April 01, 2014 | Massachusetts Lowell, USA

On April 01, Meryl Streep visited the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus to speak to its students and help raise over $230,000 for the school’s scholarship program. According to social media feeds documenting her visit, Streep brought with her an entourage of Chris Cooper and a glass of white wine. And according to the audience members raving about the visit, which was part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series, the whole experience was freaking amazing. Streep offered profanity-laced advice to the females in the audience hoping to work in the film industry one day. (“Don’t let the bastards get you down.”) She cracked wise about Robert Redford. (When an audience member asked how she liked working with the handsome icon, she deadpanned, “Way too much.”) And she openly discussed a range of subjects from how the aging process has affected her acting to the death of her Doubt co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Streep also told audience members that she is currently learning how to play the bass guitar—although she would not reveal the identity of her (possibly famous?) teacher. Ironically, or not, it was confirmed today that Streep will play a fading rock star in the Diablo Cody-scripted, Jonathan Demme-directed film, Ricki and the Flash.