RADA, Shakespeare, and English Paper Piecing!

Hello!

This week's blog post is a bit of a general life update - lots of exciting things have been happening!

RADA

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

I usually set aside Fridays as my day to write and upload blogs posts, however last Friday I was busy preparing for my audition at RADA which I had today. RADA is considered by many to be the top drama school in the world; they audition over 3,000 people every year with only 28 spaces (14 for males and 14 for females) up for grabs so the odds are very much against you! However, I thought that I might as well give it a go as it would be a great experience to perform in front of a panel there - and you never know if you never try! 

This morning I woke up feeling nauseous and tense thinking 'why the hell am I putting myself through this?!?!' and these feelings only worsened. When I was half way to London I was so scared that I felt I needed to pee, poop, and throw up all at once (my apologies for that delightful imagery). Yet once I was there and got chatting to a few of the other auditionees I started to relax. I employed my various warm up techniques, breathing and calming exercises, and began to feel a lot better. I reminded myself that I had paid to be there (a delightful £45 audition fee is required), that I deserved to be there as much as anyone else and that - although my chances of getting through were slim - I was damn well going to give it my all and show these people what I could do! And that's exactly what I did. When my name was called, I walked in there with a huge smile on my face (fake it till you make it peeps) and answered their questions with as much confidence as I could muster. I then performed my pieces (two Shakespeare and one contemporary). I absolutely loved every second of it. When I was there performing and absorbed in the characters, I knew for certain that this is what I want to do; any doubts melted away.
Although the panel aren't meant to give anything away, they gave me some great feedback and one of them even came out of the room to chat to me afterwards. This gave me a huge confidence boost that perhaps I have a chance at getting through to the next round! After the first auditions, between 300-400 applicants will get a recall, yet this is only the second of four rounds! But one step at a time!
Despite the fact that things went so well today, I know there is still a very small chance that I will get much further in the process, but what have we got if not hope? And I'm so happy that I took the chance and gave it a go because I had a great experience and can take what I learnt with me in to future auditions.

I will keep you updated as to what happens! Now to focus on my Guildhall audition next week...!

Writing for the Royal Shakespeare Company!

Last week myself and my friend Kirsty (who is also applying to drama school this year) went to watch a production of 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. We had a wonderful evening (despite some questionable driving on my part.. I blame the Sat-Nav!) and were completely blown away by the whole production: from the script, to the acting, to the staging, costume, and lighting. We got our tickets for a mere fiver thanks to the RSC Key. This is available to everyone aged between 16-25: if you sign up you get a Keycard which gets you tickets to their shows for only £5, along with discounts for the shop and restaurants. Equally exciting is that fact that this week I will be writing a review of the Two Noble Kinsmen which will be posted on the RSC Key blog! Squeee! I shall share the link to that once it's written and up on their website. 

*lil shoutout to my friend Joe - a drama student at the Uni of Northampton- for telling me about the RSC Key!*

English Paper Piecing

Progress! But a long way to go... at the moment it's probably only a quilt big enough for a mouse! 

I may actually be more excited about this latest art project than I am about RADA and the RSC...perhaps because I'm a sad 18 year old who's going on 80 and needs to get out more? Ah well, here goes. I'M MAKING A PATCHWORK QUILT AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT! Yep, I even felt the need to resort to caps. 

I am making a patchwork quilt using the English Paper Piecing method (which basically means using paper to help get the shapes for your patches) I'm finding it really fun and therapeutic (I actually did some whilst on the tube today which gave me something to focus on and keep me calm). I'm also finding it fairly straight forward at the moment which is surprising considering it's all hand sewn and I'm not very experienced at sewing. I'm really excited about this project because it is allowing me to be really creative, I'm developing new skills, it's something I can hopefully keep and use forever, and because it will hold sentimental value. For example, some of the patches are made from the material that my mum made her bridesmaids dresses from (yes, sewing runs in the family!). It will probably take me a good few months to complete so will certainly keep me busy for a while but I'm sure it will be worth it. As with my drama school journey, I shall be posting updates on my progress on here!

Thank you so much for reading this slightly random blog post and I hope you enjoyed it!

Love,

Katie xxx