1Hi, Rob. How's the course going?
2Oh, hi, Mia. Yeah, great.
3I can't believe the first term's nearly over.
4I saw your group's performance last night at the student theatre.
5It was good.
6Really?
7Yeah... but now we have to write a report on the whole thing, an in-depth analysis.
8I don't know where to start.
9Like, I have to write about the role I played, the doctor, how I developed the character.
10Well, what was your starting point?
11My grandfather was a doctor before he retired, and I just based it on him.
12OK, but how?
13Did you talk to him about it?
14He must have all sorts of stories, but he never says much about his work, even now.
15He has a sort of authority though.
16So how did you manage to capture that?
17I'd visualise what he must have been like in the past,
18when he was sitting in his consulting room listening to his patients.
19OK, so that's what you explain in your report.
20Right.
21Then there's the issue of atmosphere -
22so in the first scene we needed to know how boring life was in the doctor's village in the 1950s,
23so when the curtain went up on the first scene in the waiting room,
24there was that long silence before anyone spoke.
25And then people kept saying the same thing over and over, like 'Cold, isn't it?'
26Yes, and everyone wore grey and brown, and just sat in a row.
27Yes, all those details of the production.
28And I have to analyse how I functioned in the group -
29what I found out about myself.
30I know I was so frustrated at times, when we couldn't agree.
31Yes. So did one person emerge as the leader?
32Sophia did.
33That was OK - she helped us work out exactly what to do, for the production.
34And that made me feel better, I suppose.
35When you understood what needed doing?
36Yes.
37And Sophia did some research, too.
38That was useful in developing our approach.
39Like what?
40Well, she found these articles from the 1950s about how relationships between children and their parents,
41or between the public and people like bank managers or the police were shifting.
42Interesting.
43And did you have any practical problems to overcome?
44Well, in the final rehearsal everything was going fine until the last scene -
45that's where the doctor's first patient appears on stage on his own.
46The one in the wheelchair?
47Yes, and he had this really long speech, with the stage all dark except for one spotlight -
48and then that stuck somehow so it was shining on the wrong side of the stage...
49but anyway we got that fixed, thank goodness.
50Yes, it was fine on the night.
51But while you're here, Mia.
52I wanted to ask you about the year abroad option.
53Would you recommend doing that?
54Yes, definitely.
55It's a fantastic chance to study in another country for a year.
56I think I'd like to do it,
57but it looks very competitive -
58there's only a limited number of places.
59Yes, so next year when you are in the second year of the course,
60you need to work really hard in all your theatre studies modules.
61Only students with good marks get places -
62you have to prove that you know your subject really well.
63Right.
64So how did you choose where to go?
65Well, I decided I wanted a programme that would fit in with what I wanted to do after I graduate,
66so I looked for a university with emphasis on acting rather than directing for example.
67It depends on you.
68Then about six months before you go,
69you have to email the scheme coordinator with your top three choices.
70I had a friend who missed the deadline and didn't get her first choice,
71so you do need to get a move on at that stage.
72You'll find that certain places are very popular with everyone.
73And don't you have to write a personal statement at that stage?
74Yes.
75Right.
76I'll get some of the final year students to give me some tips...
77maybe see if I can read what they wrote.
78I think that's a very good idea.
79I don't mind showing you what I did.
80And while you're abroad don't make the mistake I made.
81I got so involved I forgot all about making arrangements for when I came back here for the final year.
82Make sure you stay in touch so they know your choices for the optional modules.
83You don't want to miss out doing your preferred specialisms.
84Right.