I am not sure if its something in the water or what but I can’t seem to get to sleep before 1 am and I pop out of bed at 7:30 every morning. On second thought it is most likely the very present springs in my back form the mattress that catapult me up and out of sleep each day. I am perfecting my “grin and bear it” English mentality but I may have to find a Marks and Spencer’s and get a cheap mattress pad for the sake of my sanity.
Tuesday we met first thing at 8:45 am with Yolanda Vazquez. Yolanda is an actress and Globe practitioner. She is also warm and centered and her stage presence is equally as palpable standing at the bus stop, as it would be on stage in front of an audience of thousands. Yolanda worked with us on the physicality and characteristics of the four archetypes (based on the Jungian but adapted dramatically for drama- pun intended). They are: The Sovereign, The Warrior, The Care Giver, and the Joker. Each has their own physical posture. The Sovereign wears her hands like a crown on her head, The Warrior creates a sword and shield with her arms, The Care Giver creates two closed hands “white knuckled” and opens her arms to the person they care for or the thing etc (an addendum by Glynn is that love/caring is a reflex and an impulse not a planned event). The Joker is unstable, constantly moving (spin, run in space with head totally dropped throwing off equilibrium,- look, point and move) she deflects and deceivers. The cheeky character. I can see the immediate usefulness of this! Instead of having my students highlight by transition perhaps having the students highlight by archetype… It seems that the archetypes are easier for students to conceptualize tan some of the elemental work I have done in the past.
In the afternoon we broke up into small groups to observe Globe practitioners work with visiting school groups. I observed Tia with a group of 11 year old students from Northern England (love love love the accent). Tia began with a nonsense language voice warm up (rum tum tum, a taki taki tom, ooh bulla bulla ohh...). The kids enjoyed the warm up a lot, in fact more than I think American kids of the same age would have, or would have admitted. Tia drew the kids in by explaining that in fact actors were originally called players; that acting is really just “focused play.” It seemed that this allowed the kids to accept working on “Acting.” First she played the game Stop and Go- which I think all acting students have played a version on… At first you follow simply the commands, stop and go, and then added jump and finally switched up what the commands meant. Ex- stop meant go, go meant jump and jump meant stop. Then she began to include the characters/archetypes of the play that they had been studying- Macbeth. Yes Macbeth! 11 year olds! And to be honest when questioned on the plot line, it seemed they knew it better than some of the seniors I have encountered. (Sorry seniors;-) Using the warrior archetype Tia had the students repeat the line “my noble lord” and using the joker archetype Tia had the children repeat “all hail Macbeth.” (for the witches.) then again Tia switched what the instructions meant to keep the kids on their toes. The second game Tia played was to split the group into 2, the Macbeths and the witches/heaths. The students playing the area of the heath and the witches surrounded the students playing Macbeth (who had their eyes shut) and create the environment with sounds and lines such as owls shrieking, winds blowing, the witches saying ‘all hail Macbeth’ so on and so forth. This created a discussion about how the environment affected Macbeth and his actions in the play. The kids then played a game (yes/no) to learn about how to use and identify tactics. Finally they created Macbeth in 2 minutes. (see video.) What impressed me most about Tia’s workshop was that the students were knowledgeable and very willing. They were having fun!
In the late afternoon we got together to discuss our observations. It seemed that everyone had very similar experiences even thought they had different practitioners and different age groups. The Globe does a marvelous thing with students. After dinner we had some free time which was nice because Alison and I (another teacher on the course with me) ran up to Covent Garden to see Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” It is an absolutely fabulous play but I had never seen it performed before. Samantha Bond was in the lead- she is a tremendous actor. I saw her in “The Memory of Water” 10 years ago and she has done quite a lot since. The play takes place both in the early 19th century in the estate of Lord so and so, and in the 20th century in the same estate. The modern day characters are researching the historical relevance of the visitors to the estate while the characters of the 19th century are living those events. It’s hard to summarize but it is very exciting (even though my explanation may not be). Tom Stoppard, who is known for his sophisticated wit and well researched plot lines really did some of his best work on this play. Alison and I both thoroughly enjoyed it, though I should mention that the upper balcony of the theatre, where we were sitting, was about 200 degrees. During intermission we ordered cups of ice to help us cool down during the second act;-)
On Wednesday we were spilt onto groups and sent on a rally around London to see 9 different monuments/representations of William Shakespeare. It was a bit of a softball event but a great opportunity for first time visitors to see London. However even I saw things I had never noticed before even though I lived in London! First we walked over to the spot where the original Globe Theatre once stood. Sam Wannamaker, an American actor, director, and film maker came to London in the 1970s and when he went to look for the monument to the Globe Theatre, he was distraught to find that there was nothing but a plaque on the wall of a forgotten building. Sam Wannamaker is the man responsible for the Globe. He spent the last 20 years of his life raising money and support for such a theatre. The tragedy is that he died in 1993. He never say the Globe which opened in 1997. He did see one support beam going in so at least he died knowing that his mission was going to be completed. Anyway the first stop on our tour was the plaque on wall. We then walked down to Southwark Cathedral the last building standing on bankside that would been around during Shakespeare’s life. Shakespeare’s brother is buried there and there is a phenomenal monument to Shakespeare there. It is an alabaster life size sculpture of Shakespeare lying down writing. Where there was once a quill which broke, some clever person has placed a sprig of Rosemary (for remembrance ;-). All around the monument is a huge stained glass window which depicts several Shakespearian characteristics. Prospero in the center with Caliban and Ariel, the seven ages of man along the bottom, Hamlet and his skull, etc. We had such a great time identifying the characters. Throughout the rest of the day we traveled all over London seeing several different types of depictions of Shakespeare. (See pictures.) One particularly moving experience was our visit to the British Library where we saw one of the few first folio’s in existence. (about 30 years after the death of Shakespeare 2 actors put together all of Shakespeare’s plays, with the exception of a few somewhat controversial ones due to authorship, and published it together. There are, I think, something like 35 left in the world.) We also saw the Magna Carta. It almost takes your breath away to be in the presence of a document so old and important It was issued in 1215. The Magna Carta is considered one of the most important historical documents in relation to democracy and freedom. It limited the power of the monarchy and gave certain powers to free men. Many of the judicial laws that we enjoy today (ie the right to a speedy trial etc) were first guaranteed in this document. In addition I was excited to see one of the original printings of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (one of my favorite of the King Arthur stories) and a whole wall of Beatles artifacts. There were several original documents such as the lyrics to Help, and She’s Got a Ticket to Ride. Soooo cool. On our way out of the British Library we took a quick side trip to Kings Cross railway station to platform 9¾. Yup I was halfway to Hogwarts but had to return to my studies at the Globe.
After returning and soaking my poor feet we had dinner and discussed the meaning of Shakespeare, referencing the many unique monuments to him. By the end I was exhausted and headed to bed. So far this trip has been a whirlwind of information and activity.
Well I promise to get caught up and write more about my studies this week! I hope everyone is well at home.
Tuesday we met first thing at 8:45 am with Yolanda Vazquez. Yolanda is an actress and Globe practitioner. She is also warm and centered and her stage presence is equally as palpable standing at the bus stop, as it would be on stage in front of an audience of thousands. Yolanda worked with us on the physicality and characteristics of the four archetypes (based on the Jungian but adapted dramatically for drama- pun intended). They are: The Sovereign, The Warrior, The Care Giver, and the Joker. Each has their own physical posture. The Sovereign wears her hands like a crown on her head, The Warrior creates a sword and shield with her arms, The Care Giver creates two closed hands “white knuckled” and opens her arms to the person they care for or the thing etc (an addendum by Glynn is that love/caring is a reflex and an impulse not a planned event). The Joker is unstable, constantly moving (spin, run in space with head totally dropped throwing off equilibrium,- look, point and move) she deflects and deceivers. The cheeky character. I can see the immediate usefulness of this! Instead of having my students highlight by transition perhaps having the students highlight by archetype… It seems that the archetypes are easier for students to conceptualize tan some of the elemental work I have done in the past.
In the afternoon we broke up into small groups to observe Globe practitioners work with visiting school groups. I observed Tia with a group of 11 year old students from Northern England (love love love the accent). Tia began with a nonsense language voice warm up (rum tum tum, a taki taki tom, ooh bulla bulla ohh...). The kids enjoyed the warm up a lot, in fact more than I think American kids of the same age would have, or would have admitted. Tia drew the kids in by explaining that in fact actors were originally called players; that acting is really just “focused play.” It seemed that this allowed the kids to accept working on “Acting.” First she played the game Stop and Go- which I think all acting students have played a version on… At first you follow simply the commands, stop and go, and then added jump and finally switched up what the commands meant. Ex- stop meant go, go meant jump and jump meant stop. Then she began to include the characters/archetypes of the play that they had been studying- Macbeth. Yes Macbeth! 11 year olds! And to be honest when questioned on the plot line, it seemed they knew it better than some of the seniors I have encountered. (Sorry seniors;-) Using the warrior archetype Tia had the students repeat the line “my noble lord” and using the joker archetype Tia had the children repeat “all hail Macbeth.” (for the witches.) then again Tia switched what the instructions meant to keep the kids on their toes. The second game Tia played was to split the group into 2, the Macbeths and the witches/heaths. The students playing the area of the heath and the witches surrounded the students playing Macbeth (who had their eyes shut) and create the environment with sounds and lines such as owls shrieking, winds blowing, the witches saying ‘all hail Macbeth’ so on and so forth. This created a discussion about how the environment affected Macbeth and his actions in the play. The kids then played a game (yes/no) to learn about how to use and identify tactics. Finally they created Macbeth in 2 minutes. (see video.) What impressed me most about Tia’s workshop was that the students were knowledgeable and very willing. They were having fun!
In the late afternoon we got together to discuss our observations. It seemed that everyone had very similar experiences even thought they had different practitioners and different age groups. The Globe does a marvelous thing with students. After dinner we had some free time which was nice because Alison and I (another teacher on the course with me) ran up to Covent Garden to see Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” It is an absolutely fabulous play but I had never seen it performed before. Samantha Bond was in the lead- she is a tremendous actor. I saw her in “The Memory of Water” 10 years ago and she has done quite a lot since. The play takes place both in the early 19th century in the estate of Lord so and so, and in the 20th century in the same estate. The modern day characters are researching the historical relevance of the visitors to the estate while the characters of the 19th century are living those events. It’s hard to summarize but it is very exciting (even though my explanation may not be). Tom Stoppard, who is known for his sophisticated wit and well researched plot lines really did some of his best work on this play. Alison and I both thoroughly enjoyed it, though I should mention that the upper balcony of the theatre, where we were sitting, was about 200 degrees. During intermission we ordered cups of ice to help us cool down during the second act;-)
On Wednesday we were spilt onto groups and sent on a rally around London to see 9 different monuments/representations of William Shakespeare. It was a bit of a softball event but a great opportunity for first time visitors to see London. However even I saw things I had never noticed before even though I lived in London! First we walked over to the spot where the original Globe Theatre once stood. Sam Wannamaker, an American actor, director, and film maker came to London in the 1970s and when he went to look for the monument to the Globe Theatre, he was distraught to find that there was nothing but a plaque on the wall of a forgotten building. Sam Wannamaker is the man responsible for the Globe. He spent the last 20 years of his life raising money and support for such a theatre. The tragedy is that he died in 1993. He never say the Globe which opened in 1997. He did see one support beam going in so at least he died knowing that his mission was going to be completed. Anyway the first stop on our tour was the plaque on wall. We then walked down to Southwark Cathedral the last building standing on bankside that would been around during Shakespeare’s life. Shakespeare’s brother is buried there and there is a phenomenal monument to Shakespeare there. It is an alabaster life size sculpture of Shakespeare lying down writing. Where there was once a quill which broke, some clever person has placed a sprig of Rosemary (for remembrance ;-). All around the monument is a huge stained glass window which depicts several Shakespearian characteristics. Prospero in the center with Caliban and Ariel, the seven ages of man along the bottom, Hamlet and his skull, etc. We had such a great time identifying the characters. Throughout the rest of the day we traveled all over London seeing several different types of depictions of Shakespeare. (See pictures.) One particularly moving experience was our visit to the British Library where we saw one of the few first folio’s in existence. (about 30 years after the death of Shakespeare 2 actors put together all of Shakespeare’s plays, with the exception of a few somewhat controversial ones due to authorship, and published it together. There are, I think, something like 35 left in the world.) We also saw the Magna Carta. It almost takes your breath away to be in the presence of a document so old and important It was issued in 1215. The Magna Carta is considered one of the most important historical documents in relation to democracy and freedom. It limited the power of the monarchy and gave certain powers to free men. Many of the judicial laws that we enjoy today (ie the right to a speedy trial etc) were first guaranteed in this document. In addition I was excited to see one of the original printings of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (one of my favorite of the King Arthur stories) and a whole wall of Beatles artifacts. There were several original documents such as the lyrics to Help, and She’s Got a Ticket to Ride. Soooo cool. On our way out of the British Library we took a quick side trip to Kings Cross railway station to platform 9¾. Yup I was halfway to Hogwarts but had to return to my studies at the Globe.
After returning and soaking my poor feet we had dinner and discussed the meaning of Shakespeare, referencing the many unique monuments to him. By the end I was exhausted and headed to bed. So far this trip has been a whirlwind of information and activity.
Well I promise to get caught up and write more about my studies this week! I hope everyone is well at home.
give me a light there, ho
ReplyDelete