It’s Tough Out There

Most people,

who are not a part of the theatre society, think that the acting world is a place for games and fun. That we do as we like, that we play and have fun and our only challenge is whether or not we manage to memorise a script. 

If you’re one of these people, allow me to swipe that impression from your brain right away:

You can’t be late; if you are, people won’t hire you. You have to catch on quickly; time is money, you waste time, people won’t hire you. There are no second chances; you make a mistake, people won’t hire you. Then of course you have to count in the competition on top of that. 

At East 15, my school, they wish to prepare us the best they can for this, so what they have done, is this: 

If you come but two minutes late to a lesson, you will be marked absent. If you are marked absent three times, you will fail in that subject, and if you fail in one subject you will fail the entire year. No mercies. 

And I swear by my life and the my student loan (I know I’m being dramatic, but I’m also perfectly serious) it actually is that strict here. Two minutes late, you will be marked absent. That is not over-exaggerated in the slightest – not even by thirty seconds. You might not believe me, fine, your problem, but this is the absolute truth. 

I pray to all and whatever forces out there: don’t ever let me oversleep.

The Simple Pleasures In Life

Are really simple. 

When you can feel all happy and cheerful just washing pots and pans because you just bought them and they look so nice, that’s what I’d call life’s simple pleasures. 

Now to elaborate: 

I went to the most brilliant shop today with Toria. It’s called Argos, and it has enormous catalogs with everything from kitchen utilities to garden tools and blankets. You find what you want, write down the article number, go to the desk and pay for it, then pick up your stuff at another desk –almost like a weird type of Ikea. 

So today I bought a pots and pans set, with two frying pans and three saucepans, for 30 quid. There are shops that are actually cheaper than that, but quality is really more important than the price. Don't they look lovely?

(quid = pounds)

Long Day

That’s what today’s been. 

Nothing else for it. 

We went to the Clifftown studios today, which is an old church that has been renovated on the inside to be East 15’s acting studio, more or less. Met the teachers of the different drama courses here at Southen, and of course the acting and stage combat teacher. We had to meet up at 10, then we had welcoming speeches until about half past twelve, lunch, then to the Gateway building (university building) at a quarter to two for another speech. 

After that was registration, though ours wasn’t until half past four. Follow that was the Fresher’s fare, where we basically could get signed up to different sports club activities and other stuff (plus we got loads of free sweets. That would be the main reason I went there really). 

 

We ate dinner at home, went out to some house party and that’s basically it. Propper classes are starting on Monday, on from then on out, it's 9am 'til 6pm every day, plus evening lessons every Thursday and lessons some Saturdays. 

In comparison, this day was nothing. 

(The pictures are from our armory, this is what I'll be toying around with for the next three years ;D )

Bit Over More Than You Can Chew.

Ever had that feeling?

Right at the moment, I have a very bittersweet feeling swirling in my gut, occasionally making my chest clench and heart flutter. 

I have now been made aware of something I did not know before. I never really researched my university or my course that much before and after I auditioned. I knew what it was about and I knew I wanted to give it a shot. 

Now I know better. The East 15 BA acting and stage combat course is the only one of its kind in the whole world. We are 16 people who have been accepted, out of several, several hundred (we might even be talking above a thousand applicants here, but I don’t actually know the exact statistics). I already knew this was the only course of its kind in the UK, but the whole world? That’s quite something to have casually thrown in your face, late at night on one of the local pubs. 

I keep asking myself, how did I get in? How did I manage this? I of all people am one of the lucky few accepted. How did this happen? I am also the only one in my year that didn’t audition for the actual acting combat teachers. 

And so I got a bittersweet feeling swirling in my gut, occasionally making my chest clench and heart flutter; I’m hesitantly proud of myself, terrified I only got in by a fluke and don’t actually have what it takes, and anxiously excited to get started.

The Best/Worst Morning

I've had in a serious while.

Reason why it’s good: I successfully managed to move in to campus, I met loads of people yesterday, everyone’s incredibly open and nice, and despite staying out for quite a long while yesterday, I’m not hung-over. 

Reason why it’s bad: Yesterday, I was awake from 8 am, ‘til roughly 6 am, and the only thing I ate, all day, was a white bred roll-thing (sort of like the whitest rundstykke you’ve ever come across) and an apple. I’m not joking. So right now, I’m so hungry I can barely move and I’m in a serious deal of pain. (And the mattress is impossibly uncomfortable. It's a good, old spring mattress, I'm getting a mattress topper today). 

So, right now, I’m hoping to distract my hunger by writing and then manage a couple hours more sleep before I go out to get food. 

I’m not awake enough to go into detail, but here you go, the quick-ish version of what happened yesterday:

I woke at 8am. A taxi I ordered the day before came and picked me up 9.15, and I managed to move rather painlessly in to campus. Throughout the day my flatmates appeared; Toria, Leah, Stefan, Inês, Daniella, Steph, Lucas, and then two other girls who haven’t arrived yet. We sat around talking most of the day, and being generally busy with the new place. 

At 8.15 pm, we all went out to the Student Union (they’re having a party every night this week, and yesterday was “the social network” – get to know everyone and meet people). I met Harriet, a girl from my course who I’ve had loads of contact with on facebook for a while, and we managed to find the rest of our classmates. 

We went from the Student Union, to a pub called The Alex, then back to the SU, then we went to Dean’s (guy from my course) campus flat around 11-12. Originally it was supposed to be stage combatants only, all three years, but it sort of escalated from there. Then we went to some guy called DJ’s, around 2, because he and some other people had a house. And so far, throughout the evening and night, I’d met loads of people, only a couple few of which I remember the name of now, but I’ll probably have a new go at it later. 

Around 3 am, Dean, Lucas and I went back to campus. Dean didn’t really want to leave, but we were all pretty knackered after moving in and all that had happened that day, so we left. Lucas hasn’t got his bedding yet (it’s being sent in the post or something or other), so I borrowed him my extra pillow (‘cause I’d bought a two pack) and my fleece blanket. 

But, we went home at 3, so how did I end up being awake ‘til 6, you ask? Well, Lucas talked me into “borrowing” some hot chocolate powder from someone’s cupboard (we’ll replace it, relax) and we sat drinking hot cocoa and talking for the next hours. His room is right across the hallway from mine, and out of the ten people in our flat, we’re the only combatants; the other are world performance students, so the two of us are heavily outnumbered. 

Right before I went to bed I found three big bloody spiders (I’m never leaving my window open again), that Lucas squashed into the carpet floor of my room. Wonderful. You can’t see it now, but I refuse to step on that bit of my floor ever again.