In Which I Meet Great People

What a week it has been! Some of this I've already talked about, but oh wells!

We've had some amazing speakers the past few days. David Leveaux was absolutely incredible, and a really nice guy. He worked extensively with Harold Pinter while he was alive, and gave a lot of good advice on our Pinter scenes, as well as how far background stories can really only go. It is easy to get bogged down by what ahs happened to your character before they cam onstage, and in some ways knowing all that is helpful, but at the end of the day what matters in what is happening on stage at that moment, in the present-tense. some favorites quotes of his:

"The only reason you're all here is because you ignored someone's very good advice" > on choosing a career in the theatre

" Don't be afraid of strangeness. Theatre turns the conservative, normal and complacent on its' head".

That night BADA had its' punting and dancing night, where every one eats a nice dinner and goes punting on the Thames. Mary, Alex, Alex and I invited our movement and voice teachers Jackie and Linda on our boat with us, and we had a grand old time! After a great meal, we all danced the night away, despite a rather obnoxious dj who kept interrupting the songs to shout "BADA, 2010!" into the mike.

Woke up bright and early the next morning to take the bus into London! We snagged some great student tickets to The Old Vick's As You Like It, directed by Sam Mendes. It was a GREAT production. Ate some traditional fish and chips in a pub, and saw Habit of Art that night. I'm hoping to see Julius Caesar on Saturday!

Last night Henri Goodman did a masterclass with us. He won an Olivier for his performance as Shylock in Merchant of Venice, and was the original Roy Cohn in Angels in America. I can't imagine him being such cold characters- he was so warm! He had a ton of energy, and did a good job of keeping every one engaged and involved in the scenes we worked on.

My friend Jimmy and I have been doing mash-ups of songs... essentially, completely unalike songs that sounds great together. There will probably be a video to share fairly soon. We are quite a hit amongst the kids, if I do say so myself.

The coolest thing so far was probably doing a sonnet workshop with John Barton. He's really written the book on performing Shakespeare in the past 50 yrs, and I felt honored to be listening to him. A favorite quote...

"'They look into the beauty of thy mind?.... Now, THY mind is a bit of a problem". > on sonnet 69 and it being performed.

Some other good quotes from the week:

"You're wearing tights, shirtless. With a body of death." > on the importance of standing up straight onstage.

"Smile! You're playing an attidude! Just smile! What is the matter with you?!" > Joe Mydell on acting on the line.