May 13-15

Wow. This week has already been packed with firsts.

Monday, May 13th:

I spent a nice and restful morning, trying the tiniest bit to recover from some jet lag. I made a lovely breakfast and enjoyed being in London on a Monday morning. As amazing as it was getting to see the outside of the Globe, nothing compared to what this day had in store. We spend the afternoon/evening over in the New Globe Walk area. We met our program education leaders, talked about how theatre makers interact with different types of theatrical spaces and got a tour of the performance spaces in the Globe. 

I had this moment in the main stage (outdoor area) where I remembered the first time I ever heard about the Globe and saw pictures. It was middle school theatre class and I decided I wanted to go there one day. Now, I have seen a tech rehearsal, a show and will get to stand on that stage. It was a lovely moment of self-reflection to see how far my theatre dreams have come so far already.

After lots of introductory information and touring of the spaces, we got to do our first class. We got to know our instructor, did some warm-ups and so much more. After the class we went to get some dinner and headed home. 

I don't have any photos from Monday because I was taking everything in. 

Tuesday, May 14th:

On this morning, Karen, Beck and me decided to get up early and go walk around. We took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and just went from there. There were some amazing sculptures, like these one of William Shakespeare and some horses. 

 

After that downtown area, we found ourselves near the Buckingham Palace area, and we spend close to an hour enjoying St. James's Park. 

We walked through the area where the soldiers' horses are kept and made our way to Trafalgar Square. We took the iconic photo in front of the lions that appear to be guarding the National Gallery. 

Once we had finished our morning out and about, we headed to the Globe for our second day of classes. We had a lecture/conversation about why reviewing theatre is problematic yet important. It is so nice to be surrounded by those who love theatre everyday of this trip. We also took our second class on 'Theatre and Playhouse Practice.' We worked on physicality and partnership and listening while getting some Shakespeare in bodies. It's so exciting to have Shakespeare's text beginning to feel more attainable. One of the exciting things about the Globe is that they try and cast with gender in mind but not let it hinder going against the way the characters are written. We were assigned our characters for our final showcase that we will also be taking back to Nebraska. I will be playing Macbeth for the first half of the second scene, and performing a Macbeth monologue later in the showcase. 

After we finished up those classes for the day, we headed to see our first performance in the Globe. Wow. We watched their performance of Henry IV Part One and I had so much fun. I don't know when I have even been such an active participant of the show as an audience member. It was definitely a night of joy I will not soon forget. 

 

Wednesday May 15th:

We had an earlier start on Wednesday so we could go through the the Museum of London as a group. Me and some other friends got to take the scenic route after we got of the tube because I may not have been able to understand the map, but we got to see a lovely private residential area. 

The museum was so informative and spanned all of London's history. While I have studied U.S. history throughout school, and there was quite a bit of overlap with England, it was astounded to realize just how long London has been around. Some of these highlight pictures include the 2012 London Olympics Torch, a Victorian bar replica (starring Beck and AJ) and some fun costuming (starring AJ and Cameron). This museum was a valuable resource in understanding so much more about London (and the museum is free). 

 

Once many of us had finished, we headed out to take a break before our Globe classes. We ate lunch and did some text work outside St. Paul's Cathedral. It was sunny, cool and just such a lovely day. 

Then we met up with the rest of the Nebraska Crew to go through the National Theatre's bookstore. I have seen so many National Theatre Live recordings, it was surreal to get to be in that place of such exciting theatre. 

We had some time to wander before class, so we explored the Wharf. 

We had two classes that night; text study and movement. Both gave me work to implement as I go through the rest of the month and my career. It was a full day, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

I often have to remind myself that it's only a few days in; I cannot wait to see what the rest of this week brings!

In the words of my friend Jey, "Little Kami; Big City; Midsized River."

Much love,

Kami
(This project was made possible, in part, with support form the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Endowment Fund)