Duke in London - Summer 2009

Revival. Thanks Becca!

2009-07-26T16:44:00.001-07:00

Hey, it’s Rebecca. I just wanted to take the time to write about some of the other awesome group things we have done together. Seeing plays, having discussion classes, and working with amazing professionals on acting and performance is fantastic, but it doesn’t even stop there.

The thing I liked about these field trips was that we did them as a group. Each individual day, you have your own free time to explore the city with whoever you can find that wants to tag along, but these group trips have been really great in binding us all together on this wonderful program. Our common experiences are also leading to some great discussion to help us learn and grow more. I definitely think we have all grown immensely during the course of this program.

So I wanted to write about two particular events today: Hatfield House and The National Theatre, which we ventured to on July 9 and 10, 2009, respectively.

July 9, 2009.

Today we woke up a little earlier to meet Professor Clum at King’s Cross train station and soon enough we were off to Hatfield House. The Hatfield House, a 223 room mansion, isn’t a particularly well-known tourist attraction, but was still a great place to see. It was just a twenty-minute train and next thing we knew were were standing in front of a HUGE piece of architecture, surrounded by tons of land. We met our tour guide, a really nice, British lady who kept saying that we were “such well-behaved American students.” (chuckle chuckle).

Here, in list form, is some of the quirky things we learned on the course of our tour:

-The Earl of Salisbury actually still lives in one of the wings of the house with his wife today. We also saw a picture of the heir to the house, born in 1970. I can't decide how much of a burden it would be to inherit such a house, because you'd instantly be in charge with its upkeeping and restoration, as well as tours and staff and whatnot. Anyway, it's such a great honor, that I don't think I’d complain. His family traces all the way back 14 generations to Robert Cecil and beyond! So interesting how things get passed down through history.

- The original Hatfield House is actually off to the side of the one we saw today and is only a quarter of the original building. After Henry VIII having it for awhile, Queen Elizabeth resided while her sister Mary killed Protestants (Queen Elizabeth was actually at Hatfield House when she heard news that her sister had died and she was now Queen of England.). After several pass-downs, eventually a guy named Robert Cecil got it (in 1607 I believe). It was HE who knocked down 3/4 of the old house to build the NEW and improved Hatfield House (the one you see in the picture). This Hatfield House only took four years to build! (1608-1612). As our tour guide said, "It took four years to build and has been falling down ever since." Haha

- In 1835 the west wing burnt down with the wife of James Cecil (the 1st Marquess of Salisbury). She was 85 years old and was well known for being silly, funny and mischievous. After the fire they actually found some of the remains of her jewelry, only to find out they were fakes because she had been selling her real jewelry to pay off gambling debts! In addition, apparently Charles Dickens was a reporter at the time and actually wrote about the fire, and it's even mentioned in Oliver twist. :)

-In the library were some interesting documents in glass classes. Notably, two: 1) a letter from 14 year old Elizabeth refuting an affair with Thomas Seymour (married to Katharine Parr) and 2) The small picture of Anne of Cleves that Henry VIII received prior to the marriage, which apparently had been generous to her appearance, and next to it was the document by Henry VIII divorcing her after 6 months without consummating the marriage. Interesting….

The rooms themselves were beautiful and covered with carvings marked with symbols or paintings of important people who had resided there. I think everything not only learned a lot, but had a great time. After the tour, we explored the gardens and land around Hatfield House before returning to London. Great trip!

July 10, 2009

Today we all met at the National Theatre at 10:25 am for a backstage tour of the theater. This was very cool for two reasons. First of all, we got to see how backstage in these theatres that do wonderful performances is just like our backstage back home. The doors were beat up from tons of set pieces hitting them, there were bulletin boards everywhere about so-and-so's birthday bash somewhere, who's bringing what food to what event, schedules, offices, a HUGE shop to build the sets and props, etc. It was really neat to see that backstage wasn't all sparkly and pretty simply because we’re in West End, it's just...theater. That’s the way it should be!

Second of all, we got to see some really neat stuff and find out some cool backstage secrets about some of the plays we had seen / are going to see.

Here’s some cool stuff we found out:

-The National Theatre was designed to be a very welcoming, community-oriented theater. Thus, it includes three theaters, two restaurants, a bar on every floor, one coffee shop, a huge bookshop, free live entertainment every night (outside and inside the lobby), a grassy area to hang out, and more. That way, anyone can come find something that they would enjoy, relating to the arts.

-They have around 1,000 employees working there!

-Each theater (the Lyttleon, the Olivier, and the Cottesloe) can be doing up to three shows at a time. For instance, in the Lyttleton, they currently have Time and the Conways and Phedre performing. So each set in on a platform with wheels so that when they need to switch to the other show in 5 hours, they simply lift up the stage, wheel it away into one room, wheel the other in from a side room, and lower the stage so the floor is even. Sweet!

-We also got to see how all the special effects for Time and the Conways worked, the way the horses in War Horse work, and see someone making another horse as a backup replacement.

-We walked all over the All’s Well That Ends Well set in the Olivier (a theater shaped to look similar to a Greek amphitheater) and saw where they paint backdrops and more!

It was a great tour! It was really neat simply because we’re seeing these amazing shows, and then we got to go backstage and look at everything up close and see how it worked. I think everyone definitely enjoyed it.

Today is July 26, 2009. We have twelve more days here in this wonderful city until we have to return home. I’m definitely not ready. This program has been exciting and thrilling every single day; getting to go to the theater each night knowing you were going to learn and see something brilliant has just been an opportunity many will never experience and I will never forget.

That’s all for now! Maybe Cameron will have me write some more later!

Best,

Becca

Meeting the Stars!

2009-07-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

After "Waiting For Godot", the entire group went around to the stage door in hopes that the legendary Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart would come out for autographs. After about a 30 minute wait, we were in luck.

Me, with Alex looking on, with Sir Ian McKellen:
It's him!
Alex, very excited about the autograph:

Me, very excited about the autograph:
Becca's turn, with the group looking on:
Patrick Stewart shows up! Ted is a lucky man:
Patrick made the rounds:

A very happy Duke in London crew with signed programs/tickets:

It was a great, great night. =)

Madam Butterfly tonight: discussion tomorrow!

Waiting For Godot

2009-07-07T04:52:00.001-07:00

Today in class, we discussed the two most recent plays (also the only two contemporary plays) that we have seen: "When the Rain Stops Falling" and "The Observer".

"When the Rain Stops Falling" was a spectacle of time-weaving storytelling that was very gripping, moving, and emotionally charged. The play takes place in four different decades, spanning from 1975 to 2039, and it starts and ends in 2039.

Continuing or discussion about how playwrights manipulate time in drama, we discussed the effectiveness of parallel actions in the four decades. The show would reveal and develop characters in one decade, and then do the same for the next. For the audience, it was difficult to figure out what the play was asking because we were introduced to many different characters, saw such small conflicts (initially), and couldn't really understand why each decade was significant or how they were related. As the play proceeded, however, the brilliance of developing everything separately and slowly was revealed.

The play was very much like a puzzle, and the pieces all started to fall together as the play progressed. Even after watching the play, there are still many questions to be raised.

I don't want to get into a complete plot summary (because that would actually be quite difficult), nor do I want to spoil the play (because you all should see it, given the chance!), but we all could agree that it was a brilliant piece of work.

The next play we discussed was entitled "The Observer".

For most of us, this was our least favorite play. We all agreed that it was a good production, and even entertaining to watch, but had very little meaning or substance.

The show progressed linearly, as opposed to jumping around like the majority of the plays we have seen. The leading actress is on stage the entire show, but as Clum said to us: she plays a very "one-note" character, and is rather villainous. We all agreed with him.

We discussed that the show tends to hit you over the head with the plot, rather than use clever subtleties to develop the story. In the end, the show raises very few questions, and certainly none of them very profound. Clum explained to us that the show could have raised many meaningful questions, but didn't develop those areas of the story nearly enough.

And finally, the show tonight: "Waiting For Godot"

Clum calls shows that feature many well-known, talented, and famous actors "starry".

This show may very well be the most starry of all the shows we see, and most of us are EXTREMELY excited to see it. This particular production features Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart in the leading roles. For those of you that don't know, these two co-starred in the "X-Men" movie trilogy, and are famous for their roles in "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Trek" respectively. That is, of course, in addition to their immense fame on the London stages.

Expect an update on our review of the show tomorrow, and hopefully some pictures with the stars if we can find them after the show. ;)

Cheers!

The Observer

2009-07-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

Tonight we are going to see a show entitled "The Observer" at the National Theater.
It is a new play, by Matt Charman, and it is apparently quite similar to the recent Manbites Dog (theater company in Durham) production of "The Overwhelming".

Here is some information from the National Theater website:

FOUR STARS Daily Mail, Guardian, Sunday Express, Sunday Telegraph, thelondonpaper
‘Richard Eyre's fast paced production... A timely metaphor for the potential dangers of liberal intervention.' Guardian
‘Matt Charman's outstanding new play. A superb ensemble of actors. Highly recommended.' Independent on Sunday
‘A taut, compelling and highly intelligent piece of drama.' Sunday Telegraph
'Passionate, engrossing theatre.' Sunday Express

On the eve of an election, one woman can decide the fate of a nation.

An international group of observers arrives in a West African country to oversee and rubber stamp its first democratic election. New voters queue in their thousands, but a senior member of the observation team finds herself both horrified by the President’s suppressive tactics and, for once, in a position to do something about it.

Yet as violence on the streets escalates and the country enters free fall, an increasingly angry young translator forces this well-meaning outsider to confront the impact of her intervention.

People walked for six miles to vote. I’ve been doing this job for ten years and I’m telling you that for the first time in what feels like a lifetime we can do something real here.

Should be exciting! We will discuss the play in class tomorrow, in addition to "When the Rain Stops Falling" (we saw it last Saturday).

Expect an update tomorrow!

Yours,

-the blogmaster

Week 1 in review

2009-07-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not getting many posts in during the week.
As I'm sure you can understand, it is difficult to stay at the dorm when there is so much to be done!

To recap: We saw 6 shows in our first week here (so amazing!).

Monday - "A Little Night Music" , a Steven Sondheim musical.
Tuesday - "Time and the Conways", a JB Priestly play.
Wednesday - "Arcadia", a Tom Stoppard play.
Thursday - "War Horse", play based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo.
Friday - "As You Like It", a Shakespearean comedy.
Saturday - "When the Rain Stops Falling", an Andrew Bovell play.

Needless to say, we had an incredible week of theater. The best part is, there is no sign of slowing! We get to see another 5 shows this coming week.

Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to document our group's traveling experiences around London because the 14 of us are hardly ever sight-seeing together, and I think it is unfair to merely post my experiences in lieu of the group.

Assignment wise, we have two essays due on Monday, July 13th.
The prompts:

1. Think about the time in drama and how it is depicted and manipulated in "Time and the Conways", "Arcadia", and "When the Rain Stops Falling". You are watching the drama in real time -- moving forward. How can playwrights manipulate time and why?

2. Discuss three productions in which the production (direction, design) particularly surprised you, impressed you, and/or changed the way you thought about the play.

Kudos to Professor Clum for giving us three shows in one week that manipulate time so effectively. We have some awesome theater to cite when we write our papers!

In addition to the essays, we have to have our Shakespeare group scenes memorized and ready to perform on Tuesday, July 14th. We will be performing them for Paul Ready (a leading actor in "Conways"), William Houston (Constable Clark in the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie), and Professor Clum.

With all of that information in, I leave you all with our very fun Friday night: group cooking!

Cheers!

Cast Bios

2009-07-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hello again! This post is going to be a bit short, as I am devoting it to the bios of all of us here in London. I think you'll find us to be an interesting and diverse group... That's how we like it. =)

All of these bios were written by the individuals they describe, although some asked me to spice them up a bit. Without further ado:

First, our wonderful professor!

John Clum -- Born in the same hospital as Bruce Springsteen. 43 years teaching at Duke. Written 7 books, 40 some essays and book chapters, a bunch of plays. Directed over 75 productions. Has run the Duke in London Drama Program since 1987. Now lives in Atlanta and London.

John Ingalls:

John is a rising junior at Duke. He’s an Electrical & Computer Engineering major, and has been involved on the technical production side of theatre for seven years now. He’s looking forward to seeing and learning from a lot of great theatre while in London!

Kristina Warren:

Hellooo! My name is Kristina Warren, and I am a rising Duke University junior studying music and pre-med, kind of. I can't really decide whether I act, but I can say that although I've not been part of a dramatic production since about age 5 (when I pushed aside all the other little kids in order to get to the front and say my line), I'm so thrilled to be studying drama in London and already feel I've learned a ton. I enjoy Belgian Chocolate ice cream during the opera interval, finding things I lost, and singing. I like laughing (especially at myself), whether or not others join me. I am sensitive of others, happier when I get stuff done quickly, and somewhere between ordered and messy. I try to look forward to good things and ignore whatever else. I look for depth but like to be reached on a simple level. I can be verbose. And finally, I have one of my lines memorized so far: "I am not yet so low but that my nails can reach unto thine eyes." Hopefully my acting abilities have matured since age 5.

Kyle Glackin:

Hey everyone. My name is Kyle Glackin and I am a rising sophomore at
Duke University studying Biomedical Engineering. My career in theater
began somewhat inadvertently as many things do, when I followed a girl
into my high school's drama club. Needless to say, I loved it and I
have been hooked ever since. Currently I'm a member of Duke
University Improv and Hoof n Horn and intend to stay strongly involved
throughout college. My first day in London (aside from the jet lag)
has been great, and it is only going to get better from here. Cheers
mates.

Rebecca Stone:

A rising Trinity sophomore at Duke U, Becca is planning on studying History, Theater, and Markets and Management. She enjoys performing, traveling, and watching plays and is very excited to get to do all of those things in London!

Chelsea Cottle:

Spotsylvania, Virginia (in gone with the wind, its the town where Ashleigh gets
captured); Junior at the College of William and Mary; Theater Major; Literary and
Cultural Studies Major.

I love to laugh. I love to dance and sing. I love Harry Potter, and most really great
books. I hate poetry, because I don't understand it and I shun things I don't
understand. I also adore dry wit. My dream job is to take Samantha Brown's job
on the travel channel-- she best sleep with one eye open. The beach is my
favorite place, well, that and the Magic Kingdom, Disney World. I quote
Anchorman a lot. I have many favorite movies and among them are V for
Vendetta, The Hott Chick, The Count of Monte Cristo, and any Disney movie
ever. I was raised on BBC television, and i love to bake so give me orders and I
can have cakes, cookies, scones, anything delightful ready to eat. I have been in
several shows, most notably being Belle in Beauty and the Beast. My favorite play
that I have read would probably be On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard. Read it. It's
hilarious.

Rachel Dickenson:
Trinity '10, Lit major (FVD certificate, Theater Studies minor)
... And I decided that she didn't add enough, so I'm adding a tidbit about her.
Rachel "claims" that she has never acted before. I am fortunate enough to be in a Shakespeare scene reading group with her, and I was blown away by her "first time" acting when she read for both Helena and Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Cameron McCallie (me):
I'm in the Pratt School of Engineering, with a major in Electrical and Computer engineering and a minor in music. Although this program has nothing to do with my major, I have always wanted to take a class with Professor Clum, visit the UK for a lengthy period of time, and I just LOVE to act. I don't have much experience with acting, nor have I taken many classes, but my interest grows every day... especially in the theater center of the world!

Alex Ellinport:
Alex is a rising junior at Duke University. He is pursuing a double major in Psychology and Theatre Studies and is a member of Duke University Improv (DUI) and Sigma Nu Fraternity. Alex enjoys kickin' it, playing basketball, watching Arrested Development and writing about himself in the third person. Alex does not enjoy reading poetry nearly as much as he enjoys listening to it. His favorite poem is "Stressed Out" by the most influential poetic group of the late 80s and mid 90s, A Tribe Called Quest. He is anxious to learn more about the compelling culture of the Brits and why they spell certain words in such an off-colour manner. He is also excited to see some plays. Mind the gap!

That's all I have for bios today, I'm still waiting on the rest of the group.
Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting new post coming soon, featuring pictures from many group members as well as writings about shows and class.

Cheers!

Day 1

2009-06-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

Hello again! This post will recap our exciting experiences yesterday, including:

* What we covered in our first class
* Sights around London on our way to the theater
* Our fabulous "free" dinner
* Our first show! (A Little Night Music)

I'm going to credit Becca Stone for the majority of this blog entry, she took some incredible notes in class and wrote a marvelous description of A Little Night Music.

Without further ado, here is a summary of what we covered in class:

"Theater is a celebration of language" -John Clum
In its simplest form, a script of a play is merely words on a page that state something or tell a story. What theater does, through a play, is glorify the words on the page, putting them in front of a willingly receptive audience, with actors moving and creating a connected picture, with lights and sounds and music added in, too. So it's just a way of taking language, words, and using them to raise big questions, ideas, and issues, generally leaving it up to the audience to decide how they feel about it, or try to answer some of the questions for themselves.

-The arts are heavily subsidized. The National Theater of Great Britain is completely subsidized. Students study drama in public school starting Day 1, and have a play reading list that they must complete in order to pass their examinations.

-Two of Clum's metaphors: 1) Theater is like a church. People come together in a space to share an experience about larger questions and connect to greater ideas. 2) Theater is like a courtroom, where the audience acts as the jury, judging and evaluating the characters, see their talents and where they have failed, etc.

-Revivals bring the present and the past together. It's a new version of old words, and actors have to figure out why they are reviving this in order to give it new meaning. Clum says: "Treat a new play like it's a classic, and treat a classic like it's a new play."

-"A script is not a play, it's a blueprint." Plays are meant to be seen and heard. Not read.

-Generally, plays are the last chapter of a really long story. You find out parts of the story through exposition told by the characters. Take any play, and think about it.

-Theater is just overall much easier to do here. People can turn a profit with a show in three weeks. In NY, actors couldn't do that in under a year because of labor union rules, etc. For instance, Orchestra unions have a rule that a certain size orchestra is necessary for a certain size theater. For instance, Mamma Mia! is/was in a theater that by the rules needed a 20 person orchestra, Mamma Mia! only needs 9 musical parts, but they are still paying 11 other parts because they have to.

After class, Clum took us on a double-decker bus to initiate our travels throughout the city. Here is a view of a London street from the top of the bus:

Our first marvelous siting: the Royal Opera House. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing any shows here, as it is incredibly difficult to get tickets (and they are very expensive). In addition to seeing the best opera in the world, this building also houses other entertainers of similar caliber, such as the best ballet dancing in the world.

This is the entrance to the National Gallery of Art. We saw some beautiful and historic paintings inside. We didn't spend too much time, however, as we were on our way to dinner.

Here is Saint Martin's church:

A neat view of the London skyline and the Thames River:

I'm sure all of you know what this famous clock is called!

Here is the London Eye. Clum explained that it is a 45 minute ride (for a full rotation) that grants the best view of the city. At the top, viewers can see up to 10 miles away. The Eye is 150m (443 ft) in height, and costs 17 pounds (about $28) to ride.

Group shot in the park! I have requested that everyone in the group send me a bio, so hopefully by next post you all will know who everyone is, including a little bit about them.

Pictures of a free flyer for A Little Night Music. Note that this is not the official program, which costs 3 pounds and is quite detailed.

And without further ado, I give you Becca Stone's excellent writing on the show:

The show was in Garrick Theatre (built in the 1880s, reflecting class structure, rich on first balcony, middle class in "the stalls" [best seats by today's standards, and where we sat], and 2nd and 3rd balconies. Very ornate and very old. Europe likes carving naked ladies.

The show itself is a the 4th revival in London of a 1973 musical. It's based on a movie called Smiles of a Summer Night, which is a classical farce (pretty much like the musical, plot-wise, too), that takes place in Sweden at the turn of the century. It possesses stock characters and situations like a old man that marries a teenage, naive girl, a vain soldier acting icy and stiff, a maid who seems to always be aware of everything, but also is the typical...as Clum called it, "sexually alert," a stern young man confused about the world and life and love, a woman dealing with a cheating husband (the soldier), and an actress who is adored by...everyone (by 'everyone,' I mean men, and by 'adored,' I mean slightly more...desire). Sounds simple, truthfully. But the story handles all issues that come up in life because of such relationships in a very connective, dream-like way, which Sondheim contributed to beautifully with breathtaking musical melodies and poignant lyrics that show up again repetitively, but with newer, different meanings each time. And the director of this revival, Trevor Nunn, was wicked awesome in the way he created the picture on stage, the blocking/movement, the lighting, everything. The show itself was a comedy, but the lighting and setting was rather dark and mysterious, while being lightened up by the dresses of characters Anne (Jessie Buckley), and Fredrika (Katie Buckhholz). and everyone when they were "in the country".

So there you have it for day 1! I can't say when today's events will be posted, but I hope soon.

Until then,
Cheers from the cast of Duke in London!

Introduction

2009-06-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to the "official" blog for the 6-week, Duke in London Summer program.

My name is Cameron McCallie, and I am one of the 15 students on the trip. I volunteered/was appointed the "chief blogger", and I hope to update the blog as often as possible.

I hope that everyone reading this blog will find the posts both informative and interesting, and I will include daily updates on class work, the city in general, and the shows that we see. We received our first bunch of show tickets today -- these are the 15 shows that we will see in the first HALF of the program, meaning much more to come!

If anyone has comments, feel free to e-mail me at cameron.mccallie@duke.edu.
I will answer as quickly as I can.

Check back tomorrow for a (potentially) exciting update!