Once again, I have found myself procrastinating on my posting of my blog entries, only to find out that I have a ton to write about now! Anyway, the next set of blog entries will be starting from a few weeks back, and going to present. Luckily no more big trips are planned for me for the remaining three weeks in London (already half over...sigh), so I will be able to talk about my trips to Berlin, Paris, Dublin, and Stratford.
To everyone trying to be constantly updated with my blog, I apologize. Its nice to have friends like Emily and Preston who update almost daily, but I promise to all my readers that my reflections and stories will be posted very soon. I appreciate your patience.
I've been seeing lots of shows this week. Monday was The Year of Magical Thinking with Vanessa Redgrave, Tuesday was Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe, Wednesday was Pygmalion at the Old Vic, and tonight is Major Barbara. Tomorrow I'm going to Canterbury for the day with Preston to see some sights, such as where the Black Prince is buried.
Well, I would love to divulge some more on this week, but unfortunately I have to eat and acting class is soon after.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Paris Awaits!
Well, I'm off to Paris tomorrow morning, having to get up at about 4:30 AM, so bedtime is calling me. I'm so excited to go! Emily, Noelle, and Kurt are coming with me. Hopefully I will be able to get around Paris with knowing only a few French words, and thats the same with the other people in my group lol. We are taking the Chunnel, and it only takes about 3 to 4 hours. After that, we don't really have a specific plan. There are some optional tours (including a boat tour I think), as well as an opportunity to go to a Cabaret. I also found out that there are several art galleries that have free admission this weekend, including the Louvre! So, I'm pretty much set for options this weekend, I just have to decide at some point.
Anyway, I apologize for not giving my reflections on my Berlin trip yet. Preston and Emily's blog have a lot of info on what happened, and when I get back from Paris, I will write two lengthy blogs about both trips.
Lastly, I saw Lord of the Rings the musical tonight, and it was... okay. In terms of sets, costumes, and special effects, it was incredible, but it seemed to only thrive on the spectacle. It was about three hours long, and still managed to barely fit in the books (obviously taking out huge chunks of the plot, some cuts I disagreed with). The music was alright orchestral wise, but the songs were pretty bland. None of them were extremely exciting, and definitely will not cause people to sing them after seeing the show. Also, the dialogue was just plain corny at times. It wasn't very well written, and the actors tried their best to act their parts well, but the terrible dialogue did not help.
All this being said, the spectacle was incredible. First off, the show had a giant rotating stage, and the circle had a outer ring, an inner small circle, and broken up chunks for the middle. At various times in the show, these different sections of the rotating stage could change height and rise to roughly 20 feet! So in addition to an already cool rotating set, the terrain of the set could be changed at any point to suit the journey aspect of the show (such as the characters travelling through the mountains). They had really creative ways of showing the different creatures. For example, the Tree Ents were guys on giant stilts with long robes that looked like tree trunks. The orc soldiers occasionally had these small stilts that were actually pogo sticks, and would propel themselves into the air and do flips during the various battles. The spider Shelob was a giant puppet controlled by at least eight people, each one controlling a leg. These are just a few of the amazing visual techniques used in the show. I probably won't see this show again, but some of the stage effects were truly memorable.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. Hopefully I can find a computer that has internet while in Paris, but if not, my next entry will be Sunday night. Have wonderful weekend everyone. Off to Paris!
Anyway, I apologize for not giving my reflections on my Berlin trip yet. Preston and Emily's blog have a lot of info on what happened, and when I get back from Paris, I will write two lengthy blogs about both trips.
Lastly, I saw Lord of the Rings the musical tonight, and it was... okay. In terms of sets, costumes, and special effects, it was incredible, but it seemed to only thrive on the spectacle. It was about three hours long, and still managed to barely fit in the books (obviously taking out huge chunks of the plot, some cuts I disagreed with). The music was alright orchestral wise, but the songs were pretty bland. None of them were extremely exciting, and definitely will not cause people to sing them after seeing the show. Also, the dialogue was just plain corny at times. It wasn't very well written, and the actors tried their best to act their parts well, but the terrible dialogue did not help.
All this being said, the spectacle was incredible. First off, the show had a giant rotating stage, and the circle had a outer ring, an inner small circle, and broken up chunks for the middle. At various times in the show, these different sections of the rotating stage could change height and rise to roughly 20 feet! So in addition to an already cool rotating set, the terrain of the set could be changed at any point to suit the journey aspect of the show (such as the characters travelling through the mountains). They had really creative ways of showing the different creatures. For example, the Tree Ents were guys on giant stilts with long robes that looked like tree trunks. The orc soldiers occasionally had these small stilts that were actually pogo sticks, and would propel themselves into the air and do flips during the various battles. The spider Shelob was a giant puppet controlled by at least eight people, each one controlling a leg. These are just a few of the amazing visual techniques used in the show. I probably won't see this show again, but some of the stage effects were truly memorable.
Anyway, I'm off to bed. Hopefully I can find a computer that has internet while in Paris, but if not, my next entry will be Sunday night. Have wonderful weekend everyone. Off to Paris!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Back from Berlin Pics
The Olympic Stadium:
Angel Tower in the park (commemorating the end of the Cold War):
The famous "kiss" painting on a remaining section of the Berlin Wall:
Statue of Neptune (I don't know why it was in Berlin):
The Berlin Cathedral:
The first post office in Europe:
The Brandenburg Gate:
The Holocaust Memorial:
The Reichstag:
Me on the roof of the Reichstag:
And this one's for Kelly:
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