I Cried While Writing This. Long Live London

Coming to Stratford was like a breath of fresh air. I really do enjoy the peace and quiet of a small town; although I loved being in London being able to sleep and not be awoken by the police sirens every night and morning was quite nice. Plus being away from the Royal National was a real win. My first ideas of Stratford upon Avon were that is was going to be so so small with not many shops or entertainment but we got here I was happily mistaken. There is a theatre, a movie theater, lines of shopping strips, and so much delicious food. The gluten free options here in Stratford are amazing. The best town I’ve ever been in for my Celiacs. I only saw one restaurant here that did not have a gluten free menu (Libertine Burgers) and that made my heart so full and my wallet so empty. I don’t know what I imagined Shakespeare’s hometown to look like, but I wasn’t expecting such a small area. Stratford upon Avon is maybe a 35 minute walk to cross the town from top to bottom. His home though is something I had pictured correctly in my mind. A small three room wooden house with creaky floors and low ceilings. I didn’t expect the beautiful beds they had though with the gorgeous head boards and lined poles. And even the mattresses of hay looked comfier than I imagined. It is quite cute to think about the walk William and Anne had to take to get to one another’s houses. The gorgeous walk that must have been back then. There are many apartments and townhomes between the two houses now but I imagine there was a bit less concrete and more grass and dirt on the pathways to their loves homes. To be inappropriate, I wonder where they conceived their first child. The town is so small it seems near the river by Trinity Church would have been their best bet- yikes. 

From the beginning of this trip to now, my idea of professional theatre is entirely anew. I’ve only seen Broadway and TheatreSquared productions besides school shows so I’ve had a really great entrance into professional and regional theatre and coming here gave my egotistically some hope. There were shows I quite enjoyed and felt the caliber was exquisite and other shows we saw I kept imagining myself on that stage and the different choices I would have made as an actor. Not to say some actors were horrible, but some actors were horrible. I saw many acting sins committed on these stages and in a twisted way, I have the confidence to know my art can and will be displayed somewhere. Cause if these guys can do it, so can I. My favorite shows I saw ranged from West End shows to fringe theatre. It wasn’t the funding or the space that made these shows great, it was the acting and directing and technical elements the whole team brought to the table that touched my heart with ferocity. I am excited to be a part of this industry. I am excited to work hard and dedicate my life to telling stories. I love stories. I love human stories. And I love stories that make us forget about our current humanity. London helped shape my confidence and trust in myself, knowing that I am worth being on the stage for the rest of my life. Who knows, maybe I’ll do an age- bent version of As You Like It in my seventies. That would be quite cool. I hope to be a Kathy Bates of the theatre world. She just gets wiser in her acting as she ages and tops each performance with her next. Everyone thought she peaked when she was young and beautiful, but her true career had not even started yet. People thought Taking Off was her one shot, but who even remembers Taking Off anymore??? I am excited and invigorated to be making art. This gap year I am about to embark in is quite scary, but I think the fact I am scared is a good thing. It means I care, means I am yearning to grow. It means I am taking a chance on myself outside of the academic theatre. I’m proud of myself for taking this leap (even though I gave my parents a heart attack when I told them I deferred my acceptance to graduate school.), I’ve chosen to choose me first. And that hasn’t happened often yet. I’m really fucking proud of myself for that. Cheers to decades and decades of acting to come. I know she can do it.