Theatre 290: London Theatre Seminar
Intersession January 2010-11; SUNY Geneseo
Professor Melanie Blood
This info is on my Geneseo web site:
www.geneseo.edu/~blood
London locations:
We are in Bloomsbury, directly north of the West End, built in 1600s, an artists and writers area since 19th century.
Housing and
telephones:
Acorn of London Properties office: 19 Bedford Place Phone: 020 7467 6700
Your flats: 99 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3LA. Florida State U Study Center.
Flat 6: (men) – tel # 020 7813- 32761. triple, 1 twin bedrooms
Flat 4: (women 1) tel #020 7813-3274. 1 triple, 1 twin bedrooms
My flat: 99 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3LA. Florida State U Study Center.
Flat 1 - Telephone number #020 7813 -3271; my US cell phone 585-727-1630
PHONING FROM THE US: DIAL 011 FOR INTERNATIONAL, USE COUNTRY CODE 44 1ST, and leave off first 0 – just do the London code of 20
Classes, of which there are 3, lasting 2 hours each, will be held at the FSU Study Center, also 98-104 Great Russell St. Bloomsbury, London, England WC1B 3LA.
Travel in London: All other events (plays, tours, etc.) are accessible on the tube, and I have noted the station for each. I will give you tube passes – you have 2 one-week passes and 1 three-day pass, which will take you anywhere in the central 2 districts of London. It will work on the bus outside those two districts, and if you want to ride the tube further out you pay a surcharge. Pick up both a tube and street map of central London, and take them and your student ID card with you everywhere.
Paris weekend Jan 1-3: I will cover not only the Eurostar, but also the FIAP rooms for two nights (includes breakfast and dinner) and Metro tickets and the tour of the Paris Opera out of your seminar tuition. That weekend most museums have free hours. Suggestions for and info on Paris sites are on a separate page.
Theatre 290: London Theatre Seminar
Course requirements:
1. Attend the 9 plays pre-purchased for the class, at minimum.
2. Attend all the tours/workshops scheduled on the syllabus. A few are still in the process of scheduling; they are marked with stars.
3. Participation in three classroom discussions on plays, projects, tours (12 points)
4. 2 Museum Projects @ British Museum & V&A (12 points each, 24 total)
5. 2 Scavenger Hunts @ National Portrait Gallery & Actors Church (8 points each, 16 total)
6. 1 2pp. essay on Elizabethan theatre and audiences based on experience of Shakespeares Globe, Banqueting House, Shakespeare Walking tour. (12 points)
7. 3 1-2pp. reviews of theatrical productions (12 points each, 36 total)
*100 total possible points for the course.
*A standard grading scale applies: 90-100=A, etc.
Additional London theatre and entertainment:
Info on more shows: http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/ or http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/. Plus the timeout link below, which has lots of reviews of shows and general information.
Timeout London is overall a great place to find out what else is on in London, the whole time we're there. And of course you can click out of the theatre section to find comedy, music, clubs, New Years events, etc. http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/
**Battersea Arts Center (new and experimental works)
**Barbican Arts Center (has film, theatre, art galleries, LOTS of new work)
**Soho Theatre; also an arts center and sponsors lots of new work, comedy, kids events, and writing workshops. http://www.sohotheatre.com/
Dec 2010 – Jan 2011; Daily
Syllabus
Mon 27 Dec Delta Fl #3, dep JFK 6:29 pm
Tues 28 Dec Arrive London Heathrow T4, 7:05 am
Westbus Coach to #99 Great Russell St, Bloomsbury
Check into flats; settle in and adjust to time change (nap)
Meet for syllabus review in my flat; walking tour to grocery store, phone store, post office, ATM, West End theatre district, TKTS booth
Group lunch or early dinner
SHOW 1: 7:15 pm Antony and Cleopatra, RSC production at the Roundhouse; tube: Chalk Farm
Wed 29 Dec British Museum Project
Thurs 30 Dec ? Scavenger hunt #1: Covent Garden Actor's Church
***CLASS #1: at FSU Study Center, time TBA
Go over next assignments
Present British Museum project
SHOW 2: 7 pm Peter Pan at New Wimbledon Theatre,
Tube: Wimbledon
Fri 31 Dec SHOW 3: 5:30 pm Billy Elliott at the Victoria Palace Theatre; tube: Victoria
Fireworks over Thames at midnight (optional)
Sat 1 Jan 8:02 am Eurostar 9008 to Paris, arriving 11:17 am. Departing from St Pancras, London, arr 10:59 Gare du Nord, Paris (lose 1 hour to time difference). Arr St. Pancras 1 hr before departure.
Check in to FIAP Jean Monnet, 30, Rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris; tel no from US: 01 43 13 17 17 (14e Arrondissement, Glacire Metro stop). One men's and one women's room; breakfast & dinner included. http://www.fiap.asso.fr/
Paris sightseeing
Sun 2 Jan ***11:30 am tour of Palais Garnier, old Paris Royal Opera House.
Paris
sightseeing; most art museums free today including Louvre and Musee D'Orsay
Mon 3 Jan Paris sightseeing
Eurostar 9047 to London. Leave 6:13 pm, Gare du Nord, arrive London St. Pancras 7:29. (gain an hour in travel: arrive Gare du Nord 1 hr before departure.)
Tues 4 Jan Scavenger hunt Covent Garden Actor's Church or National Portrait Gallery
4:15 Tour of Theatre Royal Drury Lane
SHOW 4: 7:30 pm An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde, Vaudeville Theatre; tube: Charing Cross
Wed 5 Jan Globe workshop, tour, museum day; time TBA; tube: London Bridge
Thurs 6 Jan 11:45 Back Stage tour of Theatre Royal Drury Lane
CLASS #2: morning time TBAFSU Study Center– at least one scavenger hunt, 1 show review due.
Discuss first 4 shows and Paris trip
Scavenger hunt at National Portrait Gallery, if needed; otherwise Banqueting House tour; leave after lunch. http://www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/planyourvisit/default.aspx
Fri 7 Jan 10 am Shakespeare Walking tour; Recommended: Burrough Market, Old Innyard, Vinopolis
Alternate date for Banqueting House tour; Westminster Abbey and Cabinet War Rooms also recommended.
Sat 8 Jan Tower of London day
SHOW 6: 7:00 pm Ghost Stories at Duke of York; Tube: Leicester Square
Sun 9 Jan Victoria and Albert Museum: Visit Theatre Museum collection together
Do Museum Assignment #2 with group, tube: South Kensington. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/
Recommended: visit Harrods esp food halls on 1st floor
Mon 10 Jan 12:15 Backstage tour of Royal National Theatre; tube: Waterloo. Also recommended: Tate Modern, walk along South Bank
SHOW 7: 6 pm, Hamlet by William Shakespeare at Royal National Theatre; tube: Waterloo
Tues 11 Jan CLASS #3: TBA afternoon class at FSU Study Center. Show Review #2, 2nd Scavenger Hunt, Shakespeare's Theatre essay, V&A Museum Assignment #2 due and discussion of last 3 shows. Optional: turn in Show Review #3; otherwise, email it to me.
Wed 12 Jan 10:30 am tour or Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Class Banquet
SHOW 8: 7:30 pm Giselle at Royal Opera House; Tube: Covent Garden
Thurs 13 Jan Westbus Coach pick up from 99 Great Russell St, time TBA
12:50 pm Delta Fl # 149 depart Heathrow, T4, arr 4:05 pm JFK
***To be confirmed: times for classes at Study Center, time for Globe workshop, Paris opera tour time/date, Tower of London tour date/time, Show #9.