Before I delve into describing what our workshop consisted of, I think it best to clarify who Victoria and Albert were. Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert was her cousin. The two married in 1840 and reigned until Albert died in 1861. Victoria ruled for around 63 years total.
Once we had all managed to meet up with Dr. Q, he took us into the Victoria and Albert Museum and spoke with us about two exhibits, one about Elizabethan London (Shakespeare's time) and one about the theatre and stage. The most notable piece of information I learned was that actors in the Shakespearean Era required astounding memorization skills. A performance would be put on one evening, and the next evening an entirely new show would be performed. This meant that some plays were only seen on the stage four times a year. While an actor was performing, they were also memorizing their lines for the show they might act in the next evening. Can you imagine memorizing all of your lines for a Shakespearean play in less than twenty-four hours?
One section of the theatre and stage exhibit presented about costumes and dressing rooms. Visitors were encouraged to try on some costumes available, so we all gussied ourselves up for the camera (even though we acted as though we belonged on a stage).
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| A group of goofballs in whimsical garb. Oh, and Dr. Q too! |
After we finished our workshop with Dr. Q, we were given free time. Some friends and I split off and adventured to the Science Museum. It was very enjoyable! My favorite part of the Science Museum was the section on Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to travel into space. Tereshkova was launched into space on the sixteenth of June, 1963. She spent around three days orbiting the Earth in a Vostok 6 spacecraft. Today, she remains the only woman to have flown a solo space mission.
I also enjoyed a portion of the space exhibit that contained a piece of the moon! No, it was not a chunk of cheese...sorry to bust the myth...I saw an actual moon rock!
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| Valentina Tereshkova: The first woman in space! |
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| A piece of moon rock. |
In addition, my friends and I found an exhibit titled "Who Am I?" The exhibit addressed questions about DNA, personality, gender, etc. One simulation available altered the viewer's face to show how they would look with male or female exaggerated facial features.
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| Me with male facial features. I think I look rather dashing! |
To finish off the day, we went and saw "The Play That Goes Wrong" at the Duchess. It was beyond hilarious. Imagine as an actor or audience member everything that could possibly go wrong during a performance, and you have the plot of this play in a nutshell. My face still hurts from smiling!
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| The Play That Goes Wrong |
Shayna,
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a delight. The two exhibits we visited at the V&A were quite interesting. I enjoyed playing dress up as well. You certainly donned the best costume, it suits you well! The Elizabethan and Theatre exhibits were an exquisite glimpse of the extensive knowledge available in the museum. Each museum we visit, I am astounded by the large amount of 'stuff' collected through time and preserved for our eyes. The science museum was no disappointment either! After the Tereshkova exhibit, I was wondering why more women haven't gone to space solo. Do you suppose it is because more missions now are comprised of groups, or because women may be less interested in the profession? Another reason could attribute the lack to the remaining glass ceiling. What do you think?
I loved touring the V&A museum. The exhibits we saw were very interesting, but I want to talk real quick about the glass Rotunda Chandelier. It wasn't anything important to the tour, but I'm actually familiar with the sculptor, Dale Chihuly. Some of his pieces are at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Science Museum was really fun, especially the "Who Am I?" exhibit. And "The Play That Goes Wrong" was such a treat, I don't remember laughing so hard. I actually got into a friendly argument with one of the actors that was improvising during intermission. His character didn't know and was in denial that dogs can't have chocolate. Lol.
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