This post was written by Andrew Harlan, a Junior  Communication Studies Major at Northwestern University attending the School of Communication’s Global Media & Communications Seminar in London. 

A week in one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world with a group of eighteen Northwestern students. Sounds pretty incredible, right? Well, it is sure starting off that way.

This spring break, I have the incredible privilege of taking part in the School of Communication’s Global Media and Communications seminar. After a quarter-long course back on the Evanston campus, we flew across the pond to London, where we’ve been exploring for the past couple days. After tons of sightseeing, Tube-riding, tea-sipping, and much more, today was our first full day of events. We kicked things off in the morning with a lecture at the London School of Economics by Professor Nick Couldry. Couldry’s lecture focused on the new global media environment and the ethical questions it raises. In a contemporary climate in which an individual’s online data are at the disposal of companies and corporations, Couldry’s lecture raised important questions about the path ahead. 

After lecture, we made a pit stop at the London Film Museum’s exhibit on the James Bond franchise. From Bond cars to Bond songs, the museum was full of movie history. Many students made their way to Covent Garden after visiting the museum, sampling tea in various shops and finding souvenirs to purchase for family back home. With more free time after lunch, I spent some time at the National Portrait Gallery. Starting back at the Tudor portraits from the sixteenth century, I made my way through over five hundred years of British art in about an hour and a half. I’ve always been fascinated by the British government (specifically, the monarchy). It was fascinating to see how art, fashion, and British identity changed over the years.

For me, the real treat of the day was our site visit to Nancy Bishop Casting, just north of Leicester Square. Nancy Bishop is an impressive Northwestern alumna, having graduated from the School of Communication with a master’s from the Theatre department. She has had a fascinating career trajectory, starting off in Chicago where she founded multiple independent theatre companies. From there, she landed in Prague, where she continued working in the theatre world. Various connections brought her to the Film/TV casting industry and to London today. As a young individual highly interested in careers in both casting and talent/literary representation, Bishop’s talk was particularly insightful. She spoke about topics ranging from her own Northwestern experience to how the industry is working toward diverse casting practices. I am so thankful to have had the chance to meet such a powerful player in the global film/television industry and to learn from her experiences.

With some free time left in the evening, I finished the day by purchasing some day-of tickets with other students for the current revival of Dreamgirls playing at the Savoy Theatre. It’s no secret among the students on the program that I’m one of the big theatre geeks of the group, so to say I loved the show would be an understatement. The show’s intricate costumes and glittering set design wowed the audience, and the cast members delivered powerhouse performances. Truly, a remarkable way to end a day in one of the greatest cities in the world! Now, it’s time for me to catch some sleep before our next big day… 

This post was written by Amanda Xiang, a Senior Duel Degree Communication Studies and Piano Performance Major at Northwestern University attending the School of Communication’s Global Media & Communications Seminar in London. 

There was a hint of remorse on this final day of activities for the trip. We started off as a continuation of last night’s (absolutely) fantastic performance of Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre and were able to talk to David Sabel, the alumni who works at the theatre as the Director of Creative Development.

The experience of visiting the theatre as an audience first, and getting to know the origin and core creator of the show afterward was a great idea. David shared his life story in much detail (he talked for more than an hour!), diving from his first involvements as an actor right after coming out of college, to his immersion in other sectors that go beyond the creative industries, like graduating from an MBA program in Cambridge. His career was the epitome of creation, not just because of his non-linear (a word we heard of many times in the trip) career path, but also his understanding of the creative media industry as a whole, diverging externally of his love for theatre! We talked about how live recording videos of concerts could be the first moves to moving into event cinemas, how event cinemas may not necessarily take away the profits of a live performance but as an add-on, or how the future of technologies like VR, live recordings, 360 degree sound systems could be incorporated into live performances. On top of his vast knowledge, David’s idea of immersing the audience entirely in the Julius Caesar show was an example of how these creative ideas could be successfully used in more traditional forms of entertainment.

It was a short day, and our events ended after the talk with David, as well as a delicious (and luxurious!) late lunch at an Indian restaurant named Masala Zone near our hotel that officially ended our trip. However, my day got better from there – after getting some very essential shopping out of the way, I met up with my previous internship colleague, who had moved onto a job at the management level of the London Philharmonia Orchestra. I followed him into the orchestra’s very exclusive rehearsal, as well as a backstage tour (more like an informal meet and greet!). Never in the world would I remotely imagined to meet him in London, but also having this super rare opportunity to meet the orchestra!

The Philharmonia Orchestra is stationed at the Royal Festival Hall right by the river. The building was beyond just a concert hall – it was like a hub of an artistic community, with buzzing noises of crowded people formulating around exhibitions downstairs of the hall, couples sipping tea at coffee tables right by the floor-length glass windows; and the concert hall itself looked spacious, luxurious and full of history.  However, I was told that the hall existed before the newer additions to the building structure, so the acoustics of the hall was never improved since the 1980s. Personally seeing how the musicians struggled to project their music to the back of the hall, I realized that compared to Bridge Theatre, there was a stark contrast between a traditional form like music and relatively stagnant art form like theatre, and the innovative and integrating components of this greatly improving other aspects of the creative industry. It was beyond interesting and mind-opening to see both sides of technological development or enhancement in these different spaces, and yet they both thrived in a welcoming and arts-focused city such as London.

P.S: I also bumped into Casper Lee, one of the most famous British Youtubers, on the street of London today. That was a highlight and I wished I could write a whole new blog on how ridiculously joyous I was for the rest of the day.