I have been home for a couple of days and have processed a few things and have a pretty good idea of some of the best things that I came away from this trip to England with and I am grateful.
-I understand with even more conviction that the British Isles is the place where magic truly does originate. And London is some sort of a magic portal. Whether it is scoring the perfect seat in the house for a midnight play at the Globe on the spur of the moment or having an old friend be in London at the same time as me so that we can exchange love and hugs or having a couple approach us and offer us a free day pass on the Underground that they will no longer be using, London and England just seem to come up with just the perfect thing to make me feel at home and loved.
-Life is just full of surprises. I was to see four shows while attending the summer school with the Shakespeare Institute and there was only one that I was rather dreading, The Jew of Malta. Well…guess which of the four shows ended up being my, hands down, favourite? Yep, that dreadful Jew. And it didn't even have anything to do with the fact that the play uses my name, which leads me to my next ah-hah…
-It is super fun to have your name used by actors onstage! I have a name that lends itself to having that happen and I discovered what a thrill this is for me. I have read my name in the works of Shakespeare and of course Ben Jonson (he wrote a whole play titled with my name) but there is just something that makes me feel like a little kid at Christmas to hear my name from a great actor.
-I was reminded, yet again, that I have every right to an opinion and that I have done the work involved in being able to critique whatever show I may see, even a RSC production. This is not easy for me to remember, I sometimes lack the confidence to feel as though I can question anything like a director's choice or an actor's performance, but I was reminded repeatedly over the past two weeks that I have earned the right to my opinion.
-I saw that previous generations have done some really stupid things in the name of practicality and I was quite frustrated with some of the people who have gone before and the silly choices they made. Then I began to wonder what a few generations down the line will be saying about me and us…
-Finally, I was reminded that I really must not judge a book or people by their cover. The most interesting and intriguing people can come in quite plain packages and it is such a shame at what we may miss out on because of those snap judgements. (I hope people remember that when they have to look at me!) I was grateful to wrap up my time there in our last night in Stratford with a couple of gems that Erin helped me to get to know who are brilliant women who have worked hard to be strong and aware women and I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with them and for what they gave to me, not the least of which was to make me feel welcome.
Thank you Erin. Thank you England. Thank you to the RSC and the Shakespeare Institute. I am so much the richer for all that I was able to experience. What a privilege.
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