Theatre, Fashion & Architecture in London 2011

Can you believe 3 weeks have passed so quickly?  The students and Stephen boarded the coach early this morning and headed off to the airport with overstuffed suitcases, lots of memories of the time here and a tired, but fresh attitude ready for the rest of the summer in the United States.

Many of them said last night at our wrap-up potluck dinner that their time in London challenged their way of thinking, removed stereotypes and granted them the permission to be creative.  They were an amazing bunch of students who were right there with Stephen and me every step of the way, quickly following as I bustled through the tube with my purple scarf flowing as their beacon and as Stephen would stop and point up to the tops of buildings to note texture, style and juxtaposition.  They all stepped out of their comfort zone, tried new foods, saw challenging theatre and sketched their little hearts out!

I hope that this course has influenced their creative identities- I know it has mine.  I will miss them in the coming weeks, as I stay in London to design a production of Alice in Wonderland and take a course to continue to challenge my own creative ideas, because we are all adventurers on this tiny island.

Today we started class at 10:30 am and discussed yesterday’s experiences and the Q & A session we had with Mark Leipacher.  Once we completed our lecture, we began our journey to Kensington Park where we would view the Serpentine Gallery.  This gallery differed from the previous ones we have attended because it only featured one artist.  As a diverse gallery, they dedicate their space to one artist for a specific amount of time.  Mark Leckey was the British artist chosen for this time span.  Moreover, this is his first solo exhibition at the UK public institution and he aimed to encompass sculpture, sound, film, and performance.  As an artist, he explores the potential human imagination and creates a concept of animation.  Each of the four pieces of art that he chose to put in this exhibit had an affective power of images and; as a result, the nostalgia for dying elements responded to his unique architecture.  To begin with, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore was created in 1999 and emphasizes on the idea of an underground UK dance scene.  He began this project in the mid 1970’s and continued to film until the early 1990’s.  After he gathered enough material, he began to generate his piece.  When we walked into this room all that was present was a large projection screen and a series of stacked speakers.   Right away it made you wonder what this film was about.  Initially I was confused, but later began to realize what Leckey was trying to say throughout this piece.  Additionally, he made the music loud creating an elegiac tone and allowing us as an audience to understand it more.   Secondly, Sound System, spoke to Leckey in a way that inspired him to create a master piece.  It took him ten years to complete and it worked well with the space it inhabited.  Furthermore, BigBoxStatueAction mimicked the work of Henry Moore’s Upright Motive No. 9. Leckey began this project in 2003 and completed it in 2011.  Lastly, GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction is one of his most recent creations.  It focuses on the desire to give a voice to inanimate objects. Centering around a black Samsung refrigerator, Leckey seeks to communicate with the inner life of a smart fridge- one that keeps an electronic tally of its contents.  Lackey believes that we are increasingly surrounding ourselves around technology and it has produced an ambient field around us.  Personally, I disliked this gallery amongst the others because it was so simple and bored me as a whole.  I wasn’t actually aware of what most of his work was about, nor what he was trying to establish until I read the descriptions.  I enjoy walking into a gallery being able to detect what a piece is about just by looking at it; not having to read the descriptions in order to understand what an artist is trying to aspire.

Once we left the Serpentine Gallery, we had free time for lunch and time to head back to the flat to get ready for the night.  It rained throughout the day so it made the day somewhat less enjoyable when we had to travel from place to place; however, overall it was still educational.  After our break we headed to St. Paul’s Church.  Shelby informed us that this church was initially planned to be a barn for the higher power.  Although, when the Italian architect began his work he decided that it was too beautiful to be a barn so he created the ‘church’.  It was later called the Most Beautiful Barn in England.  After touring the church we had more free time before the evening show.

Tonight’s show was astonishing!   Being a dance minor I have anticipated this night since we got here, and let me tell yah, I was not disappointed.  The first number was titled Clara. It was based on a brilliant piano teacher’s daughter and her struggle throughout her life.  Initially, her father did not want her marrying the man she chose to be with; however, once he realizes that he has no control over his daughter’s decision, he allows for her to be happy even though he isn’t.  Later, an unrelated love triangle emerges and creates tension among the dancers.  Unexpectedly her husband dies and Clara, the main female dancer, is heartbroken and is never satisfied with another man.  As a whole this number was phenomenal!  Everything about it was breath taking.  The dancers showed such strength and power that I could not take my eyes of them.  Their technique was unbelievable and every movement was flawless and transitioned so smoothly.   You could always tell when the song was about to switch because Clara would end up on the floor, showing consistency.  Additionally, the emotion that the dancers displayed was nice and kept the focus of the viewers.  Not only was their emotion satisfying, but their control was impressive!  Every move each dancer made was in such a command that it made the piece even more dramatic.  Likewise, I really enjoyed when there was partnering being done because there was not one mistake in any of the lifts!  Partnering is not easy and to be able to see it be done so effortlessly was beyond inspiring.  Moreover, I particularly liked the option of having a piano player and singer on the stage to create the music.  It gave a different feel rather than having the music come from a stereo.   I also enjoyed the choice of using simple costumes and having the men and women both wearing boxer briefs.  This allowed us as an audience to focus particularly on their dancing rather than their attire.  The only critique I have for this piece was that some of the timing was off when they would dance as a group.  However, the dance was so astounding that the timing issue wasn’t a predicament.  I absolutely loved this dance!

The second dance we watched, Howl, had a more comical approach than the first.   Even though it was about how the United States is at war and complied that nobody could escape the media and images of the American engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan; the way Andrea Miller approached it was unique.  Throughout this number there was a lot of chaos and movements that represented Lady GaGa in a way.  At first I was not interested in this dance and thought it was very strange; however, as the dance continued I began to enjoy it.  The choreography was different and didn’t connect with the story line as much as I would have hoped but it still expressed the idea of war.  I do feel that the stunts were very striking and the unexpected singing from the dancers made the dance more empowering.   Conversely, I did not understand the costumes and feel that a better choice could have been made.  They looked like the Oompa Loopas from Willy Wanka and the Chocolate Factory.  However, the contrast of the white costumes against the green marley created an interesting outlook.   In addition, the use of floursent lights, as well as a few others, gave it a more simplex setting.  Although this piece had a slow beginning, it definitely worked for me in the end.  I do have to say that tonight has been my favorite night thus far!

The National Portrait Gallery was on the side of the National Gallery building. Before we arrived there, Shelby talked a great deal about the significance of portraits to what we have been focusing on. She talked about the different types (group, abstract, photographic, etc) and how we should go about viewing them (how is the person arranged, what is around them, what is the portrait saying about the person). I personally have mixed feelings towards portraits. There are some that I see no point for, while others I can’t stop looking at because they tell such a powerful, detailed story about the person within them.

We were given the task of picking a portrait that spoke to us, sketching it, and writing up a “biography” about the subject or subjects within it. I was a bit worried about this for numerous reasons, the main one being my aversion to sketching. I have seen drastic improvements in my work from the start of the trip to now, but I still feel uneasy when I try to capture the piece of art in front of me within a crude sketch, uncertain sketch. I also worried about being able to find a portrait that I felt spoke to me enough to warrant more attention than a cursory glance.

When I saw the Sir William Beechey portrait of Sarah Siddons, I didn’t imediately get pulled in. It was only when I read the description next to it and found out about her life as a famous actress in the 18th century, her infamous role as Lady Macbeth, and the Shakespearean tributes within the portrait that I felt a connection. She exemplified this trip, and to me, that made her worthy of an attempt at sketching.

To my great surprise, my sketch of her wasn’t terrible. I think the fact that I just sketched what I saw, without putting to much thought into what I was doing really helped me to relax and just sketch. Should I dare say it?…this Communication major is improving in her sketching?!

We were also given the task of thinking about what our portrait would look like, which at first I thought would be easy. As I wandered through the gallery thinking about all of these various people in the art and how everything in the works was chosen for a reason, I started to not be so confident. I know that this trip has changed me as a person: made me more confident, made me understand my desire to be somewhere familiar, made me more respect theatre more…how would I ever be able to convey these changes in myself through a photograph (deciding my portrait would be a photograph was obviously the easiest part, seeing as I’m a photography minor and photography enthusiast)?

I’ve finally decided that the setting around me should be an autumn scene with very large, old trees. I’ll have a camera in hand, but I won’t be shooting anything. Other than that, the rest of my portrait you could say is still being created.

Later in the evening we saw ‘Silence’, which I ended up liking quite a lot actually. Sound played a huge if not leading role in the performance, and all the changes in pitch, volume, and rate excited and thrilled me. I loved being able to feel the vibrations, it made me feel like I was physically a part of the show. I just can’t get over the usage of sound. Never before has a performance I’ve seen been dominated so much by sound, and done so well. The storyline was one of loss, heartache and the search for oneself, but had humorous elements to it at appropriate times.

Today was a good day, but news about the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland that could cancel my flight in a few days is making me worried and uneasy. No offense England, but I would like to go home on time.

Closing in on the second week of London, homesickness is beginning to set in for some, but with a long weekend coming up we have something to help bolster our spirits. Today we were scheduled to have a tour and walk about of the British museum, one of the most famous museums in the world. Having been to London once before, of course I have seen it but as I told Cat, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been, it is still just amazing as the first time. Being able to walk through a room with real mummies, thousands of years old, or the Elgin marbles elegantly carved, I can never get over the fact that I’m merely steps away from history.

A pretty cliché statement, I know, but one all true the same. When we arrived that morning our tour guide met us on the front steps and took us into the front area, a foyer in the round. The specialty exhibit is in the center with stairs wrapping around it to enter. It is usually a reading room that people the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been too. She then first showed us the copy of the Rosetta stone in one of the front rooms, informing us that they did indeed have the real stone just inside the next room. 

It was swarmed with people, massing around to try and see it; our tour guide had a fairly good sense of humor and throughout the tour would make comments like “fighting the battle” or “working our way through the troops” because it was quite busy. It is a free museum and schools obviously use this to their advantage in this area; there were many groups of school children from a range of ages mingling in the museum.

Still our guide excellently maneuvered us through the crowds until we managed to see nearly a little of every exhibit and then we were free to do our own exploring. I would never call myself a history buff, but I do love to read about ancient cultures—in particular Egyptian and Greco-Roman. This, of course, meant that I was returning to those exhibits to get pictures and better enjoy the displays.

The Rosetta stone was situated amongst the other Egyptian artifacts and as I fought and elbowed my way through the mass of teenagers and adults alike to get a photo, I couldn’t help but remember both my fascination with the stone and more recently the use of it in a book series. The Red Pyramid series by Rick Riordan actually starts in the British Museum at the Rosetta stone and as Cat put it, “could you imagine actually touching it and having all these statues come to life?” as it happened in the book. No, I couldn’t. Considering the mass amounts of statues and ka all around it would be nothing short of terrifying.

The Greco area was just as awe-inspiring. Of course the Elgin marbles are there, lining the walls and a source of discontent between the English and Greeks over who has rights to them (of which I will not make comment) I am merely glad I got to see them. I couldn’t help but think, as I passed a section of the frieze the elaborate stories that the Greeks had, their mythos so deeply embedded—even into stone; the story of Athena’s birth, her flight out of Zeus’ head and Hera’s irritation and subsequent resolve to ‘return the favor’ by giving birth to Hephaestus.

The day did not end with there, however; that evening we were to see a double show of dance and play at the Blue Elephant. As we stepped in I was immediately struck by the intimate setting of the place. We trekked up to a little bar area to await the start of the show and everyone seemed to know everyone and were more than happy to strike up conversations.

In the midst of it all about four or five people in long black trench coats suddenly entered and walked to invisible cues upon the ground. For the next five minutes the walked slowly and stoically to another spot to stand and then eventually descended back down the stair case. It was interesting because after the initial surprise of them coming in most people did not even bother to pay them attention, or would just glance at them before returning to their conversations. From there we went down to the theater which was just as intimate as the bar had been. No more than fifty seats, you were a part of the scene whether you liked it or not.

I have to admit as the first production started, the dance, I was completely confused. I had only read the synopsis for the play not realizing they were two pieces and could not—no matter how I tried—force the story onto the dance in front of me. The synopsis stated it was about childhood and magic and the dance in front of me better portrayed a struggle of life and self. The people in the black cloaks were in the production, and throughout the scene they struggled with both a red coated lady and then themselves as they fought and played with oddities (in this case a green wig) that were not part of ‘their world’. It had the potential of being a really fantastic piece that I feel fell sort of short. It got its point across and had an elegance to it with the motions and dance moves, but there was a jostling between those in the black cloak and the solitary woman that appeared. They were leading us to the same conclusion of this struggle, but it just didn’t quite fit right.

This turned out to be the same sort of situation in the second piece. This one, the one about childhood and magic, consisted of three actors: a girl, a boy, and a ‘doll’. The boy was obsessed with ‘chairs’ and was adamant on completing his magic trick with the chairs. The girl was afraid and knew something bad would happen ‘tomorrow’. In between each changing of scenes there was a mime with the male and female ‘playing’ with the ‘doll’, which in many cases ended up violent. It became evident fairly early on the ‘chairs’ were really ‘children’ and the two we watched on stage were actually still children themselves, stuck in an orphanage or foster care of some sort. It was a telling piece about the bitterness of a damaged childhood, but again it wasn’t quite executed well. It lacked a cohesive structure that made it harder to follow.

I would not say the two were bad pieces, but in comparison to much of what we’ve seen, they were not nearly as great. The space however, was phenomenal. I can imagine that some wonderful things have been done in such an intimate space, and will continue to be so.

 

We started our day early, boarding a Stratford-bound bus at 8am sharp. I know most of us were excited for what the day had in store, but it’s hard for anyone to be enthusiastic at such an early hour so the bus ride was quiet with ear buds in and eyelids closed.

Upon arriving in Stratford, our first destination was Mary Arden’s farm. Mary Arden was William Shakespeare’s mother and because she was thought to be her father’s favorite daughter, it was she who inherited the family farm. Though it was a chilly, blustery day we all agreed that it was nice to explore the farm and see the animals at a leisurely pace. After two weeks on the busy London streets, the fresh air and quiet of the 1500’s-style farm were just what we needed.

After the Arden farm, we stopped at Anne Hathaway’s cottage, a garden-surrounded, thatch-roofed house in which Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife, was born and raised. Inside the cottage, which was originally just a parlor and a kitchen, we spoke with a guide who gave us an idea of what day-to-day responsibilities Anne would have had as the oldest daughter of her family.

Our next stop was Shakespeare’s own birth place. We first walked through a series of rooms, each one playing a video with some information about Shakespeare’s life, work and legacy. This building eventually led us to the house in which Mary Arden and John Shakespeare, a glove maker, raised their children. Upstairs we found the actual room that Shakespeare would have been born in- a sacred place to any theatre or literature buff.

After exploring Shakespeare’s birthplace, the group split off into smaller groups. With maps of Stratford in hand, some of us grabbed lunch, while others set off to explore other Stratford landmarks including Shakespeare’s grave.

Eventually, we all met up for dinner at a restaurant called The Dirty Duck/The Black Swan which was conveniently located across the way from the theatre. After (most of us) devoured a truly scrumptious meal of fish and chips with apple pie for dessert, we hurried over to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a production of MacBeth.

I’m sure we all agree that MacBeth, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, was the best show we’ve seen thus far. The actors made use of not only the large thrust stage, but the whole theatre as they walked through the audience, came up through below the stage and were even lowered down from the ceiling. The company made the decision to substitute the 3 witches from the play with ghosts of dead children who first made their appearance by being lowered down onto the stage from large hooks giving them the appearance that they had been hanged. The dark themes of murder, death and evil were accentuated with harsh shadows and the haunting music of three cellists. We were all on the edge of our seats until the chilling end.

After discussing our reactions to the play for a few minutes, we made another quiet, two hour bus trip- this time back to our London flat where fresh, clean linens welcomed our tired (but completely satisfied) selves.

What a way to finish off an already amazing day! Tonight’s show, The Holy Rosenbergs written by Ryan Craig, was extremely powerful. I

Cat Boss- lostmylemons.blogspot.com

Kayla Cornell- kaylainengland.wordpress.com

Ashlea Friddell- keepcalmdrinktea.blogspot.com

Shelby- www.classybeetletravels.tumblr.com

The current Globe is the 3rd to be built.  The original burned down in a fire when a canon was fired during a production of Henry VIII that caught the thatched roof.  It took an hour for the Globe to burn down.  They rebuilt and used tiled roofing the second time.  Eventually it was built over and destroyed during the Puritan reign in Great Britain.  The current Globe was finished in 1997 and is an authentic reproduction of the original (though not in the same location.)  It was the idea of an American man named Sam Wannamaker.  He died in 1993 and never saw it completed.

In Shakespeare’s time women weren’t allowed on stage, because of that boys played the female parts.  These boys were apprentices to the older actors, whose job it was to teach them their parts.

Because the Globe is an open-air theatre the plays were performed around 2 in the afternoon so that they had daylight to act by.  Now they have general lighting that comes on as the sun sets.

Originally they would have crammed 3000 people into performances.  Now they take 1,600- 600 of which are groundlings (people who stand through the show.)  Groundling tickets now cost 5 pounds only.

I’ve noticed that British curtain calls always include an encore bow where the cast leaves the stage but always comes back within a few moments for a second bow.  It was bothering me at other shows because it felt a little arrogant but with tonight’s performance I felt that they had truly earned their second bow.  All of the way home we were all smiles and couldn’t stop commenting how amazing the experience had been.  This is just about half-way through our trip and it was the perfect day for it.

May 17, 2011

Day Six started off as we gathered for our group meeting at nine-thirty.  We started early today due to having two tours scheduled rather than one.   One of the tours took place at the Design Museum and the second was at the National Costume Hire.

After our class meeting we met out on the porch and began our day.  We got on the tube and headed to the Design Museum.  After a small delay we arrived to the Design Museum a little behind schedule.  However, by being “lost” we got to see another part of London we did not know existed.  We ended up seeing hunted museums, spooky buildings, dark alleys, and also lot of places to eat.  Once we arrived at the Design Museum, we noticed that it was rather small but filled with lots of things to explore.  The Ground floor was the gift shop and had a little cafe to eat.  As we walked up a few stairs we entered the Wim Crouwel a graphic odyssey.  This floor consisted of many designs created by him. Each individual piece of art work displayed his graphic design techniques and some of his other work; such as, typefaces and more. As we arrived to the Second floor we became aware that it was based on the best work of 2011. I found myself very inspired and others were as well.  This section of the gallery showed high fashion and unique transportation.

Everything was breath taking on this floor, it was unreal.  Moreover, when some of us decided to sit down and sketch, we saw some young men trying to play rock band.  It was quite funny actually; it seemed to be a new game to them and left them unsure of how to play it.  Finally when we reunited as a group we got lunch. Most of us decided to try Shelby’s favorite restaurant: Pizza Express.  I do have to say that American pizza is better than UK pizza!

After, we got back on the tube and headed to the National Theater of costume Hire.   This place opened about twenty years ago and was first located in Waterloo.  Although only ten people were allowed in at time, they where generous enough to let us all participate.  During the tour we discovered that they store costumes for past National Theater productions and also allow schools, parties, T.V. stations, magazines, and music videos to rent out their costumes.  Furthermore, their facility is set up in sections according to years and what type of costume they are.  They go from religious all the way to circus costumes. Some other costumes and props The Costume Hire has on hand are: African, roman/ titian, mid-evil, fairies, military, and police costumes, wings, claws, hats, crowns, handbags, and much more.   They have a separate building for military attire and props. This unit included costume from WWI all the way up to present day.  In addition, they rarely sell the costumes but are more than willing to allow you to rent them.

When returning a costume they choose not to dry clean it.  They actually have a machine of their own that removes the body odor, which I thought was neat.

After our tour ended we got to walk around and try on costumes. All of us girls decided to put on corsets to get a better understanding of what the women who wore these went through.  Shelby proceeded to tell us that corsets changed over time due to the time in history.

There were many styles over the years! Starting from the 16^th century and ending in the late 19^th century.  Today we still see corsets being worn; however, they don’t quite compare to those worn centuries ago.  Each corset was made up of many types of material used; such as, steel bones which is solid metal, and a required chemise, which would go under the corset.  After sharing many laughs and taking many photos, we got out of our corsets and left the Costume Hire with newly arranged ribs, as Kelly would put it.

Arriving back to the apartment we freshened up and headed to out to our 7:15 showing at The Young Vic Theatre. The show we attend was titled “I Am The Wind” by Jon Fosse. Something very unique about this show was that the cast was only two male actors and that the lines came across a screen.  Which I feel was very brave to do because it allowed the audience to see if they messed up.  The stage was another cool aspect to the show.  Not only were we level with the stage, but the director chose to use actual water to represent the ocean.  It was shocking to see that the floor later raised and then used as a boat for the two men.  The boat itself was done very nicely in the way that it moved as if it were really in the ocean.  After the show I asked a few people what they thought of it most people thought it was weird and stated that they didn’t understand it.  As for myself I really enjoyed this show and loved how it all took place in one setting.  With it only being a 70 minute show, I feel they accomplished everything they need to and it made for a great show overall.

To end our day we a few of us went to the Fire Station right down the street from the Young Vic.  We had dinner and decided to try mussels. I was actually not up for trying this new food; however, Shelby, Jessie, Cat, Megan, and Scooter enjoyed them.  As we began our walk back to our apartment I realized just how tired I was.   I could not wait to just lie in my bed!  As for the day, I feel that it was very enjoyable and successful!