Week 7: Jam House, Socials and Work Load

This week has been really difficult for me because I've had so much work to do. It has, however, been a satisfying week because I handed in my first essay (the one I've been talking about far too much) on Monday, which was a day early, and my lecturers are getting more friendly. Because of the nature of my course, there's a lot of contact time where the lecturer actually gets to know the student. Theatre Practice is taught in groups of about ten, the Dramatic Medium seminars are of a similar class size and PTPC is a discussion based module which allows for your own opinion (of theory) to be heard. Theatre Crafts is also taught in a smaller group and that was really interesting for me this week because we moved onto a new section: lighting. There's a lot of physics involved, in terms of how a lantern works and how the types differ, but it's really interesting. The group size makes asking questions much easier, too.

One thing that's really bothering me about the work load is that my Sundays are usually taken up by work. I'm definitely looking forward to 12th December when I can have a lay in and forget that I have an essay or two to hand in when I get back. I'm not going to lie, University really is hard work. There's a reason they organise accommodation: you have to have a study area to work and prepare for lectures and such. Of course there's the convenience of living with people so as to improve your social life and expand your social circles but having a room within a short walk to the University library is most definitely important. I may have mentioned before but the jump from sixth form or college to University can be a shock. That does mean, however, that the Christmas vacation is all the more rewarding. When the first year ends, that will be an incredible moment.

One highlight of week seven was the second/first year Drama social at Jam House. Jam House is a jazz bar/club owned by Jools Holland (the former member of Squeeze who hosts the 'New Year Hootenanny' as well as 'Later with Jools Holland', weekly) and is usually a 21+ venue (only admits those 21 years of age and older) but every Thursday is open to 18+. They are mainly a bar with live music but also serve food in a separate upstairs section that overlooks the band. I've been told that Jools not only owns the place but also makes appearances and performances every so often. My first experience of the place was a good one. The music was jazzy, as suggested by its owner's reputation, and atmosphere was really nice. I recommend this place to those who don't fancy getting claustrophobic in the massive clubs like Gatecrasher and Oceana. It serves as a fantastic place for a date as the mood is romantic but also provides an entertaining spot for a group to unwind. The beginning of the night was laid back with lots of sitting down and chatting about random things but once 10.30pm came, more people entered the dance floor and the joint livened up. You definitely aren't required to have a convincing dancing style but you are required to dress smartly. Jeans are acceptable if they are neither faded nor ripped. The girls wear cocktail dresses or smart trousers with a classy top. The website states that all male parties will not be admitted, which is a good excuse to get a female friend to transform into a swan for the night and have all eyes on her. The location of Jam House isn't fantastic, however, because I don't reckon it's a place I would walk to. It's definitely a taxi job. With places on Broad Street, it's possible to get a train into either New Street or Five Ways and walk the distance but Jam House is a little away from the hubbub of that area - though definitely not isolated.

Another highlight was Wednesday night: the first year drama social organised by one of my good friends, Katy. Because the second year rep (who apparently also caters for the first years) hadn't organised anything for the first years in terms of social events, Katy made an event on Facebook and found that most people on the course were well up for a fancy dress social to get to know each other. The theme was democratically decided as TV/Film Characters, to keep within the subject, and it was the talking point for the whole week prior. Ideas were exchanged and everyone got excited. The night was a fantastic success - no one had a bad experience. The costumes were fantastic, also, as shown below.


Some of the Drama first years at the Gun Barrels Pub for the TV/Film Characters fancy dress social.


Myself as Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) for the Drama social.

Week 0: Moving and Settling In

Hello random readers! I may as well introduce myself considering this is the first post. There is a section somewhere on here with a few facts about myself but I can write more in here. I'm Vici Royle, I'm a Drama and Theatre Arts student at the University of Birmingham. I'm living a self catered flat Tennis Court (Centre Court, to be exact), which is part of the Vale student village. My family home is in Doncaster, near Sheffield, and I appear to be one of the very few northerners at the Uni. We're a rare breed. What else? As well as being clearly interested in theatre - acting, backstage stuff, theory and everything else to do with it - I like watching (not playing) ice hockey and I'm an utter Harry Potter nerd. In this here blog I'll be pretty much keeping track of what's going on in my life and how it feels to be a student living away from home (though my flat feels like a second home already) and facing up to proper adulthood.

And so onto the post! The week before moving to university was a bit hectic. I was sent a reading and equipment list which meant I had to buy two books (the complete works of William Shakespeare and a drama anthology) and some steel capped boots (the Drama course isn't just about acting, it also includes backstage work which includes building the set, props etc which requires safety equipment). I had a mini panic when I looked at the reading list because there were so many on the list. There were two must-haves, aforementioned, six 'essential reading' and a few more on general reading. I was advised that I didn't have to buy all of them and should just buy the must-haves and exploit the 2million+ volume library on campus. To buy all the essential and must-haves would've set me back over £100 so I was happy not to hand over so much money especially as being a student means this horrible thing called budgeting enters your life, which I will develop on later.

It took me two hours to drive to the university and I was still an hour early (I was allocated a time slot to move in). The atmosphere was incredible when I arrived. There was music blaring out of the TeCRA (Tennis Court Residents Association) office, a marquee to collect keys and Freshers Fest (I'll explain later) tickets as well as the internet CD and insurance. I'm in Block 21 which meant that I couldn't escape the blaring music (TeCRA office is just downstairs) but that didn't matter at all because it added to the excitement of moving in. Naturally I let my Mother sort out the kitchen stuff while I set up my PC and put my books away. The internet was very easy to set up and took only ten minutes and a restart. There were three options: free, £70 and expensive. I chose the free package and it's really good. I haven't yet tried to watch anything on the iPlayer or 4OD so that could be a good measure to see how awesome the internet is but I'm sure that won't be an issue at all.

My flatmates (there are six of us in my flat) arrived at staggered times with one arriving a day late because he couldn't make the allocated move in day, which wasn't a problem at all (though he did have to arrive before 8.30 to get his keys whereas my move in time was 12.30 - 13.30). There was a welcome meeting the whole of Tennis Court at 2.30pm so we had enough time to organise the important things in our rooms and the kitchen, to remember names and sit around in the lounge to chat. We all agree that we were really lucky with flatmates because we already feel like we've known each other for ages and act like a family. If there are any problems (cleaning, for example) then there's never an argument because we all understand that we have to look out for each other and make sure we're all happy to live together. We get along really well, too, so that helps. There are already a few in-jokes and lots of funny stories.

The girls and I made a few friends on the way to the welcome meeting who, we found out, were living in the block right next to us, so we've seen them alot all week. We actually class one of them as the extra flatmate because he spends so much time in our flat. It was really easy to make friends with random people here because most people are very social and like to knock on random doors to say hello and get to know everyone. Danny, one of my flatmates, has a mission to get to know the name of everyone in centre court by the end of the year. He's already off to a flying start.

After we all settled in on Sunday, we went down to Bar One at the Hub in the Vale for a drink. Unfortunately the frivolities were cut short when there was a fire alarm and we were all evacuated. We all went back to the flat to play a few card games and make the most of the first night, regardless.

Monday was the start of the Freshers Fest. This is a university organised festival that includes nights out almost every day of the week (not compulsory) as well as vouchers for one free admission at the cinema, one free game of bowling and one free comedy night at Jongleurs. There were various levels of the pack depending on what the individual wants to get involved in. I bought the Silver Package which included all the nights in FF as well as Calvin Harris for next Friday and the Freshers Ball, which was last night. The Gold Package also includes N-Dubz. The prices ranged from cheap to expensive. The most expensive (gold) was £65 plus postage/booking fee and the cheapest was just a Freshers Ball ticket at £20 plus postage/booking fee. There's also a comedy night with an actor from The Inbetweeners for £7. You could buy individual tickets for Calvin Harris, N-Dubz and the Freshers Ball if you so wished to. That was mainly for people who missed out on buying them online before arriving at University.

Wednesday wasn't a particularly nice start, for me, because I had to wake up at 7am after a late night to make sure I was down at the Selly Oak campus for 10am, it being a 45 minute walk away. The reason for this was an introduction lecture to the course. There was a Facebook group already set up for the people doing Drama at Birmingham so I posted a notice to say that anyone who wanted to walk down together should meet in the Centre Court courtyard. About ten people turned up, a few from other halls but mostly TC. We had a lovely walk down to the Selly Oak campus, together, chatting breeze on the way. After the introduction to all the staff and the basic structure of the course, we were given the name of our Personal Tutor and had a meeting with them where we were given our timetable. We had to work out which slots were ours because there were various groups. I have Thursday off, which is nice. I doubt I'll actually have it off compeltely though because I've been advised that for every hour of contact (a lecture, a seminar etc) I have to do five hours of reading. I have about eight hours, at a guess, of contact, per week.

This morning my student finance information arrived in the post (which was delivered directly to my flat) so I could embrace the lovely task of budgeting. I chose to organise a weekly budget. I'm getting the full tuition fee loan, which I won't see because it is paid directly to the University, the full maintenance loan (income assessed) and a non-repayable grant which means I'll be surviving on £80 a week, which is very comfortable. As well as that funding, I'll be getting two bursaries from the University which are paid in two installments in January and May, I believe. I'll comment on them when I get them because they're irrelevant at the moment. With the budget I'll be able to do a limited weekly shop, save some money for laundry (£2.20 for a wash, £1 for the dryer), have a few notes for entertainment and perhaps save some money for summer or birthdays/Christmas.

And with that I'm off to make myself some dinner and hang out with the flatmates who have arrived back from wherever they escaped to. I should be updating this blog once a week with the happenings of Birmingham so do come back every Saturday or Sunday to see what's going on in Flat 135.