Eish! London 15 - 16 May

Friday, 15 May

I realise I have been living in my ‘new’ room for awhile now and I haven’t mentioned anything about the people I’m living with. Sorry about that. To be honest it’s been an adjustment. NT and Marie do make an effort to speak English, which I appreciate, but in general everyone speaks Afrikaans, and my brain is often too tired to translate, so I just go to bed. Martha has been very kind in helping me get organised and is very excited for me to achieve my dreams and be on stage and settle into London; she’s the youngest in the house, currently single, and away from her sister too. We have a fair amount in common, which is nice. Jay I hardly ever see because he works late and Ara and I have very similar schedules so we chat fairly often. She was telling me about all the hassles she has had trying to get permanent residency and all the different visas and costs of it all. Sounds phenomenally stressful!

Otherwise I’m slowly getting used to everyone, but overall I pretty much stick to myself. I’m not a big drinker like they are and I’m not an animal lover like they are. Fortunately NT and Marie don’t like having a dog in the house either so the voting balance works to keep the thigh high dog out in the big garden. I can’t for the life of me figure out why any young people living in London would get a big dog in the first place; but to each their own.

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally finished drafting and editing my email to The Globe Theatre person that those actors suggested I email. I sent it today:

Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 13:36:51 +0000
Subject: Getting involved at The Globe
To: dot@shakespearesglobe.com

My name is Shannan Lea. I am from South Africa and I have come to London to get involved in theatre productions, ideally ones at The Globe Theatre.

I arrived in London 6 weeks ago and came through to The Globe　on the weekend of Shakespeare's birthday celebrations. While I was there I introduced myself to the actors in the cornered off area in the hope of finding out my best course of action to get involved. Sarah and Nana suggested that I get in touch with you, because you would be the best person to offer me assistance in the right direction.

I have been involved in theatre (both on and off stage) from a very young age.　I have　operated sound and lighting equipment. I have scripted, cast and directed a few plays. I have danced, sung and acted on stage. In Year 12 I received honours for Drama and then went on to do Drama up to 2nd year at University.　

For my practical exam in Year 12 I performed a Lady Macbeth　monologue, for which I received a High　"A".

Being involved in a performance　at　The Globe Theatre is one of the things I would like to achieve in my life. Ideally I'd love to be on the stage (even if it's a one-liner!), but I realise that I would have to prove myself before that is possible; so I'm happy to get involved in any way I can.

Please would you be so kind as to help me achieve my goal in any way you can.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks

Shannan

After some um-ming and ah-ing I eventually hit the send button. We’ll have to wait and see what response I get.

Saturday, 16 May

Laundry, admin and all the self-maintenance things life requires. You can’t escape it, no matter how hard you try.