Welcome to St. Petersburg

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Charles Close. I’m an actor, and one of the more adventurous ones you’re likely to meet, as I believe this Russian adventure proves. I’ve been a theater student and lover of all things drama for the better part of my life and hold a BA in Theater Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Acting is something I’m passionate about and what I intend to make a career in. I also like to travel, meet new people, and love learning about new cultures and languages. Through the miracle of the internet, I was able to find out about this unique opportunity with the St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy to combine these two loves of mine and venture out here on a whim to Russia for a chance to learn more and have an amazing time furthering my career.
The first thing I’d like to do is set the scene, so to speak. I took a long series of plane rides to get out here from California, and after about twenty-four hours of flying and airports, I felt like I was rolled up wet and put away dry. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice airline and I talked to a friendly Russian girl who taught me a few words, but I was dead on my feet. Getting into St. Petersburg was like of jolt of energy jump starting my system. The city is absolutely gorgeous! Olga, part of the academy staff picked me up at the airport and pointed out several places of interest and explained some of the history of the city along the way.

I was a little apprehensive about the whole apartment situation, because I told before arrival that they were having issues with finding living quarters for some of us, but boy did they ever come through! I’m living on a beautiful canal, in a fully furnished apartment (piano included!) that’s between two enormous ornate cathedrals; the Kazan Cathedral and the Church of Spilled Blood. Travel writers would give their left eye for this experience. It’s not all one hundred percent idyllic though. There is a bit of culture shock to take in, and it definitely makes one feel like a it of an outsider when you aren’t fluent in the language. But that’s all part of the adventure.

The classes are really something. I like the system of education that they have here. The students are all in highly specialized programs where they take an intensive course load with a tight knit group that they remain with for the duration of their studies. Our classes aren’t nearly as long into the day as theirs, but we are taking several hours all the same. We’re learning the Russian language, and even though I always feel like we could use more time in that class, we’re definitely getting a lot out of it and our teacher is great. We have a dance class, with an instructor who is one of the top talents in his field. Our acting teacher is amazing, and I feel like we’re definitely getting a lot out of her class. Some of our exercises are a bit back to basics, but then some are just out of this world. We went to a bath house and got to get a crazy spa treatment where we were beaten with birch branches in a sauna and then immersed in cold water. It sounds rather intense and at some points it was, but it was also invigorating. We get to recreate the experience in class to work on sensory memory and physicality.

I already feel like I’ve learned so much on this trip and about myself as an actor, and it hasn’t even been a week yet. We get to see a show about every other night, and it’s refreshing to see how Russians appreciate their theater over here. Their zest for the arts is contagious, and it is driving me towards new heights as a performer.