Day 4 - Short and Sweet

Today's schedule was a bit interesting. Class today consisted of a Q/A session with Paul Ready, the star of "The Time and the Conways" about the show. Let me just emphasize again how cool of a guy he is. We had an illuminating discussion about his experiences in the show, including his opinions about the "added" content at the end of each act (there were 3 acts). The director, Rupert Goold, is known for adding content to the shows that he directs. I personally thought everything he added was a technical spectacle, and each addition contributed to the meaning of the play.

After our discussion with Paul, we were then assigned a block of time with him to work on our Shakespeare scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream". My group didn't start until 3, so I took a 2 hour nap until then.

For those of you familiar with "A Midsummer Night's Dream", I am reading the part of Lysander in the scene where both Lysander and Demetrius confess their love to HELENA, which is quite funny because they have been in love with HERMIA the entire show. I am going to YET AGAIN emphasize how amazing Paul is. The night before, when our group read through the scene without his coaching, it was... interesting. We sounded like a stereotypical group of bad actors reading through a scene that we didn't really understand. Paul not only made the Shakespeare readable and comprehendible, but he made it REALLY fun. We had an absolute blast with him, even though we only had an hour to work. Under his tutelage, our scene got 100 times better. It is a funny thing... because he doesn't force his teaching at all. He gave us some subtle hints about the language and meaning behind what each character is trying to express, and then we all managed to convey those thoughts like... well, DECENT actors. You rock, Paul. I really like ol' Bill Shakespeare right now.

Here is a shot of my scene group with Paul. He must not have been ready for the photo, because he is usually quite cheery:

After that, we went and saw the show "War Horse" tonight. WOW WOW WOW. I'd love to express my thought about the show, but I'm going to let this trailer do the work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-bni4QqSv4

The music in the trailer is actually from the show -- although it is not a musical per say, there was a lot of music that underscored many of the scenes.

Overall, it was a miracle of artistic work on stage, coupled with very good music and a touching storyline. It was also the first show that I have seen in London that got a standing ovation, which is no easy feat. If anyone reading this is in the UK or coming soon, go see this show before it closes.

That's all for now, and I'm very glad to be caught up with my blogging.

Until tomorrow,
Cheers from London!