Influx

Tonight's rehearsal was different than the last few. Nearly the entire cast was there. While I would guess that act one rehearsals usually have a fair number of people, this was the first time I had practiced with that many people present. (Tech crew included.) As I expected, it was quite a departure from the easy going run-throughs the act 2 gang has had the last few weeks.

Not that I mind that. In fact, I enjoy having that much kinetic energy flying around the place, so long as it is productive and everyone stays on task. Personally I feel pretty secure in my responsibilities. It is just that I am now doing my job with more people around.

This also means more people back stage to potentially talk to, which is a good thing sometimes. So long as we are quiet, of course. (I promise my stage manager that I will keep it down, if she should happen to read this.)

Spoke with a friend of mine, who I have been in several shows with. It was the first time I had really seen him since the initial read through, him being a mostly act 1 person. He echoed some sentiments that I have shared here on the blog already. For example, how odd it is to be this late into the rehearsal process having not seen half of the cast. Tonight was the first time we had seen each other do anything on stage for this show, actually. But as I reminded him, soon we will be running the whole show all night. That will add even more wildness.

As for what we actually did, most of tonight was spent getting the singing finale worked out. This is why most of the whole cast was present at first. It is only one song, but it requires the whole cast to be coordinated and such. It is nights like this when I do not envy the position of the director of a play. I am not sure I would want to play air traffic control for so much going on, when music is involved. And it is just one song. Sometimes it's a wonder I ever do musicals. All and all though, the cast sounds good when we sing, and I think the major kinks of the blocking were ironed out tonight.

I felt even better about my character tonight. I felt freer, and willing to experiment a bit. Nothing radical. It is just that now that I have the lines down cold, I have been toying with slight variations on certain inflections during the court room scenes.

I look forward to my next rehearsal, on Friday. The director said there would be specific attention being paid to the courtroom scenes on Friday. That is when I will really sharpen things up in my performance. I already have some ideas. I look forward to the chance to try them out.

The show is evolving. Now if the temperature outside would just dip below 60 degrees before the show opens, it will really start to take on a Christmas feel.