If you like my random ramblings and care for more, then see here: http://shanlynch.tumblr.com/

I could have just done this here, but the format on tumblr is cool for posting all kinds of stuff.

About to head out of Rome (to the airport anyway). From there I fly to London.
Flight from there at 11 am GMT, arrive in FL at 3:30 pm EST.

Wow.

19 days until I return to Florida.

How can 19 days seem like a lifetime?

It's more than just Tax Day! So here's some interesting things that have happened on April 15 in history... besides me being born. :D


1990: Shannon Lynch and Emma Watson are born on Easter Sunday.

1988: Wendy Wasserstein's "Heidi Chronicles," premieres in New York City. [My Acting I monologue was from that show.]

1983: Tokyo Disneyland opens.

1982: Seth Rogen is born.

1973: Walt Disney Store opens.

1968: Houston Astros beat New York Mets, 1-0, in 24 innings. [Frankly, that is ridiculous.]

1961: "Music Man" closes at Majestic Theater New York City after 1375 performances. [My RCC song was from Music Man. Haha.]

1959: Emma Thompson is born.

1947: Jackie Robinson breaks baseball’s color line, but goes hitless in his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1933: Elizabeth Montgomery is born.

1931: First walk across American backwards begins. [How many times have people walked backwards across America?]

1923: First commercial screening of motion pictures with sound-on-film at New York City's Rivoli Theater.

1912: The RMS Titanic, sinks at 2:20am as the band plays on, two and a half hours after hitting an iceberg the previous day. 1,517 people are killed.

1892: The General Electric Company is formed.

1878: Harley Procter introduces Ivory Soap.

1877: First telephone installed: Boston-Somerville, Massachusetts.

1865: Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot hours earlier, the previous day.

1802: William Wordsworth and his sister see a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

1800: James Ross discovers North Magnetic pole.

1793: Bank of England hands out 1st  £5 note.

1784: First balloon flight in Ireland.

1738: Bottle opener invented.

1452: Leonardo da Vinci is born.

Unfortunately, it has been far too ridiculously long since I last wrote of my shenanigans here in London. I'll hit some major points to catch you up, though most of this you've probably seen in my statuses and pictures.

- "THE DREAM" -
The Rose Theatre Kingston's A Midsummer Night's Dream, or just the Dream as the cast and crew lovingly referred to it, was a success. It was an amazing experience for me. From watching rehearsals to technical runs to opening night, but mostly meeting and working with Sir Peter Hall and Dame Judi Dench, of course. The show opened with splendid reviews and had a sold-out run. Definitely great all around.

- TIME TO TALK -
In the time I have been at the Rose, I have been able to see Sir Peter Hall talk about directing Dream and Shakespeare's Advice to the Players (i.e. the verse), as well as Inside the Actor's Studio type conversations with Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Jude. All very lovely and exciting and thrilling and wonderful! :D

- SHOWS -
So besides Wicked from the first week or so when we were here, I realized I haven't mentioned what I've seen. Well, I won free tickets from Anglo (our program here) to see Sister Act (the musical) to which I took Luis and we both absolutely adored it. Then I got free promotional tickets to see a play called The Little Dog Laughed which was quite funny and interesting, which Stacey saw with me. I also went (and actually bought tickets to do so, lol) to see Royal Shakespeare Company's Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure at the Almeida. In addition to seeing a children's show called Room on the Broom and an amazing show by the aerial theatre troupe Ockham's Razor called The Mill at the Rose Theatre Kingston. Within the next week I will also be seeing Dumb Show which is just starting its run at the Rose.

- EUROTRIP -
My crazy week of travelling around Europe that took place the same week as Rollins spring break was pretty incredible, I must say. This started with PARIS by bus (and ferry) with Luis, Deidra and a tour group. Some highlights besides just seeing the sights were going to the top of the Eiffel Tower (even if it was frigid cold), the crazy guys that said "Sexy boom boom, hakuna matata," whilst trying to tie their stupid bracelets on us, eating far too much at breakfast largely because it was included, going to mass at Notre Dame, etc. Paris was followed by me heading off to ITALY the morning after we returned, where I flew into Rome meeting up with Nick and Cary for a bit less than a day really. But that was still enough time for two rounds of amazing Roman food and a late night trip to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. From Rome, Nick and I took the train back to Florence where he was staying with his sister, Emily. I was staying in the Hotel Medici which was only about 2 blocks from the Duomo, complete with an amazing view from the balcony of the Duomo and the rest of Florence. Nick and I went with Emily to the Medici Palace and had an amazing Tuscan dinner that night. Nick and I also browsed and did some shopping in the market and the food market as well as checking out the Duomo. Despite pretty horrendous weather (cold, terribly windy, rainy, generally yuck), it was certainly a really good time. So to check that you are keeping up: that was Friday-Sunday in Paris, Monday to Rome, Tuesday -Thursday evening in Florence. Thursday night, Nick and I flew here to London. Friday I attended class and turned in a research paper I had due, then that evening we both flew to DUBLIN, where my roommates, Deidra and Antonela, and Nela's friends, Elizabeth and Ogi, also were. Dublin was a bit more chill than we expected for the weekend leading up to St. Patty's, but Nick and I had fun at the carnival and exploring the parks. It was actually sunny too, so that was a great addition to the weekend. Sunday night it was back to London and Monday morning Nick flew home. Just thinking about everything that took place that week is tiring, but it was so fun!

- CARY CAME TO LONDON -
My most recent adventures in London were with Cary and her friend Amelia, who visited from Rome Monday- Wednesday of this week. Monday they got in and we spent the afternoon at the Tower of London, followed by a trip to the Oxford Street Primark (pretty cute clothes at incredibly cheap prices), and the evening concluded with great Cantonese food in Chinatown. Tuesday, we started out with the tour of the Globe Theatre, followed by fish and chips with tea, then I had class so they explored the British Museum. Then we stopped at a nearby souvenir store, which had a cat! After that we headed to the British Museum, which was absolutely incredible. Cary and I got so caught up in the first part of the exhibition (Shakespeare, Beowulf, all kinds of other amazing literary-ness, the Beatles, Alice in Wonderland...) that we almost missed seeing the illuminated manuscripts, the Gutenberg Bible, and the Magna Carta! After stopping by the City Uni library to use the internet, the three of us made delicious nachos, including homemade chips. Wednesday we went to go see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, but the crowd was absolutely ridiculous so we saw the massive amounts of people more than the actual ceremony. Then we went over to Westminster Abbey and toured in there, which was very cool. We stopped in at a pub where I had a delicious beef, brie, and cranberry sauce sandwich (thanks to Cary ordering it first). Still hungry, a stop was made after for Cornish pasties and then we headed to see Harrods. It was great seeing Cary (for more than just briefly) and it makes me excited for Rome at the end of the month.

So there it is. Finally. I welcome any questions or comments you may have. :)

Cheers.
<3 Shan

As I am currently being entertained by reading notes on old show reports I think I will share some.

Firstly everyone is referred to as 'Mr' or 'Ms' whomever. Cute.

[Bedroom Farce]

10/11/09 - 'The role of ‘Kate’s teddy bear’ was played by Minty The Lamb this afternoon and not Apple Crumble as Apple had accidentally been left at home by Ms Williams. Apple will be on for tonght’s performance.'

14/11/09 - 'This evening’s show went up slightly late as a member of the audience in the circle dropped their drink on someone in the stalls.' Though it was still a good performance it seems as there was a 'Very good response with much whooping – two curtain calls.' And not the first noted instace of whooping either, I might add. ;)

There have also been a few notes of actors entering late or early for not seeing their green cue light or mistaking someone else's for their own.

19/11/09 - 'A cornish pasty fell off the bed and disintegrated when Mr Betts picked up Trevor’s second coat. Ms Williams picked up the pieces and placed them on the bed.' Actually the second note of a cornish pasty falling off the bed... and kinda makes me want a cornish pasty.

[Miss Julie]

Show 2 - 'The beheading of the bird got a very vocal reaction reaction from the audience.'

Each report describes the audience in attendance...
Show 5? 'A very quiet but attentive audience.'
18? 'A very responsive audience, with ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ throughout.'

[Treasure Island]

The internet got mad when I posted this and didn't post any of the Treasure Island notes I made. So I'll not waste time looking them all up again and just share my favorite.

'The end of Act 5 Sc 2 couldn’t be heard over the children of the audience shouting ‘Shoot him, Jim!’'

I do believe it's past time for me to write you all a bit more about London, London, London.

Oh, what to say? Well, I've now started my internship at the Rose Theatre Kingston, which I am enjoying. The people in the tech department (i.e. where I am working) seem to be very fun and nice. I also get to experience every facet of the London transport system in order to get there: tube, train, and bus.

Some other highlights:

Saturday we went and saw this very interesting exhibit about Identity at this place called the Wellcome Collection. It was all about like what makes up a person's identity and had rooms about all different people including Samuel Pepys and other diarists, actress Fiona Shaw (who plays Aunt Petunia), April Ashley, DNA experts, twins, etc. They also had mirrors outside of the rooms, some from Freud's collection, one that was David Garrick's (!), and even one that was a "true mirror" showing you how you look to other people (i.e. not your mirror image).

Tuesday night we saw Wicked, which was very good. I've seen it before so I also was able to devote some attention to things like the words that were accented (even though everyone else was talking about how they couldn't hear accents) and other silly stuff like that I found interesting.

I don't know what else? Um, we went to the British Museum (on our own and later with our internship class), which was neat and HUGE. I've also felt like a nerd so many times this trip talking about things I learned in Theatre History, from Harris' List of Covent Garden Ladies (yes, the directory of prostitutes) to being able to talk about 'tit roles' when we saw this figurine from the 18th century that depicted a sleeping shepardess with an exposed breast, and of course anything and everything that relates to Drury Lane or Garrick. I was thrilled when I realized I knew the Garrick for which the street we were on had obviously been named and then practically ecstatic seeing his mirror in the Identity Exhibition. I'm a nerd. Oh and I'm a nerd for wanting to sing "All I Want is a Room in Bloomsbury" every time we are in Bloomsbury, which is going to be fairly frequent because that is where the Anglo-American office is located.

Oh and how could I forget?! Of course, if you have been following along with my facebook statuses or pictures at all, you probably know, but it snowed! More than once. It was very exciting and pretty and fun… until it started compounding into ice on the sidewalks and walking became dangerous. And it was lame yesterday when the snow made like 90 percent of the trains get cancelled or delayed going out towards Kingston… though when I did get a train and got to ride past all the houses and trees covered in snow, it was quite picturesque.

Now it looks like it's warming up this weekend and we are going on a bus tour, so there will hopefully be lots to report... or at least plenty of pictures. :D

Cheers.

P.S. I didn't have a good title so I used a quote from the Identity exhibition that I found interesting.

For those of you wondering...

Yes, it's pretty cold here, though only about at freezing and I hear it's been pretty chilly down in FL the past day or so too.

There is a 5 hour time difference (in case you weren't keeping track, so it's currently almost 2 a.m. here and I am definitely headed to bed right after this post.

I am living with two other girls in a flat in Islington (Deidra and Antonela). It's pretty nice minus the TINY bedroom with not enough clothing storage and a bunk bed. (I'm the top.)

Converting outlets is silly. Why aren't they all the same? And shopping for groceries was an experience for sure, since we weren't really sure what we were getting good deals on, etc etc.

Had my first tube and bus rides today after getting our travel cards this evening. That was exciting.

My computer is about to die right now and I definitely need sleep so I think that's all for now.

We might check out the British Museum tomorrow, so that should definitely be interesting. (I got a really cool British Museum bag at the supermarket to use as a reusable grocery bag.) Then our main orientation is Tuesday afternoon.

Anyway, leave some comments and stuff for me to respond to, because people aren't really on much to chat with because of the time difference and the fact that I limit my time online due to my time and bandwidth restrictions. I dunno.

Much love to you all in the states.
Cheers, [<-- because it's the British thing to do] :)
Shannon

A brief overview of the past few days that will not probably not make sense to anyone except me. I would love to explain further, but I really need to be doing work.

Thursday - Stayed up far too late doing nothing and getting blamed for it, even though it was so not my problem that Nick wanted to play telephone pictionary ridiculously late.

Friday - Dance party... Sutton 4th floor 'block party.'

Saturday - Stop Kiss load in. Cabaret rehearsal. Closing performance of Fourplay. Then Munchkin and a round of telephone pictionary.

Sunday - Woke up wonderfully late then OBoys. Now need to do work so we can play Password after mass... although there is no way I am gonna get as much as I need to finished. Might be a late night... but totally worth it.

Pretty positive that 3 days in a row is a record.