So, it seems like I lied…it has been a month since I wrote to you all. First, I was dealing with whether or not to keep my website and blog on Wix or switching. I decided to stay because I genuinely really like my website right now, and I don’t feel like starting over. Secondly, I’ve been focusing on my classes. We switched into our final project section and I will write more on that later. Lastly, I’ve been dealing with my mental state going up and down (a lot). My mind has been all over the place because as my course comes to an end, I realize I have to figure out what to do next with my life. I definitely want to keep performing and exploring theater because it makes me very happy. However, I know that unless a miracle happens, I will not be making a ton of money right away which means I need to find a way to support myself when I am not performing. So for now I am looking into jobs that interest me and submitting for acting jobs/agents at the same time. I am very grateful to know that when I return to the states I can live with my parents until I can support myself or until an opportunity presents itself. I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for my parents. They are the best people in my life. I would not be anywhere without them. As for where I am going next, the answer is I don’t know, it could be anywhere. I would love to move back to London at some point because I really do like it here. The public transport is great, the energy of the city is great, and I love how much they care about the arts. However, it is quite expensive here and I simply cannot afford it right now. I have been considering moving to Chicago because I have a bunch of people there I know from undergrad, and they have a great mix of TV/Film and Live theater. But, honestly I do not know, and I’m ready for suggestions or leads! For right now, I’ll be in Philly auditioning in the local areas, and spending time with family/friends!
As for how my course is going, it is great! As mentioned in my last post, our second project was Comedy and it ended smoothly. I had a wonderful time working with my scene partner and performing in a British accent. After that project finished we got into our new groups with a different tutor. My tutor for this project is Nick, who happens to be the head of our course. The project is Shakespeare’s tragedies, and our play is Julius Caesar. It has been a huge learning process working on this play. We have been in classes all semester leading up to this project, and at first I thought I wasn’t getting the information but now that we have been applying it, I think it is starting to stick. I fully believe this was the problem with my education prior to this course. I was taking classes in different subjects that were all supposed to go together but I never got the chance to workshop and apply it. This small change has made a huge impact in my learning. I really feel like I am getting a hang of understanding Shakespeare. For our shortened production of Julius Caesar, I will be playing Calpurnia and Caesar. Those that know the play well are probably really confused on how that is going to happen since Calpurnia is Caesar’s wife and in the same scenes with her. But this is where it gets interesting. I am sharing the role of Caesar with a classmate who is from Boston. So he starts the play as Caesar then, we switch after Calpurnia says her last line, kind of treating the change over as a bit of women power. I am in the middle of memorizing my lines. This past week our tutor was out of town (actually in the states which is funny) so we had another tutor, Rodney, help us out. Rodney is VERY VERY knowledgeable about Shakespeare and History in general so, it was extremely helpful to have him work with us. I feel like by the end of our work session with Rodney I learned so much! We have three more weeks of rehearsal but only two more weeks of classes. The last week of the course is just rehearsal time for our plays. If you are interested in performing Shakespeare, here are some things to start your process.
Make sure you know what you are saying, if you don’t the audience won’t
If the lines or monologue is in verse then know where the line endings are and where the sentence endings are, they can be different
If the thought/sentence ends in the middle of the verse line, do not stop! Continue the energy of the line, shakespeare wrote it this was to show how the character is thinking
Try not to focus on personal pronouns, the nouns and verbs are more important
When in doubt of the line, check the folio and quarto (even for ends of sentences)
Those are just some tips to get you started, also for me when I look back on this to remind me. Overall, Shakespeare writes for actors so trust him, it's there to help you.
As for my classes, they are going great as well! I have been really enjoying stage combat, where we are currently working with foils/reapers. It has been really fun! Some of my classes I feel like I am not learning that much but, it is nice to just be in the world of theater all day. However, this has a small downside, I am a bit tired. Not theater or acting in general, but I get a little tired of sitting in most of my classes and just using a lot of mental energy. Also theater people can be a bit much sometimes (shocker I know haha), so I am happy that I get time to decompress at the end of the day and spend time alone.
I am excited for the rest of my time here in the UK because I have a couple trips planned, and I cannot wait to work more on Julius Caesar. In the next couple weeks I will be going to Dublin, Edinburgh, and after my course ends I am going to Brussels! I am so excited. I am trying to focus on the everyday and not the future too much because I want to get as much as I can out of my time here!
The last thing I want to talk about is a book I’ve been reading. I have been reading and listening to “Everything I know about love” by Dolly Alderton. I was always told that this book is a great book to read in your 20s and I didn’t believe it until I got a couple chapters in. Wow. Not only did this book affirm things I felt but it also opened my eyes to things I didn’t realize I needed to hear. I have not finished the book but I would recommend it. The audiobook is on spotify if you have premium.
That is all for this week! I will write at some point on Easter Monday about my trip to Dublin! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to watch my vlogs!
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