So after nine month of Introduction to Acting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where such alumni as David Tennant and James McAvoy attended the journey has finally came to an end. I’ve still got another year of the scholarship, and have been asked to direct a short piece which I’m currently writing but this specific course is now over. It all seemed a little bit surreal and full of reserved, stiff upper lip emotion – British style! This is the journal of that last day.
We had two Tutorials to break down the year, discuss where we were at in the practice and general thoughts looking to the future. They were in scheduled in the twenty minute blocks throughout the day. Mine were later in the day but I didn’t want to miss a moment of the final day, so I was there from the morning on.
There was a lot of time sitting around talking to fellow classmates. It reminded me of that Friends episode where Monica and Chandler move in together and Monica wants Chandler and Joey to help them pack Rachel’s things;
Monica: (entering and interrupting the guy’s escape attempt) Okay! The movers will be here in 11 hours. Rachel has not packed. Now, everybody has to help! Chandler, we’re gonna start with…
Chandler: Oh nope, I-I have plans with Joey.
Monica: I thought you said you were going to do nothing.
Chandler: Yes, but for the last time.
There was a real sense of sitting around on the Sofa for the last time, sharing war stories about the past year – reminiscing, giving gifts, laughing and betting who would cry first.
With Andrew, in my first tutorial, I discussed the possibilities of studying and in particular what to study – be it the acting or the director. Regardless of the pathway decision his thinking is the MA. The possibilities are wonderful – working at the Globe and on a new play! And I concur. I think I am proactive enough to pursue the things that the MA doesn’t offer compared to the BA in acting. He spoke very candidly about his experiences working as a freelance Director and how inconsistent and unreliable it can be in terms of working job to job. One of the things that has been fantastic is how honest our facilitators have been about the industry, leaving no disillusionment when making decisions about the future.
With Susan I discussed how I have developed technically through voice and movement and where I want to take those things. We discussed the Vulnerability I have explored within myself and how I can continue developing it. We also discussed how to be pro active in terms of finding new ways to create and how to go around doing that.
We ended the day with a group discussion reviewing the practicalities of the course and what could be improved moving forward. The course is extremely solid already and my thoughts were mostly logistical things based on scheduling. The library not being opened was a big point of contention for me not being able to freely browse, explore and find new plays and texts. It was surprisingly serene and as mentioned stiff upper lippy. We took a group photo, hugged and then left the building.
Of course, this wasn’t the end of the day. As was custom with our class by now we were off to find somewhere to eat. We found a place called Pinto which was a Mexican burrito establishment. We continued the trend of laughing and trading stories. It was a truly happy experience. Even when people began to go home it was a happy event instead of a sad one. But, I felt the weight of this finale when I said my own goodbyes to head to the bus stop. It hit me that regardless of what happened next this would never be the same. And that is okay, but extremely sad too.
I face a crossroads now. I look towards studying the MA next year possibly. But I have to choose either the directing side or the acting side. Each strand offers working at the Globe Theatre and producing a brand new pieces of Theatre. I’ve had success in both fields and am truly torn between the two.
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