"Seriously, is this your life?!" "I know. I don't understand it either."

Once again, it's been too long. I'm really going to have to stop apologizing at the beginning of each blog post, aren't I? Well, best get used to it, because my life is about to get even more busy than it has been! So much has happened in such a short time and it seems that everything is happening so quickly. I know it will only speed up from now on. Also, I must thank my lil sis for inspiring the title of this blog post. Most days I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to be living how I am right now. It's baffling. Now, to catch up on the last 2 months!

The final weeks of Term 1 will forever be etched into my memories. We knew it was coming, but we still didn't know quite what to expect. The end of Term 1 brings with it two things: the Carol Concert, which we'd have to form a choir for, and the Scene Exercise Week, which would see us swapping roles with the 2nd Year Acting Students.

This prop originally said "Freedom for All". Halfway through the week, it was "Freedom for SM1s".
Rob's response was "Not a chance". By the end of the week, it was "No Freedom for SM1 Tutors." 

Luckily, we'd had a little taste of the acting experience already in our Production Exercise. As we brought together all that we'd learned over the term, we put on 2 scenes of a play, taking on each of the 6 main roles while the rest of the class acted out said play. So, by the end of the week, we'd put on that play 48 times, having acted for at least 6 rounds. (Or 12, as there was a rehearsal and then a performance.) By the end of that week, madness had taken over and we were pleading for our freedom and bribing our tutors with candy. So, when it came time to learn acting with the actors, we knew a little of the insanity that would inevitably follow.

Yes. Yes, we are. 

First up was the Scene Exercise, which I have dubbed "Mutual Respect Week". Despite it's international reputation as one of the world's best drama schools, LAMDA is very keen to keep ego at a minimum. No one is better than anyone else, no one job is more important than another; Theatre is a team effort. Thus, a few years ago, they started the initiative to give Technicians and Actors a taste of the others' job. As far as they know, LAMDA is the only drama school doing this, and I'm glad they do. Throughout the term, we've had a few of the acting classes; Movement, Voice and Stage Combat. During the final week, us Techies were given a script and we had classes on how to break down the text and really discover the characters. We were given another movement class, which was definitely out of my comfort zone! The aerobic style class a few weeks back wasn't too bad, but following my elbows through music and then making up a greeting as a different creature are certainly not things I can see myself doing to prepare for work!

As we learned text breakdowns and breathing exercises, the actors were learning how to program Sound and Lighting cues, how to write up a prompt script, run the prompt desk and then sourced props for our little show. It was a great week and it was a good chance for us to get to know the actors as well. There are many acting groups at LAMDA, and it is often hard for us to get to know them all. We were placed with the 2nd years by design; we'll be tech-ing their public productions next year and we'll all graduate together. We had a few classes together where we helped them with their technical learning and they helped us to find better ways to present our play. It was amazing how quickly they picked up on bits of the script that we'd spent 3 hours figuring out in the Text class! 

I look so awkward in this photo... because I felt awkward.
So much of this class was spent making funny faces at each other!

At the end of the week, we put on the play; actors backstage and techies on stage. It was such a valuable experience. At the end of the final day, we had a debrief with the tutors who gave us feedback on the week and also asked us for our feedback. Since this is only a 4 year old project, they've been adjusting it each year. Most of us just wished we could have had more time together to really learn how the other side works, but then we'd all be doing full courses in both acting and tech-ing!

The last day of term brought a very special Christmas tradition: the Carol concert. We were feeling fairly confident about our performance in the weeks leading up to the concert, our choir director had even said that ours was the best sound she'd ever heard from the Stage Management group, and somehow I'd ended up in a little duet at the beginning of the song. But when we arrived at the church for one last rehearsal and half of us were fighting colds, we began to get nervous. Our director cut the solos (thank goodness), putting all of the soloists together for the first verse. We returned later to light the candles, which proved the effectiveness as our training as we all became very concerned about the amount of fire in the building and if everything was risk assessed and flame proofed.

So. Much. Fire.

When we found a program and saw that ours was the last performance of the evening, we began to get really nervous. Then we saw that Patricia "Such Fun" Hodge was given a reading and realized we'd be singing in front of her too! All of the students were sat around the church facing one wall where the tutors and the audience sat. The group performances took place in the middle, but the first song of the evening was a group performance from "The Messiah". As ALL of the actors stood, our small little group of techies felt even more out of place! The evening went on and, as each year group performed their piece, we began to feel less and less talented. We just wanted put on some steel toed boots, black clothes and fade into the background to call lighting cues. However, as the penultimate act turned back to their seats and we stood up, the applause doubled in volume from their exit to our entrance. We knew we had support and even though it was probably our worst rendition of "White Christmas", we still received the biggest applause of the evening. Even without that, Rob was immediately on his feet, clapping like a proud father, and I think that was good enough for all of us.

After the Carol concert, we all made our way to one of the SM2 flats, where tradition dictates that the tutors join us for drinks and announce our roles for the next rotation. Of course, they can't be announced all at once, or in any kind of order. No, roles must be announced only 3 or 4 at a time, and not all information must be given immediately. "You're a TSM. On what show? Oh, we'll tell you later..." They thrived on every ounce of frustration they caused. Luckily, I found out my role about halfway through the night, so my suspense was shortened a bit and then I just had to wait to find out who else I'd be working with. I'm really excited to be on the construction crew building the set for "Rent". Or at least I was until I got my schedule this week: 0800-1800 each day, with a 40minute commute to the workshop. Ugh. I've warned my flat mates that I will soon be a zombie that just floats in and out of the flat, coming and going in the darkness.

Nonetheless, I'm still excited. I've seen pictures of the model box for the set and it looks like a lot of welding. I used to hate welding, mostly because you can't see what you're doing until you start making sparks, but LAMDA has fancy new eye masks that only go dark when the weld begins. I enjoy it a lot more now :-) I'm also excited to really learn the CNC (Computer Navigated Cutter) machine.  It reminds me a lot of the CMC (Computer Mat Cutter) that I used when doing Custom Picture Framing. I've used it once; I needed to cut a round board for a project and asked if it would be quicker to have a quick lesson on it, rather than measuring it out with the hand router. My Construction tutor obliged. I like to think that my enthusiasm for it was part of the reason I was put on the construction crew this rep. That, and the fact that I can handle the cold. The workshop is under three rail arches and doesn't have central heating, just little heaters everywhere, so it can get quite chilly. In fact, when Rob was reading out the assignments for this term, he even said "Ah, who wants to be cold? Megan, you're on Construction." Works for me. I'm used to being out in my Dad's shop with strategically placed heaters. It'll feel like home. Just with British accents and annoying Phillips screws instead of my beloved Robertson.

My first use of the CNC Machine. I can't wait to really put this thing through its paces. 

Christmas itself was fun and really low-key. I took on a bit of Temp work, mostly so I could spoil myself with some plays (Made in Dagenham, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The 39 Steps, The Railway Children) ..... And I spent some time working on school projects and generally enjoying the time to relax before Term 2 takes over my life! The KwAussie flatmate and I have made it our tradition to go for a walk on Christmas Day and this year it was Regent's Park. It was a beautiful day and a nice excuse to fill ourselves with Christmas dinner later on :-) As ever, it was great to Skype with my family and have my little moment of homesickness for my amazing family. Have I mentioned how great my family is? I have? Well, too bad. They are awesome and I will never stop saying it. I would not be living the amazing life that I have if it were not for them.

The ducks and I in Regent's Park on Christmas Day. 

The first week back to LAMDA was basically a "Pre-Pre-Production" week for the shows as well as final prep time on our design projects. This is another LAMDA "Mutual Respect" initiative which sees us taking on the role of the Designer and working with a Director to create a scale model box for a set for a play. I'm doing "Let the Right One In", which has over 20 locations and supernatural vampire effects that I need to deal with. Not only must we come up with a design, in collaboration with the Director, but we must build it to 1:25 scale within the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre (according to 1:50 floor plans), keeping in mind all technical and safety issues that we would face if this play were actually being put on. For example, my design has mobile lockers which move around and open up to reveal different items and create locations, as well as being climbed on and spurting blood in a vampire murdering spree at the end of the play. In addition, we're flying in rafters/girders as windows and the jungle gym, as well as hanging people from wires throughout the play.

The Design Project visualization. Now to build the thing properly.

 So, I have to know that my floor must be anti slip, possibly with a drainage system, my lockers must be weighted for stability and have braked casters, the rafters that fly in as the jungle gym must be able to bolt to the false floor etc. This doesn't even get into the rear projection system on the "Cyc" that I need to allow room and angle for. Oh yeah, and everything that I build must be accurate enough to be built from. In real life, the construction crew will receive floor plans as well as the scale model box and they will measure from either one to build the real thing.  Does your head hurt? Good, because future blog posts will probably include some complaining about this project. So far, I'm enjoying it, but now that the design is basically complete, I have to start building the darn thing and I'm bracing myself for 1:25 frustration. In the end, the models will go on display where industry professionals will view them, interview us and choose 3 winners. I think one will actually be turned into a show and all will go on display in LAMDA over the next year. No pressure then.

It's strange to say that I am officially done my first term at LAMDA and already picking up speed in the second. There are days that I'm still amazed I'm even here. The first term was focused on classroom learning, very practical learning, but it was instruction time nonetheless. Now that we are into second term, the tutors no longer consider themselves to be our teachers. They are our colleagues and mentors as we navigate our way through the next 2 years of theatre production. We're excited to get to work, but it does feel as though we're being sent out onto a tight rope and they're not holding our hands anymore, they're just the safety net. Here I go!