Hi, This is Sophie first blog post.

MY FIRST WORD PRESS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🙂

We did it Joe! We’re going to london!

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I don’t love making grand statements about my own development as a human being. In my experience change is something that happens gradually, only to be noticed post months, or even years, of development and learning. Throwing all that out the window though, London flipped a certain switch in me that I didn’t know existed. The other night, our last night in London, I walked back to the hotel after the musical we saw and took many detours to simply get one last bit of the city into my bones. Taking out my AirPods, I listened to the noisiness and simply let my internal monologue fill my head instead. I thought about how much I missed my girlfriend, the things I wanted to cook when I got home, and how I should probably make more of an effort to talk to my brother. After all that though, I found myself entertaining a broader, more melancholic train of thought, I have to go home…  Home isn’t a bad thing by any means, in fact, I’m excited to resume my life, but I feel like this trip gave me a taste of the kind of life I want to evolve my current one into, one that I don’t have yet.

When I was deciding what to do after high school I chose the University of Arkansas. I wanted to join the Theatre department there and, in full transparency, because I didn’t think I could afford to go out of state. Making this decision, I fully committed and exclusively applied to that university, the one in my hometown. My twin brother went the opposite route and worked his ass off to get into an art school in New York City. As my first semester started I loved my classes, peers, and professors but I couldn’t help but feel like, to a certain extent, my life was happening elsewhere. Not that it was bad, and in no way am I bad-mouthing or regretting joining this school because I’ve grown so much being here.  I’d just lived in Fayetteville my whole life and, to be honest, staying there wasn’t exactly what the younger me’s idealistic view of the future had in mind. As I watched my brother and other peers who left home thrive in their new environments, I went to the bookstores I knew like the back of my hand, the same movie theater I saw movies in when I was five, and simply kept going just like I had when I was in high school. It felt a bit like everyone else was flying off to new horizons and I was floating in space, stagnant. 

In my time on this trip, I explored London as much as possible, tried foods I couldn’t get anywhere in Fayetteville, took a trip to Amsterdam, saw a film that I never dreamed I’d get to see in theaters, experienced more live theater than I’d ever seen, and had a million firsts. While it may sound hyperbolic, me leaving this trip is not the same person who flew here last month. The importance of studying abroad to me was originally just to have a fun vacation, see some theater, and then come back. Instead, I found that I really needed these types of new experiences. I needed to go and explore a bit so that I could get a taste of what could await me on the other side of undergraduate. A reignited thirst for the unknown that I’d all but become content with the lack of in my life. While yes I learned an immense amount about theater that I’m incredibly grateful for, more importantly, I learned a lot about myself. For that, I will always cherish my Summer abroad and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

It’s hard for me not to feel conflicted when writing this post. On the one hand, I adore Shakespeare, I respect and love the exigence behind this piece, and went in wanting to love it. On the other hand, I feel as though not being able to speak Ukrainian and witnessing a production with such a minimal set and costumes I got very little out of the performance. Which, in all honesty, breaks my heart. I wanted so much to come out of this breaking past the language barriers and really getting something out of the play having already known the story of King Lear from class but at the end of the day I felt empty. 

So instead of simply reviewing this in a traditional sense, I think the fairest thing for me to do would be to quickly touch on why I admire this so much as a piece as opposed to highlighting my experience watching it and talking about what I liked. For starters, tragedy has a tendency in history to breed some of the most real and emotionally charged art and you can tell in the emotion put forth by all performers that they’re giving performances based in the reality that they’ve lived. Despite not being actors, it doesn’t matter because there’s a level of realism that almost no actor could truly replicate born through true experience. Aside from the performance side of things, I think the minimalist set was a really intresting choice and it gave the performances a lot of room to breathe to highlight the importance of what they’re saying. The usage of the four scaffolding towers draped in muslin (Canvas?) made the movement to indicate a change in location very easy which I quite appreciated as a viewer. Overall, I wish I got more out of the show but I recognize the importance of it and I’m glad I got to see something that used theater as a response to the events in our modern world.

It is insane how fast one month in England has gone by. In that time, my perception of what theatre is and can be has been completely changed. Theatre in London has inspired me to think outside the box, which is extremely hard for me. Only recently have I started my journey as a set designer and had only considered myself a performer until this year. 

Having this experience has really changed me, and in writing this blog, I keep discovering new ways I’ve been inspired. Growing up, I never had the chance to watch professional theatre. My family had immigrated to the United States only a year before I was born. The Arts and Theatre weren’t something they knew about. It wasn’t something common in my community.

So, growing up, I wasn’t exposed to theatre. Coming to college, not knowing enough about the theatre world was a huge insecurity of mine. I didn’t know major references to productions, or theatre icons. I didn’t know any history or important culture moments. The only piece of theatre history I was slightly knowledgeable in was Shakespeare. It was the person whose significance in theatre I understood. While I was never all knowledgeable about Shakespeares life, it feels full circle to come and explore where he was from.

After being in central London for so long, Stratford was a breath of fresh air. I don’t think I fully wrapped my head around the fact that we visited Shakespeares homes. I got to see a piece of history with my own eyes. Stratford Upon Avon also served as an opportunity to reflect on my journey. I ended up spending alone time, enjoying the town and the fresh air. On of the most English things I experienced, was watching the English people get worked up over a rowing race. I was watching from a bench; with the best vanilla ice cream I’ve had. It had a little bit of raspberry sauce that made it so good.

It was also interesting to live in a town that more accurately represented the rest of England. I had the luxury of a 24hour Tesco in London, while the tesco in Stratford closed at 10pm. Night life was basically nonexistent, which made adventures end shorter in the day. Part of why I loved London, was being able to explore the city, day and night. I don’t want to get crucified for saying this, but I really missed London after the first night in Stratford. A part of me wishes I had taken more advantage to watch theatre the first week I arrived. I yearned to be back but also yearned to be home. Isn’t that an interesting feeling?

I am incredibly grateful for the group of people I experienced London with. As individuals, we all experienced stressful or difficult situations. But we always tried to remain calm and optimistic. We were always there for each other, even if things were going horribly wrong. My Paris people know what I mean.

This trip was full of so many opportunities. I had the opportunity to get closer to my peers, and form new friendships. I took on another pair of parents (AKA Mother Susan and Father Tim). I was inspired to explore fashion, unafraid of any judgement. I felt safe to be who I was, and I am entirely grateful to all of you. I tried new foods from different cultures, broadening my palate. I tried doing a British accent in Paris (and failed terribly). I figured out how to travel by myself in a whole new country (thank goodness they speak English).

I have done so many new things, and have learned a lot about myself through this trip. It’s taught me that I really can do anything I put my mind to. London was a beautiful city to explore, full of different cultures and amazing theatre. I will miss the Tube, and English Breakfast. The sound of free healthcare at night, Brick Lane Market, the array of languages at every turn, the West End, stealing croissants from breakfast. I will miss so many things. I don’t think think about this as my peak, because I WILL be back. It’s not goodbye, just see you later. Perhaps Grad School? We’ll see 🙂

Farewell Friends, for one last time

-Belinda (AKA belindar)

Once when I was scrolling through instagram while on this trip I saw a post by a person form the US and they were talking about the differences between the US and the UK.  It was very clear that the person came from a small town in the US and had only been to London and thought that London was like the rest of the UK.  As you can imagine they got called out a lot in the comments.  I have traveled all over the world but always to big cities and while I understood that city life is completely different from town life I had never experienced that difference.  I’m really grateful for our short stay in Stratford because it gave me that experience of town life.  One thing I noticed is the cars and walkability.  Stratford was still walkable because it was built before cars and while not as walkable as London it is still extremely walkable, that being said I saw a lot of personal cars in Stratford which I did not see in London.  Another thing I noticed about Stratford is the fact half of the shops have Shakespeare in the name which I thought was funny.  Also seeing the Shakespeare related buildings was awesome because while royal palaces are cool, seeing cottages where more normal people lived that were built before the founding of our country is insane.  Seeing how there were only two rooms and everyone slept in the same room really showed the great difference between royalty and peasants in pre-modern times.

I think if I wanted to completely wrap up this trip I would write more than anyone is ever willing to read so I’m going to try and keep this pretty short.  I want to start off by thanking the University of Arkansas for giving me this opportunity.  I also want to thank Shawn, Courtney, Susan, and Tim for all their amazing help on this trip.  I know I’m going to look back on this trip as some of the best days of my life and I have you all to thank for this amazing experience.  When I try to think of a favorite moment I really can’t.  I had so much fun watching all the shows, going to museums, getting to know the city, and getting to hang out with all these amazing people.  I can’t place a specific moment as my favorite.  As a theatre student of course Broadway and the West End are my big goals so getting to be in London for almost a month was a great experience and I learned so much.  This trip has changed my life and opened my eyes so much to things you can do with theatre.  I cannot wait to return to working on theatre with all this new knowledge I have gained.  Once again thank you to everyone that helped me get on this trip, I am so grateful to all of you and also thank you to my fellow students on the trip for being the wonderful people you all are, this trip wouldn’t be nearly as fun as it was without all of you.