Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever

So once again a Saturday went by, and because of the timing of rehearsal, I forgot to publish my latest installment of my theatre advice article. Since I would probably forget again the next two Saturdays, the articles are on a very short hiatus. They are the backbone of this blog, and thus they will return two weeks from this coming Saturday. Until then, performance related posts will be found on Saturdays.

So if you were worried, please know that all will be well in your world again soon.

As per what I just said, a rundown of tonight's rehearsal.

We ran the show mostly uninterrupted. I did not watch act 1 as I had been doing the last few nights. Instead, I played on my miniature Pac-Man video game unit that I brought with me. (There is a small television in the theatre's green room.) This unit is something I have brought with me during various shows over the last year or so. It usually proves to be quite a hit with others as well. I may bring it again at some point. Hard to say.

As far as act 2, it felt good to me. The courtroom scenes had a bit more energy than they have had the last few nights. Furthermore, I felt a few new character nuances enter my performance tonight. I often find that some of the best acting choices show up in the middle of a rehearsal, without being planned. That is not to say that excellent choices and ideas for a performance cannot be planned ahead of time. More often than not, they are. Once in a while though, if you are open to the muse, a nice idea, that maybe only you will notice, will show up for you to make use of. Today, I added a small laugh as Mara sat at his desk after he lost the case. Not likely to be noticed by most, but I found it gave a nice depth to him. It also serves as a relevant prelude to his next line, in which he mentions how happy he is that things worked out the way they did for Mr. Kringle. Nothing mind blowing, but it's a nice touch, if I dare say so myself.

As I was leaving the theatre tonight, a cast mate mentioned that once again the director gave me a note that I would probably mention on my blog. He was correct; I still have to be louder. The director mentioned this as the only major problem with my scenes. It is not the first time I have encountered this problem. There is no excuse for it on my part, and I have every intention of making an extra effort to correct it tomorrow night. In my own defense, however, I have quite often found that this issue corrects itself once an audience is present. It should not take that long to fix such a problem, but knowing there are people in the back row tends to remind one to project, nonetheless.

Also worked on the curtain call for the first time tonight. Pretty standard. Nothing to worry about there. I will take my bow with those playing the judge, the judge's friend, the Baliff of the court, and Mara's son.

Three more rehearsals remain in this, a shortened tech week. (This show opens Thursday instead of Friday.) I must say, as far as the parts of the show that I am in, I still am pleased with the progress. (And not simply because I am in said scenes, though it may have appeared that that is what I was alluding to.)