Spring Break in London

IC Honors Program Presents: Spring Break in London

Pygmalion in London: A One-Week Tour Focusing on the Performing Arts

What is it? One week in London over Spring Break 2011.  We'll fly to London, stay in a hostel, traverse London by tube and by foot, explore British theatre, go to museums, and explore (a lot).

Objective: George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion is hailed as a classic of the modern theatre, a serio-comic essay on the rigidity of the class system in England, and to an extent a plea for liberation of women. This popular play was adapted for film in 1938 and was turned into a tremendously successful musical (My Fair Lady) in 1956. It is also filled with references to many locations and landmarks in and around London and might be used as a figurative “map” of the city. Following this “map” we will take a week-long trip to London via the performing arts and, to an extent, the visual arts.

Method:  A daily hour-long group meeting will set up the tour of the day. After the tour each day, students will be given several hours to explore on their own. Most evenings students will attend the theatre, opera, and ballet. One complete day will be set aside for students to explore on their own, in small groups.

Dates:

• Departing Ithaca Saturday, March 12
•  Returning to Ithaca Saturday, March 19 or Sunday, March 20 depending on flight availability
  

Price:

• You'll be asked to hand in a $100 deposit to confirm your attendance any time between Wednesday, December 1, 2010 and Wednesday, January 26, 2011.  Your deposit will count towards the final cost of the trip.  Once you hand in your deposit, you are committed to attend the trip.  Honors is putting up a lot of money for each attendee and we cannot afford cancellations.
• You will be required to pay the rest of the approximately $800 flight cost by Wednesday, February 9, 2011.  We will contact you later with more information regarding payment of insurance.  The remainder of the cost to the student (tube and food) will be paid directly by the student while in London

 *Prices converted from British pounds to American dollars based on the conversion rate for Wednesday, October 27, 2010.  They may alter slightly based on changing rates.

The Next Step:

• Sign our interest sheet if you think there's a possibility you'd be interested for this year.
•  E-mail honors@ithaca.edu with any and all questions.
• We will need a final head count of all attending by Wednesday, January 26, 2011.

An Outline of Proposed Activities:

*This outline is subject to change.  It should give you an idea of what we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it, but it will most likely alter in some way prior to the trip.*

SATURDAY: Flight from Ithaca to London

SUNDAY: Introduction

• Getting settled in London!
• Introduction to Pygmalion
• Introductory walk
• Free evening 

MONDAY: Commercial Theatre

• Morning classroom orientation
• West End Walk
• Tour: of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Museum: National Gallery/National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square
• Show: West End Performance

TUESDAY: Subsidized Theatre Part 1

• Morning classroom orientation
• South Bank Walk
• Tour: of the Royal National Theatre
• Museum: Tate Modern
• Free Time: on South Bank (opportunity to explore St Paul’s Cathedral, London Eye, Big Ben…)
• Show: at National Theatre

WEDNESDAY: Subsidized Theatre Part 2

• Morning classroom orientation
• Chelsea and Sloane Square Walk
• Tour: of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
• Show: at a Pub Theatre

THURSDAY: Free Day

• Explore!  Have fun.

FRIDAY: Other Performing Arts

• Morning classroom orientation
• Matinee Show: Dance Performance at the Royal Opera House
• Museum: Victoria & Albert Museum
• Free evening

SATURDAY or SUNDAY: Return Flight to Ithaca (dependent on flight availability)