London Calling, UM-Flint Students Answer

What do you get when you combine two University of Michigan-Flint theatre faculty members, 12 eager undergrads, and 21 days in one of the premier cultural hubs of the world?  INT 394–Special Topic in Study Abroad or simply put, Theatre, Fashion & Architecture in London. Assistant Professors Stephen Landon and Shelby Newport will head the design-based trip May 8–29, 2011, to teach the course.

Students will attend morning lectures given by Landon, Newport, and several guest speakers, followed by day tours of museums, theatres, and other architecturally significant buildings throughout the city. In addition, eight evening performances, including a show at the Globe Theatre, are scheduled. While the bulk of the course will be taught in London, there will be a day trip to Shakespeare's turf, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

But this isn't a site-seeing junket; course requirements include a theatre-related design project and a sketch journal that must be visited daily.

"There is going to be a lot of drawing, by the students, as well as by Shelby and me," Landon stresses. "My goal is for them to gain an understanding of the many periods of style that exist throughout the city, including the Post-Modern and newer, cutting-edge architecture."

Newport's goals for the students are similar. As an undergraduate at Cornell College, she also did a study abroad in London that had a profound personal impact. "That trip really shaped who I am as a theatre artist," she explains. "I'm looking forward to taking these students and seeing their reactions."

In addition, there will be a blog that the students will be responsible for maintaining daily. You will be able to view London through their eyes at blogs.umflint.edu/theatrelondonstudyabroad11.