzing it if we had had the time. This week, Hilary wasn't able to be with us, so we had Zoe Waites, an incredible young actor/teacher who talked to us about how to infiltrate all of the work we do with Hilary into the character that ultimately stands on stage to begin the journey of the play. She talked to us about the importance of character lists (what you say about yourself, what you say about others, what others say about you, and statements of what you believe), which allow you to find the specificity of this human being you're inhabiting. She emphasized the fact that we have to be careful not to pass judgments on our characters that keep us from accessing the whole of who they are. It's so easy to develop a theory about your character that you spend the entire rehearsal process trying to prove through your portrayal of this person. But, the minute you do this, you deny yourself access to many aspects of the character that the playwright included for a reason. Zoe says it's important to create the human being the playwright gives you, and not the person you want them to be. This was quite eye-opening for me. 

Laban

Laban is just FUN. To me, this class is all about finding the inner life of your character through external explorations. In the past two weeks, we've been investigating our characters' physical and emotional lives through dance and movement. The most interesting part about this class for me is the amount of depth I've found in Joan La Pucelle, simply because I've been forced to dance to music that I would never associate with her inner life. Playing with different types of music has allowed me to discover things about Joan that I never would have discovered otherwise. For example, Katya put on a very light and quick, playful piece of music which helped me to find that energy within Joan. I immediately went into the excitement of battle and how incredible it feels to have that magnitude of strength and confidence. I suddenly found this sense of battle being a joyful, playful cat and mouse game. Yes, I am strong and I take this God-given duty to free my country very seriously. However, there's also a feeling of this young shepherdess having a blast testing out the limits of the gifts she's been ordained with. And I found all of this depth through music! I definitely think I'm going to work with music in the future, as this was a major moment of discovery for me. 

Monologues

Lois is one of my favorite teachers, without a doubt. Last week, we did an exercise in which members of the class who weren't working at the moment stood before the actor at work, acting as rocks. The job of the actor working was to get each seemingly immovable rock to take a step back using only their words. This helped us to specify each one of our images, forcing us to repeat the words in different ways until we had found the needed specificity in each image - enough to MOVE the immovable rocks that stood before us. Of course, you would never deliver the speech in such a measured way. But, finding that precision of words was incredibly helpful as a starting point. From there, we've been doing our speeches for Lois and getting feedback each day. I do most of the work on my monologue in the evenings and then come back to class the next day with whatever discoveries I've made. It's been so wonderful to watch my classmates grow. We've been working so hard on these speeches and this week, it became clear that we had all done the work and we had all transformed quite drastically since the beginning of the course. And we still have three weeks left! 

Scenes

Erica and I continue to explore Viola and Olivia, making new discoveries with each run. We've come a very long way with this scene already, and I'm excited to see how the last few days of rehearsal transform it before we go to showings this coming Wednesday! 

Singing

We are nearly ready to show our madrigals. Last week, we finished learning all of the parts, and this week, we put everything together. There's quite a bit of work to do in terms of cleanliness, but we have the basics down, which is a necessary step! We only have a quick brush-up rehearsal this week before our showing, so we're all hoping that will be enough time for us to feel fully prepared. 

Alexander 1/2

Our culminating Alexander classes have really solidified this skill set in my mind and body. I can't possibly express how valuable these classes have been for me. I feel like a different actor and human being and am now willing and able to trust the simplicity of a moment. I've learned that far more meaning can be found in simple strength than in the many physical contortions we often feel are necessary to emphasize a point or intention. 

Stage Fighting

We have officially finished our full fight sequence, the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet with flight attendant Montagues and passenger Capulets, and are preparing for our Tuesday showing. Each class is doing the same scene with a different premise, and we're all looking forward to seeing how they've turned out. It's been really great to get some fundamental stage combat training, because I didn't have any prior experience. I find combat really fascinating, and look forward to future explorations including sword and rapier training! 

Shakespeare Workshop

We've officially started working on our final production which is... The Two Noble Kinsmen! Nick decided on this lesser known Shakespeare-Fletcher collaboration because he didn't know much about it and because he wanted the experience to be one of exploration and discovery for all involved. This is terribly exciting to me, and I couldn't be happier to be working on a piece that is as strange as it is awesome. The other group is working on Henry V, and they are equally stoked! Their group has already received roles, but we won't find out about casting until this coming Friday. We've started table work on the play as a whole so far, and will begin blocking and such once classes are officially finished and the rehearsal period has begun. 

Acting Shakespeare

We finished up our last Acting Shakespeare class with Nona last week. Both groups worked together on a final showing of the work we did on Hamlet - all of the soliloquies, scenes, and movement pieces combined into one hour of awesome creativity. Unfortunately, I was not able to be there because I came down with the truly awful Acting Shakespeare Plague, which has been circulating recently. It took me down for a solid 24 hours. But, I heard the showing was magical, and I don't doubt that it was just that! 

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Last weekend was fairly uneventful on the whole, simply because I was sick. I sadly spent the Fourth of July in bed with my Complete Works and a large box of tissues. However, I was able to rest up enough to attend the midnight showing of Titus Andronicus at The Globe, which was undoubtedly the most incredible theatrical experience I've ever witnessed. That was all I could have asked for last weekend! 

This weekend was about exploring new areas of London. After heading to the pub with the director and cast of Two Noble Kinsmen on Friday afternoon, a mandatory end to our day of rehearsal, I went to a burger restaurant with some friends in an area very near RADA. On Saturday afternoon, I caught the matinee of The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime, a captivating and innovative production produced by The National at the Gielgud Theatre, which is where I saw Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit the first night I arrived in London. After the show, I spent some time exploring the South Bank with friends, having a delicious dinner at a Greek restaurant near The Globe, and walking along the River Thames. Today was all about final work on my monologue and scene, including reading plays a third (or fourth, or fifth) time, writing character lists  (Zoe's aforementioned formula, one that I've found useful at Webster as well!) and doing external research (mostly looking into Joan of Arc's past and reading Shaw's Saint Joan). 

It's been a beautifully exhausting past two weeks, and I'm beginning week 6 of 8 with an overwhelming sense of excitement and gratitude to be doing what I love every day! 

Here are some photos from recent events:

The cast of The Two Noble Kinsmen at a pub near RADA.

Titus at midnight at The Globe.

King Lear at The National (Monday of last week).

 Opening Night of Richard III with Martin Freeman 

(this past Wednesday).

Sunday evening Tex-Mex, sombreros and margs 

with these gorgeous gals!

RADA Week 3

RADA Week 3

Monologues

Last week, my group's brilliant monologues teacher, Lois, helped us zero in on the imagery within our individual pieces. Each student stood up and read their monologue, really focusing on the beautifully cinematic words we were given. Those listening were asked to write down all of the words and images that really stuck out to us, in addition to any words or phrases we didn't understand. This was immensely helpful, as so much of Shakespeare is about using the text and painting the necessary picture in the way you color the words. 

Scenes

I am doing the first meeting of Olivia and Viola from Twelfth Night with a dear friend, Erica. Last week was the first time my group was told what scenes we would be working on long-term, and once we found out, we hit the ground running. We're still looking at some of the smaller scenes we worked on prior to our full-length scenes, but almost all of our class time and outside rehearsals are devoted to these new scenes now. I'm loving the whole scene, but the "Make me a willow cabin at thy gate…" speech will always hold a particularly special place in my heart. 

Singing

More madrigals! Last week, we continued learning April Is In My Mistress' Face and began working on a new song, Since My Tears and Lamenting. We only have a one hour singing class each week, but it's the perfect amount of time to get a good grasp on the music of Shakespeare's time. 

Shakespeare Workshop

Oh, how I love working with Nick in our Shakespeare Workshop. My favorite days are those that begin with three or more hours of this class. Every time we meet, my eyes are opened to another moment of Shakespeare's brilliance that so many people would gloss over if they allowed themselves to see it as a printer's error or a mistake. Nick is always telling us to refrain from "cleaning up" Shakespeare. When something doesn't seem to make sense, look deeper to find a reason why this character enters when they do or says their line to the person they speak to. Shakespeare wrote with incredible detail and intention and there is not a single aspect of his plays that should be deemed a nonsensical mistake. There is a reason for everything. Find it!

Acting Shakespeare

Last week we continued work on Hamlet's soliloquies with Nona. We have been working on finding the specificity within the "O, That this too too solid flesh would melt…" speech by assigning actions to each phrase and by marking breaths. It's incredibly challenging to incorporate all of these details, but that's sort of the point. Working on Shakespeare is like juggling all of the balls of technique you've been given until you can drop them all and they'll be there to support you without having to think about them. We also explored some of Hamlet's other soliloquies by creating movement pieces that captured the heart of these speeches. This was a wonderful way to specify the language and imagery, which is what it's all about! 

Alexander 1/2

Alexander continues to change my life, both in class and out. I know that whenever my body feels tense, all I have to do is think about the Alexander directives and immediately, I stop working to hold my body up and everything opens and falls into place. It's difficult to put the sensation into words, but it's basically as though I begin shedding all of my body's unnecessary tensions until I've reached its core or original state of being - that of a tiny baby before the world has altered its alignment, openness, and consequently, its vulnerability.

Voice

Adrienne worked with us on finding the body's natural rhythm of breathing last week, helping us to access a deep, expansive, well-supported breathing pattern. She uses a lot of massage techniques to help us find our breath and, after a series of exercises, I had this sense that my body was a straw, my breath coming effortlessly up from my toes into my back and ribs, and finally up and over my head. It felt as though I had been a straw with a kink in it before doing these exercises, adding effort to my breath. However, after working with Adrienne, the straw was completely aligned, which made breathing as effortless as it should be. My next step in this process is finding a way to connect my Alexander training with Adrienne's Linklater work. 

Voice into Text

Last week, we looked at all of the ways our voice can communicate without language. We spoke utter gibberish to one another, having fully intelligible conversations, simply because of everything we're able to express through our voices alone. A lot of the work we do in this class is very similar to the awesome voice training I'm getting at Webster. This is really important, because it allows me to incorporate some of the different training I'm getting here in London with the training I've gotten, and will continue to get, in the US.

Character in Text

Hilary continues to blow our minds with her incredible knowledge of Shakespeare's characters. I could listen to her talk for days on end and I'd simply never get bored. We sit around a table and take notes in this class, the only class we have that's like this, and by the end of our time with her, we are all inevitably leaning in, mesmerized by her wisdom. I wish I could include everything she has to say in this blog, but I would be writing a novel! 

Sonnets

I am so bummed to be finished with Sonnets class. Our final presentation was last Friday and, though we were all really proud of our work, I would be happy working on these things for the rest of my life! And I guess that's the point. We now have the tools to do just that. Here is a photo of some of the Acting Shakespeare students with our sonnets teacher, Bruce, after the showing: 

Last weekend was lovely, as they all have been. On Friday night, a few friends and I went to The National to try to get tickets for King Lear, without success. Instead, we found an incredible burger restaurant (with gluten free buns!) and had a delicious and relaxing dinner. On Saturday afternoon, I had Afternoon Tea with the gorgeous gals pictured below and saw 1984 that night, which was as captivating as it was disturbing. On Sunday, we all saw a reading at the Globe, followed by work on my monologue and scene for the week to come. 

RADA Week 2

RADA Week 2

Another phenomenally exhausting week training with wonderful teachers alongside inspiring and passionate classmates! Here's a recap of the class work we did in week number two:

Shakespeare Workshop

My favorite class changes every day, but Shakespeare Workshop, an intensive with each group's respective director of their final productions, very often comes out on top. We continued to explore various Shakespeare texts with Nick Hutchison in our second week. Nick takes the text apart, breaking it down and analyzing things I had never realized were of any particular importance. He then puts the speech or scene back together, allowing us to watch the piece transform after adding all of this new information - a most rewarding and illuminating experience. This is just one of so many things Nick has opened our eyes to thus far:

* Addressing the audience is used in specific moments and by specific characters. If/when a character speaks to the audience, they are creating a direct relationship with them, automatically winning their trust and approval. (E.g. Iago, constantly downstage chatting it up with the audience versus Othello, constantly upstage center near the throne, in a place of power and detachment from the audience. What does this mean in terms of their characters? Who are we meant to develop a relationship with and, therefore, who are we meant to root for?)

Movement Tutorials

I cannot stress enough how much I value these individual work sessions. In week two, we worked with Katya, the Alexander/Laban teacher, for fifteen minutes each. In these sessions, we simply lie on the floor, think about steam rising from the tops of our heads, among other similarly bizarre images, and we almost inevitably walk out of the studio completely different people, in terms of our physical bodies, at least. Though, as a side note, I do happen to believe that physical freedom and alignment transform one's spiritual/emotional life in terms of human transparency and openness. I always sort of felt that way, but this has been proven to me rather indisputably through Alexander work. 

Character in Text

As I go through my journal and my class schedule (charmingly pronounced shed-ule here in the UK), it becomes even clearer to me that I have so many "favorite classes." Character in Text, like Shakespeare Workshop, is frequently somewhere near the top of my favorite list. There is no doubt in my mind that our teacher Hilary knows absolutely every detail about every Shakespeare work in existence and, consequently, every character within these works. Our one and a half hour class consists of a ridiculously in-depth conversation about two or three characters of our choosing. We enter class having scoured the pages for as much information as possible on these characters and leave with mounds of detailed textual evidence and an entirely new perspective on who these people truly are. Hilary never fails to gently and insightfully illuminate our tendency to gloss over important details in the text, often found in Shakespeare's use of a single word in a seemingly off-hand remark. Week two brought a detailed description and analysis of the Elizabethan education system and what that meant for several of Shakespeare's characters. 

Alexander 1/2

As mentioned above, Alexander has been sort of life changing for me. The main concept that changed my world is the idea that I don't have to hold my body up myself. That may sound strange, but with many years of dance training comes this notion that good alignment is hard work and involves a great amount of muscle engagement. Certainly, you must find breath within this "hard work," but you're doing a whole lot. Alexander classes have opened my eyes to the fact that I don't actually have to do anything to be in good alignment in terms of the actor's body. My spine holds my body up on its own, and all of my bones and muscles hang down "long and heavy" from my spine, like a skeleton hanging from its stand. This has been huge for me. 

Stage Fighting

What a blast this class is! We worked on various hand-to-hand combat basics in our second week with Bret. I learned how to punch someone in the face (and stomach!), how to slap someone across the face, and how to strangle and be strangled, all without injuring, and in most cases, without even touching, my wonderful friends and classmates. We'll be incorporating these movements, among many others, into our choreographed fight scene to be presented several weeks from now. 

Singing

We started working on our very first madrigal song as a group in our second week of classes! We didn't get terribly far with it yet, as there is a mix of levels in terms of familiarity with reading music. However, we are all really looking forward to digging into these gorgeous songs. 

Sonnets

Another class I'm tempted to call my favorite! I'm sort of obsessed with Shakespeare's sonnets, I'm discovering. The romantic in me dies for these stunningly articulated poems, but honestly, it's the sonnets that reveal some deeper truth, often not concerning love at all, that really get me. 

Laban

In week two, we continued to explore the directives we found in week one (weight, time, space, and flow > strong/light, staccato/sustained, direct/indirect, and free flow/bound flow), combining them in various equations to create more specific actions. (E.g. strong + direct + sustained = press) We then went through various texts, exploring how these actions might affect us.

Acting Shakespeare

We have been breaking down Hamlet's many soliloquies with Nona, and we will continue to do so for quite a while, I believe. These speeches are the perfect microcosmic representations of the greater world of Shakespeare, and Nona is taking full advantage of that. From explorations of physicality to those of voice, situation, emotion, and the like, we're tearing these classic words apart and making sense of them in a refreshingly tangible and cohesive way. 


My second weekend in London brought a day of exploring the craziness that is Harrod's, a Saturday night at a most fabulous terrace party, and a Sunday of laundry, grocery shopping, and… you guessed it! SHAKESPEARE. Lots and lots of Shakespeare. 

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The last thing I feel compelled to include is the rhythm of London I feel I'm becoming a part of, in some very small way. I see the same people as I walk to the tube station every morning - like the shaggy blonde-haired man wearing a suit that seems not to match his laid-back personality at all and a pair of brand new red sneakers that don't match his personality either, but in a different way than that of the gray suit - and I've started to feel like I'm a part of something really cool. Yes, RADA. And yes, the Acting Shakespeare Course. But also, London. And that's pretty amazing. I find myself counting my blessings at the end of every day and feeling consistently overwhelmed by the number I come up with. That's a truly phenomenal feeling to fall asleep with. And it makes for some very sweet dreams. 

RADA Week 1

RADA Week 1

Well... week one of eight is complete, and I couldn't be more excited for what's to come. This course is incredibly intense and we certainly don't waste any time. After all, they've fit the entire year of classical training from their BA program into just eight weeks. 

Every day, I feel more and more fortunate to be among such inspiring actors, working with such brilliant faculty. Here's a little recap of the classes we took this week:

Monologues for the RADA Faculty on Day 1

This was quite the experience to start the eight weeks with, but was far less terrifying than I had envisioned it would be. We began the morning with a warm up and welcome from Nona Shepphard, the main course director, who prepared us physically and vocally to begin exploring the characters we were about to step into the shoes of. She then had us explore our characters through the body of an animal, moving from that exercise into an exploration of the physical relationship we had to our objective, placing what we wanted on one side of the room and what we feared on the other. Lastly, Nona asked us all to line up and come to the center of the room one by one. She wanted us to introduce our characters, state what we wanted and what we feared, and then to allow that introduction to propel us into the first line of the speech. We all went through this exercise, Nona giving us small adjustments and suggestions as we went along. And then it was time for the faculty to watch. A long line of primarily older, dauntingly Shakespearean men and women trailed into the room, taking their places to begin taking notes on our habits, vocal issues, alignment problems, and the like. This was terrifying at first, but turned out to be so much less so because of Nona's exploration-based, "let go of your inhibitions" warm up.

Laban

Laban is taught by Katya Benjamin, a soft-spoken, heart-centered, self-professed non-expert when it comes to Laban. Katya's focus is Alexander, but she has been teaching Laban for somewhere around eight years. In this class, we explored our physical bodies in terms of weight (strong/light), time (staccato/sustained), space (direct/indirect), and flow (free flow/bound flow), and applied these movement qualities to the speeches we had done for the faculty earlier in the day.


Monologues

We had our first monologue class, an introduction to the work we will begin later on in the course. We are separated into four groups for this class, rather than the usual two, giving us more of an opportunity to work one-on-one. My group has Lois Baxter, the utter picture of a strong Shakespearean female. We were each given two pieces that day from which to choose, exploring them through punctuation. I received Isabella from Measure for Measure (To whom should I complain...) and Joan La Pucelle from King Henry VI Part 1 (Dauphin, I am by birth a shepherd's daughter...) I have always wanted to work on Isabella, but La Pucelle is sort of terrifying to me, in the best possible way, so I think I'm leaning towards that one at this point. 


Character in Text

This class is going to be an incredible ride. Taught by Hilary Wood, Character in Text is an in depth exploration of Shakespearean characters, getting all of the information about said characters solely from the text. For any WebCo friends who may be reading this, this class is the closest thing we have to text analysis. Hilary suggests we begin by looking at how the character responds to things and what specific things the character responds to. She then wants us to delve into the facts presented in the play regarding our character and their life, and finally, says that the character's manner of speaking, tells you almost everything you need to know. The similes, metaphors, adjectives, adverbs, and rhythm, among other language characteristics, were chosen by Shakespeare with great care and give the actor a map of exactly who this human being is. She asked us to choose a character to analyze in as in depth a way as possible, hoping that by focusing our attention on one character and learning as much as we can about them, we will have a sort of blueprint for the analysis of characters we may play in the future. I have chosen Isabella from Measure for Measure. 


Alexander 1/2

We actually have two separate Alexander classes in the curriculum, taught by two different teachers. Katya, who also teaches Laban, teaches Alexander 1, which encompasses a lot of movement exploration, including some truly wonderful free dancing to The Andrews Sisters, which she swears is the best exercise for the body and spirit. Dewi Matthews teaches our Alexander 2 class, which is more focused, at least right now, on building a solid knowledge of the anatomy, which we can then apply to the very specific alignment adjustments Alexander Technique exercises are sure to bring.

Stage Fighting

Brett Yount, our only teacher from America, teaches our combat class which, because of the space we have available, will focus on hand-to-hand rather than rapier/sword work. We spent the entire first class with him, the only one we had in the first week, planning out the combat scene we'll be working on for showings at the end of week six. Every group is doing the opening scene from Romeo and Juliet, but we were each asked to come up with a different setting and situation that allows for some serious combat creativity. My group chose airplane passengers vs. stewardesses, with the first class passengers intervening in the first attempt to end the fight, and the pilots intervening in the second and final attempt to end the fight. This should be a blast.

Voice Tutorials

Each week, we have individual sessions with different members of the RADA faculty to get feedback on our work so far and to hear a few things to start thinking about in the weeks to come. Our tutorials this week were with Adrienne Thomas, voice teacher and Linklater specialist. She gave me some incredibly helpful exercises in hopes of alleviating some of my tongue and jaw tension, and worked with me on my breathing in relation to the audition piece I did at the beginning of the week.

Shakespeare Workshop

In the first week, we were introduced to our directors for the final performances at the end of the eight weeks. In our two separate groups, we will each rehearse and perform a Shakespeare play in roughly 10 days. My group will be working with the incredible Nick Hutchison, and I couldn't be more excited to find out what piece we'll be exploring.

Acting Shakespeare

This class, taught by Nona, the director of the course I mentioned earlier on, is sort of a mixture of many different techniques, as Nona sees a need for them. We spent the entire first class with her playing focus games and working on an epic tongue-twister. I'm ecstatic to see what she throws at us next.

Singing

A short and sweet introduction to singing was led by Andrew Charity in our first week. We will be working on various madrigal  songs throughout our time here, preparing us for the possibility of a musical component in our final productions.

Voice into Text

Andrew Cuthbert teaches a class focused on finding our vocal tensions and making it a habit to check in with these tensions "with our third eye" as much as is necessary. We did lots of vocal and physical explorations in the first class as a sort of introduction to his style. We will then build on that foundation, transferring what we learn about our voices in explorative exercises into our texts (sonnets, monologues, scenes, and eventually, the text we speak in our final productions). 

Sonnets

This is one of the most simultaneously exciting and daunting classes we have, in my opinion. I have Bruce Alexander, a lively and incredibly knowledgable man, who took us through the basics of sonnets on day one, using Sonnet 27 as an example (Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed...). In the very last moments of class, Bruce assigned each of us a sonnet pretty randomly and asked us to memorize it for our next class. I received Sonnet 55, and am beyond thrilled to begin working on it! 

Period Dance

We spent most of our time in the first week finding "The Elizabethan Body" through Period Dance with the truly delightful Darren Royston. We moved quickly, going through about a century each day for one week, learning the history of the dances and then working on them ourselves. Darren had this magnificent way of engaging the class, inviting us to draw on any and all previous knowledge we might have had, and bringing it all together into a vivid snapshot of Shakespeare's England, and what seemed like everything that proceeded it. We finished the week with a one-hour Period Dance showing for the RADA faculty, followed by feedback and a quick discussion of all that we learned with Darren.
The weekend was full of good rest, good friends, good theatre, and some much needed wandering around London for the sake of getting my bearings. On Friday night, I saw She Stoops to Conquer, a brilliant RADA Third Year production. On Saturday, my good friend Ben and I decided we needed to do some good old-fashioned London sight-seeing. In the midst of it all, we happened upon a less old-fashioned sight to see: The World Naked Bike Ride, which is EXACTLY what it sounds like. That night, we saw Let The Right One In on the West End, a sort of thriller vampire play with lots of crazy special effects and a plot that brought a whole lot of things I wasn't expecting. After the show, we went to a pub over by RADA to watch the England vs. Italy game. And finally, Sunday was all about reading Shakespeare in Kensington Gardens with some friends from the course, as well as meeting my friends Matt and Jay, who are studying abroad in London this summer, for brunch and Portobello Market browsing. 


Week two is already underway, and it is just as exhausting as last week was. We cram so much into these days, but it's such a blessing to be here with such passionate humans, learning and exploring an art form we all so dearly love. 

And so it begins...

Dear friends!

Tonight I begin my journey to London. I'm still pinching myself, unsure of the reality of this incredible opportunity. I've truly been dreaming about studying at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art since I was twelve years old, and in a few short days, that dream will no longer be a distant imagining. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to update this blog, but I'm certainly going to do my best. While teaching in India, I found that blogging was a wonderful way to document my adventures for my own purposes of reflection, while also keeping my loved ones in the loop.

I'm overwhelmed with excitement as I finish packing my (rather heavy!) bags. However, that inevitable buzz one feels as they prepare to start something new seems minuscule in comparison to the gratitude I am also overwhelmed by. I feel so fortunate to have so many incredible human beings in my life who have made this journey possible. Be it a financial investment, time spent working on audition pieces, or simple words of support and encouragement, I cannot tell you how much all of your contributions mean to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for every ounce of yourselves you have given to help me get to this point. I'm truly a lucky girl. 

So... here we go! I vow to be as sponge-like as one can possibly be during the next 8 weeks, making every experience, whether on the streets of London or in the studios at RADA, shape me into a smarter, stronger, more transparent human. 

So much love to you all!