Well, I'm back.
Right. SO much to write about that I'm a little overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. And, as is the way, I have to head to work in a bit, so I don't have long to type.
Let's finish up London before I do Krakow. I got back from Poland on Wed afternoon, and ran off to meet some friends for dinner and a play. We saw Mark Rylance in JERUSALEM, and I have to say that it is one of the best things I've ever seen. Excellent writing, fabulous ensemble cast, glorious production values, and a tour-de-force performance by Rylance. He was unreal. The girls I was with went to drama school with one of the cast members, and she told us that apparently, he was incredibly ill with a throat infection. This is a three hour play, in which he's on essentially the entire time, throwing himself about the stage, roaring, dancing, and then getting the crap kicked out of him. You want to be in top form for that. Well, I wouldn't have had any idea that he was at all poorly. What a champ. Incredible. Mackenzie Crook was also in it, and he was flipping brilliant. I had no idea he was pushing forty till I looked him up on imdb later that night. SO funny. Oh, it's seeing plays like that which remind me how much I love being an actor!!!
The next night, I met up with my dear friend Hannah (the one I stayed with) at The National, where she's in rehearsals. While waiting for her, I saw Amelia Bullmore wandering about the cafe, and I stopped her to tell her I'd just seen her play last week, and THE NORMAN CONQUESTS while it was on Broadway. "Oh, that was SUCH a happy time!" she said. We had a lovely little chat, and then I ran into her again when Hannah came to lead me through the labyrinth that is the backstage area of The National. She's very charming and funny, and apparently married to one of the men in Hannah's play THE WHITE GUARD. So, I went to hang out in the green room of The National with Hannah and about a third of her cast. The Green Room in this instance is a canteen and bar. Jolly Olde Englande. Anyway, I had definitely seen a few of the men in shows at The National before, which was cool, and THEN, Conleth Hill strolled in to hang out. I LOVE CONLETH HILL!!! I saw him in THE SEAFARER when it was on Broadway, and could not even begin to get over how fabulous I thought he was. Very exciting to be able to sit across the circle from him while everyone's having a casual chat. I love actors. And I love feeling fancy, as I did on Thursday.
Right. I really do have to run to get ready for work. I'll post the Krakow goodies later. I will say this - it was gorgeous, and I had a fabulous time. In only going for two days, I robbed myself completely. Can't wait to go back!
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Who's Afraid of Vanessa Bell?
Quickie here, as I'm meant to be packing for Krakow (going for only about two days, but I do have to wake up at the disgusting hour of 6am). I may be on vacation, but I still managed to get a spot of acting in! A couple of my friends here wrote a screenplay called BILLY & NESSA, based on the relationship between Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell in their youth and early careers/marriages. They wanted to hear it aloud and in its entirety for the first time, so they recruited a few actor friends (among them, Yours Truly) to do a reading. I got to read Vanessa, along with the occasional nurse and such. So incredibly fun! As I've been doing a lot of readings in the past year, it's only fitting I should do one even when I'm away. :) It was quite good, and as Sarah and Fi stayed with me in New York while they were doing a lot of their research (reading the sisters' letters and the like), it was fitting I should be there the first time they shared it with a group of people.
This morning was also my turning point. Every time I come over to visit, there is an official turning point. What I mean by that is, there is a definite day when I start sounding less American, I can feel my speech rounding out, and musicality swooping in with tremendous force. I start phrasing things differently, and my inflection just goes all kinds of crazy. I love it. Especially since I genuinely don't force it - this transformation occurs because my ear automatically starts adjusting and adapting to what I'm hearing. I just sit back and listen for enjoyment's sake more than anything. A much more delightful and less dramatic version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
This morning was also my turning point. Every time I come over to visit, there is an official turning point. What I mean by that is, there is a definite day when I start sounding less American, I can feel my speech rounding out, and musicality swooping in with tremendous force. I start phrasing things differently, and my inflection just goes all kinds of crazy. I love it. Especially since I genuinely don't force it - this transformation occurs because my ear automatically starts adjusting and adapting to what I'm hearing. I just sit back and listen for enjoyment's sake more than anything. A much more delightful and less dramatic version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Life, London, and the Pursuit of Liberty
I am in London!!! Excitement and delight all around! I arrived Thursday morning, and have been running about like a mad fool for several days. I started a blog post Friday evening, but abandoned it in favor of sleep. Here's what I wrote then:
I have been tooling about on my own while my dear friend Hannah is in rehearsal (she's in THE WHITE GUARD at The National), and being silly with her when she isn't.
This afternoon, I discovered, quite by accident, Borough Market, which I guess I'd heard of, but never bothered to investigate. It is AMAZING. Apparently, it's open Thursdays through Saturdays, and I got ridiculously lucky. I like to wander when I travel, you see, and despite the number of times I've been there, I really don't know London as well as I know some other cities, because I simply walk and talk with Hannah, and don't pay a lot of attention to where I'm going. So I have been meandering, getting to know the city again, and lo and behold, what should appear in front of me but some glorious open-air market that appears to be serving fine foodstuffs? Sweet mercy, I had me a delicious meat pie (with venison and partridge, no less!), olives, cheese, fish & chips that melted in my MOUTH...I wanted one of everything. Anyway, I was one happy duckie. Then I wandered (intentionally) over to the Tate Modern.
Here is where I pick up today:
I found a number of incredible and moving pieces at the Tate, but one room that particularly struck me was the gallery that displayed the Soviet Communist Propaganda. The room is absolutely covered in posters, almost from floor to ceiling, giving the the feeling, upon walking in, of being barraged with the images. That's the idea, of course - to simulate the experience of being confronted at every turn with drawings of hard working laborers and glorified party leaders. As a city dweller myself, I know what it is to be constantly flooded with advertisements. To imagine what New York would be like if they were all political posters, as opposed to ads for films, television shows, The Gap, and Fresh Direct, is a little terrifying. Below, I've written out the text from some of the most fascinating (to me, anyway) posters:
* Everyone Sign Up for Shockwork! (1932)
* On the paths of total collectivisation and mechanisation of agriculture of the USSR (1933)
* Women Build Socialism (1926 - the image on this was of a tough looking lady in a kerchief, who reminded me a bit of Rosie the Riverter)
* USSR - Center of International Socialism (1933)
* We have finished off our Enemies with our Weapons - we will Get Bread through Hard Work. To Work, Comrades! (1920)
* Ukrainians and Russians have a Common Cry - We must not let the Landowners Rule Over the Workers (1920)
* Women Workers, Take Up Your Rifles! (1918)
* Young Proletariat of Town & Countryside Unite! (1920s - This poster had two youths, one dressed in farmer's clothes, standing against a city landscape, and one in the city togs (complete with those tall cylindrical hats) standing amidst crops and flowers. They were shaking hands, and each holding a pole that had a banner stretched between them with the poster's text on it. Making up the background were the rays of the sun, which was just peeking up about halfway above the horizon. In the center of the sun itself was a hammer and sickle.)
* Cleanse the Party of all class enemies and hostile elements, degenerates, opportunists, double dealers, careerists, self-seekers, bureaucrats, and morally decayed persons. (1933 - This one had no image, just the white text against a red background)
- And now, my favorite -
* Long Live our Happy Socialist Motherland - Long Live our Beloved Great Stalin! (1935 - Complete with a drawing of Stalin looking stoic and yet benevolent on a balcony while a parade of happy proletariat walk by in the street below, looking up at him adoringly)
The room reminded me of the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin, and of the propaganda vs the photos of reality there as well. The checkpoint Charlie Museum is by far one of the most absorbing places I've ever been. So many things got donated there starting in the late 60s, I want to say, and so you can see a lot of the genuine items people used to escape. Two suitcases laid end to end on a top rack on the train that have a hole cut in between them, which a person would curl up inside of. A car with a rigged engine that allows a human to hide underneath. A hot air balloon used to float to freedom. It's really a gorgeous example of the human spirit in the fact of oppression.
I've done a number of other interesting things and spent time with loads of lovely people, but don't have time to be sitting here writing about them! Must be off! There is tea to be imbibed!
I have been tooling about on my own while my dear friend Hannah is in rehearsal (she's in THE WHITE GUARD at The National), and being silly with her when she isn't.
This afternoon, I discovered, quite by accident, Borough Market, which I guess I'd heard of, but never bothered to investigate. It is AMAZING. Apparently, it's open Thursdays through Saturdays, and I got ridiculously lucky. I like to wander when I travel, you see, and despite the number of times I've been there, I really don't know London as well as I know some other cities, because I simply walk and talk with Hannah, and don't pay a lot of attention to where I'm going. So I have been meandering, getting to know the city again, and lo and behold, what should appear in front of me but some glorious open-air market that appears to be serving fine foodstuffs? Sweet mercy, I had me a delicious meat pie (with venison and partridge, no less!), olives, cheese, fish & chips that melted in my MOUTH...I wanted one of everything. Anyway, I was one happy duckie. Then I wandered (intentionally) over to the Tate Modern.
Here is where I pick up today:
I found a number of incredible and moving pieces at the Tate, but one room that particularly struck me was the gallery that displayed the Soviet Communist Propaganda. The room is absolutely covered in posters, almost from floor to ceiling, giving the the feeling, upon walking in, of being barraged with the images. That's the idea, of course - to simulate the experience of being confronted at every turn with drawings of hard working laborers and glorified party leaders. As a city dweller myself, I know what it is to be constantly flooded with advertisements. To imagine what New York would be like if they were all political posters, as opposed to ads for films, television shows, The Gap, and Fresh Direct, is a little terrifying. Below, I've written out the text from some of the most fascinating (to me, anyway) posters:
* Everyone Sign Up for Shockwork! (1932)
* On the paths of total collectivisation and mechanisation of agriculture of the USSR (1933)
* Women Build Socialism (1926 - the image on this was of a tough looking lady in a kerchief, who reminded me a bit of Rosie the Riverter)
* USSR - Center of International Socialism (1933)
* We have finished off our Enemies with our Weapons - we will Get Bread through Hard Work. To Work, Comrades! (1920)
* Ukrainians and Russians have a Common Cry - We must not let the Landowners Rule Over the Workers (1920)
* Women Workers, Take Up Your Rifles! (1918)
* Young Proletariat of Town & Countryside Unite! (1920s - This poster had two youths, one dressed in farmer's clothes, standing against a city landscape, and one in the city togs (complete with those tall cylindrical hats) standing amidst crops and flowers. They were shaking hands, and each holding a pole that had a banner stretched between them with the poster's text on it. Making up the background were the rays of the sun, which was just peeking up about halfway above the horizon. In the center of the sun itself was a hammer and sickle.)
* Cleanse the Party of all class enemies and hostile elements, degenerates, opportunists, double dealers, careerists, self-seekers, bureaucrats, and morally decayed persons. (1933 - This one had no image, just the white text against a red background)
- And now, my favorite -
* Long Live our Happy Socialist Motherland - Long Live our Beloved Great Stalin! (1935 - Complete with a drawing of Stalin looking stoic and yet benevolent on a balcony while a parade of happy proletariat walk by in the street below, looking up at him adoringly)
The room reminded me of the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin, and of the propaganda vs the photos of reality there as well. The checkpoint Charlie Museum is by far one of the most absorbing places I've ever been. So many things got donated there starting in the late 60s, I want to say, and so you can see a lot of the genuine items people used to escape. Two suitcases laid end to end on a top rack on the train that have a hole cut in between them, which a person would curl up inside of. A car with a rigged engine that allows a human to hide underneath. A hot air balloon used to float to freedom. It's really a gorgeous example of the human spirit in the fact of oppression.
I've done a number of other interesting things and spent time with loads of lovely people, but don't have time to be sitting here writing about them! Must be off! There is tea to be imbibed!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snowpocalypse!!!
It snowed like mad today, just madly it snowed!!! I watched it all from my host stand at work. One of the servers and I felt really sorry for the poor guys who were shoveling the snow in front of the building our restaurant is in (they were at it for ages, trying to keep it from piling up, and the building has a huge plaza in front of it, not just the sidewalk), so we took some coffee out to them. It was really gratifying to see them all smile and then shout, "Coffee break! Coffee break!"
Last night, I saw VENUS IN FUR at Classic Stage Company. It's David Ives' new play, and stars Wes Bentley (of American Beauty) and Nina Arianda. I saw her in a few shows last year when she was in her final year at NYU, and thought she was fantastic, so I bought a ticket. Then she got ridiculously good reviews, so I was even more excited. She. Was. So. Excellent. Wes Bentley was good, too - he got better as it went along. To be fair, the play is all on the female to rock it out or not. It could so easily have been done horribly, but she was perfect. So excited for her, especially as this was her first thing out of grad school, and she was non-union. People should go see it - only 90 minutes, and really fun. Really, really funny at times. Even the ol' blue-hairs that surrounded me in the audience were laughing. Really, I thought if I stopped going to Wednesday matinees, I'd wind up surrounded a a crowd that wasn't triple my age. :) At least no cell phones went off. Oy.
Stayed up till three last night packing. I did begin packing at 1:30am, and then was half-packing, half-watching SOBBIN' WOMEN: THE MAKING OF SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. Don't be hatin' - that movie is so good. Yes, yes, I'm a total snob and will tear YOU'VE GOT MAIL or LOVE ACTUALLY or (God forbid) a Sandra Bullock feature to pieces, but I LOVE 7Brides. The men are all such good dancers, and many of them were legitimately straight! Burly baritones? Come ON! I'm a sucker. Plus, they all wore such colorful shirts and swung axes about the place. Yes, I do have better reasons that this is a good film, but are those reasons so WRONG? Howard Keel, people!!! It's just like Omar Sharif - put Omar Sharif on camera reading a Chemistry textbook, and I'm bound to like it. Or William Powell. Or - be still my heart - Cary Grant. Howard Keel can steal me from my small Western town and hide me away on his mountain farm any day of the week. Russ Tamblyn is a bit short for me (imdb tells me he is 5'9" to Howard's more satisfactory 6'3"), but as he grows up to be Riff, the leader of the Jets, I'll overlook this fact and invest in some hearty, mountaineering flats. Anyway, the point is that I was watching a lot of lovely dancing, and not folding at the speediest of paces. So I have MORE packing to do. Not much, but some. Woohoo, two week vacation! Check ya latah, New York. Colorado --> London --> Krakow --> London --> NYC! Krakow will only be for a couple of days, but it'll be my first foray into Poland, and I'm jazzed to visit my friend Stan in his hometown!
I used many exclamation points in this post, and employed my CAPS LOCK a number of times. You're welcome.
Last night, I saw VENUS IN FUR at Classic Stage Company. It's David Ives' new play, and stars Wes Bentley (of American Beauty) and Nina Arianda. I saw her in a few shows last year when she was in her final year at NYU, and thought she was fantastic, so I bought a ticket. Then she got ridiculously good reviews, so I was even more excited. She. Was. So. Excellent. Wes Bentley was good, too - he got better as it went along. To be fair, the play is all on the female to rock it out or not. It could so easily have been done horribly, but she was perfect. So excited for her, especially as this was her first thing out of grad school, and she was non-union. People should go see it - only 90 minutes, and really fun. Really, really funny at times. Even the ol' blue-hairs that surrounded me in the audience were laughing. Really, I thought if I stopped going to Wednesday matinees, I'd wind up surrounded a a crowd that wasn't triple my age. :) At least no cell phones went off. Oy.
Stayed up till three last night packing. I did begin packing at 1:30am, and then was half-packing, half-watching SOBBIN' WOMEN: THE MAKING OF SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. Don't be hatin' - that movie is so good. Yes, yes, I'm a total snob and will tear YOU'VE GOT MAIL or LOVE ACTUALLY or (God forbid) a Sandra Bullock feature to pieces, but I LOVE 7Brides. The men are all such good dancers, and many of them were legitimately straight! Burly baritones? Come ON! I'm a sucker. Plus, they all wore such colorful shirts and swung axes about the place. Yes, I do have better reasons that this is a good film, but are those reasons so WRONG? Howard Keel, people!!! It's just like Omar Sharif - put Omar Sharif on camera reading a Chemistry textbook, and I'm bound to like it. Or William Powell. Or - be still my heart - Cary Grant. Howard Keel can steal me from my small Western town and hide me away on his mountain farm any day of the week. Russ Tamblyn is a bit short for me (imdb tells me he is 5'9" to Howard's more satisfactory 6'3"), but as he grows up to be Riff, the leader of the Jets, I'll overlook this fact and invest in some hearty, mountaineering flats. Anyway, the point is that I was watching a lot of lovely dancing, and not folding at the speediest of paces. So I have MORE packing to do. Not much, but some. Woohoo, two week vacation! Check ya latah, New York. Colorado --> London --> Krakow --> London --> NYC! Krakow will only be for a couple of days, but it'll be my first foray into Poland, and I'm jazzed to visit my friend Stan in his hometown!
I used many exclamation points in this post, and employed my CAPS LOCK a number of times. You're welcome.
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