Friday, November 13, 2015

Theatre students ready for London journey

     During spring break, a group of Washburn theatre students plan on spending their time exploring the streets on London, England for a study abroad trip. 
     This will be the second time within the past year that Washburn has sponsored this study abroad opportunity for theatre department students. The last London trip started on May 18 and lasted for 10 days. 
     Paul Prece, chair of the theatre department, travels with the group of students as the faculty mentor. Prece spends several months planning the trip and works with a touring agency based out of New York. The trip's itinerary is unable to be fully determined until the number of students is confirmed. 
     "London is a mecca for theatre and other arts," Prece said. "The city is widely diverse in its neighborhoods and population and draws visitors internationally and year-round." 
     Theatre majors, Abbey Geiss, senior, and Jamie Schartz, junior, were two of the students who attended the London trip in May. 
     "I decided to take the trip because I had never been out of the country before, and the thought of travel has always been exciting to me," Geiss said. 
     A portion of the trip's itinerary is designated to five theatrical productions. The shows ranged from "War Horse," adapted by Nick Stafford from the book by Michael Morpurgo, at the New London Theatre to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," adapted by Simon Stephens from the book by Mark Haddon, at the National Theatre.
     "I read the novel [Curious Incident] before we left and fell in love with it," Schartz said. "Everything about the show was pristine. The cast was brilliant, the set was magical and the acting was phenomenal."
     In addition to the required activities, students were allowed to tour the city independently during certain days. Prece recommended that students visit the Tate Modern Museum and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
     For the upcoming trip in March there will be several new students attending including Alex Laughlin, junior theatre major. 
     "When I was younger my family took a trip to London and I was too young to really appreciate the history and the trip itself," Laughlin said. "So I want to go back and relive the experience."
     According to Prece, the spring break trip will mirror the May trip in that students will attend professional productions, experience an overnight trip to Stratford and witness the "changing of the guard" at Buckingham Palace.
     "There is always much to see and do in London. This time will be no different," Prece said. "My hope is that this trip will make students realize how wide the world is and begin to understand their place and possibility."

14 comments:

  1. This is awesome! I love that Washburn offers fun and beneficial learning experiences such as this. The only change I would make is to add a comma between attending and including. Great story!

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  2. Well written article. I think it is so cool for students to have these opportunities! I almost wish I would have had a more traditional college experience so I could have participated in things like this.

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  3. Nice artice. In the first paragraph change "on" to "of." I would also say "The last London trip was May 18 and lasted for 10 days."

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  4. Great job, Amy! Very information article about the trip!

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  5. Love this article, Amy! This was a very interesting read. I'm glad you wrote about it, because most people aren't aware of some of the great things that Washburn has to offer. I like that you added quotes into the article. It definitely makes it more personable giving testimonies. Great job!

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  6. The trip's itinerary is unable to be fully determined until the number of students is confirmed. I would try and reword this sentence... maybe, The itinerary is not finalized until the number of students participating is confirmed.

    I like reading your posts because they are always well written and require little editing.

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  7. I really like the format of your article. Great job!

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  8. This was a great topic to write about. Good topic research and selection.

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  9. I think the formatting could be changes so that it is easier to read. Maybe put some spaces in it. Its a lot all at once.

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  10. I agree with Justin, the format of this article is hard to read. I like the quotes that were used in the article! Great job!

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  11. If I could change anything about my college experience, it would be to study abroad. I think it is a great opportunity for students to be able to see and experience the world before they get settled into their careers. It is nice to see Washburn supporting students to be taken out of their comfort zone and truly experience the world.

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  12. Great article! One thing at the beginning, "exploring the streets of London..." is probably better!

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