It's Been a While...

Sorry for the long hiatus. School is definitely getting the better of me. Even as I write this I should be working on an essay that's due next week. But it's more or less about Aristotle and I kind of really hate him, so I'm putting off the work.
Oh well.
These past few weeks have been really fun.
Halloween I spent with some international friends at a screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show at this wonderful cinema called the Prince Charles Cinema. It's fairly small, but it's absolutely wonderful.
The screening itself was excellent, of course. I've not been to one in years, so it was nice to return to it. One of the group was a Rocky Horror Virgin, so I was especially excited for her. I was disappointed that they didn't do a virgin sacrifice before the show (Google it if you're curious), but maybe that's not as common here? I don't know. Also curious was that all the call backs were done predominantly by Americans. I heard British people yelling every once in a while, but it was rare. The loudest yeller was this American guy in front of us. I was glad he was there for my friend's first time--Rocky Horror just isn't the same without the yelling.
For what it's worth, my mother asked me to show her pictures from the night and, while they do exist, I will not be posting them. Sorry to disappoint, but that's a bit beyond my comfort zone.
The past few weeks have mostly been a blur of homework, class, and rehearsal, honestly. This week was supposed to be reading week for all the students at my school, but as I technically go to two different schools and coordinating is beyond everyone at both of them, I am off from one school this week but still attending class at the other. The other happens to be where most of my classes are located, so while I didn't have two classes this week, I still had (or will have, since there are some today) the other five.
Not much of a break, frankly.
As a result, I've not done much at all this week, except on Wednesday.
Wednesday some of us on my course decided we were going to try ad get day tickets for this play by Jez Butterworth (an exellent playwright, highly recommend looking him up if you're unfamiliar) called Mojo.


It's a fairly star studded cast, so we figured we'd have to get there early. We spoke to the people at the box office and they suggested we arrive at 6am to be sure we got in.

So of course lo and behold we get there at 6am and there's no one else there. It's just the six of us waiting until about 7am when other people started trickling down.
Doors didn't open until 10am, so for four hours we sat outside in the cold, eating food and entertaining ourselves.


Look how much fun we were having.

It was worth it though, since we ended up having seats that were front row center!
The show was excellent. Even the weakest actor in the show was still great.
And Daniel Mays. Good lord Daniel Mays.
I went into the show expecting to be blown away by Ben Whishaw (RADA grad! HAAAIIII) because I'm a massive fan, but it was Daniel Mays who kept my attention. He is INCREDIBLE in this show. Seriously. Just absolutely stunning.

Overall it was a long day, but I got to spend it with some absolutely lovely folks and saw an incredible show for a very low price, totally worth it.

The End of Week Three, I Think

I wrote a nice long entry here about what I've been doing this past week and then, naturally, it all somehow got deleted. So now I am starting from scratch. I can't guarantee how long this entry will or won't be. It will be easiest to document my week on a day by day basis. Forward we go. Last Saturday, this happened:
It was the start (for me, anyway) of the BFI London Film Festival. I, in my infinite wisdom (haha), bought tickets about a month ago. So I have tickets to nine different movies. I saw move movies in this past week than I have in probably two years. It was awesome. First up, The Double (yes, it's based on the Dostoevsky story). It was made by this man:
  Richard Ayoade

 And stars these two:

  Mia Wasikowska

  Jesse Eisenberg

 If you don't know who these three people are, I highly recommend looking up their work because they are all wildly talented and wonderful.

 Anyway, I got to the film early and didn't have my ticket. Much to my surprise, it was a red carpet event with onlookers, paparazzi, security, the whole thing. Being my ever confusing but hopefully somewhat pleasant self, I spoke with the security guys who were guarding the red carpet so no one without permission would be allowed on, and asked where to pick up my tickets at. They were every bit as confused as me, so after I showed them that I did indeed have a purchase confirmation they directed me to the theatre box office. Which I could only get to by walking the red carpet. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I walked a red carpet. Paparazzi took my picture. Fans yelled a bit but then stopped when they figured out that I'm not famous. It was a moment of fleeting glamour. Upon securing my tickets, I waited inside with members of the staff and media. I ate ice cream (because the cinema had a Ben and Jerry's inside of it. Awesome) and perched by the door and watched the celebrities roll in. The celebrities being Jesse, Richard, and Michael Fucking Caine.

  Yep. Him.

 The movie itself was quite good. It reminded me a lot of Fight Club, but with Jesse playing both characters. 

Sunday I spent the morning at a one pound sale at my favourite thrift store, East End Thrift Store. I got a coat, some sweaters, and a shirt for fourteen pounds total. It was worth it. I spent the afternoon kicking myself for forgetting I had tickets to see a film called Ilo Ilo that day. That night I saw the film that I liked the best of everything I saw last week: As I Lay Dying. It's James Franco's new film based on Faulkner's book and frankly, I loved it. It has stuck with me for a week now, which isn't something I can say about many films. There were some interesting editing choices that I loved. Plus I found it interesting (and admirable, frankly) that Franco chose to use full frontal male nudity in a scene that didn't need it at all, but then used no female nudity even though there are multiple sex scenes. I don't know that many filmmakers would make that choice, so props to him--it was kind of refreshing, honestly.

 Throughout the week I saw more films. Vic and Flo Saw a Bear was Monday. I's a French Canadian film and while it's wonderful, it's also devastating. Tuesday I didn't see anything (damn classes getting in the way) but I did have a performance in my Edward II class (which is all about Christopher Marlowe's 16th century play). Lots of food was thrown about in the room, which I think upset my teacher as RADA has a very strict NO FOOD IN THE ROOMS policy. I think that he then took it out on the other group who performed, so to them I apologize. Wednesday a friend and I went to see Night Moves (yet another Jesse Eisenberg film). It's about environmental extremists who blow up a dam, but then end up accidentally killing a guy. It's a great film, but wow is it unsettling. Thursday I saw Don Jon which is a comedy and thankfully broke the trend of me only seeing depressing films where everyone dies and/or gets horribly mangled. I recommend it--it's a cute film. Friday I didn't see anything. I had three hours of class and then nothing. It was a much needed day of rest.

I'm going to save Saturday for last, so I will just say that today (Sunday) I saw Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, which is a documentary about the Broadway goddess herself and was every bit as good as you would expect (that woman is 87 years old and a total firecracker. I hope I'm as sassy and no nonsense as she is someday). 

AND THEN THERE WAS SATURDAY. The morning started normally. I had a nice long rehearsal for my Edward II(I think those are going to become a regular thing, unfortunately) then a few hours off before I attended the UK premiere of this:
 
If you don't know that I went to this premiere I'm going to assume that you don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. In which case, I'm not sure how you got the link to this blog, but welcome pilgrim. And if you do follow me on those sites, I apologize for spamming you about this so much. Bear with me here for another round of it. Or don't. That's okay too.

 ANYWAY, this film stars some of my favourite actors of the day:
Mia Wasikowska (whose photo I already showed you, so scroll up if you forgot what she looks like),
 
The ever fabulous Tilda Swinton

 
John Hurt, who along with being an incredible actor (AND PLAYING THE UNDEAD VERSION OF THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE IN THIS FILM) is also a graduate of my current institution. Which is fucking awesome.

 And of course, another graduate of my current institution and also someone on whom I have a MASSIVE crush...
Tom Hiddleston. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I got to walk the red carpet at an event which Tom Hiddleston was attending.

If you don't know who he is, I'm assuming you are not a human being under the age of 30. Or maybe you live under a rock. Or maybe you just don't care about pop culture. Regardless, he's wonderful and you should look him up. Not only did I get to see Tom, but I walked the red carpet at the same time he was walking it. By the way, hearing his fangirls scream (because there were a ton of them there) is kind of terrifying.

I then got to spend the next three hours in a dark room with him watching a movie about vampires (and not the shitty Twilight kind). And there were people giving away free chocolate. Ignoring the 400 other people in there, it was almost like a dream. Of course, if it had been a dream Tom would have professed his undying love for me before presenting me with a Tony Award and then whisking me off on an around the world trip in a private jet, but still-baby steps.

The First Week

So I've completed my first week of classes and also I'm trying to put off my homework (even though it's 1 am and I should definitely be working on it) so guess what that means? New blog post! Yay?
Everything is going pretty well. I've got my first bit of homework due tomorrow in my Scene Study class--we're focusing on Christopher Marlowe's Edward II and my homework is to write what happens in scenes 12-25 (or whatever scene the play ends on) from the perspective of one of the characters. I'm interpreting that as meaning I should just write a monologue that's just devoid of motion. I'm probably wrong, but whatever-monologue it is!
Honestly I'm loving it here and I'm loving my course so far. It's really great to be surrounded by a group of people who will go from fawning over Marina Abramovic one second to discussing Tom Stoppard the next. I've not had that happen in a long while, so I'm cherishing now that it's happening. Plus some of the people I've met here are willing to go see Madame Butterfly and Die Fledermaus with me, which is wonderful! I've not been to the opera in far too long.
It's interesting too that some of the things I've been learning are very similar to what I learned at Gustavus. Especially cool is that our work in my Acting and Voice classes thus far overlaps a great deal with things Henry taught me in my acting classes at GAC. So props to Henry (and GAC in general) for that!
As for what I've been doing here aside from classes, I must say I've had quite a fun time. I went to a street food fair in Shoreditch with some friends I met at International Orientation and managed to mind some real KC Barbeque! The guy who made it was even from Kansas City and went to school in Lawrence! It was all very exciting and delicious. Unfortunately it was served on a bun and either I accidentally ate some of the bun or the sauce had gluten in it because I ended up waking up at 6am the next morning having a terrible gluten reaction. Not as bad as I've had before (THANK GOODNESS) but still not a pleasant morning for me. After the food fair, some of us went to meet up with a few of the lovely kids from my course at a pub. I enjoy it when we all go for drinks together--it's nice to get to know my classmates in a non academic setting.
Sunday was then spent recovering from both the previous night and from my gluten reaction, thus I got nothing done. Today was far more productive though--I set up TWO new bank accounts so now I can easily access my money over here, I got my homework done (well, I will before I go to bed), AND I booked a ticket to see the American Psycho musical in December (which reminds me, if anyone knows of a person with spare tickets please let me know--I've a friend who would appreciate it!).
I'm excited for this upcoming week--one of lectures this week is going to be lead by the Senior Reader at the Royal Court Theatre and our homework was to come up with two questions for her. One of mine is going to be "Will you please give me a job?"
I may even come prepared with my CV just in case. Who knows.

The Move

I have finally found a place to live. If you want the address just ask me or my mom (or dad or Caleb). It's not big by any means, but it's a good location (only three tube stops away from my school, less than five minutes walk from a massive Waitrose, and in a fairly safe area) and the roommate seems really nice, so I hope it will work out.  I started moving in today but because of the amount of stuff that I have (travelling light? What's that?) it's going to take me until at least tomorrow  to get it all over there and set up. But the room comes fully furnished, so at least I don't have to worry about any of that. The guy I'm sharing with also thinks it would be a good idea for me to get the painting I have hanging in my room shipped over so we can hang it in the living room. It's not a party house at all (thank God) so I don't think any damage would come to it and I would so love to be able to see it everyday. This is the painting, in case you don't know:

I've been in love with it since I first saw it, so I'm definitely eager to be reunited with it.

Anyway. orientation started this week. It's gone pretty well actually. I've met some really nice people from all over the world, even a few who are in my program with me! It was nice to be able to talk shop with people who understood :)
There have been events for international students all week--Monday was a reception and information sessions, Tuesday was a pub quiz (my team was 5th out of like 10 teams, so we didn't do too bad at all), Wednesday was the pub crawl to all of the different student union bars--SOAS definitely had my favourite bar (they're known for being a hipper more ~socially aware~ so their bar was definitely hopping). Today there were all sorts of tours of London, but because I've lived here before and they all cost money,  I decided not to do them. Tomorrow (Friday) is the day we register for classes, get our IDs, all that fun stuff. It's also the University of London Union's club fair, so I'll get to sign up for some clubs there and hopefully, for their gym as well! I may as well take advantage of the cheap membership when it's so close to where I'll be spending so much time!
Saturday some people I met at orientation and I are going down to a speakeasy. I'm not sure of its exact location, but it seems like it's really going to be fun.

The Arrival

So I've arrived in London. Currently I am living in a hostel in South Kensington. I think 90% of the year it's student housing (that's what I'm guessing by all of the "Imperial College London" signs around here) . It's nice enough. They gave me a private double room instead of the private single that I asked for, so there's a surprising amount of space in here.
It's quite a shock to the system to be back, I have to be honest. I'm trying to find my way around a city that is completely familiar to me and yet also totally new. Especially now that I'm trying to look at flats that are in different neighborhoods than where I was last time, everything is familiar yet utterly different.
The plane ride over was okay. The first flight (KC>Toronto) was great--I had the entire row to myself so I was able to spread out. The second flight was more uncomfortable--seven hours in the middle seat of the middle row sitting between to larger men. I didn't sleep a wink, but I did get to watch two movies and 7 episodes of 30 Rock, so that made it more bearable.
The first thing I did over here was buy a phone. I'm still trying to figure out how to work it, but once I do I'm sure my mom will happily share my number with you.
I honestly don't have much to say at this point. I'm just looking at flats/meeting potential flatmates and trying to get my life set up here. I guess I do like looking at flats in some weird way--it's nice to be able to rule out what I know for sure I don't want (for instance, there's no way I'm going to be looking at more houses in zone 5--that's way too far of a commute for me.) I'm going to see the National Theatre's production of Edward II tomorrow, which is exciting I guess. I mean, I came here to study theatre so I guess I need to be taking as much advantage of that as possible.

In the beginning...

And so it begins....again.
This is where I'll be posting updates for my friends and family (and strangers too, I guess) to read all about my adventures in London and around the world.
For those who aren't in the know, starting in September I will be working on my Master's degree in in theatre. I'd explain the program more, but I've never heard of another one like it and I'd rather not get too specific about where I'll be.
This will be my second time living in London, so I'm decently well prepared for what to expect...I hope.
But for now I need to focus on actually getting over there, so lets discuss what I've done so far.
I found out in late June that I had been accepted to the program. Given the length of time that it can take to get a visa and the fact that you can only start applying three months ahead of time (and my program starts in late September) I entered full on panic mode. Between trying to get enrolled, getting my tuition paid, and trying to figure out how to do the visa (as the requirements had changed since I was last there) all while holding down a full time job, it was a bit of a crazy month.
A friend tried to explain to me that it was all because Mercury was in retrograde. Essentially that means that for most of July, all little details will be impossible to deal with especially in regards to communication and travel...at least that's what I was told. If I were into astrology, I would take that as the explanation for why my month was so hectic.
As is, I eventually got together everything I needed, gave my notice at my job, and last Monday submitted everything I needed to get my visa. I chose to do expedited service, and so yesterday I finally received my visa in the mail. It's amazing to think that so much stress, time, and money went into what is literally nothing more than a sticker in my passport. Granted it's an important sticker, but a sticker nonetheless.
Now I just need to make my final preparations. I'll be selling the Cara-van ($1000 or best offer, if you're interested), there is a garage sale to get rid of the rest of my stuff tentatively scheduled for the 17th, and then once I pack, buy my plane ticket, and book my hostel (where I'll be staying for the first week of my time there until I can find a flat) I'll be all ready to go.
I leave in mid-September. It still seems so far off right now, but I know that it's going to sneak up on my really fast.
If you want to keep up with me in the meantime, I'll be posting very occasional updates on both my Facebook and my Instagram