I've made it to reading week in one piece. Covered in bruises, exhausted, feelings hurt somewhat in places, and completely baffled by music theory, but in one piece!
I'm still in love with our contemporary classes, which have so few people that Tarrant can come round and do individual corrections. And make me plié ridiculously low because he knows me well enough to push me in exercises now...
My singing teacher is amazing too - I know some people have been working entirely on technique and not singing any songs, but I've been getting two songs to learn a week, and then working on technique through them. Which I really prefer. And she let me work on Dyin' Ain't So Bad, which I've been wanting to do FOREVER.
So over reading week I'll be singing, writing essays, starting my Introduction to Musical Theatre portfolio, generally being lonely for a few days while all my flatmates are gone, AND seeing Les Mis with my sister, who's coming down to visit me for a few days because I can't afford to go home. Oh, and sleeping. With no 7am starts for dancing, I'll be doing a lot of sleeping...
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I just got back to my halls after a day out in London, and oh my god Once is stunning! I went to the matinee, and it's the first full standing ovation I can remember ever seeing at an afternoon show. It was definitely worth the hour and a half on the train there and back (and my friend Ben's two hour journey from the opposite direction), and the money spent on our amazing seats (stalls N9 and 10, and we only booked 6 days ago!)... and all the money I spent on merchandise. I do this every time...
Seeing the show - and having a chat about the industry with a guy dressed as a zombie on the train back (apparently it's world zombie day - fun fact!) - has really inspired me and reminded me how important it is to be multi-talented in theatre. For anyone not familiar with the show, the actors play all the music themselves on stage, some of them playing up to four instruments. There are several shows that I love that require the actors to be actor-musos, and tours often require actors to be able to stage manage or act as resident directors. There have even been productions where actors operate light and sound boards on stage.
So I'm determined to not get pigeon holed into only acting, singing and dancing. I want to have as many useful skills as I possibly can for my work, because at the end of the day that's what makes you employable, and I want to work;I want to work a lot, on loads of different shows in different genres, requiring different skills. Obviously I want to act in musicals, it's who I am. But I want to direct and design and play music and make an impact! I want to try everything, and that's what's so exciting about doing what you love.
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It's been a while - apparently we actually have to do work at uni, so I've been busy...
As well as half eight dance classes, I've been doing gospel choir, musical theatre chorus, musical theatre society, singer's acting workshop, one to one vocal lessons, AND my four lectures. I've just finished the second essay that I've been set, and I'm listening to the songs that my voice teacher has sent me to work on. Wow. Thank god for weekends, otherwise I'd never sleep.
I'm aching everywhere after my first contemporary class on Friday, but I absolutely loved it - only seven of us (out of forty two..?!) turned up, so our teacher Tarrant was able to push all of us really hard. And boy am I feeling it. I've never been told off for having turn out before, but apparently after ten years of ballet, my right foot naturally turns out of its own accord, and I find it really hard to stand in parallel - oops! It was absolutely my favourite dance class that I've had so far though, and it was totally different from the kind of dance I've done before. And if the way I'm aching now is anything to go by, I'm going to have KILLER leg muscles by the end of this!
We had a flat pizza night last night, and totally stuffed our faces with four pizzas, two loaves of garlic bread and a pack of potato wedges between five of us; I love that the girls all like food as much as me, we really have an amazing flat. I've got a bit of an issue with my room though - since I moved in, there's been a dead spider on the ceiling. The cleaners killed it, but didn't move it. Thanks, cleaners, real helpful. Matt (who lives in the flat across the corridor from us) decided to try to get rid of it for me, but somehow ended up scrubbing a patch of paint off the ceiling. So there's now a brown patch where the paint used to be. At least the spider's gone I suppose... He has promised to buy paint and touch it up though, so hopefully I won't be charged for it.
I suppose I should go back to singing practice now - it's that or go next door and ruin Matt's ceiling as revenge...
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