1/18/10

So yesterday was my twentieth birthday. What a better way to celebrate it than in the theatre capital of the world? It was a quiet day, we had tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. Tea is quite the affair in London. A proper English tea consists of sandwiches – ours included salmon, ham, and cucumber, all with butter on them – scones with jam and clotted cream – a very soft and extremely rich butter – and, of course, tea – we drank a fine English breakfast tea. We then strolled around Kensington Gardens, a rolling expanse of verdant fields, London’s equivalent to Central Park. It was a warm afternoon, and the park was filled with people reveling in the sunshine. It was great to end the London trip on my twentieth birthday. I had the time of my life over the past few weeks, had more than one realization about my own life, and I definitely plan on coming back soon. Til then, cheers, London!

1/16/10

Today, we had a class with Sharonna Sassoon, the actress who played the Royal Skivvy in the panto “Aladdin.” She is the SUNY New Paltz alum I mentioned in my previous post. Her encouraging words motivated me to become a pantomime actor in the future. She spoke about how fun and educational the style of theatre is, and her words made me fall in love with it. I have always loved comedy, theatre, and frivolity, and the way it comes together perfectly in pantomime seems to be the avenue to go down. I am having another moment of epiphany, my second of this trip, ad I want everyone to see this. I am determined to somehow introduce this marvelous style of theatre to the American culture, especially in New Paltz. Look out, New Paltz, here comes Panto!

1/14/10

I saw my first English pantomime show today. For those of you who, like me, had no idea what that is, it is a form of English theatre that caters towards younger audiences. It encourages audience response, and breaks every convention of theatre as we know it. The story is that of Aladdin, the poor street urchin that finds a lamp containing a wish-granting genie. The show was nothing short of hilarious. It contained a lot of child-age humor, but had serious adult overtones. To top it all off, a SUNY New Paltz graduate was in the show. Here, in the outer fringe of London theatre, is an actress holding a B.A. in Theatre Arts from SUNY New Paltz. What a small world!

1/13/10

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. We started off with class, discussing the ballet “Swan Lake.” Alex, Tony, Molly, Shari and I then proceeded to the National Gallery, to view some of the priceless collections for Andrea’s assignment. She asked us to find a piece of artwork that greatly impacts us and bring in a memento (postcard, poster, picture, etc) of the artwork to discuss in class. I found myself immediately running to the Van Gogh wing, knowing that I would be impressed by his work. Seeing his “Wheat Field with Cypresses” and “Sunflowers” was impressive, but I was not impacted by them nearly as much as I thought I would be. After the Van Gogh wing, I traipsed through to see the Seurat section of the gallery. I was immediately taken aback by his painting “Bathers at Asnieres”. What a breathtaking image. It depicted the poor class in France bathing along the Seine, looking out to the island of La Grande Jatte, where the rich would spend their weekends. Seurat’s use of pointillism creates an enormously lush atmosphere. Instead of looking at the painting, it’s almost as if you’re looking into the painting. You see beyond the borders of the image and into the world of the individuals. Seurat paints not only sight, but touch, smell, and sound. While I sat there, admiring the work, an art historian began leading a discussion about the painting, drawing people around him. He mentioned a quote that perfectly explains not only art, but also theatre: “The purpose of art is not to imitate nature, but to express it.” It’s not about what we see, but what our brains have the ability to perceive.

1/12/10

Hampton Court Palace was the summer home of King Henry VIII. Everything about the architecture and decor was incredible, down to the tapestries in the Great Hall.
Overall, the most impressive aspect of the palace was its historical re-enactors. There were five actors, playing Kateryn Parr, Kateryn’s sister, Sir Thomas Seymour, Clark Brooks, and the magisterial King Henry VIII. Their ability to improvise all of their knowledge of the 16th century into an interesting theatrical performance was flawless. One day, I hope to have an opportunity to perform in that aspect of theatre. History and performance are two of my favorite things, and the opportunity to synthesize them into a cohesive union is one I would jump at.

1/9/10

Last night we saw 1984 at the Battersea Arts Center. The play was directly based on the Orwell novel about dystopian life in a totalitarian society. However, it is performed as if it is the members of the “Party” retelling the horrible story of Winston Smith. The play was performed very minimalistically, with the set consisting of six movable black wall sections and a few tables and chairs. Minimalistic theatre is, in my opinion, the best. It provokes the imagination and the brain to think and create, rather than relying on spectacle to illustrate every aspect of the play. Theatre that is most memorable is that which provokes the mind to think. In my mind, theatre is not just to entertain, but to provoke thought.