Last Day

Everything is now coming to a close. Booth and I were in meetings all morning to help prepare for bringing a show next year. We got to meet with this year's directors and pick their brains about ideas and problems they encountered.  We also got to see the dorms where students will be staying (hey kiddos, you have it great compared to what we stayed in this year!). So when you arrive next year, no complaints.

We managed to catch the bus and make it to one more great show, Anton's Uncles, presented by Theatre Movement Bazaar (you can check out a video trailer of the show on their website http://www.theatremovementbazaar.org/). It was a great adaptation of Uncle Vanya by Anton Checkov (I was in a production years ago and played the role of Sonya, so it was particularly engaging for me), and the movement, dance, and transitions were fun, engaging, and tremendous to watch. I walked out thoroughly satisfied and inspired yet again. It's been such a great experience--we've seen some fabulous but very different theatre in a short amount of time. Mr. Booth and I both tried to make conscious choices to see things we might not normally get to, and all were really worth it.

The weather held for us--a little cloudy, but no rain! We'll attend a farewell dinner tonight, and then come back to the dorms to pack. We get on our bus at 5:45 in the morning (that's going to hurt), and then catch the flight at 9:30 to head back to the states. This will be our last entry while we're here, so we've included some fun pictures during our stay (notice the pic of the kid--he hopped in while I was taking pictures and felt like a celebrity).

Thanks for following. It's been an invigorating and inspiring experience. We can't wait until next year when the students get to do the same.

Mrs. Schnider

Rainy Day Too - Stirling and The Trossachs

Today we got up early and took a tour.  We saw Stirling Castle which was a major player in Robert the Bruce and William Wallace sticking it to the English (think Braveheart).  Our tour guide Davina is clearly more than happy to stick it to the English.  The castle was very interesting but it was cold and rainy.  I would have liked to had more time there, I could get used to sitting on the throne.

After that we drove up into the Highlands, the area we were in was called the Trossachs.  Beautiful country side, just like in the movies.  We saw loch and nettles and thistle and heather and all kinds of good Scottish flora, fauna and landscapes.  It really was beautiful.  We stopped at a couple of small towns and road side attractions.  At one we got to see Hamish, Heather and their baby Honey a lovely family of Scottish Highland Cattle.

We are back from our Highland tour, just finished dinner and looking to what theatre we want to see.

Till next time,

Booth

PS
I can finally take a handful of change out of my pocket and know how much money I have which is good since there are no paper ones only coins 

Rainy day

http://www.thepaperdollmilitia.com/The_Paper_Doll_Militia.html


Today we had more of the type of weather we came to the UK expecting--lots of rain and drizzle. My hooded raincoat came in very handy. After getting up and eating an English breakfast(I don't recommend it, but Booth liked it) consisting of beans (tasted like pork and beans out of a can), sausage, hash browns, wiggly bacon(as in not crisp), a potato scone, and toast, we headed off to see some theatre. We saw some AHSTF shows (Paul Sills Story Theatre, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, Honk Jr., and Edgar Allan Poe: Into the Mind of Madness.) Seeing the shows in three different venues with totally different approaches to story telling was extremely helpful. I feel much better prepared for the staging possibilities of bringing a show.

Booth and I also went and saw a visually stunning piece of theatre by The Paper Doll Militia called A Twisted Tale. They were two amazing aerialist acrobats that moved all over the space (up a rope, light pole, across a ladder suspended at least 15 to 20 feet or more in the air, and up a swing), and used beautiful shadow puppets and video projections to tell this story. Wow.

After we made our way back to the center of town on a double decker bus, we stopped in a shop called the Lochenbooth for some souvenirs for the family. I have been informed by Merrick via Skype that I need to bring home some Nessie Poos for him as well, so it looks like I'll have to stop by that candy shop again before I leave.

Tomorrow we're off to the Highlands to see Stirling Castle and the Trossachs. I hope I'm not as sore tomorrow. Let's just say that after walking up the crag, twisting my ankle and compensating for it, and tromping up and down cobblestone hills, I am in pain from my knees to my ankles. I may have overdone it a bit, but it's still been totally worth it.

I've included a few links to articles about what's happening at the Fringe.

http://www.theworld.org/2011/08/chinese-opera-qing-cheng-dazzles-edinburgh-festival/

 

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/30/138783861/tim-minchin-confessions-of-a-rock-n-roll-nerd

 

Mrs. Schnider 

Arthur's Seat

Since it was sunny and nice today (tomorrow is supposed to be lots of rain), Booth and I decided to take advantage of the good weather and explore the city. Let's just say my feet hurt, but I'm smiling a lot from all the things we saw. The first major thing we did was walk up Arthur's seat, an extinct volcano overlooking the city. The walk and view up was amazing, exhilarating, breathtaking--and any other words like that you could use. It was a fantastic panoramic view of the city and the Firth of Forth. Walking down, I twisted my ankle while picking up a piece of trash some heathen left behind (that's what I get for trying to be a good samaritan!), but I walked it off and took some ibuprofen). We lunched at The Three Sisters, and I had fish and chips, while Mr. Booth had haggis, neeps and tatties! Booth says he doesn't care what anyone says--haggis is good! I tried it, and actually, especially with the tatties (mashed potatoes) and gravy on top, it was quite delicious. We then walked through more of the city and saw Edinburgh Castle (pictured). Tonight we will be there seeing a performance by the Military Tattoo. It should be cold, but at least it's not supposed to rain. Umbrellas aren't allowed during the Tattoo, so it would have been very wet indeed.

Some of our additional explorations took us to a candy shop where we bought some Scottish candy (Poppets, Highland Toffee, and Nessie Poo--yes, I spelled that right, and Isaac, the Nessie Poo is for you!), and we're getting ready to go off to dinner. Overall, a very accomplished day.

Mrs. Schnider

First evening

After our group met for dinner, Mr. Booth and I decided to go explore. We were both exhausted, but oddly enough, I still wasn't ready to sleep. We got some advice from Jennifer, one of our AHSTF liaisons, about a local coffee shop, Deacon's House Cafe. We wandered up the Royal Mile to find it, headed in the general direction of Edinburgh Castle. We ended up in the middle of the hubbub of the Fringe. There were street performers (a comedic juggler, bag lady theatre on the corner of a beautiful church, a drum circle/ acrobat performance group from Korea), and tons of folks handing out pamphlets trying to get us to go see their show. There were cashmere and kilt shops on every corner, and as we were walking we could hear languages from all over. Amazing.

We finally got to Deacon's Cafe, and walked through a gorgeous stone archway into to find this little shop on the left. The coffee was great and the desserts were to die for--we're going back. We had a chocolate caramel bar (chocolate and caramel on top of a buttery-salty graham cracker like biscuit-mmmmmm-, and a piece of coffee cake -it was three layer cake with a light whipped cream frosting and milk and white chocolate shavings--not our version of coffee cake!. We sat and enjoyed the cooling weather--wonderful. It has been much cooler--I was glad I wore layers. We saw a few high school kids walking around without jackets--big mistake!

By the time we got back to our dorms, I was ready to Skype my family (it's a great way to communicate rather than phoning--and basically free), and then crash. I slept, but the kind of sleep you do the first few nights you're out of your own space. Now we're off to breakfast and then to one of the possible venues we'll be performing at next year. I'll be video taping like crazy.

I'm hoping the sun keeps shining like it is now. I'm sure you'll read about it if it doesn't!

Mrs. Schnider

Day 1

So, I've now calculated that I've been up for 28 hours (the cat naps I stole on the plane don't count as sleep), with at least five hours to go. They've recommended we don't nap so our bodies can adjust to the time change, but it's been a real push. I'm in a domitory situation with a shower down the hall--wasn't really prepared for that. There also isn't an iron, so as I am so anti-wrinkle, I'm going to have to track down some Downy wrinkle releaser, if it's anywhere to be found.

When we landed, our lovely tour guide Davina, met us and has been with us the whole way. She's been very funny, and I'm listening to her every word to see if I can copy her accent by the end of the week. We had coffee at a little place overlooking the Firth of Forth, where the sea and the river meet in the bay at Edinburgh. We then stopped at a bank to exchange our money (for $110 I got a little over 60 pounds). Then we had lunch at the Salisbury Arms, and we're taking a little time before meeting tomorrow. We've received a packet of info to help us through the week, and a lot of reps from AHSTF have been here to help us every step of the way.

We have some free time tomorrow after we check out one of the performance spaces and do a technical run down. I may walk up the "little" volcano here that overlooks the area. The weather has been great so far--they say we brought the sunshine with us. Let's hope it holds, but I've got my raincoat ready to go.

I'm going to take some time before dinner, and I'm sure I'll have lots more to write tomorrow.

Mrs. Schnider

Getting ready

So, this is a test run of my first blog entry. I'm trying to get all of my things in order (I'm leaving my three kids for nearly a week, school is starting, I'm teaching new classes, do I have the right power converter????), and at the same time stay focused and unstressed. For those of you that know me, I know you just laughed. I'd be a limp noodle without my stress.

In any case, I have my passport, my camera, clothes to wear, and an exciting adventure ahead. It's supposed to be about 65 degrees in Scotland. Aren't you jealous, St. Louis?

More later-

Mrs. Schnider