To Be Or Not To Be-That Is the Question
- brandonjbk
- Jun 25, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 25, 2023
Whether 'tis noble in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them..
After my initial trips to Japan and Mexico, I was back in the U.S. wrapping up my undergraduate degree in business. I had an offer to start with a logistics company down in Chicago, but the entertainment bug had bitten me and I had aspirations to head west, Los Angeles, to pursue the idea of being an actor. I figured, let's give this a shot and see where it goes? I had a few friends that shared in the desire to do something a bit different, so we packed up and headed west.
Once I arrived, I jumped into working for a talent agency in Beverly Hills called Epstein-Wykoff-Corsa-Ross, a mid-level agency where I would learn the ropes of the business. In the evenings, I was taking courses at the Joanna Baron / D.W. Brown studio that focused on method acting. A form of acting that DeNiro, Pacino, Newman, Hoffman, Nicholson, and Brando exhibited that I had a great respect for. After a few years of booking some small gigs here and there, I wanted to take my craft a bit further and started to explore summer courses in London that would dive deep into Shakespeare. I wanted to learn about the great from a great institution of LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts). So, off I went, country #3 on the list....The United Kingdom:)
London itself was simply incredible. The bustling city was a departure of the spread of Los Angeles. The historical context of Europe and London was immediately felt. You could easily get the sense that you were at the heart of where great initiatives were taking place. I had just turned 25 by then and was thrust into this great city. Upon arrival, I made my way right back into a dorm room, lol! LAMDA's university was located in the South Kensington area of the city, and housed us at the Imperial College of London, a short walk to our courses. All of this was new to me, and was prior to the internet, so everything was vivid to experience from what you learned about as a young student in a small town within the U.S. Perhaps to capture the timing of this adventure, I wanted to toss in a photo of the Tower Bridge to give you a sense of timing, check out those cars!
Some of my fondest memories during this adventure was the LAMDA program itself. A full summer course Monday through Friday, to where we would learn the prose of Shakespeare and the various classical plays he had written. We were given access to the program's directors, who walked us through vocal techniques, movement, stage combat, and the historical context of the Elizabethan era to further understand the context of the complete works of William Shakespeare. During our free time, we jumped at the opportunity to explore not only the city itself, but a trip up to Stratford Upon Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace and was treated to a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Academy.
So many terrific performances on the west end, one of my favorites was watching Kenneth Branagh perform at the National Theatre, for 10pounds! Benefits of still being a student that that time:) I also was blessed to be with an amazing crew of creative individuals on this path, we explored the city's highlights such as Big Ben, Parliament, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Mayfair, The British Museum via the tube and a few double decker buses along the way. Such an amazing experience, I'm so thankful for that constant curiosity and desire to be a student. If you have those dreams to learn something in another country, jump at the chance, you never know where it will lead you and whom you will meet!
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