My Stratford Shakesperience (Days 5-12)

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've last blogged, but I have a good excuse! I have been crazy busy learning a thousand wonderful things in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Our time is now over- I am writing this from Dublin (Dublin blog post coming soon...)- but I still wanted to give you all some highlights from my last week in Stratford.

To give you a taste of what's kept me away from my blogging duties, I've typed what was a typical day for my traveling peers in I in Stratford where we studied with the Royal Shakespeare Company:

1) Breakfast with the fam. Have I mentioned how much I loved my Stratford house? I was so blessed to be living with the most wonderful group of friends... Even waking up early for breakfast was a joy with this crew! And Mum Kate (what we affectionately called our house-mom after only a couple of days with her) made a great breakfast!

this was taken on our last day... goodbyes were tearful for all

2) Group discussion on the latest production we'd attended. I loved these group conversations! They took place the morning after we viewed a production. It was such a pleasure to hear the insights of my classmates. Sometimes they caught things in the show that I missed, sometimes they loved a show I disliked or vice-versa... Either way, I always really enjoyed hearing what my friends thought of the incredible performances we got to see at the RSC.
3) Q&A with a RSC actor or director. This was a lot of fun! Someone from the company of whichever show we'd seen most recently would come join us to chat with us about the performance. Not only did we get to ask questions about the show, but I always tried to get some insight on these artists' careers and thoughts on the work they do. RSC actors typically work on several shows at the same time, so I saw some of these performers up to 3 or 4 times.
4) Lunch. You know me... I love a good meal. I especially loved taking these breaks to get to know my peers in a smaller group and see a little bit more of the city! By the time I left Stratford, I already had established a few spots around the city as my favorites. I especially loved sitting outside when we had the chance; the weather was warm nearly every day and its a great city for people/dog-watching.
5) Lecture. We had some of the most legit Shakespeare scholars around come speak to us during our time with RSC. Usually the lecture was on whatever show we were seeing next. So we went into every performance with a knowledge of the historical context and a list of themes to look out for.
6) Workshops. This was one of my favorite parts! We did some incredible things during this time. Dance, voice, movement, directing, acting... Each workshop was with an incredibly qualified and FUN professional. I learned so much and love that my non-theatre-major peers got a taste of some of the things I do in my department and why I'm so passionate about what I'm studying.
7) Performance. We attended a RSC performance almost every night! All in all, we saw three non-Shakespeare plays- Arden of Faversham, The White Devil, The Roaring Girl- and three Shakespeares- Henry IV Parts 1 &2 and Two Gentlemen of Verona. All were incredibly well-done, inspiring, and thought provoking. I dare not blog about them individually because there's just too much to say! Ask me about it some time and I can talk your ear off with an in-depth review of each.

Henry IV Part 1 set. You can see how close to the stage I sat.

Henry IV Part 2 act 2 set

So there it is! My life in Stratford. That's leaving out the two tea breaks we took every day (I love England), the visits to "off-campus" sites such as Anne Hathaway's cottage, and extra lectures here and there. That's also leaving out the extra-curricular activities of each day like dinner with our houses (one of the most laughter-packed and special parts of my day every day) and going out to the Dirty Duck pub after shows to mingle with the actors and locals.

Two more fun things and then I promise this lengthy post will end!
1) My first Saturday abroad.
2) Our day trip to Blenheim palace and Oxford.

My first Saturday here in the UK was absolutely incredible! We were blessed with another gorgeous day in Stratford, and my friends and I took advantage by heading out to do three of the things we do best: shop, eat, and gab. This whole day is just a blur of sunshine, delicious food, beautiful riverside views, girl talking, boutiques, and street markets. Plus my friend Abby purchased a violin and made close to $25 playing on the street! We later found out that you have to have a license to do that, so she had to stop, but for a while we had a lot of fun being total groupies and following her around listening to her gorgeous music.

The next day, we all piled on a bus and headed to Blenheim Palace. It was another beautiful day (Lizzie did not bring enough short sleeved clothing... There will be much regret and outfit repeating until the season changes. Whoops.), and we were set free to explore the palace and grounds. I got to see the place where Winston Churchill was born as well as beautiful rooms full of extravagant china and artwork. Beautiful though it was, I spent most of my time wandering through the incredible gardens and winding paths around the palace. There was a rose garden, asian garden, beautiful green pastures... I took so many pictures; it was so difficult to pick which ones I wanted to put on the blog! (If you would like to see more, check out my Facebook. I'm not nearly as picky with my pictures when it comes to Facebook.)

After we had taken in the glorious palace and grounds, we got back on the bus and made a stop in Oxford. Oxford is bigger and busier than Stratford, but still fairly quaint, especially if you find a nice quiet spot! A couple of new friends and I found an indoor marketplace where I had the most incredible panini of my life with a heaping side of girl-talk. After lunch, we met up with a couple more friends and wandered the city. We spent most of the day just weaving in and out of streets and alleys, getting lost and occasionally stopping into stores. Finally, with tired feet, we found a grassy spot near one of the colleges and napped in the shade until it was time to go. It was the perfect first weekend of my European adventure!