A month and half down...

We would like to issue an apology for those who have been eagerly awaiting a new post. We are ashamed at our recent neglect.

This is my fourth full week at BSA, and I finally feel as though I’m starting to get the hang of everything. Whenever I come home, I’m very tired- both physically and mentally. In class, we engage in a lot of movement that is surprisingly difficult on the body. We do a ton of Qui Gong stretches and exercises and have begun doing some elementary ballet. In the next few weeks we will begin learning some traditional Elizabethan dances. Another physical class I have is stage combat where we have been learning to work with rapiers. This week we will also get to use daggers for the first time in addition to our rapiers. I am finding stage combat to come very natural to me. I think it’s because I’ve watched “The Princess Bride” a few too many times.

I am also in three different speech classes that focus on finding “the inner home of the voice”. Basically we’ve just been doing a lot of spinal stretches and experimenting with sounds. One of the three classes is more focused on phonetics, and we will be learning accents with the emphasis in this term being RP or “Received Pronunciation” which is the standard for British actors. My acting classes are extremely long, but very useful. On Mondays, we have a four hour acting class in which we workshop scenes from different Shakespearean plays. I’m currently playing Juliet from “Romeo & Juliet” which I find very enjoyable. However, we also have two other four hour acting classes on Wednesday and Thursday and an eight hour rehearsal on Fridays. During these classes/rehearsals we are working on Twelfth Night. I have been cast as Olivia. We are also working through a lot of sonnets, which is very helpful in fully understanding iambic pentameter, context, and finding emotion through the text. I am learning so many things about reading and acting Shakespearean text than I could have imagined. I can definitely see my acting improving through a more disciplined approach to text.

Enough about that.

Andrew has been actively seeking jobs and finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. A few days ago, he received a call from a potential employer and interviewed with them today. He got the job! He will be working for an employer downtown Birmingham (as long as they still take him even though we’re coming home for Christmas). In essence, he will be fundraising for British and international charities. He begins training tomorrow, and our hopes are high that everything will work out for the best. More information about his new job to come…

We are falling more in love with our flat every week. Yes, it might be in the alley, and yes, it might be a long commute to and from school, but it’s become rather cozy. I finally bought a scented candle to make it feel like the holidays around here.

We celebrated Halloween by going over to the house of some of my classmates. It was very laid back. Because children don’t really trick-or-treat here, we had to eat all the candy and drink all the cider ourselves. It hasn’t been very cold here yet- we think it got below freezing maybe once. Luckily, we haven’t had to break out our winter coats yet. We still are avidly watching several episodes of “Friends” every day and are very happy with our decision to purchase a television set. Sometimes, we even get to watch good movies like “The Swiss Family Robinson” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, which was made more enjoyable by the fact that we have one of the world’s largest chocolate factory a half a mile away- Cadbury World.

We really miss everyone and hope that you are all having great adventures!