It's so Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love

Today has proved to be one of the hardest days of my life, and the week that proceeded it a blur of colors that are only now starting to reshape themselves into actual memories.
I got my first ever LAMDA lay-in on Monday because I wasn't called for rehearsal until 1:30. Then we had back to back dress-runs and were in bright and early on Tuesday morning to warm up for the 10:30 am show (a time that should be banned for performers everywhere). Much Ado was great, and for all of the misgivings that went along with the direction and process, everyone was really good in it - regardless of the fact that we had to twirl off stage at the end. Also; the show will now forever be retitled: "Much Ado About Margaret, or, The Tragedy of Don Pedro". Way to go J.Lips.
Wednesday & Thursday started our individual tutorial sessions; which I originally thought would be pretty scary to go into but proved to be quite helpful, and reassuring. Most of the professors wrote really comprehensive reviews of our work this term in voice, movement, singing and acting, and thankfully, my cheekiness didn't get me into too much trouble.
Friday is a whirl of packing, caroling, dancing and crying. We had a late rehearsal for our carol concert which gave us the morning to get the majority of our packing done and start dismantling our teeny tiny rooms that we called home. The carol concert, a first for me, was absolutely lovely. It was one of the only times the entire school was all in one place and to look around the beautiful church, and see the candles candles burning and everyone dressed up and enjoying each others company was so wonderful. There was far more clapping at whooping than I would have anticipated in a church, but it's an absolute testament to the supportive family that LAMDA becomes, even with a Princess in the crowd (really, there was a Princess. Her name is Alexandra and I'm not sure what she does, but she's LAMDA's royal patron and it was a big deal).
After the concert was the end of the term party. LAMDA had rented out the entire bottom floor of a club in High Street Kensington and we all go to dance and hug and cry our goodbyes to the other LAMDA kids that we might not see again. The party ended with most of the semester still there, making the most of our time together, not wanting to leave.
Which brings us to today. My room is empty, my walls bare, most of my friends are on their way home and I am back in the warm embrace of Chez Mogilner, but everything feels off. It's as if there is this big empty hole in my stomach that is supposed to be filled by something, but isn't. I guess that's what you have to expect with these kinds of programs. You spend 4 months soaking up all of the people, places, memories and experiences that you possibly can, and when it's over you're bound to feel a little empty. This, as strange as it is, is exactly what I should be feeling right now; completely exhausted, sad, lonely and so grateful for every second I spent with the wonderful people in the unbelievable city that made this term so incredible. There are no words to properly thank everyone that got me here, made this time what it was, and walked away leaving impressions that have shaped who I am. I know that I will never have an experience quite like this ever again and because of that I can't help but be sad, and incredibly thankful.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

While the weather outside isn't exactly frightful, this last week did bring London's first snow of the season, a bit early according to real Londoners, but a welcome change to the landscape. This was my last week of real classes and it started off, as it does once every month, with a tube strike. Luckily, Margy and I are magic and got on a train heading to the wrong place with the intention of getting off at a station closer to school and walking the rest of the way, but half way through the ride there was an announcement that the train was redirecting to where we needed it to go so no walking for us! It was a Monday morning miracle!
Classes this week were all so bittersweet because they were our goodbyes. We have one more week left in the program but it's mostly rehearsal for Much Ado and activities here and there, so as we wrapped up our hour and half we said goodbye to our teachers and subjects forever (just to be dramatic). In incredibly cool news, my Historical Dance teacher, Diana, is one of the most fantastic women on the planet and just happens to choreograph for little movies like Elizabeth, Sherlock Holmes and The Three Feathers, just to name a few. Well... at the end of our class on Wednesday she pulled out the crown and jewels that Cate Blanchett wore in the movie and let all of us try them on and be Queen for a day (well... for a few seconds, at least). It was lovely.
Snow on Tuesday also brought the arrival of the most fantastic Blake all the way from Paris, and my first chance to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform, doing Romeo & Juliet, no less! I had never seen it done before and while there were a few questionable directing choices, the show was fantastic and the relationship between the two lovers was convincing and sincere. It was a production where you think to yourself "ya know what? I think these two are gonna make it this time!". Also fun fact, my voice teacher is friends with the woman who played Juliet, a very convincing looking teenager - turns out she's 32. Impressive.
Thursday was my big night out with Blake so I took him back to Brick Lane for authentic London Indian food, which was also for my benefit and a good ole English pub - it was such a great night and so exciting to have him in my neck of the woods (continent) this time!
The weekend brought warmer weather, and by that I mean that it was 40 degrees instead of 30, but it did melt the snow and allowed for a beautiful day on Portobello road Saturday morning. I did some impressive haggling at one of the stands and when the guy asked me where I had learned to be so stubborn I had to give credit to every angry Israeli I had ever encountered in a shuk - it is a good life skill. That night was the last LAMDA sponsored theatre trip we had to The Old Vic again to see "A Flea in Her Ear". Aside from some issues unrelated to the show, the performance was wonderful and it was so great to see a show where I didn't have to think. Farce, gotta love it.
Today proved to be one of the best Sundays I have spent in this city so far. After a leisurly morning, Maddie, Margy & I walked over to Harrods, a mere 20 minute journey, and had our first experience with proper English High Tea. We had a 3:30 reservation at the Georgian on Harrod's top floor and all thoroughly gorged ourselves on tea, scones, finger sandwiches, pastries, and chips - which are not normally a part of traditional High Tea, but we made it work. We ended up spending about 2 hours just sitting there, drinking tea and enjoying the experience, and after making friends with the French waiter, getting the piss taken out of us for our improper American ways of speaking, and playing name that tune with the pianist playing a Broadway medley, we spent the next 30 minutes wandering around the palace that is Harrods. I think that if I was ever forced to pick one place to be stuck in for the rest of my life, Harrods would be that place. Everything about it is over the top and unnecessary, therefore, completely exciting and enjoyable.
Now it's back home tidying up my room, thinking about packing (but clearly not doing) and trying to figure out where the time went. As for a brief reflection on my classes; I don't know how I got so lucky. Yes, there were times that I never wanted our lunch break to end, or I thought that doing one more roll down would make me scream, but I am so thankful for what I've learned and how I was pushed. I will take so much away from each of those lessons, and not just about technique, but about how much I can really take and how important it is to put your all into something, because it's the only way to really make the most of it. I should probably wrap this up now that I'm starting to sound like Mr. Rogers episode.
Onto my last week at LAMDA... saddest phrase in the world.