And we're off!

After a long flight and a bus ride into central London, our students have arrived. Thanks to our amazing CEPA coordinator, Greer, we even have a picture with all of us in it.

On our way!

I ruined our first pre-departure selfie, but Professor Steinberg indulged me long enough to produce a second. We are just waiting for our plane. We will have one day's lead time on our students so that we can remember our names by the time they arrive.

Little Match Girl -- Some old favorites

Folks, I've found an online review of our production of The Little Match Girl and Other Happier Tales in The Guardian at this link It's a very brief read, and worth skimming over. The "other happier tales" of the title are favorites of mine; The Princess and the Pea and The Emperor's New Clothes, and Thumbelina. As with the best programming suitable for children, this production has its adult moments as well.

Please take a moment to read the review and comment on your favorite tales. I directed Once Upon a Mattress (the musical of Princess and the Pea), and its a fun fairy tale.

Like a travelling Edwardian vaudeville show … The Little Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Why Drama?

Why is drama such a great medium for a class? Unlike novels, which are meant to be read privately at one's own leisure, drama is meant to be consumed in a group of other theatre-goers who will respond together to the production choices and to the dramatist's and director's vision. If we were going to London to read and discuss a series of "London novels" such as Bleak House and Mrs. Dalloway and Absolute Beginners we would spend much of our learning time alone with these somewhat lengthy novels. We are, however, going to spend much of our learning time together in the theatre.

Many undergraduates are not fans of reading the plays of William Shakespeare. Seeing them performed by trained actors, however, brings them to life in unexpected ways. Shakespeare never wrote his plays hoping that schools would teach them, but instead hoping that ordinary folks would purchase entrance to his theaters and hear his plays. We are following in a long tradition of Londoners who have happily done so.