Setback

I had my first real rehearsal forthe one act last night.

Sort of.

One of the cast members, (whom I had never met until last night), came in just in time to quit the show. She stayed and read through it twice with us, for some reason, before she left. The director knew she was going to quit. Her schedule got all goofy, it would seem.

Whatever her situation was, I wish it had been earlier in the process. We already missed 4 rehearsals because of her schedule, and all for nothing, because she is no longer in the show. This means that, best case scenario, we only have 7 chances to rehearse before we open the show on the 22nd.

That's best case scenario.

True, this is just a reading, but it is a very complicated concept piece. If we find a good replacement for the actress that left, we should still be ok, but based on yesterday's read through, we have our work cut out for us.

As for the rehearsal itself, despite being a bit rough at times, it was productive. The main problem, predictably, is getting the interpreters to wait the right amount of time to speak after I, and the Castro character start mouthing our sentences. A change in the blocking and the placement of the furniture, suggested after the practice, should rectify much of that the next time. This is because the leaders will now be visible to the interpreters, which they were not before.

I am not off book for this show, but I am off book for a bout a third of it. My prediction that being somewhat off book would make it easier was correct, however. The parts of the script that I do have memorized felt much more comfortable. I had more freedom to gesticulate, and pace around in character. I could mouth nonsense, but I am trying to do avoid that at all costs. So while I may not be able to be totally off book with the time allotted, I should be able to get close.

I also parted my hair like JFK last night. Or at least attempted to do so. It worked, sort of. You must keep in mind I have spent most of my life without any part in my hair. My hair issued to this. I may have to keep the part, even when I am not rehearsing, in order to train my hair to look like Kennedy's.

Or at least an approximation of same.

So that is where we stand. I am training my part (hair), trying to get off book, studying pictures and videos of Kennedy, and hoping we find a good replacement for the actress that quit.

This one may just be over before I feel I was ever in it! Strange set up. Imagine how stressed I would have felt if I would have kept the other large part I had...