I'm really excited to be going to Cardiff this weekend. Pirates of Penzance is playing down there this weekend and I can't wait to see it. It's my favorite musical ever. I'm also going to try to see a radio play recording. that should be interesting.
Also next weekend, i'm going to Stratford with my class and we're seeing The Tempest with Patrick Stewart as Prospero. How exciting. Patrick Stewart!!!!! and Tempest, which i am required to love.
I was talking to me Shakeapeare prof and she said she met her husband doing The Tempest. they played miranda and ferdinand. sound familiar? they got a lot of chess set for their anniversay.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
I just want to clear up my last comment. One of my flat-mates is a math major and she's great. She's not the type of math major who i was talking about. I'm talking about the ones who can't really do math either.
Anyway. I'm going to Cardiff this weekend. I'm super excited. Cardiff is in Wales, so its like a pretend different country from England - but don't tell the Welsh it's pretend. They do have their own culture and language, so its only pretend in a political sense. Anyway, WELSH people!!!!! Dad says i need to learn how to say "sheep" in welsh. I say i need to eat sheep in welsh. hahahahahhaaa
soooo.
I have a children's play being done at YES factory. its a "dramatization" of The Jungle Book. I wrote it. Its very not disney! yippee. it you're in LA go see it. It opens late October.
Anyway. I'm going to Cardiff this weekend. I'm super excited. Cardiff is in Wales, so its like a pretend different country from England - but don't tell the Welsh it's pretend. They do have their own culture and language, so its only pretend in a political sense. Anyway, WELSH people!!!!! Dad says i need to learn how to say "sheep" in welsh. I say i need to eat sheep in welsh. hahahahahhaaa
soooo.
I have a children's play being done at YES factory. its a "dramatization" of The Jungle Book. I wrote it. Its very not disney! yippee. it you're in LA go see it. It opens late October.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
I hate Math majors who think playwrights don't actually do work. Playwrighting is so much harder. Math majors are taugh how to do the problems then they do them. You can't teach a playwright how to make a 3D character. You can give a playwright a list of uber-hard question they have to answer about their character, like "What is the character's concept of self?". Math problems don't have concepts of self, now do they? GR!!!!!!!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
HOT
It is so hot in London. I don't understand. It's nearing the end of September, shouldn't it be getting cold? I heard London is getting the tail end of a hurricane now, which I thought would mean rain, but no. It's hot!!!!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Dover Pictures
These are the white cliff, from the harbor. The town is off left of the photo.
This is part of the fortified castle wall, looking through a tree, from the bridge over the dry moat.
THis is the Keep of the Castle and a modern apartment building in the foreground.
THis is a view from the castle of the harbor.
This is me admiring in the view and hoping that i get myself and the view in the shot.
These are the trenchs on the other hill. The castle looks shadowy in the background.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Dover
I went to Dover over the weekend. Yes, the cliffs are very white. In fact they are chalk white - because they are made of chalk. There's a castle in one hill on one side of the town and a military entrenchment in the hill on the other side. And there are tunnels absolutely every where.
I do this the Chunnel hurt the tourist industry in Dover, because they stopped getting over night guests stopping before the took the ferry to France, or after the ferry from France. Either way the town isn't all too exciting.
The DOver Musuem does have a boat from the bronze age, which is pretty awesome. There is also the remains of a Roman Villa, from when the Romans rules Britain. The Villa is has giant sections of the original painted plaster walls. Its supposed to be the only one this side of the Alps.
The Castle was pretty cool, because it was sooooo old. The oldest complete standin structure was from 1120 ACE. The bottom half of a light house was also from the Romans, but the top fell down and was rebuilt later be other people.
I'd put up my pictures now, but the internet doesnt have a good connection. Sorry folks.
I do this the Chunnel hurt the tourist industry in Dover, because they stopped getting over night guests stopping before the took the ferry to France, or after the ferry from France. Either way the town isn't all too exciting.
The DOver Musuem does have a boat from the bronze age, which is pretty awesome. There is also the remains of a Roman Villa, from when the Romans rules Britain. The Villa is has giant sections of the original painted plaster walls. Its supposed to be the only one this side of the Alps.
The Castle was pretty cool, because it was sooooo old. The oldest complete standin structure was from 1120 ACE. The bottom half of a light house was also from the Romans, but the top fell down and was rebuilt later be other people.
I'd put up my pictures now, but the internet doesnt have a good connection. Sorry folks.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Alright so now i need to talk about what i've been doing. Let's see i told you about the Globe. It was fun standing through an entire performance, I also enjoyed seeing a play in the space. As for the play itself - Comedy of Errors - i don't think its my favorite. They did it very slap sticky and squeezed every last joke out of it (even a few that weren't there, like adding sugar to cranberry juice). Its supposed to be one of Shakespeare's very early plays, and that seems rather apparent as his style has developped into the depth he achieves later, although his puns and word play are right on mark and as clear as ever.
Last wednesday i saw "The Life of Galileo" by Berolt Bercht (or however you spell it) and translated/adapteb by David Hare - an english playwright. It was really really good. Very un-brechtian, except for the caberet number, which i didn't understand. But the rest of it really made me think about change, and how a single fact ( being that the earth revolves around the sun and not the sun about the earth) can change entire systems or belief. The Catholic church of the day was absolutely scandelized. They said it could make god not exist. I didn't understand how 1 fact, could change so much. I'm trying to think of things that i hold as a firm belief that affects my daily existance - i can't - and what if someone came along and said "no, that's wrong. It goes the other way". How would that resinate through the rest of my life? I also wanted to know how the earth not being the center of the universe changed the status of god. A good job was done to explain the complete system of belief of the church at the time and how they believed that the bible said the sun goes around the earth, but still why would god not exist it that changed? The church asks if god got it wrong when he wrote the bible (leaving other fallacy aside), Galileo even suggests that man might have interpreted the bible wrong. Wouldn't the church find it easier to jump to that conclusion that accuse god of being wrong. Ultimately they don't accept that the earth revolves around that sun. But i found the portrayl of human belief against overwhelming odds absolutely fasinating. If i try to think about it from the otherside - that being that i believe that sun revolves around the earth. Galileo's belief in his own truth causes the same thing. everyone was against him and he still held his belief even after he renounced himself - or so the play believes.
well thats alot to think about. So i'll stop and go do homework now.
Last wednesday i saw "The Life of Galileo" by Berolt Bercht (or however you spell it) and translated/adapteb by David Hare - an english playwright. It was really really good. Very un-brechtian, except for the caberet number, which i didn't understand. But the rest of it really made me think about change, and how a single fact ( being that the earth revolves around the sun and not the sun about the earth) can change entire systems or belief. The Catholic church of the day was absolutely scandelized. They said it could make god not exist. I didn't understand how 1 fact, could change so much. I'm trying to think of things that i hold as a firm belief that affects my daily existance - i can't - and what if someone came along and said "no, that's wrong. It goes the other way". How would that resinate through the rest of my life? I also wanted to know how the earth not being the center of the universe changed the status of god. A good job was done to explain the complete system of belief of the church at the time and how they believed that the bible said the sun goes around the earth, but still why would god not exist it that changed? The church asks if god got it wrong when he wrote the bible (leaving other fallacy aside), Galileo even suggests that man might have interpreted the bible wrong. Wouldn't the church find it easier to jump to that conclusion that accuse god of being wrong. Ultimately they don't accept that the earth revolves around that sun. But i found the portrayl of human belief against overwhelming odds absolutely fasinating. If i try to think about it from the otherside - that being that i believe that sun revolves around the earth. Galileo's belief in his own truth causes the same thing. everyone was against him and he still held his belief even after he renounced himself - or so the play believes.
well thats alot to think about. So i'll stop and go do homework now.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Shakespeare
I went to the Globe with my class today. The tour of the reconstruction also included a walk top the places were The Hope, The Swan and The Rose theatres once stood and the location of the original Globe. Its really cool understanding how much history each part of England has and how many times different plots of land have gone through changes of buildings and the general atmosphere of the area. Far a long time south of the river Thames so a bad neighborhood. Its not anymore.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Classes started Monday. We were all picked up in front of the cluster of dorms at 10:15 and escorted off to the library. Its kind of cute how they do that to make sure we don’t get lost and we get there on time. At the library they gave us an introduction on how their shelving system works, because they use a system that is completely unique to them, which is rather interesting and I can assume confusing. They do however have a section of books that NYU donated to them for the NYU students in London. We aren’t allowed to take them, out but these are American textbooks that we couldn’t otherwise get in the UK. Then we were given a little tour of the library. It really is a very extensive library and I want to join just so I can go see all the ancient first hand texts that they have in the library. I also feel that architecturally the library is prefect. There are huge wooden book cases with glass doors and mezzanine levels in rooms, with little stairs leading up to them. This is how libraries are supposed to look ancient a studious. If I can I want to try writing my play in there. They have these huge wooden tables that fill all the reading rooms. And the building has that old-paper-must-quite-musty smell about it. I can imagine Tolkien sitting in one of the study rooms, in a pair of cotton gloves reading over an original text in an ancient language no one else speaks. (I think I want to try to take Gaelic or Welsh or Scottish while I’m here. That would be awesome).
After we left the library we were taken down to ICA for “Housekeeping”. Every Monday at 1, all the Tisch students meet and touch base with Mary Jane Walsh (the program director) to make sure we’re all healthy, our classes are doing well, we don’t have complaints about housing and so on. They’ll also make announcements and hand out theatre tickets as necessary. It’s like homeroom in high school. We’re even going to have reps from each department, but unlike high school, here they’ll get paid. I hope top get one of the paid positions with ICA, although its only £20 a week anything will help. I’d prefer to get a little job in a pub but the reality of that doesn’t look so good. Oh well.
So then I had my Theatre in London class with Mr. Roy Kendall. He is a sweet Englishman. His hair would have you believe that he has a bald spot on the crown of his head like a Franciscan monk, but he doesn’t. He’s been around a lot and appeared to know what he’s doing. It will be a really good discussion class and will force me to talk in class.
Then I had Shakespeare back at ICA, taught by Kate Beales, who told us is kind of an accident that she started teaching Shakespeare. But this isn’t her first time and she definitely knows what she’s talking about. She went around the circle and asked us what our experience with Shakespeare was and what we expected from the class. I was the second one to speak and I feel like I turned bright red, because my face got really hot and I didn’t sound very smart. But I’ll change that as the class progress. We were asked to pick a play we want to do a little presentation on and I branched out and picked Pericles – one I don’t know anything about, but I’ve now read the first 3 scenes and am very proud of myself for getting a jump on the assignment.
On Friday, all of Tisch is going to the Globe for a tour of that and the foundation of the Rose theatre and then back to the Globe for a performance of “Comedy of Errors”, as a groundling. The lucky thing being that its Shakespeare’s shortest play, so if I can’t take the standing it will be over quickly. Also I’ve never seen “Comedy of Errors” which will be good.
I don’t have any classes on Tuesday and am eagerly awaiting the start of my playwriting class, which I have again with Mr. Kendall. There are only 6 students in the class and only 3 of them are from NYU Tisch. One goes to Wellesley and another goes to a community college on the West Coast and I haven’t meet the other one yet, or don’t remember. Theresa (from NYU dramatic writing) and I were talking about the other kids in playwriting and wondered if they would live up to the standards we are expected, but mostly if they would give us the criticism we need. I guess I’ll see on Wednesday.
After we left the library we were taken down to ICA for “Housekeeping”. Every Monday at 1, all the Tisch students meet and touch base with Mary Jane Walsh (the program director) to make sure we’re all healthy, our classes are doing well, we don’t have complaints about housing and so on. They’ll also make announcements and hand out theatre tickets as necessary. It’s like homeroom in high school. We’re even going to have reps from each department, but unlike high school, here they’ll get paid. I hope top get one of the paid positions with ICA, although its only £20 a week anything will help. I’d prefer to get a little job in a pub but the reality of that doesn’t look so good. Oh well.
So then I had my Theatre in London class with Mr. Roy Kendall. He is a sweet Englishman. His hair would have you believe that he has a bald spot on the crown of his head like a Franciscan monk, but he doesn’t. He’s been around a lot and appeared to know what he’s doing. It will be a really good discussion class and will force me to talk in class.
Then I had Shakespeare back at ICA, taught by Kate Beales, who told us is kind of an accident that she started teaching Shakespeare. But this isn’t her first time and she definitely knows what she’s talking about. She went around the circle and asked us what our experience with Shakespeare was and what we expected from the class. I was the second one to speak and I feel like I turned bright red, because my face got really hot and I didn’t sound very smart. But I’ll change that as the class progress. We were asked to pick a play we want to do a little presentation on and I branched out and picked Pericles – one I don’t know anything about, but I’ve now read the first 3 scenes and am very proud of myself for getting a jump on the assignment.
On Friday, all of Tisch is going to the Globe for a tour of that and the foundation of the Rose theatre and then back to the Globe for a performance of “Comedy of Errors”, as a groundling. The lucky thing being that its Shakespeare’s shortest play, so if I can’t take the standing it will be over quickly. Also I’ve never seen “Comedy of Errors” which will be good.
I don’t have any classes on Tuesday and am eagerly awaiting the start of my playwriting class, which I have again with Mr. Kendall. There are only 6 students in the class and only 3 of them are from NYU Tisch. One goes to Wellesley and another goes to a community college on the West Coast and I haven’t meet the other one yet, or don’t remember. Theresa (from NYU dramatic writing) and I were talking about the other kids in playwriting and wondered if they would live up to the standards we are expected, but mostly if they would give us the criticism we need. I guess I’ll see on Wednesday.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
The First Few Days
I’ve been without internet all weekend and its kind of bothersome. So I’m finally posting something.
On Thursday and Friday I had orientation. Thursday orientation was with everyone who is studying with NYU –London. There are a lot of people and the weird thing is that there are freshmen here. They weren’t accepted to the Washington Sq campus until spring semester but they had the option of coming abroad. I find it puzzling.
On Friday I had my tisch orientation, which was much more exciting then the first one, although I do find being lectured at a little more pleasant here, because of everyone’s accent. At the tisch orientation I was given my schedule of classes, for the first half of the semester. I have a feeling my classes won’t change too much for the 2nd half, but the know the BBC people and the RADA people have massive changes. My schedule looks really good. I have most Fridays off, unless I have private meeting with my writing professor – Roy Kendall. I have yet to meet him. The fun thing about these little meeting is that the English call them “surgeries”. Over here the word has many more meanings then just cutting people open to fix them. Also during this orientation I was informed that I’ll be given a printer to borrow for the semester – yippee!!!! And paper and cartridges – double yippee!!!! I started doing a little dance in my seat, but stop when I realized I was in a full room and no one else appeared as elated as I was. I do admit I kept dancing on the inside. I’ll probably do a little dance again when they actually give it to me. They also gave us all our own “mini A to Zed’s” which has already been emensely helpful.
Afterwards, they – by “they” I mean Mary Jane Walsh and Sally (didn’t get her last name) – took us out to lunch at a Chinese dim sum restaurant. I normally don’t like Chinese and this place wasn’t entirely an exception. They did a pretty good job, but I did eat a fried thing that was slimy inside, but I didn’t want to find out what it was so I just swallowed quickly and tired to forget about it. The dishes they gave us however, where good choices, so I can’t complain about that. I did eat and I wasn’t hungry after – maybe a little grosses about by the slimy thing, but otherwise good.
Then in haphazard groups we all walked to ULU.
ULU is the University of London Student Union – I’m not sure if they actually use the word student in the title.
The normal NYU in London program was having an activities faire and selling books for classes.
I went to King’s Cross Station today, for tourist adventures. King’s Cross is where the portal to Harry Potter’s platform 9 ¾ is. I wanted a picture of the wall. So I enterde King's cross Station and walked across to platform nine. The Station had set up a little sign that says, "Platform 9 3/4" and put a luggage trolley half sticking out of the wall. It was cute. I got a picture of a german guy with shaggy brown hair pretending to puch the trolley through the wall. He kind of looks like Harry. so its cute.
I turned to leave and was walking back across platforms 7-1 to the exit and I noticed there were all these movie lights set up and one of the platforms was blocked off. So i looked around and all the security were wearing tags that said "HP5" and a bunch of other stuff. THEY WERE ACTUALLY FILMING HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!!!! I just about fainted.
The Hogwartz Express was in the station.
The signs for platform 9 ¾ were up on the walls.
The platform was covered in big wooden trunks.
It was like a dream. Then I saw all the actors, Ron, Hermione, the Twins, Ginny and lastly Harry. I just about screamed. I also saw a bunch of stand-ins and I think the real Mrs. Weasley. I think I saw a few other actors who are new to #5 as they are members of the Order of the Phoenix. There was a girl with purple hair, so I think that was Tonks and then another older man, but I’m not sure who he was, part of me hopes he was Gary Oldman, but I don’t think Sirius is in that scene as a human. I think I also saw Chris Columbus, who directed the first 2 and is producing the rest of them. I really wanted to see JK Rowling, but she needs to be at home finishing the 7th book. So that has been the excitement of my life in London so far.
Pictures of the actors:
This is one of the older Wealsey brothers, but not Percy and not Bill. Its the other one.
This is an incrediable bad picture of Daniel Radcliff. He's outlined in yellow. I have a better one, but its part of a video, so play along with me.
This is Ron. I know its really bad, but I outlined him for you. The small blob is his hand and the big blob is his head.
Okay, so i don't have internet at my flat yet, so my posts are rather haphazard, due to the fact that i'm just writing stuff in word and when i have finally gotten to a computer, transfered the file online. I have a whole bunch more pictures of my flat and my classes and everything, but i forgot them because of the Harry Potter pictures.
On Thursday and Friday I had orientation. Thursday orientation was with everyone who is studying with NYU –London. There are a lot of people and the weird thing is that there are freshmen here. They weren’t accepted to the Washington Sq campus until spring semester but they had the option of coming abroad. I find it puzzling.
On Friday I had my tisch orientation, which was much more exciting then the first one, although I do find being lectured at a little more pleasant here, because of everyone’s accent. At the tisch orientation I was given my schedule of classes, for the first half of the semester. I have a feeling my classes won’t change too much for the 2nd half, but the know the BBC people and the RADA people have massive changes. My schedule looks really good. I have most Fridays off, unless I have private meeting with my writing professor – Roy Kendall. I have yet to meet him. The fun thing about these little meeting is that the English call them “surgeries”. Over here the word has many more meanings then just cutting people open to fix them. Also during this orientation I was informed that I’ll be given a printer to borrow for the semester – yippee!!!! And paper and cartridges – double yippee!!!! I started doing a little dance in my seat, but stop when I realized I was in a full room and no one else appeared as elated as I was. I do admit I kept dancing on the inside. I’ll probably do a little dance again when they actually give it to me. They also gave us all our own “mini A to Zed’s” which has already been emensely helpful.
Afterwards, they – by “they” I mean Mary Jane Walsh and Sally (didn’t get her last name) – took us out to lunch at a Chinese dim sum restaurant. I normally don’t like Chinese and this place wasn’t entirely an exception. They did a pretty good job, but I did eat a fried thing that was slimy inside, but I didn’t want to find out what it was so I just swallowed quickly and tired to forget about it. The dishes they gave us however, where good choices, so I can’t complain about that. I did eat and I wasn’t hungry after – maybe a little grosses about by the slimy thing, but otherwise good.
Then in haphazard groups we all walked to ULU.
ULU is the University of London Student Union – I’m not sure if they actually use the word student in the title.
The normal NYU in London program was having an activities faire and selling books for classes.
I went to King’s Cross Station today, for tourist adventures. King’s Cross is where the portal to Harry Potter’s platform 9 ¾ is. I wanted a picture of the wall. So I enterde King's cross Station and walked across to platform nine. The Station had set up a little sign that says, "Platform 9 3/4" and put a luggage trolley half sticking out of the wall. It was cute. I got a picture of a german guy with shaggy brown hair pretending to puch the trolley through the wall. He kind of looks like Harry. so its cute.
I turned to leave and was walking back across platforms 7-1 to the exit and I noticed there were all these movie lights set up and one of the platforms was blocked off. So i looked around and all the security were wearing tags that said "HP5" and a bunch of other stuff. THEY WERE ACTUALLY FILMING HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!!!! I just about fainted.
The Hogwartz Express was in the station.
The signs for platform 9 ¾ were up on the walls.
The platform was covered in big wooden trunks.
It was like a dream. Then I saw all the actors, Ron, Hermione, the Twins, Ginny and lastly Harry. I just about screamed. I also saw a bunch of stand-ins and I think the real Mrs. Weasley. I think I saw a few other actors who are new to #5 as they are members of the Order of the Phoenix. There was a girl with purple hair, so I think that was Tonks and then another older man, but I’m not sure who he was, part of me hopes he was Gary Oldman, but I don’t think Sirius is in that scene as a human. I think I also saw Chris Columbus, who directed the first 2 and is producing the rest of them. I really wanted to see JK Rowling, but she needs to be at home finishing the 7th book. So that has been the excitement of my life in London so far.
Pictures of the actors:
This is one of the older Wealsey brothers, but not Percy and not Bill. Its the other one.
This is an incrediable bad picture of Daniel Radcliff. He's outlined in yellow. I have a better one, but its part of a video, so play along with me.
This is Ron. I know its really bad, but I outlined him for you. The small blob is his hand and the big blob is his head.
Okay, so i don't have internet at my flat yet, so my posts are rather haphazard, due to the fact that i'm just writing stuff in word and when i have finally gotten to a computer, transfered the file online. I have a whole bunch more pictures of my flat and my classes and everything, but i forgot them because of the Harry Potter pictures.
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