The Day I Stood on The Globe Stage

This morning we all meet at school at 8:45a to get on the bus that will take us to London. No one is especially excited to be at school on a Sunday, but we know it will be worth it. The trip takes about 2.5 hours and I spend it reading the play we're doing for our final project this term and chatting with the guys sitting around me. It's the first time we are all together outside of school and we get to know each other a little better.

 Once we get to London we all walk along the Thames to the theater. We are about an hour early so we head in for lunch. The guys and I find a Greek restaurant and introduce Chris to some good Greek food. I'm reminded of my days spent in Greece last October and have a Mythos beer to celebrate how far I've come in a year. Of course I don't tell the guys why I'm celebrating. It's too long a story and...well....they are boys.

After lunch we all meet at the theater again and get our schedule for the day. First we go on a walking tour of The Globe. This is the first time I've been inside the theater and I am taken aback by its size, both at how small it is and how tall. It's open air, with three levels of audience seating as well as the "groundlings" area in front. After studying Elizabethan life for the past two weeks I can really put myself in the world that would have existed 500 years ago. The dress, the smells, the people. It's amazing. The seats are wood and there is no precinium. Along the inside of the Lord boxes are gorgeous paintings of Greek gods and mythological creatures. There is symbolism in everything.

Our tour guide, Amy, tells us a little more about the history of the theater and then we are shuffled off to meet with Yolanda, our workshop guide for the next hour. We follow her up the back stairs (which are gorgeous) and onto the stage. ONTO THE STAGE!! I have the same feeling I had when I stepped on a Broadway stage for the first time. My dream, my goal, is suddenly very real and very attainable. As I stand on that stage and look up at all the "people" in the seats, I believe in my heart of hearts that I will stand on that stage as an actress in one of their productions in this life. I will see that dream come true.

We work for an hour on the stage. Walking around it, getting used to playing all the sides of it and to everyone in the house. It's a different feeling to think you have to connect with people sitting almost over your head. It's a new muscle to bring in people from 270 degrees around you. We work some pieces of text and start to think about what we would have to do differently if we were working in that house. They don't use amplification at all and the need for proper vocal strength and stamina become apparent. The sheer physical power one needs to succeed in this space is astounding, and very motivating.

Me ON The Globe stage!

We next work with one of the actors from the past season, Philip, on some more movement exercises and acting tools we can use. We are in the rehearsal space now and it's neat to think about the people who have worked in that space. The people who have worked to make beloved and feared characters come to life in that Elizabethan stage. I stay focused and try to remember everything we do so I can write it down in my workbook and use it someday, either with a cast or with students.

The day ends with a little shopping (I am a good girl and don't buy anything, knowing I'll be back at some point.) and then we head back on the bus. I watch my iPhone TV shows on the way back, doze a little bit, and talk with Catherine. It's neat to get to know my classmates a better, kind of see where they are coming from in this life.

2012 MA:Brit Trad students

It was an amazing day in all respects. Getting to go to London is always a treat. I'm reminded of my time there a few years ago and start to seriously think about whether I want to stay once my course is over. The idea of living in London for a year, just because I can, is enthralling. I would love to have a London address and go to auditions here. See more of the world and make a living on the West End stage. I could do it! The thought makes me smile and I spend a few moments of the driving daydreaming about the amazing life I would live, with my London flat and agents lining up to cast me. It's the perfect time to do it, and the idea of that being an actual reality is a little daunting. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to deal with what lies ahead of me after school.

Standing on that stage gives me life. It gives me drive and power and a renewed need for success. Every time I stand on a stage I am reminded why I do what I do and why I sacrifice so much. Having the chance to do that this early in the MA program game was a real treat.

The Thames at dusk