When I get that age-old question what are you majoring in, my response is pretty long. I have a lot of interests and therefore I've attempted to pursue them all.
I am currently majoring in History and Theatre and minoring in Classical Civilizations and Medieval Studies.
How did I get there? Well a long and grueling process. Check out my previous posts about my journey to declaring these here.
What I can tell you now is that I love my majors! Each speaks to a part of me that I enjoy in my life. I benefit from having two seemingly unrelated majors but if you look hard enough, you'll see the connections (as I will be attempting when it comes to Senior Sem time!)
(Hint, if you're a history person, read the green. If you're a theatre person, read the purple! Or heck, just read all of it!)
As a junior, I'm taking most of the seminar classes for my History major. Coming from abroad I took two based on the Victorian Era and Women, Society, and Culture in Eighteenth Century England. The later class prompted me with an interest in women and their relationship with society and culture so I am taking a course offered by the History Department called "Deviant Women". I just looked at all the books I'll need for this class and already my curiosity is piqued!
Another aspect of being a History major that I love is the professors. My primary interaction is with my advisor, Professor Dameron. I had him second semester freshman year for my first-year seminar and taking a class with him got me interested in what History has to offer. He's a great professor and easy to talk to about class, traveling, and really anything! I'm so lucky to have him as an advisor and I'm looking forward to taking another class with him this semester!
There is a certain kind of person that gets involved in the theatre. I enjoy meeting creative and exciting people in theatre. I consider myself to be an unconventional theatre person. I've tried my hand at acting and while I do enjoy it, I love being a part of behind-the-scenes. I'm involved in at least one production each semester, the Drama Club, and enjoy watching plays. This semester, I will be stage managing the main spring production with a team of three and costume designing a potential Drama Club production. I am looking forward to being involved hands-on in the theatre. One of my beliefs is that learning is better hands-on.
For everything else, there's class! So far I've taken classes in a widespread variety of theatre: acting, costumes, tech crew, history, modern theatre, etc. I love learning about theatre and ready to take up any opportunity I can!
Studying abroad in Bath gave me the opportunity to be a part of the egg team for their Young People's Theatre production of I Am England. To learn more about that, check out my blog here!
There is so much I'm looking forward to this semester and it's a short two and a half weeks away! I know the work will be challenging but I'm eager to step up to the plate. If you have any questions at all, feel free to contact me!
Hope you're enjoying your winter break - I know I am!
Katelyn :)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
I Am England
For my internship at the egg, I was the Producer's Assistant for the Young People's Theatre production of I Am England, a play written by David Lane with contributions from the director and cast. It was a year-long process and was based off of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. It's a really great piece of theatre and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it!
With an internship comes a dissertation. For my dissertation I decided to compare and contrast Coriolanus to I Am England. I had not previously heard of this Shakespeare play, one of his Roman ones, and skimmed through to get the gist of it. For a quick synopsis, the main character Coriolanus returns from war to a hero's welcome, runs for consul but is undermined by the common people who have been thrust into a state of chaos as a result of the war. He is eventually exiled, goes to the enemy whom he was fighting against, and ends up being assassinated. Obviously it's more complex than that and I recommend you give it a read.
The writing team took this and transformed the story to make it their own. From the Theatre Royal's website:
It truly was a fantastic, moving play that made me think about what it means to be working on a production that comments on political, social, and cultural issues. It was really interesting and I will definitely take what I learned from it in my next involvement with theatre.
My primary responsibility was to create the program, a crazy process in an of itself. I had to collaborate with all members of the cast and creative team to collect biographies, thanks, and any other information for the program. After about five intense weeks, I managed to get it all together the night before opening. I'm really glad to have something concrete to hold onto and show for my efforts at the egg.
Side note: one of the best things that happened during my internship was the opportunity to take press pictures for I Am England! Check out the ones they used below!
Also: ATTENTION THESPIANS! I shall be writing a post about my recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon and seeing not one, but THREE plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company! Be excited - I know I am!
If you have any questions about my internship at the egg or about I Am England, leave a comment or formspring me!
Katelyn :)
With an internship comes a dissertation. For my dissertation I decided to compare and contrast Coriolanus to I Am England. I had not previously heard of this Shakespeare play, one of his Roman ones, and skimmed through to get the gist of it. For a quick synopsis, the main character Coriolanus returns from war to a hero's welcome, runs for consul but is undermined by the common people who have been thrust into a state of chaos as a result of the war. He is eventually exiled, goes to the enemy whom he was fighting against, and ends up being assassinated. Obviously it's more complex than that and I recommend you give it a read.
The writing team took this and transformed the story to make it their own. From the Theatre Royal's website:
Bankrupt, isolated and in a state of collapse, a once-proud nation falls apart at the seams. Nostalgic for empire and thirsty for revenge, a small town politician presents a hero to the masses: a poster-boy for conscription.
The future of the nation hangs in the balance, but at a time of intense change those in power must confront the truth of who they are - and who they might become.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, I Am England offers a unique perspective on political power, authoritarianism and social justice from the generation whose stories are yet to be written.
It truly was a fantastic, moving play that made me think about what it means to be working on a production that comments on political, social, and cultural issues. It was really interesting and I will definitely take what I learned from it in my next involvement with theatre.
My primary responsibility was to create the program, a crazy process in an of itself. I had to collaborate with all members of the cast and creative team to collect biographies, thanks, and any other information for the program. After about five intense weeks, I managed to get it all together the night before opening. I'm really glad to have something concrete to hold onto and show for my efforts at the egg.
Side note: one of the best things that happened during my internship was the opportunity to take press pictures for I Am England! Check out the ones they used below!
 |
| Characters Ria and Marc |
Also: ATTENTION THESPIANS! I shall be writing a post about my recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon and seeing not one, but THREE plays put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company! Be excited - I know I am!
If you have any questions about my internship at the egg or about I Am England, leave a comment or formspring me!
Katelyn :)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Horseback Riding! (And the Death of the Camera)
One of my most favorite things I've done abroad is go horseback riding! The last time I went riding was probably about 10 years ago and I've been wanting to do it since.
ASE has a folder of places and things to do for a day or weekend trip and I saw one for Wellow Trekking Centre in Wellow, just a 15-20 minute taxi ride from my house.
My friends Eleanor, Kathryn, Meghan, and I got up one Sunday morning to head to the centre. It was a gorgeous day and we were all excited!
We got there, got fitted for shoes and helmets, and met our horses. Katie was my horse - and she liked to go fast. We had a leisurely walk and stepped it up to trot. Katie just wanted to trot ALL DAY! I would've been fine with that if my camera would have survived. The culprit? Trotting. I think it turned on in my pocket whilst we were trotting and then the lens got screwed up. I didn't freak out because there was nothing I could do about it right then and I knew we were going home in a few weeks and most of the things I wanted to document have already been documented.
Anywho, it was a fantastic day and I would gladly do it again! The only thing about not being familiar with riding horses on a regular basis is that your body is SORE for the next few days. You use muscles you didn't even know you had!
Hope you enjoyed my adventure horseback riding!
Katelyn :)
ASE has a folder of places and things to do for a day or weekend trip and I saw one for Wellow Trekking Centre in Wellow, just a 15-20 minute taxi ride from my house.
My friends Eleanor, Kathryn, Meghan, and I got up one Sunday morning to head to the centre. It was a gorgeous day and we were all excited!
We got there, got fitted for shoes and helmets, and met our horses. Katie was my horse - and she liked to go fast. We had a leisurely walk and stepped it up to trot. Katie just wanted to trot ALL DAY! I would've been fine with that if my camera would have survived. The culprit? Trotting. I think it turned on in my pocket whilst we were trotting and then the lens got screwed up. I didn't freak out because there was nothing I could do about it right then and I knew we were going home in a few weeks and most of the things I wanted to document have already been documented.
Anywho, it was a fantastic day and I would gladly do it again! The only thing about not being familiar with riding horses on a regular basis is that your body is SORE for the next few days. You use muscles you didn't even know you had!
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| Action shot! |
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| The pathway we rode on |
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| SO GORGEOUS |
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| Kathryn, Eleanor, Meg, and I! |
Katelyn :)
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Unexpected Wonderful Occurrences of Studying Abroad: Imagine Dragons Concert!
A few weeks ago my friends and I trekked to Oxford to see Imagine Dragons in concert! It was only 7 pounds - aka a steal! We got to the place just as the doors were opening and we were in a good place in line, right behind a pair of girls wearing dragon onesies!
The venue was very small and intimate which the lead singer (Dan Reynolds) commented saying they love playing venues that they can see everyone's faces. It was AWESOME! One of the best concerts I've ever been to. The Escapists opened for Imagine Dragons and they were pretty neat. The lead singer told us that one of the songs was written about aliens...interesting concept.
It was finally time for Imagine Dragons to come on and MY GOD. You could feel the floor rattle with the amount of people jumping up and down and the INCREDIBLE percussion of the band. They played a bunch of my favorite songs but alas did not play Working Man aka my jam. Still, they were PHENOMENAL. Dan even ended up coming into the audience - crazy!
We went to get t-shirts and the guitarist (Wayne Sermon) came over to sign autographs! Luckily I had my study abroad journal with me so I grabbed it out and talked to him about being abroad and seeing concerts. It was so awesome!
Afterwards we went to The Kings Arms Pub, the pub with the highest IQ in Oxford. We had a great time and caught the 12:07 train back to Bath. Our adventure had come full circle and it continues to be one of the highlights of my time abroad!
The venue was very small and intimate which the lead singer (Dan Reynolds) commented saying they love playing venues that they can see everyone's faces. It was AWESOME! One of the best concerts I've ever been to. The Escapists opened for Imagine Dragons and they were pretty neat. The lead singer told us that one of the songs was written about aliens...interesting concept.
We went to get t-shirts and the guitarist (Wayne Sermon) came over to sign autographs! Luckily I had my study abroad journal with me so I grabbed it out and talked to him about being abroad and seeing concerts. It was so awesome!
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| Wayne Sermon! |
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Numbers
Here's the facts:
1. Been in Bath for 83 days.
2. US bound in 27 days.
3. 3 papers to write before that - 10,000 words
4. 1 presentation
5. 3 finals
6. 1 trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon
Things to look forward to:
- Finally blogging about midsemester break
- IMAGINE DRAGONS CONCERT!
- Horseback riding (and the death of the camera)
- I Am England Production
- A Visit from a SHA girl!
Again, the mantra of my next few weeks: SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME.
Sending my love to the states!
Katelyn :)
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Unexpected Wonderful Occurrences of Studying Abroadtures Abroad: Bath Rugby Game!
This weekend I was rereading the bulletin that gets sent out from ASE every week keeping us posted on activities around Bath that we can participate in. I spotted that there was a FREE rugby game on November 5th (Guy Fawkes' Day!) and decided to go. It would be on my Bath bucket list if I had one.
Anywho, my friends and I signed up to go, met up with my internship advisor Andrew Butterworth (the best!) and about half of our program and walked down the street to the rugby pitch.
Bath Rugby 'A' (Blue) was playing against the London Harlequins "A' team. Don't ask me what that means but it was quite impressive. It was my first time watching a rugby game and I'll definitely go to some rugby matches at Saint Mike's! It soon became easy to follow and the audience definitely got into it.
I had a great time - and the BEST HOT DOG. No sporting event is complete without concession stand food. So glad I broke out multiple layers and my new winter headband because it was SO COLD! You could see the players' breath like it was steam!
If given the chance, I'd go again! (Free is the best price haha)
Hope you're warm in your neck of the woods!
Katelyn :)
PS - Bath got like 10 minutes of snow the other day...check out the view from my window! Sad to say, it was all gone a few hours later thanks to the following rain and sun. Gotta love England!
Anywho, my friends and I signed up to go, met up with my internship advisor Andrew Butterworth (the best!) and about half of our program and walked down the street to the rugby pitch.
Bath Rugby 'A' (Blue) was playing against the London Harlequins "A' team. Don't ask me what that means but it was quite impressive. It was my first time watching a rugby game and I'll definitely go to some rugby matches at Saint Mike's! It soon became easy to follow and the audience definitely got into it.
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| The final score: Bath wins! |
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| Amelia, Hannah, Meghan, Eleanor, and me! |
If given the chance, I'd go again! (Free is the best price haha)
Hope you're warm in your neck of the woods!
Katelyn :)
PS - Bath got like 10 minutes of snow the other day...check out the view from my window! Sad to say, it was all gone a few hours later thanks to the following rain and sun. Gotta love England!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Missing Saint Mike's
Being abroad makes you realize the things you miss about being home both at SMC and CT.
5. Having all the buildings within a 5 minute walk - especially with such nice green spaces and the changing leaves.
4. Brunch omelets in Alliot.
3. Being able to see homework on eCollege instead of looking at/for my syllabi.
2. All the activities I do - VITA, Celtic Knights, Drama Club, working at the Helpdesk...
1. My friends and family!
This week has brought on an overwhelming feeling of homesickness after saying goodbye to my mom and friends Jenn and KK after we traveled around England and Ireland for my mid-semester break (which I'll chronicle later). It was awesome to see them and I've missed them so much!
Upon my return from break I had to focus on registering for classes. After many e-mails back and forth to my advisors, I finalized my schedule. I found out when classes were posted on Knightvision that many of the history courses I wanted to take were during my theatre courses. I could not take the theatre courses because they're only offered every few semesters.
Because of that, I had to let go of the hope of being a Religious Studies minor. I know I know boo-hoo being a double major/double minor but I'm interested in so many things!
All in all, here is my final schedule:
Monday, Wednesday:
TH-302 Moliere to Modern Drama 1:30-3:05 PM
HI-393 Historian's Craft: Theory and Method 3:15-4:50 PM
Tuesday, Thursday:
TH-209 Stagecrafts 11:30-1:05 PM
Tuesday:
HI-395 Deviant Women 1:15-4:25 PM
"Everyday"
TH-273 Production Practicum: Stage Management
- Stage managing the Spring production woohoo!
In other news, I got accepted to go on a MOVE Extended Service Trip to Kentucky in March! I'm excited to get back to campus and start new things - don't get me wrong I'm loving Bath but I will definitely cherish being home.
Hope everything is well in your neck of the woods!
Katelyn :)
5. Having all the buildings within a 5 minute walk - especially with such nice green spaces and the changing leaves.
4. Brunch omelets in Alliot.
3. Being able to see homework on eCollege instead of looking at/for my syllabi.
2. All the activities I do - VITA, Celtic Knights, Drama Club, working at the Helpdesk...
1. My friends and family!
 |
| Got a card from VITA in the mail! So thoughtful :) |
Upon my return from break I had to focus on registering for classes. After many e-mails back and forth to my advisors, I finalized my schedule. I found out when classes were posted on Knightvision that many of the history courses I wanted to take were during my theatre courses. I could not take the theatre courses because they're only offered every few semesters.
Because of that, I had to let go of the hope of being a Religious Studies minor. I know I know boo-hoo being a double major/double minor but I'm interested in so many things!
All in all, here is my final schedule:
Monday, Wednesday:
TH-302 Moliere to Modern Drama 1:30-3:05 PM
HI-393 Historian's Craft: Theory and Method 3:15-4:50 PM
Tuesday, Thursday:
TH-209 Stagecrafts 11:30-1:05 PM
Tuesday:
HI-395 Deviant Women 1:15-4:25 PM
"Everyday"
TH-273 Production Practicum: Stage Management
- Stage managing the Spring production woohoo!
In other news, I got accepted to go on a MOVE Extended Service Trip to Kentucky in March! I'm excited to get back to campus and start new things - don't get me wrong I'm loving Bath but I will definitely cherish being home.
Hope everything is well in your neck of the woods!
Katelyn :)
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