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)

http://www.bac.org.uk/

**Barbican Arts Center (has film, theatre, art galleries, LOTS of new work)

http://www.barbican.org.uk/ 

**Soho Theatre; also an arts center and sponsors lots of new work, comedy, kids events, and writing workshops. http://www.sohotheatre.com/

Also, see the ½ price ticket booth in Leicester Square. They DO take credit cards, otherwise it works like in Times Square – you get great deals on tickets for that days shows. AVOID the shops selling tickets for blockbuster musicals – those tend to be markups.


Theatre 290: London Theatre Seminar

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

            SHOW 5: 7:45 pm Black Watch by Gregory Burke, National Theatre of Scotland at The Barbican; tube: Barbican

             

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.