Here’s the deal….
When I signed up for the London trip, I told Tom I’d blog about it. Then, I didn’t bring my computer along, and I was too busy being in London to track one down. And then I got back, and I decided to catch senioritis and have better things to do (like drink bee— I mean, do classwork!) So, Tom… I’m sorry. Let’s just pretend I needed some time to reflect on the experience….
Here goes:
In short, going on the J-term London trip was one of the best decisions I have made in my life so far, and quite possibly the best decision I made in college. I mean it. For real. Worth every dime. You should absolutely do it.
But let’s start from the beginning.
I was excited when I signed up for it. I had to fill out a bunch of forms, and go to the doctor’s, and wait for a confirmation letter, and get a passport, and all sorts of important stuff.
Then, I went to the first meeting. I had my pen, and my piece of paper, and I sat down at the table ready to take notes and get excited about traveling. But then I looked around the room, and I realized that not only was I the only Design/Tech major going, but I was also the only senior. And then I was horrified. I was going to be trapped in a foreign country with a bunch of Musical Theatre majors. Even worse, I was going to be trapped in an airplane for 8 hours with a bunch of Musical Theatre majors.
Do you know what the thing about Musical Theatre majors is? They like to sing. A lot. They don’t actually talk. They just sing. Loudly. In public.
Do you know what the thing about Technical Theatre majors is? We like to wear black and hide in the dark and not get noticed very much.
Understand my concern?
To be fair, some of them were Acting majors, and some were BAs, and one was a BA who was quite involved in the tech side of things, and I was actually decent friends with some of them already, but that’s no fun for my story…
So, we met at the airport, and we hopped on the plane, and they slept most of the way, and I slept most of the way, and we ate airplane food in peace. So far, so good.
Then, we got to the rooms, jet lagged and exhausted. I unpacked. I took a nap. I took a shower. I went exploring. It was great. Because this was technically a class, there were a few meetings during the trip. We had a first one to hand out paperwork, and tickets, and just to discuss how the trip would work. Basically, except for the assigned shows and post show meetings, we were free to do whatever we wanted. Awesome.
The amazing thing about London is that the government actually supports the arts. They want people to experience theatre, they want students especially to experience theatre, and they make it very clear. The commercial theatre is cheaper, and some of the commercial theatres and all of the government sponsored theatres offer student tickets for incredibly low prices. A group of us saw Twelfth Night performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company for 10 pounds. Shakespeare performed in the country that invented Shakespeare… amazing!
Between the assigned shows and extracurricular shows, I saw 10 performances in 8 days (7, really, since one was spent on a tour of the surrounding area). It was the perfect way to cap off my college career. It helped me remember why I do what I do. I saw amazing theatre, I saw good theatre, I saw mediocre theatre, and I loved all of it. My only recommendation is to go on the trip after taking at least one Theatre History class, so that you can take full advantage of being in a country that’s been writing plays since before the U.S. was even a twinkle in it’s mother’s eye.
I grew to be very close friends with the performers that I had my adventure with. I learned a lot more about the art of acting than I had ever known before, and I hope that I helped to open some eyes to my end of things as well. I came home happy and tired, and chock full of new ideas. It was invigorating and exciting, and scary and new and eye-opening and educational and everything that a study abroad trip should be.
My only regret is that the sequel to Phantom hadn’t opened yet.
…just kidding.
Go to London.
Love,
Kate
