Peoples! Ms. Hestwood, whose excitement over the June 2013 Trip to London (June 19th to June 25th through EF Tours) has swollen to dangerous proportions, has agreed to take the Pop Quiz challenge. No three-character restrictions for this born orator—wouldn’t want the woman’s brain to explode.
Q #1: Seven glorious days in LONDON, ENGLAND with a passel o’ high-spirited adolescents? Are you up to the task?
A: When you put it that way maybe I should reconsider. Good thing Francine Magee and Jimmy Stocco will be chaperoning as well or curfew would be at my 8:00pm bedtime.
Q #2: This is billed as an “Educational” tour. Just to be clear, which of the following most closely resembles your definition of “educational?”
A. Capable of causing excessive drowsiness.
B. Interminable PowerPoint presentation in an airless, windowless, fluorescent-lit room immediately followed by a 300-item multiple-choice test.
C. Super-interactive, theatre-laden, trans-continental, thrillapalooza with incidental learning being one possible side effect.
D. Effecting lasting cognitive or behavioral change through controlled exposure to specific stimuli.
A: I get enough of A, B, and D in my daily life. C is definitely the answer for this one.
Q #3: Rumor has it that the price of the London trip includes a full-time tour director, two evening theatre performances, a walking tour of London, a backstage tour of the National Theatre, a visit to the famous Globe Theatre, and that other fabulous theatre experiences are available on an optional basis. For an educational tour, isn’t that a little overkill in the awesomeness department?
A: Totes.*
*Parent definition: “A shorter more convenient form of the word: totally. This word is most commonly used by teenage girls.” (Urban Dictionary)
Q #4: That’s a whole lotta sights. What’s the plan for getting around?
A. Comfortable motorcoach
B. Horse and carriage
C. Prince Harry’s Hot Tub Limousine Service
D. Aston Martins for everyone
A: We will have a great walking tour, motorcoach transportation and maybe a chance to use the tube.
Q #5: London is, like, two thousand years old. Do they even having electricity and indoor plumbing there?
A: Only when the Queen is at home, otherwise the English like their London old school.
Q #6: I think everyone would agree communal bathrooms are frightening. Will the lodgings in London have private bathrooms?
A: If you call sharing a bathroom with three other teenagers “private.”
Q #7: I only speak American. How will the language barrier be addressed?
A: I’ll be offering classes once a month before we go.
Q #8: Some would say your “comprehensive student-centered” penchant for putting children to work on theatre productions smacks of a Dickensian worldview. Do you intend to press ERHS students into servitude on this trip, like making them tote your luggage through the streets of London or pick pockets to support your souvenir habit?
A: Good idea! I clearly have not thought about how to make the most of my trip.
Q #9: Which of the following statements are true?
A. This will be the trip of a lifetime for theatre lovers
B. Students can earn money towards the trip through Loft fundraising
C. You can get more information at the EF website
D. All of the above
A: D For shizzle. But I would argue non-theater lovers will find this trip to be life-altering as well.
Q #10: Completely off topic, but enquiring minds want to know: Is there really a secret subterranean bunker, à la Phantom of the Opera, located beneath the Loft Stage where you sleep during the months running up to the fall musical?
A: Shhh. There is a reason that we leave this off the tour.
Gotcha. Mums the word. Thank you, Ms. Hestwood!