Heroes and Dancing

I hadn't realized so much time had passed since the last time I wrote anything here. I survived the land of Denmark (which was truly rotten), spent 2 weeks playing with swords, played in the land of Lorca's 'Blood Wedding', and have just landed the other side of the On the Verge Festival.

Sound like a lot? Well yes, it was.

Most of that was just school stuff, augmented by papers and ticking boxes so that my MA can have some sort of academic accrediting. But the Festival featured a project of my own, almost two years in the making. My first play. (by that, I mean one that I wrote. Obviously.) I wrote a play about a girl who becomes a superhero. It's an idea that has been rattling around in my brain for a long time now. Very ambitiously I threw my name into the ring for a slot in this festival, giving myself a deadline. I knew that I wanted to be in it. And then I decided I'd stage all the fights for it too. If you're counting, that's 3 hats. That's a lot. Fact.

In finding the world of heroes that I wanted to write about, my not-so-inner geek was allowed to dive into comic books and graphic novels. To battle evil and to try to save the world. And along the way, my heart began to recognize the real life heroes that I've been so fortunate to know.

There's the girl who died her hair bright red, shared herself through a blog, and created an enormous awareness for organ donation and CF support. She changed the world.

There's my one flatmate who goes to Sri Lanka, shares herself through dance, and is giving joy to girls who could otherwise remain forgotten. She is changing the world.

There's my other flatmate who is fighting demons, sharing herself through love and honesty, and is seeking healing and health from within. She changes her world everyday.

And then there is my family, and my friends, and my fans - even my foes, who fall into my hero realm, in how they care for others, how they sacrifice, how they give me challenges to rise above.

Maybe we're all the ones becoming superheroes? Maybe we just have to accept our task?

And that task can come in any number of ways... I feel like I've just been handed an extra large plateful of challenge within the past week. I've lost, and I've feared, and if I were a video game character my energy bars would be almost depleted. But I know with my loss, that I've gained an angel. One who will smile on me and send me sunshine, and always be my Dancing Partner. With my fears, I know that I have strength and faith that all will be well.

And in my video game life I know that I'll hit that power up just around the corner...

(feel free to leave me some love and sunshine if you read this... they act like the leaf in supermario brothers and help me fly...)

xo

London Calling...

And now I have returned.

I've tried to start this posting about half a dozen times, just not knowing where to start!

The City:

London is, for those of you who have been there, epic. It's big. It's old. It's uber famous. It's exciting and fun and full of adventure and good looking people. (SERIOUSLY good looking people... like everywhere... all the time!) It's busy, as our morning walks through the centre of the city could attest to, though unlike New York, this city definitely sleeps. Saturday morning walks took about ten minutes less due to the lack of people traffic to fight through. Not so cold. Not so wet. CRAZY EXPENSIVE! But I liked it. I really did. We were staying in a posh area called Bloomsbury and I recognize that it's far more swank than anything I could afford. And I'd like to go back and work there. Yep. I could do that. (take note, City of London. I'm awaiting your call...)

The Scene:

Theatre totally thrives in this town. We were all of a ten minute walk from Covent Garden. There were shows on almost every night. By the time I'd left the city, I'd seen 5 big West End shows, and two crazy nights of circus. Pretty impressive considering our insane schedule. For anyone who happens to read this, and just might be heading to London soonish, GO SEE JERUSALEM!!!! The most amazing piece of theatre I have ever seen, starring one of the most amazing actors alive. Best ticket I bought during my stay. Making me consider going back to see it again... Also had one of the best nights of my life at Ronnie Scott's, a jazz bar in Soho. Amazing. A funk fusion band from the States who rocked my world, coupled with one of the best cocktails I've ever had, that night was unbelievable.

The Globe:

Every instructor and speaker and mentor who spoke to us during our time at the Globe expressed the same love and passion for this building. For Shakespeare's work. For the energy within the building itself. And it must have been highly contagious as I caught it quick. The rehearsal rooms, our dressing rooms, the lobby, the Swan bar... everything around the actual space seemed to vibrate with excitement. And the theatre itself... magic. A hug. A sanctuary. Full and empty and brilliant and terrifying... and perfect. I loved it. Every minute of working that space. Terribly difficult with open spaces and planes flying over head and giant pillars to get lost behind - as well as freezing out door temperatures. I loved it. I loved it all. And our last night, with a good size audience (probably over 200 people) I played on that stage and had so much fun...

So after a month that flashed by in a heartbeat I come back to Glasgow with not enough pictures, a chest full of memories, better friends, and newer friends, and passion and angels and delight.

Oh - this post is so disappointing in what it was meant to do... but how could I tell you what it was like? I'd need a month!

xo